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 HE PEACOCK.
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 What tongue can tell 
 The mingled melodies, that mount, and swell. 
 And float upon the flowery-scented gale, 
 'Wakening sweet echoes through the verdant vale '• 
 Yet, not the feeblest note of forest bird. 
 E'en by the brink of woodland waters heard. 
 Nor loudest clarion that salutes the morn. 
 But has some note of gladness still upborne — 
 A hymn of gratitude for life and light. 
 To the clear heavens fresh opening on the sight. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY ; 
 
 Instituted 1799. 
 SOLD AT THE DEPOSITORY, 56, PATERNOSTER ROW, 
 
 AND Qo, ST. Paul's churchyard ; and 
 
 BY THE BOOKSELLERS. 
 
 1840.
 
 LONDON: 
 PRINTED BY SAMUEL BESTLEY, 
 
 Bangor House, Shoe Lane.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 THE PEACOCK. Page 
 
 This bird was imported by Solomon — Called originally the "bird of 
 Media " — Its estimation in Greece and Lesser Asia — Singular story 1 
 
 THE GOLDEN EAGLE. 
 Various descriptions given by Naturalists — The habits of the Eagle 
 described — Its range is very extensive — Attention of the parent-bird 
 to her Eaglets — Allusion to it by Moses — Value of the word of God — 
 Anecdotes of the Eagle 4 
 
 THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. 
 Its abodes on our own coast — Account of a pair of these birds in Ireland 
 — Children carried away by Eagles 12 
 
 THE PEREGRINE FALCON. 
 
 Derivation of its name — Its eyries — Ancient passion for Hawking — 
 Estimation of Falconry in Wales —Appearance of the bird — The village 
 of Falcons waerd — Decline of Hawking 19 
 
 THE JAY. 
 Rich colouring of the bird — It is found in most of the wooded parts of 
 this country— Its imitative notes 26 
 
 THE TITMOUSE. 
 Various species of this bird — Its note — Its habits — Variety of its food 28 
 
 THE GULL. 
 
 Its resort on the British coast— Perilous feats of schoolboys— Hazardous 
 enterprizes of fowlers — Various anecdotes 30 
 
 2091 1 0B
 
 IV CONTENTS. 
 
 THE SWAN. Page 
 
 Wordsworth's description of this bird— Its nest— Its great age— Families 
 of Swans on the River Thames 35 
 
 THE SPARROW-HAWK. 
 A common species in the enclosed parts of the kingdom — Habits of this 
 bird — A pet Sparrow-hawk 37 
 
 THE MOOR-FOWL. 
 
 This bird is found in mountainous situations — It is confined to the United 
 Kingdom— Flocks of Moor-Fowl . . - 41 
 
 THE PETREL. 
 " Mother Carey's Chickens"— These birds seen in great numbers all over 
 the Atlantic— Immense stream of them— Superstition of sailors . . 43 
 
 THE NIGHTINGALE. 
 
 The largest of British warblers — Coleridge's description of the Night- 
 ingale — This bird is not found in Scotland — Its visits to various lands 
 — Contrast to its brief song 46 
 
 THE DOMESTIC COCK. 
 Traced to the Jungle-fowls of India — Cock-crowing in the East — Varieties 
 from the primal stock — Importation of eggs — Care of the Hen for 
 her young — Allusion to it in the words of our Lord — Interesting story 
 — Ingenious machine for accomplishing the process of incubation — 
 Singular and interesting facts 53 
 
 THE SPARROW. 
 Its food — Its nests — Anecdote of a brood — Instance of fraud — Provi- 
 dence of God— Interesting fact 68 
 
 THE PHEASANT. 
 Splendour of this bird — Instinct of the Pheasant when sitting
 
 CONTENTS. V 
 
 THE CUCKOO. Page 
 
 Words-worth's address to it — Its egg laid in the nest of other birds — 
 Dr. Jenner's account 80 
 
 THE BLACKBIRD, 
 Its nest and song 88 
 
 THE WATER-OUZEL. 
 
 Habits of this bird— An adventure in its pursuit 91 
 
 THE PIGEON. 
 
 The Columbidae — Beauty of Pigeons in the East — The Dove of Noah — 
 Intelligence conveyed by tame Doves — Presentation of Doves under 
 the law of Moses— Sagacity of a Pigeon — Flights of Pigeons . . 94 
 
 THE PARTRIDGE. 
 A well-known bird— Its devices to save its brood — Adventure of Captain 
 Head 103 
 
 THE CANARY. 
 The " Talking Canary " — Singular story . . • . . . .108 
 
 THE SKYLARK. 
 
 The nest, brood, and song of this bird— The Lark an early riser . .113 
 
 THE WREN. 
 The favourite of one of our shepherd poets— Desire of birds to wash 
 themselves — Strength of parental feeling 118 
 
 THE WATER-WAGTAIL. 
 An active bird— It may become very familiar 123 
 
 THE LAPWING. 
 Curious fact— Stratagems of the Lapwing 125
 
 VI CONTENTS. 
 
 THE BULLFINCH. Page 
 
 Its low and plaintive call — An interesting pair of Bullfinches — School for 
 these birds 128 
 
 THE TURKEY. 
 Its native country — Splendour of a wild Turkey Cock . . . .134 
 
 THE CROW. 
 
 Its distinction from the Rook— Mr. Waterton's care for the Crow . .136 
 
 THE ROOK. 
 Its sagacity — Its sjTnpathy — It is a friend to the farmer — Anecdote . 140 
 
 THE SWALLOW. 
 
 Different species of this bird — Sir R. Grant's verses on the Swallow . 145 
 
 THE GOOSE. 
 
 Its early domestication — Our obligations to this bird .... 154 
 
 THE BARN-OWL. 
 
 Its continuance with us during the year — Its fondness for fish — Its mode 
 of defence — Amusing fact 156 
 
 THE SNIPE. 
 
 An unsocial bird — Its change of note 164 
 
 THE COMMON MALLARD. 
 Elegance of the Wild Duck — Advance of civilization .... 166 
 
 THE NIGHT-JAR. 
 Called in ignorance the Goat-sucker — It renders service to the grazier . 168 
 
 THE RAVEN. 
 
 An emblem of desolation — Punishment of disobedience to parents — Sa- 
 gacity of this bird 1 70 
 
 THE COOT. 
 
 A common bird— Place of its nest 176
 
 CONTENTS. Vll 
 
 THE ROBIN, Page 
 
 A general favourite— Anecdotes of this bird 177 
 
 THE STARLING. 
 
 A plentiful species — Power of imitation . - 183 
 
 THE GOLDFINCH. 
 
 Materials for a nest — The cherry-tree — Anecdote of Rev. H. Gauntlett . 185 
 
 THE SWIFT. 
 Its resort to steeples, towers, and other lofty buildings — Its nest — Its de- 
 struction of insects — " God provideth for the morrow " . . .191 
 
 THE MAGPIE. 
 
 Beauty of this bird in its native state— Variety of its food — A well-built 
 nest — Anecdotes of Magpies — Advantages of judicious instruction — 
 Early piety 194 
 
 THE JACKDAW. 
 Places in which this bird is found — Remarkable story — Lessons sug- 
 gested 201 
 
 THE GREAT AUK. 
 
 Formerly found on the north coast of Britain— It is now extremely rare . 206 
 
 THE LINNET. 
 
 Variety of this species — Flocks of Linnets— Brilliancy and softness of 
 their song 207 
 
 THE THRUSH 
 
 This well known bird described by Clare— It is found in various places— 
 The Red-wing — Influence of the notes of a Thrush on an invalid . 208 
 
 THE CORMORANT. 
 
 This bird may be observed on insulated eminences— Its dexterity in fish- 
 ing — Docility of one — Conclusion 213
 
 LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 The Peacock Frontispiece. 
 
 Page 
 
 The Golden Eagle 6 
 
 The Peregrine Falcon 20 
 
 The Jay 26 
 
 The Gull 30 
 
 The Swan . . • 36 
 
 The Moor-Fowl ... 40 
 
 The Petrel 44 
 
 Domestic Fowls • • 54 
 
 The Pheasant 76 
 
 The Cuckoo 84 
 
 The Partridge 106 
 
 The Skylark 114 
 
 The Water- Wagtail 122 
 
 The Lapwing 126 
 
 The Turkey 134 
 
 TheBarn-Owl 156 
 
 The Mallard 166 
 
 The Robin 178 
 
 The Goldfinch 186 
 
 The Magpie 196 
 
 The Great Auk 206 
 
 The Redwing 210 
 
 The Cormorant 214
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 THE PEACOCK. 
 
 This beautiful bird was brought into Palestine in the 
 reign of Solomon, from the countries farther to the 
 east and south. That rich and powerful monarch had 
 a taste for natural history, and, at certain times, his 
 fleets returned laden with the most curious and valuable 
 products of distant regions. No wonder, then, that his 
 servants, struck by the elegant shape, the majestic mien, 
 and the splendid plumage of this bird, were anxious to 
 present it to their sovereign ; and that we read, " once 
 in three years came the navy of Tarshish, bringing gold, 
 and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks." 
 
 It is probable, that as the pheasant owes her name to 
 the Phasis, a river of Colchis, on the banks of which 
 
 B
 
 2 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 she first attracted attention, the name of the peacock 
 was derived in the same manner. It is everywhere 
 called by the ancients " the bird of Media," or Persia, in 
 which the land of Cush, or Cuth, was situate, because it 
 came originally from that region. 
 
 In Greece, and in the Lesser Asia, the peacock was 
 long held in high estimation, and frequently purchased 
 by the affluent at a very high price. In the age of 
 Pericles, a person made a great fortune at Athens by 
 rearing these birds, and exhibiting them to the public ; 
 and many flocked to the sight from the remotest parts 
 of the country. Alexander was so struck, it is said, 
 with astonishment on beholding these birds on the 
 banks of the Indus, and so filled with admiration at 
 their beauty, that he commanded that any person should 
 be severely punished who killed one of them. The 
 voice of the peacock is in strange contrast with its gor- 
 geous array ; it is, in fact, a shrill and repulsive scream. 
 
 There is generally some drawback to what is thought 
 very beautiful; and the legs of the peacock are often 
 considered unsightly ; yet these are, doubtless, best 
 adapted to its circumstances. A singular story is told 
 of one of these birds, which shows its strength. It was 
 a fine and full-grown one, and was observed on a half- 
 finished haystack in the Wottingham meadows. The
 
 THE PEACOCK. O 
 
 owner of the stack did not like the peacock to remain 
 there, and sent up his son, a little boy, to drive him 
 down. He, in so doing, took hold of the bird's legs, 
 which the peacock no sooner found, than it spread out 
 its wings, and flew away, carrying the boy with it to a 
 considerable distance, unhurt and undismayed.
 
 THE GOLDEN EAGLE. 
 
 It might be supposed, from the name given to this 
 bird, that its appearance resembled the most precious of 
 metals, but this does not exactly accord with the fact. 
 The descriptions given of it by naturalists are various. 
 Latham says, that the head and neck are deep brown ; 
 Fleming affirms, that the acuminated feathers on the 
 head and neck are a bright rust-colour, and the rest of 
 the plumage dusky brown ; while Buffon asserts, that the 
 plumage is at first white, then faint yellow, and that 
 afterwards it becomes a bright copper colour. Still 
 there are cases in which the name is not inapplicable. 
 Mr. Perkins, of Lee, in Kent, possessed an eagle hav- 
 ing the peculiar shade of russet yellow which gold when 
 alloyed with copper exhibits ; so that the feathers look- 
 ed as if they had been powdered with gold dust. Others 
 have been observed as presenting a similar appearance. 
 White varieties of the golden eagle, as it is called, have 
 also been seen and recorded. 
 
 In times far distant it was said, " Doth the eagle
 
 THE GOLDEN EAGLE. 5 
 
 mount up at thy command, and make her nest on high? 
 She dwelleth and abideth on the rock, upon the crag of 
 the rock, and the strong place. From thence she seek- 
 eth the prey, and her eyes behold afar off," Job xxxix. 
 27 — 29. The nest made by this bird is, in fact, a collec- 
 tion of strong sticks, laid on the highest and most inac- 
 cessible parts of rocks, and requiring a space of several 
 square feet. Hence it has been said by one of our 
 poets : 
 
 " The tawny eagle seats his callow brood 
 High on the cliff, and feasts his young with blood : 
 On Snowdon's rocks, or Orkney's wide domain, 
 Whose beetling cliffs o'erhang the western main, 
 The royal bird his lonely kingdom forms 
 Amidst the gathering clouds and sullen storms ; 
 Through the wide waste of air he darts his sight, 
 And holds his sounding pinions poised for flight ; 
 With cruel eye premeditates the war. 
 And marks his destined victim from afar. 
 Descending in a whirlwind to the ground, 
 His pinions, like a rush of waters, sound; 
 The fairest of the fold he bears away. 
 And to his nest compels the struggling prey : 
 He scorns the game by meanest hunters tore. 
 And dips his talons in no vulgar gore." 
 
 The range of the eagle is, however, very extensive : 
 not only is it found in various parts of the United King- 
 dom, particularly in Scotland, but in America, from the 
 temperate to the arctic regions, always preferring a 
 mountainous country; in North Africa, and Asia Minor ;
 
 6 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 in the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the forests of Fontain- 
 bleau. In some parts, successive generations have ob- 
 served pairs nestling on the same cliffs. 
 
 The attention of the parent bird to her eaglets has 
 often been noticed. Sir Humphrey Davy had an op- 
 portunity of witnessing the instructions given, and has 
 thus stated the fact : — 
 
 " I once saw a very interesting sight above one of 
 the crags of Ben Nevis, as I was going, on the 20th of 
 August, in the pursuit of black game. Two parent 
 eagles were teaching their offspring, two young birds, 
 the manoeuvres of flight. They began by rising from 
 the top of a mountain, in the eye of the sun. It was 
 about mid-day, and bright for this climate. They at 
 first made small circles, and the young birds imitated 
 them. They paused on their wings, waiting till they 
 had made their first flight, and then took a second and 
 larger gyration, always rising towards the sun, and en- 
 larging their circle of flight, so as to make a gradually 
 extending spiral. The young ones still slowly followed, 
 apparently flying better as they mounted ; and they 
 continued this sublime kind of exercise, always rising, 
 till they became mere points in the air, and the young 
 ones were lost, and afterwards their parents, to our 
 aching sight."
 
 GOLDEN EAGLE.
 
 THE GOLDEN EAGLE. 7 
 
 It is hoped that the youthful reader of this volume, 
 loves and studies the Bible — the word of the God of 
 eternal truth ; and if so, the language of Moses will 
 be at once recalled : " The Lord's portion is his people ; 
 Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. He found him in 
 a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness ; he 
 led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the 
 apple of his eye. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, 
 fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, 
 taketh them, beareth them on her wings : so the Lord 
 alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with 
 him," Deut. xxxii. 9 — 12. Should indifference to the 
 value of the Scriptures be unhappily felt, let it be re- 
 membered, that it indicates the carnality of mind which 
 is enmity against God, and which must be counteracted 
 by his grace, if we would share the privileges of the 
 true " circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and 
 rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the 
 flesh." What a beautiful emblem have we of the Di- 
 vine care, in that of the eagle for her young ! 
 
 This bird may be frequently observed in some parts 
 of the kingdom. One of these is Lochlee, lying in a 
 singular basin, between two perpendicular cliffs on the 
 north, and high and precipitous mountains on the south, 
 at the head of the North Esk in Forfarshire. A pair
 
 8 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 of eagles dwell on each side, so that three may some- 
 times be seen at the same time in the air ; but the 
 dwellers in the inaccessible cliffs on the north seem to 
 bear rule ; for the south ones do not venture to be in 
 the valley w'hile these are on the wing. The pair, 
 though they drive off their young, and every creature 
 but man, whose haunts they shun, are closely associated 
 together : when one is seen for any length of time, the 
 other is sure not to be far distant ; and the one may 
 often be observed flying low, and beating the bushes, 
 while the other floats high in the air, in order to pounce 
 on the frightened prey. 
 
 The flight of the golden eagle is very majestic and 
 powerful. It seldom feeds on anything it finds dead ; 
 on fish, or carrion : but from its great strength, it preys 
 easily on fawns, lambs, hares, and other game. Two 
 facts are mentioned by Montagu respecting it, which 
 occurred on the Western Highlands of Scotland. He 
 was sporting in the neighbourhood of Ben Lomond, on 
 the summit of the lesser mountains that form its base, 
 when a red grouse was wounded, and flew with difficulty 
 eighty or a hundred paces. An eagle, apparently of 
 this species, perceiving the laborious flight of the 
 wounded bird, descended with rapid wing from the ad- 
 jacent lofty cliffs, before the party, of which Montagu
 
 THE GOLDEN EAGLE. 
 
 9 
 
 was one, had time to reload their guns, and in defiance 
 of their shouts, carried off her prey. In another case, 
 an old black cock was sprung, when an eagle, which 
 must have been on a neighbouring rock unperceived, 
 instantly pursued it across the glen, the breadth of 
 which was at least two miles. The eagle made several 
 pounces in view, without success ; but as there was 
 neither wood nor cover on the opposite mountains suf- 
 ficient to conceal so large a bird as a black grouse, he 
 doubtless forfeited his life to the merciless tyrant of 
 the rocks. 
 
 It is said that eagles have the power of bearing for 
 a long time abstinence from food : thus, one belonging 
 to a gentleman of Conway, in Carnarvonshire, was neg- 
 lected by the servants, and kept for three weeks without 
 any sustenance whatever. These birds are also de- 
 scribed as being very long-lived. One is stated to have 
 lived in confinement, at Vienna, for a hundred and four 
 years. Two golden eagles, kept by Mr. Selby, appear- 
 ed untameable in disposition ; their fierceness remaining 
 undiminished through years of confinement. They did 
 not exhibit any partiality even for the person who con- 
 stantly attended and fed them, but were as ready to 
 attack him as a stranger. 
 
 Some years ago, a gentleman, residing in the south
 
 10 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 of Scotland, had a tame eagle, which the keeper one 
 day, very injudiciously, thought proper to lash with a 
 horsewhip for some petty fault. About a week after- 
 wards, the man chanced to stoop within reach of its 
 chain ; when the enraged bird, recollecting the late in- 
 sult, flew in his face so furiously and violently, that he 
 was much wounded, but happily, driven so far back by 
 the blow, as to be out of all further danger. The 
 family alarmed by the screams of the eagle, found the 
 offender lying at some distance in a fearful plight, while 
 the bird was pacing and crying in a manner equally 
 threatening and majestic. It was even dreaded that 
 the eagle might break loose in the violence of its rage, 
 which it did just as they withdrew, and escaped. 
 
 An eagle, which excited great interest, was some 
 years ago in the Garden of Plants, at Paris. It w^as 
 taken in the forest of Fontainbleau, in a fox-trap, the 
 spring of which broke its claws, which rendered a pain- 
 ful operation necessary ; but, though the cure w'as te- 
 dious, the eagle displayed great patience. Its head only 
 was at liberty during the operation, but it did not oppose 
 the dressing of the wound, from which several splinters 
 were taken ; nor did it attempt to disturb the operations 
 which the fracture required. Swathed in a napkin, and 
 laid on one side, the eagle passed the w^hole night on
 
 THE GOLDEN EAGLE. 
 
 11 
 
 straw without the least motion ; and the next day, when 
 all the bandages were unwrapped, lodged itself on a 
 screen, where it remained twelve hours, without once 
 resting on its unsound foot. Its windows were open 
 all the time, but it made no attempt to escape. It re- 
 fused all nourishment until the thirteenth day of its 
 captivity, when it tried its appetite on a rabbit, seizing 
 it with its uninjured claw, and killing it with a stroke 
 of its beak, between the head and the first vertebra of 
 the neck ; and after having devoured it, the eagle re- 
 sumed its usual place on the screen, from whence it 
 stirred no more until the twenty-first day after the acci- 
 dent. At that time it began to try the wounded limb, 
 and without in the least deranging the ligature by which 
 it was bound, regained the use of it by moderate exer- 
 cise. Many a parent who has an invalid child, would 
 have far less trouble, in the exercise of kind and watch- 
 ful attention, were the object of so much care as truly 
 patient as this eagle. The sufferer too, would enjoy 
 advantages which the wayward and irritable never 
 know.
 
 THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. 
 
 The white-tailed eagle is much more common, as a 
 species, than the golden eagle, and it may frequently be 
 seen on some parts of our coast. Dwelling in the high 
 rocks and cliffs that overhang the ocean, it looks out 
 eagerly for prey : when hungry, it will seize either fowl 
 or fish ; it will feed also on seals and venison, and has 
 sometimes been killed in forests and deer-parks. It 
 lays two eggs. Its young are at first covered with a 
 soiled white down, having very large beaks and claws, 
 and are driven away by the parent birds as soon as they 
 are able to provide for themselves. The white-tailed 
 eagle frequents Denmark, Sweden, and the west coast 
 of Norway; proceeding as far north from thence as 
 Iceland and Greenland. Returning from high northern 
 latitudes as the season advances, this species is much 
 more numerous in winter than in summer. 
 
 A pair of these birds had long inhabited a lofty tree 
 on the coast of Ireland, and, perhaps from age, seized 
 anything they could find, to the great annoyance of the
 
 THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. 13 
 
 neighbouring peasants. Many persons wished to stop 
 their plunder, but like not a few in other circumstances, 
 they were not remarkable for promptitude ; and besides, 
 everybody respected the eagles. The gardener of one 
 gentleman, however, had orders to load his musket, and 
 to fire on the female bird the first time she ventured to 
 intrude among the goslings, or to pursue some unfor- 
 tunate chicken. But she was a magnificent bird — far 
 larger than her husband — and Peter's heart failed him. 
 " Look at her ! " he said, as she sailed in the distance ; 
 " look at her, master ! I remember that oidd lass ever 
 since I was the height of a raspberry plant ; and I 
 couldn't find it in my heart to hurt a feather of her 
 wing, the craythur ! What signifies a dozen of goslings 
 to such a bird as that ? Won't there be plenty o' geese 
 of all sorts when she's gone ? But my father before 
 me used to say, ' Peter,' says he, ' mark my words, them 
 'ill be the last o' the rale ancient Irish eagles that 'ill 
 ever settle in the barony ; for they 've a mortal hatred 
 to new fashions :' but as to killing her, I 'd as soon 
 think o' kilhng the priest !" 
 
 Vain was it, then, to expect relief from Peter ; but as 
 goslings were again destroyed, and still more, as the 
 rapacious bird took a fancy to a beautiful pea-hen that 
 was brooding over her eggs in a retired copse, it was
 
 14 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 determined that, as the killing of the birds seemed out 
 of the question, the tree should be cut down, and then 
 it was supposed that the eagles would quit the neigh- 
 bourhood altogether. This expectation proved to be 
 correct. The eagles returned at night, but the tree, on 
 the topmost and blighted boughs of which their nest 
 had so long rested, was now lying on the ground. 
 What could then be done ? They made some circles 
 about it, uttering shrill and plaintive cries, and then 
 they departed to find a new abode ; it was thought, in 
 one of the islet bays, with which that part of the coast 
 abounds. 
 
 That children have been carried away by eagles ap- 
 pears to be well attested. A white-tailed eagle built its 
 nest on Tintholn, in the Feroe islands, and one day 
 darted down on a child which was lying at a little dis- 
 tance from its mother, and bore it away. The rock 
 where the nest was constructed was so steep towards the 
 summit, that the most courageous and experienced bird- 
 catchers had never ventured to climb it ; but a mother's 
 love was not to be thus baffled : the agonised parent 
 encountered the task, and reached the top, but unhap- 
 pily too late ; her little one was there, but it was dead, 
 and partly devoured. 
 
 Another case of the same kind had happily a different
 
 THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. 15 
 
 issue. A native of the isle of Skye, named Neil, was 
 left, when an infant, by his mother in the field, " not 
 far," says Martin, " from the houses on the north side 
 of Loch Portrie," when an eagle came and carried him 
 away in its talons, as far as the south side of the loch, 
 and there laid him on the ground. Some people tend- 
 ing sheep, hearing the infant cry, immediately ran to 
 his rescue, found him providentially untouched by the 
 eagle, and bore him home to his mother. " He is still 
 living," says Martin, in 1716, "in that parish, and by 
 reason of this accident is distinguished among his neigh- 
 bours by the surname of Eagle." 
 
 The following is also a remarkable tale. A peasant, 
 with his wife and children, had taken up his summer 
 quarters in a small cabin or shed, near Brian^on, and 
 was feeding his flocks among the mountain herbage 
 which overhangs the Durance. The eldest child was 
 an idiot, about eight years of age ; the second, five years 
 old, suffered from another calamity, that of dumbness ; 
 and the youngest was an infant. One morning the latter 
 was left in the charge of his brothers, and all had ram- 
 bled to some distance from the cabin before they were 
 missed. At length, the mother, who went forth to seek 
 the wanderers, discovered the two elder, but the infant 
 was gone.
 
 16 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 The idiot appeared to be full of delight, and the 
 dumb child greatly alarmed and terrified ; but in vain 
 did the parent, in her anguish, endeavour to ascertain 
 what had befallen her lost babe. Again and again did 
 she observe the movements of her two children : the 
 dumb boy appeared almost bereft of his senses, while 
 the idiot danced about, laughed, and seemed by his ges- 
 ticulations to imitate the action of one who had caught 
 up something of which he was fond, and hugged it to 
 his heart ; but no solution of the mystery was given by 
 the antics of the one, or the fright of the other. One 
 slight consolation, however, arose — it was in the thought 
 that some acquaintance had fallen in with the children, 
 and taken away the infant ; but the day and night wore 
 away without any tidings of its state. 
 
 On the morrow the parents renewed their search, 
 when, as an eagle was seen to fly over their heads, the 
 antics of the idiot were resumed, and the dumb boy 
 clung to his father, and shrieked aloud with anguish and 
 terror. Now the fearful fact burst on their minds, that 
 the infant had been carried off by some bird of prey, 
 and that the half-witted child was delighted at the re- 
 moval of one of whom he was jealous : and so it proved. 
 On the morning of their loss, an Alpine hunter had 
 been watching near an eagle's nest, in the hope of shoot-
 
 THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE. 17 
 
 ing the bird on her return to the eyrie, and, at length, he 
 beheld her advancing towards the rock behind which he 
 was concealed. On a nearer approach, he observed, to 
 his indescribable horror, an infant in her grasp, and 
 heard with anguish its bitter cries. In a moment he 
 resolved to fire at the eagle the instant she alighted, 
 and rather to kill the child than to leave it for a prey to 
 the ravenous bird. That instant came : with a silent 
 prayer and a steady aim he poised his rifle, and, most 
 providentially, the ball pierced the head or heart of the 
 eagle, and immediately this hunter, 
 
 " Whose joy was in the wilderness, to breathe 
 The difficult air of the iced mountain's top," 
 
 found a far higher delight fill his bosom in snatching 
 the child from the eagle's nest, and bearing it securely 
 away. It was wounded by the talons of the bird, but 
 not mortally; and in less than twenty-four hours after it 
 was first missed, he had the high satisfaction of restoring 
 it to its mother's arms. 
 
 Notwithstanding the extreme boldness of the white- 
 tailed eagle, it does not dare to contend with a fox or a 
 dog in its natural wild state. Singularly enough, an 
 eagle and a fox were, on one occasion, observed to be 
 regaling themselves on the carcase of a goat that had 
 fallen down a precipice in the Highlands of Scotland. 
 
 c
 
 18 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 The latter frequently compelled the former to desist, 
 and retreat a little ; but it was not so much alarmed as 
 to forbid its return ; and occasionally it threw itself into 
 bold and picturesque attitudes of defence, erecting all its 
 feathers, and spreading to the full the wings and the 
 tail.
 
 THE PEREGRINE FALCON. 
 
 This bird, more numerous in Scotland than England, 
 builds its nest on high rocks : its name, Peregrine, is 
 given from its migratory habits on various parts of the 
 coast. In the Isle of Wight these falcons breed an- 
 nually near the Needles, and destroy many of the puf- 
 fins and razor-bills in the neighbourhood. In the vici- 
 nity of St. Abb's Head, an eyrie has been observed as 
 long established : from hence a gentleman usually ob- 
 tained his cast of hawks, for each of which he gave a 
 guinea to those who encountered the danger of scaling 
 the precipice. It is said, that numbers of the peregrine 
 falcon reside temporarily on Westminster Abbey, and 
 make sad havoc among the tame pigeons in the neigh- 
 bourhood. 
 
 This bird is associated with one of the old English 
 sports. There seems to have been a passion for hawk- 
 ing among all the nations that owned a Scandinavian 
 origin; and perhaps none exceeded our forefathers in its 
 intensity. For centuries it was satirized and denounced
 
 20 BRITISH BIRDS. " 
 
 by some ; but the amusement was still cherished, and it 
 was even thought it would be practised to the end of the 
 world. A king of Kent begged from a friend abroad 
 two falcons of " such skill and courage, as to attack 
 cranes willingly, and, seizing them, throw them on the 
 ground." He says, " he makes this request because 
 there were few hawks of that kind in Kent." There are 
 instances, too, of Saxons leaving hawks by will : and 
 one of the kings of the Heptarchy liberated some lands 
 " from those who carried with them hawks or falcons, 
 horses or dogs." 
 
 Falconry appears to have been in high estimation at 
 the court of the king of Wales, for there were only 
 three officers of his household above the master of the 
 hawks : he occupied the fourth place from the sovereign 
 at the royal table, but was not permitted to drink more 
 than three times, lest he should be intoxicated, and neg- 
 lect his birds. The discharge of his duty in this respect 
 was the chief object at which he aimed, and one attend- 
 ed, according to popular opinion, with great honour. 
 Not only had he the management of the hawks, and the 
 direction of the people employed in this sport, but when 
 he had been very successful, the king was obliged, by 
 law and custom, to rise up to receive him when he en- 
 tered, and even, on some occasions, to hold his stirrup.
 
 fry 
 
 THE PEREGRINE FALCON.
 
