I02 love's meinie. 



of their being painted or speckled birds ; and 

 partly from their being, beyond all others, 

 pecking, or pickaxe-beaked, birds. They in- 

 clude, therefore, the Crows, Jays, and Wood- 

 peckers ; historically and practically a most 

 important order of creatures to man. Next 

 which, I take the great company of the 

 smaller birds of the dry land, under these 

 following more arbitrary heads. 



5. The Songsters. The Thrush, Lark, 

 Blackbird, and Nightingale, and one or two 

 choristers more. These are connected with 

 the pheasants in their speckledness, and with 

 the pies in pecking ; while the nightingale 

 leads down to the .smaller groups of familiar 

 birds. 



6. The Robins, going on into the minor 

 warblers, and the Wrens ; the essential char- 

 acter of a Robin being that it should have 

 some front red in its dress somewhere ; and 

 the Crossbills being included in the class, 

 partly because they have red in their dress, 

 and partly because I don't know where else 

 to put them. 



7. The Creepers and Tits — separated 

 chiefly on the ground of their minuteness, 



