IV. Oveel-vntions relating fo tAe M&mtion of Birds, By Edniund Lnm- In a Leffer fa Wil(iam be)-t, FA. of Byyton nenr Htyte/buiy, With,

Mcri-k~evkk, EA. F. L. S.

&?l!d -I794 S I R,

aRions of the Linnean Society Y ion. A. B. Lambert put lately into my hands the Tranl-

I could not help admiring your Remarks on the Migration of Birds ; and as I am an old fportf- man, and have fpent much of my time in the fields and woods, I have not been wholly inattentive to the migrationof the feathered race, and therefore take the liberty of making a few remarks on. fome of the birds, which you mention as having efcaped your ob- fe rvat ion.

The Swallow.. I have fern fwallo~vs the lafi week in March at Stowey, near the

Brifiol channel, Soqerietihire; and the lalt I faw was the 22d of November 1782. I obferved two or three fl$ng every day under the cliffs at Exmouth for a week : I left the place the 23d, other- wife I might have feen them later.

Goatjiucker. This bird flies late at night, and therefore is feldom feen. It lives

Mr. Seymer, of Harford, Dorfet (a preat natu- 6 raliit),

chiefly on moths.

Mr. E. LAMBERT’S Overvations on tAe M~jyntion ofBirds. 13

raliit), has complained to me of this bird ; for, whcn he was fome- times on the point of catching a fine moth late in the evening (10 o’clock), this bird would come as fwift as lightning and fnap it up before him.. I have ihot two of thcfe birds.

7Voodcock. T h e woodcock I once Caw the firit of Ofiobcr, N. S. in this inland

aounty; and a couple was h o t this prefent fcdon that vesy fame day on fome heath about three miles from my lioufe. But a perfon living at Uphill, the nearefi point of land to thc Stcep Holms in the Brifiol channel, and who iented that little i f l m t l for the ufe of fiihing, affured me he never knew the month of Scptember pars withouefeeing woodcocks on that ifland. I have had two neits in my wood; the lafi was in the year 1789. It had four eggs. T h e old bird was loth to get out of the nefi ; ar fhe had fat, as near as I could guefs, about a fortnight. I. took one of the eggs and blew it, and have it by me now.. But I do not believe the young ones ase ever bred up in this country to be k o t at, as you have heard : for Mr. Seymer had cne lived a11 the fiimmcr in a coppice near his houfe; and though it was a place well calculated to maintain a bird that lived on fu&.ion, yet the b i d lofi alinofk all his feathers, and could not fly for fome time, lo that it was often caught : but in the autumn it recovered its feathers and firength, and flew away, This I had from Mr. Seymer himfelf, and other gentlemen whom he ufed to ihew the bird to.

Sn$e. T h e fnipes breed in great numbers on the bogs i n the New Fo-

reit, Hants ; and always come to us in September, and fometimes in Augufi. Some years ago two neighbours fent me five couple the fecond week in Augult, telling me at the fame. time they never faw

them

-144 Mr, E. L, A M r, E RT'S 0 2 j f i i w h n f

them more plcntiful in winter. Inycnt out the 15th myfclf,and killed three couple in a little time; and the weather being extremely hot,

They were in as good condition as in winter,

was obliged .to come home before I iiitcnded it.

RgjIo?i Cwx~. T h c Royflon crows are very plentiful with us all the winter,

though an inland county. They lay on thc downs, and frequent flieep-folds and highways ; t he latter, to pick the horfe-dung drop- ped on the roads. I never obferved the time they go and come.

Fieinfare. T h e lateit fieldfare I everfaw was the ~ f i of May in Dorfetfhire;

and the earlieit the 29th of September, which was killed by my game-keeper.

Redw ing . fore the fieldfare, and leaves it fooner.

T h e redwing makes its appearance in this country generally be-

Tbc Land Rail. This makes its appearance the laft week in April, and leaves us

the fecond week in Oaober. They breed with us, and I believe every where in England. I have taken the eggs and caught the young ones of all iizes ; for when the dog points at them they will not fly till full grown, and then relu&antly, efpecially in the €'ring. They are continually making a creaking iioife all the fpring in the fields and gracs grounds. I had one making that noife in my garden lait fpring for three weeks. They call them in Ire- land corn creaks.

rarer

714ter Wastail. Th,e water wagtail moil certainly remains with us during the

winter, I had three during this whole winter about the hot-houfes and green- houfe, catching flies in warm days ; but in cold weather they get down to the river, and eat the infeats on the weeds rhich appear when the water is turned out of its courfe to water the meadows. 1 have feen all iiiv life-time as many water wagtails in the winter as in {urnmet.; in t he former a t the river, and the latter about the houfe.

You may depend on the t r u t h of the above account; atid I have nothing more to add, but that my obfervatioiis on the other birds you mention totally agree with yours.

L am, Sir, with great refpe&, Your obedient Servant,

EDMUND LAMBERT: Boyion, near €€yte/uty, WYis.

I forgot to mention thc rook’s antipathy (as you’obferve) to<the raven. T h e truth is, a raven will not fuffer any bird to come within a quarter of a mile of its nefi, being very fierce in defending it. Befides, they take the young rooks out of their nefi to feed their own. This I was an eye-witnefs to a t Mr. Ceymer’s ; for there was no peace in the rookery night nor day, till one of the old ravens was killed and the nefi deitroyed. A, raven has built in a large beech tree of mine timc out of mind. I can trace it back above an hundred y.ears. T h e tree is fuppofed to meafure at leafi feven tons.

V. Accouiit