In Nortli-West Canada. 



185 



some are creamy buff, others cinnamon or yellowish buff, and 

 they are usually heavily spotted, clouded or blotched with 

 various shades of rich reddish brown. The markings gener- 

 ally congregated towards the larger end of* the eggs. The 

 average size of twelve specimens is 1.55x1.25. 



This bird sometimes nests in hollow trees like the sparrow- 

 hawk. 



The sun had sunk behind the western horizon, and the bit- 

 terns had begun to boom. Another evening I was entertained 

 l)}^ the concert of the birds, coming from thousands of throats. 

 It is no exaggeration to say the noise can be heard three or 

 four miles away from Long Lake. I shall never forget that 

 grand chorus of blackbirds, marsh wrens and bull frogs, inter- 

 mingled with the screams of the various species of wild fowl, 

 killdeers, and sandpipers, and the booming of several bitterns. 





THE DYING MOOSE 



