72 



THE SPARROW KIND. 



owner, and recollefled her voice. Others have died when feparated from 

 theirnl afters. In fhort, they have an excellent memory. One which had 

 been thrown down in its cage by fome blackguards, though not fcemingly 

 injured at the time, ever after fell into convulfions at the approach of 

 ill-looking people, and in one of thefe fits died, eight months after its 

 fall. The young begin to whittle when able to eat alone : of four young 

 ones, the three eldeft, which were able to eat, fed the fourth that was 

 unable. They are conftant to their conforts, the year round; have the 

 look of attention and thought, yet are eafily entrapped j their fkin is very 

 fine ; their flefh bitter or eatable, according to the fruit or grain on which 

 they have fed; fome of them are of paflage ; come in April, return in 

 Oaober. 



The gold-finch learns a fine fong from the nightingale ; the linnet 

 as well as bull-finch may be taught, forgetting the wild notes of na- 

 ture, to whittle a long and regular tune; but his own natural fong is 

 pretty. He is a long-lived and healthy bird. The chaffinch offers iefs of 

 fong, and many of the finches have none at all ;. indeed fome have neither 

 good melody nor good manners ; witnefs the following. 



THE GROSS- BEAK 



S fo named from the fize, thicknefs, and ftrength of his bill : it were 

 defirable that his character could be vindicated from the cliarge of 

 ill- nature ; or elfe, it is well that his numbers are but few : filent, Ibli- 

 tary, but courageous, and boldly defending their nefts ; their ftrength of 

 bill enables them to crack nuts and other hard fubftances, but alio to 

 deftroy birds fmaller than themfelves ; for without a quarrel, or a word 

 fpeaking, they attack them by biting pieces out of them, not by ftriking 

 with their bill. Nearly allied in figure and manners is 



THE CROSS-BILL,. 



WHICH alone is diftinguiflied by this conformity (fome Aiy 

 deformity) of bill : the bill is crofted fometimes to the right, 

 fometimes to the left : whether this arifes from the habit of the bird to 

 take its food on the right or left fide, is uncertain; the mandibles of the 



bill 



