^"''igie^""] MousLEY, Birds of Hatley, Quebec. 175 



82. Hirundo erythrogaster (Boddsert). Barn Swallow. — Com- 

 mon summer visitant; April 25 to Sept. 7. Average date of arrival (for 

 four years) May 1; of departure (for three years) Sept. 6. Eggs: June 

 4 to July 10. This is probably the most common swallow here at all times, 

 especially where there are plenty of the old-fashioned barns and open 

 outbuildings, to which the swallows have easy access. As the more modern 

 barns increase with their greater tightness and difficulty of entrance, I 

 presume this swallow will show a falling off in numbers, unless they take 

 more to building under the outside eaves. 



83. Iridoprocne bicolor (Vieillot). Tree Swallow. — Fau-ly com- 

 mon summer visitant; April 19 to Sept. 7. Average date of arrival (for 

 four years) April 24; of departure (for three j^ears) Aug. 30. Eggs: June 

 7 to 19. In my experience the nesting site here is generally some small 

 cavity in the eaves or cornices of farm buildings, but I have found it also 

 nesting in deserted Woodpeckers' holes in birch trees overhanging a pond. 

 Unless at migration times, it is not nearly so numerous as the Barn and 

 Cliff Swallows, but probably at those times equals, if it does not exceed, 

 them in numbers. 



84. Riparia riparia (Linnaeus). Bank Swallow. — ^ Fairly common 

 summer visitant; May 6 to Aug. 30. Average date of arrival (for two 

 years) May 11; of departure (for two years) Aug. 22. Eggs: June 3. 

 It was not until the summer of 1914 that I came across a small colony of 

 these birds, which were nesting in the bank of a little stream at the south 

 end of Massawippi village, and again this year two or three pairs were 

 found as well at another spot on the roadside (previously unoccupied) 

 about half a mile from the first, so that it looks as though the species were 

 extending their area of operations in that locality, the soil of which is more 

 of a sandy natm'e than round here. Some of the nesting holes that I 

 examined extended two feet into the bank. 



85. Bombycilla cedrorum (Vieillot). Cedar Waxwing. — Fairly 

 common summer visitant; (April 10, 23) May 27 to Sept. 5. Average date 

 of arrival (for four years) May 31. Eggs: June 15 to July 22. Previous 

 to the year 1914 Cedar Waxwings had been quite an uncommon bird, but 

 during the past two years have been fairly plentiful. The earlier date in 

 April is for a single only, and the later for a flock of 19 (the largest I 

 have seen so far) both for the present year 1915. They are fond of hawking 

 over the marsh taking their food after the manner of a Kingljird. A pair 

 built their nest in a small fir tree quite close to the verandah of my house, 

 and it was most interesting to watch their lovable ways. 



86. Lanius borealis (Vieillot). Northern Shrike. — Rare transient; 

 Nov. 3, Dec. 11. The above dates in November, 1913, and December, 1915, 

 are the only ones on which I have observed this bird, and to make identifi- 

 cation sure I shot the example in November, and the skin is now in my 

 collection. I have since been informed that a bird, which from the descrip- 

 tion given, I take to be one of this species, was seen killing an English 

 Sparrow on Nov. 24, 1914. 



