Our Winter Birds. 143 



viously pointed out in 1883/ ispalseontologically Calciferous 

 or Tremadoc. The Plvyllograptus zone of the same author is 

 the typical Levis, and the Ccenogroptus zone is the same with 

 Dr. Ells' fifth group above. Besides these, however, there is 

 on the lower St. Lawrence, probably between the Dictymema 

 and Plvyllograptus zones, another fossiliferous band of black 

 shales which may be called the Retiolites or Protospongia zone, 

 referred to in my paper on Fossil Sponges from the Quebec 

 group (Trans R. S. C, 1889), and probably also another 

 between the Phyllograptus and Coenograptus zones. Palaeon- 

 tologically as well as stratigraphically, all these zones are 

 very distinct from their chronological ecpiivalents on the 

 American plateau to the west, and more or less akin to 

 those of western Europe. Thus the whole Quebec group is 

 a peculiar Atlantic development of the Calciferous-chazy 

 horizons, as originally defined by Logan. 

 1 Report of Peter Redpath Museum. 



Our Winter Birds. 



By F- B CaULFIEIjD. 



In the second volume of the Canadian Naturalist (1857, 

 p. 138) there is a paper by W. S. D'Urban on "Some Land 

 -Birds Wintering in the Neighbourhood of Montreal," and 

 in the fifth volume of the same journal (1860, p. 425) there 

 is a paper by H. G. Vennor on " Birds Observed at Mont- 

 real Luring the Winters of 1856-57-58-59 60." These con- 

 tributions are of great value, being records of observations 

 made at a season when field work has to be prosecuted 

 under many disadvantages, as by the time the snow is 

 drifting through the leafless trees, very few birds remain to 

 represent the multitude that find a home with us during 

 the summer months. As a number of years have elapsed 

 since the publication of these papers, it may, perhaps, be 

 well to give some additional notes, as a few species have 

 been added to the list, and our knowledge respecting some 

 others has been slightly increased. Our winter birds may 

 be classed under three heads — loiterers, stragglers and resi- 



