USA > New Hampshire > The history of New-Hampshire. Comprehending the events of one complete century and seventy-five years from the discovery of the River Pascataqua to the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety, Vol 3 > Part 9
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They fometimes choofe a natural pond for the fcene of their habitation and amufement ; in which cafe they dig a hole in the earth, near the edge of the pond, and line it with fticks ; to this they have a fubterraneous paffage from the water. Some times they refide on the coves or eddies of great riv- ers, where the water is flill ; but it is more ufual for them to conftruet a dam, which by ftopping the courfe of a ftream, may overflow a piece of ground, and form a pond to their liking. In the choice of a fpor for a dam, they have fagacity to judge whether it will confine and raife the water to anfwer their purpofe They take advantage of wind fallen, trees, of long points, of land, of fmall iflands, rocks and. fhoals ; and they vary the fhape of their dam according to thefe circumftances, making it either circular, direct or angular ; and the beft human artift could neither mend its pofition or figure, nor add to its ftability It is conftructed entirely of fticks and earth ; the fticks are for the moft part placed up and down the ftream, feldom acrofs, but always clofely interwov- en and cemented by mud, brought on their tails, which, being; broad, and flat, anfwer the purpofe of a trowel as their teeth do that of a faw. They have four incifive teeth, two in the forepart of the upper, and two of the under jaw, tharp and curved like a carpenter's gouge ; with thefe they cut off trees and bufhes of, the fofteft wood, white maple, white birch, alder, poplar and willow ; with thefe kinds of wood they conftruct their dams, and of thefe they always,
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have a fufficiency funk under the water to ferva them for food in the winter.
With refpect to the fiże of the trees which they fell, and fome other circumftances relative to their labours and habits, many marvellous ftories have been publithed. La Hontan fays they will cut off a tree ' as big as a hogthead.' Buffon, and after him Raynal and Goldfmith, fpeak of their 'sharpening ftakes, and driving them into the ground.' Others have afferted things much more incredible .* The bea- ver is in reality a fagacious, laborious, and patient ani- mal, and makes great ufe of his teeth in felling many fmall trees, and cutting them into pieces conveni- ent for his ufe ; but he has no inftrument with which to drive them into the ground. The fize of the trees which he generally choofes, is from one to ten inches in diameter ; thefe are young trees, ten- der and fweet for food. Neceflity fometimes obli- ges a number of them jointly to attack a tree of larger fize. The largeft of which I have any certain information is from fifteen to eighteen inches in di- ameter ; but this is rare, and the felling of fuch a tree muft require much labor, fince thofe of but one inch have eight or ten ftrokes, diftinctly mark- ed, and a very good kerf is allowed.
Some accounts mention feveral hundred beavers affembling and holding a council previoufly to be- ginning a dam ; but I am affured that a fingle fam- ily, and even a fingle beaver, when he has loft his partners, will go regularly to work either in build- ing or repairing a dam as there may be occafion. I have myfelf taken fticks newly cut, from a dam, , where a folitary beaver was at work. Joffelyn tells of a beaver which was domefticated at Bofton, and
* The most full and perfect account of the beaver which I have seen is in Hearne's journey to the Northern ocean, page 231, &c, where he detects and ridicules the many fictions and extravagant stories which have been related of these animals.
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ran freely about the ftreets, retiring at night to the houfe of his owner.
The beaver's dam is from fix to ten feet thick. at the bottom, according to the breadth of the ftream or the quantity of water. It flopes but little on the lower, and much on the upper fide, and is from two to four feet wide at the top. It is always of fuch height as will confine a fufficiency of water for their purpofe. After it is conftructed, they place fods of wild grafs upon it, fo that in the courfe of a year it becomes fwarded over like a portion of meadow. Thofe parts which are in the fhoaleft wa- ter, near the banks, are fo confolidated, that after the middle of the dam is broken, thefe will remain like natural points of firm carth. On the top of the dam, in the middle, they always leave a fluice or paffage of eighteen inches wide, and as many deep ; and when the ftream is large, they leave two or three, which the hunters call fliding-places. In thefe they divert themfelves by fliding or fwimming down the ftream. It is not inconvenient for this animal to be long under water ; nor is he wet when he leaves it to take the land ; his coat is fo well oiled that no water adheres to it.
