54 
Capt. Blakiston on the Birds of the 
bands; and nothing astonished me more than the immense num¬ 
ber of these birds which were migrating northwards, favoured 
by a southerly breeze, at Red River Settlement, on the 26th of 
April, 1859. This was also the date that the first was seen at 
Fort Carlton on the Saskatchawan the previous year. By cut¬ 
ting down a hollow tree near Fort Carlton, I obtained the eggs; 
they were nine in number, perfectly white of course, and laid in 
finely chopped dry decayed wood. 
25. Colaptes mexicanus. 
Colaptes hyhridus. 
Being at the time ignorant of the existence of more than one 
species of this genus, I did not take any particular trouble to 
collect specimens in the interior of the continent, and conse¬ 
quently I am now in doubt of what species were numbers of 
“ Flickers ” which I observed in large congregations on either 
slope of the Rocky Mountains in the autumn of 1858. M. 
Bourgeau, the indefatigable botanical collector of Captain Pal- 
liser's Exploring Expedition, obtained one specimen on the Sas¬ 
katchawan Plains; but whether it was C. mexicanus of Swainson, 
or the hybrid bird which is so plentiful on the upper waters of 
the Missouri, I was not able to determine, as I had not an op¬ 
portunity of examining the specimen after my return to England. 
Order III. INSESSORES. 
Trochilus, sp. 
There seems to be some doubt as to which of three species, 
colubris , rufus, or platycercus, inhabits the northern interior 
of the American continent. On the authority of the f Fauna 
Bor.-Am.,’ Humming-birds are found to range up to 5 7° N. lat. 
They are known about the gardens of the inhabitants of Red 
River Settlement, while I observed certain birds of this family 
both at the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains and in the 
valley of the head waters of the Flathead River, which lies 
between the eastern and western ranges of the chain, where I 
crossed it a few miles north of American territory. All I can 
say about them is that the general colour was brown, with a 
light throat. 
