260 
BIRD-LIFE. 
after gorging, forget themselves so far as to often 
allow themselves to be caught by the hand, and are often 
obliged to disgorge their food to regain their wits! 
Many Marsh- and Water-birds sleep during the opera¬ 
tion ; in short, every bird after feeding loses somewhat of 
its liveliness and activity; and thus we can account for 
the mid-day stillness of the forest. 
In the middle of the afternoon this half-sleep is ended. 
The contents of the crop have, in due course, reached 
the stomach, and the bird now begins to think of 
renewing the supply. Most of the class feed again in the 
afternoon and evening; there are, however, many excep¬ 
tions to this rule. While insectivorous birds keep on the 
feed as long as the sun is above the horizon, many 
granivorous birds are content with two principal meals a 
day; some, like the Vultures, Lammergeirs, Falcons, &c., 
even with one, if it is a good one. The Cranes of the 
Soudan only visit the grain crops once early in the 
morning, always returning, however, with their crops 
filled to the throat; they then retire to the islands in 
the river to digest. Vultures generally feed about noon, 
the hottest time of the dav. If the weather be bad, or is 
such as makes it either unfavourable or impossible for 
birds to seek their food, their conduct is entirely 
altered, that is to say with most species. Their 
demeanour is a faithful reflection of the sky above: 
when the heavens are bright, the bird is the same; 
if the weather is changeable or the sky becomes over¬ 
cast, the bird is likewise sad and restless. On cold, rainy 
days the labour of seeking their nourishment calls for all 
their activity. In such weather we hear no song, and 
the bird’s every action is uncertain and restless; added 
to which, a singular shyness of man or animals may be 
