BIRDS. 309 



to doctor him, but the ungrateful creature very 

 nearly pecked her eye out. We gave him a frog, 

 but he could not, or would not, eat. 



Bats are not scientifically classed with birds, but 

 I will follow Victor Hugo's example and number 

 them among them among the fowls of the air. He 

 says of the Bat : 



" La chauve-souris, triste oiseau ! 

 Soeur du hibou f unebre et de 1'orfraie avide." 



So Hood iii the " Haunted House," 



" The startled bats flew out, bird after bird." 



Why do these " sad birds " fly about in mid- 

 day during the Winter in this district? Has the 

 ancient curse been revoked, and are the daughters of 

 Minyas reconciled to Bacchus ? The native name is 

 " Rattapinnata " or Winged Rat, analogous to the 

 German " Fledermaus," and our old-English " Flitter- 

 mouse." 



There is towards the eastern end of the main 

 Boulevard in Nice a wonderful Bird Cage. I often 

 pass that way on purpose to look at it. This cage 

 is of wire gauze, and tubular, forming a long loop 

 which runs from the window of an estresol all round 

 the garden, passing under the shade of the palms 

 and Dracaenas, and among the shrubs. Swarms of 

 small birds disport themselves in this aviary, going 

 indoors to feed when they are hungry. 



Sir Thomas Hanbury kindly sends me the 

 following Notes on the Birds of the Riviera : 



I have been asked as to the birds I have observed frequenting my 

 garden and the neighbourhood. The subject is a large one, and it is 



