THE SPARROW KIND. 



535 



-"""pr'nt of this call is so great, that the 

 wiM bud bearing .^ _ P, . ' . 



rapid flight; and, if not already ScxjuJ 11 ." 

 with the nets, lights boldly within twenty yards 

 perhaps of the bird-catcher, and on a spot 

 which it would otherwise have quite disregard- 

 ed. This is the opportunity wished for, and 

 the bird-catcher pulling a string, the nets on 

 each side rise in an instant, and clap directly 

 down on the poor little unsuspecting visitant. 

 Nay, it frequently happens, that if half a flock 

 Only are caught, the remaining half will im- 

 mediately afterwards light between the nets, 

 and share the fate of their companions. 

 Should only one bird escape, this unhappy 

 survivor will also venture into danger till it is 

 caught; such a fascinating power have the call- 

 birds. 



Indeed, it is not easy to account for the na- 

 ture of this call, whether it be a challenge to 

 combat, an invitation to food, or a prelude to 

 courtship. As the call-birds are all males, and 

 as the wild birds that attend to their voice are 

 most frequently males also, it does not seem 

 that love can have any influence in their assi- 

 duity. Perhaps the wild females, in these 

 flights, attend to and obey the call below, and 

 their male companions of the flight come down 

 to bear them company. If this be the case, 

 and that the females have unfaithfully ed their 

 mates into the nets, they are the first that are 

 punished for their infidelity : the males arc 

 only made captives for singing ; while the fe- 

 males are indiscriminately killed, and sold to 

 be served up to the tables of the delicate. 



Whatever be the motives that thus arrest a 

 flock of birds in their flight, whether they be 

 of gallantry or of war, it is certain that the 

 small birds are equally remarkable for both. 

 It is, perhaps, the genial desire that inspires 

 the courage of most animals ; and that being 

 greatest in the males, gives them a greater de- 

 gree of valour than the females. Small birds 

 being extremely amorous, are remarkably 

 brave. However contemptible these little 

 warriors are to larger creatures, they are often 

 but too formidable to each other ; and some- 

 times fight till one of them yields up his life 

 with the victory. But their contentions are 

 sometimes of a gentler nature. Two male 

 birds shall strive in song, till, after a long strug- 

 gle, the loudest shall entirely silence the other. 

 During these contentions, the female sits an 



attentive silent auditor, and often rewards the 

 loudest songster with her company during the 



season. 



.">! 



lu &o -V"<T birds is almost universally 

 the prerogative ol the nm,, ; . ,;,,, fll j t 



the reverse of what occurs in the human kino. 

 Among the feathered tribe, the heaviest cares 

 of life fall to the lot of the female. Her's is 

 the fatigue of incubation, and to her devolves 

 the principal fatigue of nursing the helpless 

 brood. To alleviate these fatigues, and to sup- 

 port her under them, nature has given the 

 song to the male. This serves as a note of 

 blandishment at first to attract her affections ; 

 it serves as a note to delight her during the 

 time of her incubation ; but it serves still far- 

 ther as a note of security, to assure her that 

 no danger threatens to molest her. The male, 

 while his mate is hatching, sits upon some 

 neighbouring tree, continuing at once to watch 

 and to sing. While his voice is heard, the fe- 

 j male rests in confident security ; and, as the 

 poet expresses it, appears most bless d when 

 most unseen : but if any appearance of danger 

 offers to intrude, the male, that a moment be- 

 fore was so loud and sportive, stops all of a 

 sudden ; and this is a most certain signal to 

 his mate to provide for her own security. 



The nest of little birds seems to be of a 

 more delicate contrivance than that of the lar- 

 ger kinds. As the volume of their bodies is 

 smaller, the materials of which their nests are 

 composed are generally warmer. It is easy 

 to conceive that small things keep heat a 

 shorter time than those that are large, The 

 eggs, therefore, of small birds require a place 

 of more constant warmth than those of great 

 ones, as being liable to cool more quickly ; 

 and accordingly their nests are built warmer 

 and deeper, lined on the inside with softer 

 substances, and guarded above with a better 

 covering. But it sometimes happens that the 

 little architects are disturbed in their opera- 

 tions, and then they are obliged to make a 

 nest, not such as they wish, but such as they 

 can. The bird whose nest has been robbed 

 several times, builds up her last in a very 

 slovenly manner, conscious that, from the near 

 approach of winter, she must not take time to 

 give her habitation every possible advantage 

 it is capable of receiving. When the nest is 

 finished, nothing can exceed the cunning which 

 the male and female employ to conceal it. 



