8 INTRODUCTION. 



sition of herbivorous quadrupeds, agreeing with them in the 

 number of their stomachs, the quality of their food, and the 

 gentleness of their manners. Content with the seeds of plants, 

 with fruits, insects, and worms, their principal attention is 

 directed to procuring food, hatching and rearing their offspring, 

 and eluding the snares of men and the attacks of predaceous 

 animals. The stomachs of carnivorous birds are smaller 

 than those of the graminivorous kinds, and their intestines 

 are much shorter. Many species of birds possess a reservoir 

 for food, called a craw, or crop, which seems to answer the 

 same purpose as the first stomach of ruminating animals. 

 Here it is that the food is softened and prepared for the 

 stomach, or carried to the young. 



THE SONG OF BIRDS. 



The song of birds is always, if not the expression of love, at 

 least that of pleasure. Thus, the nightingale sings only as 

 long as pairing time or hatching lasts, and is silent as soon as 

 it is compelled to feed its young; whereas, the goldfinch and 

 Canary sing throughout the year, and only cease when moult- 

 ing dejects them. The continuation of the song of these birds, 

 however, by no means proves that it is not occasioned by the 

 stimulus of love. 



Song appears to be the especial privilege of the male, 

 whereby it either attracts the female or seeks to obtain her 

 love; for there are but few females which produce notes 

 similar to the song of the male, and these almost exclusively 

 in a state of widowhood. They listen attentively, in fact, to 

 the greater or less perfection or charm of the song of the male, 

 to bestow upon that one their love whom they esteem the most 

 accomplished singer. Thus, the most sprightly hen Canary 

 selects the best singer ; and the chaffinch, when at liberty, will 

 choose from among a hundred males the one whose song best 

 pleases her. 



