MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS. 165 



As my neighbour was housing a rick, he observed that his 

 dogs devoured all the little red mice that they could catch, but 

 rejected the common mice ; and that his cats eat the common 

 mice, refusing the red. 



Red-breasts sing all through the spring*, summer, and autumn. 

 The reason that they are called autumn songsters is, because 

 in the two first seasons their voices are lost and drowned in 

 the general chorus : in the latter, their song becomes distin- 

 guishable. Many songsters of the autumn seem to be the 

 young cock red-breast of that year : notwithstanding the 

 prejudices in their favour, they do much mischief in gardens 

 to the summer fruits. * 



The tit-mouse, which early in February begins to make two 

 quaint notes, like the whetting of a saw,f is the marsh tit- 

 mouse ; the great tit-mouse sings with three cheerful joyous 

 notes, and begins about the same time. 



Wrens sing all the winter through, frost excepted. 



House-martens came remarkably late this year, both in 

 Hampshire and Devonshire : Is this circumstance for or 

 against either hiding or migration ? 



Most birds drink sipping at intervals ; but pigeons take a 

 long continued draught, like quadrupeds. 



Notwithstanding what I have said in a former letter, no 

 gray crows were ever known to breed on Dartmoor ; it was my 

 mistake. 



The appearance and flying of the scardbceus solstitialis, or 

 fern-chaffer, commence with the month of July, and cease about 

 the end of it. These scarabs are the constan-t food of caprimulgt^ 

 or fern-owls, through that period. They abound on the chalky 

 downs, and in some sandy districts, but not in the clays. 



In the garden of the Black Bear Inn, in the town of Reading, 

 is a stream, or canal, running under the stables and out into 

 the fields on the other side of the road : in this water are many 

 carps, which lie rolling about in sight, being fed by travellers, 

 who amuse themselves by tossing them bread ; but as soon as 

 the weather grows at all severe, these fishes are no longer seen, 



the commencement of winter, and he then withdrew, never to appear 

 again. ED. 



* They /eat also the berries of the ivy, the honeysuckle, and the 

 euonymus europceus, or spindle-tree. 



Redbreasts were very frequent here about the end of January, 1832, 

 during the cold weather ; but, on the air becoming milder, they entirely 

 disappeared ; nor did they again return, although the frost became pretty 

 severe about six weeks after. ED. 



f It is the greater titmouse (parus major of Linnseus) which makes 

 the sound alluded to. ED. 



