54 CLASS AVES. 



• 

 shells when the young are evolved, aad take them to a con- 

 siderable distance. This habit is so innate in birds, that even 

 canaries, which, in a long lapse of captivity, one would ima- 

 gine, would leave it off, take the shell, the moment the little 

 one comes out, and either transport it to the dung which is in 

 that part of their cage the farthest from the nest, and conceal 

 it there, or else break it to pieces and swalloAv it. 



When the young family is in a state to fly, the parents 

 still conduct and feed it, for three weeks or a month. This 

 is a period in which they wage incessant war with the insect 

 tribe, seizing and devouring them with the most extraordi- 

 nary quickness, without appearing even to give themselves 

 time to swallow them. They collect the little worms on the 

 ground, gorge themselves with the eggs of ants, and often 

 make turns in the air, to catch the flies and gnats. 



The wagtails are not distrustful, and are less fearful of 

 man than of the birds of prey. They are not even much 

 frightened by fire-arms, for, on being aimed at, they do not fly 

 far, and frequently return and place themselves within a 

 short distance of the fowler. They give into all kinds of 

 snares which are laid for them, quite easily ; but if taken 

 when adult, they cannot be preserved in cages, but will die 

 in four-and-twenty hours. For this purpose, they must be 

 taken from the nest, and reared like the nightingales. 



The Motacilla Flana is, of migrating birds, one of the ear- 

 liest which re-appear in spring, and one of the latest which 

 depart in autumn. In the southern provinces of France, many 

 remain during the winter. In autumn, they assemble in nume- 

 rous troops. They more willingly frequent elevated and culti- 

 vated soils, where thoy seek a more abvmdant nutriment, and 

 find it more readilv in the track of herds and flocks, with 

 which they love to associate. From this last circumstance, 

 these birds are called, in French, hergeronnettes, to which, 

 from their early appearance in spring, the epithet de prin- 

 temps is added. In autumn, their flesh acquires a delicacy 



