EXOTIC BIRDS FOB BBITAIN, 
91 
for many years to come. That these large kinds 
thrive so well with us is an encouraging fact ; but 
the question that concerns us at present is the 
feasibility of importing birds of the grove, chiefly 
of the passerine order, and sending them forth to 
give a greater variety and richness to our bird life. 
To go with such an object to tropical countries 
would only be to court failure. Nature's highest 
types, surpassing all others in exquisite beauty of 
form, brilliant colouring, and perfect melody, can 
never be known to our woods and groves. These 
rarest avian gems may not be removed from their 
setting, and to those who desire to know them in 
their unimaginable lustre, it will always be neces- 
sary to cross oceans and penetrate into remote 
wildernesses. We must go rather to regions where 
the conditions of life are hard, where winters are 
long and often severe, where Nature is not generous 
in the matter of food, and the mouths are many, 
and the competition great. Nor even from such 
regions could we take any strictly migratory 
species with any prospect of success. Still, limit- 
ing ourselves to the resident, and consequently the 
hardiest kinds, and to those possessing only a 
partial migration, it is surprising to find how many 
there are to choose from, how many are charming 
melodists, and how many have the bright tints in 
which our native species are so sadly lacking. The 
