182 BIRDS IN GENERAL, 



care do they mutually watch over the tender infancy 

 of their unfledged brood ! and whilst the fond mother 

 nurtures them under her fostering wing, her affectionate 

 mate either beguiles the hours of confinement by the 

 sweetness of his melodious notes, or, careless of fatigue, 

 searches his native woods around in pursuit of food for 

 these dear objects of his love and care. 



Although birds are so completely formed by nature 

 for a wandering life, yet the greater numbers remain 

 fixed to the district where they first were bred. The 

 rook, if undisturbed, never desires to quit his native 

 grove ; the blackbird still frequents its accustomed 

 hedge ; and the red-breast, though seemingly so mild 

 and gentle in its nature, maintains possession of his 

 native spot, and drives out those which would invade 

 its rights. 



^notwithstanding the fondness which many of the 

 species testify for their native woods and plains, there 

 are others which are called birds of passage, that regu- 

 larly migrate to distant climes ; and, though this pe- 

 riodical flight has for many ages past excited the cu- 

 riosity of the learned and intelligent, yet no one has 

 been able thoroughly to investigate the cause ; but it 

 is "generally believed either to proceed from a scarcity 

 of food at that period, or from their nature requiring 

 a change of clime. The starling in Sweden, at the ap- 

 proach of winter, finding subsistence no longer in that 

 kingdom, annually descends into Germany ; and the 

 hen chaffinches of the same country fly every year 

 through Holland, in large flocks, to pass their winter 

 in a milder clime ; others, with a more daring spirit, 

 prepare for journies that might even intimidate human 

 perseverance. Thus the quails in spring forsake the 

 burning heats of Africa for the milder sun of Europe ; 



