GROUSE AND OTHER LAND BIRDS 291 



seldom or never breed in the lowlands, always 

 seeming to prefer high and bare mountainous sec- 

 tions. In June, 1893, I saw a pair several times. 

 They probably had their nest within a mile of our 

 house (Godbout). The earliest appearance of 

 any large migration was October 29, 1872, but as 

 a rule it begins here from the 15th of November to 

 December. 



The regular flight along the sea shore lasts 

 about four to six weeks. After that the birds 

 seem to scatter inland and feed. When on the 

 move they fly very early in the morning, sometimes 

 so early that it is impossible to distinguish them 

 unless there happens to be some dark background. 

 The morning flight, when abundant, will last an 

 hour or two. The size of the flocks vary in or- 

 dinary seasons from ten to fifteen or twenty. 

 In years of great abundance, flocks of a hundred 

 or more are common. On the 14th of November, 

 1885, I saw at Trinity Bay, six miles east of 

 Pointe des Monts, one flock which contained many 

 thousands. It was a continuous mass of birds 

 over half a mile long and from sixty to a hundred 

 yards wide. I had never seen anything ap- 

 proaching this before, nor have I since. When in 

 large flocks they are, as a rule, shy, especially if 

 the weather is very cold or windy, and will rise 

 long before one gets within ordinary range. On 

 the wing, however, they do not seem to mind any- 

 thing in their way, flying over and around one 



