^°''m6^"^] MouSLEY, Birds of Hatley, Que. 61 



found within one inch of the other, in fact it was only the bough 

 of the branch resting on the ground that divided the two nests. 

 Am I in this case to believe that a strange pair of birds not only 

 selected this same wood, but also the same part of it, and moreover 

 the very identical bush in it, and spot under that bush, to build 

 their nest in, if so ; then I can only say it seems to savour of the un- 

 canny. If space permitted I could enumerate many other similar 

 instances to the above, with regard to the Myrtle Warbler, Robin, 

 Chipping Sparrow, Bluebird and others. Of course I do not be- 

 lieve that in every case both birds can return, in some no doubt 

 they do, in others it may be the male or female only, but which ever 

 it is, that one, after selecting a new mate, will no doubt lead him or 

 her as the case may be to the locality of the old nesting site. At all 

 events this is the light in which I prefer to look upon it, leaving 

 others to enjoy their own views on a subject, which, after all, is 

 perhaps too deep for any of us to fathom with certainty. 



In conclusion I may say that nearly all of my records have been 

 made on some six farms (the smallest of which only some 75 acres 

 in extent has produced 100 out of the 122 species enumerated and 

 47 of the 63 breeding records) one and one half miles south of the 

 village consisting of about 1000 acres, on which is situated the little 

 marsh so often referred to, especially in the case of the Sandpipers 

 as " the marsh." This was originally a wood through which a small 

 stream flowed, and lying in a natural hollow it was an easy matter, 

 when the timber was cut down, to form a dam at the lower end 

 and thus spread the water from the stream and surrounding sloping 

 ground, over a surface of about 15 acres. In the summer time 

 owing to the little rainfall and a bad leak near the dam the water 

 level gets very low, leaving large beds of silt and mud exposed, 

 with patches of cat-tails, forming an excellent feeding ground for 

 marsh and shore birds, so much so that although there are several 

 other small marshes in the neighbourhood, none of them present 

 anything like the attraction that this one does (owing to its espe- 

 cially large mud beds) at all events to the Sandpipers, very few of 

 which I have found anywhere else. The following synopsis will 

 show at a glance to the best of my judgment the number in each 

 order, and status of the 122 species enumerated in the text. 



