nest, the male, if he desire to follow her, beats violently with his wings against the sides of the nest, and the edges, coming in contact with each other, unite, and entirely close up the entrance. By the means of such a singular contrivance, these small birds protect their young from voracious insects and animals which are capable of doing them injury *.

"The nest of the pinc-pinc," says Vaillant, "is usually placed among prickly shrubs, particularly the mimosas, but sometimes on the extreme branches of trees. It is commonly very large, though some are larger than others; but the difference is only in the external appearance; in the interior they are almost of the same dimensions, namely, from three to four inches in diameter, whilst the circumference of the exterior is often more than a foot. As the nest is wholly composed of the down of plants, it is either of a snowy whiteness, or of a brownish color, according to the quality of the down which is produced by the neighbouring shrubs. On the outside it appears to be constructed in an irregular and clumsy manner, according to the situation of the branches upon which it is built, and to which it is so firmly attached, part of them passing through its texture, that it is impossible to remove it without leaving one half behind. If, however, the nest have the appearance, on the outside, of being badly made, we shall be the more surprised, on looking into the interior, that so small a creature, without other instrument than its bill, its wings, and tail, could have wrought vegetable down in such a manner, as to render it as united and of as fine a texture as cloth-even of good quality. The nest in question is entirely of a round form, has a narrow neck made in its upper part, by which means the bird glides into the interior.

*Sonnerat, Voyage aux Indes orientales, vol. ii. p. 206.

reared are almost infinite. The warmth, indeed, of incubation may be, in some measure, supplied by cotton and fires; but these delicate animals require, in this state, being fed almost perpetually, whilst the nourishment they receive should not only be prepared with great attention, but given in very small portions at a time.

“Though I must admit, therefore, that I have not reared myself a bird of so tender an age, yet I have happened to see both a linnet and a goldfinch which were taken from their nests when only two or three days old.

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The first of these belonged to Mr. Matthews, an apothecary at Kensington, which, from a want of other sounds to imitate, almost articulated the words pretty boy, as well as some other short sentences. I heard the bird myself repeat the words pretty boy; and Mr. Matthews assured me that he had neither the note or call of any bird whatsoever.

"This talking linnet died last year; and many persons went from London to hear him speak.

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The goldfinch I have before mentioned was reared in the town of Knighton, in Radnorshire, which I happened to hear as I was walking by the house where it was kept.

"I thought, indeed, that a wren was singing, and I went into the house to inquire after it, as that little bird seldom lives long in a cage.

"The people of the house, however, told me that they had no bird but a goldfinch, which they conceived to sing its own natural note, as they called it; upon which I stayed a considerable time in the room, whilst its notes were merely those of a wren without the least mixture of goldfinch.

"On further inquiries, I found that the bird had been taken from the nest when only two or three days old, that it was hung in a window which was

opposite to a small garden, whence the nestling had undoubtedly acquired the notes of the wren, without having any opportunity of learning even the call of the goldfinch.

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These facts which I have stated seem to prove, very decisively, that birds have not any minute ideas of the notes which are supposed to be peculiar to each species. But it will possibly be asked, why, in a wild state, they adhere so steadily to the same song, insomuch that it is well known, before the bird is heard, what notes you are to expect from him.

"This, however, arises entirely from the nestling's attending only to the instruction of the parent bird, whilst it disregards the notes of all others which may perhaps be singing round him.

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Young canary birds are frequently reared in a room where there are many other sorts, and yet I have been informed that they only learn the song of the parent cock.

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Every one knows that the common house-sparrow, when in a wild state, never does anything but chirp; this, however, does not arise from want of powers in this bird to imitate others, but because he only attends to the parental note.

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But, to prove this decisively, I took a common sparrow from the nest, when it was fledged, and educated him under a linnet; the bird, however, by accident, heard a goldfinch also; and his song was, therefore, a mixture of the linnet and goldfinch.

"I have tried several experiments in order to observe from what circumstances birds fix upon any particular note when taken from the parents, but cannot settle this with any sort of precision, any more than at what period of their recording they determine upon the song to which they will adhere.

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I educated a young robin under a very fine nightingale, which, however, began already to be out

a pair of pinc-pincs have finished the workmanship of their little nest, and even sometimes after having made several of these, they have not had the pleasure of possessing an asylum for their young. A sad example of what is seen in the affairs of men, among whom the most powerful have exercised absolute dominion and obliged the weaker to obey *."

1

We may with great propriety place here the smallest and prettiest nests with which we are ac* Oiseaux d'Afrique, vol. iii. p. 91.

quainted, those of the humming-birds (Trochilida VIGORS), with whose appearance many of our readers may be familiar, as they are by no means uncommon in museums-their extreme neatness of execution, and their minute size, causing them to be highly prized. By far the best description of these which we have met with, is that by Wilson of the red-throated humming-bird (Trochilus colubris). "About the 25th of April," he says, "the humming-bird usually

The Red-throated Humming-Bird (Trochilus colubris).

arrives in Pennsylvania, and about the 10th of May begins to build its nest. This is generally fixed on the upper side of a horizontal branch, not among the twigs, but on the body of the branch itself. Yet I have known instances where it was attached by the side to an old moss-grown trunk, and others where it was fastened on a strong rank stalk or weed in the garden; but these cases are rare. In the woods it very often chooses a white oak sapling to build on, and in the orchard or garden selects a pear-tree for that purpose. The branch is seldom more than ten feet from the ground. The nest is about an inch in