BRITISH SONG-BIRDS. 117 



of April, and the hens in ten or twelve days after. 

 On the first arrival of these birds they feed on the 

 berries of ivj, hawthorn, spurge laurel, and pri- 

 vet, which is also the food of the few that remain 

 with us during the winter : Insects, however, are 

 their favoui'ite dainties, and mth them they feed 

 their young, such as soft grubs, butterflies, ants, 

 land ant-eggs. The male is very assiduous and 

 attentive to the female during incubation. — He re- 

 gularly takes his tui'n of sitting on the eggs from 

 about nine or ten in the morning till four or five 

 3' clock in the afternoon, and, while she is sitting, 

 'le occasionally supplies her with food, and cheers 

 ler in the tenderest manner with his song. — 

 jWlien the young leave the nest, which they do 

 i^rly if any way distm-bed, they then follow the 

 )arents, hopping from spray to spray, and to- 

 A^rds evening the whole family take possession 

 )f a branch to roost on for the night, the nestlings 

 n the middle, and the parents at each end press- 

 ng close to their progeny to keep them warm. — 

 \ helpless family and tender parents so aifection- 

 itely engaged for their secm*ity, is a lesson man 

 night sometimes profit by : It certainly is a beau- 

 iful picture of domestic life. 

 ^The blackcap, in a state of confinement, soon 



