188 
I am now perswaded that your bird is a great curiosity, the very 
Certhia muralis, or Wall-creeper , which neither Willughby nor 
Ray ever saw ; nor have I, in 50 years attention to the winged 
creation, ever met with it either wild, or among the vast collections 
that I have examined in London. It seems to be a South Europe 
bird, frequenting towns, & towers, & castles : hut has been 
found, but very seldom indeed, in England. 1 * So that you will 
have the satisfaction of introducing a new bird of which future 
Ornithologists will say, — “found at Stratton in Norfolk by that 
painful, & accurate Naturalist, Robert Marsham, Esq.” 1 You 
observe that Seopoli does not take notice that the hind-claw is 
about double the length of the fore-claws : but Linnaeus corrobor- 
ates your remark by saying “Ungues validi, prscsertim posticus.” 
You seem a little to misunderstand Seopoli respecting the spots on 
the inner-side of the quill feathers : by the inner side he does not 
mean the under side of the wing next the body; but only the inner 
or broader web of the quills, on which those remarkable spots are 
found, as appear by the drawing. I am much delighted with the 
exact copies sent me in the frank, & so charmingly executed by 
the fair unknown, whose soft hand has directed her pencil in a 
most elegant manner, & given the specimens a truly delicate, & 
feathery appearance. Had she condesended to have drawn the 
whole bird, I should have been doubly gratified ! It is natural to 
young Ladies to wish to captivate men : but she will smile to find 
that her present conquest is a very old man. 
My best thanks are due for all your good offices respecting my 
work, & in particular for your late recommendation to the Duke 
of Portland. 
You did not in y r - last, take any notice of my enquiries concer- 
ning wood-peckers , whether they ever pierce asound tree, or only 
those that are tending to decay. 3 I have observed that with 
us they love to bore the edible chest-nuts ; perhaps because 
1 This statement, no doubt, is founded on Willughby’s observation before 
quoted. See antea p. 184 note 1. — J. E. H. 
* A prophecy singularly verified after an interval of more than eighty 
years. — J. E. H. 
J The ability of the Green Woodpecker to pierce sound timber, has been 
placed beyond doubt by the testimony of more recent observers.— J. E. 11. 
