155 



possible to over-estimate the services performed by this tribe 

 of birds in tbeir ceaseless operations among the trees. 



Thus far I have treated only of birds that take their food 

 chiefly from the foliage, flowers, and branches of trees and 

 shrubs — the natural guardians of the forest and orchard. — But 

 there are many tribes that seldom take any thing from trees, 

 and confine their foraging almost entirely to the surface of the 

 ground. Such are the Pigeons, all the Gallinaceous birds. 

 Larks, Blackbii'ds, Snipes and Thrushes. These are the guar- 

 dians of the soil ; and may also be made to assume an arrange- 

 ment analogous to the circles above described. For example, 

 the Snipe, the Woodcock, the Plover, and their allied species, 

 feed chiefly upon worms and insects that live underneath the 

 surface, digging under it for their prey with their long bills. 

 They occupy a position analogous to that of the Woodpeckers. 

 Larks, Quails, Thrushes and Blackbirds gather the principal 

 part of their food from the surface, seizing only upon those 

 underneath it, which are partly exposed to sight. 



The Thrushes forage mostly upon the surface of the ground. 

 Though they do not refuse an insect or a grub discovered upon 

 a leaf or a branch of a tree, they hunt their food upon the bare 

 soil or the green sward. One circumstance that attracts fre- 

 quent attention in the feeding habits of the Thrushes, is their 

 apparent want of diligence ; but this appearance is delusive, 

 for the immense quantity of insects consumed by them could 

 not be obtained without proportional industry. The common 

 Robin will exemplify the general habit of the Thrushes, 

 though he carries their peculiarities to an extreme. When he 

 hunts his food, he is usually seen hopping listlessly about the 

 field. Sometimes a dozen Robins, or more, may be seen in one 

 field, but they are always widely separated. Observe one of 

 them, and you will see him standing still with his bill inclined, 

 upwards, and looking about him with seeming unconcern. — 

 Soon he makes two or three hops, and then stands a few more 

 seconds apparently idle. Presently he may be seen pecking 

 vigorously upon the ground, when, if you was near enough to 



