58 INTRODUCTION. 



nightly songster, although much more rarely so than the 

 Nightingale. 



It should be noted, too, that in almost every species, the 

 male is peculiarly distinguished from the female, so that those, 

 conversant with the subject, readily know the one from the 

 other. The males of many of the tribe have more gaudy 

 and vivid colours on their plumage ; the male is also very 

 often larger than the female. This may be strikingly seen 

 in the CommonCock and Hen, the Turkey, and the Pheasant. 



In the rapacious tribes, on the contrary, the female is 

 generally larger than the male. Wilson informs us that 

 the female of the Strix Virginianus, or Great Horned 

 Owl, is four inches longer than the male j and in some of 

 the Falcon genus the difference is more considerable than 

 this. 



Sometimes, however, these distinguishing marks are by 

 no means so apparent. The Cock Blackbird is known 

 chiefly by his intensely yellow bill, and the superior black jet 

 of his plumage. The distinction between the Hen and Cock 

 Thrush is not very strongly marked ; and that of the Cock 

 and Hen Pintado, or Guinea Fowl, is so slight, that 

 nothing but close observation will ascertain it. This last 

 bird is a native of Africa, and although domesticated in 

 this country, it rarely, if ever, acquires the habits and dor 

 cility of the Domestic Fowl. The female, if left to herself, 

 invariably seeks some place for her nest distant and apart 

 from the rest of the poultry ; and, what is very remarkable, 

 she deposits her eggs on the bare ground. This bird 

 does not conform itself in its habits to climate like some 

 others ; hence, in England, it is a very bad protector of its 

 own offspring. 



The pairing of birds is also a subject which deserves at- 

 tention in their Natural History. While some are mono- 



6 



