68 NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. 



coloured ones. The yellowest bird is considerably the largest, 

 and has its quill-feathers and secondary feathers tipped with white, 

 which the others have not. This last haunts only the tops of trees 

 in high beechen woods, and makes a sibilous grasshopper-like 

 noise, now and then, at short intervals, shivering a little with its 

 wings when it sings ; and is, I make no doubt now, the regulus 

 non cristatus of Ray, which he says " cantat voce stridula locustce" 

 Yet this great ornithologist never suspected that there were three 

 species. 



LETTER XX. 



SELBORNE, October 8/ti, 1768. 



IT is I find in zoology as it is in botany ; all nature is so full that 

 that district produces the greatest variety which is the most exa- 

 mined. Several birds, which are said to belong to the north only, 

 are it seems often in the south. I have discovered this summer 

 three species of birds with us, which writers mention as only to 

 be seen in the northern counties. The first that was brought me 

 (on the 1 4th May), was the sandpiper, tringa hypoleucus : it was 

 a cockbird, and haunted the banks of some ponds near the village ; 

 and, as it had a companion, doubtless intended to have bred near 

 that water. Besides, the owner has told me since, that on recol- 

 lection, he has seen some of the same birds round his ponds in 

 former summers. 



The next bird that I procured (on the 2ist May) was a male 

 red-backed butcher bird, lanhts collurio. My neighbour, who shot 

 it, says that it might easily have escaped his notice, had not the 

 outcries and chattering of the whitethroats and other small birds 

 drawn his attention to the bush, where it was ; its craw was filled 

 with the legs and wings of beetles. 



The next rare birds (which were procured for me last week) 

 were some ring-ousels, turdi torquatil 



This week twelve months a gentleman from London, being with 

 us, was amusing himself with a gun, and found, he told us, on an 



