THE LANGUAGE OF BIRDS. 215 
a moment/' What a striking instance of affection 
and sensibility in a bird ! BufFon relates that tame 
bullfinches have been known to escape from the 
aviary, and live at liberty in the woods for a whole 
year, and then to recollect the voice of the person 
who had reared them, return to her, and never more 
to leave her. Others have been known, which, 
when separated from their first owner, have died of 
grief. 
The memory of these little birds is likewise sur- 
prising, retaining for a length of time the remembrance 
of any person who may have injured them ; one of 
them having been thrown down with its cage by a 
common low person, did not seem at first much dis- 
turbed by the accident, but afterwards, it would fall 
into convulsions whenever it saw any meanly-dressed 
person, and it died in one of those fits eight months 
after the first accident. 
What a rational pleasure may we not derive from 
watching and tending these innocent little creatures, 
which are so sensible of our care, and so grateful for 
our attention ; but how few there really are of those 
who keep birds that derive any enjoyment from 
