BRITISH BIRDS. 157 



habitations of mankind ; his well-known familiarity 

 has attracted the attention and secured the pro- 

 tection of man in all ages; he haunts the dwelling 

 of the cottager, and partakes of his humble fare; 

 when the frost grows severe, and snow covers the 

 ground he approaches the house, taps at the win- 

 dow with his bill, as if to entreat an asylum, 

 which is always cheerfully granted, and with a 

 simplicity the most delightful, hops round the 

 house, picks up crumbs, and seems to make him- 

 self one of the family. Thomson has described 

 the annual visits of this little guest, in the follow- 

 ing lines: 



" The Redbreast, sacred to the household gods, 



" Wisely regardful of th' embroiling sky, 



" In joyless field and thorny thickets leaves 



" His shivering mates, and pays to trusted man 



" His annual visit. Half afraid, he first 



"Against the window beats ; then brisk alights 



"On the warm hearth; then, hopping o'er the floor, 



" Eyes all the smiling family askance, 



"And pecks, and starts, and wonders where he is; 



"Till, more familiar grown, the table crumbs 



"Attract his slender feet." 



The young Redbreast, when full feathered, may 

 be mistaken for a different bird, being all over 

 besprinkled with rust-coloured spots on a light 

 ground; the first appearance of the red is about 

 the end of August, but it does not attain its full 

 colour till the end of the following month. Red- 

 breasts are never seen in flocks, but always singly; 

 and, when all other birds associate together, they 

 still retain their solitary habits. As soon as the 

 young birds have attained their full plumage, 



