8 SKETCHES OF BIRD LIFE. 



break the solemn silence that in their absence would 

 reign around. 



Nor is it in the woods only that their presence 

 charms us. The wild moorland, the lonely fen, the 

 tidal harbour, and the sea-girt shore, have each and 

 all their feathered occupants as different in their habits 

 as they are in their flight and in their notes. They 

 provide us with endless opportunities for amusement 

 as well as instruction. For what more instructive 

 than to observe the curious adaptation of structure to 

 habits which so many birds present, and to note the 

 various ways in which their food is obtained and 

 life sustained in the "struggle for existence." We 

 may examine the nature of their food, and satisfy 

 ourselves by personal observation of their utility, 

 or otherwise, to man as a cultivator of the soil ; we 

 may study their architecture with advantage, and 

 derive pleasure from a comparison and analysis of 

 their various songs and notes. In fine, from what- 

 ever point of view we choose to take up the study of 

 birds, we shall find the subject practically inexhaus- 

 tible. The more we observe the more we find to 

 learn, and the more we become impressed with the 

 wisdom of the Creator as displayed in the creation. 