 THE PEREGRINE FALCON. 21 
 
 Ethelstan made North Wales furnish him not only 
 with as many dogs as he chose, " whose scent-pursuing 
 noses might explore the haunts and coverts of the deer," 
 but " birds who knew how to hunt others along the 
 sky." The finest and largest falcons, however, came 
 from Norway. Hawking seems to have been pursued 
 among the Saxons almost as it was in later times : many 
 of their kings, like Alfred, were expert falconers. But 
 it was the Normans who attached to falconry the great- 
 est importance, and gave almost as minute and careful 
 instructions for training and preserving the hawk, as for 
 tending and instructing the heir of the family. An ex- 
 pensive diet was considered necessary. All treatises on 
 the subject require for this bird the purest waier and the 
 freshest raw meat — two articles not always to be found 
 in a baron's castle, where salted sheep were the chief 
 winter provisions, and where muddy ale and beer were 
 more plentiful than spring-water. 
 
 In the middle ages the price of a good falcon was 
 very high. In the early part of the reign of Edward in. 
 the king of Scotland sent him a falcon gentil, which he 
 graciously received, and gave the falconer who brought 
 it forty shillings, a sum equal to forty or fifty pounds in 
 the present day. At a much later period the prices of 
 these favourite birds appear to have been enormous.
 
 22 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 The goshawk and tassel-hawk were often sold for one 
 hundred marks in the days of James i ; and Sir Thomas 
 Monson is reported to have given, in the same reign, 
 no less than one thousand pounds for a pair of hawks. 
 
 To this expense was added that of a numerous " me- 
 nye," under the direction of the chief falconer, to attend 
 to the different departments of the mews : for these 
 birds had to be supplied with fresh water several times 
 every day ; to be taken out, too, and flown ; and to be 
 fed continually. Nor was this all, for to break in a 
 hawk it must be kept waking the whole night ; and thus 
 the falconer, in addition to his usual labour, had not 
 unfrequently to keep watch until dawn, with the refrac- 
 tory bird on his hand. 
 
 Gaily bedecked, indeed, were these beautiful birds 
 when transferred from their perch to the glove, whether 
 to fly at the game, or merely to be borne on solemn or 
 festive occasions, as appendages of high rank. There 
 was the collar, often of fine enamelled work, or the most 
 delicate gold filigree ; the hood, of silk knitting, some- 
 times exquisitely embroidered ; the bells suspended from 
 the leathern rings round each leg, which were called 
 bewits, most frequently of neatly wrought silver. The 
 glove, too, on which the bird sate, was of richly embroi- 
 dered white leather, sometimes even adorned with jewels
 
 THE PEREGRINE FALCON. 23 
 
 — made to reach no higher than the wrist on the inside of 
 the hand, while on the outside it covered the arm nearly 
 to the elbow, that the bird, at the word of command, 
 might retreat from the wrist up the arm, and thus leave 
 the hand at liberty. 
 
 When the falcon was carried abroad for sport, the 
 tnin straps of leather attached to the legs, by which she 
 was held on the hand, called jesses, were made shorter, 
 that they might not impede her flight ; and, unless she 
 were a well-practised bird, a long silken thread, called a 
 creance, was attached to the bewits, by means of which 
 she could soar as high as was necessary, and be again 
 reclaimed. The hawk was commonly hooded until the 
 game was sprung ; the covering was then removed, the 
 creance was unwound, and the bird cast off the hand. 
 A well-trained hawk was always expected to bring dow^n 
 the best bird, uninjured either by her strong beak or 
 sharp talons ; the prey was then taken from her, and 
 she was returned to her station on the wrist, until an- 
 other covey rose, when she was again cast off. 
 
 Walton's Falconer says : — "In the air, my noble, 
 generous falcon ascends to such a height as the dull 
 eyes of beasts and fish are not able to reach to — their 
 bodies are too gross for such high elevation — but from 
 which height I can make her descend by a word from
 
 24 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 my mouth, which she both knows and obeys ; to accept 
 of meat from my hand, to own me for her master, to go 
 home with me, and be willing the next day to afford me 
 like recreation." 
 
 Sir J. Sebright says : — " The village of Falcons- 
 waerd, near Bois-le-Duc, in Holland, has for many years 
 furnished falconers to the rest of Europe. I have known 
 many falconers in England, and in the service of diflfer- 
 ent princes on the continent ; but I never met with one 
 of them who was not a native of Falconswaerd. It has 
 been the practice of these sober and industrious men to 
 stay with their employers during the season for hawk- 
 ing, and to pass the remainder of the year with their 
 families at home. John Pells, now in the service of my 
 friend, John Dawson Downes, Esq. of Old Gunton Hill, 
 Suffolk, and who also manages the heron-hawks kept 
 by subscription in Norfolk, is, I believe, the only eiBcient 
 falconer by profession now remaining ; all the others 
 whom I remember are either dead or worn out, and 
 there has been no inducement to younger men to follow 
 the employment of their forefathers." 
 
 The Duke of St. Albans, as grand falconer of Eng- 
 land, had, till lately, an establishment for training hawks 
 not far from Colchester ; he also gave, on several occa- 
 sions, a specimen of their skill and power. But although
 
 THE PEREGRINE FALCON. 25 
 
 falconry had such a despotic sway for many ages, it is 
 now a question whether there is a single reclaimed fo- 
 reign hawk in the western part of the kingdom. There 
 may, however, be a few English hawks annually trained 
 in the neighbourhood of Bridport, in Dorsetshire, for 
 the taking of landrails in the hemp or flax fields near 
 that town, in which, during some summers, they are 
 very plentiful.
 
 THE JAY. 
 
 The rich colouring in the bastard wing and greater 
 coverts belongs exclusively to this one species of bird. 
 The blue, the black, and the white, are here most ex- 
 quisitely blended. The eye, therefore, dwells on this 
 bird with peculiar pleasure. These brilliant colours are 
 however possessed, as is the case with other birds, prior 
 to the first moulting ; hence the male and female are so 
 much alike that they are not easily distinguished from 
 one another. 
 
 The jay is found in considerable numbers in most of 
 the wooded parts of this country, but they seldom con- 
 gregate together. The nest of the magpie and the crow 
 may be observed near the tops of trees, but here the 
 dwelling of the jay is never seen. In the lower branches 
 of the oak, or the woodbine mantling round the hazel, 
 it finds an abode. Like some other birds, as the jack- 
 daw, the rook, and the pheasant, it feeds voraciously on 
 the acorn. In pea and cherry time it becomes remark-
 
 
 THE JAY.
 
 THE JAY. 27 
 
 ably daring and adventurous, and consequently, many 
 of them become the prey of watchful gardeners. 
 
 When the snows of winter have fairly set in, and 
 acorns cannot be found among the fallen leaves of the 
 woods, the jay may be noticed flitting from hedge to 
 hedge in the neighbourhood of pea and bean stacks, and 
 clinging to their sides in quest of uncovered pods. 
 
 When spring returns, the lover of natural scenery, 
 and of the living objects by which it is adorned, may 
 sometimes hear a profusion of imitative notes, now 
 hoarse and sonorous, now lowered and subdued, and 
 composed of modulations almost approaching to those 
 of song. They are emitted by a small party of jays, 
 that assemble merrily before they depart in pairs, to 
 choose a place for building their nests and hatching 
 their young. It is only at this time that they appear 
 disposed to be social : at other times the jay is a soli- 
 tary wandering bird, and does not allow its young to 
 associate with it, after they are able to provide for 
 themselves.
 
 THE TITMOUSE. 
 
 The note of the black-headed titmouse, in spring, 
 exactly resembles the setting of a saw. The sound 
 ceases when the bird has a nest ; and it appears to fore- 
 tel rain. The crested titmouse is found only in the 
 forests of Scotland. The elegant bearded titmouse ap- 
 pears amidst the reeds on the banks of the Thames, 
 feeding on insects, but chiefly on the seeds of marsh 
 plants. Of these birds there are also four other species. 
 They are lively, active, and courageous : they flit 
 from tree to tree ; they hop from branch to branch, 
 calling to each other ; they hang upon the bark ; they 
 poise themselves against the walls ; they hook them- 
 selves on the trunks of trees, and are suspended in all 
 forms, often with the head downwards, in order to ex- 
 amine every little crevice, and to search out caterpillars, 
 insects, or their eggs. They live also on grain ; but 
 instead of breaking it with their bill, like linnets and 
 goldfinches, almost all of them hold it fixed under their 
 little claws, and pierce it with strokes of the beak.
 
 THE TITMOUSE. 29 
 
 They pierce in the same way nuts and almonds. In 
 general all the titmouse tribe, though rather fierce, love 
 the company of their brethren, and keep in families. 
 When separated by accident, they call mutually to each 
 other, and are soon rejoined in society. They lay many 
 eggs ; most species making their nests in the hole of a 
 tree, but one in a round ball appended to a branch, and 
 of a size disproportioned to so small a bird. 
 
 Sometimes the titmouse will feed on walnuts, attack- 
 ing and devouring them as they grow on the tree, and 
 while, from their not being fully ripe, the green outside 
 husk remains. Of course, it especially likes a tree, 
 which is sometimes found bearing nuts, the shells of 
 which consist of a soft texture, easily pervious to its 
 little beak. In such instances it commences its attack 
 at the soft or imperfect apex of the shell, and pecks out 
 the kernel as far as its bill can possibly reach. The 
 entire kernel has been frequently known to be com- 
 pletely scooped out by the titmouse, before the nut was 
 ripe enough to fall from the tree. On one large tree, 
 with a good crop, scarcely a walnut remained which had 
 not been assailed by these birds, and more or less eaten.
 
 THE GULL. 
 
 On various parts of the British coast this bird is con- 
 stantly found. It breeds on the ledges of rocks close 
 to the sea- shore, sometimes not far above the water. 
 Hundreds have been observed sitting on their nests in 
 an island oflF St. David's, the nests being made of sea- 
 weeds, and placed nearly together, about fourteen feet 
 from the beach. When disturbed they are very cla- 
 morous, and not much alarmed by the sportsman's gun. 
 They are frequently seen in winter, at a considerable 
 distance from the coast, and they flock with rooks in 
 the severe weather. 
 
 The writer remembers a gentleman, well known as 
 a literary character, telling him that when a schoolboy, 
 on one part of the Irish coast, he and his companions 
 often dared one another to feats of extreme peril. 
 Among these was that of one being suspended over the 
 cliffs, by means of a rope, or if this were w^anting, by 
 pocket-handkerchiefs fastened together, in order to take 
 the eggs of the birds that build in the rocks. We
 
 J{l<r-^-- -
 
 THE GULL. 31 
 
 tremble instinctively as we think of the hardihood so 
 wantonly and foolishly displayed. What would have 
 been the feelings of the rest, if one of these frail depen- 
 dencies had given way, and, while the body had fallen 
 mangled on the beach, the spirit had been hurried into 
 the presence of God ! And yet such a catastrophe 
 might easily have occurred, and would doubtless have 
 arisen, but for the interposition of Him, whose goodness 
 was never recognized amidst the thoughtless hilarity of 
 youthful days. 
 
 In the hazardous enterprise of taking the young, and 
 the eggs of the birds that dwell on their rocky coasts, 
 the inhabitants of the Hebrides, the Feroe, and other 
 northern islands, frequently engage to earn their sub- 
 sistence. Sometimes they provide themselves with a 
 long rope, having a strong stick about three feet long 
 attached to the end. One of them then fastens one end 
 about his waist and between his legs, and supporting 
 himself partly by the stick, is lowered down by several 
 others. A small line attached to his body enables him 
 to give signals that he may be raised, lowered, or shift- 
 ed from place to place. Imagine a man thus dangling 
 in mid-air, and little appears between him and death ; 
 but his peril will be still more apparent when it is re- 
 membered that, as his position is changed, fragments of
 
 32 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 the rock are detached, and fall about his head, which re- 
 quires to be protected by a strong thick cap, and even 
 then is not safe from the larger masses that descend. 
 
 Remarkable indeed is the dexterity of these fowlers. 
 Placing their feet against the front of the rock, often 
 two hundred fathoms in height, they will dart them- 
 selves to a considerable distance from it, mark the place 
 where the birds nestle, and discharge their pieces into 
 their haunts. When the birds lodge in deep recesses, 
 the fowlers will alight, detach themselves from the 
 rope, collect their booty at their leisure, fasten it to 
 their girdles, and resume their seats. 
 
 We are indebted for the following facts to a valuable 
 work on Birds, by the Rev. E. Stanley. Many bird- 
 catchers go on these expeditions without any companion 
 to hold the rope or assist them. It was on such a soli- 
 tary excursion, that a man, having fastened his rope to 
 a stake on the top, let himself down far below ; and, in 
 his ardour for collecting birds and eggs, followed the 
 course of a ledge, beneath a mass of overhanging rock ; 
 unfortunately he had omitted to take the usual precau- 
 tion of tying the rope round his body, but held it care- 
 lessly in his hand, when, in a luckless moment_, as he 
 was busily engaged in pillaging a nest, it slipped from 
 his grasp, and, after swinging backwards and forwards
 
 THE GULL. 33 
 
 three or four times, without coming within his reach, at 
 last became stationary over the ledge of the projecting 
 rock, leaving the bird-catcher apparently without a 
 chance of escape ; for to ascend the precipice without 
 a rope was impossible, and no one was near to hear 
 his cries, or to afford him help. What was to be 
 done ? Death stared him in the face. After a few 
 minutes' pause he made up his mind. By a desperate 
 leap he might regain the rope ; but if he failed — and, at 
 the distance at which it hung, the chances were against 
 him — his death was certain amidst the pointed crags 
 ready to receive him, over which the waves were dash- 
 ing far, far below. Collecting, therefore, all his strength, 
 with outstretched arms he sprang from the rock, and 
 lived to tell the tale — for the rope was caught ! 
 
 Another fact occurred at St. Kilda; where, amongst 
 other modes of catching the sea-fowl, that of setting gins 
 or nooses is adopted. They are fixed in various places 
 frequented hj the birds. In one of these, set upon a 
 ledge, a hundred and twenty feet above the sea, a bird- 
 catcher entangled his foot, and not being at the moment 
 aware of it, was, on moving onwards, tripped up, and 
 precipitated over the rock, where he hung suspended. 
 He, too, as in the preceding case had no companion ; 
 and, to add to his misfortune, darkness w^as at hand, 
 
 D
 
 34 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 leaving little prospect of his being discovered before 
 morning. In vain he exerted himself to bend upwards, 
 so as to reach the noose or grapple the rock. After a 
 few fruitless eflforts, his strength was exhausted, and in 
 this dreadful situation, expecting, moreover, that the 
 noose might give way every instant, did he pass a long 
 night. At early dawn, happily, his shouts were heard 
 by a neighbour, who rescued him from his perilous 
 suspension.
 
 THE SWAN. 
 
 On the water of large estates in this country, swans 
 are kept for the sake of ornament. Wordsworth has 
 thus described the form and movements of this bird, 
 which is so attractive to the eye wherever it is beheld : — 
 
 Fair is the swan, whose majesty prevailing 
 
 O'er breezeless water, on Lacarno's lake, 
 Bears him on, while proudly sailing 
 
 He leaves behind a moon -illumined wake: 
 Behold! the mantling spirit of reserve 
 Fashions his neck into a goodly curve ; 
 
 An arch thrown back between luxuriant wings 
 Of whitest garniture, like fir-tree boughs. 
 
 To which, on some unrutfled morning, clings 
 A flaky weight of winter's purest snows ! 
 
 Behold ! as with a gashing impulse, heaves 
 
 That downy prow, and softly cleaves 
 
 The mirror of the crystal flood. 
 
 Vanish inverted hill, and shadowy wood. 
 
 And pendant rocks, where'er, in gliding state. 
 
 Winds the mute creature without visible mate 
 
 Or rival, save the Queen of the Night, 
 
 Showering down a silver light 
 
 From heaven, upon her chosen favourite.
 
 36 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 The plumage is of an ash-colour till the second year, 
 after which it becomes pure white. The female builds 
 her nest of water-plants, reeds, long grass, and sticks, in 
 some retired bank of a river or lake, and her eggs are 
 much larger than those of a goose. The young are 
 called cygnets : as soon as they can fly their quill- 
 feathers are clipped ; and this is repeated every year. 
 
 The swan lives to a great age ; sometimes, it is said, 
 to a century or more. Though a powerful enemy when 
 attacked, it is not an offensive bird. A few years ago a 
 very fine swan was drowned in Trentham Pool, the seat 
 of the Marquess of Stafford, by a pike driving at its 
 bill : they were of equal strength, and the bird and the 
 fish alike perished. 
 
 Each family of swans on the river Thames has its 
 own district ; and if its limits are encroached upon by 
 others, a pursuit immediately takes place, and the of- 
 fenders are driven off : in other cases they live in per- 
 fect harmony. The male is very attentive to his mate, 
 and the parent birds take great care of the cygnets. 
 Where the stream is strong, the old swan will sink her- 
 self sufficiently low to bring her back on a level with 
 the water, when the young ones will get upon it, and in 
 this manner are conveyed to the other side of the river, 
 or into stiller water.
 
 ■^^^^i
 
 THE SPARROW-HAWK. 
 
 This is a very common species in most of the wooded 
 or enclosed parts of the kingdom, but in the more cham- 
 paign parts it is less frequently observed. Seldom making 
 a nest, it generally takes possession of one which a crow 
 has left. The female is very bold, destroying largely 
 game and young poultry, flying low for this purpose ; 
 snatching up a chick from a brood in an instant, and as 
 quickly out of sight. 
 
 A pair of sparrow-hawks bred in an old crow's nest 
 on a low beech in Selborne Hanger ; and as their brood, 
 which was numerous, began to grow up, they became so 
 daring and ravenous, as to be a terror to all the dames 
 in the village who had charge of either ducklings or 
 chickens. A boy climbed up into a tree, and found the 
 young so fully fledged, that they all escaped, but he 
 observed also that the larder was well stored with pro- 
 visions : he brought down some half-devoured, and 
 a young blackbird, jay, and house-martin, all clean 
 picked. The fact was, that the old birds had made sad
 
 38 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 havoc for some days among the newly flown swallows 
 and martins, which having but lately left their nests, 
 had not acquired sufficient power or command of wing 
 to defy their enemies. 
 
 One family is described as having a pet sparrow- 
 hawk. Harry, as he was called, became tolerably tame 
 a few weeks after his arrival, would take food from the 
 hand, and follow them about, even in the house. Though 
 the kitchen was not at other times his favourite apart- 
 ment, he always visited it when meat was roasting. He 
 was fed on dead birds and mice, when these could be 
 procured. Cruel, as it certainly is, to expose a Hve bird 
 to the torture of fear, sometimes one was given him : 
 then the poor little creature did not at first attempt to 
 stir, but crouched down with its breast close to the 
 ground ; after a few minutes it would move, when Harry, 
 who had been standing perfectly still, would give it a 
 pat with its foot to make it quiet. If two or three per- 
 sons were standing around, some minutes would pass 
 in this way, and, at last, Harry would give one instan- 
 taneous peck on the head of the bird, and it was dead. 
 Then, but never till then, did he commence his meal, 
 always eating in the same manner, with great nicety and 
 neatness, and leaving only the strong feathers of the 
 wings and tail.
 
 THE SPARROW HAWK. 39 
 
 One of his favourite haunts was under a large Portu- 
 gal laurel, which was so thick, close to the ground, that 
 nothing could grow beneath, but it was the resort of an 
 immense number of birds, and here many of them built 
 their nests. Hawks generally perch as high as possible, 
 and Harry was fond of the topmost branch of a large 
 willow, where he swung with the breeze ; curiosity was , 
 therefore, excited to ascertain what attracted him to the 
 bare earth under the laurel, and it was supposed that he 
 now and then caught a young nestling which fell from 
 the nest. Still the observers were not satisfied, as they 
 found that he took his station there during the whole 
 summer, long after the young birds had flown away, 
 and at last they discovered, under a plant near the lau- 
 rel, the wing and tail-feathers of a full-grown bird, evi- 
 dently the remains of his repast. The reason of his 
 preferring the spot was now obvious. 
 
 Harry never attempted to touch a young chicken 
 or duck, but used to strut about the yard where the 
 poultry were kept, without being feared or regarded. 
 During a severe winter, he walked into their house with 
 the pigeons at night, slept in their dwelling, and came 
 out with them when the door of the trap was let down 
 in the morning ; and yet, though there was a numerous 
 flock of old and young birds, no one was ever missed.
 
 40 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 With a dog kept in a kennel, however, he was always 
 at war : perching on the edge of the pan which con- 
 tained the animal's food, and often preventing him from 
 eating, though he himself took little. 
 
 It was long a matter of wonder why he used to perch 
 on the top of a hand-glass, when the piano-forte was in 
 use, sometimes attempting to rest on the window-sill, 
 and at length coming quite into the room. On one 
 occasion he was brought in, and placed on the edge of 
 the instrument, more for the sake of seeing him ruffle 
 his feathers than from any expectation of giving him 
 pleasure ; when he stood there for a considerable time, 
 evidently in great delight, and it was with some diffi- 
 culty he was removed. After this he frequently perch- 
 ed on the handle of a work-basket, or on the instrument, 
 unhke the pigeons, who, familiar as they were with the 
 family, always marched out of the room when the piano- 
 forte was in use, having evidently no liking to the 
 " concord of sweet sounds."
 
 'rUE MOull FOWL.
 
 THE MOOR-FO¥L. 
 
 This bird, driven to the north by cultivation, is only 
 to be found in the extensive and untilled wastes covered 
 with heath, particularly the situations which are most 
 mountainous. The most southern parts in which moor- 
 fowl now appear, are the mountains of Wales; in 
 Yorkshire, and from thence northward on the moor- 
 lands they are not uncommon ; but they especially 
 abound in the Highlands of Scotland. They are also 
 found on the western islands, and in the mountains and 
 bogs of Ireland, but they seem to be confined to the 
 United Kingdom. 
 
 The moor-fowl confine themselves to the open moors, 
 form their nests of a few withered stems, placed care- 
 lessly together in a tuft of heath, and feed on the moun- 
 tain and bog berries. A female was taken alive near 
 Wedhampton, in Wiltshire, many years ago ; but it is 
 difficult to say by what accident it was driven so far 
 from its native moors, as the nearest place to this which 
 moor-fowl are known to inhabit, is the south of Wales,
 
 42 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 which is not less than sixty miles distance in a straight 
 line. 
 
 The young keep with the parent birds till the ap- 
 proach of winter. In November sometimes thirty or 
 forty flock together ; they are then plentiful, but ex- 
 tremely shy, and difficult to be shot. In severe seasons 
 they come lower down the mountains in Scotland, and 
 assemble in great numbers. In 1782 and 1783, it is 
 said three or four thousand assembled. On another oc- 
 casion, a gentleman who encamped at the source of the 
 Dalmon, at the foot of an immense hill, called Croke 
 Franc, says : " The game on these moors is innumera- 
 ble. In a mile long, and not half a one broad, I saw 
 at least one thousand brace of moor game." Since then 
 they have been greatly diminished.
 
 THE PETREL. 
 
 This species, called by sailors, " Mother Gary's chick- 
 en," resembles a swallow in its general appearance, size, 
 and flight. It is rarely seen on our shores, except in 
 some of the northern islands, where it breeds in the 
 holes of rocks. It makes no nest, but lays one lone 
 
 Birds of this kind are sometimes found dead near to 
 the coast, and at others at a distance. One specimen 
 was killed near Bath, and another so far inland as 
 Derbyshire ; and hence it has been thought that they 
 sometimes fly across the land, or perhaps are driven in- 
 land by the strength of the gales frequently occurring 
 at the season when they have been found. But the 
 cause of the mortality that prevails in different parts, it 
 is difficult to determine. 
 
 Petrels live remote from the land except in the breed- 
 ing season. They are seen in great numbers all over 
 the Atlantic, and thus led one of our poets to say :
 
 44 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 " Swift birds, that skim o'er the stormy deep, 
 "Who steadily onward your journey keep, 
 Who neither for rest nor for slumber stay. 
 But press still forward by night or day; 
 As in your unwearying course ye fly 
 Beneath the clear and unclouded sky; 
 Oh ! may we, without delay, like you, 
 The path of duty and right pursue." 
 
 A. celebrated voyager once saw a stream of stormy 
 petrels, from fifty to eighty yards deep, and in breadth 
 three hundred yards or more. They were not scattered, 
 but appeared to be flying as compactly as they could to 
 have the full use of their wings, and they passed on 
 without intermission for an hour and a half, at a rate 
 of swiftness little inferior to that of a pigeon. Their 
 number must have been indeed prodigious : one cannot 
 venture to calculate them. 
 
 The petrel, which will frequently follow a ship for 
 many days, probably for the sake of what is thrown 
 overboard, for it will stoop and pick up bits of biscuit 
 and meat, is supposed by sailors to be seen only before 
 stormy weather, and is therefore considered by no 
 means a welcome visitor. It is not, however, peculiar 
 in presaging tempests, as birds of different families have 
 a nicer perception of change in the atmosphere than 
 man. Thus, before rain, swallows more eagerly hawk 
 for flies, and ducks carefully trim their feathers, and
 
 I^i\ 
 
 THE PETREL.
 
 THE PETREL. 45 
 
 toss water over their backs, to try whether it will run 
 off again without wetting- them. Superstitious, indeed, 
 is the sailor who thinks the petrel the cause of a storm ; 
 it might as well be supposed that the swallows and the 
 ducks are the cause of rain. 
 
 But though these birds wing their way over the ocean 
 so bravely, they are, in fact, sensible of danger, and 
 make all haste to the nearest shelter. They find, if 
 they can, an island or a rock to shield them from the 
 blast ; but failing to do this, they hasten to the first ship 
 they can descry, crowd into her wake and even close 
 under the stern, heedless, apparently, of the rushing 
 surge, so that they can have the vessel between them 
 and the unbroken sweep of the wind. The low wailing 
 note of iveet iveet, which may be heard during the whole 
 of a stormy and starless night, is, of course, depressing 
 to ignorant and superstitious minds. Such, alas ! are 
 those of sailors generally ; and though we owe them 
 much, we do but little to promote their welfare. It 
 ought to be otherwise. Two hundred and eighty thou- 
 sand of these our fellow subjects, passing by unnumber- 
 ed casualties into an eternity for which multitudes on 
 multitudes of them are utterly unprepared, make a for- 
 cible appeal to every Christian's heart.
 
 THE NIGHTINGALE. 
 
 A MODERN writer says : — "A friend had told me, 
 ' You will find the nightingale a lively sprightly bird, 
 and its song the joyful outpouring of a healthy, hearty, 
 happy individual.' And so indeed it proved. I at 
 once became enamoured of the little songster. Some 
 months afterwards, having in vain sought to steal upon 
 him in the bushes, which resounded with his melody, I, 
 at length, caught sight of the rusty little warbler in a 
 cage, which furnished his coyness with no concealment. 
 I wondered, with the ancient naturalist, Pliny, that so 
 small and mean a body should supply so loud a voice — 
 such a fund of spirit and earnestness." 
 
 Coleridge also describes, in glowing terms, his feel- 
 ings in reference to the largest of British warblers, so 
 deservedly esteemed for the variety and richness of its 
 song, the compass of which is such as to reach through 
 three octaves. 
 
 And, hark! the nightingale begins its song, 
 " Most musical, most melancholy " bird.
 
 THE NIGHTINGALE. 
 
 A melancholy bird ! oh ! idle thought! 
 In nature there is nothing melancholy. 
 
 'Tis the merry nightingale 
 
 That crowds, and hurries, and precipitates, 
 With fast, thick warble, his delicious notes, 
 As he were fearful that an April night 
 Would be too short for him to utter forth 
 His love-chaunt, and disburden his full soul 
 Of all its music ! 
 
 And I know a grove 
 Of large extent, hard by a castle huge, 
 Which the great lord inhabits not : and grass, 
 Thin grass, and kingcups grow within the paths ; 
 But never elsewhere in one place I knew 
 So many nightingales ; and far and near, 
 In wood and thicket, over the wide grove 
 They answer and provoke each other's song, 
 With skirmishes and capricious passagings. 
 And murmurs musical and swift, jug, jug. 
 And one low piping sound more sweet than all, 
 Stirring the air with such an harmony, 
 That, should you close your eyes, you might almost 
 Forget it was not day ! On moonlight bushes, 
 Whose dewy leaflets are but half disclosed, 
 You may perchance behold them on the twigs. 
 Their bright, bright eyes, their eyes both bright and full. 
 Glistening, while many a glowworm in the shade 
 Lights up her love torch. 
 
 And oft a moment's space, 
 What time the moon was lost behind a cloud, 
 Hath heard a pause of silence ; till the moon 
 Emerging, hath awaken'd earth and sky 
 With one sensation, and these wakeful birds 
 Have all burst forth in choral minstrelsy. 
 As if some sudden gale had swept at once 
 A hundred airy harps ! 
 
 47
 
 48 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 The poet, at the commencement of this beautiful de- 
 scription, alludes to an error often entertained in refer- 
 ence to the nightingale. Strange is it that this lively- 
 bird should ever be thought melancholy. Its solitary 
 habits, and its love of the night, have probably given 
 rise to this opinion : but no bird sings when it is sad. 
 
 The nightingale is not found north of Shrewsbury in 
 the west, or Doncaster in the east, and is seldom seen 
 in Cornwall or Devonshire. It has been said to be only 
 observed where cowslips grow plentifully, the indications 
 of a damp, cool soil ; but this is not correct. Nightin- 
 gales are very numerous at Colchester, where a cowslip is 
 scarcely to be seen, and the soil is drj^and gravelly: they 
 abound in gardens, as well as woods. They have never 
 ventured north of the Tweed. Hence the poet Leyden 
 wrote : — 
 
 Sweet bird ! how long shall Teviot's maids deplore 
 Thy song, unheard along her woodland shore ! 
 
