oa awe e eee r THE ZOOLOGIST: A MONTHLY JOURNAL or NATURAL HISTORY. THIRD SERIES—VORL. I. EDITED BY ) x Ue erbin ELA Re ENG, Froese yer ws S:, MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION. DELECTANDO PARILTERQUE MONENDO. LONDON : JOHN VAN VOORST, 1, PATERNOSTER. ROW. PRINTED BY q oe 7 7. P. NEWMAN, 32, BOTOLPH LANE, a LONDON, E.C. PREFACE. THE completion of the present volume imposes on its Editor the pleasing duty of thanking the many friends who, by their contributions or suggestions, have so ably helped him to the performance of the task he had undertaken. The contents speak for themselves; but the Kditor cannot omit expressing his satisfaction that im quality they are not inferior to those of any volume which appeared during the long management of his lamented and experienced predecessor. ‘The papers by Captain Feilden, “On the Mammalia of North Greenland and Grinnell Land,” and by Mr. Warren, ‘On the Birds of the Moy Estuary,’ may, without disparagement of any others, be especially cited as furnishing valuable information not before published. As in most former years, Ornithology continues to fill the greatest number of pages; but the Editor, who certainly cannot be accused of indifference to its great fascination, would yet remind his correspondents that for this journal justly to maintain its title of ‘THE Zoouoetst,’ many other groups of animals deserve lv PREFACE. attention as well as Birds, and he trusts that in future - more appreciation may be shown of their attractions than has been exhibited durimg the past year. It is very gratifying, also, to find that the number of subscribers has considerably increased, for this fact testifies to the growth of the taste for, and of the study of, that branch of Natural History which it is the object of this journal to advance. It is confidently hoped that as the present series progresses the encouragement hitherto received from both subscribers and contributors will in no degree abate. Ist December, 1877. CONT ALPHABETICAL LIST Apams, A. Leiru, M.D., F.R.S. Ancient and extinct British Quad- | rupeds, 121. Atkins, G. | Pochards breeding in the Regent's | Park, 342 Bartey, Henry F. Herous near London, 108 BALDWIN, Epwarp T. Purple Gallinule in Lancashire, 381 | Baurour, T. GRAHAM The “Curlew” of the Wiltshire Downs, 183 Barker, Ernest E. Lobster burying its prey, 261 BARRINGTON, Ricnuarp M., LL.D. Rooks attacking acorns, 55; The Natural History of Donegal, 223 ; 299 Bext, THomas, F.G.S. Introduction. of foreign land and fresh-water Mollusca, 302 BIDWELL, Epwarp, F.Z.S. Observations on egg-blowing, 164; Tengmalm’s Owl in Essex, 176; Cuckoo’s egg in a Blackbird’s nest, 340 Bonn, F., F.L.S. Tawny Pipit at Brighton, 299 Boots, E. T. Food of the Dartford Warbler, 59; Nesting of the Brambling in Perthshire, 60; Singular accident to a Kingfisher, 178; Migration of Rooks, 888; Odd materials in a Cormorant’s nest, 389 Borrer, Wituiam, M.A., F.L.S. Little Owl in Sussex, 228, 296; Weascl in Ireland, 291; Black variety of the Brown Rat, 292; Singular variety of the House | Blackcap in County Wicklow, ENTS. OF CONTRIBUTORS. Bow tes, ArtHuR H. Golden Eagle near Killarney, 25; Squacco Heron in Killarney, 57 Boyes, FREDERICK On the autumnal migration of birds on the Yorkshire coast, 41; Scan- dinayian form of the Dipper in East Yorkshire, 53; Mode of pro- eression of the Puffin, 59; Or- nithological notes from Beverley, 158; Rough-legged Buzzard in East Yorkshire, 176; Buff variety of the Song Thrush, 256; Black- cap’s nest suspended in a fir tree, 258; Correetion of an error, 260 Brooke, A. B. Canada Geese near Dunkeld, 300 Brown, JoHn A. HARVIE Partridges coloured like Red Grouse, 256; Divers on fresh water, 296; Green Sandpiper in Stirlingshire, 441 Burier, ARTHUR G., I'.L.S. Want of reflection in the House Sparrow, 299; Young Cuckoo in the nest of a Song Thrush, 800 BUTTERFIELD, E. P. P. Pied Flycatcher in Yorkshire, 54; Eagle Owl in Yorkshire, 177; Variety of the Sand Martin, 231; Note on the Willow Wren, 257; Pied Flycatcher nesting in York- shire, 297; Imitative powers of the Whinchat, 384 Buxton, J. H. Cuckoo evicting sparrows, 341 CARRINGTON, JOHN T. Habits of the Great Pipe-fish, 390 Curisty, Ropert M. A pure white Jay, 25; White Sky Lark and other birds near York, young Hedge- Martin, 343 231 b V1 CLARK-KENNEDY, ARTHUR J. Honey Buzzard in Suffolk, 24 CiERMONT, Lord Stock Dove in Ireland, 383 Currton, Lord Ornithological notes from Cobham, 48; Merlins in Kent, Late as- sumption of adult plumage by the male Kestrel, 175 Cocks, ALFRED HENEAGE, F.Z.5. Breeding of the Otter, 100, 250 Cooxr, NICHOLAS Birds observed in Glen Spean, 381 Corsin, G. B. Greenfinch nesting in furze, 19; Gregarious habits of the Long- eared Owl, 20; Varieties of Star- | ling and Blackbird, 22; Spotted Redshank in Hampshire, 56; Variety of Sand Martin, 106; Breeding of the Otter and Bad- ger, 250; The Curlew of the Wiltshire Downs, 257; Hobby nesting in Hampshire, 443; Notes from South Devon, 444 CorDEAUX, JOHN On the migration of birds on the N.E. coast of England in the autumn of 1876, 7; Migration of the Pied Flycatcher, 54; Migra- tion of birds at Heligoland, 59; Rare Birds in the Humber dis- trict, 174; On the migration cf birds, 205; Variety of the Com- mon Guillemot, 298; Spring migration of birds on the east coast, 512 CornisH, THOMAS Breeding season of Crayfish, 28; Spinous Shark in Mount’s Bay, 108; Tadpole Fish off Penzance, 109; Angular Crab near F'al- mouth, 184; Centrine Shark off the coast of Cornwall, 221; Breeding season of the Edible Crab, 261; Long-legged Spider Crab at Penzance, 390; Short- finned Tunny at Penzance, 452 CREED, Rev. H. K., M.A. Hawks in Suffolk, 179 Darracu, THOMAS Owls washing, 107 Dawkins, W. Boyp, M.A., F.R.S. On the northern range of the Fallow Deer in Europe, 89 Dovueuas-OGILBy, J. Natural History of Donegal, 223 Dover, Capt. W. Kinsry Absence of the Weasel from Ive- CONTENTS. land, 440; "Toads in Ireland, 451; Young Thrush feeding a Cuckoo, 496 D’Urszan, W. 5S. M. Rare birds of the Exe, 104; Re- markable variety of the Wild Duck, 107; Glaucous Gull on the Fixe and Teign, 108; The Knot in summer plumage on the Exe, 448; Short Sunfish in the Exe, 451 Durnrorp, W. ARTHUR Ornithological notes from the Lake District and Walney Island, 273 ; Marten-cat in England and Wales, 291 Epwarp, Tuomas, A.L.S. | Asterina gibbosa on the coast of Banffshire, 109; Bearded Tit and Hawfinch in Aberdeenshire, 255 | FrripEn, Capt. H. W., F.G.S., &e. Hobby nesting in Hampshire, 298 ; On the Mammalia of North Greenland and Grinnell Land, 818, 353; Arctic Molluscan Fauna, 433; Birds observed be- tween Cape Farewell and Cape Clear, 468 Friemyne, WILLIAM W. Curious nesting-place for a House Sparrow, 388 FiLower, Prof. H. W., F.R.S. On the preparation of skeletons for Museum purposes, 465 | Garrop, Prof. A. H., M.A., F.R.S. On the anatomical characters dis- tinguishing the Swallow and the Swift, 217 GATCOMBE, JOHN Blue Shark off Plymouth, 26; Bonito at Plymouth, 27; Ornitho- logical notes from Devon and Cornwall, 44, 162, 278, 493; Spi- nous Shark off Plymouth, 108; Pilot-fish and Gray Mullet, 184; Pelamid on the Cornish coast, 452 GorbDoN, CHARLES Lesser Kestrel near Dover, 298 GOossmase: He ERS. Rare British fishes off Babbicombe, 344 Gurnyry, J. H., F.Z.8. Large Tunny off the coast of Nor- folk, 27; A curiously-coloured Weasel, 47; Note on the Short- eared Owl, 228; Note on the Porphyrio killed at Tatterford, Norfolk, 253 CONTENTS. Gurney, J. H., Jun., F.Z.S. Varieties of the Sky Lark, Wood- cocks frequenting the sea-shore, 181; Cuckoo in reddish brown plumage in spring, 230; On the claim of the Pine Grosbeak to be regarded as a British bird, 242; Birds impaled by the wind on weather vanes, 259; Northrepps, 260; Singular va- riety of the Hedgesparrow, 298 ; The Collared Duck, 341; Hooded Crow in Norfolk in August, 448; Purple Gallinule ’ Broad, 447; Partridge coming in collision with a train, 448 HapFiELD, Capt. Henry " Ornithological notes from the Isle | of Wight, 23; Rooks attacking acorns, 105; Winter visitants to the Isle of Wight, 181: Reported occurrence of the Wild Cat in the Isle of Wight, 338; Pied Fly- catcher and other birds in the | Isle of Wight, 440; Crested Lark | in the Isle of Wight, 450 Harpine, Isaac Ring Ouzel nesting near Malvern, 887; Pied Flycatcher nesting near Malvern, 389 Hareirt, EDWARD Marten-cat in Scotland, 392 Harper, R. P. King Duck in Orkney, 183 Hartine, J. E., F.L.S., F.Z.S. Editor’s Address, 1; On the occur- rence for the first time in Eng- land of the American Red- breasted Thrush, 14; Rabbits breeding above ground, 18; Rooks attacking acorns, 21; Tree Sparrow nesting in Middlesex, 24; On the geographical distri- bution of the Fallow Deer past and present (translated from the German of L. H. Jeitteles), 81 [see Utumann]; Hybrid between the English Hare and the Scotch | Hare, 101; Passenger Pigeon in Yorkshire, 180; On the former nesting of the Spoonbill in the | county of Sussex, 423; Hobby in Ireland, 471; On the occurrence in England of Dutrochet’s Land Leech, 515 Howartsa, FE. Bewick’s Swan and Canada Goose near Sheffield, 446; Curious death of a Swallow, 447 Kite at) at Hickling | vil | Hurcarinson, J. H. Osprey near Bridlington, 389 | Kerr, W. J. Ornithological notes from St. An- drews, N.B., during the autumn and winter of 1876, 159 | Kerry, F. Ornithological notes from Essex, 52; Rough-legged Buzzard and Peregrine Falcons at Harwich, 258; Little Gulls and Kittiwakes in Essex, 259; Spoonbills in Suf- folk in June, 343; Spoonbills and Canada Geese in Suffolk, 525 | Leacu, Harry R. | Scarcity of the Corn Crake, 497 | Luz, Harry Pied Flycatcher in Epping Forest, 447 Less, G. J. DuMVILLE | Crossbill nesting near SBourne- / mouth, 254 | Litrorp, Lord Purple Gallinule in Northampton- shire, 252 Lister, ArTHuR, F.L.S. | Red-necked Grebe in Essex, 230; Migration of the Ring Ouzel, 442 Manoney, James A. | The Natural History of Donegal, 290 | MANSELL-PLEYDELL, J. C., F.L.S. Ornithological notes from Dorset- shire, 384 Matuew, Rey. Murray A., M.A. Fox Shark off Teignmouth, 26; Ornithological notes from the West of England, 104, 177; Purple Gallinule in Somerset- shire, 178, 252, 339; Marsh Warbler near Taunton, 333; Tawny Pipit in Sussex, 342, Scarcity of the Corn Crake in the West of England, 387; Bar- tram’s Sandpiper in Somerset- shire, 389; Black Rat in Somer- setshire, 440; Wood Sandpiper at Barnstaple, 448; Sunfish in the Bristol Channel, 451; Early arrival of Wild Geese, 498 MeENNELL, Henry Tuxe, F.L.S. A Barn Owl in the City, 297 | MircHe.., F. S. Singular nest of the Blackbird, 108; A spring tour in Norway, with : notes on the birds observed there, 193 Moor, CHARLES | Golden Eagle, Rough-legged Buz- zard, &e., near Woodbridge, 25 Vili Moorn, G. Peter * Blue-throated Warbler near Lowe- stoft, 449 Morres, Rev. Artuur P., M.A. Rare birds in Wilts and Dorset, 52; Benefit of the Wild Bird Protec- tion Act, 58; Rooks attacking | acorns, 55; Curlews breeding near Salisbury, 106; Peregrine Falcons near Wareham, Rough- legged Buzzards near Tisbury, Wilts, 175: Curious effect of the recent floods, 183; Unusual hiding-place for Frogs, 184; Merlin in South Wales, 226; Marten-cat in Lincolnshire, 251; Moorhen defending its young from a Stoat, 255; Pied Fly- catcher near Salisbury, 297; Swimming powers of the Mole, 440; Peregrine Falcons on the spire of Salisbury Cathedral, 450 Mostey, 8. L. Red-winged Starling in Yorkshire, 257 Newron, ALFRED, M.A., F.R.S. On the European Redpolls, 5; The Hawfinch in Scotland, 29, On the occurrence at Malta of the Snow Bunting, 22; On the natu- ralization of the Edible Frog in Norfolk, 61 OaILvIg, C. P. Breeding season of the Edible Crab, 301; Habits of the Lobster, 302 PaumeEr, J. BE. Roosting habits of the Starling, 258 PENGELLY, W., F.R.S., F.G.S. The ossiferous caverns of Devon- shire, 361 Prre, T. M. Singular variety of the Common Guillemot, 57; Breeding of the Pochard and Black-headed Gull in Dorsetshire, 885 Pree, WILLIAM Habits of the Golden Eagle, 103 Prior, C. MarrHew The time of day at which birds lay | their eggs, 53; Magpies flocking in winter, 58; Rooks attacking acorns, 105; Black Stork in Oxfordshire, 180; Wild-fowl in Bedfordshire, 181; Curiously _ coloured Mole, 225; Mergansers and Divers inland, Little Bittern and Spotted Crake in Oxford- shire, 232; Gregaricus habits of CONTENTS. the Long-eared Owl, 256; Star- lings nesting in Sand Martin’s holes, 301; Hobby in Oxford- shire, 448: Sand Martins nesting in a stone wall, 450 Reexs, Henry, F.L.S., F.Z.8. Lemming in Newfoundland, 47 Ret, Lieut. SavILE G., R.E., F.Z.8. The birds of the Bermudas, 393, 473; Waders near Aldershot, 496 Rickarps, Rev. Marcus §. C., F.L.S. Skua and Shearwater at Christ- chureh and Poole Harbour, 498 Rocke, JOHN White-tailed Eagle in Hereford- shire, 174; Snowy Owl in the Lewes, 177 Ropp, Enywarp HEARLE Autumnal breeding of the Otter, 17; Pomarine Skua in Mount’s Bay, Gannets off the Cornish coast, Iceland and Glaucous Gulls at the Land’s End, 182; Black- throated Diver on fresh water, 258; Buffon’s Skua on the Cor- nish coast, 800; White-tailed Eagle on the north coast of Corn- wall, 444; Baillon’s Crake near Penzance, 497; Scaup Duck at Scilly, 525 Rooper, GEORGE Cuckoo laying in a Swallow’s nest, 260 ROPE, Ge Te a Dartford Warbler in Suffolk, 230; Jack Snipe in Suffolk in May, 299 Rosine, A. W. Boar-fish in the Isle of Wight, 452 Row ery, GEorGE Dawson, M.A. The migration of birds, 340 Satvin, F. H., F.Z.8. Breeding of the Badger, 251 SAauNDERS, Howarp, F.L.S., F.Z.S. Smaller Sooty Tern at the mouth of the Thames, 213; British- killed Purple Gallinules, 379 SCLATER, JOHN Reported occurrence of the Golden Eagle in Durham, 54; Scarcity of the Wood Pigeon in Durham, DDS Scarcity of the Wood Pigeon and increase of the Stock Dov. ein the County Durham, 179 SHaw, Aurrep E. Hedgesparrow’s nest built in a eab- bage, 299 CONTENTS. Suir, Rey. ALFRED CHarues, M.A. | South-American Rail in Wiltshire, | 18; Cuckoo calling in September, / 449; The Swannery at Abbots- | bury, 505 | Surra, CEcrL | Purple Gallinule in Somerset, 227, 293; Little Bittern in Guernsey, 259 SourHwe tt, Tomas, F.Z.5. On the breeding of the Otter, 172; | Martens in Suffolk, 338 Srevenson, Henry, F.L.5. | Ornithological notes from Norfolk, | 95, 430 SrrRatron, FREDERICK Unusual site for a Kestrel’s nest, 342 THOMASSON, JOHN P. Nesting of the Brambling, 255 Tristram, Rev. Canon, LL.D., F.R.S. Introduction of foreign and fresh- | water Mollusca, 260 - Tuck, Rev. JuLtan G., M.A. Goshawk and other birds in York- shire, 179; Notes from Alde- burgh, Suffolk, 495 TyYACKE, JOHN Dartford Warbler in Cornwall, 23 ; Distribution of the Green Wood- | pecker in Cornwall, 24 Uximann, P. D On the geographical distribution of the Fallow Deer past and present (translated from the German), 81 jsee Hartine| . 1X Urecuer, H. M. Spoonbill near Ely, 345 ALLIS, H. M. Marten-cat in Scotland and Ive- land, 292 WARREN, ROBERT Biders in the estuary of the Moy, County Mayo, 50; A fresh-water breeding-haunt of the Sandwich Tern, 101; The birds of the Moy Estuary and the surrounding district, 233, 284, 8321; Absence of the Weasel from Ireland, 379 ; Green Sandpiper in the County Mayo, 524; Hoopoe in Treland, 525 WESLEY, J. 5S. Hoopoe in Yorkshire, 298 | Wuarron, Henry T., M.A., F.Z.S. Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Ireland, 58; Scarcity of the Corn Crake, 448; Note on ‘List of British Birds,’ 523 WHITAKER, J. Ornithological notes from Notting- hamshire, 301 Wiiuiams & Son Reappearance of Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Ireland, Variety of the Common Snipe, 24; Roller in Ireland, 53; Squacco Heron in King’s County, 388 Wiison, H. V. M. Nightingales in Brittany, 259 W ALPHABETICAL LIST OF SUBJECTS. Accentor modularis, 238 Accipiter fuscus, 421 iy nisus, 195, 234 Acentropus, note on, 33 Acorns, Rooks attacking, 105 Acrocephalus palustris, 333 Actinaria, certain new forms, 185 Actinometra, the genus, 346 Actiturus Bartramius, 478 Address, Editor’s, 1 Agialitis hiaticula, 202 melodus, 473 semipalpatus, 475 i. vociterus, 475 AXgiothus exilipes, 5 21, 5d, ” 9 Aix sponsa, 484 Alauda arvensis, 240, 401 Alcea alle, 330 ,, torda, 330 Alcedo ispida, 242 Alveolites, notes on the genus and on some allied forms, 266 Ampelis cedrorum, 407 Anaitis rosea, 185 Anas acuta, 324 boschas, 323, 483 clangula, 328 clypeata, 323 mollissima, 327 obscura, 483 penelope, 324 rs linarius, 410 strepera, 324 x Anatomical characters distinguishing | the Swallow and the Swift, 217 ‘Animal Life and Habits, paola of’ (review), 503 ‘Animals, Geographical Diecabuiae of’ (review), 68 ‘Animals, Kindness to’ (review), 504 Annelida, 346, 516 et seq. Anous stolidus, 490 Anser albifrons, 322 bernicla, 323 brenta, 323 hyperboreus, 482 », segetum, 322 Anthus ludovicianus, 402 petrosus, 240 » pratensis, 199, 239 Ants, habits, 111 Aquila chrysaétus, 194 Archibuteo lagopus, 195; var. Sancti- Johannis, 422 ‘Arctic Expedition, the Recent, Official Report of’ (review), 38 Arctic Molluscan Fauna, 435 Ardea cxrulea, 479 candidissima, 479 cinerea, 286 egretta, 479 herodias, 479 »» virescens, 480 Ardetta exilis, 480 Asterina gibbosa on the coast of Banffshire, 109 Astur atricapillus, 421 », palumbarius, 195 Auk, Little, 330, 493 Aulastoma, 517, 519 Aurochsg, 138 Autumnal breeding of the Otter, 17 Avocet, 288 Bacteria, 347 Badger, 127; breeding, 250, 251 Balena mysticetus, 360 Bat, Large Horseshoe, 146 » Noctule or Great, 146 Bear, Brown, 124 Bs White, 316 Beaver, 145 Beavers in Siberia, 172 Bees, habits, 111 Bermudas, Birds of the, 398, 473 ” ” ” ” Birds, migration on the N.E. coast of | England in the autumn of 1876, 7; autumnal migration on the York- ‘shire coast, 41; rare, in Wilts and Dorset, 52; the time of day at which they lay their eggs, 53; migration at Heligoland, 59; rare, on the Exe, 104; Act forthe protection of certain CONTENTS. Wild, during the breeding season, 167; rare, in the Humber district, 174; observed in Norway, 193; migration, 205, 340; near York, 231; of the Moy Estuary and the surrounding district, 233, 284, 321; impaled by the wind on weather vanes, 259; in the Isle of Wight, 343; observed in Glen Spean, 382; of the Bermudas, 398,473; observed between Cape Farewell and Cape Clear, 468 ‘Birds, British, a History of’ (re- view), 35 ‘Birds, List of British’ (review), 458 ‘Birds of Marlborough’ (review), 37 ‘ Birds of South Africa’ (review), 350 Bison, 138 Bittern, 97, 431 American, 480 Least, 480 » Little, in Oxfordshire, 232; in Guernsey, 259 Blackbird, singular nest, 108 Pe and Starling, varieties, 22 Blackbird’s nest, Cuckoo’s egg in, 340 Blackbirds, 11, 238 Blackeap in County Wicklow, 299 Blackeap’s nest suspended in a fir tree, 258 Blue Bird, Eastern, 399 Bluethroat, red-spotted, 197 Boar-fish in the Isle of Wight, 452 Bob-o’-link, 414 Bonito at Plymouth, 27 Botaurus minor, 480 Brachyotus palustris, 420 Brambling nesting in Perthshire, 60; in Norway, 199, 255 Branta canadensis, 482 Breeding, autumnal, of the Otter, 17; of Rabbits above ground, 18; season of Crayfish, 28; of the Otter, 100, 172, 250; of the Badger, 250, 251; season of Edible Crab, 261, 301; of Pochards in Regent's Park, 342: in Dorsetshire, 885; of Black-headed Gull in Dorsetshire, 385 Browne, Montagu, ‘A List of the British Macro- -Lepidoptera’ (re- view), 464 Bubo ignayus, 196 Bucephala albeola, 485 a3 clangula, 485 Bulfinch, 241 Bunting, Bay-winged, 411 Common, 240 Lapland, 199 ” ” ” ” CONTENTS. Bunting, Reed, 199, 240 99 Malta, 22 » Yellow, 240 Buteo borealis, 422 » Vulgaris, 235 Buzzard, Common, 96, 98, 235, 432 es Honey, 24, 95, 97 : Red-tailed, 422 a Rough-legged, 25, 97, 98, 258, 422, 431 s Turkey, 423 Buzzards? 96 m Rough-legged, near Tis- bury, Wilts, 175; in East York- shire, 176; in Norway, 195 Calidris arenaria, 285, 477 Canis lupus, 317 Canvas-back, 485 Capercaillie, 202 Caprimulgus europeus, 242 Carbo cormorans, 330 » cristatus, 830 Cardinalis virginianus, 413 Carduelis elegans, 240 5 spinus, 241 Cat Bird, 398 Cat, Wild, 129; reported occurrence in the Isle of Wight, 338, 440 Cathartes aura, 423 Cavern, Ansty’s Cove, 370 » Ash-Hole, 371 » Bench, 374 » Brixham, 372 » Kent’s (or Hole), 365 » Yealm-Bridge, 870 Caverns, Oreston,; 362 Cedar Bird, 407 Certhia familiaris, 242, 401 Ceryle aleyon, 418 Cheetura pelasgia, 417 Chaffinch, 240 Chamepelia passerina, 424 Chaulelasmus streperus, 483 Charadrius hiaticula, 285 6 pluyialis, 202 cp virginicus, 474 Chelidon urbica, 202 Chiffchaff, 238 Chordeiles virginianus, 417 Chough, 241 Chrysomitris pinus, 410 Cinclus aquaticus, 237 Circus eruginosus, 235 » cyaneus, 235; var. Hudsonius, 421 ‘Classification, Zoological’ (review), 310 Coccothraustes chloris, 240 Snow, 12, 199, 240, 410; at | Sl Coccothraustes vulgaris, 22, 240 Coecyzus americanus, 419 erythropthalmus, 419 99 | Colaptes auratus, 420 | Collurio borealis, 409 Columba livia, 284. » palumba, 284 es turtur, 284 Colymbus arcticus, 205, 319 “ glacialis, 329 a septentrionalis, 329 Contopus borealis, 417 3 virens, 417 Coot, 290 » American, 482 Cormorant, 330 “ Double-crested, 486 rr Green, 330 Cormorant’s nest, odd materials in, 389 Corvus americanus, 415 » corax, 241 » cornix, 200, 241 » frugilegus, 242 » Mmonedula, 242 Coturniculus Henslowii, 411 Coturnix vulgaris, 284 Cotyle riparia, 407 Cow Bird, 414 Crab, Angular, near Falmouth, 184 », Edible, breeding season,261,301 », Long-legged Spider, at Pen- zance, 390 Crake, Baillon’s, near Penzance, 487 », Corn, scarcity in the West of England, 387; scarcity in the north- west of London, 448; in Bermuda, 481; scarcity, 497 » Spotted, in Oxfordshire, 232 Crane, 203 Crayfish, breeding season, 28 Creeper, Black-and-White, 402 » Brown, 401 A Tree, 242 Crex pratensis, 220, 481 Crossbill, American, 409 - nesting near Bournemouth, * 254 - White-winged, 410 Crow, American, 415 », Hooded, 95, 200; in Norfolk in August, 448 » Gray, 241 Cuckoo, 202, 242; in reddish brown plumage in spring, 230, 433; laying in a Swallow’s nest, 260; young, in nest of Song Thrush, 300; evicting young Hedgesparrows, 341; young Thrush feeding, 496 xii Cuckoo, Black-billed, 419 », Yellow-billed, 419 Cuckoo’s egg in a Blackbird’s nest, 340 * Curlew” 183, 257 Curlew, 286 » Hsquimaux, 478 » Hudsonian, 478 » Pigmy, 96 Curlews breeding near Salisbury, 106 Curvirostra americana, 409 an leucoptera, 410 Cyanecula suecica, 197 Cygnus americanus, 482 » Bewicki, 321 » ferus, 321 Cyanospiza cyanea, 412 Cypselus apus, 242 Dafila acuta, 483 Danais archippus, geographical distri- bution, 192 Deer, Fallow, past and present geo- graphical distribution, 81; northern range in Europe, 89; of Southern Europe, 135 » Gyreat-horned or Gigantic, 132 » red, 136 Dendroéea estiva, 403 of the Wiltshire Downs, * cerulescens, 403 “7 castanea, 404 = coronata, 403 Ke discolor, 404 ) palmarum, 404 a pinus, 404 virens, 403 Dipper, 237 » scandinavian form of, in Kast Yorkshire, 53 Diver, Black-throated, on fresh water, 258 », Great Northern, 329 » Red-throated, 329 Divers inland, 232; on fresh water, 296 Dolichonyx oryzivorus, 414 Dotterell, 202 Dove, Carolina, 424 », Ground, 424 » sea, 492 », Stock, increase in County Dur- ham, 179; in Jreland, 383 A Turtle, 284 Dryocopus martius, 200 Duck, Black, 483 », Buffel-headed, 485 », Collared, 341 », Dusky, 483 », Wider, 327 205, 329, 431; CONTENTS. Duck, King, in Orkney, 183 » Lesser Scaup, 484 » Long-tailed, 205, 828 » Ring-necked, 485 », Ruddy, 486 », Scaup, at Scilly, 525 »> Summer, 484 » Tufted, 328 » Wild, 823, 483; variety, 107 W ood, 484 Dunlin, 289 Eagle, 9 » Bald, 423 » Golden, near Killarney, 25; near Woodbridge, 25; reported occurrence in Durham, 54; habits, 103; in Norway, 194 » Sea, 97, 99, 238 »» White-headed, 423 s, White-tailed,in Herefordshire, 175; on the north coast of Corn- wall, 444 ‘Eastern Persia: an Account of the Journeys of the Persian Boundary Commission’ (review), 116 Ectopistes migratorius, 423 Egg-blowing, observations on (with illustrations), 164 Eggs, the time of day at which birds lay them, 53 Eiders in the estuary of the Moy, County Mayo, 50 Elephant, ancient, 142 Elk, 134 Emberiza citrinella, 240 3 miliaria, 240 “* nivalis, 240 es scheeniclus, 199, 240 Embide, nymph stage, 344 Empidonax Traillii, 417 Entomological Society of London, proceedings, 82, 65, 114, 191, 269, 307, 348, 391, 453, 498 Ephyra punctaria, 270 Eremophila alpestris, 402 Ereunetes pusillus, 476 Erismatura rubida, 486 Ermine, 127, 317 Krythaca rubecula, 238 Eskimo, 314 Eudromias morinellus, 202 Falco esalon, 194, 234 », candicans, 234 » columbarius, 422 » communis, 422 » peregrinus, 234 » sparverius, 422 tinnunculus, 194, 234 Falcon, Greenland, 234 CONT Falcon, Peregrine, 9, 234, 422 Falcons, Peregrine, near Wareham, 175; at Harwich, 258; on the spire of Salisbury Cathedral, 450 Fauna of the West of Scotland, 302 Arctic Molluscan, 435 Fieldfare, 11, 196, 237 Fieldfares, late occurrence, 434 ‘Fish and Fishing, Notes on’ view), 501 Fish, Tadpole, off Penzance, 109 Fishes, amphibious and migratory, of India, 109; Indian fresh-water, geographical distribution, 263; rare British, off Babbicombe, 344 Flamingo, American, 482 Flicker, 420 Floods, recent, curious effects of, 183 Flycatcher, Hooded, 405 Olive-sided, 417 “7 Pied, migration, 54; in Yorkshire, 54, 297; in Norway, 196; in Ireland, 287; in the Isle of Wight, 343; nesting near Mal- vern, 389; in Epping Forest, 447 Pipiry, 416 Spotted, 237 Traill’s, 417 Wood Pewee, 417 Food of Dartford Warbler, 59 Fox, Arctic, 131, 318 ‘Fox at Home, ‘and other Tales’ (re- view), 79 Frigate Bird, 487 Fringilla celebs, 240 linaria, 5 » monutifringilla, 199 Frog, Edible, naturalization of in Norfolk, 61 Frogs, unusual hunting-place for, 184 Fulica americana, 482 » atra, 290 Fuligula affinis, 484 collaris, 341, 485 cristata, 328 ferina, 328 marila, 205, 328 vallisneria, ‘485 Gadwall, 324, 483 Gallinago media, 476 Wilsonii, 476 Gallinula chloropus, 290; galeata, 481 Gallinule, Florida, 481 ne Purple, 96; in Somerset- shire, 1'78, 227, 252, 293, 339; in Northamptonshire, 252; in Eng- land, 295; in Lancashire, 381; at Hickling Broad, 447; in Bermuda, 482 ” ” ” ” ” (2) var. ENTS. Xlll Gallinules, Purple, British-killed, 379 Gannet, 330 » Booby, 486 Gannets off the Cornish coast, 182 Garrulus glandarius, 200 | Gecinus viridis, 201 (re- | Geese, Canada, 300, 525 », Wild, early arrival, 498 ‘Geographical Distribution of Ani- mals’ (review), 68 | Geothlypis trichas, 405 Glutton, 127 Godwit, Bartailed, 288 Black-tailed, 288 », Hudsonian, 477 Goldeneye, 328, 485 Goldfinch, 240 Goniaphea ludoviciana, 412 Goosander, 486; in Co. Antrim, 107 Goose, Bean, 322 », Canada, near Sheffield, 446; in Bermuda, 482 Bernicle, 323 Brent, 323 Snow, 482 White-fronted, 322 Goshawk, 195; in Yorkshire, 179 American, 421 Graculus dilophus, 486 Grallatores, 284 Grebe, Eared, 329 Great-crested, 95 Horned, 492 Little, 329 Pied-billed, 492 Red-necked, 230, 431 Sclavonian, 98, 431 Greenfinch nesting in ‘furze, 19 Greenland, North, vand Grinnell Land, Mammalia; 313, 353 Greenshank, 287 Grosbeak, Pine, claim to be regarded as British, 242 53 Rose-beaked, 412 Grouse, Black, 202 a Pallas’s Sand, reappearance in Ireland, 24, 58 » Red, 284; Partridges coloured like, 229, 256 Grus communis, 203 Guillemot, Black, 329 “a Common, 97, 329; cular variety, 57; variety, 298 9 Ringed, 329 Gull, Black-headed, 325; breeding in Dorsetshire, 385 Bonaparte’s, 489 5, Common, 825 ,, Glaucous, 108, 330 9 sin- ” XIV Gull, Great Black-backed, 326, 489 Herring, 326, 489 Teeland, 326 Laughing, 489 Lesser Black-backed, 205, Ring-billed, 489 Sabine’ s, 490 Gulls, Black-headed, 432 ;, Glaucous and Iceland, at the Land's End, 182 » Little, in Essex, 259 Habits, gregarious, of Long-eared Owl, 20; of Ants, Bees and Wasps, 526 111; of the Lobster, 302; of Great | Pipe-fish, 390 Hematopus ostralegus, 202, 286 Hemopis, 517 Haliaétus albicilla, 233 3 leucocephalus, 423 Hare, English and Scotch, hybrid between, 101 extinct, 146 », Northern, 353 Harelda glacialis, 205, 328 Hares, tailless, 146 Harrier, Hen, 235 » Marsh, 235 Hawfinch, 22, 98, 240, 482 Hawk, American Marsh, 421 ” Night, 417 Pigeon, 422 », Sharp-shinned, 421 Hawks in Suffolk, 179 Hedgesparrow, 238; singular variety, 298; nest built in a cabbage, 299 Hedgesparrows, young, Cuckoo evict- ing, 341 Heron, 286 Great Blue, 479 Great White, 479 Green, 480 Little Blue, 479 Night, 480 Purple, 98 Snowy, 479 ” ” Squacco, in Killarney, 57; in |- King’ s County, 388 Heron, Yellow-crowned, 480 Herons near London, 108 Himantopus nigricollis, 475 Hippopotamus, Great, 140 Hirudo medicinalis, 517 Hirundo horreorum, 406 riparia, 242 rustica, 202, 242 » urbica, 242 Hobby, 96; nesting in Hampshire, 298, 443; in Oxfordshire, 448; in Ireland, 471 ” 9 CONTENTS. Hog, wild, 144 Homo greenlandicus, 314 Hoopoe in Yorkshire, 298; in Ireland, 525 Horse, extinct, 144 Humming Bird, Ruby-throated, 418 Hyena, 129 », spotted, 129 Hybrid between the English Hare and the Scotch Hare, 101 Tbis falcinellus var. Ordii, 479 Ibis, Glossy, 479 Icterus Baltimore, 414 Im Thurn, Everard F., ‘ The Birds of Marlborough’ (review), 37 Indigo Bird, 412 Insessores, 237 Jackdaw, 242 Jay, 200; pure white, 25 s, Siberian, 200 Jelly-fish, 110 Junco hyemalis, 411 Kestrel, 234; male, late assumption of adult plumage, 176; nest, 194 » Lesser, near Dover, 298 Kestrel’s nest, unusual site for, 342 ‘ Kindness to Animals; illustrated by Stories and Anecdotes’ (review), 504 King Bird, 416 2 Gray, 416 Kingfisher, 242; singular accident to, 178 * Belted, 218 Kite in Norfolk, 260, 431 Kittiwake, 825, 489 Kittiwakes in Essex, 259 Knot, 289; in summer plumage on the Exe, 448 Lagopus albus, 202 ; mutus, 202 Lapwing, 97, 285 Lark, Brown, 402 Lark, Crested, in the Isle of Wight, 450 ;, Shore, 402 Hy Se 240 ; varieties, 181 ; iets, 230; European, 401 Tarks. Shore, 96 » Sky, migrating, 96 Larus argentatus, 326, 489 atricilla, 489 canus, 3825 delawarensis, 489 fuscus, 205, 326 » glaucus, 330 islandicus, 326 marinus, 326, 489 philadelphia, 489 CONTENTS. Larus ridibundus, 325 », tridactyla, 825, 489 Layard, HK. L., F.Z. S., ‘The Birds of | South Africa.’ (review), 350 Lemming in Newfoundland, 47; in Greenland, 320 yes British, extinct, 146 Leopard, 128 Lepus glacialis, 353 Lestris Buffonii, 331 », pomarinus, 331 » Richardsonii, 331 ‘ Life of a Scotch Naturalist : Thomas Edward’ (review), 71 Limicola platyrhyncha, 204 Limosa hudsonica, 477 s melanura, 288 po suta, 288 Linaria cannabina, 241 » favirostris, 241 y minor, 241 Linnean Society of London, pro- ceedings, 28, 61, 109, 184, 262, 303, 344, 526 Linnet, Common, 241 » Green, 240 » Mountain, 241 »» Pine, 410 » Redpoll, 410 Linota canescens, 6 » exilipes, 6 », hornemanni, 5 » lnaria, 5,.6 », rufescens, 6 Lion, British, 128 ‘List of British Birds’ (review), 458 ; note on, 522 ‘List of the British Macro-Lepi- doptera’ (review), 464 Lizards, extinct, formerly inhabiting the Mascarene Islands, 187; sacral flexus and sacral vertebre of, 265 Lobipes hyperboreus, 475 Lobster, 302; burying its prey, 261 Lynx; 129 Machetes pugnax, 203 Macrorhamphus griseus, 476 ‘ Macro- -Lepidoptera, List of the British’ (review), 464 Magpie, 96, 200, 242 Magpies flocking in winter, 58 Mallard, 483 Mammalia of North Greenland and Grinnell Land, 313, 353 Mammalia Scotica, 225 Mammoth, 141 Man-of-War Bird, 487 Manley, J. J., M.A., ‘Notes on Fish and Fishing’ ((review), 501 XV Mareca americana, 483 Marten, Beech, 127 Marten-cat in Lincolnshire, 251; in England and Wales, 291; in Scot- land and Ireland, 292 Martens in Suffolk, 338 Martin, 202 > Bee, 416 » House, 242; singular variety, 343 » Purple, 407 » sand, 242, 407; variety, 106, 331 Martins, Sand, Starlings nesting in holes of, 301; nesting in a stone wall, 450 Meduse, varieties and monstrous forms, 110 Melospiza palustris, 411 Merganser, Hooded, 486 a Red-breasted, 205, 329, 486 Mergansers inland, 232 Mergulus alle, 493 Meregus cucullatus, 486 » Merganser, 486 5 serrator, 486 Merlin, 194, 234,431; in South Wales, 226 Merlins in Kent, 176 Micropalama himantopus, 476 Migrants, arrival and departure, as observed chiefly in the vicinity of Cromer and Norwich, 434 is nocturnal, 95 raptorial, 432 Mier: ation of birds on the N.E. coast of England i in the autumn of 1876, 7; autumnal, on the Yorkshire coast, 41; of Pied Flycatcher, 54; of birds at Heligoland, 59; of Sky Larks, 96; of birds, 205, 340; of Rooks, 388; of Ring Ouzels, 442 Mimus carolinensis, 398 Mniotilta varia, 402 Mole, curiously coloured, ming powers, 440 Mollusca, introduction of foreign land and fresh-water, 260, 302 “3 recent, number obtained in Davis Strait, and northwards in the American Arctic Circle, 440 Molluscan Fauna, Arctic, 435 Molothrus pecoris, 414 Monodon monoceros, 360 Moorhen defending its young from a Stoat, 255; in Bermuda, 481 Moose, 134 Mormon fratercula, 330 2253; swim- ‘V1 Motacilla alba, 198, 239 boarula, 239 Rayi, 239 viridis, 199 be Yarrellii, 239 Moy Estuary, Birds of the, and of the surrounding district, 233, 284, 321 Mullet, Gray, 184 Muscicapa atricapilla, 196, 237 a grisola, 237 Musk-ox, 355 Mustela erminea, 317 Myiodioctes mitratus, 405 Myodes lemmus in Norway, 262 » torquatus, 320 Nares, Capt., R.N., ‘The Official Re- port of the Recent Arctic Expedi- tion’ (review), 88 Narwhal, 360 Natatores, 321 Natural History of Donegal, 149, 223, 290 ‘Naturgeschichte der Vogel Europa’s’ (review), 351 Nest, singular, of Blackbird, 108; of Blackcap suspended in a fir tree, 258 ; ot Swallow, Cuckoo laying in, 260; Hedgesparrow’s, built in a cabbage, 299; of Song Thrush, young Cuckoo in, 300; Blackbird’s, Cuckoo’s egg in, 340; Kestrel’s, un- usual site for, 342; Cormorant’s, odd materials in, 389 Nesting-place, curious, Sparrow, 388 New Guinea Ornithology, 187 0 ” bB) for House Newton, Professor A., M.A., F.R.S., | Yarrell’s ‘History of British Birds’ | (review), 35 Nightingale in Brittany, 259 Nightjar, 242 Nocturnal migrants, 95 Norway, a spring tour in; with notes on the birds observed there, 193 ‘Notes on Fish and Fishing’ (review), 501 Numenius arquata, 286 borealis, 478 hudsonicus, 478 pheopus, 286 Nuthatch, Red-bellied, 401 Nyctale acadica, 421 Nyctea nivea, 420 », scandiaca, 196 Nyctiardea grisea var. neevia, 480 3 violacea, 480 Oceanites oceanica, 490 (Edemia perspicillata, 485 ” ” CONTENTS. (idemia fusea, 205 . nigra, 205, 327 Ophiuride, new form, 186 Organisms, Lower Sarcode, researches among, 303 Oriole, Baltimore, 414 Ornithological notes from Aldeburgh, Suffolk, 495; from Beverley, 153, 260; from Cobham, 48; from Devon, 162; from Devon and Cornwall, 44, 278, 493; from Dorsetshire, 384; aes Essex, 52; from Norfolk, 95, 430; from South Devon, 444; from St. Andrews) N.B., 159; from the Isle of Wight, 23; from the Lake District and Walney Island, 278; from the West of England, 104, 177 Ornithology of New Guinea, contri- butions to, 187 Ortyx virginianus, 473 Osprey, 9, 95, 889, 423, 434 Ossiferous caverns of Devonshire, 361 Otter, 127; autumnal breeding, 17; breeding, 100, 172, 250 Otus W ilsonianus, 420 ‘Our Birds of Prey’ (review), 76 Ouzel, Ring, 11, 197, 238; nesting near Malver n, 387 ; migration, 442 Ovibus moschatus, 355 Owl, Acadian, 420 Barn, in the City, 297 Barred, 420 Eagle, 177, 196 Hawk, 420 * Little, 228, 296, 483 Long-ear S, 420; gregarious habita, 20, 256 : moaning, 435 », short- eared, 9, 96, 228, 236, 420 +, Snowy, 98, 196, 237, 420 ; in the Lewes, 177 », Tengmalm’s, in Essex, 176 », White, 236 Owls washing, 107 Ox, Musk, 137 », Long-fronted or Small Fossil, 139 Primeval or Giant, 137 recent ” 9 | Oystercatcher, 202, 286 Pandion haliaétus, 423 Panther, 128 Partridge, 284; coming in collision with a train, "448 7 Vir einian, 473 Partridges coloured like Red Grouse, 229, 256 Parula americana, 402 Parus ater, 239 borealis, 198 caudatus, 239 ” ” CONTENTS. Parus ceruleus, 239 », major, 239 Pascoe, Francis P., F.L.S., ‘ Zoological Classification’ (review), 310 Passer domesticus, 200, 240, 411 Passerculus savanna, 411 Passerella iliaca, 412 Pelamid on the Cornish Coast, 452 Pelecanus fuscus, 486 Pelican, Brown, 486 Perdix cinerea, 284 Peregrine, 96, 97 Perisoreus infaustus, 200 ‘Persia, Eastern’ (review), 116 Petrel, Fulmar, 331 » storm, 333 5, Wilson’s, 490 Phenicopterus ruber, 482 Phaéton flavirostris, 487 Phalarope, Gray, 98 + Northern, 475 va Red-necked, 95, 205 Pheasant, 95, 284, 431 Pheasants:i in New Zealand, 25 Philohela minor, 476 | Phoca barbata, 359 », hispida, 359 Phyllodocide, new example, 185 Phylloscopus rufa, 288 Pr trochilus, 198, 238 Pica caudata, 200, 242 Picoides tridactylus, 201 Picus major, 201 ;, minor, 201 Pigeon, Passenger, 180, 423 Rock, 284 » Wood, 55, 97, 179, 284 Pikas, 146 Pilot-fish, 184 Pintail, 324, 483 Pipe- fish, Great, habits, 390 Pipit, Meadow, 199, 239 5, Rock, 240 » Tawny, 299, 342 Platalea leucorodia, 425 Plectrophanes lapponicus, 199 nivalis in Malta, 22; in Norway, 199; in the Bermudas, 411 Plover, American Golden, 474 “a 3 Ringed, 475 Golden, 202, 284 Gray, 285, 474 » Kildeer, 475 Norfolk, 482 », Piping, 475 Ringed, 202, Pochard, 328 Pochards breeding in the Regent's Park, 342; in Dorsetshire, 385 ” 285 Xvll Podiceps auritus, 329 A cornutus, 492 a5 minor, 329 Podilymbus podiceps, 492 | Polecat,.127 