1922] Swarth: Birds and Mammals of the Stikine Region 275 



In July, 1914, Ernest M. Anderson found the Bohemian waxwing 

 breeding on islands in Atlin Lake, in the extreme northwestern corner 

 of British Columbia. On July 8 he took four sets of eggs (E. M. 

 Anderson, 1915&, pp. 145-148). "Without going into details, it may 

 be said that in all essential respects of nest construction and location, 

 his findings accord very closely with our own. 



These few records, covering six localities in the Canadian northwest 

 and Alaska, appear to be the only authenticated instances of the actual 

 taking of nests and eggs of the waxwing in North America. In addi- 

 tion may be cited Riley's statement (1912, p. 69) of the probable nest- 

 ing of the species at Moose, in southeastern British Columbia. Though 

 he found no nests, the conditions under which he found the birds were 

 sufiicient proof of their breeding. 



The nesting of the European subspecies (Bomhycilla garrula gar- 

 rula) was most carefully described by John WoUey (1857) in his 

 memorable account of the first discovery of the nest and eggs of the 

 Bohemian waxwing in Finland, and by Newton (1861) in a longer 

 paper describing the same material. WoUey's description of the nest 

 reads in part as follows: 



". . .'. the main substance [of the nest] is of the kind of lichen 



commonly called tree-hair This main substance of the nest is 



strengthened below by a platform of dead twigs, and higher up towards ' 

 the interior by a greater or less amount of fiowering stalks of grass, 

 and occasionally pieces of equisetum." He also found a little rein- 

 deer lichen, green moss, willow cotton, and fiber of grass leaves in the 

 structure ; sometimes one or two feathers in the lining. The nests were 

 ". . . . built on the branch of a tree, not near the bole, and rather 

 .... standing up from the branch . . . ., than supported by twigs 



touching it at the sides Of six nests, four were in small spruces, 



one in a good-sized Scotch fir, and one in a Birch — all placed at a 

 height of from 6 to 12 feet above the ground .... the nest seems 



generally much exposed In parts of the forest considerably 



open. 



"Five seems to be the ordinary number of eggs; in one nest only 

 'there were as many as six. 



"In the backward and cold spring of 1856, Waxwings had their 

 full complement of eggs about the 12th of June" CWoUey, 1857, pp. 

 55-56). 



