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BRITISH ZOOLOGY.
CLASS IL
GENUS XVIiI, se, BIRDS.
WITH AN
A eee OR New D. LX,
AW
ESSAY ON ‘BIRDS OF PASSAGE,
LoN DON:
PRINTED FOR BENJAMIN WHITE, ALT HORACE,S HEAD, FLEET-SfREET,
MDCCLXVIITI,
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“Clafs IL. SK ¥ LTAIR'K, digs
Genus XVIII. LARK S.
Mo the “S Kel ACR: K:
L’Alouette. Belon av. 269. L’Alouette. Brion av. ili. 335.
Chamochilada. OJ/ 12. Allodola, Panterana. Zinan. 55. Alauda fine crifta. Gef/er av. Alaudaarvenfis. Lin. /y/?. 287. 78. Larka. Faun, Suec. /p. 209. Aldr. av. ii. 369. Alauda ccelipeta. Klein ftem,
Lodola. Olina 12. TOADS on 8) dc
Common Field Lark, or Sky- Sang-Loerke. Br. 221. lark. Wil. orn. 203. Feldlerche. Kram. 362.
Raii fyn. av. 69. Br. Zool. 93. plate S. 2. f. 7
of Ieee length of this fpecies is feven inches one- Defer, fourth: the breadth twelve and a half: the weight one ounce and a half: the tongue broad and cloven: the bill flender: the upper mandible dusky, the lower yellow: above the eyes is a yellow fpot: the crown of the head a reddifh brown fpotted with deep black : the hind part of the head afh-color, It _has the faculty of erecting the feathers of the head. The feathers on the back and coverts of the wings dusky edged with reddifh brown, which is paler on the latter: the quil-feathers dusky : the exterior web edged with white, that of the others with reddifh brown: the chin is white: the upper part of the breatt yellow fpotted with black: the lower part of the body of a pale yellow: the exterior web, and half of the interior web next to the fhaft of the firft R | feather
234 SKY LARK Clafs II.
feather of the tail are white; of the fecond only the exterior web ; the reft of thofe feathers dusky; the others are dusky edged with red ; thofe in the middle deeply fo, the reft very flightly: the legs dusky: foles of the feet yellow : the hind claw very long and ftrait. )
This and the woodlark are the only birds that fing as they fly ; this raifing its note as it foars, and lower- ing it till ic quite dies away as it defcends. It will often foar to fuch a height that we are charmed with the mufic when we lofe fight of the fongfter; it alfo begins its fong before the earlieft dawn. Milton, in his Allegro, mof beautifully expreffes thefe circum- flances: and Bp. Newton obferves, that the beautiful fcene that Aéilion exhibites of rural chearfulnefs, at the fame time gives us a fine picture of the regularity of his life, and the innocency of his own mind; thus he defcribes himfelf as in a fituation
To hear the lark begin his Aight, And finging ftartle the dull night,. From his watch tower in the fkics, Jill the dappled dawn doth rife.
Ic continues its harmony feveral months, beginning early in the f{pring, on pairing. [n the winter they affemble in vaft flocks, grow very fat, and are taken in great numbers for our tables. ‘They build their neft on the ground, beneath fome clod; forming it
ef hay, dry fibres, &c. and lay four or five eggs. The place thefe birds are taken in the greateft quantity, is the neighbourhood of Daxjfable: the fea- fon.
DSI
Cael, (SKY LAK: 235
fon begins about the fourteenth of September, and ends the twenty-fifth of February; and during that fpace, about 4000 dozen are caught, which fupply the markets of the metropolis. Thofe caught in the day are taken in clap-nets of fiveteen yards length, and two and a half in breadth ; and are enticed with- in their reach by means of bits of looking-glafs, fixed in a piece of wood, and placed in the middle of the nets, which are put in a quick whirling motion, by a ftring the larker commands; he alfo makes ufe of a decoy lark. Thefe nets are ufed only till the fourteenth of November, for the larks will not dare, or frolick in the air except in fine funny weather ; and of courfe cannot be inviegled into the fnare. When the weather grows gloomy, the larker changes his engine, and makes ufe of atrammel net twenty-feven or twenty-eight feet long and five broad; which is put on two poles eighteen feet long, and carried by men under each arm, who pafs over the fields and quarter the ground as a fetting dog; when they hear or feel a lark hit the net, they drop it down, and fo the birds are taken.
R 2 Il. The
Defer.
236 WOOD-LARK. Clafs I.
Il. The WOOD-LARK.
Tottavilla. Ofna 27. Faun. Suec. fp. 211. Wil. orn. 204. _ Ludilerche, Waldlerche. Kram: Rati fyn. av. 69. 362.
L’ Alouette de Bois ou le Cuje- Dus Skeove Menkes Cimbris lier. Briffon av. ill. 340. Heede-Lerke, Lyng-Lerke. tab. 20. fig. 1 Br. 224.