When the dam is built, the houfe is begun. It is in the form of a hay cock, and of a fize propor- tioned to the number of the family. The walls are two or three feet thick at the bottom, and are form- ed of the fame materials as the dam. The door is not only under water, but below, where the water freezes. The lower ftory is about two feet high, and a floor of fticks, covered with mud, compofes the fecond ftory. At the fame diftance a third ftory is formed, and then the roof is raifed in an arched form. It is fmooth on the infide, and above the wa- ter, always dry and clean. Through each floor there is a communication, and the upper floor is always
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above the level of the water when at the higheft. The outfide of the houfe is rough but tight ; and if it ever decays, it is repaired. When the hunters find 1 the houfes out of repair, they conclude that the beav- ers have forfaken the pond.
In the winter it is neceffary for them to keep one or more breathing holes in the ice conftantly open, near the houfes ; for which purpofe they break the ice every night. It is confidently afferted by the hunters, that all their work is done by night, and that they are never feen in the day unlefs it be clou- dy and dark. During the winter, they live on the wood which they have previoufly funk under the water, and in the fummer they are employed in re- pairing their houfes and dams, or gathering their food in the neighbouring woods, to which they trav- el in narrow, beaten paths.
In thefe paths, or in the water where the path y ends, or in the fliding places of the dam, the hunter fets his fteel fpring trap, which is previoufly fcented with beaver's oil. Sometimes he raifes a heap of mud, or peels little fticks, and having fcented them, -- fets them up at the edge of the pond, placing the trap under water, near the mud or fticks. The trap is fecured by a chain, or the beaver would draw it after him. He often efcapes with the lofs of a foot. Sometimes he is fhot in the water, or on the land. When a beaver difcovers an enemy, he ftrikes the water with his tail ; the noife alarms the whole fam- ily, and they are in a moment under water. The beft fur is that which is taken in February and March ; in the fummer, their fur is not good. The way of preferving the fkins, is by falting and pack- ing them in a clofe bundle, with the flefh fides to- gether.
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One valuable purpofe which the beaver ferves, is not mentioned, by any of the writers of natural hif-
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tory, which I have had opportunity to confult ; but I fhall give it, in the words of a friend, to whom I am indebted for feveral communications refpecting the original and cultivated ftate of the country .* ' The ' beavers, in building their dams, have no other de- ' fign than that of making a habitation agreeable to ' the natural bias, with which they are formed ; but, ' I conceive, that Being, by whom the univerfe is fo ' wifely governed, has a farther defign in this little ' animal, who with unwearied labor builds a dam, ' which ftops the water from purfuing its natural ' courfe, and makes it fpread over a tract of land ' from five to five hundred acres in extent ; and moft ' commonly the worft of land, a mere alder fwamp " or bog, and the larger the tract, the more likely is ' it to be the worfe. By means of the waters continu- " ing on this tract, more than half the year, for many ' years together, every thing which grew upon it is ' drowned ; all trees, bufhes and fhrubs are killed. ' In a courfe of time, the leaves, bark, rotten wood ' and other manure, which is wafhed down, by the ' rains, from the adjacent high lands, to a great ex- ' tent, fpread over this pond, and fubfide to the bot- ' tom, making it fmooth and level.
' It is now that the hunter, ferreting the innocent ' beaver, is alfo made fubfervient to the great de- * fign of Providence ; which is, by opening the dam, ' and deftroying the beaver, fo that it is not repair- ' ed. Of confequence, the water is drained off, and ' the whole tract, which before was the bottom of ' a pond, is covered with wild grafs, which grows 'as high as a man's fhoulders, and very thick. " Thefe meadows doubtlefs ferve to feed great num- ' bers of moofe and deer, and are of ftill greater ' ufe to new fettlers, who find a mowing field al-
* MS. letter of Joseph Peirce, Esq.
