cend at will to the torrid or the arctic regions of the earth."

The residence of the Bald Eagle is selected with an eye to his fondness for fish. In procuring these, he displays in a very peculiar manner the fierceness and energy of his character. Sitting on the high dead limb of some gigantic tree, overlooking the shore and ocean, he watches the movements of the various feathered tribes that are wheeling and sailing about below him.

His attention is arrested by a bird hovering high above all the rest. He knows him by his wide curvature of the wing, and his sudden suspension in the air, to be the Fish Hawk, settling over some devoted victim of the deep. His eye kindles, and balancing himself with half-opened wings on the branch, he watches the result. The distant object of his attention descends like an arrow from heaven, disappearing in the deep, and making the surges foam around!

At this moment, the eager looks of the Eagle are all ardour. He sees the Fish Hawk once more emerge from the wave, struggling with his prey, and mounting into the air with screams of exultation. This is the signal for our hero, who instantly launches into the air, and gains rapidly on the Fish Hawk. Each bird now exerts himself to mount above the other, displaying in these ef forts the most elegant and graceful motions. The Eagle is just on the point of reaching his enemy, when with a sudden scream the latter drops his prize; and the conqueror, descending like a whirlwind, snatches it in his

grasp before it reaches the water, and bears it away silently to the woods.

The Fish Hawks sometimes unite in a body and drive the Eagle from their neighborhood. When thus forced to hunt for himself, he retires inland, in search of young pigs, which he destroys in great numbers. In the lower parts of Virginia and North Carolina, where the inhabitants raise vast herds of these animals, he commits extensive depredations. He also destroys young lambs in the early part of spring, and will sometimes attack old sickly sheep, aiming furiously at their eyes.

This celebrated bird is peculiar to America. A warm climate and low country seem most congenial to his nature, and he is therefore more frequently found in the southern, than in the nothern states. He builds his nest in different places, according to the latitude in which he resides. A solitary thorn-bush, an almost impenetrable thicket, an orange tree, cedar or holly bush are favorite spots.

While the female is sitting, neither cat, dog, man, or any other animal can approach the nest without being attacked. At this time, too, the vengeance of the bird is particularly directed against its mortal enemy, the black snake. Whenever this reptile is discovered, the male darts upon it with the rapidity of an arrow, and seldom leaves it till it is dead. He then returns to his nest, and pours out a torrent of song, in token of victory.

The plumage of this bird has nothing gaudy or brilliant in it; but he is remarkable for his full, strong and musical voice. This is capable of every note, from the mellow tones of the wood thrush, to the savage screams of the bald eagle.

His song loses little of its power and energy by confinement. In his domesticated state, he is exceedingly amusing. He whistles for the dog; Cæsar starts up, He squeaks wags his tail, and runs to meet his master. out like a hurt chicken, and the hen hurries about with hanging wings and bristling feathers, clucking to protect her injured brood. The barking of the dog, the mewing of the cat, the creaking of the passing wheel-barrow fol

low, with great truth and rapidity. He runs over the quiverings of the canary, and the clear whistlings of the Virginia nightingale or red-bird, with such superior execution and effect, as to shame these beautiful songsters into silence.

These birds have much of the manners, as, with the exception of the peculiar structure of their tail, they have all the organization of the Linnet. In captivity they are lively and active, jumping from perch to perch, and al

ternately raising and depressing their long tails with much vivacity. They are usually fed upon grain, with the occasional addition of green herbs, and are fond of bathing in the water which is placed in their cage. Twice a year, they are subject to change of plumage, which alters the appearance of the male so much, that it would be difficult to recognize him for the same bird.

The male of this species in his summer dress is throughout of a bright black, with the exception of the back of the neck, which is half surrounded by a broad lightish chesnut band; the breast, which is reddish brown; and the under parts which are nearly white. During the winter, when it is destitute of the long tail-feathers, its head is variegated with black and white; its breast and back are of a dull orange, covered with dusky spots; its quill feathers are dark brown; and its under parts dirty white.

The Widow-birds are natives of Africa, and are found in various parts of its western coast, from Senegal to Angola.

THE MAGPIE.

This bird is about eighteen inches in length, and is exceedingly beautiful. Its black, its white, its green and purple, with the rich and gilded glosses on its tail, are as fine as any that adorn the feathered tribe. But with all this, it is vain, restless, loud, and quarelsome, and never misses an opportunity to do mischief.

The insolence of Magpies is extreme. It leads them