342 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 
defense of their homes, losing in their anxiety all sense of danger 
to themselves. (Covwes.) 
MUSEUM SPECIMENS. 
Sixteen ; one taken at Old Wives’ Creek, Assa.; eight at Medi- 
cine Hat, Assa.; one at Enderby, B.C.; one at Spence’s Bridge, 
B.C.; and three at Agassiz, B.C.; all by Mr. Spreadborough. 
CLXI]. MYIARCHUS Casanis. 1844. 
452. Crested Flycatcher. 
Myarchus crinitus (Linn.) Licut. 1854. 
Have observed this species at Scotch Lake, York Co., N.B., in 
August ; they seemed to be migrating in families. (W. 7, 
Moore.) Taken near Woodstock, N.B., by Mr. Purdie in 1878. 
(Chamberlain.) Rare summer resident in woods near Quebec. 
(Dionne.) Common summer resident in the district of Montreal. 
(Wintle.) 
A common summer resident in the Ottawa district. (Ottawa 
Naturalist, Vol. V.) Reported as common at Beaumaris on May 
12th, 1898, by Mr. Tavernier; I believe it will be found distri- 
buted over both Muskoka and Parry Sound districts in summer. 
(J. H. Fleming.) A common summer resident at London and in 
Bruce Co., Ont. (W. E. Saunders.) 
A very rare summer resident of thick woods in Manitoba and 
northwest to Lake Winnipegoosis where Macoun shot it in 1881; 
there are also three specimens in the Museum at Winnipeg taken 
by Hine. (Zhompson-Seton.) 
BREEDING Nores.—One of those birds that within the last 
fifteen years are certainly becoming commoner in Ontario. They 
are numerous in the vicinity of Kingston and on Wolfe Island. 
A curious breeding habit is the use of snake skins in the nest, 
which is always placed in the hole of a tree. I never saw a nest 
without pieces of snake skin. They commence to lay about the 
Ist of June, and are by no means rare now, 1901. (Rev. C./. 
Young.) This large flycatcher has the peculiar habit of placing 
around the edge of its nest the cast-off skin of a snake, which is 
probably done to protect its nest from squirrels taking possession 
of the hollow wherein the nest is built, as, no doubt, the sight of 
a snake’s skin coiled up would scare that little animal away. I 
