SINGING BIRDS. 287 



progeny, stem after stem, having withered and 

 decayed after the production of one or two off- 

 shoots, which grow round and conceal the death of 

 their parent stems, so that the apparent trunk is 

 continuously, though slowly, increasing in size, for 

 the growth is not rapid. 



Teneriffe is celebrated for its singing birds, 

 green canaries, nightingales, blackbirds, and the 

 capirote, are heard warbling in every grove ; the 

 voice of the latter is the most melodious of any 

 songster I know. It is a little brown bird, with 

 black on the head, and sings well even in confine- 

 ment. I bought several of these during my stay 

 at Oratova, where they are very common. 



Having seen the interiors of the churches, none 

 of which are remarkable, we returned to the hotel, 

 and would have slept well, had we only been per- 

 mitted to lie alone; but our bedfellows were so 

 numerous, and of such gigantic proportions, that 

 had they only combined their forces, and all pulled 

 together, they might have hauled us out of bed. 

 Orotava fleas resemble young lobsters more than 

 shrimps. 



