CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 211 



it has been taken in the valley of Lake St. John. (Dionne.) 

 Reported as being found on the market at Sault Ste. Marie by 

 Mr. Bampton. (Mcllwraith.) Only one observed during the trip 

 to Labrador in 1896. This specimen was shot, June i8th, a short 

 distance south of Fort George. Said to be common at Moose 

 Factory and Fort George in winter. On Oct. 13th, 1896, a speci- 

 men was brought to me at Beaumaris, Muskoka Lake, Ont. It 

 had been killed within a mile of the place. Shortly afterwards 

 I heard of two more being taken by Mr. Fraser, of Port Cock- 

 burn, at the head of Lake Joseph. Also of one or more at 

 Bracebridge and several at Parry Sound. The bird I handled 

 was a very dark bird and is evidently to be classed with the 

 northern variety. Since the above captures I have not heard 

 of any other birds being taken in Muskoka district. {Spread- 

 borough!) 



Mr. A. P. Low puts its northern limit in Labrador at Lat. 

 57". It has been killed in winter at Great Whale River. Since 

 the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway this bird has been 

 seen frequently on the line between Mattawa, on the Ottawa 

 River, and Fort William, west of Lake Superior. It has been sup- 

 posed to be the prairie species working east, but its dark colour 

 shows that it is the northern bird. It is extremely probable 

 that in coming years it will be a common species in the sparsely 

 settled parts of Northern Ontario. 



The northern limit of the range of this grouse is Great Slave 

 Lake, on the 6ist parallel. It abounds on the outskirts of the 

 Saskatchewan plains, and is found throughout the wooded dis- 

 tricts of the Northwest Territories. {Richardson^ This grouse 

 breeds in the pine forests on both sides of the Lockhart and 

 Upper Anderson rivers, where one or two nests were met with. 

 {Macfarline.') This bird is mentioned by Dall as a not uncommon 

 species at Fort Yukon and for 200 miles down this river to the 

 Ramparts, below which it was not found. (Nelson.) 



Breeding Notes. — These birds keep in pairs or small flocks 

 and frequent the juniper plains all the year. The buds of these 

 shrubs are their principal food in winter, as their berries are in 

 summer. They generally remain about the same spot, unless dis- 

 turbed ; their flights are short. They frequently walk on the 

 ground and when raised will fly to the top of an adjacent tree. 

 In June they make a nest on the ground with grass and feathers. 



