Young broods of/wallows began to appear this year on July the-
eleventh, and young martins (hirundines urbiae) were then fledged in
their nefts. Both fpeeies wifi breed again once. For I fee by my
fauna of laft year, that young broods came forth fo late as September
the eighteen th. Are not tjiefe late hatchings more in favour of hiding
than migration ? Nay, fome young martins remained in their nefts
laft year fo late as September the twenty-ninth; and yet they totally
difappeared with us by the fifth of 08ober.
How ftrange is it that the Jwift, which feerns to- live exadtly
the fame life with the /wallow and houfi-martin, ftiould leave us
before the^ nuddle of Auguji invariably! while the latter flay often’
till the middle of October ; and once I faw numbers of houfe-
martins on the feventh of November. The martins and red-wing
fieldfares were flying in fight together;, an uncommon affem-'
blage of fummer and,winter-birds-!
A little-yellow bird (it is either a fpeeies of the alauda trivialis,
or rather perhaps of the motacilla trochilus) ftill continues to make:
a fibilous ftiivering noife in the tops of tall woods. T h e fioparola-
of Ray (for which we have as yet no name in thefe parts) is called^
m your Zoology, thefiy-catcher. There, is one circumftance charac-
tenftic of this bird, which feems to- have eleapcd obfervation
and that is, it takes it’s ftand on the top of fome ftake or poll’
from whence it fprings forth on it’s prey, catching a fly in the air;
and hardly ever touching the ground, but returning-ftill to the
fame ftand for many times together.
I perceive there are more than one fpeeies o f the motacilla-
trochilus: Mr. Berham fuppofes, in Ray’s Philof. Letters, that he-:
has difcovered three. In thefe there is-again an inftance of fome-
very common birds that have as yet no Englijh. name.
Mr.
- Mr. Stillingfleet makes a queftion whether the black-cap (motacilla
micapiila) be a bird of pafiage or not: I think there is no doubt
of i t : for, in April, in the firft fine- weather, they come trooping,
all at once, into thefe parts, but are never feen in the winter.
They are delicate fongfters.
Numbers of fnipes breed every fummer in fome moory ground
on the verge of this parilh. It is very amufing to fee the cock
bird on wing at that time, and to hear his piping and humming
notes. . . .
I have had no opportunity yet of procuring any of thole mice
which I mentioned: to you in town. The perfon that brought me
the laft fays they are plenty in harveft, at which time I will take
care to get more; and will endeavour to put the matter out of
doubt, whether it be a non-defeript fpeeies or not.
I fufpeft much there may be two fpeeies of water-rats. Ray
fays, and Linnaeus after him, that the water-rat is web-footed behind.
Now I have difcovered a rat on the banks of our little ftream that
is not web-footed, and yet is an exellent fwimmer and diver: it
anfwers exaftly to the mus amphibius of Linnaus (See Syfi. Nat.)
which he fays | natat in foffis & urinatur,” I ftiould be glad to
procure one “ plantis palmatis." Linnaeus feems to be in a puzzle
about his mus amphibius, and to doubt whether it differs from his mus
terrefiris; which if it be, as he allows,'the “ mus agrefiis capite grandi
brachyuros” of Ray, is widely different from the water-rat, both in
fize, make, and manner of life.
As to the falco, which I mentioned in town, I fhall take the
liberty to fend it down to you into Wales; prefummg on your
candour, that you will excufe me if it ftiould appear as familiar to
you as it is ftrange to me. Though mutilated | qualem dices . .- •
“ antehac fuiffe, tales cum fint reliquiae ! ”
It