Page:Ornithological biography, or an account of the habits of the birds of the United States of America, vol 2.djvu/579



Nothing ever gave me more pleasure than the meeting with a bird long since discovered, at a time when I could fully study its habits. I had frequently searched for this interesting little Titmouse in the State of Maine, where it breeds, but always without success, nor was it until I visited Labrador, that I had an opportunity of seeing it.

On the 18th of July, after an early breakfast (at three o'clock), my party, accompanied by our captain and myself, left the Ripley in three boats for the main shore, distant about five miles. Although the fog was thick, the wind was fair, and we reached the land in safety, when we im- mediately commenced our search for birds. Having traversed an exten- sive marsh, without finding any thing of interest, the captain and I, fa- tigued and depressed by our want of success, retired to what in that country is called a wood, with the hope of mending our fortune. We se- parated and with great difficvilty made our way among the stubborn tangled trees. Only a few minutes had elapsed when the report of my companion's gun reached my ear, and I at the same time heard him shout to me to come up as quickly as possible. This I managed to do after a while, and with much tugging and tearing ; but as I approached him I heard with joy the notes of the Canada Titmouse. One had been shot, and a nest had been found. Securing both the parents and the young, which had leaped out on hearing the guns, we sat down to examine the curious fabric the birds had reared for their brood.

The nest was placed at the height of not more than three feet from the ground, in the hollow of a decayed low stump, scarcely thicker than a man's leg, the whole so rotten that it crumbled to pieces on being touched. I cautiously removed the woody enclosure, and took possession of the nest, which I obtained in perfect order. It was shaped like a purse, eight inches in depth, two in diameter inside, its sides about half an inch thick. It was entirely composed of the finest fur of different quadrupeds, but principally of the great northern hare, so thickly and ingeniously matted throughout, that it looked as if it had been felted by