, away they all flew.

Then long live the _Peacock_, in splendour unmatch'd,
Whose Ball shall be talk'd of by Birds yet unhatch'd!
His praise let the _Trumpeter_[19] loudly proclaim,
And the _Goose_ lend her quill to transmit it to Fame.

[1] _The Rip._ A machine used in poultry-yards, under which it is
usual to confine the mother-bird with the young brood, till it
has acquired strength to follow her. The word is derived from
the Saxon _Hrip_, meaning a covering, or protection, for the
young.

[2] _The Tailor-Bird._ So called from the singular manner in which
it constructs its nest, which is composed of two leaves, sewed
together with wonderful skill by the little tailor, whose bill
serves him for a needle, and the fine fibres of leaves furnish
him with a substitute for thread, by which means he attaches a
dead leaf to a living one, growing at the end of a branch. The
Tailor-Bird is an inhabitant of India.

[3] _The Golden-crested Wren_ is the smallest of the British Birds;
it takes its name from a circle of gold-coloured feathers,
bordered with black, forming an arch above its eyes, which it
has the power of raising or depressing; it is a native of every
part of Europe, and is also to be found in Asia and America.

[4] _Halcyon_, or _Kingfisher_. Esteemed the most beautiful of our
native birds; but its form is clumsy, and its bill very
disproportionate to its size. It inhabits the banks of rivers
and streams, where it will sit for hours on a projecting
branch, watching for its prey. The ancients relate many
fabulous stories of this bird, as that of its laying its eggs
in the depth of winter, and that during the time of its
incubation the weather remains perfectly calm, whence the
expression _Halcyon days_.

[5] _Cuculus indicator._ A bird of the Cuckoo kind, found in the
interior parts of Africa; it has a shrill note, which the
natives answer by a soft whistle; and the birds repeating the
note, the natives are thereby conducted to the wild Bee-hives,
which this bird frequents.

[6] _Cassowary._ A large singular bird found in the island of Java,
in Africa, and the southern parts of India. The head of this
bird is armed with a kind of natural helmet, extending from the
base of the bi