On hot, calm days in the region of
Lake Winnipeg the cranes soar to an amazing height, flying in circles,
till by degrees they are almost out of sight. Yet their loud note
sounds so distinct and near that the spectator might fancy they were
close to him.
[Footnote 4: _Mazama americana_, similar to, but quite distinct from,
the larger mule deer of British Columbia.]
[Footnote 5: The prongbuck (_Antilocapra americana_) is not a true
antelope, though in outward appearance it resembles a large gazelle.
It was called "cabri" by the French Canadians.]
[Footnote 6: "Bears make prodigious ravages in the brush and willows;
the plum trees, and every tree that bears fruit share the same fate.
The tops of the oaks are also very roughly handled, broken, and torn
down, to get the acorns. The havoc they commit is astonishing...."
--Alex. Henry, jun.]
The air at this season is full of great birds--eagles, buzzards,
hawks, and falcons--soaring in circles to look out for prey among the
flocks of wild swans, white geese, bernicle geese and brent geese,
duck and teal, which cover the backwaters and the marshes and shallow
lagoons. Turkey buzzards, coming up from the south, act as scavengers
during the summer months. Immense flocks of passenger pigeons,
buntings, grosbeaks, attack the ripening fruits and the wild rice of
the swamps.
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