THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
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They arrive in March, and I have shot them at Colville as late as November. 
I have often examined the contents of their stomachs, but never saw the remains 
of lesser birds , generally spiders and beetles, and I believe they are solely insect 
feeders. 
A male killed at Colville in November measured 10^ in. 
One on a high divide above the Osoyoos lakes 9^ in. 
A male on the Sumass prairies measured 9 in., killed in June. 
Mimus carolinensis .— (Gray.) 
Ca.t Bird. It is somewhat curious I never saw this bird west of the Cascades j 
but it is very abundant between the Cascades and Rocky Mountains. They arrive 
at Colville in May and June in twos and threes, and make the underbrush vocal 
with their peculiar cat-like cry. They begin nesting in June—build a loose nest of 
grass and dead leaves very near the ground. Yery shy and skulking in their 
habits, seldom flying in the open. They leave again in September. 
Cistothorus ( Telmatodytes ) joalustris .— (Cab.) 
Long-billed Marsh Wren. Yery common on Vancouver Island and along 
the Boundary line, frequenting pools and lakes where the bulrushes grow: it 
climbs up and down the stalks much like a nuthatch] song very sweet. They 
arrive about Sumass prairies and at Colville in May and June, and leave again in 
September. Builds a hanging nest among the bulrushes, made of fine grass, and 
lined with the down from the seed pod of the rush. Specimens brought from 
Sumass, Colville, and Osoyoos lakes. 
Troglodytes parkmanni. —(Aud.) 
Parkman’s Wren. This beautiful little wren is common in the woods about 
Sumass prairies and Chilukweyuk lake, also east of the Cascades along the 
Boundary line to the west slope of the Rocky Mountains. Their habit of keeping 
so closely to the heavy timber renders it next to impossible to watch its periods of 
migration. 
Troglodytes (Anort/ium) Jiyemails .— (Vieill.) 
Winter Wren. This wren has just the same range and distribution as 
Troglodytes parkmanni , and the same remarks will equally apply to both. 
Sitta aculeata .— (Cassin.) 
Slender Bill Nuthatch. This nuthatch is very abundant in the pine forests 
from the coast to the Rocky Mountains; never seen in large flocks, but usually 
alone or in twos and threes. Remained about Colville during the winter, when the 
temperature was 30° below zero. Nests in holes in the branches of the tallest 
pine trees, so high as to render getting the eggs almost an impossibility. They 
nest early in June. 
Sitta canadensis .— (Linn.) 
Red-bellied Nuthatch. Yery common on Vancouver Island and on the 
Sumass prairies, but rather a rare bird between the Cascades and Rocky Mountains. 
I have seldom seen more than one or two together, and then generally in dark 
swampy places. Nests in holes in dead trees; eggs laid on the dust made in 
working out the hole. (Eggs sent home). 
