THE YOUNG ORNITHOLOGIST. 



them, he called George's attention to 

 it and he jumped out, and, hastily 

 inserting a couple of cartridges in the 

 gun, awaited its appearance ; but the 

 hawk, evidently perceiving them, 

 swerved to the left and crossed the 

 road some ways behind them and out 

 of gunshot. 



' ' That' s provoking ! " muttered 

 George, as he jumped into the car- 

 riage and started on. Nothing note- 

 worthy occurred until the latter part 

 of the afternoon, when as they were 

 watering the horse in a little brook 

 that crossed a part of the road, George 

 noticing a Robin's nest in a small pine 

 standing adjacent to the road, walked 

 over to examine it. He did not ex- 

 pect anything unusual and was agree- 

 ably surprised to find a set of six eggs. 



" Is it very unusual to find six in a 

 set?" inquired Edward, as his friend 

 showed them to him. 



" Rather, though they are found 

 occasionally, but this is the first set of 

 six I've ever found myself." 



They were packed carefully away 

 in a box brought for the purpose, and 

 resuming their journey reached theij. 

 first stopping place an hour afterwards. 

 The boys were somewhat tired with 

 their long ride and were glad to walk 

 about the town a little before eating 

 their supper. Some of the houses in 

 the town seemed very old, having long 

 sloping roofs and peculiar shaped win- 

 dows, with large old-fashioned cor- 

 nices, on some of the doors the old- 

 fashioned brass knockers were visible. 

 But we have not the time to devote 

 to architectui'e, even if somewhat an- 

 cient, that we would like to have. 

 The very air, straight from the 

 northwest, with its invigorating power, 



seems to say " Go on ;" and doubtless 

 our readers say likewise. 



The next morning the boys were off 

 at half-past six, starting thus early to 

 take advantage of the cool morning 

 air. The landscape was becoming 

 radiant in the bright morning sunlight 

 and the fields and trees seemed alive 

 with birds which are not apt to be seen 

 by the late risers. During the fore- 

 noon they came across a nesting place 

 of the Bank Swallow in a clayey bank 

 near a small stream. The air was 

 full of the graceful little birds, some 

 of which were soaring way up in the 

 air nearly out of sight. 



(To be continued.) 



THE BROWN THRUSH. 



( Harpo rhynchus Rufus . ) 



For "The Young- Ornithologist." 



By Wm. L. Kells, Listowel, Ont. 



This species, called also the "Brown 

 Thrasher," "Long-tailed," and "Gol- 

 den Thrush" is not a resident of this 

 vicinity, nor have I yet seen the bird 

 alive in any of those parts of Canada 

 that I have visited ; but as it is 

 known to approach within twenty 

 miles of this locality, it may pro- 

 bably, in a few years (like other 

 species that have arrived in recent 

 seasons) make its way there. Its 

 eggs have been taken in the southern 

 part of this county, and it appears to 

 be a common visitant near London 

 and Hyde Park, but it does not ap- 

 pear to visit the Maritime Provinces. 

 In the beautiful village of Elora, some 

 thirty miles eastward, I was shown. 



