Its cere and feet were yellow, and the
circle of its eyelids bright yellow. As it had been killed some days,
and the eyes were sunk, I could make no good observation on the
colour of the pupils and the irides.
The most unusual birds I ever observed in these parts were a pair of
hoopoes (upupa) which came several years ago in the summer, and
frequented an ornamented piece of ground, which joins to my
garden, for some weeks. They used to march about in a stately
manner, feeding in the walks, many times in the day; and seemed
disposed to breed in my outlet; but were frightened and persecuted
by idle boys, who would never let them be at rest.
Three gross-beaks (loxia coccothraustes) appeared some years ago
in my fields, in the winter; one of which I shot: since that, now and
then one is occasionally seen in the same dead season.
A cross-bill (loxia curvirostra) was killed last year in this
neighbourhood.
Our streams, which are small, and rise only at the end of the
village, yield nothing but the bull's head or miller's thumb (gobius
fluviatilis capitatus), the trout (trutta fluviatilis), the eel (anguilla),
the lampern (lampaetra parka et fluviatilis), and the stickle-back
(pisciculus aculeatus).
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