Histeridae

Gnathoncus barbatus Bousquet & Laplante is known from British Columbia east to Nova Scotia, and in Illinois (Bousquet & Laplante 2006). It is herein recorded for the first time from Cape Breton Island. It has previously been found associated with porcupine dung (Bousquet & Laplante 2006); it has not hitherto been recorded from bird or mammal nests.

Gnathoncus rotundatus (Kugelann) is an adventive Palearctic species which is now found throughout Canada from British Columbia to Newfoundland and is considered cosmopolitan (Bousquet & Laplante 2006). It has been recorded from the nests of many species of birds (Bousquet & Laplante 2006; Hicks 1962, 1971) and is an important component of the nidicolous fauna of Tengmalm's owl ( Aegolius f. funereus) nests in Europe (Krištofík et al. 2003, Nordberg 1936). In this study G. rotundatus was recorded only from the northern saw­whet owl nest at West River Station.

Carcinops pumilo (Erichson) is an adventive Palearctic species. It is cosmopolitan in distribution and in Canada has been recorded from British Columbia to Québec and Newfoundland (Bousquet & Laplante 2006). It is herein recorded for the first time from Cape Breton Island. It found in stables, hen houses, granaries, and mills, as well as on dung, in bird nests, and on carrion (Bousquet & Laplante 2006).

† = Palearctic species

Leiodidae

Sciodrepoides terminans (LeConte) was recently elevated to specific rank by Peck & Cook (2002) from being a subspecies of S. fumatus (Spence) . It is widely distributed in eastern North America and across Canada (Peck & Cook 2002). It has principally been collected on various species of dead mammals but also on dung, decaying fish and fungi, in mam­ mal nests, and in robin ( Turdus migratorius Linné) and (unspecified) vulture nests (Peck & Cook 2002). It is an abundant and widely­distributed species throughout Nova Scotia and has been recorded from 13 of the province's 18 counties (C.G. Majka, unpublished data). In this study S. terminatus was recorded only in a boreal owl nest.