THE PURR- 299 



The colours of the females are more uniform : — pale bro^\Ti, 

 the hack streaked with black, the breast and belly white, and 

 the neck plain without the ruff. 



It feeds on insects, worms, and roots, and makes its nest in a 

 tuft of grass or rushes. The females are tolerably good for the 

 table, but the male must be fattened before it is eatable. The 

 irritable and (quarrelsome disposition of these birds is astonish- 

 ing. When two males meet they are often so enraged with 

 each other that a net may be passed over them without their 

 perceiving it. If several are placed in the same cage, they will 

 kill one another. The young ones may easily be reared ; but 

 it is extraordinary, that in the house, their inclination to fight 

 abandons them; whilst most other birds, pacific in a state oi 

 freedom, are continually quarrelling and pecking one another 

 when confined. It is customary in the duchy of Bremen to 

 put these birds into enclosed gardens to destroy worms and 

 other insects, but they retire into the house for the winter; 

 and here the old ones still quarrel both for food and the place 

 they wish to lie down in. They are fed on bread soaked in 

 milk, and meat. 



THE PURR. 



Tringa Cinclus, Linn^us ; L'Alouette de Mer, Buffon ; Der Meerlerche, 

 Bechstein. 



This is a marsh bird, about the size of the redwing, and is 

 very common on the banks of rivers, lakes, and large ponds. 

 When it rises in the air it cries continually " tzi^ tsi^ tzi, tzi." 

 Its beak is black, and its feet dark brownish green ; the feathers 

 on the upper part of the body are grey, glossy, and silky, with 

 blackish bands notched on the sides, and bordered on the outer 

 edge with rust red ; a whitish streak passes above the eyes, 

 whilst a narrow dark brown line crosses them ; the under pai-t 

 of the body is pure white, but the breast is striped with dark 

 brown ; the quill-fcathers are black, the anterior having a broad 

 white streak on the inner web, the others having the same on 

 the outer web ; the greater coverts are tipped with white, 

 which form two spots on the wings ; the three middle feathei-s 

 of the tail are grey brown with black bands ; the others are 

 white, with dark brown bands. 



The female is rather larger, and her plumage is paler. 



