THE ROSE OrZEL. 45 



to be peculiar. A wounded bird, shot from a 

 flock by a sportsman near Meiningen, in Suabia, 

 was soon liealed and tamed by the kindness of 

 M. von Wachter, the rector of Frickenhausen ; 

 and it began to sing. Bechstein relates, that its 

 warbling consisted, at*first, of only a few harsh 

 sounds, pretty avcU connected ; but this in time 

 became more smooth and clear. A connoisseur 

 wlio had lieard the bird without seeing it, thought 

 he was listening to a concert of two starlings, two 

 goldtinclies, and perhaps a siskin ; and when he 

 saw that it was a single bird that made this music, 

 he could not conceive how it all came from the 

 same throat. One of these birds is now in the 

 aviary of the Zoological Society in the Regent's 

 Park." 



This bird is called the Pastor Ouzel, because, 

 like the starling, it is often seen in company with 

 sheep and cattle. It is the locust-bird of the 

 east, and is much cherished there, as it destroys 

 the locusts, so often a scourge to the vegetation of 

 oriental countries. The Arabs term it Smurmur, 

 in imitation of its note. In India these birds are 

 very numerous, darkening the air at the season 



