168 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. 



us ; or if he is, he must be generally mistaken for the crow, 

 the chief difference being his superior size. 



C. I noticed a little stranger in the depth of the woods, 

 which I have not seen before. Its head was deep black, 

 wings and back dark, and all the under parts white ; but it 

 was very shy, so that I could not examine it particularly. 



F Probably it was the Black-poll Warbler (Sylvia 



Striata), which occasionally visits this province, and even 

 Newfoundland, where it is more common than with us. 

 The nests of the Snow-bird and Song-sparrow (Fringilla Ni- 

 valis and F. Melodia) may now be found in great numbers ; 

 they both build on the ground, in a small hole, or in a tuft 

 of grass : the former frequently chooses a hole in the side of 

 a bank under a raspberry bush. They are easily discovered 

 by the bird's flying away on the approach of man, and they 



are not very artfully concealed. Have you in your 



rambles heard a bird whose cry resembles the mewing of 

 a cat? 



C. I have not noticed any such. What is it like ? 



F. It is a species of thrush ; its colour is slate blue, 

 deep on the upper parts, and light below. Its note exactly 

 resembles the plaintive mew of a cat that has been hurt ; it 

 is very familiar, and when mewing in this odd tone, has 

 various jerks and motions that are full as odd. It is called 

 the Cat-bird (Turdus Felivox), and is very well known, but 

 is not at all a favourite, though a very harmless bird, 



C. What a delicious odour fills the air from the maple 

 grove. 



F. Yes ; the sugar-maple is in full blossom : its flowers 

 are small and greenish white : their fragrance would scarcely 

 be perceivable if smelt singly, but a grove of young maples, 

 such as these, each one covered with blossoms, gives out a 

 volume of perfume that indeed, as you say, fills the air. 

 The leaf-buds of the brown, and the white ash are expanding. 



