76 THE NATURAL HISTORY 



However, as you will have a specimen, I shall be glad 

 to hear what your judgment is in the matter. 



Whether my brother is forestalled in his non-descript or 

 not, he will have the credit of first discovering that they 

 spend their winters under the warm and sheltery shores of 

 Gibraltar and Barbary. 



Scopoli's characters of his ordines and genera are clean, 

 just, and expressive, and much in the spirit of Linnaeus. 

 These few remarks are the result of my first perusal of 

 Scopoli's Annus Primus. 



The bane of our science is the comparing one animal to 

 the other by memory : for want of caution in this par- 

 ticular, Scopoli falls into errors: he is not so full with regard 

 to the manners of his indigenous birds as might be wished, 

 as you justly observe: his Latin is easy, elegant, and ex- 

 pressive, and very superior to Kramer's. 1 



I am pleased to see that my description of the moose 

 corresponds so well with yours. 



I am, etc. 



LETTER XXXIII 

 TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQUIRE 



Selborne, Nov. 26, 1770. 



DEAR SIR, 



I WAS much pleased to see, among the collection of birds 

 from Gibraltar, some of those short-winged English summer 

 birds of passage, concerning whose departure we have made 

 so much inquiry. Now if these birds are found in Anda- 

 lusia to migrate to and from Barbary, it may easily be 

 supposed that those that come to us may migrate back to 

 the continent, and spend their winters in some of the 

 warmer parts of Europe. This is certain, that many soft- 

 billed birds that come to Gibraltar appear there only in 

 1 See his Elenchus vegetabiliura et animalium per Austriam inferiorem, etc. 