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" ready cleared to their hands ; and though the hay 'is not equally as good as Englifh, yet it not only " keeps their cattle alive, but in tolerable order ; ".and without thefe natural meadows, many fettle- 'ments could not poffibly have been made, at the ' time they were made. Such as are not fenced, "afford the cattle good paftures in the beginning " of the year, as the grafs fhoots very early. It is 'obferved that thofe meadows which are mowed ' conftantly, produce lefs at every mowing ; but ' will always hold out, where fettlers are induftri- 'ous, till they have cleared ground enough to raife ' Englifh hay. I have more than two hundred 'acres in one body, made by feveral dams, acrofs 'one brook, at various diftances from each other.'
The Mufquafh (caftor zibethicus ) builds a cabin of fticks and mud in a fhallow pond. He is not fo fhy of man as the beaver ; but is frequently found in the cultivated parts of the country. The oil-bag of the Mufquafh, wrapped in cotton, affords a per- fume, grateful to thofe who are fond of mufk.
The Mink (muftela ) is an amphibious animal, and burrows in the earth by the fide of rivers and ponds. Its fur is more valuable than the muf- quafh.
The Ground Rat (mufterreftris native.)
The Black Rat (mus ---- ) is a native, but it re- tires back into the country as the grey rat, which is imported in veffels from abroad, advances. The town of Hampton, though adjoining the fea, and one of the earlieft fettlements in New-Hampfhire, had no grey rats till the year 1764, when an Englifh maft fhip was wrecked on the beach. This fpecies of rat has advanced about thirty miles into the coun- try, and farther, along the great roads. To prevent the entrance of this noxious animal into corn houfes, the fills are laid on fhort pofts, each of which is cap-
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ped with a broad flat ftone, over which the animal cannot pafs.
Of Squirrels we have four fpecies. The Black (Sciurus niger) and the Grey ( Sciurus cinereus) though i diftinguifhed by Linnæus, differ here only in colour ;: the former is very rare, the latter very common .!! This is the largeft fpecies of Squirrels. It builds its neft in the crotch of a tree, generally a white oak, and there breeds and nourifhes its young. It: feeds on acorns and nuts, and lays up its winter, food in the hollow parts of old trees.
The Red fquirrel (Sciurus flavus ?) is the next in ; fize, and its habits are nearly the fame.
The Striped fquirrel ( Sciurus Striatus) is fmaller. It provides its winter food from the cornfields, and depofits it in holes in the earth, after having depriv- ed each kernel of its germe, that it may not: fprout.
The Flying fquirrel (Sciurus volans) is the leaft and moft beautiful. Its fur is the moft fine and delicate of any quadruped. It feeds on the buds and feeds of vegetables.
The Moofe ( cervus tarandus ?) is the largeft ani- mal of our foreft. His palmated horns extend from four to fix feet in breadth, and are from thirty to fifty pounds in weight. He has hair on his neck . refembling the mane of a horfe. His hoof is clov- en, and when he trots, the clattering of it is heard at a great diftance. His courfe through the woods is ftraight, to a proverb. He feeds on the wild grafs of the meadows, or on the leaves and bark of a Species of the Cornel, which is called moofc-wood. When vexed by the flies in fummer, he takes to the water, where he feeds on the wild oats or pond lilies. His flefh is of a coarfer grain than beef, but iweet and tender. His lip, which is broad and car- tilaginous, is accounted by the Indians and by our
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own huntfmen a dainty, and his tongue is ' a difh for a fagamore.' The hide is thick and firm, and is made into foft and durable leather. When the Indians kill a moofe or a deer, they cut off the hoof and draw out the finews, of which they make the ftrongeft cords.
The Deer (cervus dama ?) was formerly found in very great plenty ; but having been wantonly de- ftroyed at improper feafons of the year, is now be- come fcarce. The beft time to hunt this animal for the facility of taking it, is in the winter, when there is a deep fnow with a cruft on its furface ; but its fkin is moft valuable when killed in the warm months.
Hunting is an employment followed by fome people, who prefer rambling, to a life of fettled in- duftry. The moofe and the deer are tracked and purfued by dogs ; or the huntfman lies in wait for them, at certain defiles, where they are known to pafs, or near waters in which they bathe. The bear is fometimes unkennelled when retired to his den ; or when ranging, if he take to a tree, he is a fair mark.
