Ae Bau al a sea pa MAMMA al ain anid aS : iy ; rm : A As 2 A RRA, ps ae NAS ap f AY A AAA rake ANAAAAAAA ‘Ad . ne fia 5 fe naan = > z? : Ala ALL te NIA A PUA WY AAA ACY ep AZ A F fm An NAY ; > » DD Yb - »~P >» 2 >” > DY >: \A AF o> > sD > SID Dw D ~~ ron SAAR, WW A a =} ai fi 1, Aa aaAAA Jai AP > dy aD >>> T D> e> es > Soke S THE ZOOLOGIST FOR 1870. Second SERIES, pp. 1953—2412. LONDON: E. NEWMAN, PRINTER, DEVONSHIRE STREET, BISHOPSGATE. THE ZOOL OGEIST: A POPULAR MISCELLANY NATURAL HISTORY. CONDUCTED BY EDWARD NEWMAN, F.L.S., Mens. Imp. L.-C. Acap. SECOND SERIES._VOLUME THE FIFTH. LONDON: JOHN VAN VOORST, PATERNOSTER ROW. M.DCOC.LXX. I love (and have some cause to love) the earth: She is my Maker's creature. therefore good ; She is my mother, for she gave me birth; She is my tender nurse; she gives me food. I love the air: her dainty sweets refresh My drooping soul, and to new sweets invite me ; Her shrill-mouth’d choir sustain me with their flesh, And with their polyphonian notes delight me. “ I love the sea: she is my fellow-creature, My careful purveyor; she provides me store. FRANCIS QUARLES. CONTENTS. ALPHABETICAL LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS, Aston, Epwarp R. The beaver in Scotland, 2017; Kitti- wake gull, 2108 ANDERSON, ANDREW Cats killing squirrels, 2016 Anverson, J. E. Bird’s nest in solid wood, 2140 Barron, Gerard Noisy gathering of the house sparrow, 2306 Barrerssy, H. F. Early nest of longeared owl, Pied blackbird, 2099 Betz, ALwiy S. Avocet, bittern and gray phalarope at Hastings, 2024; Reported probable occurrence of the ptarmigan in York- shire, 2062; Great bustards on the Yorkshire Wolds, 2063, 2103; Avo- cet and little auk at Rye, Little gulls on the Yorkshire coast, 2107 ; Wild- fow] at Hastings, 2108; Sun-fish on the Dorsetshire coast, Sun-fish at Abbotsbury, 2260; Owl chased by rooks, Buff-coloured redwing, 2343 ; Thrasher in the West Bay, Purt- land, 2348 Bircuatt, Epwin The upas tree absolved, 2412 Biackmore, Henry Rock doves at Salisbury, 2101 Braxe-Knox, H., J.P. Six additions to a list of the migratory and wandering birds of the County of Dublin, 2018; Black redstart in the County of Dublin, On the plumage of the black redstart, 2019; Remarks on the abuormal plumages of the goldfinch, 2049; White’s thrush at Ballymahon, County Long- ford, 2060; Eider duck in Dublin Bay, 2064; Varieties of birds, Ruti- cilla tithys and R. Carii, 2099, 2139 ; Ruddy shieldrake near Tralee, Co. Kerry, 2105; Puffin on the Dublin coast in February, 2107; About the kittiwake’s first winter plumage, &c., 2119; Migration of swallows, Scla- vonian grebe in County Dublin, 2182; Plumage of the adult male merganser, 2183; Shoveller in Dub- lin Bay, 2225; Merlins in Treland, Osprey in County Kerry, 2406; American bittern at Cabir, Ire- land, Esquimaux curlew in Dublin Market, 2408; Ruff in Dublin, Gray phalaropes in County Dublin, 2410 Bonb, Freperick, F.L.S. Ornithological notes from South Devon, 1983; Siberian lark at Brighton, Correction of errors, 2022; Lapland bunting near London, 2061; Little gulls in Leadenhall Market, 2066; Little gull in the City,2108; Tawny pipit, ortolan bunting and Lap- land bunting near Brighton, Second occurrence of the scarlet builfinch near London, 2383 Borrer, WintiaAmM Shore lark near Weymouth, 2101 Boyes, Freperick Common and Sandwich terns at Spurn, 2026; Notes from East Yorkshire, 2143; On the nesting of the com- mon swift, Nesting of the quail in East Yorkshire, 2307; Little bittern in Nottinghamshire, 2308 Boynton, T. The Pennsylvanian pipit, &c., at Brid- lington, 2021 Brapsaaw, Beng. F. Habits of the coran bustard, 2407 Branprern, H. P. Woodcock on the 19th of March, 2141 Bree, C. R., M.D. Ruticilla tithys and R. Carii, 2061; Authus ludovicianus vel Anthus rufescens, 2100 Brices, T. R. ARCHER Song of the chaffinch, 2061; Some- thing about the viper, 2145 Brooke, A. B. Natural History of Wicklow and Kerry, 2281 Browns, A. M. Pied blackbirds, 2060; Great northern diver in the Midland Counties, 2064 ; Curlew sandpiper near Aberystwith, 2409; Gray phalarope in Wales, 2410 Cuatx, WitiiaM J. Rednecked grebe in Bedfordshire, 2064; Sclavovian grebe at Taunton, 2106; Ornithological notes from Taunton, 2184; Quails at Wilden, Beds, 2384 Cuirton, Lord Supposed occurrence of the American mottled owl at Cobham, Kent, 2138, 2343 CorpEAvux, JOHN Ornithological notes from North Liv- colnshire, 1976, 2053, 2077, 2153, 2285, 2335, 2389; Common and Sandwich terns at Spurn, 2065; Extracts (Ornithological) from the Log of the “Coralie,” R.Y.Y.C., 2214; Common wren at Spurn Point, 2407 Cornisu, Tuomas, F.L.S. Pilchards in Mount’s Bay on Christ- mas day, 2027; Gilthead at Pen- zance, 2108; Puflins in mackerel- nets, Blackheaded gulls in Penzance, 2143; Greater forked-beard at the Land’s End, 2144; Black bream and wrinkled swimming crab near Pen- zance, Habits of the sucking fish, 2225; On a shark captured in Mount’s Bay on June 11, 1870, supposed to be identical with the basking shark of Pennant and the broadbeaded gazer of Couch, 2253 ; Spinous shark taken off Penzance, Sting-ray near Penzance, 2347; Small-eyed rays in Mount’s Bay, ; 2348 Crewe, Rev. H. Harpur, M.A. Great crested grebe feeding its adult young, 2386 Dix, Tuomas Quails in Pembrokeshire, 2394 DovuBLepnay, Henry Hedgehog and rabbit, 1979; Food of the tits, 1981 Freripen, Capt. H. W. Late appearance of the swift, 1981; Nesting of the great bustard in England, 2063; The nest of the alligator, 2090; The Scarborough bustard’s egg, 2102; The protection of birds, 2132; On the southern range of the European merlin, 226) ; Increase of rock birds at Flam- borough, 2262 GatrcombeE, JoHN Rare birds in the neighbourhood of Plymouth, 2026; Early appearance of the wheatear, 2100; Rare grebes in Devonshire, Redthroated diver on the Devonshire coast, 2106; Buff- coloured redwing, Black redstart, 2139; Grebes on the coast of Devon, 2142; Bridled guillemot and little auk, Arrival of summer birds in the neighbourhood of Plymouth, 2143 ; Arrival of migrants, 2180; Little egret in Devonshire, 2308 Gissine, T. W. Brunnich’s guillemot, 2261 Goattey, T. H. Black redstart near Southampton, 2343; Gray phalarope near South- ampton, 2385 Gunn, T. E. Hen harrier in Suffolk, 1980; Buff variety of house sparrow, Pale variety of the common partridge, 1981; Little gull on the Norfolk coust, 1982; Fulmar petrel on the Norfolk coast, Abundance of the storm petrel in Norfolk, 1983; Buff variety of sky lark, 2101; Ruff in Norfolk, 2103; Smew at Yarmouth, 2106; Abundance of the little gull on the Norfolk coast, 2107; Guos- hawk in Norfolk, Golden orivle in Norfolk, 2221; Black redstart in Norfolk, 2222; Wood sandpiper and other birds in Norfolk, Sclavonian grebes in Norfolk, 2225; Harriers in Norfolk, 2382; Wood sandpipers and greenshanks in Norfolk, Solitary snipe in Norfolk, 2384; Cormoraut inland, 2386 Gorney, J. H., F.LS. Supposed occurrence of the American mottled owl in Kent, 2221; Nest of a nuthatch, 2224; Black variety of Montagu’s harrier in North Devon, 2260; Note on the eastern range of the European merlin, Note on the dark-coloured harrier of South Africa, 2304 Gurney, J. H., jun., F.L.S. The great ank, 1982; Black Montagu’s harrier, 2305; Reparation of a maimed beak in the chough, 2306; Lesser kestrel near York, 2342; Woodcock and godwit, 2345 ; Spur- winged goose, 2346; Dabchicks in Kensington Gardens, 2347; Gray- vil headed wagtail at Gateshead, 2382; Quails in Norfolk, Gray plover at Blakeney, 2384; Pied head in the common skua, 2386; Leadenhall Market, 2393 Hapri£cp, Capt. Henry Arrival of migrants in the Isle of Wight, 2180; Supposed occurrence of the American mottled owl in Kent, 2181, 2382; Increase of sea- fowl in the Isle of Wight, 2184; Green woodpecker in the Isle of Wight, 2224 Hameu, Ecpert D. Large salmon in the Tame, 2144; Parasite of fish, 2185; Otter in the Tame, 2342; Cream-cvloured mag- pie, 2344 Harris, J. W. Wagtail in pure white pluinage, 2100 Hart, W., and Son Osprey at Poole, 2382 Hartine, J. E., F.LS., F.Z.S. On the immigration of the gray pha- larope (Phalaropus fulicarius) and the recent occurrence vf this species in Sussex, 1972; Reported occur- rence of the ptarmigap in York- shire, 2023 Hewitson, W.C., F.L.S. Starling feeding on the grubs of Phyl- lopertha, Eggs of the cuckoo, 2027 Horne, CHARLES Jack snipe in a Norwood garden, 2141; Colour of cuckoos’ eggs, 2181 Hiueet, Baron A. DE Scarce ducks in Torquay, 1981 ; Great auk’s eggs in Edinburgh, Voracity of the cormorant, 1982; Angler in Torbay, 1984; Large badger in Somersetshire, 2017 ; Ornithological notes from South Devon, 2053, 2098 Honter, JoHn Hoopoe in Kent, 2143 JEFFERY, W., jun. Rare birds in West Sussex, 2059 Jones, J. MATTHEW The mummy specimen of Alca. im- pennis at Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1982; The great auk from Funk Island, 2182 Kerr, Wivtiam J. Notes from Denbighshire, 2184; Soli- tary snipe and quail in Denbigh- shire, 2345 Maruew, Gervase F., F.L.S. Garganeys, &c., near Sheerness, 2182 Maruew, Rev. Murray A., M.A. Lesser gray shrike, shore lark and Temminck’s stint near Great Yar- mouth, 2060; Glaucous gull at Weston-super-Mare, 2066; Scla- vonian grebes, rednecked grebe and goosander on the Taw, 2069; Rare birds at Barnstaple, 2144; American wigeon and garganey on the Taw, 2182; Nesting of the hobby in South Devon, 2304; Swallow taking a fly from a horse, 2307; Gray pha- laropes in North Devon: moulting of birds, 2385; Abundance of the gray phalarope, 2410 May, J. W. Life-histories of sawflies, translated from the Dutch of M.S. C. Snellen van Vollenhoven, 1993 MENNELL, GrorGE Preservation of sea-fuwl, 2387 Monk, T. J. Shore lark near Newhaven, 2140; Garganey near Lewes, 2141; Roller near Lewes, Quail’s eggs near Lewes, 2224 Moor, Eowarp CuarteEs Bramblings near Woodbridge, 2022; Green sandpiper at Hasketon, 2105 ; White eggs of a robin, White ege of a linnet, Immense flock of starlings, 2306; Quails nesting at Witnes- ham and Westletun, Arrival of spring migrants, 2308; Three cuckoo’s eggs laid consecutively in the same nest, 2344 Moor, Rev. Epwarp J. Titmouse’s nest in a letter-box, 2020; King fisher’s nest in a crag-pit, 2022 ; Bustards in Suffolk, 2024; The case of bustards at Swaffham, 2101 More, A. G., F.L.S. Eagles in North Wales, 2381 Mostey, Sir Oswacp, Buart., F.L.S. Gulden plover on the Dove, 1981; Great northern diver at. Burton-on- Trent, 1982 Miuer, ALBERT Note on the odour of Cynipide and other Hymenoptera, 2027; Un- usual oviposition of Rhodites Rose, Linn., 2303 Murron, James Barn owl laying eleven eggs, 2180 Newman, Epwarp, F.L.S., F.Z.S. Orioles in Great Britain, 2222; The horn of the Indian rhinocerus move- able, 2341; Shore larks near Lon- don, 2406 vill Newron, Prof, Atrrep, M.A. The mummy specimen of Alea im- pennis at Halifax, Nova Scotia, 2065; On the northern range of the lesser redpoll, 2223 Newton, FreDERICK Sharks off the Cornish coast, 2308 Preston, Rev. T. A. Little gull, &c., near Marlborough, 2143 Ramsay, R. G. WarpLaw Shore lark at St. Andrews, 2022; Little gull at Culdingham, 2026; Shore larks near Dunbar, 2101 Reexs, Henry, F.L.S. On the natural history and hunting of the beaver (Castor canadensis, Kuhl), in Newfoundland; compared with observations made by Messrs. A. H. Green and Robert Brown, F.R.G.S., on the Pacific Slope of the Rocky Mountains, 1953; Notes on the Zovlogy of Newfoundland, 2033 ; Land rail found alive in a pea-rick in January, 2063; The pipit shot at Bridlington, 2067; Rare eggs from North America, 2326 Ricxarps, Marcus 8. C. The American stint, gray phalarope, little stint and snow bunting at Northam Burrows, Pintail duck on the Severn, 2025; Wheatear on the 5th of March, 2139; Snow bunting on the Severn Bank, 2140; Gray- headed wagtails near Clevedon, Vinous-breasted pipit on the banks of the Severn, 2222; Grayheaded wagtail near Clifton, 2306; Ameri- can stint, 2885; Notes from Nor- tham Burrows, 2387 Ropers, GEORGE Notes on migratory birds, 2220; Nest- ing of the chaffinch, 2223 Ropp, Epwarp HEARLE Common kite in Cornwall, 1980; Ice- land jerfaleon in Cornwall, 2017, 2060; Winter visitants in West Cornwall, 2068; Golden oriole at Scilly, 2139; Garganey or summer teal at the Land’s End, Redbreasted merganser in adult plumage in winter, 2141; Horned grebe in Cornwall, 2142; Note on Montagu’s harrier, 2180; Blacktailed godwit in summer plumage at Scilly, 2182; A list of the birds of Cornwall, 2193, 2220, 2269, 2321; Little bittern at the Land’s End, 2224; British sand- pipers at Scilly, 2345; Buffbreasted sandpiper at Scilly, Pectoral stint or sandpiper at Scilly, 2346; Pied fly- catcher at Scilly, 2882; Schinz’s stint at Scilly, 2384; Ornithology of Scilly Islands in October, Autumn migration at Scilly, 2405; Hooded crow at Scilly, 2407; Schinz’s stint at the Lizard, 2409; Boar-lish at the Scilly Isles, 2410 Rocers, Henry Natural-History notes from Minas Geraes, &c., 2094 Row ey, Grorce Dawson, M.A. Correction of an error, 2066 Smeg, A. H. Sclavonian grebe on the Wandle, 2106; Blackthroated diver and red- breasted merganser on the Thames, 2107; Shore lark at Southwold and redthroated diver in London, Note on the migration of swallows, 2140; Note on migration at Carshalton, 2220; Common tern in Oxfordshire, 2308; Woodcock in August, 2384 ; Little stint, &c., near Leigh, 2385 Sarru, Cecit Robin eating ladybirds, 1981; Fulmar petrel, little auk and gray phalarope in Somersetshire, 1982; Japanese or White’s thrush in Somersetshire, 2018; Ruff in Somersetshire, 2103; Rednecked grebe at Teignmouth, 2106; Gray phalarope at Bishop’s Lydeard, 2385; Little crake in Somersetshire, 2386 ; Schinz’s sand- piper in North Devon, Sternum of Schinz’s sandpiper, 2409; Gray pbalaropes in Somerset, 2410 Stevenson, Henry, F.L.S. Ornithological notes from Norfolk, 2055, 2361; Richard’s pipit, 2066 ; Curious anecdote of a heron, 2068 5 Lesser gray shrike in Norfolk, 2139 ; Mr. Hamond’s bustards, 2141; Shore larks on the Norfolk coast in the winter of 1869-70, 2366 Sruspss, Cuarves E. Terns at Henley-on-Thames, 2347 SwEETAPPLE, EpwarbD Early whinchats, 2100; Tree sparrows near Oxford, 2140; Late stay of the fieldfares, 2181, 2221; Where do our summer visitants go? 2347 Tuompson, THOMAS Dates of the breeding of birds on Tyneside for 1869, 2027 Tuck, J. G. Notes on the sea and shore birds of Aldeburgh, 2368 Watxer, Francts, F.LS. Notes on Aphides, 1996; List of the Dermaptera discovered by J. K. Lord, Esq., in Egypt, and in the adjoining regions; with descriptions of the new species, 2296; A list of the Insects collected by J. K. Lord, Esq., in Egypt, along the African shore of the Red Sea, and in Arabia; with descriptions of the species new to Science, 2339, 2378, 2403 Wa ker, THEODORE C. Bird-haunts of the Outer Hebrides, 2073, 2113, 2163 Watts, H. M. Otter near Ipswich, 1979; Snow bunting at Aldeburgh, Immigration of rooks, 1981 Warptaw-Ramsay, R. G. Quails in the East of Scotland, 2384 Watson, J. Grayheaded wagtail breeding near Gateshead, 2343 ; Nesting of Mota- cilla flava, 2406 Wuarron, C. Bycravr Sand martin nesting in a tree, 2344; Nightjar near London, 2383 Witsoy, S. M. Californian quail in Sussex, 2383 ALPHABETICAL LIST OF SUBJECTS. Acorns, loss of cows from eating, 2381 Acridide, 2298 Actiturus bartramius, egg of, 2326 Adams, Arthur, F.L.S., ‘Travels of a Naturalist in Japan and Manchuria,’ 2309, 2349 Akicera informis, description of, 2298 Alca impennis, 2012; the mummy speci- men of, at Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1982, 2065 Alcide, extracts from a Memoir intituled a Monograph of the, 2004, 2081, 2124, 2155, 2205, 2245, 2289, 2327, 2369, 2396 Alligator, nest of the, 2090 Anecdote, curious, of a heron, 2068 Angler in Torbay, 1984 Anser Gambelii, egg of, 2326 Anthus ludovicianus vel Anthus rufes- censP 2100 Aphides, notes on, 1996 Aphis Cardui, 1997 » Euphorbia, 1999 >» Geniste, zd. » Hedera, 1998 » Laburni, id. » Papaveris, id. 5 Rumicis, zd. » Saliceti, 1997 » sambuci, 1998 » Sedi, 1997 » terricola, 1999 Aphrophoride, 2404 Arvicolide, 2043 Astacus fluviatilis, 2348 Auk, the great, from Funk Island, 1982, 2182; great, eggs of in Edinburgh, 1982; little, in Somersetshire, 7d.; in the neighbourhood of Plymouth, 2026, 2143; at Rye, 2107; in Mount’s Bay, 2280 Avocet at Hastings, 2024; at Rye, 2107; in Cornwall, 2270 Badger, large, in Somersetshire, 2017 Badgers, 2282 Bats, Australian frugivorous, or “ flying foxes,” 2135 Bear, American black, 2038; 2040 Beaver, on the natural history and bunting of the, in Newfoundland, 1953; on the Pacific Slope of the Rocky Mountains, 1961; in Scotland, 2017 Bee-eater, 2240 Bird-haunts of the Outer Hebrides, 2073, 2113, 2163 Bird’s nest in solid wood, 2140 Birds, British, rare or new, 1984; migratory and wandering, of the County of Dublin, six additions to a List of, 2018; rare, in the neigh- bourhood of Plymouth, 2026; dates of the breeding of on Tyneside for 1869, 2027; rare, in West Sussex, 2059; varieties of, 2099; the Pore of, polar, 2132; summer, arrival of in the neigh- bourhood of Plymouth, 2143; rare, at Barnstaple, 2144; rare, in Wiltshire, 2185; of Cornwall, list of, 2193, 2229, 2269, 2321; migratory, notes on, 2220; water, 2242; rock, increase of at Flamborough, 2262; sea and shore, of Aldeburgh, 2368 ‘ Birds of Marlborough, 2178 Bittern at Hastings, 2024; in Norfolk, 2361, 2363 ; little, at the Land’s End, 2224; in Iceland, id.; in Cornwall, 2243; common, id.; in Nottingham- shire, 2308; American, at Cahir, Treland, 2408 Blackbird, 2055, 2059, 2392 Blackbirds, pied, 2060, 2099 Blattide, 2297 Boar-fish at the Scilly Isles, 2410 Botaurus lentiginosus, egg of, 2326 Brachyrhamphus brachypterus, 2334 59 Craveri, id. 5 hypoleuens, 2331 = marmoratlus, 2328 7 Wrangeli, 2329 Bradyporide, 2405 Bramblingsnear Woodbridge, 2022 ; near Norwich, 2362 Bream, black, near Penzance, 2225 Bullfinch, scarlet, 1984; second occur- rence of, near London, 2383 Bunting, snow, 1977; at Aldeburgh, 1981; at Torquay, 1983; near Brighton, 1984; on the Severn Bank, 2140; in Cornwall, 2234; in Middle- sex, 2407; Lapland, near London, 2061; near Brighton, 2383; black- headed, 2234; cirl, id.; ortolan, near Brighton, 2383 Bustard, great, nesting of in England, 2063; on the Yorkshire Wolds, id., 2103; in Cornwall, 2241 ; little, 2242; coran, habits of the, 2407 Bustard’s egg, the Scarborough, 2102 Bustards, in Suffolk, 2024; the case of at Swaffham, 2101, 2141 Buzzard, honey, 2055, 2198; common, 2198; roughlegged, id. Bythoscopus despectus, description of, 2404 Callipterus Juglandis, 2000 Canide, 2033 Canis occidentalis, id. Cariboo, woodland, 2045; ground, 2049 Carnivora, 2033 Castor canadensis, 1953, 1961 Cat, marten, 2282 Cats killing squirrels, 2016 ? barren Centrolophus Pompilus, 2259 Ceratorhyncha monocerata, 2125 Cervide, 2045 Cervus Alfredi, note on, 2342 Chaffinch, 2061; nesting of, 2223 Chaitophorus Aceris, 1999 3 Populi, 2000 “ salicivora, 1999 Chermes Abietis, 2001 Chiffchaff, 2230 Chough, 2239, 2283; reparation’ of a maimed beak in the, 2306 Cicada Tamarisci, description of, 2403 Circus cineraceus, black variety of, 2260, 2261, 2305 Coot, 2275 “ Coralie,” extracts (ornithological) from the Log of the, 2214 Coranus arenaceus, 2380 Coreide, 2341 Cormorant, voracity of the, 1982; in Norfolk, 2055; in Cornwall, 2280; inland, 2386 Cows, luss of, from eating acorns, 2381 Crab, wrinkled swimming, near Pen- zance, 2225 Crabs, calling, 2411 Crake, little, 1977, 2275; in Somerset- shire, 2386; Baillon’s, 2275; spotted, id., 2363 Cray-fish, 2348 Crocodile, nest of the, 2002 Crossbill, 2235; European whitewinged, 2018; whitewinged, 2239 Crossbills, be-mired, 2383 Crow, hooded, 1977, 2154, 2239, 2389, 2407; pied, 2062 Cuckoo, eggs of, 2027; in Lincolnshire, arrival of, 2155; eggs of, three laid consecutively in the same nest, 2344 ; great spotted, id. Curlew, 2244, 2389; white, 2141; Esquimaux, in Dublin Market, 2408 Cydnide, 2339 Cymus cincticornis, description of, 2379 Cynipide and other Hymenoptera, note - on the odour of, 2027 Dabchicks in Kensington Gardens, 2347 Deer, new Indian, at the Zoological Gardens, note on, 2342 Delphax dorsalis, description of, 2403 Dermaptera, list of, discovered by J. K. Lord, Esq., in Egypt and in the adjoining regions, 2296 Dinornis as human food, 2103 Dipper, 2202 Discovery, strange, in Wales, 2388 Diver, great northern, at Burton-on- Trent, 1982; in the Midland Counties, 2084 ; in Cornwall, 2279; at Killarney, 2284; blackthroated, 2080, 2363; on the Thames, 2106; in Cornwall, 2280; redthroated, 2398; on the Devonshire coast, 2106; in London, 2140; in Cornwall, 2280 Dog, Newfoundland, 2033 Dotterel, 2242 Dove, ring, 2241; rock, td.; stock, id.; turtle, id., 2365 Doves, rock, at Salisbury, 2101 Duck, longtailed, 2018, 2059, 2278; pintail, 2277; on the Severn, 2025; eider, in Dublin Bay, 2064; in Corn- wall, 2277; wild, 2153, 2277, 2287; scaup, 2278; tufted, zd., 2284 Ducks, scarce, in Torquay, 1981 Dunlin, 1984, 2155, 2275 Dwarfs, 2262 Eagle, spotted, 2196; whitetailed, 2197 ; golden, 2283; sea, 7d. Eagles in North Wales, 2381 Edesside, 2341 Egg, white, of linnet, 2306 Eggs, of great auk, 1982; of cuckoo, 2027; barn owl laying eleven, 2180; colour of cuckoos’, 2181; of quail, near Lewes, 2224; white, of robin, 2306; rare, from North America, _ 2326; of cuckoo, three laid in the same nest, 2344 Egret, little, in Devonshire, 2308 Emphytus cinctus, 1933 Entomological Society, proceedings of, 1985, 2028, 2069, 2109, 2145, 2185, 2226, 2262 Ephemerida, 2405 . Euceraphis, 2001 EKurygastrida, 2339 Falcon, Iceland, in Cornwall, 2017, 2060; peregrine, 2058, 2197, 2283, 2361; gyr, 2197; redfooted, id. Felide, 2033 Fiber zibethicus, 2043 Fieldfare, 1979, 1983, 2155, 2202, 2392; white, 2141 és Fieldfares, late stay of, 2181, 2221 Fieldfares and larks feeding on the Swede turnip, 2079 Finch, citril, 1984; serin, Helena, at Blackheath, 2223 Fish, musical, 2109; parasite of, 2185; sucking, habits of the, 2225; sun, on the Dorsetshire coast, 2260; at Abbots- bury, zd. Flatide, 2403 Flycatcher, pied, 2201; at Scilly, 2382; redbreasted, 2201 ; spotted, zd. Forficulide, 2297 id.; St. xi Forked-beared, greater, at the Land’s End, 2144 Fowl and pheasant, hybrid, 2057 Fox, common American, 2036; cross, id.; silver, id.; black, zd.; arctic, id. Fratercula arctica, 2083 corniculata, 2085 - glacialis, id. Fulix affinis, egg of, 2326 Gadwall, 2277 Galls, the teachings of, 2411 Gambetta flavipes, egg of, 2326 Gannet, 2280, 2285 Garganey at the Land’s End, 2141; near Lewes, id.; on the Taw, 2182; in Cornwall, 2277; on Lough Broad, County Wicklow, 2284; near Lowes- toft, 2364 Garganeys, &c., near Sheerness, 2182 Geese, wild, 1976 Gilthead at Penzance, 2108 Godwit, blacktailed,in summer plumage at Scilly, 2182; in Cornwall, 2270; in Lincolnshire, 2390; bartailed, 2270, 2390 Goldeneye, 2059, 2078, 2098, 2278 Goldfinch, remarks on the abnormal plumages of the, 2049 Goosander, 2059, 2278, 2362, 2363; on the Taw, 2069 Goose, graylag, 1979, 2275; brent, 2081, 2098, 2276; spurwinged,in Wiltshire, 2105; in Cornwall, 2276; Egyptian, in Leicestershire, 2225; bean, 2276, 2284; bernicle, 2276; whitefronted, id.; spurwinged, 2346 Goshawk, 2058, 2283; in Norfolk, 2221 Grebe, Sclavonian, 2059; on the Taw, 2069; in Torbay, 2098; at Taunton, 2106; on the Wandle, zd.; in County Dublin, 2182; in Cornwall, 2279; rednecked, in Bedfordshire, 2064; on the Taw, 2069; in Torbay, 2098; at Teignmouth, 2106; in Yorkshire, 2142; in Cornwall,2279; great crested, 2098, 2279; feeding its adult young, 2386; horned, in Cornwall, 2142; eared, 22793; little, id., 2363 Grebes, rare, in Devonshire, 2106; on the coast of Devon, 2142; Sclavonian, in Norfolk, 2225 Greenshank, 2270, 2366, 2384, 2390 Grouse, black, 2241; Pallas’ sand, zd. Gryllide, 2297 Guillemot, ringed, 1984, 2280, 2285; bridled,2143; Brunnich’s, 2261; black, 2280, 2285; common, id. Gull, little, on the Norfolk coast, 1982, 2056, 2107; at Coldingham, 2026; in ” the Plymouth Sound, 2027; on the Yorkshire coast, 2081; in Torbay, 2098; in the City, 2107; near Marl- borough, 2143; kittiwake, 2053, 2108, 2285, 2322; glaucous, at Weston- super-Mare, 2066; near Tralee Bay, 2285 ; herring, zd., 2323 ; Iceland, id. ; brownheaded, 2287; blackheaded, 2322; ivory, id.; little, id.; Sabine’s, id.; glaucous, 2323; great black- backed, id.; lesser blackbacked, zd. Gulls, little, in Leadenhall Market, 2066; on the Yorkshire coast, 2107; near Great Yarmouth, 2143; greater and lesser blackbacked, 2285; blackheaded, in Penzance, 2143 Halicherus gryphus, 2282 Halydide, 2340 Hare, polar, 2044 Harpactor signiceps, description of, 2379 Harrier, hen, in Suffolk, 1980; near Yarmouth, 2058; in Cornwall, 2199 ; caught in a net, 2343; nesting in Norfolk, 2365; Montagu’s, 2180, 2199, 2366; marsh, 2199, 2283; dark- coloured, of South Africa, 2304 Harriers, Montagu’s, black, 2260, 2261, 2305 ; hen, in Norfolk, 2382 Hawfinch, 2234 Hedgehog and rabbit, 1979 Hemerobide, 2404 Hemiptera, &c., a list of, collected by J. K. Lord, Esq., in Egypt, &c., 2339, 2378, 2403 Heron, 2243, 2284; curious anecdote of a, 2068; night, 2243; purple, éd.; squacco, zd. Hobby, 2197; Devon, 2304 Homoptera, suborder, 2403 Hooper at St. Asaph, North Wales, 2069; in Cornwall, 2376 Hoopoe in Kent, 2143; in Cornwall, 2240 : Horse, Australian wild, 1980; swallow taking a fly from a, 2307 Hyalopterus Pruni, 1997 Tassus lineolifer, description of, 2404 Ibis, glossy, 2244 ~ Jnsessores, 2201 Jay, 2239 Kakapo of New Zealand, 2408 Kestrel, 2198; lesser, near York, 2342 King fisher, 2058, 2240, 2361 King fisher’s nest in a crag-pit, 2022 Kite, common, in Cornwall, 1980, 2198 Kittiwake’s first winter plumage, &c., 2119 Knot, 2272 nesting of in South xi Lachnus Picex, 2000 » Quercus, id. Ladybirds, robin eating, 1981 Lapwing, 2243 Lark, shore, 1984, 2058, 2060; at St. Andrews, 2022 ; near Newhaven, 2140; at Southwold, id.; wood, 2018, 2233; Siberian, at Brighton, 2022; sky, buff variety of, 2101; shore, near Wey- mouth, 7d.; in East Yorkshire, id.; near Dunbar, id.; crested, 2233: shorttoed, 7d. ~~ Larks, 1978; and fieldfares feeding on the Swede turnip, 2079 ; shore, on the Norfolk coast in the winter of 1869— 70, 2366; near London, 2406; near Brighton, 2407 ; Larus atricilla, egg of, 2327 Leadenhall Market, 2393 Leporide, 2044 Lepus glacialis, id. Linnet, white egg of, 2306 Linnet, mountain, 2235 Lomvia californica, 2400 » Tingvia, 2399 » svarbag, 2402 » Uoile, 2397 Lunda cirrhata, 2087 Lutra canadensis, 2037 Lutrine, id. Lygeus leucospilus, description of, 2378 Lynx canadensis, 2033 Magpie, cream-coloured, 2344 Mammalia, 2033 Mantide, 2297 Mareca Americana, egg of, 2326 Marten, cat, 2037 ; pine, id. Martin, sand, 2240, 2365; nesting ina tree, 2344 Merganser, redbreasted, 2059, 2098, 2278, 2362; on the Thames, 2107; in adult plumage in winter, 2141; near Oxford, 2142; plumage of adult male, 2183 Mergulus alle, 2252 ; Merlin, 2058, 2198; European, on the southern range of the, 2221, 2261 ; on the eastern range, 2304 Merlins in Ireland, 2406 Micropus discolor, description of, 2379 Migrants, arrival of, 2180, 2308 Migration at Carshalton, 2220; autumn, at Scilly, 2405 Moa, as human food, 2103 ; extinetion of the, Sir George Grey on the date of, 2104 Monaphis, 2001 Moorhen, 2275 Motacilla flava, nesting of, 2406 Xl Mud-flats, Humber, in August, 2335 Muride, 2042 Mus decumanus, 2042 » Tattus, zd. Mustela americana, 2037 Mustelide, 2037 Myrmeleonide, 2404 Myrocallis Quercus, 1999 Myzus Cerasi, 1996 », Lychnidis, id. 3» Mahaleb, 1997 » Oxyacanthe, 1996 » Persice, id. » Ribis, 1997 Nabis? discifer, description of, 2380 Nabis siticus, description of, id. ‘Narrative of a Spring Tour in Portugal,’ 2171 Natatores, 2275 Natural History notes Geraes, &c., 2094 Natural History of Wicklow and Kerry, 2281 Naucoris 2380 Nemopteride, 2404 Nepide, 2381 Nest of crocodile, 2002 ; of titmouse ina letter-box, 2020; of kingfisher in a crag-pit, 2022; of alligator, 2090; early, of longeared owl, 2099; of bird in solid wood, 2140; of chaffinch, 2223; of nuthatch, 2224; of hobby, 2304; of common swift, 2307; of quail, td., 2308; of grayheaded wag- tail, 2343, 2406; of sand martin, in a tree, 2344 Neuroptera, 2404 Nightingale, 2285 Nightjar near London, 2383 Notonecta nanula, description of, 2381 Nuthatch, 2240; nest of, 2224 CEdipoda latifasciata, description of, 2299 . obscurata, description of, 2300 os tubescens, description of, 2301 5 terminalis, description of, 2300 73 tincta, description of, 2301 si tricincta, description of, 2300 » _ Variegata, description of, 2301 Cidipodidz, 2299. Oriole, golden, at Scilly, 2139; in Corn- wall, 2203; in Norfolk, 2221, 2365 in County Cork, 2222 Orioles in Great. Britain, 2222 Ornithological notes from North Lincoln- shire, 1976, 2053, 2077, 2153, 2285, 2335, 2389; from South Devon, 1983, 2058, 2098 ; from Norfolk, 2055, 2361 ; from Minas minusculus, description of, from East Yorkshire, 2143; from Denbighshire, 2184; from Taunton, id.; from Northam Burrows, 2387 Ornithology of Scilly Islands in October, 2405 Osprey, 2197; at Poole, 2382; in County Kerry, 2406 Otter, near Ipswich, 1979; American, 2037; in the Tame, 2342 Ouzel, ring, 2202 Oxycoryphus venustus, description of, 2302 Owl, shorteared, 1976, 2200, 2392; long- eared, early nest of, 2099; in Corn- wall, 2200; American mottled, supposed occurrence of at Cobham, Kent, 2138, 2181, 2221, 2343, 2382; barn, laying eleven eggs, 2180; hawk, 2200; little, 2200; scops eared, id.; tawny, id.; white, id.; chased by rooks, 2343 Oystercatcher, 2243 Pachycoride, 2339 Pamphagide, 2298 Panorpide, 2404 Paracletus, 2000 Parasite of fish, 2185 Parrot, ground, of New Zealand, 2408 Partridge, common, pale variety of, 1981 ; white, 2055 Pastor, rosecoloured, Brighton, 2344 Pemphigus, 2001 Pentatomide, 2340 Petrel, fulmar, in Somersetshire, 1982; on the Norfolk coast, 1983, 2056; in Cornwall, 2325; storm, abundance of in Norfolk, 1988, 2056; in Lincoln- shire, 2053; in Ireland, 2285; in Cornwall, 2325; forktailed, 2056, 2325; Wilson’s, id. Phalarope, gray, on the immigration of the, and the recent occurrence of this species.in Sussex, 1972; in Somerset- shire, 1982; at Hastings, 2024; at Northam Burrows, 2025 ; in Cornwall, 2275; in Norfolk, 2363; near South- ampton, 2385 ; at Bishops Lydeard, id.; in North Devon, id.; in Wales, 2410; abundance of, id.; rednecked, 2275 Phalaropes, gray, moulting of, 2385; pear Brighton, 2407; in Somerset, 2410; in County Dublin, id. Phaleridide, 2081 Pheasant and fowl, hybrid, 2057 Phyllaphis Fagi, 2001 Phyllopertha, starling feeding on the grubs of, 2027 2239; near Phymatide, 2298 Pigeon races in Belgium, 2345 Pigeon, wuod, 2078 Pigeons, wood, and rooks, 2054 Pilchards in Mount’s Bay on Christmas day, 2027 Pipit, Richard’s, 1984, 2066, 2233; tawny, 1984, 2233; near Brighton, 2383; Pennsylvanian, at Bridlington, 2021, 2067; meadow, 2154, 2233 ; vinous-breasted, on the banks of the Severn, 2222; rock, 2233; tree, ad. Plover, golden, 1978, 2054, 2153, 2242, 2390; on the Dove, 1981; green, 2054; gray, 2242, 2384, 2390; great, 2242; Kentish, id.; little ringed, 2d. ; ringed, éd. Pochard, 2059, 2278 Peciloptera indicatrix, description of, 2403 Polyphagidx, 2297 Pongos, 2226 Ptarmigan, reported occurrence of in Yorkshire, 2023, 2062 Pterocallis Alni, 2000 Pterochlorus, 2001 Ptychorhamphus aleuticus, 2250 Puffin, 2098, 2280, 2285, 2364; on the Dublin coast in February, 2107 Puffins in mackerel nets, 2143 Quail, 2241, 2389; nesting of, 2307, 2308; in Denbighshire, 2345; Cali- fornian, in Sussex, 2383 Quail’s eggs near Lewes, 2224 Quails in the East of Scotland, 2384; at Wilden, Beds, id.; in Norfolk, id.; in Pembrokeshire, 2394 Rabbit and hedgehog, 1979 Rabbits, plague of, in Australia, 2381 Rail, land, found alive in a pea-rick in January, 2063; in Cornwall, 2275; water, zd. Rangifer caribou, 2045 * Grenlandicus, 2049 Raptores, 2196 Rasores, 2241 Rat, black, 2042 ; brown or Norway, id.; musk, 2043 Raven, 2283 Ray, sting, near Penzance, 2347; small- eyed, in Mount’s Bay, 2348 Razorbill, 2280, 2285 Redpoll, lesser, on the northern range of the, 2223 Redshank, common, 2244; spotted, zd. ; dusky (?) 2390 Redstart, 1977, 2204; black, in the County of Dublin, 2019; on the plumage of, id.; in the neighbourhood of Plymouth, 2026; near Poignton, on the coast of Devon, 2139; at Scilly, 2204; in Norfolk, 2222; near Southampton, 2343 Redwing, 1979, 1983; buffcoloured, 2139, 2343 Regulus, firecrested, 2231 Reeve, 2389 Reindeer, American, 2045 Rhinoceros at the Zoological Gardens, accident to the, 2304; Indian, horn of moveable, 2341; lesser one-horned, in England, 2342 Rhodites Rose, unusual oviposition of, 2303 Rhopalide, 2378 Rhyparochromus semidolens, description of, 2378 Roach, large, on the Avon, 2388 Robin, eating ladybirds, 1981; albino, 1984 ; white eggs of, 2306 Roller near Lewes, 2224; in Cornwall, 2240 Rook, variety of, 2154 Rooks and wood pigeons, 2054 Rooks, immigration of, 1981; starlings, immigration of, 2140 Ruff in Norfolk, 2103; in Somersetshire, id.; in Cornwall, 2270; in Dublin, 2410 Ruff and reeves, 2286 Ruticilla tithys and R. Carii, 2061, 2099, 2139 Sable, American, 2037 Sagmatorrhina Suckleyi, 2129 Salmon, large, in the Tame, 2144 Sanderling, 2243, 2389 Sandpiper, green, 1983, 2105, 2244; purple, 2056; wood, in Norfolk, 2225, 2365, 2366, 2384; in Cornwall, 2269; Bartram’s, 2244: common, 2269; buff- breasted, 2272; at Scilly, 2346; pec- toral, 2274; at Scilly, 2346; Schinz’s, 2274; in North Devon, 2409; sternum of, zd.; purple, 2275, 2363; curlew, near Aberystwith, 2409 Sandpipers, British, at Scilly, 2345 Sawiflies, life-histories of, 1993 Schizoneura lanigera, 2001 Scoter, 2277; velvet, 1983, 2059, 2277; common, 2059 ;, surf, 2277 Sea-fowl, increase of in the Isle of Wight, 2184; preservation of, 2387 Seal, gray, 2282 Shag, 2280, 2284 Shark, basking, of Pennant, and broad- headed gazer of Couch, shark cap- tured in Mount’s Bay supposed to be and identical with, 2253; spinous, taken off Penzance, 2347 Sharks off the Cornish coast, 2308 Shearwater, greater, 2325; Manx, id. Shieldrake, 2080, 2098, 2277, 2362; near Tralee, 2105 Shoveler in Dublin Bay, 2225; in Corn- wall, 2277; in Ireland, 2284 Shrike, great gray, 1983, 2201; lesser gray, 2060, 2201; in Norfolk, 2139; redbacked, 2201; woodchat, id. Simorhynchus camtschaticus, 2205 = Cassini, 2209 on cristatellus, 2159 i dubius, 2162 + microceros, 2210 as psittaculus, 2157 > pusillus, 2245 Ea tetraculus, 2207 Sipha Glyceridex, 2000 Siphocoryne Feeniculi, 1999 Siskin, 2059, 2235 Skua, pomarine, 1983, 2056, 2323; Buffon’s, 2056, 2324; Richardson’s, 2058, 2324 ; common, 2323; pied head in the, 2386 Smew at Yarmouth, 2106; in Cornwall, 2278 Smews from Holland, 2153 Smith, Rev. A..C., M.A., ‘ Narrative of a Spring Tour in Portugal, 2171 Snake poison, 2092 Snipe, 2069, 2079; Sabine’s, 2103, 2271; jack, in a Norwood garden, 2141; in Cornwall, 2271; common, id.; great, id.; brown, 2272; solitary, in Den- bighshire, 2345; in Norfolk, 2384 Snow-flake, 2079, 2153 Somateria spectabilis, egg of, 2326 Soricine, 2033 Sparrow, house, buff variety of, 1981; noisy gatherings of, 2306; tree, 2018, 2234; food of, 2287 Sparrowhawk, 2198 Sparrows, tree, near Oxford, 2140 Spoonbill, 2244, 2365 Squirrels, cats killing, 2016 Starling, 1976, 2154; feeding on the grubs of Phyllopertha, 2027; nesting place of, 2288 Starlings, immense flock of, 2306 Starlings and rvoks, immigration of, 2140 Stenobothrus letus, description of, 2202 L limosus, description of, id. Stoats, change of colour in, 2138 Sunt, American, at Northam Burrows, 2025, 2385; in Cornwall, 2273; little, at Northam Burrows, id.; in Corn- xv wall, 2272; near Leigh, 2385; Tem- minck’s, near Great Yarmouth, 2060; in Cornwall, 2272; pectoral, at Scilly, 2346; Schinz’s, at Scilly, 2384; at the Lizard, 2409 Stonechat, 1976 Stork, white, 2243; black, 2244 Strachia ameenula, description of, 2340 . placens, description of, id. Strix asio, supposed occurrence of in Kent, 2138, 2181, 2221, 2343, 2382 Summer visitants, inquiries respecting, 2347 Swallow taking a fly from a horse, 2307 Swallows, 1983, 2365; migration of, 2140, 2182 Swan, Bewick’s, 2276; mute, id.; wild, id.; hooper, 2363 Swans, black, in Lincolnshire, 2410 Swift, late appearance of, 1981; alpine, 2240; at Aldeburgh, 2344; common, nesting of, 2307 Synthliborhamphus antiquus, 2290 : Wurmizusume,2293 Teal, 2141, 2277, 2284 Termitide, 2405 Tern, arctic, 2285 Terns, common and Sandwich, at Spurn, 2065; at Henley-on-Thames, 2347 Thresher, in the West Bay, Portland, 2348 , Thrush, missel, 1978 ; White’s, in Somer- setshire, 2018; in Yorkshire, 2142 Tern, common, in Oxfordshire, 2308 ; arctic, 2321; common, id.; roseate, id.; Sandwich, id.; black, 2322; gull- billed, zd. ; lesser, id.; whiskered, id. Terns, common and Sandwich, at Spurn, 2026 Thrush, White’s, at Ballymahon, 2060 Thurm, Everard F. im, ‘ Birds of Marl- borough, being a Contribution to the Ornithology of the District, 2178 Tit, bearded, 2232; cole, id.; great, id.; longtailed, id.; marsh, id. Titmouse’s nest in a letter-box, 2020 Tits, food of, 1981 Trama, 2000 ‘Travels of a Naturalist in Japan and Manchuria,’ 2309, 2349 Tryxalidz, 2298 Turnstone, 2243 Upas tree absolved, 2412 Uria Carbo, 2376 » Columba, 2375 » grylle, 2371 Urine, 2251 Urside, 2038 Ursus americanus, id. Ursus maritimus, 2040 Utamania torda, 2015 Vacuna Alni, 2001 » dryopbila, id. Varieties of birds, 2099 Variety of house sparrow, 1981; of com- mon partridge, id., 2055; of crow, 2062; of sky lark, 2101; of redwing, 2139; of curlew, 2141; of fieldfare, id.; of rook, 2154; black, of Circus cineraceus, 2260, 2261, 2305; of mag- pie, 2344 Viper, something about the, 2145 Visitants, winter, in West Cornwall, 2068 Vulpes fulvus, 2036 var. argentatus, éd. ” ” : ” ” 5 ater, id. ” » 45 decussatus, id. » lagopus, zd. Wagtail, gray, 1978, 2233, 2362; pied, 2053, 2154, 2232; in pure white plumage, 2100; Continental pied, 2233; grayheaded, id.; near Clifton, 2306; near Gateshead, 2343, 2382; Ray’s, 2233 Wagiails, grayheaded, near Clevedon, 2222 Warbler, grasshopper, 2204; Dlackeap, 2229; garden, id.; reed, id.; sedge, XVl id.; willow, 2230; wood, id.; Dart- ford, 2231 Waxwing, Bohemian, 2232 Whale on the coast of South Devon, 2017 Whales in the Firth of Forth and at Portsmouth, 2017 Wheatear, early appearance of, 2100; on the 5th of March, 2139 Whimbrel, 2244 Whinchat, 2204 Whinchats, early, 2100 Whitethroat, 2230; lesser, zd. Wigeon, 2277; American, on the Taw, 2182 Wild-fow] at Hastings, 2108; in Norfolk, 2362 Wolf, American, 2033 Wolves in France, 2220 Woodcock, 1977, 2057, 2153, 2270, 2391; on the 19th of March, 2141; in August, 2384; and godwit, 2345 Woodpecker, lesser spotted, 2059, 2239 ; green, in the Isle of Wight, 2224; great spotted, 2239; green, id. Wren, melodious willow, 2018; rged, id.; common, 2391; at Spurn Puint, 2407 Wryneck, 2240 Zoology of Newfoundland, 2033 THE ZOOLOGIST FOR 1870. On the Natural History and Hunting of the Beaver (Castor cana- densis, Kuhl) in Newfoundland ; compared with Observations made by Messrs. A. H. Green and Robert Brown, F.R. G.S., on the Pacific Slope of the Rocky Mountains. By Henry REexs, Ksq., F.L.S. It was not my intention to have written anything on the natural history of the beaver in Newfoundland until I had arrived at its proper place in the systematic list of North American mammals; but I have been induced to do so from having recently read a very interesting paper on this subject by Messrs. Green and Brown, pub- lished in the ‘ Journal of the Linnean Society’ for August, 1869. As the observations of these gentlemen differ in some particulars from my own, and believing that such differences are mainly due to climatic influences, or some other cause best known to the beavers themselves, I shall in nowise criticise their remarks, but merely make extracts and compare them with my own notes and observations, which of course I am bound to believe are equally truthful. Of the beaver in winter Mr. Green says, “Some of the beavers become torpid during January, especially those living near lakes, swamps, or large sheets of water which are frozen. They do not lay in a store of sticks for winter use, as stated by Capt. Bonville (Wash- ington Irving’s ‘ Adventures of Capt. Bonville’), as one day’s supply of sticks for a single beaver would fill a house, and if a stick were cut in the autumn before the winter was over it would have lost its sap, and would not be eaten by the beaver.” Mr. Brown says, “In winter . they have a store of food secured at some convenient distance from their abodes. When they require any they start off to get it. They do not eat there, but bring it to their house, and there make their SECOND SERIES—YVOL. Y. B 1954 Tur ZooLocist—JANvuARY, 1870. meal.” On this subject I find the following remarks in my note- book :—“ One remarkable feature in the economy of the beaver is the immense quantity of food it consumes, which must be seen to be appreciated, and this can only be done during the long winter months. At this season we used to trap them through the ice, and consequeutly had to chop a fresh hole, or rather open the old one, every time we visited our traps, which occurred at intervals of two or three days. On every occasion, as soon as the hole was cut, the ‘ whittled’ sticks were forced into the opening, and we had always to remove nearly a cart-load of these short sticks, from which the bark had been eaten, before we could inspect our traps. The base of the house in the fall of the year is of such large dimensions that I have no doubt much of the wood sunk by mud is used as food during the winter, but the beavers have probably a store elsewhere.” Of the period of gestation Mr. Green writes, it “is known with little certainty, as they are never trapped in summer. The female brings forth some time about the end of June; and it is a Min before a beaver is full grown; and even then it has not the embonpoint of an elderly beaver. * * * * Jt produces from three to four at a birth. The teats are placed between the fore legs.” Mr. Brown says (the italics are his), “'lhe beaver has from four to ten young—most often four, sometimes eight, rarely ten. It carries its young stv mouths. It produces in May. * * * * Sometimes as many as three genera- tions will remain around the paternal abode.” In my notes I find that I have written, “If a beaver’s house is undisturbed, the young—two or four, and even sometimes sia ?—do not leave the parents until the second, or perhaps generally the third year, and are then called ‘big medlars.’ They do not breed until the following May or beginning of June, when they are termed ‘old beavers.’ ‘The young under one year old are called ‘ pappoose,’ and at two years ‘small medlars.’” Mr. Green and Mr. Brown inform us that the young are called “ kittens” west of the Rocky Mountains: they are invariably called “ pappoose” in Newfoundland. Of the dam Mr. Green says :—* They begin to build their dams about July or August, as soon as the summer floods begin to subside. For this purpose they generally choose a bend in the stream with high and clayey banks, and commence by felling a large tree that will reach across the water; or they fell a tree on each side of the water so as to meet in the centre. They then float sticks from six to four feet long down to the dam, and lay them horizontally, filling in the spaces THE ZooLocisT—JANUARY, 1870. 1955 with roots, tufts of grass, leaves, and clay or mud. The branches of the first tree are the perpendicular supports, almost all the remaining sticks being placed horizontally and crosswise. The last six or eight inches in height is very insecurely constructed, being nothing but mud and leaves. The highest dam I ever saw was ouly about four feet six inches; but the generality of them are not above two or three feet. The action of the water, by bringing down mud, gravel or fallen leaves, strengthens the dam by making a sloping bank against it; and the willow sticks of which it is composed sending forth their roots and shoots, the dam in course of time becomes a fixture bound together as strongly as well could be. The winter floods almost invariably destroy the upper part of the dam, which is reconstructed afresh every year. The shape of the dam is almost always semicircular, with the crown of the arch down stream, thus reversing the order of things; but I have no doubt this is in consequence of the heads of the first or principal trees being floated down stream when they are first thrown.” Mr. Brown does not add much on this subject, but says, “ The dams here, as everywhere else, are perfectly constructed, and with an opening in the middle for the current. * * * * Large trees are universally felled so as to fall with the head to land, because, if required for floating down, the branches would impede it being floated off, while the difficulty of dragging it down is not so great, over and above the fact of the impeding branches being easily gnawed off. Much ingenuity is displayed to effect the fall of the tree in the proper position. I have often, in my walks and sails along the solitary rivers of the western wilds, seen three or four beavers piloting a large tree down stream, and noticed that when they were approaching its desti- nation they shoved it into the eddies inshore.” My own experience differs, and in my notes I have thus expressed myself:—“I must here correct what I take to be an error of some authors, viz., that the beaver in making its dam usually selects a situation where a tree by being cut down will fall across the brook, and thereby greatly assist in damming, or, as it is termed in Newfound- land, ‘stenting’ the water. To the closet naturalist and those unable or unwilling to substantiate it, or prove otherwise, all this reads very pretty and interesting, but to the practical naturalist it is a , mere fable, at least as far as my own experience goes, and that of the many Indians and settlers that I have questioned on the subject: but I will limit my observations to my own experience, which I think 1956 THE ZooLocist—January, 1870. quite sufficient to prove the contrary,—at least that such throwing of trees is the exception and by no means the rule.* My first residence in Newfoundland was on the banks of a good-sized lake, some ten miles long by two miles wide. This lake is surrounded almost entirely by woods, and is fed by several muddy streams—the favourite resort of beavers, and here as well as in many other places (for beavers were exceedingly plentiful) I had abundant opportunities for studying their economy. I observed that they invariably selected a muddy brook the banks of which were well studded with alder-bushes, small birch and willow, the stems and small branches of which are used in conjunction with roots of grass and plenty of mud, in forming the dam, and also in building their house. The stems and branches are usually cut into lengths of from two to four feet, the ends of which are stuck firmly in the mud; other branches and short sticks are then allowed to drift down the stream to the ‘stent,’ and are then sunk to the bottom by piling mud on them: this process is usually commenced when the water is at its lowest, and is continued until the brook is ‘stented’ sufficient for the economy of the beaver. The ‘stent’ is somewhat horse-shoe shaped, with the bow or arch pointing down stream, and so firmly is it constructed that it usually formed my bridge across these muddy and consequently dangerous brooks for wading. Often when tired and tolerably well laden with gun and dead birds have I blundered through the thick alder-bushes, some- times knee-deep in water in search of the welcome ‘stent.’ During the spring and fall floods the beavers regulate the depth of water in their houses, as in fact they do at all seasons, by the ‘stent,’ for such indeed is its purpose, and so sensible are the animals of the slightest variation in the stream that shortly after a breach is made, if otherwise undisturbed, one or more beavers venture from the house to repair the damage, and often meet their deaths from the fatal gun while doing so.” Of the houses themselves Mr. Green tells us they “are formed of water-logged sticks placed horizontally in the water. ‘They have always two or more entrances, and a small chamber with a little grass for the beaver to lie on. The top of the house is constructed very thick, to guard against attacks by animals. Mud and roots are used to make the house solid; but no mud is seen from the outside, as the top is covered with loose sticks left there by the beaver after taking * Captain Hardy fully bears out this assertion: vide “ Forest Life in Acadia,” pp. 172—174. THE ZooLoGist—JANvuARY, 1870. 1957 the bark off. The houses are generally about four feet in height, and about six in diameter on the outside, and would hold about four beavers, though I have known small houses to hold two only. * * * = The beaver also burrows into the banks of streams, always taking care to have two entrances, one under (or close to) the water, and a smaller air-hole on land.” Mr. Brown says :—“ The house has two flats: the bottom one is on a level with the water; the top one is used to sleep in, and has communication with the water through the bottom. The top one has direct communication with the land. * * * * In regard to the beavers’ houses, I am forced to come to the conclusion either that travellers who have written regarding the beaver in the country east of the Rocky Mountains have woefully taken advantage of a traveller’s license, have listened to mere hearsay wonders without seeing for themselves, or that the habits of the beaver differ much in different parts of the country. “Itis only after they have been pointed out to you that the ‘ houses’ can be recognized, as they seem like loose bundles of sticks lying on the water.* Jn a recent account of the beaver in the British provinces in North America by an anonymous writer,t the houses are described as being exactly the same as I have seen them in the West, and not plastered domes. * * * * Sometimes they live in merely a tunnel or cave. In winter the Indians go along the edge of the ice, sounding with a stick; and wherever there is the opening of one of these tunnels, the sound being different, he watches and plugs up the opening.” The beaver houses with which I was familiar in Newfoundland, and which, at certain seasons of the year, I saw almost daily, were built as Mr. Green described them, but in many cases of very much larger dimensions. Some winter houses I have known to be twelve or even fourteen feet in diameter (outside measure), and at least six or seven feet high. The inside diameter was probably not more than five or six feet, so solid are the walls and roof, although no mud is visible from the outside. These large houses often hold from eight to twelve, or even, though rarely, sixteen beavers. Beavers usually have two houses: a summer house and winter house: the former is generally situated near the mouth of the brook, as the food of the beavers * Mr. Brown says in a foot-note that “the ‘house’ in the Zoological Gardens, London, corresponds with this description.” + ‘Land and Water,’ March, 186s. 1958 Tue ZooLocist—JANUARY, 1870. during the summer months consists in a great measure of the stems and roots of the pond lily * (Nuphar advena, Aiton), which is called “beaver root” by the settlers. In the fall of the year the beavers generally migrate up-stream to a more favourable situation for procur- ing a supply of winter food; and as soon as the house is rebuilt or repaired, these industrious animals are very assiduous in cutting down small birch and willow, on the bark of which they subsist in winter. Although birch trees as large as a man’s thigh are frequently cut down, the beavers appear only to make use of the smaller branches, which are cut into suitable lengths and carried to the house, around which they are sunk by means of mud, to be used as food after the brook is frozen over. Until this takes place the beavers feed on the land, or on browse collected on the top of the house. Every house appears to have two passages from the exterior to the interior, which are termed “angles” by the natives. Whilst the winter house is building the beavers frequently live in a deep hole in the bank: this domicile, pro tem., is called a “ hovel.” In trapping the beaver the same devices appear to be employed both east and west of the Rocky Mountains. Mr. Green informs us that “the traps generally used in securing the beaver are large steel traps with a strong spring at each end, and fastened with a chain, from four to six feet long, to a pole, which is stuck in the bottom of the water as far out as the chain will allow, so that the beaver, when he feels the trap, may run into deep water, and as he gets tired, the weight of trap taking him down, he drowns. A beaver, when trapped, never tries to get to land, but makes a dive for the deepest water, and should the water be shallower than four feet, he will, in a short time, amputate his foot so as to relieve himself. He always takes his foot off at a joint, and draws the sinews out of his shoulder, instead of biting them through. * * * * A beaver is generally caught by his fore foot, and should the trap be set too deep below water his toe- nail only gets caught. The trap is set in the beaver-run, or just where it springs into a hole in the bank. It must not be set in too shallow water, for then he amputates his foot, or in too deep, for in that case he does not get caught at all, but swims over the trap. The proper depth to set a trap is five inches. The beaver is then caught by his fore foot. * * * * A full-grown beaver weighs about * Mr. Green alludes to the beavers feeding on this plant and also on alder (Alnus oregana), but I never could find a “whittled” alder stick, although alder is sometimes largely used in building the ‘‘ stent.” THE ZooLocist—January, 1870. 1959 thirty-four pounds. * * * #* A good skin will weigh two and a half pounds ; but it is very rarely that one weighing that amount is caught in Vancouver Island. The Hudson’s Bay Company give only from seventy-five to eighty-five cents per pound at Victoria for peltries, so that a trapper now-a-days cannot get very fat at the work.” Mr. Brown says:—“In trapping, some strong-smelling stuff (commonly castoreum in rum or cinnamon) is spread on the path. The trap is then set in the water close to the bank, and covered with about four inches of water. The beaver, attracted by the strong- smelling substance, gives an approving slap of his tail, and starts off, if anywhere in the neighbourhood, to investigate the booty, and as he is leaving the water, gives a “ purchase,” so as to spring up the bank on the very place where the trap is concealed. * * * * The Opicheshaht (Indians) approach to leeward at night, and spear the beaver from a canoe as he floats, eating a branch taken from the shore ; or they shoot him when in shallow water, but not in deep water, as he sinks on receiving the shot. They also block up the opening into his house, break through the wall, and shoot or spear him. * * * * When beaver [fur] was thirty shillings per pound, Rocky Mountain beavers [skins of] were piled up on each side of a trade gun until they were on a level with the muzzle, and this was the price! ‘The muskets cost in England some fifteen shillings.” The same rascally advantage was also taken of the Mic-Mac Indians in Newfoundland, but such ill-gotten wealth has rarely prospered among the settlers of that island. The following notes on hunting and trapping the beaver were penned during my residence in Newfoundland, This interesting animal may still be said to be common in Newfoundland, although great numbers are annually caught by the settlers, and even more by the Indians. The latter live almost entirely by the produce of their beaver fur: one Indian alone told me that he had caught and taken to St. John’s, during the previous year (1866) no less than two hundredweight of beaver fur, As the Indians begin beaver-catching too early in the fall, before the fur is of sufficient length or thickness, it must have taken at least two hundred beavers to produce this weight of fur! The Indians are great adepts in “ drawing” beaver. This is done by removing part of the stent, or dam, and concealing themselves afterwards on the leeward side of the brook, near the house, or very 1960 THE ZOoLoGist—JANUARY, 1870. frequently near the “ stent,” until the beavers come out to repair the broken dam, when they are easily shot. If “ drawing” be determined on it must be done very noiselessly, or the beavers will not leave the house, which they will otherwise generally do on finding that the water is falling too rapidly. If the beavers are long in making their appearance at the “ stent” another plan is resorted to, which, although of more trouble to the hunter, is generally more certain of success. The beavers have usually two passages leading into the house, which are termed “ angles” by the trappers: these, which are under water, have to be found out and carefully barred by driving stout stakes into the mud at the opening of each passage, which effectually cuts off the retreat of the beavers: the house is then chopped open at the top and the inmates either shot or knocked on the head with a tomahawk. The settlers usually catch them in strong iron traps, such as are used for catching foxes. These have to be set with great care, as the beaver, if not immediately drowned by the weight of the trap keeping it under water, will soon “ cut out ”—v7. e. gnaw off its leg. To catch a beaver by the fore leg the trap is placed either four or five inches under water, and to catch it by the hind leg it must be either eight or nine inches under water. In either case the trap must be placed on the side of the house, and the stake, to which the trap is fastened, must be driven into the mud as far from the bottom of the house as the trapper can reach, so as to prevent the beaver carrying the trap on to the top of the house above water. If all this is carefully attended to there is not much fear of success, for the beaver as soon as trapped endeavours to get the trap above water, but failing in this tries to drag the trap into the house, at the bottom of which the chain becomes entangled and the poor animal is soon drowned. On the other hand want of care not only lacks success, but must entail great misery on the beavers themselves. I well remember on one occasion a settler visiting his traps and finding that he had taken a leg each from seven different beavers, but this, I have no doubt, was not entirely the fault of the trapper, who was an “old hand,” as the rivers in Newfoundland fall and rise so rapidly in the spring and fall, that it is sometimes almost impossible to keep the trap always the same depth under water. Ihave known the traps repeatedly thrown by the beavers pressing a short stick on the pan, but this may have occurred either designedly or accidentally. Mr. Brown gives an anecdote of the sagacity of the beaver, which I here introduce. He THE ZooLocist—JAnvuary, 1870. 1961. says:—“In a creek about four miles above the mouth of Quesnelle River, in British Columbia, some miners broke down a dam, in the course of the operation for making a ditch, at the same time erecting a wheel to force up the water. Beavers abounded on this stream, and found themselves much inconvenienced by these proceedings. Accordingly, it is said that, in order to stop the wheel, the beavers placed a stick between the flappers in such a way as to stop the revolutions of the wheel. This was so continually repeated night after night, and was so artfully performed as to preclude the possi- bility of its being accidental.” The dried skin of an old beaver, ¢f caught in good season, will frequently weigh two pounds. In the good old trapping days, when beaver fur sold for a guinea a pound, it was not much trouble for some of the few English settlers to make money—however dishonest the practice: it was only necessary to take four or five gallons of rum, which could be bought of the American and Nova-Scotian traders at less than a dollar a gallon, and adulterate it with one-third water, and carry it into the country to the wigwams of the Indians, who would gladly exchange the skin of an old beaver, worth nearly two guineas, for a pint of rum! I am happy to say the Indians are far more sensible now, and take their fur to a much better market, although, unfortunately for them, it is not worth more than a quarter so much at the present day. Henry REEKs. Thruxton, Andover. [In order to bring this interesting subject more fully before the readers of the ‘Zoologist, I have thought it best, even though incurring the necessity of considerable repitition, to reprint from the ‘ Journal of the Linnean Society ’ (Vol. x., p. 361), the whole of the excellent papers to which Mr. Reeks has referred.—#. Newman.] On the Natural History and Hunting of the Beaver (Castor cana- densis, Kuhl) on the Pacific Slope of the Rocky Mountains, by AsHpown H. Green, Esq. With Supplementary Noles by Rosert Brown, Esq., F.R.G.S. (Communicated by James Montz, M.D., F.L.S.) [Read November 5, 1868.] I HAVE been for three years almost constantly engaged in trapping beavers, so that what remarks I may have to make on their habits and history, though somewhat at variance with the stereotyped SECOND SERIES—VOL. V. © 1962 THE ZooLoGistT—JANUARY, 1870. notions prevalent in compilations, are yet the result of my own inde- pendent observations. About January their tracks may be seen in the snow near the outlet of the lakes where young fir trees grow. At this time they prefer young fir trees as food to any other kind of tree, the reason, doubtless, being that at this period the sap has not risen in the willow or alder (Alnus oregana). It is not often that females are caught in the spring ; and the males seem to travel about, as the runs are not used so regu- larly as they are when the beavers are living near. Some of the beavers become torpid during January, especially those living near lakes, swamps, or large sheets of water which are frozen. They do not lay in a store of sticks for winter use as stated by Capt. Bonville (Washington Irving’s ‘ Adventures of Capt. Bonville’), as one day’s supply of sticks for a single beaver would fill a house—and if a stick were cut in the autumn, before the winter was over it would have lost its sap, and would not be eaten by the beaver. A beaver never eats the bark of a tree that is dead, though he may guaw a hard piece of wood to keep his teeth down. A little grass is generally found in the houses, but is used as a bed and not for food. If February is an open month, the beavers begin to come out of their retreats, and frequent any running water near them; but it is generally March before the bulk of them come out of winter-quarters. When they come out they are lean; but their furs are still good, and continue so till the middle of May—though if a trapper thought of revisiting the place, he would not trap after April, so as to allow them to breed quietly. About the end of March the beaver begins to “call.” Both males and females “call” and answer one another. Sometimes on one “calling,” half-a-dozen will answer from different parts of the lake, I have known beavers to “call” as late as August. Males fight during the rutting-season most fiercely. Hardly a skin is without scars ; and large pieces are often bitten out of their tails. The beaver holds like a bull-dog, but does not snap. _It shakes its head so as to tear. When trapped, it will face a man, dodge a stick, and then seize it, taking chips out of it at every bite. It seems to attack from behind. The period of gestation is known with little certainty, as they are never trapped in summer. The female brings forth some time about the end of June; and it is a year before a beaver is full-grown; and even then it has not the embonpoint of an elderly beaver. THE ZooLocist—January, 1870. 1963 I have read that the beaver breeds at any time during the year; but this cannot be, or all the kittens that are trapped in the fall would not be of the same size. It produces from three to four at a birth. The teats are placed between the fore legs. The young (called kittens) whimper like young puppies when suckling, even when two months old. The females prefer deep sedgy lakes to bring their young up in, and they feed on grass about that time of the year (July or August). They feed on willow about April, May and June. I cannot say whether they are born blind or not, but suspect so. They are very fond of water-lilies (Nuphar advena,'Ait.) in the spring. Itis with me a matter of uncertainty whether the female litters in a house, under the ground, or in the dry sedges; but I should think, under ground or in the houses. In the autumn more females are caught than males. Trapping commences in September and continues to May; after that the trappers leave them alone, so that I do not know much about their doings in the summer. They begin to build their dams about July or August, as soon as the summer floods begin to subside. For this purpose they generally choose a bend in the stream, with high and clayey banks, and com- mence by felling a large tree that will reach across the water ; or they fell a tree on each side of the water so as to meet in the centre. They then float sticks from six to four feet long down to the dam, and lay them horizontally, filling in the spaces with roots, tufts of grass, leaves, and clay or mud. The branches of the first tree are the perpendicular supports, almost all the remaining sticks being placed horizontally and crosswise. The last six or eight inches in height is very insecurely constructed, being nothing but mud and leaves. The highest dam I ever saw was only about four feet six inches ; but the generality of them are not ahove two or three feet, The action of the water by bringing down mud, gravel, or fallen leaves, strengthens the dam by making a sloping bank against it; and, the willow sticks of which it is composed sending forth their roots and shoots, the dam in course of time becomes a fixture bound together as strongly as well could be. The winter floods almost invariably destroy the upper part of the dam, which is reconstructed afresh every year. The shape of the dam is almost always semicircular, with the crown of the arch down stream, thus reversing the order of things ; but I have no doubt this is in consequence of the heads of the first or principal trees being floated down stream when they are first thrown. The body of water raised by these dams varies, of course, according 1964 °* Tue ZooLocist—JANUARY, 1870. to the fall of the original stream, from a small hole of twenty feet diameter to a lake of miles in length. In the former case the beaver builds his house close to the dam, so as to get depth of water, and there saves himself from any hungry panther (Felis concolor, L.) or wolf who might feel inclined to indulge in beaver-meat. The beaver also burrows into the banks of streams, always taking care to have two entrances, one under (or close to) the water, and a smaller air-hole on land. With a good dog, capital sport may be had on some of the smaller rivulets leading into or out of a lake. ‘The houses are formed of water-logged sticks placed horizontally in the water. They have always two or more entrances, and a small chamber with a little grass for the beaver to lie on. The top of the house is constructed very thick, to guard against attacks by animals. Mud and roots are used to make the house solid; but no mud is seen from the outside, as the top is covered with loose sticks left there by the beaver after taking the bark off. The houses are generally about four feet in height, and about six in diameter on the outside, and would hold about four beavers, though ] have known small houses to hold two only. The traps generally used in securing the beaver are large steel traps with a strong spring at each end, and fastened with a chain, from four to six feet long, to a pole, which is stuck in the bottom of the water as far out as the chain will allow, so that the beaver, when he feels the trap, may run into deep water; and as he gets tired, the weight of trap taking him down, he drowns. A beaver, when trapped, never tries to get to land, but makes a dive for the deepest water; and should the water be shallower than four feet, he will, in a short time, amputate his foot so as to relieve himself. He always takes his foot off at a joint, and draws the sinews out of bis shoulder instead of biting them through. The stump heals up; and I think the beaver is none the worse for it, though he gets shy, and, perhaps, tells the other beavers to beware of traps. A beaver is generally caught by his fore foot; and should the trap be set too deep below water, his toe-nail only gets caught. The trap is set in the beaver-run, or just where it springs into a hole in the bank. It must not be set in too shallow water, for then he amputates his foot,—or in too deep, for in that case he does not get caught at all, but swims over the trap. The proper depth to set a trap is five inches. The beaver is then caught by his fore foot. Sometimes the teeth of a beaver are found to have grown beyond their proper length. 1 once saw one with the lower teeth three and a half inches beyond the gums. He was caught in a trap, THE ZooLtocist—JANuARY, 1870. . 1965 and was miserably thin; but, singularly enough, he had about the finest fur I ever saw. He was an aged animal. It is rare to see a beaver which has been trapped with its teeth whole, as they are often broken in trying to get out of the trap. A full-grown beaver weighs about thirty-four pounds. Iam not an anatomist; but still I do not think there is anything very peculiar about its internal structure,* except that the heart weighs a mere nothing—the cavities being so very large. An old beaver when shot sinks, a kitten floats. A good skin will weigh two and a half pounds; but it is very rarely that one weighing that amount is caught in Vancouver Island. The Hud- son’s Bay Company give only from seventy-five to eighty-five cents per pound at Victoria for peltries, so that a trapper now-a-days cannot get very fat at the work. There are at present very few beavers on either Vancouver Island or the mainland, compared with what there must have been some years ago; but they have been increasing for the last six years; and no doubt by the time beaver-skins come into fashion again there will be a plentiful supply. Supplementary Notes by Mr. Brown. The following I add as an Appendix to the foregoing observations of my friend Mr. Green, whose opportunities for studying the animal were much superior to my own during my travels in North-west America, and whose account is valuable as being the plain un- varnished notes of a hunter—a narration of facts very familiar to him, written with no reference to preconceived notions or received theories. First, therefore, regarding the range of the beaver. It is found all over British Columbia, Oregon, Washington Territory, and even south to California and north to the limit of trees. It is not, however, found, as far as I can learn, in the Queen Charlotte Islands, but is abundant in Vancouver Island, though, curiously enough (in such a manner is history written) Colonel Colquhoun Grant, in his ‘ Descrip- tion of Vancouver Island’ (Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. xxvii. p. 268), mentions that he has seen traces, and was not aware that the animal itself had been found. The fact of the matter is, he could have found abundance not far from his own door. Near Victoria, in Mr. Yales’s Swamp, and in one near Dr. Tolmie’s, are several beavers; and on the road to Cadborough Bay there are, in a small stream near where the road crosses, the remains of an old * Vide Cleland, Edin. New Phil. Journal, new series, vol. xiii. (1860) pp. 14—20. 