^ JANUARY. 



MIGRATION OF BIRDS. 



" The Stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times ; 

 and the Crane, and the Turtle, and the Swallow observe the 

 time of their coming." JEREMIAH viii. 7. 



No living creatures which enliven our land- 

 scape by their presence, excite a stronger sym- 

 pathy in the lovers of nature, than migratory 

 birds. The full charm of change and variety 

 is theirs. They make themselves felt by their 

 occasional absence; and beside this, they in- 

 terest the imagination by that peculiar instinct 

 which is to them chart and compass, directing 

 their flight over continents and oceans to that 

 one small spot in the great world where Nature 

 has prepared for their reception ; which is pilot 

 and captain, warning them away, calling them 

 back, and conducting them in safety on their 

 passage; that degree of mystery, which yet 

 hangs over their motions, notwithstanding the 

 anxious perseverance with which naturalists 

 have investigated the subject ; and all. the 

 lively and beautiful associations of their cries, 

 and forms, and habits, and resorts. When we 

 think, for a moment, that the swallows, martins 

 and swifts, which sport in our summer skies, 

 and become cohabitants of our houses, will pre- 



