Vol. XXIII 

 1906 



Fleming, Birds of Toronto, Ontario. 439 



Toronto had originally many small ravines, through which flowed 

 the streams that emptied into the water front. Most of these 

 ravines are now filled in; in the northeast part of the city, in what 

 is known as Rosedale, ravines of considerable depth exist and cross 

 the back of the city to the valley of the Don; to the west of the city 

 the ravines are not so numerous, though there are several between 

 the western city limits and the Humber. This river and the Don 

 run for some distance through flats between high banks. 



Originally the city was covered by dense forests, and is so de- 

 scribed in the early surveys (the first survey was made in 1793). 

 Much of this timber was pine and hardwood mixed, but there were 

 tracts of solid pine. This pine has long disappeared, only a stick 

 remaining here and there on the ridge behind the city. There is 

 much second growth pine and hardwood, and in the ravines outside 

 the city some of the original forest remains. There are many wild 

 places still remaining where forest birds may find suitable breeding 

 places. In the city the streets are very generally planted with shade 

 trees; there are many trees about the houses, and in the parks and 

 open places there is plenty of shelter and food for birds. 



A list of the birds recorded from the north shore of Lake Ontario 

 would include only five species not given here; of these the Whoop- 

 ing Crane 1 and Magpie 2 are accidental; the Prothonatory, Golden- 

 winged, and Hooded Warblers will eventually be taken here. It 

 has been thought better to confine the list to the most impor- 

 tant migration point on the lake, and to a place that has been the 

 most carefully worked. 



Toronto lies directly in the path of a great migratory route equi- 

 distant from the Atlantic, the Mississippi, and James Bay. There 

 is strong presumptive evidence that two lines of flight converge, 

 if not cross, here, one passing west through the Great Lakes, the 

 other north towards Hudson Bay. 



In preparing this paper I have traced all the unusual records 

 back to the original specimens, and in all cases, except where men- 

 tioned, I have compared local specimens of every species recorded. 

 The migration dates given are based very largely on specimens, 

 and in the case of the waders exclusively so; consequently many 



iMdlwraith, Birds of Ontario, 1894, 116. 

 2 Auk, XV, 1898, 274. 