1966 THE ZooLoGisT—JANUARY, 1870. dam. In the interior they are almost everywhere abundant and on the increase. In a swampy lake near the mouth of the Cowichan Lake we found many; and an extensive swamp near the entrance of the Puntledge Lake was a great stronghold. On Young’s Creek,* flowing into the same lake. were many dams. In the spring of 1866, when crossing the island from Fort Rupert to the head of Quatseeno Sound with some Indians, a great portion of our route lay among these beaver-ponds and dams. All through this district beavers swarm. The camps of the Indians were full of them; and the women laid before us the daintiest pieces of the meat, or exhibited to their white visitor all sorts of curiosities in the shape of feetal beavers and beaver’s teeth, with which they were gambling, using marked ones in much the same manner as our dice. At the Hudson Bay Company’s Fort we lived upon beaver during that spring—beaver roasted and beaver broiled; beaver tail and beaver joint; beaver morning, noon and night. In regard to the beavers’ houses, I am forced to come to the conclusion either that travellers who have written regarding the beaver in the country east of the Rocky Mountains have woefully taken advantage of a traveller’s license, have listened to mere hearsay wonders without seeing for themselves, or that the habits of the beaver differ much in different parts of the country. It is only after they have been pointed out to you that the “houses” can be recognized, as they seem like loose bundles of sticks lying on the water.t In a recent account of the beaver in the British provinces in South America by an anonymous writer], the houses are described as being exactly the same as I have seen them in the West, and not plastered domes. The vigilance of the little builders is so great that it is rarely, unless closely watched for a long time, that they can be seen. A passing traveller rarely surprises them at their work. My friend Mr. John Tod, chief trader in the Hon. Hudson’s Bay Company’s service during a long residence at Fort M‘Leod (a post of that Fur Company, situated in the northern portion of British Columbia), has communicated to me his observations, which, differing in some respects, substantiate in the main those of Mr. Green. The * See the author's map and the memoir Das Innere der Vancouver Insel in Peter- man’s Geographische Mittheilungen, 1869, S. 87. + The “house” in the Zovlogical Gardens, London, corresponds with this description. t ‘Land and Water, March, 1868. THE ZooLoGist—JANUARY, 1870. 1967 beaver has from four to ten young—most often four, sometimes eight, rarely ten. It carries its young six months. It produces in May. When the female is going to have young the male takes the young of last year (for sometimes as many as three generations will remain around the paternal abode), and goes up a river several miles, remain- ing there until the female has produced. The dams here, as everywhere else, are perfectly constructed, and with an opening in the middle for the current. The only approach to plastering their houses which I have observed is its giving a self- satisfied “clap” of the tail on its laying down its load.* The loads are carried between the top of the fore paws and the under surface of _ the head. The trailing of the tail along the ground gives the vicinity the appearance of being plastered. The house has two flats: the bottom one is on a level with the water; the top one is used to sleep in, and has communication with the water through the bottom. The top one has direct communication with the land. Sometimes they live in merely a tunnel or cave. In winter the Indians go along the edge of the ice, sounding with a stick; and wherever there is the opening of one of these tunnels, the sound being different, he watches and plugs up the opening. If these holes or tunnels are used as escapes from the houses, they break into the latter. If the beaver is not in, the Indian makes a hole in the ice. He then makes a great noise, and watches the rippling of the water to see if he is there, because his motion will have that effect. When alarmed he generally rushes for his hole; and finding it closed, he is often shot in his en- deavour to escape. In trapping, some strong-smelling stuff (com- monly castoreum in rum or cinammon) is spread on the path. The trap is then set in the water.close to the bank, and covered with about four inches of water. The beaver, attracted by the strong- smelling substance, gives an approving slap of his tail, and starts off, if anywhere in the neighbourhood, to investigate the booty ; and as he is leaving the water, gives a “ purchase,” so as to spring up the bank on the very place where the trap is concealed. His food is ‘principally willows. The bark is preferred, though the wood is eaten when nothing else can be got. It will gnaw through thick trees, apparently for the top foliage; for immediately the tree falls the beavers spring on the branches of it. A stump showing beaver- gnawing is not unlike Indian chopping (small irregular chops); and * On this point vide A. Murray, Edin. New Phil. Journal (1859), vol. ix. (n. s.) p. 216. 1968 THE Zootocist—January, 1870. novices in the back woods often mistake them for Indian “sign.” Large trees are universally felled so as to fall with the head to land, because, if required for floating down, the branches would impede it being floated off, while the difficulty of dragging it down is not so great, over and above the fact of the impeding branches being easily gnawed off. Much ingenuity is displayed to effect the fall of the tree in the proper position. I have often, in my walks and sails along the solitary rivers of the western wilds, seen three or four beavers piloting a large tree down stream, and noticed that when they were approaching its desti- nation they shoved it into the eddies inshore. They always cut down the trees above their lodges, never on any occasion below. In winter they have a store of food secured at some convenient distance from their abodes. When they require any they start off to get it. They do not eat there, but bring it to their house, and there make their meal. Of the almost human intelligence of the “ thinking beaver” the stories are innumerable; but many of them are much exaggerated, or even fabulous (such as Buffon’s account). The following is tolerably well authenticated, my informants vouching for the accuracy of it. In a creek about four miles above the mouth of Quesnelle River, in British Columbia, some miners broke down a dam, in the course of the operation for making a ditch, at the same time erecting a wheel to force up the water. Beavers abounded on this stream, and found themselves much inconvenienced by these proceedings. Accordingly, it is said that, in order to stop the wheel, the beavers placed a stick between the flappers in such a way as to stop the revolutions of the wheel. This was so continually repeated night after night, and was so artfully performed, as to preclude the pos- sibility of its being accidental. In “ Notes on the Habits of the Beaver,” presented to the Royal Physical Society by Mr. James K‘Kenzie*, of the Hudson Bay Company’s Service, and to all appearance most careful and trust- worthy, details are given differing somewhat from those related by Messrs. Green (in the foregoing paper) and Tod. When I lived among the Opicheshaht Indians, at the head of the Alberni Canal, V. I., I heard much about Atloh, the beaver, but remarkably little to the credit of its sagacity. They look upon it as rather a common-place animal, requiring no particular skill to trap. They used to tell us all sorts of stories about it, but 1 think they all * Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society, Session 1861-62, and Edin. New Phil. Journal, vol. xv. pp. 299—302. THE ZOOLOGIST—JANUARY, 1870. 1969 contain a vein of fiction. Mr. G. M. Sproat has gathered some of this information into his excellent ‘Scenes and Studies of Savage Life, to which I refer. The beavers lie in these houses, as the Indian expresses it, “like boys,” but when the female has young ones she goes into a separate bed or chamber, I could not ascertain which. There is no story in a beaver-house for convenience of change in case of floods; the waste-way is generally sufficient to carry off any extra- ordinary quantity of water. In the Alberni country, at least, the houses on the banks of lakes are abandoned when the water is very high; and the beavers go to small streams, which they form into a succession of diminutive lakes ; in these they breed*. He sleeps during the day, and comes out at night to feed. He cannot see far, but he is keen of scent. ‘The Opicheshaht approach to leeward at night, and spear the beaver from a canoe as he floats eating a branch taken from the shore ; or they shoot him when he is in shallow water, but not in deep water, as he sinks on receiving the shot. They also block up the opening to his house, break through the wall, and shoot or spear him. The flesh of the beaver, especially when first smoked and then roasted, is not at all unwelcome as an article of food. The tail, when boiled, is a noted article of trappers’ luxury, though, forsooth, if the truth must be told, rather gristly and fat, and rather too much for the stomach of any one but a north-western hunter or explorer. “ He is a devil of a fellow,” they say on the Rocky Mountain slopes; “he can eat two beavers’ tails!” The scrapings of a beaver’s skin form one of the strongest descriptions of glue. The Indians at Fort M‘Leod’s Lake use it to paint their paddles; and the water does not seem to affect it. When beaver was thirty shillings per pound Rocky Mountain beavers were piled up on each side of a trade gun until they were on a level with the muzzle, and this was the price! The muskets cost in England some fifteen shillings. These were the days of the “ free trapper,’—joyous,'brave, generous, and reckless,—the hero of romance, round whom many a tale of daring circles, the love of the Indian damsel, the beau ideal of a man, in the eyes of the half-breed, whose ambition never rose higher than a cowreur des bois—a class of men who, with all their failings, we cannot but be sorry to see disappear- ing from the fur-countries. The fall of beavers’ peltry rang their death-knell ; and, as a separate profession, trapping is almost extinct, being nearly altogether followed, at uncertain spells, by the Indians * Sproat, lib. cit. 249. SECOND SERIES—VOL, V, D 1970 Tue ZooLtocist—January, 1870. and the lower class of half-breeds. The world is fast filling in; the emigrant, with his bullock-team and his plough, is fast destroying all the romance of the far West—fast filling up with the stern prose of the plough and the reaping-machine and the whistle of steam what was once only claimed by the pleasant poetry of the songs of the voyageur, the coureur des bois—the hunters and trappers of the great companies! But perhaps it is better after all ! The beaver is easily domesticated, and learns to eat any vegetable matter, but requires water occasionally. One kept at Fort M‘Leod got blind; but if it got access to water, it laved some on its eyes, and generally in an hour quite recovered its sight. It used to gather carpenter's shavings together, and carry them to the door: if the door was shot, it forced them up against it, finishing with a slap of its tail, as if it were building adam. It had a great antipathy to the Indians. It would come into the Indian Hall, where the natives were seated, as is their wont, back to the wall. It would first take their fire-bag, then their axe, and so on until it had carried everything to the door, greatly to the amusement of the Indians. It would then attempt vigorously to eject the owner of the articles. Its “weakness” for gnawing exhibited itself in a very unpleasant manner; for occasionally, in the morning, the whole of the furniture was prostrate, the beaver having gnawed through the legs of the tables and chairs ! This leads me to remark that the beaver might be easily naturalized again in Britain; and though I cannot recommend them in the light of a drawing-room pet, yet I can conceive no more pleasant inhabitant of our lakes and rivers.* We must remember that at one time the beaver was an inhabitant of these islands, but became early extinct. This was, of course, not the Castor Canadensis, but the C. fiber, Tinn.; for the remains found in Britain, have now been decided to belong to the latter species, which is, I believe, not yet altogether extinct in Scandinavia.t We have, however, historical accounts of its former abundance in this country; and I cannot better conclude these desultory notices than by recapitulating the information we possess regarding it as a former inhabitant of the British Isles, referring for a more particular account of it as a Scottish animal, extinct within historic periods, to Dr. Charles Wilson’s ‘ Researches on Castoreum and the Beaver in Scotland.’ The earliest notice of it we know is in the ninth century, viz., in the Welsh Laws of Hywel * Vide ‘ Farmer,’ April, 1868. t Nilsson: Skandinavisk Fauna, Férsta Delen, Daggdjuren, ss. 400—427. ~ Tue ZooLocist—January, 1870. 1971 Dha,* where we read of it even then as a rare or valued animal of the chase ; for while the marten’s skin is valued at twenty-four pence, the otter’s at only twelve pence, that of the llosdlydan, or beaver, is valued at the great sum of one hundred and twenty pence, or at five times the price of the marten’s, or ten times the price of the otter’s. It thus seems, even in the times of the Heptarchy, to have been on the decrease; its sun had early begun to set. In the year 1158 Giraldus de Barri (or as he is variously called, Sylvester Giraldus or Giraldus Cambri- ensis), in his droll account of the itineration he made through Wales, in company with Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury (who journeyed thither in order to stir up the Welsh to join in the Crusades, and who afterwards followed the train of Richard Coeur de Leon, and fell before Acre), tells us that in his day it was only found on the river Teivi, in Cardiganshire, and gives a curious account of its habits, derived in part from his own observations. In John Ray’s time many of the places in the naighbourhood of the river bore the name of Llynyrafrange, or the Beaver Lake, and, for all we know to the contrary, may to this day. About the same time it was probably known in Scotland, but only as a rare animal. Hector Boece (or Boethius, as his name has been Latinized), that shrewd old father of Scottish historians, enumerates the jibri, or beavers, with perfect con- fidence as among the inhabitants of Loch Ness, whose fur was in request for exportation towards the close of the fifteenth century ; and he even goes further, and talks of an “ incomparable number,” though perhaps he may be only availing himself of a privilege which moderns have taken the liberty of granting to medieval authors when dealing with curious facts. Bellenden, ina translation of Boethius’s “ Croniklis of Scotland,’ which he undertook, at the request of James VI., about the middle of the sixteenth century, while omitting stags, roe-deer and even otters, in his anxiety for accuracy, mentions “ bevers,” without the slightest hesitation:—“ Many wyld hors and amang yame are mony martrikis (Pine Martens), bevers, quhitredis (Weasels) and toddis (Foxes): the furrings and skynnis of thame are coft (bought) with gret price amang uncouth (foreign) merchandis.” It is, however, more than probable that the worthy historians were influenced by a little national pride when they recorded the beaver as an inhabitant of Loch Ness in the fifteenth century, as no mention is made of it in an Act dated June, 1424, though Martricks, Fourmartes (Polecats), Otlers, and Toddis are specified. They were perhaps so strongly * Leges Wallice. 1972 TuE ZooLocist—JANUARY, 1870. impressed by the wide-spread tradition of its existence in former days, as to be led to enumerate it among the animals of Scotland in those times; and it may be mentioned in passing that both worthies boast immoderately of the productions of their country. At the beginning of this century (at least) the Highlanders of Scotland had a peculiar name for the animal—Losleathan or Dobhran losleathan, “the Broad-tailed Otter.” According to Dr. Stuart, of Luss, in a letter to the late Dr. Neill, quoted by Prof. Fleming,* a tradition used to exist that the beaver or “ Broad-tailed Otter,” once abounded in Lochaber. That may be so or not; but at all events it does not now exist anywhere within the bounds of the British islands; and a con- siderable doubt might be still thrown on the accounts of the old writers, were not remains continually dug up in all parts of the country. I would fain hope that in a few years it may again be an inhabitant of our lakes and rivers. In these scattered notes I have not attempted anything like a systematic history of the animal, leaving the separate accounts to tell their own tales. No more pleasing work could, however, be written than a Monograph of the beaver, anatomically and historically ; and I trust that before long it may be undertaken by some one at once an artist and a naturalist.t On the Immigration of the Gray Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius) and the Recent Occurrence of this Species in Sussex. By J. E. Hartine, Esq., F.LS., F.Z.S. t Or late years ornithologists have noticed a marked increase in the oecurrence in Great Britain of certain northern birds which are usually considered rare or accidental visitants to this country. It may be said that the published reports of an increased and increasing number of naturalists have led to this conclusion; and to a certain extent doubtless this is so. Nevertheless, individual observers who have been carrying on investigations for years in the same locality have * Edin. Phil. Journ. 1838. t (This wish has been in some respects anticipated in a volune, ‘The American Beaver and his Works,’ by Lewis H. Morgan: Philadelphia, 1868. It had not fallen into Mr. Brown’s or my hands when this paper was read.—J. Munie.) } Extracted from ‘The Field’ of November 13, 1869: communicated by the author. THE ZooLocist—January, 1870. 1973 remarked that, while certain species in their neighbourhood are becoming annually scarcer, certain others are becoming more nume- rous. Nor has this substitution, so to say, of one species for another, been remarked by ornithologists only. Botanists and entomologists have similar testimony to advyauce. Indeed, when we consider the gradual but important changes which are taking place in the soil itself, we can scarcely wonder that the species existing thereon should be likewise affected. I have been led to these reflections from having recently seen on the Sussex coast several examples of the gray phalarope (Phalaropus JSulicarius), a bird which, nesting in Iceland, and visiting this country in autumn, has of late years been more than usually common at that season of the year. On reading the various reports which have been published in connection with the occurrence of this species in England, the following interesting facts may be elicited: first, these little birds come to us in the autumn, generally arriving during the early part of September ; secondly, the direction in which they migrate appears to be from the north-east to the south-west, as shown by their being most frequently found in the south-eastern and southern counties of Eng- land; thirdly, a great proportion of them are birds of the year, as is the case with the majority of our shore birds, which pass northwards through this country in spring and return again in autumn with their young; fourthly, they do not as a rule remain with us throughout the winter, but pass on further south; fifthly, those which return to their northern haunts in the spring do not return by the same route, and I do not remember any instance in which the species has been obtained in England in the breeding plumage; sixthly, during their stay in this country they evince a partiality for the neighbourhood of fresh water pools, ponds and dykes, in preference to the sea-shore on which they first alight. We have yet to ascertain in what latitudes the gray phalarope is most numerous in winter, and by what route it returns northwards to its breeding-ground. During the autumn of 1866 a vast number of gray phalaropes were seen and shot in the south-eastern and southern counties of England. So numerous indeed were they, that Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., im a pamphlet on the subject, published a summary of the occurrences, with the dates of observation, of more than five hundred individuals. As regards these birds, however, that year was an exceptional one. 1974 THE ZooLocist—JANUARY, 1870. Severe gales from the north-east had prevailed at the date of the autumnal migration, and icebergs had travelled further south than they had ever been known to do previously. These facts must be considered if we endeavour to account for the westerly direction which was taken by the great body of migrants in their flight towards the south. Since that date no similar immigration has been observed, although several reports have been subsequently published touching the appear- ance of this species here in autumn. During the latter part of September last, while shooting at Pagham Harbour, on the Sussex coast, I had several opportunities of studying this beautiful little bird in a state of nature, and of noting the charac- ter of its food, flight and actions in the water. I saw four individuals at different times and places, and shot three of them. My brother saw a fourth. A fifth was brought to me recently killed, and three others were sent to Brighton to be preserved. The occurrence of so many examples within so limited an area would lead one to expect a repetition of what occurred in the autumn of 1866; and, by way of contributing, therefore, to other reports which may appear on the subject, I now transcribe from my note-book an account of what I myself observed. On the 2lst of September, while walking between Siddlesham and. Selsea, at a short distance from the sea, a gray phalarope suddenly rose close to me from asmall dyke. It flew very slowly, and, being anxious to see something of its actions, I did not shoot at it, but endeavoured to mark it down in one of the numerous creeks which intersect the harbour at low water. In this I was disappointed, for, in spite of a long seareh, I could not find it again. To make quite sure that I had not mistaken the species, I returned to the dyke from which I had disturbed it, and searched along the soft margin for the foot-prints. Surely enough there was the impression of the unmistakable lobed foot, like that of the little coot, upon the mud. On the 22nd of September my brother saw a gray phalarope at Wall End, not far from the coastguard station. On the 23rd of September I proceeded to the same spot, with the hope of finding the same bird again, and shot one, probably the same, at a pool of brackish water just inside the sea-wall. | The following day I revisited this pool, and, while walking in the neighbourhood, saw a gray phalarope flying towards me from the sea. THE ZooLtocist—JANUARY, 1870. 1975 It alighted on a little island of mud in the pool, and I had a good opportunity of watching its movements for some time. On walking towards it with the intention of shooting it, it flew across the pool, when | fired, but unfortunately only wounded it, and it got away. The next morning, however, my brother found it dead on the beach, not far off. To judge by its having both tarsi broken, and a bad shot wound in the vent, it could not long have survived the shot. It is always distressing to a naturalist, when in pursuit of a bird, to fail in his purpose and let it escape wounded ; he would far rather not shoot at itat all. But the powder is not always “straight!” On the 20th of September I devoted the entire day to a search for this species in the numerous broad dykes which intersect the country between Siddle- sham and Selsea, knowing that, from its partiality for fresh water, it would more probably be found inland than on the sea-shore. I walked many a mile of dykes without seeing anything but a kingfisher, until at length, on turning a corner, I caught sight of a gray phalarope swimming in the water, about forty yards ahead. By making a détour and crawling carefully on hands and knees, I was enabled to get very close to it, and, peering through the grass on the edge of the dyke, could watch every movement of the graceful little bird. In its manner of swimming round and about, now and then pecking at some water- weed, it seemed to resemble the Gallinules, like them nodding the head at every stroke of the foot. When standing on the ground at a little distance, it looked not unlike a ringed plover, but at this season of the year it was much whiter. It rose once, and flew a little way down the dyke, when it alighted on the water again, and commenced swimming as before. On the wing it reminded me of the young of the black tern. © After I had watched it for some time, I was cruel enough to shoot it, just as it was leaving the dyke. It fell out in the field on the opposite side, and I was punished with a severe wetting in endeavouring to jump across. The bird, however, was secured, and I was enabled to satisfy myself of the nature of its food, which I found to consist of small flies and beetles, with the admixture of a little vegetable matter which I could not deter- mine. This confirmed what I had remarked in two other specimens examined. J. E, Harrine, 1976 THE ZooLocistT—JANvuARY, 1870. Ornithological Notes from North Lincolnshire. ‘By Joun CorpEaux, Esq. (Continued from Zool. 8. S. 1908). OcToBER AND NovEMBER, 1869. Shorteared Owl.—October 1. This species is a regular visitant on our coast in the autumn. The beaters put up several this morning from a swampy patch near the middle of one of the “ beck” planta- tions. Wild Geese.—October 5. First large flock of wild geese observed: they were travelling due north. More geese have crossed this district during the month than has now been the case for many years. They take nearly the same line towards the N.N.W. or N., and this has been their course all through October. “ Hawnk! honk! and for’ard to the nor’ard, is the trumpet tone.” And let those predict who choose a hard and severe winter ; this, for some time to come at least, portends mild and pleasant weather. : Stonechat.—October 5 to 20. Several seen on the Humber embauk- ment and in the marsh, all immature birds; are probably arrivals from the north. This species is rarely met with in this district excepting during the autumn, and occasionally in the winter months. I saw several on the Spurn sand-hills on the 11th. Starling.—October 5. There can, I think, be no doubt that we have large arrivals of this species on this coast in the early autumn: they migrate during the night, and at this season no bird is more frequently dashed to death against the Spurn lights than the starling : the same is the case at Flamborough. On one thick night in the early part of this month the Spurn lantern-top was crowded with a noisy flock of these birds alighting there. Two immense flocks arrived in the marsh about the last week in September, infinitely more than could possibly have been reared in this district: these remained till the middle of October. I one day endeavoured to make a rough estimate of the number of birds composing the larger of these flocks: on the. wing, and flying in close order, they appeared to occupy a space about half a mile in length, forty yards in breadth and twenty deep: on alighting they covered nearly seven acres of ground. The beating of so many small wings resembles the pattering of a heavy thunder THE ZooLocist—JaNnuary, 1870. 1977 shower amongst the leaves of a thick wood, or the recoil of a great wave from a beach of pebbles. Hooded Crow.—October 8. First arrivals on the coast. I am in- clined to think these birds come across in the day: when on the coast I have seen them, in the afternoon, coming in overhead in a direction from the sea, and also, when at sea, observed flocks passing over towards the land. Little Crake.—October 9. I am certain I saw this rarity in a patch of reeds near the “beck” this afternoon: I was so close to the bird that I could not have shot without blowing it to atoms. My dog chased it into the reeds, where I only just missed capturing it by hand. Jack Snipe.—October 9. First seen. Redstart.—October 15. A single bird seen, a mature male—a very late appearance. Woodcock.—We have had both an early and large arrival of cocks: an odd bird or two seen as early as the last week in September. On the night of the 18th of October there was a terrific north-easter, strewing our Lincolnshire coast with wrecks, and destroying much life and property: in the morning the woodcocks were found along the coast in considerable numbers. On the 26th there was another fierce and destructive gale from the N.W., and on that and the following mornings great numbers of cocks were shot all along our eastern coast, one well-known sportsman bagging seventeen couple, and thirty-five couple are recorded as killed along five to six miles of coast. Those I have shot are fine birds and excessively fat. They are plentiful in the game-shops, and selling at about five shillings the couple, With reference to the remarks which have lately appeared in the papers respecting the migrations of these birds, an experience of many years leads me irresistibly to the conclusions that the winds which drive the woodcock to our coast are those blowing from N.W. to E.; that the stronger the gale from between these points the more likely we are to have good sport and find birds; that this species invariably migrates with the wind, and not against it, or with a favourable side-wind, but it should not have too much west in it; and that they never come with the wind in the south and west. As a rule those birds shot on this coast are excessively fat and in high condi- tion, although we occasionally meet with a striking exception. Snow Bunting.—October 19. Small flocks seen on the stubbles and on the Humber embankment; also at Spurn on the 11th. SECOND SERIES—VOL. V. b 1978 THE ZooLocist—JANUARY, 1870. Larks.—October 19 to 25. Immense flocks arrived between these dates in the marshes, and may now be found by bundreds in all the stubbles. At this season I have frequently, when on the coast, seen small straggling flocks of this species coming in from the sea, and also at night, when out at sea, recognised their familiar note. The lark, like the starling, is often picked up dead under our east coast light-houses. Golden Plover.—October 26. Heavy gale from the N.W., with frost and snow. First flocks of golden plover seen in the marshes, but none between this date and the 10th of November, when we had a return of frost and some heavy snow squalls. On the 11th, from early morning till late in the afternoon, flock after flock of the golden and green plovers passed across this parish, flying from S.E. to N.W., at the average height of two hundred yards. Often two or three flocks were in sight at the same time, and there was rarely five minutes interval between them. ‘The two species were never intermixed, each flock keeping distinct, which is the case when travelling to any distance, and this, I am convinced, was no ordinary change of feeding ground, but a general movement to some other part of the country. ‘These flocks were of all sizes, from five birds up to many hundreds. Throughout the day incredible numbers of both these species passed over the marsh, so as to be the general subject of remark. ‘This movement did not appear to be confined to ihe plover, for I noticed during the day hundreds of hooded crows, also dunlin, snipe and curlew, all travelling in the same direction. I have occa- sionally in past years noticed a like movement of wild fowl towards the N W., and find that this movement is as certainly followed by mild and open weather as that their passage southward indicates frost and snow. Gray Wayiail.—October 29. First observed. This graceful and lively species is this season most plentiful. Missel Thrush.—Ociober 29. I believe we have a very considerable addition to all our resident Merulinz in the autumn, coming either from the northern counties or the continent: of these the wmissel thrushes are the earliest, arriving from the latter part of August to early in September. This aniumn these flocks have been both large and numerous. Now from the middle to the end of September we always find thrushes more or less plentifully in our marsh turnip- fields—a district where, 1 need scarcely remark, from ihe absence of trees and shrubs, a thrush is a rarity at any other season. Later still, THE ZooLocist—JANuarRy, 1870. 1979 the first fortnight in October, are the blackbirds: for every blackbird Yound in this parish in the latter summer there is now fully four. I put them up from all sorts of odd places: on the Humber bank, the sides of marsh drains, and on the higher lands, amongst the hedge- rows and plantations, they swarm. Of these three species the missel and common thrushes do not remain in the district, but I do not: observe auy diminution in the blackbirds. Graylag Goose.—November 1. Observed seven graylags pitch in one of our marsh pastures this afternoon, and in a favourable position for stalking: to drop into the nearest drain was a matter of necessity : a deep cold wade up this and along a cross drain, and a wriggle, snake-like, across a dirty cattle-trodden gatestead brought me to the place. I found, however, to my sorrow, that the birds had shifted their ground and walked to the middle of the field: the only chance left was to match legs against wings, and by running rapidly towards them trust to a long shot: this I did, and pulled at the gray-blue shoulders of the hindmost only to hear the shot strike the feathers. Field/are and Redwing.—November 9. First observed. Like the thrushes the redwings on their first arrival will often resort for some days to the turnip-fields. JoHN CORDEAUX. Great Cotes, Uleeby, Lincolnshire, November 26. 1869. P Hedgehog and Rabbit—I was rather surprised to see, in Mr. Gunn’s “ Notes on the Mammalia of Norfolk,” a most absurd tale about a hedgehog, given on the authority of a gamekeeper. This harmless little animal is strictly nocturnal in its habits, and from ils structure is unable to spring at anything, and it could not possibly retain its hold of a struggling rabbit if it ventured to attack one, which I do not believe that any hedgehog ever did— Henry Doubleday ; Epping, November 15, 1869. [I quite agree with Mr. Doubleday that such tales ought not to be given on the authority of gamekeepers, who are the last people in the world to observe accurately or with unprejudiced eyes.—Edward Newman.] Oller near Ipswich.—A friend assures me that, whilst travelling between Baalham and Stowmarket, on ‘Chursday, the 11th of November, he saw from the railway, which Tuns for some distance close to the river Gipping, an otter: it was at some distance from the bank, snuffing about much in the manner of a ferret, and took no notice of the train: having seen the otter before, in the West of England, he was not likely to be mistaken. This makes the third occurrence of this rare animal that has come under my notice during eighteen months. Two young ones were caught during a flood in the locks at Great Blakenham, about seven miles from Ipswich, in July, 1868; anda full-grown specimen was killed by some bargemen on the river at Sproughton, some 1980 Tae Zootocist—January, 1870. time early in this spring: this is only three miles from Ipswich. I have heard it stated that others breed in this neighbourhood, and the second occurrence I have men- tioned seems to give sume weight to the supposition—H. M. Wallis; Ipswich, November 11, 1869. The Australian Wild Horse.—The wild horse of Australia will unquestionably at no distant date, like the mustang of the South American pampas, occupy in vast numbers the almost boundless plains of the interior. On the South Australian border, in Victoria, where some few years ago wild horses were comparatively few in number, large herds are now to be found. During periods of continual drought these herds travel immense distances in search of pasture, and on some stations detract consider- ably from the value of the runs to the north-west. The neighbourhood of the mallee scrub at the present season appears to be a favourite resort for wild horses. Feeding on the plains in mobs of from fifteen to thirty mares with colts at foot, the sire, a stallion whose progeny are usually of one colour, is most careful of his family, on the slightest alarm leading his charge at full speed under shelter of the almost impene- trable scrub. Several successful musterings of these steeds of the plain have been made of late, we are informed, and some of the colts bruken in and sent to market, but, from the cheapness of horse-flesh all over the colony, the speculation has not paid. Many hundreds have been shot on the various stations, but apparently without reducing their numbers. Wild cattle in the neighbourhood of the mallee scrub have also become a complete nuisance. On the sheep stations beef of excellent quality is supplied all the year round as rations to the men employed. The wild cattle are hunted like the buffalo on the North American plains, and are said to be gradually increasing in numbers and spreading towards the Far North. The most astonishing circumstance attaching to these wild herds of cattle and horses is that, notwithstanding on the stations near their haunts sheep and other stock are dying very fast from the effects of the drought, these denizens of the plain appear in excellent health and sleek as moles. A most beautiful sight it is to see a large mob of wild horses startled on the plains, galloping at full speed, their unkempt manes floating in the wind, the speed of which they seem to equal; their tails sweeping the ground—they present to the eye a perfect embodiment of beauty and freedom.— Adelaide Observer. Occurrence of the Common Kite in Cornwall.—A very fine adult specimen of the common kite was obtained from the grounds of Trebartha Hall, near Launceston, on the Ist of December. I have not heard of a specimen of this beautiful bird occurring anywhere in the West of England for the last fifty years, although I have a vague recollection of the species having (iu my school-boy days, at Buckpostleigh, near Ash- burton,in Devonshire) regularly bred in a large woodland, called “ King’s Wood,” not far from Holne Chase, on Dartmoor. My nephew saw this bird to great advantage soaring with his forked tail in full relief against the sky: it had been observed feeding on carrion for some days at the kennel; and previous to this my nephew observed and reported to me, a large brown hawk which he observed on the extensive moors in the neighbourhood, and which he said appeared at a distance to be all tail: this no doubt was the kite-—Zdward Hearle Rodd; Penzance, December 2, 1869. Hen Harrier in Suffolk—An adult female was shot near Wangford on the 10th of October, and sent me for preservation —TZ. . Gunn; Regent Street, Norwich. THE ZooLocist—JaNnuary, 1870. 1981 Robin eating Ladybirds.—Mr. Cordeaux, writing of the late immigration of lady- birds (S. 8. 1922), states he does not think birds eat them, as he has not found that any of our common species do so, such as the rook, starling, sparrow, &c. I have, however, found this to be the case with the robin, as on the 7th of November last I opened the stomach of a robin, accidentally caught in a gin set for rats, and found amongst other things the remains of at least two ladybirds, the hind wings of one so nearly perfect that it must have been almost the last thing eaten—Cecil Smith ; Lydeard House, near Taunton. Food of the Tits—There is probably a mistake in the statement, published in the ‘Field’ newspaper (see Zoul. S. S. 1927), that cole tits (Parus ater) have attacked the filberts growing near London: this species does not congregate, and is principally found in woods and plantations of firs, to which trees it is especially partial. I think it very likely that the great tit (P. major) sometimes perforates the shells of nuts, like the nuthatch, for the sake of the kernel, as this species is very fond of the seeds of the yew, which it dexterously holds in its claws, and breaks the shell by repeated strokes of the beak. I now see and hear them daily doing this in my garden, and the ground is strewed with the shells of the seeds. The young birds are very fond of green peas, and often severely injure the crop, but they also destroy large numbers of the cater- pillars of the common cabbage butterfly (Pieris Brassice). The blue tit (P. ceruleus) is very fond of cherries, and also of apples and pears, and often does great injury to the crops. I never saw the other British species attack any kind of fruit, but the marsh tit (P. palustris) is very partial to the seeds of the common sunflower.— Henry Doubleday. Snow Bunting at Aldeburgh.—During the week before last I saw a flock of snow buntings at Aldeburgh: several were killed at the same time by a medical gentleman of that town.—H. M. Wallis. Buff Variety of House Sparrow.—A buff-coloured variety of the house sparrow (Fringilla domestica) was shot in this neighbourhood during October last.— T. E. Gunn. Immigration of Rooks.—The residents of Aldeburgh have lately observed large flocks of the common rook arriving in company with other migrants: the gamekeepers of the neighbourhood have noticed the same occurrence, and are quite clear that the birds seen were not the Royston or gray crow. I did not know that rooks either came to or left this country.— 7. M. Wallis. Late appearance of the Swift——This afternoon I saw a swift (Cypselus apus) flying over the city of Chester: it was evidently hunting for food, as it circled round and round in its flight. During the summer the swift is most abundant in Chester, but they left two months ago.—H. W. Feilden ; Chester Castle, November 16, 1869. Pale Variety of the Common Partridge.—A very pale variety of the common par- tridge, a female, was shot at Stratton, near Norwich, on the 5th of November, and brought me for preservation.— 7. E. Gunn. Golden Plover on the Dove-—Numbers of the common and golden plovers have frequented for some time the banks of the Dove, and we are expecting they will be followed by a severe winter: the snow is now lying on the ground to the depth of two inches.—Oswald Mosley ; Rolleston Hall, Burton-on-Trent, December 2, 1869. Scarce Ducks in Torquay.—The following ducks were offered for sale in Torquay on the 2nd of December, on which day I examined them, but only found the last 1982 THE ZOOLOGIST—JANUARY, 1870. fresh enough for stuffing :—a five male gadwall, an adult female shoveller, a goldeneye and a smew (both adult females). I regret not io be able to give the localities where these birds were shot.—A. de Hiigel ; Fiorian, Torquay. Great Northern Diver at Burton-on-Trent—On the 29ih of November a fine speci- men of the northern diver found iis way fiom the ‘Trent and Dove up our small brook into the centre of our village, where of course it met with a speedy death, and is now in the hands of Mr. Franklin, a birdsiuffer at Birmingham, for preservation, to be placed in my museum.—Oswald 3losley ; Rollesion Hall, Burion-on-Trent. The Mummy Specimen of Alca impennis at Halifax, Nova Scotia.— In the ‘Zoologist’ for October (S. 8. 183.5) I read with surprise, in a foot-note appended to Mr. H. Reeks’ account of the Birds of Newfoundland, the announcement that the mummy specimen of Alca impennis presented to me by the Bishop of Newfoundland in 1864 “ was originally intended to have been sent to Professor Newton.” As this statement is incorrect, | should feel obliged by your allowing me to insert an extract from the Bishop’s letter accompanying his generous and highly valued present, which affords sufficient explanation of the cireumstance:—“ I have the pleasure of sending you by Dr. Gilpin a very perfect skeleton of the great auk or northern penguin. I had intended it for Professor Owen, as it is a much better specimen than the one I sent to Mr. Newton; but f willingly leave the disposal of it to you, as you judge best for the gratification and edification of naturalists, and osteologisis in particular.” In com- pliance with his lordship’s wishes I immediately forwarded it to the national collection, where J irust it will prove none the less serviceable to Science than if had been presented to Prof. Newton.—J. A/alihew Jones, President Insiitule of Natural Science ; Halijax, Nova Scotia, November 5, 1809. The Great Auk.—I am obliged to Mr. Reeks for setting me right about the Funk Island great auk. The mistake was not exactly of my making: the sentence “ Found by the Bishop of Newfoundland while on a missionary cruise at Funk Island,” was inserted by a friend who was kind enough to look over my MS.—J. H. Gurney, jun. ; 14, Alpha Road, Regeni’s Park. Great Auk’s Eggs in Edinburgh.—On visiting the Museum of Science and Art in Edinburgh, some short time ago, I was much surprised to ‘find, amongst numerous others, two fine eggs of Alca impennis. This note may be of interest to some of the readers of the - Zvologist,’ as, so far as I know, these eggs have not been inserted in any published list. J see these eggs have been noticed in the July number of the ‘Ibis’ for 1869 (p. 358), by Capt. H. W. Feilden.—A. de Hiigel ; November 22, 1869. Voracily of the Cormorant.—A cormorant, shot in Torbay, on the 24th of November last, was found, on being skinned by Mr. Shopland, the Tor naturalist, to contain in its throat a conger eel, which I measured, and found to be no less than two feet and a halfin length. Except that ils head was much bruised, probably by the cormorant in killing it, the fish was not otherwise hurt.—Zd, Little Gull on the Norfolk Coast.—Two examples of the little gull, in immature plumage, were shot on the coast near Salthouse on the 22nd of October: one of the above, which I preserved, proved on dissection to be a female: it weighed three ounces and a quarter.— 7. #. Gunn. Fulmar Petrel, Little Auk and Gray Phalarope in Somersetshire.—A fulmar petrel was shot on our coast, near Stolford, on the 26th of October: the skin was brought to THE ZooLocist—JANuARY, 1870. 1983 me a few days afterwards: the plumage is rather different from either of those mentioned by Yarrell, and from the one mentioned by me in the ‘ Zoologist’ for 1866 (S. 8. 562), as the whole of the head, neck and breast are gray, nearly like the back; the eyes were unfortunately taken out when the skin was given tome. The little auk was picked up dead on the mud, about the same time, but was unfortunately thrown away as being too muddy for preservation. The gray phalarope was picked up dead, but quite fresh, at Hestercombe, near Taunton, about the end of September: it was in the ordinary plumage of those found in England about ihat time of year.—Cecil Smith. Fulmar Peirel on the Norfolk Coast.—A friend brought me a female specimen of the fulmar peirel that had been shot the previous day at Yarmouth. The bird was rather thin, its skin being infested with parasites of apparently two kinds, one a small black species, the other rather an enormous creaiure; of the latter T found six and several immature specimens; the adults were of a deep brown colour, with transverse lines of white on the body: the large parasites died about two days after the bird, but the black species lived until the fifth day. The bird weighed eighteen ounces: the stomach was empty, with the exception of an inch of tar rope, rather a singular item. The fulmar petrel is of somewhat rare occurrence on this coast.—TF. E. Gunn ; November 6, 1869. Abundance of ihe Siorm Peirel in Norfoll:.—The little storm petrel his been quite abundant in Norfolk during the last week or two. I have had as many as seven specimens brought me for preservation: they were half starved, and were either dead or in a dying state when picked up, and their stomachs were empty, with the exception of two, in which cases I found a few minute seeds of a greenish colour. The birds were distributed almost all over the county: one was picked up near the Foundry Bridge, in this city; others at Hickling, Walton, Stalham, Woodrise, &c. I also heard of others at Lynn and Lowestoft.—Jd. Ornithological Notes from South Devon.—Swallows. ‘These birds—or at Jeast the greater part of them—left Turquay and neighbourhood on ihe 6th of October, although some were observed in that town as late as the 13th of November. Pomarine Skua. wo immature birds of this species were shot in Torbay on the 12th of October. Great Gray Shrike. TI observed a bird of this species at the back of my garden on an oak tree on the 14th of October, and also on the two following days; but un- fortunately I had no gun at hand on these occasions. ‘Chis bird—or perhaps another of the same specics—was observed by Mr. Shopiand, in the beginning of November, on a tree some short distance from his house. Tt soon flew away, as far as I know, to be seen no more in this neighbourhood. The bird in question seemed to be a fine full-grown specimen. Fieldfares and Redwings. Flocks upon flocks of these birds passed over my house on the morning of the 19th of October. Velvet Scoter. A fine adult male and two females were shot in Torbay in the beginning of November. Green Sandpiper. An adult bird was shot on Paignton beach on October 30th. Snow Bunting. A mature bird was shot as early as the 2%th of Ociober, near Msham Farm, Torquay, and was preserved by Mr. Burt, curator of the Museum of this town, who kindly sent me the particulars. 1984 Tur Zootoaist—Januanry, 1870. Dunlin. Large flocks of these birds were observed on Goodrington Sands, Paignton, on the 2nd of November. Albino Robin. A birdfancier in the village of Upton has a stuffed specimen of a robin entirely white, with the exception of the ends of the shafts of the primaries and tail-feathers, which are of a very light smoky gray. It was shot towards the end of last summer. Ringed Guillemot. An adult bird was shot in Torbay on the 15th of October.— A. de Hiigel. Rare or New British Birds.—I think the following list of birds, all taken (except the serin finch), near Brighton, between September of the present year and the 6th of December, are worth recording in the * Zoologist.’ I have seen every one of the birds except the shore lark. Richard's Pipit (Anthus Richardi), The first specimen was taken in the first week of September, the last on the 6th of December. In all I have seen eleven specimens ; six of them I saw alive: some of them are doing well in confinement. Tawny Pipit (Anthus rufescens). I saw a fine specimen of this bird that was shot on the 6th of September; another was killed at the same time, but was tov much injured for preservation. Shore Lark (Alauda alpestris). One was captured on the 16th of November, and is still alive. ; Snow Bunting (Zmberiza glacialis). Many specimens have been taken: they have been rather plentiful this season. Scarlet Bullfinch (Pyrrhula erythrina), This bird was taken the last week in September: it is still alive and in good health at Mr. Swaysland’s, the well-known naturalist, of Brighton. Citril Finch (Fringilla citrinella). A fine male was captured on the 20th of November. This is, I believe, only the second specimen that has been taken in this country: the first one is in the rich collection of Mr. Monk, of Lewes. Serin Finch (Fringilla serinus). I saw a fine specimen that was taken in April of this year. There has been so many specimens of this species taken in this country that I think it may now be consider a British bird, I saw also two other birds, ove I believe to be a young snow finch (Fringilla nivalis) and the other a young male of the rustic bunting (Emberiza rustica). I saw both of these birds very shortly after their capture, and am quite sure of their being truly wild birds. I hope to send you shortly more particulars of these two birds.— Frederick Bond ; 203, Adelaide Road, South Hampstead, N.W., December 15, 1869. Angler in Torbay.—An angler (Lophius piscatorius), weighing about eighteen pounds, and measuring three feet two inches in length and one foot three inches in breadth (not including pectoral fins), was netted in Torbay on the 20th of November: the mouth of the fish was ten and a half inches broad, and the length of the slender filament (commonly called “ fishing rod”) was nine inches. These fishes seem to be rare in the bay, or they must keep in very deep water, as the sailor who brought this angler to me assured me that this was the very first of its kind he had known to be caught in the bay.—A. de Hiigel. —_—_—s ~~ '* —~ THE ZooLocist—JANuARY, 1870. 1985 PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. ENToMoLocIcaL SOCIETY. November 1, 1869.—H. W. Barus, Esq., President, in the chair. Additions to the Library. The following donations were announced, and thanks voted to the donors :— ‘ Proceedings of the Royal Society, Nos. 113, 114; ‘ Journal of the Linnean Society, Zoology, No. 46, and ‘ Proceedings,’ 1868-69 ; ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society,’ 1869, pt. 1; * Journal of the Agricultural Society,’ ser. 2, vol. v. pt. 2; ‘ Annales de la Société Entomologique de France,’ 1869, pt. 1; ‘ Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique,’ vols. ii—xii.; ‘ Mémoires de la Société de Physique, &c., de Genéve,’ vol. xx. pt. 1; ‘Mittheilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft,’ vol. iii. Nos. 1, 2; ‘ Bulletino della Societa Entomologica Italiana,’ vol. i. pt. 3; ‘Bulletin de la Société des Naturalistes de Moscou,’ 1868, No. 3; ‘ Transactions of the American Entomological Society,’ vol. ii. Nos. 1,2; ‘Memoirs read before the Boston Society of Natural History,’ vol. 1, pt. 4, and ‘ Proceedings,’ vol. xii. Nos. 1— 17; ‘ Memoirs of the Peabody Academy of Sciences, vol. i. No.1; presented by the several Societies. ‘Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture for 1867;’ by the United States Government. ‘ Record of American Entomology for 1868;’ by the Editor, Dr. Packard. ‘ List of the Lepidoptera of North America,’ pt.1, by A. R. Grote and C. T. Robinson; by the Authors. ‘ Entomological Notes, Nos. 1, 2; ‘Supplement to a List of the Butterflies of New England;’ ‘Check List of the Butterflies of New England;’ ‘Notes on the Stridulation of some New England Orthoptera;’ and ‘Catalogue of the Orthoptera of North America described previous to 1867, by Samuel H. Scudder; by the Author. ‘ Entomological Correspondence of T. W. Harris, edited by S. H. Scudder; by the Editor. ‘The Canadian Entomologist, vol. i.; ‘Betrachtungen tiber die Verwandlung der Insekten im Sinne der Descendenz-Théorie,’ von F. Brauer; ‘ Notes sur les Neuroptéres de Mingrélie, par le Baron de Selys Longchamps, et par R. M‘Lachlan; by R. M‘Lachlan, Esq. ‘ Coleopterologische Hefte, No. 5; by the Editor. ‘Sepp, Neder- landsche Inscten,’ vol. ii. Nos. 17—88; by M. Snellen van Vollenhoven. ‘ Synopsis des Scolytides,’ by the Author, Dr. Chapuis. ‘ Exotic Butterflies,’ Parts 71,72; by W. W. Saunders, Esq. ‘ Lepidoptera Exotica, pt. 2; and ‘Cistula Entomologica,’ pt. 1; by E. W. Janson, Esq. ‘ Descriptions of some New Species of Lamiide,’ by the Author, F. P. Pascoe, Esq. ‘Considerations on the Neuropterous genus Chau- liodes and its allies;’ by the Author, R. M‘Lachlan, Esq. ‘ On the Ailanthus-feeding Silkworm ;’ by the Author, W. F. Kirby, Esq. Three Tracts by the Baron de Chau- doir; seven by Prof. Ballion ; and twenty-two Tracts by M. H. Lucas; presented by the Authors respectively. ‘The Zoologist, August to November; by the Editor. ‘The Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine,’ August to November; by the Editors. The following additions by purchase were announced :—‘ Beschreibung euro- paischen Dipteren’ von Hermann Loew; erster Band. ‘ Bericht der Entomologie wahrend der Jahre 1865 und 1866, von Dr. A. Gerstaecker; zweite Halfte. SECOND SERIZS—VOL. VY. F 1986 TaE ZooLocist—Janvuary, 1870. Exhibitions, §c. Mr. Janson, on behalf of Dr. Power, exhibited the following seven species of Coleoptera, all new to the British list:—(1) Triarthron Maerkelii, Schmidt, taken near Esher, 23rd July, 1869 (also taken by Mr. Oliver Janson, at Shirley, on the 7th August); (2) Silvanus similis, Erichson, at Esher, 4th August, by sweeping ; (3) Niptus gonospermi, Duval, twelve or fourteen specimens taken by Mr. J. B. Syme on au old wall in the Orkneys; (4) Bruchus lentis, Boheman, at Birch Wood in May, and Gravesend in June; (5) B. nigripes, Gyllenhal (which in Kraatz’s new Catalogue is said to be B. vicie, Oliv.), at Devil’s Dyke, Brighton, in May; (6) B. nubilus, Boheman, near Surbiton and at Gravesend, in June (this in the Stettin Catalogue is said to be B. luteicornis, but in Kraatz’s new Catalogue it is made a distinct species; it differs much in the form of the thorax, markings, size, &c., and is more like B. semi- narius); (7) B. canus, Germar, at Gravesend, in June (this in the Stettin Catalogue is made identical with B. cisti, Fabr., but it differs from ordinary specimens of that species in the shape of the thorax, length of antennz, more elongate form, and peculiar gray colour; it is more like B, loti: a specimen in the European collection of the British Museum, named by Germar and deposited by Walton, agrees exactly with the Gravesend specimens). All these four species of Bruchus were found in essentially wild places, far removed from granaries or depositories of leguminous seeds, and were all taken fortuitously by sweeping. And lastly, Phratora cavifrons, Thomson, taken at Esher in June, also at Cowley and Darenth, on poplars: introduced into the British list by Dr. Sharp, in Ent. Mo. Mag. v. 100. Mr. F. Smith exhibited Meloe rugosus of Marsham (= autumnalis of Leach, punctatus of Stephens), a species not captured for the last thirty years, but formerly taken, according to Stephens, near Margate. About three weeks previously Mr. Smith, being near Prittlewell, Essex, went to the nest of a species of.Anthophora, in which M. proscarabeus and other species are usually found, and by accident came upon a couple of duzen specimens of M. rugosus among grass in the neighbourhood of the nest, crawling about at the roots: he hoped to have kept them alive, but on the second day of their captivity an indiscriminate fight was commenced, in which both sexes joined; only four escaped mutilation, all the rest losing legs and antenne and ~ being reduced to fragments: the abdomen of each of the females was afterwards opened, and it appeared that with one exception all had deposited their eggs, which rendered their pugnacity still more remarkable. A subsequent visit to the same locality yielded five more specimens of the beetle. It was observable that this made the fourth species of Meloe found in the nest of the same kind of bee. Mr. Grut exhibited some Coleoptera captured by M. Théophile Deyrolle near Trebi- zonde, including four new species of Carabus, C. robustus, C. ponticus, C. Theophili, and C. Gilnickii. Mr. M‘Lachlan exhibited the transformations of Mantispa pagana, which had been discovered by Dr. Brauer, of Vienna. The species was parasitic in the nest of a spider (Lycosa): the young larve were of the ordinary Neuropterous type, but when nearly full grown their legs almost disappeared, and the larve were reduced to almost footless maggots: the pupa was enclosed in a cocoon, and was of the ordinary Neuropterous form, like the Hemerobiide, to which doubtless the Mantispide were closely allied. Now that the habit of one species had been detected, it might be anticipated that the whole genus Mantispa would prove to be parasitic on spiders ; THE ZOOLOoGIsT—JANUARY, 1870. 1987 the eggs were probably laid in the egg-bag of the spider, and the larve would feed on the young spiders, or perhaps in their early stage on the eggs. Mr, Albert Miller exhibited a large number of galls op various plants, and called particular attention to two kinds of excrescence on the leaf-stalk of the maple (Acer campestre), described in the following note:— Firstly. A Dipterous gall formed by a slender, club-like, reddish swelling of the petiole, soinetimes in its middle, sometimes at its junction with the leaf; cell one, occupying the whole length of the gall, and tenanted by the white larva of a Dipteron as yet unknown to me, but which I am certain is not a Cecidomyia. Iv September, 1868, and again in the same month this year, I met with this gall on the identical maple-bush in a hedge-row near Shirley, but until now all my attempts at rearing the fly have utterly failed. Secondly. Also on the petiole of the maple-leaf, a series of spur-like, solid red excrescences, standing in a row, each about halfa line high. These 1 am inclined to attribute to the same Acarus aceris of Kaltenbach which causes the well-known pear-shaped red galls on the leaves of this tree. But whether this be so or not, it is at any rate worth while to point out, that insect agency can produce, on thornless plants, excrescences closely resembling, or perhaps identical with, the natural thorns so commonly met with in other groups of the vegetable kingdom.” Mr. Miller mentioned that the collection of galls formed by the late Mr. Wilson Armistead had been placed in the Museum of the Leeds Philosophical Society. Mr, Cutter (who was present as a Visitor) exhibited, on behalf of Mr. Christopher Ward, several Diurnal Lepidoptera, including the female of Ornithoptera Brookeana, various species of Charaxes, Papilio Zalmoxis, and a specimen of Papilio Autimachus, captured one hundred and tifty or two hundred miles inland from Old Calabar. Of this gigantic and remarkable butterfly the only example hitherto known was collected by Smeathman for Drury a century ago, was figured by Drury and by Donovan, and - was finally taken with Drary’s collection to Australia by William Sharp Macleay. Mr. Butler corrected an error in his paper (Tr. Ent. Soc. 1869, p. 273), where it is stated that Argynnis Aglaia and Niobe show every sign of being one and the same species; for Aglaia read Adippe. And as to the occurrence of the form Niobe in Britain, see Newman’s ‘ Entomologist,’ iv. 351. Mr. Wormald exhibited a small box of butterflies sent from Shanghai by Mr. W. B. Pryer. Amongst them were Argynnis Midas, and a beautiful species of Anthocharis with falcate wings, apparently identical with the Japanese A. Scolymus. Mr. Dunning exhibited half a dozen moths bred and sent by Mr. E. Holdsworth, of Shanghai. One was Heterusia remota (Walker, Cat. Lep. Het. B. M. p. 431), the larve of which were found by Mr. Holdsworth in great numbers at Van Vun, about six miles west of Soochow: the cocoon was described as “ of very white colour, and of a very paper-like nature.” The other specimens were the subject of the following extract :— “The specimens of a Bombyx have been reared by myself. from larve found feeding upon pine and dwarf oak at the hills near Van Vun. The larve when found were full grown, and hundreds of them had already spun their cocoons amongst the needles of the pine trees, and so plentiful were they that every tree had three or four cocoons on it. The following is a description of the larva as it appeared shortly before spipning its cocoon. Body.—Ground colour black or dark brown, covered with very 1988 TuE ZooLoGist—January, 1870. short lightish brown hairs, having a lighter shade towards the sides; down the back two lines of small tufts of hair, balf black and half white, placed on each segment; along the sides, tufts of fine hair, bushy at the base and of a lighter shade there, almost white, the hair getting gradually longer towards the head, where it is fully one-fourth of an inch long; round the head a fringe of short light brownish hair; on the second aud third segments are two tufts of hair, reaching across the back from side to side, the front half of a deep velvetty red-brown colour, the rear half white; on the sides of the first, second and third segments are small brown tubercles. Head.—Large, round, with flat front. Legs.—Red-brown, the pro-legs reddish brown of velvetty appearance, the two last legs (anal segment) formed like a lappet. ‘The larve were found in the first week in May, and spun up immediately after; the moths came out in the last week in May.” The five specimens had been examined by Mr. F. Moore, and after comparison with the British Museum collection were returned to Mr. Dunning with the following names :—(1) a female specimen, Oeona punctata (Walker, Cat. &c., p. 1418), and two males, probably of the same; (2) a female, Lasiocampa remota (Walker, Cat. &c., p- 1439); and (3) a male, Lebeda hebes? (Walker, Cat. &c., p. 1462). It remains to be ascertained whether Mr. Holdsworth confounded distinct kinds of larve, or whether Mr. Walker in the same volume described one species under three different names and as belonging to three different genera. The President exhibited a coloured drawing of a large larva, found by Mr. Henry Birchatl on the trunk of an Avocado pear tree in the province of Mariquita, New Granada, the whole appearance of which closely simulated that of one of the most poisonous snakes of the country, the anterior segments being dilated and having a large pupillate spot on either side representing the eye of the snake. The moth was not reared, but it was doubtless a Cherocampa. The President had already recorded the occurrence of a similar snake-like larva in Trans. Linn. Soc. xxiii. 509. Mr. Fry mentioned that he too had seen in Brazil larve resembling snakes of the country. Prof. Westwood read the following note by Prof. Sral, of Stockholm, on the entomological collections existing in Sweden, which contain the type specimens of Swedish authors :— “ At the Museum of Stockholm we have the following type collections of insects— (1) The collection of De Geer (types to his ‘ Mémoires’). (2) The types to Paykull’s Monogr. Histeridum. (3) + Paykull’s Fauna Suecica. (4) » Paykull’s Monogr. Stapbylinorum. (5) = Fallén’s Diptera Suecia. (6) “s Schonherr's Gen. et Spec. Curculionidnm. (7) , Schénherr’s Synonymia Insectorum (the species described from Schévherr’s collection). (8) The types of the species which Gyllenhal described in Insecta Suecica from Schonherr’s collection. , (9) Types of Dalman. (10) rr Fries. (11) - the species which Billberg described in Nov. Act. Reg. Soc. Sci. Upsal. vii. 272. THE ZooLocist—J anuanry, 1870. 1989 (12) Types of Billberg to the species described in Monogr. Mylabridum from Schonhert’s collection. (13) Types of a number of species described in Sablberg’s Nov. Ins. Species from Schonherr’s collection. (14) Types of Boheman. MSY) «ady') , Stal. (16) na Holmgren’s Ichneumonidae. (17) 5 Thomson’s Proctotrupide. (18) Wallengren’s Lepidoptera. “Of these the types of De Geer, Paykull, Fallen, Schonherr, Billberg, and Sahlberg, and the types of Dalman which were described from Schonher’s collection, are separated from the chief collections of the Museum. “Tn Stockholm are also the types of the species described in the ‘ Voyage of the Eugenie, and in the various papers on South African insects collected by Wahlberg. “Tn Upsala are the following collections— (1) The types to Linné’s Museum Ludovice Ulrice. (2) The collection of Thunberg. (3) The collections of Gyllenhal (containing the types to his Insecta Suecica, and various types to Schénherr’s Synonymia Insectorum). “In Lund there are (1) The collections of Zetterstedt. (2) ~ of Dahlbom. (3) 5 of Thomson. (4) ” of Ljungh. “ Thomson’s collection is private: the others belong to the University. “These are, I think, all the collections in Sweden containing types of Swedish authors.” Prof. Westwood added that at Copenhagen the collections of Westermann are preserved intact in a special room of the Museum. Paper read. Mr. W. F. Kirby communicated a paper “On the Diurnal Lepidoptera described in Gmelin’s edition of the Systema Nature.” New Parts of * Transactions. Part 4 of the ‘Transactions for 1869’ (published in July), and Trans. Ent. Soc. 8rd ser. vol. 3, part 7 (the conclusion of the volume on Malayan Longicorns, published in October), were on the table. November 15, 1869.—H. W. Barzs, Esq., President, in the chair. Additions to the Library. The following donations were announced, and thanks voted to the donors :— “Catalogue of Scientific Papers,” Vol. iii.; presented by the Royal Society. Nine Tracts, by Dr. Leconte; presented by the Author. By purchase :—Gemminger and Harold, ‘ Catalogus Coleopterorum,’ Vol. 5. 1990 Tur ZooLocisT—JANUARY, 1870. Election of Members. The following gentlemen were severally ballotted for, and elected :—As Members, Messrs. D. J. French, of Chatham; and C. G. Websdale, of Barnstaple: as Annual Subscribers, Messrs. S. J. Barnes, of Birmingham; N. E. Brown, of Reigate; E. M. Janson, of Chontales, Nicaragua; O. E. Janson, of Highgate; W. H. Pearson, of Birmingbam ; and W. Douglas Robinson, of Dalbeattie. Exhibitions, Sc. Mr. F. Smith, on bebalf of Mr. Edwin Brown, exhibited a locust, several specimens of which had been quite recently captured at Burton-on-Trent: it appeared to be identical with a species of which the British Museum possesses five examples from North Bengal. The specimen exhibited was found in the yard of a brewery; and Mr. M‘Lachlan suggested that it had probably been introduced in an empty returned ale-cask. With reference to a recent article in the ‘ Annals and Magazine of Natural History,’ in which Mr. Andrew Murray contends that Rbipiphorus is not a parasite, but only an inquiline in the nests of wasps, Mr. F. Smith desired to recall attention to the observa- tions of the late Mr. S. Stone, recorded in Proc. Ent. Soc. 1864, pp. 62—66. On p. 64, Mr. Stone stated that on opening the closed cells of a nest of the common wasp, he had found a Jarva of Rhipiphorus firmly attached to the full-grown larva of the wasp, the mouth of the former buried in the body of the latter just below the head; and that in forty-eight hours it consumed every particle of the wasp-larva with the exception of the skin and mandibles. In another nest, which was destroyed by means of gas-tar, Mr. Stone also discovered a small larva of Rhipiphorus firmly attached to its victim, so firmly that when immersed in spirits they remained attached just as they were before death. This identical pair, preserved in spirits, and still tn situ, was exhibited by Mr. F. Sinith, together with numerous other larve and pupa of Rbipi- phorus which were placed in his hands by Mr. Stone. One of Mr. Murray’s objections to the carnivorous propensity of Rhipiphorus was the fact that he had found the pupa of Rhipiphorus and the pupa of the wasp in the same cell: it appeared, however, that both were of stunted growth, and it was a matter of common experience that larve occa- sionally spin up before they are full fed, even when food is obtainable, which might have been the case with this Rhipiphorus larva: the attacks of parasites are not always fatal, but many Hymenoptera appear as well as their parasites, e.g. Stylops and the bee. Having regard to the known carefulness and accuracy of observation of Mr. Stone, Mr. F. Smith, notwithstanding certain difficulties raised by Mr. Murray which he was not at present prepared to explain, did not hesitate to re-affirm his belief that Rhipiphorus is a larvivorous parasite, and not a mere guest which enters the nest of the wasp and shares the food of the legitimate occupants. Mr. Pascve exhibited some Australian Heteromera, including new species of Heleus, Byrsax, Seirotrana, &c., and two new genera. One species of Saragus (undescribed, and for which the name S. fluccosus was proposed), was remarkable from being covered with a peculiar fungoid growth, which was said by the captor to occur on the living insect, and also (or a similar growth) on the trees which the beetle frequented. This growth had been examined by Mr. Currey, and was pronounced to be truly fungous, in fact an Isaria, the early stage of a Spheria. Several speci- Tue ZooLocist—January, 1870. 