Puslapio vaizdai
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indifference and even contempt, I sincerely pity; for abject must that heart be, and callous those feelings, and depraved that taste, which neither the charms of nature, nor the melody of innocence, nor the voice of gratitude or devotion can reach." With these sentiments, so eloquently expressed by the celebrated author of American Ornithology, we cordially agree. A deadness and a callous indifference to the beauty, order, and harmony of nature, to the glories of creation, the bounty and providence of God, and his care over all His works, are evidences of a deplorable condition of moral feeling. Such a man sees not God in his works, either of creation or of grace; he looks not upon that God as his Father and his Friend. "A brutish man knoweth not, neither doth a fool understand." There are, on the other hand, many who are keenly alive to the glories of God in creation, and yet know nothing of the glories of God in the great plan of redemption; such are indeed to be pitied; they are blind to their own condition as sinners against God; nay, they make their own imperfect righteousness a ground of merit and acceptance, believing not the declaration, that their "righteousness is as filthy rags:" hence they feel no need of a Redeemer, no need of an atoning sacrifice, no need of the influences of the Holy Spirit. Learned, perhaps, in arts, in science, the Book of Truth is to them a sealed volume; elevated in the pride of intellect, they look down with contempt on the lesson that teaches the way-faring man a path to a glorious kingdom, a heavenly Čanaan. Perhaps at last, when arts, and science, and stores of learning are all fading beneath the hand of death; when human wisdom owns itself to be vanity, the agitated mind may then acknowledge, with bitter remorse, the sin and folly of neglecting that book which maketh wise to everlasting life even then, in the eleventh hour, there is hope; for the Holy Spirit may at that moment take of "the things which are Jesus Christ's," Phil. ii. 21, and show them in all their acceptableness to the soul. But how far, how very far better is it, to give the strength and vigour of our days to Him, who has said, " My son, give me thy heart,' -to become His servants and His subjects. Then

will nature wear a lovelier hue; then will every object around be doubly interesting; for we shall regard them as the works of our heavenly Father, and we shall see in them the power, and wisdom, and goodness of our God and our Redeemer. But we must turn from all digression and resume our subject.

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To the more typical Thrushes succeed the AntThrushes, (Myiothera,) a race of birds strictly terrestrial, with strong elevated tarsi, short rounded wings, and abbreviated tails. Their food consists of insects, especially ants, termites, &c. The genera are numerous; some exclusively confined to the old world, others to the India presents us with the genus Pitta, the Brèves of Buffon, so called from the almost total absence of a tail. They stand very high on the limbs, but have feeble powers of flight. Their colours are gaudy, many of the tints being of a metallic lustre. An example will be found in the Pitta brachiura, a bird extensively spread through India, and generally agreeing with our own thrush in manners, though more exclusively confined to the ground. The plumage of the back is metallic green; the shoulders and quills are black, with a bar of white; the scapulars and tail-coverts are bright lazuline blue; a black line extends from the beak to the occiput, and down the neck, bordered on each side by olive brown; the earcoverts and sides of the neck are black; the throat is white; the breast and under surface tawny; the under tail-coverts scarlet. The species are numerous, and all characterized by a similar style of colouring.

Allied in some respects to the genus Pitta is the genus Cinclus, of which four species only are known; one of them being European; and of the others, two are from India, the remaining one from America. The generic characters consist in the beak being straight, somewhat turned upwards, compressed laterally, and blunt at the tip. The wings are rounded, the tarsi long, the feet large. The birds of this genus belong undoubtedly to the terrestrial group of the present family; though some

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of their habits are peculiar, and not a little remarkable. We allude to the faculty they possess of plunging into the water, and of walking, or at least of progressing on the bed of the stream, which they do in search of aquatic insects and their larvæ, which constitute their food. Hence they live near streams and rivulets, especially such as meander through mountain valleys, pure and transparent, now spreading out, now contracted and rushing along. Their voice is not deficient in simple melody.

The history of one of the species, the WATER Ouzel, (Cinclus aquaticus, BECHS.) may not be uninteresting; for although a British bird, still its localities are so limited, that many have had no opportunities of observing it. If, reader, you should visit the glens of Wales, or the dales in Derbyshire, where a mountain-fed trout stream winds like a serpent through a narrow belt of verdure and foliage, bounded by rocks or precipitous hills, now smooth, now bubbling over masses of stones, some of which rise two or three feet above the surface, expect to see this charming and active bird perched on one of those stones in the very middle of the stream, his head depressed, his short tail elevated, and every motion smart and lively. You will know him by his snow-white breast, which contrasts admirably with the deep russet brown of the rest of his plumage. In a minute he will dart beneath the water, and reappear at a considerable distance, settle on an adjacent stone or crag, and pour forth a low but pleasing song. His nest is near, but you may search for it in vain, so artfully is it concealed and adapted to the chosen site. It may be in the fissure of a low jutting crag, overhanging and touching the water, or in the crevice of a large loose stone, half buried in the earth, by the margin, and covered with a mingled profusion of mosses and lichens and stonecrop; it may be between the stones of an ancient and ruinous wall; but wherever it is, it is made of moss and rock weeds, and of a domed form, an aperture being the door; it offers no difference to the from the rest of the moss, which fills up every

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chink, and spreads about in luxuriant profusion. The eggs are five in number, and of a pure white. How this little bird manages to keep itself submerged, and proceed

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in search of larvæ, or the fry of fish, at the bottom of a stream, is yet to be unravelled; but that it does so, cannot be disputed. It is common in Switzerland, and the

mountain districts of Germany, France, and Italy, but is only an accidental visitor in Holland.

Passing over several genera, such as Cinclosoma, a genus confined to India and the adjacent islands, especially New Holland; Zoothera, confined also, as far as is yet known, to India; Myothera, and many more, requiring patient attention and an accurate and familiar inspection of actual specimens to discriminate, we notice the genus Oriolus; a genus comprehending that beautiful European bird, the Golden Oriole, and eight or nine well marked species besides, from Africa and India. The generic characters of the Orioles consist in the increased strength of the beak, beyond that of the more typical thrushes, the shortness of the tarsi, and length of the wings; to which may be added, the universal prevalence of a rich golden yellow, constituting the ground colour of the males; the females being of a dull greenish yellow, inclining to olive. The Orioles live almost exclusively in trees and thickets, and are generally migratory, uniting together in flocks previously to their departure. At other times they reside in pairs, and weave a beautiful pendent nest at the extremity of the branches of tall and leafy trees. Their food consists of insects, different sorts of berries, and other soft fruits. Their flight is rapid and direct, and as they flit along, their golden plumage opened to the sun exhibits their rich colouring to the best advantage.

The only European species, the GOLDEN Oriole, (Oriolus Galbula,) is common during the summer months in France and Italy, and, indeed, the whole of the southern provinces. In England it is seldom observed, and does not breed with us: indeed, were it so inclined, it would not be permitted; since, whenever observed, (and its colours would at once betray it,) it would be harassed by a host of persecutors, and either shot or driven away. Cherries, and other garden fruits, as well as wild berries, and insects, with their larvæ, constitute its food. Groves, orchards, plantations, and wooded parks are its favourite

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