122 



ORNITHOLOGIST 



[Vol. 10-No. 8 



December 35tli. — About the end of this nionlh 

 there was a fearful snow storm, and the snow 

 now lies thick on the ground ; the cold is still 

 intense, 30° below. My bag of eatable birds this 

 season has been about 300, and includes 139 

 Ducks, 119 Prairie Chickens, and 14 Bitterns. 



January 34, 1883. — It is heavy work shooting 

 in the snow, but I managed about the middle of 

 the month to bag a brace of Ruffed Grouse ; they 

 sit in the bushes, and you may almost knock 

 them over with a slick. I also secured a Tanager 

 (Pyranya rubra), very like the American Gros- 

 beak; the bill is black, head, breast and back 

 crimson: wings black and white, and tail black, 

 size about etjual to a Hawfinch. There was a 

 pair of them, and I secured the male. On the 

 same day I got a large Shrike and some very good 

 Snow Buntings. 



February 33nd. — About llie beginning of the 

 month I shot another Tanager, and a third 

 towards the middle of the month. About the 

 10th I was going out with the gun, when I saw 

 huge bird coming straight over me, about sixty 

 j'ards high. I gave it a charge of No. 3 and 

 down it came. Imagine my delight, when I 

 picked up a splendid male Snowy Owl, pure white, 

 except for three black marks on the wings. The 

 weather is not quite so severe now, — 10" below 

 zero, and I have ventured out Wolf shooting, but 

 have not been successful hitherto. One day I 

 saw a few Tits and Redpolls. 



March 5th. — At the beginning of this month I 

 shot another Snowy Owl, a female, in speckled 

 plumage. It has snowed heavily for some days, 

 and tlie Wolves arc veiy daring. I have secured 

 a few and am tanning the skins for mats. 



March lllh.— Towards the middle of the month 

 the weather became milder. We shall all be glad 

 when the snow disajipears and the grass becomes 

 visible again. 



April 35th. — The Spring migration conunenced 

 this year almost a fortnight earlier than usual. 

 Ducks put iu an appearance on April 13lh, and 

 by the 15th large Hocks of both Ducks and Geese 

 passed over. The Sjiring Duck shooting is 

 preferable to that in the Fall ; the birds are in so 

 much finer plumage, and the weather, loo is more 

 bearable. I append a few dates of Spring obser- 

 vations, which will give a slight idea of what we 

 see here : March 30lh, Shore Larks appear ; snow 

 still covering prairie and sleighing good. April 

 10th, saw two Crows and a Marsh Harrier; snow 

 melting fast, trail very bad. 13th, two Ducks 

 going W. ; trails broken up, sleighing over. 13th' 

 a Mallard shot. 14lb, large numbers of Marsh 

 Harriers from 9 a. m., till 1 p. m., a continuous 

 flight going W. ; also a few Yellowshanks and 



Crows. 15th, Marsh Harriers going W. 10th, 

 large flocks of Ducks and Geese going W., also 

 Marsh Harriers sailing over the sloughs, and a 

 few small birds appearing ; small Hawks passing; 

 snow almost gone. 17lb, Ducks going W.; Marsh 

 Harriers sailing about; shot at a Yellowshank ; 

 large flights of Summer visitors appearing. 18lh, 

 a snow storm ; shot two Mallards, saw a Yellow- 

 shank ; tried to stalk a Goose on the ice on the 

 river, but failed; saw a Short-cared Owl. 19th, 

 shot a Mallard ; saw Pintails, and a friend shot a 

 Marsh Harrier. 30th, saw Robins and Black 

 Grackles {iScokcophagus femigineus) in large 

 flocks, also a few Pintails and one flock of Green- 

 winged Teal ; a Goose shot; a friend shot a male 

 Scaup and a Green-winged Teal. 31st, I shot 

 three Mallards and a Green-winged Teal ; a 

 friend shot a snipe ; saw a Peregrine and several 

 Snipe. 33nd, saw two Sand-hill Cranes going N. 

 33rd, ice on the river breaking up. 34th, a friend 

 shot a male Pintail; river almost clear. 25lh, 

 Anemone in flower; grass showing green. 



May 9th. — About the end of April I saw a 

 Woodpecker, and shot a fine Buflle-hcaded Drake 

 — a grand specimen. On the 38th I observed a 

 Ring Plover (^■Eyialiti.t semipdlmatus). On the 

 39lh shot a Pochard; saw numbers of Snipe, 

 Sand-hill Cranes, Martins, and a Short-eared Owl, 

 also a Butterfly like a Camberwell Beauty. Early 

 in May I got specimens of Meadow Larks (Stur- 

 nella mngnii), Red-winged Starlings, and Bunt- 

 ings; and on the 8th saw eight Lesser Yellow- 

 shanks (Tcitdnits flaripai). By the first week of 

 May most of the Ducks had arrived, but the large 

 flights of Blue-winged Teal had not yet appeared. 

 Thus far the Ducks noticed this Spring are Mal- 

 lard, Pintail, Shoveller, Scaup, Pochard, BuHel- 

 head, Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, 

 Wood Duck, Butler Duck, (Bulfel-head), Ameri- 

 can Wigeon (called "Summer Duck" by the In- 

 dians), and a Duck very like a Scaup, which I 

 am not able to identify. [Probably the American 

 Scaup, Fiiliyiilit. iiffinix. — Ed.) Two friends of 

 mine were away shooting in the second week of 

 May, and brought home (amongst other birds) 

 three Sclavonian Grebes, an Esquimaux Curlew 

 (? footnote, p. 103), and a Canvas-back Duck. 



May 35th. — The close time begins on May loth 

 for all kinds of wild fowl, so I had a last day be- 

 fore Uie season ended ; my bag was thirty-seven 

 head, including four Plover, a Buzzard, Bittern, 

 and two species of Grebe, ten Eai'ed and Sclavon- 

 ian Grebes Since then I got a Golden Plover iu 

 full Summer plumage, and a Ring Dotterel exactly 

 like our Tees-mouth friend ; when I picked it up 

 I could almost imagine myself at Redcar again. 

 [Doubtless ^Eyialitis scmipalmatus. — Ed.] A 



