106 N A T U R A L H I S T O R Y
ivhere they find fpiders and flies that have laid themfelves up
during the cold feafon. But the grand fupport of the foft-billed
birds in winter is that infinite profuiion of aurelia of the lepidopterct
wdo, which is fattened to the twigs of trees and their trunks ; to
the pales and walls of gardens and buildings; and is found in
every cranny and cleft of rock or rubbilh, and even in the ground
itfdf. . : jg .. . I . ... ..
Every fpeeies of titmoufe winters with us;, .they,have «what f
call a kind of intermediate bill between the.hard and the; Toft, -between
the Lirm'tean genera offiittg ilh and motacilla. Otoe fpeeies
alone fpends it s whole time in the woods and fields, never retreat-
ihg Tor fuccour in the fevereft Teafons to houfes and neighbourhoods;
and that is the delicate long-tailed titmoufe, which is
'alrnoft as minute as the golden-crowned-wren: but the blue tit-
inoufe, or nun fparus camkus), the cole-moufe fparufaterf the
great Mack-headed titmoufe (ffingillago), and the, marih titmoufe
(parus palufris), all-refort, at times, to. buildings,; and in hard
weather particiilarly. The; great titmoufe, driven by lirefs of
weather, much frequents houfes; arid, in deep fnows,. Thrive
Teen this bird, while it hung with it’s back downwards (to my .nOf
fnjall delight and admiration), draw ftraws lengthwife from out the
cavfcs of thatched houfes, in order, to pull out the,flies that were
concealed'between, them, and that in-fuch-numbers that they quite:
defaced the thatch, and-gave it a ragged appearance.
The blue titmoufe, or nun, is a great frequenter of houfes, and:
a general devourer. Belides •infefls,.,.it is very fond of flelh ; for-it
frequently picks bones on dunghills : ,it is ,a vaft admirer o f fucr,
and haunts 'butchers’ fhops. When a boy,, I,have known- twenty
in a morning caught with friap moufe-traps, baited with tallow
©r fuet. It will alfo pick, holes in apples left on the ground, and
be:
O F S E L B O R N E. {0J
bewiell entertained: with the feeds on the head of a fun-flower.
The blue, marlh, and great titmice will, in very fevere weather
carry away barley and oat- ftraws-from The fides of- ricks.
How the.wheat-ear and-whin-chat- fupport themfelves in winter
cannot be. fo eafdy afeertained, fince- they fpend- their time on
wild heaths .and warrens; -the former efpcciaUy, where there arc
ftone quarries : moft probably it is that- their maintenance arifes '
tram the aureh* of the leftdopterd ordoy which furnifh them with a
plentiful table-in the wiluerneis, I am &c
l e t t e r XLII.
TO THE. SAMS.
d e a r s i r , „
,T ! - . : . ■ . Sm.borne, Msrchy, , j7Ji
S ome fu tu r e / ,^ , a man of fortune, will, I hope, extend luV
Yjfits to the kingdom of Ireland; a new field, and a country little-
knoyn to the natural«!. He will not, it is to be wilhed, Under
take that tour unaccompamed by a botanift, beeaufe the mountains
have fcarcely been fufficiently examined; and the foutherly counties
of To mild an,Hand may poffibly afford Tome plants lktle to
e expetted within thtBntifh dominions.^ A perfon o f a thinking
turn of mind will draw many juft remarks from the modem' in f
provements of that country, both in arts and agriculture; whem
premiums obtained, long before they were heard of with us The
manners of the wild natives, their fuperftitions, their prejudices!
2 their
^ rt*'< lt y
11188