I20 THE NATURAL HISTORY 



mony of faunists that have written professedly the natural 

 history of particular countries. Now, as to the fieldfare, 

 Linnaeus, in his Fauna Suecica, says of it that " maximis in 

 arboribus nidtficat" : and of the redwing he says, in the 

 same place, that " nidtficat in mediis arbusculis, sive sepibus : 

 ova sex caeruleo-viridia maculis nigris vanish Hence we 

 may be assured that fieldfares and redwings breed in 

 Sweden. Scopoli says, in his Annus Primus, of the wood- 

 cock, that " nupta ad nos venit circa aequinoctium vemale " : 

 meaning in Tirol, of which he is a native. And afterwards 

 he adds "nidificat in paludibus alpinis: ova ponit 3 — 5." 

 It does not appear from Kramer that woodcocks breed at 

 all in Austria : but he says " Avis haec septentrionalium 

 provinciarum aestivo tempore incola est; ubiplerumque nidtficat. 

 Appropinquante hyeme australiores provincias petit : hinc circa 

 plenilunium mensis Octobris plerumque Austriam transmigrat. 

 'Tunc rursus circa plenilunium potissimum mensis Martii per 

 Austriam matrimonio juncta ad septentrionales provincias 

 redit." For the whole passage (which I have abridged) 

 see Elenchus, etc. p. 351. This seems to be a full proof 

 of the migration of woodcocks ; though little is proved 

 concerning the place of breeding. 



P. S. There fell in the county of Rutland, in three 

 weeks of this present very wet weather, seven inches and 

 an half of rain, which is more than has fallen in any three 

 weeks for these thirty years past in that part of the world. 

 A mean quantity in that county for one year is twent} 

 inches and an halt. 



LETTER IX 

 TO THE HONOURABLE DAINES BARRINGTON. 



Fyfield, near Andovcr, Feb. 12, 177I. 



Dear Sir, 

 You are, I know, no great friend to migration ; and the 

 well attested accounts from various parts of the kingdom 



