AN ASSESSMENT OF WALTER RAINE AND HIS RECORDS

C. STUART HOUSTON, 863 University Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. S7N 0J8

Walter Raine was born in Leeds, 1901 photographs were used by England, on 15 September 1861. He Reed.23 emigrated to Toronto, in 1884 My Interest in Raine: and worked as a lithographic engraver and watercolour artist, for Hough and In my 35 years of study of the history Harris Co. and later for Howell. of Saskatchewan ornithology, by far the most perplexing problem has been His obsessive life-long hobby and after-hours business was oology. He whether to use, or how to use, the bought and sold birds’ eggs from his records of Walter Raine. Raine certainly! home when egg collecting was a more made some serious errors in iden-j flourishing hobby than stamp collecting tification, especially in his early years,! but I have never been convinced that and indeed he had one of the largest these justified wholesale rejection of all such businesses in North America. At of his records. one time, Raine’s collection of 50,000 eggs was the largest in Canada. He won Extreme views have been held. The prizes for his egg displays at the Toronto late James L. Baillie, Jr., of the Royal fair, displaying items such as a case of Ontario Museum of Zoology advised me 50 eggs of the Golden Eagle. Raine on 14 August 1947 that any record that! published accounts of his 1891 and had passed through the hands of Walter 1893 egg-collecting trips to Saskat¬ Raine should be rejected. Baillie in turn! chewan,1415 his 1901 records were had received the following advice! quoted by John Macoun1011 12 and his regarding Raine in a letter from P. A

Walter Raine with his display at the Toronto fair (3 large cases of eggs). GOLDEN EAGLE COLttCtilH OF Walter uaine O f* O bt T <> C A A, «> a.

Golden Eagle eggs — display of 50 (about 1910).

Taverner on 19 December 1934: the study skin using arsenic paste. The “I think we had better disregard boys were intensely interested in wildlife everything he ever said or did unless and times were hard. They received a supported by contributory evidence. little pocket money for their efforts, Have no doubt that the majority of his usually ten cents per skin and a few records are perfectly good but if they cents for each egg.6 are in agreement with our under¬ In June 1901, Walter Raine spent at standing they add nothing to our knowledge and if they are contrary least eight days at Crescent Lake, using they cannot be relied upon. Either way the Baines farm as his base. During this they are usless. Too bad.” visit, Raine obtained beautiful photographs of nests of the Horned At that time I showed Baillie’s letter to Grebe, Sandhill Crane, Marbled Godwit "rank Baines, the first Yorkton area and Upland Sandpiper, which were naturalist, who vehemently defended published in Reed’s book in 1904.23 Maine’s integrity and reported from his John Macoun quoted a number of nersonal experience that “Walter Raine Raine’s sightings made during this visit, was a perfect English gentleman.” when Raine found “close upon thirty Fred and Frank Baines were lads of nests” of the Swainson’s Hawk, each sight and five years of age when their with three eggs.11 1213 Between 2 and 5 sarents settled in 1883 along the June 1901, Raine collected at least four southeast shore of Crescent Lake, 10 sets of eggs of the Merlin, three of which miles west of the later site of Saltcoats, are now in the Field Museum in Chicago Saskatchewan. From 1895 until the turn and one in the Museum of Vertebrate sf the century the Baines boys had been Zoology at Berkeley, California.7 Since :ollectors for Walter Raine. Eggs were this was Raine’s only known intensive slown before shipment to Toronto and study area in “northern Assiniboia”, sften the parent bird was collected for there can be little doubt that Crescent certain identification, with Frank making Lake was also the locality where Raine

September 1981. 39(3) 169 that year found “about a dozen nests” of Warren and was invited to spend an the Ferruginous Hawk. evening at her home during my next visit to Toronto the following month. There I CONTACT WITH RAINE’S FAMILY: was also able to visit with two of Raine’s In September 1977, when I had an daughters, Mrs. Ada Heppinstall and hour to spare in the Toronto airport en Mrs. Alice Stewart, both aunts of Mrs. route from Boston, and after scanning Warren. 16 Raine listings in the Toronto The family supplied biographical in¬ telephone directory, I had the temerity to formation and the photographs used in telephone Mrs. Stanley Raine. I had this article. They loaned me the historic remembered a congratulatory note in hand-written letter of 30 July 1904 from the Oologist in 1927 which noted the Evan Thomson of Red Lodge, , marriage of Stanley Raine, son and telling Raine of the first three authentic assistant to Walter Raine, to Nermaye nests ever found of the Solitary Sand¬ Morrison, in Toronto on 2 October piper. Thomson, one of Raine’s collec¬ 1926. Imagine my surprise when the tors, had sent Raine one set of Solitary lady I phoned was indeed the widow of Sandpiper eggs from a previous year’s Stanley Raine. Before his death in 1947, nest of the American Robin in 1903, but Stanley Raine had an engraving Raine did not publish this momentous business, and both designed and information until 1904 when Thomson engraved the “wings” that were pinned collected another two sets of eggs from on the chest of every Canadian airman nests of the blackbird and Cedar Wax¬ during the Second World War. wing, and a specimen of the adult Mrs. Stanley Raine suggested that female Solitary Sandpiper to cor- her niece, Mrs. Marjorie Warren, would robarate the identification beyond any be the most useful contact for further in¬ doubt.21 22 When he published his article formation. I next telephoned Mrs. in the Naturalist in October

The Raine family.

