:N'ov. 1887.] 



AND OOLOGIST. 



183 



At a distance these towering cliffs present a 

 most beautiful appearance, at one point strati- 

 fied with geometric lines of perfect masonry 

 and at others displaying the richest hues. On 

 the eastern side of the inlet the land from the 

 top of the clift's rises gradually for perhaps two 

 hundred yards, terminating in an abrupt ridge, 

 whicli is kept up around North Head to Swal- 

 low-tail Pohit, nearly two miles in all. 'J'he 

 growth of this ridge differs from that of the 

 plateaus above, the furze and Juniper which at 

 first predominate being gradually displaced by 

 hemlock, with now and then a clump of birch, 

 ash or alder, while spruces are scattered and 

 intermixed with the prevailing hemlock. 



On the side of this ridge we found our first 

 nest of the Magnolia on tlie 5th of June, which 

 at that comparativelj' early date was fii-st com- 

 menced. The female had when first noticed a 

 bit of catkin in her bill with which she flew to- 

 ward us and disappeared among tlie birches 

 beyond. A short search revealed the embryo 

 domicile some three feet up in a spruce, which 

 stood in the centre of a clump of hemlock. 

 The soft material which the female carried 

 when first noted was evidently used for orna- 

 mentation onlj', the nest being invariably con- 

 structed without regard to warmtli, being made 

 up of rootlets, dry grasses and a few hairs. 

 Not confined to high land we met with success 

 where the ground was slightlj- fennj', especially 

 where the heavy timber had been cut or burnt 

 ott', leaving the small stunted spruces peculiar 

 to Northern New England, varying from one 

 to seven or eight feet in height, and deemed of 

 too little consequencie by the wood choppers to 

 cut. They are thick and bunchy at the top and 

 afford ample protection for their nests. Some 

 of the burnt districts would be devoid of these 

 dwarf shrubs while others would be thickly 

 dotted with the growtli. The low shrubs seem 

 adapted to the liking of some, though the ma- 

 joritj' prefer the height of from two and one- 

 half to six feet, from our observations coupled 

 with those of Mr. Cheney. Boss' Island made a 

 good showing after a morning's search, but the 

 other islets which fringe the coast do not seem 

 favorable to its nidification ; the main seems to 

 be the proper place and here we met with best 

 success. From a series of eight sets, taken on 

 the island, before me, there is considerable vari- 

 ation as to markings, the ground being invari- 

 ably white. 



No. 1. Contains four eggs, which are spotted 

 chiefly about the crown with vandyke brown. 

 A wreath of brown blotches encircles the base 

 of each specimen. 



No. 2. Contains four eggs, resembling num- 

 ber one, having a few blotches of obscure lilac 

 on the crown and minutely dotted with van- 

 dyke. 



No. 3. Contains four eggs, beautifully wreath- 

 ed about the crowai with reddisli-brown dots 

 and deeper blotches. 



No. 4. Contains three eggs, similar to number 

 two, blotched more heavily with vandyke and 

 umber. 



No 5. Contains three eggs, and is the coun- 

 terpart of number one, the ring of vandyke 

 being slightly more prominent. 



No. 6. Contains two eggs, blotched with ob- 

 scure lilac about the crown, while the whole 

 surface is flecked with reddish-brown. 



Nos. 7 and 8. Are handsome sets, containing 

 four eggs each, being clouded on the crown 

 with obscure lilac, and blotched, spotted and 

 flecked with beautiful shades of brown. The 

 wreath in these sets is not so clearly defined as 

 in others. 



My veteran friend, Mr. Cheney, in a recent 

 letter tells me that he found between twenty 

 and thirty complete sets during his leisure 

 hours this season. 



Nest of the \Vinter W^ren. 



BY WILLIAM h. KELLS, ONTARIO. CANADA. 



This species {Anorthura troglodytes hyemalis) 

 is pretty evenly distributed in most of the 

 woodlands of Central Ontario, at least I have 

 heard its thrilling song notes in the deep woods 

 of all the localities where I have resided, or 

 visited in the summer season, except on the 

 shore of Lake Huron. It is among the earliest 

 of our feathered exiles to return to its native 

 haunts when the rigor of winter is over, and 

 the more gentle spring is about to open over 

 tlie fields and the remnant of our forest lands. 

 Always at the opening of the second week of 

 April — let the weather be stormy and cold, or 

 calm and sunny — and though the snow and ice 

 may still be deep and frozen in the woods, the 

 interested observer of nature is sure to hear 

 the cheery song of this active little wild-wood 

 wanderer, coming from out the remains of some 

 gloondy lowland wood where it makes its sum- 

 mer home. On the Gth of April of the present 

 year, though the ground was frozen hard as 

 rock, the snow still deep in the woods, and the 

 wind from the north was bitterly cold; yet, 

 being out at the back woods on my farm — Wild 

 Wood — I was much pleased to hear the glad- 

 some lay of this species, in the same wildg 



