Note 1670 — Chapter IV · STUDIES OF THE FARMER.

All birds which frequent the sea, more particularly those which fly high, are observed to seek terra firma at the approach of foul weather:—Ἀριστοτέλους ἀκούω λέγοντος, ὅτι ἄρα γέρανοι ἐκ τοὺς πελάγους εἰς τὴν γῆν πετόμενοι, χειμῶνος ἀπειλὴν ἰσχουραὶ ὑποσημαίνουσι τῷ συνιέντι. Ælian. De Nat. Anim. vii. 7. Before the great earthquake of 1783, which shook the whole of Calabria and destroyed the city of Messina, the mews and other aquatic birds were observed to forsake the sea and take refuge in the mountains. Spallanzani, Travels in the Two Sicilies, vol. iv. p. 158.