that he has found it on the banks of the streams in 

 Andalusia. 



Our writers record it to have been found only 

 twice in Great Britain. From all these relations it 

 plainly appears that these long-legged plovers are 

 birds of South Europe, and rarely visit our island ; 

 and when they do are wanderers and stragglers, and 

 impelled to make so distant and northern an excur- 

 sion from motives or accidents for which we are not 

 able to account. One thing may fairly be deduced, 

 that these birds come over to us from the Continent, 

 since nobody can suppose that a species not noticed 

 once in an age, and of such a remarkable make, can 

 constantly breed unobserved in this kingdom. 



Selborne, May 7, 1779. 



LETTER XCII. 

 To THE Honourable Daines Barrington. 



The old Sussex tortoise, that I have mentioned to 

 you so often, is become my property. I dug it out 

 of its winter dormitory in March last, when it was 

 enough awakened to express its resentments by hiss- 

 ing ; and packing it in a box with earth, carried it 

 eighty miles in post-chaises. The rattle and hurry 



of the journey so perfectly roused it that, when I 



136 