Alauda arborea. Lin. Sift. 287. Br. Zool. g4. plate Q. f. 3.
‘H1S bird is inferior in fize to the fky-lark, and
is of a fhorter thicker form; the colors are paler, and its note lefs fonorous, though not lefs fweet. Thefe and the following characters, which Mr. Willoughby points out, may ferve at once to dif- tinouifh it from the common kind: it perches on trees ; it whiftles like the black-bird. The crown of the head, and the back, are marked with large black fpots edged with pale reddifh brown: the head is fatrounded with a whitifh coronet of feathers, reach- ing from eye to eye: the throat is of yellowifh white fpotted with black: the breaft is tinged with red: the belly white: the coverts of the wings are brown edged with white and dull yellow: the quil-feathers dufky ; the exterior edges of the three firft white; of the others yellow, and their tips blunt and white : the firft feather of the wing is fhorter than the fecond; in the common lark it is near equal: the tail-is black, the outmoft feather is tipt with white: the exterior web, and inner fide of the interior are alfo white; in the fecond feather, the exterior web only: the legs are of a dull yellow; the hind claw very long. The wood- lark will fing in the
Clafs II. Lr EWA eR 237
the night, and like the common lark will fing as it flies. It builds on the ground, in the fame manner as the former; but the fpecies is not near fo nu- merous. The males of this and the laft are known from the females by their fuperior fize.
ih vEher Pol TeLicAoR K:
La Farloufe, Fallope ou L’Alow- Mattolina, Petragnola, Corriera.
ette de pre. Belon av. 272. Zinan. 55. Aldr. av. ii. 370. _ Alauda pratenfis. Lin. ff. 287. Lodolo di Prato. Oliza 27. F aun. Suec. Jp. 210. Wil. orn. 206. Englerke, Br. 223. Raii fyn. av. 69. Br. Zool. 94. plates Q. f. 6.
L’Alouette de prez ou la Far- Pate cihy 20 loufe. Briffon av. il. 343.
“FA HIS bird is found ‘frequently in low marfhy |
grounds: like other larks it builds its neft a- mong the grafs, and lays five or fix eggs. Like the woodlark it fits on trees; and has a moft remark- able fine note, a circumftance that till of late we were unacquainted with: it is a bird of an elegant flender fhape: the length is five inches and a half: the breadth nine inches: the bill is black: the back and head is of a greenifh brown, fpotted with black : the throat and lower part of the belly are white: the breaft yellow, marked with oblong fpots of black : the tail is dufky; the exterior feather is varied by a bar of white, which runs acrofs the end and takes in the whole outmoft web, The claw on the hind toe is very long, the feet yellowifh: the fubject figured
R 3 In
Defer,
Defer.
238 LESSER FIELD LARK. Clafs Il.
in plate P. 1. of the folio edition, is a variety with dusky legs, fhot on the rocks on the coaft of Caer- narvonfbire.
IV. The LESSER FIELD LARE
HIS fpecies we received from Mr. Phmly,
and find it the fame with that defcribed by Mr. Willoughby, page 207. It is larger than the tit-lark ; the head and hind-part of the neck are of a pale brown fpotted with dusky lines, which on the neck are very faint. The back and rump are of a dirty green; the former marked in the middle of each feather with black, the latter plain. The coverts of the wings dufky, deeply edged with white. The quil-feathers dusky; the exterior web of the firft edged with white, of the others with a yellowifh green. The throat is yellow: the breaft of the fame color, marked with large black fpots: the belly and vent feathers white: on the thighs are a few dusky oblong lines: the tail is dusky : half the exterior and interior web of the outmoft feather is white ; the next is marked near the end with a fhort white ftripe pointing downwards. The legs are of a very pale brown ; and the claw on the hind toe very fhort for one of the lark kind, which ftrongly diftinguithes it from the fit-Jaré.
V. The
Clafs Il. RED+L ARK. 239
Ve The RD ARK:
Edw. 297. Br. Zool. 94. Briffin av. Suppl. 94.
HIS bird Mr. Edwards difcovered in the neigh- borhood of London. By his figure it feems of the fize of the laft fpecies. The head; hind part of the neck, and back are of a dusky brown: a blackith line paffes through each eye; above that is a clay colored one. The wings and tail are of a dark brown; the exterior feathers of the latter wholly white: the tips of the two next on each fide alfo white: the under fide from bill to tail of a reddith brown, marked with dusky fpots: the legs are of a dark brown: the hind claw fhorter than that of the common lark. When the wings are gathered up, _ the third quil-feather from the body reaches to its tip, which is a conftant character of the water wag- tail genus.
VI. The LESSER CRESTED LARK.
Alauda criftata minor. 4/dr. av, Lapetitealouettehupée. Brifiz We 7 1. av. Ill. 361.
