tance, when perhaps the bird is perched on a tree over your head. I have however heard them sing in cages with great animation and energy. In the spring, they associate in flocks, to bask and dress themselves in the morning sun, singing in concert for half an hour together; the confused mingling of their notes forming a kind of harmony not at all unpleasant. Their flight is not direct, but in alternate risings and sinkings, twittering as they fly at each successive impulse of the wings. They search the gardens in numbers, in quest of seeds, and pass by various names, such as lettuce-bird, sallad-bird, thistle-bird, yellow-bird, &c. They are very easily tamed.

The yellow-bird is four inches and a half in length: the male is of a rich lemon color. The wings and tail are black, edged with white. In the fall, this color changes to a brown olive, which is the constant color of the female. They build a nest in the twigs of an apple tree, neatly formed of lichen and soft downy substances.

The other individuals of the finch or sparrow tribe, which inhabit the United States, are too numerous for us here to particularize.

THE EUROPEAN GOLDFINCH1

Is the most beautiful bird which inhabits Europe, and is also one of the most docile and harmonious. It is of a gentle nature; soon becomes reconciled to the loss of freedom; and, as few birds are more intelligent and obedient, it may be taught a variety of entertaining tricks. When confined, it delights to view itself in a mirror. From its fondness for thistle seeds, it is sometimes called the thistlefinch. The female builds an admirably constructed and warm nest, generally in fruit trees, and lays five eggs.

ORDER V.-ZYGODACTYLOUS BIRDS.

BIRDS of this order have the bill of various forms, more or less curved, or much hooked, and often straight and angular; feet always with two toes before, and two behind, and the exterior hind toe frequently reversible.

THIS remarkable bird is a native of Southern Africa, and has the faculty of pointing out to man, and to the quadruped called ratel, the nests of the

1 Fringilla carduelis, LIN.

Indicator major. The genus Indicator has the bill short, depressed, dilated on the sides, a little bent and notched at the point; ridge distinct; nasal furrow large; nostrils basal, a little tubular; tarsus shorter than the external toe; the anterior toes united at the first joint; wings with the third feather the longest.

wild bees. It is exceedingly fond of honey and of the bee maggots, and its services are generally rewarded by leaving it a small portion of the spoil. In its external appearance it differs not much from the common sparrow, except in being somewhat larger, and of a lighter color. It has also a white spot on each shoulder, and its tail feathers are dashed with white. The morning and evening are its principal meal times; at least, it is then that it shows the greatest inclination to come forth, and with a grating cry of cherr, cherr, cherr, to excite the attention of the ratel, as well as of the Hottentots and colonists. Somebody then generally repairs to the place whence the sound proceeds; when the bird, continually repeating its cry of cherr, cherr, cherr, flies on slowly, and by degrees, towards the quarter where the bees have taken up their abode. The persons thus invited, accordingly follow; taking care at the same time not to frighten their guide by any unusual noise, but rather to answer it now and then with a soft and gentle whistle, by way of letting the bird know that its call is attended to. When the bees' nest is at some distance, the bird often makes long stages of flight, waiting for its sporting companions between each flight, and calling to them again to come on; but flies to shorter distances, and repeats its cry more frequently and with more earnestness, as they approach nearer to the nest. When the bird has sometimes, through its impatience, got too far ahead of its followers, but particularly when, from the unevenness of the ground, they have not been able to keep pace with it, it has flown back to meet them, and with redoubled cries has denoted still greater impatience, as though reproaching them for being so tardy. When it comes to the bees' nest, whether in the cleft of a rock, the hollow of a tree, or a cavity in the earth, it hovers over the spot for a few seconds; after which it sits in silence, and for the most part concealed, in some neighboring tree or bush, in expectation of what may happen, and with a view of receiving its share of the booty.

THE EUROPEAN CUCKOO.1

THIS singular bird is about fourteen inches in length, shaped somewhat like a magpie, and distinguished from all other birds by its round prominent nostrils. The head, neck, back, and wing-coverts are of a dove color; the throat is a pale gray; the breast and belly are white, crossed with wavy lines of black; the tail consists of ten feathers; the two middle ones black, with white tips; the others dusky, and marked with alternate spots of white on each side of the shaft. The legs are of a yellow color, and the

1 Cuculus canorus, LIN. The genus Cuculus has the bill as long as the head, compressed, and slightly curved; nostrils basal, pierced in the margin of the mandible, and surrounded by a naked and prominent membrane; legs feathered below the knee; fore toes united at the base; hind toes divided, the exterior reversible; tail long, more or less graduated; the third quill feather the longest.

claws white. The plumage of the young birds is chiefly brown, mixed with a ferruginous hue and black. Having disappeared all the autumn and winter, it discovers itself in our country, early in the spring, by its well known call. Its note is heard earlier or later, as the season seems to be more or less forward, and the weather more or less inviting. From the cheerful voice of this bird, the farmer may be instructed in the real advancement of the year. His note is pleasant, though uniform; and, from an association of ideas, seldom occurs to the memory without reminding us of the sweets of summer. There is a popular superstition, that he who hears the cuckoo before he has heard the nightingale, will be unsuccessful in love. To this idea Milton elegantly alludes in his Sonnet to the Nightingale.

It was once doubted, whether these birds were carnivorous; but Reaumur was at the pains of breeding up several, and found that they would feed

upon bread or corn; but flesh and insects were their favorite nourishment. Their gluttony is not to be wondered at, when we consider the capacity of their stomach, which is enormous, and reaches from the breast-bone to the vent.