 Sir J. Sinclair tried, indeed, to introduce the nightin- 
 gale into the groves of Scotland. The eggs of robins 
 were exchanged for those of nightingales ; the young 
 birds were hatched and brought up by their foster-pa- 
 rents, but they migrated in September, the usual time, 
 and never returned to the place of their birth. 
 
 Still, the nightingale is known in many parts of Eu- 
 rope. It is found as far north as Sweden, in the greater
 
 THE NIGHTINGALE. 49 
 
 part of Asia, and also on the banks of the Nile. It has 
 a strong predilection for the Spot where its first abode 
 was, and will return from year to year to the same 
 place, until the-^rove which supplied a shelter is cut 
 down, and even then another station will be chosen as 
 near it as possible. 
 
 A modern traveller describes, in pleasing terms, his 
 gratification on hearing some of these songsters. He 
 had wandered out to take a draught of the fresh breeze, 
 perfumed as it was by the thousand aromatic plants that 
 grew wild on the mountains of Andalusia. There he 
 found an inducement to linger much longer than he had 
 anticipated. He had been delighted already during the 
 day's ride, especially after sunset and the commence- 
 ment of twilight, by the singing of nightingales, which 
 abound in Spain ; and, on this occasion, there were two, 
 perched upon opposite trees. They sang alternately, 
 and evidently waited for each other ; the one only com- 
 mencing some time after the other had finished. Thus 
 they exercised a degree of deference and politeness to- 
 wards each other not always observed by more reason- 
 able creatures. Their prevailing note was, as usual, 
 that sweet and swelling strain which, beginning in a 
 low whistle, passes from rapid quavers to well-articu- 
 lated modulations, and grows fuller and fuller for a few 
 
 E
 
 50 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 seconds, until it reaches the pitch of force and melody, 
 thence declining to a close by an equally happy and 
 harmonious gradation. In some cases, two have been 
 heard at night, thus singing against each other ; but it 
 was in rivalry rather than in deference. 
 
 Nightingales generally return to Germany about the 
 middle of April, near the time the hawthorn begins to 
 show its blossoms ; and towards the middle or end of 
 August they prepare for their departure. This they 
 do very quietly, passing on, without noise or confusion, 
 from thicket to thicket towards the end of their journey, 
 so that they are no longer found in that country by the 
 middle of September. In Italy they arrive in the month 
 of March, and about the commencement of November 
 they begin to retire. 
 
 In this country, the nightingale prepares a nest at 
 the latter end of May, of a very simple construction, 
 made of dry leaves, generally of the oak, and lined with 
 dry grass. It is usually placed on the ground amongst 
 the same materials of which it is composed. This bird 
 sometimes resides in thickets and woods. Here then 
 let us learn another lesson. 
 
 " The bird that soars on highest ■wing, 
 Builds on the ground her lonely nest ; 
 And she that doth most sweetly sing, • 
 Sings in the shade, when ail things rest:
 
 THE NIGHTINGALE. 51 
 
 In lark and nightingale we see 
 What honour hath humility. 
 
 When Mary chose " the better part," 
 
 She meekly sat at Jesu's feet ; 
 And Lydia's gently opened heart 
 
 Was made for God's own temple meet: 
 Fairest and best adorn'd is she 
 Whose clothing is humility. 
 
 The saint that ■vrears heaven's brightest crown, 
 
 In deepest adoration bends ; 
 The weight of glory bows him down. 
 
 Then most when most his soul ascends. 
 Nearest the throne itself must be, 
 The footstool of humility. 
 
 In some parts of the country, however, nightingales 
 are quite as common in gardens as in woods. " I have 
 seen them," says a friend of the writer, " every year in 
 my garden. Nor are they difficult to be observed. I 
 have repeatedly seen them, though near-sighted, and 
 with a strong glass have observed the powerful working 
 of the strong muscles of the throat, as a nightingale 
 poured forth its melody from the yet leafless upper 
 branches of a lofty tree." 
 
 But there is a contrast the most striking to the 
 warblings of the feathered tribes, which are heard for 
 only a short space. A change very quickly passes even 
 on the notes of the nightingale. The song ceases when 
 the mother bird has hatched her brood ; vigilance,
 
 52 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 anxiety, caution, now succeed to harmony, and the 
 croak is the hush, the warning of danger or suspicion, 
 to the infant charge and the mother bird. But the song 
 of the true believer in Christ is not thus brief. From 
 the hour he is brought to trust in Him, he may unite in 
 the ascription which is constantly ascending ; " Unto 
 Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His 
 own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto 
 God and his Father ; to Him be glory and dominion for 
 ever and ever:" and often does he rejoice that it is 
 one which shall never end. 
 
 " Nearest the throne, and first in song, 
 Man shall his hallelujahs raise ; 
 While wondering angels round him throng, 
 And swell the chorus of his praise."
 
 THE DOMESTIC COCK. 
 
 The origin of this familiar fowl has long been matter 
 of dispute. It is, however, of eastern descent, and may 
 be traced to the jungle-fowls of India. Captain Skin- 
 ner tells us, that in some parts of a forest he saw several 
 of them, having exactly the same habits as the domestic 
 poultry. There the cock struts at the head of his hens, 
 and keeps a strict watch over their safety. Whenever 
 they were disturbed by the attempts made upon them, 
 he flew to the highest branch of some neighbouring 
 tree, and crowed with all his might, while the hens ran 
 into holes and corners to find a refuge. So cunning 
 are these birds, that Captain Skinner and his party 
 found it impossible to get within gun-shot of them with 
 all the caution they could use. 
 
 " It has been often remarked, in illustration of Scrip- 
 ture," says Mr. Arundell, "that in the eastern countries 
 the cocks crow in the night ; but the regularity with 
 which they keep what may be called the watches has 
 not been perhaps sufficiently noticed. I will, however,
 
 54 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 confine myself to one, and that is, between eleven and 
 twelve o'clock. I have often heard the cocks of Smyr- 
 na crowing in full chorus at that time, and with scarcely 
 the variation of a minute. The second cock-crowing is 
 between one and two o'clock ; therefore, when our Lord 
 says, * In this night, before the cock crow twice,' Mark 
 xiv. 30, the allusion was clearly to these seasons. In 
 fact, this was altogether so novel to me at my first ar- 
 rival in Smyrna, that I could calculate the hours of the 
 night with the utmost precision, by what I termed my 
 electrometer, as by my watch." 
 
 Innumerable are the varieties which may be traced 
 to the primal stock, varieties arising from domestication 
 during a long course of time, and showing what great 
 effects may be produced on other creatures by similar 
 circumstances. How this fowl was introduced into our 
 own country cannot be determined ; it must have been, 
 however, at a very early date, for it was prohibited as 
 food, among other things, by the Druids. The brutal 
 practice of cock-fighting appears to have been brought 
 hither by the Romans, and has been continued till a 
 very recent period ; indeed, there are some few who still 
 practise this cruel and debasing sport. 
 
 The principal breeds now reared in Britain are, the 
 Dorking, which is the largest ; but is surpassed for the
 
 DOMESTIC FOWLS.
 
 THE DOMESTIC COCK. 55 
 
 table by the Poland, and the common dunghill. The 
 Bantams are good for laying, and will hatch the eggs of 
 pheasants, ducks, and other birds. One of the best of 
 the laying kind is the every-day hen. A good hen, well 
 tended, will rear one or two broods of chickens, and lay 
 upwards of one hundred and forty eggs in the course of 
 a year. A large proportion of those consumed in Eng- 
 land are imported from foreign countries : 60,000,000 
 of eggs per annum are supplied by France, and about 
 4,000,000 more are received from the Netherlands, 
 Germany, and Denmark. Eggs may be kept sweet for 
 three or four months if they are set on end, packed with 
 straw, or, saw-dust, which is better, and the air care- 
 fully excluded. 
 
 The anxiety of a hen to sit, and all her after-move- 
 ments, are very remarkable. The writer remembers a 
 nest being provided for one, and the eggs being all duly 
 arranged, when, as if perfectly aware of what had been 
 done, she walked to it, and covered the brood with 
 evident pleasure. Often did he look at her, and think 
 she felt her occupation to be important, while only now 
 and then did she leave the nest for a short time. 
 It was pleasing also to mark the bustle that followed 
 the hatching of the brood, the gathering of them at a 
 well-known signal around a few crumbs or grains of
 
 56 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 corn, or it might indeed be only one ; and the energy 
 with which an intruder was assailed. 
 
 Tender and vigilant, indeed, is the care which the 
 hen displays in watching over her young. She provides 
 for them with unwearied diligence ; she guards them 
 from the attacks of their enemies with unceasing jea- 
 lousy ; she gives the alarm on the least appearance of 
 danger, evincing, at the same time, a fearless intrepidity 
 in their defence ; and, with kind affection, she gathers 
 them under her wing, and cherishes them with the 
 genial warmth she is prepared to yield. 
 
 Such is the allusion in the words of our Lord: — " O 
 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and 
 stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would 
 I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen 
 gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would 
 not ! " The term used by the evangelists in recording 
 this touching lamentation, originally signified a bird of 
 any kind ; but its meaning became contracted in the 
 progress of language, till it was appropriated to the 
 household fowl. The propriety of this cannot be dis- 
 puted. The gathering of the brood by this bird led the 
 Arabian writers to call her emphatically, " the mother 
 of the congregation :" and among all the feathered tribes
 
 THE DOMESTIC COCK. 57 
 
 the maternal qualities of the hen entitle her to a dis- 
 tinguished place. 
 
 The following is an interesting story from the pen of 
 a lady. " I had once a favourite black hen, ' a great 
 beauty,' she was called by every one, and so I thought 
 her; her feathers jetty, and her topping so white and 
 full I She knew my voice as well as any dog, and used 
 to run cackling and bustling to my hand to receive the 
 crumbs that I never failed to collect from the breakfast- 
 table for ' Yarico ' — so she was called. Yarico, when 
 about a year old, brought forth a respectable family of 
 chickens — little, cowering, timid things at first, but, in 
 due time, they became fine chubby ones ; and old Noma, 
 the hen-wife, said, ' If I could only keep Yarico out of 
 the copse, it would do ; but it is full of weasels, and, I 
 am sure, of foxes too. I have driven her back twenty 
 times, but she watches till some one goes out of the 
 gate, and then she 's off again : it 's always the way 
 with young hens. Miss ; they think they know better 
 than their keepers, and nothing cures them but losing a 
 brood or two of chickens.' I have often thought since, 
 that young people, as well as young hens, buy their 
 experience equally dear. 
 
 " One morning I went v/ith my crumbs to seek out
 
 58 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 my favourite in the poultry-yard ; plenty of hens were 
 there, but no Yarico. The gate was open, and, as I 
 concluded she had sought the forbidden copse, I pro- 
 ceeded, accompanied by the yard-mastilF, a noble fellow, 
 steady and sagacious as a judge. At the end of a rag- 
 ged lane, flanked on one side by a quickset hedge, on 
 the other by a wild common, what was called the copse 
 commenced ; but before I arrived near the spot, I heard 
 a loud and tremendous cackling : I met two long-legged 
 pullets running with both wings and feet towards home. 
 Jock pricked up his sharp ears, and would have set off 
 at full gallop to the copse, but I restrained him, hastening 
 onward, however, at the top of my speed, thinking that I 
 had as good a right to see what was the matter as Jock. 
 
 " Poor Yarico ! an impertinent fox-cub had attempt- 
 ed to carry off one of her children, but she had man- 
 aged to get behind them in the hedge, and venturing 
 boldly forth, had placed herself in the front, and posi- 
 tively kept the impudent animal at bay. His desire for 
 plunder had prevented his noticing our approach, and 
 Jock soon made him feel the superiority of an English 
 mastiff over a fox-cub. 
 
 " The most interesting portion of my tale is to come. 
 Yarico not only never ventured into the copse, but 
 formed a strong friendship for the dog who preserved
 
 THE DOMESTIC COCK. 59 
 
 her family. Whenever he appeared in the yard, she 
 would run to meet him, prating and clucking all the 
 time, and impeding his progress by walking between his 
 legs, to his no small annoyance. If any other dog en- 
 tered the yard, she would fly at him most furiously, 
 thinking perhaps he would injure her chickens ; but she 
 evidently considered Jock her especial protector, and 
 treated him accordingly. It was very droll to see the 
 peculiar look with which he regarded his feathered 
 friend, not exactly knowing what to make of her civili- 
 ties, and doubting how they should be received. When 
 her family were educated, and able to do without her 
 care, she was a frequent visitor at Jock's kennel, and 
 would, if permitted, roost there at night, instead of re- 
 turning with the rest of the poultry to the hen-house. 
 Yarico certainly was a most graceful and interesting 
 bird." 
 
 Some people set ducks' eggs under a hen ; but when 
 they are hatched, it is painful to observe the distress of 
 the parent as they take the water, running, as she does, 
 around its brink, and even flying into it in the efi'ort to 
 rescue them. It is, however, a curious fact, that habit 
 will overcome all this natural apprehension. One hen 
 had reared three broods of ducks in three successive 
 years, and became, in consequence, so used to their
 
 60 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 practice, that she used to fly to a large stone in the mid- 
 dle of the pond, and watch them as they swam about, 
 patiently and quietly. More remarkably still, she hatch- 
 ed her own eg-gs the fourth year, and as her chickens 
 did not take the water, she flew to the stone in the 
 pond, and eagerly called them to her. 
 
 An ingenious machine for accomplishing the process 
 of incubation, has been exhibited for some time past in 
 Pall MalL It forms, apparently, an oblong square, 
 wooden box, about nine feet long, three in breadth, and 
 three feet and a half in height, covered, excepting the 
 doors, with cloth. It stands on a table, is unconnected 
 with the walls against which it is placed, and is divided 
 into eight compartments, exposed to view by the doors 
 being glazed. Here the eggs are spread promiscuously 
 on the floor, and appear without any covering. Inclosed 
 in the machine is its active and regulating power. 
 
 It is capable of containing more than two thousand 
 eggs, the heat being merely adjusted, because the tem- 
 perature suited to them during the last week of the pro- 
 cess is not sufficient for the eggs when fresh ; while 
 that which is necessary to call forth life in the latter, 
 would destroy it in the former. With due care the 
 average will exceed one hundred hatched daily, or about 
 forty thousand per annum. The birds thus produced are
 
 THE DOMESTIC COCK. 61 
 
 full of health, strength, and activity. Soon after they 
 are freed from the shell they are carefully fed, and 
 tended for two or three days ; they may then be seen 
 running about .the apartment ; and proper means being 
 used, they neither require nor feel the want of maternal 
 care. There appears no difficulty in teaching the young 
 birds adapted to the use of man, to eat and drink ; they 
 perform these operations spontaneously, from observa- 
 tion, or as prompted by appetite. Sickly and badly 
 hatched birds can seldom be induced to eat, and die in 
 consequence. 
 
 In this exhibition the whole process of incubation 
 may be minutely observed : the eggs being broken at 
 different points of it, and exposed to view. From one 
 part of the machine an egg may be taken, which, if held 
 to the ear, proves that the little tenant is labouring for 
 its extrication, making a circular fracture of the shell 
 w^ith its bill, and bursting its covering by strong mus- 
 cular effort ; while not far off another may be observed 
 that has just succeeded in its arduous labours. Nor 
 should we fail to notice a pleasing instance of that wis- 
 dom* and goodness which are so apparent in animate as 
 well as inanimate nature. The chick in the egg is not 
 liberated, as some suppose, by the aid of the parent- 
 bird ; and as its tender beak would be too feeble for the
 
 62 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 effort, this part is provided with a scale formed of car- 
 bonate of lime — the basis of bone and of our teeth. 
 Thus armed, the task is accomplished, and this being 
 done — admirable, most admirable provision — the scale 
 falls from the beak, being no longer wanted. 
 
 Another fact, equally interesting, may also be men- 
 tioned : the principal parts of the animal are formed 
 from the albumen, the yolk being designed for the sup- 
 port of the little creature. The quantity appears also 
 to be fully adapted to the case. But for this arrange- 
 ment, as the eggs are hatched at different periods, the 
 mother-bird would have to go in quest of food, as soon 
 as the first was hatched, and leave the rest which would 
 thus be injured : a consequence which is now completely 
 avoided. 
 
 Other singular facts are stated by the exhibitor of 
 the machine, to whose little treatise on the subject, and 
 a conversation with him, the writer is indebted for many 
 particulars. The interest in rearing a brood of chick- 
 ens appears to be greatly increased by the artificial sys- 
 tem thus -adopted. Birds, very soon after they are 
 hatched, recognise the person who feeds them ; and in 
 a few days, are said to display very pleasing traits of 
 confidence in him as a protector and friend, following 
 his st^ps, and clamorously repining at his absence.
 
 THE DOMESTIC COCK. 63 
 
 Even before the chick is liberated from its shell, it 
 utters sounds in a tone and voice not to be misunder- 
 stood, asking sympathy, and showing disappointment at 
 not being answered. Without any parent to soothe or 
 administer to its wants, it is described as betraying sur- 
 prise at its situation, and like a child just awoke out of 
 sleep, wondering where it is, and how it came there. 
 When, during the night, a large number of birds have 
 freed themselves from their shells, of course in dark- 
 ness, and the door of the machine, for the first time, 
 being opened, and light bursts in, and a human head ap- 
 pears before them, an infant never displayed more asto- 
 nishment at strange sights than is depicted in the eyes 
 and actions of these birds : some will approach, as if to 
 welcome that unknown something which they feel they 
 want, while others retire in fear to the darkest corners 
 of the dwelling. 
 
 A few hours after, spontaneously, and without teach- 
 ing, some of them — and these teach the more stupid — 
 begin to eat ; the eflfect it is thought of merely animal 
 impulse, but soon the consequence of observation is ap- 
 parent. Noting each other's actions, they learn, not 
 only how to eat, and more especially, how to drink, but 
 they soon discover the quality of different kinds of 
 food. Before two days of their existence have passed.
 
 64 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 they can distinguish them by sight, so that if one has in 
 its bill a delicate morsel, it is likely that some of his 
 companions will eagerly strive to partake of the luxury. 
 
 Another curious circumstance appears in connexion 
 with feeding. ^V^lenever a granivorous, or grain-eating 
 bird, in a state of nature, is caught and killed, the crop 
 and gizzard are found, on being opened, to contain a 
 quantity of small pebbles and other hard substances ; 
 and it is said, instinct causes the birds to swallow them. 
 Now, of about a thousand birds reared by the machine 
 in lofts and rooms, with bushels of fine gravel lying in 
 heaps and scattered about, none would eat it, though 
 several died in consequence of not doing so, by becom- 
 ing crop-bound. Here then instinct failed. It appears, 
 therefore, that as children insensibly acquire, by receiv- 
 ing from their parents such food as they soon learn to 
 relish, and by observation and habit find agreeable to 
 their stomachs and palates, so birds learn to choose and 
 mix their peculiar food. But as, without parents to 
 direct, few children would choose to eat the most whole- 
 some, preferring to live on the pleasant rather than the 
 useful, so these birds having no parents, though many 
 endeavours were made, could not be persuaded to eat 
 stones, though necessary for their existence. 
 
 Most of the birds thus reared, were very fine and
 
 THE DOMESTIC COCK. 65 
 
 beautiful, and though the greater part were cocks, there 
 was, with few exceptions, even when arrived at nearly 
 their full size, neither crowing nor fighting. The ab- 
 sence of the former was probably owing to their not 
 hearing the thrilling clarion of older birds. As to the 
 latter, it is often asserted that the high mettle and cou- 
 rage of the game cock is natural, and that if two were 
 to meet in a desert, they would fight until one was killed. 
 But this is an error : these birds have sufficient courage 
 for their defence, but all beyond is the efi'ect of training 
 and diet. Brutal — most brutal are those persons who 
 pervert the qualities of animals, in the hope of deriving 
 amusement from their sufferings, or of gain from the 
 practice of gambling, to which, unhappily, many are 
 addicted — gambUng, the parent and the offspring of 
 vice and of crime. 
 
 Domestic fowls often display what among human 
 beings would be called jealousy. One instance may be 
 taken as a specimen of many. The children of the 
 writer had a bantam-hen given them some time since, 
 with which, of course, they were much amused. Tiny, 
 as they called it, lived alone for some time, when an- 
 other present arrived of a pair of bantams, to which the 
 names were assigned of Robin and Beauty. Tiny, 
 somewhat dull at first, soon became a favourite with 
 
 F
 
 66 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Robin, and then a very malicious persecutor of his first 
 companion. Often was she driven away for her vio- 
 lence, but it continutd ; and as being- shut up had no 
 proper effect, she was, at length, presented to a school- 
 fellow. Tiny was now thrown among several fowls, 
 and, strangely enough, she tried to pursue her former 
 course, and to have all her own way ; but the chief of 
 the party would not suffer the aggression, and with judg- 
 ment worthy a superior creature, made her keep her 
 proper place. Meanwhile, Beauty's circumstances were 
 changed; she had had a brood of chickens, one of which 
 only survived, and in due time was nearly as large as 
 her parent. A third hen was now presented to the 
 same children ; but rough, indeed, was the reception it 
 had from Beauty and her offspring ; it was, therefore, 
 placed one evening in a hutch for defence. But, alas ! 
 this availed not ; it was found next morning absolutely 
 pecked to death through the openings in the hutch. 
 The same feeling is strangely apparent in the male 
 bird. It is only for a stranger to appear for an attack 
 to commence : sometimes a furious battle ensues, and, 
 if possible, the intruder is driven away in disgrace. 
 
 A circumstance of a different kind occurred at a gen- 
 tleman's seat near Berwick. His mower cut a partridge 
 on her nest, and immediately took the fourteen eggs it
 
 THE DOMESTIC COCK. 67 
 
 contained to the house. They were put under a large 
 and very beautiful hen, her own being- taken away. In 
 two days they were hatched^ and were brought up by 
 the hen perfectly well, till they were five or six weeks 
 old. They were kept confined during that time in an 
 outhouse, without being seen by any of the other poul- 
 try. Unhappily, the door was left open, and the cock 
 got in : a loud cry was heard by the housekeeper, who 
 ran immediately out, but before she arrived, the cock 
 finding the hen with a brood of partridges, though she 
 had been the greatest favourite, had fallen on, and, in 
 his rage, had killed her I 
 
 It would be well were there no resemblances to birds, 
 in these respects, on the part of those who ought to 
 show that they are " wiser than the fowls of the air." 
 But, alas ! how many of the young discover the selfish- 
 ness which has no pleasure in the welfare of others ; 
 and even the envy, jealousy, and malice, which will 
 lessen it by any means that can be employed. Any 
 tendency to such dispositions is sinful ; but when unre- 
 strained, they lead to the most atrocious deeds which 
 can be committed. How great, then, should be our 
 concern to obey the charge, " Keep thy heart with all 
 diligence, for out of it are the issues of life ! "
 
 THE SPARROW, 
 
 The sparrow that " sitteth on the house-top," though 
 often talked of, is treated with great indifference; yet 
 there are many things respecting this bird which deserve 
 notice. One pair will sometimes bring up fourteen, 
 or even more, young ones in a season. "\Miile thus 
 employed, they will consume about four thousand cater- 
 pillars weekly. They likewise feed their brood with but- 
 terflies and other winged insects, each of which, if not 
 destroyed in this manner, would be productive of several 
 hundred caterpillars. So bold and persevering, also, are 
 they in providing for themselves and their young, that 
 they will steal grain from the trough of a pig, or contend 
 with the powerful turkey for its food ; and should they 
 be scared away, it is only for a moment, after which 
 they return in the hope of more plunder. House-spar- 
 rows have an appetite more accommodating than that of 
 any other of our birds. In spring, and the early part of 
 summer, they prey on insects; but when these tribes
 
 THE SPARROW. 69 
 
 become scarce, the corn and seeds of various kinds are 
 ready, and on these they feed with equal readiness. 
 Here is a poet's plea in behalf of this bird: — 
 
 " Touch not the little sparrow, who doth build 
 His home so near us. He doth follow us 
 From spot to spot, amidst the turbulent town, 
 And ne'er deserts us. To all other birds 
 The woods suffice, the rivers, the sweet fields. 
 And nature in her aspect mute and fair ; 
 But he doth herd with man. Blithe servant ! live, 
 Feed and grow cheerful ! On my window's ledge 
 I '11 leave thee every morning some fit food, 
 In payment of thy service. Doth he serve ? 
 Ay, serves and teaches. His familiar voice, 
 His look of love, his sure fidelity. 
 Bids us be gentle with so small a friend; 
 And much we learn from acts of gentleness. 
 Doth he not teach ? — Ay, and doth serve us too, 
 Who clears our homes from many a toilsome thing, 
 Insect or reptile." 
 
 Sparrows make no hasty and careless provision for 
 the future : on the contrary, they build in places where 
 they are likely to be perfectly safe from the plunder of 
 larger birds and vermin. Thus they often rear their 
 nests high in the elm, and beneath that of the rook, a 
 bird of totally different habits, and with which they do 
 not associate, making use of the structure only for a 
 defence, to which no other bird resorts ; and display, b}'-
 
 70 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 SO doing, their ingenuity, as well as their concern for the 
 safety of their broods. 
 
 A youth, named Smellie, who in after life wrote a 
 valuable work, " The Philosophy of Natural History," 
 carried off a nest of young sparrows, about a mile from 
 his place of residence. As he was marching home with 
 his prize, he saw, with some degree of astonishment, 
 both the parents following him at some distance, and 
 silently observing his motions. It then struck him that 
 they might follow him home, and feed the young in 
 their usual way. When just entering the door, he held 
 up the nest, and made the young ones utter their usual 
 cry expressive of a desire for food, and putting the nest 
 and the young in the corner of a wire cage on the out- 
 side of a window, he chose a situation in the room 
 where he could perceive all that would happen, without 
 being himself observed. The young birds soon cried 
 for food ; in a short time both parents, having their bills 
 filled with small caterpillars, came to the cage, and, 
 after chattering a little, gave one to each. This parental 
 intercourse continued regularly for some time, till the 
 young ones were completely fledged, and had acquired a 
 considerable degree of strength. 
 
 Young Smellie now determined to try an experiment : 
 he took one of the strongest of the young birds, and
 
 THE SPARROW. 71 
 
 placed him on the outside of the cage, in order to ob- 
 serve what would take place. All doubt was soon at 
 an end : in a few minutes both parents arrived, laden 
 as usual with food ; and no sooner did they behold one 
 of their offspring freed from its cage, than they fluttered 
 about, and showed with their voices as well as their 
 wings, the greatness of their joy. At length, these 
 tumultuous expressions gave place to calm and soothing 
 converse : it seemed that they entreated him to follow 
 them, while he appeared impatient to accede to their 
 wishes, yet afraid to encounter the hazard of a first 
 flight. Again and again he was solicited to make the 
 attempt ; when they endeavoured to show him, by flying 
 from the cage to a neighbouring chimney-pot, how 
 easily it might be done, and at last he committed him- 
 self to the air, and alighted in safety, being greeted 
 again by clamorous and active joy. Next day Smellie 
 placed another young bird on the top of the cage, and 
 in the same way he treated the remainder of the brood ; 
 nor did one of them return. 
 
 A few years ago, a man went into a public house, 
 and after some conversation with its inmates, stated 
 that he had just had a present of some birds from a 
 gentleman, in whose family he had been at work, and 
 who was about to leave England. Taking one out of
 
 72 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 a paper bag, he described it as a Virginia nightingale, 
 and as singing most melodiously, while its appearance 
 was not a little attractive. Its head and neck were of 
 a bright vermilion, the back betwixt the wings was 
 blue, the lower part to the tail a bright yellow, the 
 wings red and yellow, the belly a clear green, and in 
 the tail many colours were blended. He said it was 
 well worth a sovereign to any person, but after much 
 bidding for so great a rarity, he disposed of it at last for 
 five shillings ; and as soon as he had got rid of the rest 
 of his birds, he departed. Some time after, a neighbour 
 came in, who soon found out that the party had been 
 duped, and that the Virginia nightingale was only a 
 hedge-sparrow cunningly painted. Often, however, do 
 the fraudulent outwit themselves, and that deservedly. 
 The man who played this trick, in all probability soon 
 resorted to other dishonest means of obtaining money, 
 and found the justice which he now contrived to evade. 
 
 Sometimes the increase of sparrows is very great, and 
 the numbers of these visitants to our corn-fields are 
 prodigious They love association, but this instinct 
 prepares for the destruction of multitudes. As they 
 roost in troops amidst the ivy on the walls, or ricks, 
 and in similar situations, they are captured by the net ; 
 as they cluster on the bush, or crowd by the barn-door
 
 THE SPARROW. 73 
 
 on the chaff, they are shot by dozens at a time ; or they 
 will rush one after another by numbers into the trap. 
 Various means of destruction are so brought to diminish 
 them during the winter seasons, that their flocks are 
 not remarkable on the return of spring. 
 
 It was held, among the many great and awful errors 
 of antiquity, that the Divine Being having created the 
 universe, left it entirely to itself, and retired as if it 
 were utterly unworthy of his superintendence. And 
 there are many still to be found, who, in like manner, 
 deny the gracious providence of God. But let it be 
 remembered, that what it was becoming in the Most 
 High to create, it must be also becoming in him to sus- 
 tain. Of this we have the most distinct and impressive 
 intimations. Low on the scale of being as the sparrow 
 has been placed, it is, according to the declaration of 
 our Lord himself, the object of Divine regard : " Are 
 not two sparrows sold for a farthing ? and one of them 
 shall not fall on the ground without your Father." 
 Though this bird does not attract our notice by the 
 beauty of its plumage, nor awaken our regard by the 
 amiableness of its disposition, nor command our esteem 
 and gratitude by the benefits it dispenses, yet it is not 
 forgotten before God. " The eyes of all wait upon 
 thee ; thou givest them their meat in due season."
 
