The Natural History of Selborne, Volumen2Bell and Dadly, 1868 |
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Términos y frases comunes
abound aphides appear autumn bees birds birds of prey breed British hirundines brood called cold colour common buzzard congeners coppice cuckoo curious delight district dogs echo eggs feet field fishes flies flight flocks former frequent frost garden genus ground Hanger haunt hawk hedges hill hirundo holes HONOURABLE DAINES BARRINGTON house-martins hundred inches insects known late le ham legs LETTER Linnæus longest days loud M'Gillivray male manner month morning natural nest never nidification night notes observed once pair plants prey quadrupeds remarkable remiges retire ring-dove roofs rooks rushes sand-martin says season seems seen SELBORNE shell snow soon sound species spring stock-dove strange summer suppose swallow swarm swifts tail tawny owl thermometer THOMAS PENNANT thrush tions titmouse trachea trees vast vegetation village VIRG walk wall weather white-throat wild wind wings winter wonder woods young
Pasajes populares
Página 417 - Less than archangel ruined, and the excess Of glory obscured ; as when the sun, new risen, Looks through the horizontal misty air Shorn of his beams, or from behind the moon, In dim eclipse, disastrous twilight sheds On half the nations, and with fear of change Perplexes monarchs.
Página 331 - Owls move in a buoyant manner, as if lighter than the air; they seem to want ballast. There is a peculiarity belonging to ravens that must draw the attention even of the most incurious — they spend all their leisure time in striking and cuffing each other on the wing in a kind of playful skirmish; and, when they move from one place to another, frequently turn on their backs with a loud croak, and seem to be falling to the ground. When this odd gesture betides them, they are scratching themselves...
Página 359 - The rattle and hurry of the journey so perfectly roused it, that, when I turned it out on a border, it walked twice down to the bottom of my garden: however, in the evening, the weather being cold, it buried itself in the loose mould, and continues still concealed.
Página 318 - Resounds the living surface of the ground: Nor undelightful is the ceaseless hum, To him who muses through the woods at noon; Or drowsy shepherd, as he lies reclin'd, With half-shut eyes, beneath the floating shade Of willows grey, close-crowding o'er the brook.
Página 280 - A pound of common grease may be procured for four pence, and about six pounds of grease will dip a pound of rushes, and one pound of rushes may be bought for one shilling ; so that a pound of rushes, medicated and ready for use, will cost three shillings.
Página 273 - ... you will take them into your hand. Last summer one alighted on my book as I was reading in the parlour, and, running to the top of the page, and shooting out a web, took its departure from thence. But what I most wondered at was, that it went off' with considerable velocity in a place where no air was stirring ; and I am sure that I did not assist it with my breath. So that these little crawlers seem to have, while mounting, some locomotive power without the use of wings, and to move in the air...
Página 272 - The remark that I shall make on these cobweb-like appearances, called gossamer, is, that, strange and superstitious as the notions about them were formerly, nobody in these days doubts but that they are the real production of small spiders, which swarm in the fields in fine weather in autumn, and have a power of shooting out webs from their tails so as to render themselves buoyant, and lighter than air.
Página 226 - Each species of hirundo drinks as it flies along, sipping the surface of the water ; but the swallow alone, in general, washes on the wing, by dropping into a pool for many times together : in very hot weather house-martins and bank-martins dip and wash a little. The swallow is a delicate songster, and in soft sunny weather sings both perching and flying, on trees in a kind of concert, and on chimney-tops...
Página 251 - The great titmouse, driven by stress of weather, much frequents houses, and, in deep snows, I have seen this bird, while it hung with its back downwards (to my no small delight and admiration), draw straws lengthwise from out the eaves of thatched houses, in order to pull out the flies that were concealed between them, and that in such numbers that they quite defaced the thatch, and gave it a ragged appearance.
Página 361 - Yet there is a season of the year (usually the beginning of June) when his exertions are remarkable. He then walks on tiptoe, and is stirring by five in the morning ; and, traversing the garden, examines every wicket and interstice in the fences, through which he will escape if possible ; and often has eluded the care of the gardener, and wandered to some distant field. The motives that impel him to undertake these rambles seem to be of the amorous kind : his fancy then becomes intent on sexual attachments,...