CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 395 



of Lake Winnipeg. {Richardson.) I once observed this bird at 

 Fort Simpson, on the Mackenzie River, Lat. 62°. {Ross.) This 

 is a common species at Indian Head and Crane Lake and 

 in many other parts of eastern Assiniboia ; rather common at 

 Edmonton in northern Alberta, where it bred in small commun- 

 ities in 1897. It was common in 1895 between Moosejaw and Old 

 Wives' Lakes. This species requires even a wetter country than 

 the red-wing for nesting in, as its nests are always in reeds or tall 

 grass. , It was common in June, 1895, ^t 12-Mile Lake, near Wood 

 Mountain, building numerous nests in the dry rt&ds {Tyfika lati- 

 folia) and rushes {Scirpus lacustris). There were no eggs, yet on 

 the same date in 1894, at Crane Lake, there were young in many 

 nests and it was difficult to get unhatched eggs. The cause of the 

 absence of eggs was evident by the lateness of the season, as on 

 June 7th we had an all-day snow-storm. A few were seen at Wood 

 Mountain Post ; the last specimens were noted about 50 miles 

 west of that point. Later, three specimens were noted at Spur 

 Creek, north of Milk River and a few in its valley at Kennedy's 

 Crossing; only one specimen seen and shot on May 2Sth, 1890, 

 at Revelstoke, B.C. {Spreadborou^h.) 



Abundant at Chemawawin, near the Grand Rapids of the Sas- 

 katchewan, breeding in a slough. {Nutting.) Scarce between the 

 forks of the Saskatchewan, though frequently seen in company 

 with the red-wings; breeding in the region. {Coubeaux.) A rare 

 summer resident on the mainland east of the Coast Range. I 

 have taken it above Clinton on the Cariboo Road, B.C. {Fannin.) 

 A young male was shot at Vernon, B.C. Mr. D. McKinley reports 

 them as occasionally visiting the cattle corrals at Lac la Hache. 

 {Rhoads.) I have two records of this species for Chilliwack, B.C. 

 {Brooks.) 



Breeding Notes. — In one of the sloughs, where I spent most 

 of the day wading about, sometimes up to my waist, and in some 

 spots considerably deeper, a large number of nests were found, 

 mostly containing nestlings, but a few with eggs. This was the last 

 week of June. The nests were built much like those of the long- 

 billed marsh wren, as far as the situation goes, being fixed to a 

 tuft of reeds or bunch of tall rank marsh-grass, some stems of 

 which pass through the substance. They were placed at varying 

 elevations, but always far enough above the water to be out of 

 danger of inundation. The nest is a light, dry, rustling structure, 

 12 



