CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 489 
559a. Western Tree Sparrow. 
Spizella monticola ochracea BREWST. 1882. 
Very common in the spring at Indian Head, Assa.; first seen at 
Medicine Hat, Assa., April loth, 1894, and all were gone by the 
18th ; rare at Edmonton, Alta., in April, 1897; the bulk of the 
migration had passed before I reached there ; a few observed at 
Lesser Slave Lake, and one individual at Peace River Landing in 
Lat. 56° 15’ in June, 1903; rathercommon at Penticton, B.C., early 
in April, 1903; quite common at Revelstoke, B.C., in April, 1891, 
feeding on the ground up to April 17th, when they disappeared; 
from the crossing of the McLeod River, October 6th, 1898, to 
Edmonton, Alta., the species was common, evidently passing 
south. (Spreadborough.) Common at Athabasca Landing, 90 miles 
from Edmonton, May 24th, 1888. (/.dZ. Macoun.) 
This little bird arrives in small flocks on the Saskatchewan in 
the third week in April, and after a short halt proceeds further 
north to breed. (&zchardson.) North to Lapierre’s House on 
the Mackenzie River; abundant. (Ross.) This is perhaps the 
most abundant sparrow found breeding in the valley of Anderson 
River, as is evidenced by the number of nests, two hundred and 
sixteen, secured. Most of them were found on the ground and 
others on dwarf willows at a height of one to four feet. Four and 
five eggs and sometimes as many as six and seven appeared to be 
the complement. ((Vac/arlane.) 
Regular summer visitor. (Zord.) Migrant; not common at 
Chilliwack ; a few stay all winter at Lake Okanagan, B.C.; a few 
bred at Barkerville, Cariboo district, B.C., 1901. (Bvooks.) Taken 
on Vancouver Island by A.H. Maynard. (Famnin.) At Haine’s 
Mission, Lynn Canal, I took a female June 2nd, 1899. At Cariboo 
Crossing, Lat. 60°, B.C., we took two pairs June 29th, one of them 
with a nest containing three fresh eggs. The nest was buried in 
moss at the foot of a clump of willows in a willow swamp near the 
lake; it was composed of fine dry grasses, lined with feathers 
covered externally with a thick coating of living moss. It was 
occasionally seen the whole length of the Yukon River to St. 
Michael. (Bzshop.) The western tree sparrow was numerous at 
Cape Blossom, Kotzebue Sound, Alaska. The patches of 
stunted willow and alder back among the hills seemed to be 
particularly favoured by this species, and in such localities full- 
