216 



THE CANADIAN SPORTSMAN AND NATURALIST. 



their actions and their numerous notes there m 

 a diiference, though I confess it is not easily 

 defined, but after some study their identifica- 

 tion becomes unquestionable. In the northern 

 bird the crown_ of black edged with white, so 

 conspicuous in congener, is replaced by a 

 crown of rich brown edged with ashy ; the 

 throat also is brown,and the entire upper parts 

 are more brown than ashy. Then the head 

 does not appear so round, so niucli like a ball 

 of do\vn as the Black-cap's does, and the 

 whole plumage partakes less of the fliifiv 

 character. The feathers appear tirnier and 

 set closerto the body giving the bird, in a 

 slight degree, a trimmer and more warblei- 

 like look. And just as this additional stilTness 

 in the contour feathers increases the dignity of 

 the bird's appearance so does a slight stitlness 

 in his movements add to the dignity of the 

 bird's manners — if dignity is at all applicable 

 to a bird who .will persist' in hanging to a limb 

 with his head downwards and acting otherwise 

 like a romp-loving school boy just after a 

 circus has passed his way. For like all the 

 race the Hudsonian lives prinoipallv on the 

 eggs and larvte of insects, which it finds in the 

 crevices of the bark of trees, and m hunting 

 after these it performs a variety of amusing 

 and wonderful gymnastic feats, though I have 

 never seen one attempt to climb the trunk ot 

 a tree as do their next of kin, the ciei'pers. 

 But in all these movements this species exhi- 

 bits just a little less of that rollicking style- 

 that free abandon which is so pronounced in 

 the antics of the Black-cap. And m the 

 songs of the two you can trace a diiference of 

 a somfwhat similar character ; that ul the 

 Hudsonian lacks the extreme sweetness md 

 smoothness of its cousiii's. The voice is harsher 

 and the syllables are delivered more di.stinctlv 

 and more deliberately. Bui with all their 

 efforts to affect boarding-school airs they must 

 be rather genial fellows, for in the autumn 

 and winter troops of six or eight are met 

 together and generally in company with as 

 many Black-caps and a small contingent o( 

 Kinglets. Tree Sparrows sometimes join Ihc 

 party, and but a few days ago I met such u 

 troop " doing " the rounds of the trees in oni.' 

 of the public squares of this city with a pair of 

 Downy Woodpeckers following close m Iheir 

 rear. 



The Hudsonians chatter away as thev hunt 

 for their food from branch to branch and tree 

 to tree, but they do not always sing their full 

 song j more frequently the first note heard 



from an advancing flock is something like 

 isay-day-day, the last syllables rather length- 

 ened or a sharper, quicker ie-teei-chee-chee, and 

 occasionally a guttural tse-pu-pri-pu. They 

 have numerous other minor notes with which 

 they fill m the intervals, and one, which they 

 use chieflv when resting under the cover of 

 heavy evei'sn^i'ii Iolia<i0.«i# in such places as 

 they select U,r sleep, is like the thin tsip of a 

 Kinglet. While on their foraging expeditions, 

 and indeed at all times, they exhibit no syiii]j- 

 toms of shyness and appear quite itidillereul lo 

 the presence of mankind, occasionally |);iii.siii.u,- 

 to "'aze .at an iniinisitive intruder with a eunn- 

 K iT uh.. ^K ^uu 1. >1 111- It in lud pi. 

 Iiabh l< llouuu tins b\ sonu |,ulnin,in. . 

 around a liinh, as il to show oti their athletic 

 capabilities. 



In the spriiiL' these ii'av companions separate, 

 each takiii" u i.i.nl.-. :niil starliiie boldly into 

 hoiisp|.-rf|.iii ■ - lihasbi'cn stated lhat 



the lliid M . i (If. Is 1 .kc] (oust 



for the site ol its nest, and this may be the 

 general rule, but of the tour nests that I have 

 seen neither were placed m any such seclusion. 

 The one most carefully hid away was in a 

 rather thick swamp, but was (|ui(e cluse to Ihe 

 outskirts of a village and within a luiiirh'ed 

 yards of a much used highway; two ol the 

 others were in open pastures through which 

 children jilayed daily; while the fourth was in 

 a telegraph post withm a hundred 

 ol a lailw i\ stitii n Duiin_ Ills 

 enabled to examine two nt-^is i 

 before they were removed Iron, li 

 position OIK 1 I till 1 w\ loiiiii 

 niunilston. not lar troiii the Qu 

 Mr. H. A. Puniie, of the Nutti 

 bridge, and the other was dis- 

 James W.Banks withm an hou 

 city. These two nests were t 

 both in position and construct 



m J \ 



ar Ed- 

 c border, by 

 Club, Garn- 

 ered liy Mr. 

 walk of this 

 learly alike 

 1 tliEt a de- 

 scription of one will apjilv eijuallv well to 

 either. They were placed in decayed and 

 weather-beaten stumps (apparently spruce or 

 hr). some three teet high and hve inches in 

 diameter, but unlike the Black-cap, who makes 

 an entrance from the side, these builders had 

 entered the stump Iroin the top, beginning 

 with a hole ol about two inches diameter, 

 which size was maintained lor some six or 

 eight inches, when it was mcrea.sed gradually 

 to about three inches, and this width was con- 

 tinued to the base of the excavation some 

 twelve to fourteen inches from the top. At the 

 bottom of this cavity, under the nest proper. 



