hawk, known as the guacharo.3 All these birds are nocturnal in their habits, like the owls; their voices are often harsh and strange, and that of the chuck-wills-widow is seldom heard in cloudy weather, and never when it rains. 3. The male of the common night-hawk is frequently seen toward evening mounting in the air by several quick movements of the wings, then a few slower, uttering all the while a sharp, harsh squeak, till, having gained the highest point, he suddenly dives head foremost, and with great rapidity, down sixty or eighty feet, wheeling up again as suddenly, and making at the same time a loud booming sound, which is probably caused by his suddenly opening his capacious mouth as he passes rapidly through the air.* 4. “And, in mid air, the sportive night-hawk, seen Flying a while at random, uttering oft A cheerful cry, attended with a shake Of level pinions dark; but, when upturn'd Against the brightness of the western sky, One white plume shining in the midst of each; Then far down diving with a hollow sound."-C. WILCOX. 5. The whippoorwill, which greatly resembles the nighthawk, is a bird found only in America, and is noted for its peculiar song, which seems very plainly to articulates the syllables which compose its name. This bird is first heard in our Northern States about the beginning of May, generally at dusk, and through the evening. Toward midnight it generally becomes silent, but its notes burst forth again at early dawn, and continue till the beams of the rising sun scatter the darkness that overhung the face of Nature. 6. "Lone whippoorwill, There is much sweetness in thy fitful' hymn, And to the herds deep slumbers, and sweet dews This is the opinion of Wilson, the ornithologist; but Aububon thinks the sound is produced by the sudden outspreading of the wings of the bird to arrest its rapid flight. To the red roses and the herbs, doth find I hear thee oft at midnight, when the thrush And the green roving linnet are at rest, And the blithe13 twittering swallows have long ceased 7. The chuck-wills-widow, which is a near relative of the whippoorwill, although seldom found north of Virginia and Tennessee, is so called from its notes, which seem to articulate the syllables of its name with wonderful distinctness. The tones of its voice are stronger and more full than those of the whippoorwill, and, like the latter, it keeps up a continual noise during the evening, and, in moonlight, throughout the whole of the night. Neither this bird nor the whippoorwill makes any nest, but both deposit1 their eggs on the dry leaves in the woods. 8. The bee-eaters, which derive their name from their great partiality for bees and wasps, are entirely confined to the Eastern hemisphere. The swallows, which include the martins, chimney-swallows, barn-swallows, bank-swallows, swifts, and a few other species, are a widely-dispersed and wellknown family, resembling the night-jars in the deep clefts of their bills, but differing from them in being active during the day. 9. Speaking of swallows, Sir Humphrey Davy observes, "The swallow is one of my favorite birds, and a rival of the nightingale; for he glads my sense of seeing as much as the other does my sense of hearing. He is the joyous prophet of the year-the harbinger of the best season. He lives a life of enjoyment among the loveliest forms of Nature. Winter is unknown to him; and he leaves the green meadows of England in autumn for the myrtle and orange-groves of Italy, and for the palms of Africa.” 10. A French writer, the Duke of Nemours, gives the following account of what fell under his own observation: “I observed," he says, "a swallow which had unhappily, and I can not imagine in what manner, slipped its foot into a knot of pack-thread, the other end of which was attached to a spout of the college building. Its strength was exhausted. It hung at the end of the thread, uttering cries, and sometimes raising itself, as if making an effort to fly away. 11. "All the swallows in and around Paris, and perhaps from places more remote, soon assembled, to the number of several thousands. Their flight was like a cloud; all uttering a cry of pity and alarm. After some hesitation and a tumultuous council, one of them hit upon a device for delivering their companion, communicated it to the rest, and all at once began to put it into execution. 12. "They arranged themselves in a long line, flew rapidly past the poor prisoner, and, in passing, struck the pack of thread with their bills. These efforts, directed to one point, were continued for half an hour, when the thread was severed and the captive set free. But the flock remained until night, chattering continually in a tone which no longer betrayed anxiety, and seeming to be congratulating each other, and talking over the story of their achievements."15 13. The todies, which are a small family of beautiful birds, somewhat resembling the kingfishers, are found chiefly within the tropics of both hemispheres. The bright red spot on the throat of the green tody of the West Indies is said to attract insects, just as a candle attracts moths. The trogons are also a small family, but one pre-eminent in beauty and brilliancy of coloring, which is usually a metallic golden-green, strongly contrasted with scarlet, black, and brown. 14. The kingfishers, which are generally birds of gay plumage, are distributed over the world; but the warmer parts of India, Africa, and South America have the greatest share. This bird delights in murmuring streams and falling waters; not, however, merely that they may soothe his ear, but for a gratification somewhat more substantial. Amid the roar of the cataract, or over the foam of a torrent, he sits perched upon an overhanging bough, glancing his piercing eye in every direction below for his scaly prey, which, with a sudden circular plunge, he sweeps from its native element, and swallows in an instant. The kingfisher has a loud and harsh voice, and builds his nest in holes which he digs in the banks of streams. When the mother-bird is disturbed on the nest, she will frequently drop on the water, as if severe ly wounded, and flutter as if unable to rise from the stream, in order to induce the intruder to wade or swim after her. 1 ЄLEFT, divided; parted. 2 CON-GEN ́-IAL, suitable. 3 GUA'-CHA-RO. 4 BOOM'-ING, roaring like waves. 5 PIN'-IONS (pin'-yons), wings. 6 AR-TIC-U-LATE, to utter distinctly. 7 FIT-FUL, varied; unsteady. 8 WATCH'-ES, hours; periods. 9 CHÄNT, to sing. 10 DIRGE, a song expressing grief, as a funeral dirge. 11 RE-CLUSE, a hermit. 12 ANTHEM, a hymn. 13 BLITHE, merry; gay. 14 DE-POS'-IT, leave; place. 15 A-CHIEVE-MENTS, great or heroic actions. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. LESSON XIII. "THE FOWLS OF THE AIR SHALL TEACH THEE.” Came to our grănary, and 'neath the eaves Day after day she toiled With patient art'; but ere her work was crowned', And dashed it to the ground. She found the ruin wrought; Yet not cast down, forth from her place she flew, And built her nest anew. But scarcely had she placed The last soft feather on its ample floor, When wicked hand, or chance, again laid waste But still her heart she kept, What truth is here, O man'? R. S. S. ANDROS. 1. 2. THE SWALLOW PARTY. 66 Come, summer visitant, attach To my reed roof your nest of clay, At the gray dawn of day."-CHARLOTTE SMITH. 3. Two barn swallows came into our wood-shed in the spring-time. Their busy, earnest twitterings led me at once to suspect that they were looking out a building-spot; but, as a carpenter's bench was under the window, and hammer |