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OF SELBORNE. 119 
deliver somewhat into its mouth. If it takes any 
part of its prey with its foot, as I have now the 
greatest reason to suppose it does these chafers, [ 
no longer wonder at the use of its middle toe, which 
is curiously furnished with a serrated claw. 
Swallows and martins—the bulk of them, I mean 
—have forsaken us sooner this year than usual; for 
on Sept. the 22d they rendezvoused in a neighbour’s 
walnut-tree, where it seemed probable they had 
taken up their lodgings for the night. At the dawn 
of the day, which was foggy, they rose all together 
in infinite numbers, occasioning such a rushing from 
the stroke of their wings against the hazy air as 
might be heard to a considerable distance ; since 
that no flock has appeared, only a few stragglers, 
Some swifts stayed late, till the 22d of August ; 
a rare instance! for they usually withdraw within 
the first week.* 
On September the 24th, three or four ringousels 
appeared in my fields for the first time this season, 
How punctual are these visiters in their autumnal 
and spring migrations! 
LETTER XXXVIII. 
Selbormne, March 15, 1773. 
Dear Sir,—By my journal for last autumn it 
appears that the Houss-martins stayed very late 
in these parts, for on the Ist of October I saw young 
martins in their nests nearly fledged; and again, on 
the 21st of October, we had, at the next house, a 
* See Letter XLVIII., Part IT. 
