﻿78 FRINGILLA LEUCOPHRYS. June, 



onwards rapidly, and the tender foliage was trem- 

 bling on all sides in the bright sunshine. It was 

 in a patch of burnt woods in this vicinity that, in 

 the year 1820, I discovered the beautiful Eutoca 

 FranUiniij now so common an ornament of our 

 gardens. 



Constantly, since the 1st of June, the song of 

 the Fringilla leucophrys has been heard day and 

 night, and so loudly, in the stillness of the latter 

 season, as to deprive us at first of rest. It 

 whistles the first bar of " Oh dear, what can the 

 matter be ! " in a clear tone, as if played on a 

 piccolo fife ; and, though the distinctness of the 

 notes rendered them at first very pleasing, yet, as 

 they haunted us up to the Arctic circle, and were 

 loudest at midnight, we came to wish occasionally 

 that the cheerful little songster would time his 

 serenade better. It is a curious illustration of the 

 indifference of the native population to almost 

 every animal that does not yield food or fur, or 

 otherwise contribute to their comfort or discomfort, 

 that none of the Iroquois or Chippeways of our 

 company knew the bird by sight, and they all 

 declared boldly that no one ever saw it. We were, 

 however, enabled, after a little trouble, to identify 

 the songster, his song, and breeding-place. The 

 nest is framed of grass, and placed on the ground 

 under shelter of some small inequality ; the eggs, 



