86 



APRIL. 



the cuckoo, and the nightingale, whose arrival 

 is noticed by almost every body, but scores 

 of other old acquaintances suddenly salute you 

 in your walks, with their well-remembered 

 aspects and notes. White-throats, whinchats, 

 reed-sparrows, etc. perched on their old haunts, 

 and following their diversified habits, seem 

 as little fatigued, or strange, as if they had 

 worn invisible jackets all winter, and had never 

 left the spot. There is something truly de- 

 lightful to the naturalist in the beauty of birds' 

 nests, and the endless varieties of colours, spots 

 and hieroglyphic scrolls, on their eggs; the pic- 

 turesque places in which they are fixed, from 

 the lapwing's on the naked fallow, to that of 

 the eagle in its lofty and inaccessible eyrie ; in 

 the different degrees of art displayed, from the 

 rude raft of a few sticks, made by the wood- 

 pigeon, to the exquisite little dome of the gold- 

 en-crested wren, or the long-tailed titmouse, 

 (parus caudatus,) a perfect cone stuck between 

 the branches of a tree, having a small hole 011 

 one side for entrance; the interior lined with 

 the most downy feathers, enriched with sixteen 

 or seventeen eggs, like small oval pearls ; and 

 the exterior most tastefully decorated with a 