170 Blue Jay 1904, Raine took some liberties in im¬ Burnley, Lancashire and to John proving Thomson’s grammar and punc¬ Govett of Trowbridge, Wiltshire, both tuation, even though he gave the con¬ graduates of Leeds University, and to tents within quotation marks.21 Arthur Gilpin of Leeds. All three were The family also loaned me Jourdain’s most helpful, with Gilpin offering detail¬ reprint from Ibis of 1907,8 in which ed comments on the changes in birdlife Raine’s drawings of four eggs of the that have resulted in the more than 100 Solitary Sandpiper were reproduced. years since, as most of Raine’s old The accompanying dates indicated that haunts have become urbanized. All Thomson had collected three additional three felt that Raine’s identifications sets on 16 June 1905, 6 June 1906, and “rang true”, but that there were dis¬ 15 June 1906. These eggs had been crepancies in details concerning a few chosen from 27 eggs of the Solitary nests. Sandpiper that had been measured by Adrian Norris, Assistant Keeper, Raine, possibly six full sets of four eggs each, and another of three eggs. These Natural History, Leeds City Museum, three additional Alberta nest records kindly provided me with electrostatic have not been mentioned by most copies of the 17 notes published by writers since, perhaps because of un¬ Raine in The Naturalist between 1878 and 1882. One of these dealt with familiarity with Jourdain’s article, and Raine’s sighting of a polecat, but the perhaps in part because of coincidental other 16 dealt with sightings of rare birds details and dates between the original or interesting nests. Norris also copied 1903 nest and one of the 1906 nests. from the Leeds Archives the appropriate Mrs. Warren also loaned me the item from the Yorkshire Post and Leeds hand-written manuscript of a paper that Mercury which reported the 20 August Walter Raine had presented to the 1878 meeting of the Leeds Naturalist Leeds Naturalist Club in August 1878, Club, with Vice-President William the month before his 17th birthday, and Howgate in the chair: six years before he emigrated to On¬ “Mr. Walter Raine then read a tario. series of “Notes on the Birds of the Leeds District,” illustrated by specimens. Specimens (all being Walter Raine’s Work eggs) were also shown by W. H. Hay.” IN THE LEEDS AREA, 1877-1883: AT MOOSE JAW, 1891: The handwritten copy of Raine’s talk, Raine took a holiday in 1891 to 14 pages in length when typed, was a collect birds’ eggs in western Canada. creditable effort for a keen 16-year-old He was so enthused by what he saw and to present to a group of distinguished collected that he spent the winter writing adults. Raine gave interesting details of his observations and making his own his personal observations of 86 species engravings to illustrate them. He rushed observed within a 10-mile walking dis¬ his book, Bird Nesting in Northwest tance of Leeds, including the Canada, into print by the next spring neighbourhoods of Adel, Eccup, and said in his preface: “The book is Harewood, Roundhay and Shadwell. also intended to be a guide to sports¬ Raine estimated that 65 species nested men and anglers who intend visiting the regularly; that season he had found territory, and it may even be of some use 1074 eggs but had taken “not more than to intending settlers.”14 100”, since he already had most of the Raine had arrived 3 June at Port others represented in his collection. Arthur, Ontario, where Peregrine To assess the credibility of Raine’s Falcons had nested on a cliff on nearby paper, I wrote to K. G. Spencer of Pie Island. On 7 and 8 June he

