NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF THE MAGDALEN

lAA. Bishop on Birds of^theMagdalen Isla7ids. [April

available for

making

the observations.

The

general

form

of the curves will be seento be very similar; the first increase always takes place in the middle of February; andthe greatest increase duringthe last

week

^of Aprilandthe first

week

of

May

^; while the

maximum

isreached in the second

week

of the latter month.

Finally,

comparing

curves

A and T and BandT,Fig. 3, we see that there isno remarkable resemblance betweenthe temperature variation and the increase in the number of species; butquite a striking resemblance between the temperaturevariationand the

number

of species actually recorded. This is especially the case during the w^inter

and

early spring

when

it willbenoticed that almost every sudden increase in the

number

of species seen

was accompanied by

a corresponding rise in tempei'ature,

and

vice versa.

Such

investigations

and

comparisons asthe above

seem

to

me

to

form

one of the most interesting branches of the study of bird migration; and though the observations here recorded are too

few

to establish any general laws, I think that similar investiga- tions carried

on

for a

number

of yearsv\^ould bringto light

many

important facts in regardto the subject,

and would

perhaps sho"w that bird migration is

much more

regular than is generally svipposed.

NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF THE MAGDALEN

ISLANDS.

BY

DR. LOUIS B. BISHOP.

The following

^{list is}compiled exclusively

from

notestaken

by

my

friend,

Mr.

Robbins,

and

myself

between June

21

and

July iS, 1S87.

The

unfavoi^able weather during

most

ofthis period together withthe timelost in travelling

among

the islands proba- blycaused us to overlook

many

species; but I

am

at a loss to account for our failure to find such birds as

Ampelis

cedrortcm,

Empidonax

minlniits^PooccEtesgraniiiictis.,and

Parus

atricap-

illiis

which were

found

by Mr. Cory

to be tolerably

common

in

1878, particularly as both of us looked carefully for several of

1889.] Bishop onBirds of^llic Magdalcti /slaiids.

14C

them. Te:il

were

observed on

two

occasions by ]\Ir. Kobbins,

liut he

was

unaltle to deternihic tlie species. I have endeavored

to give asnearl}' aspossible the dates of breeding of the (HHer- ent species,

hoping

that they

may

be of assistance to oologists intending to \isit these islands.

The Magdalen

Islands aie so well

known

to naturalists thatanydescription of

them

here

w(ndd

beout of place,

and

the present status of the different species breedingattheBird

Rocks

hasbeen so well defined

by Mr. Lucas

in

'The Auk'

for April, iSSS, that any further

comment

^is un- necessary.

9

I. Colymbus auritus.

Horned

Grebe.

— One seenin a small pond

atEast Pointon June29,and the fragmentsofan eggofsome species of Grebe were found onthebeach nearby. Thepeoplelivingonthe islands callthis bird the Watei--witch. Itundoubtedly breeds, butis notatall

common.

3. Urinatorimber. Loon.

— One seen in the waters of the Gulf oft"

GrosseIsle on June25. Probabh'breeds.

3. Fraterculaarctica. Puffin.

—

Breeds abundantlyin twisting bur- rows on the top ofGreat Bird Rock, and in the crevices ofthecliff's on Bryon Island.

4. Cepphus grylle.

Black

Guillemot.

—

^Breeds abundantly inscat- tered coloniesonmostof the islands of the group.

None

were seenon the Bird Rocks.

5. Uriatroile. Murre.

— Common. Breedson BryonIsland and the

BirdRocks. Aboutadozenspecimens of the lately eliminated species U-ri7igvia, or, as atpresent considered, phaseof plumage of U. troile, were breeding on thecliffs ofGreatBird Rock. Asfar as

we

wereable to judgefrom thelimited timeatourdisposaltheywereinpairs, and seemed

tobeentitled to therank ofa distinct species.

An

e.gg obtainedby Mr.

Robbins from oneof these peculiarlymarked birds could not be distin- guishedfromthoseoftheotherMurres.

