Retrospective Criticism. 83 



times the first place of repose to birds crossing the Medi- 

 terranean, particularly to quails, the tithe of which affords 

 a considerable part of the revenue of the bishop. In fact, 

 birds exhibit forecast, so far as an opportunity of judging is 

 afforded, in various ways. Thus it is notorious that swallows 

 (Aristotle had rather have chosen them for his simile of 

 the luxury of royal sojourning), on their return from winter- 

 ing in southern latitudes, resume their last year's summer 

 houses as surely as any curiosity-hunter, who, after his lounge 

 in Italy, repairs on the vicissitude of the seasons to his 

 brick building in London. [See Mr. Dovaston, p. 5.] After 

 this attempt to bring birds nearer to the lords of the creation 

 in their self-assumed attribute, I shall conclude with a fact 

 respecting the most luxurious and aristocratic of all the 

 feathered race ; nor is the submission of other birds to their 

 prerogative less than their own presumption. The cuckoo, 

 though some absurdly pretend to doubt the fact, lays its eggs 

 in the nests of various small birds, wagtails, hedge-sparrows, 

 titlarks, &c. In my neighbourhood, a tenant's son found a 

 cuckoo in a moss-cheeper's (the vulgar name for titlark) nest. 

 He brought it home, and fed it on potatoes and oatmeal dough. 

 In a few days two wrens who had a nest with eight eggs in 

 the eaves, and just above the window fronting the cage in 

 which the cuckoo was placed, made their way through a 

 broken pane, and continued to feed it for some time. The 

 cage was small, and the boy preferring a thrush to the 

 cuckoo, took it away, to give greater room to the thrush. 

 On this the wrens repaired to their own nest, and brought 

 out the eggs that had been laid. This is very curious, and 

 seems like fascination, — - to leave their own nest, and abandon 

 their progeny in their incipient state, to feed a stranger, 

 and, to them, a monster. — George Ensor. Ardress, Nov. 10. 

 1832. 



These remarks, valuable to all our readers, will be perused 

 with peculiar satisfaction by J. J., whose communications, in 

 the same spirit, will be found Vol. IV. p. 498., Vol. V. p. 276. 

 — J.D. 



The Means by which the Vulture (Vultur Aura L.) traces its 

 Food. (Vol. V. p. 233.) — Sir, I have been waiting for some 

 time back in earnest expectation of some one of note in the 

 ornithological world taking up the cudgels in defence of Mr. 

 Audubon's able exposure of the fallacy of attributing the 

 power of scent in an extraordinary degree to the vulture tribe ; 

 but as no one has yet stepped forward, I shall take the liberty 

 of requesting you to allow Mr. Audubon to speak for himself, 

 by the following extracts, which, I hope, if you can spare 



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