148 



NATURAL HISTORY 



birds themselves, and find they differ widely 

 in ever}?- circumstance of shape, size, and 

 colour. However, as you will have a speci- 

 men, I shall be glad to hear what your 

 judgment is in the matter. 



Whether my brother is forestalled in his 

 non-descript or not, he will have the credit 

 of first discovering that they spend their 

 winters under the warm and sheltry shores 

 of Gibraltar 2ind Barbari/. , 



Scopoli^ characters of his ordines and 

 genera are clear, just, and expressive, and 

 much in the spirit of LinncBus, These few 

 remarks are the result of my first perusal 

 of Scopoli's Annus Primus. 



The bane of our science is the comparing 

 one animal to the other by memory : for 

 want of caution in this particular Scopoli 

 falls into errors : he is not so full with re- 

 gard to the manners of his indigenous birds 

 as might be wished, as you justly observe : 

 his Latin is easy, elegant, and expressive, 

 and very superior to Kramer 



* See his Elenchus vegetabilium et animalium per 

 Austriam inferiorem, c^c. 



