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him in winter rumagiug around their camp, call him 

 Whiskey Jack ; he is addicted to stealing the scraps 

 of meat, so say his enemies. 



There, is a bird whom all of you recognise, the 

 Kingfisher, Belted Kingfisher, on account of the rust- 

 coloured badge encircling his throat and breast. To 

 heathen mythology he is known as Alcedo Alcyone. 

 Alcyone was the daughter of iEolus : being a perfect 

 model of conjugal fidelity, she was rewarded, at her 

 death, by being metamorphosed into a bird, and the 

 heathen god, her father, whom I shrewdly suspect to 

 have been in league with the clerk of the weather, 

 arranged matters so that in midsummer, a succession of 

 so many calms took place that our expert fish-catcher 

 could build her nest on the heaving bosom of the ocean, 

 and rear her young undisturbed. This was, to say the 

 least, a great privilege. Hence the origin of halcyon 

 days — days of peace and prolonged security. I can 

 guarantee this fact, on the faith of heathen mythology, 

 but no further ! 



One of our most musical groups amongst our native 

 birds, are the Thrushes : several varieties are now dis- 

 played before you. 



That band of long- winged individuals, you of course 

 recognise as the swallows of which five varieties visit our 

 province. The Black Chimney Swallow, or Swift, who 

 drops down our chimneys to build his nest, forms part 

 of every Canadian rural home : but as we never see 

 him build but in chimneys, the question arises, where 

 did he build before the erection of chimneys ? 



THE TANAGER 



Of the four varieties of this beautiful bird inhabiting 

 the United States, one favors us with a call, attracted 

 apparently by our trophical summer heats and by the 

 accompanying abundant insect life, on which they 

 chiefly depend for their daily food. 



The Scarlet Tanager — let us describe him in a few 

 words : the adult male in his full nuptial plumage, on 