Polyzoa, 345 Pooécetes gramineus, 411 Porphyrio ‘killed at Tatterford, Nor- folk, note on, 258 3 Greenbacked, 433 5 martinica, 482 Porzana carolina, 481 », jamaicensis, 481 2 noveboracensis, 481 Pratincola rubetra, 198 Procellaria glacialis, 331 Progne purpurea, 407 Protonotaria citrea, 403 Protozoa, 347 Pruritus from an unusual cause, 116 Ptarmigan, Common, 202 5 Willow, 209 Puffin, 330; mode of progression, 59 Puffinus anglorum, 333, 491 5 major, 338, 491 és obseurus, 491 | Pyranga estiva, 406 3 rubra, 406 Pyrrhocorax graculus, 241 Pyzrrhula vulgaris, 241 | Qua-bird, 480 Quadrupeds, ancient and extinct, 121 Quail, 284, 473 Querquedula carolinensis, 483 erecea, 205, 324 discors, 484 British, Rabbit, 146 Rabbits breeding above ground, 18 Rail, Black, 481 ,, Carolina, 481 » Land, 290, 481 Sora, 481 5, South-American, in Wiltshire, 18 », Virginian, 481 », Water, 290, 482 Yellow, 481 Rallus virginianus, 481 Rana esculenta, 61 Rangifer tarandus, 358 Raniceps trifurcatus, 109 Raptores, 233 Raptorial migrants, 432 Rasores, 284 Rat, Black, in Somersetshire, 436 », Brown variety, 292 Raven, 98, 241, 432 Razorbill, 330 ‘Record, Zoological’ (review), 352 - XVlll Recurvirostra avocetta, 288 Red Bird, Cardinal, 413 Summer, 406 Redbreast, 238 Redpoll, Arctic, 5 Mealy, 5, 96, 431 - Lesser, 6, 241 Redpolls, European, 5 Redshank, 286 Common, 203 an Spotted, 56, 286 Redstart, 198 “3 American, 405 Redwing, 11, 197, 238 Regulus cristatus, 239 Reindeer, 135, 358 Rhinoceros, Leptorhine Two-horned, 143 53 Tichorhine Two-horned, 143 Rice Bird, 414 Robin, 397 ;, Golden, 414 Roebuck, 137 Roller in Ireland, 53 Rook, 242 Rooks attacking acorns, 21, 55, 105; migration, 388 Rooper, George, ‘The Fox at Home, and other Tales’ (review), 79 Roosting habits of the Starling, 253 Ruff, 208 Ruticilla pheenicura, 198 Salicaria phragmitis, 238 Samoan Islanders, poisoned spears and arrows of, 186 Sanderling, 95, 285, 477 Sandpiper, Bartram’s, 389, 478 Broad-billed, 204 Common, 2038, 287 Curlew, 289 ss Green, 287; in Stirling- | ans: 441; in County Mayo, 524 Long-legged, 476 Pectoral, 477 Purple, 98, 289, 477 Schinz’s, 477 Semipalmated, 476 Solitary, 473 Spotted, 078 Wood, 203; at Barnstaple, 9 ” ” ” ” 448 Saw-whet, 420 Saxicola cnanthe, 198, 238, 399 rubecula, 238 », Yubetra, 238 Seaup, 205, 328, 525 Scolopax gallinago, 203, 290 gallinula, 290 ” ” CONTENTS. Scolopax major, 203 = rusticola, 289 Scoter, 205 Black, 327 Surf, 485 3» Velvet, 205 Scotland, Fauna of the West, 302 ” ” | Seal, Ringed, 359 Seiurus aurocapillus, 404 ;, noveboracensis, 405 Setophaga ruticilla, 405 Shark, Blue, off Plymouth, 26, 60 oS eae off the coast of Corn- wall, 221 Fox, off Teignmouth, 26 ss Spinous, off Plymouth, 108; in Mount’s Bay, 108 Shearwater, Common, 333 Dusky, 491 Great, 333 Manx, 491 Wandering, 491 Sheep, Musk, 137 Shelldrake, 323 Shells, land and freshwater, of Scot- land, 232; introduction of foreign, 260, 302 Shoveller, 205, 323, 484 Shrike, Gray, 99, 482; Antrim, 107 Great Gray, 10 + Great Northern, 409 Sialia sialis, 399 Siskin, 96, 241 Sitta canadensis, 401 Skeletons, preparation for Museum purposes, 465 ‘Sketches of Animal Life and Habits’ (review), 503 Skua, Buffon’s, 300 Long-tailed, 331 Pomarine, 182, 331 », Richardson’s, 95, 381 Skua and Shearwater at Christchureh and Poole Harbour, 498 Smiles, Samuel, ‘Life of a Seotch Naturalist : Thomas Edward’ (re- view), 71 Snipe, 12, 203, 290, 476; winter, 99; variety, 24 American, 476 Great, 203 Jack, 290; in May, 299 », Red-breasted, 476 Snow Bird, 411 ” ” ” ” in County 9 ” ” in early 9 ” | Sparrow, European, 411 Fox, 412 Henslow’s, 411 House, 200, 240; want of ” ” be) CONTENTS. reflection in, 299; curious nesting- place for, 388 Sparrow, Savannah, 411 Swamp, 411 9 ” 24 Sparrowhawk, 195, 234 American, 422, Spatula clypeata, 205, 484 Sphyrapicus varius, 419 Sponges, Dr. Bowerbank’s collection, 262 Spoonbill, 95, 343; former nesting in the county of Sussex, 425 Spoonbills in Suffolk, 343, 525 Squalis centrina, 221 Squatarola cinerea, 285 45 helvetica, 474 Starling, 241; roosting habits, 253 » Red-winged, 257 Starling and Blackbird, varieties, 22 Starlings nesting in Sand Martins’ holes, 301 Steam against wings, 343 Sterna anestheta, 215 anglica, 490 arctica, 3825 cantiaca, 324 fuliginosa, 213, 490 hirundo, 324, 490 lunosa, 215 minuta, 325 nigra, 325 paradisiea, 490 Stilt, Black-necked, 475 Stint, American, 476 », Little, 96 Stoat, Moorhen defending its young from a, 255 Stonechat, 238 Stork, Black, in Oxfordshire, 180 Strepsilas interpres, 285, 475 Strix brachyotus, 236 flammea, 236 nyctea, 237 5, otus, 235 Sturnus vulgaris, 241 Sula bassana, 330 », fiber, 486 Sunfish in the Bristol Channel, 451 », Short, in the Exe, 451 Surnia ulula var. Hudsonica, 421 Swallow and Swift, distinguishing anatomical characters of, 217 Swallow, 202, 242; Cuckoo laying in nest of, 260; curious death of, 447 Bank, 402 Barn, 406 White-bellied, 407 9 ” ” ” ” Tree, nesting in Middlesex, | XIX Swan, 12 Bewick’s, near Sheffield, 446 », Whistling, 482 Swan-marks, 445 Swannery at Abbotsbury, 505 Swans, Wild, 321 Swift, 242 », Chimney, 417 Swinhoe, Robert, F.R.S., death of, 525 Sylvia cinerea, 238 Syrnium nebulosum, 420 Tachycincta bicolor, 407 Tachypetes aquilus, 487 Tadorna vulpanser, 323 Tadpole-fish off Penzance, 109 Tanager, Scarlet, 406 Teal, 205, 324 Blue-winged, 484 », Green-winged, 483° Tern, Arctic, 325 Black, 325 Common, 324, 490 Gull-billed, 490 Lesser, 325 Noddy, 490 Roseate, 490 Sandwich, 101, 324 Smaller Sooty, at the Mouth of the Thames, 213 » sooty, 490 Tetrao tetrax, 202 » urogallus, 202 Thrush, American Red-breasted, in England, 14; in Bermuda, 397 Golden-crowned, 404 Missel, 237 Olive-backed, 398 Py Song, 197, 237; buff variety, 256; young Cuckoo in nest, 300; young, feeding a Cuckoo, 496 Water, 404 * Wood, 398 Thynnus vulgaris, 27 Tit, Blue, 239 », Cole, 239 » Great, 239 », Long-tailed, 239 Titmouse, Northern Marsh, 198 Toads in Ireland, 451 Totanus calidris, 208, 285 flavipes, 478 fuscus, 286 elareola, 203 glottis, 287 hypoleucus, 203, 287 melanoleucus, 477 ochropus, 287 semipalmatus, 477 solitarius, 478 ” ” ” xx Trochilus colubris, 418 Tropic-bird, 486 Trichechus rosmarus, 360 Tringa alpina, 289 Bonapartei, 477 canutus, 289 ~ maculata, 477 maritima, 289, 477 minutilla, 463, 476, 524 subarquata, 289 Tringoides macularius, 478 Tunny, large, on the Norfolk coast, 27 », Short-finned, at Penzance, 452 Turdus iliacus, 197, 238 migratorius, 14, 397 merula, 238 musicus, 197, 237 mustelinus, 398 pilaris, 196, 237 Swainsoni, 398 torquatus, 197, 238 viscivorus, 237 Turnstone, 95, 285, 475 Tyranus carolinensis, 416 », dominicensis, 416 Uria grylle, 329 lachrymans, 329 », troile, 329 Ursus maritimus, 316 Vanellus cristatus, 285 Vennor, Henry G., F.G.S., ‘Our | Birds of Prey; or the Eagles, | Hawks and Owls of Canada’ (re- | view), 76 Vireo, Red-eyed, 409 », White-eyed, 407 Visitants, winter, 181 Vulpes lagopus, 318 Waders near Aldershot, 496 Wagtail, Gray, 239 Gray-headed, 199 Pied, 239 White, 198, 289 » Yellow, 239 Wallace, Alfred Russel, ‘The Geo- graphical Distribution of Animals’ (review), 68 Walrus, 360 Warbler, Bay-breasted, 404 Black-throated Blue, 403 Black-throated Green, 403 a Blue-eyed Yellow, 403 Blue-throated, 449 Blue Yellow-backed, 402 Dartford, 23, 59, 230 Marsh, near Taunton, 333 Pine-creeping, 404 Prairie, 404 Prothonotary, 403 ” ” ” ” CONTENTS. Warbler, Sedge, 238 m Willow, 198 Yellow-crowned, 403 - Yellow Redpoll, 404 Wasps, habits, 111 Waterhen, 296 Water Witch, 492 Weasel, curiously-coloured, 47; in Ireland, 291; absence from Ireland, 379, 440 Weather-vanes, birds impaled on by the wind, 259 Whale, Greenland, 360 Wharton, Henry T., M.A., F.Z.8., ‘ List of British Birds’ (review), 458 Wheatear, 198, 238, 399 Whimbrel, 286 Whinchat, 198, 238, 384 Whitethroat, 238 9 | Wigeon, 324 sf American, 483 Wild Bird Protection Act, 53 Wild-fowl in early winter, 99; pre- servation, 167, 170; in Bedford- shire, 181; in Norfolk, 431 | Willet, 477 Wilson, Andrew, Ph.D., ‘ Sketches of Animal Life and Habits’ (review), 5038 | Wings against steam, 343 Wolf, 130, 317 Woodcock, 12, 97, 289 American, 476 Woodcocks frequenting the sea-shore, 181 Woodpecker, Golden-winged, 420 5 Great Black, 200 5 Great Spotted, 201 Green, 24, 201 3 Lesser Spotted, 98, 201, Three-toed, 201 A Yellow-bellied, 419 Wren, 242 Golden-crested, 11, 239 » Willow, 238, 257 Xema Sabinei, 490 Yarrell, William (the late), ‘ History of British Birds’ (review), 35 Yellowshank, 478 Greater, 477 Yellow- throat, Maryland, 405 Zenaidura carolinensis, 424 ‘ Zoological Classification’ 310 ‘ Zoological Record’ (review), 352 Zoological Society of London, pro- ceedings of, 80, 63, 118, 188, 266, 305, 527 ” (review), THE ZOOLOGIST. THIRD SERIES. Vor. I.] JANUARY, 4877. ENG). _ EDITOR'S ADDRESS. In undertaking the duties of Editor of this long-established journal, the promises already received assure me of a con- tinuance of the kind assistance which was so freely rendered to my predecessor by a large majority of the best zoological observers in the United Kingdom; and for my own part I shall strive to prove myself worthy of that support. It will, however, be readily understood that the success of ‘THE ZooLoaisT’ depends far more on its contributors than on the exertions of its Editor, and accordingly I venture to preface my labours by a few words which I trust may be acceptable to those on whose favour I shall have so largely to rely. In the first place, it must always be remembered that Zoology is one of the most progressive of the sciences. Consequently many zoological observations which at the time they were made—say twenty years ago—were apt enough and of great value, have since become, by the natural growth of the study, of comparatively slight importance at the present day. Nor is there any appearance of a check in this growth. On the con- trary, Zoology was never more rapidly advancing, and its votaries were never more active and numerous than now. The B 2 THE ZOOLOGIST. results no one can attempt to predict; but it is clearly the duty, as it must be the desire, of all zoologists and well-wishers to Zoology to aid this rapid advance. I would, therefore, with the utmost respect to my supporters, earnestly request them in every case to consider beforehand whether the contributions they may be intending to forward to this journal are such as will promote the progress of the study, and to satisfy themselves that this is so ere they despatch their communications. It does not follow because a certain incident deserved pub- lication once, that a similar incident is not worthy of record now. It is obvious that there are many occurrences which it is not only allowable but even highly desirable to communicate time after time, although beyond the mere occasional differences of place and date there may be little or no novelty in the notice. Of such a kind are communications regarding the appearance of really uncommon species, or of common species at unusual seasons or in new localities. The use of these lies in their multitude, for it is only by collecting such records extending over a long period that any law may be deduced from them—a law which perhaps may bear upon some more general question : or the fact may be rendered apparent that the species is extending its geographical range. And it seems fitting that ‘Tur Zootoaist, which has always been the great storehouse of notices of this kind, should still maintain the same character. Hereby the progress of science may be unquestionably aided. Then there is another matter, and one which I am well aware requires delicate handling on the part of an Editor. Yet it is so important that I cannot refrain from directing attention to it, and trust I may do so without giving offence to any. There exists amongst all contributors to Natural-History journals an un- conscious but more or less strong tendency (sometimes most strongly shown in the best writers) to make the local and per- sonal part of their communications of greater importance than it deserves. EDITOR'S ADDRESS. 3 To put a case which I never heard of happening, although it might well occur :—A man fishing, entomologizing, or botanizing along a stream encounters, one after another, a dozen King- fishers; yet perhaps for days, weeks, or even months, he may _have taken almost precisely the same walk, perhaps for the same purpose, without ever having seen more than a single bird of the species in one day, and that only at rare intervals. He will record the fact, and it is worth recording, but the probability is that in so doing he will rather dwell on its personality or local character—the circumstance that he, and he alone of mortals, was so favoured as to be the witness of such an unusual sight, and that his favourite stream was the scene; and he will be tempted to relate the happy accident which led him on that particular day to start with rod, net, or vasculum on that par- ticular excursion. The cause or causes which induced the appearance of so unusual a number of Kingfishers will be most likely passed over altogether, although herein lies the sole im- portance of the communication. The observer's personality is of little or no interest to any one but himself: it is the bird or the number of birds observed under such circumstances that alone can have any zoological bearing. In like manner, by too many naturalists, is the capture of a scarce insect or mollusk in a particular locality regarded rather as an instance of the lucky captor’s prowess than as having reference to the appearance of the species. Still more forcible are these considerations when the species may be, after all, one that is not rare, and one that may be safely expected to show itself in the locality at the proper season. There is some reason to suppose that the prevalence of notices of this kind (and I think no one can assert that past volumes of ‘Tyr Zoonogist’ have been free from them) has been the means of deterring excellent observers from recording in this or other journals discoveries of considerable interest and importance. One such may perhaps be cited as having been brought to my knowledge 4 THE ZOOLOGIST. by afriend. About ten years since an Annelid of very remarkable character—Dutrochet’s Land-leach (Trochetia subviridis), of which only two examples had previously been observed in England, and those under circumstances which led to the suspicion of its being an introduced species *—was found to be abundant in a particular locality. The finder was urged to publish the fact in ‘THE Zoouoaist, as the most appropriate means of making it known to naturalists, but he could not be persuaded to do so, from the notion, ill-grounded as it might be, that notices therein printed generally had their origin in the personal vanity of the writers ; and hence the details of this interesting discovery have never yet been fully given to the world. Many of the best field- naturalists shrink from giving their observations publicity, partly that they may not incur the shadow of a charge of personal vanity, and partly through an opinion of self-respect, which hinders them from placing their own discoveries on a level with those of men against whom such a charge could be not unfairly brought. These remarks I venture to make now; it would be impossible for me to make them later, for they might be wrongly applied by some of my readers to communications that will have appeared in the meantime. At the outset of my editorial career, however, they may be taken not amiss. In conclusion, I need only say that my best efforts shall be devoted to the advancement of the study which all zoologists have at heart, and, with the assistance of my contributors, I doubt not that that advancement will be real. * See Dr. Murie in the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society,’ 1865, pp. 659—662. ON THE EUROPEAN REDPOLLS. By Aurrep Newton, M.A., F.R.S., V.-P.Z.S., &e. HaAvInG on two previous occasions expressed my opinion (Zool. Qnd ser. 2223, 3880) on some matters relating to the nomenclature and distribution of the European Redpolls, I think it only right to acquaint the readers of this journal with certain results at which 1 have arrived after several prolonged examinations, in consultation with my friend Mr. Dresser, of a very considerable series of speci- mens from various localities—the more so since on a few points, and these not altogether unimportant, my views have thereby been somewhat modified. I have now come to the conclusion that we must count four forms of Redpoll among the birds of Europe, three of which have been obtained in the British Islands. 1. There is the real Fringilla linaria of Linneus. This is the Mealy Redpoll of English authors, and seems to have the widest range of all the forms. Specimens from this country (to which it is a not infrequent winter visitant), from Lapland, Northern Russia, Japan, California, Pennsylvania, and Greenland (to which last it is only a summer visitant), cannot by any means that I know be distinguished from one another. In Part 10 of the revised (4th) edition of Yarrell’s ‘British Birds’ (ii. pp. 1383—143), I have attempted a full account of its history, under the name of Linota linaria. Among its numerous synonyms are Linota borealis and, to some extent, LZ. canescens. . 2. Considerably surpassing the foregoing in size, and dis- tinguishable besides by its very hoary plumage and deeply-forked tail is the Linota hornemanni of Holbéll. This is a resident in Greenland, whence, many years ago, Mr. Bond, I myself and others received its nests and eggs. It would appear from a specimen in Mr. Hancock’s collection to be the form of Redpoll which occurs in Iceland. It is also the bird found breeding in Spitsbergen by Mr. Eaton (Zool. 2nd ser. 8805—8808), and, under the English name of Arctic Redpoll, Mr. Hancock has figured a specimen (B. Northumb. & Durh. pl. 5, p. 54) which was obtained at Whitburn, April 24, 1855. There are grounds for believing that it has strayed in winter to the north of France, and probably indeed it occurs, though in small numbers, every winter in Scandinavia and in ‘the northern parts of the American continent. The kindness of 6 THE ZOOLOGIST. Mr. Gould fortunately enables me to declare that this form is not his Z. canescens, as was asserted by Bonaparte and Prof. Schlegel, who have been followed in their mistake by most ornithological writers. A brief notice of this Redpoll is given in my new edition of Yarrell’s work before named (ii. pp. 1483—145). 3. Next there is a very interesting form, not until this year recognised as an inhabitant of the Old World. This is the bird described some fifteen years ago by Dr. Coues under the name of Aiigiothus exilipes (Proc. Ac. Nat. Sc. Philad. 1861, p. 385). Our adventurous countrymen who have lately visited the northern parts of Russia, Messrs. Alston, Harvie Brown and Seebohm, have brought thence numerous specimens of it. In the depth of winter it is nearly as hoary as the last, but its small size enables it to be easily distinguished therefrom. I have seen examples from Lapland proper, but I cannot aver that it breeds there. From Archangel eastwards to the Petchora country it must be very common. Mr. Dresser has specimens obtained in Turkestan by Dr. Severzoy, and we may guess that its range extends wholly across Siberia. At any rate it appears in that part of North America which is subject to the most severe climate, and it is as an Arctic-American species that Dr. Coues described it. Meanwhile we may speak of it as Linota exilipes. It has not, so far as I know, been obtained in these Islands: Mr. Dresser will no doubt do it justice in his valuable work. 4. Lastly we have the peculiarly British form of Redpoll. This, though commonly called by English and some foreign authors Linota linaria, is, as I have often said before, not the true linaria of Linneus, and its earliest specific epithet is rufescens, assigned by Vieillot some sixty years since (Mem. R. Accad. Sc. Torino, xxiii. Sc. Fis. p. 202). To Temminck, the inveterate antagonist of the naturalist just named, is undoubtedly due the confusion which for so long a time surrounded this charming little pet of our childhood. According to all the information I have been able to obtain and sift, it would not appear to breed anywhere but in the British Islands, and, were it not that its roving disposition sends it to southern countries in winter, it would be as emphatically peculiar to our own land as is the Red Grouse. In point of size it fairly agrees with L. exilipes, but L. rufescens is never hoary and keeps from its youth upward that rufescent colouring which prompted Vieillot to give it the appellation by which it should be known. MIGRATION OF BIRDS ON THE N.E. COAST. _ 7 In a former notice (Zool. 2nd ser, 2228) I said that I believed it had been observed in the extreme south of Sweden. I now think that I was misinformed on this point, and certain it is that this form of Redpoll has not yet been found to breed in Scandinavia. What else is known of its history I have done my best to trace in the account given in the revised edition of Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’ (ii. pp. 146—152). I will here abstain from any generalizations from the facts I have just stated, and will only call the attention of my readers to the remarkable results at which my lamented friend Mr. John Wolley arrived with regard to the curious seasonal growth of the bill in L. linaria, as observed by him more than twenty years ago, and recently set forth by me in my history of that bird above referred to. Their truth was confirmed by the instinctive deduction of the late Dr. Gloger, to whose happy knack of solving an ornithological difficulty I the more readily bear witness since it was once my fate to confront and refute him on another matter. I will, in conclusion, point out that Wolley’s experience of Lapland and knowledge of its birds has of late frequently met with scant appreciation. I have found his testimony set at no higher rate than that of another Englishman who having lived ten years in Sweden knew not the confines of the country, and but once, and that but for a single summer, visited one district in Lapland. ——_ 0 —_ ON THE MIGRATION OF BIRDS ON THE N.E. COAST OF ENGLAND IN. THE AUTUMN OF 1876. By Joun CorDEAUX. THE following notes, although not so complete as I could have wished them to be, refer more especially to the arrival of autumn migrants on that part of the north-east coast lying between the Spurn Point and the estuary of the Tees during the fall of 1876. For many of them I am indebted to the letters of correspondents, some of whom, although not perhaps practical ornithologists, have yet a very considerable knowledge of our common autumn visitants, a knowledge acquired under the peculiar circumstances of their life, which is a very watchful and observant one,—the guardianship and care of lighthouses overlooking the 8 THE ZOOLOGIST. stormy waters of the great North Sea,—and rarely do we find a finer and more intelligent body of men than those employed in this important and trustful service. It has long been a well-known fact that, during the period of the autumn migrations, large numbers of birds of various species immolate themselves by dashing, during the night time, when in full migratory swing, against the thick glasses which surround the lanterns of the various lighthouses on our shores, more particularly those situated on the eastern and southern coasts. I have known flocks of migrating Starlings settle in the night time on the top of a lighthouse, where they continued for a long time to keep up a continual chattering, astonished perhaps at the novelty of the situation. Numbers of small birds will often hover for hours to and fro in the blaze of light without striking the glass, like moths on a summer evening when the hall-door is open and the lamp lighted. Sometimes, too, on dark and misty nights flocks of Curlew and Whimbrel, like spirits of the lost, wail and scream round the solitary lamp-trimmer in his lonely pharos, or troops of Gray Plover and Dunlin whirl past in the blaze cast forth by highly-polished lenses—shape, size or colour as distinctly apparent in each individual bird as if seen by the light of noonday. Itisa curious sight indeed for the lonely night-watcher to see the deluded little birds beating themselves to death against the polished pane, or to hear the thump as something heavier—Blackbird or Field- fare—strikes and is hurled back smashed and senseless into the abyss. It seems easy enough for the spectator unaccustomed to the scene, bewildered and dazed by the blaze of light within the lamp-room, to slip and pitch headlong through the glass into the same black abyss which has just swallowed up the birds; but it is years now since I spent a night in a lighthouse, and the sensation of fancying oneself pitching backwards through the glass into the darkness requires some imagination to recall it. Often have I wished that it were possible for a thoroughly practical ornithologist to be placed, for three months in the autumn, in each lighthouse and lightship; his work to consist of filling up, in a tabulated form, a record of birds striking the glass at night; the number of each species, sex and age, direction of flight, hour, state of weather and wind. These tables, taken collectively, would be deeply interesting, and perhaps throw light on some of the yet little-understood problems of migration. MIGRATION OF BIRDS ON THE N.E. COAST. 9 It is rarely, if ever, that sea birds strike the glasses; they are perhaps too much accustomed to see the lights, and we find, as a rule, that they migrate far out at sea. Shore birds, again, do not so frequently come to grief as the true land birds; they are accustomed to the shore and the neighbourhood of lighthouses, and are also partly crepuscular in their habits. In nine out of ten cases it is the true land bird that suffers from these collisions—such as under nor- mal circumstances go to roost at a reasonable and early hour, and are on the wing again at the first flush of dawn; they are unaccustomed to the darkness, more apt to be bewildered by late hours and the glare of lamps, and have little experience of night travelling, for the dark night migration takes place but once a year. Eagle.—An Eagle, probably Halicetus albicilla, was seen during the third week in November about the coast near Seaton Carew, Durham: it succeeded in avoiding the attentions of the numerous coast gunners, and finally took its leave after a few days’ sojourn in the neighbourhood. Osprey.—Mr. Richardson, of Beverley, informs me that he has received for preservation a male Osprey, apparently a bird of the second year. It was shot on the 23rd of November, at Cherry Burton, near Beverley. Mr. Adrian, of Lincoln, told me of another obtained this autumn in South Lincolnshire, but I neglected at the time to make a note of the date and locality. Peregrine Falcon.—Mr. Bailey, of Flamborough, has recently seen three or four about the headland. Flamborough Head appears to be a very favourite locality for this species. Short-eared Owl.—These birds arrived on the night of the 23rd October; at least, I first found them on the morning of the 24th, crouched amid patches of rough sea-grass on the embankment, as well as further inland on drain-sides and amidst rough grass in pastures. In the latter places they are comparatively safe. Un- fortunately those alighting on the coast are almost invariably potted by the first loafer who at break of day, with rusty fowling-piece and villainous cur at heel, strolls along the sea embankment; for the poor soft-winged slow-flying Owl offers an easy mark, and will sit till nearly trodden upon. This autumn unprecedented numbers came, and I have heard of them in many localities on this coast. It is astonishing any are left to migrate, considering the number, year after year, wantonly and cruelly destroyed on their first arrival, as well as the many which figure afterwards amongst the “sundries” 0 10 THE ZOOLOGIST. of the autumn and winter shootings. Mr. Lewis, the Principal of ihe Spurn Lighthouse, says he has never known them strike the glass like other birds, but during the period of migration they will fly round and round the lantern, apparently not incommoded by the blaze of light, and take off small birds that are fluttering and beating themselves to death against the glass. They arrived off Flamborough in flocks of from ten to twenty. The Principal has never known them strike the glass, but has twice observed them perched on the gallery rail on the outside of the lantern. North of Flamborough they appear to have been equally numerous along the coast. Ona rock close to the Hartlepool Lighthouse a fisherman early one morning in October saw eleven or more sitting together. In a letter lately received from Heligoland, Mr. Gitke says :— “The Shorteared Owls pick off the poor birds when they are dazzled by the glare of the lighthouse, but not those fluttering against the glass; but Thrushes on the wing—constantly one hears their dying cries when clutched by the nude talons of an Owl that had just flitted, like a phantom, noiselessly past the light.” A friend writing from the Durham coast (November 28rd) says, “During the last bad weather our shores were thickly visited by the Woodcock or Shorteared Owl; there have not been so many for some years.” Great Gray Shrike.—Mr. Boyes informs me by letter that he saw this bird at Spurn on the 28rd of October. Early in the morning of the 24th he saw another sitting on a hedge-top near Kilnsea: this he shot; it proved an immature male. Later in the day he saw another at Spurn, which seemed a fine old bird: Mr, Boyes shot this also, but did not recover it, as it managed to con- ceal itself amongst the long grass. Mr. Boyes mentions ten others shot a day or two previously to his visit. Mr. Lewis also shot one about the same time; but this bird also, like the one Mr. Boyes shot, succeeded in concealing itself in the long sea-grass. In ‘ The Field’ for November 18th a bird of this species is recorded as shot at Sproatley, Holderness, during the first week in November. The Great Gray Shrike may be considered a very regular immigrant to our Holderness and North Lincolnshire coast at this season. In the Lincolnshire marshes it is common enough to have a local name, “ Mutterer,’ a name I conclude given from its note, which, as I have heard it, resembles the knocking of two pebbles together. MIGRATION OF BIRDS ON THE N.E. COAST. ll Redwing.—I saw the first here on the 8th of November. Curiously enough, the only three birds killed against the Whitby High Lights in October, were two Redwings and a Lark. Fieldfare.—\ saw the first here on the 9th of November, two or three only ; on the 15th many, but all birds of the year. Blackbirds.—Came in, as usual, in large numbers, the bulk ef them about the 16th and 17th of October, also up to the end of the month and in November. Ring Ouzel.—These birds were seen at Spurn, as Mr. Lewis informs me, about the 16th and 17th of October, when the large body of Blackbirds came. I have usually met with them sparingly in these marshes, and in some autumns, at the time the other Turdide arrive, very rarely, however, coming across an adult bird— the majority are young of both sexes and females: * these are often difficult to distinguish amongst a hedgeful of Blackbirds, except by their grayer look and notes. Others, old birds, arrived at Spurn about the 28th of October—“ old birds in full plumage,” as Mr. Lewis says, “but not many.” At the Flamborough Head Light, on the 80th of October, wind S.W., overcast, Starlings, Blackbirds, Ring Ouzels and Fieldfares came against the glasses. As a rule, the Starlings arrive a week before the Turdide. In Heligoland, Mr. Gitke says, “The Ring Ouzels came during the end of the month of October, which is four weeks too late for them here. There has been general disorder this year amongst the migrants.” I have no notice of any Ring Ouzels north of Flamborough Head. Golden-crested Wren.—I1 saw the first Goldcrests here on the 28rd of October. At Spurn they arrived about the 16th and 17th. At Flamborough, on October 20th, one pair of Golden-crested Wrens, male and female, accompanied by one Fire-crested Wren, t a male, struck the glass of the lighthouse between ten and eleven o’clock at night; weather very cold and much rain; wind S.E. At the Hartlepool Lighthouse the most frequent bird coming against * Dr. Saxby (‘Birds of Shetland,’ p. 65) says, “In autumn we are generally visited by females, each accompanied by two or more young birds.” + L have not seen this bird: my informant, the Principal of the lighthouse, may haye been mistaken. So-called Fire-crests captured on this coast I have in- variably found to be old male Gold-crests. Professor Newton, in the new edition of Yarrell’s ‘British Birds’ (vol.i., p. 459), points out the most obvious distinction between the two species: writing of the Fire-crested Wren, he says, ‘‘ The black streak in which the eye is placed is the character by which this species can be more readily distinguished from the Golden-crested Wren.” 12 : THE ZOOLOGIS‘. the glass in October was this species; wind blowing fresh from the N.E. and S.E.; direction of flight always westerly. Snow Bunting.—The only Snow Bunting I have seen so far in our marshes was on the 27th of November—a single bird coming across the river from the direction of Spurn. Others were seen in small parties at Spurn, November 16th; and a correspondent, writing from Flamborough (November 22nd), says a flock had been seen on the headland all the week, in company with Larks. Last autumn when the Snow Buntings arrived at Flamborough they were accompanied by Crossbills, a gale from the N.E. blowing at the time, and very cold weather. Just seven years previously my informant had seen Crossbills and Snow Buntings mixed together flying across Lundy Island, and shot examples of both. This was November 22nd or 23rd; sky overcast, wind westerly, and very warm. Mr. W. Lewis, writing from Spurn, says, “ This morning (November 24th), in my watch from 3 a.M., there have been great numbers round the lantern; wind S., moderate. A few Gray Plover struck; also Dunlin, Blackbirds and Larks.” Woodcock.—There was a large flight of Woodcocks at Spurn on the morning of October 28th; wind N.E., light and misty. Un- usual numbers appear to have landed on our N.E. coast about this date. Others came against the glasses of the Hartlepool Lighthouse, at the same time, and under the same circumstances, as the Golden-crested Wrens. Snipe.—The first flight came on the night of October 24th; the main body, undoubtedly, during the severe weather of the 8th and 9th of November. On the latter morning I saw many small parties of two, three and six (but not exceeding the latter number), crossing the marshes from N.N.E. to S. and S.W. Saw the first Jack Snipe the same morning. Mr. Bailey, of Flam- borough, had in October two Common Sandpipers killed against the glass of the lighthouse, and another which he calls Schinz’s Sandpiper (?), also killed against the light. Perhaps we shall hear more of this last bird. Swan.—On the 16th and 17th of October six were seen at Spurn; also a great many Ducks; wind S.E., moderate. Mr. Bailey, of Flamborough, says they have had numbers of Ducks along the coast. _ Little Gull.—Two immature birds, now in the possession of a friend, were shot by Mr. Bailey off Flamborough Head in MIGRATION OF BIRDS ON THE N.E. COAST. 18 September. A mature Glaucous Gull was seen, and an immature one shot. There were great numbers of Manx Shearwaters off the headland during August and September, and Mr. Bailey has seen one Great Shearwater. As a sequel, I will give, from the other side of the North Sea, a page from Mr. Giitke’s note-book, showing the migration of birds across Heligoland during the last fortnight in October, 1876. “ Oct. 1876.—16th, 17th, 18th, 19th. Last, very strong. C. Corniz, thousands; Sturnus, hundreds; Buteo, many; Lagopus, some; Musicus, abundant. These passed the island night and day. 20th. East, very strong. Cornix, thousands; Buteo, Lagopus, Nisus, very many; Sturnus, a great many; Celebs, thousands; Montifringilla, a great many; Musicus, many; Iliacus,some; Eacubitor, two; P. major and ceruleus, some; Anthus cervinus, one. 21st. East, very strong. C. glandarius, thousands passing the island, some landed caught—coming, never ending; Celebs, countless; Monti- Fringilla, a great many ; Musicus, many; Iliacus, less; Major and Ceruleus, some; Nisus, some. 22nd, 28rd. Hast, strong. Glandarius, a great many still; Nisus, some; C. palumbus, daily some; A. alpestris, many. 24th. Phylloscopus (?), seen in garden—rust-colour. 26th. W.S.W., calm. S. rubecula, thousands; Rufa, some; Superciliosa, one in my garden. 27th. W., calm.