ORNITHOLOGY IN 1851. 
on the shore beside it, and had not yet arranged our sleeping places 
when a Canada goose alighted in the pool. On the 14th the Indian 
saw gulls ; on the 18th, snow geese and various small birds came, 
together with the pretty little gull, named Xenia bonapartii , which, 
in large flocks, sought for insects in the open water now forming 
along 1 the shores of the smaller lakes. On the 22d, bands of snow 
geese passed to the north-west, flying high. They evidently found 
the country about Fort Franklin still too closely wrapped in its 
winter garb, and- were winging their way to the valley of the 
Mackenzie, where the season is earlier. 
Geese, according to Mr. Bell’s information, arrive at Peel Biver 
Fort, upwards of two degrees farther north, from the 12th to the 
15th of May, rarely varying above a day or two, the 15th being 
the date of their coming in backward seasons. At that time they 
find the marshy places bare of snow, and can procure the roots of 
bents and other plants on which they feed. There, as elsewhere, 
the Canada Geese precede the snow geese a day or two. The Hut- 
chin’s geese (commonly called “ Eskimo geese” in Bupert’s Land) 
come later, and pass high overhead towards the north. The Indians 
believe that a small finch ( Plectrophanes lapponica) avails itself of 
the strength of wing of the Hutchin’s goose, and nestles among its 
feathers during its flight. When a goose is shot, they often see the 
small bird flying from it. Neither Mr. Bac nor I noticed such an 
occurrence, nor did I obtain a confirmation of it from the personal 
observation of any of the gentlemen resident in the country ; but it 
is geneially affirmed by the Indians. The laughing geese passed 
I oi t Fi anklin a few days later than the snow geese, but a single 
individual was often seen some days before the arrival of the main 
body, associated with a flock of snow geese, and generally acting as 
leader, by assuming a station in the apex of the angle in which they 
fly. About the same time the American Bobin or migratory thrush, 
came with the Yellow-poll and Black and Yellow Warblers (Sylvia 
(estiva et maculosa). The latter fed on the berries of the Alpine 
Arbutus as did likewise the Golden Plovers, whose stomachs also 
contamed the juicy fruit of the Empetrum nigrum. The Eskimo 
m lew at this time fed on large ants. It would appear that these 
sects descend to the stomachs of the curlews alive, since I found 
S thT ’ m" g tak6n faSt ll ° ld ° f the Uni "g of the gullet 
ithen mandibles, remained sticking there, and even after death. 
