CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 373 



1898, by Mr. Taverner; I believe it will be found distributed over 

 both iluskoka and Parry Sound districts in summer. (/. H. 

 Fleming.) A common summer resident at London and in Bruce 

 CO., Ont. {W. E. Saunders.) 



A very rare summer resident of thick woods in Manitoba and 

 northwest to Lake Winnipegosis, where Macoun shot it in 1881; 

 there are also three specimens in the museum at Winnipeg, taken 

 by Hine. {E. T. Seton.) A fairly abundant breeding species 

 along the thickly wooded banks of the Assiniboine river, Man.; 

 observed as far north in this province as Fort EUice, not seen west 

 of Fort EUice. {Atkinson.) Rare at Aweme, Man.; nests in holes, 

 usually the deserted nest of a flicker. (Criddle.) 



Breeding Notes. — One of those birds that within the last fifteen 

 years are certainly becoming commoner in Ontario. They are 

 numerous in the vicinity of Kingston and on Wolfe island. A curi- 

 ous breeding habit is the use of snake skins in the nest, which fc 

 alwajj^s placed in the hole of a tree. I never saw a nest without 

 pieces of snake skin. They commence to lay about the ist of June, 

 and are by no means rare now, 1901. {Rev. C. J. Young.) This 

 large flycatcher has the peculiar habit of placing around the edge 

 of its nest the cast-off skin of a snake, which is probably done to 

 protect its nest from squirrels taking possession of the hollow wherein 

 the nest is built, as, no doubt, the sight of a snake's skin coiled up 

 would scare that Uttle animal away. I have shot specimens of this 

 species in the months of May and August, and noticed the pliimage 

 very fine in the latter month. Observed from May 8th to August 

 28th. {Wintle.) Found this species nesting at Rice lake, Ont., 

 June 1 6th, 1902. {W . Raine.) Nests quite frequently at Ottawa, 

 Ont. Nest is generally built in a hole in a tree about ten feet or more 

 from the ground, where a large branch has been blown off. The 

 nest is composed of straw, leaves, rootlets and vegetable matter, 

 lined with feathers and pieces of snake skin. Eggs, four to five, 

 light buffy brown, streaked lengthwise by lines and markings of 

 purplish and dark brown. A nest found on May 2nd had the 5-oung 

 half-grown. {G. R. White.) A nest with four eggs was taken near 

 Toronto, Ont., by Mr. W. Raine, May 25th, 1895. It was in a hole 

 in a poplar, fifteen feet from the ground. 



