1 27° i 



Moil birds not only fleep during the night, hut 

 are as much incapacitated from diftinguiming obr 

 jedfs well as we are, in the abfence of the fun: 'it 

 is therefore inconceivable that they fnouid choofe 

 owl-light for fuch a diflant journey. 



Befides this, the Eaflern coaft of England, to which 

 birds of pafDge mufl neceflarily firft come from the 

 continent, hath many light- houfes upon it; they 

 would therefore, in a dark night, immediately make 

 for fuch an object, and deflrov themfelves by flvinc 

 with violence againfl it, as is well known to every 

 bat-fowler. 



Having endeavoured to anfvver thefe two flip- 

 portions, by which it is contended that birds of 

 paffage may efcape obfervation in their flight j I 

 mail now confider all the inftances 1 have been able 

 to meet with of any birds being actually feen whilll 

 they were eroding any extent of fea, though 1 

 might give a very fhort refutation to them, by in- 

 filling, that if this was ever experienced, it mud 

 happen as conftantly in a fea, which is much navigated, 

 as the return of the feafons. 



I cannot do better than to follow thefe according 

 to chronological order. 



The firft in point of time is that which is cited 

 by Willoughby *, from Bellon, whofe words are thus 

 tranflated, " When we failed from Rhodes to 

 <c Alexandria, many quails flying from the North 

 *' towards the South, were taken in our fhio, whence 

 <{ I am perfuaded that they fhift places - f for for- 

 *' meriy, when I failed out of the Ifle of Zant to 

 * f Morea, or Negropont, in the fpring, I had ob- 



* B. II. c. n.§. 8. 



** ferved 