A new mode of driving away the wolf has been attempted with fuccefs. The town of Amherft was a few years ago much infefted with this noxious in- truder. On a day appointed, the inhabitants, by general confent took their arms, and furrounded a large fwamp which they penetrated in every direc- tion, as far as it was practicable ; and kept up an inceffant firing of guns and beating of drums through the day. In the following night the wolves quitted the fwamp with a difinal howling, and have never fince done any mifchief in that town.
The only mamillary biped which we have is the Bat (vefpertilio murinus) which forms the connecting link between the beafts and the birds.
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Of Birds we have a great variety. The follow- ing catalogue is the moft full, which has been col- lected, but cannot boaft of perfection.
1. Bald Eagle,
Falco leucocchhalus.
2. Brown Lagle,
Falco fulvus.
4. Large Brown Hawk,
Falco hudsonius ?
5. Hen Hawk,
Falco shurverius 2
3. Pigeon Hawk,
Falco Subbuteo,
6. Fish Hawk,
Falco Haliaetus ?
1. Horned Owl,
Strix Bubo.
2. White Owl,
Strix nyctea.
3. Speckled Owl,
Strix Aluco.
4. Barn Owl,
Strix passerina.
Bird Hawk,
Lanius canadensis.
King Bird,.
Lanius tyrannus.
Crow,
Corvus Corax.
Blue Jay,
Corvus cristatus ..
Hang Bird,
Oriolus Icterus.
Red winged Black Bird,
Oriolus piheniceus.
Golden Robin or Gold Finch,
Oriolus Baltimore :
Crow Black Bird,
Gracula Quiscula.
Cuckow,
Cuculus americanus ?
Great Red Crested Wood-Pecker,
Picus pileatus ?
Swallow Wood-Pecker,
Picus hirundenaccus.
Red Head Wood-Pecker,
Picus erythrocephalus.
White Back Wood-Pecker,
Picus auratus.
Carolina Wood-Pecker,
Picus carolinus.
Wooly Back Wood-Pecker,
Picus pubescens.
White Tail Wood-Pecker,
Picus villoxus ?
Speckled Wood-Pecker,
Picus maculolus®
Nut Hatch,
Ş Sitta curafica
Kingfisher,
Creeper,
Humming Bird,
Sitta canadensis. Alcedo Alcyon. Certhia pinus 2 Trochilus colubris.
Swan.
Anas cygnus.
The SWAN is the largeft of the aquatic tribe which is feen in this country. One of them has been known to weigh 36 lb. and to be fix feet in length from the bill to the feet, when ftretched. +
* Since the printing of the note page 108, I find that the request of Dr. Cutler, res- pecting the new specific names, was, that they should be ' distinguished by a character ' different from the others.' It was at first thought that 'Italic capitals' would be as proper a distinction as any other ; but this is found, on further inquiry, to be contrary to the practice of that class of authors. A smaller type is therefore used by way of dis- dinction.
t This bird migrates to the Northward so curly as to find no water but at the falls of givers where there is no içc.
Hearne's Journal, p. 283.
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Naturalifts have different opinions refpecting the mufic of the fwan. The tame fwan of England is faid to be filent ; and Dr. Goldfmith feems to think the accounts of the mufic of the wild fwan fabu- lous. What is deemed fabulous in Europe, is often realized in America. It is certain that our fwan is heard to make a found refembling that of a trumpet, both when in the water and on the wing. Mr. Hearne fays that the fwan at Hudfon's Bay makes a noife refembling the found of a French Horn. Page 436.
White Head Coot,
Anas spectabilis,
Brown Coot,
Anas fusca.
Black Duck Coot,
Anas nigra.
White Goose,
Anas crythrofits.
Bluish Goose,
Anas cucrulescens.
Brant or Brent,
Anas bernicla.
Wild or Black Goose,
Anas canadensis.
This is the bird which Dr. HILL calls the Swan Goofe. It is a bird of paffage, and gregarious ; the form of the phalanx, when on the wing, is that of a wedge. By the mixture of this with the com- mon goofe, a mongrel breed is produced, which is more valuable than either of them fingly. The wild goofe, though it migrates from one part of the continent to the other, yet has its local attachments. One of them, which was caught in the fpring, and kept in a farm yard with a flock of domeftic geefe, when the time of its migration arrived, took the firft opportunity to join a flock in their paffage to the fouthward ; but at the return of fpring, came back and alighted in the fame yard with four young ones, which fhe had produced in her abfence.
