THE CANADIAN 8P0RTSMAN AND NATURALI81. 





seemed thoroughly to enjoy the mischief h>- 

 had done. In order to prevent this practice, 

 which became troublesome, holes wen' bored 

 in the doors behind the bolts, and wooden pins 

 inserted, SO that the bolts could not lie drawn 

 back without first taking out these pins. For 

 some time this device baffled the colt, but 

 before long he found out how to evade it, and 

 used to pull out the pin with his teeth, draw 

 the bolt and let the dour fall open as before. 

 He would then gallop off wi^h the pin in his 

 month and drop it where it could never be 

 found again. After having thus opened the doors 

 and let out the horses, his master would often 

 try to catch him, but the stables communicated 

 with one another at the back, and the colt 

 used to dodge the old man in at one door and 

 out at the other, as in pure fun or mischief, 

 until some one of the younger and more active 

 men, came with a stick and brought him to 

 terms. The above acts indicate no low order 

 of reason, and certainly look as it the colt 

 enjoyed playing the pranks and witnessing the 

 discomfiture ot his master. 



E. W. Cl.AYI'Ol.E, 



New Bloomfield, Perry Co., Pa. \ 

 Nov., 26th 1882. } 



CANADIAN OOLOGY. 

 Dear Sir, — I am much interested in the list 

 ot Western Canadian Birds contributed by 

 Messrs. Morden and Saunders, to the Novem- 

 ber number of your Journal. Having pro- 

 mised to continue my experience in Oological 

 study during the past season, I beg to send the 

 following notes: — The Wood Thrush and 

 Wilson's Thrush, are quite abundant in this 

 vicinity, but until the past summer I had 

 but little personal knowledge ot the Hermit 

 Thrush. In June last, however, I discovered 

 three nests of the latter species. The first, 

 which contained four eggs, was placed in a low- 

 beech bush, nearly two feet from the ground, 

 and was composed of dry leaves, stalks ot dry 

 weeds, bramble, rotten wood, rinds and small 

 roots. Surrounding the nesting-place was a 

 thick growth ot low brushwood. The second 

 nest containing four eggs, was placed in an old 

 turned up root, about tour feet from the ground, 

 and in the midst of a grove of young tamarae. 

 When discovered, the bird was sitting on the 

 nest and I could have caught her had I wished 

 to do so. The third nest, containing two eggs, 

 was placed in a bunch of yellow water lilhes, 

 a tew inches above the water of a pool. Early 

 in April I saw a solitary specimen ot the 



Olive-backed Thrush, but I ha 

 covered i< 

 notict d a smal 



building her ne-t. J'i i- 



cavitv in a low bank . 



hemlock, on the margin of a -wan, p. 



water. A lar_r<- quantity ot' dry l< 



used in ra:-iti_' the foundation to th< 



position. When I visited it a week after, the 



foundation of the 



some small animal, but I foun i 



beneath it. This 



like that of the Golden-crowned Thrush; 



but it was much smaller in size. The . 



nest of this species, which contained 



was placed in a corner ot a turned 

 up root, the top of which hung 

 it from sun, rain, and observation, and bei 



which was a] 1 of water. The fema' 



upon this nest until my hand was a few ii 

 otl. The colour ot the bird was slaty-black 

 on the upper parts, yellow below, with black 

 marks extending downwards from the thr\>at. 

 Length five inches; common notes, a sharp 

 "chip." Song ot the male resembling the • 

 " dure dure lidy, dure lee." I have since 

 identified this species as the Lan:e-Billed 

 Water Thrush, (Schwa Vudoviciamu). On 

 the 8th of June, I discovered the neel 

 species of warbler hitherto unknown to me. 

 This was situated in a small balsam, (in a 

 black ash swamp,) four feet from the ground, 

 and formed of small stalks of weeds, rootlets 

 and fine hair, much in form and size like the 

 nest ot the Chipping Sparrow. This nest 

 contained tour fresh eggs, white in colour, 

 with a ring of reddish spots towards the larg - 

 end and a few dots ot the same hue near 

 the centre. I identity the latter species as the 

 Myrtle Bird, or Yellow-Rump Warbler. (Dot- 

 drotca coronafa). The nest and eggs are in 

 my collection. I also collected for the first 

 time, two nests of the Chestnut-sided Warbler. 

 One - was situated in a cluster ot raspberry 

 vines; the other, in a small scrubby beech ; 

 the first contained two of its own eggs, and 

 two Cow bird's • the other, tour, and one Cow- 

 bird's. The eggs of the Cow bird were also 

 found in the nests of the Black Snowbird. 

 Swamp Sparrow. Song Sparrow, Chipping 

 Sparrow. Yellow Warbler, Golden-crowned 

 Thrush, Red-eyed Vireo and Water Wagtail. 

 This latter nest was the first of this species 

 that I have seen ; it was placed in the cavity 

 ot a large turned up root, over a pool ot water, 

 into which the bin! jumped when she lett the 



