ANOTHER MAY MORNING. 63 



afraid of man, but rejoiced in his presence : that Adam 

 understood their language, and they knew his will, 

 obeying the voice of their master. Now, all is changed. 

 The timid and defenceless flee from man, as from an 

 enemy. His presence awakens hatred and fear in the 

 wild denizens of the forest, while the roar of the lion 

 and the howl of the wolf inspire his dread. It was not 

 so once, and there is a promise that the old harmony 

 shall be restored, when " the earth shall be full of the 

 knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." 



Three summers ago a Black-billed Cuckoo* visited 

 my garden and made her shallow nest of dried roots and 

 hay on the flat branch of a white spruce, not more than 

 six feet from the ground, so that she was easily seen as 

 she sat within it. i 



I was attracted in passing the tree by the glitter of 

 her large lustrous black eyes, and, on approaching 

 nearer, by her soft rounded head, the snowy whiteness 

 of her breast and her delicate fawn-brown back and 

 wings. The silkiness of the plumage contrasted finely 

 with the dark horny bill and full black eyes. 



The shall dw saucer-shaped nest was not large enough 

 to contain the long tail, and it hung out beyond the 

 edge. 



* Black-billed Cuckoo — Coccyzus Erythrophthalmus (Wils.). ffab. — 

 Eastern North America, from Labrador and Manitoba south to the West | 

 Indies and the valley of the Amazon ; west to the Rocky Mountains. 

 Accidental in the British Islands and Italy. Nest, loosely constructed of 

 twigs, grass, strips of bark, leaves, etc. , and placed in a bush. Eggs, two to 

 five, light greenish-blue. — MoIlwraith, " Birds of Ontario." 



