THE NATURAL HISTORY 



[LETT. 



young wasps in their maggot state with the highest glee and 

 delight. Any insect-eating bird would do the same. Birds of 

 prey occasionally feed on insects : thus have I seen a tame kite 

 picking up the female ants full of eggs with much satisfaction.] 

 OBSERVATIONS ON NATURE. 



LETTER XI. 



TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQ. 



IT will not be without impatience that I shall wait for your 

 thoughts with regard to ihefalco ; as to its weight, breadth, &c. 

 I wish I had set them down at the time ; but, to the best of my 

 remembrance, it weighed two pounds and eight ounces, and 

 measured, from wing to wing, thirty-eight inches. Its cere and 

 feet were yellow, and the circle of its eyelids a bright yellow. 

 As it had been killed some days, and the eyes were sunk, I 

 could make no good observation on the colour of the pupils and 

 the irides. 1 



The most unusual birds I ever observed in these parts were a 

 pair of Hoopoes (upupa), 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 grosbeaks (Loxia coccotkraustcs) appeared some years ago 

 in my fields, in the winter ; one of which 1 shot ; since that, now 

 and then, one is occasionally seen in the same dead season. 



[Mr. B. shot a cock grosbeak which he had observed to haunt 

 his garden for more than a fortnight. I began to accuse this 

 bird of making sad havoc among the buds of the cherries, goose- 

 berries, and wall-fruit of all the neighbouring orchards. Upon 

 opening its crop or craw, however, no buds were to be seen, but 

 a mass of kernels of the stones of fruits. Mr. B. observed that 

 1 The irides are brown in all the British falcons. 



