396 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 



swaying with the motion of the reed to which it is affixed, built 

 of the same materials as those which support it, which are woven 

 and plaited together ; no mud is used, nor is there any special 

 lining ; the brim is thick and somewhat folded over, like the seam 

 of a garment; but I never saw a nest, among the many examined, 

 which was arched over, as stated by some authors. The diameter 

 outside is five or six inches, and the depth nearly as much. From 

 three to six eggs or young birds were found in different nests ; 

 the former measure about an inch and an eighth in length by 

 three-fourths of an inch in breadth. The ground-colour is gray- 

 ish-green; this is thickly spotted with different shades of reddish- 

 brown, sometimes so profusely that the ground colour is obscured, 

 especially at the larger end. (Coues.) At Crane Lake, Assa., 

 there was a large colony of these birds which were nesting in a 

 marsh where the water was almost three feet deep. I found that 

 this depth of water round the edge of a reedy pond kept out 

 foxes and coyotes, and here ducks of various kinds, black terns 

 and coots nested in great numbers. All the nests taken by me 

 were slight structures and always fastened to leaves or stems of 

 cat-tail, (Typha latifolia). Eggs, or young in nest were from three 

 to five, never six. {Macoun.) 



MUSEUM SPECIMENS. 



Four ; one procured by Dr. A. R. C. Selwyn, in Manitoba in 

 1885 ; two taken at Indian Head, Assa., in May, 1892, by W. 

 Spreadborough; and one at Grizzly Bear Coulee, Alta., June, 1886, 

 by Mr. Dowling. 



* Four sets of eggs, ranging from three to five, taken at Crane 

 Lake, Assa., on June 8th, 1894. There were many other nests 

 containing young or partly incubated eggs. 



CLXXVIIL AGELAIUS Vieillot. t8i6. 

 498. Red-winged Blackbird. 



Agelaius phoeniceus phceniceus (Linn.) Ridgw. 1901. 



A very rare summer resident in Nova Scotia. {Downs.) A rare 

 species in Kings Co., N.S. {H. Tufts.) One pair at Cove Head 

 Mill, Prince Edward Island, 5th July, 1888. {Macoun.) A common 

 summer resident in New Brunswick. {Chamberlain.) A rare 

 summer resident at Scotch Lake, York Co., but abundant at Grand 

 Lake and at Bindon, Carleton Co., N.B. {W. H. Moore.) Taken 



