POPULAR HIST(!li;{ : v _ 



ov * ' "- . 



BRITISH BIRDS 9 EGGS. 



INTRODUCTION. 



AFTER the shortening days of autumn and the bitter winds 

 of winter, what a thrill of pleasurable emotion do the 

 simplest harbingers of Spring excite, the budding hedges, 

 the first pale primrose or scented violet, springing in copse- 

 wood, amid the amber shoots of richest velvet moss ! 



" Nor rural sights alone, but rural sounds, 

 Exhilarate the spirit ;" 



the warble of the Hedge Sparrow, or the Thrush's song 

 in the early morning, as, with spotted breast turned to the 

 sun, he pours from some tree-top his noble melody. Such 

 pleasures welcome us, unsought, amid the changing seasons, 

 and the varied beauties of creation ; yet may they be in- 



B 



