96 
THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. 
rambles about the farm and neighbourhood, for a week or two 
pastj I have observed many things worth noticing. 
F. — I, too^ have not walked with my eyes shut : but 
what tokens of spring's advance have t/ou observed since our 
last walk? 
C. — About a fortnight ago. the Robin appeared : I saw a 
flock then^ and since that time I have observed several flocks. 
They are hopping very familiarly about the wet grass-lands, 
and the ploughed fields, searching, as I suppose, for worms 
and insects. He is commonly called the Robin, though I 
perceive no resemblance between him and our English ro- 
bin, except in the single circumstance of his having a red 
breast. 
F, — The American Robin is a species of thrush (Turdits 
Migratorius J. In Newfoundland, where it is very common, 
it is always called the Blackbird, It is a saucy, familiar 
bird, fond of man's neighbourhood, and more seen in our 
fields and gardens than in the woods. Its song is not con- 
temptible, but by no means comparable to that of the Song 
Sparrow* The robin is a very general favourite, but this does 
not protect him from the assaults of any idle boy that can 
procure a gun. The flesh is savoury, and great numbers of 
them are shot for the table ; in Newfoundland especially, a 
constant warfare is carried on against them, without any 
apparent diminution of their numbers. 
C. — About the same time I saw the first butterflies this 
season. In the woods, a small brown one flew by me, but I 
was in a hurry, and could not stay to pursue it. The same 
afternoon, I saw two, one of which I caught, and found it to 
be the Green Comma f Grapta Progne ? ). Three or four 
days ago, I saw the Compton Tortoise Butterfly (Vanessa 
J, Album J, and the noble Camberwell Beauty ( Van. An- 
tiopa J. 
F, — These are fine butterflies, both in size and colour. 
