32 NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. 



from a great river, and therefore see but little of sea birds. 

 As to wild fowls, we have a few teems of ducks bred in the 

 moors where the snipes breed ; and multitudes of widgeons 

 and teals in hard weather frequent our lakes in the forest. 



Having some acquaintance with a tame brown owl, I 

 find that it casts up the fur of mice, and the feathers of 

 birds in pellets, after the manner of hawks ; when full, like 

 a dog, it hides what it cannot eat. 



The young of the barn owl are not easily raised, as they 

 want a constant supply of fresh mice ; whereas the young 

 of the brown owl will eat indiscriminately all that is 

 brought ; snails, rats, kittens, puppies, magpies, and any 

 kind of carrion or offal. 



The house-martins have eggs still, and squab young. 

 The last swift I observed was about the 21st August : it 

 was a straggler. 



Red-starts, fly-catchers, white-throats, and reguli non 

 cristati, still appear : but I have seen no blackcaps lately. 



I forgot to mention that I once saw, in Christ Church 

 College quadrangle in Oxford, on a very sunny warm 

 morning, a house-martin flying about, and settling on the 

 parapet, so late as the 20th November. 



At present I know only two species of bats, the common 

 Vespertilio murinus and the Vespertilio auritus. 



I was much entertained last summer with a tame bat, 

 which would take flies out of a person's hand. If you gave 

 it anything to eat, it brought its wings round before the 

 mouth, hovering and hiding its head in the manner of birds 

 of prey when they feed. The adroitness it showed in shear- 

 ing off the wings of the flies, which were always rejected, 

 was worthy of observation, and pleased me much. Insects 

 seemed to be most acceptable, though it did not refuse 

 raw flesh when offered ; so that the notion, that bats go 