1991 mens of the Saragus had been seen, all with the Isaria in the same stage of development. Mr. Wallace enquired whether the supposed fungus had been microscopically examined, as it seemed highly improbable that a living animal should habitually have a living vegetable growing on it. More probably, if it really existed during the life of the beetle, it was a natural animal growth: an allied species has a hairy covering, and it was but one step further for a hairy covering to assume a fungoid appearance, a protective resemblance to the fungi or lichens growing on the trees upon which the beetle was found. — Mr. Albert Muller made some observations on the scent, when handled, of Cynips lignicola and another species which forms a gall on the under-side of oak-leaves : this scent was probably protective, and gave the insect an immunity from the attacks of birds, &c., and the rapid spread of Cynips lignicola over the country might be due to its rejection on account of its peculiar odour. Mr. J. Jenner Weir added that the musk beetle was free from attack by birds, and this was doubuess due to its scent. Mr. Salvin exhibited six species of Clothilda, in illustration of the paper mentioned below. Mr. Briggs (who was present as a Visitor) exhibited a specimen of Deiopeia pulchella, captured near Folkestone on the Ist of October: its habit was to fly only a few yards at a time, and its appearance on the wing was described as resembling one of the Geometre. Mr. Davis (who was present as a Visitor) exhibited a large number of preserved larvee of Lepidoptera; amongst them a series of Cussus ligniperda, of all ages, in willow-stems, preserved im situ; and a larva of Sphinx populi to which were attached a number of pupz of some parasite. There were also a few dried larve of saw-flies. Mr. Dunning referred to the swarms of insects of various kinds which had been reported during the autumn: he had himself encountered hosts of Coccinelle (principally C. 7-punctata, but intermixed with a considerable number of C. bipunctata) both in Essex and in Yorkshire; and at Walton-on-the-Naze, on the 24th of August, he fell in with a countless swarm of Syrphi, which appeared to have all hatched simultaneously and to have at once commenced buzzing about in the hot sunshine in a foolish kind of way, without caring to take food, for most of them seemed to be mere shells without any substance inside. Noticing that Mr. Horne had recorded (New- man’s Entomologist, iv. 356) the occurrence of a swarm at Margate on the same day, which was said to have included specimens of Syrphus balteatus, S. decorus, S. teniatus, S. topiarius and Eristalis tenax?, Mr. Dunning placed in the hands of Mr. Verrall, for examination, a few remnants of the Walton swarm, and had been favoured with the following note :— “ Having looked closely through the Diptera you sent me, I find that out of fifty- six or fifty-seven specimens which I can recognize frum the fragments, there are twenty-seven Syrphus ribesii, sixteen S. corulle, eight S. pyrastri, two S. luniger, one S, halteatus, one or two S. vitripennis ?, and one S. pyrastri, var. unicolor. This last variety is generally rare, but has this year appeared in tolerable abundance. The specimens of S. vitripennis are in such condition that I cannot speak for certain about them: they may be sinall examples of S. ribesii.” 1992 THE ZooLocist—January, 1870. Mr. Dunning remarked that only one name, S. balteatus, was common to the lists of Mr. Horne and Mr. Verrall, so that, if all were correctly named, no Jess than ten or twelve species of Syrphus occurred in the swarm on the S.E. coast on the 24th of August. Mr. Verrall added that S. balteatus was rare in swarms; S. decorus he believed to be a discoloured variety of S. auricollis; S. topiarius, if British, was extremely rare, and did not occur in the Collections of the British Museum or the Entomological Club ; and if Eristalis tenax occurred in a swarm of Syrphide, it could only have got there accidentally, as it might appear anywhere else from its universal distribution. He had once come upon the tail end of a swarm of Syrphide, and the stragglers seemed to be nearly all S. auricollis and its var. maculicornis. With reference to the swarms of Coccinelle, the President and Mr. M‘Lachlan remarked that in this case there was no necessity to have recourse to the hypothesis of immigration, as they had both noticed, previously to the appearance of the beetles, an unusual quantity of the larve of Coccinelle in the southern counties of England: the simultaneous hatching of a large number in one locality caused a scarcity of food there, and compelled many of them to move elsewhere; arriving at the sea-coast the majority were stopped, whilst some, attempting to go further, fell into the sea and were washed back with the tide. ‘The littoral phenomena of the swarms were thus sufficiently accounted for. Mr. M‘Lacblan added that the larve of Coccinella would eat the pupz of their own species (see Ent. Mo. Mag. iii. 97); and Mr. Janson mentioned that, during the present season, he had had an apple-tree completely covered with black Aphides (commonly called American blight), the whole of which were cleared off in three or four days by Coccinella 7-punctata. With reference to various letters which appeared during the autumn in the daily papers, Mr. J. Jenner Weir said that the “ fireflies” reported at Caterham were the males of the common glow-worm; and Mr. F. Smith mentioned that he had a number of so-called “ glow-worms” sent to him from Margate, which proved to be larve of Telephorus. Mr. Pascoe remarked that, though insect-swarms were not common on or very near to the surface of the earth, there must be a great abundance of insect-life in the upper atmosphere; the destruction of insects at a considerable elevation by swifts must of itself be enormous. With reference to the height to which insects may attain, Mr. Albert Miller recalled the fact, recorded by Mr. F. Walker (Entom. Weekly Intell. vii. 76), of the discovery of a Chlorops lineata enclosed in a hailstone which fell during a storm on the 18th of July, 1859. Papers read. The following papers were read :— “New Genera and Species of Coleoptera from Chontales, Nicaragua,” by the President. “Descriptions of New Genera and Species of Hispide; with Notes on some previously described Species,” by Mr. J. S. Baly. “A Synopsis of the Genus Clothilda,” by Mr. Osbert Salvin.—J. W. D. THE ZooLocist—FEeBRuARY, 1870. 1993 Life-Hislories of Sawflies. Translated from theDutch of M.S. C. SNELLEN VAN VOLLENHOVEN, by J. W. May, Esq. (Continued from Zool. S. S. 1959.) Empuytus cinotus, L. Linneus, Syst. Nat. i. 2, p. 925, No. 52. Panzer, Fauna Germ. exliv. 18 and 19. Klug, Die Blattw. in Gesellsch. naturf. Freunde zu Berlin Magazin, 8er Jahrg. S. 279, No. 194. Hartig, Blatt und Holzwespen, p. 248, No. 3. Dahibom, Clavis n. Hym. Syst. p. 35, No. 54. Bouché, Naturgesch. des Ins. p. 139. Brischke, Abbild. und Beschr. p. 16, taf. ii. fig. 6. I was long in doubt whether I should publish the description of this species, for not only did my observations respecting the colour and ornamentation (if it can be so termed) of the larve not agree with the descriptions of Bouché and Dahlbom, with which I have for some time been acquainted, but also even my own descriptions of larve, from which I had at various times reared this species, did not entirely coincide. I was at last driven to the conclusion that this species proceeds from a larva, the individuals of which differ materially from each other, and I adopt this hypothesis until it shall be shown that certain very nearly allied species, of which the imagos have hitherto not been able to be distinguished, live on the same food-plant, and have all the same habit of life. My first acquaintance with this insect is of old date. I remember when a boy having reared this species, as also Cladius viminalis and Nematus Salicis, whilst staying at the country seat of my grand- parents. My first drawing of the larva, however, dates from the 18th of July, 1842: this is the one from which figs. 1 and 2 on plate 3 were made, and agrees pretty well with the description given by Brischke of Emphytus viennensis. I subsequently reared precisely the same sawfly from other larve, having the coloration and general appearance as shown at fig. 3; at all events, I was unable to discover any difference between the imagos. My general description of the larva will be as follows :—Body cylindrical, but smaller in diameter at the posterior than at the anterior extremity, deeply wrinkled, always curved, never extended at full length ; when at rest rolled up in a spiral form, with the caudal SECOND SERIES—VOL. V. G 1994 TuHE ZooLtocist—FEBRuARY, 1870. extremity resting against the side of one of the segments between the fourth and the eighth. Legs twenty-two in number; the fourth seg- ment apodal. Head nearly globular, depressed anteriorly ; smooth on the vertex, clothed with exceedingly fine white hairs, and of a pale brown or sordid yellowish gray. On the vertex a wedge-shaped dark or very dark brown spot; two pale spots or macule behind the eye- spots, which are round and black. Mandibles luteous. Some individuals are found having the head purple as far as the eyes, with the excep- tion of two small pale triangular marks obliquely above the eyes, thence obscure yellow. The back is often more or less humped just behind the head. The back is obscure green, in some individuals moderately dark, in others paler, as far as the stigmata. On the neck, above the first stigma, is a brown or blue smear. The ventral surface and the sides below the stigmata are sordid white, sometimes approaching a yellow tint; the legs are of the same colour. On the anterior coxz are some little black lines; above each median and posterior leg is a gray spot, sometimes replaced by a black line, as in fig. 2. Brown spinous points above the anus. On each segment of the abdomen (see fig. 4) are three rows of little white spines, the anterior row containing only four or five, the two others ten or twelve each. The thoracic legs are armed with brown claws. The stigmata are white; the large trachee can be perceived through the skin. Other individuals were observed having the neck darker than the back, but wanting the marking on the neck so clearly shown in figs. 1 and 2; they also had the thoracic legs of a greenish tint. Bouché gives a description of the larva differing from this in some points: he says, however, “ Uber den dunkelgriinen Riicken liuft eine hellere Linie und vier Reihen schwarzer Flecke, so dass auf jedem Abschnitt vier zu stehen kommen.” The largest of these black spots were observed to be above the small brownish yellow stigmata. He also noticed above the abdominal legs two nearly contiguous rows of pale gray spots. Brischke also speaks of black spots dividing the green from the sordid white colour of the sides, and which are thus above the stigmata. Dahlbom likewise mentions these same spots, at least if 1 rightly understand his words, “ macularum seriebus longitudinalibus utrinque duabus nigris.” I have not observed any such spots above the spiracles in the examples I have had. Observers are pretty well agreed as to the life-history of the larva, with the exception of one point, namely, the number of generations in THE ZooLocist—FEBRUARY, 1870. 1995 the year, to which I shall recur immediately. Authors state, and I can confirm the statement, that the larve in question are found rolled up in a spiral on the under sides of rose-leaves. I, however, also observed them resting on the upper surface of the leaves. They are very sluggish, and appear to feed in the early morning or during the evening twilight; whether they feed at night I do not know. I sometimes found them on the same leaf on successive days, from which I conclude they seldom move about during the night. I ob- served no difference of habit between the full-grown larve and very young ones; that is to say, larve which, as far as I could guess, had moulted only once. Dahlbom seems to consider that after the last moult they have a different colour or appearance to what they had previously ; his mistaken reference to Réaumur has betrayed him into this error. 1 could perceive no difference, except in size, between a half-grown larva and one which had spun up. With regard to the number of broods in the year, Brischke con- siders there is but one; Hartig thinks there are more. I believe we may safely conclude the latter is correct, seeing that the perfect insects are found from May to August, and young larve are met with in the last-named month. On attaining its full growth the larva lets itself fall to the ground, where it undergoes its change without spinning up, or it creeps into a crevice in the bark or a split in a paling for the same purpose, or it bores for itself a passage in the pith of a branch of a rose tree which may have been cut off: this passage is sometimes from two to three centimetres deep, and in it the larva seems to be able to turn itself round ; at least it is found with its head directed towards the opening, but having its head more or less concealed by frass. In this hiding-place the larva passes the winter, and does not change into a pupa until late in the spring: this pupa is of a pale blue colour, resembling our fig. 5, which gives a magnified representa- tion of one ensconced in a branch. For the rest there was nothing peculiar in the appearance of the pupa. The imago was produced from the pupa here figured on the 20th of May. The females are infinitely more numerous than the males, the latter being seldom seen. The female is scarcely 5 mm. long, shining black and glabrous, somewhat more brownish on the thorax, and being a little more bluish on the abdomen. The neck is pretty long, and the upper surface is devoid of any hard integument: there is a similar bare place in the middle of the dorsum of the first abdominal 1996 THE ZooLoGIST—FEBRUARY, 1870. ring. The cenchri are white; the fifth abdominal segment is also white; the attachment of the following segment shows through as an indistinct ring; cox and femora blue-black, the anterior knees red- dish; tibie red, those of the posterior legs white at the base; tarsi red, with brown claws. The stigma of the wings is blackish, with a white base; the wings themselves are somewhat smoky. Besides being smaller the male differs from the female in having the fifth abdominal segment black, and in the absence of the white base to the hinder tarsi. 1 have not observed the act of ovipositing, but in the month of August I found some eggs on a rose-leaf stowed away in little bags on the leaf, the skin on both sides of these little bags being brown. From these eggs proceeded little caterpillars of a gray colour, with black heads (see fig. 9b); they ate holes from the under side of the leaves to the upper, and, both in appearance and the manner in which they lay rolled up, entirely agreed with the larve just described. 1 left them in the open air, where they were unfortunately washed off or killed by the rain and wind. I conclude these little larve were those of our species, and have therefore given a figure of them on this plate. The claws of this insect are remarkable; one is represented at fig. 10: they consist of three moderate-sized crooked and rather blunt teeth, united together into a sort of comb. Each foot has two such diverging little combs. Notes on Aphides. By Francis WALKER, Esq., F.L.S. (Continued from Zool. 8: 8. 1333). Myzus Cerasi (S.S. 1121).—The male of this species appears in October. It is black; the antenne are much longer than the body, and the joints except the seventh are slightly incrassated; the nectaries are nearly one-fourth of the length of the body; the legs are long and slender; the femora and tibie dark green, black towards the tips; the wings are twice the length of the body, the stigma black. M. Persice (S. 8. 1121).—I wish to call attention to the characters by which Passerini distinguishes Myzus Persice, Passerini, from Aphis Persice, Fonscolombe. The latter abounds on peach trees in England. The antennug on a frontal tubercle distinguish Myzus from Aphis. M. Lychnidis (S. 8. 1122).—It is remarkably abundant in the Channel Isles, and IT have also found it in the Isle of Man. Passerini mentions two species of Aphidine that infest the Lychnis; I have only observed one in England. M. Oxyacanthe (S. S. 1122).—It appears in July, and the following description refers to the apterous female. Pale green, shining, nearly elliptical, very finely THE ZooLoGist—FeBRUARY, 1870. 1997 punctured. Antenne longer than the body; tips of joints black. Nectaries about one-fifth of the length of the body, converging towards each other. Legs long, slender; tarsi and tips of femora and of tibie blackish. Length 2 line. M. Ribis (S. 8. 1122).—This species is more widely different from M. Cerasi, the type of Myzus, than the latter is from the genus Aphis as it is now limited. A new generic name is therefore required for it. It is the common Aphis of the red currant, which, like the black currant and the gooseberry, is also infested by the three following species :— 1. Rhopalosiphum Lactuce (S.8.1118). Aphis Lactuce, Kaltenbach ; Rhopalosi- phum Ribis, Koch.—Koch refers to this species the Aphis Ribis of Linné, of Schrank and of Kaltenbach. 2. Aphis Ribicola, Kaltenbuch. ‘This and the following species have not hitherto been recorded as British. It should be transferred tu the genus Myzus. 3. Apbis Grossularie, Kaltenbach. In 1869 I found this species in abundance. Koch correctly mentions his Siphonophora Ribicola as the Aphis Ribis of Linné, of Frisch and of Fabricius, but it is also the Aphis Ribis of Kaltenbach, and not the A. Ribicola of that author. M. Mahaleb (S. S. 1122).— The sloe is certainly the permanent habitation of Phorodon Humuli, and I still believe that the latter is Aphis Mahaleb, Fonsc., though Passerini states that it is not so. Ayalopterus Pruni (S. 8. 1123).—This is one of the species whose history is yet incomplete, notwithstanding the excessive abundance in which it occurs. H. tetra- thoda may be removed from this genus, which is connected by some intermediate forms with Atheroides, but has most affinity to Phorodon. Aphis Saliceti (S. S. 1296).—No English description of this species has yet been published. It occurs occasionally in large swarms on the shoots of the willow, and is remarkable on account of the various colours which it assumes. It often bas an orange hue. A, Cardui (8. S. 1297).—It is more allied to the genus Myzus than to Aphis; and is less abundant than many species, and no English description of it has yet been published. Apterous female.—Green, oval, very plump and shining, with slight black bands. Antenne slender, whitish, blackish towards the tips, much shorter than the body. Abdomen wholly black, except towards the base. Nectaries black, about one- eighth of the length of the body. Legs whitish ; femora, tarsi and tips of tibia black. Var.—Body wholly black. Winged female—Black. Antenne very much shorter than the body. Abdomen green, with black bands. Nectaries black, about one-fifth of the length of the body. Tail rather long. Legs green; femora towards the tips and tarsi black. Var.?—On Senecio Jacobea. Pale red, or with the disk of the body shining black. Nectaries not more than one-tenth of the length of the body. A, Sedi (S. S. 1297).—This is a very small species and vot of frequent occurrence. I have considered it and many others that have been described by different names as variations of A. Rumicis. Nearly all the migratory species of Aphidina are definite in their selection of plants for their new habitation, but A. Rumicis in the winged form is extremely indiscriminate as to where it alights and multiplies. Sometimes the offspring perish quickly, sometimes they linger for awhile; in other instances they thrive more or less and are altered by their food, but their existence does not pass into 1998 Tue ZooLocist—FrBrvuary, 1870. the male nor into the oviparons female, and therefore they cannot be considered as true species. Many volumes might be written on the migrations and settlements and consequent variations that occur. A. Hedere (S. S. 1298).—Kaltenbach, who first characterized A. Hedere and A. llicis, suggests that they may be varieties of one species, and I have been unable to detect any permanent difference between them, and accordingly consider them as one species. I have tied a twig of ivy covered with Aphides to a shoot of holly: the Aphides crawled from the ivy to the holly; they did not feed there, and soon passed away. This might be expected, for the apterous form of Aphis, as the genus is now restricted, never moves from the spot where it feeds until its food withers, and then it perishes. The winged form hardly feeds after it migrates. A. Sambuci (S. S. 1298).—Passerinvi cites this species as the type of the genus Aphis as it is restricted by him. Some of the species which he enumerates should be excluded from it, and it comprises very numerous closely-allied species, or, it may be, forms whose respective differences are occasioned by their food. The oviposition of A. Sambuci bas not yet been observed. It is especially remarkable on account of the suddenness of its appearance on the elder, and on account of its rapid increase. Its profusion in 1869 exceeded that of every preceding year in which I have observed it. It sometimes occurs with a pale green hue, very convex, and with nectaries not more than half the usual length. Two variations of its structure are here briefly mentioned. First.—Oval, bluish green. Antenne less than half the length of the body. Nectaries comparatively short. Legs rather short. Second.—Triangular, widening from the head to the tip of the abdomen, which is almost truncated. The larva of an Agromyza sometimes devours A. Sambuci, and may be the same species that is much more destructive to A. Symphiti. A. Laburni (S. 8. 1298).—It generally looks very different from A. Rumicis, but the gradations of size and colour in the dark-coloured individuals of this genus are very numerons. In 1869 it appeared in excessive numbers. Aplerous female— Black, uniformly covered with white tomentum. Antenne while, black at the base and towards the tips. Nectaries about twice the length of the tail. Legs white; femora black, white at the base; tarsi and tips of tibie black. A. Papaveris (S. S. 1298).—A distinet difference should have a definite name, whether it be termed a species or a variety, but there is no determinate difference between A. Papaveris and A. Rumicis, and I believe that mauy so-called species and A. Rumicis will be found to have a common annual origin. A. Rumicis (S. 8. 1298).—An Aphis that occurs on the Guelder rose (Viburnum Opulus), in July, is quite distinct from A. Viburni and may be referred to this species, and the following description refers to the apterous female:—Dark green; disk rather paler. Antenne white, more than half the length of the body, black at the base and for half the length from the tips. Nectaries a little longer than the tail, about one- tenth of the length of the body. Legs white; femora except the base, tarsi and tips of tibie black. Length } line. The following description refers to an Aphis that feeds on the leaves of the vegetable marrow, and is probably a variety of A. Rumicis:—July. Apterous ovi- parous female.—Oval, dull, rather dark green, mottled with paler green, one-third of a line in length. Antenne pale green, a little more than balf the length of the body. Nectaries black, about one-sixth of the body. Tail short. Legs pale green, rather THE ZooLtocist—FEBRvARY, 1870. 1999 short; tips of the tibie and of the tarsi black. September.—Most of the Aphides black; some green, mottled with darker hue; some pale green or pale yellow, with black nectaries, which are shorter than those of the normal form ; their bodies alsu are more globose. The offspring of the last-mentioned variety are generally but not always dingy, and unlike it in colour. In October it is much more numerous, and of all colours from pale green or yellow; the young are often reddish green. The winged females have a black offspring. Towards the end of October nearly all the Aphides were dark green; a few were pale green, and the winged male paired with the latter. In November all were dark green. In August some occurred of a dark green colour, with transverse white streaks on each side of the body, and with black nectaries. A. Geniste (S. S. 1298).—I believe that this and A. Laburni are identical, though the latter is more shining, especially in the disk of the body. A much smaller Aphis that dwells on the furze may be termed A. Ulicis. It is sometimes like A. Laburni in colour, sometimes like A. Rumicis. A. Euphorbia (S. S. 1298).—The Aphis that occurs on the Spurge in England seems to be a variety of A. Rumicis. The apterous female is black and dull. Antenne white, black towards the tips. Legs white; tarsi black. The nectaries are shorter than those of A. Laburni and of A. Geniste, and it does not equal the former in size. A. terricola (S. S. 1299).—This species and A. terricola described by me live under ground in the apterous state. The latter species feeds on the root of the parsnip, and it occurs at the depth of one foot beneath the surface of the ground, to which it crawls when it is about to assume the winged state. Siphocoryne Feeniculi (S. 8. 1300).—It abounds on fennel in gardens, and is smaller than S. Caprex, which it much resembles, and these two species may con- stitute a new genus, being very different in structure from S. Xylostei, the type of Siphocoryne. Myzocallis Quercus (S. S. 1300).—This species appeared in unusual abundance during the summer of 1869. It is one of the few species of Aphidide that I observed in the Channel Isles and in the Isle of Man. The genus Myzocallis should be re- stricted to M. Quercus, M. Quercea and M. Coryli. M. Ononidis is the type of a new genus, which I have named Therioaphis. Chaitophorus salicivora (S. S. 1300).—The winged form of this species oceurs in Italy, but I have never found it iv this country. It chiefly abounds in the autumn, and varies in colour, being pale yellow or pale green, with brighter marks. The male and the oviparous female appear in October; the former is hardly more than one- fourth of the size of the latter, and is distinguished by a stripe of brown and black streaks. It is very different in structure from C. Aceris, which is the type of Chaito- phorus, and will form a new genus, which I have named Tranaphis. Chaitophorus Aceris (S.S.1300).—C. Acericola is probably an especially southern form of C. Aceris. Some examples of it occurred in a year that was very favour- able to the development of Aphidide. At Interlacken, in Switzerland, it was generally prevalent to the exclusion of C. Aceris. The latter is remarkable on account of the widely different forms which it assumes, and also on account of the suspension of growth in the young of the third generation. The normal form appears in the early part of the year and also in July, and with it in the latter month I have observed on the same leaf the little flat form with lamine round the abdomen. The variations 2000 THE ZooLoGist—FEBRUARY, 1870. of this species are noticed in the * Zoological Record’ for 1867, page 482, and I believe that Aphis perfuratus, Signoret, referred to in the same work (p. 483) is one of the modifications of C. Aceris. Chaitophorus Populi (S. 8. 1301).—I' have proposed the generic name Arctaphis for this species, which differs much from C. Aceris in structure. Plerocallis Alni (S.S. 1301).—It is of frequent occurrence in the Isle of Man. P. Tilia is the type of Koch’s genus Callipterus, which, with Myzocallis, Pterocallis, Therioaphis and Agrioaphis, forms a group in the Aplidina. Aphis Myrice, Kalten- bach, is the type of my genus Agrioaphis. In addition to C. Tiliz the lime is infested by the following insects. The galls on the twigs of the lime (formed by Cecidomyia Tiliz) and the mites that infest the leaves are very variable in their appearance. The mites are Tetranychus socius (Koch, Acariden, &c., 17, 16; Trombidium socium, Hermann, Mém. Apt. 43, 26, pl. 2, f. 13), and T. tiliarum (Koch, Acariden, 17, 13; Trombidium tiliarum, Hermann, Mém. Apt. 42, 25, pl. 2, f. 12).. The former is wholly yellow; the latter is very pale yellow, pale green along each side and with some black marks. They are nearly allied to the mite that infests the leaves of the currant.* Trama and Paracletus (S. S. 1301).—These two genera are composed of subter- ranean species, and may be placed more naturally with the Rhizobine. Sipha Glyceria (S_§.1328).—This is the type of the genus Sipha and has been hitherto included in Atheroides, Haliday. A. serrulatus is the type of the latter, and both genera should be transferred from the Lachning to the Aphidine. Lachnus Quercus (S. 8. 1329).—This is the type of my genus Stomaphis. Unlike most species of Aphidide it is very limited in numbers and in the spots where it occurs. It has been observed, though rarely, in Surrey, Kent, Essex and Middlesex, and I have found it ou “ Turpin’s Oak,” near Finchley. It does not seem to be attacked by parasites, and it lives securely in the deep recesses of the oak bark, where its long rystrum, which it can extend or retract, enables it to feed on the sap. It is thus always provided with food except in the winter, and, unlike the migratory Aphididae, does not need a new abode, and accordingly very seldom assumes the winged state. The latter form appears in spring, and, like the male, has no long rostrum, and the migration at this early period allows time for the settlement in a new habitation before the development of the oviparous generation when the wingless male also appears. Lachnus Picea, Panz.—1t is less regular in its appearance than the other English Lachni that feed on the fir tribe, and occurs only now and then near London. It is especially an arctic species and has been taken very far north in the polar regions. I have found it on the Grimsel, and I observed many specimens of it on the Mer de Glace. Itis the Dryobius riparius of Snellen van Vollenhoven. Callipterus Juglandis (S. 8. 1329).—The genus Callipterus may be restricted to C. Tiliz before mentioned, and the two species included in it by Passerini belong to two widely different genera; the first is one of the Lachning, the second one of the Aphidine. C. Juglandis, for which I propose the generic name Callaphis, lives on the upper surface of the leaf in masses along the midrib. Like the genus Cladobius it seems to connect the Lachnine with the Aphidine. C.Juglandicola, which I have * Trombidium telarium, Hermann, M, A, 40, 24, pl. 2, f. 15. Tetranychus telarius, Koch, Acariden, 17, 12. Tue ZooLocistT—FEBRUARY, 1870. 2001 named Chromaphis peglandicola live scattered on the under surface of the leaf like the species of Myzocallis. Pterochlorus (S. S. 1329).—This genus follows Stomaphis and is Koch’s Dryobius, and the latter name has the precedence. There are only two species known, D. roboris and D. longipes, the former a native of North Europe and the latter of South Europe. The slight difference between them may have been the effect of climate. Phyllaphis Fagi (S. 8. 1329)—The genus of which it is the only representative should be removed from the Lachuine. The latter may be generally separated from the Aphidine by the greater length of the rostrum in proportion to the body, a character which also distinguishes the early age of the Aphidina from their final state. Phyllaphis may perhaps be associated with Drepanosiphum, Euceraphis and Monaphis as a group of Aphidine. Euceraphis, Walk. Type A. Betule, Linn.—Aphis punctipennis (Zedlerstedt, Ins. Lapp. i. 2, 311) belongs to this genus. It feeds on the birch and on the alder, and inhabits Lapland and Greenland. I have found it on the alder at Chamouni. Monaphis, Walk. Type A. antennata, Kaltenbach. This genus is most allied to Euceraphis, but its peculiar structure sufficiently distinguishes it. The scarcity of its occurrence and its solitary habits are in remarkable contrast to the generality of the Aphidide. Schizoneura laniyera (S. S. 1330).—It is generally limited to the trunk and branches of apple-trees, but it sometimes occurs in abundance on the young shoots. It is the American blight about which much has been written and for which many remedies have been proposed. Pemphigus (S. S. 1330).—Passerini describes many new species of this genus ani distinguishes them by the difference in the length of the joints of the an- tenne. In the Aphidinew this character is occasionally variable in individuals of one species. Vacuna dryophila (S. 8. 1382).—Thelaxes has the right of priority as a generic name for this species, and the genus Vacuna may be restricted to V. Alni. V. dryophila appeared more abundantly than usual in 1869 near London, and I also observed it in the Isle of Man. : Vacuna Alni (S. S. 1332).—Until I saw Passerini’s work I was not aware that this species fed on the alder as well as on the birch. I have since found it in abundance on the alder at Chamouni, but in England I have only observed it on the birch. It is the Aphis Alni of Schrank, the Vacuna Betule of Kaltenbach, and the Glyphina Betule of Koch. Chermes Abietis (S. S. 1333).—The winged form is developed in the middle of August, and is then abundant on the spruce fir. The natural history of the species of this genus is very interesting and has been only slightly noticed in English publi- cations. Francis WALKER. Elm Hall, Wanstead, Essex. SECOND SERIES—VOL. V. fl 2002 Tue ZooLocist—FrBruary, 1870. The Nest of the Crocodile. By the Rev. Bancrorr Boake, Vice-President of the Royal Asiatic Society. [The following paper appears in the Journal of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. The information is highly interesting, and if any of my readers who have been in India can make any addition to the information it contains I shall be much obliged.— Edward Newman.) THE favourite haunts of crocodiles being but seldom visited, in consequence of the insalubrity of the localities in which they are generally to be found, and of the dangerous character of their inhabi- tants, the habits of these animals are very imperfectly known. The following account of two nests, which were recently found within a few miles of Colombo, may therefore be interesting to naturalists. The first of these nests was discovered by Mr. Symonds, of the Survey Department, who found it to contain about one hundred and fifty eggs, which he removed, not without considerable risk, having been repeatedly charged by the old crocodile who was guarding them. My curiosity having been excited by the description which I received of the nest from Mr. Symonds, I went to examine it myself. I found it amongst the bushes on the swampy bank of the Bolgodde lake, at a distance of a few feet from the water. The nest itself consisted of wet vegetable matter mixed with mud, and was raised to the height of between three and four feet, presenting in shape very much the appearance of a small conical haycock, but in colour and consistency that of a heap of dung. Round the base of the cone was a circular trench more than three feet broad, and about two feet deep, in which the old crocodile was wont to wallow while watching her nest. The circle inclosed by this trench, the whole of which was covered by the base of the nest, was between six and seven feet in diameter. I am not aware that these conical nests have been previously noticed. The eggs are placed at a height of at least two feet above the sur- face of the water; and, although the nests in Ceylon are principally composed of aquatic weeds in a wet state, which might be expected to give out considerable heat in fermenting, yet I do not believe that any artificial heat is required to hatch the eggs, because several eggs, which were procured from the Bolgodde nests, were hatched in my TuE ZooLocist—FEBRUARY, 1870. 2003 house, being merely deposited in earth which was kept damp and exposed to the rays of the sun. While examining the nest which had been discovered by Mr. Symonds, we were told by some natives who accompanied us that there was another nest, within a mile or two of the spot, which had not yet been disturbed. On visiting this second nest, we found it in all respects very like the first, except that it was not so large, and that, besides the trench which surrounded it, there were one or two holes in the swamp in which the natives said that the old crocodile was accustomed to lie. Warned by the narrow escape which Mr. Symonds had when examining the first nest, we approached very cautiously, expecting an attack every moment; and when we were all assembled on the edge of the trench surrounding the nest, we hesitated to cross it, because it was when he was in the act of stepping across the trench that Mr. Symonds was first attacked by the other crocodile, which raised its formidable jaws directly beneath him, and would no doubt have effectually put a stop to his proceedings, had he not promptly dis- charged the contents of his fowling-piece down her throat. This shot was not, however, fatal; for Mr. Symonds was subsequently charged twice by, as he believes, the same crocodile. On finding, however, that no crocodile appeared, our confidence returned ; and at length one of our number ventured to approach near enough to remove the top of the nest, and to take away the eggs, of which he procured twenty-five. On my expressing astonishment at the pacific conduct of the parent crocodile, and suggesting that it was probably absent in pursuit of food, the natives who were with us expressed their conviction that it was at that moment in the trench, but that it was of a different caste from the first. Further inquiries have satisfied me that this belief in the existence of two different species, or, as the natives call them, castes, of crocodiles, is universal in the country ; and Dr. J. Anderson, of the Indian Museum, Calcutta, informs me that a similar belief - prevails in Bengal respecting the mugger, which closely resembles the crocodile of Ceylon, if it be not identical with it. One caste is said to confine itself to a fish dict, while the other attacks human beings. The former, called by the Sinhalese ‘ Elle Kimbola,’ or gray crocodile, grows to a larger size than the more savage species, and is said to be that which is found about Kornegalle. As I have two thriving speci- mens, hatched from the eggs of the crocodile which attacked Mr, 2004 THE ZooLoGisT—FEBRuARY, 1870. Symonds, and am promised one of the progeny of that which sub- mitted so quietly to the plundering of its nest in my presence, L hope that I shall be able to ascertain, by the aid of some eminent English naturalist, whether they belong to the same or to two different species. At present they present no difference in appearance that an unscien- tific eye can detect. I may mention that there is some difficulty in bringing up young crocodiles by hand, as they obstinately refuse every kind of food that I have ever presented to them. One, which was brought to me some years ago, died of inanition, although, for a week or ten days that it was in my possession, I coustantly tempted it with both flesh and fish. Those which I now have I feed by forcing bits of raw meat down their throats with a stick, two or three times a week. Under this treatment they seem to thrive, having about doubled in size since they left the egg; but the operation is not a pleasant one, and requires some dexterity, as their teeth are exceedingly sharp, and they lose no opportunily of turning upon the hand that feeds them. Eatracts from a Memoir intituled ‘A Monograph of the Alcide, By Extiot Cougs, A.M., M.D. [This admirable memoir was published in the ‘ Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia’ in 1868, more than a year ago, but its interest is enduring, and as very few in this country ever see the works in question, I am con- fident that the extracts I am about to make will be acceptable to the readers of the *Zovlogist.’ The first section of the memoir is confined entirely to authorities, I therefore commence with the second.— Edward Newman.] Or rue Cuaracrers or THE FAmIty, AND ITS SUBDIVISIONS. THE auks form a very natural family of birds, distinguished by marked and unmistakable characters from avy other. With a single exception,* there is no bird found to present in any notable degree a leaning towards the peculiarities of the Alcide; and the members of the family, without exception, preserve intact those characters which define the group so technically, showing in no single instance a tendency to aberration. The rigidness with which it is possible to circumscribe the Alcide is in the highest degree satisfactory, in a * The genus Pelecanoides, of the Halodromine (Procellariide), in all details of external form, except those of the bill, is essentially like Mergulus. Tue ZooLocist—Frpruary, 1870. 2005 class of animals in which the recognition and definition of subordinate groups is peculiarly difficult. The natural place of the family in our ornithotaxis appears as definite as the characters which separate its forms from other birds. By common consent, the Alcid are regarded as next to the lowest of birds. The degradation of the type or ideal bird which the auks represent is only carried further in one family—the Spheniscide. From the latter, which is at the bottom of the scale, we ascend one step to Alcide; another brings us to the Colymbide and Podicipide. These four families constitute the order Pygopodes, or the Brachy- pterous Natatores. The position occupied by the auks in this order is so evident as not to admit of question. It is only necessary to allude to the wings of the Spheniscid», without dwelling upon the point, to separate this family from the auks. The tetradactylous feet of the other two families distinguish them with equal facility. Auks are brachypterous, brachyurous, tridactylous Natatores, with lateral nostrils. ‘his expression is a perfect diagnosis. The auks are confined to the northern hemisphere. Some repre- sentatives have been found as far north as explorers have penetrated. The great majority live in more temperate latitudes. A more or less complete migration takes place with most species, which stray south- ward, sometimes to a considerable distance, in the autumn, and return north again to breed in the spring. A few species appear nearly stationary. The most southern recorded habitat of any member of the family is about latitude 21° N., on the Pacific coast of North America, but this is rather exceptional. The species are very un- equally divided between the two oceans. The Atlantic has but few representatives compared with the Pacific. On the northern coasts of the latter the family reaches its highest development: the greatest number of species, of the most diversified forms, are found there, though the number of individuals of any species does not surpass that of several Atlantic species. Comparatively few species are common to both oceans. All the members of the family are exclusively marine.* They are decidedly gregarious, particularly in the breeding season, when some species congregate in countless numbers. Usually one, often two, rarely if ever three eggs are laid, either upon the bare rock or ground, or in crevices between or under rocks, or in burrows * Uria grylle is found on the southern shores of Hudson’s Bay; but this fact can hardly furnish an exception to the statement. 2006 Tue ZooLocist—FeEBruary, 1870. excavated for the purpose. Auks are all altrices, and are believed to be chiefly monogamous. The young are at first covered with long soft woolly down; rarely stifish hairs appear on some parts. The moult is double. The young of the year usually differ from the adults ; the latter usually differ in their summer and winter plumages. A very prevalent feature is the possession of crests or plumes, or elongated feathers of a peculiar shape on the sides of the head. All the species walk badly; some scarcely walk at all. The position of the legs with reference to the axis of the body necessitates an upright position when standing, The birds appear to rest on their rumps, with the feet extended horizontally before them, most of the tarsus touching the ground. The puffins, however, and a few. others, stand well on their feet. All the species but one fly well, with rapid vigorous motion of the wings, in a straight, firm, well-sustained course. All progress on or under the water with the utmost facility. They are very silent birds; the voice is rough and harsh; the notes are mono- toned. They feed exclusively upon animal substances procured from the water. The uniformity of structure which obtains throughout the family has already been mentioned: the following paragraphs describe this structure in a general way, so far as the details of external form are concerned : * The general form is stout, compact and heavy. The body is depressed, flattened underneath. The neck is short and thick. The head is large and heavy, usually oval in shape, more or less flattened laterally, more or less drawn out anteriorly, and sloping gradually on all sides to the bill, but sometimes ending abruptly. The plumage about the head is very soft, dense, and short, except those feathers which constitute the peculiar crest or lateral plumes already mentioned. That of the upper parts is very closely imbricated ; that of the lower is very thick, compact, elastic and otherwise eminently fitted to resist the action of water.t The bill, though constantly preserving certain characteristics, varies to a remarkable degree in the details of its shape. The broad state- ment may be made, that no two species} of the family have bills identical in shape. So unending is the variation in the bill, that in * The writer hopes to bring forward, at some future time, a memoir on the anatomy of the family. + Cf. Nitzsch’s Pterylography for pterylosis of Utamania torda. t Is Uria ringvia specifically distinct from U. troile? THE ZooLocist—FeBrvary, 1870. 2007 some cases great differences in shape seem of scarcely more than specific consequence, as is especially the case in the genus Simo- rhynchus. The bill in the great majority of species is more or less compressed, sometimes excessively so; it is frequently, however, nearly as wide as high at the base, and more or less subulate. The contour of the bill in many instances deviates from an ordinary standard so much that the shape may almost be called monstrous. A striking peculiarity of the bill in several genera is the presence of supernumerary elements or accessory pieces, taking the form of salient protuberances. ‘These are usually developed on the culmen ; in one instance on the gonys; in one at the angle of the rictus; in several along the feathered base of the bill. Besides these appendages, there are often found grooves and ridges on the sides of one or both mandibles. The culmen is always more or less convex; in one instance it is bi-convex. The tomial edges of the mandibles are more or less sinuate: sometimes nearly straight; usually decurved at the tip, and slightly notched; in one instance recurved. The rictus is ample.* The mandibular rami approach each other with a very narrow angle, and soon join, producing a long gonys, which is usually nearly straight. One genus has a very convex gonys; in two others the gonys runs the whole length of the bill, there being no mandibular rami proper. The bill is entirely horny, except in two species, in which a soft membrane overlaps the base of the upper mandible; and in a third, where a peculiar knob is not strictly corneous. The nostrils are basal, lateral, marginal, impervious ; usually linear, or narrowly oval; in a few instances placed further from the com- missural edge of the upper mandible, and nearly circular. The nasal fossz are usually very evident; are sometimes hidden by feathers; at others are wholly wanting. The extension of the feathers into the nasal fosse varies in degree, when it occurs. In just about half the species the nostrils are naked; these usually have no true nasal fosse. In the other half fosse occur; entirely obtected by feathers in three genera; partially covered in the rest. The significance of these features will receive further attention below. The wings are short. In no instance do they, when folded, reach to the end of the tail. In one species they are so undeveloped in their * In two genera, in which the excessive compression of the bill produces a very constricted rictus, its amplification is provided for by means of a dilatable skin at the angle of the mouth. 2008 THE ZooLoGist—FEBRUARY, 1870. terminal segments* that the power of flight is abrogated. The first primary is always longest; the rest rapidly and regularly graduated ; all taper to a sufficiently fine point. The secondaries are very short, and broadly rounded. The primary coverts are very long, reaching much more than half-way from the carpus to the end of the first primary. The first row of secondary coverts reach nearly to the end of the secondaries. ‘The under wing-coverts are very long. ‘The axillars are short or wanting. The wing as a whole is convex above, concave below, narrow, sharp, stiff, somewhat falcate. These points of structure are constant throughout the family. The tail is very short; its length is contained, on an average, about three times in the length of wing from the carpal joint. ° It is usually slightly rounded, sometimes nearly square, in a few instances pointed ; in a few more the central rectrices are slightly shorter than the next pair. The individual feathers are usually very obtuse at the end. Both sets of coverts are long; the inferior usually reach nearly or quite to the end of the tail. The feet are small, and placed far back, as has been said. The thighs are contained within the general skin of the body. The legs are feathered nearly or quite to the tibio-tarsal joint. ‘The tarsus is short, sometimes excessively abbreviated, rarely equal to the middle toe without its claw, never (?+t) longer. It is usually much com- pressed, is sometimes almost as sharp as that of Colymbus, is fre- quently nearly as broad laterally as antero-posteriorly. Its covering varies with different genera. It is usually reticulate behind and laterally, with a row of scutelle in front, which rarely, however, if ever, extend its whole length. In some genera it is entirely reticulate ; in others, the scutellation extends on one or both sides. The tarsal envelope varies so much that it is not available as a character for sub- divisions higher than generic. ‘The toes are very long; the outer and middle always of nearly the same length; the inner shorter, its claw just reaching the base of the middle claw. There is no hind toe. Dissection reveals the rudiment of a ballux, which, however, is never developed sufficiently to make even a well-marked prominence. The webbing of the toes is complete. The claws are all moderately arched, * Cf. Mr. A. Newton’s article in the ‘ Ibis’ for October, 1862. As there stated, the humerus of Alca impennis is of normal size; the antibrachium, carpus and meta- carpus, and their quills, are shortened. t Brachyrhamphus bracbypterus is said by Brandt to have the tarsus longer than the middle toe. Tur ZooLocist—FrBrRuaARyY, 1870. 2009 compressed and acute; the inner edge of the middle is more or less dilated; the middle is always the largest, except in two genera, which present the peculiarity of having a very large semi-circular inner lateral claw, which, moreover, lies horizontally instead of vertically. That rigid adherence to the type of structure just described which all the species maintain, while facilitating the recognition of the family as a family, is a serious obstacle in the way of defining its subdivisions with precision. With no very abrupt transition from one form to another, and without any very marked modification of general features, the minor groups seem to be formed mainly by the varying combina- tion of the few differences in structure which obtain in the family. The assemblage of characters, rather than the presence or absence of particular features, in most cases determines the genera; and no two species are absolutely alike in all points of form. “ Facies non omnibus una, Nec diversa tamen, qualis decet esse sororum.” In one of the ablest papers that has appeared upon this subject, Professor Brandt divides the Alcide into two subfamilies—those with feathered and those with naked nostrils. In this arrangement the guillemots stand next to the typical auk (A. torda). Viewed from any other standpoint the two forms appear to represent the extremes of structure in the family ; particularly in regard to the bill, cultriform in one, subulate in the other. The two types are by most authors placed at opposite ends of the generic chain, and separated by all the Starikis. Attentive consideration of all the bearings of the case may very likely result in the opinion, held by the present writer, that the difference between the views of Professor Brandt and other writers is rather apparent than real. It should be borne in mind that the Alcidz are a family very rigidly circumscribed, and one showing no tendency to aberration, or to connect itself ultimately with the families standing next to it on either side. Whether as cause or consequence of this, the fact is indisputable, that the genera of Alcidz are not strung along in a chain whose ends seem, as it were, to be linked with the genera of other families: they tend, on the contrary, to aggregation in a circle about a common centre. We may take any genus,—it matters not which,—we shall find its closest ally to the right and to the left; and the circuit shall be complete when all the genera have been considered. To illustrate this point, Prof. Brandt, like all other writers, takes the typical Alca as his starting point. SECOND SERIES—VOL. V. I 2010 THE ZooLocist—FeEBRuaARY, 1870. With the feathering of the nostrils as a fundamental feature, Uria and its subdivisions must come next, then Brachyrhamphus; this leading through Mergulus into the true Phaleridines, by means of Ptycho- ramphus. Beginning with those Phaleridines with the simplest bills, he progresses to those with more complex bills, ending with Ombria, which last, through Cerorhina, conducts to Fratercula, which ends the series. There is nothing strained or forced in this; the succession of the genera is perfectly natural. But it so happens that Fratercula is as closely, or even more closely, allied to Alca proper than Uria is. We cannot disturb in any essential degree the generic series of Prof. Brandt, but we could with entire propriety go directly from Alca to Fratercula, and thence backwards over the same track, ending with Uria, which would then be at the opposite extreme of the series. It is asserted, without fear of reasonable contradiction, that to begin any- where in this natural series of genera, and progress through it, is to be brought back to the starting point. It is not, perhaps, possible to divide this generic circle without the exercise of some arbitrary jurisdiction. If there be included in it two or more subfamilies capable of precise definition, the fact has eluded the writer’s research. There are, however, in the series two places where a dividing line may be drawn. Prof. Brandt drew but one, relying upon the single character which he found to apply so well, albeit it may be an arbitrary one. Other writers have made likewise but two subfamilies, differently framed, however; the Alcina, in- cluding the true auks, together with the Phaleridine forms, united because of their short, stout, high bills; and the Urine, separated on the ground of their long, slender, subulate bills. Others again, par- ticularly Mr. G. R. Gray and Prince Bonaparte, have drawn two lines, recognizing three subfamilies; and this course seems to be the one that holds closest to nature, provided the family be really susceptible of subdivisions higher than generic. By simply reducing Prof. Brandt's fundamental character to the level of one drawn from the general structure of the bill, three subfamilies stand forth with tolerable dis- tinctness. The Aicine have feathered nostrils and cultriform bills; the Phaleridine naked nostrils and cultriform bills; the Urine feathered nostrils and subulate bills. ‘This certainly appears to be a distinction with a difference, and will be so held in the present paper. The arrangement of the Alcide here submitted is a modification of Prof. Brandt’s, providing for the recognition of three in place of two THE ZooLogist—FEBRuARY, 1870. 2011 subfamilies. Jn this particular it is substantially the same as Mr. Gray’s, but the sequence of the genera is entirely different, and is nearly that of the first-mentioned author. Beginning with typical Alca it passes to Fratercula, and ends with Lomvia, instead of passing to Lomvia and ending with Fratercula. But in either case the collo- catiou of the genera is essentially the same. It is believed that this sequence of genera cannot be broken in upon to any considerable degree, without the rupture of a natural series as a consequence. DEeEscripTIons oF GENERA AND SPECIEs. Subfamily Atcinz.—Atca, Linneus. Size largest in the family. Form heavy, compact, robust. Head large, ovate, produced forwards. Neck moderately long, thick. Wings morphologically perfect, teleologically rudimental, not admitting of flight, in length from carpal joint to end of longest primary scarcely twice as long as tail; when folded not reaching the tail. Tail short, pointed. Legs short and stout. Webs broad and full. Tarsi com- pressed ; their anterior ridge and superior surfaces of toes scutellate, lateral and posterior aspects reticulate, the plates on the latter very small. Tibiz feathered nearly to the joint. Bill about as long as the head, large, strong, very deep, exceedingly compressed. Upper mandible with culmen about straight for half its length, then regularly convex, tip obtuse, declinate, scarcely overhanging; a deep groove on its side at base, parallel with the outline of feathers; its side then per- fectly smooth for a space, then deeply impressed with six to ten oblique curved sulci. Gape very large, running far back ; line of com- missure nearly following that of culmen. Eminentia symphysis slight; gonys nearly straight. Lower mandible two-thirds as deep as upper, its sides impressed with six to ten straight, vertical sulci. Feathers about base of mandibles short, very compact, extending downwards from base of culmen, a little forwards, to commissural edge of upper mandible; reaching much further on sides of lower mandible; wholly covering the moderately long, very narrowly linear, impervious nostrils, which are situated just above the commissure. It is unnecessary to compare this genus with any other. Utamania, most closely allied, is at once distinguished by its teleologically perfect wings, though nearly identical with Alca in other points of structure. The only known representative of the genus is remarkable, both for its large size and for not possessing the power of flight, in consequence of which it may be said to represent, in the Northern Hemisphere, the 2012 Tar ZooLtocist—FeEBRuARY, 1870. numerous penguins of the Southern. By many ornithologists it is believed to have very recently become nearly or quite extinct. Rigid adherence to the law of priority would necessitate the use of a different name for this genus. “ Alca” was first applied by Linneus, in 1744, to the genus of which the bird now called Fratercula or Mor- mon arcticus is typical; and even as used by Linnens in 1758 it has torda as its recognized type, according to that rule which regards the species first mentioned as type, when none is otherwise indicated; so that it cannot, with strict propriety, be used at all in this connection. But the name has become so firmly established by common consent and long usage that it would be ruthless, as well as profitless, to attempt its supercedure by Chenalopex of Moehring, 1752, par- ticularly as this latter word has come into extensive employ for an Anserine genus. The genus Alca, as framed by Linneus in 1758, included both torda and impennis ; and when restricted, by the generic separation of these two types, there seems no good reason why the first mentioned should be regarded as more peculiarly typical of the genus than the last. Should Alea be reserved for Fratercula artica, or for Utamania torda, it will be apparent that numerous unwarrantable innovations necessarily follow, while its employ in connection with impennis entails no such consequences. Alca impennis, Linn.— Description (from the specimen in the Phil- adelphia Academy) :—The white spot between the eye and bill is ovate in shape, its upper border a little straightened, its small end towards, but not quite reaching, the bill, its large end extending to, but not around; the eye; the width of the black space between it and its fellow is rather more than-half an inch. The back is dusky black ; other dark-coloured parts with a good deal of clear brown, especially on the head. The under parts, including the tail-coverts, are white, this colour running far up on the front of the neck in a narrowly acute angle. The under wing-coverts are ashy gray. ‘The secondaries are narrowly but distinctly tipped with white. The bill is deep black, its sulci dull white. The feet are dark, their precise colour at present undefinable. Dimensions :—“ Length about 30 inches;” wing 5°75; tail about 3°00; bill along gape 4°25; chord of culmen 3°15; greatest width of bill “66; greatest depth of upper mandible 1:00, of lower “66; tarsus 166; middle toe and claw 3°25; outer 3°00; inner 2°25. The occurrence of this species on the coast of North America has not been authenticated of late years. Perhaps the last instance on THE ZooLocist—FeBRuUARY, 1870. 2013 record is that given by Audubon on page 316 of the fourth volume of ‘Ornithological Biography.’ “The only authentic account of the occurrence of this bird on our coast that I possess was obtained from Mr. Henry Havell, brother of my engraver, who, when on his passage from New York to England, hooked a great auk on the banks of New- foundland, in extremely boisterous weather.” This specimen was not preserved. ‘ When I was in Labrador,” continues Audubon, “ many of the fishermen assured me that the ‘penguin,’ as they name this bird, breeds on a low rocky island to the south-east of Newfoundland.” The present writer received similar assurances when in Labrador in 1860—the place designated being the “ Funks.” Audubon also states that “an old gunner residing on Chelsea Beach, near Boston, told me that he well remembered the time when the penguins were plentiful about Nahant and some other islands in the bay.” Two specimens only are known to exist in any American museum. One is in the Philadelphia Academy; its history is uncertain. The other, in the Vassar College, at Poughkeepsie, New York, is the original of Audubon’s plate and description, as stated in the following note from Prof. Sanborn Tenny, favoured in reply to questions regarding it: “The great auk, presented to Vassar College by J. P. Giraud, jun., Esq., is in a perfect state of preservation. This specimen is the one from which Audubon made his drawing, and it was pre- sented to Giraud by Audubon himself. Neither Giraud nor myself has further knowledge of it than what is contained in Audubon’s works.” Concerning Mr. Audubon’s specimen, Mr. Cassin remarks (B. N. A. p- 901), that it was “obtained by him (Mr. A.) on the banks of New- foundland ;” upon which statement Mr, A. Newton (Ibis, Oct. 1862) observes, “In 1857 I was assured by Mr. Bell, the well-known taxi- dermist at New York, who knew Mr. Audubon intimately, that he never possessed but one specimen of this bird; and if we turn to Prof. Macgillivray’s ‘ History of British Birds’ (vol. v. p. 359), we find him saying that he never saw but two examples of the species, one in the British Museum, and ‘ the other belonging to Mr. Audubon, and procured by him in London.” This serves to throw some little light on the history of the specimen now in the Vassar College, Pough- keepsie, New York. In the ‘ Annals and Magazine of Natural History’ for 1864, p. 235, is given, by Mr. Robert Champley, “a list of the present possessors of the birds, skeletons and eggs of Alcaimpenvis;” this gentleman 2014 THE ZooLoGisT—FEBRUARY, 1870. being cognizant of the existence of twenty-seven skins, six skeletons and fifty-three eggs. Dr. G. Hartlaub (Bericht iib. d. Leist. in d. Naturg. der Végel for 1864) remarks upon this enumeration: ‘ Es ist dieses Verzeichniss indessen sehr unvollstiindig. So z. B. geschicht des schénen Exemplares der Bremer Sammlung so wie des pracht- vollen Ei’s im Museum zu Oldenbung keine Erwaihnung.” Mr, A. Newton, on the subject of existing specimens, has (I. c.) the following: “If all the stories we received can be credited, the whole number would reach eighty-seven. I should imagine sixty to be about the real amount;” and again: “It is pretty evident that most of the specimens of the great auk and its eggs which now exist in collections were obtained from Eldey, between the years 1830 and 1844.* Two eggs are contained in the Philadelphia Academy’s collection. Uramania, Leach. Size moderate; form stout, compact, heavy; head moderate, ante- riorly produced, neck thick. Wings of moderate length, but fully developed, admitting of flight, reaching when folded beyond base of tail; more than twice as long as tail from carpal joint to end of longest primary. Tail rather short, pointed, of somewhat stiffened, acuminate feathers, of which the central pair are elongated and tapering. Legs short, stout; tibia bare for a short space above joint; tarsi compressed, anteriorly with a single row of scutellz, posteriorly and laterally finely reticulate, shorter than the middle toe. Toes long, outer nearly equal to middle, inner much shorter; interdigital mem- branes broad and full; claws short, stout, obtuse. Bill about as long as head, densely feathered for half its length; feathers on upper mandible extending beyond middle of commissure, nearly as far as those on lower mandible. Bill greatly compressed, its sides flat, with several transverse sulci, its culmen ridge regularly convex; tip of upper mandible declinate, rather acute; its base encircled by a pro- minent ridge; gonys about straight; commissure straight to tip, then suddenly deflected. Nostrils just above cutting edge of bill, in its feathered portion, just posterior to basal ridge, impervious, narrowly linear. * “ Lists of these, which are in the main correct, though I know of a few tbat are omitted, have lately appeared in the ‘ Zoologist’ for the present year [1862], pp. 7353 | and 7386, and almost simultaneously in the ‘ Field’ newspaper (Nos. 423 and 424, pp. 93,114). Further remarks on them will be found in the former journal (pp. 7387 and 7488).”—Newton, l. c. THE ZooLocist—F eBRvaky, 1870. 2015 Comprising a single species, upon the varying plumages of which numerous nominal species were established by the earlier authors. The employ of the present name for the genus, instead of Alca of Linnzus, 1758, is perhaps defensible upon the grounds alluded to; although the reason for the non-acceptance by authors of Torda of Duméril as a generic designation is not apparent. It would be easy to find, among the synonyms of the species, a trivial name to replace Torda, should it become necessary to use this as a patronym. Utamania torda (L.) Leach.—Habitat :—European and American coasts of the Atlantic, from the higher latitudes in summer, to the 40°, or thereabouts, in winter. Very abundant. Specimens in all the American museums, and most private collections. Breeds in great numbers on the islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and on the coasts of Labrador and Newfoundland ; in winter strays south to New Jersey. Arctic seas of both hemispheres. Rare, or accidental in the North Pacific. Japan! (Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas.) Adult, in summer.—lris bluish. Mouth chrome-yellow. Bill, feet and claws black ; the former with a conspicuous curved vertical white line occupying the middle sulcus of both mandibles, continuous from one to the other. A straight, narrow, very conspicuous white line from eye to base of culmen, composed of a series of very short stiff setaceous feathers, sunk below the middle of the others. Secondaries narrowly but distinctly tipped with white. Head and neck all around, and entire upper parts black; this on the sides of the head, chin and throat lustreless, velvety, tinged with fuliginous or brownish; on the upper parts glossy and more intense in colour. Inner webs of primaries light brownish gray at base. Entire under parts from the throat, including under surfaces of wings, white. Adult, in winter :—Upper parts lighter, duller, more brownish black ; the white of the under parts extending to the bill, and on the sides of the head and neck, sometimes quite to the nape. Young, first winter:—Similar to the preceding; smaller, the bill weaker, shorter, less elevated, less decurved at the tip, the culmen, rictus and gonys straighter, the sides of both mandibles smooth, except in the presence of one sulcus; bill brownish black, the sulcus white. Legs and feet reddish or brownish black. Fledgelings: — Bill very small and slender; body clothed with smoky brown or black down, lighter, or teuding more or less to grayish white below. The white stripe from the eyes to the bill is very variable, though 2016 THe ZooLoGist—FEBRUARY, 1870. present in the great majority of individuals. It always exists in the adults in summer plumage, but is sometimes absent in specimens, apparently perfectly adult, in winter plumage. Its presence does not seem to be amenable to any very general or constant law: since it may be very evident in very young birds, not yet fully fledged, and again absent in apparently mature specimens, as just stated. In winter specimens it is frequently interrupted and irregular, wanting the sharpness of definition which it has in all cases of adult specimens in summer vesture. Dimensions: Adult.—Length (average) 18°00, extent about 27°00, wing 7°75, tail 3°50, difference between outer and inner feathers 1°25 ; tarsus 1°25; middle toe and claw 2°00, outer toe the same, inner toe 1:40; chord of culmen 1°20, its curve 1°50; rictus 2°25; gonys °75; nostrils to tip "85; greatest depth of bill (just anterior to nostrils) "90 ; greatest width of the corneous portion 30. Young.—Length 15°00; extent 22°00; wing 7:00; tail 3°00; tarsus 1:00; chord of culmen 1:00; rictus 1°75; gonys 60; greatest depth of bill “60; greatest width 20. (To be continued.) Cats killing Squirrels—In the numbers of the ‘Zoologisv’ for January and March, 1869 (S. S. 1057 and 1129) this question is discussed. It may not be amiss to mention that the fact of the domestic cat killing squirrels in India is of very frequent occur- rence. The Indian species, the palm squirrel (Sciurus Palmarum), is somewhat smaller than the English one, but probably more active and vigilant: it nevertheless {frequently falls a prey to the cat, to whom nothing seems to come amiss. I was once living in a house where it was considered necessary to keep a cat; but the animal soon gave up its legitimate calling, and took to living upon squirrels, which were more pumerous than the rats, easier caught, and affurded doubtless better food. On several occasions I witnessed the cat in the act of “stalking” and taking the poor squirrel. These animals are to be found in considerable numbers in every suitable locality, and in some parts of India they actually infest the house—so much so that I have seen five or six caught of a morning in a circular wire rat-trap having three eutrances. The cat, on the occasions referred to, would watch the squirrel in the act of feeding under a tree (one ata distance from the others, and sufficiently removed from buildings would be selected), and by dint of hiding behind tufts of grass and bushes, and taking advantage of the inequalities of the ground, would manage to get the tree between her and the squirrel, and then with a pounce would carry off the victim, to be devoured at leisure in the garden. I have frequently baulked the cat thus in the act of “stalking,” and seen her renew her endeavours almost immediately. I could relate other instances in proof of the partiality cats have fur squirrel’s flesh, more particularly for their young.