56 NATURE IN ACADIE. 



nest constructed. Eggs that I have seen have been 

 quite diminutive, with a creamy or pinkish-white 

 ground marked boldly with reddish-brown and cinna- 

 mon colour, chiefly around the larger end, but they 

 vary much in appearance ; the average size is given as 

 1-36 by i*i2 inches. 



Passing through a little hollow near here my atten- 

 tion was attracted by a sudden outcry among the small 

 birds in the underwood, and next moment out darted 

 another of these little hawks in front of me, its bright 

 reddish lower-back being conspicuous as it flew away, 

 and proving it to be a male. 



The warmth and splendour of the day seemed to 

 have aroused to life the whole insect creation, for in the 

 cleared spaces of the woodland grasshoppers stridulated 

 upon every hand, while flies — noxious and innoxious — 

 were everywhere. Across these little openings, too, 

 came every now and again small troops of a pretty little 

 Polyommatus, or " blue " butterfly, dancing over the 

 ground like a " will-o'-the-wisp," and vanishing down 

 the openings of the woodland. A small Thecla, or 

 " hairstreak," was also not uncommon here, flying close 

 to the ground, and from its small size and dark colour 

 being easily overlooked, especially among the small 

 scrub, like the heather of an English moor, with which 

 the ground was covered. Once, too, a still-surviving 

 " Camberwell beauty" scurried past me and hastened 

 away over woodland and swamp, while among the 

 underwood I now and again noticed small moths of 

 various kinds upon the wing. Emerging upon the lake 

 by Three Mile House I met with one of our common 

 white butterflies {Pieris rapes) and also saw another 

 shortly afterwards. This butterfly was introduced into 

 the United States about the year 1866, but I understand 

 that it was unknown in Nova Scotia for some years 

 after that date, nor does it appear to be very widely 

 distributed there at the present day. 



On the 17th I visited again the woods running back 

 from the Bedford Basin, but, strange to say, although 

 the day was fine enough there was exceedingly little of 