6. Urialomvia. BRtJNNiCH's

Murre. —Breeds abundantly on Great Bird Rock. SixMurresshotfrom thetop of theRockwereofthisspecies, and noneof thecommon Murres wereseen there.

7. Alcatorda. Razor-billed Auk.

—

Breeds, but notinlargenumbers, on Great BirdRock,BryonIsland, and EntryIsland.

On

GreatBirdRock

thisspecieswith Fraterculaarctica breeds principally near thetop ofthe cliffs, leaving thelowerledgesfortheGannets, Kittiwakesand Murres.

S. Rissa tridactyla. Kittiwake.

—

Breeds abundantly on Great Bird Rock, but wasnotobserved elsewhere

among

theislands.

9. Larus marinus.

Great

Black-backedGull.

— A

flockofbetween twenty and thirty intheadultplumage was observedon asandbaronthe

WestPoint ofAmherstIsland, July^9.

No

evidence of the breeding of thisspeciescould be obtained.

146

^Bishopon Birds of^theMagdalettIslands. [April

10. Larusargentatussmithsonianus.

American Herring

Gull.

—

Single individualswereseen atvariousdates. Probably itdoes not breed, althoughafew

may

on EastPoint.

11. Sterna hirundo.

Common

Tern.

—

Breeds abundantly onthesand beachesofinostof theislands.

13. Oceanodroma leucorhoa. Leach's Petrel.

—

^{Breeds in} small numbers on GreatBirdRock,BryonIsland, and probably on mostof the other islands, although

we

^were unable to find nests. I

am

indebted toMr. Lucas and Mr. Palmerfor theknowledge of the presence of this speciesonthe BirdRocks.

13. Sulabassana. Gannet.

—

-Breedsabundantly on the Bird Rocks.

The

fishermenandothers collectlarge numbersofMurres' and Gannets' eggs almostdailyduringthebreeding season.

14. Phalacrocorax dilophus. Double-crested

Cormorant. —It is

withgreat hesitation that I include thisspecies, asnone wereseen by eitherMr. Robbinsor myself.

A

fishermaninformed

me

that afew pairs of"'alargeblackbirdwithtwoplumesonthesidesof the head"yet nested on Shag^Rock,wherethis speciesformerly bredinconsiderablenumbers.

Healsoclaimedtohave found their eggs that summer. Unfortunately wewere unable tovisit Shag Rock ourselves to verifyor disprove his statement.

15. Merganser serrator. Red-breasted

Merganser. — Common,

breeding abundantly on some of the islands.

On

Seal Island,asmall islandafewacresinextentlyinginthelargelagoon nearGrand Entry,and thickly coveredwithalow growthof spruces,

we

found on June24in the space ofacouple of hours eight nests containing sixty-five eggs. The eggs wereallfresh andmostof the sets were incomplete, showing that this bird breeds very late. The nests were simply afew leaves and feathershidden under the overhanging branches ^ofa spruce,and were placed from tentofortyyardsfrom the water.

16. Anasobscura.

Black

Duck.

— -Common summer

resident,breed- inginthemarshes bordering^{the small}fresh-waterpondsinthecloseneigh- borhoodof thesaltwater.

17. Oidemiadeglandi.

White-winged

Scoter.

— Aflockofadozenor moreremained inthe waters of theGulf near Grindstone Island during our entire stay. However,Idonot thinkthat thisspeciesbreedsanywhere amongthe islands.

i8. Botauruslentiginosus.

American Bittern.— Common summer

resident,breedingintheopen swampsonallthe principalislands.

A

^set

of four slightly incubated eggs was taken on Grindstone Island on July 14.

19. Gallinago delicata. Wilson'sSnipe.

—

Abundant. Breedsplenti- fullyonall the islands. The young wereabletoflybythelatterpartof June.

20. Tringa minutilla. Least Sandpiper.

—

•

One

seenon Grindstone July5,andfour otherson_July 14. Probablydoes not breed.

