408 NOVA SCOTIAN ZOOLOGY — PIERS. 



of the circumstance, says that, as far as known, no instance of a 

 similar occurrence has since been noted in his portion of the 

 province. Mr. Downs says that a few arrive in the spring, but 

 generally die, and Mr. Bain reports an individual seen by Dr. F. 

 Beer in Prince Edward Island, Mr. Chamberlain's statement 

 that the species "occurs from the Maritime Provinces to the 

 Great Plains, and north to Lake Winnipeg,"* seems not to 

 clearly indicate its general rarity in Nova Scotia. In his revision 

 of Nuttall's Ornithology (v. I, p. 308) he says it occurs sparingly 

 along the Annapolis Valley. 



Purple Martin (Progne suhis). This bird I found rather 

 common about Windsor, where it bred in boxes erected for the 

 purpose. In 1892, the last individuals were noted on 6th 

 August, and they doubtless left the province not long after- 

 ward. The species is rare in the vicinity of Halifax, only a 

 few stragglers being seen in the spring, probably during the 

 migration. 



Bank Swallow (Glivicola riparia). Mr. McKinlay informs 

 me that a pure white swallow of this species was seen in Pictou 

 County for three consecutive summers. During the fourth 

 spring, it did not arrive from its winter home, nor has it since 

 been noted. Some southern collector had evidently bagged the 

 unusual specimen. 



Bohemian Waxwing (Ampelis garrulus). On 16th Novem- 

 ber, 1898, a male was shot at Porter's Lake, Halifax County. 

 It was mounted by Mr. Egan. This is only the second 

 record of the occurrence of the bird in Nova Scotia. A flock of 

 about a dozen visited us in the winter of 1864-5 {vide Downs's 

 Catalogue). 



Mocking Bird (Mimus polyglottos). On the afternoon of 

 Sunday, 30th June, 1889, Mr. Charles A. McLennan, of Truro, 

 N. S., saw a bird on the " interval " at the back of that town, 

 which, from his acquaintance with the species in Virginia, he 

 recognized as a Mocking Bird. He followed it during the whole 

 afternoon. At length, in the dusk of the evening, it retired into 



• Catalogue of Canadian Birds, p. 93. 