Wil, orn. 209. Br. Zool, 95. Raii fyn. av. 6q-
GC Daan {fpecies we find in Mr. Rey’s hiftory of Englifh birds ; who fays it is found in York/hire, but gives us only this brief defcription of it, from
R 4 Aldro-
Defer,
240 GRASSHOPPER LARK. Clafs ID.
Alldrovandus : it is like the greater crefted lark, but much lefs, and not fo brown; that it hath a confider- able tuft on its head for the fmallnefs of its body ; and that its legs are red. We never faw this kind ; but by Mr. Bolton’s lift of York/bire birds, which he favoured us with, we are informed it is in plenty in that country.
VII. The. ,GRASSHOPPER LARK, i4g cobveee? is ‘p fle yea ied of t Peo tiatllm fo. Select:
Tit-lark that sme like a Grafs- Ray’s letters 108. a ee hopper. Wil. orn. 209. Alauda fepiaria, L’ Alouette de
Alauda minima locufte voce. Buiffon. Briffon av. iii. 347 Locuftella D. Fobn/on. Alauda trivalis. Liz. ff. 288.
Raié fyt. av. 70. Br. Zool. gg. plate Q. f. 5.
6 bs HIS bird we received out of Shropfhire: it is the fame with that Mr. Ray defcribes as having the note of the grafshopper, but louder and fhriller, When it fings it fits on the higheft branch of a bufh, with its mouth open and ftrait up, and its wings dif- heveled: its fibilous note is obferved to ceafe about the latter end of uly: it is far lefs than the ¢it-lark. Defer. The bill is very fender, of a dusky color: the head, and whole upper part of the body is of a greenifh brown, fpotted with black : the quil-feathers dusky, edged with an olive brown: the tail is very long, compofed of twelve fharp pointed feathers ; the two middlemoft are the longeft, the others on each fide grow gradually fhorter. The under fide of the body is of adull yellowifh white, darkeft about the breaft: the legs are of a dirty white: the hind claw fhorter, and more crooked, than is ufual in the lark kind. VUI. The
att lan niacin
Casi, WILVOW WARK. “241
WIE, The VT, Oo We Are
Pikes sl,
| a ed Gi oP reitiin ESS Say 2 ae Br. Zool. 95. plateQ. fi 4. ie ‘fo a
eek {pecies has exactly the fame actions and note with the preceding bird. It annually vi- fits fome willow hedges near a pool in Whiteford parith, Fuintfbire ; where it continues the whole fum- mer, It is inferior in fize to the laft. The head, back, and coverts of the wings are of a yellowifh brown marked with dusky fpots : the quil-feathers are dusky; their exterior edges of a dirty yellow: over each eye from the bill paffes a whitifh ftroke, The chin and throat are white : the whole under fide of the body is of adull yellowifh white : the tail is of a dark brown: the legs are of a yellowifh brown: the back claw like that of the preceding bird. To thefe may be added a fpecies taken in the _ neighborhood of London, called by the bird catchers a pippit ; we have not feen it, fo can only, from their report, fay that it has fome refemblance to the /7/- lark; but its note is much inferior to all other birds
of this {pecies.
Genus
ee 737.
Defer.
Defer,
242 HOUSE SWALLOW. ClafsIE
Genus XIX. SWALLOWS. I; The HOUSE SWALLOW. |
La petite Hirondelle. Belonav. ‘L’Hirondelle deCheminée. Bri Jon av. i. 486.
378. Hirundo domeftica. Ge/ner av. Hirundo rnftica. Lin. fi. 343:
548. Ladu-Swala. Fauz. Suec. /p. Alar. av. ii. 2094. 270. Houfe or chimney Swallow. 777. Forftue-Svale, Mark - Svale. orn. 212. Brunnich 289. Rati fin. av. 71. Haufs Schwalbe, Kram. 380. Rondone. Zinan. 47. Br. Zoo. 96.
t
op HIS fpecies appears in Great-Britain near
twenty days before the martin, or any other of the {wallow tribe, They leave us the latter end of September , and for a few days previous to their depar- ture, they affemble in vaft flocks on houfe tops, churches, and even trees, from whence they take their flight. It is now known that fwallows take their winter quarters in Senegal, and poffibly they may be found along the whole Morocco fhore. We are indebted to M. 4dan/on * for this difcovery, who firft obferved them in the month of Oéfober, after their migration out of Eurepe, on the fhores of that kingdom: but whether it was this fpecies alone, or all the European kinds, ke is filent.
The houfe {wallow is diftinguifhed from all others by the fuperior forkinefs of its tail, and by the red fpot on the forehead, and under the chin.
The crown of the head, the whole upper part of - the body, and the coverts of the wings are black,
* Voyage to Sexegal, p. tat.
glofled
Clafs If. MARTIN. 242
gloffed with a rich purplifh blue. The breaft and belly white, tinged with red: the tail black; the two middle feathers plain: the others marked tranf- verfely near their ends with a white fpot.
