Page:Condor17(4).djvu/3

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THE. CO.I.R Voi?m? Jul?'-Augu?t, 191? Numbr ?. NESTING OF THE BOHEMIAN WAXWING IN NORTHERN BRITISH COLUMBIA By ERNEST M. ANDERSON WITH TWO PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR HILE ON a general collecting trip in northern British Columbia during the summer of 1914, in the interests of the Provincial Museum, we rather unexpectedly discovered a breeding ground of the Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrula). Although a sharp look-out had been kept both by my companion, Mr. C. B. Garrett, and myself, throughout the month of June, no Waxwings were noted until the 7th of July, when an adult male was secured a short distance from "Hot Springs", situated on the east shore of Atlin Lake. Finding the specimen to be a male, I immediately hunted for its mate. A careful search was made for nearly two hours among the thickly growing spruce and pine trees, but in vain; it is quite probable that the bird shot had wandered some distance from its home, as no others were seen in the same section until well on in the fall. Concluding that we were camped not far from the Wa?wings' breeding grounds, we made an early start the following day in quest of their eggs. With the aid of a gasoline launch we were enabled to cover a wide extent of coun- try, visiting many points on Atlin Lake, and some small isolated islands that otherwise would have been left unscanned. Our success on this occasion, there- fore, was largely due to our adequate means of travel. After hunting all the forenoon without locating any Waxwings, we decided to renew our search farther down the lake during the afternoon. Since no Waxwings had been noted near the lake shore or on adjacent islands, we headed our boat toward a group of small islands about a mile off- shore and varying from about three to ten acres in size. All were timbered with growth of stunted spruce, pine and aspen, with undergrowth consisting. chiefly of thick willow bushes.