Chapter XLVII: Letter I: SELBORNE, June 30th, 1769

Dear Sir,--When I was in town last month I partly engaged that I would sometimes do myself the honour to write to you on the subject of natural history; and I am the more ready to fulfil my promise, because I see you are a gentleman of great candour, and one that will make allowances, especially where the writer professes to be an out-door naturalist, one that takes his observations from the subject itself, and not from the writings of others.

THE FOLLOWING IS A LIST OF THE SUMMER BIRDS OF PASSAGE WHICH I HAVE DISCOVERED IN THIS NEIGHBOURHOOD, RANGED SOMEWHAT IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY APPEAR:--

RAII NOMINA. USUALLY APPEARS ABOUT
1. Wryneck. _Jynx_, _sive The middle of March:
Torquilla_. harsh note.
2. Smallest _Regulus non March 23rd: chirps till
willow-wren. cristatus_. September.
3. Swallow. _Hirundo April 13th.
domestica_.
4. Martin. _Hirundo rustica_. Ditto.
5. Sand-martin. _Hirundo riparia_. Ditto.
6. Blackcap. _Atricapilla_. Ditto: a sweet, wild
note.
7. Nightingale. _Luscinia_. Beginning of April.
8. Cuckoo. _Cuculus_. Middle of April.
9. Middle willow-wren. _Regulus non Ditto: a sweet,
cristatus_. plaintive note.
10. Whitethroat. _Ficedulae affinis_ Ditto: mean note; sings
on till September.
11. Redstart. _Ruticilla_. Ditto: more agreeable
song.
12. Stone-curlew. _OEdicnemus_ End of March: loud
nocturnal whistle.
13. Turtle-dove. _Turtur_.
14. Grasshopper-lark. _Alauda minima Middle April: a small
locustae voce_ sibilous note, till the
end of July.
15. Swift. _Hirundo apus_. About April 27th.
16. Less reed-sparrow. _Passer A sweet polyglot, but
arundinaceus hurrying; it has the
minor_. notes of many birds.
17. Land-rail. _Ortygometra_. A loud, harsh
note--crex, crex.
18. Largest willow _Regulus non _Cantat voce stridula
wren. cristatus_. locustae_; end of April,
on the tops of high
beeches.
19. Goat-sucker, or _Caprimulgus_. Beginning of May:
fern-owl. chatters by night with a
singular noise.
20. Fly-catcher. _Stoparola_. May 12th: a very mute
bird: this is the latest
summer bird of passage.

This assemblage of curious and amusing birds belongs to ten several genera of the Linnaean system, and are all of the _ordo_ of _passeres_ save the _Jynx_ and _Cuculus_, which are _picae_, and the _Charadrius_ (_OEdicnemus_) and _Rallus_ (_Ortygometra_), which are _grallae_.

These birds, as they stand numerically, belong to the following Linnaean genera:--

1, _Jynx_. 13. _Columba_. 2,6,7,9,10,11,16,18, _Motacilla_. 17. _Rallus_. 3,4,5,15, _Hirundo_. 19. _Caprimulgus_. 8, _Cuculus_. 14. _Alauda_. 12, _Charadrius_. 20. _Muscicapa_.

Most soft-billed birds live on insects, and not on grain and seeds, and therefore at the end of summer they retire: but the following soft-billed birds, though insect-eaters, stay with us the year round:--

RAII NOMINA.
Redbreast, Wren, _Rubecula. Passer These frequent houses,
troglodytes_. and haunt out-buildings
in the winter: eat
spiders.
Hedge-sparrow, _Curruca_. Haunt sinks for crumbs
and other sweepings.
White-wagtail,
Yellow-wagtail,
Grey-wagtail, _Motacilla alba_. These frequent shallow
_Motacilla flava_. rivulets near the spring
_Motacilla cinerea_. heads, where they never
freeze: eat the aureliae
of _Phryganea_. The
smallest birds that walk.
Wheatear, _OEnanthe_. Some of these are to be
seen with us the winter
through.
Whinchat,
Stone-chatter, _OEnanthe secunda_.
_OEnanthe tertia_.
Golden-crowned wren, _Regulus cristatus_. This is the smallest
British bird: haunts the
tops of tall trees; stays
the winter through.

A LIST OF THE WINTER BIRDS OF PASSAGE ROUND THIS NEIGHBOURHOOD, RANGED SOMEWHAT IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY APPEAR.

RAII NOMINA.
1. Ring-ousel, _Merula torquata_. This is a new migration,
which I have lately
discovered about
Michaelmas week, and
again about the 14th
March.
2. Redwing, _Turdus iliacus_. About old Michaelmas.
3. Fieldfare, _Turdus pilaris_. Though a percher by day,
roosts on the ground.
4. Royston-crow, _Cornix cinerea_. Most frequent on downs.
5. Woodcock, _Scolopax_. Appears about old
Michaelmas.
6. Snipe, _Gallinago minor_. Some snipes constantly
breed with us.
7. Jack-snipe, _Gallinago minima_.
8. Wood-pigeon, _OEnas_. Seldom appears till
late; not in such plenty
as formerly.
9. Wild-swan, _Cygnus ferus_. On some large waters.
10. Wild-goose, _Anser ferus_. )
11. Wild-duck, _Anas torquata )
minor_.
12. Pochard, _Anas fera fusca_. )
13. Wigeon, _Penelope_. ) On our lakes and
streams.
14. Teal, breeds with _Querquedula_. )
us in Wolmer
Forest,
15. Gross-beak, _Coccothraustes_. ) These are only
wanderers that
16. Cross-bill, _Loxia_. ) appear occasionally,
and are not
17. Silk-tail, _Garrulus ) observant of any
bohemicus_. regular migration.

The birds, as they stand numerically, belong to the following Linnaean genera:--

1,2,3, Turdus. 9,10,11,12,13,14, Anas. 4, Corvus. 15,16, Loxia. 5,6,7, Scolopax. 17, Ampelis. 8, Columba.

Birds that sing in the night are but few.

Nightingale, _Luscinia_. "In shadiest covert hid." MILTON. Woodlark, _Alauda arborea_. Suspended in mid air. Less reed-sparrow, _Passer arundinaceus Among reeds and willows. minor_.

I should now proceed to such birds as continue to sing after Midsummer, but, as they are rather numerous, they would exceed the bounds of this paper: besides, as this is now the season for remarking on that subject, I am willing to repeat my observations on some birds concerning the continuation of whose song I seem at present to have some doubt.

I am, etc.