102 STONE CURLEW. 



of the melba, that " nidiftcat in excelsis Alpium 

 rupibus" Vid. Annum Primum. 



My Sussex friend, a man of observation and 

 good sense, but no naturalist, to whom I applied on 

 account of the stone curlew, cedicnemus, sends me 

 the following account : " In looking over my Na- 

 turalist's Journal for the month of April, I find the 

 stone curlews are first mentioned on the 17th and 

 18th, which date seems to me rather late. They 

 live with us all the spring and summer, and at the 

 beginning of autumn prepare to take leave, by get- 

 ting together in flocks. They seem to me a bird 

 of passage that may travel into some dry hilly 

 country south of us, probably Spain, because of the 

 abundance of sheep-walks in that country ; for they 

 spend their summers with us in such districts. 

 This conjecture I hazard, as I have never met with 

 any one that has seen them in England in the 

 winter. I believe they are not fond of going near 

 the water, but feed on earth-worms, that are 

 common on sheep-walks and downs. They breed 

 on fallows and lay-fields abounding with grey mossy 

 flints, which much resemble their young in colour, 

 among which they skulk and conceal themselves. 

 They make no nest, but lay their eggs on the 

 bare ground, producing in common but two at a 

 time. There is reason to think their young run 

 soon after they are hatched, and that the old ones 

 do not feed them, but only lead them about at the 

 time of feeding, which, for the most part, is in the 

 night." Thus far my friend. 



In the manners of this bird, you see, there is 

 something very analogous to the bustard, whom 

 it also somewhat resembles in aspect and make, 

 and in the structure of its feet. 



For a long time I have desired my relation to 



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