A Vacation in Quebec. 141 



the role of true woodland and wilderness birds. Incident- 

 ally we caught some fine red and gray trout in Hawk Lake 

 which, when prepared by the skilful hands of the wife of 

 the owner of the lake, made a dish not soon to be forgotten. 

 These trout are undoubtedly the finest food fish in eastern 

 North America, if not in the world. They rapidly deteriorate 

 in the sending, even if packed in ice. I can recommend Hawk 

 Lake to sportsmen and fish connoisseurs as a place where 

 both interests can be exceedingly well attended to. 



Returning, an uproar among some Robins attracted our 

 attention, and on investigating we found a Broad-winged 

 Hawk [Buteo platypterus) in close proximity to a Robin 

 family. This hawk had certainly much increased here since 

 my last visit, three years ago ; its loud whistle, keef, some- 

 thing like a Cowbird's only louder and huskier, was not in- 

 frequently heard. Speaking of bird voices, the song of the 

 Winter Wren must receive honorable mention. It may be 

 heard at any time of day„ but sounds finest early in the morn- 

 ing, when its clear, sparkling tones always made the impres- 

 sion on me as though delicate strands of silver were being 

 woven from branch to branch among the dark spruces and 

 hemlocks, whence the song usually emanates. This bird is 

 most often found in mossy mixed woods, but conifers must 

 be close at hand. The song is a continuous performance, 

 much more so than the songs of the Veery and Hermit and 

 Olive-backed Thrushes, which, however, have a finer qual- 

 ity of tone and greater volume. Along the shores of Hawk 

 Lake we often heard a strident song, something like that of 

 the Red-eyed Vireo, but louder, which turned out to be a 

 to me new song of the Scarlet Tanager (Piranga erythro- 

 melas). It was not often the tick kerr, usually heard, nor 

 the soft decrescendo song to be heard in western Maryland, 

 but a more robust and less attractive one. In the evening the 

 Whip-poor-will usually started its song at 8 -.45 o'clock. 



After having celebrated Dominion Day, July 1st, at Ot- 

 tawa, I on the 2d went partly by rail and partly by boat up 

 the Lievre to Notre Dame de la Salette, a French-Canadian 



