42 Birds I Have Kept. 



with delight on the soft herbage, expressing the while his 

 joy by his exquisite strains. Unless a Lark has sand, or road- 

 sweepings to dust itself in, it is very apt to become infested 

 with a kind of lice, that torment the poor birds so sadly, 

 that they pluck out their feathers, making themselves nearly 

 bare; in which state, of course, it is preposterous to expect 

 that they will sing. 



The best remedy for all the disorders of these birds, is to 

 see that they are supplied with good food, and if well at- 

 tended to they will live for a long time; instances being on 

 record of their having survived for thirty years in the house. 



CHAPTER XL 



THE EOBIX EEDBEEAST. 



THIS delightful little bird, to which so many charming 

 nursery legends belong, is, as he deserves to be, a uni- 

 versal favourite, and in this country, until very recent years, 

 it would have been considered almost a sacrilege to keep him 

 in a cage. Autre temps, aiitres mceurs, however; he has now 

 become a recognised *' Cage-bird" in England, as he has long 

 been on the continent, where he is also looked upon as a 

 legitimate object for la chasse, and is not unfrequently served 

 up as an article of food upon the table, upon which, with 

 us, he would only make his appearance to pick up the 

 crumbs. 



The Eobin Eedbreast, Motacilla ruhecula of Linnceus, le 

 Rouge gorge of the French, and das Rothkelchen of the Germans, 

 is a bold and fearless bird in winter, when it approaches and 

 often enters the abode of man; where, in England at least, 

 it was until lately sure of a hearty welcome, and free to 

 come and go at pleasure. It measures five and three quarter 

 inches in length, two and a quarter of which belong to the 



