NATURE IN ACADIE. 57 



interest to be met with. Indeed, spring appeared to be 

 a week or two behind in these great desolate forests as 

 compared with the fields and woodlands adjoining the 

 city. On the outskirts of the forest I noticed a few 

 white-throated sparrows, and also one or two golden- 

 crowned kinglets, while on reaching a little swift- 

 running brook I met with a single black-and-white 

 warbler, which attracted my attention by its pleasing little 

 song, which might be syllabled as chiv-vee, chiv-vee, re- 

 peated in quick succession. The bird itself frequented 

 the topmost branches of the trees, occasionally creeping 

 upon them or around the trunk in a similar manner to 

 the tree-creeper. As its name implies, this little war- 

 bler has the plumage prettily variegated with black and 

 white. This was indeed the only bird of interest met 

 with while in these woods, but in a dense little tract of 

 young firs I found a nest placed against one of the 

 stems at a height of about eight feet, which most 

 probably belonged to the olive-backed thrush, a com- 

 mon enough bird in most parts of Nova Scotia. This 

 nest was shallow and loosely constructed of moss, 

 leaves, twigs, bark strips, &c., but it contained no eggs. 

 Fine weather again on the following day took me 

 along the St. Margaret's Bay road, turning off to the 

 right from the head of the North- West Arm, and passing 

 by Chocolate Lake. It was as I neared the latter that 

 I first observed a pair of belted kingfishers, which were 

 circling round and round high above the lake uttering 

 a loud harsh rattling note, and altogether presenting 

 very little resemblance to our English species, which 

 they also considerably exceed in size. I never observed 

 a kingfisher in Nova Scotia during the winter, so that 

 it is evidently a summer visitor to the province. The 

 same may be said in regard to the golden-winged wood- 

 pecker, one of which I observed on a smaller lake 

 further from the road. My attention was attracted by 

 its loud note, and I soon perceived the bird clinging 

 against the extreme summit of a dead pine on the far 

 side of the lake, at regular intervals giving vent to a 

 sharp and very powerful call note, repeated several 



