70 
NATURAL HISTORY OP SELBORNE. 
doTsales ; rectrices remigihus concolores ; caudd emarginatd, nec ford- 
paid ; " agrees very well with the bird in question : but when he comes 
to advance that it is " stature, hirundinis urhicoe" and that " definitio 
EOCK SWALLOW. 
hirundinis riparioe, Linncei huic quoque conveniit" he in some measure 
invalidates all he has said ; at least he shows at once that he compares 
them to these species merely from memory : for I have compared the 
birds themselves, and find they differ widely in every circumstance 
of shape, size, and colour. However, as you will have a specimen, I 
shall be glad to hear what your judgment is in the matter.* 
* There is little doubt that the bird in question was the H. rupestris of Linnseus. 
Inthe correspondence of Linnaeus published in " Contributions" for 1849, he fre- 
quently refers to this bird by name in reply to questions put by Mr, White's brother, 
who had evidently written to Linnaeus about it under that appellation. John 
White was, in fact, Linnaeus's authority for this swallow, and first communicated 
specimens to him from Gibraltar; Linnaeus says, H. rupestris, mihi antea 
ignota ; vere distincta." 
