NOTES ON NOVA SCOT1AN ZOOLOGY PIERS. 263 



precisely like the first in form, construction and materials. Both 

 were built in moss, which was constantly saturated with water 

 trickling from the bank above and slowly flowing over the top 

 of the stone upon which the moss grew. The present nest con- 

 tained a number of young, which we could just reach with 

 the tip of the finger. There is not the slightest doubt about 

 identification, for one of the parent birds was seen entering and 

 leaving the opening a number of times. It is quite likely that 

 this nest was constructed by the same birds which built the one 

 found in May, 1891. 



RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET (Eegulus calendula). Mr. Austen, 

 to whose exertions we owe much of our knowledge of the eggs 

 and nest of this little bird, found two more nests at Dartmouth 

 during the month of June, 1895. One of these contained eleven 

 eggs, the other seven. Both were suspended beneath the limbs 

 of black spruces. He tells me that nests of both the Ruby- 

 crowned and Golden-crowned Kinglets may be found either on 

 the limb or suspended beneath, so that the situation of the nest 

 does not decide to which species it belongs. 



REPTILES. 



RING SNAKE (Diadophis punctatus). On July 24th, 1896, 

 Mr. Augustus Allison saw one of these very rare snakes in 

 Point Pleasant Park, Halifax, but he was unable to capture it. 

 As well as he could judge, it measured about 10 or 11 inches in 

 length. On the 17th of the succeeding month, on passing near 

 the same place, he picked up a snake that had been crushed by 

 a wheel. It proved to be D. punctatus. He kindly lent me 

 the specimen, which I examined after it had been in alcohol 

 for about a day. It furnished the following description : 

 back, bluish black with slightly violet reflections in some lights. 

 Beneath, orange buff, deepest about anus, palest on throat. 

 Occipital stripe two scales wide, yellowish orange (nearly as 

 deep in colour as abdomen near anus). Blackish spots on centre 

 of each abdominal scutellum from near throat to near anus. 

 These spots are small and round on anterior part of body, 