—28th (N.W.) and 29th (W.), little breeze. T. tor- quatus (!!!) and iliacus, some; Anthus Richardi, one; Scolopax, a few; Accentor modularis, stillsome; Anas mollissima, two fine old males shot on 27th. 30th and 31st. N.W., storm, hail and rain. Scolopax rusticola, 10—12; T. pilaris, a great many; Strix flammea, about 10—12 during the month; Otus, repeatedly ; Brachyotus, a great many. _ November, first week. Thousands of Geese, Ducks, and Swans.” Mr. Gitke, writing on the 20th of November, says :—“ Immense flocks of Jays have recently passed this island, a species that numbers amongst the rarest of Heligoland; and another, still rarer, is just now shot here for the first time—viz., a Magpie ! A friend, on hearing this, writes, ‘One would think the knowing bird had heard its Ornis was at last going to be published, and had made its appearance accordingly, that it might not be left out !”” 14 THE ZOOLOGIST. ON THE OCCURRENCE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ENGLAND OF THE AMERICAN RED-BREASTED THRUSH (TURDUS MIGRATORIUS). By THE EDIToR. Ir is not a little remarkable that most of the specimens of North American birds which are recorded to have been found in Europe were taken in England. According to Professor Spencer Baird this has happened in fifty out of sixty-nine instances, and in nearly every case these specimens belonged to species which are abundant during summer in New England and the Eastern Provinces of British America. This computation, however, was made ten years ago,* since which time the increased attention paid to Ornithology has resulted in the detection in Great Britain of several North American birds which had not been previously observed here, as well as many fresh instances of the appearance of species which had been already noted as occasional visitants to this country. On referring to my ‘Handbook of British Birds’ (Introd. pp- X., xi.), I find that I had noted at the date of its publication, in 1872, the reported occurrence in the British Islands of 212 North American birds belonging to 42 different species. Omitting a few of these which have proved to be of doubtful authenticity, but adding some that I had overlooked, and a few others that have since occurred, we have in round numbers about 220 instances of the occasional appearance in Great Britain of North American birds. Of the forty-two species above referred to, five have been birds of prey, fourteen Passeres and Picarie, one Columba, fourteen Grallatores, and eight Natatores. I have now to add another to the list of passerine birds, in the shape of the American Migratory Thrush (Turdus migratorius), familiarly known as the American Robin. In the month of September last I received a letter from Lieut. Charles Pope, of the 24th Regt., then stationed at Dover, in which he informed me that a friend of his had in his possession, alive, a remarkably coloured Thrush which he was unable to identify. It had been observed to fly in from the sea in a very exhausted state * See “The Distribution and Migrations of North American Birds,” by Spencer F. Baird, in the ‘ American Journal of Science and Arts’ (vol. xli., January, March, and May, 1866). Reprinted in ‘ The Ibis,’ 1867, pp. 257—293. AMERICAN RED-BREASTED THRUSH IN ENGLAND. — 15 on a wet windy day during the previous month of April (or May, he was not sure which), and perching upon the first resting-place which presented itself, the balcony of a house facing the sea at Dover, had suffered itself to be frightened in through an open window and eventually caught. It lived in a small wicker-cage from April until September, when I first heard of it, and although the plumage became much soiled by confinement, it remained in good health. From a description and sketch which Lieut. Pope forwarded, I had no doubt from the first that the bird was the North American Red-breasted Thrush, but it was not until two months later that I was enabled to pronounce with certainty upon the species. Being unable to refer to any of the works on American Ornithology to which I had referred him, Lieut. Pope prevailed upon his friend to forward the bird to me in London, and I duly received it on the 6th November last. My surmise was correct: it was undoubtedly Turdus migratorius. i With the Secretary’s permission, I at once placed it in the Western Aviary in the Zoological Society’s Gardens, where it may still be seen in good health, and in much improved plumage. Now, how did this bird get to Dover? On my mentioning the circumstances of its capture to Mr. A. D. Bartlett, whose long experience as Superintendent of the Zoological Society’s Gardens gives weight to his opinion in such matters, he was inclined to believe that it had escaped from some homeward-bound vessel in the Channel, and had made for the nearest land; a view which he thought was strengthened by the fact that the bird when he received it was very tame. Tn this I do not quite concur, for I imagine that most homeward- bound vessels from New York return to Liverpool, and not vid ‘Dover; while the bird’s tameness is easily accounted for by the fact that when Mr. Bartlett received it into his care it had already been in captivity for about six months. I am thus disposed to regard this as a genuine case of involuntary immigration. Many such cases are already on record, and although this particular species is not known with certainty to have occurred here before, it has been met with on more than one occasion on the European continent, and, from its migratory habits, is just one of those birds which one would naturally expect now and then to arrive. io~ THE ZOOLOGIST. To account for the appearance of North American birds in this country is not so easy. I was at one time inclined to believe that the majority of them must find their way here from Greenland wid Iceland,* but the investigations of Professor Spencer Baird have led me to alter this opinion, and to concur for the present in his own view that their appearance here is due principally, if not entirely, to the agency of the winds at the period of their migrations. Prof. Baird’s remarks on this subject are so extremely interesting and at the same time so instructive, that they may be here appro- priately quoted. After some pertinent observations on zoological geography and the general principles of distribution to which hejhas been led by an examination of the large collection of specimens in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, he proceeds to deal in detail with the migration of North American birds, and referring to the species which are reported to have occurred in England, he says :— “ Birds of North America rarely, if ever, reach England from Greenland by direct spontaneous migration by way of Iceland, as shown by the fact that only three of the American birds occurring in Greenland are found in Iceland, and that few of the American species observed in Europe are found in Greenland at all. Most specimens of American birds recorded as found in Europe were taken in England (about fifty out of sixty-nine), some of them in Heligoland, very few on the Continent (land-birds in only five instances). In nearly all cases these specimens belonged to species abundant during summer in New England and the Eastern Provinces of British America. In a great majority of cases the occurrence of American birds in England, Heligoland, and the Bermudas has been in the autumnal months. The clue to these peculiarities attending the interchange of species of the two continents will be found in the study of the laws of the winds of the northern hemisphere, as developed by Prof. Henry and Prof. Coffin. These gentlemen have shown that ‘the resultant motion of the surface atmosphere, between latitudes 32° and 58° in North America, is from the west, the belt being twenty degrees wide, and its greatest intensity in the latitude of 45°. This, however, must oscillate north and south at different seasons of the year with the varying declination of the sun. South of this belt, in Georgia, Louisiana, &c., the country is influenced, at certain seasons of the year, by the north-east trade winds, and north of the same belt by the polar winds, which, on account of the rotation of the earth, tend to take a direction * In support of this view, it may be observed that out of the forty-two species of North American birds which are stated to have occurred in this country, sixteen, on the authority of Professor Reinhardt, haye been found in Greenland. OCCASIONAL NOTES. My) toward the west. It must be recollected that the westerly direction of the belt here spoken of is principally the resultant of the south-westerly and north-westerly winds alternately predominating during the year.’* “Fyrom these considerations and facts, therefore, we are entitled to conclude that the transfer of American birds to Europe, is principally, if not entirely, by the agency of the winds, in seizing them during the period of their migration (the autumnal especially), when they follow the coast, or cross its curves, often at a considerable distance from land, or a great height above it. Carried off, away out to sea, mainly from about the latitude of 45° (the line of greatest intensity of the winds), the first land they can make is that of England, whence the fact that most of the species have occurred in the British Islands as well as Heligoland, equally well fitted to attract stragglers and furnish them a resting-place.” In view of these observations from so competent an authority, it is not unlikely that the bird which forms the subject of this notice may have found its way to this country without the agency of man, and if this be so it deserves to be placed in the annually increasing catalogue of “ Rarer British Birds.” —9—— OCCASIONAL NOTES. AvtumnaL Breepinc or THE Orrer.—On the Sth of December I happened to be in Mr. Vingoe’s laboratory, where I saw a young Otter, about the size of a Fitch, or Polecat, which had been brought in from an adjacent valley, where it was seen and knocked on the head. I was not aware that the Otter bred in the autumnal months, as well as in the spring, when we know they do breed.—Epwarp Hare Rovp (Penzance). [The time of breeding with the Otter seems to be quite uncertain, young ones being found at very different seasons of the year. Mr. Bell, in the Qnd edition of his ’ British Quadrupeds,’ p. 176, says, “ The female goes with young nine weeks, and produces from three to five young ones in March or April.” The Rev. Leonard Jenyns says (Brit. Vert. An. p. 13) it breeds in March. Mr. Harris, of Moorswater, Liskeard, Cornwall, informed us some time since that he had taken young on the 3rd of April, “not much larger than mice, but covered with hair, and able to swim.” Isaac Walton, who, from being constantly on the river, ought to have known something about Otters, speaks of discovering a female Otter, with five young ones, in May (‘Complete Angler,’ Major’s 4th edition, p. 50). * See Prof. Henry's articles on Meteorology, ‘ Report of Commissioner of Patents for 1856,’ p. 489. D 18 THE ZOOLOGIST. A pair which were formerly in the Zoological Society's Gardens, bred m August (see ‘ Zoologist,’ p. 1901). Three young ones taken in Norfolk in January were about six or eight weeks old, and therefore born in November (* Zoologist,’ 1851, p. 3022). A well-known sportsman and naturalist, the late Mr. Lloyd, of Scandinavian renown, informed us that in Sweden the Otter pairs in February or March, according to the mildness or severity of the season. The latest contribution that we have seen to the natural history of the Otter, and a very instructive article withal, is from the pen of Mr. Thomas Southwell, of Norwich, and may be found in the ‘ Transac- tions of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists’ Society,’ 1872—73 pp. 79— 90. On page 84 a tabular statement is given, showing the various periods of the year in which, in fourteen instances within the writer's knowledge, young Otters have been found in Norfolk. The result of Mr. Southwell’s ‘experience is that the Otter produces her young ones from December to February, is not double-brooded, and that the number of young is from one to three, rarely exceeding the latter.—EKD. ] Rappirs Breepinc above GRounp.—In the last edition of ‘ Bell’s British Quadrupeds’ it is stated (p. 344) that “on moors where the soil is very wet, Rabbits often refrain from burrowing, and content themselves with runs and galleries formed in the long and matted heather and herbage.” An instance has recently come under my notice in which a Rabbit was found breeding above ground in a field of turnips, and in a flat form, like that of a hare. The form contained four newly born young, and before they were discovered the old doe was unfortunately shot. This was near Amesbury, in Wiltshire, and the circumstance was reported by an eye- witness, Mr. W. Southam, in ‘The Field’ of the 2nd December last.— J. E. Harrine. OccuRRENCE oF A SourH American Ratt 1n Witrsuire.—On the 20th of October last I received a communication from my friend the Rev. Arthur Morres, vicar of Britford, near Salisbury (an ardent and an accurate ornithologist, on whose judgment I knew I could rely), giving me parti- culars of a strange bird (which he had seen in the flesh in the shop of Mr. Foot, birdstuffer, at Bath, on the previous Tuesday) which he could not identify, and upon which he asked my opinion: at the same time he enclosed a small feather, to show the prevailing colour of the plumage. It had been shot on the western borders of the county, between Trowbridge and Bradford, and had been taken to Mr. Foot for preservation on Saturday, October 14th. From the description given it was evidently a Rail, very like a Moorhen in shape, and was generally of a bright chestnut colour, with crimson legs. It measured fifteen inches and a half in length, and the beak from tip to gape was two inches. But I cannot do better than quote Mr. Morres’ own description, of the excellence of which Professor Newton subsequently expressed his unqualified approval :—« Legs and OCOASIONAL NOTES. 19 irides bright crimson lake; beak light green, yellowish at the base; it had no naked patch or shield on the forehead (possibly from its immature age) ; head and neck, gray; back, light olive-green; tail and tail-coverts, black ; breast, bright chestnut-brown ; wings, bright brown, especially the quills, which had almost a crimson tinge to them; wings, underneath, barred with black and rufous-brown (one of these feathers was enclosed); thighs, gray ; vent, &c., black.” Being utterly at a loss to name the bird in question, and feeling very certain that it was no European species, I sent Mr. Morres’ note and the single feather to my friend Professor Newton; and here I beg to hail, as a triumph of practical Ornithology, the fact that no sooner did Mr. Salvin, who examined it with Professor Newton, see the feather and hear the description, than he at once pronounced the bird in question to be the American species, known as Aramides Cayennensis; a judgment which the two able ornithologists above named immediately verified by comparison with other specimens in the Swainson collection at Cambridge. Professor Newton adds that ‘as its name implies, the bird is an inhabitant of Cayenne and adjoining parts, occurring in Trinidad, but nowhere nearer (he thinks) to this country. It has been brought over - several times to the Zoological Gardens, but it is most improbable that it should find its way to England unassisted; though, supposing it had made good its escape from confinement, it might perhaps continue to exist for some weeks, or even months, here, except in winter. Aramides is a rather aberrant genus of Rails, found only in the New World.” Doubtless Mr. Morres and I should have been better pleased if we could have honestly considered onr Wiltshire visitor as ‘veritable British,” but after this decided opinion of Professor Newton we shall scarcely be disposed to regard the stranger as a voluntary visitor, or as one of the numerous stragglers driven over by adverse winds; we must rather look upon it as an escaped prisoner, perhaps one which has freed itself from captivity for some time, and has been wandering on and skulking from observation, after the manner of other two-legged creatures when they have managed to get out- side the prison bars. I am bound, however, to say that Mr. Morres, who has made enquiry in the neighbourhood, can hear of no such escape, and says there are no marks of captivity about the bird. I may also remark that it is so far a cosmopolite as to have bred in the Jardin d’Acclimatation at Paris (‘Ibis,’ 3rd Series, vol. i., p. 485), and IT may remind Professor Newton that in the second series of the ‘ Ibis,’ of which he was the talented editor (vol. iv., p. 486), he speaks of this very species as “the wide ranging Aramides Cayannensis.”—Aurrep C. Smrra (Yatesbury Rectory, Calne). GreeneincH Nestine in Furze (Zool. 2nd ser. 5120).—In the summer of 1875 I found several nests of the Greenfinch in some tall furze bushes situated outside the wall of a kitchen garden, and one nest—containing was almost entirely constructed of the silky catkins of four young ones 20 THE ZOOLOGIST. the sallow, which the parent birds must have brought from some con- siderable distance, as no sallows are growing near the spot. The materials of which this nest was composed made it very conspicuous, and, what is more remarkable, the bird must have built it at a time when workmen were erecting an orchard house within a few yards of the bush; but we well know that birds as a rule are much tamer, so to speak, during nidification, than they are at any other time. I may remark that although these nests were built in the furze outside the garden, yet a much larger number were to be found within its boundaries, and these were constructed in almost any suitable place. The furze dwellers had possibly found the locality favour- able for food, but not wishing, or not being allowed, to inconvenience their neighbours by building in their midst, they had availed themselves of the nearest suitable situation. I have never found a Greeufinch’s nest in the furze upon the open heath, as I have those of the Linnet, and think the Greenfinch generally chooses a higher situation for its nest than the Linnet. As I had frequent opportunities of observing the Greenfinches in question, I may throw some little light upon “the time of day at which birds lay their eggs” (Zool. 2nd ser. 5115, 5161),' and I can quite believe that the late Dr. Saxby intended writing a.m. and not p.m. These green- finches always laid, as far as I was able to observe, in the morning, between 7 and 12 o'clock, generally from 8 to 10. When a boy at school I well recollect finding the nest of a Goldfinch in a high hedge: it had previously been found by some of my school-mates, and each was anxious to obtain the first egg. Two or three consecutive mornings I rose soon after day- break, in anticipation of becoming the possessor of the much-coveted prize, ignorantly supposing that the bird laid during the night, or at very early morning. On the fourth morning an egg was laid between eight and nine o'clock, after I had waited some four or five hours for its appearance; I took this egg, and on the following morning the bird laid another about the same time, but she forsook the nest after the second egg was taken. One evening, in my rambles about the meadows, I came across the nest of a Reed Bunting containing two eggs ; the following morning, having to pass near the nest, and seeing a Cuckoo fly out somewhere near the spot, curiosity led me to look at the nest again, and I found that besides the two eggs of the previous evening, one of the Cuckoo's was therein. This was before ten o'clock, so I reasonably conjecture that the Cuckoo must have laid that morning.—G. B. Corin (Ringwood, Hants). Greoanious Hazirs or rue Lonevansp Owr.—I may add my mite to the observations of Messrs. Boyes and Gurney upon this subject (Zool. 2nd ser. 5163) as follows :—A few seasons ago, during March, I visited the heaths in this neighbourhood for the capture of the moth called Pachyenemia hippocastanaria, and in a fir-wood through which I passed I had seen one or more of the Owls in question on several occasions. One evening in OCCASIONAL NOTES. DAN particular I recollect seeing five or six, and these flew in a moth-like fashion out upon the heath and back again to the fir-trees, keeping ina body, and often uttering a short sharp chirp or whistle, something after the fashion of the Nightjar. I laid quietly behind a bank and watched their movements, and as their excursions were made in a westerly direction— between myself and the fast-retirmg sun—I could see them very plainly skimming about, sometimes just over the heather, then settling down, or chasing each other as if in play, after which they would return to the wood and settle on some low fir branch near to me, so that I could almost reach them with my hand. It seemed to me that they were birds belonging to the same nest, as they appeared uncommonly tame, but I had not heard that any Owl had nested in the wood where these frequented. Strange to say I have seen the Shorteared Owl but twice in this neighbourhood, while the longeared species is much oftener observed. It may often be seen during the winter months gibbeted in the “ gamekeepers’ museum,” for it must be understood that here, as in most other places, all Owls are classed as “vermin,” and pay the penalty accordingly.—G. B. Corsi. Rooxs atrackine Acorns.—Whilst spending a few weeks in West Sussex during the past autumn, I was much amused in watching the way in which the Rooks carried off the acorns from an oak in front of our windows. Not content with picking up those which had fallen upon the grass below, they alighted upon the extremity of the branches, and plucking off the growing ones, carried them away to a little distance, and attacked them at leisure. I remarked that they did not swallow them whole, as Wood Pigeons do, but pecked them to pieces on the ground. Whether they swallowed the fragments, or only broke them to get at a grub within, I could not ascertain without shooting some of them,-which I was loth to do; but I am inclined to think that a worm was the attraction, for after the birds had decamped I picked up handfuls of damaged and broken acorns, many of them only slightly chipped, which I should hardly have found if the birds had been feeding on them. ‘This habit does not seem to have been noticed by the authorities on British birds, and I have looked in vain for any mention of it in the pages of Bewick, Montagu, Selby, Macgillivray, and Yarrell. It is true that Macgillivray includes acorns amongst the food of the Rook, but mentions them in such a way as rather to suggest that it is the fallen acorns which are picked up. In Jesse’s ‘ Gleanings,’ however (Ist series, p. 61), I find the following statement :—*“ Rooks are known to bury acorns, and I believe walnuts also, as I have observed them taking ripe walnuts from a tree and returning to it before they could have had time to break them and eat the contents. Indeed, when we consider how hard the shell of a walnut is, it is not easy to guess how the Rook contrives to break it. May they not, by first burying them, soften the shell, and afterwards return to feed upon them?” It is a little curious that 22 THE ZOOLOGIST. Yarrell, who has given an extract from the very next page of this volume of the ‘Gleanings,’ should have omitted to notice this particular passage. Since writing this note I have received a confirmatory account from Mr. John Tyacke, of Constantine, Cornwall, who writes, ‘‘ For the last two years I have noticed what I never saw before, i. e., that the Rooks pitch in great numbers on the oak trees, and feed on the acorns, and I have been informed by a friend that they do the same on the Ilex.” With regard to walnuts, I may add that in Sussex we have two walnut trees close to the house, and in the autumn, before the pods get too hard, the Rooks come early in the morning and steal quantities of them.—J. E. Harrine. Tue Hawrincn (Coccothraustes vulgaris) 1x Scortanp.—I wish to correct as soon as possible a somewhat grave error made by me in the last part (10) of the revised edition of Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds,’ and in so doing I have to thank a correspondent, before unknown to me, who has been kind enough to call my attention thereto. In the account of the distribution of the Hawfinch in Scotland (op. cit. vol. ii., p. 102, line 4) after the words, “ according to Mr. Gray,” the sentence should run “ from Dumfreisshire to East Lothian, and thence to Perthshire,” &c., and the foot-note at-the bottom should be omitted. I shall endeavour to issue, with the next part of the work, a leaf that can be substituted for that which at present con- tains the mis-statements I desire now to rectify—ALFrep Nrwron (Magdalene College, Cambridge, December 2, 1876). On THE OccurRENcE At Matra or tHE Snow Bunrine (Pleetro- phanes nivalis)—In what I said (Yarrell, Brit. Birds, Ed. 4, ii., p. 8) as to the supposed appearance of the Snow Bunting at Malta in 1840, I am still, I believe, so far correct; but Captain Feilden has kindly pointed out to me that I overlooked an undoubted instance of the occurrence of this species in that island recorded (‘ Ibis,’ 1870, p. 490) by Mr. C. A. Wright, who shot a male bird there November 13th, 1869.—In. VARIETIES OF STARLING AND Brackpirp.—In ‘The Zoologist’ for October (2nd ser. 5120) a white Starling is recorded, and this is followed by an editorial note to the effect that this species ‘‘ appears to be more subject to albinism than most birds.” I have known three or four such examples to have been obtained in this part of Hampshire during my orni- thological experience, although I have never had the good fortune to meet with one myself. I recollect a few seasons ago seeing a case of stuffed Starlings in the possession of the late Mr. J. T. Turner; it contained four birds, one white, one pied, one black, and one of the normal type, and, if I remember correctly, all were killed in different parts of the New Forest. In 1874 I saw a peculiarly marked specimen which had been killed near here. Its head and neck were of an uniform pale yellowish gray, whilst the rest of the body was of the usual colour and markings, except the legs, which were much lighter. I do not know if this specimen was preserved, OCCASIONAL NOTES. 23 but I believe not. It may be recollected that in the volume of ‘The Zoologist’ for 1875 (2nd ser. £692) I mentioned the fact that most of the pied Blackbirds I had seen had more white about the head than upon any other part of the body, and this observation was confirmed by Mr. Gurney (Zool. 2nd ser. 4869). Recently, however, I have seen two specimens which proved the rule by forming the exception. One of these had a white tail, anda few pale feathers upon its back, and, as far as I know, is’ still alive, not far from the forest, where I have seen it once or twice in my rambles. The other specimen was killed by a boy with a stone, at Mudeford, near Christchurch, on the 16th of September. He had seen it many times bathing on the sea-shore, and although sought after by several persons for a week or two previously, it escaped till the date I have named. This specimen had the upper part of the back, wing coverts, and a band across the belly white, giving it almost the appearance of having a white belt round the body. ‘There were a few pale feathers about the neck, and at the base of the tail, but very little white about the head.—G. B. Corsin. OrnitHoLoGicaL Nores rroM THE Iste or WicHt.—On the 19th of September both Swallows and Martins, mostly immature birds, were observed to be congregating in considerable numbers, seemingly about to migrate. By the 20th of October there was a general move, and few were to be seen after the 25th, and none after the 4th of November. I have been informed by Mr. Careless, naturalist, of Sea View, that he has had a hand- some male Roughlegged Buzzard sent him for preservation, which was captured on the 13th of October, at Pelham Lodge, Ryde. It entered by an open window, and was found to be in poor condition; it had sustained an injury in the leg, and died the following day. Length, twenty-two inches ; extent of wings, forty-eight inches. Mr. Smith, writing on the 8th November, tells me that he has had seven Short-eared Owls brought to him in a fortnight, and that he usually gets some at the autumnal migration. Few Kestrels remain with us during the winter, but one was seen on the 25th of October, in a six mile walk on the Downs. In reply to the editorial queries (Zool. 2nd ser. 5160) as to when, where, and by whom a specimen of the Spotted Crake I recorded was shot, I am now informed that the bird was found on the 14th September beneath the telegraph-wires on the Cowes and Newport Railway, having, apparently, in its flight, come in contact with them; showing that, like many other species, it is nocturnal in its migration. Not being very rare, I merely noted its occurrence.—HENRY Haprievp (Ventnor, Isle of Wight). DartrorD WARBLER IN CornwaLL.—In Mr. Rodd’s “ List of the Birds of Cornwall ” (Zool. 2nd ser. 2231) the Dartford Warbler is included as a rare species, with the statement that ‘‘ no very satisfactory record exists of the capture of this small Warbler westward, although it has been seen in some furzy ground in the parish of Madron.” Ornithologists, therefore, 24 THE ZOOLOGIST. will be interested to hear that in the neighbourhood of Constantine, where I reside, this bird has been gradually becoming plentiful. I noticed the first I had ever seen here about three years ago, since which time I have observed them frequently amongst furze. They flit from bush. to bush, and on alighting disappear immediately, very similarly to the Lesser White- throat.—Joun Tyackn (Constautine, Cornwall). DistrIBUTION oF THE GREEN WooppPEcKER IN CornwaLL.—In the eastern woodlands this bird is common, but in West Cornwall is very rare (c.f. Rodd, Zool. 2nd ser. 2239). In the neighbourhood of Constantine it was at one time very seldom seen, but of late has become more numerous.—Ib. Tree Sparrow Nestinc ty Mippiesex.—In the last published part of the new edition of ‘ Yarrell’s British Birds’ (part 10, p. 85) a dozen counties in England are named in which the Tree Sparrow seems not yet to have been recorded as breeding, and one of these is Middlesex. On reference to an interleaved copy of my ‘ Birds of Middlesex’ I find a MS. note, given me by the late Mr. Blyth, to the effect that in June, 1871, he obtained three half-fledged Tree Sparrows, which were taken from a nest ina hole of a tree at Hampstead. This is the only instance which has come to my knowledge of the Tree Sparrow breeding in the metropolitan county.—J. E. Harrina, Howry Buzzarp 1x Surrorx.—On the 25th of September, on my uncle’s property at Darsham, in this county, I shot a very fine, though immature, male Honey Buzzard. Expanse of wings four feet, and two feet from beak to tail; contents of stomach, wasp-grubs.—Arruur J. CLaArK-KENNEDY (Little Glemham, Suffolk). REAPPEARANCE OF Pattas’s SanD Grouse In Inetanp.—A fine male specimen of this Sand Grouse was shot on the 4th of October, near Kileock, in the County Kildare, and its companion, a female, secured at the same time. They were found feeding in a stubble-field, and, at first, were mis- taken for Partridges. We have received one for preservation, the other was sent to Messrs. Ashmead and Argent, of Bishopsgate Street, London.— Wiusams & Son, taxidermists (2, Dame Street, Dublin). [This fact has already been recorded in ‘The Field’ of 21st October, 1876, by Mr. Coates, one of the two gentlemen who procured the birds in question. It is not the first instance of the occurrence of this Sand Grouse in Ireland. In 1868, in which year a most extraordinary immigration of these singular birds took place, specimens were procured at Ross (Lord Clermont, Zool. 1863, p. 8934), Drumbeg (Sinclair, ‘ The Field,’ 20th and 27th June, 1863), and Naran (M. B. Cox, ‘ The Field,’ 18th July, 1863), the last-named being the most westerly locality for the species recorded with precision.— Ep. | VARIETY OF THE Common Snipe.—A very interesting specimen has been sent to us for preservation. It is about the size of the so-called OCCASIONAL NOTES. 25 Sabine’s Snipe, but not so dark in colour; the dark bars across the breast are well marked, and are continued down to the vent. The tail contained only eleven feathers, but some may have been shot away.—WitttaMs & Son. [If we understand Messrs. Williams correctly, the specimen in question may be said to be intermediate in form and colour between the Common Snipe and the so-called Sabine’s Snipe. If so, we should much like to see it.— Ep. ] GotpEN Eacre near Kitrarnry.—So seldom is this noble species now seen at Killarney, that it is not without regret I have to record the capture of a fine female bird, apparently in the second year's plumage, which was shot while flying over the Earl of Kenmare’s deer park, about the middle of November last, by Denis Healy, one of the gamekeepers. The bird is now in the hands of Mr. Williams, the well-known taxidermist, in Dame Street, Dublin. The Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaétus) though commonly supposed to be no longer indigenous to Killarney, is yet not unfrequently observed in the mountainous parts of Kerry; and as I myself have, on more than one occasion, seen the bird hunting along the mountain sides, which border on the lakes, early in the spring, I believe there is good reason to suppose that the Golden Eagle still breeds in some of the less frequented parts of the district—Anrraur H. Bowzzs (99, Lower Mount Street, Dublin). GotpEn Eacie, RovcH-LEGcED Buzzarp, &c., NEAR WoopBRIDGE.— During November and December, 1876, a beautiful specimen of the young of the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaétus) was taken, together with eight specimens of the Rough-legged Buzzard (Buteo lagopus), in the neighbour- hood of Woodbridge, Suffolk. On the 14th of December a beautiful male Merlin (Falco e@salon) was shot on the ooze skirting the banks of the Woodbridge river. On thé 18th of December a female, from the same place, was obtained; and on the 19th of December a second female was shot near the same spot. A Hobby (Falco subbuteo) I watched for several minutes, after having first disturbed him from trees, perched on a gate-post abutting on stubble upon which a large flock of Linnets were feeding.—Cuartes Moor (Great Bealings, Woodbridge, Suffolk). A Porn Wurre Jay.—On the 20th of October, Mr. Ripley, the bird- stuffer here, showed me a young Jay, pure white, which had been shot within a few miles of York, a few days before. He had another of the ordinary colour, which was out of the same nest. The former had not a single coloured feather about it, but the whole of the plumage was of a -uniform pure white. The legs of this bird were also of a whitish colour, as well as the bill; the iris, too, was of a very light colour, in fact almost white. . Albinos of this species, I believe, are rare—R. M. Curisty (York). PuEasants iv New Zeatanp.—It would seem that pheasants are now fairly established in Southern New Zealand, and are tolerably numerous. E - 26 THE ZOOLOGIST. Mr. Alfred Eccles, a former Vice-President of the Otago Acclimatisation Society, has obligingly communicated an extract from the ‘Otago Daily Times,’ wherein a special correspondent, writing on this subject, remarks as follows:—In riding near Popotunoa Bush recently, in company with a friend of mine—a resident at Popotunoa—we flushed two pheasants, a cock and ahen. On expressing my surprise and delight, he informed me that there were plenty more there, and that along the Kuriwao Hills (Mr. Roberts's) and up the Waiwera Gorge, and all along that range by Kaihiku Bush, and Warepa, down to South Molyneux, and for miles back, pheasants were to be found in great abundance. This is good news for sportsmen, as from the nature of the country they can never be exterminated by fair shooting, and will afford sport quite equal, if not superior, to black game shooting in Scotland. Mr. Campbell, of Glenfalloch, tells me that there is a solitary hare frequently seen about his place, both by himself and others who know a hare when they see one. It is a great puzzle where poor puss could have come from; she must have either swum the Molyneux or crossed by Balclutha bridge. I hear the rabbits are spreading very rapidly in Southland, and threaten to be a fearful curse; they are now almost, if not quite, up to the Mataura in large quantities.” Buve SuarKx orr PrymourH.—In September last a very beautiful Blue Shark (Squalus glaucus) was captured off Plymouth. Its length was fully eight feet, and its colour exceedingly fine. This specimen, I am sorry to say, was not preserved, but I managed to secure some of its teeth, which are finely serrated.—Jonn GarcomBe (8, Lower Durnford Street, Stone- house, Plymouth). [This Shark is said to be not.common during the Pilchard season off the Cornish coast.—Ep. ]. OccuRRENCE OF THE Fox Sark orr Te1gNMoutH.