278 



OUR DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



The Linnet 



flame-colored prisoner in dark green cliambers, who has 

 only to be seen or heard and Death adjusts an arrow ! 

 . . . He will sit for a long time in the heart of a cedar, 

 as if absorbed in the tragic memories of his race. Then, 

 softly, wearily, he will call out to vou and to the whole 

 world : Peace . . Peace . . . Peace . . . Peace . . . 

 Peace . . . ! the most melodious sigh that ever issued 

 from the clefts of a dungeon. 



The broivn thrasher (Har- 

 porliyncJius nifiis), called also 

 brown thrush and brown 

 mocking bird, is one of those 

 perennial joyous singers that 

 bring delight to every one. 

 Who of us does not remem- 

 ber these lines ? 



There 's a merry brown thrush 

 sitting up in a tree ; 



He is singing to me ! he is sing- 

 ing to me ! 



And what does he say little girl, 

 little bo\-? 



" Oh, the world 's running over 

 with joy ! " 



This gladsome singer is at 

 home anywhere, either on a 

 branch where he swings like 

 a pendulum, or on the ground 



where he is constantly twitching, wag- 

 ging, or thrashing his tail about in the 

 most ludicrous fashion as he feeds on 

 the ground — dieting upon worms, 

 insects, and fruits. 



The mocking bird, commonly 

 known in this country as a cage bird, 

 is the Miimis polyglottiis. As a cage, 

 bird he retains his nocturnal habits, 

 often singing and fluttering in the 

 night. He is quite a tease also, for 

 there is scarcely a sound, whether 

 made by bird or beast about him, 

 that he cannot imitate so clearly as 

 to deceive every one but himself. 

 There is no songster in America or 

 in all the world that is so rich and 

 tender in its song. The bird is an 

 ornament to all aviaries, where his 

 whistle and his melodious song may 

 be heard all day. But some of his brightness 

 is too apt to disappear in captivity, which is 

 usually the case with captive birds of all kinds. 

 The birds belonging to the Troglodytidae — 

 the brown thrashers, catbirds, mocking birds 

 — as a general thing are greedy, and scrupulous 



Thk Dutch Bullfinch 



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