332 
THE LANGUAGE OF BIRDS. 
" enchanters of the grove/ ^ thus alludes to his rural 
rambles : — 
" At one period of my life, being an early waker 
and riser, my attention was frequently called ' to 
songs of earliest birds,' and I always observed that 
these creatures appeared abroad at very different 
periods as the light advanced. The rook is, per- 
haps, the first to salute the opening morn ; but this 
bird seems rather to rest than to sleep. Always 
vigilant, the least alarm after retirement rouses in- 
stantly the whole assemblage, not successively, but 
collectively. It is appointed to be a ready mover. 
Its principal food is worms, which feed and crawl 
upon the humid surface of the ground in the dusk, 
and retire before the light of day ; and, roosting 
higher than other birds, the first rays of the sun, as 
they peep from the horizon, become visible to it. 
The restless, inquisitive robin now is seen, too. This 
is the last bird that retires in the evening, being fre- 
quently flitting about when the owl and bat are 
visible, and awakes so soon in the morning that 
little rest seems required by it. Its fine large eyes 
are fitted to receive all, even the weakest, rays of light 
that appear. The worm is its food too^ and few that 
