A MARCH RAMBLE. 1 7 



The meat-eaters, too, are out on their entomo- 

 logical tours. How eagerly the titmice and wood- 

 peckers search for the baskets of spiders' eggs, and 

 the fat pupas under the bark; knowing as well 

 where to find them as the most experienced 

 Esquimaux do the seal and walrus. Look at this 

 nut-hatch, with ashen blue back and clear white 

 under parts. It is wonderful how this tree-climber 

 clings to the trunk so easily. It does not seem pos- 

 sible that his claws could take sufficient hold on 

 the bark to sustain him as he lightly hops along 

 the sides. He apparently makes a superficial in- 

 spection, and does not remain long on one tree, 

 flying here and there, as if he had considered before- 

 hand what particular ones to visit. As he comes 

 quite near me I observe his short, wide tail which 

 he seems not to use at any time for a support ; and, 

 unlike the woodpeckers, he has three toes placed 

 forward, while the hind one is much stouter and 

 longer then the others, and serves as a prop when 

 resting head downward, as is his usual habit. 



How can these feathered mites endure the rigors 

 of winter in our Northern woods ? Import repre- 

 sentatives from the family of wood-warblers, for 

 instance, and let them free, and how quickly they 

 would perish here — a barren waste to them ; for 



