98 



The Canadian Field-Naturalist 



[Vol. XXXVI 



different points by the wayside after leaving 

 homo. These were all alive and had apparently 

 fallen during the night, possibly attracted by the 

 lights of the town over which they flew bewildered 

 until exhausted. Eight others were reported 

 from the vicinity of Truro about the same time. 

 Between the 23rd and 28th of December, there 

 were seven found about the town of Annapolis 

 Royal. 



Five Murres were reported from January 30th 

 to February 18th, all of which were alive at the 

 time they were discovered. Four of these were 

 sent to me and on examination proved to be 

 Brunnich's Murres. Two were taken under 

 conditions which seem noteworthy: On January 

 30th a neighbour was driving across the dyke at 

 Port Williams when his attention was attracted 

 to a bird which was flying towards him swiftly. 

 It was about to pass in front of him when it struck 

 the telephone wire with a crash which sent it 

 spinning to earth with a badly fractured skull. 

 It lived only a few moments. When it was 

 handed to me it was still warm. It proved to be 

 a female Brunnich's Murre and was a very large 

 one, measuring exactly 20 inches from tip of bill 

 to end of tail. The other measurements were 

 as follows: Wing, 8 in.; Tar., 1.50 in.; Bill, 

 1.25; width bill at nostril, .48 in. Another was 

 discovered on the 10th of February, standing 

 erect in the snow holding two cats at bay. These 

 would attempt to strike the bird with their claws 

 and one had succeeded in giving the Murre a 

 severe cut on the throat, though only skin deep. 

 The bird, with the use of its bill and powerful 

 thrusts, was able to look out for himself re- 

 markably well. 



Mr. Forbush of Boston reports that Dovekies, 

 Brunnich's Murres, and Razor-billed Auks have 

 been common all along the New England sea- 

 board and by way of explanation states that 

 evidently some disturbance has occurred in the 

 north and there "must have been some tremen- 

 dous storms at sea." — R. W. Tufts, Wolfville, 

 N.S. 



several Cowbirds have been reported from 

 Yarmouth County.— R. W. Tufts, Wolfville, N.S. 



CowBiRD IN Nova Scotia.— On the 17th of 

 April, 1922, I had the pleasure of meeting with a 

 Cowbird for the first time in my field experience 

 in Nova Scotia. 



This was at Kingston Station, Kings County, 

 where the bird was feeding on the ground by the 

 roadside. At the approach of the car it flew to 

 the nearest apple tree, some 25 feet distant, and 

 sat there wiping its bill in a manner which showed 

 slight concern for the car, which was brought to 

 an abrupt stop. The bird was a male and in 

 very fine plumage. This appears to be the first 

 record from this part of the Province, though 



Early Nesting of the American Gosh.awk. 

 — In the cases of ten nests of this species which it 

 has been my good fortune to examine during the 

 past 15 years, or so, it has been possible to deter- 

 mine that the eggs were laid about the 1st to 

 the 10th of May. On the 16th of April this 

 year I collected a set of 3 Goshawk's eggs which 

 were slightly incubated. This nest was examined 

 on the 6th of April, and on that date held two eggs. 

 The nest was in a medium-sized beech tree, about 

 35 feet up, and well fastened in the first crotch. 

 An attempt was made to photograph the bird at 

 the nest and a blind was constructed for that 

 purpose. She returned within about 50 yards 

 several times, but apparently her keen eye de- 

 tected the changed landscape even at that dis- 

 tance and she quickly disappeared. The male 

 bird was not in evidence and the female, an 

 adult, was very wary, leaving the nest when we 

 had approached within about 45 yards. She 

 flew about for some time, uttering harsh cries, 

 then disappeared, returning after a considerable 

 lapse of time when she supposed we had left 

 the woods. 



These birds are remarkably uniform in their 

 choice of building sites, seeming to prefer a low 

 crotch in a medium-sized hard-wood tree and 

 never (in my experience) more than 40 feet from 

 the ground.— R. W. Tufts, Wolfville, N.S. 



Notes on Some Winter Birds of the Gaspe 

 Peninsula. — In the early winter of 1921-22, I 

 made a brief journey through the Gaspe Peninsula 

 to Gaspe, Cap des Rosiers, Perce, and Bonaventure 

 Island. I started from Matapedia, P.Q., on 

 December 7 and returned there on December 12. 

 On this journey I had, for the most part, little 

 opportunity of observing birds except from the 

 windows of trains or from sleighs, and therefore 

 failed to identify many of the birds that were 

 glimpsed. The following notes will, however, 

 show something of the character of the avifauna 

 of the region at that season. 



Cepphus grylle. Black Guillemot. — About a 

 dozen individuals of this species were seen swim- 

 ming and diving just outside of the surf at Cap des 

 Rosiers on December 9. In the waters near 

 Bonaventure Island three of them were seen on 

 December 10 and three on December 11. 



Larus hypcrboreus, GLAUCOUS Gull. — An adult 

 specimen of this species, which appeared to be 

 accustomed to the proximity of human beings, was 

 studied at close range as it stood on the beach at 

 Cap des Rosiers village on December 9. No 

 other Gulls seen during the journey were posi- 



