SAVANNA BLACKBIRD. 311 



spreading its wing-sheaths for flight. Off it sails on 

 drony wing 1 the Petchary instantly makes sail too ; 

 catches the heavy prey, and bearing it in triumph to 

 his watch-post, beats it to pieces with his strong 

 hooked beak, and swallows it. 



Sweetly from the tangled woods of yonder hill issue 

 the mellow notes, soft and broken, of the Merle ; you 

 would think it your own familiar blackbird, by the 

 note, and would scarcely be undeceived by a sight of 

 the bird itself; but it is a species peculiar to us. 

 What we here call Blackbirds are larger birds, allied 

 to the cuckoo ; impudent, clamorous, sociable crea- 

 tures, with a noisy, intrusive cry, like " Going away ! 

 going away ! going away ! " as they sail along on 

 short, heavy wing, and long, balancing tail, close to 

 the ground. There ! we hear of a flock of them now ; 

 and yonder they are in the cattle-pasture, blackening 

 the ground. They are cutting the droppings through 

 and through, searching for maggots and worms ; and 

 for this purpose they are provided with a very deep, 

 knife-like ridge on their beaks, which serves them as 

 a ploughshare. See, too I on the backs of the patient 

 kine, and clustering around their feet, are other sable 

 attendants ; sable they look from hence, but if we 

 were close, we should find them adorned with the 

 richest steely purple and blue-green reflections. With 

 what business-like earnestness each searches among 

 the hair of the cow he has selected to patronize, dig- 

 ging for bots and ticks ; or walks round and round, 

 with the ivory-white eye turned up, scrutinizing the 



