70 INTRODUCTION, 



luxuriance of vegetation, varying with beautiful 

 flowers and rich foliage, has charms quiet and 

 seducing, and affording ample subject for con- 

 templation. In the depth of the forest, or on 

 the mountain'* top, ere break of day had awa- 

 kened their various teiuate? lax? In some of 

 our beautiful mornings of mid-year, we have 

 seen how deeply tinted seemed the green of the 

 foliage, and how chaste and blended were the 

 tints on the nearly barren rock ; how lovely the 

 sylvan flowers appeared, shewing their freshest 

 blossoms amidst the soft and matted growth be- 

 neath, and how exquisite the structure of the moss 

 or lichen within our reach ; how calm, clear, and 

 serene the air, how deep the shadows, but how 

 complete the quiet, how still the silence ! There 

 is something in the gradual change from darkness 

 to day-light in places such as these, which, while 

 it is pleasing and agreeable to witness, leaves a 

 deep and impressive feeling not to be dispelled by 

 the richest or most attractive vegetation. Soon, 

 however, the stillness is broken, the various crea- 

 tures go to their usual occupations search of 

 food, or the business of procreation. The scene 

 is at once enlivened, and to none are we more 

 indebted for the animated change which ensues 

 than to those forms which will now more par- 

 ticularly claim our attention. 



The ornithology of the British Islands may be 



