356 



THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. 



of a pretty Ichneumon, which is shining black, except the 

 middle of the antennae, the scutellum, one ring of the abdo- 

 men, and the anus, which are yellow. These were inert 

 and torpid, but soon became lively on exposure to warmth. 

 I took among the wool of a sheep, near the roots, among 

 which it insinuated itself forwards, backwards, and sideways, 

 so nimbly, that I could with difficulty get hold of it, a small 

 apterous Hippobosca. I also observed, suspended from the 

 wall of a house, a chrysalis of Vanessa Antiopa. 



F* The Blue Jay (Corvus Cristatus) continues as nu- 

 merous and as noisy as ever. His harsh screaming voice 

 may be heard above that of all the other feathered inhabit- 

 ants of our groves, all the year through. A beautiful bird he 

 is, with his bright violet, white, and sky-blue coat, long tail, 

 and pointed crest ; and by his airs and grimaces he appears 

 to have no mean idea of his own personal attractions, and 

 probably he may think his voice as charming as his plumage^ 

 as he so continually gives us the benefit of his music. He 

 appears to tyrannise over his brethren occasionally. I once 

 saw, in the south, a blue jay in close and hot pursuit of a 

 summer Bed-bird (Tanagra JEstiva), and Wilson records a 

 parallel incident. He has other notes, besides his common 

 loud squall, some of which are difficult to recognise. In the 

 clearing, the parties of these birds, for they are hardly nu- 

 merous enough to be called flocks, generally fly high, and 

 alight about the summits of lofty trees ; but in the woods, 

 particularly in spring, they as frequently choose a lower alti- 

 tude. They are wary, and rather difficult of approach. 



C. These tall, but comparatively slender elms, remind 

 me of an observation that struck me on my first entering a 

 Canadian forest ; that the trees, individually, are by no 

 means of that gigantic size that my fancy had pictured 

 them. The general height of the forest does not perhaps 

 fall short of my expectations, but though the trees are most 



