})resage of war. The ancients were better 
warranted, in considering it's early song as the 
sign of a good vintage ; since this might pos- 
sibly prove tlie harbinger of a mild spring, and 
fgcward season. 
. ,j:;Qnitting, however, this enchanted ground, 
and liberating our .readers, as well as ourselves, 
from the ma2;ical circle into which we have 
been betrayed, we shall proceed to a more so- 
ber account of the common Hoopoe. 
As this bird has a great abundance of fea- 
thers, it appears considerably thicker than it 
is. It is, in fa5:, about the size of the mi ^Ic- 
toc thrasli ; but looks, wliile in it's feathers, 
to be as large as a common pigeon. It weighs 
from about three to four ounce?. The beak is 
black,. -blender, aad slightly hooked ; and the 
head is adorned with a most beautiful and ele- 
gant crest, rising two fingers higli, and com- 
posed of two series of feathers which the bird 
raises and depresses at pleasure : tlie tips of 
these feathers arc ornamented with black and 
white, and the rest is of a pale orange-colour. 
The neck is of a pale reddish-brown hue ; the 
breast 
