26 



NOTES. BY T. C. 



swallow in some hole in the winter, I should rather believe that it had 

 taken shelter there from the cold, and that it would have died, if not 

 released, than I would believe it to be in a state of torpidity, and that, 

 on the return of spring, it would have aroused and joined its com- 

 panions. 



It is very different with quadrupeds ; the cold weather would over- 

 take them long before they could reach a warmer climate, even if they 

 were not prevented by seas and other obstacles ; but, with Birds, 

 what reason is there for supposing them incapable of migration ? they 

 can cross land and sea with most astonishing swiftness. No one doubts 

 that the woodcock and other short-winged birds actually migrate, and 

 why should we believe that the swallow, which of all birds is the best 

 provided with the means of flight, should remain with us in a state of 

 torpidity, for want of power to seek a warmer climate ? 



No one can deny, that it is a most wonderful faculty which enables 

 birds to resist the obstacles which they must necessarily meet with in 

 their passage over trackless seas ; but the same power which enables 

 them to support themselves on wing, which guides them across immense 

 tracks of land and sea, and which teaches them whither to direct their 

 course on the change of climate, has endowed them with power and 

 instinct to overcome every difficulty which they may encounter, and 

 has enabled them to resist every storm and every obstacle which would 

 intercept their course, or retard their progress. 



It is a mistake, that the kingfisher is a shy and unsociable bird ; I 

 have often enjoyed its company when fishing, and a friend of mine* 

 found two eggs in a hole, which he says belonged formerly to a rat, in 

 the bank of an artificial river, flowing through a garden, in which chil- 

 dren were constantly playing ; these eggs were nearly spherical, and 

 were deposited at the end of the hole, without any kind of nest, unless 

 a slight hollow may be worthy of the name. 



Much confusion appears to have existed respecting the common 

 starling ; whether such a bird as the solitary thrush exists in this 

 country or not, I cannot pretend to say ; but it is certain, that the 

 common stare does not obtain its black plumage until the end of July 

 or beginning of August, being of a dingy hair-brown colour ; this 

 plumage is sometimes very smooth, and gives the bird the appearance 

 of an adult, but it only remains until the first autumn, when the black 

 feathers appear first on the sides, and gradually spread over the whole 

 body. 



The plumage, however, is not in perfection until the second moult, 

 when it assumes the beautiful gloss of the adult bird. 



