School: Cluain Fhada (roll number 15091)

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1. Bird-Lore (continued)

   

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   The lark sings high up in the sky and the higher she goes the louder and sweeter she sings. She builds her nest in the grass and it is so like the surrounding ground that it is very hard to see or find it. Another cruel practice is keeping a lark in a cage, for she is always trying to get out to fly up in the clear blue sky. The cuckoo and swallow are only Summer visitors to us, as they are only able to live in warm climates and our Winter is too cold for them. People remark that when the swallow flies high in the air, it is a sign of good weather but when it skims along the ground rain is not far off. When the robin sings high up on a bush in the early morning, old people say it is a sign of a good day, but if she sings in the heart of a bush it is sure to rain. This bird is a great favourite with young and old, and makes friends with people who are kind to it, and another reason why it is liked better than other birds is on account of it's red breast which it got in trying to pull the nails out of Our Lord's hands as he was hanging on the cross, and in doing so a drop of His blood fell on her breast and ever since all robins have red, red, breasts. The only bird that does not build a nest is the cuckoo. To save itself the trouble of rearing it's young, it lays it's eggs in the
   nests of some other birds and as the young cuckoo is hatched it manages to throw all the other baby birds out of the nest and in this way gets all the care and attention of it's foster parents. The birds on this account look on the

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   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. gníomhairí (~1)
      1. seanchas ainmhithe (~1,185)
         1. seanchas na n-éan (~2,478)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Phyllis Crosbie

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Cloonfad More, Co. Ros Comáin

   Informant

   Michael Crosbie

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Cloonfad More, Co. Ros Comáin