igooj Young — Birds. 71 



occasionally breeds in this district, and I have seen the nests of 

 both in 1898 and 1899. 



15. I shot a specimen of the King- Eider in December, 1896, 

 among- the Thousand Islands, near the Fiddler's Elbow. The 

 bird was in very poor condition, and probably came from the 

 Hudson Bay reg-ion, where I believe the Brunnich Guillemots, that 

 have visited the St. Lawrence recently, come from, and not from 

 the Gulf. 



16. A specimen of the Horned Grebe in full summer plumage 

 was shot by Mr. Stratford, of King-ston, in April last, in Cataraqui 

 Marsh. 



17. The Least Bittern spends the summer in the marshes be" 

 tween Kingston and Brockville, and last year I saw eggs that 

 were taken near Kingston in June. 



18. Cooper's Hawk occasionally nests in the same district, 

 but is not common. 



19. The Saw- whet Owl very rarely breeds. I have seen one 

 that was caught among the Thousand Islands in June. 



20. The Screech Owl (Scops asi'o) is becoming quite common, 

 and the young are met with every year. 



21. Two specimens of the American Barn Owl have recently 

 been obtained near Kingston. One of them was caught alive by 

 D. Breakey, of Wolfe Island, and is now in his possession. 



22. The Black-billed Cuckoo. — This bird is very common in 

 the vicinity of Kingston, as it also appears to be down the St. 

 Lawrence. It frequents moist and marshy locations, and is not 

 often met with far from water. This year I met with two nests 

 each containing one egg on the 8th and 9th of June respectively. 

 The nest was the frailest affair possible. With regard to the nest 

 of the 9th June, I visited it again on the 12th, and to my surprise 

 it contained five eggs, whereas only four could have been ex- 

 pected. In addition to this the nest was greatly improved and 

 strengthened since the visit of June 9th, and showed plainly that 

 the bird had added to it after laying her first egg. 



23. The Yellow-billed Cuckoo occasionally nests around Lans- 

 downe, Ont., but is rare. Three eggs appear to be the usual 

 number laid I saw nests in 1898 and 1899. 



