In North- West Canada. 143 



number of clutches that were collected here last summer. The 

 eggs of the western night-hawk are a trifle smaller and paler 

 than those of the common night-hawk found in the east. 



A sparrow-hawk came dashing down the stream and flew 

 close by, it evidently did not notice me standing behind a 

 bush. 



Bronzed grackles and red-winged starlings' nests were in sight 

 most of the time many of the grackles' nests containing young 

 birds. 



I saw a lesser redpole and tried to follow it to its nest, but 

 was not successful. 



This species breeds in the British Islands, and is common as 

 far south as Yorkshire, in England, where I have frequently 

 found its nest and eggs. It also is very common around York, 

 where it builds its nest in hawthorn hedges ; I never found a 

 nest containing more than five eggs. On a table before me are 

 ten nests and eggs of the redpole from England. The nests 

 are made externally of dried grasses, mixed with moss, they 

 are compact, neat structures, and deep inside ; they are lined in 

 some cases with sheep's wool, others are lined with hair and 

 feathers. The eggs do not vary much, and are easily recognized 

 by an experienced eye. They are bluish-green, spotted chiefly 

 around the larger end with reddish-brown, the markings 

 often forming a zone round the butt end of the eg^s. Some 



o oo 



winters, large flocks of redpoles pass through Ontario, accom- 

 panied by pine and evening grosbeaks. During the winter of 

 1890-91, I saw large flocks north of Toronto. At the same 

 .time I saw a flock of over fifty evening grosbeaks feeding on 

 the ground under some pine trees ; a few days later I obtained 

 a fine pair that were shot in Toronto. Later on 1 purchased a 

 pair of pine grosbeaks that had been shot in one of the princi- 

 pal streets in Toronto, where they were feeding on the moun- 

 tain ash berries. A boy also brought me a handsome male 

 pine grosbeak he had shot with a catapult. During this same 

 winter a number of pine grosbeaks were caught alive and 

 kept in cages. The following May a pair built a nest in a 

 cage and laid four eggs ; I bought two of the eggs from Mr. 



