1879. | 269 [Brewer. 
entirely adverse to the assertion that C. borealis has. been found 
breeding here. I have repeatedly heard of the finding of their nests, 
but upon following out my inquiries I have not found a single 
authentic instance. The persons who made these reports did so in all 
honesty and good faith, but their identification of the bird was very 
imperfect. One person, in answer to an inquiry as to how he had 
identified the bird, said he knew it because of its resemblance to the 
picture in Samuels’s ‘Birds of New England,’ and, as that book 
is authority on all ornithological matters, the existence of any other 
shrike was perhaps not known. The truth is, that every identified 
nest proved to be that of C. ludovicianus; and since these birds 
have never been recorded as breeding in New England, a few notes 
from this quarter may prove of interest. Since you mentioned Mr. 
C. A. Morse’s case, I gave special attention to it, and procured the 
skin of the bird from Mr. Brown, who was with him when the nest 
was found. This skin I send to you as a proof of the bird’s identity. 
The following is the result of my inquiries and observations: During 
the last two years, six nests have been discovered in the immediate 
vicinity of Bangor; two were in apple and four in fir-trees — all in 
rather open fields — and they varied in height from four to ten feet 
above the ground; five were placed on horizontal limbs; all, with 
one exception, contained eggs — four contained six each, the fifth 
contained three (the last set evidently not complete); the eggs varied 
in size from 1.07.72 to .87.72, the former being the usual size. 
The nests were procured in May; all were composed of sticks and 
lined with feathers; one had everlasting mixed with it. These 
nests were in some cases very near the travelled road, and none 
were far from civilization. Some six or seven birds have been shot, 
and none were Great Northern Shrikes. One of the birds in my 
collection showed the following dimensions when fresh: length, 
8.38; stretch of wing, 10.75; wing, 3.76; collected Aug. 23, 1878. 
The birds in some cases flew Seoul the intruders within a few feet 
of their heads, and in one instance the old bird remained on the nest 
till it was nearly touched by the hand. Two of the six mentioned 
nests were procured without the birds, but the person who found 
them is certain that the birds were like the others. One of tliese? 
1 This nest was referred to in Forest and Stream, April 3, 1878, as a genuine nest 
of borealis, but subsequently the error was admitted and corrected. But for 
the prompt and thorough investigations of Mr. Merrill here would have been a 
false record made which it would have been impossible to set right, and this 
is a case in point, showing how easy it is unintentionally to be led into error, and 