September 1981. 39(3) 171 collected at Moose Jaw, “a small market the present boundaries of Saskat¬ town with a population of 600.” Raine chewan. Eggs of this species were not in returned to Moose Jaw for another day, great demand, and Raine should not 15 June, on his return trip. Altogether have been victim of the common error Raine described 39 species he had by less knowledgeable observers of giv¬ seen at Moose Jaw, noting the Mc- ing the name to males of other Cown’s Longspur as the second com¬ woodpecker species with a small red monest species after the “buffalo-bird,” cap. the then current name for what is now the cowbird, on the grassy upland Raine tells us that one of his collec¬ plains. The Upland Sandpiper was “ex¬ tors that year (1891) had taken two sets ceedingly abundant on the and of five and two eggs on 7 April from their eggs are often gathered for food.” Trumpeter Swan nests at Buffalo Pound Raine did not see a single Black-billed Lake north of Moose Jaw. The egg Magpie, but was told that they were measurements given are appropriate present in some aspen bluffs north of and these represent our only Regina. documented historic records for Sask¬ atchewan outside of the Cypress Hills. At Moose Jaw, Raine reported nests The “Greater Scaup” with young was of the American Bittern, Mallard, Blue¬ almost certainly a Lesser Scaup, and winged Teal, American Wigeon, the “Rusty Blackbird” nests were equal¬ Northern Shoveler, Swainson’s Hawk, ly certainly those of the Brewer’s Ferruginous Hawk (with three young), Blackbird. A supposed nest of the Sharp-tailed Grouse, Sora, American Lesser Yellowlegs was almost certainly Coot, Killdeer, Common Snipe, Long¬ misidentified. billed Curlew, Upland Sandpiper, Raine’s companion told of seeing Spotted Sandpiper, Willet, Wilson’s flocks of “nearly a hundred” Eskimo Phalarope, Eastern Kingbird (without eggs as yet), Catbird, American Robin, Curlews early in May that year, and of Common Grackle, and Rufous-sided shooting “quite a number” before they Towhee. He found a Falcon moved on north in the second week of sitting on a pile of sticks on a ledge in a May. Although tantalizing, this record cannot be given full credence because small cliff along Moose Jaw Creek, the numbers reported seem rather high without evidence of active nesting. His even for 1891, and because the iden¬ nest of McCown’s Longspur was tification of shorebirds by amateurs has probably identified correctly, and in¬ always been fraught with difficulty. deed the McCown’s Longspur skins that Raine presented to the Museum of the Geological Survey in Ottawa, the fore¬ AT RUSH LAKE, 1891: runner of the National Museum, were Raine moved on almost 100 mi. the first for their collection. Raine’s sup¬ farther west and got off the train at Rush posed nest of the Baird’s Sparrow, iden¬ Lake station, where he stayed six days tified later from the size and appearance from 9 through 14 June.14 Between of the eggs is much more questionable, Moose Jaw and Rush Lake there were though the species was undoubtedly “no trees,... not even a bush.” In 1891, common there before most of the the railway still pursued its original grassland was ploughed. The Red¬ course around the north end of the lake headed Woodpecker nest with seven and the little station was along Rushlake eggs, in a hollowed post that stood in Creek, about 2 mi. west of the lake. water, was a species well known to Later, the railway was rebuilt through the Raine in Toronto and, if accepted, lake, so that the present village of Rush would be by 89 years the first fully Lake is a mile south of where it was at documented nest of this species within the time of Raine’s visits.

172 Blue Jay Raine on a collecting trip.

Macdonald, the station agent, told At the northern end of Handsome Raine about 50 pairs of White Pelicans Lake, Raine made a number of obvious that were nesting on a stony sandbar at misidentifications. He collected a the eastern extremity of Rush Lake, and Northern Phalarope in migration and Raine could see their white outlines from found two phalarope nests nearby; he the distance, but was told that their eggs incorrectly assumed that one of these had already hatched. Here again, the nests was that of a Northern Phalarope, McCown’s Longspur was the com¬ although he was surprised to find it monest small bird on the elevated breeding so far south. prairies and Raine specifically com¬ He and his companion then waded to mented on the absence of the Chestnut- two small sandy islands, where terns collared Longspur (its later increase and gulls were nesting in small hollows may have coincided with heavier graz¬ in the sand. As usual, there were also ing and shorter grass). non-nesting species roosting at the tip of the island; Raine shot three gulls with Raine reported 44 species during his black heads, identified them as stay. Near the station, he collected egg Bonaparte’s Gulls, and assumed that sets of the Pintail, American Wigeon, they were one of the nesting species. Northern Shoveler, Canvasback, Kjlldeer and Short-eared Owl. On 10 On 11 June, Mr. Spalding, manager June Raine made a trip 5 mi. north to of the Canadian Agricultural Company Handsome Lake, where 25 pairs of farm to the west, took Raine 10 mi. north Avocets were nesting on a stony sand¬ to a 4-mi.-long lake “sheltered between bar on the east side of the lake; Raine the hills.” This very likely was Prairie collected only the newly laid eggs, suck¬ View Lake, which was originally 4 mi. ing their contents to relieve his thirst on a long, in an appropriate location, running hot day. He collected a clutch of five east and west, but only ever a small eggs from a Canada Goose. Mac¬ fraction of the width of 2 mi. stated by donald in early May had collected two Raine. On the way, Raine collected a clutches of Canada Goose eggs from nest with one egg of what he assumed the same site, and placed them under a was the Pallid Horned Lark, the form to domestic hen at the station house, an¬ be expected in the “Interior of British ticipating some fine suppers later in the America” according to the First A.O.U. year. Check-List of 1885. Raine that winter

