168 BIRDS IN TOWN AND VILLAGE 



That these large kinds thrive so well with us is 

 an encouraging fact; but the question that con- 

 cerns us at present is the feasibility of importing 

 birds of the grove, chiefly of the passerine order, 

 and sending them forth to give a greater variety 

 and richness to our bird life. To go with such 

 an object to tropical countries would only be to 

 court failure. Nature's highest types, surpassing 

 all others in exquisite beauty of form, brilliant 

 colouring, and perfect melody, can never be 

 known to our woods and groves. These rarest 

 avian gems may not be removed from their set- 

 ting, and to those who desire to know them in 

 their unimaginable lustre, it will always be neces- 

 sary to cross oceans and penetrate into remote 

 wildernesses. We must go rather to regions where 

 the conditions of life are hard, where winters are 

 long and often severe, where Nature is not gen- 

 erous in the matter of food, and the mouths are 

 many, and the competition great. Nor even from 

 such regions could we take any strictly migratory 

 species with any prospect of success. Still, limit- 

 ing ourselves to the resident, and consequently to 

 the hardiest kinds, and to those possessing only 

 a partial migration, it is surprising to find how 



