OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS. 



BIRDS IN GENERAL. 



In severe weather, fieldfares, redwings, skylarks, and 

 titlarks resort to watered meadows for food ; the latter 

 wades up to its belly in pursuit of the pupce of insects, 

 and runs along upon the floating grass and weeds. Many 

 gnats are on the snow near the water ; these support the 

 birds in parts. 



Birds are much influenced in their choice of food by 

 colour, for though white currants are a much sweeter fruit 

 than red, yet they seldom touch the former till they have 

 devoured every bunch of the latter. 



Red-starts, fly-catchers, and blackcaps arrive early in 

 April. If these little delicate beings are birds of passage 

 (as we have reason to suppose they are, because they are 

 never seen in winter), how could they, feeble as they seem, 

 bear up against such storms of snow and rain, and make 

 their way through such meteorous turbulences, as one should 

 suppose would embarrass and retard the most hardy and 

 resolute of the winged nation*? Yet they keep their 

 appointed times and seasons ; and in spite of frosts and 

 winds return to their stations periodically, as if they had 

 met with nothing to obstruct them. The withdrawing and 

 appearance of the short- winged summer birds is a very 

 puzzling circumstance in natural history. 



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