128 



Ammali found in Norfolk. 



[Sept. T, 



fiihjefl to the vertigo, and is fometimes 

 caught in thefents." 



THE WOODCHAT. 



{Lanius B.ufus, l^ar. ,7, Gmclins Lin- 



tti^US ?) 



" There is a foall b;id of prey called a 

 bird-catc'ner. It is about the fizt: ot a 

 tlirufh, and linnet-coloured, withaloiig- 

 ifh white and fliarp bill. It is a kind of 

 Lanius, and is of a very wild nature, 

 tiioiigh kept in a cage andf.d withflcfli." 



•' Kavens are in good plenty near 

 Norwich ; and on this account it is there 

 are io few kites feen thcriabout. They 

 build in woods very early, and lay their 

 eggs in February. 



" Rooks are alfo in great numbers, on 

 account of the gieat quantities ot corn- 

 fields and rookeries. The young onts 

 are commonly fjl.i in Norwich market. — 

 Many of them are kilkd for the livers, 

 which are ufed in curing the rickets." 



Jackdaws are very common 5 but Sir 

 Thomas Browne never oblerved in Nor- 

 folk the Cornifii cliough, which has red 

 legs and a red bill, and is very irequent in 

 Cornwall. 



THE ROLLER. 



A fpecimen of this very uncommon 

 bird was fliot ntar Croftwick, in May 

 1664, and was Tent to Sir Thomas 

 Browne for examination. This is only 

 the third that we have heard ot as having 

 been feen at large in theliritilh illands. 

 THjE cucr.oo. 



*' There are cuckoos of two forts in 

 Norfolk, one far exceeding- the other in 

 lize. Some perfons have attempted to 

 keep thefe birds alive, in warm rooms, 

 through the winter, but they have, never 

 fucceeded. The cuckoos in their fummer 

 migration rangr; very far northward ; fome 

 have been obitrved eveii in Iceland." 



Obfer'vatwns. — With refpeif to the two 

 fpecics of cuckoo which this intelligent 

 ohlerver i-.elieved hehaddifcovered, there is 

 V.ry evidently an error. The young cuckoos 

 are of a biovvn colour, mixed wiih ferru- 

 ginous and hisck, and, accori'ing to Pen- 

 nint, have been deicribcd by Ibme au- 

 thors as cid ones. This clrcumltarxc, 

 added to thit of their fmaller fize, will 

 account for Sir Thomas Browne's mift:^ke. 

 Had there reallv been two fpecies in this 

 country, fo diftinft as by the preceding 

 note we might bs led to imagine, there 

 can be no doubt but that, in the lapfe of 

 more than a hur.diedyears, during which 

 the ftudy of na'urai hiltory has been fo 

 ardently purfuc-d in thsfe ki.ngdoms, they 

 nniH have been perfectly afcertained. 



THE GREEN WOODPECKER, — THE 

 OREATER SPOTTED WOODPECKER,— 

 THE MIDDLE SPOTTED WOOD- 

 Pr.CKER, AND THE NUTHATCH. 



" Thefe are remarkable in ihehardnef* 

 of their bill and Ikull, and in the muJclcs 

 which throw the tongue above an inch 

 out of their mouth, for the purpofe of 

 picking Up infecSs on which they feed. — 

 They make holes in trees, without any 

 corfiileration of the wends or qiiariersi, 

 but where the rottenne.'s beft affords con- 

 venience." 



THE KINGFISHER. 



" The number of rivulets and ftreams 

 whofe banks are befet with willows and 

 alders, flielter this beautiful bird. The 

 fenialesi build their nelts in holes above 

 gravel-pits, where ih;re are always to be 

 found great quantities of fmall fiflies 

 hones; ;tnd they lay very handfoine round, 

 and, as it were, polifhed eggs." 



Obfervatkn. — This account of the 

 kingtilher forming its neit above gravel- 

 pits is certainly not true, as of genrral oc- 

 currence : the ntft is molt commonly to 

 be found in the forfaken hole of a water- 

 rat, in the bank of ibme ditch or ri\ ulet, 



THE HOOPOE. 



" U])upa, or Hoopc-bird, has its name 

 from it.s note. I have often feen ihnn in 

 Norfolk, and it is by no means difficult to 

 flioot them." 



" The Skylark, Woodlark, and 

 TitlaR-K, are fufficiently common here; 

 but I have never met with the calandner, 

 or great credcd lark. 



" The Stares or Starlings are in 

 great numbers. The moll remarkable 

 circumftance relating to ihtfe biidsis their 

 rooiting at night (about the autumn) inim- 

 menfe numbers, in the mar(1ies,on the leeds 

 or aiders. I have oftengone intothe mar(hes 

 for the purpo.e ot olderving them ; and, 

 landing near their ul'u d place of lefort, 

 I have feen many flocks fly ng from all 

 quarters. Thefe, in lefs than an hour's 

 tiine, would all come in, and letiie in in- 

 numerable muhitudes wi;hin a very fmall 

 compafs." 



THE HAWFINCH. 



Our ob.'isrving writer chUs this a coble- 

 bird, or a kind of coccothraufles, and 

 fays that it is chiefly to be feen in the fum^ 

 nier, about cherry time. 



Obfervallon. — It feetis on the kernels of 

 cherries, and fome other kinds of I'.one- 

 fiuit; and by means of its amazingly 

 ftrong bill it breaks the ftones without 

 much diffii^^ulty. 



{T'obc coatiaueJ) 



For 



I 



