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THu CANADIAN SPORTSMAN AND NATURALIST. 



and the gopher, Spermophilus tridecimlineatus 

 Mitchell, are very numerous and the prairie is 

 everywhere riddled with their burrows. The 

 pretty jumping mouse Zapus Hudsonius, 

 Coues, is common wherever there is brush- 

 wood. We have several species of Arvicula. 

 Arvicola riparius, Ord. A. riparius, var. 

 borealis, Rich. Arvicola xanthoguathus, 

 Leach, and some undetermined forms. They 

 abound everywhere except on sandy plains, 

 and supply an abundance of food lor diurnal 

 birds of prey. The Hying squirrel, Sciurop- 

 'terus volucella, Pallas, or rather S. volucella, 

 var. Hudsonius, Gmelin, is common in 

 wooded sections ; they differ very little from 

 Muskoks specimens, except that the fur is 

 longer and denser. We also have the red 

 squirrel, Sciurus Hudsonius, Pallas, where 

 there is large timber; they do not differ 

 very much from those you find down the glen 

 in St. James' Cemetery. The northern hare, 

 Lepus Americanus, Exl., var. Americanus 

 is also common, preferring wooded sections to 

 open prairie. The western porcupine, Erethi- 

 zon dorsatus, Linn. var. exipantlius, is often 

 found on open prairie a long distance from 

 this. As a check on the increase of these 

 plant eating animals we have a number of 

 carnivorous species, the coyote, Canis latrans, 

 Say, common everywhere; the timber wolf, 

 Canis lupus, Linn., found in wooded sections ; 

 the red fox, Vulpes vulgaris, Flem., of which 

 there are several varieties ; the badger, Taxidea 

 Americanus, Bodd., a fierce and greedy foe, 

 also several species of the Mustelida?. The 

 wild cat Lynx rufus, Raf., is occasionally seen 

 but they are small and not at all formidable. 

 The moose, Alee Americanus, Jard., the cari- 

 bou, Rangifer caribou, And., the elk, Cervus 

 Canadensis, Exl.; the re.t deer, Cariacus 

 Virginianus, Gray.; the jumping deer, Cervus 

 macrotis, Say., are all more or less common. 

 The bear Ursus Americanus, Pallas, is re- 

 presented by the usual varieties, black, brown 

 and cinnamon. Prom Cypress Hills and along 

 the rockies, to far up into the Peace River 

 section is the haunt of the grizzly and whoever 

 desires a skull must hunt for it there. This 

 country seems particularly favorable to birds. 

 I have seen nearly all the birds I knew in 

 Ontario and many that are not found there, or 

 only as occasional visitors. One reason for 

 the abundance of species here is, I think, that 

 in their spring migrations northward they keep 

 in the valley of the Mississippi and being 

 hemmed on the east by the great lakes and on 



the west by the Rocky Mountains they have 

 an uninterrupted course to Manitoba and the 

 North-west. The security they have enjoyed 

 for ages, during the breeding season is no 

 doubt a great attraction, and accounts for the 

 wonderful abundance of individuals, and the 

 vast tract- of land — not fit for settlement — will 

 afford cover for the most timid for years to 

 come. The advantages here of studying bird 

 life, of collecting specimens is quite to be 

 envied ; indeed so many birds build here that 

 last summer, I am sure,- I could have col- 

 lected a waggon load of eggs of many species. 

 As a general rule, the trees here are small, 

 and nests easily got at. I have seen dozens of 

 nests of the common buzzard Buteo Swainsoni, 

 Bon., within easy reach from the ground in 

 oak shrubs and poplar thickets. The nests of 

 the brown thrush, Harporynclius rufus, Cab., 

 are especially numerous in all low thickets 

 and just as up the Don or down the railway 

 track from Toronto, the male bird sits on the 

 topmost branch and pours out his cheering 

 love song with vigor and variety. The veery, 

 Turdus fuscescens, Bd., the wood thrush, 

 Tardus musfelinus, Bd., and the robin Turdus 

 migratorius, L., are all very common, the 

 robins especially so; they sometimes remain 

 until quite late in the fall. I got a specimen 

 last October after snow had fallen. Warblers 

 kinglets and wrens abound and their nests are 

 seen everywhere, when the leaves are off the 

 trees. The ruby crowned kinglet, Regulus 

 calendula, L., is quite common and in early 

 spring when the azure bloom of the sand flower 

 covers the prairie and its lragrance fills the air, 

 when halt opened leaves deck trees in the 

 freshest green, the cheery musical song of this 

 pretty little bird is heard as it darts among the 

 willow blossoms. The chicadee, Paras atrir 

 capillius, L., remains here during the winter, 

 and I have noticed with this as well as other 

 birds that winter here, that the plumage is 

 ample, soft and downy and that when it is cold 

 they erect their feathers- — apparently without 

 effort — so as to appear much enlarged, present- 

 ing a greater depth of feather and of course a 

 better protection from cold. The nuthatch, 

 Sitta Carolinensis, Gmelin; the house wren, 

 Troglodytes aedon, Vied.; the longbilled marsh 

 wren, Cisiotliorus palnstris, Wilson, are com- 

 mon ; the last around marshes and sloughs 

 and in early morning, its peculiar note may be 

 detected amid the chorus of red-winged black 

 birds, the discordant laughing of mud hens, 

 the trumpeting of the whooping crane, over 



