In severe weather it approaches the house, and picks up the crumbs around the door; if tolerated, it hops into the house, with a cunning expression of doubt and familiarity in its full, expressive eye, and soon makes itself at home. It is probably the most universal feathered favorite in the countries it inhabits.

Genus ACCENTOR: Accentor.-This includes the HEDGE-ACCENTOR, HEDGE-WARBLER, or

THE HEDGE ACCENTOR.

HEDGE-SPARROW, A. modularis-called Traine-buisson in France-an abundant European species, which, like the robin, lives in the vicinity of man, making its special haunts in hedgerows and gardens. Its song is short but sweet; the length five and a half inches; the upper parts brown, beneath steely-gray; it lays six eggs, occupies the forests in summer, and seeks cultivated districts and human habitations in winter.

The ALPINE ACCENTOR, A. Alpinus, is a larger species, living in the high Alps. Genus SAXICOLA: Saxicola, includes several species, all of which are migratory. The STONECHAT, S. rubicola -the Traquet Patre of the French-is somewhat smaller than the robin, and frequents heaths covered with furze and brush wood. In pursuit of its insect food,

it frequently is seen creeping from one stone to another, while it utters a chattering sound; hence its popular English names of Stonechat and Stoneclink. It builds rather a large nest, and lays five or six eggs. It is common in summer throughout Southern and Middle Europe, and is also found in Northern Asia.

The WHINCHAT, S. rubetra-the Traquet Tarier of the French-is five inches long, with a mixture

THE WHINCHAT.

of pale and dark brown above; under parts fawn-color. In general, this bird is migratory, but a few remain in England throughout the year. Its flight is undulating, and it flits from bush to bush, perching on one of the topmost twigs. Furze commons are its favorite haunts; hence it is often called Furzechat, and as the furze is called whin, it thus also obtains its common title. Worms, insects, small shell-molluscs, and slugs, form its principal food, but it also eats berries. The nest is formed of dry grass-stalks and a little moss, the lining being finer bents or stalks; it is usually placed on the ground. The song is very pleasing, and resembles that of

the goldfinch; and the bird will sing not only during the day, but in the evening, and sometimes at night. This species become, like the wheat-ear, very fat in August, and, though smaller, are equally delicate for the table.

The WHEAT-EAR or FALLOW CHAT, S. ananthe-the Traquet Motteux of the French-is a migratory species, arriving in Europe toward the middle of May, and leaving toward the close of

September. It is six and a half inches long; the upper parts fine light gray; beneath pale buffywhite. It frequently makes its nest in old walls, or in the recesses of rocks. This consists of dry

grass, shreds, feathers, and rubbish. The eggs are five or six in number, and of a delicate pale blue. The male has a gentle and pleasing song. Immense numbers of this bird are taken by the shepherds on the downs along the southern coast of England toward the close of summer. One person has been known to capture eighty-four dozen in a day! The mode in which they are taken is singular from its simplicity. A chamber is formed by cutting out an oblong piece of turf, which is then laid over the hole formed in the opposite direction, so as to be supported by its ends, and two passages are also cut in the turf leading into the chamber. Through these the birds run for shelter at the least alarm; but in the middle of the chamber a small, upright stick is placed, supporting two running loops of horse-hair, so arranged that it is almost impossible for a bird to pass through the chamber without getting his neck into one of the nooses. This species is found in Greenland, and probably in North America, being called the AMERICAN STONE-CHAT, S. ananthoides, by Cassin.

Genus PHOENICURA: Phoenicura.-This includes the REDSTART, P. ruticilla, a summer visitor to Europe, five and a half inches long, lead-gray above, beneath pale chestnut. It is a sweet and indefatigable singer, and may be heard as late as ten o'clock at night, and as early as three in the morning. The skirts of woods, lanes and meadow hedgerows, orchards, gardens, the old ivied wall of a ruin, are all favorite haunts. The male shows himself, as if proud of his pretty plumage, while he is uttering his soft, sweet song, vibrating his tail the while, on some low branch of a tree, or weather-beaten stone, nor does his music cease as he flies to another station to continue his strain. A crevice in a wall, a hollow tree, a nook in a building, or sometimes a hole in the ground, receives the nest, the outside of which is rough and rich with moss, and lined with hair and feathers. Four, six, and even eight greenish-blue eggs are deposited, and the first brood, for there are generally two in a season, are frequently fledged by the second week in June. The

food consists of worms and insects, fruit and berries. In confinement this bird becomes exceedingly tame, and if brought up from the nest, is the most sensible and attached of all the small birds.

