150 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 



lower Fraser valley; winters at Lake Okanagan, B.C., and common 

 and breeding in the Cariboo district. (Brooks.) 



Breeding Notes. — While on a trip to the marshes in Lake St. 

 Francis near Summerton, Ont., June 6th, 1903, on a low boggy 

 island, less marshy than others and partially covered with alders 

 we found the sora and Virginia rails nesting. These nests were 

 miniature galinule's, though better hidden, and were fastened low 

 down amongst the long marsh grass. (Lewis M. Terrill.) Nests 

 six inches in diameter, made of rushes, are to be found around 

 Ottawa among the reeds in marshy places. Two taken 13th May, 

 1905, and 2ist May, 1906, were on the ground. On the 23rd July, 

 1905, I discovered a floating nest the size of the others among the 

 reeds in a marsh. {Garnean.) This species breeds wherever there 

 is a sufficiently large marsh, a small one of an acre being enough 

 to please, and sometimes even less will do. {W. Saunders.) A nest 

 was brought to me from a slough near Carberry, Manitoba, July 

 30th, 1884. It was found in a tussock of coarse grass, and was 

 built of dry stems of the same. The eggs, eight in number, were 

 quite fresh, and differed from the Carolina rail only in being of a 

 lighter colour and with reddish instead of umber spots, these chiefly 

 about the larger end. The nest was of rushes, and built precisely 

 like that of the Carolina bird, but it was situated rather in a damp 

 meadow than a marsh. (Seton.) This is the commonest rail in the 

 St. Lawrence valley and breeds annually in the marshes along the 

 St. Lawrence and inland. It frequents larger marshes than the 

 sora, though occasionally they are found breeding in the same 

 localities. I have found several nests; two of these were in wet 

 places, formed by rank grass, &c., and placed simply in tussocks 

 of marsh grass. The third was near Gananoque lake among a 

 cluster of flags and bullrushes, and was formed of last year's stems 

 of the latter, fastened among the rushes and floating in about 

 eighteen inches of water, hke a gallinule's. They are late breeders; 

 the first nest I found, containing nine eggs on the 17th June, 

 incubation only commencing; the last one, six eggs, incubation 

 advanced, on the 15th July, 1896. (Rev. C. J. Young.) This is 

 a rare bird in Manitoba. On the 12th June, 1893, I found a nest 

 with one egg at Reaburn, Manitoba, and shot the parent. (Dippie.) 



