OF SEL BORNE. 
291 
One of mj neighbours^ an intelligent and observing man, 
informs me that, in the beginning of May, and about ten 
minutes before eight o'clock in the evening, he discovered a 
great cluster of house-swallows, thirty at least, he supposes, 
perching on a willow that hung over the verge of James 
Knight^s upper pond. His attention was first drawn by 
the twittering of these birds, which sat motionless in a row 
on the bough, with their heads all one way, and, by their 
weight, pressing down the twig so that it nearly touched the 
water. In this situation he watched them till he could see 
no longer. Repeated accounts of this sort, spring and fall, 
induce us greatly to suspect that house swallows have some 
strong attachment to water, independent of the matter of 
food ; and, though they may not retire into that element, 
yet they may conceal themselves in the banks of pools and 
rivers during the uncomfortable months of winter.^ 
One of the keepers of Wolmer Forest sent me a pere- 
grine falcon, which he shot on the verge of that district as 
it was devouring a wood-pigeon. The Falco peregrinus, or 
haggard falcon, is a noble species of hawk seldom seen in 
the southern counties.^ In winter, 1767, one was killed in 
the neighbouring parish of Faringdon, and sent by me to 
Mr. Pennant into I^orth Wales.^ Since that time I havo 
met with none till now. The specimen mentioned above 
was in fine preservation, and not injured by the shot; it 
White supposed. His description of its appearance and habits points to 
the lesser whitethroat. — Ed. 
^ This attachment of swallows to the neighbourhood of water at 
roosting-time may be easily accounted for by the chcumstance that the 
willow branches not only afford them most convenient perches, but 
enable the birds to crowd close together and so secure greater warmth 
to individuals than they could possibly enjoy if each roosted upon a 
separate twig in trees or shrubs of different growth. The noisy flut- 
tering which ensues in a struggle for inside places must frequently have 
attracted the notice of attentive observers. — Ed. 
^ The peregrine breeds in the sea-cliffs of Sussex, Dorset, and the 
Isle of Wight, and doubtless did so in the days of Gilbert White, al- 
though the fact was unknown to him. — Ed. 
^ See my tenth and eleventh [and twelfth] Letters to that gentleman. 
— G. W. 
