402 



NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA. 



[NO. 27. 



a few on Smith Portage, August 4, and on the Athabaska near House | 

 Eiver, August 24, and noted it daily between Athabaska Landing 

 and Edmonton, September 2 to 4. 



During Franklin's first journey to the Arctic Sea, the Canada jay 

 was observed at Fort Enterprise, and was noted as one of the four 

 birds which still remained there at the end of October, 1820." In 

 the following spring some young birds made their appearance about 

 the house on June 11.^ On Franklin's second northern journey it 

 was noted at Fort Franklin, Great Bear Lake, about the last of 

 October, 1825,^ and Avas seen by Richardson on the lower Coppermine 

 late in the following summer.*^ A young bird taken at Fort Frank- 

 lin, May 26, 1826, was the basis of the name Garrulus hrachyrhyn- 

 clmis.^ King noted the species at Fort Reliance, at the eastern end 

 of Great Slave Lake, in the winter of 1833-34; f and Simpson recorded 

 it from Fort Confidence, Great Bear Lake, in the winter of 1837-38.^' 

 Ross recorded the bird as being abundant in the Mackenzie River 

 region north to La Pierre House, as wintering, and as having been 

 taken at Fort Simpson.'* Li the Anderson RiA^er region, MacFarlane 

 found the species tolerably numerous throughout the wooded coun- 

 try, and obtained its eggs. A nest found May 11, 1863, contained 

 two young birds a few days old and a fresh egg. Another nest con- 

 tained four eggs, the contents of which were in different stages of 

 development.^ In notes sent to the Smithsonian, he speaks of seeing 

 the species at the crossing of Horton River, near the head of Frank- 

 lin Bay, during one of his summer trips. The bird catalogue of the 

 National Museum shows that skins Avere recei^^ed from Fort Rae, 

 Big Island, Fort Simpson, Fort Liard, and Fort Anderson; and 

 Strachan Jones sent both skins and eggs from Lesser SlaA^e Lake. 

 Eggs collected, together Avith the female parent, at Pelican Narrows, 

 eastern SaskatcheAvan, by H. MacKay in March, 1891, Avere re- 

 ceiA^ed by the National Museum through MacFarlane.-' In a manu- 

 script list recently sent me, he records a nest containing fiA^e fresh 

 eggs, found at Green Lake, Saskatchewan, March 28, 1880, by W. S. 

 Simpson. Another nest containing four eggs, Avhich were adA^anced 

 in incubation, was discovered at Fort Providence on April 15, 1885. 

 A set of eggs taken by G. A. Ball at Athabaska Landing, Alberta, 



« Narrative Journey to Polar Sea, p. 247, 1823. 

 » Ibid., p. 315, 1823. 



^ Narrative Second Expedition to Polar Sea, p. 60, 1828. 

 ^ Ibid., p. 271, 1828. 



^ Fauna Boreali-Americana, II, p. 297, 1831. 



f Narrative Journey to Arctic Ocean, I, p. 166, 1836. 



^' Narrative Discoveries on Nortli Coast of America, p. 216, 1843. 



^^Nat. Hist. Rev., II (second ser.), p. 283, 1862. 



* Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XIV, p. 439, 1891. 



3 Life Hist. N. A. Birds [II], p. 388, 1896. 



