DOWNS — ON LAND BIRDS OF NOVA SCOTIA. 39 



This scarcity of birds renders a residence in British. North 

 America by no means so pleasing as it otherwise would be, if the 

 hours of early morning were enlivened by the merry chirpings of 

 our feathered favourites; and although some may be inclined to 

 think that the presence or absence of bh'ds has little to do with our 

 happiness so long as prosperity attends our worldly condition, they 

 will surely "acknowledge that the song of birds, attached as it 

 always is to the season of summer, when the flowers exhale their 

 perfume and the bursting leaves give fragrance to the breeze, tends 

 to elevate our feelings, and make us realize the full benefit we enjoy 

 in the contemplation of these pleasing scenes of nature. 



It may not be out of place here to consider for a moment whe^ 

 ther we should not derive benefit from the acclimatization of some 

 of these household birds of England. Take the common sparrow 

 for instance. What a treat it would be to see these saucy fellows 

 preening their feathers on our roofs, and collecting in dozens round 

 our doors to pick up the scraps, and I would even go so far as to 

 say, gobbling up the cherries in our gardens; for who would not 

 make a sacrifice of some kind, to colonize his domain with such a 

 family of merry friends. It is often said that the cold of a Nova 

 Scotian winter would soon kill the English bird; but how is it, I 

 ask, that many of these birds- are found in Germany and all parts 

 of Northern Europe, where the cold is often as great as we have it 

 here. Then the birds I speak of are more of a domestic type, 

 keepuig near dwellings, and apparently preferring the society of 

 man. If, therefore, during the hardest weather we took care to 

 feed them daily, as we do the poultry, our barns and outhouses 

 and spruce thickets would afford them sufficient shelter at night. 

 I think it is worth a trial. 



In the following list it will be observed that no less than eigh- 

 teen different species of true warblers visit us in summer. Some 

 of these are remarkable for the beauty of their plumage, and even 

 more so for their song. 



To him who is blest with a desire to retire from the busy hum 

 of men, and amid the seclusion of the forest to study in nature's 

 school, a bright sunny morning at the end of May, when the hard 

 "woods are expanding their newly-formed leaves, presents a scene 

 which no pen could properly describe. Elitting about from tree to 



