COLLECTION OF BIRDS. 355 



autumn, and returns with the spring to the nest it 

 had formerly occupied. There is a white variety 

 in this case ; near it is the h. riparia, which builds 

 its nest in the banks by the water side : it does 

 not quit us in the winter, but plunges deep into 

 the mud, where it remains torpid until the re- 

 turn of w r arm weather. Amongst the exotic 

 swallows, we should observe the hirundo escu- 

 lenta, which inhabits the Indian archipelago ; it 

 builds its nest, which has been placed by its side, 

 on the highest shores, with the spawn of fish and 

 other gelatinous substances, picked up from the 

 sea. These nests are an object of commerce: 

 considerable number of them are sent to China 

 and Japan, where they are considered a very 

 agreeable and nourishing food. Below the swal- 

 lows are the larks ; beginning with the field 

 lark, of which we have a white variety. Imme- 

 diately after come the starlings ; they assemble 

 in large flights, and are very useful to cattle, by 

 destroying the insects which torment them. The 

 five lower shelves are filled with the genus cas- 

 sicus, of which we have thirty-four species ; 

 some of the size of a crow, others of that of a 

 thrush. They are American birds, live in num- 

 bers like our starlings ; most of them are bril- 

 liantly tinted with yellow, red and black. Their 

 nest (of which we can see several in the two 





