164 MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. 



Hen-harriers breed on the ground, and seem never to settle 

 on trees. 



When redstarts shake their tails, they move them horizon- 

 tally, as dogs do when they fawn .- the tail of the wagtail, when 

 in motion, bobs up and down, like that of a jaded horse. 



Hedge-sparrows have a remarkable flirt with their wings in 

 breeding time : as soon as frosty mornings come, they make a 

 very piping, plaintive noise. 



Many birds which become silent about midsummer, reassume 

 their notes again in September, as the thrush, blackbird, wood- 

 lark, willow-wren, &c. ; hence August is by much the most 

 mute month, the spring, summer, and autumn through. Are 

 birds induced to sing again because the temperament of autumn 

 resembles that of spring ? 



Linnaeus ranges plants geographically : palms inhabit the 

 tropics ; grasses the temperate zones ; and mosses and lichens 

 the polar circles : no doubt animals may be classed in the same 

 manner with propriety. 



House-sparrows build under eaves in the spring ; as the 

 weather becomes hotter, they get out for coolness, and nest 

 in plum-trees and apple-trees. These birds have been known 

 sometimes to build in rooks' nests, and sometimes in the forks 

 of boughs under rooks' nests. * 



to animation. It is allowed to float down the current, and the urchin 

 philosophers depart, fully persuaded of the possibility of the planting and 

 rearing beds of eels. ED. 



* The late Mrs O'Brien, of Manor Place, Chelsea, being exceedingly 

 fond of birds, kept a number in cages. One of them, a canary, was a 

 great favourite, but the loudness of its song frequently obliged her to put 

 it outside of the window, among trees trained in the front of the house. 

 During breakfast one morning, a sparrow was observed to fly several 

 times round the cage, to alight upon the top, and chirp to the canary ; 

 at length a reciprocal conversation ensued. He remained a few minutes, 

 and then flew away, but soon returned with a worm in his bill, which he 

 dropped into the cage, and again took his departure. The same atten- 

 tions were manifested day after day, till they became so familiar, that 

 the canary would at length receive the proffered food from the bill of his 

 generous friend. This trait of the sparrow soon became known to the 

 neighbours, who were frequent spectators of his acts of benevolence. 

 Some of them, wishing to ascertain the extent of his kindly feelings, also 

 put their birds out at the window, and he extended his attention to all of 

 them ; but his first and longest visit was always paid to his old acquain- 

 tance, Mrs O'Brien's canary. 



Notwithstanding the sociable disposition manifested by this sparrow 

 towards his feathered companions, he was excessively shy with regard to 

 man, for they were obliged to observe his motions at a distance, as the 

 instant he noticed them he flew away. These visits were continued till 