September 1981. 39(3) 173 sent the specimen to Jonathan Dwight, Curlew, Spotted Sandpiper, Willet, Jr., who pointed out that it was the Wilson’s Phalarope, Short-eared Owl, Desert Horned Lark. Oologists of those Sprague’s Pipit, Vesper Sparrow, and times were anxious to collect a set of McCown’s Longspur. each subspecies listed in the Check- Raine described the Sprague’s Pipit List! as rare and local, and mentioned that he Raine collected a Least Sandpiper, a had received one nest from Crescent Buff-breasted Sandpiper and another Lake, no doubt collected by the Baines Northern Phalarope and assumed from brothers, on 31 May 1890. Another of the time of year that they should be his collectors, 15 mi. north of Regina, nesting, though, not surprisingly, he had told Raine that the pipit could be could not find their nests. Ori a sandbar heard “almost anytime early in June, with gull eggs of two sizes, he assumed singing and soaring in the sky.” the nests were Herring and Bonaparte Although this species must have been Gull nests, especially when he again singing above him, almost out of sight, shot a “fine adult Bonaparte’s Gull” for most of the time, Raine was expecting a confirmation. The nests were probably song similar to that of the European those of California and Ring-billed Skylark and, like most observers of that Gulls. time, failed to learn to identify the pipit by its song. He did not know the song of In a hole in the 20-foot bank of the the Baird’s Sparrow, either, and thought lake, was a Bufflehead nest with 12 it also “rare and local.” eggs, an unusual but plausible record. Raine also relayed observations at Raine mentioned that wherever trees other times of the year made by Mac¬ were present, the Bufflehead nests in donald, the station agent, who was a hollow trees, as at Oak Lake, Manitoba. keen hunter and nest-finder. Macdonald Raine next found nests of the Long¬ billed Curlew, Spotted Sandpiper, informed Raine that “100 geese and ducks a day is considered only a fair Willet, and Wilson’s Phalarope. bag for one gun, and anyone very Raine saw Turkey Vultures daily and enthusiastic might kill three times this sketched a supposed nest of this number.” On 13 June, Macdonald saw species on the ground, though he made a single Whooping Crane flying towards no mention in his text of personally the lake, but Raine missed seeing it. finding such a nest. Raine’s Indian guide, John, said that Turkey Vultures had been more numerous in his AT RUSH LAKE, 1893: boyhood, in the days of the buffalo, and In 1893, Raine returned to Rush Lake that up to 20 or 30 would collect at a for an 8-day visit, from 25 May to 1 buffalo carcass. June, and again stopped off on his return trip east on 15 and 16 June. His On 12 June, John and Raine spent account was published in nine con¬ an hour digging down to the seven eggs secutive issues of Nidiologist,16 of a Burrowing Owl, following the burrow vertically for three feet and then En route, he stopped for 3 days at horizontally for another four feet. Oak Lake, Manitoba, where he visited a Whooping Crane nest from which the Another day they dug out a coyote den. During his last three days at Rush Lake, two eggs had been taken 4 days earlier; Raine reported nests of the Gadwali, Raine located the nearby collector and Pintail, American Green-winged Teal, purchased the remaining unbroken egg Marsh Hawk, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Pip¬ for a dollar. ing Plover (which he misidentified as the At Rush Lake in May, Raine collected Semipalmated Plover), Long-billed eggs of the Canada Goose, Gadwali,

174 Blue Jay Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Scaup (two Canadian Agricultural Company, near sets correctly identified as Lesser Scaup the Crane Lake station.16 He spent hours and one with slightly larger eggs iden¬ following a pair of Solitary Sandpipers, tified as the Greater Scaup), Sora, hoping to find their nest, not realizing American Avocet, Wilson’s Phalarope, that they were merely in migration. He Ring-billed Gull (now correctly iden¬ made a trip 4 miles north to the lake of tified for the first time, though the the same name but, although large California Gull he still called the Herring numbers of White Pelicans were present Gull), Common Tern (still misidentified on the two islands, they apparently had as Forster’s Tern), Say’s Phoebe, Barn been flooded out that year. He Swallow and Cliff Swallow (the last three journeyed up Skull Creek, saw a Bald species now nesting in the stables and Eagle, and found two nests of the cow-sheds), Horned Lark, Western Ferruginous Hawk, one with one downy Meadowlark, Red-winged Blackbird, young, and one with four eggs, as well Baird’s Sparrow, McCown’s Longspur as Tree Swallows nesting in hollow and, for the first time, Chestnut-collared trees. Other nests reported were those Longspur. of the Canada Goose, Pintail, American Green-winged Teal, American Wigeon, Raine noted a flock of a thousand Canvasback, Common Merganser, Semipalmated Sandpipers and on 1 Sora, Upland Sandpiper, Wilson’s June shot a Red-breasted Nuthatch that Phalarope, Western Meadowlark, he speculated was nesting in a hole in Yellow-headed Blackbird, Savannah the barn roof. From Jim Sanderson, the half-breed “Government scout,” he Sparrow, Baird’s Sparrow and Clay- learned that Sanderson had found a colored Sparrow. Trumpeter Swan nest with four eggs in 1885 on an island in Sounding Lake AT REABURN, MANITOBA, 1893: (then in the territory of Saskatchewan, On 21 June 1893 at Reaburn, but since 1905 in the province of Alber¬ Manitoba on his return trip from Rush ta). Lake,16 Raine and his assistant Fred Dippie collected the first authenticated After visiting Crane Lake, Calgary and nest and eggs of the Le Conte’s Banff, Raine stopped off for two days at Sparrow, confirmed by collection of the Rush Lake on 15 and 16 June. He saw adult as it flew from the nest,515 Later in seven Turkey Vultures and a Common Toronto, Raine and Dippie showed their Raven feeding on the carcass of a summer specimens to Raine’s “friend horse. He again visited Handsome Lake and neighbour”, Ernest Thompson which he called “Avocet Lake” and (Seton). Thompson identified a sparrow found two Long-billed Dowitchers on that Dippie had collected with 2 eggs at the island; thinking that this species, too, Reaburn on 12 June as that of a should be resident he searched in vain Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow, also for their nest. In addition to the 80 pairs considered a first for this subspecies.15 }f Horned (?) Grebes now nesting on The eggs and study skins for both the he lake, he found nests of Gadwall, Pin- Le Conte’s and Nelson’s Sparrows were ail, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck (?- deposited in the National OSH), Lesser Scaup, American Avocet, Museum in Washington. A/ilson’s Phalarope, Ring-billed Gull, Oommon Tern (still called Forster’s), Attacks on Raine’s credibility and Say’s Phoebe. Raine’s relationships with H. R. Taylor, the editor of Nidiologist, and with \T CRANE LAKE, 1893: his assistant editor, Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, From 2 to 6 June, Raine stayed at the suddenly soured. Raine had been one 76” ranch, also operated by the of their leading contributors, and had