Its food is the fame with the others of its kind, viz. infects; for the taking of which in their fwifteft
flight, nature hath admirably contrived their fe
veral parts; their mouths are very wide to take in flies, &c. in their quickeft motion ; their wings are long, and adapted for diftant and continual flight ; and their tails are forked, to enable them to turn the readier in purfuit of their prey. This {pe-
cies builds in chimneys, and makes its neft of clay, leaving the top quite open. It breeds earlier than any
other fpecies; and this year the young brood were _ obferved to quit the neft on the eleventh of Fuly.
Il. Thee MARTIN.
Le Martinet. Belon av. 380. La petite Hirondelle, ou le Mar-
Hirundo fylvettris. Ge/ner av. tinet a cul blanc. Briffin av. 564. ii. 490.
Aldr. av. i. 311. Hirundo urbica. Liz. /y/. 34.46
Martin, Martlet, or Martinet. Hus-Swala. Faun. Succ. YP 27K Wil, orn. 213. . Speyerl. Kram. 380.
Raii yn. av. 71. Danis Bye v. Tagfkiceg-Svale,
Rondone minore, e Graflolo, Langelandis, Rive. Br. 290. Zinan. 48. Br. Zool. 96. plate Q. f. 2.
wae ae Martin is inferior in fize to the former, and its tail much lefs forked. The head and upper part of the bedy, except the rump, is black elofied with blue: the breaft, belly and rump are white : the feet are covered with a fhort white down, This is the fecond of the {wallow kind that appears in our country. It builds under the eaves of houfes,
with
Deicr.
Defer.
‘
244 SAND MARTIN. Clafs If.
with the fame materials, and in the fame form asthe the ‘houfe fwallow, only its neft is covered above, having only a fimall hole for admittance. We have alfo feen this fpecies build againft the fides of high cliffs over the fea. [t is a later breeder than the pre- ceding by fome days: but borh will lay twice in the feafon ; and the latter brood’of this fpecies have been obferved to come forth fo late as. the eighteenth of September , yet that year (1766) they entirely quitted our fight by the fifth of Odfober ; not but they fome- times continue here much later: the martins and red wing thrufhes having been ieen flying in view on the feventh of November. |
Ml Thee S AND "MAL: Baa L’Hirondelle de rivage. Belon Cat. Carol. app. 37.
av. 379. Rondone riparia. Z7vaz. 49. Hirundo riparia, feu Drepanis. Hirundo riparia. Lin Sif. F4dn Gefner av. 565. otrand~-{wala, Back-fwala. Faun. Dardanelli. Aldr. av. il. 312. Suec. fp. 273 Sand Martin, or Shore Bird. Danis Dig-v. Jord-fvale, Soik Wil. orn. 213. bakke. Norweg. Sand-Rznne. Raii fyn. av. 71. Er. 291. L’Hirondelle de rivage. Brifor Geftetten-{chwalbe. Kram. 381. av. il. 506. Br. Zool. g7. plate Q. f.1.
ee is the left of the genus that frequents Great-
Britain. The head and whole upper part of the body are moufe colored : the throat white, encircled with a moufe colored ring : the belly white: the feet fmooth and black,
It builds in holes in fand pits, and in the banks of rivers. It makes its neft of hay, ftraw, &c. and lines it with feathers: it lays five or fix egos, which are white, as are all thofe of this tribe.
IV. The
Clafs II. SAW Vb R or, 245
IV i Dhe »S WW 1E.T,.
La grande Hirondelle, Moutar- Le Martinet. Brifin ay, ii, dier ou grand Martinet. Be/on. 514.
aU. 377. Hirundo apus. Lin. fi. 344. Apus. Ge/ner av. 166. Rine-fwala. Faun. Suec. fp. 272. Aldr. av. ii. 312. Steen, Kirke-v. Sze-Svale. Black Martin, or Swift. W7l. Br. 292.
orn. 214. Speyer, groffe thurn {chwalbe, Rati fyn. av. 72. Kram. 380.
Rondone. Zinan. 47. jue Bra Zool.O7/
but the weight is moft difproportionately {mall
to its extent of wing of any bird ; the former being fcarce one ounce, the latter eighteen inches. ‘The
mats fpecies is the largeft of our f{wallows ;
lensth near eight. The feet of this bird are fo {mall he action of walking and of rifing from the eround is extremely difficult; fo that nature hath made it full amends by furnifhing it with ample means for an eafy and continual flight. It is more on the wing than any other fwallows; its flight is more rapid, and that attended with a thrill fcream. It refis by clinging againft fome wall, or other apt body ; from whence K/ein ftyles this {pecies Hirundo muraria. \t breeds under the eaves of houfes, in fteeples, and other lofty buildings. It is entirely of per. a footy color, only the chin is marked with a white fpot. The feet are of a particular ftructure, all the toes flanding forward; the left confifts of only one bone; the others of an equal number, viz. two each; in which they differ from thofe of all other birds. This appears in our country about fourteen days
Jater chan the fand martin; but differs greatly in the
°
time of its departure, retiring invariably about the
For
246
GOATSUCKER.