—Andrew Anderson; 1, Union Place, Trinity, Edinburgh. Tue ZooLtocist— FEBRoARY, 1870. 2017 The Beaver in Scotland—Allow me to make an addition to the evidence on this subject collected by Mr. Brown, in the admirable paper reprinted in the January num- ber of the ‘ Zovlogist’ (S. 8.1965). Prof. Cosmo Innis, in his work on ‘Scotland in the Middle Ages,’ observes that in the eapitular for the rates of custom duties to be levied at the Scotch ports, believed to have heen settled by King David I. (who reigned from 1124 to 1153), “It is not without interest that, in the enumeration of furs upon which duty was to be taken in exporting, along with the common skins of tod, whitrel, mer- trick and cat, we have, specially mentioned in all the manuscripts, the skins of beaver and sable.” (p. 236). What the “sable” may have been [ do not know, the martea having already appeared under its Scotch name of “ mertrick:” possibly the fur of the polecat may have been so called.—Edward R. Alston; Stockbriygs, Lesmahagow, N.B., January 7, 1870. Large Badger in Somersetshire—A male badger (Meles vulgaris) was shot near Crewkerne, Sumersetshire, on the 8th of December, of the unusual weight of above thirty-two pounds. It was sent to the naturalist of this town, Mr. Shopland, to be stuffed, where I had the opportunity of seeing it. I regret not to be able to give its dimensions. The above is, as far as I remember, the heaviest specimen of its kind that has come under my notice.— A. de Hiigel ; Florian, Torquay, December 19, 1869. Whale on the Coast of South Devon.—Oiu Thursday the 18th of November, 1869, D. Middleton and R. Pratt, whilst whiting fishing about twelve miles off the land of this coast, perceived a large object approaching, submerging and showing itself on the surface at intervals. It passed them at only twenty yards’ distance, and was evidently a whale, probably a rorqual. From the nose to the back fin the distance appeared about twenty feet; allowing therefore twenty to twenty-five feet fiom back fin to tail, it might have been from forty to fifty feet in length. Two others were reported to have been previously seen.—J. C. Wilcocks ; Budleigh Salterton. (From the ‘ Field’). Whales in the Firth of Forth and at Portsmauth—The whales which bave been lately strauded on our own shores, one at Longniddry in the Firth of Forth, another at Langstone Harbour, near Portsmouth, and others elsewhere, have given rise lu a discussion which promises to become interesting. Mr. Flower hulds to the Long- niddry whale being either Balznoptera Musculus or B. Sibbaldii, while Professor Turner of Edinburgh, together with other eminent Scotch naturalists, incline to regard it as an undescribed species. There is, we are glad to learn, every reason to hope that the skeleton will be preserved, in which case the species will be finaily set at rest.‘ Nature. Teeland Falcon in Cornwall.—A fine young female of this variety of the jer falcon (Falco islundicus), in the immature state of plumage denoted by the dorsal feathers being bordered with white, with the under parts mottled with brown on a yellowish white ground, legs and feet of a pale greenish blue, was lately captured when entangled amongst sedges on some coarse ground in the parish of St. Merryn, near Padstow. It was kept alive for some time by Mr. J. Old, of Carnevas, in that parish, who sent the bird to be preserved by Mr. Vingue. ‘The ovary contained a bunch of eggs, the largest about the size of ordivary shots The bird when set up was for- warded to Mr. Gould, when it also came under the observation of Prof. A. Newton, who both verified its value as the rarer variety than the Falco Greenlandicus or SECOND SERIES—VOL. V. K 2018 Tur ZooLocist—FEBRUARY, 1870. F. candicans. Mr. Gould retaius the specimen to make a drawing of it. On com- paring the relative sizes of the breast-bone of this and the common kite I was surprised to find that it was very nearly, if not quite, double the bulk.—Edward Hearle Rodd ; Penzance, January 17, 1870. . Japanese or White’s Thrush in Somersetshire—I have to record the occurrence of the very rare Turdus Whitei of Yariell at Hestercombe, near Taunton. On Friday, the 7th of January, I met Mr. Beadon, of Yatton, when out hunting: he told méhis son had shot a bird he did not know, when out shooting a day or two before at Hestercombe, in mistake for a woodeock. Mr. Beadon afterwards kindly sent me the bird, or rather what remained of it (for it had been very much mauled by dogs and beaters), for identification, and with permission to keep it for my collection if I could make anything of it, which luckily, with the assistance of Mr. Bidgood, the Curator of the Museum at Taunton, I bave been able to do. The bird agreed so closely with Yarrell’s description that I think I need add no particulars, except that the legs and toes (scarcely faded at all when I first saw them) were yellowish brown instead of pale brown; the claws considerably paler than the legs and toes, but still tinged with yellowish brown.—.Cecil Smith ; Lydeard House, Taunton. Six Additions to a List of the Migratory and Wandering Birds of the County of Dublin.*— Wood Lark. A very abundant winter visitant: it also breeds in the county. (Accidentally omitted in furmer list.) Melodious Willow Wren. A specimen of this fine species has lately been ex- hibited in the Museum of the Royal Dublin Society, and bears the inscription, “ Dunsinea, Co. Dublin. Donor, John G. Rathharne, Esq.” Reed Wren. December, 1843. Kinahan, in the ‘ Zoologist’ (Zool. 6957). Tree Sparrow. Dalkey and Baldoyle. Scarcely known to any but the bird- catchers. Many of them have pointed it out in my collection: they mention it as having a puce-coloured head, a finch-like ‘‘ twitter,” and that it is much smaller and differently marked from the common sparrow. It is scarce, but they believe it to be resident. European Whitewinged Crossbill. Occurred once to myself, as stated in a former number of the ‘ Zoologist.’ Longtailed Duck. A scarce winter wanderer. Thompson records it, and it has passed several times under my own observation, (Accidentally omitted in former Jist.) This makes the number of species of birds, resident, migratory and wandering, of the County of Dublin, two hundred and twenty four. I shall feel greatly obliged to any person who will confirm any of the rare birds in this list, or add any species I may have omitted. I have hopes of being able to include the woud sandpiper amongst our wandering or perhaps migratory species ; also the wood wren, which, though I can get no proof of its existence, I am convinced is a regular migrant, and that it is often passed over as the common willow wren. Numbers of rare birds occur in Treland without any record being made of them other than in the reports of the local societies. Few readers of the ‘ Zoologist’ will believe that both the blue thrush (Turdus cyaneus) * Published in the ‘ Zoologist’ for 1866 (S. S. 220, 300). THE ZooLoGist—FEBRUARY, 1870. 2019 and White's thrush (7. Whitez), and the ruddy shieldrake, have occurred within the last few years in Iveland, yet if a modern work on British birds were got up, in all probability these would be shorn from the laurels of Ireland, especially when we have no Thompson now living. The blue thrush was presented to the Royal Dublin Society by Mr. Brassington: it was killed on the 17th of November, 1866 (vide label attached), in Westmeath. White’s thrush was shown me by Mr. Glennon, of Wicklow Street, Dublin, who stuffed it. The ruddy shieldrake was sent to Mr, Williams, of Dame Street, to stuff.—H. Blake-Knox ; Dalkey, December 23, 1869. Black Redstart in the County of Dublin—December 13. While driving past the Colamore to-day I had the pleasure of seeing a male black redstart, in full distinctive dress: it was in a field opposite Alma and Riva Cottages. It disported itself quite close to me while I remained, flying from every little eminence to the grass with that quick vagrant action so peculiar to these birds: there was also a sunny wall along the field, against the face of which it few frequently, a habit so common to the species that I never saw one that did not do so. I am sorry to say that I was tempted to go for my gun: on my return the bird was still in the field, but showed great wariness and restlessness. I fired at a disadvantage, only wounding it, when it sought safety in an old wall, where I had to leave it. Frequently in company with it I saw other birds, but I think they were stonechats, but of this I am not sure, for I could not get near enough to distinguish them—at all events, they were not male birds, December 14. Saw a male black redstart in same field as yesterday: did not molest him: hope he may be the same bird: he seems all right. For the last twelve years I have met with the black redstart every second winter: this rule was never violated, except in 1867, and in that year I spent much of my time on the sea.—Jd. On the Plumage of the Black Redstart.—Has the black redstart a winter and a summer plumage? I say not. Dr. Bree, in his ‘ Birds of Europe,’ is under the im- pression it has. I argue the fact that it has not two seasonal plumages, because birds shot by myself in December and January, not to speak of many seen in October and November, are similar to others from the Continent shot during the summer months, with the slight difference that the older the plumage the more the fringes or edges to the feathers wear off, which is common to all the Sylviade, finches, &c. The adult male black redstarts in winter (County Dublin specimens) agree with the plates and woodcuts in so many of our works on Natural History, and certainly never with S. Cairii of Dr. Bree. “ This bird,” writes Dr. Bree (vol. ii. p. 6), in reference to S. Cairii, “ is exactly similar in plumage to the autumnal moult of the male S. Tithys, the black redstart of the British lists. It affurds a good example of what is termed a permanent variety or race, because it has been found by careful examination that it never assumes the dark breeding plumage of the latter bird; I have thought it right therefore to give a figure and notice of it in this work, more particularly as the black redstart is a rare straggler in Britain, and not likely to be met with here in its moulting plumage.” Dr. Bree here overlooks the fact that the black redstart is a winter migrant or wanderer, chiefly to Britain, and that if the winter plumage (I do not understand the term “ moulting plumage”) of the male bird is similar to that of S. Cairii, that would be the plumage in which British observers would more generally find it; in other words, that male would be similar to female. But as most of the male black redstarts that I have heard of or seen as British have been shot after the autumnal moult, and as all of them were in the full black redstart plumage, or the 2020 | THE ZooLocist—Fesrvaky, 1870. breeding plumage of Dr. Bree, I cannot for a moment think it has seasonal plumages. The young male after the autumnal moult is like the old male, but, as in all or most young birds the intensity of the colour is subdued or hid by the extravagant depth of the fringes of the feathers, but which shines forth as the fringe gradually wears away. T have never, even in young birds, found this fringe at all sufficient to hide the dis- tinctive colouring of the male: the bulk of observation has been made on S. pheeni- curns. I think M. Degland clearly shows there is no spring moult, and that S. Cairii breeds in the plumage of Cairii, and that S. Tithys does not change from the plumage of Cairii to that of Tithys in the spring: that observer, referring to S. Cairii, says, “ This bird breeds in its autumn plumage, which it never changes at any period of the year. Every research which has been made in the spring to find a bird in intermediate plumage has been in vain. Now if 8. Tithys had been found iu spring in intermediate plumage,—that is, changing from the supposed winter plumage of Dr. Bree, which, bear in mind, is similar to S. Cairii, to that of the true male black redstart plumage, which Dr. Bree thinks only pertains to the breeding season of S. Tithys,—how could the continental naturalists determine such a bird from the gray redstart (8. Catrii), making the change to the black plumage of summer? I infer from this that neither S. Cairii nor 8S. Titbys make any change in spring; but that, like the stonechat, furzechat and wheatear, they carry the same plumage winter and summer. Certainly if the male of S. Cairii breeds in Cairii plumage, with such different habits as natu- ralists describe, it must undoubtedly be a true species ora distinct race. I feel no doubt that S. Cairii bas occurred to me in winter in this county. Many years ago I had a bird caged that I could not call the female of either of our redstarts: it appeared at once a male bird by its pure plumage and energetic habits: its colour was a pure zine-gray, and not the brown or smoky gray of the female redstarts: its tail and upper tail-coverts were much brighter red than those of an old male black redstart, and the abdominal region more white. During an absence from home it died. Before I commenced stuffing, or indeed thought of forming a collection, I used the red tails of County Dublin black redstarts for making fishing-flies. One snowy winter a groom of ours shot ten or twelve for this purpose, most of them black, but others pale zinc- gray birds, with brighter tails than male black redstarts, and purer coloured bodies than female birds: they chiefly frequented dung-hills, the ground being snow-bound: there were many more seen this year that were not killed, I still possess a head of one of these old male black redstarts, and till lately many red tail-feathers, but of the supposed S, Cairii I have no trace, except in memory, and that their tails made the brightest flies. Since then I have added males of S. Tithys (shot in mid-winter) to my collection, but neither females nor birds supposed to be 8. Cairii. In previous numbers of the ‘ Zoologist’ (Zool. 8034, 8445, 9433) I have recorded occurrences of the black redstart in this county —H. Blake- Knox. Titmouse’s Nest in a Letter-box.—In the spring of 1863, while I was absent from home with my family, and the postman, in consequence, came but seldom to the house, a blue tit took possession of my letter-box, and built its nest in it, going in and out by the slit in the door, against which the box was attached. The bird covered the whole bottom of the box with moss and hay and feathers, and when I returned home there were four eggs in the nest; but in consequence of the necessary interruptions which our return occasioned the nest was forsaken. I have the four eggs still in my possession. —Edward J. Moor ; Great Bealings Rectory, Woodbridge, Suffolk, November 3, 1869. THE ZOooLoGIsT— FEBRUARY, 1870. 2021 The Pennsylvanian Pipit, §c., at Bridlington —The enclosed letters refer to a bird which I shot on the 20th of November, and which, on referring to Bree’s ‘ Birds of Europe,’ Dr. Boulton, of Beverley, Sir H. Boynton and myself decided was the tawny pipit (Anthus rufescens). I, however, communicated the capture to Dr. Bree, and having sent the bird for his inspection, you will observe that he and Mr. Sclater pronounce it to be the Pennsylvanian pipit (A. Ludovicianus). “ East Hill, Colchester, December 21, 1869. “ My dear Sir—I must apologise for not answering your letter in reference to the pipit sooner, but the fact is the bird is a puzzle: this is, I conceive, owing to its moulting condition. After careful examination I came to the conclusivn that it is the Anthus Ludovicianus of my ‘ Birds of Europe.” The tail-feathers, however, being those of A. rufescens, I sent the specimen up to Dr. Sclater, the Secretary of the Zoological Society, from whom I had the type specimen of A. Ludovicianus figured in my work. From his reply you will see that Dr. Sclater confesses himself unable to decide the matter, but thinks I am right, and sends down the specimen I figured for me to com- pare :— Dear Sir—lI return the box with the pipit. It is certainly very like a faded specimen of A. Ludovicianus; but I am not sufficiently acquainted with this very difficult group to give you a decided opinion. I send you the skin you figured, which is from California, that you may furm your own opinion. Yours, &e., P. L. ScratTer.’ I will state to you the pros and cons. I never saw a tawny pipit in any plumage so thoroughly olive-green as your specimen, but still when the bird is taken out of the case there are the remains of real tawny colouring on the primaries, and the two outer tail-feathers are those of Anthus rufescens. The claw, however, of the hind toe is against us; it is longer than the toe, and this is a character of A. Ludovicianus: and again, your specimen is in all its measurements, length, length of wing from carpal joint, tarsus and beak, exactly those of A. Ludovicianus, which is altogether a smaller bird than the tawny pipit, and the beak is slightly declinated or curved at the extremity of the upper mandible—another character of A. Ludovicianus. The group is a very difficult one, but I think we may pronounce your specimen one of A. Ludo- Vicianus in moulting plumage. The only other species likely to be confounded with it is our meadow pipit, but the hind claw decides this at a glance. I will send the bird down to Beverley to-day. Pray make use of this letter in any communication you may make to the ‘ Zuologist. * * * Believe me, &c., C. R. Beer. “ PS.—You will notice that the base of the second tail-feather on its outer web is dark: usually in A. Luvovicianus the second feather is merely spotted with white at the end.” You will gather from Dr. Bree’s pros and cons a description of the bird, with this exception, that the colour of the legs and feet is (or at least was when newly shot) a pale flesh, and this corresponds with A. rufescens. If you would like to see the bird I shall be glad to forward it to you for inspection. The pipit is a male bird, and was shot about three miles to the south of Bridlington, on the coast, and appeared to be feeding at the time on a sand-hill near to some long coarse grass. I have also received the fullowing birds during the summer and autumn, viz.:—Sandwich tern (Sterna Boysit), shot on the 11th of August, at Bridlington Quay, by Mr. Walking- ton; a pair of dotterel (Charadrius morinellus), shot by Mr. G. Crowe, North Dale, 2022 Tue ZooLtocist—F rBRuaky, 1870. Bridlington, on the 30th of September; the great snipe (Scolopax major), shot at Flamborough, by Colonel Hall, on the 20th of September.—Z\ Boynton ; Ulrome Grange, Lowthorpe, Hull, December 27, 1869. Shore Lark at St. Andrews.—An adult female of Alauda alpestris was shot in the Eden estuary, on the 31st of December, 1869, while in company of snow buntings. The bird is now in my collection.—R. G. Wardlaw Ramsay; Whitehill, Lasswade, N.B. Siberian Lark at Brighton.—I have now, through the kindness of Mr. Swaysland, of Brighton, the two birds concerning which I promised, in my last communication (S.S. 1984), to give you more particulars. The one I believed might be a young snow finch is a specimen of the Siberian lark (Alauda sibirica), the first that bas been recorded as occurring in Britain, and a very interesting addition to our list, as it is very rare even as a Eurupean species.—Frederick Bond; 203, Adelaide Road, South Hampstead, [Mr. G. Dawson Rowley has favoured me with a note to exactly the same purport, and adds that Professor Newton acquiesces in this decision —Edward Newman.] Correction of an Error.—The bunting which I supposed to be a young male of Ensberiza rustica turns out to be a young male of the Lapland bunting (Plectrophanes lapponica): the small size of the specimen deceived me, and J quite thought it was one of the small buntings that are so difficult to determine iu their winter plumage. I am very much indebted to Mr. Gould for the trouble he bas taken in going over his fine series of buntings with me to identify this specimen.— Frederick Bond. Correction of an Error.—The citril finch mentioned in the same communication must also be struck out of my list. I regret very much that I have made such a mistake: the two birds are most certainly wild canaries. By the kindness of my friend Mr. J.J. Weir, who took the wouble of comparing skins of the wild canary with Mr. Monk’s first bird, I now possess the skins he used for the comparison in my col- lection, and I find that the skin of the wild bird is identical with the specimen captured in November last, and the skin of the female bird, Mr. Weir tells me, is identical with Mr. Monk’s first bird. I will be more careful next time, and will not trust to memory.—Zd. Bramblings near Woodbridge —During December a large flock of the brambling have frequented certain beech plantations in the neighbourhood of Woodbridge, in company with chaffinches, with which, when feeding on the ground, constant warfare is kept up.— Edward Charles Moor. Kingfisher’s Nest in a Crag-pit.—On the 24th of last July I was requested by the head gardener of a gentleman in the next parish to come and see a kingfisher’s nest in his garden. I accordingly went the same afternoon with my son. We were taken to the spot, which is a small crag-pit, forming a part of the garden premises—a place, close to which, and passing to and fro, are persons daily employed. In the crag-pit, and about seven feet from the ground, we saw the nest, with six young ones. They were about three-quarters grown, and were all pretty near to the edge of the hole: one young bird was very clamorous for food, and the rest were somewhat restless, but made no noise. We should have stayed to see the old birds feed them, but were told they seldom came in sight, and were very shy and crafty. The crag-pit is about three hundred yards in a straight line from a small river. The kingfisher had been seen at the hole in the spring, and I was told by an elderly labourer in the garden that he THE ZooLocist—FEBRUALY, 1870. 2023 had known kingfishers build in that pit, off and on, for the last thirly years. I saw six or seven holes, like those made by sand martins, but I believe them all to be made by kingfishers, as the crag-pit is quite a small one, with bushes about it, and opening to the north, whereas the sand martin rejoices rather in a more, dry large and sunny locality: moreover, there werejno sand martins about the pit, albeit they are not scarce birds in its neighbourhood.—£. J. Moor. Reported Occurrence of the Ptarmigan in Yorkshire.—In the ‘ Zoologist’ for December (S. 8.1951) I observed a paragraph headed, “ White Partridges (? Ptar- migan) near Ganton, Yorkshire,” in which Captain Bell quotes the statement of Mr. Grainger (in the ‘ Hull and Eastern Counties Herald’) that “ two brace of white partridges had been shot near Ganton,” and concludes by expressing his opinion that the birds in question were “probably ptarmigan.” Considering this extremely improbable, and there being no editorial comment appended to Captain Bell’s remark, T thought it well to bave all doubts upun the matter set at rest, as suon as possible, and accordingly wrote direct to Mr. Grainger, at Hull, to make some inquiries. I requested him particularly to examine the legs of the birds in question, and to inform me whether the éarst and tues were bare as in the partridge, or feathered as in the grouse. The answer which he was good enough to send me is as fullows:—“ I am sorry to have been so long in answering your favor of the Ist of December, but 1 have been waiting until now (December 8th) to see the man who preserved the birds, in order that I might be better able to answer your questions. You are right in snpposing these birds are nol ptarmigan. I believe they are in every sense of the word partridges. They are of course not a snowy white: I should term them really cream-coloured. The birds have the tarsi and the toes completely bare, and not feathered. Moreover, they have a very light chestnut shoe on the breast, and this I imagine is possessed by partridges aloue. I believe there were several more birds of this description in the cover at the time these were shot. I trust this information will prove satisfactory to you, and am,” &c., &c. After the perusal of this letter there can be no longer any doubt on the subject, and I may take the opportunity of remarking that there is no evidence on record to show that the ptarmigan (Gaelic, tarmachan) has ever been found so far south as Yorkshire. The distribution of this species in the British Islands has been carefully investigated by Mr. A. G. More, and his observations on the subject which appeared in the ‘ Ibis’ for 1865 (p. 427) are well worth quoting here. He says:—“ At present the pltarmigan is confined to Scotland, though there are records of its having formerly indabdited Westmoreland and Cumberland. (See Pen- nant and other earlier writers). . Heysham describes the ptarmigan as having become, in his time, very scarce in Cumberland, and he cites the lofty mountains about Kes- wick as the only locality known to him. There is a tradition of its former existence in Wales, but I have not been able to discover the original authority for this statement, which is repeated by both Macgillivray aud Thompson, and in Graves’ ‘ British Ornitho- logy.’ My valued correspondent, Dr. J. A. Smith, of Edinburgh, has copied for me, from a newspaper, a paragraph stating that the ptarmigan inbabits the county of Peebles ; but this is the only authority for its occurrence so far south on the mainland at present. The bird inhabits Islay and Jura (Thompson), Mull (Mr. H. D. Graham), Dumbarton (Mr. R. Gray), Argyle, Perth, and all the counties northward. Mr. John Macgillivray found the ptarmigan sparingly in South Uist, and it has only recently been exterminated in Hoy.”—J. E. Hurting. 2024 Tut Zootocist—FrBruary, 1870. Bustards in Suffolk.—When I was a boy (vow some fifty-five years ago) a man brought to my father, at Great Bealings, a female bustard, which he had shot in the parish of Marltesham: he asked ten shillings for it, but he was advised by my father to take it to Mr. Seaman, of Ipswich (a celebrated bird-stuffer in thuse days): he easily obtained his price from Mr. Seaman, who stuffed the bird and made a good profit by itin London. I asked the man who shot it for a feather of the bustard, which he gave me, and which I had in my possession for several years. This was the first and last time I ever saw a bustard that had been taken in Suffolk. About the year 1824 I was staying at Oxburgh, in Norfolk, and went with a friend to the house of the Rev. R. Hammond, in Swaffham. Among other interesting cases of British birds, stuffed by himself, was one containing one male bustard, two female bustards, one very small bustard (about six weeks old) and one bustard’s egg. Mr. Hammond’s account of that case to me was as follows:—A man brought to him one of the female bustards, which he bad shot, and which Mr. Hammond bought and stuffed, &c. Soon after this Mr. Hammond heard that a bustard had been more than once seen flying over a large field near Swaffham: he with his servant went, towards sunset, to lay wait for it: they saw it, but it did not come within shot of either of them. They went to the same field next day and took up their positions, though not exactly on the same spot: the bird came again, and flew within a long shot of Mr. Hammond: he fired, and the bird dropped about a fovt: it was evidently hit, and made a somewhat sudden turn and flew over one end of the town: he and the servant took accurate bearings (by two chimneys) of the bird’s flight, which was in a straight line. It was then getting dark, and next morning, as soon as it was light, they started to look for the bird: they walked a few yards apart; they went across one field, then over the hedge into the next, holding a straight course. In the middle of the second field, which was a large one, they saw some object on the surface, which they hoped might be the bird: so it proved to be, and when within sbot it was agreed that Mr. Haminond should try to throw hiinself on the bird, and so to secure it (fur they were sure it was wounded and weak): should Mr. Hammond fail, the servant was to shoot; but when quite close Mr. Hammond saw that the bird was dead. It proved to be a magnificent male. Not long afterwards he was shooting in a field of turnips pear Swaffham: his dog made a point, and on Mr. Hammond going up to him and trying to urge him on he refused to move, and on narrowly looking near the dog’s head, he perceived almost between its feet a dead female bustard, in excellent preservation. After this a man brought him two bustard’s eggs, which he had found near Swaffham: Mr. Hammond blew one of them and put the other under a turkey, which hatched it in due time, and it got on very well with the rest of her brood; when one day Mr. Hammond thought thata little bustard would look charmingly in the case with the other three and the eggs, and besides he tried to persuade himself that the little pet might be stolen from him by rats, &c.: so with rather a heavy heart he signed its death-warrant, and there it was in the case when I was at Mr. Hammond’s, louking like a little prince in the midst of its royal companions. I fear the bustard will soon be no more than an historical bird in England. I forget what Mr. Hammond said he would nod take for that case of bustards; but it was a long price —dward J. Moor. Awvcet, Bittern and Gray Phalarope at Hastings.—I was shown to-day an avocet, in immature dress, one of a small fluck of three shot at Rye during the snowy weather in the latter part of December. A bittern was hanging up with a young heron at one THE ZooLtocist—FEBRUARY, 1870. 2025 of the game-shops here last week: the dealer told me it was the second he had received lately, amongst other wild-fowl, from Lincolnshire. A gray phalarope was shot on the beach last Thursday. ‘The weather to-day is very wintry-looking, and a heavy sea on in the channel.—Alwin S. Bell; Hastings, January 18, 1870. The American Stint at Northam Burrows.—My. Rodd has asked me to communi- cate some particulars with reference to the American stint referred to by him in the * Zoologist’ for December (S. 8. 1920) which was shot by me on the 22nd of September last, and I have much pleasure in complying with his request. I observed the bird on several successive mornings before I obtained it on a salt-marsh lying between Northam Burrows and the estuary of the rivers Taw and Torridge, and on every occa- sion it was alone. It seemed very active and restless, and was rather difficult of approach. When it rose it always repeated a short burried note, similar to that of the two other species, though perhaps rather shriller and more frequently reiterated (differing in this particular from Mr. Vingoe’s specimen, which was silent when it rose). Its flight was strong and rapid for so small a bird, and struck me as being something like that of the common sandpiper, which bird indeed (except with regard to the vibratory motion of the body peculiar to that species) it somewhat resembled in its movements when on the ground. It always flew away across the water out of sight and ata great height, but it invariably returned to the same spot where I had first observed it. JI had no difficulty in identifying the bird as distinct from either of the two British species of stint, and a careful comparison of it with the description of Mr. Vingoe’s specimen of the American stint in Newman’s edition of Montagu’s Dictionary, led me to think that it would prove to be a second British specimen of that species— a supposition the accuracy of which was kindly tested and established by Mr. Rodd and Mr. Vingoe, to whom I sent it for inspection. The specimen is now in my possession, It is a male bird, and as far as I can judge, in full plumage, which is of a very much darker shade throughout than that of Tringa minuta. The measurements and description generally correspond pretty nearly with those of Mr. Vingoe’s speci- men, as given in Newman’s Dictionary, though the difference between the species in question and the two British species appear perhaps to be a little more pronounced in my specimen than in his. Oue point alone of actual dissimilarity may be noticed, and this may be very likely owing to a diversity of age or sex. In his specimen the legs were grayish yellow; in mine they are greenish gray, strongly inclining to the former tint. I think the occurrence of the bird may most probably be attributed to the prevalence of south-westerly gales, of which we had had a succession for many days previously.— Marcus S. C. Rickards ; Clifton, December 10, 1869. Gray Phalarope, Litile Stint and Snow Bunting at Northam Burrows.—I obtained a specimen of the gray phalarope at Northam Burrows on the 24th of September last. When I noticed it, it was swimming in a small inland pond in the near neighbourhood of some ducks. It is in a transition state of plumage, and though a male specimen is of an unusually large size, measuring fully ten inches in length. I saw another speci- men in the birdstuffer’s shop at Barnstaple, which had been shot on the banks of the Taw about the same time. It was, however, a much smaller bird, and more advanced towards winter plumage. I also shot a specimen of the little stint at Northam Burrows on the 29th of September last, ands snow bunting on the 2nd of October.—Zd. Pintail Duck on the Severn.—On the 25th of October last I shot a specimen of the pintail duck at the mouth of the Severn, near the New Passage. It was alone at the SECOND SERIES—VOL. V. L 2026 THE ZooLOGIst—FEBRUARY, 1870. time. Itis a male bird, and though of full size has not yet attained to the plumage of maturity—Mareus S. C. Rickards. Common and Sandwich Terns at Spurn.—I see in the December number of the ‘Zoologist’ (S. S. 1944) Mr. Cordeaux says the common and Sandwich terns breed at Spurn. Tam sorry he bas been misled respecting these two species, as neither of them do breed, or ever have bred, there to my knowledge. The cvlony consists exclusively of the lesser tern, and, to use Mr. Cordeaux’s remark, their breeding is all a farce, as the boys, and most of the men, too, make a practice of taking every egg they can find, most of which they destroy.—F. Boyes ; Beverley, Yorkshire, December 22, 1869. Little Gull at Coldingham.—When at Messrs, Small and Son’s, birdstuffers, in Edinburgh, the other day, I saw, in the flesh, an immature female of the little gull, shot at Coldingham, on the 27th of December last.—R. G. Wardlaw Ramsay. Rare Birds in the Neighbourhood of Plymouth.—During the month of December, 1869, the following rare birds have occurred in the neighbourhood of Ply- mouth :— Little Auk. A few days since I examined a specimen of the little auk (Alca alle), which had been knocked down, on the 19th of December, by a boy with a stone, on the river Plym, by Cann Wood—a rather strange place for such a bird, on a trout stream running through a wood, full six or seven miles from the nearest part of the coast ; but no doubt it had been driven so far inland by the severe gales which happened about the time. The boy, I understand, was with some others hunting squirrels when he caught sight of the bird on the stream. Black Redstart. Some black redstarts (Phenicura tithys) have appeared on the cvast, four of which I have obtained and sent to as many ornithological London friends. I have an idea that the same black redstart must sometimes revisit a favourite locality for a succession of years, as last winter I observed a splendid old male on a certain part of the coast, which I hunted for several days, but notwithstanding my vigilance he always managed to escape by hiding in and under particular rocks and caves. Now, strange to say, I have this year at the same place several times seen and chased a bird exactly similar in plumage and action, which has again managed as yet to dodge me and escape in a similar way, which makes me feel certain it must be my old friend of last year. A rather curious and interesting incident happened the other day when looking for redstarts on a very wild part of the coast. On taking my luneh with a friend among the rocks a robin came down, and, perching on a rock near, seemed to be intently watching our actions; on observing which I said to my friend, ‘“ Surely that robin wants to be invited to lunch,” and throwing a crumb towards it, I exclaimed, “Come along, then, old fellow,’ when to our great surprise, down it instantly flew close to our feet, made a hearty meal, and examined our papers the instant we left. I should have thought very little of this incident bad it happened in a village or near a house, but on such a wild part of the coast I certainly did think it rather strange, and after such innocent confidence shown by the little bird I could not have shot at even a redstart that day had I seen a hundred. I do remember once pitching a crumb to a blackheaded bunting during a severe snow-storm, which it picked up, but the affair with the robin occurred during mild weather. It is quite surprising to observe the quautily of robins that frequent the wildest parts of our rocky coasts during winter, flitting in and out among the rocks and caves (undercliff) all day long. THE ZooLocist—FrBRUARY, 1870. 2027 Iceland Gull. On the 6th T saw an Iceland gull in the Plymouth Sound.— J. Gateombe ; Stonehouse, Plymouth, December 31, 1869. Dates of the Breeding of Birds on Tyneside for 1869.—Eggs of the following birds were obtained on the dates subjoined :— March 22nd, longeared owl; 26th, tawny owl, cushat and rook; 28th, common thrush; 30th, peewit; April 3rd, missel thrush and dipper; 11th, woodcock; 15th, snipe and pheasant; 17th, blackbird and common wren; 18th, curlew and jackdaw; 20th, chaffinch; 25th, robin, longtailed tit and goldencresied wren; May Ist, golden plover, pied wagtail and ring ouzel; 9th, par- tridge, creeper, kestrel and sparrowhawk; 10th, marsh tit and grasshopper warbler; 16th, French linnet, blackheaded gull, gray wagtail and twite; 22nd, common sand- piper; 25th, wood wren and cole tit; June 10th, corn crake and night hawk.— Thomas Thompson ; Winlaton. Starling feeding on the Grubs of Phyllopertha.—Two or three acres of my lawn are riddled throughout by the bills of the starlings seeking the grubs of the small brown chaffer which so spoils our roses, especially the yellow ones. I notice that they gape when they put their bills into the earth, as if to open a hole that they may see in between the mandibles. I have always had starlings here, but they seem only of late years to have discovered this rich mine. Some years ago the place was overrun by these beetles, and I have seen them issuing new-born from the ground by tens of thousands: they are now scarce, and the grass of the lawn is much improved. It is just when the rooks are thus destroying the grub of the cockchaffer that they are shot down as their enemies by the farmers. Two months ago 1 had a bee-eater here feeding upon the yew-berries. No locusts —W. C. Hewitson; Oatlands, January 26, 1870. Eggs of the Cuckoo.—I do not hear of any vari-coloured eggs of the cuck»o. I have seen several of the eggs here since the controversy, but they were all gray, like those of the pied wagtail.—Zd. Pilchards in Mount’s Bay on Christmas Day.—Several large shoals of pilchards (Clupea pilchardus) were captured off Mullion, in Mount’s Bay, on the 25th of December. The occurrence of shoals of pilchards off the Cornish coast in December, and even later in the winter, is not unusual, but they generally appear east of the Lizard. Two years ago a shoal was taken in Truro river (a salt-water estuary) in February. Last year there was a large catch of pilchards at St. Ives in the second week in December. In 1834 there was a catch off St. Michael’s Mount in the week before Christmas; but the present catch is, I believe, the latest in any season recorded in Mount’s Bay. It yet remains to be seen whether this fish is getting later throughout its whole season of migration year afier year (it certainly is in its arrival), or whether a Christmas fishing season is simply the result of a longer watching than usnal on the part of the fisherman, The fish were very fine, and in excellent condition. There were several small mackerel with the shoals, but this is not unusual.— Thomas Cornish ; Penzance, December 23, 1869. Note on the Odour of Cynipide and other Hymenoptera.—On the 15th of November I mentioned at the meeting of the Entomological Society that I had 2028 Tue ZooLoGisT—FEBRUARY, 1870. met with a peculiar odour in Cynips lignicola, as well as in an undetermined species of Cynips bred from a pea-gall on the under side of oak-leaves. When the meeting was over Mr. Boyd kindly handed me some galls of Biorhiza aptera, Fab., from which I have since bred a number of females, all of which on being handled alive emitted a powerful scent, like that of a very ripe pear. I have also detected a similar but fainter odour in Cynips folii, Linn. If we turn to other groups of Hymenoptera, the pungent quality of many of the Formicide will of course occur to every reader; and as regards Crabronide, Mr. T. J. Bold has long ago recorded, in the ‘ Zoologist, of Crabro cetratus of Shuckard, that when he pinned the latter they “emitted a powerful perfume, somewhat resembling that of roses.” Professed hymenopterists will no doubt be able to add numerous instances in other groups, particularly in the Apida.—Albert Miiller ; South Norwood, S.E., December 7, 1869. PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. December 6, 1869.—H. W. Bares, Esq., President, in the chair. Donations to the Library. The following donations were announced, and thanks voted to the donors:— ‘Eugenie’s Resa’ (Hymenoptera by A. E. Holmgren, Diptera by C. G. Thomson); and ‘ Hemiptera Africana,’ by C. Stal, vols. i.—iv.; presented by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. ‘Entomologische Zeitung,’ 1869, Paris 7—12, and 1870, Parts 1—3; by the Entomological Society of Stettin. ‘The Zoologist’ for December ; by the Editor. ‘The Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine’ for December; by the Editors. Election of Members. The following gentlemen were severally ballotted for, and elected Members :— M.M. Gustave d’Emerich, of Pesth; Abbé de Marseul, of Paris; Charles Oberthur, fils, of Rennes (Foreign Members); and Captain Lang, R.E., of Reigate; and Messrs. W. Arnold Lewis, of The Temple; J. Cosmo Melvill, of Manchester; and Howard Vaughan, of Kentish Town. Exhibitions, §c. Prof. Westwood exhibited drawings and dissections of some Hymenoptera pos- sessing extraordinary structural peculiarities: they were principally Chalcidide, of the genera Prionopelma aud Metapelma (see Proc. Zool. Soc. 1835). Mr. F. Smith exhibited a mass of earth-cells formed by a species of Halictus, found by Mr. J. K. Lord near Cairo. The bee burrowed into the ground to a depth of about twelve inches, and the cells were then formed, close together, and all round the shaft or tunnel, the entrance to each cell being from the central shaft. Mr. Lord described the bee as making a tubular entrance to the nest, probably of the material which was thrown out in the excavation of the vertical shaft, but the construction was too brittle or fragile for transport. Mr. Smith remarked that this tubular entrance was THE ZooLtocistT—FrBRvARY, 1870. 2029 after the manner of Odynerus spinipes, but it was the first time he had heard of any species of bee forming such a construction. The President said that some species of Melipona, which form their nests in the hollows of trees, construct a trumpet-shaped entrance of waxy material, or of some substance held together by a waxy cement. Mr. F. Smith exhibited a larva-case, which he supposed to belong to a species of Cceticus, found by Mr. J. K. Lord in the plains near Mount Sinai: numbers of the larve were seen crawling on the sand, no tree or bush being near, and the only plant growing in the neighbourhood being a species of wild sage. The larva-case appeared to be formed principally of pieces of grass, arranged longitudinally. Mr. J. Jenner Weir exhibited two specimens of Heliothis armiger, bred from larve which fed in tomatoes. An importation of tomatoes from Spain or Portugal had been greatly damaged by a number of green larve, with black lines and spots, which fed in the fruit, where there was apparently juice enough to drown them, and which ultimately produced the moths exhibited. Prof. Westwood exhibited drawings and dissections of several remarkable new forms of Pselaphide. My, Albert Muller exhibited a photograph of a Coleopterous monstrosity, a speci- men of Pterostichus Prevostii with eight legs: on either side of the left hind leg (i.e. before and behind the normal hind leg) was a supernumerary limb of somewhat stunted growth, but structurally perfect: there were apparently three distinct coxe fitting into three separate sockets in a single expanded trochanter. The beetle was found in Switzerland, and Mr. Miller had seen it alive: the extra legs were simply carried, and not used to assist in locomotion. With reference to the locust exhibited at the previous Meeting (S. 8. 1990), the President had received the following from Mr. Edwin Brown :— “T am informed that when my specimen of a new locust was exhibited at the last Meeting of the Society, it was suggested that the occurrence might have been brought about by the introduction of the insect into the brewery in an empty returned cask. I think such a suggestion is untenable, inasmuch as two specimens of the same species were captured in different parts of the town of Burton-on-Trent, and one caught in Birmingham certainly belongs to the same species. There were several other instances recorded in the papers about the same time of locusts having been captured in Worcestershire, in Nottinghamshire, and at Waterford. It has not yet been proved that these examples were all of the new species, but it is highly probable that this was so, as the peculiar positions in which the locusts have been captured this year all indicate, if I may so term it, an unsophisticated disposition of the animal, widely different from that of Locusta migratoria, which has nearly always been found in fields or gardens, whilst the species of this year has been captured in two brewery yards, iu the room of a house, upon a man’s coat, and (it is said) upon a lady’s bonnet, but looking at the difficulty an animal so large would find in getting standing room upon a modern bonnet, there may possibly be some mistake as to the last-mentioned locality. Mr. F. Walker has identified the species as Acridium peregrinum of Olivier, which is dispersed over a large part of Asia and Northern Africa, but has not hitherto been found in Europe.” (See also, on the recent occurrence of locusts in this country, Newman’s Entom. iv. 367.) 2030 THE ZooLocist—FeEspruary, 1870. Paper read. The foliowing paper was read :—* Note on Boreus hyemalis and B. Westwoodii,” by Mr. M‘Lachlan. January 3, 1870.—H. W. Bares, Esq., President, in the chair. Additions to the Library. The following donations were announced, and thanks voted to the donors :— ‘ Proceedings of the Royal Society,’ No.115; presented by the Society. ‘ Proceedings of the Linnean Society,’ 1869; by the Society. ‘ Bulletin de la Soc. Imp. des Natu- talistes de Moscou,’ 1868, No.4; by the Society. ‘ Mittheilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft, vol. iii No.3; by the Suciety. ‘The Tineina of Southern Europe,’ and ‘ The Entomologist’s Annual for 1870;’ by H. T. Stainton, Esq. ‘ Equatorial Lepidoptera collected by Mr. Buckley,’ Parts 1—3; by W. C. Hewitson, Esq. ‘ Lepidoptera Exotica,’ Part 3; by E. W. Janson, Esq. ‘Observations on the Parasitism of Rhipiphorus paradoxus;’ by Frederick Smith, Esq. ‘ Réflexions et Expériences sur le vol des Coléoptéres; by M. Felix Plateau. ‘ Petites Nouvelles Entomologiques,’ Nos. 1—12; by the Editor. ‘The Zoologist,’ for January ; by the Editor. ‘The Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine,’ for January; by the Editors. The following additions by purchase were also announced :—Palisot de Beauvois, ‘Insectes recueillis en Afrique et en Amerique;’? Ehrenberg & Klug, ‘ Symbole Physic ;’? Brullé et Blanchard, ‘ Voyage de d’Orbigny ;’ Motschulsky, ‘ Etudes Entomologiques ;’ and Lowne, ‘ The Anatomy and Physivlogy of the Blow-fly.’ Exhibitions, &e. Mr. Hewitson sent for exhibition a collection of butterflies, including 135 new and many rare species, all in beautiful condition, collected by Mr. Buckley in Equa- torial America. With two exceptions, Heliconia Cythera and Terias Ecuadora, which were taken on the west side of the Andes, the new species were all captured between St. Ines and St. Rosa on the River Napo, within two degrees of longitude, and descriptions thereof were in course of publication under the title of ‘ Equatorial Lepidoptera collected by Mr. Buckley.’ Mr. Buckley (who was present as a Visitor) gave some interesting details of his stay in Ecuador. In reply to enquiries, he stated that the localities for each species were carefully noted at the end of each day’s collecting ; that generally speaking there seemed to be a species of Heliconia peculiar to each valley ; that a few species occurred on both sides of the Andes, and in particular a Heliconia and a Morpho were men- tioned; and that there was great difference in the altitudes at which the exhibited insects were collected, some of them, and in particular a Pronophila, having been taken above the snow-level. Prof. Westwood, as an instance of partial gynandromorphism, in which the union of the opposite sexual characters was confined tu a single limb, exhibited drawings of a specimen of Anthocharis Cardamines, the wings of which, for the most part male, partook to some extent of the colour and character of the female, as if pieces of the - aS eee Ng ed THE Zootocist—FEBRUARY, 1870. 2031 wing of the male had been cut out and replaced by pieces of the wing of the female. Mr. Bond mentioned that a considerable number of the locust, Acridium pere- grinum, had been taken in Cornwall in October: some were captured at Falmouth, and about thirty in or near Plymouth, of which two were exhibited: most of them were found in the streets and yards of the town. Prof. Westwood, on behalf of the Rev. Leonard Jenyns, exhibited a species of Aphodius (probably A. lividus), which was said to be frequently vomited by South- African Hoitentots, who are notorious as unclean feeders; aud a species of Elateride which was found in April, 1869, floating in a cup of tea at Bath, and was recognized by Mr. Janson as an eastern species of the genus Heteroderes. Prof. Westwood also exhibited drawings of some new Australian Lucanide, of the genus Lissotes. Mr. Pascoe exhibited a number of Curculionide, of the genus Catasarcus, in illustration of the paper mentioned below. Mr. Albert Miller exhibited photographs of aberrations of Abax parallelus and Clerus formicarius; the former remarkable for its zigzag striation, the latter for the union of the two white bands of the elytra. Mr. Quaritch (who was present as a Visitor) made a communication respecting the book-worm. Papers read. The following papers were read: — “ On some new British Species of Ephemeride ;” by the Rev. A. E. Eaton. “ Descriptions of six new species of Callidryas;” by Mr. A. G. Butler. “A Revision of the Genus Catasarcus;” by Mr. F. P. Pascoe. ‘The Genera of Coleoptera studied chronologically (1735—1801) ;” by Mr. G. R. Crotch. New Part of ‘ Transactions.’ Part 5 of the ‘ Transactions for 1869,’ published in December, was on the table. Annual Meeting, January 24, 1870.—Freperick Sire, Esq., Vice-President, in the chair. An Abstract of the Treasurer’s Accounts for 1869 was read by Mr. J. Jenner Weir, one of the Auditors, and showed a balance in favour of the Society of £125 6s. 3d. The Secretary read the Report of the Council for 1869, from which the following is extracted :— “During the year twenty-one Members or Subscribers have been elected, but seventeen names have been removed from the list; the numerical gain is therefore reduced to four. “ The volume of ‘ Transactions for 1869’ includes twenty-seven memoirs by seven- teen authors, extends to four hundred pages exclusive of the ‘ Proceedings, and is illustrated by six plates, of which two are coloured. To Messrs. E. Saunders, Higgins, Butler, F. Smith and M‘Lachlan, the Society is indebted for the drawings 2032 Tue ZooLtocist—FeBRvaARY, 1870. in illustration of their respective memoirs. Every paper read, down to and inclusive of the December Meeting, was actually published before the end of the year. Especial attention is called to Dr. Sharp’s Revision of the British Homalote, as affording tangible proof of the desire of the Council that native Entomology shall receive its due share of attention. There is yet a dearth in the ‘ Transactions’ of papers relating to British or European insects. Many of the most active students of the productions of our own islands do not favour the Society with the results of their labours, and thus exotic Entomology obtains the lion’s share of our pages; and this leads to a supposition that our entumologists do not sufficiently identify themselves with their continental brethren. We are either exclusively British, or our range includes the whole world; and thus, between the insularity of some and the universality of others, European insects (in the broad sense) occupy but an insig- nificant portion of our publications. From this cause, perhaps, results the small number of our Foreign Members; and, as a consequence of that smallness, some who do give European insects a prominent place in their studies prefer to publish through the medium of Continental Societies, believing that they thereby obtain a wider circle of appreciative readers than if their lucubrations appeared in our ‘ Transactions.’ * * # & # * * “It has been decided to renew the offer, suspended fur the last two years, of Prizes for Essays on Economical or Structural Entomology. Further particulars will be announced, probably at the next Meeting. “In spite, then, of the comparative depression which has generally prevailed throughout the year 1869, the prosperity of the Society has been maintained. Our numbers have increased, we have added largely to our Library, the interest of our Meetings has been well sustained, our publications have been issued with regularity and dispatch, and our balance is larger than at the last Anniversary. Each of these is a fair criterion of success; the combination of them all warrants the Council in believing that for the future the future will provide.” Mr. Pascoe proposed, and Mr. Wallace seconded, a special vote of thanks to Mr. W. Wilson Saunders for the munificent gift mentioned in the Report; and this was carried by acclamation. The following gentlemen were elected Members of the Council for 1870:— Messrs. H. W. Bates, Dallas, Dunning, Fry, Grut, M‘Lachlan, Parry, Pascoe, Salvin, Edward Saunders, 8S. Stevens, A. R. Wallace and Wormald. The following officers for 1870 were afterwards elected:—President, Mr. Alfred R. Wallace ; Treasurer, Mr. S. Stevens; Secretaries, Messrs. Dunning and M‘Lachlan ; Librarian, Mr. E. W. Janson. The President’s Address (in the unavoidable absence of Mr. Bates) was read by the Secretary. A vote of thanks to the President for his services during the past year, witha ‘request that the Address might be printed in the ‘ Proceedings, was proposed by Mr. Fry, seconded by Mr. Grut, and carried unanimously. Thanks were also voted to the other Officers and Members of the Council for 1869, and to the Chairman; and were suitably acknowleaged. | TH ZooLocist—M anc, 1870. 2033 Notes on the Zoology of Newfoundland. By Henry REEks, Esq., F.L.S., &c. (Continued from 8. 8. 1759.) Mamata. No. 1. SORICINA, Although twenty species of three genera of this family have been enumerated as North American by Professor Baird, it is noteworthy that after a diligent search I was unable to find a representative of this or the following order, Talpidz, which contains seven species, now referred to three genera, viz., Scalops, Condylura (star-nosed mole), and Urotrichus Gibbsii, the latter being the only species of the order not confined to North America. CARNIVORA.—FELID&. Canada Lynx, Lynx canadensis, Rafi—Not indigenous, and apparently a very rare accidental visitor. I only heard of the capture of two specimens, which were taken a few years since at a settlement called Daniel’s Harbour, and considered a great curiosity. They had evidently crossed from the Labrador on the drift ice. Provincial name “ Mountain Cat.” This name, as here applied, certainly does not allude to Lynx rufus. CANIDE. American Wolf, Canis occidentalis, Richardson; var. 8. griseo- albus; y. ater).—Although this is certainly the only species of wolf found in Newfoundland it would be difficult to find two skins, even in the same litter of whelps, marked exactly alike; so great is the variation in the shades or degrees of colouring—from pure black to almost clear white. The wolf is yet tolerably common in Newfound- land, and few winters pass without some being trapped along the shores. They often prowl near the houses of the settlers, or pass them in the chase. I remember upon one occasion during the month of January, 1867, I shouldered my rifle and took up the trail of two old wolves which had passed the house during the previous night in pursuit of a mighty stag (Rangifer caribou), which I hoped to have found killed within a reasonable distance from home, but after following the “ footing” for six or seven miles on ice I gave up all hopes of seeing SECOND SERIES—VOL. V. M 2034 THE ZooLocist—Marcu, 1870. either the deer or wolves, and it was well J did, for I afterwards heard that the chase continued through the marshes several miles to the eastward. In the winter, when the deer feed in the marshes, which are generally surrounded by belts of Conifera (Abies and Larix) the wolves secrete themselves in the deer-paths and lie in wait until one or more wolves get round to windward of the deer and drive them through the paths, when some of them fall an easy prey to the secreted wolves. During my residence in Newfoundland only one instance came to my knowledge of a human being attacked by wolves, and this was an Indian by name Jobn Joe, who related the circumstance to mein broken English, which amounted to the following :—“ One Sunday morning, in the month of April, [866, I was standing by the side of a small lake—one of the many formed by the river Exploits—when I saw an old wolf coming across the ice towards me, and I felt sorry that I had left my gun in the ‘tilt’ about half a mile from me, as I might perhaps have got a shot at him. Presently I saw five or six more on the ice, and all making towards me: upon this I turned and ‘ pulled foot’ back for the tilt as fast as I could, but the wolves gained on me, and would have killed me had I not climbed a tree out of their reach. After remaining under the tree nearly an hour the wolves left, and ‘sartin’ I was glad, sir, to see their backs.” Wolves are not so courageous usually, as the fore- guing story would seem to imply, and are generally well aware of the presence of fire-arms. During the winter of 1866-67 a youth about sixteen years of age, whom I knew very well, saw six wolves pull down a fine young stag, on the middle of a large lake called Trout River Pond, and, gun in hand, approached as cautiously as possible ; but the wolves, although apparently very intent on their prey, were too wary to allow of a sufficiently near approach to obtain a shot at them: the boy, however, had sense enough to cut off as much venison as he could conveniently carry, and return home. The next morning he and some of his elder brothers revisited the spot, but found only a few mutilated bones of the deer; and the wolves, which had not left the locality, quietly slunk away without the chance of a shot. ‘The flesh of the caribou, which is usually of excellent quality when the animal is shot without chasing, is scarcely palatable when killed by wolves, or even when chased in canoes for some distance and shot, having a frothy and flabby appearance which is both disagreeable to the touch and taste. Newfoundland Dog, Cauis, fam. Newfoundlandz.—-These zoolo- gical notes would be still more incomplete without some notice, THE ZooLocist—Marcn, 1870. 2035 however short, of this noble and faithful animal—not that I incline to the belief that the breed is indigenous to the island, or that its introduction, comparatively speaking, was at a very early date, for I could not learn on the island from the settlers, or elsewhere, that the now extinct aborigines possessed this or any other breed of dogs. After the many large, high-couraged dogs of this breed which one so often sees in England, to say that I was disappointed with those I saw daily around me in Newfoundland would convey but a sorry idea of my feelings on the subject. The well-known and intelligent-looking head may be traced in one and all, and perhaps the form of the tail has not materially altered, but in size and colour every variety peculiar to dogs in general seemed equally prevalent on the island, if I except pure white and black and white; of these two varieties I saw only one of each. The most “ fashionable” colour seemed to be a light, or reddish, fawn, which I was told was the most approved colour for gunning purposes, being best for “toling” geese and ducks, and the least easily seen by deer and foxes in the open brown marshes. Although I perfectly agree with most modern judges as to the most handsome variety —v/z., all black with the exception of a small white star on the breast or chest—I am by no means convinced that this is the original animal in all its purity, in fact; the settlers seem pretty well all agreed in saying the old breed consisted of a dog about twenty-five or twenty-six inches high, with black ticked body, gray muzzle, and gray or white-stockinged legs, with “ dew-claws” behind. However this may be, I can fully testify that the only dog of this description 1 met with was one of the very best I ever saw, and yet his owner told me that he had never broken him; and certainly there was one peculiarity about him, for, whereas every other dog at the settlement—and their name was legion—would follow me any distance, this one would only do so from house to house, notwithstanding all my inducements by acts of kindness and the scoldings and threaten- ings of the owner. Such a companion would have proved invaluable. To see him dive and raise a seal weighing some four hundred-weight, and then drag him to the shore, was a sight often witnessed with pleasure, and yet the same dog would retrieve geese and ducks’ eggs and very small species of Tringe, without breaking or “ counting.” But it grieved me much to see that the spirits of these noble dogs seem there to be entirely broken. Often have I after nightfall, and afier the inmates have retired for the night, entered some of the houses, and in the dark trod on or stumbled over a dog, which had hitherto been a 2036 THE ZooLtoGist—M arcu, 1870. stranger to me; but instead of an angry grow] or bark, the poor brute would perhaps cry out and shift to another part of the room. A growl or bark, even at a stranger, is usually punished with a most unmerciful beating. This remark applies only to those dogs generally used in gunning: those used for sleighing, when in harness, are frequently most savage brutes, and sometimes attack both man and beast if not prevented by a plentiful application from the long deer-thong of the driver. Common American Fox, Vulpes fulvus, Desm.; Cross Fox, var. @. decussatus (“ Geoffr.”) Desm.; Silver Fox, var. y. argentatus (Shaw); Black Fox, var. 3. ater.—All the varieties of the common red fox of America are proportionally common in Newfoundland. Since the introduction of “ seal-skins ” to the fashionable world the prices for the once absnrdly valuable silver and black fox skins have been much reduced. At the present day the traders give the following prices, in Halifax, N.S. currency, for best skins :-—a “ yellow” (red) 15s. or 12s. sterling; for a “patch” (cross) 50s. or 40s. sterling; for a “silver” £10 or £8 sterling; for a “black” £15 to £20, or £12 to £16 sterling. As all dealings with the settlers are transacted by barter these prices can only be termed nominal. There can be no doubt but that all these varieties belong to one species, as in one instance I knew of a litter of cubs which consisted of two “blacks,” a “silver,” a “patch” and a“ yellow.” With regard to the measurements of the several varieties, my experience differs from that of Professor Baird, in that I invariably found specimens of the “patch” or cross fox materially smaller than either “ yellows” or “ silvers.” _T allude here to specimens measured before skinning, but of course much depends on the age of the animal. Arctic Fox, VY. lagopus (Linn.)—Tolerably common throughout the island, and is undoubtedly identical with the “ blue” arctic fox, which is none other than that species in summer pelage; although in Iceland, where the same species occurs, it is said never to assume the white winter dress. This species differs considerably in habits from V. fulvus. The latter is ever shy and watchful, and will rarely cross the fresh “footing” of a man, or dog, or go near a baited trap until driven to do so by hunger, while the former invariably searches out and frequents the habitations of men, and is easily caught in almost any kind of trap. but the handsome white skin, which is rather smaller than that of V. fulvns, fetches only one dollar! oo aie THe ZooLocist— Marcu, 1870. 2037 MustELIp&. American Sable, Mustela americana, Turton; Pine Marten; Marten Cat (Newfoundland).—Still common in various parts of the island, but from the increasing, or, at any rate, present value of the fur is annually becoming scarcer. It is a bold rapacious animal, and in its habits reminds one much of the common polecat (JZ. putorius). One of the specimens I obtained entered the house of a settler and carried off a dead duck (Anas obscurus), but was subsequently shot in a tree near the spot,—in fact, while returning for a second duck, having probably hid the other. Marten cats are easily caught by iron traps placed in “ cat-houses,” or in “ dead-falls.” Without attempting to settle, or even discuss, the vexed question as to the identity of this species with; the European M. zibellina, I may here state that very little reliance can be placed on the colours of the Martine, as a very appreciable difference exists in this particular, even in specimens obtained in Newfoundland and the Labrador, the former being much lighter throughout, but especially about the head and ears. So perceptible is the distinction that a trader readily separates the Newfoundland skins from those obtained on the mainland. Common American Weasel, Putorius noveboracensis, Dekay.— Abundant throughout the island. Although I shot and trapped a great many weasels, both in summer and winter pelage, besides examining quantities of other skins obtained by the settlers, I was unable to find any other species. A specimen in alcohol, in the transition state, shot by me on the Ist of September, 1866, was forwarded to the British Museum and pronounced by Mr. G. R. Gray to be of this species. ; LUTRINA. American Otter, Lutra canadensis, Sabine.—Apparently common, if one may judge from the number of skins the traders annually obtain from the settlers. Both traders and settlers make two varieties or species (?) of the Newfoundland otters: one, which is called the “country otter,” and principally frequents inland brooks and rivers, has the fur of a beautiful shining dark liver-brown, almost black on the back; while the other variety, called the “salt-water” otter, zs said (for I was unfortunate in not getting a specimen) to have the fur of a rusty brown colour, and to be considerably larger than the “country otter,” although the skin is not nearly so valuable, rarely realising more than three or four dollars, whereas good skins of the 2038 THE ZooLocist—Marcu, 1870. smaller and darker variety fetch from five to seven dollars. I am inclined to think the larger variety, termed the “ salt-water” otter, will prove nothing more than very old specimens of L. canadensis, in which the fur from age, and frequenting the sea-coast, has become coarser and browner. This may be the L. lataxina of F. Cuvier, and the small dark variety the L. mollis of Dr. Gray ; neither of which, I believe, are now separable from the normal L. canadensis. The American otter is a powerful animal, measuring four feet in length, and swimming in the water, as well as “sliding” over, or through the snow, with great rapidity. In both operations the tail acts a most prominent part, but this can best be seen when the animal is glidiug through the snow: this it does by a succession of bounds, each of which ends in a “slide,” often several feet in length, the impetus to which is given by a peculiar lateral curve of the thick tail, which is provided with two powerful muscles—one on each side. The presence of these muscles can be detected, even in a dried skin, by two deep furrows, which are not even obliterated by stretching and nailing the skin to a board. The food of the otter consists perhaps mainly of fish, but the animal is by no means choice, and readily catches the young of water-fowl and eats the flesh of other animals; it has also been known to enter a beaver’s house and kill the young. . UrsID&. American Black Bear, Ursus americanus, Pallas.—This ungainly looking animal is still common in Newfoundland, although many are annually shot, trapped and caught in “slips:” the latter is the best plan, as it does not injure the handsome skin. This is probably the most harmless species of bear; and certainly, if we are to believe the oft-repeated tales of the dangers and difficulties incurred in bear- hunting excursions, it is also the most easily destroyed. An ounce of shot, not smaller than No. 6, is sufficient to kill the largest of the species, if fired into the intestines behind the ribs, at a distance not exceeding twenty yards. On this part of the coast (Cow Head) where bears are tolerably common, there is scarcely a settler arrived at the age of manhood who has not shot one or more bears, and invariably with an ordinary load of shot, such as would be fired at a single duck. There is also very little danger to be apprehended from these animals when wounded. An old English settler, one James Dacre, or Dicker, the champion bear-slayer, with whem I have pleasantly chatted away THe Zop.Locisr— Marcu, 1870. 