508 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 



April 30th, 1894; quite common in scrub' along the river. and 

 creeks by May 5th; a few found breeding at Crane Lake, but 

 especially along Skull Creek; in the Cypress Hills, at the last of 

 June; they were quite common along the willow thickets bordering 

 the small creeks forming Swift Current Creek. This species is 

 always by water, and wherever there is water and brush. We 

 found it from Old Wives' Creek to Wood Mountain and west to 

 Frenchman's River, and by all the creeks issuing from the 

 Cypress Hills. Many nests were found on the ground, generally 

 beneath willows. A few individuals were seen in the Milk River 

 valley at Castellated Rocks, Alberta, also on the West Butte, on 

 the 49th parallel, and at Lee's Creek farther west; very rare at 

 Banff in the Rocky Mountains, breeding in the bushes in the 

 marsh below " the Cave and Basin " in June, 1891; first observed 

 one April 20th, at Edmonton, Alta.; found a nest May 26th and 

 another May 27th with five eggs; nests, on the ground, composed 

 of dry grass, lined with a little horse hair; common south in the 

 foothills to Crow's Nest Pass; common from mouth of Lesser 

 Slave River to Peace River Landing Lat. 56° 15' in June, 1903; 

 common from Edmonton to the'crossing of McLeod's River,north 

 of Edmonton in June, 1898. {Sprecufborough.) 



Breeding Notes. — A common breeding bird around Ottawa. 

 Nest in a low bush, or tuft of grass, or on the ground; built of 

 grass, rootlets and vegetable matter, lined with grass and hair. 

 Eggs four, greenish or grayish white spotted with brown, choco- 

 late and lavender. {G. R. White.) Breeding in May, June and 

 July, and occasionally in August in New Brunswick. I would 

 not be surprised if some specialist were to divide our song spar- 

 rows into two races. There is certainly a difference in the songs 

 of those in different localities, a great difference in their eggs 

 and the location of the nest. {W, H. Moore.) Some of the nests 

 are on the ground or sunken in the ground, also in the midst of 

 heaps of dead branches or covered by tufts of tall grass in the 

 fields or by reeds in the marshes. Others are built in bushes or in 

 small trees to a height of ten feet, and many on the lower 

 branches of large conifers. A few are found in holes of trees or 

 in logs in fences. The materials used are grasses, bark and 

 leaves with finer grass or hairs as lining. Eggs may be found 

 from April to August at Ottawa. {Gameau) 



