6 a 
NATURAL HISTORY 
fight of. Pray be fure to tell me in your next whofe feat CreJJi- 
bjH\?, and near what town it lies^ I have often thought that 
thofe vaft extents of fens have never been fufficiently explored. 
If half a dozen gentlemen, furniflied with a good ftrength of 
water-fpaniels, were to beat them over for a week, they would 
certainly find more fpecies. 
There is no bird, I believe, whofe manners I have ftudied 
more than that of the caprlmulgus (the goat-fucker), as it is a won- 
derful and curious creature : but I have always found that though 
fometimes it may chatter as it flies, as I know it does, yet in 
general it utters it's jarring note fitting on a bough ; and I have 
for many an half hour watched it as it fat with it's under mandible 
quivering, and particularly this fummer. It perches ufually on 
a bare twig, with it's head lower than it's tail, in an attitude well 
exprelTed by your draughtfman in the folio Britijlo Zoology. This 
bird is mod punctual in beginning it's fong exaftly at the clofe of 
day; fo exaftly that I have known it ftrike up more than once or 
twice juft at the report of Port/mouth evening gun, which we 
can hear when the v/eather is ftill. It appears to me paft all 
doubt that it's notes are formed by organic impulfe, by the 
powers of the parts of it's windpipe, form rd for found, juft as cats 
pur. You will credit me, I hope, when I affure you that, as my 
neighbours were aflembled in an ^ hermitage on the fide of a fteep 
hill where we drink tea, one of thefe churn-owls came and 
fettled on the crofs of that little ftraw edifice and began to chatter, 
and continued his note for many minutes : and we were all firuck 
with wonder to find that the organs of that little animal, when put 
ill motion, gave a fenfible vibration to the whole building ! This 
^ Crejfi-hall is near SpaLUng, in Liucolnjhire, 
^ See the vignette in this book. 
bird 