—Being in Taunton one day towards the end of November, I noticed in the Corn Market a small tent erected, with a notice, written in large characters, ‘Strange Fish,” pinned on the outside. A worthy tar, who had charge of the exhibition, assured me I should see a most extraordinary monster of the deep, which no ‘man had ever seen before, and which no one could name. I paid the modest sum of one penny for entrance, expecting to see a dogfish or a ‘porpoise, but found instead a remarkably fine specimen of the Fox Shark, or Thresher (dlopes vulpes), which measured about seven feet from the head to the end of the elongated tail. The fisherman told me that this Shark had become entangled in their herring nets, about two miles to the west of Teignmouth, and had been secured after a desperate struggle. It was very fairly stuffed, and had already been exhibited at Exeter and other towns, and no doubt will be found a more remunerative take than many good hauls of herrings—Murray A. Maruew (Bishop's Lydeard, Taunton). [The Fox Shark, or Thresher, although occasionally met with in various OCCASIONAL NOTES. Q7 parts of the coast, is by no means plentiful. It derives its English name of “Thresher” from its supposed habit of attacking and striking the Grampus with its long fox-like tail.— Ep.] OccuRRENCE oF THE Bonrro at PrymoutH.—In September last a specimen of the Bonito (Scomber pelamys) was caught in a trammel-net in the Cattewater, Plymouth. I examined the fish, and found its length to be one foot eight inches and a half; pectoral-fin, six inches—much longer in proportion to the length of the specimen than shown by Mr. Couch in his figure of this species. Another about the same size, but with the pectoral-fins still longer, was taken some years previously near Plymouth. Yet they did not equal those of a closely-allied species, the Germon or Long-finned Tunny (Scomber alatunga), which I at first thought it might be.—Joun GaATCOMBE. [The Bonito of the tropics, so well known to navigators, is rarely seen in British waters, although, according to the late Mr. Couch, a few specimens have been taken from time to time on the Cornish coast., The colour of the fish is a fine steel-blue, darker on the back, the sides dusky. and whitish below; behind the pectoral-fin is a bright triangular section of the surface, from which four dark longitudinal lines extend backwards to the tail. The specimen above noticed is not a very large one, the species sometimes attaining a length of two feet six inches.—ED.] Lance Tunny on tHE Coast or Norvorx.—EHarly on the morning of the 24th of November, 1876, a large Tunny (Thynnus vulgaris), exhausted, but not quite dead, came ashore at Bacton, on the Norfolk coast, where [ saw it on the following day, and took the following measurements :—Total length from the point of the upper jaw to the centre of the tail, 7 feet 4 inches: length of first dorsal-fin, in inches, 10°8; of second dorsal, 15°5; of pectoral, 15-8; of ventral, 10°3; of abdominal, 14°2: breadth of tail from point to point, 33-4. The finlets, which were ten in number on the back and nine on the abdomen, were rather Jess than an inch in depth; the lateral prominences above the tail were about two inches wide; the ridge on the side of the body, in a line with the upper ray of the pectoral fin, projected about a quarter of an inch, and was 18°7 inches long ; from the gape to the point of the upper jaw measured 8 inches, and the eye was 21 inches in diameter, with a silvery green iris and a very dark blue pupil. The teeth were very small, and the upper jaw projected slightly beyond the lower, which is the reverse of what is stated by Yarrell and Couch. Both the upper and lower jaws were pink, this colour reaching backwards for about two inches from the extremity of the jaws. The general colour of the upper parts of the fish was nearly black, of the sides silvery gray, and of the lower parts, and also of the gill-coverts, silvery white. The first dorsal fin was purplish black, the second dorsal pale pink, shaded in places with dark purplish, the pectoral fin resembled the first dorsal, except that it had 28 . THE ZOOLOGIST. a white tip and the under side of the rays was also white, but tinged with pink; the ventral fin was like the pectorals, but without the white tip. The abdominal fin and the finlets were pinkish white; the tail was dark, resembling the first dorsal fin—J. H. Gurney (Northrepps, Norfolk). BreEEpiInG SuAson or OrayrisH.—As a note towards determining the breeding time of Sea Crayfish, I mention that I have to-day (Oct. 27, 1876) received one with the berry fully developed—THomas Cornisu (Penzance). PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. Linnean Society oF Lonpon. November 2, 1876.—Prof. Attaan, President, in the chair. Mr. Duppa Crotch exhibited a live specimen of the Norwegian Lemming, with charts showing the nature of the ground traversed in two instances in which he himself had witnessed the westerly migration of this singular little rodent. Mr. G. Bentham read a paper on the distribution of the Monocotyledonous order into primary groups, more especially in reference to the Australian flora, with notes on some points of terminology. Dr. Francis Day drew attention to examinations he had made on some Irish Sticklebacks (Gasterostei). Abnormal variations in the presence and absence of ventral fin and spines in specimens of the Three-spined and Ten-spined Sticklebacks induce him to consider these appendages of doubtful specific value. . Mr. H. W. Bates communicated a paper by Mr. D. Sharp on the respi- ratory function of the Carnivorous Water Beetles (Dytiscida). Experiments made by the author on numerous species show that there are wide differences in the length of time they spend submerged and on the surface for breathing purposes. Most specimens of the group are more active by night than by day. Prof. Dickie gave a supplementary notice of Marine; Alge obtained in the ‘ Challenger’ Expedition. Of some fifty species one only is new. A description of Thaumantis pseudaliris and Amesia pewifascia, two new Lepidopterous forms from Malacca, by Mr. A. G. Butler, was taken as read. The same author also had a communication on the genus Huptychia, a revision, with the addition of twelve new species being made. A case of these butterflies was exhibited in illustration of his paper. A second communication, by Mr. D. Sharp, referred to new species of Beetles (Scarabaida) from Central America. ‘These had been captured by Mr. Belt, chiefly in the neighbourhood of Chontales. PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 29 Mr. A. Peckover exhibited and made a few remarks on two skins of the young of the Madagascar insectivore, Hemicentetes nigriceps, Giinth., and on a series of insects from the same island, collected by Mr. A. Kingdon, near Antananarivo. Mr. E. D. Crespigny showed a specimen of the Umbelliferous plant, Tordylium maximum, Linn., obtained near Tilbury Fort, a locality where it had disappeared for a considerable length of time. November 16, 1876.—Prof. Atuman, President, in the chair. Messrs. J. C. Oman, RK, H. Peck, and D. G. Rutherford were duly elected Fellows. Mr. H. N. Moseley, of H.M.S. ‘Challenger,’ read a paper on the Flora of Marion Island. This island possesses considerable interest from its isolation and being within the Antarctic drift. It is about 1000 miles from the African continent, 450 from the Crozets, 1200 from the desolate Kerguelen Island, above 2000 from Tristan D’Acunha, and 4500 from the Falklands, to which, nevertheless, its Flora appears related. It is 6f volcanic origin and snowclad. The rocks at half-tide are covered with Darvilea utilis, above high tide Yillea moschata is found in abundance, and beyond the beach a swampy peaty soil covers the rocks, where there is a thick growth of herbage; this is principally composed of species of Acena, Azorella, and Festuca, the first of these three being the most abundant plant on the island, though the latter grass is by no means scarce. The cabbage-like plant, Pringlea antiscorbutica, is less profuse than at Kerguelen’s Land. Some of the Ranunculus group are met with at water-pools near the sea; four kinds of Ferns were obtained, Lomaria alpina being the most numerous. Lichens are scarce, but Mosses in plenty form yellow patches, which stand out conspicuously midst the green vegetation, which rises to an altitude of probably 2000 feet. From the occurrence of Pringlea on Marion Island, the Crozets, and Kerguelen Island, and the existence of fossil tree-trunks on the two latter, the author surmises an ancient land-connection between them. Mr. Moseley exhibited some insular floral collections in illustration of his paper and of the various parts touched at by the ‘Challenger.’ He also called attention to a series of yolumes and pamphlets on Natural History obtained by him in Japan. A memoir on the birds collected by Prof. Steere (Michigan, U.S.) in the Philippine Archipelago was read by Mr. IR. Bowdler Sharpe, and numerous coloured drawings of the new and rare forms were exhibited and com- mented on. Although it is but lately that Lord Tweeddale’s remarkable monograph on the Philippine birds was published, with immense additions to the Avifauna, yet Prof. Steere’s collection has yielded over sixty hitherto unknown species. Many novelties may therefore still be 30 THE ZOOLOGIST. expected as further exploration proceeds. The recorded species of birds from the Philippines at present amount to 285. A letter containing observations on the American Grasshopper (Caloptenus femur-rubrum), with remarks on the same, by Mr. F. Smith, was noticed. December 7, 1876.—G. Bentoam, Esq., Vice-President, in the chair. Thirteen new Fellows were balloted for, and duly elected. The botanical papers read were “ New British Lichens,” by the Rev. W. A. Leighton, and “A General Systematic Arrangement of of the Iridacee (the Iris family),” by J. G. Baker, of Kew. Dr. Francis Day read a paper “ On the Geographical Distribution of the Fresh-Water Fishes of India.” He says that out of nine families of Spiny- rayed Fish (Acanthopterygians) only two are likewise found in the African region; but one of these is in Madagascar, therefore doubtfully African, the other is also found in the Malay Archipelago, which possesses representatives of eight out of nine families. The fresh-water fishes of Ceylon, the Anda- mans and Nicobars, he believes, are strictly Indian, while, as these fishes cannot be spread except by line of fresh-water communication, it thus appears highly probable that these islands were at one time connected with the Con- tinent of India. Moreover, certain forms exist in Malabar which are absent from the rest of India, but reappear in the region of Chittagong or Siam. The evidence derived from his data shows that the Fauna of Hindostan preponderates towards the Malayan, and not African, region, as many aver. Mr. Christy exhibited and made remarks on specimens of the so-called Black Coral (Antipathes) from the Philippines. ——__- ZootoaicaL Society or Lonpon. November 7, 1876.—Prof. Newron, F.R.S., Vice-President, in the chair. The Secretary read a report on the additions that had been made to the Society’s Menagerie during the months of June, July, August and September, 1876. A letter was read from Dr. Otto Finsch relating to the supposed existence of the Wild Camel (Camelus bactrianus) in Central Asia. A letter was read from Mr. E. Pierson Ramsay, giving a description of the habits of some Ceratodi living in the Australian Museum, Sydney, which he had lately received from Queensland. Mr. W. K. Parker read a memoir on the structure and development of the skull in the Sharks and Rays. Prof. A. Newton made a correction of some of the statements in Canon Tristram’s “ Note on the Discovery of the Roebuck in Palestine” (Proc. Zool. Soc., 1876, page 421). PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 31 Lieut.-Colonel Beddome gave the description of a new species of Indian Snake from Manantawaddy in the Wynaad Hills, which he proposed to name Platyplecturus Hewstont. Dr. G, E. Dobson communicated a monograph of the Bats of the group Molossi. Dr. A. Giinther read a report on some of the recent additions to the Collection of Mammalia in the British Museum, amongst the most remarkable of which was a new form of Porcupine, from Borneo, proposed to be called Trichys lipura; and a new Marmozet, obtained by Mr. T. K. Salmon, near Medellin, U.S. of Columbia, to which the name Hapale leucopus was given. November 21, 1876.—Prof. Ftowrr, F.R.S., Vice-President, in the chair. The Secretary read a report on the additions that had been made to the Society’s Menagerie during the month of October. Mr. Sclater exhibited and made remarks on the skin of a young Rhino- ceros (Rf. sondaicus), belonging to Mr. W. Jamrach, which had been captured in the Sunderbunds, near Calcutta, in May last. The Secretary exhibited, on behalf of Mr. Andrew Anderson, a coloured drawing of a specimen of Hmys Hamiltont, lately captured at Futtehgurh (Ganges). The occurrence of this E’mys, chiefly confined to Lower Bengal, so far west as Futtehgurh, was considered as of much interest. A letter was read from Count T. Salvadori, containing remarks on some of the birds mentioned by Signor D’Albertis, as seen by him during his first excursion up the Fly River. A communication was read from Mr. G. B. Sowerby, jun., containing descriptions of six new species of shells, from the collections of the Marchioness Paulucci and Dr. Prevost. Mr. Edward R. Alston read a paper containing the descriptions of two new species of Hesperomys from Central America, which he proposed to call respectively Hesperomys teqguina and H. Couest. A paper was read by Professor Garrod on the Chinese Deer, named Lophotragus michianus, by Mr. Swinhoe, in which he contended that the species so called was identical with Elaphodus cephalophus (A. Milne- Edwards), obtained by Pére David in Moupin. He pointed out the close affinity between the genera Hlaphodus and Cervulus, the latter differing little more than in the possession of frontal cutaneous glands not found in the former. - Mr. Arthur G. Butler read a paper containing descriptions of new species of Lepidoptera from New Guinea, with a notice of a new genus. A communication was read from Dr. J. 8. Bowerbank, being the eighth of his series of “Contributions to a General History of the Spongiade.” 82 THE ZOOLOGIST. | December 5, 1876.—Dr. E. Hamiuron, Vice-President, in the chair. The Secretary read a report on the additions that had been made to the Society's Menagerie during the month of November, and called particular attention to four Brazilian Cormorants (Phalacrocorax brasilianus), pur- chased, and a Hooded Crane (Grus monachus), received on deposit. A letter was read from Count T. Salvadori, announcing that a new species of Paradise-bird of the genus Drepanornis, had been discovered near the most inland point of Geelvink Bay, New Guinea. A communication was read from Mr. Andrew Anderson, containing some corrections of and additions to previous papers on the “ Raptorial Birds of North-Western India.” . Mr. Francis Day read a paper on the fishes collected by the Yarkand Mission, in 1873, to which the late Dr. Stoliczka was attached as naturalist. The paper gave an outline sketch of the Fresh-water Fishes of Hindostan, Afghanistan, Western Turkestan, Yarkand, Tibet, and Cashmere. The author showed that the principal fishes of Yarkand belong to a local group of Carps, termed “ Hill Barbels, or Schizothoracine,” by M‘Clelland; that this group is almost restricted to cold and elevated regions, spreading to the most eastern portion of Western Turkestan, Afghanistan, and along the slopes of the Himalayas to China; and that these forms are entirely distinct from the Carps of the plains to the south of the Himalayas. A communication was read from Mr. Martin Jacoby, giving descriptions of new genera and species of phytophagous Coleoptera. A communication was read from Dr. A. Giinther, containing the descrip- tion of a new species of Lizard from Asia Minor, which he proposed to name Zootoca Danfordi, after Mr. C. G. Danford, its discoverer. Dr. Giinther communicated a paper by Mr. W. Ferguson, of Colombo, containing the description of a new species of Snake of the genus Aspidura from Ceylon, for which the name of A. Guentheri was proposed.—P. L. Selater. ENTOMOLOGICAL Society oF Lonpon. November 1, 1876.—Professor Wrestrwoop, M.A., President, in the chair. Additions to the Library. The following donations were announced, and thanks voted to the donors :—‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society,’ 1876, parts ii. and iii.; by the Society. ‘The Zoologist’ and ‘Newman’s Entomologist’ for November; by the Representatives of the late Edward Newman. ‘The Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine’ for November; by the Editors. ‘The Naturalist ; Journal of the West Riding Consolidated Naturalists’ Society,’ no. xvi.; by the Editor. ‘Nature,’ nos. 362—365; by the Publishers. PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 33 ‘L’Abeille,’ nos. 180 and 181; by the Editor, M. S. A. de Marseul. ‘ Iconographie de Chenilles et Lepidopteres inedits,’ par E. Milliére, tom. ii., part 35 (concluding the work); by J. W. Dunning. ‘ Catalogo della Colle- zione di Insetti Italiani del R. Museo di Firenze,’ serie la, Coleotteri; ‘ Bul- letino della Societa Entomologica Italiana,’ anno ottavo, trimestre iii.; by the Society. ‘Hore Societatis Entomologice Rossice,’ t. xi., nos. 2,3 and 4; by the Entomological Society of Russia. ‘The American Naturalist,’ vol. x., nos. 9and 10; by the Editor. ‘Transactions of the Academy of Science of St. Louis,’ vol. iii., nos. 1—3; by the Society. Exhibitions, dc. ‘Mr. F. Smith exhibited some remarkable specimens of thorns from Natal and Brazil, which had been taken possession of by certain species of Oryptoceride for the construction of their formicaria: some of them were as much as three inches in length. ‘ Mr. Champion exhibited a bug sent by Mr. Walker from Besika Bay. It was figured in Guerin’s Mag. de Zool. under the name of Mustha spinosula. ; Professor Westwood mentioned that a caterpillar had been forwarded to him from Deal, the captor complaining that he had suffered from considerable irritation of the skin, caused by the hairs of the insect, and that the irritation had continued for a week afterwards. It was the larva of Lasiocampa rubi. The Professor exhibited a singular Coleopterous larva, from Zanzibar, of a flattened, ovate form and a steel-blue colour, with two points at the extremity of the body and with long clavate antenne: the head bore some resemblance to that of the Dipterous genus Diopsis. He also exhibited a specimen of the butterfly Hesperia Sylvanus, received from the Rev. Mr. Higgins, of Liverpool, having the pollinaria, apparently of an orchid, attached to the base of the tongue. Also the bulb of an orchid, purchased by Mr. Hewitson with a collection of roots from Keuador, which was found to contain nine living specimens of cockroaches, comprising six different species, viz., Blatta orientalis, Americana, cinerea, Madera, and two others unknown to him, some being of considerable size. Professor Westwood alluded to the varied nature of the collection recently exhibited at the “ Exposition des Insectes utiles et des Insectes nuisibles,” in Paris, and remarked on the absence in the list of exhibitors of the names of many distinguished French entomologists. Mr. Dunning read the following :— Note on Acentropus. “In the Transactions of the Entomological Society of the Netherlands for the present year (Tijd. v. Entom. xix. 1), Heer Ritsema has published FE 34 THE ZOOLOGIST. a Second Supplement to his ‘ Historical Review of the genus Acentropus ;’ and the author, writing in June, 1875, prefaces it with the welcome announcement that he has worked up the literature to the present time, ‘as in all probability I shall be able in this summer to complete the history of the mode of life and the different stages of A. niveus.’ “Whether this expectation has been fulfilled, either in 1875 or 1876, I do not know. But, however this may be, I am sure Heer Ritsema will be glad to learn that, though he and I failed to convince Newman that the genus is properly placed in the Lepidoptera, we did make a convert of Doubleday. In a Supplement to his ‘Synonymic List of British Lepi- doptera,’ published in 1878, Doubleday for the first time admitted Acentropus into that order. Its precise place in the order is not indicated, but it is immediately followed in the Supplement by a species of Ebulea (Botyde), which sufficiently shows that the position which Doubleday would assign to Acentropus is in or near the Hydrocampide. “It may possibly be remembered that, in a paper which the Society did me the honour to publish in the ‘ Transactions’ for 1872 (pp. 121 and 281), I adduced some arguments tending to show that there is really one species, and one only, of this genus; and in a note on p. 156, the position is thus summed up;—‘I am quite in accord with Ritsema when he says that A. Hansoni, Garnonsii, Neve, badensis and germanicus are not specifically distinct from A. niveus; but I go a step further, and say that A. latipennis is identical with A. Hansoni.’ Ritsema is now satisfied that A. latipennis is identical with A. Hansoni, but still thinks that there are two species, of which one (A. niveus, Oliv. = A. Garnonsii, Curt.) has a female with rudimentary wings, and the other (A. latipennis, Méschl. = Zancle Hansoni, Ste.) has a female with normally developed wings. Doubleday, in the Supplementary Catalogue already mentioned, does not go into the synonymy at length, but records one species only, under the name of A. niveus, giving latipennis as a variety, thus :— AcENTROPUS NIvEUS. Niveus, Olivier? latipennis, Moschl., var. “T am not able to throw any further light on the specific identity or distinctness of the two forms. Ritsema, however, refers to his having found many specimens, all males, at Arnheim, and to the capture at Huissen (near Arnheim) of a winged female, which he recognises as A. latipennis. ‘By this capture’ (says he, at p. 15), ‘I am fortified afresh in the opinion that there are two species... .. For it would be otherwise inexplicable that amongst the innumerable winged individuals captured by me at Overween, uot a single female occurred, and that I, by breeding from larve coming from the same place, obtained only females (in number already amounting PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 35 to fifteen), which were furnished with wing-rudiments and live in the water, whilst the first specimen that is captured at Huissen, inside the house at a lamp, is a female with well-developed wings.’ I must confess that I cannot follow this reasoning. Be it remembered that no difference is suggested in the males from the different localities, and the supposed distinctness of the species rests entirely on the possession by the females in the one case of developed and in the other of rudimentary wings. From Armbheim and Huissen, males, and one winged female captured; from Overween, males, and fifteen unwinged females bred. Ergo, two species! Surely this is a non sequitur. It is, in fact, a repetition of Brown’s argument (with which T dealt in the ‘Transactions’ for 1872, p. 142), that the winged female occurs in one locality, and the apterous females in another locality. I can scarcely see how the facts mentioned by Ritsema can be said to fortify any opinion one way or the other. So far from proving the duality, they are quite consistent with the unity of the species. And recalling the facts that Curtis and Dale took both forms of female at Glanville’s Wootton, that Brown bred the apterous and McLachlan captured the winged form at Burton, and lastly that Ritsema himself, in 1870, found pups at Haarlem from which two females emerged, of which one had rudimentary and the other well-developed wings, I venture to hazard a conjecture, that if Ritsema perseveres with his breeding from Overween larve, he will obtain some females with wings as ample as those which flew to the lamp at Huissen. “In conclusion, one word of regret, a tribute to Members this Society has lost. In the short period since the publication of my former paper on Acentropus, of those to whom I then referred as living authors, death has removed no less than three—Henry Doubleday, Edward Newman and Edwin Brown.”—F. G. NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. A History of British Birds. By the late WiLL1AM YaRRELL, V.-P.LS., F.Z.S. | Fourth Edition. Revised by ALFRED Newton, M.A., F.R.S., Professor of Zoology and Comparative Anatomy in the University of Cambridge. Part 10, Nov. 1876. Van Voorst, Paternoster Row. WE note with satisfaction the appearance of another part of the new edition of this standard work, the issue of which is steadily, although, we regret to say, slowly progressing. In some measure, no doubt, the advancement of the work has been retarded by 36 THE ZOOLOGIST. reason of the great labour entailed in satisfactorily working out the small passerine birds, especially in the case of such difficult groups as the Wagtails, Pipits, and Linnets, where a nice dis- crimination of species and a careful comparison of authorities on the subject of geographical distribution has obviously necessitated a vast expenditure of time and trouble. Now that the Editor has almost completed this troublesome portion of the work, we may hopefully look for a more rapid issue of succeeding parts. On glancing through the number before us, we find that much new matter has been introduced, even in the case of very common species. It would scarcely have been supposed that so universally distributed a bird as the common House Sparrow could be anywhere unknown in England, and yet we find the observation (at p. 94, note) that Mr. Rowe states that at Shepstor, a moorland village in Devon, the Sparrow is never seen. The Editor adds that this is the sole exception to its universal distribution in England known to him. Throughout the whole of the palzarctic region this ubiquitous bird has been found, penetrating Siberia, and extending its range across the Asiatic continent as far northward as lat. 61° N., and as far to the east as the confluence of the Shilka and Argun. If the Sparrow of India be not a distinct species, as we believe it is not, we may trace our old friend from Yarkand to Siam and Ceylon. Unable, apparently, to thrive anywhere away from human habita- tion, “it keeps extending its area as desert countries are settled by man, being dependent on him for its living.” “Thus,” says Professor Newton, “the questions are opened whether it should not be regarded as a parasite throughout the greater part of its present range, and what should be deemed its native country. These are points which seem never to have been discussed, but for all that are none the less worthy of consideration.” The Hawfinch, so long described by ornithologists as an accidental visitor, is now known to inhabit various parts of England in considerable numbers, and is believed to be increasing year by year (p. 98). The seed of the hornbeam is said to be a favourite morsel with this bird, “ but it also feeds on the kernels of haws, laurels, plums and other stone-fruits, and in summer makes great havock amongst green pease” (p. 99). The Serin Finch, not mentioned in previous editions of the present work, is now included and figured ; the increased attention NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 37 bestowed on Ornithology having resulted in its detection in various parts of the South of England. The remarks on the nesting of the Siskin deserve careful perusal, and various interesting notes on the local names of birds and their derivation, which are scattered throughout this number, cannot fail to be acceptable to ornithologists. The Birds of Marlborough. By Everarp F. Im Tuurn. Appendix, pp- 10, demy 8vo. Perkins & Son, Marlborough. 1876. On taking up this pamphlet, the first thing that strikes us is the obvious inconvenience which results from publishing an Appendix in a larger form than the volume which it is intended to supple- ment, the original publication being a small post and the present addition a demy octavo. The two consequently cannot be bound together. Saving this objection, the new pages bear testimony to the interest which is taken in one at least of our public schools in the subject of Natural History, and to the progress which is being made in a particular branch of it. We are glad to see that the objections which we pointed out to the systematic arrangement adopted by Mr. Im Thurn in his earlier production have since received his consideration and concurrence, and that he now admits the inconvenience which has been found to arise from it. He says:— “T now think that the plan is useless, and only serves to confuse the reader. If it is adopted in a history of the birds of a district, it should at least be accompanied by a synoptic list of the whole of the birds in their proper order. I now hold this view so strongly that I take the present opportunity to give such a list, in which will be found the names of all the birds which we know to have occurred within a district extending for eight miles round Marlborough.” The reasons for fixing this limit will be found in the preface to the earlier publication. The new species which have been added to the list since 1870 are the Hen Harrier, Whimbrel, Spotted Crake, Pintailed Duck, Scaup, Common Scoter, Shag and Little Gull, almost all of which are inserted on the strength of a single occurrence, while the majority of them can only be regarded as purely accidental visitants to the district. 38 THE ZOOLOGIST. We have not space to criticise the list in detail, but we may observe that some ‘of the author’s corrections of former statements are not improvements. For example, the Hobby, formerly regarded as an occasional visitor, is now marked as “a resident, though a scarce one,” whereas it would have been more accurately described as a summer migrant. The Merlin has been transferred from the occasional visitors to the residents, while there can be no doubt that, as regards the South of England, its place is amongst the winter visitants. Notwithstanding the new paragraph from the ‘ Marlborough Times’ anent the Curlew nesting on Aldbourne Downs, we are still sceptical on the subject, and cannot doubt that the species referred to is the Stone Curlew or Thick-knee. The true Curlew (Numenius arquata), in all-probability, only occurs on passage. The Official Report of the Recent Arctic Expedition. By Captain NareEs, R.N., Commander of the Expedition. With a Map. 8vo, pp. 96. Murray, London. 1876. In an octavo pamphlet of ninety-six pages Captain Nares has given a brief but clear account of all that befell the crews of the ‘ Alert’ and ‘ Discovery’ on their recent Expedition, from the date of their leaving Upernavick in July, 1875, until their arrival home in October, 1876. Notwithstanding the extreme interest which attaches to this Report, and which, in its handy and accessible form, should be read in extenso by everyone, it would be beyond our province to deal with any but the zoological portion of it, and to this therefore we confine attention. Of course, in a general report such as this is, we do not expect to find the details which are most likely to interest readers of ‘The Zoologist,’ for these are reserved for publication in the special Report of the Naturalists to the Expedition. At page 47, the Commander of the Expedition, paying a well-deserved compliment to Captain Feilden, says :— “T have not hitherto alluded to the services of Capt. Feilden, Paymaster R.A., Naturalist to the Expedition, preferring that the Report on the numerous scientific subjects to which he has directed his attention should NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 39 emanate from himself; I will merely state here that no one moment has been lost by this indefatigable collector and observer. He has, moreover, by his genial and ready help on all occasions, won the friendship of all, and I feel confident that their Lordships will highly appreciate his valuable services. I am only doing him justice when I state that he has been to this Expedition what Sabine was to that under Sir Edward Parry.” This is good news for naturalists, and we look forward with pleasurable expectations to the appearance of Capt. Feilden’s own ‘account of his labours. Meantime, on glancing through the Report before us, we do not fail to notice the occasional allusions which are made to the game and wild-fowl procured en route by the officers aud crews of both vessels. In the neighbourhood of Hayes Sound the sportsmen discovered a richly vegetated valley, with numerous traces of Musk Oxen and other game (p. 10). Walrus Shoal, off Franklin Pierce Bay, and a mile to the eastward of Norman Lockyer Island, was so named from the numerous remains of Esquimaux found on the island, who, to judge by the number of bones lying about, had evidently subsisted principally on these animals. At present this neighbourhood may be considered as the northern limit of their migration, only a very few having been s¢en further to the north (p. 16). | “On entering Discovery Harbour,” says Capt. Nares (p. 24), “‘we had the satisfaction of sighting a herd of nine Musk Oxen, all of which were killed; our joy at the good luck being greatly increased by the news that the vegetation was considerably richer than that of any part of the coast visited by us north of Port Foulke, the Elysium of the Arctic regions.” Here the ‘ Discovery’ made her winter quarters, and the“ Alert’ pushed onward alone. The winter quarters of the latter vessel were established off Cape Sheridan, in the highest northern latitude ever yet reached by a ship. Capt. Nares’ account of the situation, and of the long arctic winter, with its unparalleled intensity and duration of darkness for one hundred and forty-two days, is engrossing in the extreme. The vicinity of the winter quarters of the ¢ Alert’ ** proved to be ‘unfavoured by game.” : “On our first arrival,” says Capt. Nares (p. 48), “a few Ducks were seen and five shot; and during the winter and spring three Hares were 40 THE ZOOLOGIST. shot in the neighbourhood of the ship. ‘This completes our list up to the end of May. In March a Wolf suddenly made his appearance; and the same day the track of three Musk Oxen or Reindeer were seen within two miles of the ship, but they had evidently only paid us a flying visit. “In July six Musk Oxen were shot, the only ones seen in our neigh- bourhood. The travelling parties were only slightly more fortunate in obtaining game. “Tn June a few Ptarmigan, Ducks, and Geese were shot, and used by the sick. In July and August they obtained a ration of fresh meat daily. “In March and the beginning of April about two dozen Ptarmigan passed the ship, flying towards the N.W. in pairs: finding no vegetation uncovered by snow in our neighbourhood, they flew on, seeking better feeding grounds, and were nearly all shot subsequently by the outlying parties near Cape Joseph Henry. In the middle of May, Snow Buntings and Knots arrived. A number of the young of the latter were killed in July, but no nests or eggs were found. Early in June, Ducks and Geese passed, in small flocks of about a dozen, flying towards the N.W., but owing to a heavy fall of snow, lasting three days, which covered the land more completely than at any other time during our stay, at least half the number returned to the southward, not pleased with their prospects so far north. “Two dozen small Trout were caught during the autumn and summer in lakes from which they éould not possibly escape to the sea. “The total game list for the neighbourhood of the ‘ Alert’s’ winter quarters is as follows :— “In winter quarters—Musk Oxen, 6; Hares, 7; Geese, 67; King Ducks, 12; Longtailed Ducks, 9; Seal, 1; Foxes, 3. “By short service sledging puarties—Hares, 13; Geese, 83; King Ducks, 5; Ptarmigan, 10. “ Total—Musk Oxen, 6; Hares, 20; Geese, 70; King Ducks, 17; Longtailed Ducks, 9; Ptarmigan, 10; Seal, 1; and Foxes, 3.” At the lakes in the neighbourhood of Cape Beechy, on the voyage home {August 4th) a number of Geese were found, all unable to fly; the old ones moulting were nearly all featherless, and the young ones, although well-grown, were yet unfledged. Fifty-seven were captured (p. 77). The species of Goose is not named, but in all probability it was the Brent. On this, however, as well as on many other points of interest, we shall no doubt be duly enlightened in the forthcoming. special Report of the Naturalists to the Expedition. Le THE ZOOLOGIST. THIRD SERIES. Vot. I.] Pa RA RY Ee 77, [No. 2. ON THE AUTUMNAL MIGRATION OF BIRDS ON THE YORKSHIRE COAST. By Frepericx Boyzs. On the 23rd of October last I went down to Spurn Head to witness the arrival of our autumn immigrants, and an account of what I saw may be of interest to the readers of ‘ The Zoologist.’ First, as to the place, Spurn Point is the terminal portion of a narrow peninsula about four miles in length, which is washed by the sea on the one side, and the Humber on the other. It was in olden times very much broader than it is now; indeed it is not unlikely that the sea will eventually swallow it up altogether, since, even within the memory of man, it has made such encroach- ments that there is now in some places only a very narrow strip a few yards in width unwashed by the tide, and as this is composed entirely of sandhills and “bent” grass, it offers but a poor resistance against a rough sea. The spot is well situated for the observation of migratory birds as they pass overhead or rest after their long journeys, and has long been noted for the number that annually alight there, many of them being so fatigued with their passage that they are only too glad to pitch on the first strip of land they fall in with, no matter how unsuited it may be to their natural requirements. During the two or three days of easterly winds which prevailed previous to my visit, a great portion of the large army of southward- bound birds had already passed Spurn; but I was not too late to see much that was interesting, and to note a few facts that were either new to me, or of which I had previously heard only by G 49 THE ZOOLOGIST. report. The most noticeable feature was the great number of Robins; there were scores, I think I may say hundreds, of them hopping about this out-of-the-way place, which must have formed a great contrast to their usual haunts amongst homesteads and gardens: they had evidently quite lately arrived, and were resting themselves previously to dispersing over the country or moving still further southward. I am afraid they were only getting a scanty supply of food, for what they could find amongst long grass and sand | can scarcely say. In a small walled garden only a very few yards square, containing a few currant trees, &c., there must have been twenty or thirty of them—native informants said fifty at least—searching for food; and in all the ditches and hedgerows of the cultivated lands further from the coast, Robins were very plentiful. This migration of the Redbreast is not new, but I believe an annual occurrence. Last year at this spot they were even more numerous. The next birds in point of numbers were the Goldcrests, or “ Woodcock-pilots,” as they are locally called, and they were everywhere; many of them being so exhausted as to be easily knocked down with a hat, and numbers might have been caught in an ordinary insect-net. Prior to my arrival two Rough-legged Buzzards had been shot; I saw one of them, a very fine female. There were numbers of Blackbirds, Thrushes and Redwings in the neighbourhood, and small parties of the latter were passing at intervals all day long. There was this difference in these birds, that while the Redwings migrated in small flocks, the Blackbirds and Thrushes did so singly or in twos and threes. I saw a Ring Ouzel and a solitary Fieldfare, but was told that a flock of about fifty of the latter birds had arrived so early as the last week in September, and though I told my informant that he must have been mistaken, he assured me he was not. A few Woodcocks were shot, and there were numbers of Short-eared Owls and a single Long-eared one, which latter had killed itself against the telegraph-wire. I met two shooters who had bagged no less than nine Short-eared Owls for “screens”; these were afterwards sent to Mr. Richardson, the birdstuffer here, where I dissected several of them, and found the stomachs empty in every case but one, and this contained the remains of a Blackbird, probably found dead beneath the telegraph-wires. MIGRATION OF BIRDS ON THE YORKSHIRE COAST. 43 Amongst this host of bird-life a few Great Gray Shrikes were seen, and three or four were shot; two of them by myself. The stomach of one of these contained part of a Common Wren, one foot and leg being entire.» I think I have already mentioned in ‘The Zoologist’ that these Shrikes arrive with the Redwings, &c., at this time of the year. Occasionally I disturbed Common Wrens from amongst the long grass, and as Mr. Cordeaux had some time ago, if | remember rightly, expressed an idea that some Wrens he had observed at Spurn in the autumn looked larger than the Common Wren, I procured two for identification. I observed numbers of Chaffinches and a few Bramblings; also a few Lesser Redpolls and one Mealy Redpoll, which last I shot ; it was a male, and alone when J shotit. Some half-dozen Reed Buntings which I saw were no doubt migrants; they were all in winter plumage. A flock of Common Linnets were seen several times, but as these birds breed there amongst the coarse grass, I cannot include them in the migratory list. I saw no Twites, though they are usually present there in the autumn, nor did I see a single Snow Bunting. ‘The only summer birds I noticed were one or two Willow Wrens. All the species I have mentioned were resting from their journey, and would be moving again in a few days: some of them only rest a day and then are off again, and their places are taken by others. Looking at the small area of the ground which formed the scene of my observations, the great host of immigrants that visit it from the north at this season of the year is marvellous. A very striking feature was the great number of Rooks passing overhead at intervals all day long; in some instances the flocks were composed of Rooks and Jackdaws mixed. Hooded Crows in straggling parties and Sky Larks in small flocks were also passing all the day. All these birds were steering a direct southerly course. The birds comprising some of the flocks of Rooks looked tired, and moved slowly at no great altitude ; others, and especially the larger flocks, were high in the air, and were evidently not so much distressed: the Jackdaws were very noisy. This migration of the Corvide had been going on for some few days previously, and would no doubt continue some days longer. Were they noticed passing the south coast? and whence their destination ? [This article was received prior to the appearance of ‘The Zoologist’ for January, and its publication was only delayed for want of space —Ep.] 44 THE ZOOLOGIST. ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM DEVON AND CORNWALL DURING THE AUTUMN OF 1876. By JoHn GatTcomBE. On my return to Plymouth I went to see the variety of Yellow Bunting mentioned in my last notes (2nd ser. 5146), and found it to be really of a bright yellow canary-colour, and not light buff, like Mr. Bond’s specimen. ‘To show how nearly it resembled a Canary in colour, I was told by the birdstuffer that when it was first brought to him, seeing that it was in arough and mutilated condition, aud not for a moment doubting it to be a Canary, he advised the servant to take it back to his master, with the message that he did not consider it worth preserving. This the man did, but brought it again the uext day, saying that his master parti- cularly wished it to be stuffed, that it was shot on Dartmoor, and hoped he would try to do his best with it; upon which Mr. Peacock examined the bird more closely than he did at first, and found, to his surprise, that it was not a Canary but a Yellow Bunting. | Some Scoters were obtained in Plymouth Sound on the 8rd of October, one of which was a very fine adult male. On the following day a white Swallow was killed at Huntshill, near Bridgwater. On the 14th an immature white Spoonbill was brought to Plymouth Market, which was killed on the banks of the St. Germans river, Cornwall. On the 2lst a young Black Tern was shot in Plymouth Sound, and other Terns seen. The last Wheatear noted by me for the season was seen on the rocks at the Devil’s Point, Stonehouse, on the 23rd of the same month, A young Red-throated Diver, shot in the Sound, had the stomach crammed with Sprats: a common name for this species is Sprat Loon. The contents of the stomach of a Cormorant, killed the same day, consisted of three Wrasses of a tolerably good size. A young Merganser was also obtained in Plymouth Sound, and its stomach was found to contain several Blennies, showing that it must have been fishing close to the rocks. Several Long-eared Owls were brought to the birdstuffers on the 80th of October, and flocks of Ring Ouzels were seen on Dartmoor. The following day | observed a Snow Bunting on the cliffs near Mount Batten. The wind was N.E., and very cold, after two days’ frost. ‘This litle bird was so tame that I got within three ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM DEVON AND CORNWALL. 45 yards of it, and then had some difficulty in frightening it away, which I did on account of there being some birdcatchers in the immediate vicinity. Further along the coast, towards the Mew- stone, I observed a large Northern Diver, many Cormorants, and some Wigeon. The Black Redstart, as usual, made its appearance on the _ Devonshire coast during the first week in November. On the 6th of that month I observed an immature bird on the rock at Stone- house: on the 8th a fine old male on the rocks near the Plymouth Citadel, and on the 24th another young bird, near the Devil’s Point, Stonehouse. On the 4th of November I observed about thirty Herons on the mud-banks of the river Tamar, near War- leigh, where there is a heronry. On the same day I examined six Short-eared Owls, which had been brought to the birdstuffer for preservation: they were very plentiful last season. Kingfishers were also numerous on the coast, and many were killed, I am sorry to say. The Common Gull (Z. canus), J think, was rather more abundant than it has been for the last few years. Three Water Ouzels were killed on Dartmoor on the 4th: I examined their stomachs, and found that they contained nothing but insects. A Gray Shrike was seen on the moor between Lydford and Bride- stowe on the 15th. On the 22nd November, whilst walking along the coast beyond Bovisand, I observed a fine pair of Ravens and a Gannet, and surprised a Crow in a nook amongst the rocks, feeding on a dead Herring Gull. On the same day, at Burrow Island, some miles further to the east, large flocks of Sanderlings were seen, and many specimens killed, some of which I examined, and found them to have assumed their full winter dress. A young Common Tern was also obtained: this is very late in the season for this species to be found on our coast. Some adult Great Blackbacked Gulls made their appearance in our harbour on the 25th November, no doubt in consequence of the prevailing severe gales: they do not usually arrive until after Christmas, unless the weather be very stormy. I examined a fine old male which had been shot, and found that the white of the head and neck was nearly as pure as in the breeding season, with only a few very faint dusky lines appearing. Two Gannets were seen off Bovisand Bay on the 20th, and one was shot; the tail of this bird was so much worn that it had the 46 THE ZOOLOGIST. appearance of having been eaten by moths, the shafts of some of the feathers alone remaining. On the 2lst an immature Black- throated Diver was killed in the Sound. Although so similar to the Great Northern Diver in both its immature and winter plumage, I think this species may always be distinguished by its smaller size and the form of its bill, which is more slender and has less of an angle on the lower mandible. The ridge of the upper mandible also is slightly more curved or arched, while the top of the head and back of the neck is of a more pure and uniform gray, without any indication of the dusky band always more or less observable on that of the Northern Diver, even in its immature and winter dress. The-severe and long-continued gales in December brought an unusual number of Great Northern Divers to our coasts, and during that month I examined no less than twelve speci- mens, in the flesh, which had been sent to the Plymouth and Stonehouse birdstuffers for preservation: I also observed as many more in our bays and estuaries. The local papers, too, recorded the capture of several on various parts of the coast. Some Redthroated Divers were also obtained, but they were not nearly so plentiful as the Great Northern. During a heavy gale on December 5th a Gray Phalarope was seen by myself and others swimming close to the rocks near the Devil’s Point, Stonehouse: it was in perfect winter plumage, and very tame, but being constantly persecuted and pelted with stones, it frequently rose and flew a short distance, each time uttering a feeble note or cry, described by the bystanders as a kind of squeak or whistle: this sound I am sorry to say I did not myself hear, being unfor- tunately slightly deaf, nor was I so close to the bird as some others were. I may here mention that the Gray Phalarope is rarely seen on the coast of Devon so late in the year. Cormorants and Shags were very numerous in December, frequenting the bays and estuaries during the day, and returning, singly, or in small parties, to the cliffs and high rocks towards dusk. One day I watched a Shag struggling with a large “ Father-lasher” (Coltus scorpius), which it did not contrive to swallow for a quarter of an hour: Divers and Cormorants generally seem to have much trouble with this kind of fish, on account, I suspect, of its large and well-armed head. Strange to say, whilst writing this, I laid down my pen to watch with my glass a large Northern Diver in difficulties with a OCCASIONAL NOTES. AT fish, apparently of the same kind, in the harbour, not two hundred yards from the window of the room in which I write, and this fine fellow did not seem to manage it a bit better than the Shag. But of all fish a large Flounder or Dab is to the Northern Diver by far the most troublesome to manage. On the 11th December I saw another immature Black Redstart on the rocks at Stonehouse. ‘There were two young male Golden- eyes in the Plymouth Market on the 16th, presumably obtained in the neighbourhood. Little Grebes at the same time were very plentiful in the rivers and estuaries ; thirteen of the latter were seen together on the Laira, and several were brought to our birdstuffers ; some of them, strange to say, still retaining traces of the breeding plumage, having the cheeks and sides of the neck strongly tinged with chesnut or bay, and the breast and belly clouded or spotted with dusky gray. During the same month some Long-eared Owls were killed in the neighbourhood of Plymouth, and several Oyster- catchers were seen and shot on the Plymouth Breakwater. OCCASIONAL NOTES. A CURIOUSLY-COLOURED WerasEL.—On the 25th December, 1876, a Weasel was caught in a rat-trap at Northrepps, Norfolk, which had both fore feet and one fore leg entirely white, also an oblong brown spot in the midst of the white of the abdomen. The Weasel not being subject toa seasonal change of colour like the Stoat, I think this variation from the normal colouring worth recording. The specimen was an exceedingly small female, weighing not quite two ounces.—J. H. Gurney (Northrepps, Norwich). [In the second edition of Bell’s ‘ British Quadrupeds’ it is stated (p. 188) that “‘ sometimes, though rarely, the Weasel becomes white in winter; and the tail, though paler than at other times, always retains its reddish tinge, as that of the Stoat does its black tip."—Ep.] On THE OccURRENCE oF THE LEMMING IN NEWFOUNDLAND.— Since reading the interesting paper by Mr. W. D. Crotch on the “ Migration and Habits of the Norwegian Lemming” (Journal of Linnean Society, vol. xiii. No. 65, p. 83), it strikes me that there is just a possibility that this inte- resting little animal may be found to inhabit the mountains in the northern parts of Newfoundland. It is, I believe, indisputably proved that the Lem- ming is an inhabitant of Greenland: then why not Newfoundland? I know of no other species of the Arvicole, or even of the Muride, which makes sueh ‘ 48 THE ZOOLOGIST. a periodical, and withal suicidal, migration. In my “ Notes on the Zoology of Newfoundland” (Zool. 2nd ser. 2042) will be found the following note :— “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 (Mus) or not I was unable to Jearn. Probably M. musculus, Linn., 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 genus. If true, there is something 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 consequently drowned and their bodies cast on the shore ‘by thousands.’” Without entering into Mr. Crotch’s theory of the probable cause of these periodical migrations of the Norwegian Lemming, I will only add that, like that species, its Newfoundland congener invariably migrates towards the west. May I, therefore, through the medium of ‘ The Zoologist,’ call the attention of naturalists in Newfoundland to this interesting subject? In the neighbourhood of Cow Head Harbour these drowned ‘ mice” have been observed on the land-wash “ by thousands.” Henry Reexs (Thruxton, Hants). OrnirHoLocicaL Nores rrom Copaam.—As usual, in November and December, the gamekeepers here obtained a single female Merlin, which was found dead, having been probably slightly wounded by a shot. When I say as usual, I mean that for the last three years at the same season a single female Merlin has been obtained here, and in each case accidentally, the first two having been shot in mistake for Sparrowhawks. Previously to 1874 the female Merlin was unknown here, and the first specimen was not recognised by the head keeper, although he knew the male well. It would seem that the females of this species arrive along the ‘Thames and Medway in October and November; the males are more commonly seen in March and April. I have never seen an old blue male except in these months, and if I have seen a male Merlin at all in December or January, it has generally been in very bad weather, when the Fieldfares, Redwings and Sky Larks begin moving about in search of food. As a rule, the female Merlin is as nearly as possible the same length as the male Sparrowhawk, viz., twelve inches, but the specimen obtained last year was nearer thirteen inches, and was very white on the nape, like a hen Sparrowhawk. The female Merlin is very distinct from the male on the wing. The extreme shortness of the latter, usually between ten and eleven inches, distinguishes him at once from all other British hawks. I have generally noticed, too, that the male is more given to that struggling, fighting manner of getting OCCASIONAL NOTES. 49 through the air, which makes him look so very like a Missel Thrush in the distance. The female Merlin, on the other hand, is more graceful in her flight, though the motion of her wings in chasing a Lark over a stubble-field is sometimes inconceivably rapid. I have twice seen one chasing a Lark in this manner, though apparently not particularly anxious to catch it. On one occasion I saw a female Merlin dashing at two Partridges on the ground, and on my putting them up she instantly darted after them from a low bough on which she had been sitting. I have just said that the male Merlin does not usually exceed eleven inches in length. It is worthy of note, how- ever, that I have seen black-backed birds from Egypt that must have been fully twelve inches long. ‘The labels had been lost, and therefore the sex was not known for certain, but it seems possible that these may have been females assuming the male plumage, especially as they were not very rufous underneath. I may observe that the under side of the wings looks very white in the Merlin, thus affording a good mark of distinction at a distance. The male and female Kestrels keep very much apart. On December 20th I had not seen a female for many weeks, but on the 6th of that month I saw three males close together; and it is noticeable how often Kestrels and Hobbies go about in trios. I am glad to see by Mr. Rodd’s letter that I am not singular in thinking that there are two races of black-clawed Kestrels, for the white-clawed Lesser Kestrel and Red-legged Falcon may more appropriately be termed “ Kestrelets,” as indeed they have been termed by a writer in ‘The Ibis.’ The extremely small appearance of the male Kestrel when flying at a great height, with wings half closed and feathers close to its body, is remarkable. It looks then no bigger than a Swift, and the fawn-colour of the under parts looks almost black. The female Kestrel may be distinguished by being slightly longer, with a thicker head and neck and much whiter under parts. ‘The rufous of the upper parts is also paler, and looks yellow in the distance. When old, it gets very gray on the rump and tail, and I got one this year in which all trace of rufous had vanished from those parts. Even in immature plumage the male may usually be distinguished by a deeper tone of colouring on the back and darker quills. In this stage he looks a curious coppery colour when sitting. Though more slenderly built, and as a rule a shorter bird than his mate, his wings do not seem any shorter in proportion, and he consequently looks longer-winged. The reverse is the case with the Merlin, the distinction in size being manifest in all the proportions. A son of one of the keepers here saw seven Sparrowhawks together near the village of Chalk. He knows the species well, and thought they looked like an old female and six young ones. I think this was in September. 1876 was a great year for them, and I have seen more female Sparrowhawks during the past autumn than I ever remember to have seen before. I saw one from Egypt the other day which measured sixteen inches, the extra length being chiefly in the H 50 THE ZOOLOGIST. tail. It is somewhat remarkable that the Rough-legged Buzzard was un- recognized here until December 6th, 1876, the common species occurring almost every year about November 1st. On December 6th I went to a well- known haunt of the Common Buzzard to see if any were about, and I at once perceived two Bnzzards hovering over a wood. I noticed several pecu- liarities in their appearance. Their heads were conspicuously light in colour, and their long wings and hovering flight gave them a somewhat aquiline appearance. Waiting about the place, I very soon had a good view of one which was being chased by a Hooded Crow, and presently settled on a low tree. I had now no doubt what they were. The whitish head, white basal half of the tail, whitish under side of the wings, darkeband across the belly, and yellowish edgings to the upper plumage, all convinced me that they were the rough-legged species. Seen on the wing, the mottled plumage of the back presented a sort of marbled appearance, with alternate light and shade. Seen sitting, the yellowish edgings predominated, making the bird look like the light-coloured race of the Sea Eagle which is found in Egypt. The light under side of the wings, excepting one dark spot, is a very sure mark of distinction from the Common Buzzard. But, above all, the flight is unmistakably different. It is almost the difference between a Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk, the wings of Archibuteo lagopus being long ant slightly pointed, instead of straight and round: this feature is very noticeable when the bird is flying away from you, the points of the wings being directed backwards. In the rapid beating of the wings, with alternate smooth glidings and shootings, the Roughlegged Buzzard resembles the Hawks and Falcons rather than the Buzzards. Sometimes even he will sweep along with curved wings almost like a Sea Gull. The head looks less heavy than in the common species. I am sorry to say that within forty- eight hours one of these fine birds was trapped at a Pigeon, which was supposed to have been killed by a Sparrowhawk. On the 18th and 19th December I saw the other. When disturbed he perched on the very top of a tall ash, from which he watched the intruder intently. While looking at the two Rough-legged Buzzards on December 6th they were joined by a third bird, uniformly brown in colour, and with shorter and rounder wing, This I have little doubt was a Common Buzzard. In November last I twice saw a Firecrest here, in company with Goldcrests among bracken. I noticed the black stripe through the eye, which readily distinguishes this bird from the commoner species.—CuIrron. E1pers IN THE Estuary or tHe Moy, Country Mayo.—On the 4th of March, 1870, when visiting the islaud of Bartragh with two friends, our attention was attracted by a pair of large ducks resting at low water on the edge of the channel near the bar. They appeared to be much larger than Mallards, and looked almost as dark as Scoters, with the exception of the front of the neck and upper part of the breast, which were white, and a OCCASIONAL NOTES. Sil light-coloured patch on the back between the shoulders. ‘They were very wary, and would not permit us to approach sufficiently close to identify them. Idid not again see them until the 18th of April, when I observed them diving for food in the channel just opposite Moyview. They had a habit of retiring at low water to the lonely part of the channel near the bay to rest on the sand, and then, with the rising tide, returning to feed between Moy- view and Castleconnor, and occasionally higher up the river, within a mile or two of Ballina. Until the 12th of May I was unable to satisfy myself as to what they really were; but on that day I obtained a close view of them from behind a wall at Killanly, while they were diving close to the shore, and I was then pretty sure that they were Eiders, a species which I had never met with here before. Being seldom on the water after the latter date, I did not see anything of these ducks until the month of July, when I observed one of them flying down the channel near Bartragh, and the salmon fishermen, to whom it was well known as the “ big duck,” told me they had remarked only one bird frequenting the river all the season, its companion having disappeared shortly after I had seen the pair together on the 12th of May. Early in September I saw the single bird again near Moy Fort, within a few hundred yards of the Shipping Quay; and on the 6th of October, as I was returning home from Ballina, I observed it swimming up a small bay ending in a narrow marshy creek near Killanly. It being a very high spring-tide, the creek was completely filled up to the mouth of the little stream, and if the duck got up the narrow part between the banks, it would be concealed from view of the road, and would probably rest there, for some time at least, while the tide was high. Being determined, if possible, to obtain this bird, having already failed so often in doing so, I hastened home for my boat; but as all the men were employed on a distant part of the farm I had no one to row. Not to lose a chance, therefore, two young ladies accompanied me in the boat, and we rowed up the little bay. We saw nothing of the bird until we got nearly to the head of the creek, when he appeared swimming down between the rushy banks. Before coming within shot, however, he dived, passing right under the boat, and did not show himself until outside of us, when he dived again, so quickly after rising to the surface that I found it extremely difficult to shoot him. However, after asmart and most exciting chase of nearly a quarter of a mile, he became rather blown, and being unable to dive so quickly as at first, I got a fair shot and knocked him over, not at all too soon, for my crew were getting exhausted. It proved to be an immature male Hider, and when presenting it to the Royal Dublin Society’s Museum, I asked the taxidermist to ascer- tain whether there were any old wounds such as would account for the bird not migrating to its usual summer haunts. He afterwards assured me he had discovered no trace whatever of any wound beyond the recent shot-marks, and that the bird was in first-rate condition. In the month of December 52 THE ZOOLOGIST. following, my friend Capt. Dover shot a beautiful male Hider near Bartragh, and he thought it probably might have been the companion bird of the one I shot, which had disappeared from the river shortly after I had last seen them together on the 12th of May. Both specimens are now in the Museum of the Royal Dublin Society. The Eider Duck is of very rare occurrence on the Irish coast, and especially so on this part of it, these being the first of the species that I have met with, although I have been shooting on the estuary here every winter for many years past; and Thompson, in his ‘ Birds of Ireland,’ mentions only three specimens of this bird as having been obtained in Ireland—one, a fine male, obtained near Ballbriggan, on the Dublin coast, in May, 1840, and two others shot or the Mayo coast in January, 1842.—Rosert Warren (Moyview, Ballina, Co. Mayo). OrnitHoLocicat Notes rrom Essex.—A considerable number of the Lesser Tern bred last season on the Landguard Fort Common, Felixstow. This no doubt is attributable to the protection now afforded them by Act of Parliament. Amongst the wading birds and sea-fowl shot during August and September last on the Dovrecourt beach, on the flats of the river Stour, the salt-marshes at Ramsay, and other places on the east coast, were Knots, Sanderlings, Green Sandpipers, Greenshanks, Curlew Sandpipers, Tem- minck’s Stints, Red-necked and Gray Phalaropes. A Little Gull also was killed on the Dovrecourt beach on August 24th, and a Sandwich Tern on the Pye Sand on September 12th. On August 28rd two Kentish Plovers were seen, and one of them was shot on the beach at Dovrecourt. A Common Skua was obtained just outside Harwich Harbour on September 12th, and a female Eider Duck in the River Orwell on the 28th October. During the week ending November 4th a great number of Short-eared Owls were killed in the neighbourhood of Harwich. Between the 6th and 10th of that month seven Purple Sandpipers were shot on the stone breakwater, Harwich; while last, though not least, a Spoonbill was shot on the mud-flats of the River Stour on October 20th, by a wild-fowler named Porter, who unfortunately consigned the bird to the spit.—F’. Kerry (The Bank, Harwich). Rare Birps 1x Witrs and Dorset.—On the 22nd October last a Dotterell was observed on the downs in this parish by a parishioner whose accuracy I can vouch for: he whistled to it as it flew past him, and it settled some distance off in the same track he was pursuing, when he rose it asecond time. The Dotterel is annually getting rarer, I am sorry to say, on our Wiltshire Downs; but they are still occasionally seen on the Plain near Salisbury, both in spring and autumn, though not so regularly or in such numbers of late years as formerly. But I am glad to be able to assert that they still form one of that group of comparative rarities in the ornithological catalogue which makes the broad downs of Wiltshire so attractive to the lover of birds, the Curlew, Thick-knee, Dotterel and Golden Plover still being found amongst us, while both the Great and Lesser OCCASIONAL NOTES. 53 Bustard have visited us during the last ten years. In the previous month I saw a fine Hoopoe, which had been shot at Branksome Tower, near Bournemouth, on the 15th September: it was in the hands of Mr. Green, a birdstuffer there. I also obtained in the spring of last year, from the neighbouring parish of Broadchalke, a fine specimen of the Great Gray Shrike (Lanius eacubitor), which had been killed in that parish in Haster week: it is, as far as I can judge, an adult female.-—A. P. Morrgs (Britford Vicarage, Salisbury). Tue Tre or Day at wHicnh Birps tay THEIR Eees.—I am inclined to think that birds lay their eggs rather earlier than has been stated, although not, as some affirm, in the middle of the night, and for this reason :—Some time ago I wished to see what time a certain Green Woodpecker laid, and for three mornings I went about 5.15, and an egg was always there. The next morning I went a little after four o'clock, when she flew out of the hole, but there was no egg; in another hour and a half, however, it had been et Again, when out in the spring mornings about six o’clock, T nearly always noticed that nests previously found had pen an extra egg in them.—C. Marrnew Prior. Bennrit or tas Wrtp Brrp Prorectioy Act.—Mr. Edward Hart, the well-known naturalist, of Christchurch, informed me not long ago that in the spring of last year (1876), during May, there was a flock of some five hundred Bartailed Godwits in the Christchurch Estuary, which remained there for some ten days or a fortnight: they were all in full summer plumage, and presented to a bird-preserver a most enticing shot, but the Act duly protected them. He had been in the business, he told me, many years, and had lived at Christchurch all his life, more than thirty years, and had never seen a similar sight before. ‘This in itself speaks volumes in behalf of the Act.—A. P. Morrzs. ScanpinaviaN Form or THE Dipper in East YorxsuirE.—In my communication to ‘ The Zoologist’ on this variety of the Dipper (2ud ser. 4871) I expressed my opinion that the very few Dippers which had been procured in this district would probably turn out to be Cinclus melano- gaster. Wnowing that a Dipper had been shot at Hasington, and preserved by Mr. Lawton, of that place, when in that neighbourhood a short time ago I called in to have a look at it, and my surmise, in this instance, turned out to be correct, as it is a fine specimen of the black-breasted Dipper. It was shot on the 24th October, 1874.—F. Boyzs (Beverley). Rotter 1x IreLanp.—We have much pleasure in being able to record what we believe to be the second instance of the occurrence of this bird in Treland. A fine specimen has been forwarded to us for preservation, shot some miles from Carrick-on-Shaunou. It was observed from the drawing- room window, pursued by a number of Magpies, when it was followed by the observer and shot. From being much injured internally, we were unable to b4 THE ZOOLOGIST. determine the sex, but believe it to be a female. ‘The stomach contained the remains of numerous small beetles.—Wixuiams & Son (Taxidermists, 2, Dame Street, Dublin). {In Thompson’s ‘ Natural History of Ireland’ (i., p. 366), three instances of the reported occurrence of the Roller in Ireland are mentioned, but the author states that, at the date of the publication of his work, “no example of the bird, unquestionably killed in this island, had to his knowledge come under the inspection of the naturalist.” —EDb. ] Mieration oF tHE Pinp FiycatcHur.—The individuals of this species which occur on our east coast during the autumnal migration are invariably described as being immature birds only. I think it very likely that observers may have been mistaken in this matter, as at this season the sexes, both mature and immature, are scarcely distinguishable. In his ‘Birds of Northumberland and Durham’ (p. 79), Mr. Hancock has very clearly pointed out the close resemblance in the plumage of the sexes in both the young and old birds. ‘They are,” he says, “after the autumnal moult, all of the same obscure brown tint above; the males, however, may be known by the white band on the front of the head, by the white bar on the wing being broader than in the female, and by the basal portion of the tail being a little darker, and consequently by the white of this part being more conspicuous.” The subject of the immigration of this species on the N.E. coast in the autumn is worth looking into by ornithologists and observers living in these districts—Joun Corpravux (Great Cotes, Ulceby). Prep FrycarcuEer 1x YorksHire.—Until the summer of 1874 I was quite unacquainted with the Pied Flycatcher, never having seen or heard of this bird in Airedale. In that year, however, I happened to go into Wharfe- dale, which is separated from Airedale by three or four miles only of hilly moorland, ‘ wildly majestic,” and there to my surprise I found it breeding plentifully. In fact, it was commoner there than the Spotted Flycatcher. I saw no less than six pairs. ‘This local distribution of the species strikes me as being somewhat remarkable—E. P. Burrerrizxp (Wilsden). ReporteD OccurRRENCE OF THE GoLDEN Eacte 1n Durnam.—The following note from a friend at West Hartlepool is dated November 15th, 1876 :—“ On Friday last a Golden Eagle was seen hovering about Seaton Carew, and was shot at by several persons. It afterwards went over in the direction of Throston Cars, aud may have found its way to the Dene, as it was going in that direction.” Now although the date is earlier, it is in all probability the same bird as that mentioned by Mr. Cordeaux (p. 9). I had almost resolved not to send you this note, for I am convinced that second- hand information is of very little value—at least, it will nearly always be found to be misleading. As an instance of this, I may mention that a young Eagle was said to have been shot at Seaton, near Seaham Harbour, about the 1st of November, and a paragraph relating the circumstance appeared OCCASIONAL NOTES. 