1912] The Ottawa Naturalist. 71 



the birds were quiet and they were evidently satisfied that all 

 catise for disturbance had been removed and that I had left 

 the neighbourhood. Approaching the same locality again as 

 noiselessly as possible, I saw the female flush out of "the ground 

 me thirty yards ahead. It only took a moment to find the 

 nest, which contained five fresh eggs. These were laid under- 

 neath a decayed spruce stump, a few pieces of bark and some 

 feathers forming the lining. The nesting site was well hidden 

 by a dense growth of stunted spruce, and a large snowbank, 

 several feet deep, was within ten yards of it. 



I might here state that the Pigeon Hawk is probably the 

 most curious and inquisitive of the Rapt ores. The sectionmen 

 on the railway told me that they were always greeted by a pair 

 of Pigeon Hawks wdien they passed down on the hand car, 

 although the nest was a quarter of a mile off in the woods. 

 My personal experiences with the species in Newfoundland 

 have certainly brought these facts to light. One day in June, 

 1911, we pitched our camp out on the barrens. A pair of Pigeon 

 Hawks, which had their nest on the side of a mountain one mile 

 away, observed the smoke from our fire and immediately came 

 over our heads, uttering alarm notes. During the second week 

 in June, 1912, near Bay of Islands, my attention was drawn to 

 a male Pigeon Hawk overhead. Five hundred yards further 

 on the female was flushed from a hole, about twenty feet up, in 

 a dead pine. At this time the nest contained three fresh eggs. 

 It can thus be seen that if Pigeon HaAvks were less concerned 

 and demonstrative during the breeding season, fewer nests 

 would be found. 



BIRD NOTES. 



By L. McI. Terrill, St. Lambert. Oue. 



During December, 1911, the weather was exceptionally 

 mild, the considerable fall of snow melting almost as fast as it 

 fell, filling the swamps with water. With the commencement of 

 January, 1912, came a change, with an unusual continuation 

 of very cold weather, almost without a break, lasting until the 

 end of March. 



During this period, January 1st to March 31st, practically 

 the only birds noted were winter visitors, such as Redpolls, 

 Snowbirds and Pine Grosbeaks. These birds were more notice- 

 able during March and were all scarce, with the exception of 

 Redpolls during January and February. The Grosbeaks 

 movements in the vicinity of Montreal were apparently governed 



