March in the Pine Woods. 



up I see one of these great black crea- 

 tures, with its outspread, fringed wings, 

 serenely climbing upon the impalpable 

 air in calm triumph at its mastery of the 

 element. Oh, thou ugly, bald-headed 

 harpy, banqueting upon the offal of 

 life's charnel-house, thou hast only 

 to launch upon the air to become 

 sublime ! 



The red-tailed hawk is screaming in 

 its ecstasy of love-making, and the 

 meddlesome, blue-fronted jay has the 

 audacity to imitate its cries. There are 

 two distinct species of the jay family 

 commonly found in California, one in- 

 habiting the lowlands especially, and 

 known as the California jay, and the 

 other confined to the coniferous regions, 

 called the blue-fronted jay. The latter 

 is a larger and more showy bird, with 

 a conspicuous crest, which is wanting in 

 the lowland species. Its back and head 

 are of a smoky black color, which 

 gradually merges into a dull blue on 

 the upper tail-coverts and on the breast. 



