Vol 'i9i9 XVI ] Taverner, Birds of Red Deer River, Alta. 253 



proximity to cultivation. Below, where the valley is wide, and more 

 arid conditions prevail, it was but occasionally seen. Young reports, at 

 Camp 11 on the Little Sandhill Creek after the middle of September, that 

 they appeared in large flocks. The farmers about Camp 1 did not regard 

 the crow as dangerous to crops but complained of the number of small 

 chickens they kill and the duck nests they rob. Specimens from Camp 

 8| and 11, also Morrin, October, 1916, Geo. Sternberg and Alix, April 24, 

 1914, Horsbrough. Amongst our prairie province specimens I can find 

 little to substantiate the Western Crow, hesperis. The birds of smallest 

 measurement in our collections come from Ottawa and Point Pelee, On- 

 tario; Red Deer, Alberta; and Lillooet, British Columbia, whilst our 

 largest specimens are from Ottawa and Indian Head, Saskatchewan. 

 Even the averages from eastern and western Canadian specimens are too 

 similar for the recognition of any subspecies. I therefore prefer to class 

 these birds with the type form brachyrhynchos. 



104.* Molothrus ater. Cowbird. — Rather scarce. We saw but 

 two at Camp 1. Young took a specimen at Camp 11 on the Little Sand- 

 hill Creek, August 2. We also have one bird from Morrin, July 1916, 

 taken by Geo. Sternberg. The bird from Camp 11 is a juvenile but ex- 

 traordinarily heavily striped below, almost as conspicuously so as a juve- 

 nile Red-wing. Above, every feather is bordered with sharp buffy edges. 

 The Morrin bird is similar but does not depart from normal in so marked 

 a degree. As these are both juveniles their measurements are not satis- 

 factory for subspecific comparison. Examining our series of western 

 Cowbird specimens I can only see that they average slightly larger than 

 eastern ones. The bills are comparatively a little longer but the concave 

 character shown by Grinnell as characteristic of artemisioe is not recog- 

 nizable even though the sage brush Artemisia tridentata with which its 

 range is supposed to coincide extends far north of here to the Peace River 

 Valley. Without further data I can only regard these Red River birds 

 as abnormal ater. 



105. Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus. Yellow-headed Black- 

 bird. — Not seen by us owing probably to the absence of extensive marshes 

 in the localities visited. Geo. Sternberg reports having seen one at Camp 

 11 before our arrival. Mr. Farley lists it at Red Deer and Camrose. 



106.* Agelaius phoeniceus. Red-winged Blackbird. — Not very 

 common but occurring in most of the suitable localities visited by us. 

 More common on the prairie level where sloughs are more numerous than 

 in the valley. Specimens from Camp 1 and 4. After comparing these 

 and other prairie specimens with eastern birds I can only say that there 

 is a larger percentage of oversized birds amongst them than in the East. 

 I can see no constant difference in the bills and hence am not justified in 

 referring them to anything but phoeniceus. Horsbrough refers his, proba- 

 bly on geographical considerations to P. a. fortis. 



107.* Sturnella neglecta. Western Meadow Lark. — We did 

 not find this bird very common in the river valley and not overly numerous 



