ALL the birds of this name, including the Skylark, the Woodlark, and the Titlark, are distinguishable from other small volatiles by the length of the claw of their back toe, which is either straight or a little bent. Their nostrils are covered with feathers and bristles, and the tongue is cloven at the end. The song of these birds is also louder than that of other warblers, but, unless heard in their wild state, is not so pleasing. Indeed the music of every bird in captivity is but the mirth of a little animal insensible of its unfortunate situation: it is the scenery of the umbrageous grove or rural landscape, the golden break of day, the fluttering from branch to branch, the soaring in the air, or the answering of its young, that gives the bird's song its true relish, and elevates the mind to a state of the highest yet most harmless exultation. -Nothing in this point of view can be more gratifying than to see the Lark warbling upon the wing; raising its note as it soars aloft; then descending with a swell as it comes from the clouds, yet sinking by degrees as it approaches its nest,-the spot where all

its affections are centred,-the spot that has excited all its joy, and called forth those harmonious strains.

The female builds her nest upon the ground beneath some turf that serves to screen it from observation : she lays four or five eggs, of a dusky hue; and when her little family come forth, she may be seen fluttering over their heads, directing their motions, anticipating their wants, and sedulously guarding them from danger. Indeed, the instinctive attachment which this animal bears to her young is sometimes manifested at a very early period, and even before she is capable of becoming a mother.

The common food of the young Larks is worms and insects; but after they are grown up they live chiefly on seeds, herbage, and most other vegetable substances.

The song of the Lark commences early in the spring, and continues throughout the summer, but is chiefly heard in the morning and evening. The Lark ascends almost perpendicularly, and by successive springs, into the air, and hovers there at such a vast height as often to be invisible, though its notes are clearly heard. It is one of the few birds that pour forth its song while on the wing. In consequence of the form of the hinder toe, the Lark never perches on trees; it being unable to cling by the toes. The Lark may be easily tamed, and will then eat off the table, and even alight on the hand.

The smallest species of this tribe is the GRASSHOPPER LARK. The upper part of its body is of a variegated greenish brown; the under parts of a yellowish white, irregularly speckled on the neck and breast. It is a very shy bird, and forms its nest in some solitary place. Its name is derived from its making a kind of sibilous whisper, not unlike the sound emitted by a grasshopper.

THE Bulfinch belongs to the grosbeak tribe, and is a very common but handsome bird. When at its full growth it measures, from the point of the bill to the end of the tail six inches, of which the tail is two. It has a short black bill, very strong and crooked, the upper part hanging over the under like that of a hawk; the tongue is short, and the eyes of a hazel colour; the head and neck in proportion to the body are larger than in the generality of small birds, from which, most probably, they derived their name. In some places they are called Ropes; in others, Thick-bills, and in some Red-hoops, or Tony-hoops, probably from their wild hooping kind of note.

The Bulfinch makes its nest of an ordinary mean fabric, in bushes, in which the female lays four or five eggs of a bluish colour, with dark brown and reddish spots. The nest so closely resembles the surrounding foliage in colour that it is not easily to be discovered. In the summer it mostly frequents woods, and the more retired places; but in winter it approaches gardens and orchards, where in spring it makes great havoc among the buds of trees. It is probable,

however, that it attacks the buds for the sake of the included insects.

The cock is in size equal to the hen, but has a flatter crown, and excels her in the beauty of his colours. In a state of nature this bird has but three cries, all of which are unpleasant: but if man deigns to instruct it methodically, and accustoms it to fine, mellower, and more lengthened strains, it will listen with attention; and the docile bird, whether male or female, without relinquishing its native airs, will imitate exactly, and sometimes even surpass, its master. It also learns to articulate words and sentences.

These birds must not be taken too young; they should be at least twelve days old: at first they must be fed the same as the young linnet, chaffinch, &c. with bread, milk, and rape seed, made into a paste; and, when grown up, with rape and canary seed, threefourths rape, and one-fourth canary. They, as well as the starlings, require much pains to be taken with them in the early part of their education, and should never be fed without what they are wished to learn being repeated to them; they soon grow attentive, and generally by the time they are three months old, will begin to repeat to themselves, after which a very few lessons will render them perfect.

The Grosbeak tribe, to which, as we have already stated, the Bulfinch belongs, contains several species. Of the foreign varieties we may mention the CARDINAL, the GRENADIER, the ABYSSINIAN and PHILIPPINE, the BENGAL, and the SOCIABLE GROSBEAK. The first of these lays up in summer its winter provision of corn; the second is remarkable for its beautiful scarlet colour; the third and fourth construct nests unassailable by the monkey, and undamageable by the rain; the fifth will fetch and carry like a dog; and the sixth is a bird which lives in societies of from eight hundred to a thousand, all under what may be denominated one roof.

It is not by the beauty of his plumage that this universally admired bird has become a general favourite, and the theme of almost every poet; for he is one of those warblers which are the most humbly attired. He is about six inches long, and the upper part of his body is of a rusty brown, tinged with olive; the under parts are of a pale ash colour, almost white at the throat and belly. But in his song he surpasses all the choristers of air, his notes being exquisitely varied, soft, and harmonious, and rendered still more pleasing by their being poured forth in the night, when the other warblers are all silent. In a calm evening he may be heard to the distance of more than half a mile.

The Nightingale visits England in the beginning of April, and generally retires about the middle of September. It is supposed to take its flight to the Asiatic regions. It is only found in some of the southern parts of the country, being totally unknown in Scotland, Ireland, and North Wales; and as it generally keeps in the middle of its favourite bush or tree, it is but rarely seen. It is a solitary bird, and never associates in flocks. The female constructs her nest of