Clafs IT.
For thefe, and feveral other obfervations, we owe our acknowlegements to the reverend Mr. White, of
Selborne, Hampfbire.
Vv. The GOAT SUCKER:
L’Effraye ou Frefaye. Belon av. 343°
Caprimulgus ( Geiffmelcher } Gefner av. 241.
Calcabotto. Afr. av.i. 288.
Fern Owl, Goat Owl, or Goat- fucker. Wil. orn. 107.
Cat. Carol. i. 8.
Raii fjn. av. 26.
Dorrhawk, accipiter cantharo-
Covaterra. Zinan. 94.
Caprimolgus europzus. Sf. 346.
Natikrafva, Natfkrarra, Quall< knarren. Faux. Suec. fp. 274.
Hirundo cauda equabili. H. caprimulga. Kieiz hif. av 81. fig. 1.
Nat. Ravn, Nat-Skade, Aften- Bakke. Br. 293.
Lin
phagus. Charlton ex. 79. Muckenftecher, Nachtrabl. Kram. Le Tette chevre ou Crapaud volant. Briffoe av. il. 470.
tab. 44.
381. Br. Zool. 97. plate R. R. 1.
pe LETN, with much propriety, hath placed this bird in the {wallow tribe ; and ftyles it a /wallow with an undivided tail. It has moft of the characters of this genus, fuch as a very {mall bill, vaft mouth, and {mall legs. Itis alfo a bird of paffage, agrees in its food with this genus, and its manner of taking it, and differs only in the hours of its preying; this flying by night: fo with juftice it may be ftyleda nofiurnal fwallow. It feeds on’ moths, gnats, and dorrs, or chaffers ; from whence Charlton calls it the Dorr hawk. The goatfucker makes but a fhort ftay with us; not appearing here till the latter end of May, and retiring about the middle of Aagaf#. Iris common in the wooded and mountanous parts of Great-Britain ; begins its flight towards evening 3. and while on wing makes a loud and fingular noife,
* Belon’s figure p. 343. fuits our white owl, but his defcription P- 344. agrees with the goatfucker, fo
Clafs II. GOATSUCKER, 247
fo much refembling that of a large {pinning wheel, that the Wel/h call this bird Aderyn y droell, or the awheel bird. ‘This noife being made only in its flight, we may fuppofe it to be caufed by the refiftance of the air againft the hollow of its vaftly extended mouth and throat: for it flies with both open to take its prey. When perched, its note is no more than a fmall fqueak, repeated four or five times together. It lays its eggs on the bare ground; ufually two, or at moft three: they are of a long fhape, of a whitifh hue, prettily marbled with reddifh brown.
The colors of thefe birds, though plain, have a beautiful effect from the elegance of their difpofition, cenfifting of black, white, brown, grey aad ferru- ginous, difperfed in form of bars, ftreaks and fpots.
The male is diftinguifhed from the female by an oval white fpot near the end of each of the three firft guil-feathers: and another on the two outmoft fea- thers of the tail: The color of the whole plumage is alfo much more ferruginous. Their weight is only two ouncesandahalf. Their length ten inches and a half: their breadth twenty-two: the irides are hazel: the bill is fcarce one-third of an inch long: the gape of the bill, when opened, is near two inches from tip to tip: that of the mouth from corner to corner one inch three-quarters: the corners of the mouth thick fet with ftrong briftles: the infide of a purple color: the tongue is very fmall, and placed Jow in the mouth: the noftrils are a little tubular, and prominent: the legs {mall, fcaly and feathered below the knees. The middle toe connected to thofe
on each fide by a {mall membrane reaching to the firft
Defer.
248 GOATSUCKER. Clafs II.
firft joint: the claw of the middle toe is broad, thin, | and ferrated.
Of the difappearance of fwallows.
There are three opinions among naturalifts con- cerning the manner the {wallow tribes difpofe of them- felves after their difappearance from the countries in which they make their faummer refidence, Herodotus mentions one fjecies that refides in Egypt the whole. year: Profper Alpinus* afferts the fame; and Mr. Loten, late governor of Ceylon, affured us, that thofe of Fava never remove. Thefe excepted, every other known kind obferve a periodical migration, or re- treat. The fwallows of the cold Norway +, and of North America t, of the diftant Kamt/chatka§, of the temperate parts of Europe, of Aleppo||, and of the hot Famaica**, all agree in this one point.