 74 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 " Some, amidst India's groves of palm, 
 
 And spicy forests breathing balm, 
 
 Weave soft their pendant nest ; 
 
 Some deep in western vrilds, display 
 
 Their fairy form and plumage gay, 
 
 In rainbow colours drest. 
 
 Others no varied song may pour, 
 May boast no eagle plume to soar, 
 
 No tints of light may wear ; 
 Yet, know, our heavenly Father guides 
 The least of these, and well provides. 
 
 For each, with tenderest care. 
 
 Shall he not then thy guardian be? 
 Will not his aid extend to thee? 
 Oh ! safely may'st thou rest ; 
 Trust in his love, and e'en should pain, 
 Should sorrow tempt thee to complain, 
 Know what he wills is best." 
 
 An interesting fact in reference to the sparrow was 
 related a short time ago in the Naturalists' Magazine : 
 it has since been given as follows, in verse : 
 
 " I dote on every little bird 
 That twitters in the sun— 
 I love them all, from having heard 
 The simple tale of one ! 
 
 In cage that 'neath the eaves was hung 
 
 When morn put forth her smiles, 
 A little yellow warbler sung 
 
 A song of distant isles I 
 
 One mom, when loud his melody. 
 There came on idle wing 
 , A sparrow, and, from sympathy, 
 Thus seem'd to say or sing :—
 
 THE SPARROW. 
 
 Fair captive ! why this joyous lay, 
 
 When sad should be thy heart I 
 Alt thinking of a happier day, 
 
 Forgetful what thou art ? 
 
 Perchance, while high thy music floats, 
 
 Where ne'er thy wings may flee, 
 Thy spirit rises with thy notes, 
 
 For they, at least, are free ! 
 
 Thy song goes forth among the trees, 
 
 And up to heaven's high dome. 
 And haply bears thee o'er the seas 
 
 To thy own island home. 
 
 Poor bird ! could'st thou come forth with me, 
 
 I 'd lead thee to the grove. 
 Where all that 's known of slavery 
 
 Is servitude to love ! 
 
 How sweet to join our airy chase. 
 
 Or cower within thy nest. 
 Yet only hound to that one place 
 
 Because thou loved'st it best ! 
 
 Alas, alas ! the wish is vain. 
 
 Thy prison-bars are strong ; 
 But I will come to thee again. 
 
 Adieu, sweet bird of song ! ' 
 
 Away it flew, but day by day, 
 
 Return'd with gather'd food, 
 And through long months, the watchers say, 
 
 Went on this work of good. 
 
 I felt my noblest thoughts ascend. 
 Such heaven-taught love to trace. 
 
 And deem'd, perchance, this captive's friend, 
 The Howard of its race ! " 
 
 75
 
 THE PHEASANT. 
 
 Pliny called these birds " Phasianae aves," birds of 
 the Phasis, in Asia Minor. They are brought from the 
 banks of that river, which flows into the Euxine Sea, 
 and are now spread, in a partially domesticated state, 
 over the whole of temperate Europe. In our part of 
 it the pheasant is common, and thrives tolerably well. 
 This is not the case in many situations ; it is subject to 
 disease, and thus great mortality arises. The beauty 
 of its plumage, and the delicacy of its flesh, render it 
 attractive and valuable. 
 
 When Croesus, king of Lydia, was seated on his 
 throne, arrayed in all the royal magnificence of the 
 East, he asked Solon, the celebrated Grecian philo- 
 sopher, if he had ever beheld anything so fine ? Solon, 
 unmoved by the splendour before him, replied, that after 
 having seen the beautiful plumage of the pheasant, he 
 could be astonished at no other finery. 
 
 The splendid bird still meets the view, but the male 
 alone is remarkable for its beauty: a quiet dress of
 
 -_- - -^-^^'A i /V 
 
 'd.^ /'' 
 
 v\ 
 
 'HE PHEASANT.
 
 THE PHEASANT. 77 
 
 brown arrays the female, often adorned, however, with 
 spots and hnes. 
 
 ** Close by the borders of the fringed lake, 
 
 And on the oak's expanding bough, is seen 
 (What time the leaves the passing zephyrs shake, 
 
 And gently murmur through the sylvan scene) 
 The gaudy pheasant, rich with varying dyes, 
 
 That fade alternate, and alternate glow, 
 Receiving now his colours from the skies. 
 
 And now reflecting back the watery bow. 
 He flaps his wings, erects his spotted crest ; 
 
 His flaming eyes dart forth a piercing ray; 
 He swells the lovely plumage of his breast, 
 
 And glares a wonder of the orient day." 
 
 The pheasant is now found in a state of nature in 
 almost every part of the old continent, except the 
 northern, but it is not known in America. It bears 
 confinement tolerably well, and produces a great many 
 eggs in that state. The eggs are often put under a 
 common fowl to be hatched : by this means a great 
 many are reared every year, and afterwards let loose 
 into the woods, which are preserved, or kept free from 
 intruders : were it not for this, the breed would proba- 
 bly be soon extinct. 
 
 Luxury keeps up a demand for these birds, and the 
 sportsman makes them an easy prey.
 
 78 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 " See ! from the brake the whirring pheasant springs, 
 And mounts exulting on triumphant wings : 
 Short is his joy ; he feels the fiery wound, 
 Flutters in blool, and panting beats the ground. 
 Ah ! what avail his glossy, varying dyes. 
 His purple crest, and scarlet -circled eyes; 
 The vivid green his shining plumes unfold. 
 His painted wings, and breast that flames with gold !" 
 
 Sagacity is not so apparent in this bird as in many 
 others. WTien roused, it will frequently perch on the 
 first tree ; and so intent is it on the dogs, that the sports- 
 man is allowed a very near approach. At the time of 
 their perching, too, pheasants often crow, or make a 
 chuckling noise. While thus exposed to destruction, 
 to say nothing of other devices, the poacher catches 
 them with wire-nooses, twisted horse-hairs, and even 
 with a brier set at the edge of a wood, for they always 
 run to feed in the neighbouring fields morning and 
 evening. 
 
 The instinct of a sitting bird is, as in all other cases, 
 fully adapted to its circumstances. In the wild state, 
 when relaxation is necessary, the wearied pheasant first 
 covers her eggs, and then, instead of running from the 
 nest, instantly takes wing. Thus she has been observed 
 betaking herself to flight immediately from her nest in 
 the grass, and, on her return, keeping on the wing till 
 she dropped upon it. The reason of her so doing ex-
 
 THE PHEASANT. 79 
 
 hibits the care which the great Benefactor exercises over 
 the humblest of his creatures. Were the parent to run 
 along the ground from her nest, a scent would be pro- 
 duced, and a track made, by which some cunning foe 
 might despoil her ; but by this precaution, there is no 
 clue to such a robbery. On it depends the safety of the 
 nest and its little brood ; and, doubtless, the same pre- 
 caution is taught by instinct to most birds which have 
 their nests on the ground.
 
 THE CUCKOO. 
 
 The common cuckoo is a bird of passage, and less at 
 home here than any other bird. It was thus addressed 
 by Wordsworth : — 
 
 " O blithe nevr-comer ! I have heard, 
 I hear thee, and rejoice : 
 O, Cuckoo ! shall 1 call thee bird, 
 Or, but a •wandering voice? 
 
 While I am lying on the grass, 
 
 Thy twofold shout I hear. 
 That seems to fill the -whole air's space — 
 
 As loud far off as near. 
 
 Though babbling only to the vale 
 
 Of sunshine and of flowers. 
 Thou bringest unto me a tale 
 
 Of visionary hours. 
 
 Thrice welcome, darling of the Spring ; 
 
 Ev'n yet thou art to me 
 No bird : but an invisible thing — 
 
 A voice, a mystery I 
 
 The same whom, in my schoolboy days, 
 
 I listened to ; that cry 
 Which made me look a thousand ways, 
 
 In tree, and bush, and sky.
 
 THE CUCKOO. 
 
 To seek thee did I often rove 
 Through woods and on the green 
 
 And thou wert still a hope, a love- 
 Still long'd for, never seen. 
 
 And I can listen to thee yet, 
 
 Can lie upon the plain, 
 And listen, till I do beget 
 
 That golden time again." 
 
 81 
 
 The cuckoo visits this country about the middle of 
 April, and tarries with us about four months. Its course 
 has been marked in the following couplets : — 
 
 " In April, 
 Come he will. 
 
 In May, 
 
 He sings all day. 
 
 In June, 
 
 He alters his tune. 
 
 In July, 
 
 He prepares to fly. 
 
 In August, 
 Go he must." 
 
 The egg- of the cuckoo is laid in the nests of other 
 birds, many of which might easily be mentioned ; but it 
 appears to prefer those of the meadow pipit, the hedge 
 warbler, and the pied wagtail. Should a second egg be 
 found in a nest, it is thought to be laid by a second 
 cuckoo. But, whatever may be the nest in which the 
 
 G
 
 82 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 young bird is hatched, it is generally found there en- 
 tirely alone, its foster-mother attending most assiduously 
 to its wants. Here there are several circumstances to 
 which Dr. Jenner gave particular attention. 
 
 It was found that the small birds, in the nests of which 
 the cuckoo commonly deposits her egg, take four or 
 five days in laying them, and that generally after two or 
 three of these are laid, she accomplishes her purpose. 
 As the cuckoo is commonly hatched first, the remaining 
 eggs, and young, if any, are turned out of the nest, and 
 are left to perish. This, strange to say, the intruder 
 effects, being generally strong enough for the task the 
 dav after it is hatched, thus securing to itself the whole 
 provision brought by the old birds. The following is 
 an extract from Dr. Jenner's paper, published in the 
 Transactions of the Royal Society: — 
 
 " Two cuckoos and a hedge-sparrow were hatched in 
 the same nest this morning : one hedge-sparrow's egg 
 remained unhatched. In a few hours after, a contest 
 began between the cuckoos for the possession of the 
 nest, which continued undetermined till the next after- 
 noon ; w^hen one of them_, which was somewhat superior 
 in size, turned out the other, together with the young 
 hedge-sparrow and the egg. This contest was very re- 
 markable. The combatants alternately appeared to
 
 THE CUCKOO. 83 
 
 have the advantage, as each carried the other several 
 times to the top of the nest, and then sunk down again, 
 oppressed by the weight of its burden ; till, at length, 
 after various efforts, the strongest prevailed, and was 
 afterwards brought up by the hedge-sparrows. 
 
 " It is wonderful to see the extraordinary exertions of 
 the young cuckoo, when it is two or three days old, if 
 a bird be put into the nest with it that is too weighty 
 for it to lift out. In this state it seems ever restless 
 and uneasy. But this disposition for turning out its 
 companions begins to decline from the time it is two or 
 three till it is about twelve days old, when, as far as I 
 have hitherto seen, it ceases. Indeed, the disposition 
 for throwing out the egg appears to cease in a few days 
 sooner ; for I have frequently seen the young cuckoo, 
 after it had been hatched nine or ten days, remove a 
 nestling that had been placed in the nest with it, when 
 it suffered an egg, put there at the same time, to remain 
 unmolested. The singularity of its shape is well adapted 
 to these purposes ; for, different from other birds, its 
 back from the shoulders downwards is very broad, with 
 a considerable depression in the middle. This depres- 
 sion seems foraied by nature for the design of giving 
 a more secure lodgment to an egg, or a young bird, 
 when the young cuckoo is employed in removing either
 
 84 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 of them from the nest. When it is about twelve days 
 old, this cavity is quite filled up, and then the back 
 assumes the shape of nestling birds in general." 
 
 The substances found inthe stomach of young cuckoos 
 are various, depending upon the species of bird by 
 which they are fed. They consist of flies, beetles, ca- 
 terpillars, grasshoppers, and small snails. When fed 
 by any of the finches, which are rather vegetable feed- 
 ers, they are supplied with young wheat, small vetches, 
 tender shoots of grass, and seeds. Adult cuckoos seem 
 more partial to hairy caterpillars. The young are fre- 
 quently found in a nest in a hedge-row, by their almost 
 incessant querulous note, which appears to be a call for 
 food ; and they are voracious feeders. The young are 
 sometimes, by great care, kept alive in confinement 
 over the first winter, but seldom survive long after- 
 wards. The best food for them is raw beef chopped 
 small, and mixed with the yolk of an egg. 
 
 '^ To what cause then," says Dr. Jenner, " may we 
 attribute the singularities of the cuckoo ? May they 
 not be owing to the following circumstances? The 
 short residence this bird is allowed to make in the coun- 
 try where it is destined to propagate its species, and the 
 call that nature has upon it, during that short residence, 
 to produce a numerous progeny. The cuckoo's first
 
 THE CUCKOO.
 
 THE CUCKOO. 85 
 
 appearance here is about the middle of April, commonly 
 on the 17th. Its egg is not ready for incubation till 
 some weeks after its arrival, seldom before the middle 
 of May. A fortnight is taken up by the sitting bird 
 in hatching the egg. The young bird generally con- 
 tinues three weeks in the nest before it flies, and the 
 foster-parents feed it more than five weeks after this 
 period, so that if a cuckoo should be ready with an egg 
 much sooner than the time pointed out, not a single 
 nestling, even one of the earliest, would be fit to provide 
 for itself before its parent would be instinctively direct- 
 ed to seek a new residence, and be thus compelled to 
 abandon its young one ; for old cuckoos take their final 
 leave of this country the first week in July." 
 
 A young cuckoo, brought to Colonel Montagu, in 
 July, just as it could fly, was, by great care, kept alive 
 till the middle of December. During that time it had 
 two or three attacks of dysentery, from which it re- 
 covered by having chalk and ginger given to it. For 
 two months after it was caught it never attempted to 
 feed itself by picking ; and even to the last moment 
 seemed to prefer being fed by the hand of its mistress 
 to the trouble of picking up its food, of which it was 
 extremely choice. Nothing appeared so acceptable a 
 substitute for insects as raw beef. It would eagerly
 
 86 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 devour flies ; but its most delicious morsel was any species 
 of hairy caterpillar ; these insects it seized with avidity, 
 shook them to death, and softened by passing several 
 times through the bill, till they were quite pliant, when 
 it would swallow whole the largest of the caterpillars 
 of the egger or drinker moths. It was very fearful of 
 strangers, fluttering in its cage to avoid their attentions ; 
 but it would quietly sufi'er itself to be handled by a 
 young lady, who had been its kind benefactress, appear- 
 ing to like the warmth of her hand to its feet. 
 But now let us listen to another poet : — 
 
 " Hark ! the cuckoo's sprightly note, 
 That tells the coming of the vernal prime, 
 And cheers the heart of youth and aged man. 
 Say, sweet stranger, whence hast thou ta'en thy flight. 
 From Asia's spicy groves, or Afric's clime; 
 And who direct'st the wandering journey far? 
 Philosophy says, instinct — Religion, God. 
 Though simple in thy note, it speaks to man's 
 Reflecting soul, since thou didst wing thy course 
 From Albion's clifl!'s, another year is gone, 
 A year ! how short the space unnoticed by 
 The gay and mindless throng, yet awful to 
 The race of human kind. 
 Another year may pass, unheeded as 
 The one so lately number'd in the book 
 Of Time, and thou wilt take thy flight to realms 
 Unknown ; but when thou cheer'st the future spring, 
 "Will those who now admire the song, walk forth 
 To hear the lay ? This awful question brings
 
 THE CUCKOO. 
 
 A thousand thoughts of solemn import to 
 Th' attentive mind. Another year ! and then, 
 O God ! the souls that greet this smiling morn, 
 May stand for judgment at thy dreadful throne ! 
 This serious call should check man's sinful course, 
 And raise his views to heaven." 
 
 87
 
 THE BLACKBIRD. 
 
 This bird is an early breeder : it prepares a nest 
 composed externally of green moss, fibrous roots, and 
 other similar materials ; the inside is plastered with 
 earth, and afterwards lined with dry grass ; and the nest 
 is generally placed in a thick bush, or against the side 
 of a bank. 
 
 The song of the blackbird commences early in the 
 spring, and is a shrill kind of whistle of various notes. 
 It has much less variety and compass than the voice of 
 the thrush, but it is far more mellow. Of this bird 
 Grahame says : — 
 
 " When snow- drops die, and the green primrose leaves 
 Announce the coming flower, the merle's note, 
 Mellifluous, rich, deep-toned, fills all the vale, 
 And charms the ravished ear. The hawthorn bush 
 New budded, is his perch ; there the grey dawn 
 He hails ; and there, with parting light, concludes 
 His melody. There, when the buds begin, 
 More richly full, melodious he renews." 
 
 Another poet, Montgomery, says : — " Those who 
 live in the country, and who are apt to awake early
 
 THE BLACKBIRD. 
 
 89 
 
 on spring mornings, when all around is still, and 
 the lark himself is yet on the ground, must often 
 have been charmed with the solitary song of the black- 
 bird, a brief stave of six or seven notes only, fol- 
 lowed by an interlude of silence, during which the ear 
 listens eagerly for a repetition. His broad and homely 
 strain, different from that of every other minstrel of the 
 woods, and chiming in at intervals with the universal 
 chorus of wild throats, is likewise known from infancy 
 to those who have been accustomed to walk abroad on 
 spring evenings. The yellow bill and glossy black 
 plumage of the same conspicuous bird are equally fami- 
 liar to the eye of such, when he flits from hedge to tree, 
 or across a meadow ; nor less so to their ear is the 
 chuckling call with which he bolts out of a bush before 
 the startled passenger, who has unconsciously disturbed 
 him on his perch. 
 
 MORNING. 
 
 " Golden Bill! Golden Bill ! 
 
 Lo ! the peep of day ; 
 All the air is cool and still, 
 From the elm-tree on the hill, 
 
 Chaunt away : 
 While the moon drops down the west, 
 Lies thy mate upon her nest; 
 And the stars before the sun 
 Melt, like snow-flakes, one by one. 
 Let thy loud and welcome lay 
 Pour along 
 Few notes, but strong."
 
 90 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Jet-bright Wing ! Jet-bright Wing ! 
 
 Flit across the sunset glade; 
 
 Lying there in wait to sing, 
 
 Listen, with thine head awrj-, 
 Keeping time with twinkling eye, 
 
 While, from all the woodland shade, 
 
 Birds of every plume and note 
 
 Strain the throat, 
 
 Till both hill and valley ring, 
 And the warbled minstrelsy, 
 Ebbing, flowing, like the sea. 
 Claims brief interludes from thee : 
 Then, with simple swell and fall. 
 Breaking beautiful through all, 
 Let thy Pan-like pipe repeat 
 Few notes, but sweet."
 
 THE WATER OUZEL. 
 
 The water ouzel frequents the sides of rocky moun- 
 tain streams. As early as January or February it be- 
 gins its song". In Cumberland it is known bj'^ the name 
 of the Bessy Ducker, and has been celebrated as 
 
 " A cheerful bird' that loves the stream, 
 And the stream's voice, and answers, in like strains, 
 Murmuring deliciously." 
 
 Another description of it is, that its notes resemble 
 " the sound of water gurgling among pebbles." In its 
 favourite haunts it breeds, and continues the whole 
 year. The nest is very large, formed externally of 
 moss and water-plants, and lined with dry oak leaves. 
 It is commonly placed in some mossy bank overhanging 
 the water ; in shape it resembles that of the wren, but 
 is not so deep, and has a dome or covering. Its eggs 
 are considerably less than those of the blackbird. 
 
 The ouzel seems alike indifferent to heat and cold, so 
 long as it can be near water that is not frozen. Should a 
 stranger find out its romantic abode, the bird, according
 
 yiS BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 to an acute observer, flits before him chirping as it 
 goes from stone to stone, and apparently with so feeble 
 a wing, that he imagines it unfledged, utterly incapable 
 of rising into the air, and consequently easily taken. 
 But as he confidently pursues, the bird flits on, flirts its 
 tail, and now and then jerks round, as if half astonished, 
 half inviting. But onward they fare, till they come to 
 a bolder and tougher stratum which has impeded the 
 stream, but at the same time has given it fall and force 
 enough to form a pool below, which boiling where the 
 cascade plunges or rises again, is calm enough when 
 compared with others that have been passed. The 
 water merely leaves a clean and pebbled beach, and the 
 lofty rocks on the other side allow no footing for a bird. 
 Hopping, and apparently badly-winged, the ouzel halts 
 on the beach, and forward rushes the pursuer, hat in 
 hand to the capture, but the wet stones are treacherous, 
 and down he falls, and dips himself. Now rising, he 
 sees the hat which was to secure the bird, whirling 
 round and round in the eddies. And the bird has 
 vanished ! Soon, however, it bobs to the surface, at 
 the lower end of the pool on the other side, its feathers 
 dry without shaking off the water, and leaping first on 
 one stone then on another, it descends the ravine in a 
 manner as cool and collected as that with which it rose.
 
 THE WATER OUZEL. 93 
 
 To recover the hat is a difficult task, but it may be ac- 
 complished by means of one of the long- suckers of hazel 
 growing from the tangled and gnarled stool on the 
 bank, though if the hold be not taken cautiously, and 
 kept carefully, there may be, as it has been said, a 
 second dipping, and no dipper to boast of.
 
 THE PIGEON. 
 
 The Columbidae, or family of the pigeon, are very 
 extensively distributed through the earth, being found in 
 all climates, except within the frigid zones. It is, how- 
 ever, in the tropical climes of Southern Asia, and the 
 islands of the great Indian Archipelago, that they sw arm 
 in the greatest abundance and variety, because there a 
 large supply of food, adapted to each kind, is always to 
 be found. In these parts of the earth, most of the 
 thick-billed pigeons, that vie with the parrots in the co- 
 lour of their plumage, luxuriate amidst the thick foliage 
 of the banyan and other trees, from which they obtain 
 a rich and never-failing repast. 
 
 The dove is universally admitted to be a beautiful 
 object. The splendour of its eye, the innocence of its 
 look, the sweetness of its disposition, and the purity of 
 its manners, have made it, in every age, the theme of 
 admiration and praise. It is evident, from the Scrip- 
 tures, that Syria abounded with doves, and the allusions
 
 THE PIGEON. 95 
 
 to these birds in the sacred volume are numerous and 
 important. 
 
 The dove was selected by Jehovah to be the messen- 
 ger of peace to Noah and his family. The first time she 
 was sent out, she soon returned, because the waters still 
 covered the face of the earth, and she could find no rest 
 for the sole of her foot. On her second excursion, she 
 returned, after pursuing her flight to a much greater 
 distance, for she did not come back till the evening, 
 when she returned with an olive-leaf in her mouth, 
 which Noah justly considered as a sure proof that the 
 waters had subsided. 
 
 The practice of conveying intelligence by means of 
 tame doves, is of long standing in the East. It has 
 been sweetly said : — 
 
 " The dove let loose in eastern skies, 
 Returning fondly home, 
 Ne'er stoops to earth her wing, nor flies 
 Where idle warblers roam : 
 
 But high she shoots through air and light. 
 
 Above all low delay : 
 Where nothing earthly bounds her flight, 
 
 Nor shadow dims her way. 
 
 So grant me, Lord, from every stain 
 
 Of sinful passions free, 
 Aloft, through virtue's purer air, 
 
 To steer my course to Thee !
 
 96 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 No sin to cloud, no lure to stay 
 
 My soul, as home she springs ; 
 Thy sunshine on her joyful way, 
 
 Thy freedom on her wings." 
 
 In the time of the Crusades, when Acre V7as besieged 
 by the professedly Christian forces, Saladin, the chief 
 of their antagonists, continued a correspondence with 
 the besieged for some time, by means of these winged 
 heralds. It happened, however, that one was accident- 
 ally brought to the ground, by an arrow, before it 
 reached the city; thus the stratagem was discovered, 
 the communication, which would have animated the be- 
 sieged by the hope of speedy succour, was stopped in 
 its course, and the Christians compelled the immediate 
 surrender of the city. 
 
 Doves of every species were presented on the tables 
 of the Jews, and offered, by the law of Moses, at the 
 altar of Jehovah. An Israelite, in the spirit of grati- 
 tude, might bring a pair of turtle-doves, or young pi- 
 geons, as a free-will offering to the Lord ; but if he had 
 neglected to reprove his brother, who had, in his pre- 
 sence, blasphemed the name of God, or had himself 
 taken a rash oath, or had touched any unclean thing, 
 he was required to bring, as a trespass-offering, two 
 turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, the one for a sin- 
 oflfering, and the other for a burnt*offering. Here a broad
 
 THE PIGEON. 97 
 
 distinction is made. Sin, all sin requires an atonement, 
 and this could only be made by one who was " holy, 
 harmless, and undefiled." And such a one appears in 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, of whom there were so many 
 types under the law of Moses. 
 
 " The lamb, the dove, set forth 
 
 His perfect innocence, 
 Whose blood, of matchless worth, 
 
 Should be the soul's defence; 
 For he who can for sin atone, 
 Must have no failings of his own." 
 
 In Europe, the pigeons become greatly reduced in 
 number, and are confined to its w^arm and temperate 
 districts, when the corn-plants flourish, and the oak and 
 the beech yield their perfect fruit ; and even from 
 thence they are obliged to migrate to warmer latitudes, 
 when the ground is congealed by frost, or covered with 
 snow. 
 
 The voice, or notes, of these birds are few ; much akin 
 to each other in all the species, and consist of guttural 
 sounds, or frequently repeated cooings. In some birds 
 of the family their tone is plaintive and tender, in others 
 they are hoarse and rather unpleasant. 
 
 When a field is sown with peas, flocks of pigeons may 
 often be observed picking up those which lie on the 
 
 H
 
 98 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 surface. Even when the seedlings are just rising out 
 of the ground, they will move away the earth from the 
 young stem, to get at the buried seed. No wonder that 
 the farmer, whose interests are thus invaded, discharges 
 his gun among these robbers, or diminishes their num- 
 bers by other means. 
 
 A few years ago, the gardener of the Vicar of Wester- 
 ham, in Kent, had a young pigeon, which became so 
 much attached to him, that it was a constant guest at 
 table during the time of meals ; and if by any circum- 
 stance the outer door was closed against the bird, it 
 would fly upon the window-sill, and beat against the 
 window till it was admitted ; then, perching upon its 
 master's shoulder, would seem fully satisfied. 
 
 The gardener lived at some distance from his em- 
 ployer, at the other end of the town, and used to go 
 home to his dinner at a stated hour. About that time 
 the bird might be seen upon one of the houses, patiently 
 waiting for the man to pass. As soon as he appeared, 
 it flew down, and, alighting upon his shoulder, was thus 
 carried home ; nor did it leave its post till the gardener 
 had finished his meal. 
 
 It, apparently, regarded with jealousy a case of stufi^ed 
 birds which the man had in his house, and was frequent- 
 ly found actively engaged in endeavouring to get at
 
 THE PIGEON. 99 
 
 them. The bird lived for a considerable time, and gave 
 many proofs of its sagacity ; but the wife of the gardener 
 considering that it became troublesome, one day, during 
 the absence of her husband, and much to his dissatis- 
 faction, had it killed. 
 
 In former times the pigeon was employed in the Eng- 
 lish factory, to convey intelligence from Scanderoon to 
 Aleppo, of the arrival of the company's ships at that 
 port. The name of the vessel, the time of her com- 
 ing, and whatever else could be comprised in a small 
 space, was written on a slip of paper, and secured under 
 the pigeon's wing, so as not to impede her flight : her 
 feet were bathed in vinegar to keep them cool, and 
 prevent her from being tempted by the sight of water to 
 alight, whereby delay might be occasioned, and the billet 
 lost. 
 
 The messenger-bird had a young brood at Ale'ppo, 
 and was sent in an uncovered cage to Scanderoon, from 
 whence, as soon as set at liberty, she proceeded with all 
 speed towards her nest. It was then usual at the sea- 
 son of the arrival of the ships to send pigeons to be 
 ready at the port ; but if the bird remained more than a 
 fortnight, she would forget her young, and could not 
 safely be trusted. The pigeons, when let fly from Scan- 
 deroon, instead of bending their course towards the high
 
 100 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 mountains surrounding the plain, mounted at once di- 
 rectly up, soaring almost perpendicularly till out of 
 sight, as if to surmount at once all obstacles interrupt- 
 ing their view of the place of their destination. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of London, some years ago, was 
 a person named Lambert, who was not only, like others, 
 a pigeon fancier, but also a confirmed boaster, and who, 
 therefore, on one occasion, affirmed that his birds were 
 superior to those in any other collection. This declar- 
 ation, of course, brought all the others in the neighbour- 
 hood up in arras, and one of them, named Grimaldi, said 
 that there was no pigeon in Lambert's flight capable of 
 accomplishing twenty miles in twenty minutes. Arrange- 
 ments were now made for deciding the point at issue, 
 and the road over which the bird was to fly was to be 
 from the twentieth milestone on the Great North Road, 
 to Grimaldi's house at Islington. At six o'clock in the 
 morning, the bird selected for the trial was consigned to 
 the care of a friend, with instructions to throw it up 
 precisely as the clock struck twelve, at the place marked 
 out, near St. Albans, and he, accompanied by a gentleman 
 in behalf of the opposite party, also started off — all parties 
 concerned first setting their watches by the dial of Clerk- 
 enwell church. It was a very dismal day, the snow lying 
 deep on the ground, and a heavy sleet falling, so that the
 
 THE PIGEON. 101 
 
 passage of the bird would be more than usually diffi- 
 cult — the snow frequently blinding it. As, however, no 
 stipulation was made for fine weather, the parties took 
 up their appointed station, accompanied by several of 
 their friends, and in exactly nineteen minutes after, the 
 pigeon alighted on the roof of the house. 
 
