THE COMMUNITIES OF BIRDS. 



ESSAYS AT A REPUBLIC. ^ 



The more I reflect upon it, the more clearly 1 per- 

 ceive that the bird, unlike the insect, is not an industrial 

 animal. He is the poet of nature, the most independent 

 of created beings, with a sublime, an adventurous, but 

 on the whole an ill-protected existence. 



Let us penetrate into the wild American foi'ests, and 



examine the means of safety which these isolated beings 



'{'H i i} invent or possess. Let us compare the bird's resources, the 



^'^^ efforts of his genius, with the inventions of his neighbour, 



man, who inhabits the same localities. The difference does 



honour to the bird; human invention is always acting on the 





' hawk, the bird has built only a nest. 



For decency, warmth, and elegant gracefidness. the nest is in every 

 respect superior to the Indian's wigwam or the Negro's hut, whicli, 

 frequently, in Africa, is nothing but a baobab hollo^^■ed by time. 



17 



