202 NATURAL EISTOR7 READER. 



man sounds ; doves coo in a mournful manner, and are 

 emblems of despairing lovers ; the woodpecker sets up a 

 sort of loud, hearty laugh ; the fern-owl or goat-sucker, 

 from the dusk till daybreak, serenades his mate with the 

 clattering of castanets. 



3. All the tuneful Passerca express their complacency 

 by sweet modulations and a variety of melody. The swal- 

 low, by a shrill alarm, bespeaks the attention of his fellows, 

 and bids them to beware, the hawk is at hand. Aquatic 

 and gregarious birds, especially the nocturnal, that shift 

 their quarters in the dark, are very noisy and loquacious, 

 as cranes, wild geese, wild ducks, and the like : their per- 

 petual clamor prevents them from dispersing and losing 

 their companions. 



4. In so extensive a subject, sketches and outlines are 

 as much as can be expected, for it would be endless to in- 

 stance in all the infinite variety of the feathered tribes. 

 We will, therefore, confine the remainder of this letter to 

 the few domestic fowls of our yards which are most known, 

 and, therefore, best understood. And first the peacock, 

 with his gorgeous train, demands our attention ; but, like 

 most of the gaudy birds, his notes are grating and shock- 

 ing to the ear ; the yelling of cats and the braying of an 

 ass are not more discordant. The voice of the goose is 

 trumpet-like and clanking, and once saved the Capitol at 

 Home, as grave historians assert ; the hiss, also, of the gan- 

 der is formidable and full of menace, and "protective of 

 his young." 



5. Among ducks the sexual distinction of voice is re- 

 markable, for, while the quack of the female is loud "and 

 sonorous, the voice of the drake is inward and harsh and 

 feeble, and scarce discernible. The cock-turkey struts and 

 gobbles in a most uncouth manner ; he hath also a pert 

 and petulant note when he attacks his adversary. When 

 •a hen-turkey leads forth her young brood she keeps a 



