WHEATEAR.

THIS plain-coloured, but pretty little bird, is to be seen in summer on the open downs, in various parts of the country. Its length is five inches and a half; the bill is black, the eyes dark brown; from the base of the bill a black streak extends to the eye, behind which it increases in width; above this is a line of white. The breast is pale buff-colour, with a tinge of red, the legs and feet are black; the tail coverts and part of the tail are white, the rest of the tail is black. The back of the head, the neck behind, and the back, are bluish grey.

"The wheatear breeds under shelter of a turf or clod in newly-ploughed lands, or under stones, and sometimes in old rabbit burrows. The nest is constructed with great care, of dry grass or moss, mixed with wool, lined with feathers, and defended by a sort of covert fixed to the stone or clod under which it is formed. The female lays five or six blue eggs, the larger end encompassed with a circle of a somewhat deeper hue.

This bird visits us about the middle of March, and from that time till May is seen to arrive. It frequents new-tilled grounds, and never fails to follow the plough, in search of insects and small worms, which are its principal food.

In some parts of England great numbers are taken in snares made of horse-hair, placed beneath a turf; near two thousand dozen are said to have been taken annually, and sold at sixpence per dozen. They leave us in August or September, and about that time are seen

in great numbers by the sea shore, where, probably, they subsist some little time before they take their departure. They are extended over a large portion of the globe, even as far as the southern parts of Asia."

BLACK SQUIRREL.

THE black squirrel is also known by the name of the North American, or grey squirrel. In length, including the extent of the tail, which is nearly twice as long as the body, it measures two feet and three-quarters, There are several varieties of the species, two of which appear to be very permanent, giving rise to the two names of grey and black, by which this pretty little animal is distinguished.

Mr. Fennell gives the following account of it:-"The species now under notice appears to be the most active and sprightly of any existing in the Atlantic States. It rises with the sun, and continues industriously engaged in search of food during four or five hours in the morning, scratching among leaves, running over logs, ascending trees, and playfully coursing from limb to limb, often making almost incredible leaps from the higher branches of one tree to another. In the middle of the day it retires for a few hours to its nest, resuming its active labours and amusements in the afternoon, and continuing them without intermission till sunset. The chesnut, beech, oak, and maple afford it food, but it appears to prefer the shell-bark, and the various species. of hickory to any other kind of food. Even when the nuts are so green as to afford scarcely any nourishment, it gnaws off the thick epidermis, which drops to the ground like rain, and then, with its lower incisor teeth, makes a small linear opening in the thinnest part of the shell, immediately over the kernel. In an incredibly short space of time the nut is cut longitudinally on its