342 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 



defense of their homes, losing in their anxiety all sense of danger 

 to themselves. {Coues.) 



MUSEUM SPECIMENS. 



Sixteen ; one taken at Old Wives' Creek, Assa.; eight at Medi- 

 cine Hat, Assa.; one at Enderby, B.C.; one at Spence's Bridge, 

 B.C. ; and three at Agassiz, B.C. ; all by Mr. Spreadborough. 



CLXII. MYIARCHUS Cabanis. 1844. 

 452. Crested Flycatcher. 



Myiarchus crinitus (Linn.) Light. 1854. 



Have observed this species at Scotch Lake, York Co., N.B., in 

 August ; they seemed to be migrating in families. (W. H. 

 Moore.) Taken near Woodstock, N.B., by Mr. Purdie in 1878. 

 {Chamberlain.') Rare summer resident in woods near Quebec. 

 {Dionne.) Common summer resident in the district of Montreal. 

 ( Wintle.) 



A common summer resident in the Ottawa district. {Ottawa 

 Naturalist, Vol. V.) Reported as common at Beaumaris on May 

 I2th, 1898, by Mr. Tavernier ; I believe it will be found distri- 

 buted over both Muskoka 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 Winnipegoosis where Macoun shot it in 1881; 

 there are also three specimens in the Museum at Winnipeg taken 

 by Hine. {Thom.pson-Seton.) 



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 curious breeding habit is the use of snake skins in the nest, 

 which is always placed in the hole of a tree. I never saw a nest 

 without pieces of snake skin. They commence to lay about the 

 1st 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 little animal away. I 



