June, 1885.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



91 



Notes on the Birds of Manitoba. 



BY ROBERT MIIXER CHRISTT. 



( The Zoologist, April, I880.) 

 Continued from page 78. 



Before Ihe beginning: of September tlie Crow, 

 (C'orriis frtiffieorus,) did not seem to be particularly 

 rorainon ; lint after that it became more noticea- 

 ble. Large flocks frequently flew over, their 

 loud hoarse croak being audible for long distances 

 over the prairie. On September 7th a specimen 

 was brought in having a curious malformation of 

 the bill, which was evidently due to a gun-shot, 

 as the right humerus had also been broken. The 

 upper mandible was bent a good deal to the left, 

 as well as having the tip strongly turned down- 

 wards. A notch had been worn in the side of 

 the lower mandible where the upper one crossed 

 it, but the former was normal in all other respects. 

 As tlie bird was only wounded slightly in the 

 wing, we kept him alive in order to learn how, 

 with such an awkward instrument for a bill, he 

 contrived to take his meals ; for the fine condi- 

 tion he was in clearly showed that he had some 

 means of so doing ; and in a few hours he was 

 tame enough to show us how. We placed some 

 pieces of bread upon the floor, which, being hard 

 and flat, probably puzzled the bird more than if 

 it had been soft or uneven ; but, by standing di- 

 rectly over them and putting down his head till 

 it was almost between his legs and the crown 

 nearly on the floor, he contrived to get the piece 

 of bread between his mandibles. 



The Whiskey .lack, {Pensorewi canndensis,) 

 probably lireeds in the dense tamarac swamp 

 south of Carberry, as a young specimen was 

 shot there by Mr. Seton in August. 



The Blue .Jay, {Cynnocitta cnstata,) is common, 

 but appears to be migratory, — partially at least, — 

 leaving in Winter, though resident farther south. 



The well-known King-bird or Tyrant Fly- 

 catcher, {Tyrannus Caroline iisis,) is abundant in 

 Manitoba. A more fearless, inquisitive, pugna- 

 cious, and warlike bird it is difficult to imagine. 

 Often when I have shot a bird as a specimen, up 

 has flown a King-bird with a manner which gave 

 him the appearance of saying — " Now, what's go- 

 ing on here ?" To see a King-bird dash at and at- 

 tack a huge Harrier, for no other purpose whatso- 

 ever than to have a fight, is a thing of common oc- 

 currence, and the Harrier always tries to avoid and 

 escape from his assailant. The King-bird breeds 

 in the low scrubby oak trees which cover the 

 sand-hills, building, like the Shrike, a nest consist- 

 ing largely of the stalks of a species of Onapha- 



lium. After the young are able to fly they often 

 live round the settlers' houses on the open prairie, 

 but about the end of August they all leave. 



Among the trees on the sand-hills and in the 

 bluffs the Night Hawk, (C'hnrdeiles popetue,) is 

 abundant, and makes itself very conspicuous 

 towards evening by its loud scream, by booming, 

 and by displaying during flight the unmistakable 

 white patch on each wing. Not unfrequently il 

 may be seen on the wing at mid-day ; and it al- 

 ways makes an appearance long before sunset, 

 sailing about at a great height and screaming fre- 

 quently. After flying awhile over the head of 

 any intruder, it suddenly spreads its wings and, 

 giving a wide swoop downwards, emits a loud 

 booming noise, which has gained for it in some 

 parts of America the name of " Bull Bat." That 

 this noise is made over one's head in order to 

 threaten, or intimidate seems tome pretty certain, 

 but I have also, I believe, heard it emitted at a 

 distance, without any such object. It breeds 

 commonly among the trees on the sand-hills. One 

 day early in August we found a nest, or rather 

 two young ones — for nest there was none — about 

 three days old, with the egg-shells lying near 

 Though so young, one of the nestlings, which we 

 afterwards proved by dissection to be a male, was 

 very pugnacious, and snapped his bill menacingly 

 when touched ; the other was perfectly quiet, so 

 we concluded, though we could not prove it, that 

 it belonged to "the gentler se.x." While we were 

 at the nest the old birds were, as usual, very so- 

 licitous for the safety of their young, settling on 

 trees, fallen logs, the ground, and fluttering round 

 to draw off our attention. The number of old 

 birds began to get very much less by the end of 

 August, but a few were nevertheless seen imtil 

 well on into September — one as late as the 11th. 

 After the migration commenced they were not un- 

 frequently seen in the evenings flying over in 

 large straggling parties, circling about as th?y 

 proceeded. These parties usually travelled south- 

 west, I believe, though this is not the direction 

 usually chosen by the other birds of the district 

 when moving south. 



The Whip-poor-Will, (Atitrostmnus wciferus,) 

 differs from its near relative, the Night Hawk, in 

 several particulars. It seldom leaves the woods 

 and comes out onto the open prairie ; and, even 

 among the trees, it is seldom or never seen sailing 

 about high overhead during daylight. It is also a 

 much shyer bird ; and, although its highly re- 

 markable far-sounding voice may often be heard, 

 it needs great caution to get within a sufficiently 

 short distance to see the perfomier. About the 

 end of August all the Whip-poor-Wills seemed to 

 have departed, and I was therefore considerably 