21. Totanus melanoleucus.

Greater

Yellow-legs.

— We found a

iSSo.] Risnor(^'w Biriis of the Magclalen hhnid^.

147

Hockof iive on tlie borders ofasmall pond on Grindstone.July i6. I

thinkthatquite probablyafewbreed.

22. Actitismacularia.

Spotted

Sandpiper.

—

Rather

common,

breed- ini^on mostof theislands.

23. .^gialitis semipalmata.

Semipalmated

Plover.

—

Tolerably

common,

breedingonthe beachesnotfarfrom high-water mark.

24. iEgialitis meloda. Piping Plover.

— More common than the last, and breedinginthe same situations. Young fully fledgedbefore the middleofJuly. On the sand bar, abouthalfamile longand a hundred yards wide, stretching between Grindstone and All Right Islands, two pairsofthis species and three pairs of.<S.semipalmata were breeding.

The

Piping kepthalf of thebeachtothemselves, theSemipalmatedtaking the rest, neither species, as faras we wereable toobserve, ever ventur- ingon theterritorybelongingto theother.

25. Circus hudsonicus.

Marsh Hawk. —Not common. One seen June23.

26. Falco columbarius. Pigeon

Hawk. —Tolerablycommon summer

resident. Three noted.

One

seen on Entry July 8, a male taken on GrindstoneJuly 15,and anotherseennear the sameplace July 17.

The

Grindstonebirds were probablyapairbreeding.

27. Asio accipitrinus. Short-eared Owl.

—

^I sawan

Owl

that I

am

positive wasof thisspeciesin themarshesbetweenAllRight and Grand Entry on June 23, but as I was unable to shoot it the identification remains indoubt.

2S. Ceryle alcyon.

Belted

Kingfisher.

—

Abundant

summer

resi- dent,breedingon allthe islands. Itbreeds rather late,as a setof fresh eggswas takenat GrosseIsle,June28.

29. Dryobates villosus. Hairy

Woodpecker. — One

seen bv Mr.

Robbinson Grindstone, June 22.

30. Dryobates pubescens.

Downy Woodpecker. — One

seen on Grindstone, June^21.

31. Colaptes auratus. Flicker.

— Common, breeding on all the islands.

32. Tyrannustyrannus. Kingbird.

— One

seen and heard frequently on Grindstone on theafternoon ofJune21,thedayofourarrival. The nextday it wasgone,and no other Flycatcher could wefind on an_yof the islandsduring our entire visit, although Mr. Coryfound^;«^/rftf;/(7A;

minimusquite

common

in 1878.

33. Corvus coraxprincipalis.

Northern

Raven.

— Common.

Breeds onalltheislands,butmostfrequentlyon thoseleastinhabited.

34. Corvus americanus.

American

Crow.

—

Abundant, breeding on

all theislands,and showinglittle fearofman.

A

^{set of four}fresh eggs wastakenon Grindstone, June 22,withinfifteenyards ofabarn.

35. Scolecophaguscarolinus.

Rusty

Blackbird.

— Common. Breeds abundantly inthe swampsatEast ^oint. Theyappearedtohavefinished breedingbytheendof June.

36. Carpodacus purpureus. Purple Finch.

—

^{Rather rare.}

A

^male

148

^{Bishop onBirds'}of^theMagdalenIslands. ^[April

seen on Grindstone, June 23, and others heard singing on different occasions.

37. Loxiacurvirostra minor.

American

Crossbill.

—

Rare.

A

male seenon Grindstone, July^4.

38. Loxia leucoptera.

White-winged

^Crossbill.

— Common on

Grindstone andEntry,and probably onthe otherislands.

A

pair offully fledgedyoungweretakenon_July12.

39. Spinus pinus. Pine Siskin.

— One of the most abundant birds untiljuly 10. Theyfinish bi-eeding before thefirst of July, and by the twelfth mostofthemhavelefttheislands.

40.

Ammodramus

sandwichensis savanna.

