460 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 



ber at Calgary, Alta., June 19th, 1897; one seen on the shore of an 

 island in Lesser Slave Lake, Atha., May 31st, 1903. This species 

 and C. ornatus were always found together and are true prairie 

 species. {Spreadborough.) I secured an adult male on June 3rd, 

 1887, and on the same day three years later, shot two females at 

 the same place ; these are all I have seen at Chilliwack, B.C. 

 {Brooks.) 



Breeding Notes.^ — This bird is a great favorite of mine. I 

 love its sweet song, for the male bird has the habit of soaring into 

 the air for some distance and then descending with outstretched 

 wings, with a parachute-like descent sliding down on the scale 

 of its own delicious music. During June, 1891 and 1893, I found 

 this species abundant on the hilly prairie north of Rush Lake, 

 Assa. Here it builds its nest on the ground at the side of a sod 

 and lays four or five eggs. The female is a close sitter, not leav- 

 ing the nest until the intruder has stepped close up to it. The 

 eggs are like those of Smith's longspur in colour and markings, 

 but average smaller in sjze. {W. Raine.) This is a very common 

 species in many parts of the prairie region. Many nests were 

 seen in 1894 and 1895 ^^'^ ^^^ were in a hole in the ground with 

 slight elevation on one side. Nest of dried grass and indis- 

 tinguishable from that of thechestnut-collared bunting. {Macoun.) 



MUSEUM SPECIMENS. 



Fourteen ; two taken at Indian Head, Assa., May, 1892, one 

 at Old Wives' Creek, Assa., May 25th, 1895, two at Crane Lake, 

 Assa., April 2Sth, 1894, eight at Medicine Hat, Assa., in April 

 and May, 1894, all by Mr. Spreadborough ; one taken at Rush 

 Lake, Assa., May 29th, 1893, by Mr. W. Raine. 



Two sets of four eggs each, one taken at Crane Lake, June nth, 

 1894 and the other south of Wood Mountain, Assa., June 14th, 

 1895, both by Prof. Macoun. 



CXCVL POOC^TES Saird. 1858. 



540. Vesper Sparrow. 



PooccBtes gramineus (Gmel.) Baird. 1858. 

 A common resident in fields in Nova Scotia. {Downs.) Com- 

 mon in King's Co., N.S. from the middle of April to October. 

 {H. Tufts.) Not uncommon at Baddeck and Margaree, Cape 