September 1981. 39(3) 175 Raines at their home, 50 Waverley St, Toronto.

brought in more new subscriptions than Raine by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, a medical anyone else in a contest in March 1894. doctor and a prolific writer of 1565 Taylor’s editorial column in May 1895 papers. Shufeldt atacked Raine for sell-] accused Raine of taking “singles” from ing eggs of the Black Scoter from a number of Western Grebe nests and Greenland, when Hagerup’s The Birds\ then selling them as “sets” — which of Greenland failed to even list that} Taylor considered “unscrupulous and species.25 Shufeldt also claimed thatj unworthy of an honest collector.”27 eggs sold as those of the Little Brown! Crane, from Crescent Lake, Assiniboia,! In July 1896, Taylor offered the and Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, were in following snide comment: fact substituted cheaper eggs of the “Walter Raine, of Toronto, is an¬ nounced to have gone to England to Demoiselle Crane from Europe.26! dispose of a large collection of eggs. Furthermore, Shufeldt claimed that the He will be sure to sell.” Little Brown Crane did not breed at Taylor then issued the annual index for Duck Lake or Crescent Lake.25 (We nowi volume 2, omitting page numbers for ar¬ know that Saskatchewan specimens are] ticles by his chief contributor, Walter intermediate;30 they were described as aj Raine. new subspecies, Grus canadensisI rowani, by Walkinshaw in 1965;31 the Meanwhile, Major Charles E. Bendire measurements of the eggs made by wrote to the Nidiologist to* criticize Shufeldt differed from those given by) Raine’s claim that he had the first set of Raine in his book, but would still fall eggs of the Belted Piping Plover.17 Ben- within the known range of egg sizes foil dire pointed out that the Smithsonian such intermediate individuals.) had a set of Piping Plover eggs with parent, “taken by Mr. Donald Gunn of Raine replied by offering to bet $20C: the Hudson Bay Co., ... on the shores to Taylor or Shufeldt’s $100 that his of Lake Winnipeg as early as 1862.”4 eggs were authentic and that cranes dic| indeed nest at those localities.18 Next, under the heading of “Raineism” was a two-page attack on Next, John Macoun wrote to thef

