'i9i5 J General Notes. 107 



beaten, and stripped of its loose interior furnishing, the nest was essentially 

 intact. Its walls of dark clay were strongly reinforced with tough grasses, 

 and the foundation, bearing the impress of the two branches between which 

 it had been held, was unusually generous in its proportions. During the 

 winter the nest doubtless had contained snow and water, which, owing to 

 the small soil particles of the clay, probably escaped almost altogether 

 through evaporation, for the nest as it stood would hold water like a cup. 

 I should estimate its weight at fully 18 ounces. In our orchard in Missouri 

 I used to observe a number of robins' nests in the spring that had success- 

 fully weathered the winter, and it had often occurred to me that the birds 

 would exhibit commendable economy if instead of building new nests they 

 would remodel the old structures; but if this ever was done it escaped my 

 notice. However, the nest that the farm employee placed upon the 

 harvester tongue attracted a pair of robins, and I observed the female 

 sitting in it. She evidently was getting the feel of it, and deciding whether 

 or not to accept it in preference to the labor required to construct a new 

 one. Being interested in the matter I asked the proprietor of the farm to 

 report to me a fortnight later what the pair had decided. He wrote that 

 they had " taken it " for the season. I should like to know whether this 

 is a common practice among robins, or any other species. Charles Dixon 

 in his ' Birds' Nests,' first edition, published in 1902 by Grant Richards in 

 London, says, on page 242: "... various species of swallows breed in the 

 disused nest of the Oven-bird .... We might almost presume that these 

 birds have relinquished the habit of forming a mud shell or outer nest 

 when they discovered that these mud ' ovens ' saved them the trouble of 

 making one for themselves." Purple Martins will year after year occupy 

 the same house or box. It is but one step further to an old nest in the 

 case of robins. — DeWitt C. Wing, Chicago, III. 



Two New Records for British Columbia. — Lark Bunting (Calamo- 

 spiza melanocorys). On June 8, 1914, I collected a male Lark Bunting in 

 a thicket of hawthorns on the shore of Okanagan Lake at Okanagan 

 Landing. 



White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis). On October 6, 

 1913, I collected a male White-throated Sparrow that was with a large 

 flock of Nuttall's and Golden-crowned Sparrows at Saanich, Vancouver 

 Island. Both these birds are now in the provincial museum. 



Sitka Kinglet (Regulus calendula grinnelli). A female taken at 

 Okanagan Landing, December 29, 1913, is the first record east of the 

 Cascades. A series collected here in summer have been identified as 

 calendula by Dr. Louis B. Bishop. There are no winter records for this 

 form. 



Black Merlin (Falco columbarius suckleyi). On February, 1913, I 

 collected a Pigeon Hawk at Okanagan Landing, identified as suckleyi by 

 Mr. Allan Brooks. This form is a straggler east of the Cascades. 



Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanolhocephalus) . Usu- 



