THE SPARROW K1N 7 D. 291 



without any constraint, came to live with their 

 young ones. All four have frequently come to 

 perch upon their master's hand, chirruping as if 

 they had been at liberty abroad. He fed them 

 with a very fine clear paste, made of wine, bis- 

 cuit, and sugar. They thrust their tongues into 

 this paste, till they were satisfied, and then flut- 

 tered and chirruped about the room. I never 

 beheld any thing more agreeable," continues he, 

 " than this lovely little family, that had taken 

 possession of my companion's chamber, and that 

 flew out and in just as they thought proper, but 

 were ever attentive to the voice of their master 

 when he called them. In this manner they lived 

 with him for above six months ; but, at a time 

 when he expected to see a new colony formed, 

 he unfortunately forgot to tie up their cage to 

 the ceiling at night, to preserve them from the 

 rats, and he found they were devoured in the 

 morning." 



These birds, on the continent of America, con- 

 tinue to flutter the year round, as their food, 

 which is the honey of flowers, never forsakes 

 them in those warm latitudes where they are 

 found. But it is otherwise in the islands of the 

 Antilles, where, when the winter season ap- 

 proaches, they retire, and, as some say, continue 

 in a torpid state during the severity of that sea- 

 son. At Surinam and Jamaica, where they con- 

 stantly have flowers, these beautiful birds are 

 never known to disappear. 



It is a doubt whether or not these birds have a 

 continued note in singing. All travellers agree, 

 that beside the humming noise produced by their 



