190S.] 



BIKDS. 



277 



reports the bird abundant on Great Slave Lake, and northeast to 

 Clint on- C olden Lake in 190T.« 



Lophodytes cucullatus (Linn.). Hooded Merganser. 



This beautiful merganser is a rather rare summer resident north 

 to Great Slave Lake and the upper Mackenzie. While ascending the 

 Mackenzie in the autumn of 1903 I observed a fine male a few miles 

 below Fort Wrigley, October 9. This seems to be the most northern 

 record for the region. 



Ross seems to have been the first to record the hooded merganser 

 from thi< region, noting it as being rare north to Great Slave Lake.^ 

 Baird. Brewer, and Ridgway recorded specimens collected at Fort 

 Resolution by J. Lockhart.'' J. Alden Loring reported taking one on 

 Fishing Lake, a few miles west of Jasper House, Alberta, in the sum- 

 mer of 1895, and saw another, which had been killed on Spotted Lake, 

 GO miles west of Edmonton, Xovember 3, 1896. A specimen in the 

 National Museum (Xo. 121:705) labeled Lac du Brochet, May 18, 1891, 

 was collected at the post of that name on Reindeer Lake. The Hud- 

 son's Bay Comi^any museum at Fort Simpson contained a mounted 

 specimen, but I did not ascertain its locality. 



Anas platyrhynchos Linn. Mallard. 



One of the most abundant and generally distributed ducks through- 

 out the wooded region. In 1901 we noted it daily on the Atha- 

 baska ]jetween xVthabaska Landing and Fort Chipewyan, Mixj 6 to 

 IT. A ne.^t found near the bank of the river about 50 miles above 

 Athabaska Lake, Ma}" 10, contained 9 eggs about one day incubated. 

 We noted the bird ahnost daily while collecting at Fort Chipewyan, 

 while descending Slave River, and at Fort Smith. We saw^ females 

 Avith young a few days old in the marsh near the latter place, June 

 20 and 27; found the species common on lower Slave River July 

 2 to -t, collecting an adult male July 3 ; and noted the species several 

 times at Fort Resolution during July. While crossing Great Slave 

 Lake I noted it near the mouth of the Northern Arm July 15, and 

 oljserved females with young about a week old among the islands 

 near Yellowknife Ba}^ Ji^ily 16, and at Trout Rock, July IT. While 

 on our return trip we noted the species on Smith Portage August 5, 

 at Fort Chipewyan August 8, near Crooked Rapid August 15, and 

 below Pelican Rapid August 23. 



In 1903 we saw mallards at Edmonton, Alberta, May 10, and nearly 

 every day on the way to Athabaska Landing, May 11 to 15, and 

 between there and Fort Chipewyan, May 10 to June 2. We found 

 the species common also along our route between Fort Chipewyan 



«Aiik, XXV, p. 69, 1908. 



&Xat. Hist. Rev., II (second ser.), p. 288, 1862. 

 Water Birds X. A., II, p. 124, 1884. 