In cold countries, a defect of infeé&t food on the api- proach of winter, is a fufficient reafon for thefe birds to quit them: but fince the fame caufe probably does- not fubfift in the warm climates, recourfe fhould be had to fome other reafoncfor their vanifhing.
Of the three opinions, the firft has the utmoft ap- pearance of probability; which is, that they remove nearer the fun, where they can find a continuance of their natural diet, and a temperature of air fuiting
* Hirundines duplicis generis ibi obfervantur; patrie {fcilicet que nunquam ab #eyprodifcedentes, ibi perpetuo morantur, atque peregrine, he funt noftratibus omnino fimiles; patriz vero toto etiam ventre nigricant. . Hif. Ligypt. i. 198.
+ Pontop. bift. Norw. ii. 98.
t Cat. Carcl.i. 51. app. 8.
§ Hift. Kamt/. 162.
\\ Ruffel Alep. 70.
*® Phil. tranf. No. 36.
,
their
Clafs IT. SWALLOWS. 249
their conftitutions. That this is the cafe with fome fpecies of European {wallows, has been proved beyond contradiction (as above cited) by M. Adanfon. We often obferve them collected in flocks innumerable on churches, on rocks, and on trees, previous to their departure hence ; and Mr. Collinfon proves their re- turn here in perhaps equal numbers, by two curious relations of undoubted credit. The one communi- cated to him by Mr. Wright, mafter of a fhip, the other by the late Sir Charles Wager, who both def- ~ cribed (tothe fame purpofe) what happened to each in their voyages. ‘‘ Returning home, jays Sir Charles, “in the fpring of the year, as I came into founding “* in our channel, a great flock of {wallows came and <* fettled on all my rigging ; every rope was covered; “¢ they hung on one another like a fwarm of bees; “ the decks and carving were filled with them. «© They feemed almoft famifhed and fpent, and were ** only feathers and bones ; but being recruited with “a night’s reft, toke their flight in the morning *.” This vaft fatigue, proves that their journey muft have been very great, confidering the amazing {wift- nefs of thefe birds: in all probability they had crofled the Atlantic ocean, and were returning from the fhores of Senegal, or cther parts of Africa; fo that this ac- count from that moft able and honeft feaman, con- firms the later information of M. Adan/ou.
The fecond notion has great antiquity on its fide. Arifiotle+- and Pliny £ give, as their belicf, that fwal-
* Phil. tranf. vol. li, part 2. p. 459. + Hift. an. 935. Leo, VO. cule de g 5 ; ows
240 SWALLOWS. Clafs I.
lows do not remove very far from their fummer ha- bitation, but winter in the hollows of rocks, and du- ring that time lofe their feathers. The former part of of their opinion has been adopted by feveral ingenious men; and of late, feveral proofs have been brought of fome fpecies, at left, having been difcovered ina torpid ftate. Mr. Collinfon* favored us with the evidence of three gentlemen, eye-witnefles to num- bers of fand martins being drawn out of a cliff on the Rhine, in the month of March 1762 +. Andthe honorable Mr. Daznes Barrington, this year, commu- - nicated to us the following fa&, on the authority of the late lord Belhaven, that numbers of fwallows _ have been found in old dry walls, and in fandhills near his lordfhip’s feat in Ea Lothian ; not once only, but from year to year ; and that when they were ex- pofed to the warmth of a fire, they revived. We have alfo heard of the fame annual difcoveries near Morpeth in Northumberland, but cannot fpeak of them with the fame affurance as the two former: neither in the two laft inftances are we certain of the particu- lar fpecies {.
The above, are circumftances we cannot but affent to, though feemingly contradictory to the common courfe of nature in regard to other birds. We muft, therefore, divide our belief relating to thefe two fo different opinions, and conclude, that one part of the fwallow tribe migrate, and that others have their
* By letter, dated Fume 14, 1764.
+ Phil. tranf. vol. 53. p. 101. art. 24.
{ Klein gives an initance of /-i/s being found in a torpid fate. Hifi, av. 204. ,
winter ~
Ch&ll. “SWALLOWS. Be
winter quarters near home. [If it fhould be demand- ed, why fwallows alone are found in a torpid ftate, and not the other many {pecies of foft billed birds, which likewife difappear about the fame time? The following reafon may be affigned :
No birds are fo much on the wing as fwallows, none fly with fuch fwiftnefs and rapidity, none are obliged to fuch fudden and various evolutions in their flight, none are at fuch pains to take their prey, and we may add, none exert their voice more inceffantly ; all thefe occafion a vaft expence of ftrength, and of fpirits, and may give fuch a texture to the blood, that other animals cannot experience; and fo difpofe, or we may fay, neceffitate, this tribe of birds, or part of them, at left, toa repofe more lafting than that of any others.
