ON THE SMALL BIRDS OF FLIGHT. 323 



sing well; they sell the dead bh'ds for three- 

 pence or four-pence a dozen. 



These small bkds are so good, that we are 

 surprised the luxury of the age neglects so de- 

 licate an acquisition to the table. The modern 

 Italians are fond of small birds, which they eat 

 under the common name of Beccaficos : and the 

 dear rate a Rotnan tragedian paid for one dish 

 of singing birds* is well known. 



Another particular we learned, in conversa- 

 tion with a London bird-catcher, was the vast 

 price that is sometimes given for a single song 

 bird, which had not learned to whistle tunes. 

 The greatest sum we heard of, was five guineas 

 for a chaffinch, that had a particular and un- ' 



common note, under which it was intended to 

 train others : and we also heard of five pounds 

 ten shillings being given for a call-bird linnet, 



A third singular circumstance, which confirms 

 an observation of LinncBus, is, that the male 

 chaffinches fly by themselves, and in the flight 

 precede the females ; but this is not peculiar to 

 the chaffinches. When the titlarks are caught 



* Maximi tamen insignis est in hac memoria, Clodli JEsopi 

 tragici hisiTwnis patina sexcentis H. S. taxata; in quo posuit 

 aves cantu uliquo, aut humano sermone, vocales. Plin. lib. x. 

 c. 51. The price of this expensive dish was about 6,843/. 10*. 

 according to Arhut/mot's Tables. This seems to have been a 

 wanton caprice, rather than a tribute to epicurism. T. P. 



Y 2 



