REFERENCE TO HORTICULTURE. 117 



the berries of the Solanum Dulcamara. The chaffinch, the house-sparrow, 



the tree-sparrow, and different other species belonging to the genus Frm- 



gllla, feed on insects and seeds ; sometimes on berries ; and when food is 



scarce, on the buds of trees. They also eat the anthers of Crocuses and 



other spring flowers. In severe winters the buds of the Gooseberry and 



Currant tribe are sometimes devoured by the common house-sparrow; 



and this even in the neighbourhood of London, where it might be suppose d 



this bird would find food at all seasons. The bullfinch, cross-bill, and 



starling, live on insects and worms, and occasionally grain. The raven 



(Corvus Corax Z.) lives on mice, rats, poultry and other animals, as well 



as on carrion. The carrion crow (C. Corone Z/.) and the hooded crow (C. 



Cornix L.) have similar habits. Mr. Waterton considers the carrion crow 



as merely a variety of the raven ; " he rises long before the rook, and retires 



to rest later than that bird. Indeed, he is the first bird on wing in the 



morning, and the last at night, of all our non-migratory, diurnal British 



birds. He feeds voraciously on ripe cherries, and in autumn eats walnuts ; 



but he destroys many worms and caterpillars ; though when his young are 



in the nest, he seizes game and young poultry wherever he can find them." 



(Essays on Nat. Hist.) The rook (Corvus frugllegus L.) lives principally 



on the grub of the cockchafer, the wireworm, and other insects ; but will 



occasionally devour corn ; and, during the winter season, is very destructive 



to turnips. The jackdaw (C. JZonedula Z,.), the jay, and the magpie, feed 



on a great variety of animal and vegetable substances. The woodpecker 



(Picus Z/.), of which there are several species, feeds on ants and other 



insects ; more especially on the larva of the timber-eating species, which it 



extracts by means of its long tongue, after having perforated the wood with 



its bill. Neither the titmouse nor the woodpecker, Mr. Waterton observes, 



ever bore into the hard and live wood. The wryneck (Funx Torquilla Z/.) 



lives principally on ants; and the common creeper (Certhia familiaris Z/.), 



which is generally dispersed through the country, and is remarkable for the 



great facility with which it climbs up the trunks of trees, feeds entirely on 



insects. The nuthatch (itta europae'a L.) lives occasionally on insects, 



but principally on nuts, which it breaks with its bill after having firmly 



fixed them in the crevices of old trees. The cuckoo feeds principally on 



caterpillars and other insects. The swallow and the martin feed entirely on 



insects taken on the wing ; they appear about the end of April or beginning 



of May, and depart in October. The goatsucker (Caprimulgus L.) lives 



on insects, particularly on cockchafers, which it seizes on the wing, and on 



butterflies ; but this bird is more frequently found hi solitary woods than in 



gardens or frequented places. 



366. The greater number of birds which frequent gardens belong to this 

 order ; and while they do good by devouring insects, snails, and worms, 

 they are also to a certain extent injurious, by eating fruits and attacking 

 newly-sown or germinating seeds. The singing-birds are the best for 

 destroying soft-winged insects, such as moths and butterflies. Of all the 

 birds of this order, perhaps the hedge-sparrow is the most harmless, and the 

 house-sparrow the most mischievous. The former lives upon the seeds of 

 weeds or other plants that lie upon the surface of the ground, and it rarely 

 attacks buds; while the house -sparrow scratches up newly-sown seeds and 

 crops the tops of seedling plants when they are just penetrating through 

 the surface of the soil, such as peas : it also eats the smaller fruits, and, 



