desi<:rt trumpeter bullfinch. 
85 
in summer betAveen tire parclied and bleaclied yelloAV 
stones; and here and there at wide intervals the low 
bushes of the taybayba, f Euphorhia halsamifera,) or 
the thorny prenanthes, only eaten by the dromedary, 
spring up. Here the Trumpeter lives — a Bullfinch Avith 
the manners of a Stonechat. It is always found in 
sociable little groups, Avhen the cares of the breeding- 
season do not keep it solitary. The cheerful little bird 
dances from stone to stone, or glides about near the 
ground, but seldom can our sight follow it far into the 
landscape, for the reddish grey feathers of the old bird 
mix as closely with the colours of the stones and leafless 
stems and tAvigs of Euphorbia, as the isabelle of the 
young does with the pale yellow of the sand or 
chalk. 
AVe should soon lose it if its voice, Avhich is one of 
its most striking peculiarities, did not guide us to it. 
Listen! A note like that of a small trumpet trembles 
through the air, and vibrates continuously; and if Ave 
are very attentive Ave shall, hear just before and just 
after it tAvo gentle light notes ringing like silver bells 
through the still desert, or the almost imperceptible 
chords of an harmonium played by unseen hands. Again 
it changes, and this time its notes resemble the deep 
croak of the green frog of the Canaries, but less coarse, 
hastily repeated one after another, and Avhich the little 
bird will itself ansAver with almost similar but weaker 
sounds, like a ventriloquist, as though they came from 
the far distance. Nothing is more difficult than to des- 
cribe in language the notes of birds. They must be 
heard to be appreciated, and no one Avould expect to 
hear so remarkable a song from a bird in such a locality. 
The aboA-e trumpet-like tones often ending in a succes- 
sion of crowing and humming, distinguishes the habitat 
VOL. III. N 
