24 FEATHERED RESIDENTS IN THE GROUNDS OF TERRICK HOUSE. 



hymns of praise to their Great Creator; let me gaze on the fair forms of these 

 "free denizens of the air," as according to their several habits, they may be seen, 

 now flitting from spray to spray, now mounting on soaring wing, now dropping 

 from a neighbouring tree top to the shelter of the underwood, now sailing about 

 in the upper regions of the air "with wings expanded and motionless," now 

 dashing with impetuous velocity round the tower of the distant church, now 

 skimmiug the surface of pond or lake, now rowing placidly and noiselessly 

 upon, now splashing, flapping, and diving noisily and impetuously through and 

 under its waters, now cleaving the liquid air in straight, rapid, arrow-like, 

 and onward flight, now describing a series of semicircles, or dancing about 

 on the wing, "with odd jerks and gesticulations," now darting from a neigh- 

 bom-ing thicket to pick up, at the distance of several paces, some small insect; 

 you deem it next to impossible that it could have discerned so small an 

 object at so great a distance, and apparently concealed too, amongst the herbage, 

 the fact however of its darting directly to the spot, and then and there 

 seizing upon the said insect, convinces you that it must have done so, and 

 you infer from the circumstance that its organs of vision must have telescopic, 

 microscopic, or other powers which your own have not. 



Birds were considered by the Rev, Gilbert White, "to be somewhat wild 

 and shy in proportion to their size," to this might be added, they are also 

 wild and shy in proportion to the degree of persecution they meet with; 

 it is astonishing the confidence most species will exhibit, when for any length 

 of time they have met an asylum, and a consequent immunity from persecution 

 and annoyance: and here I cannot refrain from expressing my entire concurrence 

 in, and warmly pressing upon the attention of others, the humane and most 

 excellent suggestion of your correspondent, Robert Gray, Esq., that the use 

 of the telescope might supersede that of the deadly fowling-piece, (See "The 

 Naturalist," vol. i. page 122.) A circumstance which occurred to myself but 

 yesterday, October 26th., serves to place the advantages that might accrue 

 from the use of the former instrument over the latter, in a strong light. I 

 was walking in the neighbourhood of Cokethorpe Park, when a bird flew past, 

 and at the distance of about a hundred yards beyond me, alighted on a spray 

 in the hedge, where it remained for several minutes; the bird had so much 

 the appearance of a Cuckoo, (Cuculus canorus,) that I felt more than half 

 inclined to set it down as one, still it is possible that it might have been the 

 Merlin, (Falco cesalon.) I was prevented from approaching nearer, even had 

 the bird been disposed to have permitted it, by an insurmountable fence which 

 intervened, and alongside which I was walking. Now a gun would have been 

 of no manner of service in this instance, while a telescope would have been 

 of the greatest use, for it would have enabled me to have placed the identity 

 of the bird beyond a doubt; in this I should have felt much interested, never 

 having personally met with an instance of the Cuckoo remaining in this 

 country so late in the season as this, by nearly two months. This is onfe 

 of the many instances in which the telescope might be advantageously employed 



