f 



168 MousLEY, Birds of Hatley, Qicebec. [Ap'rii 



EIVE YEARS PERSONAL NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS 



ON THE BIRDS OF HATLEY, STANSTEAD COUNTY, 



QUEBEC — 1911 -19L5. 



BY H. MOUSLEY. 



{Concluded from p. 73.) 



53. Dolichonyx oryzivorus (Linnaeus). Bobolink. — Abundant sum- 

 mer visitant; May 9 to Aug. 16. Average date of arrival (for five 

 years) May 13; of departui-e (for three years) Aug. 14. Eggs: June 6 to 

 16. The Bobolink here seems to be increasing in numbers as during the 

 past two summers, I have^ found it nesting not only in its former haunts, 

 but in many other places where I had not noticed it previously. The 

 males usually arrive about a fortnight in advance of the females, the exact 

 dates this year (1915) being, males May 11, and females May 25. 



54. Molothrus ater ater (Boddsert). Cowbird. — Rare summer 

 visitant; April 16 to June 30. Eggs: June 27. It is with feelings of 

 regret that I have now to include the Cowbird as a summer visitant, after 

 four years of its inclusion as a transient only, as previous to the present 

 summer, 1915, I had only seen four examples of the bird in April, 1913. 

 This summer however, two pairs could generally be seen in the neighbour- 

 hood from April 24 to the end of June, with the result that at least one 

 Yellow Warbler and Red-eyed Vireo were victimized, an egg being found in 

 the nest of the former and a young bird in that of the latter. Mr. L. M. 

 Terrill's experience at Bury about 35 miles northeast of Hatley, somewhat 

 coincides with mine, as writing in the ' Ottawa Naturalist ' November, 1904, 

 he says: " I did not find any Warbler's nests containing eggs of the Cow- 

 bird, in fact the only individual intruded on was a Bluebird." In my 

 limited experience of the bird I have found the females to an-ive with the 

 males. 



55. Agelaius phoeniceus phoeniceus (Linnaeus). Red-winged 

 Blackbird. — Abundant summer visitant; April 6 to Aug. 17 (Sept. 24, 

 Oct. 21, Nov. 1). Average date of arrival (for five years) April 8; of 

 departure (for three years) Aug. 15. Eggs: May 13 to June 15. During 

 the spring and summer of 1912 this liird, always a plentiful one, fairly 

 swarmed and nested in many new localities which have not been tenanted 

 since. The favourite situation here for nests is low down in the large 

 cat-tail beds, only on three occasions have I found them in small bushes. 

 By the middle of August all the birds have generally disappeared, the late 

 dates in September, October and November being for two to four birds 

 only on each occasion, which dropped into the cat-tail beds in the marsh 

 late in the evening. The males usually precede the females by several 





