« 
" Of all the animals by which we are surrounded in the ample field of nature," says an eminent 
writer, "there are none more remarkable in their appearance and habits than the Feathered In- 
habitants of the Air. They play around us like fairy spirits, elude approach in an element which 
defies pursuit, soar out of our sight in the yielding sky, journey over our heads in marshaled 
ranks, dart like meteors in the sunshine of summer, or, seeking the solitary recesses of the forest 
or the waters, they glide before us like beiugs of fancy. They diversify the still landscape with 
the most lively motion and beautiful association; they come and go with the change of the sea- 
sons, and as their actions are directed by an uncontrollable instinct of provident nature, they may 
be considered as concomitant with the beauty of the surrounding scene. With what grateful 
sensations do we hail these faithful messengers of spring and summer after the lapse of the dreary 
Vol. II.— 1 
