80 



The Canadian Flelu-Naturalist. 



Vol. XXXV 



locality during the migration, the breed- 

 ing, or the winter seasons? 



6. What is t^ie relation between the 

 breeding and the wintering grounds of 

 individuals; that is, do those birds that 

 breed farthest north, winter farthest south, 

 t/ius jumping over those that occupy the 

 intermediate zone, or do they merely re- 

 place the latter individuals as winter res- 

 idents? 



7. Do birds adopt the same nesting 

 area, nest site, and winter quarters during 

 successive seasons ? 



8. For how many broods will one pair 

 remain mated, and which bird, if not both, 

 is attracted next year to the old nesting 

 site ? 



9. To what extent do males of a 

 species assist in incubating and brooding? 



10. How far from their nests do birds 

 forage for food, and after the young have 

 left the nest, will the parent birds bring 

 tihem to the feeding and trapping sta- 

 tion ? 



11. To what regions do the birds go, 

 particularly the young, t^at do not re- 

 turn to the vicinity of their original 

 nests ? 



12. How long do birds live? 



For the solution of these and related 

 problems, it is important that the traps 

 always l>e set on the original site, for 

 birds already have returned to the same 

 traj)s through four or five consecutive 

 seasons. Many ''returns" will, in the 

 course of time, afford answers to the 

 important problems here presented. 



NiGHTHAWK Nesting in a Peat Bog. 

 Ou .June -Itii, 1921, we were in pursuit of 

 Lincolns Sparrows, Yellow Palm and Myr- 

 tle Warblers in a large open peat bog 

 located on the south shore of the Gulf of 

 !St. Lawrence. The vegetation was mostly. 

 Labrador tea and vk-h green mosses fully 

 a foot iu depth, with spruces moderately 

 spread out all over the territory. -This is 

 a wonderful country for bog-loving species, 

 - Lincolns and Swamp Sparrows, Wilsons 

 and Yellow Palm Warblers being actively 

 occupied in domestic duties. The White- 

 tin-oat's whistle, always welcome, could also 

 be heard from all sections of this beautiful 

 bogland. 



As is sometimes the case tjiie unexpected 

 ha])pens and one receives a pleasant sur- 

 prise. Here and there were scattered 

 patches of sun-baked peat and from one 

 of these a Nighthawk departed rather re- 

 luctantly, disclosing a single egg. The 

 nesting site chosen was slightly off elevated 

 ground and was sheltered from any high 

 winds that migjit occur. There was no 

 attempt at nest building, merel}^ a feather 

 of the female lying alongside the egg. Two 

 days later we found that the Nighthawk 

 had taken exception to a handkerchief tied 

 to the branches of a spruce as a landmark, 

 or perhaps she detected, in this sign of t,he 

 human, evidence of further intrusion. In 

 any event the egg had disappeared and the 

 bird, no doubt, exercised her privilege of 

 retiring to another secluded spot some dis- 

 tance away, as further efforts on our part 

 failed to locate her. 



W. V. Brown, Westmount, Que. 



^mi 



