THE NATURALISTS’ COMPANION. 
27 
THE GROUND-SQUIRREL. 
(tamias lysteria.) 
To C. W. D., Boston, Mass. 
The ground-squirrel, when dig¬ 
ging in the earth to form his burrow, 
if in grass-ground, they first cut the 
roots of the grass with their teeth, 
making as true a round hole as 
could be made with an auger, and 
as large—and no larger—as the full 
extent to which they can distend 
their cheeks with the roots and dirt 
thus taken out, which they carry 
away and hide in some out-of-the- 
way place previously selected. 
The dirt is dug out with the claws, 
directly into their mouth, and crowd¬ 
ed well in, until their cheeks touch 
the sides of the hole, then away to 
their “dumping-ground,” and liter¬ 
ally dig the dirt out of their mouth. 
Prof. C. J. Jenner. 
YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO. 
(COCCYZUS AMERICANUS.) 
This bird inhabits the woody dis¬ 
tricts of North America, east of the 
Rocky Mountains. It feeds chiefly 
upon the caterpillar and other larve. 
It will attack a whole web of cater¬ 
pillars,as they are attached to a limb 
of a tree,and will not leave one alive. 
It is therefore very valuable to the 
farmer. The back of the bird is of 
a pretty brown color, the breast is 
a very light yellow, sometimes pure 
white, and the legs dark green. 
The bird possesses a very long tail, 
generally about six inches long, and 
a somewhat curved beak, the upper 
mandible of w’hich is black, while 
the lower one is yellow, and meas¬ 
ures one inch in length. The entire 
length of the bird, from tip of beak 
to tip of tail, is ten inches. Its nest, 
if it deserves that name, is compos¬ 
ed of a few twigs laid loosely togeth¬ 
er, and is generally placed in wild 
rape vines. The bird lays four or 
ve eggs of a light bluish-green, 
sometimes spotted with blotches of 
a very light green; size 1.12 by .83, 
The shell of the egg is very thin and 
breaks easily. The bird, when found 
on her eggs, makes no noise, but 
will set there until literally pushed 
ofi her nest; but, when finally start¬ 
ed, she will glide silently away, her 
long tail standing out so majestically 
behind, and you will see nor hear 
no more of her until long after you 
have quit the locality. It is a very 
lonesome note that this bird utters, 
and it sounds more lonely to hear its 
cry on a summer evening, after the 
sun has set, when no other sounds 
are heard in the wood. Young 
readers do not think, as we used to, 
that the cuckoo builds no nest of 
its own, but lays its eggs in the nests 
of other birds. This is true of the 
European bird, but not of the 
American species. 
“Kriss Kringle” is the finest little 
story paper it has been our fortune 
to behold. A continued story has 
just begun, entitled “The Boy Hunt¬ 
ers, which is simply excellent. 
As we go to press we receive a 
copy of “Tidings from Nature,” 
which is, to say the least, one of the 
finest natural history papers we have 
ever seen. The paper has j ust finish¬ 
ed its first volume. May it still con¬ 
tinue to prosper in the good work 
it has undertaken. 
Notice our premiums for 
September only. 