2039 many an hour by the log fire, tells me that he must have killed at lcast one hundred and fifty bears (and this I believe, for he killed six during the two years I was there), and that only one wounded one turned upon him, and this he attributed to the fault of a young dog he had with him ; but he soon despatched the bear with his tomahawk. It would appear that the organs of sight are not so well developed in the bears, especially this species, as in many other of the Mammalia; but the nose and ears amply suffice for this apparent deficiency, particu- larly the nose. In stalking a bear it is only, and yet absolutely, necessary to keep well to leeward, and to approach as noiselessly as possible. If the bear turns to inspegt the intruder on its privacy, a sudden halt must be made, although the precaution of secreting one- self is unnecessary ; to remain immovable is all that is required until the bear commences walking or feeding. There is one feature in the economy of the black bear which appears puzzling to the settlers and Indians in Newfoundland, viz., the period of gestation. Of the many female bears killed by these people, even late in autumn, none are found to contain young. From this fact it is pretty evident that they copulate in the fall, and bring forth their young in the snug winter caves, for on their appearance in the spring they are generally accompanied by two, rarely three, young ones. The black bear is usually a solitary animal, although five, and even six, have not unusually been seen together in the spring and fall of the year. It is exceedingly omnivorous in its habits; nothing appears distasteful to it. In the spring it frequents the sea-shore, feeding on any amimal matter which may be cast up by the waves, such as putrid pieces of whales, fish, lobsters, crabs, &c. Later in the summer the various berries, such as mountain ash (Pyrus americana), for which it readily climbs, cranberries (Oxycoccus palustris), blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum), &c., are its principal food, as well as the eggs of ants, and probably the insects themselves are not wholly rejected. No instance of the black bear attacking domestic cattle came under my observation during my residence on the island; in fact, on more than one occasion I saw the “ footing” of a large bear in close proximity to a small flock of sheep which roamed at pleasure round the settle- ments during the few summer months. A scarcity of food, which, however, is not likely to occur on so thinly populated an island, may induce bears to attack sheep, and even larger domestic animals. The fondness of bears for molasses is proverbial, and many amusing anecdotes were related to me of the audacity of young bears entering 2040 THE ZooLocisr—Manrcu, 1870. houses in search of this luxury. One method of destroying bears,— and one which I never remember to have seen recorded,—viz., by “ tailing” a gun, I saw successfully put in operation by the old bear- slayer, James Dacre. Two days before I visited him, at his lonely salmon “ berth,” in July, 1868, he had shot a very large dog harbour seal (Phoca vitulina), which had lived for some time previously on spoils obtained from the old man’s salmon-nets. The fat of this seal had been cut in strips, as usual at that season of the year, and hung up outside the cabin to melt and drop into an oil-cask below. Each night a piece of fat mysteriously disappeared, and as the dog slept inside the cabin it was conjectured that the robber must be a bear ; however, on my arrival I found the old man busy, as he termed it, “tailing” his gun. Being anxious to witness the modus operandi in this bit of wooderaft, I seated myself on the bank and lighted my pipe —? to keep off the mosquitoes. The first article selected was an empty cask with one head out: this was laid on its bulge, on the ground, in a favourable position, and firmly secured by piling large rocks on either side. A hole was then cut in the remaining head sufficiently large to admit the barrel of his gun, which was also firmly secured in the required position by wedging. A gimlet hole was then bored through the top of the cask, about midway between the ends, so that a piece of cod-line, when lowered through the hole, hung about six inches in advance of the muzzle of the gun, and to this end was tied a piece of the seal’s fat, probably two pounds in weight, while the other end of the line was securely fastened to the trigger of the gun, and the trap was complete. As I had six miles further to walk that night I was debarred the pleasure of remaining with Dacre and noting the time of the bear’s arrival, &c.: the old man slept so sound that he even never heard the report of his gun, although not five yards from his own head. The bear was frightfully shot about the head and throat, but managed to drag itself more than ten yards, before it died. It was skinned the same day, before my return along the shore, and appeared to be a young bear, probably about four years of age. The flesh of the black bear is by many persons considered a delicacy, but, for my own part, I do not care for fresh roast bear-meat; the pickled hams are, however, good eating, but require great care in preserving, as the fatty portions are apt to turn rancid. Polar Bear, Ursus maritimus, Zinn.—At one time by no means uncommon on the island, but since the extensive seal-fishery has been carried on by schooners among the drift ice in the Straits of THe ZooLtocist—Marcp, 1870. 2041 Belle Isle, and elsewhere round the coasts, the polar bear has become very rare—nearly, if not quite, extinct. Many of the settlers had met white bears face-to-face, but never knew them act on the offensive, although, generally, if molested, and no ready means of escape presented itself, they would fight in a most determined manner; and all bore testimony to the tenacity of life in this species. The old man Dacre informed me that on one occasion, when salmon-fishing in Portland Creek, a few miles north of Cow Head, he was awakened one morning by hearing something in his “tilt,” and upon rousing him- self and looking up he was startied to see a white bear staring him in the face; but although so frightened himself the bear appeared even more so, and hastily took its departure, before the old man’s presence of mind had svfficiently returned to remind him that his loaded gun was by his side. Shortly after this two polar bears were seen in Portland Creek Pond, and Dacre fired a ball through one as it swam by a point of land on which he was standing; but, although not more than ten yards distant, the ball failed to strike a vital part, albeit two streaks of blood followed ihe bear, showing that the missile had passed through the body. It seems strange that an ounce bullet should pass transversely through the body of any animal, save of the very largest class, without destroying it, and yet it is an uncontested fact that deer, and more especially seals, often escape after receiving such wounds. As these bears were seen at Portland Creek in the month of July, it is pretty evident they escaped thither from the drift ice some two or three months before, or, what perhaps is more likely, the bears were hunting for food on shore when the treacherous and boisterous off- shore wind separated their immense icy raft from the land and carried it away to the warm waters of the Gulf stream, never more to return to bear off its late and savage occupants. Some few years since two of these animals were roaming over the small promontory of Cow Head, at the back of the few houses. Neither was killed, and both soon took their departure without harming either man or beast. At the time of my first visit to Halifax, N.S., the eccentric Mr. A. Downs possessed a bear of this species, and, should these notes find their way to that province, many of my readers there will remember a rather cruel amusement of the old man’s, accompanied with the usual exclamation, “ Let’s stir him up with a long pole!” each time suiting the action to the words. However gratifying this folly and cruelly may have been to many of his visitors, had only one bar of its large cage proved faulty, more lives than one would probably have been SECOND SERIES—VOL. V. N 2042 THE ZooLoGcist—Marcn, 1870. sacrificed before the furious animal could have been destroyed or recaptured. CASTORIDA. American Beaver, Castor canadensis, Kuhl.—Vide ‘ Zoologist’ 8.8. p. 1953. Morip&. Brown, or Norway Rat, Mus decumanus, Pallas.—As usual with all countries commercially or otherwise connected with Europe, this scavenger has long found its way to Newfoundland, where neither the severe cold of winter nor the insecure home in the little wooden store-houses seems to check its increasing propensities. Black Rat, Mus rattus, Linn.—Said by the settlers to be occasion- ally taken on the southern parts of the island, but I heard of no specimens captured as far north as Cow Head. N.B. Strange to say that during a residence of two years in Newfoundland I never could obtain, nor even see, any species of mouse ; although the settlers assured me that in some seasons they literally swarmed, but whether of this genus or not I was unable to learn. Probably M. musculus, Zinn., occurs on the island, but from the accounts of the settlers I should infer is not the species which is periodically seen in such large quantities: these probably belong to the genus Arvicola, or to some allied genera. If true, there is some- thing peculiarly interesting in these periodical visitations—or, I should, perhaps, rather say migrations—of mice, for I was informed that these muscine armies come from the interior, or from that direction, towards the sea, which they boldly enter, and are conse- quently drowned and their bodies cast on the shore “ by thousands.” This reads much like a romance, but I never found these good people given much to romancing, and an explanation which never occurred to them readily suggested itself to me,—whether correct or not I leave others to judge,—viz., these mice, having increased disproportionately to their means of sustenance, were compelled to make a partial migration—whither? Instinct(?) led them to the sea-shore, where, following the receding tide, they would obtain an ample supply of mollusks and small crustaceans. But the tide “waiteth not,” even for lordly man; would it do so for these poor starving mice? 1 trow not. The depressions would first be filled by the returning tide; effectually cutting off the retreat of hundreds—nay perhaps “ thou- sands ””—which may for a time save themselves on rocks, or hillocks of sand and sea-weeds, but these shortly become submerged, and the THE ZooLocist—M arcu, 1870. 2048 mice must inevitably perish, and their bodies be cast on shore by the waves. Some will ‘ask, “Is this in accordance with the laws of Nature, that animals, or rather the increase of them, shall be kept in check by the destruction of thousands at one stroke when in search of food?” Granted it is not; but I must remind such of my readers that, even in such an “ out-of-the-world” place as Newfoundland, Nature is not allowed to take her course, for birds of prey are shot down there as in other countries; and, more than this, the weasel, the legitimate arch-enemy of the mouse, is extensively trapped in its white winter pelage. ARVICOLIDA. Musk Rat, Fiber zibethicus (Zinn.)—This “ beaver in miniature” is exceedingly common in Newfoundland; some swampy places almost swarm with them. It is generally the work of the juvenile trapper to catch them, as little ingenuity is required: it is only neces- sary to find out the places on the banks of the ponds and brooks, which are worn bare by their “footing,” and place the iron traps there in the most exposed situations, and without the slightest covering. If the trapper cannot suit himself in selections of this kind, as is often the case where the margins are fringed with a thick growth of stunted alder, he may cut two stoutish poles and place one end of each side by side in the mud, allowing the other ends to rest on the bank; on these the traps should be placed just above water-level. This is a very good method of catching them, as the musk rats are sure to run up the sticks, and when in the trap soon tumble off into the water and are drowned. The houses of the musk rats, or “ mus- quash,” are built of mud and rushes, and are frequently of consider- able magnitude, but appear to be tenanted only during the winter season: those which I had ample opportunities of examining were invariably situated in muddy, swampy ponds, where rushes abounded, and where the ice never appeared so thick as in more exposed situa- tions. The houses were not built, as some writers assert, on the ice, but on the mud at the bottom of the shallow water, and were raised some two feet above the surface; so that, as the winter sets in, the outsides of the houses and the pond become frozen, while the water in the bottom of the houses remains unfrozen, either from the natural warmth of the interior, or by the animals themselves continually breaking it as a means of exit in search of food under the ice. To effect this, passages are left open at the bottom of the houses near the 2044 Tue ZooLtocist— Marcu, 1870. mud, and below the influence of frost. The houses are also provided with a kind of second floor above the water-level, on which the musk rats lie on a bed of soft dry grass. Is all this provision the result of instinct? If so, how admirably it agrees with a like provision on the part of the Esquimaux! and again, why do not the musk rats of Louisiana provide a similar winter retreat; as also the Indians of Florida and other southern States of America? No! animals, like men, adapt themselves to circumstances. Why then separate these like senses, and term that of man “wisdom” and that of animals “ in- stinct”? There may be fools among animals—there certainly are among men. At the commencement of these “ zoological notes” I stated my in- tention of following the classification of Professor Spencer F. Baird, and I have done so; but I cannot agree with that learned author in so far separating this species from the beaver, not only generically, which is right, but by the introduction of whole families, and others bearing that unnatural and unmeaning term “ subfamilies.” The two animals are not only intimately connected by appearance,—indeed so inuch so that the great Linneus mistakably placed both in the genus Castor,—but those who, like myself, have lived amid the haunts of both, have invariably been struck with the similarity in their economy —and what more important points than similarity of structure and economy should take precedence in a natural classification ? The food of musk rats consists of the stems and roots of aquatic plants, bark, fresh-water clams (Unios), aud perhaps other mollusks. The females bring forth six to nine young at a birth, during the summer, and appear to breed only once a year in Newfoundland. Large spring skins of the musk rat fetch twenty cents: at this season the musk-like odour is very powerful. Lerorip&. Polar Hare, Lepus glacialis, Leach.—This is the only species of leporine found in Newfoundland, and appears tolerably plentiful throughout the island. It is a thoroughly alpine species, never descending to the plains, except when driven to do so in search of food during two or three months in the depth of winter. This is the largest species of hare with which I am acquainted; ordinary specimens weigh from nine to ten pounds, while others are said to have been killed weighing as much as fourteen pounds. The tips of the ears are black on both sides. The markings are generally very Tue ZooLtocist— Marcu, 1870. 2045 constant, and measure nearly three-quarters of an inch long by the same in breadth; but I saw two specimens killed at Brown Point, on the N.W. coast, which differed in having the black at the tips extending down the outside edge of each ear almost to the base. This variation excited the curiosity of all the settlers who saw the specimens, and must therefore, I think, be uncommon. The flesh of the polar hare is not so palatable as that of its English representative, which is mainly owing perhaps to its winter food consisting almost exclusively of the young and tender shoots of birch, called “ browse.” It feeds only during the night or early morning, retiring to its “ form” on the approach of day, at which time it never stirs unless disturbed. In my notes on the snowy owl (Nyclea nivea) I have inadvertently stated that it preys on the polar hare: other writers have said the same, but 1 think on insufficient evidence, and 1 am now inclined to withdraw that statement, as the snowy owl is chiefly a day-flying species, while the polar hare is only abroad during the hours of night or twilight. Besides, where both animals are common it is strange that this circumstance, if a fact, should have escaped the observation of the observant settlers. CERVIDE. Woodland Cariboo or American Reindeer, Rangifer caribou (Kerr). —Large herds of these deer still frequent the high lands, although hundreds are annually killed by the settlers and Indians, and many others by the wolves, which are continually chasing them from place to place especially during the winter months, when the majority of the deer leave the mountains and come to the plains below to feed on the “browse” of the birch. The settlers generally go on the hills deer- hunting about the middle of September, which is just prior to the rutting season, and consequently at a time when the stags are in their best condition. The table-land frequented by the cariboo is about two thousand feet above sea-level, and there, although some parts are ‘swampy, the vegetation is scanty—so much so that in deer-hunting the few granitic boulders lying about on the surface or projecting through the thin soil supply the place of trees and bushes to screen the hunter when stalking in that barren district. In this “land of fog” it is not every day that the hunter can venture on these hills. On the 25th of September, 1866, I started on a deer-hunting excursion with four brothers of the name of Payne (originally from Dorsetshire). With a fair wind we sailed up Parson’s Pond about eight miles, landed and 2046 Tue Zootocist—Marcg, 1870. hauled our boat on shore, and after a walk of three miles, through woods and swamps, reached the foot of the hills about 4 Pp. M., and immediately commenced cutting fire-wood and putting the old broken- down “tilt” in order for camping. At that date I had not so much experience in “swinging the American axe” as I have since had, and therefore left that more laborious part to the Paynes, while I busied myself in gathering spruce boughs for our bed, which, although not so “soft as down,” is a very good substitute after a hard day’s fag. As the locality had been occupied on previous occasions we had only to patch up the old “tilt”; but as this domicile pro tem is an institution only known to the minority of my readers, I will here describe it somewhat in extenso. In front—or that part facing the fire—three stout forked poles, standing equi-distant, were firmly driven into the ground, so that the forks stood about five feet from the ground, on which rested another pole, from which, sloping backwards to the ground, rested others about a foot apart; these, commencing from the yround upwards, were covered, tile-fashion, with long strips of birch bark, overlapping at the ends as well as at the sides: this was kept in place by other poles being placed on top, alternately between those underneath the bark, and our “tilt” or camp was complete. In this primitive construction we were destined to spend eight consecutive nights. The day following these preparations proved wet and foggy, aud we spent it in beaver-hunting on a neighbouring stream, and in cutting fire-wood—an abundance of which is generally necessary in camping out in Newfoundland, even so early in the fall as the latter part of September, for the nights are chilly. The following morning proved finer, and we ascended the hills—a rather trying undertaking to those unaccustomed to such exercise. After walking five or six miles the youngest Payne espied a small herd of cariboo, twenty-one in number, some lying down, others quietly feeding. Now ensued the “council of war.” ‘The three younger brothers and I were to imme- diately start, keeping well to leeward of the deer, and secrete ourselves bebind boulders, as near the herd as it would be safe to go without disturbing or even raising the suspicions of the cariboo, while the elder Payne, taking one of my rifles with him, was to stalk and endea- vour to drive them towards us; and so well did he succeed that, after killing two himself, only thirteen escaped. One of the younger brothers also made a very successful shot, killing two stags and a doe with a load of buck-shot. As an illustration of the tenacity of life in the cariboo, I may mention that one old stag, after being mortally THE Zootocist—Marcu, 1870. 2047 wounded with a spherical bullet from an eleven-bore gun, appeared to increase its speed for about four hundred yards, and then rolled over dead. On going up to the animal, we found that the bullet had entered on the near side of the tail, and after traversing the whole length of the body had come out in front of the near shoulder. Before we had finished grallouching the deer it commenced to snow and rain, and we hastened to sling each of us a quarter of venison at our backs and strike the homeward trail, a distance of some six miles to camp; but with eighty pounds of meat at our backs and a miserably rough track to travel, we none of us had a dry thread about us before reaching half that distance. Night had fully set in before we got to camp, and as none of us had a change of clothes we were obliged to dispense with that luxury, and immediately set to work to make a fire and cook our supper of venison steaks, which all seemed to enjoy, although not under the most favourable circumstances, but “ hunger needs no sauce,” and, sticking our wooden spits between our legs, we managed to stow away an amount of venison and ship’s biscuit that would have astonished the majority of our stay-at-home friends. After supper came the friendly pipe, and, despite the pouring rain, we once more fought our “cariboo battle,” and turned in for the night, but, although tired, not to sleep, for the torrents of rain had caused a mountain rill on each side of us to overflow, and not only put out our fire but almost swamped our little “tilt,” so that we had to turn out and dig a trench round both to carry off the surplus water. With the appearance of “old Sol” the storm passed away, and we again ascended the hills, which we found covered with snow half a leg deep; however, we managed to find our deer, which fortunately the wolves had not scented, and to bring the remainder to camp. Here I again enjoyed a hearty supper, but my companions were “ down in the mumps”—I am not joking: the preceding rough night had cer- tainly affected them with that ludicrous-looking complaint of the jaws termed “mumps” or parotitis, and they dared not wade the brook which intervened between our camp and the lake where we had left our boat, and which, owing to the heavy rain, had swollen consider- ably. After waiting a few more days, which fortunately proved fine, the brook had fallen sufficiently low to admit of our carrying our loads of venison to the boat, and thence home without further mis- haps. This is rather a dreary picture of cariboo-hunting, but all excursions are not attended with like results, and even if such were so, what are they to the ardent sportsman or naturalist ? 2048 Tue ZooLocist—Marcg, 1870. The horns of the cariboo vary, I think, more than those of any other species of deer with which I am acquainted. The specimen figured by Professor Baird (No. 900, p. 364) is neither so large nor so well formed as many | saw in Newfoundland, but may perhaps be taken quite as an average specimen; in fact, I never saw two adult stags with horns exactly alike. The largest which came under my observation belonged to an immense old stag that was shot by the eldest of the Paynes who went on the hills with me: the points of these horns when the skull was reversed on the shoulders of a man five feet ten inches in height touched the ground: this magnificent pair of antlers are now bleaching or bleached on the hills above Parson’s Pond. I possess a pair with thirty-two points, including those on one brow-antler, which is palmated, while the other is a mere snag: these horns, with just sufficient skull left to hold them together, weighed thirty pounds. I have seen others perfectly straight, like those ofta pricket, and with the brow-antlers of similar form. I have previously mentioned the tenacity of life in this species of deer: as a further illustration of this fact I may mention that my host at Cow Head killed a cariboo, in the heart of which was im- bedded a large buck-shot the size of a large pistol-bullet, and, from the hard callous appearance of the surrounding parts, seemed to have been there many months, and perhaps years: the stag was in good condition: at least four other settlers testified to this fact. A barbarous practice was in vogue among the half-French settlers in the Bay of Islands a few years since. ‘The cariboo on their southern migration (for deer as well as birds, and even fish, migrate partially from these cold regions on the approach of a severe winter) were in the habit of swimming across a narrow part of a large lake called the “ Deer Pond,” on the banks of which, at that season, were hidden both men and canoes. When a herd had entered the water and swam sufficiently far to admit of pursuit, the canoes were hastily launched, and the chase began. On coming up with the deer, knives were drawn and deep gashes made on the rump of each deer to ascertain which were fattest, and these instantly killed with toma- hawks, while scores of wounded and bleeding animals were allowed to escape. The slain, perhaps sixty or seventy in number, were then collected and towed to the Humber river, which flowed from the Deer Pond to the settlement, some fifteen miles, and thence into the sea. As the Humber on this part has some rapids and cascades it does not admit of canoe navigation, and the deer were consequently allowed to THE ZooLocistr—M arcu, 1870. 2049 float to the settlements, where half never arrived, and half of those which did were carried on by the current out to sea. Fools, in your folly you have taught these valuable animals wisdom! Thousands which annually swam that lake now migrate by a route miles in the interior. ? Barren Ground Cariboo, R. Greenlandicus.—Unless this species of deer occurs in Newfoundland I am unable to account for small herds of deer which are occasionally seen by the settlers, and dis- tinguished by the name of “little black-legged deer.” They are well known to the settlers, but none have been killed at Cow Head for the last five or six years. The last herd seen consisted of sixteeu individuals, of which four were killed, including one old stag, which was said not to weigh so much as an ordinary doe of the woodland catiboo, although very fat. These deer appeared to differ in one respect from descriptions of R. Greenlandicus, viz. in having the horns smaller than the preceding species; but then it is a well-known fact that the horns of the same ‘species of deer are much smaller in southern latitudes than they are in their high northern ranges. I must, however, leave the identification of this species in Newfound- land to some other zoologist. Henry REEKs. Thruxton, Andover. Remarks on the Abnormal Plumages of the Goldfinch. By H. Buaxe-Knox, Esq., J.P. I. Albinos and Whites.—The real albino, in which the plumage is healthy, succulent and plumous, of a milk-white colour; pink eyes; flesh-coloured bill and feet. This is natural, if we may use the term, for an albino lives and dies an albino. With respect to albinos there have been some rather stupid remarks made in the pages of the ‘Zoologist:’ that which has struck me as particularly so is de- nouncing albinoism as unpermanent—that is, that the bird will become of the normal colour when it moults, for the simple reason that we do not see a race of albinos of any given species of which individual birds have been met with. I should think it very remark- able if an albino in Britain lived to see Christmas-day, for in all probability those who most denounce theoretically this defect, for it is not a disease, would decidedly do so practically by an ounce SECOND SERIES—-VOL. V. o 2050 TuHE ZooLtocist—M arcu, 1870. of shot. I do not think a true-coloured bird would acknowledge an albino as belonging to its species, and when normal-coloured birds are plentiful it would not take so strange a mate. It is well known what animosity is shown to a white bird by others of the same species. I am very certain that in civilized England a male and female albino of the same species will never be allowed to pair, if they should even chance to outlive the fusilade of an autumn, winter and spring. Even without man’s destructive opposition it would be strange if two albinos of the same species met in the same locality—they must also be of opposite sexes; stranger if nothing befel their nest and their exceedingly delicate progeny. Would the progeny of necessity be albinos? I hope these remarks may explain why albinos are not more common. ‘The white-heads we read of so often in these pages are, perhaps ninety-nine to the one hundred, not albinos. Those who fancy albinoism relates to the ermine, the ptarmigan, &c.,—which change to white in winter, and change colour again, without moult, in spring,—are quite astray; likewise those who think a white fow] or a white rabbit an albino. Albinos have no colour anywhere stronger than pink or flesh-colour, even in the eyes. Instances of albinoism oecur in the human animal, and are common amongst many of the lower orders of creation. Those who discredit the permanence of this defect should of course expect an albino woman or rat to turn any day into the common appearance as easily as in a bird. I need not say that this does not occur. Albinos of the goldfinch are very rare. IJ. Parti-coloured, Pied, or Birds with White Feathers, abnormal but not unnatural. 1. Promiscuously variegated. Not uncommon. 2. White, systematically arranged. Uncommon. 8. Devoid of red upon throat, white instead. Not rare. Called “ cheverels:” these breed “ cheverels.” 4, White-headed. These four varieties are often quite permanent and healthy. 5. Has a permanent spot of white, as large often as a pea, in the black at the occiput; it is peculiar. I have one of these birds caged, but the spot is not nearly so large as in some J have seen: it is permanent: he is evidently very old, has copper-colour, not crimson, on the head, and very white cheeks. Tue ZooLocist—Marcu, 1870. 2051 IIT. Parti-coloured, Pied, Yellow, Cream-colour, Muddy, or White- Jeathered Birds, abnormal and unnatural.—Caused by a wrong dis- tribution or entire loss of pigment, from disease, debility, shock, &c. This ailment is often cured at the succeeding moult—frequently at that time reaches its crisis, the whole plumage dying, but still remaining on the skin. Birds that I have shot in this dreadful state are always most emaciated. 1. White feathers through the plumage. . White feathers, tinged with yellow. . White, tinged with buff or cream. . Entirely white, but not albinos. Fawn or white. Fawn or cream-colour. . Gray with age. 8. Dead bleached feathers. These abnormities generally occur to first-plumage birds, and are rectified at the next moult; they are more or less common. The bleaching of sapless feathers is very common in young birds and extremely old ones: in youth I have seen the young moult issuing, and though the body is emaciated, still there can be no doubt the moult would eventually prevail. In old birds it seems to be caused by exhausted energies, and is fatal. In the young of the starling this occurs more than in any other bird, the brown first plumage willingly bleaching to a faded or deep cream-colour. 9. There is a scarce variety in which the head is cinnamon, like the back. Birds reared from the nest should be liable to this, always retaining the plumage of the “ gray pate.” IH OB ow 2 IV. Black. 1. Pure black. Rare in the goldfinch: it is decidedly caused by age, perhaps promoted by peculiarly rich feeding. The yellow of the wing generally remains as bright as originally. I have never seen wild goldfinches black, but have caged birds. 2. Dusky, dingy or sooty. A suffusion of these dull shades through the plumage is not uncommon in caged birds. It generally affects the yellow on the wing as well as the rest of the plumage. It is very different from the healthy black plumage. 3. Where the wings are all black, without yellow. This occurs even with the rest of the body normal. Permanent. 4. Where the carmine of head is black. Permanent. 2052 THE ZooLocist—Mancu, 1870. V. Crimson abnormities. Black of head intermingled with crimson feathers. Common. Black of head all crimson. Rare and beautiful. 8. Cheeks carmine, flesh-colour, yellow, copper or crimson, instead of white or tawny. 4. A moon-like spot of carmine at each extremity of the white line across occiput. ‘These birds are called “moons.” 5. When the moons meet, filling up all the white occipital line. Very scarce. Beautiful indeed is this aurora-like effect. They are called in Dublin “ Duncans.” I gota “moon” last autumn ; but this pretty effect seems transitory : it has already faded from rose-colour to copper-yellow. It remains to be seen whether it will remoult again. Fanciers tell me that both “moons” and “ Duncans” are permanent. I have mentioned cases of loss of crimson under other headings. to VI. Alealy Goldfinches.—Mealy birds have the appearance of being sprinkled with dust or meal: it is caused by a fringe of drab to each feather, even to the black and crimson of the head. The effect is curious. “Such birds breed cheverels.” IT saw a marked instance of this fringing last December: I questioned some fanciers on the subject, suggesting that they might be first-winter birds, but they say it is permanent. VII. Fellow. 1. When the crimson of head is gold and even cream-colour: this is generally caused by season or ailment. Common. 2. When the breast becomes resplendent yellow. Rare. I have one living: it was sent to me for its weight in gold, which I did not give, however. Anything to equal the beauty of this bird I never saw: crimson of crimson was the head, and very extended; black of the deepest the dark parts ; exquisite cinnamon-colour the back ; snow- white the cheeks, throat and under parts; the breast of a glinting brass-yellow; it also had the rose-coloured stripe at the back of the head. 1 could not kill the beautiful creature, nor would I let him go; so I caged him. 1 am sorry now I did not add him to my collection, for he seems untameable, and quickly losing all the resplendent tints, and as these bright colours dissipate in confinement I expect him next moult to turn out a common-looking bird. H. B.-Kwox. THE ZooLocist—Marcn, 1870, 2053 Ornithological Notes from North Lincolnshire. By Joun Corpeaux, Esq. (Continued from Zool. 8. 8. 1979). DECEMBER, 1869. Storm Petrel.—A storm petrel was shot, on the Ist of December, by Mr. Gilbert, gamekeeper to Lord De Grey and Ripon, in Dunston Fen, in this county, a distance of thirty miles from the coast: it was flying at a great speed at the time. I have heard of two other occurrences of the petrel inland in Lincolnshire, about the same date. Pied Wagtail_—Several heard during the winter up to this date. They frequent the sheep-folds in the turnip-fields, consorting with the meadow pipit, and are usually in close attendance upon the sheep, from whose parasites they probably obtain many a meal: they also search the heaps of freshly-pulled turnips for the grubs and larvz of insects concealed about the roots of the bulbs: from these sources they obtain a constant and plentiful supply of insect- food.. 1 am inclined to think that the greatly increased cultivation of the turnip during the last twenty years in this district, and the system of folding sheep upon them during the winter, has supplied a source of insect-food not otherwise available, and offers an induce- ment to the wagtails to remain through the winter. It is only during the last fifteen years that the turnip has been extensively cultivated in our marsh district, and previous to this time the wagtail was unknown as a winter resident. I seldom (unless in very severe weather) see them during the winter except about the sheep-folds. In the early spring, when a supply of insect-food is brought to the surface by preparing the land for the seed, the wagtails betake themselves to the freshly-broken soil, and their numbers are then augmented by large arrivals from the south. I have remarked (Zool. S. S. 1669) on the absence of this species during the winter of 1868-69, when, in consequence of the dry summer, the turnip crop throughout this district, and over a great part of England, was an almost total failure. JANUARY, 1870. Kitliwake Gull.—January 1. I received two of these gulls this morning, captured in the North Sea, having got entangled in the 2054 TueE ZooLtocist—Marcu, 1870. drift-nets of one of the Grimsby herring-smacks. They are birds of the year, in the plumage of the first winter, and agree closely with the description given by Mr. Blake-Knox (Zool. 8. 8. 550) of the plumage of this gull in the first winter: they differ, however, in their feet, which are a greenish gray, and not black, and the colour of the inside of the mouth, which is orange-yellow, and not yellow. This species, as Mr. Blake-Knox observes, is strictly an ocean bird: I have never met with it on the land. : Plover, Green and Golden.—Perhaps the most striking feature of our marshes at this season is the immense flocks of golden and green plover, which we daily see by thousands together, either on the wing or feeding in the extensive grass marshes for miles skirting the Humber embankment, This winter is, however, a most exceptional one, as I have only noted one small flock of peewit since the 11th of November, on which day I recorded the extraordinary flight of this species towards the N.W. (S. 8. 1978). Our resident golden plover are restricted to two or three small flocks, which, as they invariably choose the centre of our largest fields, are practically unapproachable. The character of the present winter is much like those of the two previous years, when we had an abundance of both species; and I know of no local cause to occasion their absence from the district. Rooks and Wood Pigeons.—The turnip crop of 1869 in this district has been subjected to the attack of a small beetle known as the turnip weevil (Nedyus contraclus, Newman).* The bulbs are more or less covered by a mass of knobs and rugosities, in many cases completely altering their shape and impairing both the quality and growth of the root: each of these knobs or excrescences contains a small white grub, much sought after both by rooks and wood pigeons, which come daily to feed upon them: they break open the knobs and extract its inhabitant. I lately examined a field, half of which is sown with yellow and purple turnips in equal proportions, and the other half with swedes; scarcely a bulb had escaped the attacks of this insidious enemy. The swedes, however, had suffered in a less degree than the common and sofier turnips. I had some trouble to find a bulb which had not been pierced by the rooks and wood pigeons. In every case the top only of the knob was broken away, leaving just sufficient room to permit the extraction of the grub. Unfortunately this opera- tion is anything but beneficial to the root, letting in both the wet and * IT am indebted to Mr. Newman for a description of this insect. THE ZooLocist—Marcu, 1870. 2055 frost. Evidently the only object of the birds was to get at the grub; but I now see that as the supply becomes exhausted they have commenced digging into the solid bulb, by enlarging the holes from which the grubs had previously been extracted. Blackbird.—During the late hard frosts I observed one morning a fine old male blackbird wading, snipe-like, over the mud in the centre of the great main drain which intersects this parish: he was thrusting his yellow bill under the water, and picking some small substance from the surface of the mud. The water, owing to a mud-bank having accumulated across the stream, was not more than one to two inches deep at this place, which, from the number of foot-marks, had evidently been much resorted to. The attraction was doubtless due to the presence of the water-snail (Physa fontinalis), several of which I took at this place by passing my hand over the surface. White Partridge.—With reference to Mr. Harting’s note (S. S. 2023) on the white partridges shot in Yorkshire, I examined, a few weeks since, a partridge which was shot by a friend in the South of Durham, close to the Yorkshire border. He called it a “white partridge ;” I can best describe it, however, as a very pale variely of that bird, and there are distinct traces of a pale chestnut shoe on the breast. JoHN CoRDEAUX. Great Cotes, Ulceby, Lincolnshire, February 7, 1870. Errata.—“ Notes from Spurn Point,” Zool. S. S. 1943, line 35, for side read tide; p. 1945, line 4, for linkhorn read stinkhorn; line 19, for Newsund read Newsand.— J.C. Ornithological Notes from Norfolk—September to December, 1869. By Henry Stevenson, Esq., F.L.S. (Continued from Zool. 8. 8. 1913). SEPTEMBER. Cormorant.—In the ‘ Zoologist’ for November last (S. S. 1921), Mr. Gunn recorded the occurrence of a cormorant inland, on the Ist of October, on the lake at Kimberley, an immature female: I also received a young bird, sex not identified, on the 22nd of September. Honey Buzzard.—An immature male was shot at Weyborne, on the coast, on the 18th of September. The stomach contained the remains of honeycomb and wasps. 2056 Tue ZooLocist—Marcu, 1870. OcTOBER. Storm Petrel.—Between the 18th of this month and the Ist of November a very considerable number of these birds, storm driven, appeared on our coast, of which upwards of twenty specimens were either shot or picked up dead in different localities, but chiefly in the vicinity of the sea. Some few, however, as usually occurs at that season, were met with far inland, one being picked up dead near the Foundry Bridge, Norwich, on the 19th of October, and another at Catton on the 21st, more than twenty miles from the coast: another was found dead at the foot of a tree in a plantation at Catton, against which it had probably flown in the night. About this time many were seen, sheltering from the heavy storm outside, in the outer harbour at Lowestoft, on the Suffolk coast. Some of these birds had a few minute black seeds in their stomachs. Forktailed Petrel.—But one example of this rarer species has come under my notice this autumn, shot on the North River, near Yarmouth, on the 26th of October. Pomarine and Buffon’s Skuas.—On the 30th of October a pomarine skua (apparently in its second year’s plumage) and a Buffon’s skua (a bird of the year) were sent up to Norwich, from Clay, next the sea, with two or three storm petrels. Gray Phalarope.—A single bird was killed at Stalham on the 18th. Little Gull—On the 23rd of October an immature specimen was sent me from Salthouse, and a second, in similar plumage, was killed at Blakeney, on the 30th, by Mr. R. Upcher, which was consorting at the time with some gray plovers, in a marsh near the sea, which was partly flooded from the sea breaking over the banks during the recent gales. The feet and legs in my own specimen, when recently killed, were of a livid pink colour. Purple Sandpiper.—On the 30th a single specimen of this sand- piper was shot at Blakeney by Mr. R. Upcher. NovVEMBER. Fulmar Petrel.—A_ grayish-looking bird of this species, somewhat scarce on our coast, was shot whilst swimming in the river Bure, near Yarmouth, on the 38rd of November. ‘The worn and weather-beaten state of the plumage was explained, on dissection, by the appearance of an old shot-wound and a piece of tarred rope in the interstices, THE ZooLoctst— Marc8, 1870. 2057 which had become knotted and inflamed, fully accounting for the bird’s unhealthy appearance. Hybrid Fowl and Pheasant.—A fine cross-bred bird, apparently between a Dorking fowl and a pheasant, was shot near Cromer, on the 8th, and exhibited marked features of both parents: it proved a female on dissection. Woodcock.—Very large bags have been made during the autumn and winter, almost throughout the county, but chiefly in coverts situated on the north-eastern part of our coast, in the neighbourhood of Cromer and Holt. Near the latter spot, about the last week in October, twenty-seven cocks were killed in one day, and from eight to ten couples were reported in various localities, some being killed in spots where they are rarely if ever seen. A Yarmouth correspondent of ‘ Land and Water, under date of November 20th, writing of the large numbers killed recently both in Norfolk and Suffolk, in planta- tions near the sea, stated that twenty-two cocks were killed in one covert alone, on the 5th of November, and twelve in another, all in good condition, but exhausted after their flight. The great day of the season, however, was at Hempstead, near Holt, on the 16th, when four guns killed forty-nine woodcocks, and on the previous day, on the same ground, ten and a half couples were bagged and three and a half couples picked up or shot by the keeper; and on the 20th, on an adjoining estate at Bodham, the same party shot thirteen couples in an hour and a half; and, again at Hempstead, on the 23rd, five and a half couples: altogether, as I have since heard, six out of seven woodcocks killed on the Ist of February, 1870, completed the large number of three hundred woodcocks bagged by the Messrs. Buxton on their manors in this part of the county. A resident at Hempstead, well acquainted with these coverts, which have always been noted for woodcocks, believes that if they had been looked about ten days before at least one hundred cocks might have been killed in one day, by sportsmen accustomed to walk and shoot in the “high fell.” He had never before seen so many, and of an evening, on the adjoining heath, twelve and fourteen were observed on the wing at one time. A curious and very unusual variety, killed at Runton, near Cromer, was announced in the ‘ Field’ of the 13th of November, as a “ black woodcock,” but from Dr. Sclater, Professor Newton and others, who examined it, when exhibited at a meeting of the Zoological Society, I learn that it was considered as an example of incipient melanism, and had been following the fashion of the so-called Sabine’s snipe. SECOND SERIES—VOL. V. P 2058 THE ZooLtocist—Marcu, 1870. It was not really black, but had some very black patches upon it, and somewhat resembled, as Mr. Newton informs me, a dark variety killed in Hertfordshire in the autumn of 1868. Kingfisher.—A considerable number of these birds were brought in to our birdstuffers in the early part of November, which, from the mildness of the weather at that time, must have been chiefly migrants. One man received upwards of twenty in about a fortnight, and thirty- eight between the beginning of September and the Ist of December. Shore Lark.—On the 7th of November a young male of this formerly rare species was shot on Breydon Wall, near Yarmouth; another on the beach, on the 18th of November; and a third, in the same locality as the first, on the 27th of November. Richardson’s Skua.— An immature bird, in very dark plumage, was killed on the 24th. DecEMBER. Goshawk.—An immature female of this now rare visitant, was trapped at Filby, near Yarmouth, on the 3rd of December: the stomach was entirely empty. Shore Lark.—Two more shot at Mantby, near Yarmouth, on the 14th. Peregrine.—A fine adult female shot on the Bure, near Yarmouth, on the 11th. ; Hen Harrier.—An adult male killed at Horsey, near Yarmouth, on the 18th. Merlin.—A beautiful adult male was purchased in Yarmouth Market on the 31st. Swan.—On the 30th of December a splendid old male was killed near Yarmouth, and, as usual, two or three females and young birds have been sent to our market with other fowl, but in spite of the sharp weather which commenced on Christmas-day nothing particular occurred in the way of wild fowl up to the close of the year. Henry STEVENSON. Ornithological Notes from South Devon.—Great Northern Diver. These birds, in immature plumage, are unusually numerous this winter in Torbay. The first of these fine divers was shot on the 17th of December, since which I have heard of uo less than eight or nine of these birds being obtained in the bay, and of course many others have been seen. A pair of great northern divers, in full plumage, with black head, &c., were shot in the bay some years ago: they are the finest pair I have ever seen: they are now in the possession of Mr. Rodway, of this town. The redthroated Tue ZooLtocist— Marcu, 1870. 2059 divers, on the contrary, have been and are scarce in the bay, only a pair or two having been shot this winter. Longtailed Duck. A young male of this fine species was shot in the bay, on the 20th of December: its stomach contained, as Mr. Burt, the curator of the Museum informed me, the small shell Venus ovata. These ducks, as naturally would be sup- posed, are of very rare occurrence in Torbay. Sclavonian Grebe. Two young birds shot in the bay on the 20th of December; another was shot on the 9th of January. This and the great crested grebe are the most numerous species of the family in Torbay. Redbreasted Merganser. On the 21st and 22nd of December redbreasted mer- gansers were observed in some numbers in the bay: as far as I know none have been killed. . Pochard and Goldeneye. An adult male pochard and a female goldeneye were shot in the bay on the 28th of December. The late severe weather has brought consider- able numbers of wild-fow] into the bay. Blackbird. A curiously pied female blackbird was shot, on the 3rd of January, near Paignton: its whole back was pure white, as also the upper tail-coverts and the outer tail-feathers: the rest of the plumage was of the usual colour. It was an adult bird. Goosander. A very fine adult female was shot in Torbay on the 11th of January. Common and Velvet Scoter. A flock of common and velvet scoters was observed a short time ago in the bay, close in shore. Two adult males of the former species were shot on the 12th of January. These birds seem to feed on Solen, as I found the stomach of one which I dissected to contain fragments of Solen Ensis and S. Vagina: both these shells are found in great plenty on this coast. Siskin. Observed a pair of these birds on a rose bush in my garden on the 15th of January: they were remarkably lively, and, judging from their bright colours, seemed to be adult birds. These birds are very unusual in this neighbourhood: they have not made their appearance in this part of the country fora great many years previously. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. One of these birds was shot near Newton, on the 28th of January.—A. de Hiigel; Florian, Torquay, February 9, 1870. Rare Birds in West Sussex, 1867-9. — December 16, 1867. Saw a young male hen harrier, which had been killed at Sidlesham; on the 18th, a female eider duck, killed at West Wittering; and on the 24th, a young male shoveller killed near Chichester. January, 1868. An adult male goosander, in good plumage, killed at Birdham, and purchased for the Chichester Museum collection. April 17. Saw a peregrine falcon at Chichester, recently killed in the neighbour- hood of Arundel. November 11. Saw at Chichester a gray shrike, killed a short time previously near Sidlesham: the man who stuffed it tells me that he has had more than seventy terns sent him from the neighbourhood during the autumn; they were principally arctic and common, with a few lesser; all cut up for plumes. On the 25th, an immature longtailed duck near Chichester. April 11,1869. An adult male little bittern, in fine plumage, shot at Runcton, near Chichester: I saw this bird a few days after it was killed. 2060 THE ZooLocist—Marcu, 1870. August 4. A specimen of Montagu’s harrier, killed near Selsey: I saw it in Chichester soon after. On the 10th, obtained an example of the spotted redshank, from Pagham Harbour, in immature plumage. October 9. Shot a quail in a rough piece of ground covered with furze and heath: the crop and gizzard were crammed with seeds, I think of a thistle. The quail is seldom met with in this district, though they have beeu known to breed here. November 17. Saw two snow buntings, which had been shot near Selsey.— W, Jeffery, jun.; Ratham, Chichester, February 5, 1870. The Iceland Jer Falcon in Cornwall.—Just after the issue of your last number of the ‘ Zoologist,’ I received a letter from Captain Fisher, in which, in reference to my note (S.S. 2017), he says, “I should have written, but from being too unwell, to inform you of what I think you are ignorant, viz. that there have been lately three large importations of this fine falcon from Iceland direct for falconers’ use, and T have little or no doubt but that your so-called Cornish specimen of Falco islandicus will turn out to be one of these birds, almost certainly I think from Cardiff, where most of them have lately been kept, trained and flown loose for months.” Looking at the rela- tive positions of Cardiff and St. Merryn on our north coast, and the easy distance across the Bristol Channel for a falcon’s flight, I fear I must relinquish its claim to be a true British and Cornish-killed specimen.—Eidward Hearle Rodd ; Penzance, February 3, 1870. Lesser Gray Shrike, Shore Lark and Temminck’s Stint near Great Yarmouth.— I have lately received specimens of the lesser gray shrike (Zanius minor of Tem- minck), with a black band on the forehead and rose-tinted under parts,—the shore lark (apparently young birds of the year), and Temminck’s stint, all obtained recently in the immediate neighbourhood of Great Yarmouth.— Murray A. Mathew; Weston- super-Mare, February 4, 1870. Occurrence of White's Thrush at Ballymahon, County Longford.—The following particulars respecting the occurrence of this rare thrush in Ireland were kindly sent me by the Honourable King Harman, of Newcastle, Ballymahon. It was shot in the spring of 1867, by a gamekeeper of the Hon. King Harman, who mistook it for a small hawk or cuckoo. I examined this bird myself at the stuffer’s (Mr. Glenon’s, of Wicklow-street, Dublin), in 1867; but as I did not see it in the flesh, 1 must admit I did not give it as much attention at the time as [ ought. This is its second occurrence in Ireland, and fourth recorded as occurring in Britain up to 1866, the date of Newman’s Montagu. In this useful Dictionary the following occurrences are quoted from Yarrell:—Lord Malmesbury’s bird, January, 1828; Mr. Bigge’s specimen (New Forest), no date; Mr. Spraine’s specimen, Bandon, County Cork, December, 1842. Mr. Newman writes that a doubt bas been expressed whether White’s thrush is not a mere variety of our common song thrush, but thinks this can apply to British examples only: it certainly could_not apply to this bird. Itis quite similar to birds from South Siberia and Japan.—H. Blake-Knox ; January, 1870. Pied Blackbirds.—Three specimens of pied blackbirds, two males and one female, have occurred this year at places within a few miles of Birmingham, one of the males —a very beautiful specimen—having its head, scapularies and wing-coverts white, with but few small black feathers marring its purity in those places ; the rest of the plumage was irregularly broken with white. The female bird had its feathers picked out on the Tue ZooLocist—Markcu, 1870. 2061 back and sides with various white markings. All of these, in the flesh, 1 saw myself at the shop of Mr. Franklin.— A, M. Browne ; 369, Westminster Place, Pershore Road, Birmingham. Rulicilla tithys and R. Carii.—I am very much obliged to Mr. Blake-Knox for his criticism of my account of Ruticilla Carii in the ‘ Birds of Europe, and also thank him, in common with other ornithologists, for the new facts which he has given us as to the moulting of Ruticilla tithys. When my work first appeared I had a long and interesting communication from Mr. Gatcombe, of Plymouth, in which he expressed his conviction that the so-called R. Carii was only the gray intermediate plumage of R. tithys. My remark “ moulting plumage” was perhaps not sufficiently precise; but Temminck used a somewhat similar expression when he remarked that probably R. Carii was only R: tithys, “qui aurait conservé jusqu’au printemps, sa robe dautomne.” My remark that we were not likely to see R. tithys in ‘‘ moulting plumage” was a hasty expression that disregarded the fact that the said bird was a winter visitant. Ido not think any British ornithologist has had so many British specimens of R. tithys, in all plumages, pass through his hands as Mr. Gatcombe, and therefore I drew his attention to Mr. Blake-Knox’s paper, and I append his remarks. Now these remarks are very important. Mr. Gatcombe says that he does not believe the male black redstart ever loses the black plumage when once attained, but during the autumn and winter the tips of the feathers are long and tinged with brownish gray, which becomes abraded or worn off during the spring, &c.: “TI have killed old male black redstarts in the dark plumage at different times throughout the whole winter.” It is quite possible therefore that the so-called R. Carii is the young of the year of R. tithys in imperfect plumage, and that in the second year it becomes R. tithys. It would make no difference in the supposition that R. Carii should breed together and in different localities from the older birds, as shown by the Abbé Caire: and the whole difficulty would in this case be solved. It is unfortunate that we have bo opportunity in this country of studying the birds during the breeding periods. If the supposition I have thrown out be correct, R. tithys will be found no exception to the rule which obtains in the family of moulting in autumn. It matters not whether the change called “ moulting” takes place by the renewal of new for old feathers or by a change in the structure of the old ones. I see Mr. Gray, in his excellent ‘ Hand List of Birds’ (part 1), has placed Carii as a synonym of tithys. It will, however, be a curious and interesting fact if it is proved hereafter that all the year-old young tithys breed in their autumnal coats for the first time.—C. R. Bree ; Colchester, February 7, 1870. Lapland Bunting near London.—Last week I was fortunate enough to obtain a fine living specimen of the Lapland bunting that was captured a few miles south of London, in October, 1869. I have placed it in one of the aviaries in the Zoological Gardens, where I hope it will live and thrive for a long time.—F, Bond ; 203, Adelaide Road, South Hampstead, N.W., February 16, 1870. Song of the Chaffinch.—lI have been looking over the recently published second edition of Mr. E. H. Rodd’s interesting ‘ List of British Birds, as a Guide to the Ornithology of Cornwall’ with great pleasure, but am surprised to see, under “Chaffiuch,” the statement, “Sings occasionally in open weather throughout the winter,” as it is quite opposed to what I, from the observations of many years, consider to be the habit of the bird as regards its song, which I believe is never 2062 THE ZooLocist—Manrcu, 1870. commenced until indications of the return of spring are appareut; and so associated in wy mind is it with vernal tokens that the pretty but short succession of notes given by this elegant little bird early in February is then to my ears what the sight of the early snowdrop is to my eyes—a witness of lengthening days and brightening skies. For many years past I have made notes for a “ naturalist’s calendar,” after the manner of good old Gilbert White of Selborne, and from among them extract the following dates as those at which the chaffinch’s song was first heard in the years named, in the neighbourhood of Plymouth :—February 12, 1858; February 16, 1860; January 27, 1861; January 31, 1862; January 31, 1863; February 2, 1865; January 24, 1866; February 10, 1867; February 11,1869. 1 am pleased to find the observant Waterton writing as follows, in his most charming essay on this bird:— The chaffinch never sinus when on the wing; but it warbles incessantly on the trees, and on the hedge-rows, from the early part of February to the second week in July; and then (if the bird be in a state of freedom) its song entirely ceases. You may hear the thrush, the lark, the robin and the wren sing from time to time in the dreary months of winter; but you will never, by any “chance, have one single note of melody from the chaffinch. Its powers of song have sunk into a deep and long lasting trance, not to be roused by any casualty whatever. All that remains of its voice, lately so sweet and so exhilarating, is the shrill and well-known monotonous call, which becomes remarkably distinct and frequent whenever the cat, the owl, the weasel, or the fox are seen to be on the move.’—T’. R, Archer Briggs ; 4, Portland Villas, Plymouth, February 2, 1870. Pied Crow.—Yesterday morning a man in the employ of the Rev. W. H. Gretton, Burley Wood, East Woodhay, Hants, shot a crow which had been watched with much interest in that neighbourhood for several weeks, many futile attempts to kill it, on account of its peculiar appearance, having been made. On examination it was found that seven feathers of one wing, and five of the other, besides the plumage on a portion of the neck, were of a pure white colour. This rara avis is in the possession of the Rev. W. H. Gretton, who bas arranged for its preservation. The crow is believed to be one of last year’s birds.—* Times,’ February 3, 1870. Reported probable occurrence of the Plarmigan in Yorkshire.—Mr. J. E. Harting is in error in supposing, in my remarks on Mr. Grainger’s letter (Zool. S. 8. 1951), that I referred to Yorkshire as a locality for the ptarmigan, and furthermore might have seen, by a reference to the ‘ Ibis’ for 1865 (p. 427), that I make no reference to Lagopus vulgaris, in the list furnished by me to Mr. More of the nesting birds of Yorkshire. Mr. Harting quotes extensively from Mr. More’s paper, to show that the ptarmigan has never been fuund in Yorkshire, but as Mr. More’s paper refers exclusively to “ The distribution of birds in Great Britain during the nesting season,” * and as the ptar- migan does not nest, I believe, in October, the quotation perhaps scarcely applies. The birds described in the newspaper as “ four white partridges,” and since described to Mr. Harting by the writer of the paragraph as being “ cream-coloured,” and forming part of a covey of the same variety, might probably, I considered at the time, prove to be ptarmigan, accidental stragglers from their high northern haunts.—Alwin S. Bell. * “Our census is necessarily limited to the nesting season, that being the only time when the birds can be treated as stationary.” Tue ZooLocist—Marcu, 1870. 20658 Nesting of the Great Bustard in England.—Mr. Mvor’s notice in the February number of the ‘ Zoologist, on the occurrence of the great bustard in Norfolk and Suffolk, more than half a century ago, is extremely interestivg; and 1 should much like to know whether the case of bustards he refers to, then in the possession of the Rev. R. Hammond, of Swaffham, Norfolk, is still in existence? Now and again stray bustards may be killed in England, but their days as a breeding species in this country are past. It would therefore be as well to put on record every authentic instance of their nesting in Great Britain; and in the hope that some varied informa- tion on the subject may be elicited, I will add that there is now in the Museum at Scarborough, amongst a very poor vological collection, a faded, cracked, time-worn egg of the great bustard: the interest attached to it is, that it is an authentic English- laid egg. A note alongside the egg states that it was found by Mr. James Dowker, at North Dalton, in the East Riding of Yorkshire in 1810,* and was presented to the Museum in March, 1840, by Dr. John Bury, then its Secretary. The note adds that Mr. Dowker shot at the same time, and near the egg, a male and female great bustard, with the right and left barrels of his gun, Mr. Roberts, the Curator of the Scar- borough Museum, told me that the late Mr. John Wolley was so interested in this egg that he offered him a considerable sum of money for it, if it could be parted with by the Museum. I was thinking last year, when I looked at the Scar- borough Museum egg of Otis tarda, that perhaps it was the only egg of its species, laid in England, now extant: however, Mr. Moor’s interesting recollection of Mr. Hammona’s case, with its young one and egg and three adults, shows otherwise. I trust that these notices may induce other readers of the ‘ Zoologist’ to add to our information on this subject.—H. W. Feilden ; Chester Castle. Great Bustards on the Yorkshire Wolds——The notice of bustards in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, by Mr. E. J. Moor (Zool. S. S. 2024), is of much interest. The Yorkslftre Wolds were also formerly a resort of these birds, and an egg now in the Scarborough Museum was found on a moor near Salton, in Yorkshire, in 1816,* anda bird (Otis tarda, Linn.), supposed to be the last, was killed by the Scarborough hounds in the same year, and brought to Scarborough and cooked at a supper given by the the hunt, at the George Inn. Mr. Williainson thinks the egg in the Museum may have belonged to this bird, as it was found about the same time and on the same moor. The fine pair of great bustards in the Scarborough Museum were purchased of Mr. Reid, of Doncaster, and presented to the Museum many years ago by the late Dr. Murray, of Scarborough. I may add that a great bustard was found, only a few years since, dead and floating in the sea close to the shore, near Bridlington, in York- shire; and Mr. Williamson, who was curator for twenty-seven years to the Scarborough Museum, remembers that, when a young man, he had heard of bustards being seen four or five together on the Wolds.— Alwin S. Beil. Land Rail found alive in a Pea-rick in January.—Through the kindness of a gentleman in the Tedworth Hunt, I was informed that some labourers, while engaged taking in a pea-rick, in the parish of Monxton, had discovered and captured a live land rail (Gallinula crea) in the centre of the rick; also that the bird had passed into * The reader will please observe the discrepancy in dates: both are clearly written. The same egg is evidently referred to.—Z. NV. 2064 Tue ZooLtocist—Marcu, 1870. the hands of a friend of mine, Mr. W. Farr, of Abbotts Ann, a thorough sportsman, and one of the best shots in Hants. This cecurred on Saturday, the 29th of January. On the following Friday I rode over to make inquiries of my friend, and, if possible, get a peep at the bird, and glean all particulars. Sure enough the main facts were correct: the bird was found alive in the rick, and some little distance from the outside, but in the most emaciated condition possible. The warmth of my friend’s dining room, and some small pieces of raw beef forced down its throat, soon brought the bird round sufficiently for it to stand on its legs. The next day (Sunday) it had so far recovered as to run about the room and set up its feathers in a menacing manner; at the same time it would readily take small pieces of raw meat from the hand. Although my friend used every endeavour to preserve the bird’s life, it died on the following morning, aud, on my arrival, was most obligingly handed over to me for preservation. The bird was a male, in good plumage, but in the most wretchedly starved condition imaginable, and before it was skinned weighed just two ounces! There was no appearance of any wound, but the bird was no doubt unable to take its migratory flight, and bad worked its way into the pea-rick as far as possible for warmth. How long it had been there is hard to say, or whether it had obtained a very scanty supply of food in so confined a space. Pea-ricks usually abound with coleopterous insects, especially Coccinelle. The stomach contained only the remains of the small pieces of raw beef. —Henry Reeks. Eider Duck in Dublin Bay.—Since the middle of December, 1869, a considerable flock of eider ducks (Anas mollissima) have frequented our bay: IJ find they have been noticed by several persons. I have not seen the flock myself, but “ white-backed ducks of a large size” have been quoted to me, by which description I guessed them to be eides. To-day, owing to the kindness of Messrs. Williams, taxidermists, 3, Dame Street, I am enabled to a certainty to record the occurrence of this species in our waters last December. I was shown a fine young male in a trausilion state of plumage, being equally in first plumage and that of the forthcoming spring, which latter much resembles that of an adult male, though I believe the eider dues not breed its first spring, and also that, like many of our common ducks, young males at a year old, though in similar plumage to adult birds, are neither so pure in colours nor so plumed as old birds. This bird was received in the flesh: it was shot by Mr, William Henderson, of Clontarf, on the 27th of December, 1869. Thompson (vol. iii. p. 114) mentious ove taken alive at Balbriggan, in this county, in 1840, on the 23rd of May. This is the first specimen I have seen killed in Dublin County.—H. Blake-Knoz ; January 21, 1870. Rednecked Grebe in Bedfordshire-—While at Wilden, six miles north-east of Bed- ford, 1 received a rednecked grebe (Podiceps rubricollis), which had been picked up on Friday, the 11th of February, in a farm-yard about a mile and a half from the river Ouse. It proved upon dissection to be a female, aud was in winter plumage. The neck is slightly rufous in colour, and the cheeks are lighter than the surrounding parts, thus bearing slight indications of the approaching spring plumage.— William J. Chalk ; The College School, Taunton. Great Northern Diver in the Midland Counties.—In addition to the one men- tioned by Sir Oswald Mosley (S. 8. 1981), I have to record the occurrence of another great northern diver in the Midlands, shot in November last, on a pool on Mr. Ward’s estate at Wombourne, by the gamekeeper. Curiously enough, as it rose to make its THE ZooLocist—Marcgu, 1870. 2065 escape it entangled itself in the line of a jack trimmer, and hanging tethered, as it were, in mid-air, of course presented an easy mark to the gun. This specimen has been preserved at Mr. Franklin’s establishment at Birmingham.—A. MW. Browne. “ The Mummy Specimen of Alca impennis at Halifax, Zova Scotia.”—Under the above heading (which to me does not seem very applicable) the last number of the ‘Zoologist’ (S. S. 1982) contains a note by Mr. J. Matthew Jones, in which he is pleased to term a statement published by Mr. Henry Reeks, on my authority, “incorrect.” This statement is to be found not at page 1835 of the ‘ Zovlogist,’ as printed in Mr. Jones’s note, but at page 1855, and consists of a remark written by me, which I gave Mr. Reeks permission to use. Though I kept no copy of it, I donbt not it has been accurately printed. I am somewhat surprised that a naturalist of Mr. Jones’s sagacity and position should so positively and unceremoniously have denied the correctness of this statement, especially since the “explanation” he offers in no way disproves its truth. The facts of the case are simple. The Bishop of Newfound- land having, in the autumn cf 1863, sent me the imperfect “ mummy ” of a great auk, which was exhibited by me to the Zoological Society on the LOth of November of that year (P. Z. S. 1863, pp. 435—438; Zool. 9122—9124), and subsequently furnished most of the material for Prof. Owen’s paper in the Zoological ‘ Transactions,’ I begged his Lordship to use his best endeavours to procure for me a second and more perfect _ one. In answer to that application he kindly wrote to me, under date of “ St. Job's, N. F., 18 May, 1864,” telling me of various failures in the accomplishment of my wish, but holding out good hope of ultimate success. . The envelope of this letter, which is now before me, bears, among other post-marks, that of “ Cambridge, Ju. 7, 64,” ‘showing approximately the time of its arrival in England. I, however, had sailed for Spitsbergen on the Ist of June; consequently the letter did not reach me till my return from that country some months afterwards, and it was not until the 29th of October that I was able to answer it. On receipt of my answer the Bishop wrote to me again, and I must in self-defence quote an extract from his letter, dated “ St. John’s, N. F., 15 Dec., 1864.” After expressing his regret at the unavoidable interruption in our correspondence, his Lordship says :—‘* However I have the satisfaction of knowing that you were informed of the safe arrival of your kind and interesting communications by Mr. Jones, to whom I forwarded your paper and the photograph of the mummy. In forwarding them, I requested him to thank you for them and make you acquainted with the second and more perfect specimen, which I had sent to him, and which L should have sent to you, if I had received an earlier answer to my letler which you found on your return to England.” I beg leave to call the attention of your readers to the sentence I have emphasized. They will doubtless be of opinion that the statement which Mr. Jones called “‘ incorrect ” was exactly the reverse, and I think that gentle- man must admit this to be the case.