pouring out the tide of song, he is, for a while, (to borrow another line from Burns)

"O'er a' the ills o' life victorious?"

Even the common sparrow, descending near us, hopping pertly along, eyeing us askance, in his short familiar interrogatory note, says, plain enough, "Well, who are you?"

The sojourners or dwellers with us, whom we are about to consider, are divided into different kinds, easily known by the formation of the beak, and other particulars described in books on this subject; as the thrushes, grosbeaks, buntings, finches, larks, titmice, &c., comprising about thirty birds, who always remain with us, of the hard billed kinds: besides five or six soft billed birds, who also face our winters.

The thrushes who remain with us are only three, the missel, the blackbird, and the throstle; the two latter are excellent songsters. We have often watched the MISSEL

"The ouzel cock so black of hue,

With orange tawney bill;

The throstle with his note so true,
The wren with little quill."

We are pleased to enlist Shakspeare among the admirers and observers of birds.

+ Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. iv. pp. 144. 183.

stocking up dry cakes of cowdung (which he spread in the operation); and on turning up some to find the object he was in search of, found the large lead-coloured grub with a yellow head, which had been hatched there.

The BLACKBIRD and THRUSH are often esteemed the gardener's enemies, because they take a share of his currants and gooseberries; but, in return, they destroy the shell snails, (whose defence they skilfully break against a stone). In this occupation they are frequently engaged during the heat of the day, when they are to be found in summer amid thick beds of cabbages and potatoes in the garden; here, hopping up and down between the rows, they rout out the snails, who had crept into this cool retreat.

Besides the fieldfare and redwing, (winter visiters before mentioned, belonging to this tribe,) the ring ousel, a beautiful local species already mentioned, is a summer visitant, and makes its nest in some of our wild districts covered with heath, retreating to the south in winter We cannot tell why the redwing, so nearly resembling our common thrush in conformation, should always abandon us for the north in summer; or why the ring dusel, so like our blackbird *, except in wearing a white *Both "black like an ousel."

collar, should as constantly leave us for the south, in winter. The mocking bird, thrasher, and best songsters of America, belong to this musical tribe.

Of the grosbeaks, there are but two who constantly remain with us, the GREENFINCH or greenbird, and the bullfinch*; for, though commonly called finches, they do not belong to the finch tribe. The former is a common bird, especially in winter, when it approaches barns and homesteads; and with the common sparrow, yellow bunting, and chaffinch, joins in forming those flocks of small birds that in hard weather beset the farmer's fold and rickyard. The BULLFINCH is well known from its beautiful plumage of red, blue, and black; it appears to be one of the few species that are constant through the whole year in their attachments, and perhaps, like the common crow, a pair are wedded for the term of life. Their docility in song is remarkable: — "I once had a nest of bullfinches given me," says Mrs. Charlotte Smith*; "of which only one was reared: it was a hen, which I kept only because I had reared it; but she hung in the same room with a very fine Virginian nightingale, whose song she

* Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. iv. p. 417.

+ See her pleasing

"Natural History of Birds."

soon acquired, and went through the same notes in a lower and softer tone." Another author remarks, that the female answers the purpose of a call-bird as well as the male, which is not experienced in any other bird taken by the London bird-catchers. Buffon also praises highly the docility and talents of both sexes. The following remarks have been sent us by a friend:

"This active bird, though generally living in secluded copses and the thick hedgerows of unfrequented lanes, when in confinement seems to bear its captivity without much regret; it soon becomes attached to particular individuals, and is restless and inquisitive to observe who comes near its cage, and to ascertain what is going on around it. With a little perseverance it is a bird easily taught to whistle a tune, if played to it slowly on the flute or piano. The kind of food given it acts a good deal on the brilliancy of its plumage. These birds have been accused of doing much harm to the buds of fruit trees; but it is asserted in their behalf,

* Hon. Daines Barrington on the small birds of flight, Appendix to Pennant's British Zoology."— A friend informs us, that the Bullfinches imported from Germany have been chiefly taught to sing by weavers whilst at work at their looms, which is said to account for the bird's beginning to sing when the head of a person standing before him is moved backwards and forwards.

that they only destroy those buds which have a small grub at the bottom, and which would itself have destroyed the fruit. The writer, some years ago, gave to two young ladies, at whose house he was accustomed frequently to visit, a pair of these birds: they were each provided with a separate cage, and were generally kept in the young ladies' room, except in the middle of the day, when they were brought down stairs, and if it was too cold to put them out of doors, they were hung on either side the window place in the drawing-room. Whenever any stranger approached, they showed no symptoms of fear whatever, and little pleasure at being noticed: but the moment either of the young ladies came into the room, the two bullfinches would commence hopping about, and chirping in the most lively manner, until they were spoken to by the ladies; and if one of the birds chanced to be more noticed than the other, the unnoticed one would show the greatest jealousy, uttering loud notes from time to time, and exerting every means to draw attention to itself; and when it had succeeded in doing so, and its mistress came to console the angry rival, it would show its gratitude by a low whistling note, raising its feathers, and shaking all over with a quick tremulous agitation similar to that often seen in young birds when being fed: it