OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA. Gl 



impressions of him, and seek immunity from his presence 

 in dense forests and impenetrable undergrowth. But through 

 the habit of association or accidental intrusion upon his 

 premises, they soon acquire a better knowledge of his char- 

 acter, and from holding him aloof as a being to be despised, 

 they see his good qualities, draw near his dwellings, and 

 render him manifold services. To be sure there are local- 

 ities in which the habits of many species which are quite 

 tame and unsuspicious in others, are rather primitive. We 

 cannot expect to civilize these feathered pets where man 

 needs to be civilized himself. A generous humane course 

 of treatment towards these inferior creatures, will be readily 

 appreciated by them, who will take up their abodes in our 

 midst, and contribute to the general well-being of human soci- 

 ety by their invaluable services. Man, by his own wilful 

 ignorance, often disarranges the harmony of creation, and 

 is made to suffer the consequences of his folly. 



Nuttall's description of this species which has the credit of 

 being the best recorded, may have been a faithful portraiture 

 in his day, and no doubt will be found to hold good in some 

 sections, New England for example, according to Mr. Sam- 

 uels ; but it certainlv needs some modification as far as Penn- 

 sylvania is concerned. Instead of being " unusually saddled 

 upon an old moss-grow r n and 'decayed limb," we have fre- 

 quently observed nests reposing between the forked twigs of 

 a living oak. " The body of the fabric" occasionally con- 

 sists of "wiry grass or root fibres," but we have yet to see a 

 nest with " small branching lichens held together with cob- 

 webs and caterpillars' silk, moistened with saliva." In a 

 nest before us which is typical in its character, the great bulk 

 is composed of small strips of liber, plucked from trees 

 and fence-rails, chiefly of Qtiercus and Castanea, tow, and 

 wool arranged in a circular manner, and pressed compactly 

 together bv the body of the builder. Externally, it is closely 

 invested with the bluish-gray crustaceous lichens, so com- 

 mon upon the trunks of some trees and fence-rails, which 