The BLACK REDSTART, P. tithys, is five and three-quarter inches long, and resembles the preceding. The BLUE-THROATED WARBLER, P. Suecica, migrates to Europe from the south in the breeding

season.

Genus KITTACINCLA: Kittacincla, includes the INDIAN NIGHTINGALE, K. macroura—called Shama by the Bengalese. This bird inhabits the recesses of the forests, and is thought to equal the European nightingale in musical gifts. It sings during the night, when other birds are silent; many thousands of them are kept in cages by the natives of Calcutta, and in order to make them sing they are covered over with folds of cloth. In this condition the Mahometan ladies carry them about in their drives, the birds all the time filling the air with their delicious melodies.

The DAYAL, Copsychus saularis-called Magpie-Robin by the English residents in Ceylonseems to take the place of the English robin in their affections, though it is rather noted for its pugnacious disposition. Another species, the INDIAN ROBIN, Thamnobia fulicata, is a great favorite both with the natives and the colonists.

Genus SIALIA: Sialia.-This includes the AMERICAN BLUEBIRD, S. sialis, which is six and three-quarter inches long; the wings full and broad; the whole upper parts of a sky blue; the breast chestnut; the belly white. It is a summer bird in the United States, coming with the

earliest spring, and retiring to the south in the autumn. Its food consists of insects and spiders in summer, and berries in winter; its nest is usually made in the hollow limb of a tree, the rail of a fence, or a box about the house or garden, kindly provided by the farmer; the eggs are five to six, of a pale blue color. Nothing can exceed the loving gentleness of these birds in their intercourse with each other. Wilson says: "The usual spring and summer song of the bluebird is a soft, agreeable, and oft-repeated warble, uttered with open, quivering wings, and is extremely pleasing. In his motions and general character he has great resemblance to the robin redbreast of Britain, and had he the brown-olive of that bird, instead of his own blue, could scarcely be distinguished from him. Like him, he is known to almost every child; and shows as much confidence in man by associating with him in summer as the other by his familiarity in winter. He is also of a mild and peaceful disposition, seldom fighting or quarreling with other birds. His society is courted by the inhabitants of the country, and few farmers neglect to provide for him, in some suitable place, a snug little summer-house, ready fitted and rent free. For this he more than sufficiently repays them by the cheerfulness of his song, and the multitude of injurious insects which he daily destroys. Toward fall, that is, in the month of October, his song changes to a single plaintive note, as he passes over the yellow, many-colored woods; and its melancholy air recalls to our minds the approaching decay of the face of nature. Even after the trees are stripped of their leaves, he still lingers over his native fields, as if loath to leave them. About the middle or end of November few or none of them are seen; but, with every return of mild and open weather, we hear his plaintive note amid the fields, or in the air, seeming to deplore the devastations of winter. Indeed, he appears scarcely ever totally to forsake us, but to follow fair weather through all its journeyings till the return of spring."

The WESTERN BLUEBIRD, S. occidentalis, is seven inches long; upper parts light blue, chestnut-red, and grayish-white; has a sweet and varied song; found west of the Rocky Mountains. The ARCTIC BLUEBIRD, S. Arctica, is seven and a quarter inches long; azure blue above; whitish-gray beneath; found on the Columbia River.

