Il6 WHITE 



over of birds which never leave us, such as all the various 

 sorts of hawks and kites. Old Belon, two hundred years ago, 

 gives a curious account of the incredible armies of hawks and 

 kites which he saw in the springtime traversing the Thracian 

 Bosphorus from Asia to Europe. Besides the above men- 

 tioned, he remarks that the procession is swelled by whole 

 troops of eagles and vultures. 



Now it is no wonder that birds residing in Africa should re- 

 treat before the sun as it advances, and retire to milder regions, 

 and especially birds of prey, whose blood being heated with 

 hot animal food, are more impatient of a sultry climate ; but 

 then I cannot help wondering why kites and hawks, and such 

 hardy birds as are known to defy all the severity of England, 

 and even of Sweden and all north Europe, should want to mi- 

 grate from the south of Europe, and be dissatisfied with the 

 winters of Andalusia. 



It does not appear to me that much stress may be laid on 

 the difficulty and hazard that birds must run in their migra- 

 tions, by reason of vast oceans, cross winds, etc. ; because, if 

 we reflect, a bird may travel from England to the equator 

 without launching out and exposing itself to boundless seas, 

 and that by crossing the water at Dover, and again at Gibral- 

 tar. And I with the more confidence advance this obvious re- 

 mark, because my brother has always found that some of his 

 birds, and particularly the swallow kind, are very sparing of 

 their pains in crossing the Mediterranean ; for when arrived 

 at Gibraltar they do not 



. . . " Ranged in figure wedge their way, 



And set forth 



Their airy caravan high over seas 



Flying, and over lands with mutual wing 



Easing their flight :".... MILTON. 



but scout and hurry along in little detached parties of six or 

 seven in a company ; and sweeping low, just over the surface 

 of the land and water, direct their course to the opposite con- 

 tinent at the narrowest passage they can find. They usually 

 slope across the bay to the south-west, and so pass over 

 opposite to Tangier, which, it seems, is the narrowest space. 

 In former letters we have considered whether it was prob- 



