THE SPARROW KIND 



643 



branch, the soaring in the air, and the answer- 

 ing of its young, that gives the bird's song its 

 true relish. These, united, improve each 

 other, and raise the mind to a state of the 

 highest, yet most harmless, exultation. No- 

 thing can, in this situation of mind, be more 

 pleasing than to see the lark warbling upon 

 the wing; raising its note as it soars, until 

 it seems lost in the immense heights above 

 us; the note continuing, the bird itself unseen; 

 to see it then descending with a swell as it 

 comes from the clouds, yet sinking by degrees 

 as it approaches its nest, the spot where all 

 its affections are centred, the spot that has 

 prompted all this joy. 



The lark builds its nest upon the ground, 

 beneath some turf that serves to hide and 

 shelter it. The female lays four or five eggs, 

 of a dusky hue in colour, somewhat like those 

 of a plover. It is while she is sitting that the 

 male thus usually entertains her with his sing- 

 ing; and while he is risen to an impercepti- 

 ble height, yet he still has his loved partner 

 in his eye, nor once loses sight of the nest, 

 either while he ascends or is descending. 

 This harmony continues several months, be- 1 

 ginning early in the spring on pairing. In 

 winter they assemble in flocks, .when their 

 song forsakes them, and the bird-catchers de- 

 stroy them in great numbers for the tables of 

 the luxurious. 



The Black-cap and the Wren, though so 

 very diminutive, are yet prized by some for 

 their singing. The former is called by some 

 the mock nightingale ; and the latter is ad- 

 mired for the loudness of its note, compared 

 to the little body from whence it issues. It 

 must be confessed, that this disproportion be- 

 tween the voice of a bird and its size, in some 

 measure demands our wonder. Quadrupeds 

 in this respect may be considered as mutes 

 to them. The peacock is louder than the 

 lion, and the rabbit is not so loud as the w ; ren. 

 But it must be considered, that birds are very 

 ditFerently formed ; their lungs in some mea- 

 sure are extended through their whole body, 

 while in quadrupeds they lie only in the 

 breast. In birds there are a variety of cells 

 which take in the air, and thus pour forth 

 their contents at (he little animal's com- 

 mand. The black-cap and the wren, there- 

 fore, are as respectable for their voices as 



they might be deemed inconsiderable for 

 their size. 



All these soft-billed birds, thus prized for 

 their singing, are rendered domestic, and 

 brought up with assiduity by such as are 

 fond of their voices in a cage. The same 

 method of treatment erves for all, as their 

 food and their habits are nearly the same. 

 The manner of taking and treating them, par- 

 ticularly the nightingale, is this: A nightin- 

 gale's nest may be found by observing the 

 place where the male sings, and then by 

 sticking two or three meal-worms (a kind of 

 maggot found in flour) on some neighbour- 

 ing thorn, which when he sees he will infalli- 

 bly bear away to his young. By listening, he 

 then may be heard with the female chirping 

 to the young ones while they are feeding. 

 When the nest is found, if the young ones are 

 not fledged enough to be taken, they must 

 not be touched with the hands, for then the 

 old ones will perceive it, and entice them 

 away. They should not be taken till they 

 are almost as full of feather? as the old ones; 

 and, though they refuse their meat, yet, by 

 opening their bills, you may give them two 

 or three small bits at a time, which w ill make 

 them soon grow tame, when they will feed 

 themselves. They should be put nest and all 

 into a little basket which should be covered 

 up warm: and they should be fed every two 

 hours. Their food should be sheep's hearts, 

 or other raw flesh-meat, chopped very fine, 

 and all the strings, skins, and fat, taken away. 

 But it should always be mixed with hard hen's 

 eggs, upon which they will feed and thrive 

 abundantly. 



They should then be put in cages like the 

 nightingale's back cage, with a little straw or 

 dry moss at the bottom ; but when they are 

 grown large, they should have ant's mould. 

 They should be kept very clean, as indeed 

 should all singing-birds whatsoever; for other- 

 wise they will have the cramp, and perhaps 

 the claws will drop off In autumn they will 

 sometimes abstain from their food for a fort- 

 night, unless two or three meal-worms be 

 given them twice or thrice a week, or two or 

 three spiders in a day; they must likewise 

 have a little saffron in their water. Figs chop- 

 ped small among their meat will help them 

 to recover their flesh. When their legs are 