176 Blue Jayl Nidiologist, taking full responsibility for placed in various collections, perhaps the supposed “sets” of Western Grebe more eggs than any other dealer in eggs.13 Macoun admitted that he “just North America. The years he has waded around and collected nearly 100 been in the business he has establish¬ of the freshest eggs, carried them to my ed a reputation for fairness that hut and numbered them in sets. ... if anyone may well envy. Specimens from him are to be found in almost there is any fraud in the matter I was the every leading collection in North guilty party and not Mr. Raine.... I have America. We have done business with never known anything against Mr. Mr. Raine for practically twenty years Raine’s character in any sense whatever and have just recently closed up with and many of our rare eggs have been him the largest single exchange of obtained from him.” specimens we have ever made, aggregating on both sides about 1000 Raine wrote to complain that since separate specimens.”2 the charges, “my sales of birds’ eggs and skins have decreased about one- It was Raine’s expertise that in 1916 corrected O. B. Vandercock’s claim to half.”13 Raine noted that Oliver Spanner an unusually large clutch of the Barred & Co. had even smaller crane eggs from Owl; Raine pointed out gracefully that Alberta, that had not passed through his the description fitted better the eggs of hands.13 Edrick P. Rippon, to whom the the Hooded Merganser.29 It was Raine’s Baines brothers had originally sent expertise that in 1917 exposed the crane eggs and skins from Crescent fraudulent egg selling practices of one Lake, wrote in defense of Raine, telling Joseph Honacker of the Spokane how he had himself received the two Public Museum.3 When subscribers of controversial sets from Crescent Lake the Oologist were asked in 1919 to vote and sold them to Raine, and that the for the three most knowledgeable and handwriting Shufeldt claimed was reliable oologists in Canada, Walter Raine’s was in fact Rippon’s.24 Editor Raine led the list, followed by R. W. Taylor closed this correspondence by Tufts, Edward Arnold, and ten others.1 accepting Raine’s thinly veiled Raine thus maintained the respect of his challenge to a duel19 — and chose the own fraternity, the oologists. eggs of Grus virgo, the Demoiselle Crane, at 10 paces.28 SURVEY AT RUSH LAKE, 1977 I felt it would be useful to retrace Raine’s defense Raine’s steps of 1891 and 1893. John Handbidge, my wife, Mary, and I spent Raine was not deserted by his 4 and 5 June 1977 in the Rush Lake friends. R. M. Barnesf who became area, chiefly at the lakes visited by editor of Oologist, was a staunch sup¬ Raine. Handsome Lake fitted Raine’s porter. John Macoun used Raine’s description exactly, but no longer were records in his Catalogue of Canadian there nesting gulls or terns. There were Birds, issued in three parts between 12 Horned Grebes and 80 Eared 1900 and 1904,11 1213 and Reed’s North Grebes on the lake, suggesting that American Birds Eggs in 1904 used Raine’s 80 nesting pairs of grebes were Raine records and nine full-page Raine Eared, not Horned. The Chestnut- photographs.23 collared Longspur was much more Barnes began the October 1910 common than McCown’s on what heavi¬ issue of Oologist with a full-page photo ly grazed grassland remained, of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Raine, followed associated with Sprague’s Pipits and on the next page by an effusive eulogy: Baird’s and Vesper Sparrows. “He is one of the best known On an alkali lake to the east there oologists in all North America and has were 9 adult Canada Geese with 26

September 1981. 39(3) 177 young, a recent reestablishment after a specimen in the hand. Raine can be years of absence, 8 Western Grebes, excused for thinking that species and both Least and Semipalmated present in mid-June should be nesting. Sandpipers. At Prairie View Lake we Standard reference books, even that of saw 1 Black Tern, 2 Common Terns, 3 Reed more than a decade later, gave Franklin’s Gulls and an American erroneous measurements for eggs such Golden Plover. All three lakes had nests as those of the prairie gulls. with eggs of Avocet and Canada Goose. Raine’s writings still provide interest The Horned Lark was doing well, as and pleasure and much worthwhile in¬ were the Eastern Kingbird, Barn formation. He told a story well, and has Swallow, Western Meadowlark, left us a vivid record of early visits to Brewer’s Blackbird and Savannah productive marshes by an egg collector. Sparrow. There is now a feeling of revulsion New arrivals to the Rush Lake area towards the “egg-collecting fever” of a since Raine’s day included the Black- century ago, but it must be viewed from crowned Night Heron (with five nests at a historical perspective. In fact, taken in Handsome Lake), Mourning Dove, conjunction with the list of egg prices Western Kingbird, Black-billed Magpie published in Oologist in 1890,9 we can and Lark Bunting, and the introduced see that Raine’s trips were profitable in a 5 species, the Rock Dove, Common financial sense. Starling and House Sparrow. The Red¬ tailed Hawk probably also belongs in The lists shows little recompense for this list. We also saw Swainson’s, collecting and “blowing” the egg of a Marsh, and Ferruginous Hawks. robin, catbird or Red-winged Blackbird Numbers of the Common Crow had in¬ for a retail sale price of 2®, but a single creased greatly from the early days, but egg of the Yellow-headed Blackbird or the Turkey Vulture and Common Raven Tree Swallow was listed at 5*, Sora and were not to be seen. The once-large American Coot eggs were 10*, Western lake for which the village of Rush Lake is Meadowlark 12®, Vesper Sparrow, named, was long ago drained com¬ pletely by a series of east-west ditches, converting it to cultivated land.

SURVEY AT CRANE LAKE, 1980 Mary and I spent 5 and 6 June 1980 surveying Crane Lake and its surroun¬ dings. The lake was not at all com¬ parable to Raine’s time, for it was almost completely dry, apart from a remnant of perhaps a hundred acres of water in the northeast corner of the old lakebed.

Conclusions Raine’s own errors of identification were certainly understandable. Contem¬ poraries, including John Macoun, made similar mistakes. In their defense, the field glasses of the day were inade¬ quate, there was almost nothing to help identify bird songs, and many species could be identified only from keying out Mr. and Mrs. Walter Raine (1910).

