Merriam on Birds about Point de Mo?its, Canada. 233 



proach to what may now be called the red phase of sabinii, in having the. 

 breast, -with the entire dorsal surface, including that of the tail, strongly 

 tinged with orange-chestnut which is scaixely duller than in examples 

 from the coast region. Some of the grayer birds present a general resem- 

 blance to umbelloides, but the ground tint of their plumage is always 

 deeper, the dorsal irrarkings richer and blacker, and the under parts very 

 much more thickly barred. It is probable that this style of coloration 

 will prove to be more or less characteristic of all the Rufted Grouse inhab- 

 iting the region between the Coast Range and the Rocky Mountains. 



50. Pedioecetes phasianellus columbiantis ( Ord') Cones. Common 

 Sharp-tailed Grouse. — Three specimens, taken at Fort Walla Walla, 

 differ considerably from eastern birds. The entire upper parts are darker 

 and duller, the usual rusty-ochraceous ground-color being replaced by 

 plain wood brown ; the dorsal markings, also, are finer, while those of the 

 under parts are blacker and more generally distributed, the only immacu- 

 late area being the centre of the abdomen. These differences do not seem 

 to indicate any approach to true P. fkasianellus, which is an altogether 

 differently colored bird. They probably have only a local significance, 

 but the region in question is so poorly represented by the material to 

 which I have had access, that I have not been able to form a definite opin- 

 ion on this point. 



LIST OF BIRDS ASCERTAINED TO OCCUR WITHIN 

 TEN MILES FROM POINT DE MONTS, PROVINCE 

 OF QUEBEC, CANADA; BASED CHIEFLY UPON 

 THE NOTES OF NAPOLEON A. COMEAU. 



BY C. HART MERRIAM, M. D. 



Point de Monts is the southward termination of a high rocky 

 promontory that separates the river from the Gulf of St. Law- 

 rence, on the north shore. It is in latitude 49° 19' north. The 

 country is well wooded, the forests consisting chiefly of spruce 

 (both white and black) and balsam. Scattered about are a few 

 birches, poplars, cedars, and tamaracks ; and on a sandy terrace 

 near the Godbout River is a quantity of the northern scrub pine 

 {Pi mis banksiana) that here attains a height of thirty and some- 

 times forty feet. The region is so far north that not only are the 

 oaks and hickories absent, but even the hardy beech and maple 

 do not grow here. 



I visited this section of the coast in July, iSSi, and again in 

 July, 1SS2 ; and with the observations made at these times I have 



