The British Museum Explained and Illustrated. 



CHAPTER V. THE EASTERN" ZOOLOGICAL GALLERY. 



ORNITHOLOGY. 



Proceeding from the history of quadrupeds to in- 

 quire into that of the feathered race, which constitutes 

 the second great class in tlie animal kingdom, and forms 

 the chief object of interest in this gallery, we find nature 

 still possessing the same vivifying power, though here 

 j<he seems more prolific and more diversified in her ope- 

 rations. If, from the ministry of quadrupeds, man de- 

 rives assistance in maintaining his influence over the 

 soil, it is to these denizens of the air that he is indebted 

 for many of his pleasures. By the richness and bril- ^ 

 liancy of their colours, the melody of their voices, the | 

 beauty and elegance of their fbnns, they charm the eye of 

 the beholder, sootlie his ear, and captivate his imagina- 

 tion. By these (}ualities they invariably afford him 

 pleasure ; whether he contemplate the melodious grove, 

 the screaming precipice, or the noisy forest ; by these 

 they cheer his solitude, enliven his rambles, and animate 

 whilst they adorn the scenes of nature. We will not 

 attempt to dismiss the subject of the universal law of 

 migration, further than observing, that its object seems 

 the preservation of those birds who would be deprived of 

 their natural food were they to remain stationary in any 

 given locality. Thus the swallow, the cuckow, the , 

 nightingale, many species of soft-billed warblers and 

 others, visit us in spring from the south, and leave us 

 on the approach of winter ; whilst the fieldfare, the red- 

 wing, the woodcock, and various aquatic birds, find a 

 winter asylum with us, and depart again in spring, to 

 make room for a new succession of visitors. In the case 

 of the lark and tlie thrush, which also visit us in great 

 numbers, the performance of flight across the German 

 Ocean does not much surprise us ; but when we examine 

 this little bird, which is by no means adapted for long 

 a'rial progression, we are at a loss to perceive how the 

 migration could have been performed. So much, liow- 

 ever, might be written on this subject, and so imprac- 

 ticabh^ has it been found to give more than a very con- 

 densed account of even the birds themselves, that we 

 may be readily excused if we omit any detail upon these 

 points ; therefore, turning: at once to the cases on our 