178 Blue Jay Forster’s Tern and Spotted Sandpiper Museum, in a letter of 16 January 1981, 15*. Horned Lark 20®, Upland Sand¬ told me that although the ROM had piper, Willet and Clay-colored Sparrow purchased 1491 sets of eggs and nests, 40®, and Chestnut-collared Longspur, 500 taken in Canada, from Raine in Common Snipe and American Avocet April 1926, and although on 9 June 75®. Eggs of birds of prey and 1948 Mrs. Stanley F. Raine donated gamebirds seemed to bring higher three cabinets and three boxes of eggs prices, an evidence of greater demand. and nests, all sets bearing Raine labels One wonders, though, at the work that were later discarded. Certain other went into digging out a Burrowing Owl museums may have done the same, nest when these eggs were rated at 25®, following the philosophy expressed by compared to 75® for Swainson’s Hawk Taverner at the beginning of this article. and Sharp-tailed Grouse, $1.25 for Short-eared Owl, and $2.00 for a Raine unquestionably should not Ferruginous Hawk or Whooping Crane have rushed into print prematurely, egg. Even common ducks were priced documenting his ignorance of the birds relatively high with Mallard at 20®, Blue¬ in an unfamiliar area. Fortunately, winged Teal 25®, Northern Shovelerand however, most of his errors are obvious, Gadwall 50®, American Wigeon 75®, especially to one who has studied the Canada Goose $1.00 and Canvasback records of Raine’s contemporaries and $1.25. A full clutch of Canvasback eggs has visited the area where the records were made. I have concluded that would alone yield more than most men Raine’s Saskatchewan observations could earn in two days’ labour in the must not be rejected outright. As with city. any record from that period, each In Raine’s case, oology was a part- observation should be assessed in¬ time business as well as a hobby. As a dividually. With appropriate caution, business man, he compounded his and with a number of substitutions as errors by selling some incorrectly iden¬ detailed earlier in this article, a great tified eggs to collectors, including many many useful items of historic interest museums. In addition to errors in his own collecting, as a dealer he purchas¬ ed eggs from enthusiastic but inex¬ perienced and often youthful collectors in remote areas, and was sometimes too credulous in accepting their iden¬ tifications. Probably few of his collectors maintained the high standard of ac¬ curacy generally evident from specimens collected at Crescent Lake by the Baines brothers.

Although Raine held the confidence of most oologists as he quickly became more knowledgeable, it is nevertheless true that he lost the confidence of many scientific ornithologists. This was probably more because his integrity had once been questioned, than because of the fairly obvious errors of identification he made when he first visited new territory with unfamiliar birds. Ross D. James of the Royal Ontario Portrait of Walter Raine — about 1893.

September 1981. 39(3) 179 can thus be salvaged and accepted with the Jourdain reprint, and biographical reasonable confidence. information. Mary I. Houston helped me throughout all phases of this study. Epilogue

Since Raine’s visits in the early ^ALES, R. B. 1919. The new catalog. 1890’s, most of our native grassland has Oologist 36:154. been ploughed, with a decrease in the 2BARNES, R. M. 1910. Walter Raine. numbers of McCown’s Longspurs, Oologist 27:125-126. Baird’s Sparrows, Sprague’s Pipits, Upland Sandpipers and Long-billed 3BARNES, R. M. 1917. A fraud — Joseph F. Honacker, “U.S. Ornithologist”. Curlews, to name a few obvious ex¬ Oologist 34:168-169. amples. With continuing drainage and diversion of water, we also have fewer 4BENDIRE, C. E. 1896. Eggs of the Belted sloughs and ponds, and will never again Piping Plover. Nidiologist 3:106. see myriads of waterfowl that were 5DIPPIE, G. F. 1895. Further notes on present when the first settlers arrived. Leconte’s Sparrow. Nidiologist 2:95. Even at the time of Raine’s visit, the 6HOUSTON, C. S. 1969. Frank Baines, Trumpeter Swan, Whooping Crane and 1877-1968, a tribute. Blue Jay 27:62- Sandhill Crane were fast diminishing as 63. nesting birds, and now that the buffalo 'HOUSTON, C. S. and A. SCHMIDT. 1981. had gone, the Turkey Vulture and History of Richardson’s Merlin in Sask¬ Common Raven were decreasing on the atchewan. Blue Jay 39:30-37. plains. 8JOURDAIN, F. C. R. 1907. On the eggs of We can only hope that present in¬ some American Limicolae. Ibis:517- tense financial pressures on all Saskat¬ 518 and plate 11. chewan farmers, accelerating the 9LATTIN, F. H. 1889. A complete list of the ploughing of further marginal land and birds of North America arranged ac¬ the drainage of wetlands, can somehow cording to the A.O.U. Check List. be checked so that our grassland and Oologist 6:213-218. marshland birds can be enjoyed for at 10MACOUN, J. 1900. Catalogue of Canadian least another 90 years. Birds. Part I. Ottawa: S. E. Dawson, Queen’s Printer. 218 pp. Acknowledgements nMACOUN, J. 1903. Catalogue of Canadian Birds. Part II. Ottawa: S. E. Dawson, I wish to thank Ross D. James, Queen’s Printer, pp. 219-413. Associate Curator, Department of Or¬ 12MACOUN, J. Catalogue of Canadian Birds. nithology, Royal Ontario Museum, Part III. Ottawa: S. E. Dawson, Queen’s Toronto, who searched their collection Printer, pp. 415-733. for Raine egg data, and provided 13MACOUN, J. and W. RAINE. 1896. Raine’s electrostatic copies of correspondence crane case. Nidologist 4:23-24. between P. A. Taverner and James L. Baillie, Jr.; Adrian Norris, Assistant 14RAINE, W. 1892. Bird Nesting in North Keeper, Natural History, Leeds City West Canada. Toronto: Hunter Rose. 197 pp. Museum, who provided electrostatic copies of Raine’s 17 notes in The 15RAINE, W. 1894. Discovery of nests andi Naturalist; K. G. Spencer, John Govett eggs of Leconte’s and Nelson’s and Arthur Gilpin, who provided Sparrows. Nidiologist 1:88-90. assessments of Raine’s paper to the 16RAINE, W. 1894. Bird-nesting in northwest Leeds Naturalist Club in 1878; and es¬ Canada. Nidiologist 1:67-71; 84-86; pecially to Mrs. Rupert Warren of Toron¬ 102-106; 117-120; Nidiologist 2:9-10. to, Raine’s granddaughter, who pro¬ 17RAINE, W. 1896. Eggs of Belted Piping vided photographs, correspondence, Plover. Oologist 13:40.

