242 Birds of Banffshire. [CHAP. XIII. 
ing wants of his family, as we find his collection of birds 
advertised for sale at the beginning of 1855. Again he had 
recourse to his savings-bank; and again it relieved him, 
though he parted with the resulta of his work during many 
’ laborious years. 
He still went on writing for the periodicals. _ At the end 
of 1855 we find an article of his in the Zoologist, entitled 
“Moth-hunting; or, An Evening in a Wood;” and in the 
following year he commenced in the same periodical “A 
List of the Birds of Banffshire, accompanied with Anec- 
dotes.” The list was completed in eight articles, which ap- 
peared in 1856 and the two following years. Although his 
publications were received with much approval, they did 
not serve to increase his income, for he never received a 
farthing for any of his literary contributions. 
Before parting with Edward’s descriptions of birds, a few 
extracts may be given from his articles in the Zoologist. 
And first, about song-birds: 
“The song thrush or mavis (Turdus musicus). Who is 
there that has ever trod the weedy dale or whinny: brake in 
early spring, and, having heard the mellow voice of this mu- 
sician of the grove, was not struck with delight, and en- 
chanted at the peculiar richness and softness of his tones ? 
For my own part, I must say that of all the birds which 
adorn and enliven our woods, I love this one the most. 
There is to me a sweetness in his song which few, if any, 
of the other song-birds possess. Besides, he is one of the 
first to hail with his hymn of praise the young and opening 
year. 
“Next to the mavis, the lark or the laverock is the bird 
for me, and has been since I first learned to love the little 
warblers of the woods and fields. How oft, oh! how oft, , 
has the lark’s dewy couch been-my bed, and its canopy, the 
hich azure vault, been my only covering, while overtaken by 
night during my wanderings after nature! And, oh! how 
sweet such nights are, and how short they seem—soothed 
