64 



NATURAL HISTORY 



LETTER XIII. 



TO THE SAME. 

 SIR; SelbornEj Jan. 22^ 1768. 



As in one of your former letters you ex- 

 pressed the more satisfaction from my cor- 

 respondence on account of my living in the 

 most southerly county ; so now I may re- 

 turn the compliment, and expect to have 

 my curiosity gratified by your living much 

 more to the North. 



For many years past I have observed that 

 tov^ards Christmas vast flocks of chaffinches 

 have appeared in the fields ; many more, I 

 used to think, than could be hatched in any 

 one neighbourhood. But, when I came to 

 observe them more narrowly, I was amazed 

 to find that they seemed to me to be almost 

 all hens. I communicated my suspicions 

 to some intelligent neighbours, who, after 

 taking pains about the matter, declared that 

 they also thought them all mostly females ; 



