CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 533 
- none have been observed near London; this species, however, is a 
steadily common breeder in the west, all over the country south 
of Lake St. Clair and becomes less numerous and more southern 
as one comes east; the three nests so far recorded in Ontario 
were all on the ground, though it is often placed higher in the 
prairie states; the four or five blue eggs havea striking resemblance 
to those of the bluebird. (W. &.Saunders.) On June 14th, 1897,while 
doing some miscellaneous collecting near the big slough at Port- 
age la Prairie, Man., a strange bird flushed out of the grass: and 
alighted on a fence-post; I immediately secured it and was very 
surprised to discover that I had collected a fine male black- 
throated bunting; no others were seen. (Geo. &. Atkinson.) One 
individual taken on Sable Island, N.S,, Sept. 12th, 1902. (James 
Bouteitlier.) 
MUSEUM SPECIMEN. 
One specimen purchased with the Holman collection in 1885. 
CCXITI]. CALAMOSPIZA Bonaparte. 1838. 
605. Lark Bunting, White-winged Blackbird. 
Calamospiza melanocorys STEJN. 1885. 
The apparent absence of this species from the Red River 
region with its abundance on the Missouri is one of the strong 
marks of difference in the fauna of the two watersheds. It isa 
abundant and characteristic species of the sage-brush country of 
the upper Missouri and extends thence to the Rocky Mountains 
through the Milk River region. The bird is rathera late breeder 
unless the eggs found July gth and 21st were those of a second 
brood. The eggs are four or five in number, like those of the 
blue-bird and normally unmarked, though occasionally sparsely 
dotted. Two cow-bird’s eggs were found in one of the nests 
secured. The nest is sunk in the ground so that the brim 
is flush with the surface, and is built of grass and weed-stalks, 
lined with similar but finer material. (Coues.) A probable summer 
resident of southwestern Manitoba. (Zhompson-Seton.) | Occa- 
sionally seen east of Crane Lake, but in its neighbourhood they 
were quite common and breeding late in June, 1894. They 
always placed their nests on the ground under sage brush (A7#e- 
mista cana); this they did in all parts of the prairie region where 
they were found. In 1895 they were found in some numbers at 