The third notion is, even at firft fight, too ama- zing and unnatural to merit mention, if it was not that fome of the learned have been credulous enough to deliver, for fact, what has the ftrongeft appearance of impoffibility ; we mean the relation of fwallows paffing the winter immerfed under ice, at the bottom of lakes, or lodged beneath the water of the fea at the foot of rocks. ‘The firft who broached this opi- nion, was Olaus Magnus, archbifhop of Up/a/, who very gravely informs us, that thefe birds are often found in cluftered maffes at the bottom of the northern lakes, mouth to mouth, wing to wing, foot to foot ; and that they creep down the reeds in autumn, to their fubaqueous retreats. That when old fifhermen dif- cover fuch a mafs, they throw it into the water again; but when young inexperienced ones take it, they will,
Si2 by
25 SWALLOWS. Clafs 18. by thawing the birds at a fire, bring them indeed to the ufe of their wings, which will continue but a very fhort time, being owing to a premature and forced revival *. ?
That the good archbifhop did not want credulity; in other inftances, appears from this, that after having ftocked the bottoms of the lakes with birds, heft ores the clouds with mice, which fometimes fali in plentiful fhowers on Norway and the neighboring countries }*.
Some of our own countrymen have given eredit - to the fubmerfion of fwallows {; and Kéein patronifes the doétrine ftronely, giving the following hiftory of their manner of retiring, which he received from fome countrymen and others. ‘They afferted, that fometimes the {wallows affembled in numbers on a a reed, till ic broke and funk with them to the bot- tom ; and their immerfion was. preluded by a dirge of a quarter of am hour’s length. “That others would unite in laying hold of a ftraw with their bills, and fo plunge down in fociety. Others again would form a large mafs, by clinging together with their feet, and fo commit themfelves to the deep |).
Such are the relations given by thofe that are fond of this opinion, and though delivered without exag-
ic Derhan!s Phyf. Theol, note d. p. 349. Pontop. hif. Nora. %. QO.
+ Gefner Icon. An. 100.
t Derham's Phyf. Theol. 340. 349. Hildrop’s traGs. ii. 32.
i a bifie av. 205.200. Ekmarck migr. av. Aman, acad, iy. 589.
ecration;
Clafs I. SWALLOWS. 253
geration, muft provoke a fmile. They affign not the fmalleft reafon to account for thefe birds being able to endure fo long a fubmerfion without being fuffocated, or without decaying, in anelement fo un- natural to fo delicate a bird ; when'we know that the otter *, the cormorant, and the erebes, foon perith, if caught under ice, or entangled in nets: and it is well known, that thofe animals will continue much longer under water than any others to whom nature hath de- nied that particular ftructure of heart, neceffary for a long refidence beneath that element.
“ Though entirely fatished in our own mind of the impoffibility of thefe relations ; yet, defirous of ftrengthening our opinion with fome better authority, we applied to that able anatomift, Mr. John Hunter; who was {fo obliging to inform us, that he had dif- feted many {wallows, but found nothing in them different from other birds as to the organs of refpiration. ‘That all thofe animals which he had difiected of the clafs that fleep during winter, fuch as lizards, frogs, &c. hada very different conformation as to thofe organs, ‘That all thefe animals, he believes, do breathe in their torpid ftate; and, as far as his experience reaches, he knows they do: and that therefore he efteems it a very wild opinion that terreftrial animals can remain any long time under water without drowning,
S'3 Genus
254 NIGHTINGALE. “Gem
Genus XX. Slender billed fmall Birds,
* Thofe with tails of one color. ** Thofe with particolored tails.
‘I. The NIGHTINGALE.
Le Roffignol. Belon av. 335. Rofignuolo. Zinan 54. Adoni, Aidoni. O4f. 12. Moracilla lufcinia. Lia. /y/. 328.
Lufcinia. Ge/ner av. 592. Nachtergahl. Faun, Suec./p. 244. Aldr. av. ii. 336. Haffelquift itin. Ter. San@. 291. Wl. orn. 220. Nattergale. Brunnich in append. Raii fyn. av. 78. Au-vogel, Auen - nachtigall. Le Roffignol. Brion av. iit, Kram. 376. 397+ Br. Zool. 100. plate S. 1. f. 2.
