28 THE NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE. 
Three grosbeaks appeared some years ago in my fields, in 
the winter; one of which I shot. Since that, now and then, 
one is occasionally seen in the same dead season. 
[ Mr. B. shot a cock grosbeak which he had observed to haunt 
his garden for more than a fortnight. I began to accuse this 
bird of making sad havoc among the buds of the cherries, 
gooseberries, and wall-fruit of all the neighboring orchards. 
Upon opening its crop or craw, no buds were to be seen; but 
a mass of kernels of the stones of fruits. Mr. B. observed that 
this bird frequented the spot where plum-trees grow, and that 
he had seen it with somewhat hard in its mouth, which it 
broke with difficulty; these were the stones of damsens. The 
Latin ornithologists call this bird Coccothraustes, i.e. berry- 
breaker, because with its large horny beak it cracks and breaks 
the shells of stone-fruits for the sake of the seed or kernel. 
Birds of this sort are rarely seen in England, and only in 
winter. — Observations on Nature. | 
A crossbill was killed last year in this neighborbood. 
Our streams, which are small, and rise only at the end of 
the village, yield nothing but the bull’s head or miller’s thumb, 
the trout, the eel, the lampern, and the stickle-back. 
We are twenty miles from the sea, and almost as many from 
a great river, and therefore see but little of sea-birds. As to 
wild fowls, we have a few teems of ducks bred in the moors 
where the snipes breed; and multitudes of widgeons and teals 
in hard weather frequent our lakes.in the forest. 
Having some acquaintance with a tame brown owl, I find 
that it casts up the fur of mice, and the feathers of birds in 
pellets, after the manner of hawks; when full, like a dog, it 
hides what it cannot eat. ; 
The young of the barn-owl are not easily raised, as they 
want a constant supply of fresh mice; whereas the young of 
the brown owl eat indiscriminately all that is brought ; snails, 
rats, kittens, puppies, magpies, and any kind of carrion or offal. 
