174 Townsend, Birds of Cape Breton Island. [a'Ihi 



the coast even during the latter part of my visit in September 

 seemed to me strange), IRallus virginianus, Philohela minor, 

 Coccyzus sp. ?, Picoides arcticus, Spkyrapicus varitts, Antrostomus 

 vociferus, Trochilus colubris, Empidonax minimus, Pocpcetes gram- 

 ineus, Melospiza georgiana, Zamelodia ludoviciana, Dendroica 

 castanea, Seiurus noveboracensis, WUsonia pusilla, Hylodchla 

 guttata pallasii. 



I also failed to find Compsothlypis americana usnece and Melos- 

 piza lincolni, both recorded at Cape Breton by Mr. Wm. Brewster 1 

 in his ' Notes on the Birds observed during a Summer Cruise in the 

 Gulf of St. Lawrence.' 



The following notes are added on several species previously 

 reported for the Island. 



Chaetura pelagica. Chimney Swift. — The houses outside of 

 the large towns at Cape Breton are generally very poorly supplied 

 with chimneys. In fact, brick chimneys are rarely seen, but small 

 stovepipes are used. Chimney Swifts, which are common, have 

 therefore to adapt themselves, and I was told that it is usual for 

 them to nest in barns and sheds. At French River, close to the 

 sea, I observed on August 22 a Swift flying in and out of a window 

 in a small hay barn. Inside on the end wall opposite the window 

 and close under the apex of the rafters the nest was fixed and it 

 contained the half-grown young. The nest was a rather bulky 

 affair, made of spruce twigs, and the glue-like substance with which 

 the twigs were stuck together was smeared like varnish on the 

 boards above and below the nest. Below the nest was a large pile 

 of droppings, as if the place had been used for several years. This 

 accumulation was added to from time to time by the young, who 

 carefully disposed themselves so as to avoid soiling the nest. 

 When the adult bird flew in with food, chirping loudly, there was a 

 loud reply from the young. The old bird generally alighted on 

 the wall below the nest, clinging in a vertical position, and later 

 fluttered up to the edge of the nest where it fed the young. The 

 shrill twittering of the young was almost deafening in the small 

 hay loft. The next morning early I found both parents at the nest, 

 one on the wall, the other sitting on the nest, spreading one wing 

 at times, and brooding the young. 



1 Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., Vol. XXII, 1883, p. 364. 



