86 



THE CANADIAN SPORTSMAN AND NATURALIST. 



Owl must live, and its food being principally 

 Rodentia, which are, in the Northern regions, 

 thoroughly covered with snow in October, can- 

 not be obtained by the birds, and they are, 

 therefore, compelled to' fly southward, where 

 they can obtain an existence with greater 

 facility. We have many beautiful illustrations 

 of this nature in America, where animals move 

 within frigid and temperate zones. We find 

 birds visiting us in winter, which during sum- 

 mer have their habitat on the South margin 

 of the Arctic circle. Among these we may 

 mention the Jer Falcon ( F. Candicans, 

 Gmelin) ; the Great Gray Owl (»S Cinereum, 

 Audubon) ; the Sparrow Owl, (Nyciale Rich- 

 ardsonii, Bon) ; the Snowy Owl (Nyctea nivea, 

 Gray) ; the Hawk Owl (S. alula, Bon) ; the 

 Three-toed b Woodpeckers ; the Waxwing {Am- 

 pelis garrulus, Linn) ; the Hudsonian Tit- 

 mouse (Parus Hudsonius, Forster) ; the Cur- 

 virost^: (Crossbills) and Aegiothid^ (Red- 

 polls) ; the Snow Bunting Plectrophanes 

 nivalis, Meyer) ; the Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola 

 Canadensis, Cab) ; the Canada Jay (Perisoreus 

 Canadensis, Bon) ; the Sharp-tailed Grouse 

 (Pediceceies phasianellus, Bairtl) ; the Ptar- 

 migan and some of the Anatidae (Ducks) and 

 Stercorarid.e (Skuas). The writer came to 

 Canada in 1842, and has, since then, watched 

 the gradual changes occurring in its winter 

 temperature. There is an appreciative differ- 

 ence between the Canadian winter of 1843 and 

 those that have followed. Remarks on the 

 meteorological changes are not required from 

 weather prophets, as they have been noticed 

 by Europeans visiting Canada of late years, 

 and as our Northern woodlands are annually 

 opened up and the lands thoroughly cultivated 

 the result will be doubly manifest to the young 

 communities of this portion of the earth.— C. 



CAN THE CAPERCAILZIE AND BLACK 

 COCK BE ACCLIMATIZED IN CANADA? 



The following was" sent to us by our esteemed 

 friend J. M. LeMoine. He says that Col. 

 Rhodes lately imported two hundred Messina 



quail. It would be worth the money and 

 trouble to introduce the Capercailzie into 

 Canadian forests, but we have doubts regarding 

 the Black Cock, its habits being different from 

 the Capercailzie; however the subject is in- 

 teresting, and we trust our rich sportsmen will 

 not overlook it. — C. 



To J. M. LeMoine, Esq., President Literary 

 and Historical Society, Quebec. 



Dear Sir, — As President of a Society own- 

 ing an extensive collection of birds as well as 

 on accOrnt of the efforts you have made to in- 

 crease and protect the game of Canada and to 

 popularize the study ot Natural History, I beg 

 to draw your attention to the splendid speci- 

 men of the English pheasant, black cock and 

 capercailzie, which I now send to your rooms 

 for exhibition. You are no doubt aware that 

 the capercailzie is a northern specie, a denizen 

 of Norway, living on the top of pines and spruce 

 as lofty as our own ; you are no doubt also 

 congnizant of this fact that the Duke of Suther- 

 land and the Earl of Fyfe have succeeded in 

 adding to the Scotch fauna, the magnificent 

 birds, which are now re-introduced and breed 

 abundantly in Scotland. Will no sportsman 

 take the lead in a movement to introduce this 

 bird and naturalize him in Canada? Await- 

 ing for an expression of your views, 

 I remain, dear Sir, 



Yours respectfully, 



A. Watters. 



Quebec, 4th November, 1881. 



Rooms of the Literary and Historical 

 Society. 

 Quebec, 4th November, 1881. 

 To Mr. A. Watters, Quebec: — 



Dear Sir, — I have pleasure in acknowledg- 

 ing the receipt of your letter of this date, ad- 

 vising me that you have sent on exhibition to 

 our rooms, some remarkable handsome Eng^ 

 lish pheasants — black cock and capercailzie, 

 as specimens of the art of Scotch taxidermists, 

 and asking my opinion as to the practicability 

 of adding to our fauna, the splendid game bird, 

 known as the capercailzie. It is now some 

 time since I pressed this very subject on the 

 attention of some of my sporting friends. The 

 etlorts of Col. Rhodes to introduce here the 

 European house sparrow, show what energy 

 and hard cash can do, and I trust the same 

 success will attend the Colonel's praiseworthy 