This sub-family presents several genera and numerous species in both hemispheres. They are small, lively, active birds, generally living among trees and bushes, feeding chiefly on insects, but sometimes also on fruit and seeds. Their nests are usually cup-shaped, and neatly constructed; eggs vary from five to eight; two broods are usually produced in a season. They are migratory, and generally gifted with the power of song; indeed, we find several of the species pre-eminent in this respect.

the

VOL. II.-19

Genus SYLVIA: Sylvia.-This includes the NIGHTINGALE—a word from the Saxon meaning Night-singer-S. luscinia-Luscinia of the Romans; Usignuolo of the Italians; Rossignol of the French; and Nachtigall of the Germans-the most celebrated of feathered songsters. It is a small bird, about the size of a bluebird; six inches long, and weighs half an ounce, yet its voice in the night can be heard a mile, as far as the loudest voice of man. Its color is a rich brown above, with a reddish tinge on the rump and tail; throat and middle part of the belly grayishwhite; the sexes alike. It spends the winter in the warm parts of Asia and Africa, and migrates into Europe, even as far north as Sweden, in April and May. The males proceed first, and on arriving in the regions they intend to occupy, pour out their sweetest and most seductive songs to attract the females. The pairing being arranged, they proceed to their household cares. Although they shun observation, yet their haunts are in gardens and thickets near the abodes of man. They are abundant in the pleasure-grounds around London, and in the parks and gardens in the vicinity of Paris. Florence, in the vocal season, that is, in May and June, rings with them. Nevertheless, they hide themselves in their coverts, placing their nests sometimes in the fork of a tree, often on a wall, and still more frequently on the ground. Withered leaves, particularly those of the oak, very loosely conjoined with dried bents and rushes, and lined internally with fine root-fibers, form the structure. The eggs, of an olive-brown, are four or five in number. After the young are hatched, generally in June, the melodious song of the male ceases, and is succeeded by a low croak, varied occasionally with a snapping noise; the first is considered to be meant for a warning, and the last a defiance. The food consists of insects, such as flies and spiders, moths and earwigs.

The song of the Nightingale has long been the standing theme on which poets have exhausted their eulogiums. Buffon's description has ever been regarded as a most felicitous, though per haps extravagant eulogium. Bechstein says in a more sober tone: "The nightingale expresses its various emotions and desires in different notes. The least significant of them seems to be the simple whistle, Witt! but if the guttural syllable Krr! be added, as Witt Krr! it is the call by which the male and female mutually invite one another. The expression of displeasure or fear is the syllable Witt, repeated several times, and, at last, followed by Krr! That of pleasure and content, either with its food or mate, is a sharp Tack! like the sound produced by striking the tongue smartly against the roof of the mouth. In anger, jealousy, or surprise, the nightingale, like the black-cap and others of its species, utters a shrill cry, resembling the call of the jay, or the mew of a cat. This may also be heard in the aviary, when a bird, by the use of it, endeavors to interrupt and confuse a rival in the midst of his song. And, lastly, in the pairing season, when the male and female entice and pursue one another through the trees, they utter a soft twittering

note.

"Such are the tunes which both sexes are able to produce; while the song, the variety and beauty of which has raised the nightingale to a pre-eminence over all other singing birds, is the prerogative of the male alone. The bystander is astonished to hear a song, which is so sonorous as to make his ears tingle, proceed from so small a bird, and his astonishment is not lessened when he discovers that the muscles of the larynx are stronger in the nightingale than in any other singing bird. But it is not so much the strength, as the delightful variety and ravishing harmony of the nightingale's song, which render it the favorite of every one who has not altogether lost the sense of the beautiful. Sometimes it dwells for a minute or more on a passage of detached mournful notes, which begin softly, advance by degrees to a forte, and end in a dying fall. At other times it utters a rapid succession of sharp, sonorous notes, and ends this, and the many other phrases of which its song consists, with the single notes of an ascending chord. There are, of course, various degrees of proficiency in the nightingale, as in other birds; but in the song of a good performer have been enumerated, without reckoning smaller distinctions, no less than twenty-four separate phrases, capable of being expressed in articulate syllables and words.*

"It is a pity that the period during which the nightingale sings is so short, as even in a wild state it sings only for three months, and not with equal vigor during the whole of that short time.

See p. 18; where the result of an attempt to put the Nightingale's song into words is given.