BIEDS OF XOETHEEX CAXADA 389 



On IStii April, 1885, a nest similarly constructed was dis- 

 covered on a tree not far from Fort Providence, and it held 

 four eggs; but having large embryos in them, all but one 

 broke in trying to remove the contents. The parent was 

 also snared on her nest. Bird and egg were forwarded to 

 Dr. Bell. I will again quote from Major Bendire: "As 

 the nesting season begins early, long before the snow has dis- 

 appeared, therefore comparatively little is yet known about 

 its breeding habits. Mr. E. MacFarlane found several nests 

 and eggs of the Canada jay near Anderson Eiver Fort, 

 British ISTorth America, during the first week in May, and 

 reports them tolerably numerous in the wooded country, even 

 to its northern and eastern limits; but none were observed 

 by him in the ' Barrens ' west or east of the Wilmot Horton 

 Eiver or on the Arctic coast. The nests taken by him 

 were placed in spruce or tamarac trees, often in the middle 

 of a swamp, on branches close to the trunks and well con- 

 cealed from view, and at heights of nine or ten feet. This 

 jay, like the other members of this family, is silent and re- 

 tiring during the season of nidification, and is then seldom 

 seen or heard. In the more southern portion of its breeding 

 range this begins in March, and sometimes later north. 

 The nest is a bulky affair. One now before me, sent by Mr. 

 MacFarlane, and collected by Mr. Henry McKay near the 

 Hudson's Bay post at Pelican Narrows, in latitude 56° 30' 

 north, contained four eggs when taken in March, 1891. It 

 was found on a small spruce tree, near the trunk, about nine 

 feet from the ground. It is composed of small twigs, plant 

 fibres, willow bark, and quite a mass of the down and catkins 

 of the Cottonwood or aspen, this material constituting fully 

 one-half of the nest. The inner cup is lined with finer 

 material of the same kind and jays' feathers, which are 

 easily recognized by their fluffy appearance. The nest is 

 about eight inches wide by four inches deep ; the inner cavity 

 being about three inches in width by two and one-half in 

 depli. The number of eggs laid, as far as known to me, 