THE CANADIAN SPORTSMAN AND NATURALIST. 217 



were two mats or platforms. The first or low- 

 est ol these, which was about one inch and a 

 half thick, was composed of dry moss hrmly 

 piicked, and upon this was placed another 

 such mat made of the inner fur of the common 

 hare, tirmlvlelted into a compact mass. Ujjon 

 this latter rested the cup-shaped nest made of 

 the s.iine felled fur and of such iireciso and 

 .1 ifitiil toini IS ti. lii\c biui no .liM udit to i 

 more eiiltiired artist. The walls o! the nest 

 were two and one-half inclies higli and hall an 

 inch thick. There was no other material used 

 as a lining, but the interior had a soft woolly 

 surface not observaljle on the outside ol the 



wills Theic wa< In 



,oni, ,„ , ,„ „, t iml 



SIX in the other, ami b 



.llibi lu.ls uiie 111 mm h 



the -ime su.i ol 



level. )i„rieiil. although 



the bdmuiid ton ne^l 



w 1 lei, on lime lltli, 



and the St. .lolm iiest 



jii July 1. It has not 



bei'n mv goo.l fortune 



to -ti thi eggs ol this 



sp<tR. but Ml n B 



Bailey, ol the Linnean 



So( ol >,(W loik. 



who took several nests 



at Stewiacke, m ?»io\ 



/a Scotia, during June, 



1881, told me lluiL t 



1, i__ dill.i.d bul ven 



slightlv from those of 



h. 1 liek . ipp.d 111 \ 



iirmn.h the s,m, s. 



, lll.l ship, puhip I 



shade s„,allor. but 



with the same wliile 



_101llMi llld lll.^Ulll 1 



i.mui-h imI iml pinki li 



111 ul 111^- Ihn. .M, 



il -t iteil th it the) 1 iv is 



many as eight and len 



e.;i;s, but I have never 



seen inoic thin i m ii 



,or less than five young 



m the n.sts th it 1 li i 



e examined. With all 



their reckless rollicku 



c wdvs till Hndsoii Biv 



Tits make most devoted husl.iaiids aii.l tathers. 



ami thouu'h ceiierallv 



n a merry iii.io.l can be 



Ihk, wlun oec i-ions 

 bold md eoui u.ou- 



ieiiim.ls iM.I ji. ilu 



lodint 111.1 l< illuH.l e 



_ llii.'l 111 ,ii ..i\.i d, 



^.t 1 b «e seui m thin 



J m their uctions to iii- 



(111 111 th< pi.ib ibibh 1 



t ih, lin,,h li-hts ii.ili.l 



\n W ilson iioi ol Ihi 



lis|jla\' ol licrce temper 



^^ll<l, .1, spoil,,, Hull 



lb It h IS been 1,11 n 



tlo„,,l b^ \,1 1 



. ,.1 in.l othiis 



iml 1 hue li . 



,,n,,tv t< ob-,ne 



till 1 Itti 1 I 1 1 1 u 1 



1 ill, ,1 1 I u,d,. ,- 



kind and tendci-liearl 





he saw that his Hudso 



liian i,r:-i '111 



young he shrank from any uiur - - ii. > ''- o i- 

 hce of bird-hfe ; but he is an enthusiastic col- 

 lector, and he wanted that nest. Alter consult- 

 ing, we determined to open the stump, take 

 out the nest and replace it with one made of 

 cotton-wool. This was successfully accom- 

 plished, but between our desire not to iujure 

 the nest, and the stubbornness of the stump, 

 there was considerable time absorbed in the 



oneration : and all this time the parent birds 

 hovered about us with a patient submission to 

 the inevitable that was almost sublime. Their 



movements had lost the merry reckless dash 

 So oh 11 11 lei islH ol thin iiie md while they 

 passed fearlessly Iroiii boiioh to bough close 

 around us, watching us with intense interest, 

 they uttered only a few anxious notes and 

 maintained a calm anel dignified bearing that 

 was unimpeachable. 



Montague Chamberlain. 



St. John, N.B. 



BIRDS OF WESTEBN ONTAEIO. 



Sib, — I have been very much interesteii in 

 the January number ot your paper and really 

 delighted with the ornithological contributions 

 it contains, but more particularly with the 

 correspondence of Mr. Mcllwraith of Hamilton, 

 containing some careful criticisms on the 

 list of birds of Western Ontario, given by Mr. 



E. Saunders and myself. Concerning the 

 wmlenni;- ot lic-i/iiln-i calendula in Ontario, 

 i can say but very little, as I did not positively 

 observe it mvselt; I never . hunt much 

 among the evergreens along the Thames, 

 where it is said to winter. The Great 

 Northern Shrike (Lanms borealis) is scarce 

 here m winter, but sometimes it is com- 

 mon m October, remaining until after the 

 first storms ot snow, when they generally di.s- 

 appear. 1 have seen only one specimen of 

 the species this winter, that was early in 

 November, before all the black snowbirds and 

 tree sparrows had dcjiarted. One of the last 

 named, the shnke was pursuing when I 

 observeel it. I have never met with the adult 

 ot this species in summer, but in the month 

 ot August, 1880, a young man brought me a 

 Marsh Hawk (Circus htidsonms,) which I 

 bought and asked him to procure others for 

 nie. In a few days, the same party ^brought 

 me live young of L. boreahs which were reared 



I near where he lived. Their plumage contained 

 many pin feathers, consequently I did not 



I preserve them, but their large size and breast 

 markings were, m my opinion, unmistakable 

 proof of the .species. I was told the parent 

 shrikes were very shy and a few weeks pre- 

 vious had killed some very young chickens 

 belonging to a farmer near by. 



John H. Mordex. 



Hyde Park, Out. 



