SECRETIVENESS. 99 



and one of the main branches, and, besides being in- 

 visible from below, such holes are generally stopped 

 with moss and leaves. North of the Arkansas the 

 black bear passes the three coldest winter months under- 

 ground, either in a cave or in a " dug-out," generally 

 in the deep vegetable mould near the roots of a fallen 

 tree, and it is only by the sheerest accident that sucl" 

 burrows are ever discovered, though the old hibernator 

 leaves a very visible spoor and is not over-particular 

 about covering the rear of his shaggy fur. He relies 

 on his talent for choosing the site of his dormitory, and 

 is sure to select the most unfrequented spot in a wide 

 labyrinth of valleys and mountain-ranges. The lower 

 glens, with their sheltered coves and perennial rills, 

 must be very tempting; but black cattle and their pro- 

 prietors are apt to visit such places on cold winter days, 

 while hunters find the best trails along the ridges, on the 

 very backbone of a mountain-chain. Ursus niger there- 

 fore prefers the middle region, some wild ravine in the 

 steepest rocks of the mountain-flank, half-way between 

 the ridge and the sheltered valleys, and, if possible, on 

 the eastern slope, because this side of the Sierra Nevada 

 the coldest winds come from the northwest. 



But the unrivalled masters in the art of nest-hiding 

 are the feathered songsters of the sparrow tribe, the 

 Passeres, as our ornithologists call them, though in this 

 respect the sparrow himself can hardly pass for a repre- 

 sentative bird. His cousins, though, the linnets, finches, 



