The natural history of Selborne. Observations on various parts of nature : and The naturalist's calendar / by the late Rev. Gilbert White ; with notes, by Captain Thomas Brown.
- Gilbert White
- Date:
- 1833
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: The natural history of Selborne. Observations on various parts of nature : and The naturalist's calendar / by the late Rev. Gilbert White ; with notes, by Captain Thomas Brown. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![Rooxs. — Rooks are continually fighting, and pulling each other’s nests to pieces : these proceedings are inconsistent with 1824-5, They cannot fail to be highly interesting, as proving the great excursions frequently, if not periodically, taken by land birds: — ** 1824, Oct. 11. A chaffinch flew on board; weather stormy; Bay of Biscay, lat. 48 deg. 83 min. north, long. 7 deg. 50 min. west. Several snipes were seen the same day. — Oct. 13. A skylark was caught ; weather stormy; lat. 45 deg. 4 min. north, long. 10 deg. 10 min. west. — Oct. 14. A goldfinch was caught in the rigging ; this and the two former soon died from exhaustion ; at the same time, a small white owl flew round the vessel, but did not settle on board ; lat. 44 deg. ] min. north, long. 11 deg. 19 min. west ; wind brisk; our nearest distance from land, Cape Finisterre, one hundred and twenty miles. — Oct. 27. A hawk was seen flying about the ship, but did not settle ; distance from the Canary Islands, the nearest land, two hundred and fifty miles.— Oct. 29. In the morning, a single swallow was seen flying about the vessel, and frequently settling ; it was joined soon afterwards by another, and both continued with us the whole day ; lat. 23 deg. 11 min. north, long. 23 deg. 13 min. west. — Oct. 80. Swallows and martens in great numbers about the vessel; they were easily captured by the sailors, as they flew close to the deck, in search of flies; they appeared to be more in want of food than tired; lat. 41 deg. 47 min. north, long. 25 deg. 58 min. west. — Oct. 31. Swallows and martens still continue with us in great numbers, and were seen several successive days, apparently on a south-west course; a hen redstart was also observed about the ship ; it continued with us several days, and used to come into the ports of the after gun-room to be fed,. food being pur- posely placed there for it ; lat. 19 deg. 54 min. north, long. 25 deg. west. —Noy. 3. Swallows still with us. — Nov. 4. ‘The spotted gallinule was caught on deck ; lat. 8 deg. 2 min. north, long. 25 deg. 37 min. west.— Nov. 7. A fine female kestrel hawk was captured in the rigging ; it was ‘preserved in a cage for some days, but afterwards contrived to escape, and flew off; lat. 8 deg. 2 min. north, long. 24 deg. 40 min. west; four hundred and twenty-four miles from land. It is remarkable, that all the above named are British; they were verified by a reference to Bewick’s Birds. — Nov. 21. A small bat, or large, dark-coloured moth, was seen flying about the top of the rigging, but soon left us; we were three hundred miles from the nearest point of South America. — Nov. 28. A Brazilian land bird, corvus dubius of Linn. settled on board ; lat. 22 deg. 46 min. south, long. 37 deg. 42 min. west; about three hundred miles from Rio Janeiro. — Dec. 80. The fringilla australis flew on board ; we were, at the time, exactly thirty-seven miles south of Staten Land, with a northerly breeze. — 1825, Sept. 28. A small humming-bird flew round the vessel, but did not settle on board; we were, at the time, about ten miles from land, off the coast of Chili, opposite Conception. “< It may be remarked, that, though so many land birds were seen on our passage out, not one was met with on the return. 1 found swallows both at Rio Janeiro and Valparaiso; at the latter place, rearing their eis pie marten I also found at Valparaiso, and other parts of Chili.” — En.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b33094378_0321.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
