256 THE REDBREAST. 



molested, and not an attempt ever suspected to be made 

 on the nest and eggs deposited in so hallowed a spot. 



We can remember, indeed, a Robin hopping more 

 than once familiarly, as if aware how safe from peril it 

 was at such a moment, upon our own Bible, as it lay 

 open before us, reading the lessons on a Christmas-day. 



We shall close our anecdotes of singular situations 

 chosen for building nests, with an instance of a Sparrow, 

 who, like the preceding Robin, attached herself to a 

 church ; but instead of the parish Bible, selected the 

 middle of a carved thistle, which decorated the top of the 

 pulpit in a chapel at Kennaway in Scotland. It found free 

 ingress and egress by means of the windows, which were 

 left open for the purpose of airing the chapel in the 

 week-days. This bird might literally be said to have 

 verified the words of the Psalmist, " The Sparrow hath 

 found an house, where she may lay her young, even thine 

 altars, O Lord." 



Most of the birds of this tribe are migratory either 

 partially, or altogether so ; we mean, that while the 

 Nightingales, Willow-wrens, and others disappear entirely 

 from our shores, and retire to distant and more congenial 

 climates, others, such as the Wagtails, only move from 

 one part of England to another. The exact times of 

 their appearance and departure it would be desirable to 

 ascertain, with reference to state of weather, direction 

 of the wind, and prevalence of particular insects, &c. 

 In short, the same principle holds good in natural his- 

 tory as in other science : namely, the importance of 

 noting down observations, however trivial they may 

 appear at the time, as the most minute circumstance 

 may possibly, when connected with other inquiries, lead 

 to unexpected additions to our knowledge of the opera- 

 tions of nature, just as a unit or cipher in arithmetic 

 becomes important, simply by taking its proper place. 



It might, indeed, in connection with this view of the 

 subject, afford an interesting object of research, were 

 the daily, or almost hourly migrations, if we may so 



