854 
THE 
CANADIAN NATURALIST. 
C, — In cutting up a partly decayed birch tree a few days 
agOj I found it bored with long cylindrical passages^ in seve- 
ral of which I found white flat grubs^ with large brown 
heads^ and six feet ; in one I found a Buprestis alive, a dark 
brown species with lighter marks. The larvse probably 
belonged to this species. 
F. — I should not think that our little Certhia can cap- 
ture such insects as these^ its bill not being at all calculated 
for boring ; these constitute the appropriate prey of the 
Woodpeckers, whose sharps steel-like bill tears away the 
wood^ and digs into their hidden recesses ; the bird perceiv- 
ing, by unfailing instinct, the direction in which they lie 
concealed. 
C. — I have lately seen the Winter Gnat ( Trichocera 
Hiemalis J, with pretty plumose antennae, playing in the 
windows of our house. 
F. — Yonder is a flock of Snow Buntings (Emberim 
Nivalis ) in their white winter plumage. They are not un- 
common, though in some winters I do not recollect having 
seen any : they fly in flocks, and often flit about the or- 
chards and barn-yards : when a flock of them is perched on 
a tree, their bright plumage in the sun presents a very beau- 
tiful appearance, looking like a number of silver ornaments 
sparkling among the boughs : they also show to advantage 
in flight, seen against a black, clouded sky, full of snow and 
storm ; at which time they are very active. They are rest- 
less birds, never long in a place, and when one moves, all 
follow. In Newfoundland, they are rather common. 
C. — Yesterday, a flock of Yellow-birds ( Fringilla Tris- 
tis ) was hopping about the barnyard and house at intervals 
all day, picking up oats, and seeds of grass and weeds, 
F, — I have seen several flocks in the woods, and about 
the borders, lately, flitting from tree to tree, and twittering 
