of Selbonie 149 



have her nest spoiled whenever that implement was 

 wanted : and, what is stranger still, another bird of the 

 same species built its nest on the wings and body of an 

 owl that happened by accident to hang dead and dry 

 from the rafter of a barn. This owl, with the nest on its 

 wings, and with eggs in the nest, was brought as a 

 curiosity worthy the most elegant private museum in 

 Great Britain. The owner, struck with the oddity of the 

 sight, furnished the bringer with a large shell, or conch, 

 desiring him to fix it just where the owl hung : the per- 

 son did as he was ordered, and the following year a pair, 

 probably the same pair, built their nest in the conch, and 

 laid their eggs. 



The owl and the conch make a strange grotesque ap- 

 pearance, and are not the least curious specimens in that 

 wonderful collection of art and nature.^ 



Thus is instinct in animals, taken the least out of its 

 way, an undistinguishing, limited faculty ; and blind to 

 every circumstance that does not immediately respect 

 self-preservation, or lead at once to the propagation or 

 support of their species. 



I am, 

 With all respect, etc., etc. 



LETTER XIX 



TO THE HONOURABLE DAINES BARRINGTON 



Selborne, Feb. 14, 1774. 



Dear Sir, 

 I received your favour of the eighth, and am pleased 

 to find that you read my little history of the swallow with 

 your usual candour : nor was I less pleased to find that 

 you made objections where you saw reason. 



As to the quotations, it is difficult to say precisely 

 which species of hirimdo Virgil might intend in the lines 

 in question, since the ancients did not attend to specific 



^ Sir Ashton Lever's Museum. 



