SHOVELLER 13 



Farther east the species is said to have bred along the Yukon (Baird, Brewer and Ridgway, 1884) 

 and it has been met with rarely on the lower MacKenzie, at Fort Good Hope, Fort Simpson and even 

 on the Anderson River (R. MacFarlane, 1908; Preble, 1908). Stefansson was told that « , 

 six specimens had been shot at the mouth of the Horton River. But the species pro- 

 bably does not go regularly north of the Great Slave Lake — Fort Rae and Fort Resolution (Baird, 

 Brewer and Ridgway, 1884) — or even Lake Athabasca where small numbers are found in the 

 Athabasca delta near Fort Chipewyan (Frank Russell, 1898; Harper, MS.). In the southern parts 

 of western Canada it is a regular breeding species. Though rare on Vancouver Island it is a common 

 bird in southern British Columbia, along the lower Fraser and at Okanagan Lake (Brooks, fide Ker- 

 mode, 1904), but it is a scarce breeder in the Cariboo district (A. Brooks, 1903). In northern Alberta, 

 Spreadborough (fide J. and J. M. Macoun, 1909) met with it everywhere between Lesser Slave Lake 

 and Peace River Landing, while Seton (1911) found it along the Athabasca. Preble (1908) speaks of 

 it as fairly common in this region and lists a number of localities where it was found. Farther south 

 it has been found breeding at Buffalo Lake, Banff and Lake Ste. Anne (J. and J. M. Macoun, 1909) 

 and in eastern Alberta it is an abundant breeder (W. S. Brooks and Cobb, 1911). In the northern 

 parts of Saskatchewan it is probably rare, but Buchanan (1920) found it numerous along the Churchill 

 River and R. MacFarlane (1908) has recorded it from Moose Lake and Cumberland House. It is a 

 common breeding bird on Crane Lake (J. and J. M. Macoun, 1909) and nests plentifully in south- 

 western Saskatchewan (Bent, 1907; Ferry, 1910; and others). In Manitoba also it is an abundant 

 breeder from Lake Winnipeg west (E. E. Thompson, 1891; Taverner, 1919) but the range does not 

 extend into the Keewatin region, though specimens have been taken at Trout Lake and even at 

 Moose Factory (Preble, 1902). 



In the United States the Shoveller breeds not uncommonly in Washington, east of the Cascades 

 (W. L. Dawson and Bowles, 1909) and in eastern Oregon (Pope, 1895-96). A small number nest in 

 California, chiefly in the north, and sporadically as far south as Los Angeles County United 

 (Grinnell, Bryant and Storer, 1918). It is known to have nested in a number of local- States 

 ities in Montana where on the plains it is a common nesting species (A. A. Saunders, 1921 ; and others) 

 and it does so in Idaho, where it is a fairly common bird (Rust, 1915; U.S. Biological Survey records). 

 Hoffman (1881) states that it was common at Pyramid Lake, Nevada, in May; G. G. Cantwell 

 (U.S. Biological Survey) reported it breeding on the Oregon bird reserves, and Wetmore (1921) found 

 it a rather plentiful breeding bird on the Bear River marshes, Utah. Mearns (1890) met with the 

 species in May and June in the Mogollon Mountains, Arizona, and it seems reasonable to suppose that 

 it breeds there, for at Lake Burford, New Mexico, Wetmore (1920) found a small number nesting. 

 This duck breeds regularly in suitable localities in Colorado (W. L. Sclater, 1912) and is a fairly com- 

 mon breeder in Wyoming (W. C. Knight, 1902; Grave and Walker, 1913). In North Dakota it is an 

 abundant nesting bird (Bent, 1901-02) and in South Dakota it breeds regularly in some localities 

 (McChesney, 1879; Visher, 1909, 1913). Oberholser (1920) found it breeding in great numbers in the 

 sandhill district of western Nebraska, but in Kansas it is a rare bird in summer (Goss, 1891; Bunker, 

 1913). There are breeding records for St. Paul and a few points in southern Minnesota (Hatch, 1892; 

 U.S. Biological Survey), but though some of the birds spend the summer in northern Iowa, there is no 

 good breeding record for that State (R. M. Anderson, 1907). On the other hand there is a record of 

 Shovellers having nested in Clark County, Missouri (Widmann, 1907). According to Kumlien and 

 HoUister (1903) the species is common and nests all over Wisconsin, but Woodruff (1907) speaks of 

 it as a very rare bird in summer about Chicago, Illinois. It is known to have nested in northwestern 

 Indiana (English Lake) and there are a number of other summer records (A. W. Butler, 1898). I do 

 not find a specific breeding record for Michigan, but Cooke (1906) states that the Shoveller nests 

 rarely in the southern part of that State. 



East of the Mississippi the Shoveller is, on the whole, a rare breeder, the records for localities east of 

 Michigan being quite exceptional. There are a few localities on the Canadian side of Lake Erie where 



