3. "What say the Georgian maids so pretty About young Nightingale's dull ditty'?

4.

Do any praise it now' ? I fancy not'." "Excuse' me," said the swallow', "much they praise His plaintive and melodious lays',

And call them charming', and I know not what'."

"Charming'! that's droll enough'; what says

The world, then, of my little friend Tomtit' ?”ь
"Some call him foppish in his ways'-
But," said the swallow', "much they praise
His plumage' and his wit'."

"His wit'!" that's well'," the cuckoo cried with glee,
"And what says all the world of me'?”

5. "Of you'!" exclaimed the wondering bird-
"Of you'!-in truth, sir, not a word'."

"What'!" never' ?" said the cuckoo, "never' !a Does no one talk of me'? How'd_Why'd That's very strange', indeed', for I

Talk of myself' forever'."

a See Rule II.

c See Rule I. for the reason of this inflection.

b See Rule III.

d See Rule X., Note.

THE CUCKOO.

1. THE cuckoo is noted for being a shy bird-for being often heard, but seldom seen.

by the poet Wordsworth:

2.

3.

4.

This fact is thus alluded to

1. Peacock, Pavo cristatus. 2. Ruffed Grouse, or Partridge, Tetrao umbellus. 3. Peacock Pheasant, Polyplectron emphanum. 4. Pinnated Grouse, Tetrao cupido. 5. Argus Pheasant, Argus giganteus. 6. Common Guinea-fowl, Numida Meleagris. 7. Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo. 8. Virginian Quail, Perdix Virginianus. 9. Red GrousePtarmigan, or English Moorfowl, Lagopus Scoticus.

1. THE fourth order of birds embraces that part of the feathered creation which is by far the most useful to man. The common barn-door fowls, the turkey, peacock, and Guinea-fowls; the many species of pigeons, and the various birds known as game, all fall in this division; and whether considered as wholesome articles of food, or as adornments to man's abode, they are universally esteemed, and by almost all nations are reared and domesticated1 for their various uses.

2. As these birds are designed principally for abode upon the ground, they have strong legs and feet; and the hind toe, so important in perching and grasping, is often wanting, or

is very short; the nails also are short, or, when lengthened, always stretch out in a line with the toe. With the exception of the pigeons, the wings of these birds, not being designed for flight, are short and rounded, and the body heavy.

3. This order of birds has been variously divided by modern writers on ornithology into several great families, the most important of which are our common poultry, pheasants, pigeons, and grouse. Our domestic fowls were originally natives of Southern Asia, and in a wild state their originals are still found in the forests and jungles of India.

4. It is well known that when the common hen has reared a brood of ducks instead of her natural progeny, and they take to the water, as their instinct teaches them, she is in a perfect agony, running round the brink of the pond, and sometimes flying into it, in hopes of rescuing her brood from the danger she supposes them to be in. Yet this natural antipathy to water may be in a great degree overcome, as the following anecdote shows:

5. "A hen, which had reared three broods of ducks in three successive years, became habituated to their taking to the water, and would fly to a large stone in the middle of the pond, and patiently and quietly watch her brood as they swam about it. The fourth year she hatched her own eggs, and finding that her chickens did not take to the water as the ducklings had done, she flew to the stone in the pond, and called them to her with the utmost eagerness. This recollection of the habits of her former charge is very curious."

6. In the pheasant family are found the pheasants, the turkeys, the peacocks, and the Guinea-fowls, all birds of large size and magnificent plumage. Pope's description of the dying pheasant has rendered that beautiful bird additionally famous:

"See! from the brake the whirring pheasant springs,

And mounts exulting on triumphant wings:

Short is his joy; he feels the fiery wound,

Flutters in blood, and, panting, beats the ground.

"Ah! what avail his glossy varying dyes,

His purple crest and scarlet-circled eyes;
The vivid green his shining plumes unfold,

His painted wings, and breast that flames with gold?"-POPE.

7. The following description of the common ring-necked pheasant, by another writer, will give a still better idea of the splendid appearance of the same bird: "Splendid his form: his eyes, of flaming gold, Two fiery rings of living scarlet hold; His arching neck a varying beauty shows, Now rich with azure, now with emerald glows; His swelling breast with glossy purple shines, Chestnut his back, and waved with ebon lines; To his broad wings gay hues their radiance lend, His mail-clad legs two knightly spurs defend."

8. The pheasants and peacocks are natives of Southern Asia; the turkey was found originally in North America, and the Guinea-fowls in Western Africa; but all of them are now distributed over the civilized world. The splendor of the peacock attracted the attention of the mariners of King Solomon, who, in their southern expedition, obtained these birds and carried them to their royal master; and at a period still more ancient, the beauty of this bird was referred to by the patriarch Job, who says, "Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks?"

9. The turkey is still found wild in large numbers in the forests of our Western States, migrating in large flocks in the latter part of autumn. The manner in which it escapes from the attacks of large owls is thus described by C. L. Bonaparte, in his work entitled3 "American Ornithology:"

10. "These birds are guardians of each other, and the first who sees a hawk or an eagle gives a note of alarm, on which all within hearing lie close to the ground. As they usually roost in flocks, perched on the naked branches of trees, they are easily discovered by the large owls; but when attacked by these prowling birds, they often escape by a somewhat remarkable manœuvre. The owl sails around the spot to select his prey; but, notwithstanding the almost inaudible action of his pinions, the quick ear of one of the slumberers perceives the danger, which is immediately announced to the whole party by a chuck.5

11. “Thus alarmed, all rise on their legs, and watch the motions of the owl, who, darting like an arrow, would inevitably secure the individual at which he aimed, did not the

latter suddenly drop his head, squat, and spread his tail over his back: the owl then glances over, without inflicting any injury, at the very instant that the turkey suffers himself to fall headlong toward the earth, where he is secure from his dreaded enemy."

1. Bronze-winged Dove of Australia, Columba chalcoptera. 2. Wild Rock Pigeon, C. livia. 3. Crowned Goura Pigeon of Java, C. coronata. 4. Wild or Passenger Pigeon, C. migratoria. 5 and 6. English Ringdove, or Cushat, C. palumbus.

12. The pigeon or dove family, which unites the characters of the perchers and the poultry-birds, has some species in nearly every quarter of the globe; but it is in the tropical climates of Southern Asia that the varieties-often vying with the parrots in the color of their plumage-are the most numerous. In no other country, however, does any one species swarm so abundantly as the wild pigeon in our own.

13. The celebrated American ornithologists, Wilson and Audubon, have very happily described the migrations of almost innumerable multitudes of wild pigeons which they saw in our Western country. The passing flocks were at times so large as to obscure the sun for hours together. The roostingplaces of these birds presented a curious spectacle. Large trees were continually breaking down by the masses that settled on them; and the birds that were killed by the fall, and by the clubs of the people who gathered around the borders of the woods, literally piled the ground in heaps of thousands.