Savanna

Sparrow.

—

Veryabundant, breedingineveryopenfield on the islands, especiallyin theneighborhood of the shore. Most of the SavannaSparrows taken wantedthe yellow onthewing,buta careful searchfailed to reveal any specimensof A. prhiceps.

41. Zonotrichia albicollis.

White-throated

Sparrow.

— Common,

nestingaboutthe lastof June.

42. Spizella pusilla. Field Sparrow.

— A pair of this species in

wornbreedingplumage weretakenon EntryIsland July8;they evidently had anestin theimmediatevicinity. Thisis, Ibelieve, themost north- ern record of thebreedingofthisspeciesonthe Atlantic coast.

43. Juncohyemalis. Slate-coloredJuNCo.

—

Breeds,but seems to be rather irregularly distributed

among

theislands,being

much

more com-

mon

on somethan on others.

44. Melospiza fasciata.

Song Sparrow.—

^Rather

common summer

resident. Ifound thisspeciesmoreabundant ontheopen hills, two hun- dred to threehundred and fiftyfeet above the sea, in the interior of EntryIslandthan anywhere else.

45. Melospiza georgiana.

Swamp

Sparrow.

—

Not as

common

as thelast.

A

^pairwere found breeding ina small

swamp

on Grindstone July 14, and several others seen later. The male of the pair taken July ^14, inclined to melanismin plumage and hadablack spot _.95 inch longby.45broad on theright sideof the breast.

The

femalewas an un- usually smallspecimen,the wingmeasuring^2.16andthetail2.28inches.

46. Passerellailiaca.

Fox

Sparrow.

—

^Rather

common,

breeding on

allthe islandsaboutthelastof June.

The

^{nestis larger thanthat}ofany otherSparrow withwhichI

am

acquainted.

47. Clivicola riparia.

Bank Swallow. —

Tolerably

common,

breed- ingon Grindstone.

48. Mniotilta varia. Black-and-white

Warbler. —Rare. A male

with the black of the throatalmostuninterrupted wastakenon Grindstone July 14,andafemaleobserved onthe 17th. Probablybreeds.

49. Dendroicasestiva.

Yellow Warbler. — Common summer

^resi-

dent.

50. Dendroicacoronata.

Myrtle Warbler. — Common summer

resi- dent,nesting ⁱⁿ thelatter partof June.

51. Dendroica maculosa.

Magnolia Warbler. —Rare. Amale taken onGrindstone, July 16.

iSR9-l B\?,uovo7i Htrffxof^f/irMagdctlev hlav(h.

^49

52. Dendroica striata.

—

Blackpoll

Warbler. — One

of the most abundantbirds,breeding everywhere. This birdandD.coronata choose thesamelocalities for their nests—densesprucethickets, but while D.

striata generally nestsclose to the trunk, D. coronata places its more spacious

home

outon ahorizontal branch. Fresh eggs were taken as lateasJuly^12.

53. Dendroica virens. Black-throated

Green Warbler. —Rare.

One

onlynoted, and as thatwas ^frequently heard singing at the same placeon Grindstone, itundoubtedly hada nestinthevicinity.

54. Seiurusaurocapillus. Ovenbird.

—

Tolerably

common

on Grind- stone, where one wasseen by Mr. Robbins, and othersheard singingon various occasionsbyus both.

55. Seiurusnoveboracensis. Water-thrush.

—

^Ratherrare.

One

taken on Grindstone July 15, and anotherseenon the i6th.

56. Geothlypis trichas.

Maryland Yellowthroat. —

^{I hardly like}

to include this species, as, although we found it fairly

common

in

Nova

Scotia,and are bothpositivethatweheard itssong

many

times on the Magdalens, Iwas unable toobtainasinglespecimen.

57. Setophaga ^ruticilla.

American

Redstart.

—

^Abundant

summer

resident, especially on Grindstone. Strange to say we saw aboutten fe-

malesto one male; theyoungcould nothave been fledged at the time ofourvisit.