The female cuckoo, in general, makes no nest of her own. She has, however, been known to rear her own young. But, usually, she repairs for that purpose to the nest of some other bird, generally the water-wagtail or hedge-sparrow, and having devoured the eggs of the owner, lays her egg in the place. She usually lays but one, which is speckled, and of the size of a blackbird's. This the fond, foolish bird hatches with great assiduity, and when excluded, finds no difference in the great ill looking changeling from her own. To supply this voracious creature, the credulous nurse toils with unusual labor, no way sensible that she is feeding up an enemy to her race, and one of the most destructive robbers of her future progeny.

This intrusion often occasions some disorder, for the hedge-sparrow, at intervals, while she is sitting, not only throws out some of her own eggs, but sometimes injures them in such a manner that they become addled; so that it frequently happens that not more than two or three of the parent bird's eggs are hatched; but it has never been observed that the egg of the cuckoo has either been thrown out or injured. The newly hatched cuckoo itself, also contrives to raise up the young, and throw them out of the nest, and nature seems to have provided for its doing so, by giving to it a broad

back, with a considerable depression in the middle; which shape it loses as soon as it has no longer any use for it. When the hedge-sparrow has set her usual time, and 'disengaged the young cuckoo and some of her own offspring from the shell, her own young ones, and any of her eggs that remain unhatched, are turned out of the nest. The young bird generally continues three weeks in the nest before it flies; and the foster parent-feeds it more than five weeks after this period.

All the little birds of the grove seem to consider the young cuckoo as an enemy, and revenge the cause of their kind by their repeated insults. They pursue it whenever it flies, and oblige it to take shelter in the thickest branches of some neighboring tree. All the smaller birds form the train of its pursuers; but the wryneck, in particular, is found the most active in the chase; and thence it has been called, by many, the cuckoo's attendant and provider. But it is very far from following with a friendly intention; it only pursues as an insulter, or a spy, to warn all its little companions of the cuckoo's depredations.

Such are the manners of this bird while it continues to reside, or to be seen amongst us. But in the first week in July, the old ones quit this country, and the young ones follow in succession; and as its new abode is not known, there are conflicting opinions on the subject. Some suppose that it lies hid in hollow trees; and others that it passes into warmer climates. Which of these opinions is true is uncertain, as there are no facts related on either side that can be totally relied on. To support the opinion that they remain torpid during the winter, at home, Willoughby introduces the following story, which he delivers upon the credit of another:-"The ser vants of a gentleman in the country, having stocked up, in one of their meadows, some old dry rotten willows, thought proper, on a certain occasion, to carry them home. In heating a stove, two logs of this timber were put into the furnace beneath, and fire applied as usual. But soon, to the great surprise of the family, was heard the voice of a cuckoo, singing three times from under the stove. Wondering at so extraordinary a cry in winter time, the servants ran and drew the willow logs from the furnace, and in the midst, one of them saw something move; wherefore, taking an axe, they opened the hole, and thrusting in their hands, first they plucked out nothing but feathers; afterwards they got hold of a living animal; and this was the cuckoo that had waked so very opportunely for its own safety. "It was, indeed," continues our historian, "brisk and lively, but wholly naked and bare of feathers, and without any winter provision in its hole. This cuckoo the boys kept two years afterwards, alive in the stove; but whether it repaid them with a second song, the author of the tale has not thought fit to inform us."

The most probable opinion on this subject is, that as quails and woodcocks shift their habitation in winter, so also does the cuckoo; but to what

country it retires, or whether it has been ever seen on its journey, are questions that we are wholly incapable of resolving.

Of this bird there are many kinds in various parts of the world, not only differing in their colors but their size. Latham make no less than forty species. There is a large spotted cuckoo in the south of Spain; and at the Cape of Good Hope there is a black-crested species. Only the common and spotted cuckoo have been seen in Europe.

THE AMERICAN CUCKOO1

Is sometimes called the cow-bird, from its note; and it is also called in Virginia, the rain crow, from being most clamorous just before rain. A traveller in our woods, in May or June, will sometimes hear, as he traverses the borders of deep, retired, high timbered hollows, an uncouth guttural sound or note, resembling the words kowe, kowe, kowe, kowe, kowe, beginning slowly, but ending so rapidly that the notes seem to run into each other, and vice versa. He will hear this frequently, without being able to discover the bird or animal from which it proceeds; as this bird is shy and solitary, seeking always the thickest foliage for concealment. It breeds all over the United States, from Boston to the Mississippi, preferring the borders of solitary swamps and apple orchards. The nest is usually fixed in an apple tree, and sometimes on a thorn in the woods. It is almost flat, and composed of twigs and weeds. When you approach the nest, the female throws herself on the ground, and feigns lameness to draw you off. They feed on caterpillars and insects. They are accused also of sucking the eggs of other birds, and sometimes eat berries.

This bird is thirteen inches long; the whole upper parts are drab, or quaker color, with greenish reflections. The under parts are pure white. The bill is yellow, and the legs and feet light blue.

THE TOUCAN.

Of this extraordinary bird there are about fifteen species. We shall only describe the red-beaked toucan.2 It is about the size of, and shaped like a jackdaw, with a large head to support its monstrous bill; this bill, from

1 Cuculus Carolinensis, WILSON.

2 Ramphastos toco, LATH. The genus Ramphastos has the bill cellular, thin, transparent, broader than the head at the base, convex above, serrated at the edges, and a little incurvated at the tip; nostrils vertical, concealed behind the corneous maw, surrounded by a membrane; tarsus as long as the external toe; the two anterior toes united at the second joint; tail short.