146 



THK NIDIOLOGIST. 



Bird-Nesting in North-West Canada 



BY WALTER RAINE. 



[Concluded ] 



AFTER supper I put on my rubber 

 l:)OOts and went into the willow 

 thicket on the banks of the Bow 

 river, and found a nest and two eggs of 

 Audubon's Warbler, which I left so as to 

 get the full clutch a few daj-s later. It was 

 a lovely evening, and at sunset it was a 

 great treat to see the glorious tints of purple 

 and gold on the mountain tops and the dif- 

 ferent effects of the sunlight upon the 

 snowy peaks and glaciers. 



June 15. — Early this morning we started 

 out for the timber along the banks of the 

 Bow river, and heard several Spruce Grouse 

 drumming and saw specimens of Canada 

 and Blue-fronted Jays, both of which breed 

 around Banff. We had not gone far before 

 we flushed a small Warbler off its nest and 

 five eggs. As I wished to identify the 

 species we left the nest and eggs, not before 

 we had carefully noted down the spot, so we 

 could shoot the birds on our next visit. 

 Western Chipping Sparrows' nests were 

 agajn numerous, and usually contained four 

 eggs, the nests being built in fir trees. 

 Rufous Hummingbirds were plentiful, and 

 we shot two specimens and later found a 

 beautiful little nest of vegetable down 

 covered with lichens and built on a twig 

 of a pine tree overhanging the river. We 

 al.so startled a White-crowned Sparrow out 

 of the grass, and found its nest containing 

 four eggs. These we also left, as I wished 

 to obtain the bird. 



After dinner we started out for Squaw 

 .Mountain, which only appears to be about 4 

 miles from Banff, but it took us along time 

 to reach the foot of the mountain, and we 

 had to cross numerous mountain streams 

 before we reached the first slope. Water 

 Ouzels were numerous, but I did not fall 

 in with a nest. My comi)anion told me 

 their nest is like that of the luiropean Dip- 

 pers, a large ball of green moss with a side 



entrance, and is generally built under a 

 bank, or on the face of a mossy rock or tree 

 root near a cascade. They lay five or six 

 white eggs, which are like those of the 

 English I)ip])er. 



We found it hard work climbing Squaw 

 Mountain, but we were repaid by the mag- 

 nificent view we had of the surrounding 

 mountains and valleys. We did not see any 

 Pine Grosbeaks, although my companion 

 said the}- nested on the slopes of the moun- 

 tain. So we descended into a forest of 

 giant Douglas firs. We saw a Red-breasted 

 Nuthatch fly out of a hole about 30 feet up 

 a large fir, but it was impossible to reach 

 the eggs without a pair of climbers. My 

 companion told me to keep a sharp look-out 

 as we were in the Grizzh' Bear range. His 

 words were not ver}- consoling, for what 

 chance should we have of defending our 

 lives with small collecting guns. However, 

 there was one thing in our favor — we could 

 easily climb a tree where a grizzlj' could not 

 follow us. I soon afterwards suggested 

 "that we had better go no farther into the 

 forest, as it v»as not a likely place to find 

 birds' nests." My companion remarked, 

 with a smile, "You evidently don't wish to 

 meet a grizzh'." "No, not when I am onlj^ 

 armed with an X I, shot gun," I replied. 

 We were rather surprised an hour later 

 when we came across a Stoney Indian's 

 tepee with a huge bear's skin laying drying 

 in the sun behind his tent, and on my com- 

 panion enquiring where he had shot it, he 

 pointed to the forest where we had been a 

 short time previously. 



Leaving the Indian 's camp we walked 

 round the Vermillion Lake and observed 

 several male Barrow 's Golden-eyes; no doubt 

 the females were busy attending to the 

 duties of incubation. They make a nest in 

 a hollow tree stump, and lay from ten to 

 fifteen eggs of a pea-green color. Rufous 

 Hummingbirds were very numerous 

 around the shore of the lake, and we sat 

 down for some time and watched the little 

 creatures chasing one another around the 



