190 Bird-Nesting 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



^ u EXT morning, after partaking of a good breakfast, 

 I started out for Stony Mountain, ten miles north- 

 west of Winnipeg. Four miles west of Winni- 

 peg I left the highway and struck out across the 

 plain towards a wooded district. Here I found a num- 

 ber of nests of small birds, and obtained some fine sets 

 of the kingbird. 



I flushed a white-throated sparrow oft" its nest and four 

 eggs. The nest was built on the ground at the root of a bush, 

 and was composed of fine grasses. The eggs are not unlike 

 those of the song sparrow, but they are a trifle larger and 

 more glossy. The ground colour is greenish grey, and they 

 are well spotted and blotched with burnt umber and lilac, 

 averaging in size 83x60. On July 18th, 1891, I found a nest 

 and four eggs of this bird at Niagara Falls on the Canadian 

 side. This nest was built in a bush, two feet above the 

 ground : the eggs were very handsome, but, on trying an ec^g 

 with a drill, I found that incubation was advanced., so I left 

 the rest. 



In crossing from one bluft' to another, I came across a nest 

 of the prairie shore lark containing five eggs ; incubation had 

 commenced, so I did not molest them. Soon afterwards I 

 startled a western night hawk oft" its two eggs, which were 

 fresh, so I took them. The eggs were laid on dead leaves, with 

 no signs of a nest. 



I saAV a goLlen-crowned kinglet and carefully searched ever\' 

 tree in the blufls in hopes of finding its nest, but in this I was 

 not successful. The golden-crowned kinglet is a beautiful 

 little bird, and its nest is an elegant piece of bird architec- 

 ture. Before me are eight nests of the gold crest from Europe, 

 they are made of green moss and lined with feathers. The 

 nests are pensile, being suspended from the overhanging 



