136 



THE CANADIAN SPORTSMAN AND NATURALIST. 



ORNITHOLOGICAL QUERIES. 



In former numbers of this journal we have 

 asked for information regarding the economy 

 of certain birds inhabiting Canada, of which 

 very little is known. The natural history of 

 the following species appears to us, worthy of 

 further investigation. 



The Gray Sea Eagle or Ern (Baliceius albi- 

 cilla) It was described by Cuvier. Now, 

 there is a doubt expressed by American orni- 

 thologists as to its being a true species. An 

 eagle resembling the European Ern occurs in 

 Canada to which the name Gray Sea Eagle is 

 applied, but some persons contend that it is 

 only the young of the Bald Eagle. Mr. R. 

 Rowe, of St. John, N.B., writes to ask " If the 

 female of Halicetus leucocephalus (Bald Eagle) 

 has plumage same as male — i. e. — with white 

 head and tail. I am inclined to think that 

 the female has not the white head and tail. 

 I saw a pair this fall, one had head and tail 

 like snow, and the other which I concluded 

 was the female, was brown. I am speaking of 

 course of mature plumage. If I had had my 

 rifle with me at the time, I believe I could 

 have killed the two, as they were not twenty 

 yards from me, and both in a line sitting on an 

 old stump." Can any of our correspondents 

 inform us if the Northern Sea Eagle (H pela- 

 gicus, Siebold), has been shot in Canada? 

 These three eagles are evidently mixed up in 

 such a way that it will take some time to 

 separate them properly. Have ornithologists 

 compared the eggs of H. pelagicus with those 

 of H. leucocephalus, or can the egg of H 

 albicilla be produced as identified ? 



Golden-crested Wren, (Regulus satrapa, 

 Licht.) I saw this species feeding its young 

 at Mingan on the North Shore of the Lower 

 St. Lawrence. Has its nest been found in 

 Nova Scotia, New Brunswick or the Western 

 portion of the Province of Quebec? 



Tit Lark (Anthus ludovicianus, Licht.) This 

 species visits the Provinces of Ontario and 

 Quebec in the Fall ; is said to nest in high 

 latitudes. The bird is terrestrial and possibly 

 the nest may approach the form of that of a 

 Melospiza, and may therefore be overlooked. 

 I have never noticed the Tit Lark in Ontario 

 or Quebec in Slimmer, hence it is questionable 

 if it nests in the vicinity of latitude 46. 



Blackburnian Warbler (Dendroica Black- 

 burniae.) This pretty warbler passes north 

 through our forests about the middle of May. 

 Has its nest been found in New Brunswick 

 or Nova Scotia? I saw numbers of this 



species in the woods of Labrador on the 17th 

 June, but could not discover the nest. I 

 found the nest of the Black and Yellow 

 Warbler (Z>. maculosa) at Natashquan on the 

 latter date. 



The Evening Grosbeak (Resperiphona vesper- 

 Una, Bon.) Occurs in Western Ontario. Can 

 any of our correspondents send us a descrip- 

 tion of its nest, and the geographical range of 

 the bird in Canada? How far East has it 

 been noticed in Ontario? 



The Pine Pinch (Chrysomitris pinus, Bon.) 

 Has this bird been found breeding in Canada? 



The Lesser Red-poll (Aegiothus linaria, Cab.) 

 Two species of Red-poll are sometimes com- 

 mon in the Province of Quebec in the Fall, 

 but I have not yet met with a person who 

 found their nests in Canada. 



The Sea-side Finch (Ammodromus maratimus, 

 Sw.) Can any of our Nova Scotian or New. 

 Brunswick ornithologists inform us if this 

 finch breeds within their Provinces? I found 

 nests of a finch on the Labrador coast which 

 I took for this species, but at the time had no 

 facility to identify them. 



The Tree Sparrow (Spizella monticola, Baird.) 

 This is another species which appears in the 

 Province of Quebec. It passes north in April. 

 The Fall birds are mostly all young. Probably 

 they nest in the woods on the Laurentian 

 Mountains. I would like to obtain information 

 regarding the nest of this species. 



The Magpie {Pica Hudsonicus, Bon.) This 

 bird is said to frequent the vicinity of Lake 

 Superior. Has its nest been discovered near 

 the latter region ? C. 



BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY 

 SOCIETY OF NEW BRUNSWICK. 



The first proceedings of the Natural History 

 Society of New Brunswick are before us ; the 

 matter, scientifically viewed, is fully equal 

 to that issued by older institutions. It con- 

 tains a catalogue of the birds of New Bruns- 

 wick, by Mr. Montague Chamberlain, who 

 appends brief notes relating to their migrations, 

 breeding, &c. The discovery of the breeding 

 localities of birds forms the most important 

 research in Ornithology at this age of human 

 inquiry, and a compiler of matter relating to 

 this portion of American bird history, should 

 certainly be encouraged in order to have it 

 authentic. From Mr. Chamberlain's notes we 

 obtain new information regarding a few spe- 

 cies which were heretofore considered myste- 

 rious as to their breeding places, and we wish 



