NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE 63 



it can eject such a most pestilent and fetid smell and excre- 

 ment, that nothing can be more horrible. 



A gentleman sent me lately a fine specimen of the lanius 

 minor cinerascens cum maculd in scapulis albd, Rail ; which is 

 a bird that, at the time of your publishing your two first vol- 

 umes of " British Zoology," I find you had not seen. You 

 have described it well from Edwards's drawing. 



NOTE 



1 The bird referred to is the sedge-warbler. White says it sings like a 

 reed-sparrow. The reed-sparrow has no song, but the reed-wren, or reed- 

 warbler, has, and White must mean this species by the term reed-sparrow. 

 G. C. D. 



LETTER XXVI 



SELBORNE, December 8M, 1769. 



DEAR SIR, I was much gratified by your communicative 

 letter on your return from Scotland, where you spent some 

 considerable time, and gave yourself good room to examine 

 the natural curiosities of that extensive kingdom, both those of 

 the islands, as well as those of the highlands. The usual bane 

 of such expeditions is hurry, because men seldom allot them- 

 selves half the time they should do ; but, fixing on a day for 

 their return, post from place to place, rather as if they were on 

 a journey that required despatch, than as philosophers investi- 

 gating the works of nature. You must have made, no doubt, 

 many discoveries, and laid up a good fund of materials for a 

 future edition of the " British Zoology ; " and will have no rea- 

 son to repent that you have bestowed so much pains on a part 

 of Great Britain that perhaps was never so well examined 

 before. 



It has always been matter of wonder to me that fieldfares, 

 which are so congenerous to thrushes and blackbirds, should 

 never choose to breed in England ; but that they should not 

 think even the highlands cold and northerly, and sequestered 

 enough, is a circumstance still more strange and wonderful. 

 The ring-ousel, you find, stays in Scotland the whole year 

 round ; so that we have reason to conclude that those migrat- 



