—29— 



region. Its wonderful aerial evolutions at dusk, and in the 

 afternoon of cloudy days, have given it extended acquaintance, 

 hence it is more generally known than many of our avian neigh- 

 bors. Not all persons, however, who have witnessed its vola- 

 torial powers, have heard the strange sound, resembling a 

 steamer or gong whistle, which it utters sometimes as it 

 plunges downward in its flight. The rocky ledges near the 

 Station afford the nighthawk suitable nesting sites, and during 

 the day we frequently startled the drowsy birds as they sought 

 retirement after a period of activity at dusk and in the early 

 morning. 



One nest of the western nighthawk, or rather one set 

 of eggs, was found, and that was taken on the last day of our 

 collecting trip at the Station, July 5. The two eggs were on a 

 bare rock back of the store at Holt. No nest was made for 

 them. They were quite advanced in incubation. In color 

 they were stone gray, with spots of blackish brown. 



RED-NAPED SAPSUCK.ER, Sphyrapicus varius nuchalis 



Baird. 



Most of the woodpeckers nest early, hence little attention 

 was given to their nesting habits^ moreover, most of them nest 

 in sites which require strenuous climbing to reach, and as this 

 was not our purpose while making these notes, the woodpeckers 

 were generally passed with little notice. A family of red-naped 

 sapsuckers, however, had selected a site so obvious tha,t this 

 note is given to them. It was in a dead aspen in the margin 

 of the grassy slough in the woods at the right of Swan Eiver, 

 mentioned in an introductory paragraph. When the birds 

 were observed, they were feeding their young in the cavity, 

 the entrance being a small sub-circular hole about eight feet 

 from the level of the water, which had surrounded the foot of 

 the tree. On June 86, when the note was made, the young 

 appeared to be quite well-grown, judging by the buzzing clamor 

 they raised when the parent bird stood at the entrance with 

 food. 



BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, Ooccyzus erythrophthalmus (Wils.) 



While I am aware that the identification is questionable, T 

 submit the following note for what it is worth. No specimens 