—Alfred Newton ; Magdalene College, Cambridge, January 31, 1870. Common and Sandwich Terns at Spurn.—I am much obliged to Mr. Boyes for his note referring to my remarks (Zool. S. S. 1944) on the breeding of these terns at Spurn. Although never having taken the eggs of the common species at Spurn, I have always been under the impression that this, as well as the lesser species, bred there. My opinion was based on information received from our fishermen who visit the Point, and also from residents there, and was further strengthened by having myself seen during SECOND SERIES—VOL. V. Q 2066 THE ZooLocist—Marcu, 1870. the summer considerable numbers of this species, both old and young birds, along the coast and near the Point; some of the latter, indeed, not very strong on the wing, and sull, judging from the clamour of the old birds, the subjects of parental solicitude. I have also had young birds of the year shot at Spurn. From these circumstances I am still inclined to think that the common tern, although, as Mr. Boyes says, not breeding with the colony of lesser tern, does nest somewhere in the vicinity, either along the Yorkshire coast or even on the opposite coast of Lincolnshire: for,if not, where do the old birds, seen during the spring and summer about the mouth of the Humber and at Spurn, accompanied later by their young, come from? I know of no breeding-place of S. Hirundo on the east coast to the north of Spurn, except that on the Farne Islands, and should scarcely think our Spurn birds belong to that colony. The fact of a few pairs of Sandwich tern nesting at Spurn was entirely derived from what fisher- men resident there told me; and I think it quite possible I may, as Mr. Boyes says, have been misled as to their breeding. 1 concluded that the tern referred to belonged to this species from its being described as the largest of the three terns visiting Spurn, with an expanse of wing approaching that of the brown-headed gull.—John Cordeaux ; Great Cotes, Ulceby, February 4, 1870. Little Gulls in Leadenhall Market—On going into Leadenhall Market to-day (February 16th) I saw no less than eight specimens of the little gull, and on my return homewards I saw three more that had been bought in the market just previous to my visit: eight of the birds were fine adult specimens, in fine winter plumage. It is not often one has the chance of seeing so many specimens of this bird in one day in this country.—F’. Bond. [I saw nine specimens of the little gull in Leadenhall Market on the 10th of February, and several bitterns. On one occasion lately I counted twenty-seven bitterns in the market: these were probably from Holland.— Edward Newman.] Glaucous Gull at Weston-super-Mare.—A very fine specimen of the glaucous gull was shot here about New-year’s Day: it is very nearly in adult plumage. Two more examples have since been obtained here; one caught in a gin near the town, the other shot on the Steep Holm.—Murray A. Mathew ; Weston-super-Mare, February 12, 1870. Correction of an Error.—By the kinduess of Mr. Swaysland I had the pleasure to- day of examining the bird mentioned in the ‘ Zoologist’ (S. S. 1984) by Mr. Bond, under the name of the snow finch (Fringilla nivalis). The specimen in question is certainly not of that species, but appears to me to belong to the Alauda sibirica of Gmelin, the Alauda leucoptera of Pallas, and in this opinion Mr. Alfred Newton, who was with me, concurs.— George Dawson Rowley ; Chichester House, Brighton, Jan, 1, 1870. [This is the note to which I referred (Zool. S. S. 2022). I thought it unnecessary to publish both this and Mr. Bond’s correction of the same mistake, but a valued correspondent thinks otherwise, and I defer to his opinion.— Edward Newman.) Richard’s Pipit.—The rarity of the season consists of two specimens of this fine pipit, killed, as all others have been in Norfolk, in the neighbourhood of Yarmouth, and, strange to say, by the same individual (Serjeant Barnes, late of the Police Force) who has killed three previous specimens. The first, which proved to be a male, was shot on the Ist of December; the second, also a male, on the 14th: both are in perfect THE ZooLocist—Marcu, 1870. 2067 plumage, but one is, I imagine, a somewhat older bird than the other, and agrees exactly with a Yarmouth specimen in the Norwich Museum, also killed in the winter. One of the hind claws in the bird obtained on the Ist of December, measured exactly one inch, and was so fine at the point that one cannot wonder that this claw should be so often found imperfect; and not only the length but the curvature of the claw varies much in different examples. I was unfortunately absent from home at the time, and missed the opportunity of examining these birds in the flesh, but my friend Mr. Southwell and Mr. Gunn together dissected the first, and took its measurements in the flesh, and Mr. Gunn did the same with the second bird; and the results of their examinations, which have been kindly placed at my disposal, are embodied in the following table, to which Mr. Gunn has added the measurements of a Richard’s pipit killed at Yarmouth in 1866, taken by himself at that time, and also the comparative measurements of examples of the rock, tree and meadow pipits, and of two recently- killed shore larks. Richard’s Pipit. { Rock| Tree |Mead.| Shore Larks. sa Cae Iida Sal (ea C8 oS G. G. Te Sel eos: 1866 ¢|1869 $1869 | G. 1870 9|18709 No. 1.| No. 2. No. 1.| No.2. Nee ee ee ee ee inches.| inches.| inches.| inches.| inches.! inches.! inches.| inches. Totallength . . . 8i 8 82 64 64 54 7 7 Extent of wings. .| 122) 122 | 123] — — — 12t | 123 Wing from flexure . 34 33 33 3} 33 3 42 4} Bill along ridge . 3 3 $ 2 4 4 2 2 MEADS) fete io: hie Gc 1}; iz 1Z 1 z 4 z z Middle toe and claw 14 14 13 3 a 3 4h 48 Hinderclaw . . . S 1 Z 4 3 7 % we Weight, in grains — | 440 — _— - — | 626 | 600 Tncluding the two specimens here recorded six have now been procured in Norfolk ; the first on the 22nd of November, 1841; another in April, 1842; one in April, 1843; and one on the 28th of December, 1866; showing that the bird, though an accidental visitant to our coast, occurs both in spring and autumn, but whence it comes to us so late in the year is a difficult point to determine. It is perhaps worth noting that when the last specimen was killed here in December, 1866, several shore larks were procured about the same time; and such has again been the case this winter—a southern anda northern species thus meeting, as it were, on our eastern coast. The great difference in size of examples of this pipit is also remarkable. Yarrell gives the whole length of a male as 73 inches, whilst Mr. Fisher, in the ‘ Zoologist’ (Zool. 181), gives the length of two of the earlier Norfolk birds as 7} inches and 73 inches respectively, the three last varying from 8 inches tu 8¢ inches.—Henry Stevenson. The Pipit shot at Bridlington.—At my request Mr. Boynton most obligingly for- warded me the little pipit shot by him at Bridlington. Iam not surprised that my friend Dr. Bree should have felt puzzled to identify the bird, for it is certainly in a Most abnormal state of plumage. Being almost as familiar with Anthus ludovicianus * G. measurements taken by Gunn; T. S. those taken by Thomas Southwell. 2068 Tue ZooLtocist—Manrcu, 1870. as with our own common A. pratensis, I saw immediately that the bird was not an American species, and that for the following reasons :— J. The bird was altogether larger, being 0.50 longer than the largest specimen of A. ludovicianus IT have ever seen; but some of this may be owing to want of exactness in setting up. ; 2. It stood higher on its legs, from the fact of being 0.10 longer in the tarsi than the largest specimens in the Smithsonian Institution, or any examined by myself. 8. The bill, feet and legs differed entirely from those of Anthus ludovicianus iu colour. The tail, and almost entirely unspotted breast, distinguished it again from the American bird. The claw of the hind toe evidently deceived Dr. Bree; but I can assure that learned author that too much reliance should not be placed on this part. Dr. Bree will see the force of this remark if he compares a quantity of skins of A. pratensis. I have by me while writing two of the latter species in the flesh: one has the claw the same length as the hind toe; the other 0.12 longer. Professor Baird would seem to have noticed this discrepancy in the American species, as he does not even allude to the bind toe or its claw in the various measurements given by him in ‘ Birds of North America.’ Although, on examination, I soon saw that Mr. Boynton’s bird was not A. ludovicianus I could not, for want of a better knowledge of European species, be certain to which species it really did belong, but certainly thought it should be A. rufescens. However, to settle this point, I sent the specimen to Mr. Gould, who writes me that “ The bird you have submitted to my inspection is unquestionably the tawny pipit in abraded and dirty plumage.” It is figured in part 9 of Mr. Gould’s magnificent work on the * Birds of Great Britain,’ under the name of Anthus campes- tris, with Authus rufescens as part of its synonymy.— Henry Reeks; Thruaxton, Fibruary 18, 1869. Curious Anecdote of a Heron —Mr. T. H. Edwar ls, when shooting by the river at Keswick, near Norwich, on the 7th of December, 1869, mortally wounded a water-hen, which fell close tu a heron that was standing by a drain in an adjoining meadow. The heron instantly rushed at the water-hen, and first striking it with its beak, seized and carried it off to another field, where it was seen to place its feet on the bird and endeavour to tear it to pieces with its bill. In order to scare it from its prey, Mr. Edwards approached as near as he could and fired off his gun, when the heron again seized the carcase, and this time flew off with it to a considerable distance, so that further observation was impossible. In the act of flying with the water-hen in its bill, the heron had a most unnatural appearance, the neck seemed too weak to support such a weight, and was consequently directed forwards, and downwards, instead of being thrown back as usual between the shoulders. The weather up to that time had been mild and open, so that extreme hunger could scarcely account for this unusual pro- ceeding.— Henry Stevenson ; Norwich, February 15, 1870. Winter Visitants in West Cornwall.—The late severe frost has given usa fair influx of various species of birds otherwise of not frequent occurrence. We have bad scaup, tufted ducks, goldeneyes, sheldrakes, pochards, besides wild duck, wigeon and teal. The only wild geese that have made their appearance were some brent geese, boc 4 have not heard of the other wild geese, as the bean and white-fronted, nor any wild swans. I ubserved yesterday at Mr. Vingve’s a very fixe adult-plumaged red- Tuk ZooLocist—Manrcn, 1870. 2069 breasted merganser, and also a very perfect winter-plumaged gray phalarope. It may be remarked that the goldeneyes that appear in the far west after and during severe weather are in the proportion of forty out of fifty in the female plumage, or perhaps in the plumage of the first year of each sex. I observed one this week in perfectly adult plumage. J have not seen any shovellers or pintails. A male merlin, in that beauti- ful state of plumage known as the “stone falcon,” was killed on the ground of the Hon. and Rev. Stephen Lawley, at Trevalyn, near Penzance, this week.— Edward Hearle Rodd ; Penzance, February 19, 1870. Sclavonian Grebes, Rednecked Grebe and Goosander on the Taw.—During the severe weather from the 10th to the 17th of February, the following birds shot on the Taw by one of the river pilots were brought to the birdstuffer at Barnstaple; three Sclavonian grebes, one rednecked grebe and one goosander.—Murray A. Mathew ; Weston-super-Mare, February 21, 1870. Weight of Snipe.—Having seen in the ‘ Field’ lately a great many accounts of the weight of snipe, I may mention that I have frequently found three snipe to weigh down a pound (sixteen ounces), and out of one day’s bag I have found at times two or three sets of three snipe to do this.—‘ Field’ January 22, 1870. Hooper at St. Asaph, North Wales.—A fine specimen of the hooper or whistling swan was shut on Thursday last, 30th of December, on the waters of the river Clwyd, by Robert Ll. Jones, of St. Asaph. It measured from head to tail four feet ten inches, in the expanse of wings seven feet four inches, and weighed fifteen pounds.—Zd. PROCEEDINGS OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL Socrery. February 7,1870.—Aurrep R. Watuacz, Esq., F.Z.S., &., President, in the chair. Mr. Wallace expressed his thanks to the Society for electing him to succeed Mr. Bates in the office of President; and nominated as his Vice-Presidents for the year, Mr. Bates, Major Parry and Mr. Pascoe. Additions to the Library. The following donations were announced, and thanks voted to the donors :— ‘Hore Societatis Entomologice Rossice,’ vols. iii—vi. ; presented by the Society. ‘ Bullettino della Societa Entomologica Italiana,’ vol. i., part 4; by the Society. ‘Journal of the Linnean Society,’ Zoology, No. 47; by the Society. ‘Journal of the Quekett Microscopical Club,’ No. 9; by the Club. Hewitson’s ‘ Exotic Butterflies,’ No. 73; by W. W. Saunders, Esq. Newman’s ‘Entomologist,’ vol. iv.; by the Editor. ‘La Phylloxera et la nouvelle maladie de la Vigne,’ by J. E. Planchon and J. Lichtenstein; by the Authors. By purchase:—‘ The Record of Zoolcgical Literature,’ 1868 (the entomo- logical part); Gemminger and Harold, ‘ Catalogus Coleopterorum,’ vol. vi. 2070 THE ZooLoGist—Marcu, 1870. Prize Essays. It was announced that the Council offered two Prizes of the value of Five Guineas each to the Authors (whether Members of the Society, or not) of Essays, of sufficient merit and drawn up from personal observation, on the Anatomy or Economy of any insect or group of insects. The Essays must be sent to the Secretary, at 12, Bedford Row, indorsed with mottoes, on or before the 30th of November, 1870, when they will be referred to a Committee to decide upon their merits: each must be accompanied by a sealed letter indorsed with the motto adopted by its author, and inclosing his name and address. The Prize Essays shall become the property of, and will be published by, the Society. Exhibitions, &c. Mr. Bond exhibited four specimens of Satyrus Semele, in each of which the marking and coloration of the wings were partly of the male and partly of the female character. Prof. Westwood exhibited two females of Anthocharis Cardamines, each of which had a dash of the orange-colour of the male on one of its fore wings; also a female of Polyommatus Adonis, the left fore wing of which was dashed with blue like the male; also a male of Siderone Isidora, one side of which was partially coloured like the female. The President suggested that the existence of specimens of this kind might be explained on Mr. Darwin’s theory of sexual differences. The hypothesis was that the sexes of a species, though now differently coloured, were once alike ; the divergence from the original type was sometimes in one sex, and in one direction only ; at other times in both sexes, and in opposite directions ; and it might be that these curious cases of the union of opposite sexual colours were only instances of a partial reversion, or modifications of reversion, to the original ancestral type. Mr. Bond, on behalf of Dr. Wallace, exhibited cocoons from various parts of the world of Bombyx Yama-mai and Antherea Pernii. Mr. Stainton exhibited a large box-full of Micro-Lepidoptera, each specimen being separately labelled in the manner commended by Mr. Bates in his Auniversary Address, so as to show the locality and date of capture. This led to a lengthy conversation on the utility of labelling captures, the minutie which it was necessary or desirable to record, and the readiest mode of doing it; in which conversation the President, Prof. Westwood, Mr. Pascoe, Mr. Fry, Mr. Janson and others took part. Prof. Westwood exhibited a Hymenopterous insect, belonging to the family Cynipide, remarkable for its globose head and long neck, the neck not being simple, but possessing on each side a membranaceous wing or dilatation, emarginate and deflexed; the basal joint of the antennw, and the femora and tibie also had membranaceous dilatations. The specimen was brought to this country by the President, and was captured in the Sulu Islands. THE ZooLocist—Marcu, 1870. 2071 Mr. Janson, on behalf of Mr. G. R. Crotch, exhibited Philonthus cicatri- cosus (Hrichson), a species new to this country; and Dyschirius angustatus, Hydroporus unistriatus, and H. minutissimus, all recently added to the British list. The three first-named were captured by Mr. Moncreaff at Portsea; Hydroporus unistriatus had also been taken by Mr. Crotch at Merton, Norfolk ; and Hydroporus minutissimus was taken by Mr. Wollaston at Slapton Ley. Major Parry exhibited a North American beetle of somewhat doubtful affinities, the Ochodzeus obscurus of Leconte (Journ. Ac. Philad. 1848, p. 86), which name was afterwards changed by the author to Nicazus obscurus (Classif. Coleop. N. Amer. 1861, p. 130). On his recent visit to this country, Dr. Leconte presented Major Parry with a specimen of this insect, intimating that he was not satisfied as to the position he had assigned to Nicazus, namely among the Scarabeeoidea, between Acanthocerus and Trox, and suggesting that it might possibly be better placed among the Lucanoidea. The specimen has been carefully examined by Major Parry and Mr. Charles Waterhouse, but as regarded the principal character of the antenne of the Lucanoidea, the immove- ability of the leaflets of the clava, it was found that in Nicazus the leaflets were slightly moveable : in this respect, however, Mr. Waterhouse found it to agree with some Australian species of Ceratognathus, and in examining the mouth he could not detect anything by which it could be separated from the Lucanoidea, whilst the penicillate maxilla were alone sufficient to separate it from the Trogide. The Secretary read the following extract from a letter from Mr. Roland Trimen, dated Cape Town, December 2, 1869, respecting the habits of some species of Pausside :— “T have found a specimen of Paussus Burmeisteri, Westw., in a singular situation. Descending the Lion’s Head mountain, close to the town, I observed a small beetle resting at the extremity of a leaf of the common sugar-bush (Protea mellifera), and a slight motion of its antenne at once discovered it to be a Paussus. It seemed to be basking in the full sunshine; the hour being about 1.30 p.m. On attempting to take it with my fingers, the beetle instantly dropped on the ground; and I had to search for some minutes before I dis- covered it among the débris beneath the bush. The plant of P. mellifera was a low one, with several fully-opened flowers. Another of the Pausside, the Pentaplatarthrus paussoides of Westwood, I have met with lately not unfre- quently, and a good many specimens have also been taken by Mr. Alfred C. Harrison, who discovered the first example known to me as inhabiting this neighbourhood. This beetle lives in the nests of a moderate-sized black ant, under stones, and is usually conspicuous from its superior stature and shining reddish brown colouring. Those that I have seen were either motionless or walking slowly among the excited ants along one of the galleries; and I could not see that the ants, when disturbed by the removal of the stone roof of their 2072 THE Zoo_ocist—Marcu, 1870. nest, showed any anxiety about the safety of the beetles, or indeed paid them any notice whatever. Dr. Herman Becker, however, has told me that he believes he saw some ants milk a specimen in the same manner as they treat the Aphides. Mr. Harrison brought me a pair taken in copuld in the nest; an interesting circumstance which leads me to think that the beetles seldom, if ever, leave the formicarium. Another very much smaller species, a true Paussus, which I have not yet determined, was found by the gentleman last named in a nest of small reddish ants. I hope to have further opportunities of observing the ways of the Paussidee.” Prof. Westwood observed that the sexual differenees of the Pausside had not been recorded ; and any information on this point would be very welcome. Papers read. The following papers were read :—‘‘ A Revised Catalogue of the Lucanoid Coleoptera; with Remarks on the Nomenclature, and Descriptions of New Species ” (conclusion); by Major Parry. “On the Species of Charaxes described in the ‘Reise der Novara’; with Descriptions of two New Species”; by Mr. A. G. Butler. Catalogue of the Neuroptera of the British Isles. Mr. M‘Lachlan presented the MS. of “ A Catalogue of the Neuroptera of the British Isles,” the first instalment of the proposed Catalogue of indigenous insects; and on so doing, he remarked that the term Neuroptera had been taken in the Linnean sense, as including the three sub-orders or groups known as Pseudo-Neuroptera, Neuroptera-Planipennia and Trichoptera. Of the Pseudo-Neuroptera, the Catalogue of the family Psochidee was in accordance with Mr. M‘Lachlan'’s own Monograph of the British species, published in 1867 in the third volume of the ‘Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine,’ the synonymy after his own investigations ; the Perlide had not been very recently revised, and were in an unsatisfactory state, but the Catalogue had been worked out from an examination of such materials as were accessible to the compiler ; the family Ephemeride had been entirely furnished by the Rev. A. E. Eaton ; and the Odonata, including six families, the Libellulide, Corduliide, Gomphide, ZEschnide, Calopterygide and Agrionide, had been compiled from the works of De Selys Longchamps and Hagen, adopting, however, almost in its entirety, the division of the old genus Libellula originally proposed by Newman. The Planipennia and Trichoptera were catalogued in accordance with Mr. M‘Lachlan’s Monographs of the British Species published in the Transactions of this Society, the Planipennia in the Transactions for 1868, and the Trichop- tera in 1865 in the fifth volume of the third series, with such additions and corrections in each case as subsequent investigations had rendered necessary.— J. W. Dz. THE ZooLocist— APRIL, 1870. 2073 Bird-haunts of the Outer Hebrides. By TuHeoporr C. WALKER, Esq. THE Outer Hebrides or “ Long Island,” as every one kuows, is that group of islands to the west of Skye, extending from the Butt of Lewis to Barra Head. This land, barren, rugged, stormy, ever weeping with the rain from the Atlantic, is nevertheless extremely interesting to the ornithologist, on account of the great diversity of feature: On the west extensive sands and “ machirs,” or low sand-hills,—in the interior wild and rugged hills, lonely island-dotted lakes and marshes,—on the east extensive lochs of deep water, while the islands to the south of Barra have precipices of great height,—forming one of the most celebrated breeding-places for the rock birds in Britain. Having for three seasons past “roughed it” in the southern parts of these islands, an account of their avifauna may not prove un- interesting to the readers of the ‘ Zoologist.’ It will be my endeavour, in place of giving a dry list of birds, to carry the reader in thought to the scenes themselves; to try, in word-pictures, to show him glimpses of bird-life in that stormy land. Nature and her spirits, the free birds of the air, have ever been my favourite study; to use the telescope instead of the fowling-piece, and, feasting one’s eyes on the loved scenes, to trace the hand of their Maker in their forms and habits. I crave the kind indulgence of the reader if I take up too much space in describing thoughts and scenes, the remembrance of which are so photographed on one’s memory that as T write I am in thought again among the wild hills and lonely shores of the land of my fathers. ‘“« My heart is ue, my heart is highland, And in my dreams behold the Hebrides.” On the morning of the 8th of June, having had a comfortable breakfast, my brother and I embarked on board the boat which takes _ the mails to Barra Head lighthouse. The picturesque bay is animated by the bustle and excitement of the herring season. ‘The herring fishery in the Outer Hebrides commences on the Ist of May, the herring generally appearing in the north of Lewis, and gradually working down the Minch. During May and June every loch and * bay of importance, which in winter is barren, desolate, terrible in its Solitude, is animated with the herring fishery: the boats come chiefly from the north-east coast, Wick, Inverness, Banff, and many places, SECOND SERILS—VOL. V. R 2074 Tur ZooLocist—APRIL, 1870. the sailors building wooden shantees or turf huts, while salting-pans, barrels and casks lie on the beach. The noble bay, with the picturesque ruins of Kisimul Castle,—the castle of the famous McNeils of Barra,—the herring-boats, brigs and steamers, with the barren archipelago of islands, form a lovely scene— lovely in spite of the raw, chill air, gray and lowering sky, with a sub- dued and pensive tone, as if Nature were mourning the barrenness of these islands. Not a shrub, not a bush is seen; bare, bleak rock cropping out of scanty grass mottled with stunted heather; naked black rocks peeping up above the seething waves; a sail here and there; and far, far across the Minch, dim as vanished hopes, Skye with its splintered peaks and Rum with its cloud-capped hills. Casting off from the fish-tainted jetty, we skim past the castle, which is degraded into a fish-curing station, round which quantities of gulls are hovering: the kittiwake is by far the most plentiful ; it here takes the place of the common gull, which further north is found in every bay and ford. The herring gull lazily sails overhead, while the lesser blackback is floating a little way off, more wary than the lonely kittiwake, which is hovering round within arm’s length, picking up refuse of herring. The wind is dead a-head, and we shall have a rough passage, for we shall have to take the Atlantic side of the island. At the entrance of the bay we see a small rock completely covered with kittiwakes, sitting gorged after their unclean feast: they mostly roost here at night, not going to the ledges of Barra Head, as these are mostly barren: as we skim past them we observe that several are in various stages of plumage, but the larger portion are in adult plumage. Slowly beating up the Sound of Vatersay we emerge into the dread Atlantic, on whose huge billows our tiny boat is tossed and tortured. We pass within a stone’s throw of Flodday and Lingay, small rocky islets for pasturing sheep: great numbers of arctic terns (Slerna arctica) are dancing and flickering over the dull sullen waves, having just arrived at these their breeding stations. Slowly forging past the island of Palla, we sail close to the land, almost on the top of the gigantic billows, which with terrific force dash against the black precipices, thundering into the huge caverns with sullen roar— — caverns gloomy, rent, terrible as the mouth of Hades: rock pigeons in numbers dash out, flitting with swift flight along the black rock and over the top of the cliffs. But see those white patches defiling the black cliff: they are the os a a if é ‘ 4 THE ZooLoGcist—APRIL, 1870. 2075 roosting-places of the shag (Carbo cristatus), not so much used in the breeding season, but still frequented by bachelor or barren birds: their nests are in the caverns, and are similar to that patch of yellow wrack in that crevice on which a shag is sitting: the “scarts,” as they call the shags, wriggle their heads at us in an uncouth manner, then while some plunge into the seething waves, diving solid as a stone, others fly, with outstretched neck and slowly flapping wings, close over the rolling gloomy waves. A few puffins are breeding on the banks of turf where the cliffs are not so steep, and in the surging waters the demure little puffins are diving, getting up close under us with evident astonishment. Looking over the boat-side, i can see the puffins flying under the water, using their wings as in the air; their webbed feet seem used for steering— it seems even to use its feet for that purpose when flying, as they are stretched out as far apart as possible, and it even sometimes “ kicks out” with them when flying: these are the male birds, the females are mostly sitting in their burrows. The gloom is thickening: a thin mist is slowly creeping up from the horizon, obscuring and blotting out the islands, like unholy thoughts across the mind, blotting out sweeter visions. Bernera, with its lighthouse on the lofty cliffs of Barra Head, is obscured; the fearful form of Ram Head on Mingalay looms dim and weird through the gathering gloom. Out of the gloom the snow-white gannet skims, _ whose home is lonely St. Kilda: rising in the air, with the gentlest yet powerful flaps of its black-tipped wings, gracefully swooping down to the tip of the black-green wave, gliding along the trough, lost to our sight as the mountain waves tower over us, up with the speed of thought, without one flap of those beautiful untiring wings, the gannet impresses one with the idea of strength, and lightness, and un- tiring vigilance: it seems, like the spirit of departed, doomed to haunt the troubled sea. Observe how slowly the gannet flaps its wings, not dipping them down so low as the gulls or herons; the least touch seems to propel the powerful bird and send it skimming along the trough of the wave, then, as it mounts to the top of the wave, altering the angle of its wing, the wind catches it, and light as a feather it is borne aloft, to skim down again untiringly, unceasingly. The gannets are on the look out for the shoals of herring, but as I did not see one of the many skimming the water make a plunge, I presume the shoal was not near the surface. But see that pirate-bird, with sooty back, freckled white breast and streaming tail, swiftly dash out of the 2076 Tur ZooLtocist—APRIL, 1870. gathering gloom and swoop at that gannet! the gannet swerves aside ; the pirate almost touches the water, but springing aloft again dashes al the gannet, which again swerves, while the skua sheers off, doubt- less seeing that the solan was empty and hungry as itself. I have only once before seen Richardson’s skua attack such a large bird as the gannet. But we have passed Pabba’s precipices and are in the Sound of Mingalay, where the billows of the Atlantic, meeting the waves and tide of the Minch, the tide running like a mill-race, the huge waves are humbled, and in rage and despair are leaping, foaming, tumbling and whirling us close under a reef of rocks, on which the waves churn themselves into foam—mad, like a wounded boar. Two pair of great blackbacks rise from their nests, and, conscious of their security, stare at us as our boat is labouring and plunging. Several oystercatchers are running about the rock, and rising and quivering their wings, trilling their shrill whistle in terror for their eggs, while the “ scarts” fly blindly around the reef. . Ram Head, hideous in the gloom, is blotted out by the fierce rage of the storm. A yell in Gaelic as Rory and his man spring to the sheet! I grasp the tiller as they tear down the sail: the wind rages and screams round us; the angry waves, seething in the maelstrom of tumult, are white with foam, as the fierce gale strips off their tops, blending salt water and rain, and mist, and sea, and sky, all in gloom. The foam is dashed in our faces, as, encased in waterproofs from head to feet, I clench my teeth and grasp the tiller. All is gloom, one can’t see fifly yards a-head; the reef of rocks on which.we can hear the roar of the waves, is hidden from sight, and nothing is seen, save when a gull seems to whirl past and vanishes in the gloom. Rory says it is impossible to reach Barra Head to-day, as wind and tide are against us, and as we have manfully battled with wind and tide for six long cold hours, we are unwilling to turn back. Rory says he can land us on Mingalay: there are two men there who can speak English, and we can get shelter, and cross over the Sound of Bernera to Barra Head to-morrow if the weather moderates: we clutch at this forlorn hope, and Swift as a gull before the breeze, Before the gale bound we.” A quarter of an hour’s cold wet sail, with the salt foam in our faces— an indistinct black mass rises, seemingly pressed down by the weight a Ty’ om a st ~ THE ZooLoGist—APRIL, 1870. 2077 of clouds: it is the beetling cliffs of Mingalay, with the low clouds careering along their sides, hiding their tops. A while gleam of sand in a sheltered nook, on which the ground-swell is heavily breaking, a few battered boats drawn up, a black amphitheatre of hills, and we catch a dim outline of a group of huts as we sail past. Into a sheltered cove Rory glides, and as the boat is lifted on the wave we spring out, catching and dragging out our gun-cases and émpedimenta, A parting cheer to Rory, as his boat is lost in the gloom, and here are we on a barren island, ou which no strangers have landed for more than a year, Wet and giddy we stagger along the track to the huts, and getting the schoolmaster as interpreter, we are soon lodged in the chief hut of the “clachan.” Behold us then in a highland hut; a loop-hole as large as the crown of one’s glengarry for a window; a peat fire on the earth floor, filling the hut with blue eye-smarting “reek,” through the gloom of which one sees the grandfather and grandmother crooning over the fire, two calves whose eyes shine like emeralds, a fat young grunter and sundry fowls, two cats and a dog. Seated round a steaming dish of haddock, with sea-oat cake and sour milk, what care two healthy fellows roughing it, though storm may rage! our sleep on bed of straw and heather will be sweet—sweet as he only knows who loves Nature in all her moods; following her spirits, the free birds of the air, loving her in mist and sunshine, in calm and storm; seeing her soul almost human in her passion, almost divine in her tender- ness; her creatures leading the mind up to her creatures’ God, purifying and elevating the soul, and her breath giving uew life and energy to the body. THEODORE C. WALKER. Ornithological Notes from North Lincolnshire. By Joun CorpEAux, Esq. (Continued from Zool. 8. 8. 2055). FEBRUARY, 1870. THE month on our eastern coast has been unusually severe, a succession of gales, frosts and snow-storms, for which we have to go back to the severe winter of 1861-2 fora parallel. On the 6th, 7ih and 8th we experienced some severe weather and heavy gales, and on these days at Wick, on the east coast of Caithness, the waves, for 2078 THE ZooLocist—APRIL, 1870. three days and nights, swept every seven or ten minutes in a solid mass of green water as high as twenty-five to thirty feet above the parapet of the new pier. The 12th, 13th and 14th were the roughest days I ever recollect in our Lincolnshire marshes: there was a heavy and continuous gale from the east, intense frosts, and frequent snow- storms, during which it was next to impossible to make head against the blast; and in the intervals between the squalls the air was filled with minute particles of frozen snow drifting in dense clouds, and cutting the skin like needle-points, while with every increased gust huge columns of this fine suow-dust were whirled aloft and went careering across the bleak plains, like the sand-columns of the desert, or the fabled genii of an eastern tale. On the night of the 21st there was an extraordinary high and destructive tide, doing more in one night than the accumulated efforts of ten years, to injure and encroach upon the coasts of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Fortunately it was a neap tide, otherwise the damage would have been fearful. This severe weather drove many large flocks of wild-fowl into the Humber, including swan, brent geese, scoters, scaup and tufted ducks, shiel- drake, wigeon, divers, gulls, &c. Goldeneye.—February 10. One of my men gave me a fine old male goldeneye, taken at daylight this morning on our main drain. The drain was frozen through nearly to the bottom and the water running over the ice surface: this ice prevented the duck from diving, and, as the man said, it was in no hurry to take wing, giving him time to knock it over with a clod. A female of this species shot on one of the open drains in the marsh on the 12th, had in the stomach a few shells of Physa fontinalis, and a mass, apparently, of vegetable matter: on dissolving this, however, in water, and carefully examining the frag- ments under the microscope, I found it consisted almost entirely of the remains of water-larve of some Neuropterous insects, the small por- tions of vegetable fibre having probably been swallowed with them. I am unable to give the species of insect these belong to, but the outer coat in some is peculiarly barred and streaked with dark stripes. This agrees with what Macgillivray says of this duck, that their food consists principally of the larvee of water insects. The goldeneye is not common on this coast, very rarely falling to our gunners, and I seldom see them in the local game-shops. Wood Pigeon.—February 10. Returning home this evening down the “beck,” from looking after the wild ducks, I stood for a short time at the corner of a plantation where the wood pigeons usually THE ZooLoGist—APRIL, 1870. 2079 roost, and in a few minutes shot four as they came in: each had its crop crammed exclusively with fragments of cabbage-leaves, one alone containing as much as would fill an ordinary breakfast-cup. Wood pigeons prefer the leaf of this plant to almost any other green food, and if undisturbed will soon make terrible havoc in a cabbage plot. Fieldfares and Larks feeding on the Swede Turnip.—February 11. I have observed lately many freshly drilled holes, an inch deep and about half an inch in width, in the swedes, and much fresh pulp scattered round the bulbs. The only birds frequenting the field were fieldfares and larks, and I hardly suspected these capable of doing the mischief, aluhough the small foot-marks in the snow around the bulbs certainly looked suspicious. This morning, however, I shot a fieldfare in the very act of digging a hole into a root, and on opening him found his stomach full of the pulp of the turnip. The stomachs of three larks, opened at the same time, contained nothing but small green fragments of the swede-leaf and many minute stones. Snipe—February 11. I shot a one-legged snipe this morning, that is, having only one available leg, the other (tarsus and foot) being doubled forward along the tibia and firmly fixed there, reminding one of the constrained and induced attitude of a Hindoo fakir. The toes were slightly tumid, and two claws were wanting. This bird was in good condition. Wigeon.—The males are now (February 12th) in full plumage. Snow-flake.—February 15. The severe weather on the 12th and following days quite cleared the marshes of birds, driving them into the stack and fold-yards; even ducks and snipe gave it up as a bad job when the drains became full of drifted snow. The only small birds that “kept the open” were the little snow buntings, who rather, judging from their sweet cheery notes, seemed to enjoy the weather. Two or three of these little fellows, shot for examination, had their stomachs (the inuer coat or cuticle of which is very tough, almost like thin horn) filled with various grass-seeds: they are always very fat. I lately saw a flock containing many hundreds on some oat-stubbles near the Humber bank, and, as they now are assuming the adult dress, the dark and light markings in the plumage contrast much more than in the autumn flocks. When hundreds are thus on the wing together, with a background of black, heavy, snow-laden clouds, it is a most striking and pretty sight, and one which forcibly suggests the beauty and appropriateness of the name. 2080 THE ZooLoGist—APRIL, 1870. Goosander.—February 15. An immature male, measuring twenty- six inches and a half over all, was brought me this evening by one of our gunners, who shot it near the Humber embankment coming over from the land. It is the fourth of this species I have come across in this district in fifteen years; one of these was an adult male shot at Cleethorpes in the winter of 1866. Some years since, in the winter, when walking down this beck at dusk two goosanders rose from a deep hole at a sharp bend in the stream, and I was lucky enough to get the male, a magnificent adult. He fell winged, and when I lifted him disgorged two trout, which, judging from their freshness, could only have been just swallowed: the larger of these was seven, the other about five inches long. Shieldrake.—February 17. Has been more than usually plentiful on the Humber during the winter: I have seen eight in one day shot on the coast. The muscular coat of the stomach in this species is very thick and strong, and apparently capable of reducing any tough morsel. One opened to-day contains sand, and about a hundred small shells of the genus Buccinum. Blackthroated Diver.—An adult female was shot on the Humber on the 16th. I had an opportunity of examining this bird, which belongs to a friend, As | know many of the readers of the ‘ Zoologist’ are interested in the plumage of the divers, I copy from my note-book the description of the plumage of this bird, which was a very fine specimen, and partly assuming the summer plumage. Colymbus arcticus (Linv.)—Adult Female. Total length over all - - - - - - 30 inches. Bill along ridge’ - - - = z 2 3 213, » gapetolip” - - - = . = . its Depth at nostrils - - - - - - - } inch. Width below nostrils - Ss - - z 2 co Wing from flexure - - - - - - - 13 inches. Tarsus - - - = = - 4 = si, Iris red-currant colour. Bill grayish blue, gradually becoming darker towards the tip, ridge of upper mandible nearly black. Feet and tarsi dark olive-brown outside, pale flesh inside. Head and upper neck mouse-colour; forehead, sides and nape much darker. Upper plumage, scapulars and wing-coverts black, glossed with green. A row of feathers on each side of upper back tipped with white, forming two diverging lines. Scapulars broadly tipped with white, with the shafts of feathers black. The feathers of the greater and lesser wing- THE ZooLtocist—ApriL, 1870. 2081 coverts have a white spot on each side of shaft near the tip. Sides of lower neck gray, streaked with white. Tail black, some of the feathers narrowly tipped with white. Primaries—outer webs black, elged and tipped with smoke-gray; inner webs brownish black, shading gradually towards the edge (and more distinctly in those nearest the secondary quills) into marbled brown and white. Second- aries brownish black, with the greater portion of the upper inner webs white. Under wing-coverts and axillaries white, the latter in the feathers nearest the body with a brown shaft. Chin, cheeks, and all under parts, white, excepting a dark line under wings running along body. There is a great irregular V-shaped mark on the throat, formed by tips of feathers, which are black. A dark streak half an inch in width extends on each side of neck between gray of upper and white of under parts. This is streaked with white at both extremities, but not in the central portion. Brent Goose.—This is the only species of goose that I have heard of as shot on the Humber in February. All the larger species appear to have been driven away by the severe weather. I gota fine female Brent this morning, one of two shot on the coast. Little Gull.—Several of this small and elegant species have been shot on the Yorkshire coast during the month. Mr. Richardson, of Beverley, in a letter dated February 18th, remarks, ‘‘ I have received thirteen little gulls shot on the Bridlington coast during the last fortnight, seven adults and six immature.” And in a more recent communication, “There have been twenty-nine little gulls shot in all, niveteen old and ten young birds.” JOHN CORDEAUX. Great Cotes, Ulceby, Lincolnshire, February 7, 1870. Erratum.— Ornithological Notes from North Lincolushire” (Zool. 8. 8. 2053), line 7, for heard read observed. od Extracts from a Memoir intituled ‘A Monograph of the Alcide, By Extiotr Cougs, A.M., M.D. (Continued from Zool. 8, 8. 2016). 2. Subfamily PHaLertpin&2.—Genus FRATERCULA, Brisson. Bill rather longer than the head, or than the middle toe and claw, nearly as high at the base as long, exceedingly compressed, the sides SECOND SERIES—VOL. V. S 2082 Tur ZooLoGist— APRIL, 1870. nearly vertical, the base of the upper mandible with an elevated horny ridge, entirely surrounding it; the basal moiety of the upper mandible with its sides perfectly smooth, forming an elongated oblique triangle with two curved sides; terminal moiety with three or four deep very oblique curved grooves, from commissure to culmen, their convexity looking forwards. Under mandible without a basal ridge, the basal moiety smooth, the terminal with grooves, in continuation of those of the upper mandible. Culmen commencing on a level with the fore- head, thence regularly declinate, very convex, with unbroken curve, its ridge sharp, the tip acutely pointed, overhanging. Rictus perfectly straight, except at the end; the angle of the mouth occupied by a circular callosity of membranous tissue; gonys ascending, slightly sinuate, the keel sharp, terminating posteriorly in a thin, elongated, almost hamalar process. Nostrils placed just over the commissure, linear, long, reaching nearly across the base of the smooth triangular space of the upper mandible. No nasal fosse ; both eyelids furnished with prominent callosities, in one species developing into a slender acute process. No crest; a peculiar furrow in the plumage behind the eyes, as in Lomvia. Wings of ordinary length and shape. Tail contained two and three-fifths times in the wing; the lateral feathers slightly graduated, the central pair shorter than the next ones. ‘Tarsus very short, only equal to the inner toe without its claw; stout, scarcely compressed, covered with minute reticulations, except for a short space in front, which is scutellate. Outer toe about equal to the middle; its claw shorter than that of the middle; middle claw much dilated on the inner edge; middle and outer claws slightly curved, not very acute, upright; inner claw very large, greatly curved, forming a semicircle, exceedingly acute, usually lying horizontal, not upright.* * The peculiar position, no less than unusual shape of the inner claw of this genus is a stropgly-marked character, not found in any other except Lunda, The great curvature and extreme sharpness of the claw could not be maintained were it vertically placed like the other claws, as it would be worn down by constant impaction against the rocks which the birds hubitually alight upon. But in the usual attitudes and movements of the birds it lies perfectly flat on its side, and is so preserved intact. The birds make great use of this claw in digging their burrows or in fighting; and the preservation of the instrument for these purposes is evidently the ulterior desigu of the peculiar direction of its axis. The birds have the power of bringing it, on occasion for use, into a vertical position. These facts, mayhap, are not generally known. Sce Pr. A. N.S.. Phila., 1861, p. 254. Tuk ZooLocist—APRIL, 1870. 2083 A very peculiar, though well-known genus of Alcide, without an intimate ally except Lunda.. The essential characters lie in the structure and configuration of the bill, the rictal and palpebral appendages, and the shape and position of the inner claw; although there are other features involved. Lunda is crested, with no furrow in the plumage, no palpebral appendages, and a very differently shaped bill. Three distinct species represent the genus, as far as known. They are all peculiarly boreal birds, not coming far south, even in winter. One is extremely abundant on the shores of the North Atlantic; another inhabits the North Pacific exclusively ; another is more particularly a denizen of the Arctic Ocean at large. They may readily be distinguished as follows :— Species (8). I. A slender acute upright,horn on the upper eyelid. Black of throat Extending toils 9s. os kien baerstiicy ia se veh, sty cud Moyet tice Le conmniculata, Il. A short blunt process on the upper eyelid. A black ring around the neck, not extending to bill. Bill moderate; chord of culmen 2°00, the curve 2°10, the ordinate 30; depth at base 1°40 (average), wing 6°50. . 2. arctica. Bill large; chord of culmen 2°40. the curve 2°60, the ordinate “45; depth at base 1:70 (averge) wing 7:25. . . . . . 3. glacialis. Fratercula arctica (L.), Steph.—Habitat: Coasts and Islands of the North Atlantic, very abundant. Rare in the North Pacific (Pallas), where replaced by F. corniculata. In winter, south on the American Coast to Massachusetts. Breeds on the islands in the Bay of Fundy, (Boardman). Numerous specimens in all American Museums. Adult (breeding plumage): Iris hazel brown. Eyelids vermilion- red, the fleshy callosities bluish ash. Base of bill and first ridge dull yellowish, the smooth contained space bluish, rest of bill vermilion- red, the tip of the lower mandible and the two terminal grooves yellowish. Legs and feet coral-red, claws black. Crown of head grayish black, the edges of which are sharply defined against the colour of the sides of the head, chin and throat, and the posterior edge of which is separated by a very narrow but distinct transnuchal stripe of ashy from the colour of the back. Sides of head, witb chin and throat ashy white; nearly white between the eyes and bill, and with a maxillary stripe or area of blackish ash on either side of the throat. A narrow, distinct line of white along the anterior edge of the 2084 Tue ZooLtocisr—ApniL, 1870. antibrachium. Entire upper parts glossy black, with a bluish lustre, continuous with a broad collar of the same around the sides and front of the neck. Under parts from the neck pure white, the elongated feathers of the flanks and sides blackish. Under surface of wings pearly ash-gray ; inner webs of primaries and secondaries dull gray- brown, the shafts brown, blackish at tip and whitish towards the base. Length 13°50, extent 24:00, wing 6°50, tail about 2°25; tarsus 1°00 ; middle toe 1°40, its claw, °40; outer toe 1°40, its claw *30; inner toe 1:00, its claw *40; bill—chord of culmen 2:00, its curve 2°10; depth of bill at base 1:40; rictus 1:25; gonys 1°45; greatest width of bill (which is at base of nostrils) "60; length of nasal slit *35. Young: Bill much smaller and weaker than in the adult; without the basal ridge, and with only slight indications of the warty callosities at angle of rictus; the terminal grooves wanting, or faintly indicated ; the culmen much less convex; the gonys convex and ascending posteriorly, without the sharp hamular process at base. Such are the geveral characteristics of the young, though full-grown bird. Birds not grown have their bill much smaller still, entirely without grooves or ridges, acute at the apex, the culmen and gonys perfectly straight ; the lateral aspect of the bill is almost an equilateral triangle. Bill basally blackish ; terminally yellowish. Legs and feet reddish yellow, obscured with dusky. The eyelids want the fleshy processes. In colours of plumage the young birds are almost exactly like the parents, except that the ashy of the sides of the head is tinted with sooty black, more or less directly continuous with the black of the crown, and lightening into a dusky ash on the auriculars and lower parts of the sides of the head. Nestlings are covered with blackish down, becoming whitish on the under parts from the breast backwards. This species presents little variation in any respect from the condi- tions as above described. The dimensions do not vary much, and even the bill is very constant in size, shape and colours. The plumage of the adults scarcely presents appreciable variation. The protuberance on the lower eyelid is horizontal, and occupies the whole length of the lid. That on the upper eyelid is nearly perpendicular, and higher than broad; but is short, acute, and never developed into an acute process. There is absolutely uo difference between American and European specimens. Tue Zootocist— APRIL, 1870. 2085 Fratercula glacialis, Leach.—Habitat: Coasts of the North Atlantic; but a more boreal species than F. arcticus; Arctic Ocean, Spitzbergen. Near Port Foulke, Greenland (Mus. Smiths. Inst.), “ Europe,’ Greenland (Mus. Acad, Philada.) Not authenticated as occurring on the coast of Maine. With the colours, and much the general aspect of F. arcticus. Larger than that species. Protuberance on upper eyelid more decidedly acicular; in fact intermediate in size and pointedness between that of F. arctica and F. corniculata. Bill much larger, comparatively and absolutely, than that of arctica, and differently shaped; its colours about the same. Bill very deep at the base, the basal ridge rising high on the forehead ; culmen much arched, towards the end dropping nearly perpendicularly downwards, so great is its convexity. Upper mandible with four decided grooves; the lower with three, being one more on each than is usual in arctica. Gonys more convex in outline, yet not produced posteriorly into so acute a hamular process. Length 14°50; extent about 26:00; wing 7°25; tail 2°25; tarsus 1°20; middle toe and claw 1°90, outer do. 1°90, inner do. 1°45; bill—chord of culmen, 2°40, its convexity 2°60, ordinate of the curve ‘45; depth of bill at base 1°70, length along rictus 1°50, along gonys 1°60; greatest width of bill ‘65; length of nasal aper- ture °40. The development of the bill, changes of plumage and individual variations of this species are doubtless identical with those of arctica. Young birds of the two species might not be satisfactorily distinguishable. Fratercula corniculata (Naumann), Gray,—Habitat: Coasts and Islands of the North Pacific and Arctic Oceans. . Kamtschatka (Mus. Acad.{Phila.) Sitka (Schlegel, Mus. Pays-Bas.) Kotzebue Sound, and St. Michael’s, Russian America (Mus. Smiths. Inst.) Southern extension on west coast of America not determined. Not recorded from the North Atlantic. Adult (breeding plumage): Bill very large, especially high at the base for its length, the height being about equal to the chord of the culmen, exclusive of the width of the basal rim; base of culmen and angle of gonys both produced far backward, giving a greatly curved outline to the base of the bill along the feathers of the sides of the head ; sides of the bill not distinctly divided into two compartments ; nearly plane and smooth in their entire length, with only three faintly pronounced short grooves; culmen exceedingly convex, regularly 2086 Tue ZooLtocist—APRIL, 1870. arched in the arc of a perfect circle; the tip of the upper mandible acute, moderately overhanging, the basal rim broad and prominent; rictus (not including the part beyond the basal rim of the upper mandible) very short, only equal to the height of the upper mandible at base; gonys sinuate, at first convex in outline, then slightly concave; its length but little less than the chord of the culmen.* Appendage of the upper eye-lid produced into a long, slender, acutely pointed upright spine; that of the lower eye-lid much as in other species of the genus. Form otherwise as in F. arctica and glacialis. Larger than the former, about the size of the latter. Crown of the head deep grayish black; the patch of this colour triangular in shape, narrowing anteriorly to a point at the base of the culmen. Sides of the head white; the furrow in the plumage behind the eye, and the sides of the lower jaw tinged with dark ash. A narrow distinct line of white along the edge of the fore-arm. Entire upper parts very glossy blue-black ; a duller more fuliginous shade of black encircling the neck before, and running forwards on the throat and chin quite to the bill. Other under parts pure white, except a few elongated blackish feathers on the sides and flanks. Under surface of wings dark pearly ash. Legs and feet orange-red, the webs tinged with vermilion. Claws brownish black. Palpebral appendages apparently ashy black. Bill yellow, tinged with red, the terminal portion blackish. Rictal callosities brilliant yellow-orange. Length 14°50; extent 24°50; wing 7°25; tail 2°75; tarsus 1°10; middle toe and claw 2°00; outer do. 1°90; under do. 1°35; bill— chord of culmen 2°00, its curve 2°25; rictus from basal rim to tip 1°20; gonys 1°75; depth of bill at base 1°80; its greatest width “60; length of nasal slit °40; length of superior palpebral appendage °35. This interesting species may be recognized at a glance by the prominent horn over the eye, and the extension of the black collar on the throat to the bill. The bill also differs from that of either of the other species in its shortness, compared with its great depth at the base, and the nearly smooth sides, which zre not distinctly divided by a ridge or groove into two compartments. The bill is also com- paratively thinner than that of the other species, and differently coloured. Prof. Naumann first described this species from Kamtschatka in his * The lower mandible in this specimen is so thin near the angle of the gonys as to be transparent. Ordinary type can be real through it. THE Zoo.ocist—A priL, 1870. 2087 valuable memoir on the genus in the ‘Isis, as above cited. It has been occasionally confounded with glacialis, Leach, which is quite a different bird. It is a North Pacific and Arctic species, not recorded from the Atlantic. Excellent specimens are contained in the Phila- delphia Academy and Smithsonian Institution: one of these in the collection of the last-named is probably the original of Audubon’s plate of * glacialis.” Genus Lunpa, Pallas. With somewhat the general aspect of Fratercula. No horny appendages to the eyelids. No furrow in the plumage behind the eyes. An extremely elongated crest on each side of the head. Upper mandible with only an indication of a basal ridge along its sides; the culmen divided into two parts, whereof the basal is sur- mounted by a prominent widened ridge, ending abruptly; sides of upper mandible with three well-marked curved grooves, widely separated, whose convexity points backwards. Under mandible with its sides perfectly smooth, and its base very convex, not concave. Rictus very sinuate; gonys slightly curved. Feet, wings and tail, as in Fratercula, The above diagnosis indicates only the principal features wherein this genus—or subgenus, as might be contended with some reason— differs trom Fratercula. Except in the bill, eyelids and crest, the genus is exactly Fratercula, but the difference in these points seem sufficient to warrant generic separation. Lunda cirrhata, Pallas—Habitat: Arctic Ocean; Coasts and Islands of the North Pacific; on the American side south to Cali- fornia; of occasional occurrence on the Atlantic Coast of North America (Kennebec River, Audubon: spec. obtained; Bay of Fundy, in winter, Verrill), Spec. in Mus. Acad. Philada., Mus. Smiths., Cab. Geo. N. Lawrence, author’s Cab., etc. Bill very large and heavy, much longer than the head or middle toe and claw, its depth at base three-fourths its length; excessively compressed, the sides nearly perpendicular, except at base of upper mandible, where they bulge a little. Upper mandible divided into two portions; the basal part with its sides perfectly smooth, bounded along the base by a slight oblique ridge of subcorneous tissue, which is scarcely, however, elevated above the common plane, and is minutely studded with points; bounded above by a prominent wide ridge formed of an accessory corneous piece which surmounts this 2088 THe Zootocist—APRIL, 1870. portion of the culmen; bounded below by the nasal slit; bounded anteriorly by a deep groove whose convexity looks backwards; these four boundaries enclosing a subtrapezoidal space. ‘The terminal part smooth, except in the presence of three widely separated, oblique, curved, deep grooves, whose convexity looks backwards. Lower mandible with the sides perfectly smooth, the base convex, the con- vexity looking backwards, with slight indication of a ridge of punctulated, subcorneous tissue. General outline of culmen convex ; this convexity, however, interrupted near the middle by a notch, forming a re-entrant angle between the two parts of the_culmen, each of which, taken separately, is convex in outline—the anterior part the most so. Rictus exceedingly sinuate, the tip of the upper mandible being almost perpendicularly hung over that of the lower; the angle of the mouth occupied by a large fibrous or membranous excrescence, nearly circular in outline, turgid in life; in the dry state shrunken and minutely punctulated. This peculiar warty excrescence seems of nearly the same structure as the base of the bill itself, with which it is directly continuous. Nasal slit short, linear, subbasal, placed close to the commissural edge of the upper mandible. Palate and floor of mouth both deeply excavated; the cutting edge of both mandibles exceedingly sharp. The eyelids are naked along the edge, but present no thickening or unusual fleshiness. The crest springs chiefly from what would other- wise be a naked linear groove in the plumage from the eyes to the extreme occiput. Some of the feathers begin to grow much above, if not a little anterior to, the eyes. The crest in perfectly adult birds is more than four inches long. The feathers have exceedingly slender, delicate shafts, and loose, entirely disconnected, though quite lengthy fibrilla, and a peculiar silky glossiness. The wings are of the usual size and shape in this family. The tail is comparatively somewhat longer, perhaps, than in any other Alcidine bird; the lateral feathers a little graduated ; the central pair shorter than the next, producing an emargination. The legs are as in Fratercula. The claw of the inner toe presents the curious character which has already been dwelt upon in connection with F, arctica. Adult: Bill orange-red; the basal moiety of both mandibles livid horn or enamel colour; the punctulated basal ridge, and rictal callosities more yellowish. Legs and feet obscure reddish; the webs bright coral-red; Claws brownish-black. Edges of eyelids red; THE ZooLocist— APRIL, 1870. 2089 “iris pale blue.” Crests pale straw-colour; some of the posterior feathers, which grow from the black part of the head, black at base. Face pure white, abruptly defined. This white occupies the lores and sides of the head to the base of the crest, and encircles the bill, broadly on the sides, narrowly above and below. The black of the crown comes down the forehead to within a fourth of an inch of the culmen ; just filling the crown between the crests, and ending with a directly transverse outline. The white on the side of the lower jaw extends to within about the same distance from the under mandible. A narrow, very distinct pure white line along the anterior edge of the fore-arm. Entire upper parts and under tail-coverts glossy black ; sides of head and neck, and throat and breast fuliginous brownish black ; other under parts the same, but more grayish; under surfaces of wings smoky gray. Wings and tail black; the inner webs of the feathers brownish black; the shaft of the first primary whitish on its under surface towards its base. The preceding description is taken from an unusually fine male specimen in the Smithsonian Museum (Sitka, May, 1867), representing the very highest condition of maturity. The crest is more than four inches long. It is not often that such very perfect specimens are met with in collections. Length between 15°00 and 16:00; wing 7°75; tail about 2:00; tarsus 1°30; middle toe 2°00, its claw ‘50; outer toe 1°80, its claw, "40: inner toe 1°25, its claw °50; bill—greatest depth (a little in front of extreme base) 1°90; greatest width (at angle of mouth) ‘90 ; chord of culmen 2°40, of which the terminal portion is 1°40; rictus about 1:90: gonys 1°60; greatest depth of upper mandible 1°15; nostrils ‘25 long. Young (full-grown): Bill smaller than in the adult, and not so deep at the base; sides of terminal moiety of upper mandible perfectly smooth ; chord of culmen 2°00: depth of bill at base 1°40. No crest; slight indications of it in some short yellowish filamentous feathers on the auriculars. White line on fore-arm imperfect. White about head as in the adult; but the black reaches nearly or quite to the base of the culmen and gonys. Otherwise like the adult; the under parts rather more grayish. The bill and feet appear to have been less brightly coloured. This strange bird fairly disputes with Phaleris psittacula the claim to be regarded as the oddest of the odd species of this family. The peculiar configuration of the bill strongly characterizes it at all ages, independently of its remarkable head-markings. Though known for SECOND SERIES—VOL. V. , T 2090 Tur ZooLoGist—APRIL, 1870. about a century, it has received no specific synonyms from any of the writers whose works have been examined in the preparation of the present memoir. Specimens are contained in nearly all the American collections. The bird is authenticated as occurring on the coast of Maine. (To be continued.) The Nest of the Alligator. By Captain H. W. FerLpen. THE account of the nesting of the crocodile in Ceylon (Zool. S. S. 2002), reminds me that its ally of the New World, though differing specifically, seems to have many of the same habits in regard to nesting as the Indian reptile. Holbrook, in his North American Herpetology (vol. ii., p. 59), gives the geographical distribution of “Alligator Mississippiensis” as follows :—“ The alligator is first observed on the Atlantic border of the United States at the mouth of the Neus River, in North Carolina; those that are occasionally seen farther north must be considered as stragglers rather than permanent residents. From this point they abound near the mouths of all the creeks and rivers that empty into the Atlantic Ocean, or into the Gulf of Mexico, as far as New Orleans, ascending up the Mississippi as high as the entrance of Red River, six hundred miles.” Having resided several years in the southern states of America, I have had frequent opportunities of watching these reptiles on the rice-plantations of South Carolina and Georgia, where they are numerous. In the summer-time they are to be seen floating like logs upon the water, or basking on the sand-banks. In South Carolina the alligator hybernates (I am not aware if it does so in the warmer climate of Southern Florida): creeping under the banks, it wallows out a hole and buries itself in the mud. The negroes eat the flesh of these reptiles, esteeming the tail a delicacy, and search for them with long poles: when found in this torpid state they are easily killed. Florida, however, is the paradise of the alligator; its numerous lakes and semi-tropical climate, in the southern portion of the State, are most conducive to reptile life. In the summer of 1864 I was in Florida, and my tour of duty took me almost to the western or Gulf of Mexico side of the State. My route took me through Sumter THE ZooLoGist—APriL, 1870. 2091 County, and in a little village near Paneesofkee Lake I remained three or four days with an old back-woodsman,, who showed me through the wild forests. Paneesofkee Lake, which is about six miles long and some two miles broad, was full of alligators: in some places they were floating ten or a dozen together; hundreds were basking on the banks, and as we rode along the lake-side a frightened one would every now and again slide into the water with a tremendous splash. I think these Floridian alligators were longer than those further north. It is very difficult to give accurate measurements by the eye, yet I would say many were ten or twelve feet long, and doubtless in many cases much larger. They had probably never been disturbed, or fired at by man, for it is a very out-of-the-way part of the world: there are abundance of fish in this lake, no doubt fine feeding for them. My guide, who was an intelligent man, seeing me interested in the alligators, asked me whether I should like to see their nests: I replied “Yes.” After leaving the lake we soon rode out, through the forest, on to a “savannah”: this term is applied in Florida to tracts of land, or rather depressions in the land, which in the wet season are under water, and remain so sufficiently long to prevent the surrounding forests encroaching on their limits; the summer sun dispels these accumulations of water, or dries up these shallow lakes, and leaves behind islands of lovely green: turf, surrounded by a sea of forest, where the half-wild herds of cattle collect for the sake of pasture. Here and there on these savannahs you will notice, on the spots of greatest depression, pools of water with reeds growing: in the summer time these are drinking-places for the cattle, and around these little “meres” I was soon pointed out the nests of the alligators. At first sight I thought they must be the nests of birds; but having dis- mounted, and hitched our horses to the bough of a tree, we walked to the nearest nest and examined it. The nest was a conical mound built up of mud and reeds, about three feet high, with a slight depres- sion in the centre. I do not think it had any eggs init; if so they must have been covered up. The nest was surrounded by a trench full of muddy water, and from this excavation one of the materials for the nest had evidently been taken. I trust some careful observer will note how the alligator scratches out the mud to form the conical nest, and in what proportion she mixes the reeds and vegetable matter ; the process must be very interesting. 