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trees and clefts of rocks, are very easily tamed, and can add to their natural notes any words or modulation they are taught to learn. They are subject to epileptic fits; but they are easily cured, if, at the moment of the paroxysm, their nails be cut to the quick. They live long, and seem happy in servitude, mimicking the voice of other birds, and other noises within reach of their hearing.

"Oft in the wicker prison doom'd to live
And sing, suspended at the cottage door,
Or gently swinging o'er the cobler's stall,
The lively, restless Starling, all the day,
Chattering and loud, calls to the passing clown,
And whistles to his brothers of the grove,
Unmindful of lost liberty-that boon,

Which they, for all his troughs of chosen seed,
And daily dainties, and the oares of man,
Would never barter, truly wise."

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IT has long been a problem, whether these birds emigrate from country to country; or remain the whole winter where they have abided during the summer season, and then hide themselves in caves, banks of rivers, holes of trees, clefts of rocks, to pass

the cold months in torpid insensibility. Of the possibility of emigrating there is no doubt, as this bird can remain so long on the wing; on the other hand, of their having been found clustered together, under the shelving banks of rivers and ponds, many instances have been asserted to prove, that they do not migrate; and thus the lover and observer of nature is left in doubt. There are several species of the Swallow; the general characters, a small beak, but large wide mouth, for the purpose of swallowing flying insects, their natural food; and long forked tail and extensive wings, to enable them to pursue their prey; belong to all of them. The common house-swallow builds under the eaves of houses, or in chimneys, near their top: the martin also builds under eaves, and very commonly against the upper corner, or side of our very windows, and seems not afraid at the sight of man, yet it cannot be tamed, or even kept in cage. The nature of their nest is worthy our serious observation; how the mud is extracted from the seashores, rivers, or other watery places; how masoned and formed into a solid building, strong enough to support a whole family, and to face the "pelting storm," are wonders which ought to raise our mind to Him who bestowed that instinct upon them. The ancient mythologists struck at a bloody spot, which one of the species presents on the breast, invented or applied the story of the unfortunate Procne, which is so well alluded to, and so poetically described by Virgil, in his Georgics, Book IV, v. 15, where, speaking of the enemies of the bees, he says,

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Modern poets have not been unmindful of the Swallows; and our immortal Shakspeare mentions the martin in Macbeth in the following manner, Act I, scene vi. :

"This guest of summer,

The temple haunting Martlet, does approve,
By his lov'd masonry, that Heav'n's breath
Sinells wooingly here. No jutting frieze,
Buttress, or coignes of 'vantage, but this bird

Hath made his pendent bed and procreant cradle:
Where they most breed and haunt, I have observ'd
The air is delicate."

And undoubtedly Banquo was right, as it is plain, that, if this bird pass the winter in hollow caves and muddy banks; in summer, however, he delights in high situations, where the purest air circulates. The house Swallow is on the head, neck, back, and rump, of a shining black colour, with purple gloss, and sometimes with a blue shade; the throat and neck are of the same colour; the breast and belly are white, with a dash of red. The tail is forked, and consists of twelve feathers. the same colour with the back.

The wings are of Swallows feed upon

flies, worms, insects; and generally hunt their prey

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THE MARTIN
Is something less than the swallow, and often

confounded with him. He has a great head com paratively, and a wide mouth: his legs are covered with short white down. In heraldry the Martlet is painted without feet, and is a very ancient and noble bearing. This bird is fond of nestling under the gates or windows of old castles, as is observed in the above quotation from our illustrious bard.

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OR Robin, as he is popularly called, seems always to have enjoyed the protection of man, more than any other bird. The prettiness of his shape, the beauty of his plumage, the quickness of his motions, his familiarity with us in winter, and, above all, the

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melody and sweetness of his voice, claim our admira tion, and have insured him that security he enjoys among us; though the aid of fable has also been called in, to guard him from the assaults of thoughtless boys. In the brumal season, impelled by the potent stimulus of hunger, he frequents our barns, our gardens, our houses, and often alights, on a sudden, on the rustic floor; there, with his broad eye incessantly open, and looking askew upon the company, he picks up eagerly the crumbs of bread, that fall from the table, and then flies off to the neighbouring bush, where, by his warbling strains, he expresses his gratitude for the liberty he has been allowed. He is found in most parts of Europe, but no where so commonly as in several counties of England. His bill is dusky; the forehead, chin, throat, and breast, are of a deep orange "colour, inclining to vermilion; the back of the head, neck, back, and tail, are of ash colour, tinged with green; the wings are somewhat darker, the edges inclining to yellow; the legs and feet are dusky. He builds his nest in the crevice of some mossy bank, and sometimes secretes it in the thickest coverts. The elegant Poet of the Seasons gives us a very exact and animated description of this bird in the following lines:

Half afraid, he first

Against the window beats: then, brisk, alights
On the warm hearth; then, hopping on the floor,
Eyes all the smiling family askance,

And pecks, and starts, and wonders where he is,
Till, more familiar grown, the table crumbs

Attract his slender feet.

An old Latin proverb tells us, that two Robin Redbreasts do not feed on the same tree.

We can

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