 But the pigeons, of which this was one, were not 
 always remarkable for accuracy, for sometimes they 
 remained away so long on their aerial excursions, that 
 their owner gave them up in despair. On one occasion 
 they were absent upwards of four hours. While, how- 
 ever, he was concluding they were gone for ever, his 
 attention was attracted by the apparently unaccountable 
 behaviour of three that had been left behind, and who, 
 with their heads elevated in the air, were all gazing with 
 great earnestness at one point of the horizon. After 
 straining his eyes for a long time without avail, he 
 thought he discerned a small black speck at a great 
 height above him. Nor was he mistaken, for, by and 
 by, it proved to be the lost flight of pigeons returning 
 home, probably after an excursion of several hundred 
 miles. 
 
 Out of one hundred and ten pigeons brought from 
 Brussels to London, in the summer of 1830, and let 
 fly from London July 19, at a quarter before nine a. m.,
 
 102 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 one reached Antwerp, one hundred and eighty-six miles 
 distance, at eighteen minutes past two, or in five hours 
 and a half, being at the rate of nearly thirty-four miles 
 an hour. Five more reached it within eight minutes 
 after. Thirteen others took two hours and a half more 
 for the journey, or eight hours in the w^hole.
 
 THE PARTRIDGE. 
 
 This bird seems to be well-known all over the world. 
 It is found in every country — in the torrid tracts be- 
 neath the equator, as well as in the frozen regions about 
 the pole : not that in the same state it is prepared for 
 circumstances so different ; but He who formed it, and 
 intended that it should be widely diffused, adapted it to 
 its appointed condition. Thus, when dwelling in Green- 
 land, the partridge, as soon as winter sets in, has a 
 covering suited to its rigour : a warm down clothes it 
 beneath, and its outward plumage is white, like the snow 
 in which it seeks its food. 
 
 It has often been remarked, that the culture of waste 
 lands renders scarce and drives off the birds which were 
 once numerous there ; but it is not so with the partridge. 
 Wherever the husbandman prospers most, and the fields 
 are most productive, these birds are dressed in the 
 finest plumage, and appear in the greatest abundance* 
 So considerable, however, is the difference between the 
 dwellers in the richly-clothed corn-fields and those in
 
 104 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 the moors, that it has led to the latter being called, to 
 mark the variety, moor-partridges. 
 
 Partridges are very prolific ; the eggs being never 
 fewer than twelve, and often as many as twenty. A 
 hole scratched in the dry mould, commonly sheltered by 
 a bush or tuft of grass, serves for a nest. The male 
 takes no part in the toil of incubation ; but he is atten- 
 tive to his mate, and joins with her in defending the 
 brood. Of this the following is an instance. The at- 
 tention of a person was arrested by some objects on the 
 ground, which, on approaching, he found to be a male 
 and a female partridge, engaged in a battle with a car- 
 rion-crow. So absorbed were they in the issue of the 
 contest, and moreover so successful, that they actually 
 held the crow till he was seized and taken from them 
 by the spectator. On search being made, the young 
 birds, very lately hatched, were found concealed among 
 the grass. It appeared that the crow, a mortal enemy 
 to all kinds of young game, in attempting to carry oiF 
 one of these, had been attacked, and that successfully, 
 by the parent-birds. 
 
 The devices of the partridge to save its brood have 
 often been noticed. White, of Selborne, says : — "A 
 hen partridge came out of a ditch, and ran along shiver- 
 ing with her wings, and crying out as if wounded, and
 
 THE PARTRIDGE. 103 
 
 unable to get from us. While the dam acted this dis- 
 tress, the boy who attended me saw her brood, that were 
 small and unable to fly, run for shelter into an old fox- 
 earth under the bank. So wonderful a power is instinct." 
 
 Another instance is more remarkable. A gentleman 
 was hunting with a young pointer, when the dog ran on 
 a brood of very small partridges : the old bird cried, 
 fluttered, and ran tumbling along just before the dog's 
 nose, till she had drawn him to a considerable distance, 
 when she took wing and flew still farther off", but not 
 out of the field. On this the dog returned to his mas- 
 ter, near which place the young ones lay concealed in 
 the grass, which the old bird no sooner perceived than 
 she flew back again, settled once more just before the 
 dog's nose, and, by rolling and tumbling about, drew off 
 his attention from her young, and thus, for the second 
 time, preserved her brood. 
 
 Captain Head describes an adventure of his with an 
 American partridge. The snow in the woods was crisp 
 from the night's frost, and the sun was just rising in a 
 clear sky, when the marks of game attracted his notice, 
 and his spaniel at the same time showed the most eager 
 curiosity in the pursuit, quartering the ground from right 
 to left. After walking about half an hour, the dog 
 suddenly went in search, and on going up to him, the
 
 106 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 captain found him at the edge of a swamp, among a 
 clump of white cedar-trees, to one of which he had 
 evidently tracked some kind of bird, for he was looking 
 stedfastly into the tree, and barking with the utmost 
 eagerness. 
 
 The captain looked attentively, but nothing whatever 
 could he discover. He w^alked round and round the 
 tree, then observed the dog, whose eyes were evidently 
 directly fixed upon the object itself, and still was he dis- 
 appointed in perceiving nothing. In the mean time the 
 dog, working himself up to a pitch of impatience and 
 violence, tore with his paws the trunk of the tree, and 
 bit the rotten sticks and bark, jumping and springing up 
 at intervals towards the game ; and five minutes had at 
 least elapsed in this manner, when all at once the cap- 
 tain saw the eye of the bird. There it sat, or rather 
 stood, just where Rover pointed, in an attitude so per- 
 fectly still and fixed, w^ith an outstretched neck, and a 
 body drawn out to such an unnatural length, that twenty 
 times must he have overlooked it, mistaking it for a 
 dead branch, which it most closely resembled. 
 
 It was about twenty feet from the ground, on a bough, 
 and sat eight or ten feet from the body of the tree. The 
 captain shot it, and, in the course of the morning, killed 
 four more, which he came upon much in the same way
 
 >^- \t'V 
 
 THE PARTRIDGE.
 
 THE' PARTRIDGE. 107 
 
 as he did upon the first. At one of these his gun flashed 
 three times, without its attempting- to move ; after which 
 he drew the charge, loaded again, and killed it. The 
 dog, all the time, was barking and baying with the great- 
 est perseverance. " There is, in fact, no limits," he 
 says, " to the stupidity of these creatures ; and it is by 
 no means unusual, on finding a whole covey on a tree 
 in autumn, to begin by shooting the bird which happens 
 to sit lowest, and then to drop the one above him, and 
 so on till all are killed."
 
 THE CANARY. 
 
 The elegant little bird, which may so often be seen 
 in a gav-looking cage, or sporting about in the aviaries 
 of our countr}^ must not be passed by because of its 
 familiarity. Of canaries there are two distinct species, 
 the plain and the variegated : these are more esteemed 
 by amateurs than any of the numerous varieties which 
 have sprung from them. They are called the gay span- 
 gles, or meally, and jonks, or jonquils. 
 
 A canary, a jonquil cock, used to nibble at his cage 
 till he opened it, and then escaping from its prison- 
 house, it would fly to the mantel-piece, where it would 
 place itself on a china ornament, flutter as if in the act 
 of w^ashing, and continue to do so till water was brought. 
 So docile was this bird as to come to the hand when 
 called, and hide trifling articles in the corner of its 
 cage, stopping and looking round as if to be encouraged 
 and applauded. But a favourite amusement was, to 
 perch on one of the branches of a tall myrtle, in a win- 
 dow where the cage frequently hung ; and so bold did
 
 THE CANARY. 109 
 
 it become, as to dart upon the ephemeral insects that 
 rose from a stream close by, and which appeared to 
 yield it a delicious banquet. 
 
 In the spring of 1839, the writer visited the exhibition 
 in London of a " talking- canary." It was a beautiful 
 bird, which sang most melodiously, and in the course of 
 its carol distinctly articulated the words, " pretty queen ;" 
 " Mary ;" " sweet little Dickey, dear," and some others. 
 It was said to have had no instruction, but voluntarily 
 to have imitated some of the sounds it heard in a family 
 room where its cage was suspended. The writer asked 
 if, on discovering this singular power, its exhibitors 
 taught it any fresh words, but they replied they did not, 
 for fear it should lose any it could utter. The presence 
 of a large number of persons seemed rather to animate 
 than disturb this canary, for which, it was said, five 
 hundred guineas were offered and refused. It died in 
 the autumn of 1839. 
 
 In the dexterity displayed by some birds, there is 
 reason to fear that much must have been endured in pre- 
 paratory discipline ; and no excuse can be offered for the 
 cruel treatment of inferior creatures. It is to be hoped 
 it was not suffered in the following instance, the most 
 remarkable with which the writer ever met. A native 
 of Prussia introduced a canary-bird to a party at Cleves,
 
 110 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 to whom he hoped it would afford much amusement. 
 As he held it on his finger, he thus addressed it : — 
 " Bijou, you are now in the presence of persons of great 
 sagacity and honour; take care, therefore, that you do 
 not disappoint the expectations they have formed. You 
 have earned laurels ; beware of their withering : in a 
 word, conduct yourself as the bijou (the jewel) of canary- 
 birds, as you certainly are." Meanwhile the bird ap- 
 peared to listen, sloping its head to the ear of its owner, 
 and nodding twice as soon as he had finished. 
 
 Pulling off his hat to the bird, the Prussian said : — 
 " Now, let us see if you are a canary of honour : give 
 us a tune." The canary-bird immediately sang, but only 
 to have the rebuke, " Pshaw ! that 's too harsh : 'tis 
 the note of a raven that is hoarse ! " The canary whist- 
 led forthwith most delightfully. " Faster," said the 
 Prussian ; " slower — very well ! But what are this 
 little foot and head about ? No wonder you are out, 
 Mr. Bijou, when you forget your time : — there, that 's 
 a jewel ! Bravo, bravo ! " he added, as the little crea- 
 ture did promptly all that it was required. The party 
 expressed their surprise and admiration at its docility ; 
 and the musicians declared it was a greater master of 
 their art than any of their band. " And do you not 
 show your sense of this civility, sir?" said the Prussian
 
 THE CANARY. Ill 
 
 with an angry air ; on which the canary bowed, as we 
 should say, most respectfully to the company. 
 
 " My poor Bijou," said the owner, "thou hast had 
 hard work, and must be weary : a few more perform- 
 ances, and thou shalt repose. Show the ladies how to 
 make a curtsey : — that 's a fine bird ! Now, a bow, 
 head and foot corresponding. Now, a dance : — there, 
 that 's it — keep it up — keep it up ! And now thou hast 
 done all my biddings bravely," he said, as he caressed 
 the little prodigy ; " take a nap while I fill thy place. 
 Again obedience was immediate : the canary first shut 
 one eye, then the other ; then nodded, and dropping so 
 much on one side that the hands of several of the com- 
 pany were stretched out to save it from falling, when, 
 just as they approached its feathers, it suddenly reco- 
 vered, and dropped as much on the other. 
 
 At length, sleep seemed to fix it in a steady posture ; 
 on which the owner took it from his finger, and laid it 
 flat on the table, where, he affirmed, it would remain in 
 a good sound sleep while he filled up the interval. He 
 now proceeded to drink a glass of wine, but was inter- 
 rupted by the canary springing suddenly up to claim its 
 share, putting its bill into the glass, while the owner 
 called it a saucy fellow ; and then lying down to sleep 
 again. But this extraordinary tale has a melancholy
 
 112 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 close. The Prussian was attempting by his own skill to 
 please the company, when a large black cat, which had 
 been long on the watch, sprang unobserved from a cor- 
 ner on the poor bird, seized it in its mouth, and rushed 
 out of the room notwithstanding all opposition. Pursuit 
 was immediate, but in vain : the Prussian brought into 
 the room the mangled body of his poor canary, with 
 looks and words of most poignant distress.
 
 THE SKY-LARK. 
 
 This well-known bird is a great favourite. It inha- 
 bits most, if not all the countries of Europe, preferring 
 cultivated districts, particularly arable lands when un- 
 inclosed. Grahame might well say — 
 
 " Thou, simple bird, dwellest in a home 
 The humblest," 
 
 for it is placed on the ground, and frequently sheltered 
 by a clod of earth, or a tuft of herbage. And with 
 equal truth he might add — 
 
 " The daisied lea he loves, when tufts of grass, 
 Luxuriant crown the ridge ; there, with his mate, 
 He founds their lowly house, of withered bents. 
 And coarsest spear-grass : next, the inner nook 
 With finer and still finer fibres lays. 
 Rounding it curious with his speckled breast." 
 
 Sky-larks have usually two broods in the year on the 
 same grounds. The eggs are four or five, of a dull 
 greenish white, mottled with brown. The first brood is 
 usually fledged in June, and the second in August ; but 
 
 I
 
 114 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 in those parts of the country where the snow lies long, 
 it is probable there is seldom more than one brood. 
 
 The song of the sky -lark is cheerful, though monoto- 
 nous : but here is another description : — 
 
 *' With fluttering start, in silence, from her nest 
 The sky-lark breaks : then, steadier, upwards soars, 
 And, with melodious trill, her prelude pours 
 To earth, in hues of full-flushed summer drest; 
 Now, poised on moveless wing, she seems to rest, 
 Careless what bird, beneath the airy height, 
 May stop her path with horizontal flight. 
 The measured lay she breathes : — then, like a guest. 
 Singing to other spheres, is lost in light. 
 Till, fondly lured, she turns her faithful breast 
 Downwards through fields of blue. The warbling strain 
 Near and more near she swells; then, hushed again, 
 Falls like a shadow from the sunny dome. 
 And chaunts her three wild notes, to welcome home." 
 
 It has been observed by a naturalist, that if the lark 
 hears the voice of its mate, it falls to the earth appa- 
 rently like a stone ; but that this does not take place 
 during the period of incubation, or before the young 
 birds have left the nest. At such times, the lark, in its 
 descent, flies along the surface of the field, and ahghts 
 at some distance from its nest. And why is this ? " It 
 is evident," he says, " that this foresight is given to it 
 by its benevolent Creator, for the better preservation of 
 its young ; as, if it alighted at its nest, the spot might
 
 THE SKYLARK.
 
 THE SKY-LARK. 115 
 
 easily be watched, and its young fall a prey to some 
 marauding- ploughboy." 
 
 That the lark is strongly attached to her eggs and 
 young, has long been known. In one instance, some 
 mowers actually shaved off the upper part of a sky-lark's 
 nest, but she did not fly away, and they levelled the grass 
 all about her without her taking further notice of their 
 movements. A youth, son of the owner of the crop, 
 observed this, and, about an hour after, went to see if 
 she were safe, when, to his great surprise, he found she 
 had constructed a dome of dry grass over the nest dur- 
 ing the interval, leaving an aperture on one side for 
 ingress and egress, thus endeavouring to secure a conti- 
 nuance of the shelter previously afforded by the long 
 grass. 
 
 The same naturalist has observed, that the parents, 
 when alarmed, remove their eggs by means of their 
 long claws, and that very quickly, to a place of greater 
 security ; and a shepherd in Scotland recently men- 
 tioned having witnessed the same circumstance. 
 
 The lark is a very early riser. Thus one poet says : — 
 
 "Up springs the lark, 
 Shrill-voiced and loud, the messenger of morn 
 Ere yet the shadows fly, he, mounted, sings 
 Amid the dawning clouds."
 
 116 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Another must, however, be considered as giving a 
 better description, inasmuch as the writer appears to be 
 the companion of this early bird, thus securing not only 
 the pleasure of its song, but the many advantages never 
 known to those who indulge in long and injurious 
 slumbers : — 
 
 " Sweetest -warbler of the skies, 
 Soon as morning's purple dyes 
 O'er the easteni mountains float, 
 'Weakened by thy merry note, 
 Through the fields of yellow corn 
 That Mersey's winding banks adorn, 
 O'er green meads I gaily pass, 
 And lightly brush the dewy grass." 
 
 Birds, like other animals, sometimes display a feeling 
 of tenderness towards the young of other birds, of which 
 the following is an interesting instance. A young hen- 
 bird was brought to a naturalist in the month of May, 
 which was not able to feed without assistance. He 
 caused her, he says, to be attended to, and she was 
 hardly fledged when he received from another place a 
 nest of three or four unfledged sky-larks. She became 
 much attached to these new-comers, which were scarcely 
 younger than herself; she attended them night and day, 
 cherished them beneath her wings, and fed them with 
 her bill. 
 
 Nothing could interrupt her offices of tenderness. If-
 
 THE SKY-LARK. 117 
 
 she were taken from the young ones, she flew to them 
 as soon as liberated; and if the young were torn from 
 her, she went to them as soon as possible, not thinking 
 of effecting her own escape. So far from her affection 
 being diminished, it increased ; she neglected both food 
 and drink ; she even required the same support as her 
 adopted offspring, and at last expired, " consumed," says 
 the narrator, " with maternal anxiety." Nor was this 
 all : none of the young ones survived her ; they died 
 one after another, for want of the tender care which she 
 had bestowed. 
 
 The number of sky-larks is very great, and in autumn 
 their flocks are more numerous than almost any other 
 species of our land birds. They prefer the lighter soils, 
 where earthworms abound. In the midland counties, 
 they are commonly in the open fields, near the chalk, 
 and as they feed and nestle on the ground, they are 
 captured in great numbers as an article of food.
 
 THE WREN. 
 
 Clare, the Northamptonshire poet, thus addresses 
 this pretty little bird, which, hke the redbreast, fre- 
 quently approaches the habitation of man, and enlivens 
 the rustic garden with its song the greater part of the 
 year. 
 
 " Why is the cuckoo's melody preferr'd, 
 And nightingale's rich song so fondly prais'd 
 In poet's rhymes? Is there no other bird 
 Of Nature's minstrelsy, that oft hath rais'd 
 One's heart to ecstasy and mirth so well? 
 I judge not how another's taste is caught ; 
 With mine are other birds that bear the bell, 
 Whose songs hath crowds of happiest memories brought : 
 Such the wood-robin singing in the deU, 
 And little wren, that many a time hath sought 
 Shelter from showers in huts where I may dwell 
 In early spring, the tenant of the plain. 
 Tending my sheep ; and still they come to teU 
 The happy stories of the past again." 
 
 This favourite of one of our shepherd-poets enlivens 
 our rustic gardens with its sprightly note during the 
 greater part of the year. It very commonly builds under
 
 THE WREN. 119 
 
 the brow of a river's bank, where the turf overhangs, 
 from being undermined by the stream : but the wren 
 seems equally partial to the shelter afforded by ivy on 
 trees or walls, though it will often build under the fork 
 of a bare overhanging bough. A nest was observed 
 in the small upper spray of a hawthorn, though one pro- 
 bably appears more commonly still, sheltered under the 
 projecting side of a haystack, or the overhanging thatch 
 of a cottage eave. 
 
 A wren, which for many years built her nest behind 
 an ash-tree which overhung the writer's garden, was 
 thus addressed : — 
 
 ' Little warbler, long hast thou 
 Perch'd beneath yon spreading bough, 
 Sung beneath yon ivied tree — 
 Thy mossy nest I yearly see. 
 Safe from all thy peace annoys — 
 Claws of cats and cruel boys. 
 We often hear thy chit-chat song 
 Call thy tiny brood along ; 
 While in her nest, or on a spray. 
 The throstle charms us with her lay. 
 Little warbler! cheerful wren! 
 Spring-time comes, and thou again. 
 Little warbler! thou, like me, 
 Delight'st in home and harmless glee ; 
 What of peace is to be found 
 Circles all thy dwelling round; 
 Here with love, beneath the shade 
 Thy tranquil happiness is made :
 
 120 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 With thy tiny, faithful mate, 
 
 Here meet'st, resigii'd, the frowns of fate. 
 
 While proudei birds fly high or far, 
 
 Or mix them in the strife of war — 
 
 Or, restless, through the world will range, 
 
 And, restless, still delight in change. 
 
 Thou mak'st thy home a place of rest. 
 
 Affection, love, and that is best ! 
 
 Then welcome, welcome, faithful wren ! 
 
 Thrice welcome to thy home again !" 
 
 A strong desire to wash themselves appears in some 
 birds, while others are as much inclined to dust them- 
 selves, as, for example, the common wren. This ap- 
 pears to be dictated by instinct. It is scarcely possible 
 for the little birds, in some instances, to see through the 
 opening of their covered nests the parents dusting them- 
 selves on the ground ; in other cases this could not be 
 observed from the position of the nest; and, besides, 
 the desire is equally powerful in all individuals. On 
 the other hand, the nests of the wood-wren, and many 
 birds which wash themselves eagerly on the first op- 
 portunity that occurs after they can feed themselves, 
 could never have seen the like, their nest having been 
 situated under the roots of a tree upon a dry bank in 
 a wood. " This impulse," says the Hon. and Rev.W. 
 Herbert, " is therefore inspired by the Creator ; and
 
 THE WREN. 121 
 
 it is inspired with a force that in captivity is like unto 
 madness." 
 
 The parental feeling is strong in this little creature. 
 
 "The poor wren, 
 The most diminutive of birds, will fight, 
 Her young ones in her nest, against the owl." 
 
 Nor will any other intruders escape her power : only let 
 a boy or a weasel come within the precincts of her 
 abode, and she will pursue and attack most courageously, 
 though the weight of the wren is only two drachms and 
 three-quarters. 
 
 It appears to be possible for this commonly quiet little 
 bird to become impudent and oppressive. A swallow 
 had placed her nest in the corner of a piazza next a 
 gentleman's house ; another bird occupied the opposite 
 corner ; and a wren occupied a little box, made on pur- 
 pose, which hung in the middle. The birds were all 
 quite tame ; but the wren had shown dislike to its dwell- 
 ing, though on what account was not known, and at 
 length it determined to drive away the swallows. Sin- 
 gularly enough, it succeeded in its plot ; and no sooner 
 was the exploit performed, than, with great dexterity, it 
 removed every material to its own abode. It appeared,
 
 122 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 too, to enjoy its triumph ; its wings were fluttered with 
 great velocity, and great pleasure was perceptible in all 
 its movements. Meanwhile the swallow sat meekly at a 
 little distance, and never ofiPered the slightest opposition ; 
 but no sooner was the plunder carried away, than it went 
 to work with unabated energy, and in a few days repaired 
 the depredations. 

 
 THE "WATER WAGTAIL.
 
 THE WATER-WAGTAIL. 
 
 This is a very active bird, and is constantly in mo- 
 tion, running after flies. It changes its abode in win- 
 ter, but does not quit the kingdom, and may be found, 
 as the weather becomes severe, in marshes subject to 
 the flow of the tide. Early in the spring, the pied wag- 
 tails, as they are sometimes called, may be seen in flocks 
 attending sheepfolds, and fields which have been newly 
 ploughed. In the breeding season they appear to pre- 
 fer pleasure-grounds constantly mown, where they can 
 run about entirely unencumbered, and when the insects 
 have not sufficient cover to evade their flight. 
 
 The nest, composed of moss, dried grass, and fibres, 
 put together with wool, and lined with feathers or hair, 
 is found in a heap of stones on the ground, the hole 
 of a wall, or on the top of a pollard-tree : the hole of 
 a bank, or the shelf of a bare rock is sometimes chosen. 
 The eggs exactly resemble those of the cuckoo — a bird 
 which frequently chooses the nest of the wagtail as a 
 place for her own egg.
 
 124 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 This bird may become, under favourable circum- 
 stances, very familiar. One of them built a nest in a 
 workshop at Taunton. It was not only a room occupied 
 by braziers, whose noise was loud and incessant, but also 
 near the wheel of a lathe, which revolved within a foot 
 of the little dwelling. Here, strange as it may seem, 
 the bird hatched four young ones ; but the male, not 
 accustomed to such society, appeared disinclined to follow 
 the usual course of feeding the nestlings ; for he carried 
 the food he collected to a certain spot on the roof, where 
 he left it, and from thence it was borne by his mate, who 
 flew in and out of the shop without the slightest fear. 
 She, however, was disturbed by the presence of a stranger 
 — if in her nest, she would quit it on his appearance ; or 
 if absent, would not return; but, the moment he was 
 gone, she was as familiar as before.
 
 THE LAPWING. 
 
 This bird breeds early in the spring on heaths and 
 upland situations, in fens and moist fields, and not un- 
 frequently in old fallow land, and is common in most 
 parts of the kingdom. The female is not so brilliant in 
 colour as the male ; some of the feathers of his crest, 
 too, are above three inches in length, but hers are much 
 shorter. 
 
 It is a curious fact, that the eggs of this and some 
 other birds are commonly four, much tapering to the 
 smaller end, and are always placed in a quadrangular 
 manner, touching each other at the smaller ends, by 
 which they occupy the least possible space. As soon 
 as they are hatched, the young make use of their legs ; 
 but they are not able to fly till nearly full-grown. They 
 are not fed by the parents, but led by them in search of 
 food. The name of lapwing has been given this bird 
 from the constant flapping of its wings in flight ; it is 
 also called the pe-wit, from the resemblance of its note 
 to the sound of that word.
 
 126 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 To entice any animal, that may be dreaded, away from 
 its nests or young, the lapwing has often recourse to 
 stratagem. Some of its movements of this kind are 
 amusing. It will strike with the bend of the wing so 
 near to a person's head, that the stroke may be dis- 
 tinctly heard ; and it will actually hit birds which prowl 
 about, and even dogs. One writer tells us of his cross- 
 ing a lonely moor, half heath, half quagmire, where lap- 
 wings were more than usually abundant and clamorous, 
 and a little before him was a countryman, accompanied by 
 one of the yelping curs of which such people are some- 
 times too fond. The dog seemed determined on hunt- 
 ing lapwings, and they as willing to give him some 
 sport. Various, indeed, were their manoeuvres : they 
 limped before him, flew low in twitches, and came close 
 upon him, by all kinds of motions both on foot and on 
 the wing, and the dog was fatiguing himself by hopeless 
 leaps at the flyers, and hopeless starts after the runners. 
 At last, one came twitching down, and struck the cur 
 with his bill, or the bend ofhis wing. Audible was the 
 blow, and, doubtless, painful too, for the dog went yelp- 
 ing, with his tail between his legs, to his master, and 
 gave up, for that time at least, so profitless and disas- 
 trous a chace. 
 
 A clergyman, who kept a lapwing in his garden,
 
 THE LAP^VfNG.
 
 THE LAPWING. 127 
 
 observed in it some singular traits. It lived chiefly on 
 insects ; but these failed on the approach of winter, and 
 necessity compelled it to draw nigh the house, from 
 which it had previously remained at a wary distance. A 
 servant, hearing its feeble cry, as if asking for relief, 
 opened the door of the back kitchen. It did not, how- 
 ever, venture far at first, but it became daily more fami- 
 liar as the cold increased, till, at length, though a dog 
 and cat were there, it actually entered the room. It 
 afterwards became so well acquainted with these ani- 
 mals, as to enter the kitchen at nightfall, and to take its 
 place at the chimney-corner, where it remained snugly 
 by their side for the night. But as soon as spring 
 returned, it preferred roosting in the garden, though, in 
 the ensuing winter, it visited again the fireside. Now 
 its former feelings were changed : naturally apprehen- 
 sive of the dog and cat, it not only lost all fear of them, 
 but treated them as its inferiors, and arrogated to itself 
 the place it had first obtained by humble solicitation.
 
 THE BULLFINCH. 
 
 This is a bird very well known. The female is much 
 unlike the male in plumage, except in the crown of 
 the head, which is black. It makes a nest of small 
 dry twigs, lined with fibrous roots, in the latter end of 
 April, or the beginning of May, most frequently in a 
 black or white-thorn bush, either in woods or hedges ; 
 preferring the thickest places for that purpose. 
 
 This bird has no voice to charm us ; it emits only a 
 low and plaintive call to its companions in the hedge. 
 It covets no intercourse or familiarity with man, but 
 lives retired in some lonely thicket. As spring comes, 
 however, it will plunder our gardens, and while some of 
 our race make effort to obtain rarity for a banquet, these 
 birds seldom feed on two kinds at the same time. They 
 begin with the germs of the larger and most early goose- 
 berry, go on to the cherry-trees, proceed afterwards to 
 Orlean plums and green gages, and then resort to the 
 sloe-bushes in fields and hedges. 
 
 These birds appear to have good powers of memory.
 
 THE BULLFINCH. 129 
 
 Tame bullfinches have been observed to escape from the 
 aviary, and live at liberty in the woods for a year ; then 
 to recollect the voice of the person that reared them, and 
 return no more to leave her. Others, when forced to 
 leave their first abode, have been known to die of grief. 
 It was said of an eminent individual, that he could only 
 recollect the kindnesses of his friends, and was forgetful 
 of the conduct of his enemies ; but of injuries these 
 birds are said to have a clear remembrance. 
 
 One pair of bullfinches proved very interesting to an 
 intelligent observer. They lived in a spacious and most 
 commodious cage, and were accustomed to leave it, and 
 partake of breakfast with their master and mistress. 
 These birds fed from their hands, hopped upon their 
 shoulders, and, turning their little heads round, looked 
 with their vivacious black eyes into the faces of their 
 benefactors : 
 
 " strangers to liberty, 'tis true, 
 But that delight they never knew, 
 And, therefore, never missed." 
 
 The cat and they lived on perfectly amicable terms. 
 It happened that the mistress was suddenly taken ill, and 
 confined to her bed. The cock bird directly missed her 
 from the breakfast-table, showed evident signs of un- 
 easiness, looking inquiringly on all sides, and, by very
 
 130 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 intelligible signs, made it understood that he was trou- 
 bled by her absence. In the course of the day, though 
 he had hitherto been confined to the sitting-room, and 
 was not supposed to have further knowledge of the 
 house, he actually made his way up stairs, discovered 
 her chamber, and tapped at the door with his beak. 
 
