EARLY MORNING. 
309 
Uie light advanced. The rook is perhaps the first to 
^ute the opening' morn ; but this bird seems rather to 
f °st than to sleep. Always vigilant, the least alarm 
a fter retirement rouses instantly the whole assemblage, 
?ot successively, but collectively. It is appointed to 
j* a ready mover. Its principal food is worms, which 
! e ed and crawl upon the humid surface of the ground 
I, 1 the dusk, and retire before the light of day : and, 
Costing higher than other birds, the first rays of the 
?*in, as they peep from the horizon, become visible to 
I I, The restless inquisitive robin now is seen too. This 
ls the last bird that retires in the evening, being fre- 
'I'tently Hitting about when the owl and bat are visible, 
i * n d awakes so soon in the morning, that little rest 
**eu»s required by it. Its line large eyes are fitted to 
5|ceive all, even the weakest rays of light that appear. 
worm is its food, too, and few that move upon the 
!<u *'face escape its notice. The cheerful melody of the 
'’foil is the next we hear, as it bustles from its ivied 
>°0st ; and we note its gratulation to the young eyed 
when t wilight almost hides the little minstrel from 
sight. The sparrow roost in holes, and under the 
*fos of the rick or shed, where the light docs not so 
•®°n enter, and hence is rather a tardy mover ; but it 
s always ready for food, and seems to iisten to what is 
ping forward. We see it now peeping from its pent- 
;°Usc, inquisitively surveying the land ; and, should 
revision be obtainable, it immediately descends upon 
, without any scruple, and makes itself a welcome 
pest with all. It retires early to rest. The blackbird 
pits its leafy roost in the ivied ash; its chink chink 
|. s heard in the hedge ; and mounting on some neigh- 
boring oak, with mellow, sober voice, it gratulates the 
'pOiing day. ‘ The plain-song cuckoo gray,’ from some 
, a fi tree now tells its tale. The lark is in the air, the 
parti u twitters from her earthbuilt shed,’ all the 
I ’listers are tuning in the grove; and amid such 
pkcns of awakening pleasure, it becomes difficult to 
P’fo priority of voice. • These are the matin voices of 
summer season : in winter, a cheerless chirp, or a 
