In North- West Canada. 187 



the other species of North- West buzzards by their smaller size. 

 Before me is a series of twenty eggs of this bird ; the ground 

 colour is white or bluish white, and the eggs are usually well- 

 spotted and blotched with reddish-brown. 



A set of two eggs taken at Crescent Lake, Assiniboia, May 

 29th, 1890, are very handsome. The ground colour is clean 

 bluish white ; one of the eggs has heavy blotches of rich chest- 

 nut brown at the butt end, and the other has the smaller end 

 capped with the same heavy colouring. These two eggs 

 measure 2.25x1.73 and 2.15x1.63. 



I saw a red-throated diver swimming amongst some rushes, 

 so waded in this direction and searched the spot for its nest 

 without success. 



Later I flushed a little brown crane, but saw no signs of a 

 nest in the vicinity. I took a few clutches of long-billed 

 marsh wren and red-winged starling, and later came across 

 a nest and four eggs of the Bartram's sandpiper on the margin 

 of the lake. I flushed a short-eared owl land also surprised a 

 fox out of the rushes that fringed the lake. 



Long Lake is a fine resort for wild fowl, and in the fall of 

 the year the lake swarms with all manner of geese, ducks, and 

 other water birds. In Winnipeg I saw a number of rare 

 plovers arid sandpipers that were shot at Long Lake, includ- 

 ing specimens of purple sandpiper, sanderling, eskimo curlew, 

 black-bellied plover, American golden plover, turnstone, knot 

 and ' other rare birds that breed within the Arctic circle. 

 Speaking of the knot, I take this opportunity of describing a 

 set of two eggs of this bird in my possession, that were col- 

 lected in Iceland. An authentic egg of the knot has for many 

 years been the object of special and diligent search by natural- 

 ists and explorers travelling in the Arctic regions where the 

 bird is known to breed. Lieutenant A. W. Greely, U.S.A., 

 commander of the late expedition to Lady Franklin Sound, 

 succeeded in obtaining the long-sought for egg of the knot. 

 C. H. Merriam publishes the account of it written by Lieuten- 

 ant Greely, as follows : " The specimen of bird and egg were 

 obtained in the vicinity of Fort Conger, latitude of 81 44' 