2092 THE ZooLoGist—APRIL, 1870. My guide told me that the female alligator was perhaps hid in the trench or in some of the wallowing holes, of which there were several in the vicinity of the nest. Only having a switch with me on this occasion, | did not attempt to examine the nest more closely than from the outside of the trench, as a crack on the legs from the tail of a ten- foot alligator would be no joke. I noticed on most of the savannahs in this immediate neighbourhood, wherever some water was left, several of the conical-mound nests of the alligators. In the shape of the nests and the surrounding trench they seem to agree with their Cingalese cousins. I only had a chance of a burried gallop through a portion of the State of Florida: from what | saw it must be a grand field for a naturalist who can stand a good deal of roughing. H. W. Fretpen. Snake Poison. The following letter, dated January 12, addressed to a Madras paper, by Mr. John Shortt, of Vepery, is interesting at a time when much attention is being given to the subject of snake-bites :— On Saturday, January 8, about 12 o'clock, a Jogee, named Goorooven, who was in the habit of bringing me cobras, brought a friend with him, who had a fresh vigorous cobra, confined in a small earthen chatty, which I asked to see.” Goorooven took out the snake, and I examined its mouth to see that the fangs were not tampered with, and finding that they were all right I directed him to put it up, for which purpose he took it out into the compound, and returned into the house. Not long after, one of my servants reported that the man was bilten. J ran out, and saw the man standing on the steps of my house with his left arm hanging and blood flowing from two points on the index finger. I took off my eye-glass, cut the cord, and tied it tightly around the base of the wounded finger, and another around the wrist, and with the penknife from my pocket opened the two points on the man’s finger to the extent of about a quarter of an inch each ; applied my mouth to the wounds successively, and sucked them freely, drawing out mouthfuls of blood at each time, which I spat out. In the meantime, my servant having brought a basin of water, the wounds were well washed, and I had liquor potash applied to them. I gave the man a large dose of brandy and potash, and ordered my carriage. Having lately shifted into my present house, all my things Tur ZooLocist—APRIL, 1870. 2093 were in confusion, and I thought it advisable to take the patient at once to the General Hospital for further treatment. Neither driver nor horse-keepers were to be found, but, with the assistance of a cooly, who happened to be in the compound, the horses were harnessed and put into the carriage, the patient placed in, and I drove to the General Hospital, where the patient was received by the apothecary on duty; aud Dr. Thomas, who was sent for, having arrived, kindly allowed me to continue to suggest the treatment to be pursued. J stayed at the Hospital for five hours, visited the patient again at night, and was delighted to find the man better. When I called at the Hospital next morning, except for the wound and swelling on his fore-arm and hand, the man was quite well, walking up and down the verandah. The cobra was quite fresh and vigorous, over five feet in length, just captured and brought in, and the bite was severe and fally injected with poison, as will appear subsequently from the effect it produced on myself. I was in too great a state of excitement at the time of the occurrence, being so well convinced of its effect, from the numerous experiments I have been and still am carrying out with the cobra poison, to think of risk to myself; and all my anxiety was centred in endeavours to save the poor fellow’s life, and it is a source of great pleasure and comfort to me to think that I have been successful in this. On sucking the wound the blood had a very peculiar taste, which, although it attracted my attention at the time, 1 cannot now remem- ber to describe. I felt quite well till about some two hours after, whilst at the Hospital, I began to feel a tightness across the gums and roof of the mouth in the space between the canine teeth. This was, followed by a sharp stinging pain of a very peculiar burning character. I felt restless and uneasy at first, and then languid and faint, when, for the first time, it struck me that I might have imbibed some of the poison into my system. I became somewhat alarmed and anxious, and laid down on one of the Hospital cots in the ward next to the patients for a few minutes, and on telling Dr. Thomas that I was not feeling well, he kindly suggested that I should have some brandy and water, which I took, and felt the better for it. At 3 P.M. the uncomfortable feeling in my mouth extended not only to the roof internally, but externally in front of the incisor teeth along the gums under the upper lip. I had no appetite for dinner in the evening, and on retiring to bed slept soundly during the night, till 2094 THE ZooLoGist—APRIL, 1870. about 4 A.M. the next morning, when I was awakened by an acute burning pain in the roof of the mouth, which continued some couple of hours, gradually subsiding, and leaving behind a soreness. 1 found that the part was blistered—the tongue to the extent of an inch from the tip quite raw, and the gums of the lower jaw also blistered. I now feel these parts so very sore and tender that I am unable to partake of my usual food. It is with some reluctance that I have related the effects of the poison on myself, but in the cause of science and truth, and on a subject which has attracted universal interest not only in the profes- sion, but by the public generally, I feel myself bound to relate facts as they occurred. I am happy to say that my patient is quite well; he left the Hospital of his own accord on January 10, but attends daily at my house, as the hand is still swollen and the wound unhealthy. I hope on a future occasion to detail a mode of treatment to be pursued in all such cases. Of course there is nothing new in the sucking of a poisoned wound; this is well known to medical men generally. I only claim the fact of having brought it practically into successful play; but the potash treatment is original and my own, based on numerous actual experiments, carried out from time to time at much expense, trouble, and risk.—John Shortt, M.D., in the ‘ Homeward Mail’ of February 19, 1870. Natural History Notes from Minas Geraes, cc. Bloxworth, March 16, 1870. Dear Sir,—The following notes from the journal of Mr. Henry Rogers, of Freshwater, now collecting birds and insects, &c., in Brazil, may perhaps interest the readers of the ‘ Zoologist.’ Very truly yours, O. P.-CAMBRIDGE. E. Newman, Esq. Santa Fé, Minas Geraes, Brazil, December, 1869, to January 18, 1870. My dear Sir,—I send you a few rambling notes from my journal, in hopes that some of them may prove interesting. We are getting more butterflies and beetles here than where we were when last I THE ZooLoGist—APRIL, 1870. 2095 wrote, but birds are exceedingly scarce. The beauty of the virgin forest exceeds all power of imagination; the trees are one mass of flowers of every tint, and their perfume overpowering: the scene is truly enchanting. There are, however, some items per contra; storms, for instance, which come on very suddenly ; and when this takes place at night, the effect is grand beyond description; the lightning is more vivid than any I ever before witnessed, and lights up the hills for miles round, rendering every object visible with unearthly distinctness. The thunder shakes the very ground, while the rain pours down in torrents; the wind tears up large trees by the roots, valleys are turned into swamps from the streams, which rush down the hill-sides ; in fact, in a few hours the whole aspect of the country is changed. Another per contra consists of the snakes, which are very numerous, and most of them exceedingly deadly: since we have been here we have seen some very bad cases of snake-bites. Monkeys are numerous, and their agile movements very amusing to watch ; a far different thing watching them here in their native woods from what it is to see them in the Zoological Gardens athome! The other day we had a striking instance of the uncertainty of life in these parts ; a fine strong “ nigger” taken ill at noon and dead before sunset. The funeral ceremonies interested us much. The friends of the deceased placed a lighted candle in his hand, counted their beads, and held over him a bunch of flowers made in the shape of a cross (showing that they had some knowledge of Christianity); at midnight all the “niggers” met and sung a sort of chant over the corpse; the chanting awoke me, and at times the sounds from their simple and uninstructed voices were melodious and pathetic. We got up at half-past four the next morning to see the burial; the body was slung on a pole and carried by two “nigger” bearers, to the burial-ground—a very primitive-looking place, and greatly neglected: only one grave seemed to be at all respected,—the grave of a very favourite “nigger” we were told,—and this was surrounded with rough stakes: the grave was dry, and the body taken out of its winding-sheet, when we were surprised to see that it had on a pair of black trousers as an emblem of his colour, and a beautifully white shirt as an emblem of his immortal soul—so they told us: earth was sprinkled upon the corpse, and the ceremony was concluded: no prayers were said, but yet the whole was solemn and affecting. ‘This negro was one belonging to Major Copote (of whom I have spoken in former letters): the Major is one of the kindest slave-masters in Minas Geraes, and is a thorough 2096 THe ZooLocGist—APRIL, 1870. “ Abolitionist:” he is quite prepared for the carrying out of the Abolition-of-Slaves Law, and is most anxious for it to be passed: his hospitality to us has been excessive, and whenever we are near him the best of bed and board are always at our service, with a hearty and pressing invitation to remain with him. The necessity for an Aboli- tion Law was strongly impressed upon us the other day by the causeless flogging of a poor negress; her cries made our blood run cold: she besought us to let her have a gun, on which the monster who flogged her fled as fast as he could: the laws restrained us from punishing him, so we could only remonstrate, but as far as we could judge this saved her from further outrage. Morality seems at the lowest ebb here; there are no places of worship whatever, and nothing to_mark one day from another all the year round. The noises one hears in the forest are very various, and extra- ordinary to those unaccustomed to tropical life—the “ clang-clang” of the blacksmith-frog is most interesting; then the noise of the Cicadas, which I can compare to nothing but the whistle of so many steam- engines, while the illumination at night from fireflies is magnificent. We have just been successful in tracing to its cause one of these strange forest sounds—one which the natives told us was caused by an evil spirit: it was like the sound of a heavy sledge-hammer struck by a strong hand against some hollow substance : we were determined to find out the cause, in spite of the natives who warned us that we should never return from our search; not one of them dared to accompany us. After some hard work, and by proceeding very stealthily, we got close to where the sound seemed to come from, and saw a large and beautiful woodpecker hammering with its beak with all its force at a hollow tree: the sound produced must be heard to be believed, no description can give any just idea of it; so much for the evil spirit. Another sound—a peculiarly strange and unearthly one— is often heard: it always occurs just before or just after dark: some of the natives think it is made by a bird, but others shake their heads ominously and say “no good.” Every one has heard it, but none have ever ascertained its cause: I can compare this sound to nothing except to the sound produced by what children call a “ Hum-buzz ”— i.e€., a piece of wood notched on both edges, and whirled swiftly round by a string tied to one of its ends. The noise I speak of, however, is infinitely louder; at one moment it seems almost in one’s face, at the next, at one’s feet, and then instantly high up in the air. I had often thought it must be caused by some insect, and I hope that we have a a THE ZooLoGrst— APRIL, 1870. 2097 almost solved the mystery; for last night while watching our nets for water-beetles the sounds seemed unusually strong, and were closer to us than ever: we immediately commenced striking with our nets (though we could see nothing) in the direction of the sound, and at last captured a large beetle, when at once the sound ceased and we heard it no more that evening. This beetle is among those sent home: it is a magnificent insect, and I feel no doubt whatever but that the sounds we heard were produced by it. The rainy season has just set in, and it is very difficult now to work. The ground is a strong red earth, and exceedingly slippery when wet ; the roads are quagmires; the mornings very cold with heavy white fogs on the mountains, making them appear almost as if covered with snow: these fogs quickly wet one through, and then when the sun bursts out, the steam evaporates from one’s clothing so rapidly that one looks as if just out of a vapour bath; then perhaps in less than an hour’s time the rain will come down in floods, so that what with fogs, rain and perspiration, we are continually in a state of “soak; ” hence as may be imagined, the rainy season is very unhealthy, and a great deal of sickness then prevails; the wonder is how one manages to preserve health at all: up to the present time, however, we have both had good health, though we are out early and late and work hard; we use every precaution in the changing of wet clothes and avoidance of spirituous liquors, of which (cachaca or new rum) the natives drink an immense quantity ; it is very cheap, only two shillings a gallon; but this is the only article that is cheap; every other commodity, of even the commonest kind, is two hundred per cent above English prices. Owing to the rainy season, our month’s collecting has not been very productive, but we have done all we possibly can, and have sent home - over a thousand specimens, besides three boxes of orchids, collected from the Mantigueira Mountains. On the Ist of January we had one of the storms of which I spoke at the beginning of my letter: it commenced at 6 P. M., and lasted till daybreak next day; a little stream running near our hut became a torrent, and we were nearly washed away ; thunder and lightning such as I have mentioned raged continuously, also hail, or rather pieces of ice, many of which measured over two inches in diameter; it was terrific; gigantic. trees blown down like saplings, and at daybreak the forest appeared a complete wreck; however, we got from the fallen trees several orchids which it would have been impossible to have obtained from the trees while standing. The wet season lasts till SECOND SERIES—VOL. V. U 2098 THER ZooLocist—APRIL, 1870. March, when we hope to leave for the interior; there will be then, we hear, eight or nine months’ fine weather, and with health and strength we look forward to a grand harvest during those months. The “jiggers” are very troublesome to us, laming one for a week together sometimes ; I send you one taken from my foot a few days ago. I hope some of the spiders I have sent home will prove new to you; I only wish you could drop in upon us for a few months and collect them for yourself; you would find plenty to do! Ever truly yours, H. Rocers. Rey. O. P.-Cambridge. Ornithological Notes from South Devon.—Puffin. An adult bird was picked up dead on the beach near this town on the 9th of February, and was brought to me. These birds are very unusual visitors to Torbay. Black Redstart. A very fine adult male shot near Poignton in the beginning of February. Litle Gull. I had the pleasure of examining at Mr. Shopland’s, the Torquay naturalist, a beautiful adult specimen of this rare gull (at least it is considered in this neighbourhood as such), in full winter plumage. 1t had been shot iv Torbay on the }2th of February. Rednecked Grebe. A pair, in immature plumage, were killed in the Bay on the 15th and another on the 19th of February. Shieldrake. An adult female shot off Brixham on the 15th of February. These ducks are nut uncommon about the mouth of the river Exe. Goldeneye. On the 16th of February a very fine old male, in full winter plumage, was brought to me. It had been shot the previous day on the river Teign. Great Crested Grebe. These birds are unusually plentiful this spring in Torbay. A very fine adult specimen killed on the 18th; another on the 19th and a third on the 22nd of February. On the 5th of March another beautiful old bird was shot in the same locality, and was, like the above-named birds, brought to Mr. Shopland for pre- servation, where I had the pleasure of seeing them in the flesh. Brent Goose. An adult bird was shot out of a flock of five in Poignton Marsh, on the 15th of February, and was brought to me. Three more of these geese were killed in the Bay a few days later: they were all adult birds. These are the first Brent geese that have made their appearance in this neighbourhood since many years, Redbreasted Merganser. A fine female shot in the Bay on the 22nd of February. Sclavonian Grebe. A young bird killed in the Bay on the 8th of March. Redthroated Diver. A very fine specimen, with a bright red patch on the throat and very few white feathers about the head or neck, was shot in the Bay in the beginning of this month, and brought to me. Considerable numbers of these birds in the immature plumage have been seen and killed in the Bay,.—A.de Hugel; Florian, Torquay, March 19, 1870. THE Zoorocist—ApriL, 1870. 2099 Varieties of Birds——Seen this autumn:—A _ snow-white starling, apparently healthy, feathers rich and plumous. A parti-coloured common bunting (Emberiza miliaria), the white feathers rather plentiful and tinged with yellow. A cream or almost white sand martin. A snipe from which the colour appeared to have faded, giving it a creamy look, but the pattern of the markings still appearing. In the Ballinclea (Killiney) rookery numbers of the young rooks have white chins, which disappear after the autumn moult.—H. Blake-Knox ; Dalkey, Co. Dublin. Early Nest of Longeared Owl. —Yesterday we took four eggs of the longeared owl from the deserted nost of a magpie in our plantations; the nest had been re-lined by the owl with its own suft feathers: one egg had been recently laid, and another showed signs of having been incubated. I think this is very early in the season for such a prize—H. F. Battersby; Cromlyn, Rathowen, Co. Westmeath, March 10, 1870. Pied Blackbird—A gamekeeper has just shot near here a beautiful pied black- bird; it has a ring of white feathers round the throat and is otherwise marked and spotted with white.—Td. Ruticilla tithys and R. Carii.—I was very glad to find in last month’s ‘ Zoologist’ (S. S. 2061) further remarks on the plumages of the black and gray redstarts, and particularly that Dr. Bree has taken my remarks in the spirit I made them—a desire to know more on the subject. As to Carii being synonymous with R. tithys I still dissent; that is, if the male R. Carii breeds in a different dress from that of R. tithys. Before anything can be done to separate or amalgamate these birds, modern proof, which should be easily obtained, is required to prove that there is an adult male of Carii from May to June; in other words, that males in Carii plumage are to be found in spring. If such males are to be found I think it highly improbable that Carii is synonymous with tithys, for this reason, that every species of redstart should or might have its Carii or permanent variety, or, in plainer language, that males would breed in female plumage: this is, J think, never the case, so why make tithys the exception? Dr. Bree has not defined his “ moulting plumage,” which, taken literally, means when the plumage is part summer and part winter, or vice versa. I have no doubt he alludes to the first plumage, which is somewhat like Carii; but from the context one would fancy that the male tithys assumed the female or a similar dress in the winter, and retaining that dress through spring. bred so, or even remained “a permanent variety.” Temminck’s “sa robe d’automne” is alsv somewhat vague, but undoubtedly Temminck meant that the male might breed the first year in his first plumage, or first autumn plumage, probably taking birds as his guide from the late or second nest, which still in autumn bore the first plumage, which earlier egged birds would have lost. Many of the Sylviad leave Britain before the young have moulted, and again large numbers of the young leave in perfect winter plumage: this is caused by the time that elapses between the two nests. I stated (S. S. 2019) that the first winter plumage of tithys was very similar to the adult, but greatly concealed by long brown edges, and that the following spring, as in the wheatear and others, these fringes became abraded, and gave out the partly concealed but characteristic plumage of the male. Dr. Bree thinks it quite possible that the so-called R. Carii is the young of the year of R. tithys in imperfect plumage, and that in the second year it becomes R. tithys. This is quite contrary to my observations on the plumage of the redstarts, &c., which only in first plumage at all resemble their females, losing any similarity 2100 Tue ZooLocist—ApRIL, 1870. after the first autumnal moult. I am well aware many authors write that the plumage of the young stenechat, in first winter, &c., is like the female, but such is not the case, fur I have found male's feathers sprouting amongst the well-known mottled first plumage of the young, and, as in the redstart, the only difference between old and young lying in the extravagantly deep brown or tawny fringes to the feathers of the latter. The plumages of Mr. Gatcombe are correct—* During the autumn and winter the tips of the feathers are long and tinged with brownish gray, &c:” this is the first winter plumage of R. tithys. An adult tithys never has a brown fringe to the dorsal plumage, but in winter the dark feathers of the back are deeply edged with hoary or steel-gray (like a jackdaw’s head). I think, contrary to Dr. Bree, that it would make a very great difference, R. Carii and R. tithys breeding in distinct localities, par- ticularly in the same place and at different levels. In his concluding sentence, Dr. Bree says, “It will, however, be a curious fact, if it is proved hereafter that all the year-uld young tithys breed in their autumnal coats for the first time.” By “ autumnal coat” are we to read first plumage or first winter plumage, or the moulting and inter- mediate stage between the two? The steel-gray bird that I bad caged, and which I thought a male, had no rust colour on the abdomen, which was pure white, and a brighter tail than that of tithys. So pure, perfect, and spevific-like was the dress of this bird, and so unlike any other redstart, male or female, that if I had killed it out of Treland I should bave no hesitation in taking it for the male of a distinct species. Has Carii any rust-colour on the belly? Is the male of Carii much dissimilar from the female? Are aJl the birds called “ Carii” rightly so called—are not many of them genuine females of tithys? —H. Blake-Knox ; March 4, 1870. Larly Appearance of the Wheatear.—On Saturday last (the 5th of March) I saw two wheatears (Saxicola wnanthe), which had been killed near Plymouth on that day ; and I have no doubt that the few mild days which occurred just before that time tempted them to cross the Channel. Several more were seen on the coast.—John Gatcombe ; Stonehouse, Plymouth, March 8, 1870. Early Whinchats.—On Sunday morning last, on my way to a little country church near here, I was surprised to see a pair of the pretty little whinchat, male and female: they followed me along a hedge for some distance, and once or twice I got nearly close to them. Is not this very early for them? I do not remember to have noticed them in previous years before early in April. I was more surprised to see them thus early, as the part was very exposed, and it was blowing a sharp north-east wind at the time. —Kidward Sweetapple ; Eynsham Paper Works, near Oxford, March 8, 1870. Wagtail in pure White Plumage.—Did I ever mention to you that in the autumn of 1868 a specimen of the wagtail (I cannot say whether Motacilla Yarrellii or M. alba) was shot here in pure white plumage, without a mark of any kind?—J. W. Harris ; Derwent Bank, Troughton via Carlisle. Anthus ludovicianus vel Anthus rufescens ?—Whetber Mr. Boynton’s bird is Anthus ludovicianus or not I do not believe can be said positively by Mr. Reeks, Mr. Gould, or any other naturalist. The reasons given by Mr. Reeks are most unsatisfactory, as a few fractional differences in measurements go for very little. As to the bird being A. rufescens, 1 am uot convinced even by the dictum of so high an authority as Gould, The outer tail-feathers are those of this bird certainly; but then Baird mentions an instance in which the same feathers existed in A. ludovicianus. Did Mr. Gould ever see a specimen of A. rufescens in any age or plumage which was a a THE ZooLocisr—APpRIL, 1870. 2101 olive-green below, with dark spots? In fact, the bird is an abnormity; but, in my humble opinion, it resembles A. ludovicianus more than any other pipit. T shall not grieve or be disappointed should it turn out anything else.—C. R. Bree; Colchester, March 19, 1870. Buff Variety of Sky Lark.—A buff variety of the sky lark was sent me for stuffing on the last day of December, 1869: it was shot at Beeston Regis, and proved on dissection to be a female. I have previously preserved two other examples of this variety, both of which were also females.—T7. BE. Gunn; 5, Upper St. Giles, Norwich. Shore Lark near Weymouth.—I saw two male shore larks at Weymouth, Dorset- shire, on the 25th of November last: they had been shot a few days before by a man who was after wild fowl on Lodimoor, a wild place close to the sea, about a mile from Weymouth, and were set up for a gentleman in that town. They were in very hand- some plumage, but had been much damaged by large shot—William Borrer ; Cowfold, Horsham, Sussex, February 24, 1870. Shore Larks in East Yorkshire-—Perhaps some of your ornithological readers may be interested to hear that three shore larks (Alauda alpestris) were shot on the east coast on the 19th inst. They were not associating with any other species, and were all male birds.—F’. Boyes; Beverley.— Field’ of February ith. Shore Larks near Dunbar.—Two specimens of the shore Jark were shot out of a small flock, near the Tyne Estuary, by a boy, on the 23rd of January last. Both specimens (adult males) are now in the possession of Mr. Francis Balfour, of Whit- tinghame.—R. G. Wardlaw Ramsay; Whitehill, Lasswade, N. B. Rock Doves at Salisbury — Some unusually large flights of pigeons have been passing over this city during the last few days: they were first observed on Saturday, March 12th, about 8.30 a.m.; their course was from south-east to north-west. They appeared in such immense numbers as occasionally to darken the air, and were noticed up to the 17th, but the flocks gradually diminished in numbers from the 15th. The amateur sportsmen of the district were afforded quite a pastime, and I am told that upwards of a hundred fell to their guns; but owing to the height and rapidity with which they flew many escaped the onslaught that was made on them. An examina- tion of some of those that were killed proved them to be the blue rock dove (Columba livia). Mr. Wheaton, who shot several, told me that on opening their crops he found in some beech-mast and turnip-green, whilst others had nothing whatever in them ; they were nevertheless all fat and in good condition. These large flights of pigeons are the more worthy of notice, since the rock dove is quite a rare visitor in this district, although stragglers are occasionally shot here during the winter months.— Henry Blackmore; Salisbury, February 18, 1870. The Case of Bustards at Swaffham.—In reference to my notice in the February number of the ‘ Zoologist,’ touching bustards in Suffolk and Norfolk, Captain Feilden, in this month’s number, writes, “I should much like to know whether the case of bustards Mr. Moor refers to, then in the possession of the Rev. R. Hamond, of Swaff- ham, Norfolk, is still in existence.” I have written to an old schoolfellow of mine, pow in France, with whose brother (now dead) I visited Mr. Hamond’s collection at Swaffham. I have just received the following answer:—‘ The particulars you state of the case are quite correct. On the death of the Rev. Robert Hamond, the original possessor, all his stuffed birds devolved upon his sister, Miss Hamond, and remained in the same house until her death, which took place some four or five years since, 2102 THE ZooLocist—APRIL, 1870. when they passed to her nephew, Mr. Anthony Hamond, of High House, Westacre, four miles from Swaffham: he died about three months since, and I have no doubt the birds remain with his widow and family in that their family mansion, with the addition of my poor brother's own collection, a very considerable and valuable one, including a female bustard, which was shot by Mr. Elwes, in Norfolk, when I happened to be staying at Swaffham, about forty years ago. My brother stuffed it aud cased it himself. At least three females still remained about in Norfolk without any male, and some of their eggs were found, but which were of course useless. My brother once saw all three together, but I believe was without a gun at the time. I fancy one was afterwards shot by some one, and the others disappeared. It is now many years since one has been seen. I do not know the present owner of Westacre, but have no doubt any gentleman would be willingly allowed to see the collection—a sight of which is well worth a pilgrimage of some distance.” My schvolfellow (above referred to) is Mr. William Dugmore, of The Firs, Hampstead, and his brother the late Rev. Henry Dugmore, both natives of Swaffham.—Edward J. Moor; Great Bealings, Woodbridge, Suffolk, March 16, 1870. The Scarborough Bustard’s Egg.— My note on the nesting of the great bustard in Yorkshire (S. S. 2063) disagrees, as far as dates are concerned, with Mr. Alwin Bell’s note on the same page. We refer to the same egg, and I have since applied for information’ from the Museum, and my dates are in accordance with the writing attached to the specimen. Morris (‘ History of British Birds,’ vol. iv. p. 3), writes as follows :—“ Henry Woodall, Esq., of North Dalton, has informed me that in the year 1816 or 1817, James Dowker, Esq., of that place, killed two near there with a right and left shot, and saw a third I believe at the same time: a nest that had been forsaken was also found, with one egg in it, which is now in the Scarborough Museum.” The same authority adds that the bustard brought into Scarborough (referred to by Mr. Bell) was found by the huntsman of the Scarborough harriers, and that the bird had been shot a few days before by the keeper of Sir William Strickland. This I think is far more likely than its having been killed by the hounds, for, unless previously wounded, I doubt very much if harriers could catch a bustard. One portion of my note requires explanation and amendment, namely, where I refer to the late Mr. John Woolley, and his desire to purchase the egg of Otis tarda from the Scarborough Museum. Professor Newton has kindly drawn my attention to this point, and has given me the following information:—Mr, Wolley knew and made a note in his egg-book of the existence of this egg, as far back as 1843. A subsequent note in his egg-book in 1850 adds that this specimen had been “boiled with the notion of preserving it,” and was of “bad colour.” About 1856, when on a visit to Scarborough, his sympathies for this egg were again aroused, and pointing out to the Museum Committee the interest attached to this specimen, he made a formal application to that body, offering in exchange a considerable number of the rare Lapland eggs that he had collected. The Committee of the Museum declined the proposal, and were doubtless right in dving so, as they have retained in their Museum a most valuable local specimen. I have added this to banish a suspicion, that might have arisen from my careless writing, that the late Mr. John Wolley offered money, or unknown to the Museum Committee endeavoured to procure this egg. The explanation is due to the memory of one of whom no naturalist can think without the truest regard.—H. W. Feilden; Chester Casile, March 11, 1870. — = 7 tae ee, THE ZooLocist—APRIL, 1870. 21038 Great Bustards on the Yorkshire Wolds.—The great bustard said to have been killed by the Scarborough hounds in the autumn of 1816, I have since been informed, on the authority of a gentleman now living, and who was with the hunt at the time, was not killed by the hounds, but taken up alive by the buntsman in a turnip-field, having been wounded, it was supposed, by a gamekeeper a short time before. The field in which the bustard was taken is on a farm near the village of Hunmanby, and known as Hunmanby Field, about nine miles from Scarborough. Mr. Williamson, I find, is mistaken in supposing the egg in the Scarborough Museum was found on the same moor, and in the same year, as this bird; and when he kindly gave me the information communicated in my former note (S. S. 2063) respecting it, had probably forgotten the note in the Museum referred to by Captain Feilden, and which doubtless affords the best data, premising it was penned in March, 1840, at a time when the facts were comparatively fresh in the memory of the presenter and chronicler, Dr. John Bury. One of the two great bustards shot by Mr. James Dowker at North Dalton (mis-spelt “Salton” in my former notice) in 1810, was given by him to Dr. Bury, who presented it to the Prince Regent (George IV.): the other bird Mr. Dowker had cooked, and the year previous to that—viz, in 1809—five bustards were seen on the same muor, but were very wild, and none shot. At Rye, a few days ago, I was shown an old lithographed drawing, nicely executed, of the late Rev. R. Hamond’s case of bustards: the male bird is in the centre, his wings slightly raised, with a female on each side, one represented feeding, and in the fore ground, near some tufts of grass, the two eggs and “little prince” are seen. On the back of the picture, in manuscript, I read the following account of it:—‘ This is a correct representation of a case of the large bustard (Ovés tarda, Linn.), containing one male, two females, one young one, and a couple of eggs, which were shot and preserved by the Reverend Robert Hamond, a. D. 1820, and are now in his cullection at Swaffham, Norfolk.—Hastings, May Ist, 1831.” The naturalist in whose house I saw the drawing told me that, about the time the Bridlington specimen occurred, a male bustard was shot near Lydd, in Romney Marsh.—Alwin S. Bell; Clive House, Hastings. Ruff in Somersetshire.—A ruff was killed on Sedge Moor, at the end of last week, and given to me by Mr. Scarlett, of Taunton, to whom it had been sent with some plovers. There was no appearance of any ruff, but some of the feathers on the body were already assuming a brighter colour.—Cecil Smith; Lydeard House, near Taunton, March 3, 1870. Ruff in Norfolk.—A fine male was killed on the 25th of February, at Stalham, in Norfolk. —T. E. Gunn. Sabine’s Snipe.—Herewith I send you a specimen of Sabine’s snipe, thinking it might be interesting to some of your numerous readers.—J. W. D.—‘ Field? [It is singular that a gentleman should record the occurrence of so rare a bird in so bald a manner, affording no clew to the country, date, sex or peculiarities of the bird, or the name or residence of the recorder! I have seen the bird and find it correctly named.—Edward Newman. | The Moa or Dinornis as Human Food.—Dr. Julius Haast, of Canterbury, New Zealand, has been making a most interesting series of observations on some recently discovered cooking pits or kitchen-middens of the original inhabitants of these islands. The results of these investigations have been laid before the Zoological Suciety of 2104 THE Zoo._ocist—APnRiL, 1870. London by Professor Owen, Dr. Haast is of opinion that the various species of Dinornis must have been extinct for many hundred years, inasmuch as the Maories, the present inhabitants of New Zealand, have not even any traditions respecting them. Recently Dr. Haast has been fortunate enough to discover a large moa-hunters’ encampment, with cooking-places and kitchen-middens, extending over more than forty acres, near the river Rakaia. In this he has made many excavations, which have given great insight into the habits of the primitive race of people who exterminated the Dinornis. Numerous rough stone implements were found, broken from boulders in a peculiar manner, or made of flint and other silicious stones, and closely resembling those found at Amiens and other places where pre-historic remains have been obtained. The cooking places or ovens are built like those of the Maories, and covered with silt and vegetable soil. The moa bones were found in considerable numbers, and must have been obtained from several different species of Dinornis. The greater number belonged to D. casuarinus, the next to D. didiformis and D. crassus. There were also some bones of D. elephantopus, and of Palapteryx ingens, but none of the very largest species, D. giganteus and D. robustus. The bones had all been broken so as to get out the marrow, the tibia being broken on both sides near the ends, and scooped out apparently with flint flakes, as if the eatable matter had been thus extracted from those parts of the bone difficult to break. Tbe long bones had been smashed in the middle, and stones were found which had doubtless been used for this purpose. The skulls had been scooped out below so as to get at the brain, and the larger bones of the bodies of the birds were found in fragments. Along with these bones of the moa, Dr. Haast found also numerous bones of the native dog, of seals, sea gulls, and the tympanic bones of several species of whale, but no human remains: so that it would appear certain that the ancient inhabitants who hunted the moa were not cannibals. As no implement of warfare or chase were found except the flakes of flint and obsidian, it is supposed the birds were caught in pils or snares. There was a total absence of ornaments of any kind, excepting two wing-bones of the albatross which were bored through, and might have been used as ornaments.—‘ Field,’ Sir George Grey on the Date of the Extinction of the Moa—At the meeting of the Zoological Society on Thursday, a letter from Sir G. Grey, in reference to Dr. Haast’s communication respecting the date of the extinction of the moa in New Zealand, was read by Dr. Sclater. Sir George combats Dr. Haast’s conclusions as stated in the ‘ Field’ of February 5. In the course of the communication Sir George Grey says :—‘* I have often found moas’ bones under similar circumstances, sometimes covered by a greater depth of soil; but I have regarded the ovens as of comparatively recent construction. These ovens are Polynesian cooking places. The Australian and several other savage races couk their food in quite a different way. With moa bones I have several times found bones of the kakapo (Strigops), a bird now extinct in the districts where I found the ovens. I have seen many hundreds of old ovens indis- tinguishable from those in which moa bones were found, and in some of these cases the natives were able to tell me the circumstances under which war parties or travellers had formed these very ovens many years since. I would observe that the native word “moa” is a Polynesian word, and the very word which new comers to the island of New Zealand would be likely to have applied to the Dinornis if they had found it in existence there. The natives all know the word “ moa” as describing the extinct bird ; and when I went to New Zealand twenty-five years ago the natives invariably spoke to ¢ EE a a a THE ZooLocist— APRIL, 1870. 2105 me of the moa as a bird well known to their ancestors. They spoke of the moa in exactly the same manner as they did of the kakapo, the kiwi, the weka, an extinct kind of rail, in districts where all these birds had disappeared.. Allusions to the moa are to be found in their poems, sometimes together with allusions to birds still in existence in some parts of the island. From these circumstances, and from former frequent conversations with old natives, I have never entertained the slightest doubt that the moa was found by the ancestors of the present New Zealand race when they first occupied the islands, and that by degrees the mova was destroyed and disappeared, as have several other wingless birds from different parts of New Zealand.” The circumstance that Dr. Haast found in these cooking places only flint and obsidian, and no implements of warfare and the chase, goes far to prove that they could not be formed by the Maories, who were, comparatively speaking, a highly civilized race when they first took possession of New Zealand, having at that time magnificent boats, elaborate carvings, &c., &c. These could hardly have perished, as the same dryness of soil which has preserved so admirably even the gelatinous tendons of the moa would also have prevented the decay of any kind of any hardwood implements that were deposited with them.—‘ Field,’ Green Sandpiper at Hasketon.—A green sandpiper was shot by a gentleman, as it rose from a small brook on some marshy meadows, at Hasketon: its occurrence is somewhat rare in this part of Suffulk—Z. C. Moor; Great Bealings, Woodbridge, Suffolk, December 27, 1869. Spurwinged Goose in Wiltshire.—A gentleman who resides at the Manor Farm, Upavon, and not, as erroneously stated, at “ Charlton Farm,” or “‘ Netheravon,” had noticed from his window a large strange-looking bird beside a pond near the home- stead, in company with his tame geese. Surprised to see how amicable it was with his own birds, and curious to ascertain what it could be, he went out, hoping to get a closer view of it, wheu suddenly it took wing, alighting again in a meadow not far off. Seeing enough to convince him that the bird was very wild and very peculiar in appearance, and not wishing to lose it altogether, he returned fur his gun, and succeeded in shooting it. Fortunately it was sent for preservation to a “ naturalist” living in Devizes, and to him I am indebted for the following account:—* This bird,” he writes, “ was in excellent plumage and in very good condition, and was, I believe, a two-year old bird, or its back plumage would have been of a black hue, whereas it was mottled with gray: when walking its gait was very upright, more so than our tame geese, and its legs are longer. The spur upon its wings is about three-eighths of an inch long; and I found, upon examining the contents of its stomach, that it had been feeding upon corn and vegetable substances. It weighed four pounds one ounce, was twenty-seven inches in length, and four feet two inches in breadth. According to the instructions received, I stuffed it in an upright position, just as it had been seen when alive."—Henry Moses, in ‘ Science Gossip’ for March, 1870. Ruddy Shieldrake near Tralee, County Kerry.—I mentioned (Zool. 8. 8. 2019) the occurrence of a ruddy shieldrake in the County Kerry. Now, owing to the kind attention of Mr. J. C. Neligan, of Tralee, the owner of the bird, I can record for future use the particulars of its capture and habits, as observed in the County Kerry, which have been sent me by that gentleman. It was shot on the 17th of August, 1869, on a lake about ten miles to the west of Tralee: this lake is cluse to the sea, and only separated from it by some low narrow sand-banks. “ Towards the end of last March,” SECOND SERIES—VOL. V. x 2106 Tue ZooLocist— APRIL, 1870. says Mr. Neligan, “ I heard that a very strange bird was constantly seen on the lake, and, in common with three or four others, I made every effort to get the bird: she was, however, so very wary and shy that it was impossible to get within shot of her. After she had been disturbed by our efforts she left the lake, and the next I heard of her was her being seen on one of the large bays in the north of this county, about twelve or fourteen miles from the lake. She was, I believe, fired at once or twice on the bay, but was not hit. She again appeared on the lake during the summer, and in August was shot. Some friends of mine watched the bird very closely, and, observing her hauuts, one of them lay under cover in one of the haunts, and so got a shot within rauge: he slightly wounded her, and brought her home, to all appearance not much hurt: the bird would not eat and pined away, dying in a few days.” Prior to the appearance of the shieldrake, Mr. Neligan says, the wind for some days was from north to north-east, and that the bird remained on or about the lake and neighbouring bay from its first appearance in March till killed in August. It bad a very peculiar musical note, and unlike that of any of the duck or goose tribe that Mr. Neligan had heard. I have repeatedly seen the bird at Messrs. Williams’s, of Dame-street. It is a male bird in second summer plumage—in other words, a little beyond one year old: the plumage much resembles that of an adult, and would be so this spring had the bird lived. Mr. Neligan is wrong in thinking it a female, unless dissection has proved it an excessively old one in part plumage of the male. By a reference to Newman’s Montagu (1866) I find that only four have occurred in Britain to that date, three in England and one in Ireland: the latter, a fine male, is in the Museum of the Royal Dublin Society. This mukes the fifth recorded British specimen.—H. Blake-Knoz ; March 2, 1870. Smew at Yarmouth.—An adult male smew, in splendid plumage, was shot at Burgh, near Yarmouth, on the 30th of December last, and forwarded to me for preservation. The smew is rather rare on this coast.—T. F. Gunn. Rare Grebes in Devonshire.—Several gredes, both great crested and Sclavonian, have made their appearance on the coast of Devon during the late severe weather, which has not been the case for many years past. I saw a Sclavonian grebe shot about an hour ago.—J. Gatcombe ; March 8, 1870. Rednecked Grebe at Teignmouth.—A specimen of the rednecked grebe was sent ne from Teignmouth, on the 22nd of February.—Cecil Smith. Sclavonian Grebe on the Wandle-—On the 15th of February our gardener shot a specimen of the dusky grebe, a young male, on our water at Carshalton.—A. H. Smee ; March 5, 1870. Sclavonian Grebe at Taunton.—I saw, a few days ago, a specimen of the Sclavonian gtebe in the flesh, which had been shot in a brick-field opposite the convent on the Shore-ditch road. It was seen, in company with another, to settle on a smal] pond in the field; the other, however, was not shot. The person whv killed it gave it to Mr. Bidgood, the curator of the Museum, for his private collection. The bird was an adult female, in winter plumage. It was killed on Friday, the 4th of March.— William J. Chalk ; The College School, Taunton. Redthroated Diver on the Devonshire Coast,— Redihroated divers (Colymbus septentrionalis) are very tumerous on our coast at the present time, which is ofien the case after a severe winter. The young birds are now assuming the plumage of the more beautifully spotted bird of the two figured by Bewick under the names of the THE ZooLoGist— APRIL, 1870. 2107 “first and second speckled divers,’ and the birds old are getting the leaden-gray neck and red patch on the throat peculiar to the breeding season.—J. Gatcombe. Blackthroated Diver and Redbreasted Merganser on the Thames.—Qn the 26th of January I had the good fortune to vbtain at Leigh a specimen of the blackthroated diver: it is an immature male: a few black feathers, however, were just beginning to appear on the throat, more especially at the sides and upper part of the throat. On the same day I shot a redbreasted merganser, an adult male, which was swimming in company with a female.—A. H. Smee. Puffin on the Dublin Coast in February.—A puffiv was picked up dead on the sea-shore last February. It is a bird of last year, in ils first winter plumage: it is very seldom a puffin is met with iv winter. I have killed two of these “ winter puffins” myself; also one in second winter, the only example I have ever seen or heard of: they are in my collection —A. Blake-Knox; March, 1870. Avocet and Little Auk at Rye.—At Rye lately I saw another of the avocets (an old bird) taken there during the snow storm at Christmas (Zool. S. S, 2024), and a little auk shot in Rye Harbour.—Alwin S. Bell; March 12, 1870. Little Gulls on the Yorkshire Coast.—At Secarborouzh, Mr. Roberts tells me in a letter, he bas had five little gulls, three of them mature. I have also had two sent me trom Bridlington Quay, both shot one day in February ; and a co:respondent informs me that fourteen little gulls, chiefly young birds, have been shot there, on the coast, this winter.—Jd. Little Gulls at Bridlington Bay.— During the late severe easterly gales we have had great numbers of wild ducks and sea birds in Bridlington Bay, and among them several little gulls, of which, as far as I am at present able to ascertain, about thirty have been shot, fourteen of which have come into my possession: of these nine are adult birds and five young ones Mr. Yarrell, iv his description of this bird (adult in winter plumage), omits to mention that the under surface of the wings is of slate-gray: this is almost uniform in some, while in others the primaries are almost black, the shafts of the feathers being white. The primaries, secondaries and tertials are all tipped with white, and the whole under surface of the body has a beautiful roseate tiut, which svon disappears after death. The young are not so large as the adults, and weigh on an average from eight to twelve drachms less; the roseate colour is not so perceptible, and the legs and feet are pale pink; those of the old birds are vermilion; claws black or dark brown. The largest of the adults measures eleven and a quarter inches in length, aud weighs four and a half ounces, and the smallest uf the young measures nine and a half inches in length, and weighs three ounces, but the latter is an exceptionally small specimen. I do not remember ever seeing more than three at one time, and I particularly noticed that the old birds and young ones did vot associate; for instance, when I saw two together, they were invariably either both old or both young. Tuey were never to be seen except when very stormy: when the weather is milder they have invariably disappeared, although we have immense numbers of the more common species.— Thomas Boynton ; Ulrome Grange, Lowthorpe, Hull.—‘ Field’ of February 26th. Abundance of the Little Gull on the Norfolk Coast.—During the middle part of February the little gull occurred in some numbers along the Norfolk coast, and many specimens were shot. I received a duzen birds for preservation for different parties: all these were males and adult specimens, with the exception of two, which were birds 2108 Tur ZooLocist—APRIL, 1870. of the year. All the specimens were in good condition, and rather fat. The food consisted of small fish (including the ten-spined stickleback, seveial specimens of which I found entire in their stomachs), worms (I took six large ones from the stomach of one bird), and shrimps: these were mixed with the remains of fish-bones, pebbles and bits of sea-weed: other items found consisted of bits of chalk and mutton-fat. The weight of specimens ranged from (immature birds) three ounces to (adult birds) four and a half ounces.—7. E£, Gunn. Little Gull in the City—On the 26th of February last I was shown, by the kindness of Mr. Ashmead, of Bishupsgate-street, a very fine male of the little gull that was captured at noon on Friday, the 10th of February, in Cornhill, in the City of London.— Frederick Bond ; March 1, 1870. Kittiwake Gull—Mr. Cordeaux notices two young kittiwake gulls in the plumage of the first winter, in which the feet were not black but greenish gray (S. S. 2053). I have a specimen, killed in the beginuing of January, which presents the same character; otherwise it agrees perfectly with Mr, Blake-Kuox's description. Do some kittiwakes change, as to the colour of their feet, earlier than others? Perhaps Mr. Blake-Knox, to whom we are indebted for so much valuable information as to the puzzling changes of plumage in this family, will favour us with his opinion.— Edward R. Alston ; 205, Bath-street, Glasgow, March 10, 1870. Wildfowl at Hostings—A brent goose and a shieldrake were shot on the coast last month; and in the game-shops I have seen for sale a male goosander, two mergansers, a bittern and several redshanks, hanging up amongst quantities of wild duck, snipe, wigeon, &c., chiefly from the London markets. — Alwin S. Bell ; March 12, 1870. Gilthead at Penzance.—By the kindness of Mr. John Symons, jun, of Mayon, a specimen of the gilthead (Chrysophrys aurata of Cuvier and Yarrell) was brought to me on the Ist of March. It was taken off the Land’s End. As this fish but rarely occurs in British seas, I trouble you with a few details. Length over all 18} inches ; eye to origin of caudal 13 inches; depth at origin of dorsal 5} inches; thickness on line of depth 24 inches; between and in front of, rather than over, the eyes was an iridescent golden band, which faded off into iridescent green on the top of the head, and ended in a faint iridescent violet patch on each side of and across the head just over the top of the operculum. On and across the operculum, and on the body of the fish at the origin of the lateral line, was a large irregular dusky, scarcely black, spot. Colour over the back leaden blue, on the sides silvery blue, and on the belly white. There were traces of longitudinal lines along the lower sides and belly, but if ever of a yellow culour they had faded. The irides had lost their colour. The deutition was well marked, and was in close accordance with Yarrell’s vignette of it. The fin-rays of my specimen were as under:—Dorsal 11—13, the two first spinous rays being joined from the base about half-way up the anterior ray, which was the shorter. Pectoral 16, the first two joined for the lower portion of their length. Ventral 1—6, as I believe, but owing to the stiffness of this fin when I examined it I am not certain about the latter figure. Anal 2—11, the first spinous ray being a double ray, connected throughout its whole length and having a single termination. Caudal 17, the central ray being very broad and soft. Above (or rather inside the upper edge of) the pectoral, and springing from the base of it, was a bit of free cartilage, an acute a THE ZooLocist—APpriL, 1870. 2109 isosceles in form, and three-fourths of an inch long. The fish was taken in a’gray mullet net, in shallow water, off a sand-beach occurring in the midst of a range of precipitous cliffs having deep water close to them. This is the first specimen of this fish I have met with here. I have had it preserved for our museum.— Thomas Cornish ; Penzance, March 4, 1870. Musical Fish.—While making an exploration in the bay of Pailon, situated to the north of the province of Esmeraldas, in the republic of Ecuador, I was coasting along, about sunset, when I suddenly heard a strange sound, extremely grave and prolonged. At first I thought it came from a fly or hornet of extraordinary size. But seeing nothing above me or in the neighbourhood, I asked the rower of my pirogue whence the sound came. “ Monsieur,” he replied, “ it is a fish which is singing thus. By some it is named the Siren, by others, Musico.” Having advanced a litule further, I heard a multitude of different voices, which harmonized together, imitating a church organ to great perfection. I at once stopped the pirogue, and listened for a long while to this singular music. It is not only in the Bay of Pailon that I have enjoyed this phenomenon: it occurs in several places along the coast, and even still more markedly in the river Matajeé, especially at the foot of a little promontory called Campana (the Bell). On going up higher than Capana, the traveller reaches Campanilla, where a similar circumstance occurs. I have heard it said that, iu the river Molino, an affluent of the Matajé, the same singing of fish has been heard. It is evident, there- fore, that to whatever species these fish belong, they are capable of living in two qualities of water ; inasmuch as that of the bay is purely salt, while that of the river is brackish—at least, it mingles with the ocean only during tidal hours. The piscine performers execute their music without being disturbed by the presence of boats, and without showing themselves at the surface of the water, and this during several successive hours. One is surprised that so loud and distinct a sound can proceed from an animal not more than ten inches long. The fish itself has nothing particular in its external conformation to commend it. The colour is white, with some bluish spots on the back; at least, this is the fish which one catches with a hook on the spot during a concert. It is towards sunset that the fishes begin to make them- selves heard, and they continue their song during the night, imitating the notes of an organ very exactly,—as when one is near the door of a church, but outside, not inside the sacred edifice —Translated for ‘ Science Gossip’ by the Rev. W. W. Spicer, from a paper by M. O. de Thoron, read before the Académie des Sciences. [Several papers on this interesting subject have appeared in earlier volumes of the ‘ Zoologist:’ I may especially refer to one quoted at p. 7237 of the original series.— Edward Newman.] Proceedings of the Entomological Society. February 21, 1870.—A. R. Watxacz, Esq., President, in the chair. Donations to the Library. The following donations were announced, and thanks voted to the donors :— ‘Additions to the Tenebrionide of Australia, by F. P. Pascoe; ‘ Catalogus Methodicus et Synonymicus Hemipterorum Heteropterorum Italie indigena- rum,’ by Dr. Antonio Garbiglietti; ‘ Ueber Parthenogenesis bei Polistes gallica, 2110 THE ZooLocist—A PRIL, 1870. und iiber Peedogenesis der Strepsipteren,’ by C. T. E. von Siebold; presented by the respective Authors, Election of Members. Prof. J. C. Schiédte, of Copenhagen, and Prof. C. T. E. von Siebold, of Munich, were elected Honorary Members. Messrs. G. T. Porritt, of Huddersfield, and Bernard J. Lucas, of Upper Tooting, were elected Annual Subscribers. Exhibitions, dc. Mr. J. Hunter exhibited a Plusia, captured by Mr. Stock (who was present as a Visitor) in the New Forest, and believed to be Plusia ni. (See Ent. Mo. Mag. v. 107; Ent. Ann. 1869, p. 124; 1870, frontisp. fig. 3.) Mr. Albert Miller exhibited some insect-galls in the flowers of the tansy: he had received them in September from Mr. Dorville, in whose garden, near Exeter, the growth of the plant was encouraged, from finding that flies, moths and bees resort to it when the flowers are fresh. The galls had been submitted to the author of ‘ Vegetable Teratology,’ and Dr. Maxwell Masters remarked upon them as follows :—* It appears to me that the whole flower (floret rather) has become hypertrophied, and at the same time the stamens, style and ovule have entirely disappeared. I judge the structure to be an altered flower because it springs from the axil of a bract or palea, and because at the summit are five little teeth precisely like those of the corolla. In my book, for the most part, insect deformities are passed over for two reasons; one that I am quite ignorant of Entomology, and the other that the changes produced by insects are often so far foreign to the natural conformation as not to admit of comparison with it. I should, however, have inserted your tansy under hypertrophy of the flower, had I seen it previously.” Mr. Miller added that the perfect insect had not yet been bred, but the larva showed it to belong to the Diptera, though not a Cecidomyia. Mr. Pascoe exhibited specimens of Nepharis alata, Castelnau (Révue Zool. 1869), from King George’s Sound, and observed that the insect described by King, in the last Part of the Trans. Ent. Soc. N. S. Wales, under the name of Hiketes thoracicus, was manifestly identical therewith, so that Mr. King’s name must sink as a synonym. By both authors the insect was referred to the Colydiide, but Mr. Pascoe thought the genus would be more appropriately placed near Monotoma. Mr. Pascoe requested the opinion of Members on a point of nomenclature. Dejean, in his Catalogue (ed. 1834), proposed the name Diurus for a genus of Brenthide; but no description was published until Pascoe himself gave the generic characters in 1862. In 1852 Motschulsky described a genus of Tele- phoride under the name Biurus, which in Gemminger and Harold’s Catalogue (1869) is changed to Diurus, thus clashing with the genus of Brenthide. And the question was, for which of the two genera ought the name Diurus to be retained? a THE ZooLocist—APRIL, 1870. 2111 Several Members asked whether it was certain that no description of the Brenthid genus, no tabular statement, or comparative remarks sufficient to constitute a description of the genus, were published before 1862? And Mr. Pascoe replied, that though the genus and the name were adopted by Schénherr in 1840, and though Westwood had in 1848 described and figured a species, neither author had specified any generic characters. Many Members objected that no alteration of Motschulsky’s name was admissible, and that Biurus ought to be retained. Mr. Bates protested strongly against the numerous alterations in names made by Gemminger and Harold. Mr. Dunning remarked that, according to the view promulgated in Mr. G. R. Crotch’s paper recently read before the Society, the Brenthid genus was entitled to priority as from 1834: if this ground failed, there was something in the contention that the genus was well established by the publication of Westwood’s figure in 1848. But even on the assumption that Diurus dated only from 1862, he maintained that the name ought to be applied to the genus of Brenthide. The publication of Biurus in 1852 left Diurus unoccupied in 1862; and the publication of Diurus in 1862 was a’sufficient reason for not altering Biurus into Diurus in 1869. If Biurus must be altered on the ground of its hybrid formation, it cannot now be altered to Diurus, but must be altered to some unoccupied name; in other words, Biurus must be abandoned altogether, and a totally new name given to the genus of Telephoride.* The President assented to the conclusion that the publication of Diurus in 1862 was a bar to the alteration of Biurus into Diurus in 1869. And it appeared to be the general opinion that Diurus ought to be retained for the genus of Brenthide. Paper read. The following paper was read :—‘‘ On some Butterflies recently received by Mr. Swanzy from West Africa;” by Mr. A. G. Butler. * In 1833, Gyllenhal, adopting a MS. name of Cheyrolat’s, described Ceocephalus furcillatus (Schénh. Cure. i. 359). In 1834, Dejean, in the second edition of his Catalogue, separated furcillatus from the genus Ceocephalus, and proposed the genus Diurus for its reception. In 1840, Schénherr (vol. y. p. 5L0) adopted both the genus and the name. In 1848, Westwood described and figured the same species under the name of Diuris (sic) forcipatus (Cab. Orient. Entom. pl. xv. fig. 3). In 1862 Pascoe (Journ. of Entom. i. 392) formulated the generic characters. Motschulsky’s Biurus was published in 1852 (Etudes Entom. i. 13). Mr. Crotch’s contention is (Trans. Ent. Soc. 1870, p. 41) that “genera proposed in Catalogues on previously described species are entitled to priority.” If this contention be sound, then Dejean’s Diurus dates from 1834, eighteen years prior to Motschulsky, and Mr. Pascoe’s difficulty does not arise. So also, if Biurus, in spite of its hybrid formation, is to remain unaltered, Mr. Pascoe’s difficulty does not arise. These, however, are modes of avoiding the question, not of answering it. Let us consider it from Mr. Pascoe’s own point of view, admitting for the present argument the 2112 THE ZooLoGist—APRIL, 1870. two postulates which the question assumes, (1) that the Brenthid Diurus dates only from 1862, and (2) that Biurus is not to be retained. When a name is simply mis-spelt, I hold that the spelling may be corrected, but the name retains its priority. Stephens wrote Oinophila, which has been corrected into Gnophila; but the genus Ginophila is properly referred to Stephens, and dates from the time of the publication of Oinophila. But when a name is mal-formed, the malformation must either be retained or discarded in toto; in the latter case, a new name is substituted, and the new name dates only from the time of substitution. Hybrid names fall within the latter class. They are malformations, not mis-spellings; if not retained in their deformity, they are to be eradicated and replaced, but not reformed. If Stephens had written atricephalus, would any one cite the same insect as the melanocephalus of Stephens? The fact that by the alteration of a single letter the hybrid Biurus can be transferred into the pure-breed Diurus is at first sight misleading. It looks like a very simple case of correcting a mis-spelt name. But in truth it is much more than this. To convert Biurus into Diurus, an operation is performed precisely analogous and equivalent to the conversion of atricephalus into melanocephalus. Melanocephalus is not an emendation of the old name; itisanewname. So Diurus is not an emendation of Biurus; itisa new name. I hold it to be incorrect to cite it as Diurus of Motschulsky. It is the Diurus of the * Catalogus Coleopterorum,’ dating only from 1869. So Ditoma, substituted by Illiger for the Bitoma of Herbst, is incorrectly cited as Ditoma of Herbst. It is the Ditoma of Illiger, and takes priority from 1806, and not from 1793. If (as for the present argument is assumed) hybrid names are not to be retained, I repeat that the proper treatment of such names is to reject them altogether. And such is the practice, at least with specific names. For where the oldest specific name is a hybrid, it is not attempted to make the name either wholly Greek or wholly Latin, but the mongrel is cast out, and the next oldest name is taken in its stead. If Diurus had not been already in use, it would of course have been open to Gemminger and Harold, when discarding Biurus, to adopt Diurus as a new name for the Telephorid genus. But in selecting a new name, they were bound to select one that was not pre-occupied. When re-naming the genus in 1869, they were debarred from taking a name applied to another genus in 1862. In truth I suspect that when they changed Biurus into Diurus they had forgotten the existence of Dejean’s genus. Lacordaire (Gen. des Coléop. iv. 868) remarks of Biurus “nom hybride, et qui dans sa forme reguliére (Diurus) a deja été employé pour des Curculionides;” whence I infer that in 1857 the Professor held the pre-occupation of Diurus was a bar to the alteration introduced by Gemminger and Harold in 1869. The answer to Mr. Pascoe’s question, in my opinion, clearly is, that the name Diurus properly belongs to the genus of Brenthide; that the alteration of Biurus in 1869 does not relate back to 1852 so as to oust the Diurus of 1862; and if Biurus is not retained, some unoccupied name must be found for the genus of Telephoride. In conclusion, I beg to present the advocates of priority-at-any-price with the following fact. The type-species of Diurus was originally published (by a misprint) under the specific name turcillatus (Schénh. Cure. i. 359). It is true the error was corrected seven years later (Schénh. Cure. vy. 510); but of course that goes for nothing, and an intelligent posterity is expected to acquiesce in the perpetuation of Diwrus turcillatus/ to welcome this typographo-diabolical Turklet, and immortalize this two-tailed bashaw !—J. W. D. THE ZooLocist— May, 1870. 2113 Bird-haunts of the Outer Hebrides. By THeoporeE C. WALKER, Esq. (Continued from S. S. 2077.) If. EARLy next morning we emerge from the stifling hut into the joyous fresh air: we are accompanied by the schoolmaster, an intelligent Edinburgh student, and two of the best climbers of the island. The storm, mist and rain of the night before have vanished, and the west wind blows strong and fresh off the Atlantic. There being little heather in Mingalay, the Avifauna is rather different to some of the other islands. The natives depend for their subsistence partly on sheep, and partly on fish and birds and their eggs. As we tramp over the short turf up the hill-side, the rock pipits are blithly rising in the air, and sweetly singing with quivering wings, as they descend to their nests among the stones. Great ragged-looking hills rise on all sides, till they break off into abrupt precipices of tremendous height; a very thin covering of short turf, with black patches of stunted heather, a few inches high, with bare rock peeping out everywhere; lichen- covered gray stones, fallen from the hill-sides; the weird melancholy bleat of the sheep, the drifting clouds yet clinging to the highest pinnacle of rock, the hoarse croak of the raven, as flying lazily along he answers his mate, add to the desolate look of the scene. The whin- chat is “ chacking” on every bare rock; the common bunting is sitting singing on the turf dykes, and the lark is carolling high in the air, as we toil up the hill-side. These four birds—the rock pipit, the bunting, the whinchat and the lark—seem the commonest insessorial birds of these islands. Reaching the edge of the precipice, what a scene unfolds before us! We are on the verge of the highest precipice of the whole “ Long Island,” as they call the Outer Hebrides; but the wind is so strong that it is dangerous to approach the edge. Close on our left is the Isle of Bernera or Barra Head, with its white lighthouse on the edge of the precipice, Sinclair’s Isle and Horse Isle between, and at every point of this island the precipices are split up into seams, rents, caverns and bridges of rock: the huge billows of the Atlantic are dashing with the rage of despair, sending the white foam and spray in salt tears of agony streaming down their sides. Under us, to the SECOND SERIES—VOL. V. : ¥ 2114 THe ZooLoGist— May, 1870. left, is an islet, spanned by a narrow bridge of rock, at its base ragged pinnacles of rock, terribly black and still amid the churning white foam. Cautiously descending, and crossing the “ Devil’s Bridge,” ] lay down behind a block of rock and look down. Close below, looking so near that one could almost leap across, yet so far that the strongest arm cannot throw a stone to reach it, is a stack of precipitous rock, its sides and summit covered with birds: one can distinguish the groups of rock birds on the ledges, like black and white specks, the ledges all white with excrement, but one cannot distinguish the different species—only a confused mass of birds sitting in groups and flying thick about the face of the rock. A pair of ravens, which have been narrowly watching me, now draw near, and out from the cliff beneath hop two juvenile ravens, and settle on the Devil’s Bridge, while I in vain try to stalk them. The climbers are below me, searching for eggs, but as the wind is too strong I do not follow them, but take out my telescope and scan the stack of rock and the grand precipices around me. Every crevice and cranny of rock teems with countless thousands of rock birds, so small, as seen from this great height, that the eye can only distinguish the white patches and the long lines of birds dotting them: the air is alive with birds, like clouds of gnats, flying about the cliffs, but the distance is too great to observe accurately. This stack of rock rising close in front is a breeding-place of the larger gulls, the great black- back, the herring and the lesser blackback ; these, though they are for ever haunting the precipices, watching for eggs left exposed by the rock birds, seldom build in the midst of them, but generally on stacks of rock near. As I watch I see several larger gulls restlessly floating over the cliffs, and several pairs of herring gulls fly and float above me, laughing and cackling; for go where you may, by night or day, in the Outer Hebrides, if the herring gull sees you trying to stalk anything, itis sure to come flying round just out of gun-shot, alarming all the birds in the neighbourhood. The great blackback rises lightly from its bulky nest, and with motionless wing is slowly lifted higher and higher by the wind; now, altering the angle of its wings, swift as an arrow, it floats before the wind, then curving gracefully round, facing the wind, it is slowly borne aloft, advancing, to again float everywhere backwards and forwards without one flap of its beauteous — wings. But while I am watching, what are those two gulls which soar and float above the stack of rock—gulls the like of which 1 have never seen before, the size of Larus canus, but with a black head? at et ee THE ZooLocist—May, 1870. 