THE CANARY. 277 



at pleasure; and therefore it contributes in a much greater 

 degree to the comforts of society. It sings at all seasons, 

 cheers us in the dullest weather, and adds to our happiness, 

 by amusing the young, and delighting the recluse, charming 

 the tediousness of the cloister, and gladdening the soul of 

 the innocent and captive." 



The Tame The canary is easily tamed, and has been taught 

 Canary. t o perform many little tricks, indeed groups of 

 them have been trained to act little plays, firing cannons and 

 driving coaches. The canary shows a humane disposition, 

 has been known to foster the young of other birds, to make 

 friends with other pets, even cats ; to show great affection for 

 its master and to die of grief on the loss of its mate. Dr. 

 Darwin tells of "a canary bird which always fainted away 

 when its cage was cleaned. Having desired to see the 

 experiment," says Dr. Darwin, "the cage was taken from the 

 ceiling, and the bottom drawn out. The bird began to tremble, 

 and turned quite white about the root of the bill ; he then 

 opened his mouth as if for breath, and respired quickly; 

 stood up straighter on his perch, hung his wing, spread his 

 tail, closed his eyes, and appeared quite stiff for half an hour, 

 till at length, with trembling and deep respirations, he came 

 gradually to himself." 



The The Crossbill must be mentioned for the sake 



OrossbilL o f the peculiarity indicated by its name. The 

 points of the beak instead of being straight and meeting in 

 a common point, " curve to the right and left and always in 

 opposite directions." They therefore cross each other and 

 present a unique appearance. It is found in the North of 

 Europe, and in the great pine forests of Germany. 



The There are several kinds of Bunting ; the Eng- 



Bunting. jjsh Bunting common to wayside hedges, and 



familiar from its habit of flitting in front of the traveller, and 



the Snow Bunting of the northern regions, which turns white 



on the approach of snow. 



