134 The Natural History of Selborne 



Swallows and martins, the bulk of them I mean, have forsaken 

 us sooner this year than usual ; for on September the twenty- 

 second they rendezvoused in a neighbour's walnut-tree, where it 

 seemed probable they had taken up their lodging for the night. 

 At the dawn of the day, which was foggy, they arose all together 

 in infinite numbers, occasioning such a rushing from the strokes 

 of their wings against the hazy air, as might be heard to a con- 

 siderable distance : since that no flock has appeared, only a few 

 stragglers. 



Some swifts stayed late, till the twenty-second of August a rare 

 instance ! for they usually withdraw within the first week.* 



On September the twenty-fourth three or four ring-ousels 

 appeared in my fields for the first time this season ; how punctual are 

 these visitors in their autumnal and spring migrations ! 



* See Letter LI II. to Mr. Barrington. 



