282 



THE A1STMAL KINGDOM. 



leaves England in the Autumn to take up its abode icr the 

 Winter in Africa, or the Islands of the Archipelago, and 

 returns again in the Spring, year after year, to the same nest ; 

 these journeys are accomplished at the rate of 40 or 50 miles 



TIG.' 54. 1, SWALLOW ^Hfrundo rustica) -, 2, WOODPECKEK (Picus viridis). 



an hour. Pigeons also have the wonderful faculty of return- 

 ing home from almost any distance, appearing to know by 

 instinct the right direction ; as, after a turn or two, they 

 take a straight course to their destination. 



3. The BASORES include the common Fowl (fig. 55), 

 Pheasant (fig. 55), Partridge, Turkey, &c.; they feed princi- 

 pally on grain, but occasionally on insects and worms, which 

 they scrape up with their feet; they live chiefly upon 

 the ground, on which they build their nests, but gener- 

 ally roost on trees. Most of this order supply excel- 

 lent food, the Turkey is famous as a Christmas dish, 

 and is often of a great size ; this bird is very plentiful 

 in Central and South America in a wild state, and often 



