OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS. 



BIRDS IN GENERAL. 



IN severe weather, fieldfares, redwings, sky-larks, and tit-larks, 

 resort to watered meadows for food ; the latter wades up to its 

 belly in pursuit of the pupae of insects, and runs along upon the 

 floating grass and weeds. Many gnats are on the snow near the 

 water ; these support the birds in part. 



Birds are much influenced in their choice of food by colour, for 

 though white currants are a much sweeter fruit than red, yet they 

 seldom touch the former till they have devoured every bunch of 

 the latter. 



Red-starts, fly-catchers, and black-caps, arrive early in April. If 

 these little delicate beings are birds of passage (as we have reason 

 to suppose they are, because they are never seen in winter), how 

 could they, feeble as they seem, bear up against such storms of 

 snow and rain, and make their way through such meteorous turbu- 

 lences, as one should suppose would embarrass and retard the most 

 hardy and resolute of the winged nation ? Yet they keep their 

 appointed times and seasons ; and in spite of frosts and winds 

 return to their stations periodcially as if they had met with nothing 

 to obstruct them. The withdrawing and appearance of the short- 

 winged summer birds is a very puzzling circumstance in natural 

 history. 



When the boys bring me wasps' nests, my bantam fowls fare 

 deliciously, and when the combs are pulled to pieces, devour the 

 young wasps in their maggot state with the highest glee and 

 delight.* Any insect-eating bird would do the same ; and there- 



* See Letter XLIII. Mr. White is quite correct, it is for the larvae the combs are sought 

 after; we do not know any instance where honey is preyed upon. Several hawks are 

 partially insectivorous, particularly some of the small foreign species. The kestrel of 

 Europe sometimes feeds on coleoptera. 



