BOOK OF NATURE LAID GPEN. 73 



thread some fine fibres; the lining is composed of 

 feathers, gossamer, and down The Eagle con- 

 structs her habitation among inaccessible rocks, 

 where it is shielded by projecting craigs; and the 

 Flamingo builds her nest in the middle of an ex- 

 tensive morass, beyond the reach of danger. 



*' From man retir'd, amid the lonely marsh, 

 Flamingoes build and tend their curious nest." 



What sagacity does the Vulture display as he sits 

 silent and unseen in the American forest, watching 

 the operations of the monstrous Crocodile, while she 

 deposits her eggs in the sand on the banks of the 

 river! The little Butcher-bird, that attacks crea- 

 tures four times bigger than himself, seizes its vie- 

 tims by the throat, and strangles them in an instant; 

 and, as if conscious of its inability otherwise to sepa- 

 rate the food it has so secured, contrives to spit it 

 on a neighbouring thorn, and then pulls it pieces 

 with its bill The solitary Owl takes up its station 

 in the corner of a barn at the approach of night, 

 and with inflexible perseverance watches its prey. 

 The Magpie is noted for its singular cunning Bus- 

 sards are said to keep a sentinel on the look-out to 

 apprize them of danger. The Partridge acts with 

 the greatest subtlety, in order to decoy away a dog 

 or other animal when he approaches her nest ; and 

 the affection of the Hen for her tender brood is such, 

 that for their protection she will attack the hog or 

 the mastiff, and even not hesitate to fly at the ftrs 



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