OF SELBORNE 29 



The most unusual birds I ever observed in these parts 

 were a pair of hoopoes {upupd) which came several years 

 ago in the summer, and frequented an ornamented piece 

 of ground, which joins to my garden, for some weeks. 

 They used to march about in a stately manner, feeding in 

 the walks, many times in the day ; and seemed disposed to 

 breed in my outlet ; but were frighted and persecuted by 

 idle boys, who would never let them be at rest. 



Three gross-beaks {loxia coccothraustes) appeared some 

 years ago in my fields, in the winter ; one of which I shot : 

 since that, now and then one is occasionally seen in the 

 same dead season. 



A cross-bill {loxia curvirostrd) was killed last year in 

 this neighbourhood. 



Our streams, which are small, and rise only at the end 

 of the village, yield nothing but the bull's head or 

 miller's thumb {gobius fluviatilis capitatus)^ the trout {trutta 

 fluviatilis), the eel [anguilla)^ the lampern {lampaetra parva 

 et fluviatilis), and the stickle-back (pisci cuius aculeatus). 



We are twenty miles from the sea, and almost as many 

 from a great river, and therefore see but little of sea-birds. 

 As to wild-fowls, we have a few teams of ducks bred in 

 the moors where the snipes breed ; and multitudes of 

 widgeons and teals in hard weather frequent our lakes 

 in the forest. 



Having some acquaintance with a tame brown owl, I 

 find that it casts up the fur of mice, and the feathers of 

 birds in pellets, after the manner of hawks : when full, 

 like a dog, it hides what it cannot eat. 



The young of the barn-owl are not easily raised, as they 

 want a constant supply of fresh mice : whereas the young 

 of the brown owl will eat indiscriminately all that is 

 brought ; snails, rats, kittens, puppies, magpies, and any 

 kind of carrion or ofFal. 



The house-martins have eggs still, and squab-young. 

 The last swift I observed was about the twenty-first of 

 August ; it was a straggler. 



Red-starts, fly-catchers, white-throats, and reguli non 

 cristati^ still appear ; but I have seen no black-caps lately. 



