672 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA. 



This season, however, I saw one on January 23rd (1894) in a 

 woodland dell, which it frequents during the summer, and near 

 where I had found two nests. On March 30th, I again heard it in 

 the same place, and from that date they became more common. 

 Toward the centre of our sugar bush, and not far from the "camp 

 fire," the ground is rather low, and here most of the larger timber 

 was uprooted by that terrible windstorm of April 20th, 1893; hav- 

 ing noticed the winter wrens frequently during April, in this bush, 

 I expected that they were going to nest here again, and a search 

 on May 2nd, was rewarded with the discovery of a nearly com- 

 pleted nest in one of the highest roots. I think it was four days 

 later that I again visited it, when it contained four eggs; on the 

 gth, I flushed the bird from her nest, which I carefully removed 

 from its place in the soil and fine roots, and found the number of 

 eggs to be six, which were apparently pure white, but if held up 

 to a strong light, after being blown, the minute markings, with 

 which the larger part of the surface is dotted, became visible; the 

 site of the nest was about six feet above the ground, or rather 

 water, which filled the space out of which the root had been torn; 

 the nest resembled a round ball of moss with an entrance hole on 

 the outer side; it measured over twelve inches in circumferance ; 

 the exterior was almost wholly composed of a species of moss, 

 common on the lower parts of trees and logs in low grounds; 

 around the entrance are a number of the stalks of hemlock leaves, 

 while the inside is nearly lined with fine vegetable matter, hair 

 and feathers. This set was completed on the 8th of May and is 

 the earliest date I have ever taken their eggs. Of the seven nests 

 collected in this vicinity four contained six eggs each, and three 

 five; all of these were built in the upturned roots of fallen trees, 

 which is evidently their favourite nesting place, though it certainly 

 builds in other situations. (Wm. L. Kells.) 



MUSEUM SPECIMENS. 



One taken at Ottawa, May 13th, 1890, by Dr. F. A. Saunders. 

 One set of five eggs taken near Toronto, Ont., June 2nd, 1894, 

 and presented by Mr. W. Raine. 



722a. Western Winter Wren. 



Olbiorchilus hiemalis pacificus (Baird) Oberh. 1901 . 

 Common in thick spruce woods from Lesser Slave Lake to 

 Peace River Landing, Lat. 56° 15', in June, 190^3; observed one on 



