196 The Natural History of Se I borne 



remember, after that dreadful winter 1 739-40, that cold north- 

 east winds continued to blow on through April and May, and 

 that these kind of birds (what few remained of them) did not 

 depart as usual, but were seen lingering about till the begin- 

 ning of June. 



The best authority that we can have for the nidification of 

 the birds above-mentioned in any district, is the testimony of 

 faunists that have written professedly the natural history of 

 particular countries. Now as to the fieldfare, Linnaeus, in his 

 " Fauna Suecica," says of it, that " maximis in arboribus 

 nidificat; " and of the redwing he says, in the same place, that 

 " nidificat in mediis arbusculis, sive sepibus : ova sev cceruleo- 

 viridia maculis nigris variis." Hence we may be assured that 

 fieldfares and redwings breed in Sweden. Scopoli says, in his 

 " Annus Primus," of the woodcock, that " mipta ad nos vcnil 

 circa cequinoctium vernale; " meaning in Tyrol, of which he is 

 a native. And afterwards he adds, " nidificat in paludibns 

 alpinis : ova ponit 3-5." It does not appear from Kramer 

 that woodcocks breed at all in Austria; but he says, "Avis 

 hcec septentrionalium provinciarum cestivo tempore incola est; 

 ubi plerumque nidificat. Appropinquante hyeme anstraliores 

 provincias petit; hinc circa plenilunium mensis Octobris pler- 

 umque Austriam transmigrat. Tune rursus circa plenih(niiini 

 potissiwium mensis Martii per Austriam matrimotiio juncta ad 

 septentrionales provincias redit." For the whole passage (which 

 I have abridged) see " Elenchus," &c., p. 351. This seems 

 to be a full proof of the migration of woodcocks ; though 

 little is proved concerning the place of breeding. 



P.S. There fell in the county of Rutland, in three weeks 

 of this present very wet weather, seven inches and a half of 

 rain, which is more than has fallen in any three weeks for 

 these thirty years past in that part of the world. A mean 

 quantity in that county for one year is twenty inches and 

 a half. 