The BRANT is rare in New-Hampfhire ; but in the bay of Maffichufetts, is found in great abun- dance.
أس السر
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HISTORY OF
Sea Duck, Dipper, Oldwife, Red Head Quindar, Quindar, Whistler, Grey Duck,
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Widgeon,
River Coot or Ash colour Duck,
Mallard or Sprig-tail Duck,
Lord and Lady,
Blue wing Teal, Green wing Teal,
Crested wood Duck,
Wood Duck,
Cream colour Shelldrake,
Red belly Shelldrake,
Pyed Shelldrake,
Anas arborea. Mergus Merganser ? Mergus Serrator ? Mergus Castor ?
Murr, Penguin,
Alca Torda. Alea impennis.
Sea Parrot,
Alta artica.
Peterel or Mother Carey's Chickens. S
Procellaria pelagice.
Pelican.
Anas mollissima. Anus albcola. Anos hyemalis. Anas ferina. Anas bucephala. Anas clangula ! Anas Penelope. Anas Marila. Anas cinerea. Anas acuta. Anas histrionica ? Anas discors ? Anas -. Anas sponsu.
Pelicanus onocrotalus occidentalis.
The Pelican migrates from its native country, the Miffifippi, far to the northward. It has been feen in New-Hampfhire. The American Pelican is not a diftinct fpecies from the Pelican of Afia and Afri- ca, but a variety only.
Shag, Gannet, Brown Throat Loon, Sea Loon, White Gull,
Eagle Gull, Mackerel Gull, Tee-Arr, or Fishing Gull, Swallow tail Gull or Medrake, Cranc, Stork, Blue Heron, Skouk, White Heron,
Woodcock, Wood Snipe, Grey Curlew, Large Speckled Curlew, Humility, Marsh Bird,
Pelecanus graculus ? Pelecanus bassanus ? Colymbus Septentrionalis. Colymbus Immer. Larus candidus. Larus marinus. Larus ridibundus.
Sterna minuta. Sterna Hirundo ? Ardea canadensis. Ardea ciconia. Ard. a carulea.
Ardea virescene, Ardca alba. Scolopax Rusticola. Scolopax fedoa. Scolopax totanus. Seclofax lanfonica, Tringa interpres ? Tringa morinclla ?
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Rock Bird, Beach-Bird, (x-Eye, Kildee,
Tringa maculata.
Tringa arenaria.
Charadrius alexandrinus ?
Charadrius vociferus ?
Black Breast Plover,
Charadrius apricarius.
Upland Plover,
Charadriu : tetradactylus.
Large Spotted Plover, Peep, Wild Turkey,
Charadrius maculatus
Rallus carolinus.
Meleagris gullofavo.
Wild Turkies were formerly very numerous. In winter they frequented the fea fhore, for the fake of picking fmall fifhes and marine infects, which the tide leaves on the flats. Joffelyn, who refided eight years in the province of Maine, and wrote in 1672, fays, that he had eaten part of one, which, when prepared for the fpit, weighed thirty pounds ; and Wood, who vifited the country earlier, and wrote in 1639, fpeaks of fome which weighed forty pounds. They are now retired to the inland mountainous country. Dr. Goldfmith doubts whether any of this breed have been tamed in America. They certainly have been tamed ; but they are degenerated in fize by their domeftication, fcarcely any being more than half fo heavy as thofe above mentioned. The tur- key is a rambling bird, and runs with great fpeed on the ground. The tame flocks frequently wander, and cannot be fatted till the fnow prevents their excurfions.
Growfe,
Tetrao
The Growfe is rarely feen, as there are no dry heaths in New-Hampfhire, but on the tops of the largeft mountains, which are feldom vifited by man. This bird has a red head, is larger than the par- tridge, and its flefh, though red and dry, has a high flavour, and is very tender.
Quail, Partridge,
Tetrao virginianus. Tetrao marilandicus.