55 in the ‘Durham Chronicle,’ the size of the bird being also given—the expanse of wing put down at six feet seven inches. I happened to meet the writer of the paragraph, and in answer to questions I put to him, he stated that the bird was ‘ spotted all over,” whence I concluded it might be the Spotted Hagle. Starting for Seaham Harbour the next morning, I asked the birdstuffer to show me the bird in question, when he pointed to a case which contained a Rough-legged Buzzard, a young bird, and a very dark specimen, with scarcely a spot upon it. On my way home I heard of another Eagle that had been trapped at Colehill, some four miles from Castle Eden, my informant saying I might judge of its size when it took a three-dozen hamper to hold it, in which it had been sent off alive to a naturalist at Beverley. I hope this bird has come under the eye of Mr. Boyes, and [am much mistaken if it does not turn out to be a Buzzard also. It would appear that an unusual number of the larger birds of prey are just now paying us a visit, and the keepers, as usual, are doing their best to kill as many as possible—Joun Scrater (Castle Eden, Durham). Scarcity or THE Woop Picron 1x Duruam.—I have previously remarked (Zool. 2nd ser. 4819) on the comparative scarcity of the Wood Pigeon in the neighbourhood of Castle Eden. The same remarks are applicable for the past year, and I wish to ask whether this bird has been observed to be less common in other parts of the country. Can it be that the Stock Dove is destined to take its place here ?—In. [Our correspondent omits to say whether the Stock Dove has been observed to have become more numerous than formerly.— Ep. ] Rooxs arrackine Acorns.—I can corroborate, from personal observation, the Editor's remarks in the last number of ‘The Zoologist’ concerning the attacks on acorns by the Rooks. Close to this Vicarage are the grounds of Mr. F.J. EK. Jervoise, in whose garden stand some ten or twelve fine old Ilea: oaks, and it was only about a fortnight ago, in the middle of December, that I watched for some minutes a whole flock of Rooks busily engaged on the Ilew trees, flying from branch to branch, and balancing themselves as best they could on the extremities of the outer branches while they searched for or secured the coveted prize. It was a scene of wonderful bustle and activity ; and I may mention that a couple of Jackdaws emulated the Rooks in their exertions. It is a common practice with them here, and the rookery being in the adjacent field I have often observed the same scene. I regret I have never accurately noticed what the Rooks did with the acorns—whether they actually swallowed them or not; on another occasion I will notice this point.— A. P. Morres. Rooxs arrackiva Acorys.—There are three oak trees close to our windows, one being not more than ten or twelve feet distant, the branches of which in autumn are covered with acorns. As long as I can remember Rooks have been in the habit of visiting them every season in order to pull 56 THE ZOOLOGIST. off the acorns, six or seven Rooks being often on the trees at a time, and occasionally quite a flock. On alighting on a branch a Rook seizes an acorn in its bill, and, if it is fast on and green, gives it a twist, and flapping its wings wrenches it off and flies away with it. J am of opinion that they eat the acorns, and do not carry them off to extract a worm, as Mr. Harting suggests, since I-never found a maggot or worm in any of the acorns, though I have examined them with a knife over and over again. However, not having seen a Kook actually swallow an acorn, and not having shot any for the purpose of examination, Iam unable to give direct and positive evidence as to the object of their attacks. I was always under the impression that the Rooks conveyed them away to some open field or exposed bank, as they do young potatoes, there to enjoy a meal without fear of being molested or disturbed, having at the same time something firm against which to peck the acorn or potato, as the case might be. Rooks, as a rule, do not swallow even small potatoes whole, but peck them in pieces. I was ignorant of the fact that the acorn has not been generally mentioned as the food of the Rook until Mr. Harting drew attention to it in ‘The Zoologist.’ There are several walnut trees not far from the oaks, but I never saw the Rooks on them, nor did they ever alight on the ground to pick up an acorn, but perhaps that may be accounted for by the trees being so near a dwelling house.—RicuarD M. Barrinaton (Fassaroe, Bray, Co. Wicklow). SporreD RepsHank 1N Hampsuire.—'Three years ago I heard that a specimen of this rare bird was killed in the meadows over here, but as I neither saw it myself nor learnt the name of the person who shot it, I con- sidered the report doubtful. I am now able, however, to record a well- authenticated instance of its occurrence, a specimen having been shot on the 4th of September by a friend of mine. It was very much mutilated, but he gave it to me, and I spared no pains to make it a tolerable specimen. Messrs. Marshall and Stansell, of Taunton, came to see me the day it was killed, and they saw the bird in the flesh. Its weight was five ounces and a quarter, and the stomach contained two worm-like creatures, such as I believe I have seen upon the sea-shore—hence the bird could uot have got them in this neighbourhood. The most noticeable characteristic about the appearance of this specimen is the white triangular markings on the outer web of many of the dark feathers on the wing-coverts and tail, which give them a scalloped looking outline; beside this the tail-feathers are barred very prettily with pale gray. The back is white, as well as the throat and cheeks—in fact, this colour extends to the top of the head, but is intersected by a conspicuous dusky streak which runs from the base of the upper mandible to the eye; crown of the head, back and sides of the neck, more or less gray; breast and belly white, dappled with shades of pale brown and gray. The bill is nearly two inches and a half long, and slender, of a dusky colour, except the base of the lower mandible, which is red. OCCASIONAL NOTES. 57 The legs were red, long, and slender, being bare of feathers one inch and a quarter above the knee. I have been particular in describing this species, as I believe it is the first that has occurred in this neighbourhood, although it is reported to have been killed on more than one occasion in Christ- church Harbour. That this species, or any others which love the sea-shore, should sometimes wander up the course of the River Avon, is not to be wondered at, but its occurrence here may perhaps be worth noting.—G. B. Corsin (Ringwood, Hants). SineutaR VARIETY OF THE ComMON GUILLEMOT.—On the 29th November last I was shooting about four miles out from Poole Harbour-bar, and amongst a lot of other birds I got a very singular variety of the Guillemot. Its bill and legs were of a bright yellowish red colour; the feet yellow also, with white nails. Mr. Hart, of Christchurch, who is setting up the bird, has sent me the following description of it :—Length, 18 inches 10 lines; breadth, 28 inches; bill, from forehead, 2 in.—from gape, 2 in. 11 lines; a streak running back from the eyes to a distance of 1? inch. Upper parts of bird, wings, tail, &c., dusky brownish black; secondaries tipped with white; under parts, white, &c.; legs, yellowish red; webs, dusky; nails, white. In fact, an ordinary full-sized Guillemot in winter plumage. Sub- joined is a note from Professor Newton, which will no doubt be interesting to your readers :—‘“‘ You are lucky to have obtained that very singular variety of the Guillemot. I have heard ofa similar example before, but at this moment I only recollect one instance of it. This is noticed in the defunct German ornithological magazine ‘Naumania’ for 1857 (p. 487), by Dr. Kriiper, who was informed by Pastor Jon Jonsson that such a bird was killed on the 13th July, 1843, at Grimsey, North Iceland. It is said to have been just like an ordinary Guillemot, but had a yellowish red (gelbrothen) bill and feet. The young is said to have had white feet, which would most likely have turned yellow with age.”—T. M. Pix (Westport, Wareham, Dorset). [This singular variety of the Common Guillemot was exhibited by Prof. Newton at a meeting of the Zoological Society held on the 2nd January last, and attracted considerable attention from the ornithologists then present. The bird is in winter plumage, and, in the absence of any other explanation, the pale colour of the bill and legs must be regarded as a variation akin to albinism, or an absence of the normal colouring matter owing probably to some disease.—ED.] Sevacco Herron in Kitiarney.—The capture of this rare visitant at Killarney, on June 10th, 1875, having been only recorded in ‘ The Field’ of June 19th, 1875, under initials, I beg to offer the following details, in order to establish its authenticity. I was fishing with a friend on the Lanne, a river connecting the Killarney Lakes with the sea at Castlemaine Harbour, and was just nearing a quiet and unfrequented part of the river where the Duntor Woods overshadow it, when my attention was attracted by what I 58 THE ZOOLOGIST. appeared at a distance to be a snow-white bird rising out of a reedy marsh near the bank of the river. It flew with a slow and measured flight, passing so near as to enable me to see the pale buff of its back, though its wings were snowy white. I at once knew it must bea stranger. It pitched ona low tree overhanging the water, but having no gun with me I knew it was useless following it, though on my return I saw it standing on one leg on a sandy strand. On the 10th I lost no time in crossing the lakes and speeding down the Lanne, hardly expecting, however, again to see the rare stranger ; but fortune favoured me, and on the same strand where I had last seen him standing I again found him. He allowed the boat to glide past within a few yards of him. I landed and walked up to him, but so careless was he of my approach that I had to allow him a few yards’ law to avoid blowing him to pieces. I hurried into the stream and captured my prize, to find him a beautiful specimen of the Squacco Heron (Ardea comata). A boy herding cattle in the neighbourhood told me he had noticed the bird for some time past. I sent it for preservation to Mr. Thomas Cooke, of Museum Street, London, by whom it was beautifully mounted, and in whose shop it was seen and admired by many ornithologists. It is for the present deposited in the Ornithological Gallery of the Museum of the Royal Dublin Society.— Artuur H. Bowzss (99, Lower Mount Street, Dublin). [The Squacco Heron seems to be a rare bird in Ireland. A specimen was shot many years ago near Youghal, as recorded by Thompson (Nat. Hist. Ireland, Birds, vol. ii. p. 158), and another, also procured in the neighbour- hood of Youghal, is in the Museum of the Royal Dublin Society. So far as we are aware, the subject of the present notice makes the third now recorded to have been met with in the Sister Isle. Seeing that the true home of this species is South-Western Asia, Egypt and Nubia, it is rather singular that the only specimens met with in Ireland should all have been found in the south-west of the island.—Ep. ] Partias’ Sano Grouse In IneLanp.—No small interest attaches to the appearance of this bird in Ireland, as recorded at p. 24. Previous to its sporadic occurrence in the year 1859 it was unknown as a European bird ; the remarkable irruption of more than 700 specimens in 1863, so ably chronicled by Professor Newton (‘ Ibis,’ 1864, pp. 185—222), occurred over a vast area, but has never since been repeated. Now that it has at last reappeared so far west as Kildare, it is extremely probable that this curious Asiatic species has been met with in other places, and it behoves every naturalist to record every authentic instance of its occurrence. The uncertainty which surrounds every question of migration can only be dispelled by diligent colligation of facts —Hexry T. WHarton. _ Maepiss FLocKING In Winrer.—In ‘ The Zoologist’ for November (2nd ser. 5164) I observe Mr. E. P. P. Butterfield laments the wholesale slaughter of Magpies, and their extinction in so many districts. I have great pleasure OCCASIONAL NOTES. 59 in stating that in North Oxfordshire, at least, the day of their extirpation is far distant. In a single walk I have often seen as many as ten, and sometimes many more. In the winter they associate in flocks of from five to thirty-four ; I never saw more together than the latter number at one time. There is very little game preserving here, owing to the want of arable land, and therefore Magpies have ample inducement to remain.—C. Matrurw Prior. Mieration or Birps ar HerticoLanp.—With reference to the notes from Heligoland included in my paper in the January number of ‘ The Zoologist,’ Mr. Gatke has subsequently informed me that the Phylloscopus included with a query (Oct. 24th) was seen by him at close quarters in his garden, and that beyond a doubt it was Phylloscopus fuscatus, a species which has occurred before in Heligoland. On November 4th Mr. Gatke saw another rare visitor, but not having a gun at hand was unable to procure it ; this was Parus Kamschatkensis, with the back entirely of a light bluish ashy gray colour—the very image, as he says, of Mr. Dresser’s figure in ‘ The Birds of Europe.’ There is a typographical error in my paper, p. 10, twenty- ninth line, under the head of Great Gray Shrike—for “‘ Mr. Boyes mentions ten” read “ Mr. Boyes mentions two” of these birds.—Joun Corpraux. Foop or THE DartrorD WarBLER.—Apropos of Mr. Tyacke’s note on the Dartford Warbler (p. 23), I may remark that this bird generally feeds its young on the body of a large yellow moth. I have observed several pairs carrying a light substance in their mouths to the nest, and on shooting one bird from each of two nests, I discovered that the food was the same in both eases. The wings of the moth were removed, and I was not entomologist enough to name the species, but I observed that the birds hunted for their prey among the lower part of the stems of the furze. During the summer Dartford Warblers may generally be found in most of the large patches of furze that are scattered over the South Downs, although, being remarkably shy, they are liable to escape observation, for on the slightest sign of danger they immediately seek the shelter of the bushes. In the winter they seem to be of a roving disposition. I have met with them several times amongst the stunted thorn-bushes and straggling furze on the beach between East- bourne and Pevensey, and, when rabbit-shooting further inland, I have seen them occasionally driven out by the beagles from cover, where no one would ever expect to find them.—E. T. Boors (Dyke Road, Brighton). Move or ProGression or THE Purrin.—Your correspondent, the Rev. Julian G. Tuck, says (2nd ser. 4958) he should be glad to know if any readers of ‘The Zoologist’ have observed the power of the Puffin not only to stand erect on its feet, but also to walk on the rock with apparent ease. I have observed this many times when lying on the top of the cliffs at Flam- borough ; and indeed it must of necessity be so, otherwise how could these birds reach the holes in which they breed? They alight on the ledges, perhaps a yard or more from the entrance of the cleft in the rock in which 60 THE ZOOLOGIST. they may have their eggs or young, and then deliberately walk along the edge and into the said cleft or fissure. These large rents in the rock afford shelter fora number of Puffins. I remember on one occasion noticing a crack in the road quite close to where I was lying. It had only a narrow entrance, and two Puffins, apparently young birds, were continually looking out, waiting, no doubt, for the old ones to bring them food, for I believe the young do not leave the rock until fully fledged. During the time I stayed several Puffins pushed themselves past these two and walked inside. These birds frequently breed on the highest part of the cliffs. There are certain places where you can creep to the very edge of the cliffs and watch the birds come up almost close against you; and I have noticed that if they miss their foothold on reaching the ledge on which they intended to alight, they have apparently no power to raise themselves any higher to regain it or try any other ledge, but turn round and sail out to sea again, some of them dropping a considerable distance before being able to recover themselves; so that it is the impetus they have gained which carries them upward, and having reached their highest elevation their dead weight quickly brings them down again, unless they happen to reach the ledge. ‘This is the case, I think, with all the Alcide.—I’. Borns (Beverley). NEsTING OF THE BraMBLinG IN PertHsuire.—Treating of the Bram- bling, in his new edition of Yarrell’s ‘ History of British Birds,’ Professor Newton says (vol. ii., p. 77), “They are not known with certainty to have bred with us except in captivity.” And again, “ A long search in various publications fails to shew that it is often seen later than the middle of March, by which time it has usually left Britain; one must therefore receive with caution the statements which have been made as to its breeding in England.” Under these circumstances, it is with much pleasure that I now bring to the notice of naturalists an undoubted instance of this bird nesting in Scotland. In the summer of 1866, while fishing on the river Lyon, in Perthshire, I had occasion to climb a beech tree to release the line which had become entangled in the branches, and while so engaged a female Brambling was disturbed from her nest, containing three eggs, which was placed close to the stem of the tree. As I was anxious to procure the young, I left her, and on again visiting the spot in about a fortnight the nest was empty; and, judging by its appearance, I should be of opinion that the young birds had been dragged out by acat. I have mentioned this fact in the recently published Catalogue of my collection of British Birds.—E, T. Boorn (Dyke Road, Brighton). Correction oF AN Error.—In the editorial note appended to Mr. Gatcombe’s communication on the Blue Shark off Plymouth, it was stated, through a typographical error, that this shark is “not common during the pilchard season off the Cornish coast.” The words should have been “ not uncommon,” &ec. PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 61 On THE NATURALIZATION oF THE EpisiE FRoe (Rana esculenta) 1x Norrorx.—In 1859 I announced in ‘ The Zoologist’ (1st ser. 6538—6540) the discovery in 1853, by my brother Mr. Edward Newton and myself, of a colony of Edible Frogs in Norfolk, and at the same time I was satis- factorily able to account for its existence. The colony was afterwards sought for by Mr. Southwell, but in vain; and nothing had been heard for many years of the colonists or their descendants. It was therefore with great pleasure that on the 30th of May last, when I happened to arrive at a small station on the Thetford and Watton Railway, my ears were greeted by some well-remembered notes, which I found to proceed from a little pond only a few yards off, and I soon gained a sight of some of the performers. I was fortunate in being in Lord Walsingham’s company at the time, and he, entering at once into the interest of the matter, contrived after many unsuccessful attempts to bring to land a single example of the species, which is now in the Norwich Museum. On enquiring of a man who came from a house close by, he said that he had known these noisy Frogs so long as he had lived there—more than a dozen years, and by his means other examples were soon after sent to Mr. Southwell at Norwich. On reference to my former note, it will be seen that this species has thus made good its existence in Norfolk for at least. thirty-four years, and I cannot doubt that the last colony I found is one of the results of Mr. Berney’s original importations, as that gentleman has informed me that he has not introduced any more in the meanwhile, and I know of no one else who is likely to have done so. From Lord Walsingham I have since learnt that he has ascer- tained that the species is pretty generally diffused in a south-westerly direction from the place where we found it, and therefore its naturalization in the county seems to be accomplished——Atrrep Nuwron (Magdalene College, Cambridge). PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. Linnean Society oF Lonpon. December 21, 1876.—Prof. Attman, President, in the chair. Mr. Thomas Christy (64, Claverton Street, S.W.) and Mr. Robert Drane (Queen Street, Cardiff) were balloted for and duly elected Fellows of the Society. The Butterflies of Malacca formed the subject of a paper by Mr. A. G. Butler, of the British Museum. A number of new species were described, and a tabular view of the geographical relations given. The author states that of 258 species now registered from Malacca, 36 are endemic ; of the remainder 65 also belong to Assam or Nepal, 38 to Moul- mein, 33 to Ceylon, 94 to Penang, 46 to Singapore, 112 to Borneo, 41 to 62 THE ZOOLOGIST. Sumatra, 87 to Java, 39 to Siam, 26 to China, 2 to the New Hebrides, and 6 to Australia. Thus Malaccan butterflies preponderate towards those of the Indian Region. Two short notices on Hornbills were read. Craniorrhinus Waldeni is the name of a new Hornbill from the Island of Panay, one of the Philippines, and described by Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe, who regards it as allied to C. cassidix. The specimen was obtained by Professor Steere (Univ. Michigan, U.S.) in a virgin forest in the mountainous ranges of the above island; the birds keeping high among the branches of dense- foliaged trees, only one specimen was procured. An extract from a letter from Dr. John Anderson contained some observations on Hydrocissa albi- rostris and Aceros subrujficollis. These Hornbills are kept in the Aviary of the recently-founded Zoological Gardens of Calcutta, and, to the surprise of the writer, he observed that they devour small birds head foremost. They commence by tossing them about and breaking every bone of the body by passing the victim through their bill from side to side. The genital armature in the European Rhopalocera formed the subject of some researches by Dr. Buchanan White. This entomologist, after a careful comparison of the external genital apparatus, holds that the parts in different genera and species exhibit such diversities as, in his opinion, to afford good distinguishing characters. _ A new Crustacean, from Australia, Actemorpha erosa, was described by Mr. E. J. Miers. It was dredged at seven fathoms, and came up along with a number of Caneroidea, &c. ‘To these, indeed, it bears so close a resemblance as at first to be mistaken for one of them, though subse- quent examination has shown that structurally it undoubtedly belongs to the family of Leucosiide. Mr. H. N. Moseley, one of the naturalists on board of H.M.S. ‘Challenger,’ having procured two new and remarkable forms of deep- sea Ascidians, gave a detailed account of their appearance and anatomical peculiarities. The first of these aberrant forms, named by the author Hypbythius calcycodes, was trawled in the North Pacific Ocean from a depth of 2900 fathoms. It is cup-shaped and stalked, and probably is allied to Boltenia; but it differs from this well-known genus, among other things, in possessing a series of cartilaginous plates, developed with sym- metrical arrangement on its otherwise soft test. The second still more bizarre Ascidian has received the name of Octacnemus bythius, and this was raised from a depth of 1070 fathoms. Star-shaped, or of 8-rayed contour, its gill-sac is nearly horizontal, and gill network absent. Muscular pro- longations of the tunic run into the curious conical protuberances of the test; the nucleus is contracted and small like that of Salpa. So far as present knowledge goes, this unique specimen is believed to be without living allies. PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 63 Mr. A. G. H. Doran communicated, through Prof. Flower, an extensive memoir on the small ear-bones, or ossicula auditus, of the Mammalia, the specimens referred to being deposited in the Osteological Gallery of the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. While dealing with these usually diminutive bones in extenso, the author more particularly confined himself to summarising the most noteworthy facts relative to those of the Insectivora, Cheiroptera, Cetacea, Sirenia, Edentata, Mar- supialia, and Monotremata. In the first of these groups, the three little bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) present no positive or marked characteristic. Among the Bats there is a resemblance to what obtains in the Shrews, except in the genus Pteropus, where the malleus or hammer is of a lower type. Of Whales, Balena has the most generalized type; the Dolphins have relatively stout stirrup arches and other marked features ; the Gangetic Dolphin (Platanista) has slightly modified ossicula. Those of the Manatee group (Sirenia) are at once known and distinguished by their relatively great weight and their shape. The Edentata not only differ as a whole, but among the Armadillos-distinctions of the ossicula exist, and Sloths and Ant-Eaters are known by special characters of their own. The Pouched Mammalia (Mursupialia) show a low grade in their small ear-bones; and a still lower form, approaching to that of birds and some reptiles, is evinced in the Echidna and Duck-billed Platypus (Ornithorhynchus paradowus). The author's investigations and comparisons lead him to believe that even in such parts as these inner ear appur- tenances generic and family characters are apparent, and that these are of some value when considered in connection with other features of a more distinctive character. Two botanical papers were read, of which we need only append the titles, namely, a “ Note on the Uses of a Commercial Cane termed ‘ Whangee,’ a Species of Phyllostachys,” by Mr. Jobn R. Jackson, of Kew; and “Some Morphological Notes on certain Species of Thunbergia,” by Mr. Marcus Hartog, of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Ceylon. ZooLoeicaL Society oF Lonpon. January 2, 1877.—Prof. Newron, F.B.S., Vice-President, in the chair. The Secretary read a report on the additions that had been made to the Society’s Menagerie during the month of December, and called attention to a Snowy Owl captured in Ireland, presented by Mr. John Kendall, and to the recent abundance of specimens of this bird. Prof. Newton exhibited and made remarks on a specimen of a variety of the Guillemot (Alca troile), with yellow bill and legs, which had been lately shot by Mr. T. M. Pike on the coast of Dorset. 64 THE ZOOLOGIST. Prof. Garrod read a paper on the osteology and visceral anatomy of the Ruminantia, in which many facts concerning the anatomy of the Cervide and the Cavicornia were brought forward, especially with reference to the shape of the liver and the structure of the generative organs in these animals. Among the most important of these was the observation that the uterine mucous membrane of the Musk Deer (Moschus moschiferus) presents no indications of the presence of cotyledons, the contrary being the case in all other Ruminants. Professor Garrod likewise made a suggestion as to a proposed method of expressing the relations of species by means of formule. A paper by Messrs. Sclater and Salvin was read, containing the descrip- tions of eight new species of South-American birds, namely, Huphonia Finschi, Pheuticus crissalis, Octhaca leucometopa, O. arenacea, Chloronerpes dignus, Celeus subflavus, Chamepelia Buckleyi, and Craa erythrognatha. Mr. R. Bowdler Sharpe read a paper on some new species of Warblers from Madagascar, which had been recently added to the collection in the British Museum, and were proposed to be called Apalis cerviniventris, Baocerca flaviventris, and Droma@ocercus brunneus, the last-named being a new genus. A communication was read from Mr. G. S. Brady, containing notes on Freshwater Mites which had been obtained from lakes and ponds in England and Ireland. January 16, 1877.—Prof. Newron, F.R.S., Vice-President, in the chair. Capt. H. W. Feilden exhibited and made remarks on some of the birds collected by him in the Arctic Regions during the recent North Polar Expedition. Sixteen species were enumerated as haying been met with on the shores of the Polar Basin, aud north of 82° N.L., but some of these only occurred as stragglers. The Rey. Canon Tristram exhibited and made remarks on a specimen of a rare terrestrial Dormouse (Kliomys melanurus), obtained by him in Southern Palestine, where it is found in desert places. Mr. P. Sclater exhibited and called attention to a collection of Mammals, Birds, and Insects, which had been made by the Rev. George Brown during his recent residence in Duke of York Island, and during excursions to the neighbouring Islands of New Britain and New Ireland. Prof. A. H. Garrod read a note on a variety of the Domestic Swine in the Society's collection, and pointed out that the presence of rudiments of a supplementary digit between the third and fourth digit might be the cause of the consolidation of the hoof, observable in this variety. A communication was read by Mr. Henry Durnford containing notices of _ the habits of some small mammals obtained in the neighbourhood of Buenos Ayres. Or PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 6 A communication was read from Mr. Gerard Krefft, containing notes on a young Cassowary (Caswarius australis), which had been obtained from North Australia, and was destined for the Society’s Colleetion. A communication was read from Mr. G. French Angas, containing a description of a new species of Helix from South Australia, which he proposed to call Helia (Rhagada) Kooringensis. A second paper by Mr. Angas contained the description of two genera and twenty species of marine shells from different localities on the coast of New South Wales.—P. L. Selater. Enromonoeican Society or Lonpon. December 6, 1876.—Sir Srpney Smiru SaunpErRs, C.M.G., 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,’ nos. 173 and 174; presented by the Society. ‘The Zoologist’ and ‘Newman's Entomologist’ for December; by T. P. Newman. ‘Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine’ for December; by the Editors. ‘The Naturalist; Journal of the West Riding Consolidated Naturalists’ Society,’ no. 17; by the Society. ‘Nature,’ nos. 366—370; by the Publishers. «A Monographie Revision and Synopsis of the Trichoptera of the European Fauna;’ by the Author, Robert McLachlan. ‘British Gall Insects;’ by the Author, Albert Miiller, of Basle. ‘The Canadian Entomologist,’ vol. viii., nos. 9 and 10; by the Editor. ‘L’Abeille,’ no. 182; by the Editor. ‘La Famille des Epheéméerines,’ par le Rev. A. E. Eaton, traduit de l’Anglais; by the Translator, Dr. Emile Joly. ‘ Tijdschrift voor Entomologie,’ 3e & 4e Aflevering, 1875-6; by the Entomological Society of “the Netherlands. ‘ Entomologische Monographieen,’ von Dr. Fr. Klug: presented by Edward Sheppard, Esq. ‘Die Schmetterlinge Deutschlands und der Schweiz,’ Band ii, Heft 2; by the Authors, H. v. Heinemann and Dr. Wocke. ‘Genera Cimicidarum Europe,’ disposuit O. M. Reuter; ‘Capsine en America boreali in Museo Holmiensi asservate,’ descripte ab O. M. Reuter ; ‘ Bidrag till Kannedomen om Syrphus flugornas larfyer och puppor,’ af Filip Trybom ; ‘ Species Tortricum et Tinearum Scandinavie,’ enumeravit H. D. J. Wallengren; ‘Insecta Transvaaliensia, Bidrag till Transvaalska Republikens i Sédra Afrika Insekt-fauna,. af H. D. J. Wallengren ; ‘Tvenne for Skandinaviens Fauna nya Pyralider,’ af H. D. J. Wallengren ; by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences of Stockholm. K 66 THE ZOOLOGIST. Election of Members. M. Eduard Gruhe, Director of the Zoological Collection in the University of Breslau, and Dr. Katter, of Putbus, in the Island of Riigen, were balloted for and elected Foreign Members. Lord Dormer, formerly a Subscriber to the Society, was re-elected a Subscriber. Exhibitions, &c. Mr. McLachlan (on behalf of Mr. W. Denison Roebuck, of Leeds) ex- hibited some locusts, a swarm of which had been observed to pass over Yorkshire during last autumn. _ He had examined the specimens carefully, and had compared them with the descriptions of the two species which occasionally visited this country, viz., Pachytylus migratorius and P. cine- rascens ; and he had come to the conclusion that the specimens belonged to P. cinerascens, which he remarked was supposed to breed in some parts of the north of Europe, and therefore might be expected more frequently in this country. Mr. W. C. Boyd exhibited living larvee of Brachycentrus subnubilus, in their quadrilateral cases, reared from the eggs. ‘They were of much larger size than those previously exhibited by him at the November meeting in 1873, being more than half an inch long. Mr. S. Stevens (on behalf of Mr. Edwin Birchall) exhibited a specimen of Cirrheedia xerampelina, var. unicolor, Agrotis Lucernea, var. latens, and what appeared to be a small var. of Zygwna filipendule, with the pupa-case and cocoon. They were all taken by Mr. Birchall in the Isle of Man. Mr. Meldola referred to a request made by Mr. Riley at the meeting in July, 1875, that entomologists would supply him with the cocoons of the parasite, Microgaster glomeratus, which were much wanted in America to destroy the numerous specimens of Pieris rapee which had been imported into that country. Mr. McLachlan had at a subsequent meeting stated that M. glomeratus was parasitic on P. brassicew, but doubted if it ever attacked P. rape, and Mr. Meldola now exhibited the insects he had found parasitic on these two species—that on P. rape being Pteromalus imbutus, Waltl. (one of the Chalcidide), while on P. Brassice he had observed Microgaster glomeratus and a Dipterous species, 'Tachina angusta. Speci- mens of all of them were exhibited. Mr. E. A. Fitch remarked that Van Vollenhoven had obtained Pimpla examinator from P. Napi. Mr. Smith stated that he had received a nest of Osmia muraria, sent to him from Switzerland. The cells were empty, the Osmie having taken their departure, but one closed cell was observed to contain a yellow larva, which ultimately proved to be that of a beetle belonging to the Cleride, Trichodes alvearius. PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 67 Mr. Hamilton James, of Truro, forwarded a photograph of a specimen of Deiopeia pulchella, taken on the 12th October last at Portscatter, near Falmouth, stating that it was considered a very rare insect in Cornwall. Sir Sidney S. Saunders exhibited a large box of insects of all orders, which had been collected in Corfu by Mr. Whitfield, and were now for sale. Sir Sidney Saunders also exhibited several larvee of Meloide in their first stage, received from M. Jules Lichtenstein, of Montpellier, consisting of— 1. The primary larval form of Sitaris Colletes (Mayet), found on Colletes succincta, feeding on ivy-blossoms in September, the former described by M. Valery Mayet in the ‘ Annales’ of the French Entomological Society, 1875. 2. The same larval stage of Mylabris melanura obtained from the egg, which M. Lichtenstein had not succeeded in rearing to the second stage. Like other larve of Meloide in their primary form, it is furnished with triple tarsal appendages. A description of this larva will appear in the aforesaid ‘ Annales.’ 3. The exuvie of the primary larva of Meloé cicatricosus (from the egg), and also the second stage of the same larva, still bearing legs. 4, The primary larva of Meloé proscarabeus (?), differing from the foregoing in the structure of the antenne. ‘Taken on an Andrena. 5. The corresponding larval stage of Meloé autumnalis (?), also differing as aforesaid. Taken on Scolia hirta. Also specimens of the Phylloxera of the vine in various stages, con- sisting of—a. The root-type; 6. The leaf-gall type; c. The winged stage ; d. The male of the apterous sexual race. Mr. C. O. Waterhouse made some remarks on the ‘Catalogus Cole- opterorum’ of Gemminger and y. Harold, the concluding volume of which was now published. The total number of generic names given is 11,618, of which 7864 are adopted genera, and 4254 appear as synonyms. The total number of species recorded is 77,008. Dejean’s first Catalogue, published in 1821, gave 6692 species, while that of 1837 (the third edition) gave 22,399 species. of which, however, only a portion were then described. Taking into consideration the number of species described during the publication of the Munich Catalogue, the number of described species at the present date could not be less than 80,000. Thus, since 1821, the known species of Coleoptera had increased twelvefold. Mr. C. O. Waterhouse read “ Descriptions of Twenty New Species of Coleoptera from various Localities.” Annual Meeting, January 17, 1877.