58. Troglodytes hiemalis.

Winter Wren. —Tolerably common,

heard

much

morefrequently than seen.

59. Sittacanadensis. Red-breasted

Nuthatch. —

Tolerably

common summer

resident.

60. Parus hudsonicus.

Hudsonian

Chickadee.

— Common. Young

fledgedby_Julyi. Thiswasthe only Chickadee found on theislands, al-

though a careful searchwas

made

for P. atricapillus which Mr. Cory found moreabundant thanthe presentspecies.

61. Regulus satrapa.

Golden-crowned

Kinglet.

—

Abundant, breedingonallthe islands.

A

nesttakenby Mr.Robbins on Grindstone July 16,wassituated ina spruce,aboutthirty-five feetfromtheground. It

wasfii-mlyattachedbythebrimtothebranchabove and atthe sametime restedon,andwasslightly fastened to,the smallbranches below.

The

youngat thisdate were abletofly.

62. Turdusfuscescens. Wilson'sThrush.

— Common summer resi-

dent.

63. Turdusaliciae. Alice'sThrush.

— Onetaken, and others that I

am

confidentwereofthisspeciesobserved,ⁱⁿan extremelythickgrowthof small spruceson Grindstone _July 15. Probably breeds.

The

measure- mentsof the bird taken are: wing, 3.69; tail,2.99; culmen, 0.52, and tarsus, 1.14inches.

64. Turdus ustulatus swainsonii. Olive-backed Thrush.

—

Noted

severaltimes,but^is not

common.

Breeds.

65. Turdus aonalaschkaepallasii.

Hermit

Thrush.

— Common,breed ingonmostof theislands. Iwasquite surprisedto findasingle bird of

I

Co

Bendire, Nest and

Eggs

of Zonotrichiaquerula. ^[April

this species apparently thoroughlyat

home

on GreatBirdRock.

A

more unsuitable placefor a bird fond of thedeep woodscannotbeimagined.

66. Merulamigratoria.

American

^Robin.

—

Veryabundant, breeding everywhere. Mostofthe nests containedfresheggs at the time of our arrival.

DESCRIPnON OF THE SUPPOSED NEST AND EGGS OF ZONOTRICHIA QUERULA,

HARRIS'S SPARROW.

BY

CAPT.

CHARLES

E.

BENDIRE.

For

the purpose of

drawing

the attention of ornithologists located along thenorthern border of

Montana and

Dakota, and throughout southern British

North

America, to the fact that the nest

and

eggs ofthisinterestingspecies remainstill

unknown, and

to the probability of its breeding in these regions, instead ot further north, I will state that

none

of the large collections of birds, nests and eggs

made by

the following gentlemen of the

Hudson's Bay Company,

Robert

McFarlane,

Strachan Jones, T.

McDougall, Donald Gunn,

C. P. Gaudet,

and

_J. Lockhart,

and which were

donated to the Smithsonian Institutionat

Washing-

ton,

D. C,

contained specimens of this species, although repre- senting nearly every other birdto be found breeding throughout the vast interior of the former

Hudson's Bay

^Territory.

The

explorations

made by

these gentlemen

were

thorough and con- tinued through several seasons, and, chiefly through the

good

efforts of

Mr.

Robert Kennicott, all theirvaluable field notes

and

an

immense amount

ofmaterial

were

brought together.

From

thefact thatno specimens of Zonoti'ichla qtierula

were

obtained throughout the explorations,

which

extended well into theArctic Circle,

and began

about the 54tli parallel, Inecessarily believe that the

summer home

of Harris's Sparrow, if properly lookedfor, willbe found along thefoothills of the

Bearpaw

and Chief

Mountains

in

Montana,

along the Turtle

Mountains

ⁱⁿ Dakota,

and

their centre of

abundance

probably near

Duck

Mountain, Manitoba, aswell as in suitable localitiesin the Terri- tories ofAlberta

and

Assiniboia, south of Lat. 54°.