NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. 27 



hawks ; neither could I find any like it at the curious exhibition of 

 stuffed birds in Spring Gardens. I found it nailed up at the end of a 

 barn, which is the countryman's museum. 



The parish I live in is a very abrupt, uneven country, full of hills and 

 woods, and therefore full of birds. 



LETTEE XL 



TO THE SAME. 



SELBORNE, September 9th, 1767. 



IT will not be without impatience that I shall wait for your thoughts 

 with regard to the falco ; as to its weight, breadth, &c., I wish I had 

 set them down at the time ; but, to the best of my remembrance, 

 it weighed two pounds and eight ounces, and measured, from wing to 

 wing, thirty-eight inches. Its cere and feet were yellow, and the circle 

 of its eyelids a bright yellow. As it had been killed some days, 

 and the eyes were sunk, I could make no good observation on the colour 

 of the pupils and the irides.* 



The most unusual birds I ever observed in these parts were a pair of 

 hoopoes (upupa), which came several years ago in the summer, and 

 frequented an ornamented piece of 

 ground, which joins to my garden, 

 for some weeks. They used to march 

 about in a stately manner, feeding 

 in the walks, many times in the 

 day ; and seemed disposed to breed 

 in my outlet ; but were frighted and 

 persecuted by idle boys, who would 

 never let them be at rest. 



Three grossbeaks (loxia cocco- 

 thraustes) appeared some years ago 

 in my fields, in the winter; one of 

 which 1 shot. Since that, now and 

 then, one is occasionally seen in the 

 same dead season. 



A crossbill (loxia curvirostra) was killed last year in this neigh- 

 bourhood. 



Our streams, which are small, and rise only at the end of the village, 

 yield nothing but the bull's head or miller's thumb (gobius fluviatilis 



* Mr. Bennet states that the falco, proved to be the F. peregrinus, or peregrine 

 falcon, and. the authority given is W. Y. The yellow "circle of its eyelids" does 

 not refer to the irides as we had imagined, when remarking upon this passage 

 in another edition. White states he could not "make a good observation." The 

 irides of the British species of falcons (and we know of no foreign exception) are 

 all dark brown. Mr. Pennant states that it was a variety differing, in having the 

 whole under side of the body a dirty, deep yellow. 



