INTRODUCTION. 21 



4;lie blackbitd and thrusli never paid them a \dsit. 

 A sister of that gentleman, who, all her life, had 

 resided on the banks of the Dee, and who knew 

 no other warblers than the lark or linnet, one Sun- 

 day related to her brother, with considerable sur- 

 prise, that she had, that morning, heard some one 

 whistle some very pretty notes ; but, in addition 

 to this strange occurrence, (whistling in Scotland, 

 on the Sabba4;h-day, was then unknown,) there 

 were two singular attendant circumstances : — the 

 one was, that the notes were often repeated, but 

 always the same, and the other, that, although the 

 whistler seemed A^ery near, she could not perceive 

 him after the strictest search. A Sabbath in Scot- 

 land, even now, is sacred to peace and rest, but, 

 sixty years since, it was a day of universal repose. 

 The gentleman, therefore, from the description of 

 the whistle, hurried to the thicket where the notes 

 were said to have been heard, and there had the 

 pleasure of hearing, as he had anticipated, the 

 blackbird's rich, mellow, and animated lay. 



To preserve birds in health that are kept in cap- 

 tivity, we think the food they get should be the 

 same^ or as near as possible to that which they 

 are known to feed on in a state of liberty. But 

 tlie soft-billed birds feed on insects, and insects 



