GROUSE AND OTHER LAND BIRDS 293 



land the reverse is the case, for sometimes they 

 rise high over the tops of the tallest trees. The 

 most remarkable thing about them, however, is 

 their seasonal change of plumage. In 1885 I 

 had the pleasure of attending the meetings of the 

 American Ornithologists Union, in New York. 

 At one of the meetings a very interesting paper 

 was read by Dr. Stegneger on this subject. The 

 Doctor exhibited two specimens which came from 

 Newfoundland and which, in his opinion, were a 

 sub-species confined to the island. This distinc- 

 tion was based particularly on the coloration of 

 the primaries. The birds shown had nearly all 

 the tips of the primaries black. Since my return 

 I have taken special pains to examine a great 

 number of birds. On those killed prior to 15th 

 November, I found the same coloration, more or 

 less, as on the species shown, but after that date 

 there was a gradual whitening of the primaries 

 and in many cases only the shafts were white. 



During the last two migrations, taking the 

 best years, 1895 and 1904, I took some trouble to 

 try and find out approximately how many birds 

 were killed between certain points. During the 

 first year mentioned, between Mingan and God- 

 bout (175) one hundred and seventy- five miles of 

 coast, thirty thousand were killed. In the second 

 (1904) fourteen thousand, but I am sure that 

 during 1885 nearly sixty thousand must have 

 been shot or snared. When a flight begins, every 



