. The bird . ongener. He is, as a labourer,bound by hard conditions, working-more and earning less. In dryseasons especially, his lot is wretched;his prey flies from him, and retires toan extreme distance, in search ofmoisture. Therefore he invokes therain, with constant cry: Plieii!Flieu! It is thus that the commonpeople interpret his note ; in Bur-gundy he is caUed The Millers Pro-curer; woodpecker and miller, if therain should not descend, would standstill and run the risk of starving. One eminent ornithologist, Tous-senel, an excellent and ingeniousobserver, seems to me mistaken inhis judg
. The bird . ongener. He is, as a labourer,bound by hard conditions, working-more and earning less. In dryseasons especially, his lot is wretched;his prey flies from him, and retires toan extreme distance, in search ofmoisture. Therefore he invokes therain, with constant cry: Plieii!Flieu! It is thus that the commonpeople interpret his note ; in Bur-gundy he is caUed The Millers Pro-curer; woodpecker and miller, if therain should not descend, would standstill and run the risk of starving. One eminent ornithologist, Tous-senel, an excellent and ingeniousobserver, seems to me mistaken inhis judgment of tlie woodpeckerscharacter, when he pronounces him alively bird. For on what grounds ?On the amusing curvets in which heindulges to gain the heart of his who among us, or among moreserious beings, in such a case, does /y-^,not do the same ? He calls him also ^ a tumbler and a clown, because at his appearance he wheeled roundrapidly. For a bird whose powers of flight are very limited, it was 15. 226 LABOUR. perhaps the wiso-=it. course t i , [/(jci;]ly in the presence of such an admhable sliot. Anu this })ro\ed his good sense. A vulgarsportsman, the woodpecker, which knows the coarseness of his flesh,M^ould have suftered to approach him. But in the presence of such aconnoisseur and so keen a friend of birds, he had great cause for fear,lest he should be impaled to adorn his collection. I beg this illustrious writer to consider also the moral habitudes anddisposition which would be acquired from such continuous toil. ThejKipillonne counts for rotlilug her^. and the length of such working-days far exceeds the convenient limit of what Fourier calls agreeablelabour. Tlie woodpecker toils alone and on his own account; un-doubtedly he makes no complaint ; he feels that it is for his interestto work hard and to work long. Firm on his robust legs, though ina painful attitude, he remains at his post all day, and even fJir intothe night. Is he happy ? I beheve so. Gay ? I
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, bookidbird00mi, booksubjectbirds
