CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 689 



which it has eluded observation during the winter months. (Coues.) 

 Breeds throughout southern Saskatchewan, but rarer in Manitoba. 

 During my several expeditions to northwest Canada I have found 

 over half a dozen nests of this bird. At Crescent lake, Sask., June 

 15th, 1902, I found a nest containing four eggs, built in the grass on 

 the prairie. On May 25th, 1901, a set of five eggs was collected for 

 me by Mr. Hugh Richarsdon in the Ou'Appelle valley, Saskatchewan, 

 and he took another set of five eggs on May 28th at the same place, 

 both nests were made of dried grass and built on the ground. I 

 have another set of four eggs taken at Pasqua, southwestern Sas- 

 katchewan, May 26th, 1893. The eggs of this bird are very rare in 

 collections. They are something like eggs of the prairie horned lark 

 but are smaller. Some have a pale buff ground, others greyish- 

 white ground, minutely speckled with buff and purplish grey. The 

 eggs can easily be told from small prairie horned lark's eggs by the 

 fine dark brown hair lines at the largest end of the eggs. I never 

 saw these hair lines on eggs of the horned lark, although they are 

 often found on eggs of the American pipit and European meadow 

 pipit. This bird is called the Missouri skylark by the settlers as it 

 has the same habit as the European skylark of soaring high up in 

 the air until it becomes a mere speck in the sky and it never ceases 

 singing from the time it begins to ascend until it reaches the earth 

 again. It is a smaller bird than the European skylark and con- 

 sequently its voice is not so powerful. I have often heard both 

 species sing and must say Sprague's pipit is not in it with the Euro- 

 pean skylark, in spite of what has been said to the contrary by 

 American ornithologists. (W. Raine.) 



Family LI. CINCLIDiE. Dippers. 

 CCLXIII. CINCLUS BoRTHANSEN. 1797. 

 701. American Dipper. 



Cincliis mexicanus unicolor (Bonap.) Ridgway. 1904. 



Observed one on Elbow river, southwest of Calgary, July 15th, 

 1897 ; common in Michell creek, west of Crow Nest pass, August 7th, 

 1897. (Spreadborough.) I met with this bird in numbers around 

 Chief Mountain lake, but was too late for its eggs, as the young were 

 already on the wing. (Coues.) A very common species in all the 

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