—Sir Sipney Suirn Savunpers, C.M.G., Vice-President, in the chair. An Abstract of the Treasurer’s Accounts for 1876 was read by Mr. Dunning, one of the Auditors, showing a balance of £6 8s. in favour of the Society, 68 THE ZOOLOGIST. The Secretary then read the Report of the Council for 1876. The following gentlemen were elected Members of Council for 1877 :— Sir Sidney Smith Saunders, Professor Westwood, Rev. A. E. Eaton, Rev. T. A. Marshall, and Messrs. H. W. Bates, G. C. Champion, J. W. Douglas, J. W. Dunning, F. Grut, R. Meldola, E. Saunders, H. T. Stainton, and J. Jenner Weir. The following ‘officers were subsequently elected for the year 1877 :— President, Professor Westwood, M.A., F.L.S., &c.; Treasurer, J. Jenner Weir; Hon. Secretaries, Messrs. F. Grut and R. Meldola; Hon. Librarian, Rey. T. A. Marshall. The President (Prof. Westwood) having been unfortunately prevented from attending by an accident, the reading of his Address on the progress of Entomology for the past year was unavoidably postponed until the next meeting, on the 7th February. A cordial vote of thanks was given to the President, with an expression of regret at the cause of his absence on this occasion. A vote of thanks was also given to the Treasurer and Secretaries.—I’. G. NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. The Geographical Distribution of Animals. By ALFRED RussEL WALLAceE. Two Vols., 8vo. London: Macmillan & Co. 1876. In the Preface to this important work the author describes it as “an attempt to collect and summarise the existing information on the distribution of land animals, and to explain the more remarkable and interesting of the facts, by means of established laws of physical and organic change.” Of living naturalists Mr. Wallace is probably the one best fitted, by his training and experience, to deal with the subject which he has undertaken: he is familiar with the aspects of life in three of the richest zoological provinces of the world,—namely, South America, and the Indo- and Austro-Malayan Archipelagos,—and those who know him personally are aware that the geographical distribution of animals has been a study with him for the last twenty years. The two published volumes which embody the result of his labours are divided into four parts, z.e., the Principles and General Phenomena of Distribution; the Distribution of Extinct Animals; Zoological Geography; and Geographical Zoology. NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 69 Tt would be impossible, within the limited space at our disposal, to discuss in detail the different subjects dealt with in the twenty- three chapters into which the work is divided, and we must content ourselves with presenting to our readers a faint outline of the general argument. Mr. Wallace is of opinion that the existing continents and deep oceans are of great geological antiquity; that during the eocene period the bulk of the land was on the northern side of the Equator; and that in that hemisphere the struggle for existence was more severe than in the southern hemisphere. Con- sequently the highest and most specialized forms of animal life are to be found north of the Equator. In supporting his views, with much sound reasoning, Mr. Wallace has adopted the six zoological regions first proposed by Mr. Sclater in 1857, and these are now generally accepted as natural divisions of the earth’s surface. With the exception that Mr. Sclater’s Indian Region is altered by Mr. Wallace, in name only, to the Oriental Region, no other important change is suggested. The six regions accordingly stand as the Palearctic, the Ethiopian, the Oriental, the Australian, the Nearctic, and the Neotropical; each being divided into four subregions. The only subregion in which no mammals exist, except Bajs, is New Zealand; and Mr. Wallace explains this fact by supposing that New Zealand has not been connected with any other part of the earth’s surface since the creation of the Mammalia. The great region of Australia is almost destitute of placental mammals, showing, according to our author, a very ancient isolation of that part of the world. The various cases of the existence of isolated forms in South America and South Africa are also explained by the supposition that these regions, separated in remote geological times, were large islands, and the struggle for existence there not having been so severe as in the northern hemisphere, low forms of J/ammalia, such as the Edentata, Caviide, and others have survived to the present day. Weare very much disposed to accept this reasoning, and it well explains the existence of such low forms of birds as Apteryx in New Zealand, the Tinamide, Dicholophus, and others in South America, Rhinochetus in New Caledonia, and such an aberrant form of the Accipitres as Serpentarius in Africa. In the opinion of Mr. Wallace, the present state of the globe is one of zoological depauperization, caused by the glacial period. 70 THE ZOOLOGIST. It was probably owing to the separation of North from South America, at that period, that the complete extinction of the Proboscidea, Equide, Rhinocerotide, and other Ungulata was there effected. These animals were probably driven south by the cold, and, not having a large southern continent to retreat to, were completely exterminated. The existing Tapiride are the only descendants amongst the Pertssodactyla that exist in the Neotropical Region at the present day, none being now found in the Nearctic Region. Amongst insects, Mr. Wallace has wisely confined his attention to the groups best known, as the Rhopalocerous Lepidoptera and the more showy amongst the Coleoptera, because these alone have been sufficiently studied to afford adequate material for generalization. Mr. Wallace has a singular power of suggesting an explanation of a difficulty, and this is well shown in his observations on the occurrence of numerous insects in South Temperate America which belong to genera found otherwise in north temperate regions only. Amongst the diurnal Lepi- doptera, for instance, species of the genera Hipparchia, Argynnis, and Colias, and several genera allied to Evrebia, are found in South Temperate America, and form a sufficiently remarkable group of northern forms, to render an explanation of their origin necessary. Mr. Wallace, indeed, admits that both in diurnal Lepidoptera and in Carabide, the northern element is fully equal to the tropical, if it does not preponderate over it. The whole of his argument is too long to be here extracted, but he points out that the great mass of neotropical butterflies are forest species, and for countless ages have been developed in a forest-clad tropical country. The north temperate butter- flies, on the other hand, are for the most part species frequenting the open country, haunting pastures, mountains, and plains, and often wandering .over an extensive area. These would find in the higher slopes of the mountains vegetation and conditions suited to them, and would occupy such stations in less time than would be required to adapt and modify the forest-haunting groups found in the American lowlands. It should not be forgotten, also, that along the higher regions of the Andes there is an almost con- tinuous temperate region, which would provide for the animals of Northern Temperate America a district along which they could pass through Tropical America into the cooler regions of the south. NOTICES Of NEW BOOKs. 71 Some naturalists are of opinion that the time has not yet arrived for the production of a book of such high aim as that now under consideration. It must be admitted that systematists are sadly behind-hand in the arrangement of many classes of Vertebrates, the classification of birds, for example, being in almost as confused a slate as ever; but we can see no reason why the present genera- tion of philosophical naturalists should be condemned to exist in a © state of zoo-geographical ignorance. In a concluding paragraph Mr. Wallace expresses a hope that his work may bear to the eleventh and twelfth chapters of Mr. Darwin’s ‘ Origin of Species’ the same relation which that author’s ‘Animals and Plants under Domestication’ bears to the first chapter of that work. It appears to us that the standard of excellence aimed at in the present undertaking has been satisfactorily and ingeniously attained. Life of a Scotch Naturalist: Thomas Edward. By SAmve. Sites, Author of ‘ Lives of the Engineers,’ ‘Self Help,’ &c. 8vo, pp. 438. London: Murray, 1876. Wo is Thomas Edward, to whom the Queen has been pleased to grant a pension of fifty pounds per annum? and what has he done to merit such distinction? are questions which many persons no doubt have asked themselves on reading in the newspapers the recently-published letter of the Prime Minister. The answer is to be found in the book before us, and we have little doubt that to the majority of readers the story will be as little known as the name of its hero. To readers of ‘The Zoologist,’ however, the name of Thomas Kdward will be familiar, as that of a frequent contributor to the pages of that journal, and a genuine out-door observer and field naturalist, who in a quiet, humble way, has done much to further the progress of his favourite science. A shoemaker by trade, at Banff, and a poor man, he had not the means to inform himself as others with similar tastes have done. With an intense love for Natural History, and a perpetual thirst for knowledge, “he endured,” says his biographer, “as much hardship for the cause of Science as soldiers do in a prolonged campaign.” He always lamented his want of books, and in the 72 THE ZOOLOGIST. course of his collecting had frequently to send his specimens to other naturalists to be named, and thus he often lost them. “Edward,” we are told, “had to begin at the beginning with everything.” He did not possess a single work on Natural History. He did not know the names of the birds and animals that he caught, or of the plants which he collected. For many years after he had begun his researches his knowledge of natural objects was obtained by chance. He knew little of the nature and habits of the creatures that he went to seek; he scarcely knew where or how to find them. Yet his very absence of knowledge proved a source of inexhaustible pleasure to him. All that he learnt of the form, habits, and characteristics of birds and animals was obtained by his own personal observation. Besides his intense love of Nature he possessed invincible determination, and this gave him an immense advantage. Whatever object in Natural History he desired to possess, if it were possible to obtain it, he never rested until he had succeeded. He sometimes lost for a time the object of which he was in search, because he wished to study its habits: for this purpose he would observe long and patiently before obtaining it, by which means he acquired an amount of information such as no book on Natural History could have supplied him with. Dependent for an income upon his trade, he worked at it the livelong day, but early dawn and gathering twilight saw him far afield in eager search of natural living objects, while snatching his sleep at intervals between departing night and returning day. Occasionally, when kept late at work, he was prevented from enjoying his evening ramble. After going to bed, and taking a short sleep, he would set out in the dark in order to reach a particular spot by daylight, whence he would work his way homeward as the hour for business approached. Sometimes in his enthusiasm he would remain out all night, sleeping in a fox’s or badger’s “earth” which he had enlarged for the purpose: nor did he scruple to avail himself of a dry ditch, or even to lie upon the bare ground, when the exigencies of the case seemed to require it. How he managed to escape severe illness is a mystery; his constitution, it may be said, seemed “ made to last.” On such occasions his endurance was generally rewarded by some exciting adventure, or by the acquisition of some rare specimen of which he had long been in search. NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 73 Although he never succeeded in catching a Weasel asleep, he was once caught asleep by a Weasel! It happened thus:—Ex- hausted with fatigue he had flung himself down by a dyke-side and fallen asleep, having previously placed in his hat for safety some young birds which he had found during his ramble. He had not slept long when he was suddenly awakened by something cold pressing in between his forehead and his hat. It was a Weasel, who had scented the birds and was trying to get at them. Edward threw him away to some distance amongst the grass, and went to sleep again: but the Weasel found his way back, and again attempted to displace his hat. Three times was the pertinacious little animal repulsed and flung to a distance, and three times did he return to the attack; until the would-be sleeper was at length compelled to strangle him to secure a night’s rest. He had a very similar adventure with two Rats, and on another occasion he had a most desperate encounter with a Polecat which he had seized with his bare hands, and after a severe struggle, in which he was terribly bitten and scratched, he succeeded in forcing down its throat some chloroform which he always carried with him for the purpose of killing insects, and eventually despatched it. Fancy administering a dose of chloroform, single-handed and bare- handed, to a Polecat! Verily these Scotch naturalists have no lack of courage. He had an odd adventure one night with an Owl. He had fallen asleep in a fox’s “ earth,” with his head upon the lock of his gun: before entering the burrow he had caught a Field Mouse, which he wished to take home alive, and he thought the best way to do this was to tie a string, about six feet long, round its tail, and attach the other end to his waistcoat; the little fellow had thus full liberty to the end of his tether. While Edward was sleeping soundly, he was awakened by something tugging at his waistcoat, and by hearing some terrific screeches close to his head. Starting to a sense of recollection, he remembered the Mouse, and pulled back the string to which it had been attached. The Mouse was gone: nothing but the skin of his tail remained. He looked up and saw an Owl sitting on a tree a few yards off. The situation was explained. Being resident, as we have said, at Banff, his rambles extended coastwise along the shore of the Moray Firth for about seven iL 74 THE ZOOLOGIST. wiles in one direction and about six in another. These excursions also extended inland for about five or six miles. He had thus - three distinct circuits (many views from which have been beauti- fully drawn by Mr. Reed as illustrations to the present volume), and although he only proceeded on one at a time, he generally managed to visit each district twice a week. The use which he made of his time may be judged from the result of these excursions. His accumulation of natural objects became something extraordinary: in eight years he had preserved nearly 2000 specimens of living creatures collected in the neigh- bourhood of Banff—quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, fishes, crustacea, corals, sponges, and other objects—to say nothing of a large collection of carefully-dried plants, the whole of which he learnt to mount or preserve himself. It is melancholy to think how this fine collection was afterwards sacrificed! Yet so it was. Quitting his native place, as many a man has done, “to better himself,” Edward left Banff for Aberdeen, taking with him the whole of his treasures, and made a painful effort to gain a livelihood by opening his museum to the public at a small charge for admission. But “the people of Aberdeen were not yet prepared for such an exhibition, especially as it had been the work of a poor man. He was candidly told that he had come several centuries too soon !” Very few visitors came, and those who did come knew very little about Natural History. The receipts, never large, became less and less, until, to save his family from starvation and to pay off debts unavoidably and most unwillingly incurred, the whole. collection was one day sold for the pitiful sum of £20 10s.! It was purchased by a Mr. Grant for a son who had a taste for Natural History, and the specimens were all removed to his house at Ferryhill. They were afterwards removed to St. Nicholas Street, where they were stored up in some damp and unsuitable room, and, being otherwise neglected, it is believed that the whole collection eventually went to ruin. lt must have been a bitter pang to part with it—the cherished result of years of toil and trouble; but stern necessity stared him in the face, and Edward was glad to receive even the paltry sum he did to free him from the terrible anxiety of living without an income. He quitted Aberdeen and returned to Banff to work at his old trade, and felt happier to be amongst his old friends than with the unsympathetic folks he had left behind him. NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 73 Fortunately for others, although the collection had gone, the knowledge gained in forming it had been well stored, and, through the kindness of his friend the Rev. Mr. Smith, of Monquhitter, Edward, whose keen powers of observation gave eloquence to his descriptions, was enabled to impart much valuable information to many of his brother naturalists. Those who would know something of what he has accomplished in only one department of Zoology, should consult Bates’ and Westwood’s ‘ History of British Sessile-eyed Crustacea,’ wherein his services are fully acknowledged. Of the numerous Crustacea mentioned in that work, Edward collected one hundred and twenty- seven in the Moray Firth, of which twenty were new species! Many of his beetles and other insects he sent for identification to our late friend Edward Newman, who named them for him, and assisted him liberally with books on Natural History that were likely to be useful to him. Their correspondence originated in his articles on the “ Birds of Banffshire,” which began to appear in ‘The Zoologist’ in August, 1856, although this was not his first contribution to this journal. Mr. Newman asked for some informa- tion about fishes, which Edward promised to supply: the result was that many new fishes were found in the Moray Firth, simply from his determination to search for, collect, and preserve them. When Mr. A. G. More was collecting material for his excellent papers on the distribution of birds in Great Britain during the nesting season, published in ‘The Ibis’ for 1865, Edward was asked by him to act as observer for Banffshire and the northern part of Aberdeen, in which capacity he communicated much useful information, which Mr. More fully acknowledged. But his most important correspondence has been with Mr. Couch on British fishes, and with Mr. Spence Bate and the Rev. A. M. Norman on Crustacea. To these subjects two chapters (XV. and XVI.) have been wisely devoted in the volume before us, and Mr. Smiles has rendered a service to zoologists by bringing together in this way much valuable information which was previously scattered throughout various books and periodicals. These chapters are very instructive, and should be read in eatenso. Like-many others, not alone naturalists, Edward has had his share of loss and disappointment. What more vexing than to lose a beautiful series of Lepidoptera through the depredations of mice, and to have a valuable collection of dried plants, which had 76 THE ZOOLOGIST. taken years to prepare and name, entirely destroyed through the ill-mannered behaviour of a couple of cats? There was one Crustacean about which some difficulty had arisen. It was Mysis spinifera, which Edward had first found in the Moray Firth in 1858. He had sent it to one of his correspond- ents to be named, but it remained unnoticed and unknown for at least four years, when it was re-discovered in Sweden by M. Goes, who at once published the fact. “Thus,” says Edward, “the first finder, as well as the country in which this Crustacean was first found, have both been ignored in the records of Science.” But the day of disappointment, we trust, has passed: after years of unceasing labour in the pursuit of knowledge, and withal of patient struggling with adversity, perseverance has had its reward. Fortune at length has smiled upon our naturalist (in a twofold sense), and few will read the ‘ Life of a Scotch Naturalist’ without echoing the words of the Queen, who, “touched by his successful pursuit of Natural Science under all the cares and troubles of daily toil,” has graciously conferred on him a well-merited reward. If we have abstained from criticising Mr. Smiles’ share in this book, it is because we think that the sense of gratification which he must feel in having been the means of obtaining a pension for a most industrious and deserving man will be a far greater recompense to him than any praise bestowed by unknown critics. Whether it is desirable to write a man’s biography in his life- time is a question upon which there may be two opinions. Mr. Smiles has anticipated the objection in his preface, where he pleads justification on the ground that his hero’s life is well-nigh ended, and that bis work is done. A further argument in his favour may now be found in the fact that had the ‘ Life’ not been written, the Scotch naturalist would not have received his pension. Let us hope that he may yet live long to enjoy it. Our Birds of Prey; or, the Eagles, Hawks, and Owls of Canada. By Hewry G. Vennor, F.G.S. With thirty Photographic Illustrations by W. Notman. 4to. Dawson Brothers, Mon- treal; Sampson Low & Co., London. 1876. Mr. Vennor, in his “ Introduction,” tells us that he has been engaged on the present work for thirteen years; and he writes :— NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. zi “From the year 1865 to the present, in connection with explorations undertaken on behalf of the Geological Survey of Canada, I have had unusual facilities for field observation, and have traversed the greater part of that portion of Ontario which may be described as lying between the Ottawa river and its sources, and the St. Lawrence and its great lakes, a region the interior of which is but thinly settled, and comparatively unknown; also a large part of the country lying to the northward of the Ottawa river, between the Lake of Two Mountains and Pembroke.” The author further informs us that he considers that the Ornithology of Canada has received a very fair share of attention from naturalists both at home and abroad. In this opinion, however, we cannot concur, for at present Canada compares in this respect very unfavourably with the United States. We therefore welcome with pleasure this first instalment of a work on the birds of that country, for we trust that Mr. Vennor will receive such an amount of appreciation as will induce him to continue his publications on this interesting subject. He is properly impressed with the difficulties which always attend the production of an ornithological work in these days of multiplied synonymy and many books, which he does well not to force upon his readers, and he is not content with the mere descriptions of the birds, but he also brings forward the characteristic details of the whole order Raptores, so that this work would give any student a good general idea of the birds of prey. This is to our mind one of the great recommendations of the volume; but Mr. Vennor has not thoroughly succeeded in impressing us with the advantages of photographic illustrations for an ornithological work. As speci- mens of photography the plates executed by Mr. Notman are admirable, but the stuffed specimens which are photographed are very unequal in merit. For those, however, who are inclined to adopt this mode of illustration, we will quote, in justice to himself, the authors words, “On the Attitude and Form of the Birds figured” :— “These are points requiring a great deal of attention in the photo- graphing of stuffed specimens, and respecting which I have already been brought to task by a few of my naturalist friends, to whom some of the plates were shown. My experience, however, among naturalists has been that no two agree as touching any position which may be chosen for a bird ; and consequently no plates, no matter how perfectly executed, could please all, Besides I have invariably found that those who find most fault in 78 THE ZOOLOGIST. this respect are persons who have been little on the jield themselves, or, in other words, who rather belong to the class known as closet than /ield naturalists; the latter knowing well that it is really almost impossible to conceive of a position which is not sometimes assumed by the living bird. Of this point 1 have recently been more convinced than ever from the study of two living specimens of Owls—the Snowy Owl and the Short-eared Owl— which have been in my possession for some months. For instance, taking one out of the many positions indulged in by the first of these birds, what would my criticising friends have thought and said had I represented him as a round ball of white feathers, head hardly perceptible, feet entirely con- cealed, and squatting on the ground like a hen covering her chickens? Yet this is the position in which J always find my Snowy Owl when I un- expectedly enter her abode. When aroused, however, she draws herself up, her head and feet become visible, and she presents such a figure as one of those given on the two plates allotted to this species in this work. 'The Short-eared Owl has many remarkable attitudes, and most of these differing from any of those in which the bird is figured in ornithological works. His wings are seldom kept close to his body, but rather in a drooping position, and either resting on the perch on which he sits, or, as the case may be, trailing on the ground; while his head is generally sunk deeply between his shoulders. In fine, the attitude of a bird is anything conceivable. ‘The form of the bird is of far greater importance than its attitude, and in the specimens selected for this work this was carefully perpetuated by means of girths and numerous measurements made from the bird while in the flesh, and generally immediately after death. “ Of still greater importance, however, than either of the foregoing points is the careful selection, already referred to, of proper or typical forms of plumage, of young, old, male and female birds. Compared with this, the attitude is of but trifling consideration, and it would have served the purpose of this work equally well had I simply selected and photographed appropriate unmounted skins. Indeed, had it been necessary in order to show properly some specific detail connected with the feet and claws, I should not have hesitated to have mounted the bird accommodatingly holding forth his foot for the inspection of the enquiring student; so when the exhibition of the under sides of the wing was desirable I have not hesitated to give the bird the necessary position. In fine, the main object of this work is practical utility—not a mere exhibition of pretty photographs.” On this point, the author, in the foregoing paragraph, has almost disarmed criticism, and, after reading what he says, we are inclined to agree with many of his arguments; for the purposes which he has in view, we must certainly say that the photographs, of whicl. there are no less than thirty, give in most NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 79 instances a much better idea of the species than badly executed plates would do under similar circumstances. The nomenclature of the Canadian birds of prey adopted by Mr. Vennor is principally that employed by Mr. Ridgway in the great work on ‘ North- American Birds’; but in certain instances we cannot agree with him, as, for example, when he classes the Greenland Falcon (Falco candicans) and the Labrador Falcon (Falco Labradorus) under the head of one species, which he calls Falco sacer of Forster. The information given under Swainson’s Buzzard will be largely sup- plemented by future observations ; for although Mr. Vennor appears to have been under the impression that the species was hardly distinct, there is really not the smallest doubt as to its being a very well-marked species, and representing in the northern part of the New World the well-known Common Buzzard of Europe. Again, Mr. Vennor follows Mr. Ridgway in treating the South- American Harrier (Circus cinereus) as a mere “variety” of C. Hud- sonius ; but we must remark, en passant, that if such well-marked birds are not to be considered as true and distinct species then all the other Harriers of the world may as well be united under one heading. He duly notes the rarity of blue-plumaged Harriers as compared with the brown-plumaged individuals, and it is possibly the rarity of the former that has prevented him from giving more than a figure of a female or young bird. In conclusion, we may remark that no one can study this book without finding that it adds greatly to our knowledge of Canadian Ornithology, and we observe with pleasure the very careful notes on the habits and distribution of the species. In every instance, also, the soft parts of the birds are given—a feature omitted in the work on ‘ North-American Birds’ above alluded to. The Fox al Home, and other Tales. By GEORGE Rooper, Author of * Flood, Field, and Forest, ‘A Month in Mayo, &e. With eight illustrations by G. Bowers and J. Carlisle. Second Edition. Post 8vo, pp. 248. London: Hardwicke & Bogue. 1877. Tuis little volume, as may be gathered from its title, is written perhaps rather for lovers of sport than for lovers of Natural History, but to both the book will be welcome. Every page bears upon it 80 THE ZOOLOGIST. the impress of an observant study, both of man and animals, a power of imparting the fruits of such study to others, and a thorough appreciation of all those little lights and shades in Nature, ap- parently unimportant in themselves, but which unite to give force and beauty to the picture of life. Our author takes us through many sports and some variety of country, beginning with one which we agree with him in thinking one of the most delightful—Fox-hunting. As we read, memories of the past come thick upon us. Again we see the wary old fox as he steals from the covert, the hounds quivering with excitement as they sweep on to the scent, and every nerve is braced as we follow our author o’er plough and pasture, clearing again, in fancy, the hurrying river, and crashing through the tangles of the bull- finch, too high to top. It is in scenes such as these that Mr. Rooper, like his fox, is most thoroughly “at home”; but his enthusiasm is not confined to the saddle. Ina short sketch he gives us a week in the Western Highlands, and though our com- pany there consists only of a holiday-making employé from a London warehouse, who, having purchased a ten-shilling gun- license, fancies himself every inch a sportsman, still we enjoy the week almost as much as the cockney hero. ‘The description of the Scotch laird and his gillie is capital, their Gaelic unimpeach- able, and over the whole is blown a scent of the “ muirs” that is really refreshing. From Scotland we travel to the Sister Isle for salmon and trout- fishing, returning rifle in hand to bring down the buck in our own southern counties, where we again fall in with our cockney friend disporting himself with the “ Harriers” at Brighton and the * Queen’s” in the Harrow Country. Most, if not all, of these stories were published many years ago under the title of ‘Tales and Sketches,’ but they come before us now with some additions, not the least noticeable of which are eight full-page illustrations, somewhat rough perhaps, but withal full of spirit. Indeed, the artists’ names (Georgina Bowers and J. Carlisle) sufficiently guarantee their excellence. THE ZOOLOGIST. THIRD SERIES. Von. 1] MARCH, 1877. [No. 3. ON THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE FALLOW DEER PAST AND PRESENT. TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN OF L. H. JEITTELES.* By P. D. Uttmann anv J. E. Hartine. NaTurRAL History shares with History the doubtful honour of possessing many chapters which are nothing more than what Talleyrand would call “des fables convenues,” or which are made up of fallacies universally adopted as true. To this un- favourable side of science Geology contributes the largest share, but Zoology is by no means exempt, especially as regards the habits, haunts and geographical distribution of animals. According to most works on Zoology, “The Fallow Deer (Cervus dama) is a native of the countries washed by the Mediterranean, from whence it was introduced into Germany, Scandinavia, and England after the Crusades.” And yet this animal was equally indigenous many thousand years ago, not only in Africa and Western Asia, but also in Southern Russia, and even in Central Europe, Denmark, Italy, and the South of France. My researches into the geographical distribution of the Fallow * ‘Ueber die geographische Verbreitung des Damhirsckes in der Vorzeit und Gegenwart.’ Von L. H. Jeitteles, ‘Der Zoologische Garten,’ 1874, pp. 288—297. After this article had been translated and forwarded to the printers, we discovered that an English translation by Mr. P. L, Sclater had already appeared in ‘ Nature’ (26th November, 1874). To many readers of ‘The Zoologist,’ however, we believe the subject matter will be new, and therefore we do not hesitate to offer the present version. At the same time we cannot do better than quote, by way of supplement, the valuable criticisms which this essay has elicited from Prof. Boyd Dawkins (‘ Nature,’ 10th December, 1874) and Sir Victor Brooke (‘ Nature,’ 14th Jan. 1875). M 82 THE ZOOLOGIST. Deer, as well as my study of the history of the domestic fowl,* were occasioned by an antiquarian discovery at Olmiitz. There, in the same stratum with the skull of the domestic fowl, and amongst weapons and utensils of the early Bronze Age, was found a piece of horn, which from its flatness and from the total absence of rugosities and tubercles (runzeln und perlen), I was at once inclined to consider a fractured portion of the horn of a Fallow Deer. Careful comparison with the horn of the Red Deer, Rein- deer, Elk, and Irish Elk, in different museums, particularly those of Stuttgardt and Munich, and in numerous private collections, confirmed my opinion. Reliable authorities on the Cervide agreed with me, although a still greater authority, Professor Riitimeyer of Basle, suggested the possibility of this fragment from Olmiitz having belonged to a Red Deer. Cuvier mentions fossil horns of the Fallow Deer, and speaks of “bois assez semblables & ceux du Daim, mais d’une trés grande taille, trouvés dans la vallée de la Somme et en Allemagne.”+ He has also figured two pieces of horn from Abbeville, which are cer- tainly taken from the true Fallow Deer. Moreover, he has given a copy ofa drawing sent to him by Autenrieth :—“ D’un craue et d’un merrain y adhérent, déposés au cabinet de Stuttgardt; piéces que ce savant rapportait au cerf a bois gigantesques, mais qui me paraissent plut6t se devoir rapporter & ce Daim a cause de la longueur de la partie cylindrique.”{ Subsequently similar remains of horn were dug up in Gergovia, near Clermont, in the Departe- ment of Puy-de-Dome, and at Polignac, near Puy, in the Departe- ment of Haute-Loire, which were described by F. Robert as those of Cervus dama polignacus; by Pomel as C. somonensis and C. Roberti; and by Gervais as C. somonensis, with an original figure by Desmarest. Gervais describes them as “des bois de Daims qui indiquent une espéce ou variété bien plus grande que celle dont il a été question ci-dessus” (namely, C. dama); and that these horns were “d’un tiers a moins plus grande que ceux du Daims ordinaire.” § Georg Jager, in his “ Review of the Fossil Mammalia of Wurtem- burg,” || refers to numerous discoveries of the remains of Fallow * See ‘ Zool. Garten,’ vol. xiy., p. 55. + ‘Recherches sur les Ossemens Fossiles,’ vol. vi., Article iii., p. 191 (ed. 1836). t Id., pl. 168, fig. 11. § Zool. Paléon. Frang., 2 ed., Paris, 1859, p. 145. || ‘Nova Acta Acad. Ces. Leop. Carol.,’ vol. xxii., pars post. 1850, pp. 807, 893, 897. