23 



cold, they had been overwhelmed, and perhaps 

 washed into the current, by the coming in of the 

 tide, and even into the nets of fishers *. 



There are several other circumstances which 

 seem to favour the opinion, that some of these birds 

 remain concealed during winter even in this country. 

 Among others, the most striking is, that swallows, 

 hirundines rusticae, as well as martins, hirundines 

 vrbicae, have sometimes appeared very late in 

 autumn, a considerable time after they were ajl 

 supposed to have taken their*, departure f- Agaija, 



* There have been occasional instances of other birds be- 

 sides swallows having been found in a state of torpor during 

 winter. I think I recollect a cuckoo 'being found in such a 

 state. 



t Of this we have several instances: Bewick, in his His- 

 tory of British Birds, Introduction, p. xvii. takes notice of hav- 

 ing seen a straggling swallow so late as the end of October ; 

 and White, in his Natural History of Selborne, mentions hav- 

 ing seen a house martin flying about in the month of November. 

 Montague, in the Supp. to Orn. Die. mentions having seen 

 many swallows and martins so late as November 5, 1805. 

 To which I may add, that, in the year 1 804, I saw several, 

 both martins and swallows, flying about in the neighbourhood 

 of London, so late as October the Ipth. I have since fre- 

 quently seen them later than that time. 



D 2 



