122 NATURAL HISTORY 



House sparrows build under eaves in the spring ; as tlie 

 weather becomes hotter they get out for coolness, and nest 

 in plum-trees and apple-trees. These birds have been 

 known sometimes to build in rooks' nests, and sometimes 

 in the forks of boughs under rooks' nests. 



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 ate 

 the common mice, refusing the red. 



Redbreasts 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 drowned 

 and lost in the general chorus; in the latter their song 

 becomes distinguishable. Many songsters of the autumn 

 seem to be the young cock redbreasts of that year; notwith- 

 standing the prejudices in their favour, they do much mis- 

 chief in gardens to the summer fruits. 1 



The titmouse which early in February begins to make 

 two quaint notes, like the whetting of a saw, is the marsh 

 titmouse ; the great titmouse sings with three cheerful 

 joyous notes, and begins about the same time. 



Wrens sing all the winter through, frost excepted. 



House martins 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 

 grey crows were ever known to breed on Dartmoor ; it was 

 my mistake. 



The appearance and flying of the Scarabceus solstitialis, 



1 They eat also the berries of the ivy. the honeysuckle, and the 

 JZuonymus europceus, or spindle-tree. G. W. 



The Hon. and llev. W. Herbert observed a robin feed its young en- 

 tirely upon red currants. He thought they did not eat any other fruit, 

 but were troublesome in the hothoiise. In one year they devoured 

 every seed of Hcemanthus multiflorus and Griffinia liyacintlrina just as 

 they were ripening ; nnd it was very difficult to save the berries of any 

 Daphne from them. Mr. Hennie found that a redbreast which he had 

 in a cage greedily devoured the berries of Solatium dulcamara, but 

 would not touch those of privet. ED. 



