and the swallow observe the time of their coming." When Storks take their departure for Europe, it is said they all assemble on a particular day, decamp during the night, and leave not a single one of their company behind. Now what power unseen commands them to this general assembly, directs them in their course, orders them to halt as occasion requires, and then to renew their flight till they arrive at the exact point of their destination?

"Who bids the Stork, Columbus-like, explore
Heavens not his own, and worlds unknown before?
Who calls the council, states the certain day?
Who forms the phalanx, and who points the way?"

"Where do the Cranes, or winding Swallows go,
Fearful of gathering winds and falling snow?
If into rocks or hollow creeks they creep,
In temporary death confined to sleep;
Or, conscious of the coming evil, fly

To milder regions and a southern sky?"

Birds in the torrid zone, where their nests, otherwise situated, would be exposed to the assaults of the snake when he twines up the trunk, or the depredations of the ape, suspend them at the point of a bough, or the extreme branches of the trees; and some, as the Taylor-bird, not content with that precaution, attach their nests to the side of a leaf. The expertness of this little bird, at the profession from whence it derives its name, is admirable. When it has picked up a dead leaf, it sews it to the side of a living one, its slender bill being its needle, and its

thread some fine fibres; the lining is composed of feathers, gossamer, and down The Eagle constructs her habitation among inaccessible rocks, where it is shielded by projecting craigs; and the Flamingo builds her nest in the middle of an extensive morass, beyond the reach of danger.

"From man retir'd, amid the lonely marsh,
Flamingoes build and tend their curious nest."

What sagacity does the Vulture display as he sits silent and unseen in the American forest, watching the operations of the monstrous Crocodile, while she deposits her eggs in the sand on the banks of the river! The little Butcher-bird, that attacks creatures four times bigger than himself, seizes its victims by the throat, and strangles them in an instant; and, as if conscious of its inability otherwise to separate the food it has so secured, contrives to spit it on a neighbouring thorn, and then pulls it pieces with its bill The solitary Owl takes up its station in the corner of a barn at the approach of night, and with inflexible perseverance watches its prey. The Magpie is noted for its singular cunning Bussards are said to keep a sentinel on the look-out to apprize them of danger. The Partridge acts with the greatest subtlety, in order to decoy away a dog or other animal when he approaches her nest; and the affection of the Hen for her tender brood is such, that for their protection she will attack the hog or the mastiff, and even not hesitate to fly at the fox:

H

What animal evinces more courage than the Cock, as he struts in sovereignty on his favourite dunghill ? The facility with which Parrots are taught to speak, and retain and repeat a number of words is truly surprising Cormorants in China are trained for the purposes of fishing; and Hawks, in other countries for fowling; and the Carrier Pigeon performs his lengthened embassy with unerring precision, and with astonishing celerity. Thevenot says, they commonly travel from Aleppo to Alexandria in Syria in six hours, which is a distance of eighty-eight miles The letters are generally fastened under their wings In order to ascertain with some degree of accuracy the speed of these curious birds, a gentleman, some years ago, sent a carrier pigeon from London to a friend at Bury St Edmunds, desiring it to be thrown up at a particular time two days after its arrival; this was attended to, and the pigeon returned to the Bull Inn, Bishopsgate-street, two hours and a half afterwards, having in that time travelled seventy two miles -Even the stupid Ostrich, as it may be called in other respects, is not so destitute of natural affection and instinctive cunning as some are apt to imagine; for if she more frequently leaves her eggs than other birds, it is only in those hot climates where there is no necessity for constant incubation; and if she thrusts her head in the sand, when every chance of escape is at an end, it is no less certain that she contrives to prolong the chace and distance her pursuer, by occasionally lowering

one of her wings, aud disappointing him with a mouthful of feathers.

The Uses of Volatiles.

The uses of the poultry kind, especially of such as are domesticated, are too obvious to be enumerated; it may, however, be remarked, that the common Hen, if well supplied with food and water, is said to lay sometimes two hundred eggs in a year; and the fecundity of the Pigeon in its domestic state is so great, that from a single pair, near fifteen thousand may be produced in four years.

The flesh of the Grouse kind is esteemed for its delicacy; the Peacock, in some countries, is considered as a luxury; and although it is in a great measure for his singular plumage that man has been tempted to follow the Ostrich in his desert retreat, some of the African tribes are very fond of his flesh, and even the Romans appear to have considered it a dainty; for it is recorded of Heliogabalus, that he had the brains of six hundred of these animals, at a feast, served up in one dish! He should immediately after partaking of that dish, have buried his head in the sand, and been ashamed to resume the erect form of man, whose character he had disgraced.-There are, besides, many parts of this animal which are supposed to be very salutary for medicinal purposes, and their strength and swiftness seem to render them very fit for the purposes of travelling or carrying burdens; for Moore relates, that at Joar in Africa, he

met a man travelling on an Ostrich; and Mr. Adam-. son informs us, that when he was at the factory of Podore there were two young Ostriches, the strongest of which was much fleeter than the best English race-horse he ever saw, although he at that time carried two negroes on his back.

If in the feathery tribe some appear to be formed to please us with the beauty of their plumage, as the Goldfinch, the Bullfinch, and the Humming bird; others, as the Thrush, the Blackbird, and the Canary, delight us with the melody of their song. The Lark soars aloft and salutes the new-born day with his cheerful notes. The Nightingale soothes the weary labourer as he returns from his daily toil, by his fascinating strains. The little Robin, in return for the protection our fences have afforded him, exerts himself to render the hedges vocal, in soft and tender melody; and the Sparrow endeavours to amuse us with her chirpings.

The Swallow, also, as if sensible of the undisturbed possession she has been allowed to take of our premises, during the time of her necessities, catches upon the wing a multitude of flies, gnats, and beetles, and frees us from a number of troublesome vermin before she bids us farewell. Birds of the Rook and Pie kind, although a noisy and chattering tribe, may be of infinitely more use than we have the sense to discover, by the destruction of grubs, worms, and eggs of vermin; and the common carrion crow may be no less necessary in our climate, than the Egyptian Vulture and the Ossifrage of Syria. The Vul