January, 1921 J 



The Canadian Fielo-Natukalist. 



17 



he seems to have no very strong objec- 

 tions to an audience. Tlie performance of 

 the birch drummer (Ruffed Grouse), can 

 only be witnessed by the exercise of 

 stealth and caution, Our little Spruce 

 Partridge on the other hand will peer and 

 look at the intruder and then, as if sud- 

 denly remembering, go through his evolu- 

 tions with a gusto that excites our startled 

 amusement. Though the drumming of the 

 grouse is peculiar to the male its practice 

 is not confined to the nesting season alone, 

 but may be heard in any month of the 

 year and occasionally at any hour of the 

 day or night. 



J. L. DEVANY. 



Some Observations on Blanding's 

 Turtle. — During the summer of 1920 I 

 spent several weeks at Point Pelee, Ont- 

 ario, with a collecting party from the 

 Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology. The 

 first Blanding's Turtle {Emys Blandin- 

 gii) was taken on June 15th, and from 

 then until I left — July 23rd — it was 

 much in evidence. The Point, having but 

 a slight elevation above Lake Erie, per- 

 mits many temporary rain pools apart 

 from the main marsh, and it was in these 

 pools, and along the sandy east beach, that 

 most of the turtles were seen. At this 

 season their terrestrial wanderings may 

 mean a search for suitable sites to deposit 

 their eggs, although it is known that this 

 species is not strictly aquatic. How^ever, I 

 believe the majority of those seen on land 

 were females — at least, those collected 

 show this to be true. 



At 6.30 p.m. on the 22nd of June I 

 found two tui'tles preparing to deposit 

 their eggs. Being determined to watch the 

 process in spite of an empty stomach, and 

 the hour for the attack of Point Pelee 's 

 mosfjuitoes drawing near, I kept one spe- 

 cimen under observation until excavation 

 was fairly under wa\'. Then, crawling 

 within ten feet of the turtle, I watched 

 the procedure without its showing any 

 signs of fear. 



Bracing itself up with its front feet, it 

 dug with the hind feet, slowly carrying 

 the sand to the surface on the upturned sole. 

 In digging, the liind feet were always used 

 alternately, the saiul being placeil fii'st to 

 the right and then to the left of the hole. 



While using one hind foot in scooping from 

 the bottom, the other was rested against 

 the side of the hole, helping the turtle t«» 

 raise itself in order to lift the sand to the 

 surface. After the hole was two or three 

 inches deej), the turtle settled back so that 

 the edge of the carapace rested on the rim 

 of the hole. In this position, and by ex- 

 tending the hind legs, quite a depth was 

 attained. After three quarters of an hour 

 this operation was completed. My pre- 

 sence, however, may have retarded the 

 work. 



I estimated the hole to be seven inches 

 deep with a surface opening of three and 

 one-half to four inches in diameter. This 

 broadened out below the surface, making 

 a flask-shaped chamber about seven inches 

 in diameter. After one egg had been 

 dropped, I returned to camp. 



Later, I returned with another member 

 of the part\' and found the location. There 

 was not the slightest sign of depression or 

 mound, and upon digging for the eggs we 

 found the sand well packed. The eleven 

 eggs were transferred to a box of sand in 

 camp, where they were left exposed to 

 the weather. We expected to hatch them 

 and learn the time required for incuba- 

 tion, but an unfortunate accident happened 

 to them on August 26th. Another mem- 

 ber of the party was able to examine the 

 broken eggs and preserve several fully 

 formed young turtles. They would 

 evidently have emerged in a short time, 

 but the exact period of incubation was im- 

 possible to determine. However, it would 

 have been something over sixty-five days. 



Behavior of Captives. 



The party carried back a number of 

 adult live specimens of Blanding's turtle 

 which were easily kept alive in captivity. 

 They fed upon earth-worms, dead fish and 

 meat scraps, taking food readily, both 

 under and out of the water. After a few 

 days they showed no signs of fear, and 

 were freiiuently handled without their 

 closing the hinged plastron. 



Witliout a suitable place to deposit their 

 eggs, IManding's will retain them for a 

 considerable time. One sj^ecimen collect- 

 ed wlu'ii digging the hole, retaine.l tlie 

 eggs for at least thirty days. I believe this 

 to be injurious to the turtle if postponed 

 too long. One specimen that died in raid- 



