ORNITHOLOGY. 83 



Catesby and Edwards made the etchings of 

 their figured subjects — Wilson performed tho 

 drawings and the colourings of his — in all respectr, 

 he is superior. 



I am happy to agree with this great naturalist 

 about the brumal retreat of the swallow. He 

 scouts the idea of their retiring into the bottom of 

 rivers and lakes so generally credited by the dis- 

 ciples of Linnaeus. In addition to the swallows I 

 mentioned to you before, he has described a green, 

 blue, or white-bellied swallow, under the name of 

 hirundo viridis. He calls the barn swallow hi- 

 rundo Americana, and seems to think that the 

 American bank swallow, or sand martin, (hirundo 

 riparia) is the same as the European. Myriads 

 of swallows, says a late traveller, are the occa- 

 sional inhabitants of Honduras. This is a key to 

 the whole mystery of their winter quarter^. 



The second volume of the Harleian Miscellany 

 contains an essay written seriatim, to prove that 

 the moon is the hybernaculum of birds of pas- 

 sage. 



The following text from Jeremiah is the ground 

 work ofe- this strau2:e hvpothesis. " The stork in 

 the heaven knoweth her appointed times, and the 

 turtle, and the crane, a!tid the swallow observe the 

 time of their coming." He says that " divers of 

 these fowls which make such chansres, and observe 