 On its being opened, he flew to the bed, fluttered 
 about in apparent exultation, perched upon her head, and 
 exhibited his joy in her presence by every means in his 
 power. He remained in the chamber during the day, 
 and, what is more extraordinary, at night, instead of 
 returning to its mate, or even selecting a perch for his 
 accommodation, actually nestled himself upon the pillow 
 to rest, close beside his beloved mistress. This bird 
 was a poor singer — in fact, no singer at all. It had 
 been brought up by a stocking-maker of Nottingham, 
 and constantly hearing the poor man at work, had learn- 
 ed the disagreeable jarring sound of the machine, which 
 it imitated most accurately. 
 
 The gentleman who afterwards possessed the bird, 
 disliking its unpleasant note, began to teach it to sing ; 
 but, in the first place, it was requisite to break it of 
 what it had already learned — a task with which many a 
 teacher of the young is perfectly acquainted : this he 
 did by gently striking it with a knitting-needle, and
 
 THE BULLFINCH. 131 
 
 expressing his dislike whenever it began. But the poor 
 bird did not live to complete its lesson ; and its end was 
 a sad one. Its master and mistress going from home, 
 left their favourite to the care of the maid. The gen- 
 tleman had a misgiving in his mind as he left the door, 
 that the bird would suffer, and actually returned after 
 having gone some distance, to reiterate his injunctions. 
 Of course, the servant promised attention ; but on his 
 return his presentiment was realized : the cage was 
 empty, and, on inquiring, he found the bird had died of 
 neglect. 
 
 The forgetfulness thus displayed was, doubtless, cri- 
 minal. Inferior creatures lay claim to care on the part 
 of those to whom they are entrusted, or whose amuse- 
 ment they promote. An amiable feeling often leads the 
 young to wish for some little pet, and for a time, per- 
 haps, it is in danger of being killed by kindness. But 
 when the novelty has passed away, it is, in some cases, 
 noticed less and less, until, at length, were not some 
 more thoughtful person to interfere^ the little creature 
 would share the fate of this bullfinch. 
 
 A school for bullfinches may sound oddly, and to 
 speak of their education may appear equally strange; 
 yet, what is the fact ? It appears that in the month of 
 June, the young ones, which are sought for in the nests
 
 132 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 of wild birds, are taken when about ten days old, and 
 brought up by a person who, by care and attention, so 
 completely tames them, that they become perfectly docile 
 and obedient. 
 
 At the end of about two months they first begin to 
 whistle, from which time their education begins ; and no 
 academy can be more diligently superintended, or have 
 pupils more effectually trained, than that of bullfinches. 
 At first they are formed into classes of about six in 
 each ; and after having been kept a longer time than 
 usual without food — a privation thought by children 
 very hard to endure — and still more, confined in a dark 
 room, the tune they are to learn is played over and over 
 again on a little instrument called a bird-organ, the 
 notes of which greatly resemble those of the bullfinch. 
 
 For a time, perhaps, the birds sit moping and in si- 
 lence, not knowing what to make of such proceedings ; 
 but, after a while, they begin, one by one, to imitate the 
 notes they hear. As soon as they do so, light is admit- 
 ted into the room, and they are allowed a small supply 
 of food. The sound of the organ, and the circumstance 
 of being fed, become by degrees so associated, that the 
 hungry bird is sure to imitate the notes as soon as 
 they are heard. They are then given to the care of 
 boys, whose sole business it is to carry on their education,
 
 THE BULLFINCH. 133 
 
 each one having a bird placed under his charge, who 
 plays away as many times as the bird can attend, during 
 which their first teacher, or feeder, goes his regular 
 rounds, scolding or rewarding his feathered scholars by 
 signs and modes he has taught them to understand, until 
 the tune becomes so familiar, that they will pipe it to the 
 end of their lives. The writer is, however, free to con- 
 fess, that he prefers " the wood-note wild " to any of 
 the strains which are thus acquired.
 
 THE TURKEY. 
 
 The turkey is a native of North America : there he 
 is the herald of the morning ; and his voice must convey 
 associations similar to those produced by the crowing of 
 the cock in this country. " I was awakened," says Bar- 
 tram, " in the morning early, by the cheering converse 
 of the wild turkey-cocks saluting each other from the 
 sun-brightened tops of the lofty cypress and magnolia. 
 They begin at early dawn, and continue till sun-rise. 
 The high forests ring with the noise of these social sen- 
 tinels, the watchword being caught and repeated from 
 one to another for hundreds of miles around, insomuch 
 that the whole country is, for an hour or more, in an 
 universal shout." 
 
 A person who has seen the turkey only in the poultry- 
 yards of this country, can have no idea of the splen- 
 dour of a fine wild turkey-cock in his full plumage. 
 Then it gleams with the brightest golden bronze, tinged, 
 according to the position, with blue, violet, and green, 
 and beautifully broken by the deep black bands which
 
 THE TURKEY.
 
 THE TURKEY. 135 
 
 terminate each feather, and which also have a metalhc 
 lustre. 
 
 In the reign of George ii. a large stock of wild tur- 
 keys, consisting of not less than three thousand, was 
 regularly kept in Richmond Park. They were hunted 
 with dogs, and made to take refuge in a tree, where 
 they were frequently shot by the monarch. A breed 
 of this kind is said to be in a park belonging to Lord 
 Ducie, in Gloucestershire ; and there are some in that 
 of Sir W. W. Wynn, at Wynnstay. 
 
 In a domestic state the turkey subsists on insects and 
 grain. The females, whenever they have opportunity, 
 wander to a considerable distance from the poultry-yards, 
 to construct their nests, and lay and hatch their eggs. 
 When young, they require much attention. In Nor- 
 folk and Suffolk they are reared in great numbers. 
 About Christmas the demand for them is great, though 
 few birds are in more request for the table at other 
 times.
 
 THE CROW. 
 
 In young- birds, the crow is to be distinguished from 
 the rook only by the note, which is much more hoarse 
 than that of the latter bird. In adults the difference is 
 greater — the bill of the crow being rather more convex 
 towards the end, and the reflected bristles at the base 
 being always perfect. Crows keep in pairs all the year, 
 seldom congregating except to regale on some carcase, 
 or in winter to roost. They frequently hide their food 
 till hunger becomes pressing. The nest is composed of 
 sticks, plastered with earth, having soft materials laid 
 on it, and generally placed in the forked branches of 
 a tree. 
 
 The crow is a laborious bird; he goes to bed after 
 the rook, and is well worthy the imitation of our young 
 friends generally, in his keeping up a habit of early 
 rising. Long before the rook is up, this bird is on the 
 wing, and from the oak where he had found a dormitory, 
 he announces, with a loud and hollow croak, the ap- 
 proach of man.
 
 THE CROW. 
 
 137 
 
 There is something proverbially adhesive, as Mr. Water- 
 ton says, in a bad name. Sticking-plaster is nothing to 
 this quality : the latter is soon rubbed off, but the former 
 may remain for years, and even for ages. So it has 
 been with the bird called by our ancestors the carrion 
 crow, to point out most probably the food it was sup- 
 posed to like. But had it a taste of this kind, where 
 can it be indulged ? In former times it doubtless might 
 be, but now-a-days it would look for a meal of flesh in 
 vain. Still it bears the same name, though it searches 
 for food in the pastures, meadows, and corn-fields, with 
 great assiduity. 
 
 If something may be said against the crow, because he 
 will occasionally enter a garden to make a meal, or find a 
 dessert in that object of delight to the young, a cherry- 
 tree, or because the nuts in autumn are the fewer for 
 his visits, let us hear both sides of the case, and remem- 
 ber the destruction he deals out to millions of noxious 
 insects. 
 
 There is, however, the grave charge to be brought of 
 greater thefts than those already noticed. " In 1815," 
 says Mr. Waterton, " I fully satisfied myself of his 
 inordinate partiality for young aquatic poultry. The 
 cook had in her custody a brood of ten ducklings, which 
 had been hatched about a fortnight. Unobserved by
 
 138 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 anybody, I put the old duck and her young ones in a pond, 
 nearly three hundred 3-ards from a high fir-tree, in which 
 a carrion crow had built its nest : it contained five young 
 ones, almost fledged. I took my station on the bridge, 
 about one hundred yards from the tree. Nine times 
 the parent crows flew to the pond, and brought back a 
 duckling each time to their young. I saved a tenth 
 victim by timely interference. When a young brood is 
 attacked by an enemy, the old duck does nothing to 
 defend it. In lieu of putting herself betwixt it and 
 danger, as the dunghill fowl would do, she opens her 
 mouth, and starts obliquely through the water, beating 
 it with her wrings. During these useless movements, 
 the invader secures his prey with impunity." 
 
 Mr, Waterton charges the crow's occasional plunder 
 of a partridge egg on the game-keeper, who, in his ram- 
 bles to find the nests of these birds, makes a track which 
 will often be followed up by the cat, the fox, and the 
 weasel ; and still more, by driving the bird hastily from 
 its nest, causing its eggs to be left uncovered. No 
 wonder, then, that as the crow is in quest of food, it 
 should pounce on the prey thus exposed, and carry off 
 an egg on the point of its bill. But, in this case, is 
 the bird to blame ? It follows its instinct. We, how-
 
 THE CROW. 139 
 
 ever, are in diflferent circumstances. There are feelings 
 of our nature, such as selfishness and cruelty, which are 
 not to be cherished or exercised : here, and in all simi- 
 lar cases, we are to be concerned to subdue, not to 
 follow, our natural character.
 
 THE ROOK. 
 
 This weil-knowTi species of crow contents itself with 
 feeding on the insect tribe, particularly the caterpillars 
 of the cockchafer. It sometimes takes, however, the 
 corn of the husbandman. At all seasons it is grega- 
 rious, resorting every spring to the same trees to breed, 
 when the nests may be observed on the upper branches 
 crowded one over another, ^^llen the young have 
 taken wing, they all forsake their nest-trees, resorting 
 to them again in October to roost ; but at the approach 
 of winter, they generally choose more sheltered places 
 at night, in some neighbouring wood, to which they fly 
 off together. 
 
 These birds are by no means deficient in sagacity ; 
 and hence it has been said : — 
 
 " Their dangers well the warj' plunderers know, 
 And place a watch on some conspicuous bough." 
 
 Nor are they indifferent to the signal he gives: as 
 soon as they hear it they take flight, and always in
 
 THE EOOK. 141 
 
 an opposite direction to that from which peril is anti- 
 cipated. 
 
 The rook has some qualities worthy of imitation by 
 creatures of a far higher order — the readers of this 
 volume : it is very regular in its daily movements, and 
 loves cordial intercourse with its kind. Other birds 
 associate together only for a time : thus water-fowl, ring- 
 doves, and finches, will unite in great numbers when 
 winter spreads its coldness and desolation around ; but, 
 on the return of spring, they separate, and return in 
 pairs. But the rook is no hermit, delighted only when 
 afar from its species : in flocks, it builds its nest, pur- 
 sues its food, and retires to rest. 
 
 The sympathy of these birds with others, when suffer- 
 ing, surpasses that of birds in general. Thus a large 
 colony of rooks subsisted many years on the banks of 
 the river Irwell, near Manchester. One serene even- 
 ing, a gentleman placed himself within view of it, and 
 marked with attention the various labours, evolutions, 
 and pastimes of this crowded society. The idle mem- 
 bers amused themselves with chasing each other, and in 
 their flight they made a variety of discordant noises. 
 In the midst of their playful exertions, one rook, by a 
 sudden turn, unfortunately struck his beak against the 
 wing of another, and the sufferer instantly fell into the
 
 142 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 river. A general cry of distress ensued: the birds 
 hovered with every expression of anxiety over their dis- 
 tressed companion, and, at length, he sprang into the air, 
 and, by one strong effort, reached the point of rock 
 which projected into the water. Now the joy became 
 universal ; but, alas ! it was soon changed into lament- 
 ation ; for the poor wounded bird, in attempting to fly 
 towards its nest, dropped into the river, and was drowned 
 amidst the lamentations of his whole fraternity. 
 
 Parent birds do not shrink from long- continued ef- 
 fort, when this is rendered necessary. In a hot summer, 
 some years ago, many of the young brood of rooks of the 
 season perished for want. As the mornings were with- 
 out dew, few or no worms were to be obtained, and the 
 tender birds were found dead on the trees. The cries 
 of those that remained were very distressing, as no relief 
 could be given them. The old birds seemed to suffer 
 without complaint ; and it was pleasing to observe the 
 perseverance they displayed to relieve their famishing 
 offspring, many of them remaining out in pursuit of food 
 quite in the dusk, and returning to their roosts long 
 after the period of retiring. 
 
 The rook is, therefore, a friend to the farmer. In 
 ignorance or forgetfulness of this, many a rookery has 
 been destroyed; and from the increase of destructive
 
 THE ROOK. 143 
 
 insects in consequence, the error has been lamented. 
 In a country walk, the utility of these birds may be 
 perceived. As the ploughman proceeds with his labour, 
 he will be followed by rooks ; but the sower will have no 
 such companions. The power they have of discovering 
 the grub of the cockchafer by scent, is very extra- 
 ordinary. A field is described which had all the ap- 
 pearance of having been scorched, as if by a burning- 
 sun in dry, hot weather : the turf peeled from the 
 ground as if it had been cut with a turfing spade ; and 
 it appeared that the roots of the grass had been eaten 
 away by the larvae of the cockchafer, countless num- 
 bers of which were found at various depths in the soil. 
 Though there was no rookery within many miles of the 
 neighbourhood, multitudes of rooks came hither, turned 
 up the earth, and appeared to devour the grubs with 
 great satisfaction. 
 
 Here another fact occurs which is worthy of remem- 
 brance. How often do we err in the conclusions at 
 which we arrive ? We assume that we are right, when 
 this ought first to be determined before we flatter our- 
 selves on the ground of our sagacity. But to select 
 an instance : — some few years ago there were se- 
 veral large elm-trees behind the ecclesiastical courts 
 of Doctors' Commons, in which a number of rooks had
 
 144 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 taken up their abode. On the opposite side lived a 
 curious old civilian, %vho, observing from his study that 
 the birds often dropped senseless from their perch with- 
 out the cause of their so doing being apparent, set his 
 wits to work to find what it could be. Having plenty 
 of leisure, he weighed the matter over and over, till he 
 was fully satisfied that he had made a great discovery, 
 from which he expected, moreover, no little fame : he 
 even, it is said, wrote a treatise, describing circumstan- 
 tially what he had witnessed, and stated it as his settled 
 conviction, that the rooks w^ere subject to the falling 
 sickness. But what was the fact? A young gentle- 
 man, who lodged in an attic near to the rooks, amused 
 himself by silently thinning their numbers with a cross- 
 bow !
 
 THE SWALLOW. 
 
 Of this genus of perchers, we have three native spe- 
 cies — the bank, the chimney, and the window swallow. 
 The bank swallow is the smallest, is not near so plenti- 
 ful, but is more local. It is frequently seen about rivers, 
 where it makes a nest in the banks, but most commonlv 
 in sandpits, where it can more easily form a secure place 
 for its abode. The holes are generally horizontal, and 
 about two or three feet deep. 
 
 This bird has been observed to cling with its sharp 
 claws to the face of a sandbank, and use its closed 
 bill, just as a miner would do his pickaxe, till it had 
 loosened a considerable portion of the hard sand, and 
 caused it to fall among the rubbish below. Some of 
 these swallows' holes are as nearly circular as if they 
 were marked out with a pair of compasses ; while others 
 are irregular in form, perhaps from the sand crumb- 
 ling more away than in other instances. The bird 
 always uses its own body to determine the propor- 
 tions of the gallery, perching on the circumference with
 
 146 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 its claws, and labouring with its bill from the centre 
 outwards. The little builder consequently assumes va- 
 rious positions while at work in the interior, hanging 
 from the roof of the gallery with its back downwards as 
 often as standing on the floor. All the galleries are 
 more or less winding on to their termination, where a 
 bed of loose hay, and a few of the smaller breast fea- 
 thers of geese, ducks, or fowl, are spread with little art, 
 to receive the eggs. 
 
 Some writers have thought that the bank swallow shuns 
 the neighbourhood of man, but instances to the contrary 
 are given by others. A colony appeared at Catrine, in 
 Ayrshire, not only within a few yards of quarry-men 
 constantly at work, but not a gunshot from a row of 
 nearly a hundred houses, close by the doors of which 
 these birds have been seen hawking for flies every hour 
 of the day. Another colony has been observed to be 
 established at the lime-kilns under the west side of 
 Blackheath Hill, though surrounded by streets and rows 
 of houses : here the nests are in the side of the precipit- 
 ous bank, out of the reach of any passenger, and not 
 easily accessible even to the determined spoiler. 
 
 The chimney swallow, so called from its breeding in 
 our chimneys, seems to be known in most parts of the 
 world. It is said to winter in Senegal, and probably
 
 THE SWALLOW. 147 
 
 in many other warm countries. In spring it returns to 
 us, and has thus been addressed by a modern poet: — 
 
 " Welcome, welcome, feathered stranger, 
 
 Now the sun bids Nature smile ; 
 Safe arrived, and free from danger, 
 
 Welcome to our blooming isle ! 
 Still twitter on my lowly roof, 
 
 And hail me at the dawn of day; 
 Each morn the recollected proof 
 
 Of time that ever flits away. 
 
 " Fond of sunshine, fond of shade, 
 
 Fond of skies serene and clear, 
 Ev'n transient storms thy joys invade 
 
 In fairest seasons of thy year. 
 What makes thee seek a milder clime ? 
 
 What bids thee shun the wintry gale ? 
 How know'st thou thy departing time ? 
 
 Hail, wondrous bird! hail, swallow, hail! 
 
 " Sure something more to thee is given 
 
 Than myriads of the feathered race ; 
 Some gift divine, some spark from heaven, 
 
 That guides thy flight from place to place. 
 Still freely come, still freely go, 
 
 And blessings crown thy vigorous wing: 
 May thy rude flight meet no rude foe. 
 
 Delightful messenger of spring ! " 
 
 The provision made by birds for pecuHar circum- 
 stances is not a Httle singular. The following is a case 
 in point. A couple of swallows built their nest in a 
 stable, and the female laid eggs in the nest, and was
 
 148 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 about to breed them. Some days after, the people 
 around observed the female still sitting on the egg-s, but 
 the male flew about, and sometimes settling on a nail, be- 
 trayed his uneasiness by a very plaintive note. This 
 led to a nearer examination, when the female in the 
 nest was found to be dead, and her body was thrown 
 away. Singularly enough, the male then went to sit on 
 the eggs, and continued to do so for about two hours, 
 when, perhaps not liking the employment, he gave it up. 
 Still the eggs were not abandoned, for he returned the 
 same afternoon, bringing with him a female, which sat 
 on the nest, hatched the brood, and fed them till they 
 were able to provide for themselves : thus showing his 
 instinctive solicitude for the young by obtaining care for 
 them superior to his own. 
 
 God has made us wiser than the fowls of heaven, but 
 this is often forgotten : how many of the young, for 
 instance, may derive a moral from the following tale. 
 A swallow had unhappily slipped its foot into a slip- 
 knot of packthread, the other end of which was attached 
 to a spout of a public building in France. The strength 
 of the bird was exhausted ; it hung at the end of the 
 thread, uttering its cries, and sometimes raising itself as 
 if endeavouring to fly away. All the swallows of the 
 large basin between the bridges of the Tuilleries and
 
 THE SWALLOW. 149 
 
 the Pont Neuf, and perhaps from places more remote, 
 to the number of several thousands, flying like a cloud, 
 assembled together, and uttered a cry of pity and alarm. 
 
 " After some hesitation, and a tumultuous counsel," 
 says M. Dupont de Nemours, who observed the whole, 
 " one of them fell upon a device for delivering their 
 companion, communicated it to the rest, and began to 
 put it in execution. Each took his place; all those 
 who were at hand went in turn, as in the sport of run- 
 ning at the ring, and, in passing, struck the thread with 
 their bills. These eff'orts, directed to one point, were 
 continued every second, and even more frequently. 
 Half an hour was passed in this kind of labour before 
 the thread was severed, and the captive restored to 
 liberty. But the flock, only a little diminished, remain- 
 ed until night, chattering continually in a tone which no 
 longer betrayed anxiety, and as if making mutual felici- 
 tations and recitals of their achievement." 
 
 The food of the whole genus of swallows is winged 
 insects, in catching which they are extremely dexterous. 
 When forgetful of the services of these little creatures, 
 let one fact recall them to our minds. There was a 
 time in which the North American colonists supposed 
 that the purple grakle made sad ravages in their maize, 
 and offered a reward for all that were killed. The
 
 150 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 result was, the grakles were thinned, but the insects 
 were vastly increased, and the trouble they occasioned 
 was proportionate. So fearfully was the grass damaged, 
 that the colonists had to procure hay from Pennsylvania, 
 and even from England. 
 
 At this crisis, grakles were brought from India to the 
 Isle of Bourbon to destroy the grasshoppers ; but when 
 these birds were observed in the fields, it was supposed 
 they were searching for the newly-sown grain ; again, 
 therefore were they proscribed, and soon not a single 
 grakle remained. Again the insects increased ; the mis- 
 taken islanders began to mourn over the loss of the 
 birds, and about eight years after the governor obtain- 
 ed four of them from India, and arrangements were 
 made for their being preserved. To protect them laws 
 were made, and to check any disposition to eat them, a 
 report was circulated that they were very unwholesome 
 food. We, as certainly, owe much to the swallows. 
 
 But the window swallow is yet to be noticed. It is 
 rather less in size than the one last mentioned. It first 
 makes its appearance in low, warm situations, and, if the 
 weather is fine, begins building early in May. The 
 nest is generally placed under the eave of a house, 
 sometimes against rocks and clifi"s contiguous to the sea. 
 How truly may we say —
 
 THE SWALLOW. 151 
 
 " Gentle bird ! we find thee here 
 When Nature wears her summer vest, 
 Thou com'st to weave thy simple nest; 
 And when the chilling winter lowers, 
 Again thou seek'st the genial bowers 
 Of Memphis, or the shores of Nile, 
 Where sunny hours of verdure smile." 
 
 Marvellous, indeed, is the instinct which, after a voy- 
 age of thousands of miles have been performed, and new 
 lands have been visited, prompts the swallow to return 
 to the very eaves that have been left; yet such is un- 
 questionably the fact. The following- is one instance, 
 taken from a multitude. A sparrow attempted to rob 
 a house-marten of its nest, where lay its young and un- 
 fledged brood, and its efforts were watched from time to 
 time by four brothers, who resolved to defend the bird 
 that had found a shelter under their mother's roof. 
 But, alas ! the blow-guns they employed loosened the 
 foundations of the mud-walled dwelling — down it came, 
 and its four little inmates lay on the ground. The mo- 
 ther of the children, pitying the condition of the little 
 birds, replaced them in the nest, and set it in the open 
 window of an empty chamber. The fright of the parent- 
 birds was soon gone, and hither they came to feed their 
 young with their accustomed diligence, and to express 
 in all the ways they could adopt their satisfaction and
 
 352 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 confidence. In due time the young birds were fledged, 
 and from that very window they began to fly. At the 
 season of migration, of course, they were gone ; but did 
 they lose all remembrance of the spot from whence they 
 first tried their little wings ? Oh no ! The very next 
 spring, came four martens, flying familiarly into the 
 chamber, passing from wall to wall, and giving utter- 
 ance to the joy they felt — the identical brood of the 
 preceding year. 
 
 The reference of the inspired Psalmist to the swallow, 
 led to the penning of the following sweet verses by the 
 late Right Hon. Sir R. Grant. May the feelings they 
 express be those of every reader ! 
 
 " How deep the joy, Almighty Lord, 
 Thy altars to the heart afford! 
 
 With envying eyes I see 
 The swallows fly to nestle there, 
 And find within the house of prayer 
 A bliss denied to me ! 
 
 " Compelled by day to roam for food 
 Where scorching suns or tempests rude 
 
 Their angry influence fling, 
 Oh, gladly in that sheltered nest 
 She smooths, at eve, her ruffled breast, 
 And folds her weary wing.
 
 THE SWALLOW. 153 
 
 " Thrice happy wand'rer ! fain would I, 
 Like thee, from ruder climates fly, 
 
 That seat of rest to share; 
 Oppress'd with tumult, sick with wrongs, 
 How oft my fainting spirit longs 
 
 To lay its sorrows there! 
 
 " Oh ! ever on that holy ground 
 
 The cov'ring cherub Peace is found, 
 
 With brooding wings serene ; 
 And Charity's seraphic glow, 
 And gleams of glory that foreshow 
 
 A higher, brighter scene. 
 
 " For even that refuge but bestows 
 A transient though a sweet repose. 
 
 For one short hour allow'd ; — 
 Then, upwards we shall take our flight 
 To hail a spring without a blight, 
 
 A heaven without a cloud !"
 
 THE GOOSE. 
 
 The common goose, from which our breed is descend- 
 ed, must have been domesticated for many centuries. 
 It was formerly bred in the then extensive and impene- 
 trable swamps and fens spreading over the eastern 
 coasts. The toil and skill of man have wrought a great 
 change on their surface, the morass becoming a fruitful 
 field, a garden rich in flowers and in fruit ; but this part 
 of the feathered tribes, once wandering at large, is now 
 apparent in a highly improved and domestic state. 
 
 How much are we indebted to this bird, so proverbial 
 for its stupidity ! It gives us our quills, with some 
 of which this, and multitudes of other books, were writ- 
 ten. They are supposed to have been in use amongst 
 us between four and five hundred years ; and many of 
 those employed in England came from Ireland, Ham- 
 burgh, and Hudson's Bay. An immense quantity of 
 quills is also imported from Russia and Poland, where 
 vast flocks of geese are fed for the sake of their quills 
 alone : the qu'antity exported from St. Petersburg varies
 
 THE GOOSE. 155 
 
 from six millions to twenty-seven millions. Some idea 
 of the number of geese required to afford the supply 
 may be formed, by considering that each wing yields 
 about five good quills ; and that, properly managed, a 
 goose may produce twenty quills during the year. 
 
 The smaller feathers and down of these birds contri- 
 bute largely to the nightly repose of multitudes. The 
 barbarous practice has long prevailed of plucking the 
 living bird, but it is going out of use : they are now 
 taken from the bird as soon as it is killed, and while 
 warm, lest the quills should lose their elasticity. Geese 
 yield also a rich food, with which, at certain seasons, 
 the London markets are plentifully supplied.
 
 THE BARN OWL. 
 
 This bird is a resident in our country throughout the 
 year. It finds a dwelling in churches, barns, ruins of 
 any sort, and also in the holes of decayed trees. If 
 undisturbed, it seldom leaves its retreat during the day, 
 and when cautiously approached in its hiding-place, it 
 appears as if asleep. It begins its labours about sun- 
 set, and, as Butler says — 
 
 " While moonlight, silvering all the walls, 
 Through every mouldering crevice falls, 
 Tipping vrith white his powdery plume, 
 As shades or shifts the changing gloom : 
 The owl that, watching in the barn, 
 Sees the mouse creeping in the corn, 
 Sits still, and shuts his round blue eyes. 
 As if he slept — until he spies 
 The little beast within his stretch, 
 Then starts, and seizes on the wretch !" 
 
 It has been remarked, that if this useful bird caught 
 its food by day, instead of hunting for it by night, man- 
 kind would have full proof of its utility in thinning the 
 country of mice, and it would, consequently, be pro-
 
 THE BARN OWL.
 
 THE BARN OWL, 157 
 
 tected and encouraged everywhere. But these creatures 
 are not its only food. Standing on an eminence in an 
 irregular country, we may observe them beating the 
 fields over like a setting-dog, and often dropping down 
 in the grass or corn ; lanes, hedge-rows, orchards, and 
 small enclosures near out-buildings, are also visited. 
 Young rats, shrews, small birds, and insects, become its 
 prey ; and a gentleman in Yorkshire having noticed the 
 scales of fishes in the nest of a pair of owls which had 
 built near a lake, on his premises, watched their mo- 
 tions one moonlight night, when he saw one of them 
 plunge into the water, and seize a perch, which it bore 
 to its nest. 
 
 In this practice it resembles the common brown owl. 
 The gold and silver fish had been missed, several years 
 aga, from the flower-garden at Bulstrode, and the then 
 Duchess of Portland, suspecting poachers had been 
 there, ordered the gardener to employ men to watch. 
 On this being done, the robbers were observed to alight 
 on the side of the pond, and there waiting the approach 
 of the fish, capture and devour them : but the delin- 
 quents were barn owls. 
 
 Another case is mentioned of later date. Some years 
 since, several young owls were taken from the nest, and 
 placed in a yew-tree in the Rectory-garden at Allesley,
 
 158 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 near Coventry, and the parents repeatedly broug-ht them 
 live fish, which had, doubtless, been procured from the 
 neighbouring brook, where bull-heads and loaches 
 abound. Since then, the Rev. Mr. Bree says, that on 
 more than one occasion he has found the same kinds of 
 fish, either whole or in fragments, lying under the trees, 
 on which he had observed the young owls to perch after 
 they had left the nest, and where the old birds were 
 accustomed to feed them. 
 
 The large head and full feathers of the owl at once 
 attract particular attention. Its soft and downy plumage 
 peculiarly fits it to pass silently to its victim. The noise 
 produced by the passage of other birds is never made 
 by the barn owl. Its feathers, so far from resisting the 
 air, yield to every breath, while the wings are of great 
 extent, and, by their gentle fanning, the bird is able not 
 only to make considerable progress, but to whirl round 
 and drop down on its prey. 
 
 The barn owl does not make any regular nest, but 
 lays three or four eggs, in a very slovenly manner, on 
 some woolly or downy substance. While the young are 
 there, the male and female sally out alternately in quest 
 of food, returning to the nest once in about five mi- 
 nutes ; but when there are no progeny, they tarry till 
 they have satisfied their appetites, or are able no longer
 
 THE BARN OWL. 159 
 
 to see distinctly. One display of instinct is worthy re- 
 mark : they bear their prey to their nest in their claws, 
 but they usually alight on the roof, and shift it to their 
 bill, that they may be aided by their talons in getting to 
 their abode under the eaves. 
 
