HorsE-MARTi^rs. 269 



LETTEE XCV. 



TO THE HON. DATNES BAEEINGTO!??'. 



Selborxe, Sept. 12, 177L 

 1 HAVE now read your Miscellanies through \s-ith much care 

 and satisfaction ; and am to return you my best thanks for 

 the honourable mention made in them of me as a naturalist, 

 which I -uish I may deserve. 



In some former letters, I expressed my suspicions that 

 many of the house-martins do not depart in the winter far 

 from this village. I therefore determined to make some 

 search about the south-east end of the hill, where I imagined 

 they might slumber out the uncomfortable months of winter. 

 But supposing that the f xamination would be made to the 

 best advantage in the spring, and observing that no martins 

 had appeared by the 11th of April last, on that day I em- 

 ployed some men to explore the shrubs and cavities of the 

 suspected spot. The persons took pains, but without any 

 success ; however, a remarkable incident occurred in the 

 midst of our pursuit, — while the labourers were at work, a 

 house-martin, the first that had been seen this year, came down 

 the village in the sight of several people, and went at once 

 into a nest, where it stayed a short time, and then flew over 

 the houses ; for some days after, no martins were observed, 

 not till the 16th of April, and then only a pair. Martins in 

 general were remarkably late this year. 



LETTER XCYI. 



TO THE SAME. 



Selborne, Sept. 9, 1781. 

 I HAVE just met with a circumstance respecting swifts, which 

 furnishes an exception to the whole tenor of my observations 

 ever since I have bestowed any attention on that species (if 

 hiriindines. Our swifts, in general, ^sithdrew this year about 



