SINGING BIRDS. 69 



A gentleman sent me lately a fine specimen of the lanius 

 minor cinerascens cum macula in scapulis alba, Rail ; which is a 

 bird that, at the time of your publishing your two first 

 volumes of British Zoology, I find you had not seen. You 

 have described it well from Edward's drawing. * 



LETTER XXVII. 



TO THE HON. DAINES BARRINGTON. 



SELBORNE, November 2, 1 769. 



DEAR SIR, When I did myself the honour to write to you, 

 about the end of last June, on the subject of natural history, I 

 sent you a list of the summer birds of passage which I have 

 observed in this neighbourhood, and also a list of the winter 

 birds of passage : I mentioned, besides, those soft-billed birds 

 that stay with us the winter through in the south of England, 

 and those that are remarkable for singing in the night. 



According to my proposal, I shall now proceed to such birds 

 (singing birds, strictly so called) as continue in full song till 

 after midsummer, and shall range them somewhat in the order 

 in which they first begin to open as the spring advances : 



RAII NOMiNA. 



in January, and con- 



2. Song-thrush, 



3. Wren, Passer troglodytes. 



4. Red-breast, Rubecula* 



5. Hedge-sparrow, Curuca. 



T Early in February, and 



6. Yellow-hammer, Emberizajlava. < on through July to 



t August the 21st. 



which so affected the thoughtless woman, that she was taken seriously 

 ill, in which state she continued for some considerable time. ED. 



* This is probably the wood-shrike, (lanius rutilus of Latham. ) It 

 is amongst the rarest of our occasional visitants, but not so much so as 

 some imagine, being often mistaken for the common butcher-bird. Mr 

 Hoy mentions two having been killed near Canterbury, and another at 

 Swaffham, Norfolk, within these few years. He says it places its nest 

 invariably on trees, preferring the oak. One lately killed is in the collec- 

 tion of the RL-V. R. Hammond, Swaffham. Ed. 



