OF SELBORNE. 189 



to the shepherds that take them ; and though many are to 

 be seen to my knowledge all the winter through in many 

 parts of the south of England. The most intelligent shep- 

 herds tell me that some few of these birds appear on the 

 downs in March, and then withdraw to breed, probably, in 

 warrens and stone-quarries : now and then a nest is 

 ploughed up in a fallow on the downs under a furrow, but 

 it is thought a rarity. At the time of wheat harvest, they 

 begin to be taken in great numbers ; are sent for sale in 

 vast quantities to Brighthelmstone and Tunbridge ; and 

 appear at the tables of all the gentry that entertain with 

 any degree of elegance. About Michaelmas they retire, 

 and are seen no more till March. Though these birds are, 

 when in season, in great plenty on the South downs round 

 Lewes, yet at East-Bourn, which is the eastern extremity 

 of those downs, they abound much more. One thing is 

 very remarkable that though in the height of the season 

 so many hundreds of dozens are taken, yet they never are 

 seen to flock ; and it is a rare thing to see more than three 

 or four at a time : so that there must be a perpetual flitting 

 and constant progressive succession. It does not appear 

 that any wheatears are taken to the westward of Houghton 

 Bridge, which stands on the river Arun. 1 



I did not fail to look particularly after my new migration 

 of ring-ousels ; and to take notice whether they continued 

 on the downs to this season of the year ; as I had formerly 

 remarked them in the month of October all the way from 

 Chich ester to Lewes wherever there were any shrubs and 

 covert : but not one bird of this sort came within my 

 observation. I only saw a few larks and whinchats, some 

 rooks, and several kites and buzzards. 



About Midsummer a flight of crossbills comes to the pine- 

 groves about this house, but never makes any long stay. 



1 This is a mistake. We have seen them frequently in spring on the 

 downs above Chichester, and, in autumn, on the low-lying ground between 

 Bognor and Selsea Bill. Several pairs breed annually on the downs 

 near Uppark, in the parish of Harting, which is within a few miles of 

 the borders of Hants, and not very far from Selborne. This observation 

 we have had an opportunity of verifying during the present summer. ED. 



