68 MousLEY, Birds of Hatley, Que. [ja^n 



miserable and bedraggled object, and it was not until the Kingbu'ds had 

 left him that he ventm'ed to essay a short flight on to a stub, where he dried 

 his wings, and at intervals uttered shrill cries as if invoking his parents to 

 come to his aid. 



28. Haliaeetus leucocephalus leucocephalus (Linnaeus). Bald 

 Eagle. — Uncommon transient; Aug. 1. A specimen of this fine eagle was 

 shot on the above date in 1914, on a farm just outside Hatley village, and 

 was set up by a local taxidermist. I have since had the pleasure of seeing 

 the bird and found it to be an immatm-e one in fine plumage. It weighed 

 seven and one half pounds so I was told, and the spread of its wings was 

 seven feet. 



29. Falco columbarius columbarius (Linnaeus). Pigeon Hawk. — 

 Rare transient; Oct. 5. The above date of the present year (1915) is the 

 only one on which I have seen an example of this little falcon. When first 

 seen it flew just over my head (whilst I was in a cat-tail bed in the marsh 

 after snipe) in hot pursuit of a small bird, and I was afterwards able to get 

 quite close to it while perched on a dead tree on the lookout for further 

 quarry. 



30. Pandion haliaetus carolinensis (GmeUn). Osprey. — Rare 

 transient; May 3 to 5. Average date of arrival for two years May 4. 

 During the above dates in May of this (1915) and last year, a pair of these 

 birds have visited the neighbourhood and remained to fish in the waters of 

 the marsh, where at intervals they could be seen dropping like an arrow, 

 generally rising with a fish in their talons. 



31. Strix varia varia (Barton). Barred Owl. — Fairly common 

 resident. Although I have only actually seen this Owl in the flesh on five 

 occasions in April, October and November, its hooting has been beard in 

 almost every month of the year, and for this reason I think it may be safely 

 included under the above heading. I often regi-et the want of a younger 

 companion who would help me work up the Owls and Hawks, as there must 

 be many more species than I am able to record at present. 



32. Coccyzus erythrophthalmus (Wilson). Black-billed Cuckoo. 

 — Fairly common summer visitant; May 26 to Aug. 27. Average date of 

 arrival (for four years) May 29. Eggs: June 12 to 21. This is by no means 

 a plentiful bird and during the summer of 1914, I was unable to locate a 

 single nest, and only saw it on two occasions, both of which were in July. 

 Of the five nests found so far none were placed at a height of more than 

 seven feet above the ground, and all but one were lined with willow catkins, 

 the contents in every case being a set of three eggs, one set containing a 

 runt egg, size .87 X .71. 



33. Ceryle alcyon (Linnaeus). Belted Kingfisher. — Fairly com- 

 mon transient; May 3 to 22; July 19 to Oct. 7. Average date of arrival 

 (for four years) May 1 1 ; of departm-e (for two years) Sept. 30. Every spring 

 a pair of these birds frequent the marsh during May, and can generally be 

 found perched on a stump or fence rail, from which at intervals they rise 

 into the air preparatory to plunging down on some unsuspecting fish that 



