24 NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE 



in the nest of a small bird on the ground ; and that it was 

 fed by the little bird. I went to see this extraordinary 

 phenomenon, and found that it was a young cuckoo hatched 

 in the nest of a titlark ; it was become vastly too big for 

 its nest, appearing 



in tenui re 



Majores pennas nido extendisse 



and was very fierce and pugnacious, pursuing my finger, 

 as I teased it, for many feet from the nest, and sparring 

 and buffeting with its wings like a game-cock. The dupe 

 of a dam appeared at a distance, hovering about with meat 

 in its mouth, and expressing the greatest solicitude. 



In July I saw several cuckoos skimming over a large 

 pond ; and found, after some observation, that they were 

 feeding on the libellulce, or dragon-flies ; some of which 

 they caught as they settled on the weeds, and some as they 

 were on the wing. Notwithstanding what Linnceus says, 

 I cannot be induced to believe that they are birds of prey. 



This district affords some birds that are hardly ever 

 heard of at Selborne. In the first place considerable 

 flocks of cross-beaks (Loxics curvirostrcs) have appeared 

 this summer in the pine-groves belonging to this house ; 

 the water-ousel is said to haunt the mouth of the Lewes 

 river, near Newhaven \ and the Cornish chough builds, I 

 know, all along the chalky cliffs of the Sussex shore. 



I was greatly pleased to see little parties of ring-ousels 

 (my newly-discovered migraters) scattered, at intervals, all 

 along the Sussex downs, from Chichester to Lewes. Let 

 them come from whence they will, it looks very suspicious 

 that they are cantoned along the coast in order to pass 

 the channel when severe weather advances. They visit 

 us again in April, as it should seem, in their return ; and 

 are not to be found in the dead of winter. It is remarkable 

 that they are very tame, and seem to have no manner of 

 apprehensions of danger from a person with a gun. There 

 are bustards on the wide downs near Brighthelmstone. No 

 doubt you are acquainted with the Sussex downs ; the 