180 Blue Jay 18RAINE, W. 1896. Raine bets. Nidologist 25SHUFELDT, R. W. 1896. Raineism. 4:11. Nidiologist 3:146-148. 19RAINE, W. 1896. An old letter. Nidologist 26SHUFELDT, R. W. 1896. Raineism — a 4:23. point in explanation. Nidologist 4:25. 20RAINE, W. 1896. Raine’s latest. Nidologist 27TAYLOR, H. R. 1895. “Sets” from “singles” 4:25. Nidiologist 2:129. 21RAINE, W. Discovery of the eggs of Solitary 28(TAYLOR, H. R.). 1896. “Giving the devil Sandpiper. Ottawa Naturalist 18:135- his due” Nidologist 4:27. 138. 29(VANDERCOCK, O. B.) 1917. My set of 22RAINE, W. 1904. Discovery of the eggs of nine Barred Owl’s eggs. Oologist 34:32- Solitary Sandpiper. Oologist 21:164- 33. 168. 30WALKINSHAW, L. H. 1949. The Sandhill 23REED, C. A. 1904. North American Birds Cranes. Cranbrook Institute of Science, Eggs. New York: Doubleday, Page. 356 Bull. 29. 202 pp. pp. 31WALKINSHAW, L. H. 1965. A new Sandhill 24RIPPON, E. P. From E. P. Rippon. Crane from central Canada. Can. Field- Nidologist 4:24-25. Nat. 79:181-184.

BLACK SCOTER AT INDIAN HEAD, SASKATCHEWAN

FRED W. LAHRMAN, 7 - 3941 Retallack Street, Regina, Saskatchewan, S4S 3C1 and LORNE SCOTT, P.O. Box 995, Indian Head, Saskatchewan. SOG 2K0

On 11 November 1980 while Goose, 2 Lesser Snow Goose, 1 Black observing waterfowl on Deep Lake, 7 Duck, 25 Northern Shoveler, 1 mi. south of Indian Head, Lome Scott Redhead, 1 Canvasback, 100+ Lesser and I saw an all black diving duck fly low Scaup, 75 Common Goldeneye, 50 over the water and alight about 450 Bufflehead, 1 White-winged Scoter, 28 yards away. With the aid of a 20X Hooded Merganser and 10 Common spotting scope we were able to identify it Merganser. Other late dates were 1 ’as a Black Scotter. It was in the all black Turkey Vulture 3 November and 100 plumage of the adult male but the yellow Sandhill Crane 15 November observed knob at the base of the bill, while clearly near Indian Head by Lome Scott. On 23 evident, did not have the full brilliant November he also saw 2 Lesser Snow yellow of the male which was seen on and 3 White-fronted Geese at Deep Wascana Lake.2 On the following day I Lake. saw the bird again in the same area but at much closer range. I believe that this ’CALL!N, E. M. 1980. Birds of the is the first record of the species for the Qu’Appelle, 1857-1979. Sask. Nat. Qu’Appelle area covered by “Birds of Hist. Soc. Spec. Publ. 13, Regina, the Qu’Appelle 1857-1979.”1 Saskatchewan. Other birds observed on the lake at 2KREBA, R. 1980. A black day at Wascana this late date were 125 Whistling Swan, Marsh, Regina. Blue Jay 38(2): 120- 300 Canada Goose, 3 White-fronted 121.

September 1981. 39(3) 181