Letter received by Banks from Marmaduke Tunstall, 28 June1785 (Series 72.187) - No. 0001

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Tunstall Mon. 5 1785

Dr. Sir

     I duely received your kind favor & can assure you nothing can give me greater pleasure, than being the least able to be of any little use possible in our favourite pursuit of natural history & availing myself of any opportunity of testifying my regard & esteem of you, no less as a friend & individual, than as President of a Society I have the honor of being a member of & sincerely wish I could be a more useful one, that I endeavor at it, however vainly, you will see by the many trivial anecdotes I shall trouble you with. 

     In regard to the bird you mention, I received it about two years since from my neighbour the Hon:ble Mr. Vane of Lellatz about 2 miles from Raby;  I judged it merely a variety of the Common Chaffinch (fringilla Colebs) so was not so curious as I should have been about particulars, think it was caught near his house & lived some time in a cage;  when given me, it was nearly putrid & not having then any person expert in setting up birds, it was deferred so long, that tho' sett