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THE OSPREY, OR FISHING HAWK. (Falco, or Pandion Haliætus.

1.

sitting on the handle of a plough and devouring a fish; it used to precipitate itself into the water, and so take its prey by surprise.

A great ash-coloured * butcher-bird was shot last winter in Tisted Park, and a red-backed butcher-bird at Selborne. They are scarce birds in this country.

Crowst go in pairs the whole year round.

Cornish choughs abound, and breed on Beechy Head, and on all the cliffs of the Sussex coast.§

The common wild pigeon,|| or stock-dove, is a bird of passage in the south of England, seldom appearing till towards the end of November,—is usually the latest winter bird of passage. Before our beechen woods were so much destroyed, we had myriads of them, reaching in strings for a mile together, as they went out in a morning to feed. They leave us early in spring. Where do they breed?

The people of Hampshire and Sussex call the missel-bird T the storm-cock,** because it sings early in the spring, in blowing, showery weather. Its song often commences with the year with us it builds much in orchards.

A gentleman assures me he has taken the nests of ringouselst on Dartmoor; they build in banks on the sides of

streams.

Titlarks not only sing sweetly as they sit on trees, but also as they play and toy about on the wing; and particularly while they are descending, and sometimes as they stand on the ground.§§

Adamson's testimony seems to me to be a very poor evidence that European swallows migrate TT during our winter

*British Zoology, p. 161.

Ibid. p. 167.

Ibid. p. 198.

§ Cornish choughs abound in the Isle of Man, and breed there. They are also found on the Galloway and Kirkcudbright coasts.-W. J.

British Zoology, vol. i. p. 216.

Ibid. vol. i. p.

224.

** In Staffordshire it is called the thrice cock; but for what reason I know not.-ED.

++British Zoology, p. 229.

Ibid. vol. ii. p. 237.

§§ Mr. White must have mistaken this for anthus arboreus, or tree-lark. The titlark (anthus pratensis) seldom sits on trees.-W. J.

British Zoology, vol. ii. p. 242.

¶¶ I have reason to believe that there is no portion of the world in which swallows congregate at certain seasons, from which they do not periodically migrate.-ED.

to Senegal; he does not talk at all like an ornithologist, and probably saw only the swallows of that country, which I know build within Governor O'Hara's hall against the roof. Had he known European swallows, would he not have mentioned the species?

*

The house-swallow washes by dropping into the water as it flies; this species appears commonly about a week before the house-martin, and about ten or twelve days before the swift.

In 1772, there were young house-martins † in their nest till October the 23rd.

The swift appears about ten or twelve days later than the house-swallow; viz., about the 24th or 26th of April. Whin-chats § and stone-chatters || stay with us the whole

year.

Some wheatears ¶ continue with us the winter through.** Wagtails, all sorts, remain with us all the winter.†† Bullfinches, when fed on hempseed, often become wholly

black.

We have vast flocks of female chaffinches §§ all the winter, with hardly any males among them.

When you say that, in breeding time the cock snipes |||| make a bleating noise, and a drumming (perhaps I should have rather said a humming), I suspect we mean the same

"The twittering swallow skims the dimpled lake."

"Aut arguta lacus circumvolitavit hirundo."-VIRGIL.

Few things please me more than watching the evolutions of swallows, as they fly over, and occasionally dip on the smooth surface of a pool of water.-ED.

+ British Zoology, vol ii. p. 224.

Ibid. p. 245.

§ Whin-chat (saxicola rubetra, Bechst.) certainly does migrate. Stonechat (saxicola rubicola, Bechst.) is a resident, but we receive an accession of numbers yearly.-W. J.

¶ Ibid. p. 269.

|| British Zoology, vol. ii. pp. 270, 271. **The great body of wheatears migrate regularly; and it is just possible that a few pairs may remain during the winter, in the southern countries; but I strongly suspect Mr. White, though quoting, must be wrong.-W. J.

Mr. White seems only to have known two species of wagtail, the pied and grey. The yellow wagtail is a regular migrater, but is very local in its distribution. Both the others partially migrate in Scotland. Flocks of the first appear in spring, and a few pairs only remain during the winter.-W. J. + British Zoology, vol. ii. p. 300.

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thing. However, while they are playing about on the wing, they certainly make a loud piping with their mouths; but whether that bleating or humming is ventriloquous, or proceeds from the motion of their wings, I cannot say; but this I know, that, when this noise happens, the bird is always descending, and his wings are violently agitated.

Soon after the lapwings have done breeding, they congregate, and leaving the moors and marshes, betake themselves to downs and sheep walks.

Two years ago last spring, the little auk was found alive and unhurt, but fluttering and unable to rise, in a lane a few miles from Alresford, where there is a great lake; it was kept a while, but died.

I saw young teals taken alive in the ponds of Wolmer Forest in the beginning of July last, along with flappers, or young wild ducks.

Speaking of the swift, § that page says, "its drink the dew," whereas it should be, "it drinks on the wing;" for all the swallow kind sip their water as they sweep over the face of pools or rivers: like Virgil's bees, they drink flying— "flumina summa libant," "they sip the surface of the stream." In this method of drinking, perhaps this genus may be peculiar.

Of the sedge-bird, || be pleased to say, it sings most part of the night; its notes are hurrying, but not unpleasing, and imitative of several birds, as the sparrow, swallow, skylark. When it happens to be silent in the night, by throwing a stone or clod into the bushes where it sits, you immediately set it a-singing, or, in other words, though it slumbers sometimes, yet, as soon as it is awakened, it reassumes its song.T

*British Zoology, vol ii. p. 360.

+ Ibid. p. 409.

Ibid. p. 475. They breed amongst the ling of Woolmer Forest, and on the extensive heaths near Lephook.-ED.

§ Ibid. p. 15.

|| Ibid. p. 16.

I have always found this to be the case on passing the willow aits on the river Thames, in a boat in the evening. The least noise at that time will set these birds singing.-En.

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