198 FACULTIES OF BIRDS. 



the same time spread over the feet, the little creature 

 is admirably protected from the cold. Amongst the 

 birds we have observed in confinement, the black-cap, 

 which perches in roosting, is very particular in spread- 

 ing- a bundle of feathers over its feet, though it is not 

 possible to cover them so completely on a perch as 

 the little ox-eye can do in sitting on the floor of the 

 cage. We were the more struck with this circum- 

 stance in the black-cap, from the non-migratory birds 

 in the contiguous cages usually roosting with their 

 legs exposed, as is the case with the goldfinch, the 

 green-bird, the redbreast, and even the dunnock 

 (Accentor modularis), whose red legs might indicate 

 greater delicacy of skin than either the ox-eye or the 

 black-cap, whose lead-coloured legs might induce us 

 to imagine them less sensitive *. 



There can be no doubt that several of our smaller 

 birds which migrate to a warmer climate in winter, 

 are more susceptible to impressions of cold than 

 species apparently more tender that winter here, such 

 as the gold-crested wren, whose bustling activity ap- 

 pears to keep it warm during frosty weather ; and it 

 no doubt erects its feathers during the night in a 

 similar manner to the ox-eye. Mr. Sweet remarked, 

 that some of the migratory birds are so tender that 

 the slightest frost is often sufficient to kill them, and 

 they are consequently fond of huddling into the 

 warmest corners. From the chinchilla (Chinchilla 

 lanigera) being a native of Chili, it was inferred that 

 it might be pleased to lie warm, and apiece of flannel 

 was accordingly given to one in the collection of the 

 Zoological Society ; but instead of lying upon it, as a 

 cat would have done, it always pulled it about, and 

 dragged it to the outer division of its cage. It is to be 

 recollected, however, that both its fur and skin are 

 thick, while the skin of the cat is tender, which 

 * J.R. 



