CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN BIRDS. 40$ 



an oak tree, about ID feet high. This nest was about four inches 

 deep. It was formed of the outer bark of the Asclepias, and so 

 thoroughly interwoven and " darned " that the fabric was like a 

 thick warm felt. It was remarkably strong, too, and with a view 

 to testing it in this particular I brought it home with the branch 

 that bore it, and, having hung to it a pail by a band across the 

 upper surface, proceeded to add weight. Fifteen pounds were 

 gradually added without it showing any signs of breaking, but at 

 the seventeenth the weight slipped to one side, and being thrown 

 upon but one of the fastenings, broke it. I then procured another 

 nest, an old one of the same material, and tried it successively 

 with 15, 20, 25, 27 pounds, and still it held together; 29 and 30 

 were reached without breakage, but at 31 it began to give, and 

 after a few seconds the weight tore through the fabric, without, 

 however, injuring the fastenings at the top. On October 19th 

 found an old nest of an oriole down by the slough. It was woven 

 of strips of Asclepias bark and suspended from four or five twigs. 

 I made a careful test of its strength and found that it bore 1 5 

 pounds weight without the least sign of breaking, but an addi 

 tional two pounds, thrown carelessly on, tore it from its fastenings. 

 ( Thompson- Setoti.) 



MUSEUM SPECIMENS. 



Six ; one taken at Ottawa in May, 1888, by Prof. Macoun ; 

 three at Toronto, Ont., by Mr. S. Herring ; one at Indian Head, 

 and another at Old Wives' Creek, Assa., in 1895, by Mr. Spread- 

 borough. 



One set of six eggs taken at Toronto and purchased from Mr. 

 W. Raine. Another set of five eggs taken at Port Hope, Ont., by 

 N. H. Meeking June ist, 1900. Nest, a purse-shaped structure of 

 rags, paper, thread and twine hung in the slender branches of an 

 elm. 



-^08 Bullock's, Oriole. 



Icterus Bi/ilockit (SvfAias.) Bonap. 1838. 



Breeding in considerable numbers in trees in the valley of the 

 Saskatchewan at Police Point, Medicine Hat, Assa., May, 1894; 

 not noticed further east; a large colony was found breeding in the 

 valley of the Thompson at Kamloops, BX -. in June, 1889 ; 

 rather rare at Spence's Bridge, B.C., in 1889 ; one spe- 

 cimen seen at Chilliwack, B.C., May 23rd, 1901. {Spread- 



