\60 NATURAL HISTORY 



LETTER XXXVII. 



TO Tflli SAME. 



DEAR SIR ; Selborne, 1771. 



N the twelfth of Jult/ I had a fair oppor- 

 tunity of contemplating the motions of the 

 caprimidgus, or fern-owl, as it was playing 

 round a large oak that swarmed with scara- 

 bcBi solstitiales, or fern-chafers. The powers 

 of its wing were wonderful, exceeding, if 

 possible, the various evolutions and quick 

 turns of the swallow genus. But the cir- 

 cumstance that pleased me most was, that 



1 saw it distinctly more than once, put out 

 its short leg while on the wing, and, by a 

 bend of the head, deliver somewhat into its 

 mouth. If it takes any part of its prey with 

 its foot, as I have now the greatest reason 

 to suppose it does these chafers, I no longer 

 wonder at the use of its middle toe, which 

 is curiously furnished with a serrated claw. 



