Birds. 9307 
building nor incubating. That so numerous a species should find 
suitable nests wherein to lay or deposit their eggs seems most wonder- 
ful, so that one might be inclined to doubt it, if not authenticated by 
such a naturalist as Wilson. What would be thought of myriads of 
cuckoos laying their eggs in the nests of some half-dozen species of 
our smaller birds? It is hard to divest oneself of the idea that those 
observed by Wilson and others during the breeding season might have 
been stragglers, and that the cow bunting may pair, build and incu- 
bate in a higher latitude. 
Hairy Woodpecker (Picus villosus). On the 6th of November a 
bird of this common species was shot. Length 9 inches; extent of 
wings 14 inches. 
Downy Woodpecker (Picus pubescens). On the 6th of November 
likewise procured one of this species. Length 6 inches and 6-tenths ; 
extent of wings 1lj inches, Like the former, it is so abundant that 
one can scarcely enter a wood without finding it. Their shrill cry 
and incessant tapping is heard far and wide, and one has only to 
inspect the decaying timber to be convinced of the innumerable small 
woodpeckers that inhabit these vast and boundless forests, as few old 
trees are without some holes. Temminck, when describing the Euro- 
pean woodpeckers, says, “ Ces oiseaux vivent solitairs dans les foréts ; 
ils se cachent au moindre bruit.” But it is not so with those of 
America, which are frequently to be seen on the trunks of the trees 
within a few yards of one. These remarks refer to the smaller species 
only, the larger being more wary. Not only the woodpecker, but 
most species in North America are tamer than the birds of Europe, 
owing, no doubt to their being so little disturbed or molested in a 
thinly populated country like this. 
Ruffed Grouse (Telrao umbellus). In November shot a bird of this 
handsome species, which is here called the partridge, but is more like 
the pheasant, particularly about the head and toes: its habits, too, 
are very similar, concealing itself among the under-wood, and when 
disturbed, rising with a whirring noise, threads its way with wonderful 
facility between the trees and tangled branches of the fallen timber, 
so that they are not readily shot. Like the pheasant, too, it roosts 
among the trees. It feeds, at least at this season, solely on beech- 
masts, the crop of the bird in question and of one subsequently shot 
being crammed with them. Wilson says nothing of this, though he 
mentions both their summer and winter food. Weight 13 tb.; length 
18 inches; extent of wings 21 inches. The other specimen referred 