HE nightingale takes its name from might, and the Saxon word galan to fing; expreffive Defer. of the time of its harmony. In fize it is equal to the vedfiart; but longer bodied; and more elegantly aade. The colors are very plain. The head and back are of a pale tawny dafhed with olive: the tail is of a deep tawny red: the throat, breaft, and upper part of the belly of a light gloffy afh-color: the lower belly almoft white: the exterior webs of the guil-feathers are of a dull reddifh brown ; the interior of brownifh afh-color: the irides are hazel, and the eyes remarkably large and piercing: the legs and feet a deep afh-color. This bird, the moft famed of the feathered tribe, for
Ch&il. NIGHTINGALE. 255
for the variety *, length and fweetnefs of its notes, vifits England the beginning of April, and leaves us in Auguft. It is a f{pecies that does not {pread itfelf over the ifland, It is not found in North Wales; or in any of the Engii/b counties north of it, except York- foire, where they are met with in great plenty about Doncafter. It is alfo remarkable, that this bird does not migrate fo far welt as Cornwall+; a county, where the feafons are fo very mild, that myrtles flourifh in the open air during the whole year. 57d- bald places them in his lift of Scotch birds; but Fouftont denies that they have the fame harmony as thole of Italy. Poffibly they may be found in that part of our ifland, as they vifit Sweden, a much more fevere climate. With us they frequent thick hedges, and low coppices; and generally keep in the middle of the bufh, fo that they are very rarely feen. They begin their fong in the evening, and continue it the whole night. Thefe, their vigils, did not pafs un- noticed by the antients: the flumbers ef thefe birds were proverbial; and not to reft as much as the aightingale, exprefled a very bad fleeper ||. This was the favorite bird of the Britifb poet, who emits no Opportunity of introducing it, and almoft conftantly noting its love of folitude and night: how finely
* For this reafon, Oppian, in his baleutics, 1. i. 728. gives the nightingale the epithet of abercQuvn, OF various voiced; and Hefod, omens) of TosniAaderecey Gr various throated. Eeya x7 mrtocis
oi CL oy hah
+ Borlafe’s nat. hiff. Cornwall, 244.
{ Fonfton hiff nat. av. 39.
|| @4aevar. bi, 577. both in the text and note.
S 4 does
256 NIGHTINGALE. — Clas IL.
does it ferve to compofe part of the folemn {cenery of his Pen/ferofo; when he defcribes it
In her faddeft fweeteft plight,
Smoothing the rugged brow of night ; While Cyxtaia checks her dragon yoke, Gently o’er th’accuftom’d oak ; Sweet bird, that fhun’ft the noife of folly, Moft mufical, moft melancholy !
‘Thee, chauntrefs, oft the woods among, 1 woo to hear thy evening fong.
In another place he ftyles it the /olemz bird; and again {peaks of it, As the wakeful bird
Sings darkling, and in fhadieft covert hid, Tunes her nocturnal note.
The reader muft excufe a few more quotations from the fame poet, on the fame fubjeét; the firft defcribes the approach of evening, and the retiring ‘of all animals to their repofe.
Silence accompanied ; for beaft and bird,
They to their graffy couch, thefe to their nefts Were flunk; all but the wakeful nightingale, _ She all the night long her amorous defcant fung,
When Eve pafied the irkfome night preceding her fall, fhe, in a dream, imagines herfelf thus reproach- ed with lofing the beauties of the night by indulging too long a repofe;
Why fleep’ft thou, Eve? now is the pleafant time, The cool, the filent, fave where filence yeilds
To the night-warbling bird, that now awake Tunes fweeteft his love-labor’d fong.
The fame birds fing their nuptial fong, and lull them to reft. How rapturous are the following lines! how
Clafs II. NIGHTINGALE. 257
how expreffive of the delicate fenfibility of our Mil- fon’s tender ideas ! The earth Gave fign of gratulation, and each hill; Joyous the birds; frefh gales and gentle airs Whifper’d it to the woods, and from their wings Flung rofe, flung odors from the fpicy fhrub, Difporting, till the amorous bird of night Sung fpoufal, and bid hafte the evening ftar On his hill-top to light the bridal lamp. Thefe, lull'd by xzghtingales, embracing flept ; And on their naked limbs the flowery roof Shower’d rofes, which the morn repair’d,
Thefe quotations from the beft judge of melody we thought due to the fweeteft of our feathered choirifters ; and we believe no reader of tafte will think them tedious.
Virgil feems to be the only writer among the an- tients who hath attended to the circumftance of this bird’s finging in the night time.
Qualis populea meerens philomela fub umbr4 Amiffos queritur foetus, quos durus arator Obfervans nido implumes detraxit: at illa
Filet nodiem, ramoque fedens miferabile carmen Integrat, et meeftis late locaqueftibusimplet. Georg. iv. 1. nthe
As philomel in poplar fhades, alone,
For her loft offspring pours a mother’s moan,
‘Which fome rough ploughman marking for his prey, From the warm neft, unfledg’d hath drage’d away ;
Percht on a bough, fhe all night long complains,
And fills the grove with fad repeated ftrains. 9 F. Warton.
Mr. Willoughby informs us that they make their neft in May, of the leaves of trees, ftraws and mols; and that they feldom fing near their neft, for fear of difcovering it: he alfo obferves, they delight in no
high
258 NIGHTINGALE. = Claf Ir.
high trees, except the oak. Play has defcribed the warbling notes of this bird, with an