96 
BIRD-LIFE. 
greater diversity in the workings of his spirit. Taken 
strictly, no single trait of character is common to all 
birds; there are the light-hearted; the gay, the sad, the 
sociable, the nnsociable, the trustful, the shy; those open 
in their actions, and those who would hide them; honest 
and thievish, generous and mean, the straightforward 
and the crafty, the gentle and the violent, peaceable and 
quarrelsome, and, in short, amiable and unamiable cha¬ 
racters. The general foundation of the intellectual being 
among these happy creatures is cheerfulness and glad¬ 
ness. Their whole life and existence demands and shows 
this; the ease with which the body moves likewise im¬ 
parts intelligent activity and freshness; mobility of the 
body and sadness of spirit cannot be looked upon as com¬ 
patible ; the light airy bird knows no care, no restraint, 
possesses all it requires, and can turn whither it will. 
Every day possibly has its special vexation, though each 
coming morning does not bring with it a load of care. 
The natural results of a life passed amid fresh air and 
light must be brightness and cheerfulness; indeed, any 
other idea in connexion with the bird appears to us almost 
impossible. Nevertheless, there are some whose appear¬ 
ance betokens sadness rather than gladness, moroseness 
than cheerfulness, but these are few. Nocturnal birds, 
of all others, belong to this class, from whom glad light 
as well as spirit seem banished; added to which it is 
curious that night birds are more sulky and morose in 
proportion as the creatures on which they prey stand 
higher or lower in the scale of nature. The beetle-eating 
Night Hawk or Goatsucker is a much more cheerful 
individual than the Barn Owl, and the Athenian Owl is 
a much merrier companion than the Eagle Owl (Strix bubo); 
the latter is embodied gloom; he seems to possess no 