 The barn owl is thought to sleep standing, and it has 
 been said to snore while it rests ; but this appears to be 
 a mistake : the sound that has been heard is the cry of 
 the young for food. " I had fully satisfied myself on 
 this score," says Mr.Waterton, " some years ago : how- 
 ever, in December, 1823, I was much astonished to hear 
 the same snoring kind of noise which had been so com- 
 mon in the month of July. On ascending the ruin, I 
 found a brood of young owls in the apartment." 
 
 The Mongol and Calmuc Tartars pay great honours 
 to the white owl. Jenghis Khan, the founder of their 
 empire, happened, when attended by a small army, to be 
 surprised by his enemies. He was eagerly pursued, but 
 seeking concealment in a coppice, an owl settled on a bush 
 under which he took refuge. This place was not search- 
 ed, because it was supposed that no bird would perch 
 there under such circumstances. In consequence of 
 this escape of their prince, his countrymen held the 
 white owl sacred, and each one wore a plume of its 
 feathers on his head.
 
 160 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 The hooting of the white owl has been denied by a 
 careful observer, who says, " it does indeed hiss and 
 snore in a tremendous manner." But a contrary state- 
 ment has been given by Sir W. Jardine, who affirms 
 that the white owl does hoot ; that at night, when not 
 alarmed, hooting is their common cry ; and that he has 
 shot several in the very act. 
 
 The owls have a singular mode of defence. A com- 
 mon barn owl, which Mr. Swainson, an eminent natural- 
 ist, endeavoured ineffectually to tame, when under a sus- 
 picion of being handled, would make a loud hissing, like 
 what might be imagined to proceed from a serpent ; it 
 would then throw itself on its back, and begin fighting 
 with its claws : these are such formidable weapons, that 
 they would penetrate the flesh to the depth of an inch. 
 
 The writer well knew a little boy, to whom some ohe 
 gave an owl. To him it was a great novelty, and, as 
 such, afforded him much pleasure. But Madge, as he 
 was called, became troublesome, and was sent, in conse- 
 quence, to make an abode in the cellar. Robert regret- 
 ted his departure, but against it there was no appeal. 
 Though now long past maturity, he probably remembers 
 one of his early adventures. It was night when he was 
 told to fetch something from the cellar, and he proceed- 
 ed thither without delay ; but scarcely had he opened
 
 THE BARN OWL. 161 
 
 the door, when he heard a noise, so strange, so loud, 
 that he was startled, and full of fear ; and hurrying- 
 back as fast as he could go, he described his alarm, and 
 entreated that some one else might be sent for what he 
 was directed to bring. Loud was the laugh as he was 
 told the noise was that of his favourite Madge ; but 
 pity operated too, for his plea prevailed ; and his first 
 was his last visit to the cellar during the short time that 
 the owl was there. 
 
 Owls are generally harmless to man ; but as they are 
 very strongly attached to their young, it is dangerous to 
 meddle with them. Even a suspicion of injury may fill 
 them with rage. A carpenter passing through a field 
 near Gloucester, was attacked by an owl that had a nest 
 of young ones in a tree near the path. The owl flew at 
 his head, and the man, striking at it with a tool which 
 he had in his hand, missed his blow ; on which the owl 
 repeated her attack, and fastening on his face with her 
 talons, injured him very seriously. 
 
 The barn owl is sometimes kept in cages and aviaries, 
 but commonly it is the object of prejudice, and doomed 
 to destruction. Mr.Waterton, of Walton Hall, in the 
 county of York, to whom we have before alluded, is one 
 of the comparatively few who regard this bird with lively 
 interest. He tells us, that up to the year 1813 it had 
 
 M
 
 162 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 there a sad time ; its supposed mourning notes alarmed 
 the aged housekeeper ; she thought it boded great evil ; 
 and as the gamekeeper stood better in her books when 
 he had managed to shoot a barn owl, the numbers of 
 this harmless tribe were thinned, as the result of the 
 prevailing ignorance, superstition, and cruelty. 
 
 But, as at the period already mentioned Mr. Waterton 
 returned from his scientific " wanderings " in the wilds 
 of Guiana, this slaughter was stopped, an abode was made 
 on the ruin of the old gateway, and a few weeks after 
 it was finished, it was tenanted by a pair of owls. This 
 settlement succeeded well, and, in consequence, others 
 were formed. Here they only became objects of atten- 
 tion and interest ; confident of protection, they show no 
 fear when the stranger mounts up to their dwelling- 
 place. 
 
 Kindness always brings with it a reward in the hearts 
 of those who exercise it, while it is often attended by 
 other advantages. Nor is it without them in the present 
 instance. The barn owl amply repays its benefactor by 
 destroying throughout the year an enormous quantity of 
 mice. For these it will hunt not only during the night, 
 but even when the sun shines brightly. When it has 
 young it will bring a mouse to the nest about every 
 twelve or fifteen minutes. It will sometimes carry off
 
 THE BARN OWL. 163 
 
 rats. Thus it renders a service which many can feel 
 and acknowledge. 
 
 " The servants," says Mr. Waterton, " now no longer 
 wish to persecute it. Often, on a fine summer's evening, 
 with delight I see the villagers loitering under the syca- 
 more trees longer than they would otherwise do, to have 
 a peep at the barn owl, as it leaves the ivy-mantled 
 tower. Fortunate for it, if, in lieu of exposing itself to 
 danger, by mixing wuth the world at large, it only knew 
 the advantage of passing its nights at home ; for here 
 
 " No birds that haunt my valley free 
 To slaughter I condemn ; 
 Taught by the Power that pities me, 
 I learn to pity them."
 
 THE SNIPE. 
 
 The common snipes are very numerous in winter, in 
 the marshy places which afford them food and conceal- 
 ment ; and they are increased by supplies from the north 
 of Europe. \Vhen removing to any distance, they fly 
 very high, and their calls can be heard when beyond the 
 reach of ordinary sight. In the breeding season, the 
 snipe changes its note entirely from that it makes in 
 winter. The male will keep on wing for an hour to- 
 gether, mounting like a lark, making a shrill, piping 
 noise ; it then descends with great velocity, uttering a 
 bleating sound, not unlike an old goat, which is repeated 
 alternately round the spot possessed by the female, espe- 
 cially while she is sitting on her nest. 
 
 The snipe is an unsocial and solitary bird. While 
 many of the feathered tribes, all indeed, except our birds 
 of prey and a few others, dislike a hermit life, and are 
 found in pairs, family parties, or flocks, the individuals 
 of this species pass the greater part of their lives retired 
 and alone. It is supposed they pair and raise their
 
 THE SNIPE. 
 
 165 
 
 young in the deep marshy tracts or reedy districts of the 
 fen countries, where they are defended from all common 
 injuries, and are safe from every prying eye ; and rarely, 
 perhaps never, are two of them found together, except 
 at the breeding season. When the frosts of winter 
 drive them from their covert in these watery tracts, they 
 separate, and seek for food in a little lonely open spring, 
 trickling from the side of a hill, tangled wdth grass and 
 foliage, or some shallow rushing streamlet in a retired 
 valley. To this spot the solitary bird becomes much 
 attached ; nor will the repeated firing of the sportsman 
 drive him in fear from his place.
 
 THE COMMOT\ MALLARD. 
 
 The mallard, or drake, as the male bird is called, is 
 well known. In a domestic state, some of these birds 
 appear in plumage very similar to the wild ones ; but 
 the former are generally inferior as to elegance of form. 
 Wild ducks are found in Asia and America, as well as 
 Europe ; in summer choosing the lakes and marshes of 
 the north, and in autumn migrating to others which are 
 in a more temperate climate. In the marshy tracts of 
 the British isles many remain throughout the year. 
 Pennant mentions thirty-one thousand two hundred 
 having been taken during one season in decoys, in the 
 neighbourhood of Wainfleet ; and it is recorded, that no 
 fewer than two thousand six hundred and forty-six were 
 caught in two days near Spalding. From the advance 
 of agriculture, the common wild duck, as well as other 
 wild fowl, is becoming gradually scarcer ; few, compara- 
 tively, remaining to breed, since the more extensive fens 
 have been drained and converted into pasture. Vast 
 tracts of land in Lincolnshire, once fenny, now yield
 
 THE DUCK.
 
 THE COMMON MALLARD. 167 
 
 rich grazing- for cattle, and large crops of corn. Here, 
 therefore, not a dozen broods of wild fowl are produced, 
 where half a century back as many thousands were 
 hatched. But there are thousands of quarters of corn, 
 and cattle and sheep ; such is the progress of national 
 wealth and prosperity.
 
 THE NIGHT-JAR. 
 
 Nearly allied to the swallow, both in form and 
 manners, is this bird, which visits England about May, 
 and is a great destroyer of cockchafers and beetles. It 
 hawks on the wing for insects in the dusk of the evening, 
 and renders service to man by making them its prey. 
 It is fond of the woods, and also the banks on the mar- 
 gin of rivers. Its note resembles the noise of a spin- 
 ning-wheel. From its nocturnal habits it derives its 
 name, and is often called the night-hawk, the eve-jar, 
 and the fern-owl. It departs in the end of August, or 
 the beginning of September. 
 
 This bird has a wide mouth, but as it cannot close its 
 bill at the sides, it is unable to suck anything, and has 
 therefore been called, in ignorance, the goat-sucker. In 
 some parts of the country, too, it is thought to wean 
 calves, by inflicting, as it strikes at them, a fatal dis- 
 temper, known by the name of puckeridge. But as its 
 structure shows it cannot injure the goat-herd, so the 
 grazier, instead of sustaining injury, is under obligation
 
 THE NIGHT-JAR. 169 
 
 to it ; for this striking- at the cattle is, in fact, the leap 
 taken by the bird at the flies which in the evening tor- 
 ment the herd — a service of which these creatures are 
 sensible. 
 
 White of Selborne says : — " This bird is most punc- 
 tual in beginning its song exactly at the close of day — 
 so exactly, that I have known it strike up more than 
 once or twice just at the report of the Portsmouth even- 
 ing gun, which we can hear when the weather is still." 
 
 The night-jar makes no nest, but lays two eggs 
 amongst fern, heath, or long grass, and sometimes in 
 woods or furze, on the bare ground, but at all times 
 near to woods, where it conceals itself during the day. 
 It generally sits on the earth ; but if disturbed, fre- 
 quently perches on the branch of a tree, not across, as 
 is usual with most birds, but generally lengthwise.
 
 THE RAVEN. 
 
 This bird is well known among the feathered race 
 by his harsh croaking note, and his sable plumage. It 
 appears that black was a colour greatly esteemed among 
 the ancients, who considered it emblematical of the in- 
 scrutable nature of Deity. 
 
 The raven delights in solitude, frequenting the ruined 
 tower or the deserted habitation. To send a person to 
 the ravens, was the same among the ancient Greeks as 
 to imprecate his banishment from the comforts of civil 
 society, his endurance of the wants and sufferings of 
 solitary exile, his being cut off by a shameful death, his 
 privation of the rites of burial, and his becoming a ban- 
 quet to the birds of prey. The presence of the raven is 
 the emblem of desolation, as it is when the prophet, 
 foretelling the doom of Edom, says, " The cormorant 
 and the bittern shall possess it ; the owl also and the 
 raven shall dwell in it ;" and similar language is em- 
 ployed by Zephaniah in reference to Nineveh. Yes, in 
 those splendid palaces, where the voice of joy and glad-
 
 THE RAVEN. 
 
 171 
 
 ness was heard, silence, in consequence of the wicked- 
 ness of their inhabitants, was to prevail, interrupted 
 only by the scream of the cormorant, and the croaking 
 of the raven. 
 
 Solomon says, " The eye that mocketh at his father, 
 and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the 
 valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat 
 it." Some light will be cast on this passage, by remem- 
 bering that it was a common punishment in the East, 
 and one which the Orientals dreaded above all others, 
 to expose the bodies of evil-doers that had suffered by 
 the outraged laws of their country, to be devoured by 
 the beasts of the field and the fowls of heaven. An old 
 man in Aristophanes deprecates being given as a ban- 
 quet to the ravens ; and Horace represents such a pu- 
 nishment as the most degraded of all. It has, therefore, 
 been conjectured, that Solomon alluded to the valley of 
 Tophet, in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, which the 
 prophet Jeremiah calls the valley of the dead bodies, 
 because those of criminals were cast into it, and there 
 they remained without burial, till they were devoured 
 by flocks of ravens, which collected for that purpose 
 from the surrounding country. Should this conclusion 
 be correct, the meaning of Solomon will be — He who 
 disobeys his parents, exposes himself to an infamous
 
 172 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 punishment : he shall be cast into the valley of the 
 dead, and shall be a prey to the voracious raven. Death 
 was the punishment of this offence under the Mosaic 
 law, and it always must be chargeable with great guilt, 
 and attended by the Divine displeasure. 
 
 And yet, however repulsive the raven may sometimes 
 appear, it is described as an object of care to the Maker 
 and Preserver of all things, "\\nien the voice of the 
 Most High addressed Job out of the whirlwind, it in- 
 quired, " Who provideth for the raven his food ? when 
 his young ones cry unto God, they wander for lack of 
 meat." For while God " giveth to the beast his food,'' 
 he ministereth also " to the young ravens which cry." 
 " Consider the ravens," said our Lord : " for they neither 
 sow nor reap ; which neither have storehouse nor bam ; 
 and God feedeth them." For these creatures are the 
 work of infinite wisdom and power ; they have their 
 proper sphere of action, and they usefully employ their 
 qualities and instinct both for themselves and the other 
 parts of the lower creation. With what force and point 
 then does the argument of the gracious Redeemer come 
 to us : — If your heavenly Father listen to the cry of the 
 young raven, will he not much more make you his 
 care ? He is too great for any thing to be little in his 
 estimation.
 
 THE RAVEN. 173 
 
 " The insect that with pu-ny wing 
 
 Just flits along one summer's ray, 
 The floweret that the breath of spring 
 
 Wakes into life for half a day, 
 The smallest mote, the slenderest hair, 
 All feel our common Father's care. 
 
 " E'en from the glories of his throne 
 
 He bends to view our -wandering ball ; 
 
 Sees all, as if that all were one, 
 Loves one, as if that one were all, 
 
 Rolls the swift planets in their spheres. 
 
 And counts the sinner's lonely tears," 
 
 The raven is a bird of much sagacity, thoug-h some- 
 times chargeable with no httle mischief. Some years 
 ago there was one at an inn on the road between Brixton 
 and Ashbourn which had been taught to call the poultry 
 when they were fed, and that with much success. It 
 would not be easy to imagine how far the ability thus 
 attained was, on one occasion, carried. At this place 
 the passengers by one of the coaches used to stop for 
 dinner, and at the time referred to, the usual prepa- 
 ration was made, the cloth being laid, and the knives 
 and forks, spoons, mats, and bread, all being placed in 
 due order. But when the coach was about arriving, 
 and dinner was being carried on, what was the surprise 
 of the attendants on discovering that all of them were 
 gone ! Not one was left. The mystery was, however, 
 soon unravelled. The room-door of the dining-room
 
 174 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 had been shut, but the window was left open ; and 
 through it — roused, shall it be said, by strong ambition 
 for a similar display ? — the raven had entered ; and 
 now the result appeared, for on a heap of rubbish in the 
 yard, the spoons, knives, forks, and mats were carefully 
 set out, and the raven was doing the honours of the 
 table, and regaling a numerous company of poultry with 
 a dinner of bread. 
 
 Another fact may be mentioned of a different kind. 
 A gentleman was entering the yard of the Red Lion inn, 
 at Hungcrford, when his chaise ran over and bruised 
 the leg of his Newfoundland dog. While he and others 
 were examining the injury, a raven, called Rafe, which 
 had lived there some time, was evidently a concerned 
 spectator of what was transpiring. No sooner was the 
 dog tied up under the manger with the horse, than Rafe 
 brought him bones, and attended on him with particular 
 and repeated marks of kindness. When this was men- 
 tioned to the ostler, he said that the bird had been 
 brought up with a dog; that a mutual affection was 
 manifested by them, and that their reciprocal acts of 
 kindness had been witnessed by the whole neighbour- 
 hood. Rafe's poor friend after a time broke his leg, 
 and all the while he was confined the bird waited on 
 him, carried him his provision, and scarcely ever left
 
 THE RAVEN. 173 
 
 him alone. One night the stable-door was shut by ac- 
 cident, and Rafe was thus deprived of his friend's com- 
 pany ; but in the morning the ostler found the door so 
 pecked away, that had it not been opened, the raven 
 would have made an entrance for himself in another hour. 
 Other acts of kindness shown by this bird to dogs in 
 general were mentioned ; but it was stated that he was 
 particularly attentive to maimed or wounded ones.
 
 THE COOT. 
 
 The coot is, in this country, a very common bird. 
 It breeds in many of our lakes, rivers, and large ponds, 
 forming a nest of flags among the reeds and other 
 aquatic plants, close to the surface of the water. 
 
 Many of these birds continue in their breeding-places, 
 even in small pieces of water, and though frequently 
 roused, cannot be made to fly farther than from one 
 side to the other. In the isle of Sheppey they are said 
 to breed in great abundance ; and the inhabitants will 
 not suff"er the eggs to be taken, as the birds are a chief 
 article of food. They place their nests among the flags 
 on the surface of the water ; and by heaping a quantity 
 of materials together, raise the fabric above it so as to 
 keep the eggs dry. A sudden gale of wind has been 
 known to move them from their slender moorings, when 
 in this buoyant state ; and it is said, that the nests have 
 been seen floating on the water, with the birds upon 
 them.
 
 THE ROBIN. 
 
 It is only to mention this bird to call up at once its 
 well-known figure. Its most striking characteristic does 
 not, however, at first appear ; the nestling feathers of 
 young birds are spotted, and the red hue does not adorn 
 the breast for two or three months after they leave their 
 early home. 
 
 No one of the feathered tribe is more generally a fa- 
 vourite than the robin. How truly is it said : — 
 
 " The herdsman on the upland hill, 
 The ploughman in the hamlet near, 
 Are prone thy little paunch to fill, 
 And pleased thy little psalm to hear. 
 
 " The woodman seated on a log, 
 
 His meal divides atween the three ; 
 And now himself, and now his dog, 
 And now he casts a crumb to thee. 
 
 " For thee a feast the schoolboy strews 
 At noontide, when the form 's forsook ; 
 A worm to thee the delver throws, 
 And angler when he baits the hook
 
 178 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 " In tents where tawny gipsies dwell, 
 
 In woods where hunters chase the hind, 
 And at the hermit's lonely ceU, 
 Dost thou some crumbs of comfort find. 
 
 " Nor are thy little wants forgot 
 
 In beggar's hut, or Crispin's stall ; 
 The miser only feeds thee not, 
 Who suffers ne'er a crumb to fall. 
 
 " The youth who strays, with dark design. 
 To make each well-stored nest a prey, 
 If dusky hues denote them thine, 
 Will draw his pilfering hand away. 
 
 " The finch a spangled robe may wear, 
 The nightingale delightful sing. 
 The lark ascend most high in air, 
 The swallow fly most swift on wing : 
 
 •' The peacock's plumes in pride may swell, 
 The parrot prate eternally ; 
 But yet no bird man loves so well 
 As thou with thy simplicity." 
 
 The robin is said to be of a migrative species, but 
 only because it appears more frequently about our dwell- 
 ings in winter. Then insects are not found in the 
 woods and fields, and so it seeks the protection of man, 
 coming to the windows before which crumbs are cast, 
 entering, perhaps, the room, and making itself even so 
 much at home as to gather up those which have fallen 
 from the table. As that season retires, it commences 
 its labours, being a very early builder, and usually
 
 THE ROBIN.
 
 THE ROBIN. 179 
 
 chooses for its nest a shallow cavity among grass or 
 moss in a bank, or at the foot of a tree. Not unfre- 
 quently too are the words of the poet verified : — 
 
 " High is his perch, but humble is his home, 
 And well concealed ; sometimes within the sound 
 Of heartsome mill-clack, where the spacious door, 
 White with dust, tells him plenty reigns around : 
 Close at the root of brier-bush that o'erhangs 
 The narrow stream, with shealings bedded white, 
 He fixes his abode, and lives at will. 
 Oft near some single cottage he prefers 
 To rear his little home ; there, pert and spruce, 
 He shai-es the refuse of the good wife's churn ; 
 Nor seldom does he neighbour the low roof 
 Where tiny elves are taught." 
 
 A redbreast built her nest in a little hollow on the 
 side of a heap of manure, the materials of which were 
 brought partly from the stable, and partly from the sea- 
 shore, the heap being placed in an enclosure on the out- 
 side of a garden, and under a sort of pent-house formed 
 by a lock of the sea-weed. Here, too, she hatched her 
 young, undisturbed by the persons continually passing 
 by, though her nest was very near to the garden door, 
 and apparently unmolested also by the manure-heap 
 being dug away within a couple of feet of her abode, 
 which she entered and left whoever happened to look 
 on. 
 
 Another redbreast found an abode in a house standing
 
 180 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 in a garden. This dwelling was almost covered with 
 ivy : round some of the windows was a light trellis, 
 with which roses and other flowering plants were inter- 
 woven, and on the sill of one of them, and in a snug 
 recess within the trellis, the nest was formed. It was 
 the window of a parlour, from which she was often ob- 
 served by the different members of the family, though she 
 would frequently have escaped notice but for the bright 
 sparkling of her eye. But as the window was not open- 
 ed, and care was taken not to disturb her, she in due 
 time hatched her brood, and carried off her young in 
 safety. 
 
 A pair of robins chose for their dwelling a small cot- 
 tage, w^hich served as a depository for potatoes, harness, 
 and various other articles, and was often visited by its 
 owners. It closely adjoined, too, a large blacksmith's 
 shop, where a huge hammer, worked not by hand, but 
 by water, kept up a constant noise. These circum- 
 stances might be supposed to alarm the settlers, but 
 they were undisturbed : they entered through a windows- 
 frame, the lattice of which had been removed, and actu- 
 ally built their first nest, early in the spring, in a child's 
 covered cart, which, with its horse attached to it, was 
 hanging to a peg over the fire-place, and just afforded 
 space for the purpose. So curious a circumstance at-
 
 THE ROBIN. 181 
 
 tracted attention, and many came to look at the nest, 
 where the birds, without displaying any alarm, reared 
 their first brood. 
 
 As soon as their offspring were full-fledged, they set 
 about providing for another family, and built their se- 
 cond nest on a shelf, close to an old mouse-trap, on the 
 opposite side of the room. Here again they had many 
 visitors, but in due time dismissed their progeny. A 
 third nest was soon afterwards built under the same 
 roof. Another shelf was now chosen in a different cor- 
 ner of the same room, and there were soon seen in their 
 mossy bed, placed on a bundle of papers, four half- 
 fledged nestlings, the hen-bird entering the room while 
 the party were there. 
 
 The song of the robin attracts regard not only for its 
 sweetness and peculiarity, but also for the indication it 
 affords of changes in the atmosphere. When spring 
 comes he warbles, for a short time, in so singular a 
 strain, as even to startle and puzzle those who often 
 listen to the notes of birds. Though the weather in 
 summer may be unsettled and rainy, he is sometimes 
 observed on the roof of a house, or on some topmost 
 twig in the evening, pouring forth his mellow or liquid 
 notes, and singing cheerfully and heartily. Now he will 
 be found a kind of barometer, for he foretells succeeding
 
 182 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 fine days. The reverse is the case, though the atmo- 
 sphere is dry and warm, if, in a melancholy state, he 
 chirps and broods in a bush, or hides in a hedge. In 
 autumn his pipings are grave but sweet ; and in winter a 
 few chirps are all that are to be expected. 
 
 Many a reader w ill sympathize with Dr. Jenner as 
 he said : — 
 
 "Come, sweetest of the feather'd throng ! 
 And soothe me with thy plaintive song: 
 Come to my cot, devoid of fear, 
 No danger shall await thee here ; 
 No prowling cat, with whisker'd face, 
 Approaches this sequester'd place ; 
 No schoolboy, with his willow bow. 
 Shall aim at thee a murderous blow ; 
 No wily limed twig e'er molest 
 Thy olive wing or crimson breast. 
 Thy cup, sweet bird ! I '11 daily fill 
 At yonder cressy, bubbling rill ; 
 Thy board shall plenteously be spread 
 With crumblets of the nicest bread ; 
 And when rude Winter comes, and shows 
 His icicles and shivering snows. 
 Hop o'er my cheering hearth, and be 
 One of my peaceful family ; 
 Then soothe me with thy plaintive song. 
 Thou sweetest of the feather'd throng."
 
 THE STARLING. 
 
 This is a plentiful species. It is found in almost 
 every part of the old continent. Many stay with, us the 
 whole year ; but the vast flocks seen in severe winters 
 probably migrate hither in search of food, and return 
 northward in the spring. Starlings chiefly feed on in- 
 sects, but if these fail, they will eat grain. In winter 
 they will resort to our pigeon-houses for the sake of 
 warmth ; and here great numbers are frequently taken. 
 They make their nests of dry grass, in old buildings, or 
 in the holes of trees. The natural notes of this bird 
 are a chattering noise and a shrill whistle ; but in con- 
 finement it becomes very docile, and puts forth its imi- 
 tative powers. 
 
 Mr. Syme says, he went one morning with a friend 
 to see a collection of birds belonging to a gentleman 
 in Antigua-street, Edinburgh ; and among these were 
 some very fine starlings, one of which cost five guineas. 
 Breakfast was ready before they entered the room. 
 When the bird was produced, it flew to his master's
 
 184 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 hand, and distinctly pronounced, " Good morning, sir. 
 Breakfast ! breakfast ! " It afterwards hopped to the 
 table, examined every cup, and while thus employed, 
 occasionally repeated, " Breakfast ! breakfast ! — bread 
 and butter for Jack ! — tea ! tea ! — bread for Jack I — 
 Pretty Jack ! — pretty Jack ! "
 
 THE GOLDFINCH. 
 
 The " sheriflF's man," or " seven-coloured linnet," as 
 this bird is sometimes called, is one of the most brilliant 
 of the feathered tribes. It is docile in confinement, has a 
 pleasing song, is fond of society, and when a little mirror 
 is placed in the cage, may be seen taking its food, grain 
 by grain, to eat it at the glass, supposing, doubtless, it 
 is feeding in company. But to see it in its prime, it 
 must be beheld as the poet has described it : — 
 
 ' Goldfinch, pride of woodland glade, 
 In thy jet and gold array'd. 
 Gentle bird, that lov'st to feed 
 On the thistle's downy seed; 
 Freely frolic, lightly sing. 
 In the sunbeam spread thy wing: 
 Spread thy plumage, trim and gay, 
 Glittering in the noontide ray ; 
 As, upon the thorn-tree's stem 
 Perch'd thou sipp'st the dewy gem. 
 Fickle bird, for ever roving, 
 Endless changes ever loving; 
 Now in orchards gaily sporting, 
 Now to flowery fields resorting ;
 
 186 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Chasing now the thistle's down, 
 By the gentle zeph3'r blown ; 
 Lightly on thou wing'st thy way, 
 Always happy, always gay." 
 
 The nest of the goldfinch is correctly described by 
 Grahame, when he says : — 
 
 " The goldfinch weaves, with yellow down Inlaid, 
 And cannach tufts, his wonderful abode : 
 Sometimes suspended on the limber- ends 
 Of plane-tree spray, among the broad-leaved shoots. 
 The tiny hammock swings to every gale : 
 Sometimes in closest thickets 'tis conceal'd ; 
 Sometimes in hedge luxuriant, where the brier, 
 The bramble, and the plum-tree branch, 
 Warp through the thorn, surmounted by the flowers 
 Of climbing vetch and honeysuckle wild." 
 
 One gentleman, observing a pair of goldfinches be- 
 ginning to build, saw that they had formed the ground- 
 work with moss, grass, etc. as usual ; but on his scat- 
 tering small parcels of wool in difi'erent parts of the 
 garden, they, to a great extent, left ofi" the use of their 
 own stufi", and employed the wool. He afterwards gave 
 them cotton, on which they rejected the former, and 
 proceeded with the latter : the third day he supplied 
 them with fine down, on which they finished their work 
 with this, in preference to both. The nest, when com- 
 pleted, was something larger than is usually made by 
 this bird, but it retained the pretty roundness of figure
 
 THE GOLDFIXCH.
 
 THE GOLDFINCH. 187 
 
 and neatness which it usually displays. This abode was 
 completed in the space of three days, and remained un- 
 occupied for the space of four days : the first egg was 
 not laid till the seventh day from beginning the work. 
 
 The goldfinch sometimes builds in hedges ; but most 
 commonly in trees, especially those which are ever- 
 green. The native song is not inelegant, but it is sel- 
 dom pure in confinement. This bird is fond of plain- 
 tain, chickweed, and hempseed, and the seeds of the 
 thistle and teazel. 
 
 In a very comfortable cottage, not a hundred miles 
 from Derby, lived an old man and his daughter, and 
 from year to year they were robbed of the cherries that 
 grew on a very fine tree, by bullfinches, sparrows, chaf- 
 finches, and other voracious birds, which came hither 
 for many a delicious repast. Various means were tried 
 to deter these invaders, but all of them failed ; and, at 
 length, an old woman was made of straw, and duly at- 
 tired in gown, apron, bonnet, and shawl — or it may have 
 been a red cloak, but this is not material to the story — 
 and she was seated snugly in the middle of the cherry- 
 tree, to keep guard, early in the year. 
 
