268 VOICES OF BIRDS, 



tower, to serenade their nesting mates ; and glare 

 and heat are in their train. When the fervour of 

 summer ceases, this bird of the sun will depart. 

 The evening robin from the summit of some leafless 

 bough, or projecting point, tells us that autumn is 

 come, and brings matured fruits, chilly airs, and sober- 

 hours, and he, the lonely minstrel now that sings, 

 is understood by all. These four birds thus indicate 

 a separate season, have no interference with the in- 

 telligence of the other, nor could they be transposed 

 without the loss of all the meaning they convey, 

 which no contrivance of art could supply ; and, by 

 long association, they have become identified with 

 the period, and in peculiar accordance with the 

 time. 



We note birds in general more from their voices 

 than their plumage ; for the carols of spring may 

 be heard involuntarily, but to observe the form and 

 decoration of these creatures requires an attention 

 not always given. Yet we have some native birds 

 beautifully and conspicuously feathered ; the gold- 

 finch, the chaffinch, the wagtails, are all eminently 

 adorned, and the fine gradations of sober browns in 

 several others are very pleasing. Those sweet 

 sounds, called the song of birds, proceed only from 

 the male ; and, with a few exceptions, only during 

 the season of incubation. Hence the comparative 

 quietness of our summer months, when this care is 

 over, except from accidental causes, where a second 