2115 As they float within a few yards, and I see their size, T am fairly puzzled to know what they are: they are certainly not L. ridibundus, being too large, and this not being the habitat of that species. They were without doubt breeding on the stack, but being very wary they would not alight, though I stayed long and patiently, watching them: it was useless to shoot, for they would fall into the boiling sea below, and no boat could near the stack. I need not say that I could not see the colour of the feet, the gulls always flying with their feet folded under the feathers. I have thought it might have been Bonaparte’s gull; but reluctantly I am compelled to leave without coming to any satifactory conclusion. I now rejoin the climbers, who have gathered many of the eggs of the guillemot and razorbill; but I shall leave all descriptions of the breeding and habits of the rock birds till we reach Barra Head, only saying that the whole of the west and south sides of Mingalay for three or four miles is one vast breeding-station, but. the wind being so high I did not descend far, as in Bernera there are many sheltered nooks where one can observe the habits of the rock birds at leisure. During the last two seasons, owing to the enormous destruction of the rock birds at other stations, for ladies’ plumes, the number of kittiwakes have perceptibly increased, as here they can breed in perfect safety from the most greedy bird-killer, for they cannot be shot from above, and the base of the precipices is so full of rocks, and such a current and surf is always running, that it is dangerous to approach near: every true naturalist will rejoice at this. Climbing once more to the top of the precipice, I watch how the natives of these islands catch the birds. They use the flesh and eggs for food, often salting it down for winter use. One of the men sits on the verge of the cliff, at the mouth of a small gully, up which the wind, striking the precipice, comes with such irresistible force that on approaching near one is almost driven backwards; while the razorbills and guillemots, unable to settle on their ledges near, are whirled aloft like chaff. As some birds try to reach the ledges from below others dangle in the air over the gully, trying to get down, their wings and legs going all ways, in a ludicrous fashion, as they try in vain to settle. The climber, grasping his bird-pole firmly in both hands, is lying on the edge, his feet firmly planted against the rock, and as a luckless puffin is dangling in the air, trying to get down, he strikes it from below, and sends the stunned bird spinning far behind him, where his mate picks it up. The climber says that if the puffins 2116 Tue ZooLocist— May, 1870. or razorbills are hit very hard on the sternum or breast-bone they are not injured, but a very slight hit on the head stuns them at once. Having procured several birds, we descend the moors, just as the pelting rain again comes on, shrouding the sea in mist, curling up the ‘precipice, wreathing round us, as we scramble down the steep hill- side to the huts far below. The birds are plucked, boiled, and the flesh gnawed off by the men, but is not much relished by us, as it is tough, red and fishy-tasted: the eggs when fresh are delicious, those of the razorbill and guillemot having a rich orange yelk, and the white of a semitransparent opal colour. The wind having moderated a little, we run down one of the boats, and launch her with great difficulty, owing to the heavy sea; then with six sturdy rowers we rise over the huge waves, which roll into the sheltered bay. Directly we get out of shelter the wind catches us with such tremendous force that we can hardly hold the oars. I pull stroke-oar, and straining every nerve, we force the boat inch by inch against the wind, which beats down upon us with solid irresistible force. On among the terrible current as it surges up around us, we get wet and weary, but manfully sticking at it for more than an hour, we get under the Shelter Rock. The gannets swoop and glide among the waves, and the rock birds fly and tumble and dive among the surf, unmindful of the wind. We jump ashore on the celebrated Barra Head with feelings of thankfulness. Bernera, or Barra Head, is the last and most southerly island of the stormy Outer Hebrides; a gigantic rock, low at the north-east end, rising higher and higher, till facing the Atlantic, it dips suddenly down, as if awe-struck at the mighty ocean, in a terrible precipice, on the brow of which the white lighthouse stands, calmly shedding its intermittent light across the angry waste of waters—a light which, flashing and waning, like many a Christian’s light, is often obscured when most direfully wanted. In the storm, when the air grows thick with vapour, clouds wrap around it, hiding its wasted light, for which eager eyes strain in vain. -shaped in lateral outline; culmen very convex, regularly arched from base to tip; gonys nearly straight, rapidly ascending; commissure slightly sinuate, a little curved upward at tip; apices of both mandibles acute, fairly meeting each other on the level of the commissure ; tomia of upper mandible slightly nicked near the tip of the bill. Wings and tail of usual shape for this genus; the length of the latter contained about three and a half times in the length of the former from the carpal angle to end of first primary. Tarsus much shorter than middle toe and claw; middle toe a little shorter than outer toe; middle toe and claw just as long as outer toe and claw; inner toe and claw a little shorter than middle toe without its claw. The form of the bill alone is characteristic; the other details of structure are shared by the rest of the Simorhynchi. A very long recurved crest of exceedingly slender, delicate, filoplu- maceous feathers, six (to ten?) in number, springing from the anterior part of the forehead, about opposite the anterior edge of the orbits, brownish black; a single series of slender filamentous feathers from each side of the base of the culmen, and thence to the superior border of the orbit; a second similar but shorter series from the edge of the commissure, and thence along the lower part of the side of the jaw; a third similar series from the posterior canthus of the eye, and thence adown the side of the neck; yellowish white. Body colours almost uniform; brownish black, sometimes with more of a grayish, sometimes with more of a fuliginous hue; the wings and tail most intense in ~ colour, frequently nearly black; the under parts, particularly the belly, lighter and more grayish brown, inclining to mouse-colour. Bill orange- red, its apex salmon-colour, or more decidedly yellowish. Legs (in the 2206 THE ZooLoGist—JULY, 1870. dried specimen) posteriorly dark brown, anteriorly lighter, more reddish brown ; feet dull brown; claws reddish brown. Length of body (approximately) 8°00 inches ; wing 5°60; tail 1°60; bill—chord of culmen ‘45; depth at base ‘28, width at base nearly the same; length of rictus ‘95; tarsus 1°00; middle toe 1°25, its claw ‘35; outer toe 1°30, its claw *30; inner toe and claw 1°10; length of out- stretched crest 1°40; length of longest whitish feathers over eye 1°00. Os hyoides examined: The apohyals are slender cylindrical bones ‘6 long, slightly knobbed at the end, devaricating at an angle of about 40°. The ceratohyals are absent in the specimen. The urohyal is a delicate style for ‘10 of an inch, then suddenly expands into a broad, flat, very thin spatulous lamina, subrectangular in shape, or rather cordate, transversely concavo-convex. This lamina is as long as the rest of the urohyal, and its breadth is rather greater than the length of the stylous portion. The basi-hyal is ‘15 of an inch long, slender and cylindrical, bearing upon its apex an exceedingly thin, expanded, somewhat cochleariform glosso-hyal. No opportunity has presented itself of examining the tongue-bones of other species of the family. The present is a long and well-known species. First made known, at the beginning of the present century, by Lepechin, it was re- described as Uria mystacea, in the Zoographia Rosso-Asiatica, by Dr. Pallas, whose expression “ * * pennulis setaceis albis elongatis superciliaribus mystaceisque,” leaves no room for doubt as to the species he had in view. It was redescribed in 1823 by Prof. Lichtenstein, under the name of Mormon superciliosum. Unfor- tunately, it furnished the subject of Planche Coloriée, No. 200, at the hands of M. Temminck, under the palpable pseudonym of Phaleris cristatella, which event might have been the occasion of confusion and uncertainty were the bird a less strongly characterized species. As it is, there is no difficulty in detecting and correcting M. Tem- minck’s error. §. camtschatica is so very distinct from cristatella, that no special comparisons of the two are required. It is only necessary to point to the configuration of the bill, and the presence of superciliary and maxillary filoplumes, for their ready discrimination. For the rest, the present is a much smaller species than cristatellus, and the plume is perhaps longer, certainly less recurved, usually com- posed of fewer feathers, which are rather more filamentous. The setaceous feathers are essentially arranged, as may be seen above, in three distinct sets or bundles; one from the side of the bill along the commissure and lower part of the cheeks; one from the culmen over THE ZooLocist—Juty, 1870. 2207 the eye, and a third from the posterior canthus of the eye backwards over the auricular region and side of the neck; though the first and last sets may appear more or less directly continuous with each other. It is possible that the plumage described above may not be the most perfect one, still the perfect development of the crest and other orna- ments warrants the belief that the bird from which it was taken is an adult. Authors speak of the under parts, particularly the abdomen, as being frequently nearly white, which may be the coloration of those parts in very mature or very old birds. At present writing only one perfect specimen of this species is known to exist in any American Museum. The Boston Natural History Society possess this one; No. 9209 of the Museum Register, No. 8135 of the Fresnaye collection, now owned by the Society. The Smithsonian Institution has a mutilated specimen (a head only), from the north-west coast of America, presented by Mr. John Gould: as far as can be judged, it belongs to a bird rather more perfectly plumaged than the Boston Society’s specimen. Simorhynchus tetraculus (Pall.), Coues.—Habitat: Asiatic (and American ?) coasts of the North Pacific. “ In mari orientali, preesertim Unalaschka” (Pallas). Kamtschatka (Mus. Acad., Philada., and Mus. Smiths. Inst.) Bay of Yedo, Japan (Mus. Smiths. Inst.) Bill small, short, much compressed, regularly conical from a lateral view, simple, being without decided sulci, ridges, caruncles or other irregularities of surface of any sort; culmen narrow, regularly mode- rately convex from base to tip; commissure and gonys perfectly straight in their whole length; the tip of the bill turned neither up nor down, but the points of both mandibles almost meeting on the level of the commissure. Nasal fosse scarcely discernible as such, the upper border of the small, basal, linear nostrils being flush with the rest of the bill. Frontal feathers extend forward with an obtusely rounded outline on the culmen, then rapidly recede backwards as they pass downward in a straight line just past the posterior end of the nostrils to the commissural edge of the upper mandible; those on the side of the lower mandible extending not quite so far, but the inter- ramal space fully feathered. Wings rather longer than usual in this group; legs, feet and tail as in other species of the genus, the legs perhaps a little longer, comparatively, than in other species. A crest of ten or more slender elongated feathers with loosened fibrillz springs from the middle of the forehead, just before the eyes, and curves forward in the greater part of a circle to near the tip of the bill. 2208 THE ZooLocist—Juy, 1870. A very few filamentous feathers on the sides of the head, the slender series beginning at the posterior canthus, and thence extending downwards and backwards. A small white spot just below the eye. Everywhere dull blackish or dusky, deepest on the back, becoming more of a smoky or brownish gray on the under parts; under wing- coverts like the rest of the under parts; crest coloured like the back. Bill an undefinable dusky* in the dried specimen; legs and feet livid gray (probably greenish or bluish in life); membranes black; claws black. Dimensions.—(Spec. in Mus, Acad., Philada.): Length about 8°50; wing 5°50; tail 1°60; chord of culmen °35; gape 60; gonys ‘25; greatest height of bill °33, greatest width ‘25; tarsus 1:00; middle toe and claw 1°50, outer 1°40, inner 1-25, Another specimen (No. 22,258, Mus. Smiths. Inst.): Wing 5°60; tail 1:75; chord of culmen ‘40; gape ‘80; gonys ‘40; height at base of bill 40; width at same point ‘30; legs and toes as in the preceding specimen. Three specimens of this species examined: one in the Philadelphia Academy from Kamtschatka, which served as the subject of Mr. Cassin’s description in the ‘ Birds of North America;’ another in the Smith- sonian Institution (No. 22,258), received from the Bremen Museum, labelled “ Phaleris cristatella (Pall.); Winterkleid; Kamtschatka;” another also in the Smithsonian (No. 15,805), labelled “ Phaleris cris- tatella; Bay of Yedo, Japan; Apr. 1854; eye gray; iris black; Rodgers’ North Pacific Exploring Expedition.” The last-mentioned specimen is in a very poor state of preservation, and is a young bird, as evidenced by the short straight crest, directed backwards; though the bill is nearly perfect in size and shape, and the general aspect of the bird is precisely that of the adult. The other two specimens are in fine condition, and represent the perfectly mature state. These three include all that are known to exist in any American Museum. It is not a common bird in collections, and is frequently mistaken for the young cristatellus, to which species, however, it bears only a distant and superficial resemblance. The bird here described is indubitably the “ dusky auk” of Pennant, a species more perfectly and satisfactorily described and figured by Dr. Pallas as Alca tetracula. It is a strongly marked species, not distantly allied to and somewhat resembling cristatellus in everything * Pallas gives its colour as “ fusco-rubrum;” Gmelin as “ex fusco-lutescens ;” Latham as “ luteo-fuscum.” THE ZooLtoGist—JuLy, 1870. 2209 but the bill, which is of a radically different formation, as will be im- pressed upon the mind by a perusal and comparison of the descriptions given under head of these species. Tetraculus requires no special comparison with cristatellus or with camtschaticus for the substantia- tion of its distinctness. §. Cassini of this paper is the most closely allied species, and might just possibly be confounded by a careless or ignorant observer. The differences will be found under head of the latter. The diagnostic points of this species lie chiefly in the small size and peculiar shape of the bill, the length of the wings (proportionally greater than in any other species of the genus), and the greater length of the feet and toes. The wings, tail, feet and toes are about of the same absolute dimensions as those of cristatellus, although tetraculus is rather a smaller bird, The various shades of the dark colour of the plumage are produced by admixture of black, brown and gray: there is no pure cinereous or plumbeous on any part of the plumage. This is a species which entered at a very early day into ornitho- logical literature, notwithstanding which it has not a single accredited synonym. Its claims to recognition as a valid species, distinct from cristatellus, have not been impugned, except by the learned Director of the Museum of the Pays-Bas. It has been the occasion of no confusion or conflict of opinion among writers, except in those few instances in which it has been erroneously supposed to have furnished the subject of Audubon’s plate of cristatellus. The most cursory examination of the plate will convince the mind upon this point. Mr. Pennant, in virtue of his “dusky auk,” which is this species, would have been entitled to the proprietorship of the bird, had he given it a binomial name; but as it is, Dr. Pallas stands as its lawful sponsor, having christened it Alca tetracula in 1769. Simorhynchus Cassini, Coues, n. sp.—Typical and unique specimen, No. 46,564 of the Smithsonian Museum; a male (adult?) collected August 3, 1866, at Ounimak Pass, Russian America, by W. H. Dall. Bill very small and short, only half as long as the tarsus; extremely compressed, being hardly more than half as wide as high at the base ; its height at base three-fourths the length of culmen; lateral aspect of the bill nearly triangular; culmen regularly lightly convex in outline; rictus perfectly straight; gonys almost straight, ascending; tip of bill rather obtuse; no tubercles, sinuosities or other irregularities of surface or of contour. Nasal fosse well marked, oval in outline, reaching the culmen at its base, separated by a ridge from the commissural edge of SECOND SERIES—VOL. V. 2. 2210 Tue ZooLtocist—JuLy, 1870. the upper mandible; nostrils low down in the fossa, small, short, nar- rowly linear. Frontal feathers laid straight across the base of culmen, descending nearly perpendicularly along the posterior edge of the nasal fosse, just attaining the posterior end of the nostrils, then retreating obliquely backwards and downwards. Feathers on side of lower mandible extending to a point opposite those on culmen; some- what further into the interramal space, which is densely feathered. Wings and tail of usual size and shape. Feet small, tarsi moderately compressed, much shorter than the middle toe and without its claw; only two-thirds the middle toe and claw; outer toe as long as, or slightly longer than, the middle, its claw much smaller than that of the middle ; tip of inner claw just reaching base of middle claw. Entire upper parts blackish cinereous, or very dark lead-colour, deepest and very black on the crown, wings and tail. Entire upper parts much lighter and more grayish plumbeous, insensibly blending with the colour of the upper parts on the sides of the head, neck and body, fading very gradually into whitish on the abdomen and under tail-coverts. Inner webs of primaries, secondaries and tail-feathers dusky gray; the outer glossy black; under surface of wings dusky gray, nearly black along the edge. Bill dusky, tinged with red; tarsi behind and toes below black; rest of feet an undefinable colour in the dried state, perhaps reddish in life. “Eyes white and black” (collector’s label). This is a very strongly-marked species, differing to a remarkable degree from any other of the family. The chief peculiarity of form lies in the bill; so small, simple, extremely compressed, destitute of appendages, and otherwise unique, as will be seen by the description. As regards colour, the tinge of clear plumbeous which pervades the uniform dark colour is very characteristic. There is no trace of a crest, nor of elongated filiform feathers about the head: their absence, however, is not to be regarded as a specific character, since it cannot be positively affirmed that the specimen is fully adult. The affinities of the species are clearly with S. tetraculus, which it resembles in the small simple compressed bill. But it is unnecessary to compare the two and point out the differences. A glance at the dimensions will alone suffice to show specific distinction, There is no other bird in the family that S. Cassini in the least resembles. Simorhynchus microceros (Brandt), Coues.—Habitat: Asiatic and American coasts of North Pacific; Kamtschatka; Kurile Islands; Plover Bay ; Sitka; Japan. Numerous specimens in the Mus. Acad., THE ZooLocist—JuLy, 1870. 2211 Philadelphia, and Mus. Smiths. Inst., from various localities. Not known to occur as far south as Washington Territory, U.S., though found in the Japan Sea. Smallest of the auks, with the exception of S. pusillus. Bill very short, not half as long as the head, stout, deep, wide, little compressed, obtuse at the tip; its width at base nearly equalling its height at the same point, and but little less than the length of culmen. A small but conspicuous globular tubercle arising from base of culmen, beyond. which the culmen is strongly arched, very regularly convex, rapidly descending, its tip not very acute, obsoletely notched on the tomia, very slightly overhanging the tip of under mandible. Commissure almost straight its whole length, the extremity very slightly ascending. Gonys short, rapidly ascending, very slightly convex. Nostrils in a short but wide and deep fossa, placed rather higher up above the commissure than in some species, narrowly linear, not reached by the frontal feathers. Frontal feathers extending to the node on the cul- men, then retreating obliquely backwards as they descend along the sides of the upper mandible; feathers on side of lower mandible extending farther than on upper mandible. Proportions of wings, tail, legs and feet as in other species of the genus. Adult.—Forehead and lores conspicuously marked with delicate hair lines of white, produced by numerous short, stiff, but very slender white setaceous feathers scattered thickly thereover; a few of which filaments, more elongated and thread-like than the frontal ones, stretch adown the sides of the head to below the level of the jaw; and a few more excessively delicate ones reach from the posterior canthus of the eye some distance along the sides of the occiput and nape. Entire upper parts, including the forehead, vertex, occiput and sides of head (with the exception of the white feathers just described), sides of neck, and wings and tail, glossy black. Inner webs of the primaries dusky gray. Under wing-coverts (except the smallest row just along the antibrachium and metacarpus) white. Region about base of under mandible blackish plumbeous, and a few feathers along the sides under the wings and on the flanks blackish; all other under parts white, mottled, especially on the breast and sides, with black, the throat alone remaining immaculate. Bill red, tubercle and base of upper mandible dark bluish, Legs and feet an undefinable dusky in the dried state; the anterior border of the tarsus and superior aspect of the toes dull greenish. Length about 6°50; wing from carpus 3°75; tail 1:25; tarsus 2212 Tar Zootocist—JuLy, 1870. ‘70; middle toe and claw 1°00; outer do. the same; inner do. ‘85; bill—chord of culmen (including width of knob) ‘40; along rictus °60 ; gonys ‘25; height at base ‘30; width at base slightly less. The preceding is a description of the perfect plumage of this species, which is of comparatively infrequent occurrence. The usual state of plumage of the bird as met with in collections is much as follows:—Bill as described above; filamentous feathers much as above described, but rather shorter and more sparse, and scarcely appearing behind the eye and along edge of side of lower jaw. Upper parts plumbeous-black, sometimes slightly interrupted in its con- linuity by a few whitish feathers about the scapulars; the primaries grayish black, paler on their inner webs; secondaries grayish white at their tips. Under parts white, as before, but very sparsely marbled or waved with dusky; least so on the abdomen, most so on the sides and breast, where the blackish so increases in amount as to appear more or less continuous with that of the upper parts. Chin and sides of jaw as above described, but throat white, immaculate. The dusky mottling varies greatly in amount and in intensity with different specimens. Sometimes it is reduced to a few isolated touches here and there, and again it is found to give the prevailing colour to the under parts. That specimens in this mottled condition are not immature, is proven by the fact that the bill is fully grown and provided with a well-developed tubercle, and that the forehead is thickly covered with white setaceous feathers. The mottling, how- ever, is confined to the tips of the individual feathers, whose bases are pure white; and is thus apparently of a temporary and transient character, like that so frequently met with in young or winter specimens of gulls and petrels. It may be a seasonal feature, or one only found in birds of a certain age; and yet numerous facts tend to indicate it as a character of perfectly mature birds. Were one to examine a specimen with the usual moderate amount of mottling on the under parts, and notice the fact that the blackish occupies only the tips of the feathers, he could not fail to be impressed with the analogy just now hinted at, and to conclude that with advancing age the mottling would grow less and less, and finally disappear, leaving the under parts pure white, as in pusillus. Such, however, appears not to be the case. Specimens whose age is attested by a fully developed bill and well formed tubercle, are those most mottled below with blackish. And yet, no specimens have been found with the breast or any other part of the under parts uninterruptedly black, THE ZooLoGcisr—JuLy, 1870. 2213 trenchantly divided from white areas. The peculiar kind of mottling exhibited by this species is so unusual as a condition of perfect maturity, that the suspicion arises that the very highest state of plumage is not yet known. Young.—Entirely similar in plumage to the bird as just described ; but the under parts white, scarcely relieved by mottling; and the white extending far around on the sides of the neck, leaving only a narrow median dorsal line black; the bill smaller than that of the adult, and the tubercle wholly wanting, or very imperfectly developed ; its place on the culmen being occupied by a soft skinny covering like that on the nasal fosse. Specimens frequently occur in this condition. An understanding of its precise import is somewhat complicated by the fact that, although the tubercle is entirely wanting, and the bill otherwise obviously undeveloped, the head is well provided with the whitish setaceous feathers. Birds in such condition might be confounded, on casual inspection, with 8. pusillus. But more careful examination will result in the observation that the bill is far too large, thick and heavy to be that of pusillus; that there is no conspicuous white patch on the scapulars; that the size of the whole bird exceeds that of pusillus: which points, in connection with some others which might be enumerated, will serve to distinguish the two species. Their rela- tionships are dwelt upon more at length in the succeeding article. When old birds of this species are moulting, in the fall, the glossy black of the fresh feathers on the back is interrupted with dull grayish black patches, formed by the old feathers which have not yet been renewed ; and the old worn primaries and secondaries are dull grayish, fading almost into grayish white at their tips and along their edges. A specimen in such a condition (No. 46,563, Smiths. Mus.), though palpably an old bird, has no trace of a caruncle on the bill. It may not, perhaps, be exceeding due bounds to hint at the possibility that the nodule on the bill may be temporary in character, assumed after a certain age, at a certain season, and then lost, wholly or in part, by absorption, to be again resumed at the same period of the following year, probably during the season of reproduction. This suggestion presents itself to the observer without straining on his part, and, in fact, is rather forced upon his attention, after examination of specimens, apparently adult, in which no trace of the tubercle is to be found. The tubercle is in essential characteristics an extrinsic forma- tion upon the bill, differing radically in its structure from the rest of 2214 THE ZooLocist—JULY, 1870. the organ. No good reason appears to forbid the supposition that its growth and subsequent re-absorption, may be periodical. Arguments for such a belief might readily be adduced in the periodical hypertrophy and atrophy of the combs, wattles, caruncles, and the various other fleshy or cutaneous or semi-corneous growths about the head and bill of very many birds, which enlarge during the breeding season, and afterwards diminish or entirely disappear. It is also within the limits of possibility that caruncles of this species is a sexual characteristic. The specimen above mentioned (No. 46,563) is marked female. How- ever close to, or remote from, the truth either or both of the foregoing suggestions may be, it is certain that observed facts relating to the rostral knob of this bird are at variance with generally received doctrines about it, and are explicable by the application of one or the other of the preceding hypotheses. At present we are very much in the dark in the matter. Various ages, conditions of plumage and bill of this species are well represented by the numerous specimens in the Museum of the Phila- delphia Academy and of the Smithsonian Institution, from various localities along the coasts and among the islands of the North Pacific. No specimens are contained in any other American collection. (To be continued.) Extracts (Ornithological) from the Log of the “ Coralie,” R.Y.Y.C. By Joun CorpeEaux, Esq. From THE HUMBER TO THE TWEED. ContTRARY winds and unsettled weather having delayed our de- parture from the Humber for ten days, we finally embarked, on the morning of the 5th of May, for a fortnight’s cruise to the North. 12.15 p.m. Got under way, and by 2 p.m. had rounded the Spurn, well pleased to be again afloat on the wild North Sea. There were numerous gulls near the mouth of the river, principally herring and the common species, some brownheads (by far the commonest of our Humber gulls, but now, with the exception of a few old birds, away at their breeding-places), some lesser blackbacks and one pair of mature great blackbacks. No other birds seen, excepting a black- throated diver, who took no notice of the cutter till we were almost upon him, when diving under a big wave he was seen no more, THE ZooLocist—JuLy, 1870. 2215 Beating to windward during the afternoon, with a strong north wind, heavy sea and flood-tide against us. We had hoped to reach Brid- lington Bay by midnight, but, the wind and sea increasing, put about and ran for the Humber. 5.30 p.m. Anchored in Sunk Roads. May 6. 6.30 a.m. Morning cold and cloudy, a clear white horizon to the north, with ragged, torn and leaden-tinted vapour drifting slowly across it: wind N.W. 8.30 a.m. Under way. 9.30. Spurn high light bearing S.E. three miles: two swallows seen. 1.25 p.m. Withernsea Church, bearing W. by N. seven miles. A curlew crossed our bows, flying two feet above water, and going directly out to sea. Many razorbills and guillemots off Hornsea and in Bridlington Bay, but no divers seen. Several porpoises, usually in pairs, and swimming very high in the water. 11.30 P.M. Passed the Head. May 7. 74.M. Flamborough Head, bearing S.W. + W. 7 miles. Little wind, but heavy roll from the north: a few razorbills and guillemots flying towards headland. 10.30 a.m. Off Robin Hood’s Bay, north of Scarborough : wind entirely gone; little lady having her own way, swinging her heavy boom and (that dreariest of all nautical sounds) thrashing the reef-knieeles against the sail. 8 P.M. Flocks of guillemots, &c., flying northward along the coast: a few kittiwakes seen. Rolling heavily all night, and drifling slowly with the flood towards Scarborough. Burnt many “ flare-ups” (tow dipped in tur- pentine and placed at the end of an iron rod): this precaution is necessary to show our position to any of those terrors of the North Sea, the steam colliers, which may be coming up astern. May 8. 8a.M., wind S., slight breeze. Gradually drawing ahead again. 10.30, breeze freshening. Set square-headed topsail. Made a splendid run up the coast, averaging seven knots per hour. Birds scarce: a few kittiwakes, guillemots and two redthroated divers seen, principally off mouths of Tees and Tyne. I have often been pleased to see the interest shown by our fishermen and coasting sailors in the various birds frequenting these seas. In summer weather, or in those long dreary calms when time hangs heavy, every object seen acquires special interest, and none more so than the various forms and flight of birds; each has its own appropriate name, often in allusion to some peculiarity in flight or note. J am sure if the good men who have worked so hard and zealously to procure the Sea-bird Preservation Bill could see, as I have done, the seaman’s face brighten, and listen to his quaint remarks as he watches some passing flock of sea-fowl, 2216 Tue ZooLocist—JuLy, 1870. they would feel themselves amply repaid for all their exertions. If the Bill never serves any other object than to preserve to our sea- faring population an almost constant fund of amusement and variety, it has well done its work. Barren indeed would the ocean fields appear without their winged wanderers. 8.30 p.m. Sighted the outer Fame light, on the Longstone, the scene of Grace Darling’s devoted heroism. May 9. 5.30 a.m. Off the coast of Berwickshire, St. Abb’s Head bearing N. 3 W. four miles: becalmed. Many gannets seen, flying in pairs about two feet above the water, and all heading for the Bass Rock; only noticed a single immature bird. The flight of the gannet is peculiar; half a dozen slow beats of his great black-tipped wings, and then a sail or glide; then a repetition of the beats, and so on. Guillemots and razorbills numerous: a single pair of black guillemots seen, in transition plumage, flying towards the mouth of the Firth. 11.80 a.m. Towed into Berwick Harbour. Gannets flying out to sea, others wheeling and hovering overhead like terns, but in no instance did I observe any of the numerous birds now in sight strike at a fish. At the mouth of the Tweed, terns were fishing; the first we had seen. This afternoon noticed the first pair of swifts; they were hawking round the keep of the romantic old border fortress of Norham. The Museum at Berwick contains a small collection illustrative of local Zoology: birds from the coast of Berwickshire and Northumberland ; also a.case or two of eggs, principally collected from the Farne Islands,—amongst these those of the roseate tern, also fieldfare’s eggs ticketed “ Berwickshire”: the fish include specimens of the garfish, bonito and Norway haddock (Scorpena norvegica): the gem, however, of the collection is a magnificent and very perfect skull of the auroch (Bos primigenius) from Caithness. May 11. Walked from Burnmouth along the Berwickshire coast towards St. Abb’s Head: the scenery magnificently wild and grand; cliffs rising perpendicularly from the sea to the height, in some places, of five hundred feet, their base inconceivably broken and dislocated: masses, in bulk like cathedral towers, standing isolated from the parent cliff, surrounded by lesser rocks and heaps of boulders, small only in comparison, hurled and piled together in the wildest confusion—long knife-like ridges of contorted silurian rock running out from the coast, their edges jagged and splintered like gigantic saws, around which the restless sea, even in the calmest weather, is ever churning itself into acres of snowy foam. Beyond these dark skerries, some just awash, THE ZooLocist—Jury, 1870. 2217 marked alone by the boiling and seething of the troubled waters, others again partially immersed at intervals, as each succeeding roller marching in swells up along their black slippery flanks in one unbroken sheet of pale emerald, threatening to bury them altogether, to rush back again broken and disrupted from the splintered crag in cataracts and streams of molten silver. At the mouth of the deep and narrow valleys and indentations intersecting this coast line, are clusters and rows of fishermen’s cottages—the wonder is that they are not washed away in some stormy winter’s night: within a small L-shaped pier, constructed of immense stones, are moored the luggers, remarkable for their immense beam and great hoist : they are excellent weather boats, keeping the sea often in heavy gales: how they succeed in running into the harbours, almost enclosed, as they are, by these black hungry-looking reefs, is marvellous. The sea on this coast in winter was described as awfully sublime, and judging from the pools of salt water far up the rocks, and the worn and polished appearance of the cliffs themselves two hundred feet above high water mark, together with the position of many water-worn boulders, fully confirmed all we were told. I picked up two specimens of the ugly lump-fish (Cyclopterus lwmpus) and a dead gannet, and observed many rock pipits and wheatears, and a redshank. Leaving the shore near Burnmouth we had a steep pull to reach the summit. Between this and Eyemouth were hundreds of herring gulls, some scores of these marine vultures sailing beneath us along the face of the precipices : to gaze down on these really noble birds, poised or floating on motionless wing across some deep twilight chasm, they look the very emblem of peace and rest: hundreds of feet below we catch glimpses of those awful skerries and black crags, and the wild restless sea, the thunder of whose waves at this height has a strange subdued and muffled sound, like the booming of cathedral bells heard afar. The herring gull is here as common as the lesser blackbacked on the Northumberland coast; we saw very few of the latter, but of the first both mature and immature birds were everywhere plentiful, both along the coast as well as inland. Although many were sitting together on ledges of the precipices, I was unable to determine whether or not they have any breeding-station here. May 13. Pulled up the Tweed for some miles to see the salmon fisheries. In consequence of the extreme drought and lowness of the water but few fish had been taken: we saw many hauls at the various river-side stations, the only result of which, excepting a few large SECOND SERIES—VOL, V. 2M 2218 Tue Zoo.Locist—JuLy, 1870. trout, was a single salmon. Two sandpipers, gray wagtails, and a few lesser blackbacked gulls were seen, besides many sand martins, settle- ments of which occur in the high banks of the bends of the stream. The sand martins have also utilized the crannies in the old walls of the fortifications at Berwick for breeding purposes. May 13. By rail to Belper Station, thence on foot to Bamborough with the intention of crossing over to the Farne Islands: from one cause or other, however, we were prevented, greatly to my regret, from visiting, either on this day or on our return south, these nurseries of sea-fowl. Inspected the grand old castle; the rock covered with branches of Silene maritima and Armeria maritima, now in full bloom ; the white and red flowers, contrasting with the dark basaltic rock, had a most beautiful and garden-like effect. On the coast between Bamborough and the little fishing village of North Sunderland were many mature and immature lesser blackbacked gulls: they are most unquestionably the common species along the Northumberland sea- board. Two or three cormorants were fishing near the shore, and some large terns (probably the Sandwich) hunting along the coast; too far out, however, for us to be quite certain of the species. I was glad to see, at Sunderland as well as Bamborough, hand-bills warning all persons of the provisions of the Bird Preservation Act. May 14. Towed out of Berwick soon after midnight; wind S.W. and strong. Intended having a look at the Farne Islands; un- fortunately for our purpose the breeze increased to a gale from the W.S.W., and close-reefed we ran miles to windward of the Longstone, now almost hidden by the heavy surf. The lesser blackbacked gulls and Sandwich tern were numerous, wheeling and dashing over the crests of the big waves, or skimming buoyantly along the trough of the sea, eagerly scanning the surface for every fragment of floating matter washed up. Sometimes from the drift of rain and spray a kittiwake would come up, following in our wake for long distances, often hovering within a few feet of the tafferel,—a creature so beautiful, unsuspecting and tame,—so like, in its spotless and unsullied loveliness, some wandering spirit of the deep, watching, guardian-like, over our course,—that we marvelled the man should be found so hardened in heart, so dead to Nature’s fairest works, as, for mere pleasure or gain, to slaughter creatures so beautiful and fair. We had a rapid but stormy passage up the coast, the wind increasing in force as the day advanced, almost constantly deluged in spray, but shipping no green seas. 2°30 p.m. Off South Sunderland. Tue ZooLocist—Juty, 1870. 2219 3 P.M. Towed into the north dock: some terns, guillemots and razorbills off entrance to the harbour, and a single redthroated diver. May 18, 7 a.m. Left Sunderland for the south. Wind S8.W., strong, squally. Very few birds seen, excepting kittiwake gulls, Opposite Staiths passed two heavy-looking ducks flying north, apparently eiders. 4°30 p.m. Off Speeton cliffs, Flamborough Head. Immense quantities of sea-fowl seen. During the next hour flocks of birds, principally guillemots and razorbills, were constantly passing, all going in the direction of the Speeton rocks: in no case were the birds flying seaward. The guillemots were decidedly in the majority ; after these the razorbills, and lastly the puffins ; the latter we had not before observed since leaving home: several passed the yacht, flying in pairs, and others were swimming around. These Flam- borough birds are now certainly much tamer than formerly, when daily persecuted by boat-loads of excursionists: now they hardly swerve to miss the yacht, flock after flock passing us within a few yards; last year, at this season, they rarely flew within gunshot. It is pleasant to see their old confidence in man returning—to know that they are now for a time safe, and no longer ruthlessly slaughtered for mere wanton pleasure. These poor birds have long been hardly and cruelly dealt with, and now we are making tardy recompense for long years of heartless and desolating persecutions. Many of the razorbills had small white-looking fish grasped between their powerful mandibles. The guillemots seemed partial to little eels, for many I noticed had these fish dangling from their bills: these eels must be taken by the guillemot from the sea bottom. Most of the freshly- ‘killed birds of this species, killed on this coast, which I have at various times examined, have always had, more or less, a quantity of fine white sand mixed up with the down at the base of the feathers of the under parts, which I can only account for by their mode of taking their food from the sandy bottom of these seas. Between the Head and Spurn we passed numerous parties of birds, principally razorbills. The Flamborough birds go, daily, long distances to and from their feed- ing-grounds, ranging further south, however, than northward: their northern limit appears to be the Durham coast half-way between the Tees and Tyne; birds north of this, as a rule, flying towards the Farne Islands. JoHN CoRDEAUX. Great Cotes, Ulceby, Lincolnshire, June 18, 1870. 2220 THE ZooLogist—JuLy, 1870. Wolves in France.—It is now nearly two centuries since wolves were exterminated in Great Britain,—the last was killed in Scotland by Sir Evan Cameron in 1680,— and it seems curious to an English reader to find a French country gentleman at an agricultural meeting taking the trouble to discuss the best means of getting rid of a beast of prey which in these islands is as little likely to trouble our farmers as the Mastodon or the Megalosaurus. At the Congrés Lainier, at Dijon, however, a week or two ago, the Comte d’Esterno called the attention of the meeting to the depredations of wolves in Burgundy, and urged his hearers not only to wage a war of extermination against the wolves themselves, but to do all in their power to get rid of the louvetiers —i.e. the officers who are supposed to organize wolf-hunts, &c., and who are named by the Government in all departments where wolves abound. These gentlemen the Comte d’Esterno accused of being no more real enemies of the wolves or anxious for their extermination than are masters of hounds for the total destruction of foxes in England. Not only do they take good care—in order to ensure a run and to avoid all danger of “‘ chopping” the wolves in their lairs—to sound the horn (and a sportsman’s horn is something like a horn in France!) when approaching a wolf-covert, but they even offer a reward for litters of young wolves and turn them down in the woods—just like young cubs. At present a reward of 15f. is given to whoever destroys a she-wolf, 12f. for a wolf, and 6f. for a wolf-cub. M. d’Esterno considers that these prices are not high enough, and proposes a reward of 200f. (£8) for whoever shall kill a full- grown wolf. We do not know what influence the lieutenants de louveterie, or, as they are called, louvetiers (M. Paul de Cassagnac styles himself a “ louvetier de Empire”) enjoy in the provinces, and how they will receive Comte d’Esterno’s proposition to do away with the animal that shows sport to them and their packs, but we should like to see the man who would be bold enongh to set a reward of £8 on foxes’ heads in Leicestershire.—Pall Mall Gazette, June 1, 1870. Note on Migration at Carshalton.—April 6th, whitethroat first seen ; 8th, redstart ; 10th, swallows ; 17th, grasshopper warbler and nightingale first heard; 18th, house martin and cuckoo; 23rd, sedge warblers; May 9th, swift; 16th, sand martin; 23rd, spotted flycatcher. This year will be remembered by ornithologists for the great scarcity of the Hirundine family, especially the almost total absence of the sand martin. I have only seen four or five of these birds this season. The house martin is in the ratio of two to five compared with last year. The number of swallows are decidedly below the average; while, on the other hand, swifts appear to be quite as abundant as usual. The Italians believe that the scarcity of swallows is a very bad omen, proclaiming the advent of some severe epidemic: they state that in seasons of cholera epidemics, swallows have been always seen in fewer numbers than usual. Whether the statement that the scarcity of these birds on the advent of epidemics is to be regarded as merely a popular fiction, and a coincidence due to accidental causes, or whether there may not be the same well-defined law regulating the move- ments of the Hirundine in such cases, is a subject well worth the consideration and study of the ornithologist.— A. H. Smee; June 1, 1870. Notes on Migratory Birds—March 27th, wheatear seen. April 14th, saw yellow wagtail and sand martins, the latter passing northward in a small flock; 15th, saw willow wren; 16th, heard tree pipit; 18th, heard chiffchaff; 21st, heard whitethroat; THE ZooLocist—JuLy, 1870. 2221 22nd, cuckoo heard; 24th, whinchat seen; 26th, saw swallow; 30th, heard lesser whitethroat and sedge warbler. May 2nd, heard fieldfares (I perceive in the number of the ‘ Zoologist’ for June, that fieldfares were seen near Oxford up to the 6th of May); 15th, corn crake heard, and flycatcher seen (corn crakes are not numerous); 16th, heard garden warbler; 20th, heard wood warbler; 22nd, saw a small flock of gray- backed crows in Stapleton Park, four miles east of Pontefract. Redstart not seen. Swift not seen. Common martin not seen till about the 20th of May. A pair of swallows that nest in a shed here annually did not appear till the 29th of May. The house martin is again very thinly distributed in this neighbourhood. — George Roberts; Lofthouse, near Wakefield, June 5, 1870. On the Southern Range of the European Merlin—The European merlin visits Egypt in winter, but I know of no authentic instance of its occurrence further south, and venture to doubt the accuracy of the southern range attributed to this species in the ‘ Zoologist’ (S. 8. 2177).—J. H. Gurney ; Marldon, Totnes, June 1, 1870. Goshawk in Norfolk.—A fine immature male specimen of the goshawk was shot on the 27th of December, 1869, at Beeston Regis, and sent me for preservation. This is the second instance of the occurrence of the goshawk in Norfolk in December, the first, an immature bird, having been killed, near Yarmouth, on the 3rd of that month. The first-named example weighed two pounds and a quarter in full, and the principal measurements were—total length, beak to tail inclusive; 23 inches; tip to tip of fully extended wings 43 inches, and of the wing from carpal joint 123 inches. Eyes of a lemon-yellow colour; cere greenish yellow; legs and toes the same. The bird was in good eondition and very fat.—Z. EH. Gunn; 5, Upper St. Giles, Norwich. Supposed Occurrence of the American Mottled Owl in Kent.—With reference to Captain Hadfield’s remarks on the above occurrence, in the ‘ Zoologist’ (S. S. 2181), it should be recollected that many specimens of Scops Asio are very rufous. This stage of plumage is thus described by Baird, Cassin and Laurence, in their work on the ‘ Birds of North America’ (Philadelphia, 1860), p. 52 :—‘* Younger.—Entire upper parts pale brownish red, with longitudinal lines of brownish black, especially on the head and scapulars; face, throat, under wing-coverts and tarsi reddish white; quills reddish brown; tail rufous, with bands of brown, darker on the inner webs.” The same authors add, “ This bird pairs and rears young while in the red plumage, and it is not unusual to find a mottled male and red female associated, or the reverse.’— J. H. Gurney ; May 31, 1870. Late Stay of the Fieldfares—In my note in last month’s ‘ Zoologist’ (S. S. 2181), in the sentence, “I had constantly watched a flock of about twenty for some years,” for years read weeks.— Edward Sweetapple. Golden Oriole in Norfolk.—A fine female golden oriole was shot on the 16th of May, at Stalham, and was forwarded to me for preservation, This is the second specimen I have had the opportunity of examining in the flesh: the former one, also a female, was shot in the adjoining county of Suffolk (see Zool. S.S.308). This specimen weighed nearly two ounces and a quarter, and measured in total length 10} inches; extent of wings 18} inches; wing from carpal joint 6 inches ; bill 1,4 inch. Bill of a reddish brown; eyes dark red; legs and toes slate-colour. Some of the eggs in ovary were as large as rape-seed. The stomach was filled with the remains of three or four species of Coleoptera.—T. E. Gunn; June 18, 1870. 2222 THE ZooLocGist—JULY, 1870. Golden Orioles in County Cork.—One of these birds was shot at Castle Martyn on the 21st of April, and one on the 23rd at Friendly Cove, “‘ Carrigbue” (Yellow Rock), Bantry, County Cork. I have just received the female oriole shot by Mr. Philip French, of Westwuod Roscarberry, County Cork, at Mr. M. H. Morris’s, of Friendly Cove. Mr. Morris and Mr. French saw five more while standing at their hall door, on the wing, and marked them in a grove of fir trees; but so wary were they, that neither of those gentlemen (who are first-rate shots) could get a chance at them. It is a pity to shoot them down. They are very beautifully plumaged birds—in fact, the brightest and most attractive birds in Britain or Ireland—and they are also splendid songsters.— W. A. Hackett ; Cork.—From the ‘ Field, Orioles in Great Britain.—Since the publication of the last ‘ Zoologist’ several reliable records have reached me of additional occurrences of this rare bird, inducing me to believe it would in very few years remain to breed here should the gun tax become law. My neighbour Mr. Ashmead has received for preservation one killed at Red Hill on the 22nd of April: Mr. Gordon, of Dover, has received one killed on the 29th of the same month: Mr. Quatremain, of Stratford-on-Avon, received one killed on the 29th; it was feeding on last year’s ivy-berries: Mr. Conway Preston records that a specimen was seen by himself in North Wales on the 21st.—Edward Newman. Black Redstart in Norfolk.—I had brought me, on the 25th of April, a nice male specinien of the black redstart: it had unfortunately been dead nearly a month, and was therefore in a bad state for preservation. I heard of it at the time of its capture, but could get no information of its possessor, who it appears laid it aside and forgot it. I had the greatest difficulty in skinning it, but succeeded at last, and have mounted it in a presentable form. It was shot at Hoveton, and is the fourth instance of the occurrence of this species in Norfolk: the other three were females. The stomach of this specimen was filled with minute beetles. From its dried state of course I could not take any proper dimensions.— 7’. EF. Gunn. Grayheaded Wagtails near Clevedon.—On the 28th and 30th of May last I shot a pair of grayheaded wagtails near Clevedon, in a meadow close to the Bristol Channel. They were associating with yellow wagtails, several of which birds I observed in the same and an adjoining field, and from which they were at once distinguishable, even at a distance, by their smaller size and more slender make, and also by the lighter hue of the under parts.—Marcus S. C. Rickards ; 2, Seymour Place, Clifton, June 6, 1870. Vinous-breasted Pipit on the Banks of Severn.—On the 10th of last March I shot a specimen of the vinous-breasted pipit on some marshy ground on the banks of the River Severn between New Passage and Avonmouth. It was a female and in full plumage, and when shot was in company with a specimen of its congener, the rock pipit. Upon a comparison of the two birds (which were both of the same sex) the dissimilarity in plumage and measurements was apparent, and seemed to me clearly to indicate a difference in species. On the 23rd of the same month I shot another specimen near the same place, but as to the identity of which Mr. Gould (to whom I showed the skins of both birds) expressed some doubt. This specimen (also a female) appeared scarcely to have completed its moult and to be in a transition state of plumage. There is the usual bluish tinge on the upper parts, but the throat and breast are spotted unusually thickly and distinctly mixed with a few blotches of a reddish brown or tawny colour. The measurements, however, nearly correspond with those of the other specimen.—Zd. Tue ZooLocist—Juty, 1870. 2223 On the Northern Range of the Lesser Redpoll.—In the last number of the ' *Zoologist’ (S. S. 2178) the Editor writes, “The lesser redpole is found everywhere from the North Cape to the extreme south of Sicily.” I venture to enquire on what evidence this statement rests, for it seems probable to me that it may have originated in the confounding of the mealy with the lesser redpoll. The former is the only species of redpoll I have ever observed in any part of either Norway or Sweden, and is without any doubt the true Fringilla linaria of Linneus, The northern range of the latter, to which (I believe) the name Fringilla rufescens, Vieillot, properly belongs, I have not been able to trace with certainty. I think I remember having been told that it appears in summer in Scania, the most southern province of Sweden, but I can find no confirmation of the story in the writings of any Scandinavian naturalist to which I have access. However, if the lesser redpoll crosses the Baltic at all it certainly does not penetrate far into Sweden, and between Scania and the most southern Swedish breeding limits of the mealy redpoll, placed by Herr Wallengren (Naumannia, 1854, p. 241) between lat. 63° and 64° N.,* there intervenes a broad belt wherein, so far as my information (obtained by personal observation and the consultation of a great many Swedish authorities) goes, no redpoll at all occurs except as a winter migrant; and the one which does so occur is (I need hardly say) the northern and larger species. Should this information be erroneous I should be glad if any one would correct it, for the geographical range of British birds, always a subject of much interest to me, will more than ever occupy my attention for some months to come.— Alfred Newton ; Magdalene College, Cambridge, June 3, 1870. St. Helena Finch at Blackheath—I had brought me this week a fine male specimen of Fringilla butyracea or St. Helena finch. The bird is in perfect plumage, and shows no marks of having been caged. It was caught by a bird-catcher in his net near this neighbourhood. This is the second I have had caught in this neigh- bourhood: the first was taken eight years ago in Greenwich Marshes. I come to the conclusion that they have escaped after being brought over.—W. Price; Blackheath.— From the‘ Field, Nesting of the Chaffinch.—I have known but of four nests of this bird this year, and only one pair of the four reared young. One nest, which was built in an apple tree, was blown down, or otherwise unaccountably destroyed : no one had access to it; it contained eggs. Another contained five eggs, but only two hatched. The female of another nest died while in the act of laying the second egg. I have frequently found finished nests, either wholly destroyed or with the lining pulled out. Other completed nests I have often found deserted. What bird or other animal could interfere with the lining? I shot the male of the nest first mentioned, but I noticed next day that the female had got another mate. I fancy there is something anomalous about the pairing and breeding of the chaffinch. Perhaps Linneus observed some peculiarity beyond the separation of the sexes in winter, which * In Norway it breeds on the uplands further to the southward, lat. 58° N. or thereabouts (Wallengren, op. cit. 1855, p. 136). In Scania alone of all Norway and Sweden was formerly found the red hare of Europe (Lepus europeus, Pall.; L. timidus, auctt.—nec Linn.); further north the blue or white hare (Z. timidus, Linn.; LZ. alpinus, auctt.) only occurs. 2224 THE ZooLocist—JULY, 1870. suggested the scientific specific name. The other nest was a most elaborate piece of workmanship, being decorated all over the outside with bits of rotten wood: it was — also very large. I tuok it as a euriosity, but had much trouble to dislodge it from a fork in a young beech, so firmly were the wool, moss and fibrous roots matted, and woven round the slender branches on which it rested.— George Roberts. Green Woodpecker in the Isle of Wight.—A bird of this species was observed last October in an old apple tree not far from the village of Gadshill. My informant saw it alight, and having watched it was enabled to describe it to me.—Henry Hadfield. Nest of a Nuthatch—When I lived at Catton, in Norfolk, I was in the habit of placing covered boxes in the trees, which, being securely fixed, afforded convenient nesting places for tits and some other birds. My successor, Mr. S. G. Buxton, has continued this practice, and has sent me the following account, which, with his permission, I forward for insertion in the ‘ Zoologist’:—* A nuthatch’s nest was built in one of the boxes this year. I am sorry to say they deserted after laying three eggs. It was most amusing to see them building, as they were always hanging by their feet to the top of the box, with their heads inside, working at the clay, which filled about the first three inches of the box. Though the weather was very dry at the time, they always kept it moist while they were working. Having finished the clay they began splitting off very thin bits of bark from an old larch, with which they filled the rest of the box to the depth of about three inches. The eggs were laid without any nest beyond the bark, and the nuthatch seemed to cover them up with loose bark. The birds were very tame while building, and did not seem to mind our sitting close by and watching them, but I am afraid they were disturbed whilst I was away for a day or two. I hada redstart’s, great tit’s, nuthatch’s and robin’s nest in four consecutive boxes on the trees.” —J. H. Gurney; June 6, 1870. Roller near Lewes.—A fine male specimen of the roller (Coracias garrula) was killed at Isfield, near Lewes, on the 12th of June, and purchased by Mr. R. R. M‘Queen, of Chailey, for half-a-crown, and very kindly presented by him to me. The plumage of the bird is most beautiful, and the condition perfect. On dissection the only thing found in its stomach was a small cockchaffer. It is now in the hands of Swaysland, of Brighton, for preservation—T. J. Monk; Mountfield House, Lewes, June 20, 1870. Quail’s Eggs near Lewes.—On the 14th of June Mr. J. Saxby, of Northease, near Lewes, sent me seven quail’s eggs, which had been mown out that day in a field of sainfoin, at the above place. They proved a very handsome set: five of the eggs are strongly marked with streaks of a rich grouse-colour; the remaining two are much lighter and spotted.—Id. Little Bittern at the Land’s End.—An adult female of this species was procured at Skewjack, adjoining the Land’s End, a few days since. It is in high condition, and will be an interesting feature in the Penzance Museum, along with an adult male procured in the neighbourhood a year or two since.—Hdward Hearle Rodd ; Penzance, May 30, 1870. Little Bittern in Treland.—When out walking on the banks of the river Slaney, about fourteen miles from the sea, in the county of Wexford, Ireland, on April 26th, I shot a most beautiful specimen of the little bittern (Ardea minuta), male, adult plumage. It rose slowly, and as if fatigued, from the centre of a small drain, which was completely covered up by reeds and long grass. Its flight resembled that of the THE ZooLoGist—Ju Ly, 1870. 2225 common heron. It is now being stuffed by Mr. Glennon, of Dublin, who says that he found a quantity of minnows in its stomach. I am very anxious to know more of this little stranger, and of its habits, as I have never seen one before in this country.— James Talbot Power.—From the ‘ Field’ of May 14. Wood Sandpiper and other Birds in Norfolk.—On the 7th of May I received a nice female of the wood sandpiper from Yarmouth: this is the first specimen I have had the pleasure of examining in the flesh. A female (not recorded) was shot on Breydon, in June, 1869, and also recently came into my possession. The first-named was very fat, and weighed nearly three ounces: the stomach was filled with the remains of minute Coleoptera and other insects. I have also received from various localities three specimens of the black tern and five garganey teal, four of the latter males.— 7. #. Gunn. Egyptian Goose in Leicestershire——A very fine specimen of the Egyptian goose, measuring two feet six inches, and weighing five pounds and three-quarters, was shot by Capt. Palmer, on his ornamental waters at Withcote Hall, on Wednesday, the 20th of April. This is probably the first that has been shot in Leicestershire. It has been entrusted to me for preservation, and may be seen by anyone.—T. H. Potter ; Billesdon.—F rom the ‘ Field’ of May 14, 1870. Shoveller in Dublin Bay.—Large flights of shovellers appear to have visited Britain and Ireland during the past winter. I shot three males off this coast, two splendid full-plumaged birds, the third a young bird assuming the distinctive male dress: also a female came into my possession, but too long dead except for the table. This is one of the best ducks, if we except the pochard, for culinary purposes. It was formerly not uncommon on our eastern shores, particularly at Wexford, but is now looked on as a great rarity —H. Blake-Knox ; May, 1870. Sclavonian Grebes in Norfolk.—In March I received two beautiful specimens of the Sclavonian grebe, male and female, the first on the 12th and the second on the 24th: their stomachs were filled with the remains of aquatic insects and a mass of their own feathers. I received a third specimen (also a male) this day from Hoveton. —T. E. Gunn; April 28, 1870. Black Bream and Wrinkled Swimming Crab near Penzance.—On the 24th of May I took a black bream, a small specimen about 73 inches long over all. It is worth noting on account of its small size. The last time I saw so small a specimen was on the 26th of May, 1859; that one was 7 inches long over all. Both specimens were taken in rocky ground within half a mile of the shore. I have since taken alive @ specimen of the wrinkled swimming oun (P. corrugatus), male.— Thomas Cornish ; Penzance, May 30, 1870. Habits of the Sucking Fish.—I am able to send you an observation on the habits of the sucking fish, or common remora, which is, I believe, new. Its habit of attaching itself to sharks and other large fish and to vessels is well known, but I do not find that it has yet been observed that in doing this it is somewhat of a parasite and injures the portion of the skin exposed to the action of its powerful sucker. Captain Legg, of the schooner “ Mary James” of this port, recently sent me two specimens of the sucking fish, with this note, which I give in his own words (the italics being mine):—‘ Whilst outward bound between Cadiz and River Plate, and SECOND SERIES—VOL. V. Q2N 2226 THE ZooLocist—JuLy, 1870. about 4° S. and 30° 30’ W. with fine weather, a shark was seen, and having enticed him with a bait, we took him, finding many small fish on him, which he shook off when landed on deck, and seeing that where each fish had been there remained a hole like a shot-hole, and being studded over with them, and what with the peculiar look of the small ones, induced me to preserve two as specimens.” — Thomas Cornish ; June 24, 1870. Pongos.—The province of Mayamba is so overgrown with wood that you can travel thirty days in the shade. The woods, Andrew tells us, are so infested with baboons, monkeys, apes and parrots, that it is dangerous to venture among them. Of these the pongo is more dangerous than the engeco. The pongo is in all his proportions like a man, except the legs (which have no calves), but is of a gigantic size. When it walks on the ground it is upright. It sleeps in trees, and makes a covering over its head to shelter it from the rain. One sees that in the main he corresponds with M. du Chaillu, though it is very likely he never saw a gorilla. I think, on the whole, that M. du Chaillu scarcely is fair to him, when he says that his accounts of the gorilla are mere traveller’s tales. Andrew Battel,* as a common sailor naturally would, confused the habits of the gorilla with those of the nshiego mbouvé (pongo and engeco, as he calls them), making the former the builder of the shelter-shed in the trees, instead of the latter, though I doubt if he confuses either with the chimpanzee. He also says that they walk upright, and that they go in bodies (which are very harmless errors, for they attacked M. du Chaillu on foot), and that they beat away the elephants. With the exception of these errors, Andrew’s account of the gorillas agrees exactly with M. du Chuillu’s: as, for instance, “ The young pongo hang upon their mother’s belly, with their arms clasped around them.” This and other circumstances about them, though written two centuries before he was born, confirm his statements in the most remarkable manner, and should, we think, have met with a little more acknowledg- ment.—From ‘ Tales of Old Travel; by Henry Kingsley (p. 74). ooo Proceedings of the Entomological Society. June 6, 1870.—F. P. Pascor, Esq., Vice-President, in the chair. Additions to the Library. The following donations were announced, and thanks voted to the donors :— ‘Proceedings of the Royal Society,’ No.119; presented by the Society. ‘Proceedings of the Zoological Society,’ 1869, parts 2 and 3; by the Society. ‘Journal of the Linnean Society,’ Zoology, No. 48; by the Society. ‘Berliner Entomologische Zeitschrift,’ 1870, parts 1 and 2; by the Entom. Soc. of Berlin. ‘Stettiner Entomologische Zeitung,’ 1870, Nos. 7—9; by the -Entom. Soc. of Stettin. ‘Coleopterologische Hefte,’ part 6; by the Editor. a * Andrew Battel was an English sailor, captured by the Portuguese in Equatorial Africa, where he lived for eighteen years: he was captured about the year 1590. THE ZooLocist—Juxy, 1870. 2227 ‘The Canadian Entomologist,’ vol. ii. No.6; by the Editor. < Catalogus Hemipterorum Italie indigenarum’; by the Author, Dr. Garbiglietti. ‘ Note sur le Byrsax (Bolitophagus) gibbifer’; by the Author, M. A. Preudhomme de Borre. ‘Mémoire sur les Thyréoptérides et les Coptoderides’; by the Author, Baron de Chaudoir. By purchase :—‘On European Spiders,’ by Dr.T. Thorell. ‘Ichneumonidum Britannicorum Catalogus,’ by the Rev. T. A. Marshall. Election of Member. F. Y. Jacques, Esq., of Greenbank Road, Redland, Bristol, was elected a Member. Exhibitions, dc. Mr. M‘Lachlan exhibited a partially gynandromorphous specimen of Brachy- centrus subnubilus, captured at Cheshunt by Mr. Boyd: the maxillary palpi and the left fore wing were of the female form, whilst all the rest of the insect was of the male form. (See Ent. Mo. Mag. vii. 19). This was only the second instance of gynandromorphism in the Trichoptera which had come to Mr. M‘Lachlan’s knowledge. Mr. S. Stevens exhibited living specimens of Ateuchus semipunctatus from Venice, one of them having been incarcerated for three weeks in a bottle with bruised laurel-leaves, without any apparent ill effect. Mr. Albert Miiller, after referring to the breeding by Herr Hartmann of various Lepidoptera from gall-like swellings on the twigs of juniper (see Proc. Ent. Soc. 1868, p. xv.), exhibited some stems of j uniper from Godalming which bore swellings, some of very large size, which were supposed to be caused by insects. Mr. W. Warwick King (who was present as a Visitor) exhibited a miscel- laneous collection of insects from Tugela, near the Drakenborg Mountains, Natal. The Secretary exhibited a collection of insects sent to the Society by Mr. Henry Ansell, from Kinsembo, 8. W. Coast of Africa. In the letter which accompanied them, dated ‘‘ Kinsembo, 23 Febry., 1870,” the writer described the insects as “captured in this locality: the Coleoptera of this coast are certainly wanting, as I have on several occasions visited the most likely localities and found next to nothing. I hope, however, within a few months to visit Cabenda, where I believe I shall have better success.” Mr. Butler mentioned that whilst looking through the volumes of Freyer’s Beitrige he had stumbled upon three plates illustrating the metamorphoses of Argynnis Niobe and Adippe, and upon referring to the text he found some interesting remarks on the possible identity of the two forms. He then read a translation of a passage (Neuere Beitrige, vol. iii. p. 11), from which it appeared that, though at one time firm in the belief that the two were distinct species, F'reyer’s confidence in the correctness of that view was very much 2228 THE ZooLocist—JuLy, 1870. shaken when he succeeded in rearing both from the caterpillar. In vol. iv., however, Freyer added that his later investigations left him still in doubt, though he adduced additional evidence in favour of their identity. The distinctions which he relied on in the perfect insects did not hold good in examples in Mr. Butler's collection; the figures of the larve show a very close resemblance, the differences being less conspicuous than from Freyer’s descrip- tion would be expected, and even those differences, according to Freyer, are not constant. Mr. Butler concluded as follows:—