682 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 
728. Red-breasted Nuthatch. 
Sitta canadensis LINN. 1766. 
Audubon, Vol. IV., p. 179, states that he saw one in Labrador, 
which had probably been driven there by a storm. (Packard.) 
Common on Moose River; none seen at Moose Factory or further 
north. (Spreadborough.) Perhaps a permanent resident in New- 
foundland. (Aeeks.) One seen on the Humber River, Newfound- 
land, August 18th, 1899. (Lowes H. Porter.) 
A fairly common resident at Halifax, N.S.; associated with the 
chickadees. (Downs.) Five single specimens were seen on Sable 
Island in July and August, 1899. There were no signs of nesting 
and in no case were two seen together on any part of the island. 
The one located at the main station entered the houses and caught 
flies in the windows and twice it perched on the writer’s head and 
sprung at the flies in the window from that perch; besides catch- 
ing flies it would hunt up and down the telephone poles and on 
the fence posts and boards for other food; not uncommon at Bad- 
deck and Margaree, Cape Breton Island, July, 1898; a few were 
noticed in spruce trees at Brackley Point, Prince Edward Island, 
26th June, 1888. (Macoun.) One seen on July 14th and another 
September 8th, 1902, on Sable Island, N.S. (James Bouteillier.) 
I had about given up seeing this species at all when I came upon 
several at Souris, Prince, Edward Island, probably a family. 
(Dwight.) Usually an uncommon resident at St. John, N.B. 
(Chamberlain.) A common permanent resident at Scotch Lake, 
York Co., N.B. (W. AH. Moore.) Quite common in the Resti- 
gouche valley, N.B.; young just beginning to fly in July. (Brittain 
& Cox.) A tolerably common summer resident on the Magdalen 
Islands. (Szshop.) A permanent and common resident in eastern 
Quebec. Taken at Beauport. (Déonne.) A common transient 
visitant at Montreal ; probably a few breed and winter there. 
(Wintle.) 
A common resident at Ottawa. (Ottawa Naturalist, Vol. V.) 
In the years 1887 and 1888 this bird appeared to be unusually 
common in Renfrew Co., Ont. In the former year I met with 
four nests. Two of these were in partly decayed poplar trees; 
one about 10 feet and the other about 30 feet from the ground. 
The eggs are laid the second week in May at latest, as on 21st of 
that month I found the young just hatched. A peculiarity of the 
sani 