 The buds, the leaves, the blossoms, and the fruit, all 
 came, as usual, in their turn, but it was only for the 
 cherries to be devoured as formerly by the birds, who
 
 188 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 -chirped, and hopped, and sang about the branches, as 
 though the tree had been left without any such defence. 
 At this continued loss, the father and daughter were 
 surprised, as well as disappointed, and they called in the 
 gardener to determine what it was best to do. He 
 heard the case, and without an unnecessary word, he 
 borrowed a ladder, set it against the tree^, and climbed 
 to the top, when he found that the old woman had be- 
 trayed her trust. " Not only," says Montgomery, to 
 whom we owe a much longer, but very interesting ac- 
 count, " not only did she let foraging parties of the enemy 
 plunder the fair boughs, but she had actually taken a 
 pair of them into her bosom, just w^here the shawl or 
 cloak was pinned across." There they were, goldfinches, 
 red, yellow, and black, bringing up a family of plump, 
 half-fledged chirpers, with bills all agape, as soon as 
 John's finger was pointed towards them. " And so," it 
 may be said, " to execute his master's wishes, he tore down 
 the nest, and left the young, like many a thoughtless 
 schoolboy, on the earth." But no, that is altogether a 
 mistake. The result was totally different. " Do not hurt 
 the little folks, John," said the old man. " I should like 
 to pull a crow with the big ones ! " cried the daughter : 
 " but never mind, come down, John ; I forgive them." 
 The reader may, perhaps, know a range of dark brick
 
 THE GOLDFINCH. 189 
 
 walls in Piccadilly, which shut out the view of Bur- 
 lington house, built that its first inhabitant might be 
 quite out of town. Just before this range, many years 
 ago, a man used daily to take his stand for the sale of 
 birds. His object of attraction, which frequently had a 
 crowd round it, was a goldfinch, who, at a given signal, 
 feigned death : the eyes closed, the feathers were ruffled, 
 and when taken by the leg it looked perfectly inanimate. 
 Yet on a signal equally well known, it started up all 
 life and activity. 
 
 The biographer of the late Rev. Henry Gauntlett 
 says: — " The principal amusement of his childhood (and 
 it was a predilection my father retained to the close of 
 life) was the natural history of birds. With their 
 haunts, instincts, and habits, he was well acquainted ; to 
 which was added an acute perception of the charac- 
 teristic melodies of their various tribes. His friends 
 have often heard him relate an incident, which, to some 
 readers, may appear almost incredible. Among his 
 captive birds was a favourite goldfinch, whose wild me- 
 lody he considered the most perfect he had ever heard : 
 being, however, in company with some canaries, it intro- 
 duced into its song a foreign note. Its owner then 
 gave it to a lady of his acquaintance, who had often 
 expressed a wish for it. Shortly afterwards, when
 
 ]90 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 rambling in the wood, which was his favourite resort, he 
 heard the same goldfinch singing in a tree near him. 
 My father did not for a moment doubt the identity of 
 the bird, though he wondered very much how it could 
 be there. On his return to the town, he called at the 
 lady's. ' So, madam, you have lost your goldfinch,' he 
 said. To this the lady assented ; and asked, in some 
 surprise, how he could have known the circumstance, as 
 the bird had only made its escape that morning. * Oh,' 
 replied he, ' I heard it singing in the wood as I came 
 along.' This little anecdote may serve to illustrate the 
 delicacy of his musical ear, for which he was remarkable."
 
 THE SWIFT. 
 
 The black martin, or screech martin, is also a name 
 of this bird, which frequents steeples, towers, and other 
 lofty buildings, in the holes of which it makes its nest ; 
 but it will sometimes build under the tiles of houses and 
 barns. The nest is made of dried grass, lined with 
 feathers, which the bird, seldom alighting on the ground 
 for any purpose, collects on the wing, sweeping them 
 very dexterously from the earth. While the female is 
 sitting, the male is continually flying to and fro from 
 the spot, and making a screeching noise, which is its 
 only note. In very warm weather these birds soar to a 
 great height ; but in cold or moist weather they fly low, 
 in search of flies and other insects, which at that time 
 cannot ascend. 
 
 Birds destroy insects in great numbers; and thus, 
 clearing, as they do, the air, they ought to be preserved 
 from molestation. Even one will consume an immense 
 quantity of flies in a short space of time ; and were it 
 not for such services, we should often be exposed to
 
 192 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 great inconvenience. In the breeding season, when the 
 young are hatched, and the parent birds are in the 
 habit of making excursions into the countrj'^ to a con- 
 siderable distance, for the purpose of collecting flies, 
 to be brought home as food, a gentleman shot a swift. 
 He says, " On picking up my hapless and ill-gotten 
 prey, I observed a number of flies, some mutilated, 
 others scarcely injured, crawling out of the bird's mouth; 
 the throat and pouch seemed absolutely stufi'ed with 
 them, and an incredible number was at length disgorged. 
 I am sure I speak within compass when I state, that 
 there was a mass of flies, just caught by this single 
 swift, larger than, when pressed close, could conveni- 
 ently be contained in the bowl of an ordinary table- 
 spoon." 
 
 " Lo, the lilies of the field, 
 How their leaves instruction yield ! 
 Hark to Nature's lesson given 
 By the blessed birds of heaven ! 
 Every bush and tufted tree 
 Warbles sweet philosophy : — 
 ' Mortal, flee from doubt and sorrow : 
 God provideth for the morrow! 
 
 *' ' Say, with richer crimson glows 
 The kingly mantle than the rose ? 
 Say, have kings more wholesome fare 
 Than we, poor citizens of air I
 
 THE SWIFT. 193 
 
 Bams nor hoarded grain have we, 
 Yet we carol merrily : — 
 Mortal, flee from doubt and sorrow : 
 God provideth for the morrow ! 
 
 ' One there lives, whose guardian eye 
 Guides our humble destiny; 
 One there lives, who, Lord of all, 
 Keeps our feathers lest they fall : 
 Pass we blithely, then, the time, 
 Fearless of the snare and lime. 
 Free from doubt and faithless sorrow : 
 God provideth for the morrow ! ' "
 
 THE MAGPIE. 
 
 The magpie^ in its native state, is a bird of no 
 common beauty. A just idea cannot be formed of its 
 appearance when seen only in captivity. These birds 
 rarely remove far from the dwelling of man, and con- 
 tinue in pairs the whole year. The nest is curiously 
 built for the defence of their young ; it is oval in shape, 
 made of sticks, generally the black-thorn, strongly 
 woven together, with only a sufficient entrance on one 
 side : the bottom is lined with fibrous roots, and plas- 
 tered with earth. 
 
 Every kind of animal food seems to be acceptable to 
 the magpie. It will riot in flesh, game, and fish, when 
 these can be procured ; it will take up with carrion, in- 
 sects, and fruit, when accessible ; and feed on grain 
 when they are not to be got. All our birds seem to 
 know well its alarming noise. In winter, magpies will 
 assemble in great numbers towards the evening, to 
 roost in some coppice or thicket ; but as day approaches 
 they separate again.
 
 THE MAGPIE. 195 
 
 A gentleman travelling in Scotland was one day 
 amusing himself with the objects within his view. On 
 the road between Huntly and Portsoy, he observed two 
 magpies hopping in a peculiar manner round a goose- 
 berry-bush, in a small garden, and flying out and into 
 the bush. He stepped aside to see what they were 
 doing, and found, from the poor man and his wife, 
 that, as there are no trees all round for some miles, 
 these magpies, for several succeeding years, had built 
 their nest, and brought up their young, in this bush ; 
 and, that foxes, cats, hawks, etc. might not interrupt 
 them, they had barricadoed not only their nest, but 
 had encircled the bush with briers and thorns in a for- 
 midable manner ; nay, so completely, that it would have 
 cost even a fox, cunning as he is, some days' labour to 
 get into the nest. 
 
 The materials in the inside of the nest were soft, 
 warm, and comfortable ; but all on the outside so rough, 
 strong, and firmly entwined within the bush, that, with- 
 out a hedge-knife, hatch-bill, or something of the kind, 
 even a man could not, without much pain and trouble, 
 get at their nest, extended as long as the visitor's arm. 
 
 Magpies feed the young brood with frogs, mice, 
 worms, or anything living within their power to subdue. 
 Once it happened, that a magpie, having seized a rat,
 
 196 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 which it was not able to kill, one of the young ones 
 came out of the nest to aid its mother in her struggle 
 with the rat on the outside of the bush : but they were 
 not able to accomplish their object till the father, ar- 
 riving with a dead mouse, also lent his aid. 
 
 These magpies had been faithful to one another for 
 several summers, and drove off their young, as well as 
 every one else that attempted to take possession of the 
 nest. This was carefully repaired and fortified in the 
 spring, with strong, rough, prickly sticks, that they 
 sometimes brought to it by uniting their force, one at 
 the end of each stick, pulling it along, when they were 
 not able to lift it from the ground. 
 
 Magpies, like all other birds in a wild state, become 
 vociferous when night approaches. At this time they 
 may be observed, in small detached parties, retiring to 
 their places of roost. They prefer a wood of spruce, 
 pine, or larch ; and should it be entered by any one, 
 their noise is incessant. Mr. Waterton describes his 
 capture, through their means, of one of the most des- 
 perate marauders that ever scourged the county of York. 
 He had long been an annoyance, and was so exceed- 
 ingly cunning, that he always contrived to escape pur- 
 suit, either by squatting down in the thick cover of the 
 woods, or by a hasty retreat when he found himself
 
 
 i.?/a, 
 
 THE MAGPIE.
 
 THE MAGPIE. 197 
 
 approached. He was, however, one day engaged in his 
 usual plunder ; he had hanged fourteen hares, and the 
 ground was favourable to his concealment, by being co- 
 vered with brambles and brushwood ; but the noise of 
 the magpies, in the tops of the trees just over the spot, 
 guided his pursuers, and led to his apprehension. 
 
 At a village called Thouare, about three leagues from 
 Nantes, in France, there lived, a few years ago, a magpie, 
 on excellent terms with her master, a justice of the 
 peace, and also with his maid-servant. The former, 
 who was fond of indulging his appetite, had a brood of 
 ducks, which were daily taken by the servant to the 
 fields for food and exercise, while Mag was also an es- 
 cort. It was observed by the maid that, at the hour 
 fixed for their walk, the magpie regularly placed herself 
 in readiness at the door of the place where the fowls 
 were kept; and one day, just as she had let out the 
 ducks, she was suddenly called off, when, to her great 
 surprise, she saw them all on their way to the field, 
 under the guidance of Mag, who with her beak urged 
 onwards those who were lagging behind. On the fol- 
 lowing day, the servant purposely let her go alone, 
 when she again took the command of the brood ; and 
 from that time she was left to take them out, and bring 
 them in at night. As, however, the justice kept ducks
 
 198 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 for his own pleasure, Mag saw the number of her sub- 
 jects gradually diminished ; but she bore up against her 
 loss with firmness, and conducted the only remaining 
 duck to and from the field with her wonted regularity. 
 At length her care was to cease ; the last duck was to 
 follow its companions, and to furnish a dish for the 
 justice's table. It was caught for this purpose by the 
 servant, who was about to execute her master's com- 
 mands, when Mag's fury became violent : she flew on 
 her, tore her face with her talons and beak, then took 
 to flight, and returned no more to the scene of her 
 wrongs. 
 
 The magpie, when reclaimed, becomes commonly 
 very docile : its natural faculties appear improved ; it 
 imitates the human voice, and emits various other 
 sounds. A barber at Rome, according to Plutarch, 
 had a magpie which could imitate, to a remarkable ex- 
 tent, almost every noise it heard. On one occasion 
 some trumpets were sounded before the shop, and for a 
 day or two afterwards the magpie was mute, and appa- 
 rently pensive and melancholy. This greatly surprised 
 those who knew the bird, and they supposed it had been 
 so stunned by the noise of the trumpets, as to lose its 
 power of voice and hearing. Plutarch says, however, 
 that it occupied the time in profound meditation, study-
 
 THE MAGPIE. 199 
 
 ing how to imitate the sound of the instruments ; and 
 that it did so, in its first attempt, in all their repetitions, 
 stops, and changes. But its little head would hold no 
 more ; its new lesson drove everything else from its re- 
 membrance. 
 
 Not so is it with the young, when enjoying the ad- 
 vantages of judicious instruction. The more they learn 
 well, the more they may learn. One acquisition is a 
 foundation on which another may be reared. As a 
 child when it has learned its letters, has been preparing 
 to spell and to read; so an acquaintance with a new^ 
 science or language renders familiarity with others, 
 which they may resemble, or with which they may be 
 connected, less difficult than they would be without it. 
 The woodman may find it impossible to drive the wedge 
 when reversed into a tree, but let him gain an entrance 
 for the point, and the upper part will easily follow. 
 The mind, too, instead of being, like a vessel, hard and 
 rigid, and which will break if more than a small quantity 
 be pressed into it, is endowed with great elasticity, so 
 that it yields, as it were, from time to time, as addition 
 after addition is made to its stores. 
 
 With this fact the words of the Divine Redeemer are 
 intimately associated : " He that hath, to him shall be 
 given : and he that hath not, from him shall be taken
 
 200 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 away even that which he hath." Let^ then, the young 
 exclaim, 
 
 " If I present my youth to God, 
 'Tis pleasing in his eyes : 
 A flower, when oflTered in the bud. 
 Is no vain sacrifice." 
 
 Choose thou, O Lord, my inheritance for me. " My 
 Father, thou art the guide of my youth." It may 
 seem to be but " the day of small things " with the in- 
 dividual as to piety ; but if he waits on the Lord, he 
 shall renew his strength. Though holy principles in 
 his heart resemble, at first, the grain of mustard-seed, 
 which is the least of all seeds, they shall be like it when 
 it appears as a great tree, on which the fowls of the air 
 may lodge. The strongest behevers that ever lived 
 were once " babes in Christ ;" and hence there is the 
 greatest encouragement for those who are " accepted in 
 the Beloved " to " follow on to know the Lord." It is 
 equally certain, on the other hand, that those who have 
 only " the form of godliness," will, at last, be entirely 
 stripped of this, and shown to be utterly destitute of its 
 power.
 
 THE JACKDAW. 
 
 Jackdaws sometimes make their nests in hollow 
 trees, in rabbit burrows, and in the cavities of cliffs or 
 rocks on the sea-coast. They have been found in great 
 numbers in a chalk-pit, near Godalming, and among the 
 large masses of stone rising in the midst of Salisbury 
 Plain. 
 
 A great many jackdaws constantly inhabit the higher 
 parts of Windsor Castle, the noble state residence of 
 the royal family of England. Of another position 
 chosen by this bird, Cowper reminds us, by saying, 
 
 " Above the steeple shines a plate, 
 Which turns, and turns, to indicate 
 
 From which point blows the weather: 
 Look up, your brains begin to swim ; 
 'Tis in the clouds, that pleases him — 
 He chooses it the rather." 
 
 In some places jackdaws are very fond of chimneys, 
 which are sometimes quite stopped up from the quantity 
 of sticks they collect. A smoky house is considered 
 proverbially a pest; but such a dwelling these birds
 
 202 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 do not mind, as they have been known to attempt 
 building in the chimney of a room where a fire was 
 commonly kept. 
 
 The various churches and college buildings of Cam- 
 bridge supply abundant reception also for their nests ; 
 and here they are very numerous. The botanic garden 
 there has three of its four sides enclosed by thickly- 
 built parts of the town, and has five churches and five 
 colleges within a short flight of it ; and the jackdaws 
 inhabiting these and similar buildings found that the 
 wooden labels placed near the plants would serve for 
 their nests, instead of twigs from trees ; that they were 
 ready for use, and were also very near home. The 
 consequence was, that they helped themselves freely to 
 these labels : it is said, that from the shaft of one chim- 
 ney, in Free-school lane, which was close by the garden, 
 no less than eighteen dozen were taken out, and brought 
 to the curator, and the loss annually cannot be told. 
 The inconvenience that arose will appear, when the ne- 
 cessity of such labels is considered to mark and point 
 out the names of the various plants. 
 
 Sonnini thinks, that jackdaws prefer churches to all 
 other places. Thus the fine church of St. Nicholas, in 
 Louraine, is at all times covered with these birds ; and
 
 THE JACKDAW. 
 
 203 
 
 they build in the churches of Rouen and Mons, while 
 they are never seen on the towers of Orleans, of 
 Tours, or of Angers, though built nearly on the same 
 plan. 
 
 The following remarkable story is believed by many 
 to be true. Two boys — thoughtlessly and foolishly 
 indeed — went to take a jackdaw's nest from a hole 
 under the belfry window, in the tower of All Saint's 
 church, Derby. But here two things were absolutely 
 impossible : one was to reach it standing within the 
 building, the other to climb to it from without. What 
 was then to be done ? They put a plank through the 
 window, and while the heavier boy was to sit on one 
 end within the building, and thus to steady it, the 
 other was to go to the opposite end, and from thence to 
 capture the wished-for nest. This he succeeded in 
 doing ; and immediately he told his companion it con- 
 tained five young birds, all fledged, when the other an- 
 swered, " Then I '11 have three." " No," said the 
 younger boy, " I run all the danger, and I '11 have the 
 three." — " You sha'n't," said his comrade. " Promise me 
 three, or I '11 drop you." — " Do, if you like ; but you 
 shall have only two," was the fearless reply ; when up 
 went the plank, and down he fell, upwards of a hundred
 
 204 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 feet, to the ground. And now the imagination of the 
 reader pictures him stretched out as dead, or at least 
 with broken limbs ; but this was not the case. At the 
 moment of his fall, he was holding the birds by their 
 legs : in one hand he had three, and in the other two ; 
 and as they felt they were falling, they naturally flut- 
 tered their pinions. The boy too wore, at the time, a 
 carter's frock, tied round the neck ; this, filled with air 
 from beneath, buoyed him up, and he descended easily 
 to the ground. This he had no sooner reached, than, 
 thinking of the unjust demand of his companion, he 
 looked up, and exclaimed, " Now you shall have none," 
 and ran away, without the slightest injury, to the asto- 
 nishment of the passers-by at the time, who, with inde- 
 scribable feelings, had witnessed his most extraordinary 
 descent. 
 
 A deliverance so marvellous, through the gracious 
 interposition of the God of Providence, may also cau- 
 tion the young reader against a thoughtless choice of 
 associates. If any are to be taken unscrupulously as 
 companions, the evil that may arise is beyond all calcu- 
 lation. In the present instance, we see intercourse 
 leading to engagement in unlawful pursuits ; and an act 
 arising from this which cannot be contemplated without 
 horror. It was as murderous in the sight of God as if
 
 THE JACKDAW. 205 
 
 it had proved fatal. " Enter not into the path of the 
 wicked," says Solomon, " and go not in the way of evil 
 men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass 
 away. He that walketh with wise men shall be wise : 
 but a companion of fools shall be destroyed."
 
 THE GREAT AUK. 
 
 This species was formerly found on the north coast 
 of Britain, but it has become extremely rare. Some 
 years ago, Mr. Bullock, the proprietor of the London 
 Museum, which once existed in Piccadilly, when making 
 a tour of the Orkney Islands, was informed by the na- 
 tives that only one male had appeared for a long time, 
 and that this had regularly visited Papa Westra for se- 
 veral years. The female, called by the people the 
 Queen of the Auks, was killed just before his arrival. 
 Mr. Bullock chased the king, or male, for several 
 hours, in a six-oared boat, but without being able to 
 kill him. Though he frequently got near the bird, so 
 expert was it in its natural element, that it pursued its 
 course under water with almost incredible rapidity, and 
 it appeared impossible to shoot him. The smallness of 
 its wings render them useless for flight, the longest 
 quill-feather not exceeding four inches in length ; yet 
 these are admirably adapted to its mode of life, acting 
 as fins when the bird dives under water, and enabling it 
 to pursue its prey with astonishing velocity.
 
 THE GREAT AUK.
 
 THE LINNET. 
 
 This species exhibits much variety, with respect to 
 the red markings, which at certain ages and seasons are 
 found on the head and breast. It is probable, however, 
 that the full plumage of this bird does not take place 
 till the second or third year. Linnets fly in flocks 
 during winter, at which time the males have little or 
 none of the red tints which they put forth on the return 
 of spring, and which are never acquired under confine- 
 ment. The song of these birds, at once brilhant and 
 soft, consists of many irregular notes, tastefully put to- 
 gether in a clear and sonorous tone, which continues, 
 except at the moulting season, during the whole year. 
 It will also soon acquire the notes of other birds, parti- 
 cularly the nightingale ; and may be brought, in a very 
 short time, to imitate any of our tunes that are whistled 
 to it.
 
 THE THRUSH. 
 
 Clare's description of this well-known bird is very 
 happy: — 
 
 "Within a thick and spreading hawthorn bush, 
 
 That overhung a mole-hill large and round, 
 I heard, from morn to morn, a merry thrush 
 
 Sing hymns to sunshine, while I drank the sound 
 With joy : and often, an intruding guest, 
 
 I watched her secret toils, from day to day, 
 How true she warp'd the moss to form her nest. 
 
 And modell'd it within with wood and clay. 
 And by and by, like heath-bells gilt with dew, 
 
 There lay her shining eggs, as bright as flowers 
 Ink-spotted over, shells of green and blue ; 
 
 And there I witness'd, in the summer hours, 
 A brood of Nature's minstrels chirp and fly. 
 
 Glad as the sunshine, and the laughing sky." 
 
 The thrush remains in England the whole year, but 
 is supposed to quit the more northern parts in winter. 
 It is not, however, gregarious with us at any time, 
 though it has been observed to pass through Livonia, 
 Courland, and Prussia, together with the missel and 
 fieldfares, in great numbers about Michaelmas, on their 
 way to the Alps.
 
 THE THRUSH. 209 
 
 The redwing is a species of thrush, much resembling 
 the common one, but is rather less : it differs also as to 
 the distinctness of the spots on the breast, and in the 
 depth of the colour under the wings ; the white over 
 the eye is also wanting. It is found in greatest abun- 
 dance where the hawthorn is plentiful, the berries of 
 that plant yielding it food. It is a migrative species, 
 appearing in great flocks about the end of September, 
 and frequently accompanied by fieldfares. When the 
 weather is severe, or their food becomes scarce, their 
 flight is continued south. In the hard winter of 1799, 
 vast numbers of them resorted to the west of Engrland, 
 where a sudden fall of snow, unusually deep in that 
 part, cut them off from all supply of food ; and being 
 too weak to attempt a passage across the sea to a warmer 
 climate, thousands of them, and their companions the 
 fieldfares, were starved to death. 
 
 Happily for us, the feathered tribes which leave our 
 land do so only for a time : they appear at the appointed 
 season, calling for the acknowledgment — 
 
 " Beautiful birds of lightsome wing, 
 Bright creatures that come with the voice of spring, 
 We see you array'd in the hues of the morn ; 
 Yet ye dream not of pride, and ye wist not of scorn. 
 Though raiubow-splendour around you glows. 
 Ye vaunt not the hues that Nature bestows :
 
 210 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 Oh ! what a lesson for glory are ye ! 
 How ye preach the grace of humility ! 
 
 " Sweet birds, that breathe the spirit of song, 
 And surround Heaven's gate in melodious throng — 
 Who rise with the earliest beams of day, 
 Your morning tribute of thanks to pay. 
 You remind us likewise that we should raise 
 The voice of devotion and song of praise ; 
 There's something about you that points on high, 
 Ye beautiful tenants of earth and sky !" 
 
 The influence of their notes on the mind of an inva- 
 lid has often been noticed. Miss Graham thus writes 
 in reference to them : — 
 
 " When I lay in bed last summer, unable to speak or 
 move for many hours in the day, the song of the birds 
 furnished me with an inexhaustible source of amusing 
 observation. I could not but feel grateful to the melo- 
 dious Uttle creatures, who beguiled me of half my pain, 
 and made the weary hours of sickness fly away upon 
 wings as light as their own. As if led by an instinctive 
 sympathy, numbers of blackbirds and thrushes came to 
 build their nests round our garden ; and the wood- 
 pigeons, which had been silent the year before, renewed 
 their soft notes in the high trees by the parsonage lawn. 
 However, they were shy, and I thought myself fortu- 
 nate, if once or twice in the day their gentle cooing 
 found its way to my ear.
 
 
 THE REDWING.
 
 THE THRUSH. 211 
 
 " But there was one thrush, whose notes I soon learn- 
 ed to distinguish from all the other thrushes. Every 
 morning I listened for his voice, which was sure to 
 precede the matins of all the other birds. In the day- 
 time, his brilliant tones were mingled and almost lost in 
 the general melody ; but as soon as the sun was prepar- 
 ing to set, when the blackbirds had either sung them- 
 selves to sleep, or were flown off to keep their festivals 
 elsewhere, then was my thrush's practising time. He 
 was kind enough to select a tree not far from my win- 
 dow, while the other thrushes placed themselves at a 
 respectful distance, and edged in a note here and there 
 as they could. He opened the rehearsal with a number 
 of wild trills and calls, which I could not well under- 
 stand, only they were very sweet and cheering to me ; 
 and he w^ouLd pause between each, till a soft response 
 was heard from some distant bough. But when he had 
 fixed upon a little cadence which pleased him, it became 
 a more serious business. Strange to say, I could always 
 tell when this would be ; for what pleased me particu- 
 larly was sure to please him : so true it is that Nature 
 has given the same perception of melody to man and 
 birds. He would chant it over in a low tone two or 
 three times, as if to make himself sure of it ; then he 
 carolled it out with triumphant glee ; then stopped short
 
 212 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 on a sudden, as much as to say to his rivals, * Which of 
 you can imitate my strains ? ' 
 
 " Their notes sounded most sweet at various distances 
 during these httle intervals ; but they seemed conscious 
 of their inferiority to my favourite, who would suddenly 
 break out into the same melody, upon which he had 
 doubtless been musing all the while, enriching it by 
 some little note or trill, the wildest and most touching 
 that ever came into a thrush's heart. I needed neither 
 concert nor music-master while I could listen to the un- 
 taught, but not unpremeditated harmony of this original 
 professor : nor could I quarrel with the sickness, which 
 had been the means of developing another link in that 
 mysterious chain which binds me to the rest of creation, 
 by opening my ear and my heart more than ever to the 
 language of universal Nature."
 
 THE CORMORANT. 
 
 This bird breeds on most of our rocky coasts, where 
 an insulated eminence may sometimes be observed co- 
 vered with the nests of cormorants, and composed of 
 sticks and seaweed. In the winter they are frequently 
 found in fresh-water rivers far distant from the sea; and 
 eight or ten have been observed together far up the 
 river Usk, perched on a tree. 
 
 This bird is a great destroyer of fish ; and by fre- 
 quent diving, the wings often become so wet, that it is 
 unable to fly. It is said to have been trained and used 
 for fishing, as hawks are for fowling, and that a tight 
 collar was put round the neck, to prevent the cormorant 
 swallowing its prey. Its dexterity in fishing is very- 
 great. Aware of its own powers, if a fish is thrown 
 into the water at a distance, it will dive immediately, 
 take a direct line to the spot, and frequently capture the 
 fish before it falls to the bottom. 
 
 A cormorant, taken by an able naturalist, is described 
 as extremely docile, of a grateful disposition, and with-
 
 214 
 
 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 out the smallest tincture of a savage or vindictive spirit. 
 In less than a week after its capture, it was perfectly 
 familiar, and made one in the family circle round the 
 fire, suffering even the caresses of the children. When 
 removed to an aquatic menagerie, it lived in perfect 
 harmony with a whisthng swan, a barnacle goose, various 
 sorts of ducks, and several other birds. If it got out, it 
 never attempted to ramble, but walked to the house, 
 entered the first open door, regardless even of a dog, 
 and became, in fact, " troublesomely tame." 
 
 Here, then, we pause in our consideration of British 
 Birds, not because all have been looked at, (for many 
 remain unnoticed,) but because the limit assigned to 
 this volume is reached. Nor have we forgotten the 
 great and gracious Being who created them all. He 
 ought to be constantly and devoutly regarded : — 
 
 " The God of nature and of grace, 
 In all his works appears : 
 His goodness through the earth we trace — 
 His grandeur in the spheres. 
 
 " The forests in his strength rejoice : — 
 Hark ! on the evening breeze, 
 As once of old, Jehovah's voice 
 Is heard among the trees.
 
 X'/^^ 
 
 V ^ 
 
 ^-^' -. 
 
 THE CORMORANT.
 
 CONCLUSION. 215 
 
 " Here on the hills he feeds his herds, 
 His flocks on yonder plains ; 
 His praise is warbled by the birds : — 
 Oh could we catch their strains ! 
 
 " Mount with the lark, and bear our song 
 Up to the gates of light ; 
 Or, with the nightingale, prolong 
 Our numbers through the night." 
 
 Enough has been said, however, to stimulate and 
 encourage the desire for a more extended and intimate 
 acquaintance with the feathered tribes. A wise man 
 said, " They seem to do all the things they ought ; 
 and to act with what may be called a steady common 
 sense in their respective situations. I have never seen 
 a bird do a foolish thing for a creature of their powers, 
 frame, and organs, and in their state." Of what reader 
 of this volume could a similar declaration with truth be 
 made? 
 
 Still the instinct of birds is what it was. All the 
 winged inhabitants of Paradise wove their first nests as 
 curiously and well as the wood-minstrels of our evil day. 
 The nightingale is just what it was six thousand years 
 ago : the eagle is no more capable of advancement than 
 the wren. They do not improve, and they never will. 
 
 Ours is a far different course. It is for us to be 
 always learning — to add to the stores of memory every
 
 216 BRITISH BIRDS. 
 
 day and every hour. Literature, science, above all, the 
 word of God, requires us to advance in knowledge. 
 Meanwhile, the moral state should be improved — the 
 heart more influenced by holy affections — the conscience 
 more prompt and equitable in its decisions. For all 
 this Divine power is needed ; for " every good gift and 
 every perfect gift is from above :" to that power, then, 
 let us look, on it let us rely, and its experience let us 
 constantly supplicate, until the progress of time shall be 
 complete, and we enter on that of a glorious immor- 
 tality I 
 
 THE END. 
 
 LOKDON : 
 PKINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLET, 
 
 Bangor House, Shoe Lane.
 
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