CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 67 1 



coast region of southern British Columbia to Cahfornia. Taken at 

 Comox, Vancouver island. (Oberholser.) First seen at RevelstOke, 

 B.C., on May 15th, 1890, later they became common and commenced 

 to breed, the males were very much in evidence; late in June they 

 were found breeding at Robson, on the Columbia river; one in- 

 dividual was observed in a marsh at Sheep creek, on the International 

 Boundary in May, 1902 ; quite common in thickets along the North 

 Thompson at Kamloops, B.C., in June, 1889; very common in wet 

 woods at Agassiz, B.C., in May, 1889; observed a number at Chilli- 

 wack, B.C., in the spring of 1901; saw one at Huntingdon on the 

 International Boundary, B.C., in autumn; rather rare on Van- 

 couver island, a few taken in 1893 ; common in reeds by small lakes 

 near Elko, B.C. in 1904; common in the marshes at Osoyoos lake 

 and along the Similkameen river in 1905, also along the Hope trail. 

 {Spreadborough.) Common everywhere ; breeds. (Streator.) A 

 common summer resident throughout the greater portion of the 

 province. (Fannin.) An abundant summer resident at Chilliwack. 

 (Brooks.) Rare on Vancouver island, abundant at Lulu island in 

 the Fraser valley, and about the shores of reedy lakes in the interior 

 of British Columbia. (Rhoads.) 



CCLVII. ICTERIA Vieillot. 1807. 



683. Yellow-breasted Chat. 



Icteria virens virens (Linn.) Baird. 1865. 



The only specimen of this species I ever collected was on i6th 

 May, 1884, when I found a dead individual near my house where it 

 was probably killed by a telegraph wire. A week or so afterwards, 

 w^hen visiting Mr. Dickson, who is station master on the G.T.R. at 

 Waterdown, he pointed out to me an old, unused millrace, grown up 

 with briars and brambles, where the day before he had seen a pair 

 of chats mated. Mr, Dickson was collecting at the time, and was 

 greatly surprised at the sudden appearance within ten feet of where 

 he was standing, but on his moving backwards, with a view of getting 

 to a safer shooting distance, they disappeared in the thicket and 

 did not again become visible, though they kept up their scolding 

 as long as he remained near the place. A pair of this species was 

 also found by Mr. Saunders breeding on the north shore of Lake 

 Erie, near Point Pelee in 1884, which completes the record for On- 



