birds were usually hatched, and sometimes grew to half their size, yet none ever arrived at maturity. I myself have seen these foundlings in their nest displaying a strange ferocity of nature, so as scarcely to bear to be looked at, and snapping with their bills by way of menace. In short, they always died, perhaps for want of proper sustenance but the owner thought that by their fierce and wild demeanour they frighted their foster-mothers, and so were starved.

Virgil, as a familiar occurrence, by way of simile, describes a dove haunting the cavern of a rock in such engaging numbers, that I cannot refrain from quoting the passage and John Dryden has rendered it so happily in our language, that without farther excuse I shall add his translation also:

"Qualis speluncâ subito commota Columba,

Cui domus, et dulces latebroso in pumice nidi,
Fertur in arva volans, plausumque exterrita pennis,
Dat tecto ingentem-mox aere lapsa quieto,
Radit iter liquidum, celeres neque commovet alas.”

"As when a dove her rocky hold forsakes,

Rous'd, in a fright her sounding wings she shakes;
The cavern rings with clattering :-out she flies,
And leaves her callow care, and cleaves the skies:
At first she flutters :-but at length she springs
To smoother flight, and shoots upon her wings."

LETTERS TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON.

WH

LETTER I.

SELBORNE, June 30th, 1769.

HEN I was in town last month I partly engaged that I would sometime do myself the honour to write to you on the subject of natural history; and I am the more ready to fulfil my promise, because I see you are a gentleman of great candour, and one that will make allowances; especially where the writer professes to be an outdoor naturalist, one that takes his observations from the subject itself, and not from the writings of others.

THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF THE SUMMER BIRDS OF PASSAGE WHICH I HAVE DISCOVERED IN THIS NEIGHBOURHOOD,

RAII NOMINA.

USUALLY APPEARS ABOUT

9. Middle willow-f Regulus non crista- Middle of April: a sweet

15. Swift,

locustæ voce.

Hirundo apus.

plaintive note.

About April 27th.

he

16. Less reed-spar- f Passer arundinaceus (A sweet polyglot, but hurry

row,

17. Land-ra

18. Largest wil

low wren,

{

minor.

Ortygometra.

{Regulus non crista

19. Coat-sucker Caprimulgus. or Fern-owl,

This assemblage of curious and amusing birds belongs to ten several genera of the Linnæan system; and are all of the ordo of passeres save the jynx and cuculus, which are picœ, and the charadrius (Oedicnemus) and rallus (ortygometra), which are gralla.

These birds, as they stand numerically, belong to the following Linnæan genera :

1,

Jynx.

17. Columba.

2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 16, 18, Motacilla. 13. Rallus.

Most soft-billed birds live on insects, and not on grain and seeds; and therefore at the end of summer they retire: but the following soft-billed birds, though insect-eaters, stay with us the year round :-

A LIST OF THE WINTER BIRDS OF PASSAGE ROUND THIS NEIGHBOURHOOD, RANGED SOMEWHAT IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY APPEAR :

These birds, as they stand numerically, belong to the

Birds that sing in the night are but few :

I should now proceed to such birds as continue to sing after midsummer, but, as they are rather numerous, they would exceed the bounds of this paper; besides, as this is