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The Partridge is very common in our woods. Some of our epicurean gentry, have begun to fear, that its race will be too foon extinct ; but there is no danger. This bird is very prolific ; it is com- mon to find twenty of its eggs in a neft ; and it has feveral coveys in a feafon. Quails are equally pro -? lific. In the fouthern and middle States, the quail is called a partridge, and the partridge a pheafant. The true pheafant is not a native of our wildernefs. The late Governor Wentworth brought feveral pairs of pheafants from England, and let them fly in his woods, at Wolfborough ; but they have not fince been feen.
Wild Pigeon, Columba carolinienfis ( dub. )
Wild Pigeons come in the fpring, from the fouth- ward, in great flocks, and breed in our woods, dur- ing the fummer months. They choofe the thickeft parts of the foreft, for the fituation of their nefts. Joffelyn fays ' they join neft to neft, and tree to tree, "by their nefts, many miles together, on the pine ' trees.' In the journal of Richard Hazzen, who fur- veyed the Province line, in 1741, there is this re- mark ; ' for three miles together, the pigeons' nefts ' were fo thick, that five hundred might have been ' told on the beech trees at one time ; and could ' they have been counted on the hemlocks, as well, I ' doubt not but five thoufand, at one turn round.' This was on the weftern fide of Connecticut river, and eaftward of Deerfield river. Since the clearing of the woods, the number of pigeons is diminifhed.
Turtle Dove, Sky Lark, Marsh Lark, Robin, Thrush, Thrasher or Mockbird, Cherry Bird, Crossbill,
Columba carolinensis. .Alauda alfestris. Alauda magna. Turdus migratorius. Turdus rufus.
Turdus Orpheus ? Amficlis Garrulus. Lucia curvirostra?
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The Crofs Bill is a bird rather larger than the fparrow ; it is common in the weftern and northern parts of the State. The upper and lower parts of its beak crofs each other like a pair of fhears, by which means it cuts off the ftalks of wheat and rye, and then lays the fide of its head to the ground to pick the kernels. The female is of a fhaded olive colour. The male is of the fame, but tinged with red.
Snow Bird,
Emberiza byemalis ?
The Snow Bird is fmaller than a fparrow, and ap- pears in little flocks, in the winter, enlivening the gloom of that dreary feafon. They perch on the tops of the fpires of dead grafs, above the fnow, or on fpots of bare ground, or on the bufhes and trees. They are feldom molefted, as one of them is fcarce- ly a mouthful ; but they have the fame delicate tafte as the quail. Befides the fnow bird, the crow, the blue jay, the woodpecker and the partridge, have a degree of hardinefs, equal to the feverity of our winters, and are then feen flying ; all others avoid it, by feeking a timely retreat.
Boblincoln, Red Linnet, Cheewech, Yellow Bird, Winter sparrow,
Chipping Bird, Spring Bird, Several species of Sparrows,
Crested Fly-Catcher, Hedge Bird, Cat Bird, Brown Flycatcher,
Yellow Crown, Grape Bird, Blue Bird, Crested Wren, Common Wren, Crested Titmouse,
Emberiza oryzivora. Tanagra rubra.
Fringilla erythronthalma ? Fringilla tristis. Fringilla grisea. Fringilla ? Fringilla.
Fringilla.
Muscicania crinita.
Muscicafa canadensis.
Muscicuta carolinensis.
Muscicania susca.
Muscicana flava.
Motacilla icterocephala.
Motacilla Sialis.
Motacilla Regulus.
Motacilla Trochilus.
Parus bicolor.
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HISTORY OF
Blue Titmouse, Tom Teet, Yellow Rumped Tom Teet,
Parus americanus.
Purus atricapillus.
Parus virginianus.
Little Hang-Bird,
Parus fendulinus ?
3. Bank Swallow,
Hirundo ripmaria.
4 Black Martin,
Hirundo purpurca.
I Bun Swallow,
2 Small Martin,
Birundo rustica. Hirundo arbria.
The Swallow appears in April, and difappears in Auguft. It was formerly fuppofed to migrate, but the evidences of its retiring to the water, or marthy ground, and there remaining torpid, during the win- ter, are fo many, that this opinion is now generally received.
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