OF NORTH CAROLINA. 231 



never come into tlie settlement, but keep in tlie 

 hilly parts. 



Jays are liere common and very mischievous in 

 devouring our fruit and spoiling more than they 

 eat. They are abundantly more beautiful and 

 finer feathered than those in Europe, and not above 

 half so big. 



The lapwing or green X3lover are here very com- 

 mon. They cry pretty much as the English plo- 

 vers do, and differ not much in feather, but want 

 a third of their bigness. 



The gray or whistling plover are very scarce 

 amongst us. I never saw any but three times 

 that fell and settled on the ground. They differ 

 very little from those in Europe, as far as I could 

 discern. I have seen several great flocks of them 

 fly overhead ; therefore, believe they inhabit the 

 valleys near the mountains. 



Our wild pigeons are like the wood queese or 

 stock doves, only have a longer tail. They leave 

 us in the summer. This sort of pigeon (as I said 

 before) is the most like our stock doves or wood 

 pigeons that we have in England ; only these dif- 

 fer in their tails which are very long, much like 

 a parrakeeto's. You must understand that these 

 birds do not breed amongst us, (who are settled 

 at and near the mouths of the rivers, as I have in- 

 timated to you before) but come down (especially 

 in hard winters) amongst the inhabitants in great 

 flocks, as they were seen to do in the year 1707, 

 which was the hardest winter that ever was known 