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE FALLOW DEER. 83 Deer in the caves and bogs, as well as in the diluvial fresh-water chalk of Wurtemburg. He further states that in the Museum of Mannheim there are skulls not only of Bos primigenius, but also of B. priscus and its ally B. priscus affinis, with a skull of Cervus dama giganteus, all found in the diluvium in the neighbourhood of Mannheim. In the Museum at Linz, in Upper Austria, numerous remains of animals from the diluvium in the neighbourhood of Wels are preserved, which were discovered at no great distance in cutting the railway known as the Elizabeth-Westbahn in Buchberg. Besides a fractured piece of the horn of a Red Deer, a molar of Ursus arctos (not U. speleus), a fine molar of the Mammoth (Elephas primigenius) and horses’ teeth, there is in the Museum—amongst those remains marked as found in the above-mentioned railway cutting—a fine large fragment of horn undoubtedly belonging to a Fallow Deer. Like the fragment of horn of Cervus elaphus from the same locality, it is of a white colour and has a calcined appearance. In 1870 and again in 1873 J examined this interesting fragment of horn, with the other animal remains found at the same time, and am indebted to the kindness of Herr Kaiserl Ehrlich, the Curator of the Museum, for a photograph of it. In October, 1873, I also inspected the cutting at Buchberg, and convinced myself of the purely diluvial nature of the soil there. In many places I found it deeply excavated for gravel (schodler), and it seems clear that the horns and teeth preserved in the Museum at Linz were found in one of these gravel-pits, but lying in a stratum of marl (merge- ligen) beneath the gravel. Fragments of horn undoubtedly belonging to the Fallow Deer were dug ont by Dr. F. A. Wagner in the autumn of 1828, in the ash-heap (aschenschicht) of a so-called place of sacrifice (opfer- herdes) between Schlieben and the village of Malitzschkendorf, in Schweinitz, Saxony, in large quantities, together with remains of the Elk (among them a four-tined elk-horn), the teeth of mighty boars, and remains of very large oxen, roe-deer, and sheep, as well as wheat and millet. A detailed account of these discoveries is given in his work.* Dr. Wagner (a physician at Schlieben) prosecuted his researches with the greatest conscientiousness and determined the animal remains in question with great care and * « Hgypten in Deutschland oder die germanisch-slavischen wo nicht rein ger- manischen Alterthiimer an der schwarzen Elster. Leipzig, Hartmann, 1833, 84 THE ZOOLOGIST. skill, as will be evident from his work, the bombastic title of which may be overlooked. In the determination of the various fragments of horns he was assisted by a well-known and excellent zoologist, Professor Nitzsch, of Halle. The four-tined elk-horn is figured (pl. v., fig. 8), but unfortunately not the pieces of Fallow Deer's horns. Besides the remains of animals and plants, these places of sacrifice yielded various fashioned bones, three needles, frag- ments of battle-axes, pieces of urns, four entire vessels, and a polished shin-bone of an ox. Dr. Wagner also recognised therein a skate and other bones beautifully polished. No human bones were found. As regards the Fallow Deer, Dr. Wagner writes as follows (p. 34):—‘In digging at various times in this temple, we found fragments of horns which were more than suggestive of those of the Fallow Deer; but as no complete skeleton was ever secured, nor even such portions as would place the matter beyond doubt, it is still uncertain whether this species was sacri- ficed along with the Elk (Cervus alces), and the subject requires further investigation.” Alex. von Nordmann, in his ‘ Paleontologie Siidrusslands, * gives a drawing of five teeth from a “ Cervus fossilis dame affinis.” But in the diluvial period, and in later prehistoric times the Fallow Deer existed in more northern latitudes. In the year 1871, in the centre of the town of Hamburg, and subsequently in a tributary of the Elbe, numerous upper and lower jaws were discovered, larger than those of the existing Cervus dama, except as regards the teeth, which corresponded in size with those of the existing species. With these were found remains of the Aurochs, and other large oxen, and bones of the horse, pig, and other animals. The remains first discovered were found between tree-stumps in twenty to twenty-two feet of “solid black peat, the alluvium of the Alster, below the diluvial Geestriicken of Neustadt.” + Prof. Steenstrup has given a short account of the collection of animal remains from the Kjékkenméddings and peat bogs of Den- mark, which were exhibited on the occasion of the Archeological Congress in 1869 in Copenhagen, amongst which he mentions (pp. 160 e¢ seg.) the Fallow Deer, whose horns and bones were * Helsingfors, 1858-60, plate xviii., figs, 4—8. + Dr. Zimmermann, on a new species of deer from the alluvium of Hamburg, * Neuen Jahrbuch fiir Mineralogie, Geologie und Palwontologie,’ Heidelberg, 1872, 1 Heft, p. 26. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE FALLOW DEER. 85 found in the upper peat of Denmark :—“ Le Daim (Cervus dama). Bois et ossements provenants des états supérieurs de la tourbe.” * Nevertheless he adds, “Cet animal n’est pas originaire du Dane- mark; il est bien constaté qu’il a été introduit dans le pays pendant le moyen age.” In Owen’s ‘ History of British Fossil Mammals and Birds’ (1846, pp. 483, 484) are some brief remarks on the discovery of fossil remains of the Fallow Deer in a few localities in England, but the specimens referred to are described as “far from yielding satis- factory grounds of identification.” From the peat-moss of New- bury portions of palmated antlers and teeth have been dug out, which accord in size with those of the Fallow Deer, and Dr. Buck- land found similar remains in the large cave of Paviland, on the coast of Glamorganshire, with the remains of the Mammoth, Rhinoceros, Hyena, &c., “ deer of two or three species, and frag- ments of various horns, some small, others a little palmated.” Professor Owen justly remarks that “the same doubt as to whether the latter are referable to the Reindeer or the Fallow Deer arises as in the case of the palmated fragments from Newbury.” Among the animal remains found in the Swiss Lake dwellings were discovered fragments of horn that apparently belonged to the Fallow Deer. Referring to this, Prof. Riitimeyer says: t—“ A number of flat pieces of palmated horn with perfectly smooth surface found in the Bieler Lake, and now in the collection of Lieutenant Schwab, of Biel, can only belong to the Fallow Deer, judging from their size and form. I could only ascribe to this animal similar pieces from Meilen, which fully agreed with the abnormal form which the horn of the Fallow Deer assumes in old age (Cuv., Ossem. Fossiles, iv., tab. iii., figs. 32—35). At the same time I must remark that I have never yet'seen a perfect antler from the pile-dwellings (Pfahlbauten), nor even fragments of the skull, which, next to the horn, would offer the most important characteristics of the Fallow Deer. Reliable evidence of the spontaneous existence of this species of deer north of the Alps is therefore still desirable.” Nevertheless the existence of this animal in the Terremare of Italy—which is equivalent to the Swiss Pfahibauten—is quite certain. In the Museum of Modena are two fragments of horn, respecting which * «Bulletins du Congrés International d’Archéologie préhistorique 4 Copenhagen en 1869.’ Copenhagen, 1872, p. 162. + ‘Fauna der Pfahlbauten der Schweiz,’ p. 62. 86 THE ZOOLOGIST. Professor Canestrini,* and more recently Mortillet,t have given some account. In 1870, at my request, Dr. Carlo Boni, subse- quently Director of the Museum of Modena, had the goodness to send to me at Basle—where I was spending the winter of 1869-70— these two fragments for comparison with mine from Olmiitz, when Professor Riitimeyer, who also saw them, determined that one of them (marked “624 Gorzano”) must have belonged to Cervus dama. As well as in Moravia, the Fallow Deer seems, in olden times, to have existed on the borders of Lower Austria. In Pulkau, not far from Eggenburg, south of the Thaya, in an ancient place of sacrifice, discovered and described by Dr. Woldrich, were found earthen vessels, implements of stone, bone and horn, a bronze casting-mould, the remains of the dog, ox, and red deer, and a piece of horn that was conjectured to be “the tine of a Fallow Deer’s antler.” { That the Fallow Deer inhabited the woods of Switzerland in the middle ages may be gathered from the following words in the Benediction of the monk Ekkehard, of St. Galle, who lived in the eleventh century :—“ Imbellem damam faciat benedictio sum- mam;”§ and even at a later date, according to a statement in Forer’s German edition of Gesner’s ‘ Natural History’ (Heidelberg, 1606, p. 84), where it is said that “The Fallow Deer is hunted in many other places, and is frequently captured in the woods of Switzerland and near Lucerne: it is called Dam, Damlin, or Damhirsch.” In the Latin edition, however (Hist. An., vol. 15 2nd ed., Frankfort, 1620), which is now before me, I can find no important observations on the appearance of the Fallow Deer in Switzerland. The author merely states (p. 308), “Nostra vero dama etiam in Europa capitur cum alibi tum circa Oceanum Germanicum, ut audio. Germani vulgo vocant Dam, vel Dimlin, vel Dannhirtz, vel Damhirtz potius; Itali, Daino, nonnulli Danio; Galli, Dain vel Daim; Hispani, Gamo vel Corza.” Moreover, in * *Oggetti trovati mae terremare del Modenese, Seconda Relazione: Avanzi Organici,’ Modena, 1866. + ‘Matériaux pour I’Histoire Positive et Philosophique de l’Homme,” 3me année, eee } Woldrich, ‘ Mittheilungen der anthropologischen gesellschaft in Wien,’ vol. iii., 1873, pp. 13 and 19, and plate iv., fig. 54. § ‘Bened. ad mensas Ekkehardi, Vers. 128. Vide ‘ Mittheil, der Antiquar. Gesellschaft zu Zurich,’ iii., p. 111. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE FALLOW DEER. 87 both the Latin and German editions of Gesner the Fallow Deer is unmistakably portrayed. According to the marginal notes on Daniel Spekle’s excellent map of Alsace there were still Fallow Deer in Wasgau as late as 1576.* In the neighbourhood of Rome, in a postpliocene travertine on the heights of Monte delle Gioie, numerous fragments of antlers of the Fallow Deer have been found with remains of Hyena spelea, Cervus tarandus, Rhinoceros megarhinus,t &c. Finally, it may be observed that representations of the Fallow Deer are found carved on Assyrian monuments, and with such characteristic accuracy that it is impossible to confuse them with those of any other species. We would recommend the reader to examine the beautiful plates, Nos. 35 and 53, in Layard’s ‘ Monu- ments of Nineveh.’ Representations of this species are also to be seen in the pictures on the walls of Egyptian tombs, as for example at Beni-Hassan. The hieroglyphical name is “ hanen.” { We will now consider the present geographical distribution of Cervus dama. This species is still found in a wild state in Asia Minor. Canon Tristram speaks of its occurrence near Mount Tabor, in Palestine, and in the woods between this mountain and the gorge of the Litany River, and he once met with it himself “about ten miles west of the Sea of Galilee.”§ The late Prof. Ed. Lartet had pre- viously found teeth of this species of deer in the bone-heaps of Lebanon.|| According to Hartmann, “The Fallow Deer inhabits the fertile valleys of the deserts of Africa and the borders of the culti- vated parts of Tunis, Tripoli, Barqah, as far as Wadi-Nahtn.” 7] Gervais, in his ‘ Zoologie et Paléontologie Frangaise’ (2nd edit., p- 145), records its presence in the neighbourhood of La Calle, in Algiers, but Loche, in his ‘ Hist. Nat. des Mammiferes de ]’Algérie’ (Paris, Bertrand, 1867), says it is now seldom met with in that province. In the island of Sardinia, in Cetti’s time, there were large numbers of Fallow Deer on every part of the island, and especially * Gerard, ‘ Faune historique de l’Alsace,’ Colmar, 1871, p. 328. + Trutat et Cartailhac, Materiaux pour l’Histoire de 1]Homme,’ 1869, p. 299. + Robt. Hartmann, in Brugsch ‘Zeitschrift fiir Agyptische Sprache und Alter- thumskunde,’ Jahrgang ii., 1864, p. 21. s «Report on the Mammals of Palestine,’ Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1866, p. 66. || ‘Bulletin de la Societé Géologique de France,’ xxii., p. 542. q ‘The Geographical Distribution of existing wild Mammalia of North-Kast Africa,’ in the ‘ Berliner Zeitschrift fur Erdkunde,’ 1868, p. 252. 88 THE ZOOLOGIST. on the plains of Sindia.* At that time no fewer than 3000 head were annually killed in Sardinia. It is remarkable that the inha- bitants call it Crabolu,” a corruption of Capriolo (the Roebuck), which does not exist on the island, while the Red Deer is occa- sionally met with, more particularly in the east, although it does not attain so large a size here as on the Continent.+ According to Bonaparte and Cornalia,{ this species of deer is still tolerably common on this island. In Spain it appears there are very few wild deer now-a-days: at all events, A. E. Brehm, in his ‘ Beitrag zur Zoologischen Geographie Spaniens,’ could only recollect having seen them in parks.§ On the other hand, Graélls refers to Cervus dama as an inhabitant of the Sierra Guadarrama.|| The modern Spaniards call this animal “ Gamo” or “ Paleto.” Buffon {] says that in his time the Fallow Deer of Spain had longer tails than elsewhere, and were nearly as large as the Red Deer. Gérard, in his ‘ Faune Historique de |’Alsace,’ already quoted (p. 327), informs us that this species of deer still occurs in a wild state in France,— for instance, in Nivernais, in the Cevennes, and in the Alps of Dauphiné,—but does not say on what authority he makes this statement, and Gervais, in his ‘ Zoologie et Paléontologie,’ does not mention it. As regards Greece, Blasius, in his ‘Mammalia of Germany’ (Brunswick, 1857, p. 455), says, “ Belon found the Fallow Deer on the islands of the Grecian Archipelago”; but Erhard does not mention it in his ‘ Fauna der Cycladen’ (Leipzig, 1858). V.d. Miihle, however, refers to it in his ‘ Beitragen zur Ornithologie Griechenlands’ (1844, p. 1).** From the foregoing data the following conclusions may be drawn :— 1. In prehistoric times the Fallow Deer, with other extinct Mammalia, inhabited Lebanon, South Russia, Italy, France, Upper Austria, Wurtemburg, Baden, Saxony, Hamburg, and Denmark. * «T Quadrupedi di Sardegna,’ Sassari, 1774, pp. 104, 105. + [Both Lord Lilford and Mr. Basil Brooke have observed the Fallow Deer wild in many parts of Sardinia. ] + ‘Fauna d'Italia,’ parte prima (Milano). § ‘ Berliner Zeitschrift fiir Erdkunde,’ 1858, p. 101. || (Lord Lilford has seen it wild in Central Spain, near Aranjuez.] q ‘ Histoire Naturelle,’ tome vi., Paris, 1756, p. 170. ** (Lord Lilford has observed wild Fallow Deer in the province of Acarnani, in Greece; and in December, 1864, as we are informed by Mr. Sclater, the Zoological Society received a small dark-coloured Fallow Deer from the island of Rhodes.} NORTHERN RANGE OF THE FALLOW DEER. 89 It seems also to have occurred in Switzerland and in England, as well as in Moravia and Lower Austria. 2. Within historic times it inhabited Egypt (tombs of Beni- Hassan) and Assyria; and, in the latter part of the middle ages, Switzerland and Alsace. 3. It is still found in a wild state in Asia Minor, North Africa, Sardinia, and apparently in parts of Spain and Greece, and perhaps still in the Cevennes and the Alps of Dauphiné. 4. The size and strength of the antlers, as well as the size of the skull, have in course of time degenerated. The skull and antlers of existing Fallow Deer are smaller than those of prehistoric times. ON THE NORTHERN RANGE OF THE FALLOW DEER IN EUROPE. By W. Boyp Dawsrms, M.A., F.R.S.* In the interesting essay by Dr. Jeitteles many cases of the reputed discovery of the remains of the Fallow Deer are collected together to prove that the animal is indigenous in Northern Europe, and not imported from the south, as heretofore has been supposed by many able naturalists, such as Blasius, Steenstrup, Riitimeyer, the late Prof. Ed. Lartet, and others. These cases are accepted by Dr. Sclater without criticism, and are deemed by him to place the importation theory, as it may be termed, in the category of “ancient fables.” The question, however, seems to me, after many years’ study of the fossil and recent Cervide of this country and of France, a very difficult one, not to be decided off-hand, and certainly not without a strict analysis of the value of evidence such as that recorded by Dr. Jeitteles, whose method and facts appear to be equally in error. The identification of fragments of antlers is one of the most difficult tasks which a naturalist can take in hand, and where there are several species of deer associated together in the same deposit, it is sometimes impossible to assign a given fragment to its rightful owner. For example, in the forest beds of Norfolk and Suffolk, and in the Pleiocenes of the Continent, there is a vast number of antlers which are ownerless, and which have completely baffled * Reprinted from ‘ Nature,’ December 10th, 1874. N 90 THE ZOOLOGIST. Prof. Gaudry, myself, and others for many years. It is, of course, easy for anyone to classify the flat antler as belonging to one species and the round to another; but the value of the determination de- pends upon the number of species living at the same time in the same place, possessed respectively of round and flattened antlers. In the pleistocene and prehistoric ages, there were four animals which had portions of their antlers flattened—the Reindeer, Irish Elk, true Elk, and Stag—to which, according to Dr. Jeitteles, must be added the Fallow Deer. In this particular case it is not only assumed that the flat-antler fragments belong to the last of these animals, but even the uncertain testimony of various authors, who had not critically examined the remains, which they record, in relation to the other species, is taken to prove the range of the Fallow Deer as far north as Denmark. The mere printed reference to the Fallow Deer is accepted as evidence, without, save in two cases, being verified by personal examination. The results of such a method of inquiry seem to me to demand most careful criticism. The alleged cases of the discovery of Fallow Deer in Central and Northern Europe are as follows:—In Switzerland, it is stated to have been identified by Dr. Riitimeyer among the animals which had been used for food by the dwellers in the Lake villages; “although,” he writes, “incontrovertible evidence of the spon- taneous existence of this deer north of the Alps remains still to be obtained.” In a list of the Swiss Mammalia which Dr. Riitimeyer was kind enough to prepare for me in 1873, the animal is altogether omitted from the pleistocene and prehistoric fauna. Thus, in the opinion of this high authority, it was not living in Switzerland in those early days. The animal is stated also (on the authority of Jiiger in 1850) to have been found abundantly in “the caverns and turbaries as well as in the diluvial freshwater chalk of Wurtemburg.” To this I would oppose the opinion of my friend Prof. Oscar Fraas, of Stuttgardt, from whose list of animals (sent to me in 1872) the Fallow Deer is conspicuous by its absence. The Reindeer is abundant in the caves of that region, and to it the flattened frag- ments of antlers may probably be referred. To pass over the reputed discovery of the animal “in an old place of sacrifice” near Schlieben, in 1828, in which the discoverer himself remarks that “the subject requires further investigation,” there only remain three other sets of fragments to be examined in Germany. First, those at Olmiitz, which Dr. Riitimeyer considered NORTHERN RANGE OF THE FALLOW DEER. 91 to belong possibly to the Stag; secondly, an indistinct figure in the ‘Ossemens Fossiles’ of an antler attached to a skull found at Stuttgardt, which seems to me to belong to the Reindeer; and, lastly, a fragment of antler from Buchberg, which, taken along with the find at Olmiitz, is the second of the two cases identified by Dr. Jeitteles. It is a museum specimen, which may very probably be liable to the same doubts as those which are entertained by Dr. Riitimeyer regarding the fragments from Olmiitz. The teeth and bones from Hamburg are as likely to belong to the Stag as to the Fallow Deer. The alleged instances of the discovery of the animal in this country and in France are equally unsatisfactory. The flattened antlers alluded to by Buckland and Owen belong either to the Stag or the Reindeer. Among the many thousands of bones and teeth which I have examined from the ossiferous caves of various ages, from refuse-heaps and tumuli, I have never seen any fragment whieh could be attributed to Fallow Deer, except in refuse-heaps not older than the Roman occupation. Nor is it found in Ireland till the middle ages. The late lamented Prof. Ed. Lartet, whom I always consulted on difficult questions such as these, believed that the animal was not living in Central and Northern France in the pleistocene or prehistoric ages, but that it was imported probably by the Romans. The only evidence against this view is that afforded by an antler dug up in Paris and brought to Prof. Gervais along with stone celts by some workmen. It seemed to me when I saw it in 1878, in the Jardin des Plantes, not altogether conclusive, because of the absence of proof that all the remains were obtained from the same un- disturbed stratum. I should expect to find such antlers in the refuse-heaps of Roman Paris, as in Roman London, and I should not be at all surprised if the remains of widely different ages were mingled together by the workmen, even if they were found in the same excavation. As examples of the necessity of guarding against this source of error, I may quote a recent lower jaw of Kangaroo Rat in the collection of my late friend Mr. Wickham Flower, which was stated to have been dug out of the brick-earth near Sitting- bourne, along with the Mammoth and other pleistocene creatures ; the bones of an Ostrich brought to Prof. Busk, along with Mam- moth and Hippopotamus from the gravels of Acton Green; and lastly, the skeleton of Fallow Deer found in a bog not far from the 92 THE ZOOLOGIST. River Boyne above Leinster Bridge (Co. Kildare), along with a skull of Brown Bear (Scott, Journ. Geol. Soc. Dublin, vol. x. p. 151). This last case would have been taken as decisive that the animal lived in Ireland in prehistoric times as a contemporary of the Brown Bear, had not a silver collar round its neck proved that it had belonged to “a member of Lord Rosse’s family.” From premises so unsatisfactory as those which have been examined, it seems to me very hazardous to conclude with Dr. Jeitteles that the Fallow Deer inhabited Northern and Central Europe in the pleistocene and prehistoric ages. The point, to say the very least, is non-proven. On the other hand, the non-discovery of certain relics of the animal by the many able naturalists who have examined vast quantities of fossil remains from those regions, implies, to my mind, jhe probability that the animal was not then in those parts of Europe. The value of negative evidence depends upon the number of observations, which in this case is enormous. To speak personally, I am in the position of'a man waiting for satisfactory proof, holding that up to the present time the common Fallow Deer “has never been found to occur in the fossil state in Northern and Central Europe. The animal ought to be fonnd fossil in those regions; and it is not for want of ooking that it has not yet been found. For the sake of clearness, I have reserved the reference to other forms of deer, in the essay, for separate discussion. The Cervus polignacus of Pomel, from Auvergne, is an obscure form without definition, about which I will not venture to say anything. The C. somonensis of Cuvier, which I have carefully studied in Paris along with Prof. Gervais, is identical with the form which I have described from Clacton, Essex (Quart. Geol. Journ., 1868, p. 514), under the name of Cervus Brownii. The latter has been identified by Prof. Busk among the fossil remains from Acton Green. The typical antler of Cuvier’s species differs from plate xvii., fig. 4 of C. Brownii, in the possession of a palm of four points, and in being broken and badly restored with plaster at the point where the third tine, d, of my figure joins the beam. Whether this kind of antler belongs to a well-marked variety of Fallow Deer or toa closely- allied species, I will not offer an opinion. It seems, however, safer to follow Professors Lartet, Gaudry, and most of the naturalists since the days of Cuvier, in keeping the fossil separate from the living forms, none of which present, so far as 1 know, a similar NORTHERN RANGE OF THE FALLOW DEER. 93 variation of antler. Till such an antler be found it is better to keep the animals apart in classification. And even if they be viewed as belonging to one species, they have only been met with in pleisto- cene deposits in this country and in France, and they may reason- ably be taken as visitors from the south, such as the contemporary Hippopotami. In any case, I would submit that they do not afford satisfactory grounds for believing with Dr. Jeitteles that the present distribution of the Fallow Deer in Northern and Central Europe by the hand of man is “an ancient fable.” It is undoubtedly an ancient belief, and it is one which can be proved to some extent to be true by an appeal to the records of history. To enter into the question of the introduction of Fallow Deer into Northern Europe would far outleap the limits of an article. A reference to Lenz’s ‘Zoologie der Alten, and to Neckham’s ‘Natural History,’ will show to what an exteut the wealthy Romans and medieval barons were in the habit of importing wild and rare animals for the chase, as well as for the sake of mere curiosity. Sir Victor Brooke, writing “on the existence of the Fallow Deer in England during pleistocene times” (‘ Nature,’ 14th Jan. 1875), has shown pretty conclusively that the species called Cervus Brownti, which was founded by Prof. Boyd Dawkins (Quart. Geol. Journ., 1868, p. 514) upon some abnormal antlers dug up at Clacton in Essex,* is identical with Cervus dama, and that ‘‘ under the former title the fact of the existence of the Fallow Deer in England during the pleistocene period lies in some degree obscured.” In this determination Prof. Boyd Dawkins himself has since expressed his concurrence (‘ Nature, 2Ist Jan. 1875), remarking that Sir Victor Brooke’s essay leaves no room for doubting that “ the antlers named in the books Cervus Brownii and C. somonensis really belong to a variety of the living Fallow Deer,” and he thanks the author “for having brought forward evidence on the point which is not presented by any of the large series known to me in the British and Continental Museums, and without which I could not venture to identify the fossil with the living form. He has sup- plied the missing link hitherto sought in vain, and thereby removed two synonyms from the bulky catalogue of fossil Mammalia.” * Other specimens of this so-called species have been identified by Prof. Busk amongst the fossil remains from Acton Green. 94 THE ZOOLOGIST. But this has little to do with the question raised by Herr Jeitteles, namely, whether the Fallow Deer now living in Northern and Central Europe was introduced—like the horse into South America—by the hand of man. On this point Sir Victor Brooke says (J. c.):—“ Whether the Fallow Deer became extinct in Northern Europe before the advent of prehistoric man, or whether it continued to exist in these islands even at the commencement of the Roman occupation, are questions beside that of the truth of the “ancient belief” to which Mr. Boyd Dawkins shows such firm allegiance. “In either case the species may have been reintroduced by the Romans, a people whose magnificently lavish expenditure upon luxury and pleasure despised bounds.” While on the subject of Fallow Deer, it will not be out of place to call attention to the fact that the Fallow Deer of Western Persia (and therefore presumably the animal found in Western Asia, referred to by Herr Jeitteles) has been shown by Sir Victor Brooke to be a larger animal distinct from Cervus dama. He has described and figured it under the name of Cervus mesopotamicus (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1875, pl. xxxviii.) from specimens procured in the Provinces of Khurzistan and Luristan, in Western Persia, at the head of the Persian Gulf. The peculiarity of this species lies chiefly in the shape of the horns, which are palmated immediately above the burrs, with a strong cylindrical beam rising from the posterior corner of the palm, and terminating in three well-developed tines. In other words, the cylindrical beam is above the palmation, or precisely the reverse of what obtains in Cervus dama. Sir Victor Brooke says:—“In the development from the fan- shaped palm of a definite strong cylindrical beam, terminated with points, the new species presents a type of horn which stands unique amongst existing Cervide.” ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORFOLK. By Henry Stevenson, F'.L.S. JUNE, 1876. Pheasant.—A hen Pheasant hatched off her brood on the 2nd, in a nest made in the ivy growing against the east wall of Northrepps Cottage, about twelve feet above the ground, and brought off five chicks, two or three others being killed by the descent. Hooded Crow.—One observed at Northrepps on the 22nd. Spoonbill.—A single bird seen early in the winter on Breydon. Rednecked Phalarope.—A male bird killed at Yarmouth on the 19th. AUGUST. Great Crested Grebe.—By a strange chance two old Grebes and three young ones were killed, at one shot, on Rockland Broad, on the Ist of August. The young were still in the down, with striped heads and necks, either a second brood or a late hatch, owing to the first nest being destroyed. Turnstones and Sanderlings.—At Cromer, -on the 15th, I saw a flock of Turnstones passing sufficiently near the beach to distinguish, with a glass, that they were all in nearly full summer plumage, as also was a specimen shot at Blakeney two days before. Sanderlings shot at the same time and place were adults in summer plumage. Richardson’s Skua.—A single bird was seen off Cromer as early as the first week in August. SEPTEMBER. Nocturnal Migrants.—Heard the whistling of birds over the city for the first time this autumn about 8.30 p.m. of the 10th, apparently some small Tring@, but very far off. Wind N.N.W., with a dark sky, but starlight. Osprey.—One shot at Guist on the 24th. A male on South Walsham Broad on the 28th; and another at Sennowe about the same date. The latter had frequented the neighbourhood for some days. Honey Buzzard.—An immature female was killed near Diss on 96 THE ZOOLOGIST. the 16th. It was said to have struck down a Partridge, and both birds were secured. Hobby.—One shot this month at Fersfield, near Diss. Common Buzzard.—One shot at Horningtoft on the 22nd. OCTOBER. Little Stint.—Several shot at Salthouse during the first week in the month, and others on the 26th, from a flock of about forty. Purple Gallinule.—A bird of this species, in full plumage, was shot on a stream near Pinckney, in West Norfolk, about the 10th of October: most probably an escaped bird, but a public notice of its fate in the local papers has failed to find an owner for it. Mealy Redpoll and Siskin.—Several of these birds, which appeared altogether absent last autumn and winter, were netted near Norwich about the middle of this month, and I saw a single male Siskin which had been taken with some Lesser Redpolls as early as the second week in September. Pigmy Curlew.—Several shot on Breydon during the first week of October. Buzzards ?—Two large Hawks seen at Northrepps on the Sth, supposed to be Honey Buzzards. A Rough-legged Buzzard was seen at the same place on the 30th. Sky Larks Migrating.—A very large flock of these birds was seen at Northrepps going S.W. by W. on the 12th. Magpie—A single bird killed at Gresham, by Holt, on the 14th. Peregrine.—A fine bird, in nearly adult plumage, was sent up to Norwich on the 30th. Short-eared Owl.—A very unusual number of these autumnal migrants appeared in various parts of the county between the 20th and 3lst of October, at which time I saw between twenty and thirty specimens in our birdstuffer’s hands. One bird is said to have had the remains of a Great Snipe in its stomach. Shore Larks.— These annual winter visitants, as they may fairly be termed now, on the Norfolk coast, made their ap- pearance at Yarmouth this month in a large flock, of which five, three males and two females, were sent to Norwich on the 27th. Another flock is said to have frequented the beach and “ back- water” at Salthouse. ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORFOLK, 97 Woodcock.—These birds were plentiful towards the end of the month, upwards of twenty were hanging for sale in our fish-market on the 28th. NovEMBER. Lapwing.—Two large flocks of these birds were seen at North- repps on the Ist, going west, and on the 4th large numbers were observed passing W.N.W., aud from their cries it would seem that their flight continued also during the night of the 4th, or at least some part of it. About the 15th immense flocks of Lapwings and Golden Plovers were observed in the same neighbourhood at Beeston Regis, and up to the close of the year the numbers of both Golden and Gray Plovers reported on the western side of the county, at Lynn, have been very unusual. Peregrine.—One shot at South Walsham early in the month. Bittern.— A single example was killed somewhere in the county on the 4th, and one at Beccles about the middle of the month. Rough-legged Buzzard.—An immature bird killed at Sidestrand, near Cromer, in the first week of November, was no doubt the same observed on the 8rd at Sheringham, mobbed by a Hooded Crow, and on the 4th at Northrepps, all closely adjoining. I have also seen three other specimens, all immature, killed in Norfolk during this month. Wood Pigeon.—On the 3rd of this month, and again on the 12th, 13th, and 14th, very large flocks of Wood Pigeons were observed at Northrepps early in the morning, apparently coming in from the sea. Sea Eagle.—A single bird was seen at Sheringham, and subse- quently at Beeston Regis, about the 9th of this month. Common Guillemot.—On the morning of the 2nd a Common Guillemot was taken alive in the garden of the Rev. Mr. Norgate, of Sparham, near Norwich. It was found flapping along the walks, apparently fatigued, but uninjured. There had been much wind a night or two before from the west and _ north- west, but on the previous night by no means sufficient to account for its appearance, so very far inland, by the supposition that it had been caught in a gale, and so involuntarily carried away from the coast. Honey Buzzard.—Mzr. Baker, of Cambridge, informs me that on ° 98 THE ZOOLOGIST. _the 6th he received a Honey Buzzard for preservation, from Fordham, near Downham Market, in Norfolk; one from Caxton, in Cambridgeshire, on the 8th; and one, same time, from near Sudbury, Suffolk—all young birds. Snowy Owl.—About the 2nd or 3rd a fine specimen, which had evidently been previously wounded, was shot by Lord Leicester’s keeper in the Burnham Overy marshes, the same recorded in ‘ The Field’ of November 18th. Gray Phalarope.—A bird fast assuming its winter plumage was killed early in the month. Purple Heron.—A young bird of the year was killed at Ran- worth on the 10th. It had been previously shot at and wounded in the leg. Purple Sandpiper.—An adult specimen was shot at Yarmouth on the 8th, another later in the month at Blakeney, and a young bird at the same locality on the 3lst of October. Raven.—On the 26th two Ravens were seen coming over the sea at Overstrand, near Cromer. Mr. N. F. Hele also records in ‘The Field’ of November 24th having seen three Ravens at Aldborough. Sclavonian Grebe.—A bird in full winter plumage was shot at Ranworth about the 14th. Haufinch—The Rev. E. T. Frere, of Burston, near Diss, informs me that during this month about thirty Hawfinches were killed in the same garden, at Diss, where this species appeared in such numbers two years ago, attracted no doubt by the number of yew trees. He fortunately succeeded in putting a stop to this useless slaughter. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.—A bird of this species was killed in the same garden above referred to, at Diss, on the 24th. DECEMBER. Common Buzzard.—A rich brown-plumaged bird was brought up to Norwich on the 2nd. Rough-legged Buzzard.—One shot at Ditchingham on the Ist, another at Northrepps in second year’s plumage on the 24th, and two near Yarmouth between the latter date and the 29th—all immature birds. On the same day an unusually dark- coloured Buzzard, supposed to be of this species, was seen at Northrepps. ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORFOLK. 99 Gray Shrike.—One of these birds was killed in the county this month, and two others in November. Sea Eagle.—One recorded in ‘ The Field’ of January 6th, 1877, as killed on the Westacre estate, near Swaffham, Norfolk. Snipe and Wild-fowl in the Early Winter.—The beginning of November was remarkable for the very unusual number of snipe which were met with at that time on our broads and marshes, and large bags were made by those fortunate enough to hear of their arrival in time to take advantage of it. From fifteen to five-and- twenty couples in a day were, I understand on good authority, killed in favourable localities, and this not only in the Broad Dis- trict, but in the salt marshes on the coast: these birds, according to some accounts, literally poured in upon us, just in advance of the sudden change to frost and snow, which commenced on the 6th and lasted till about the 11th or 12th. From that time, as was the case last year under very similar circumstances, both snipe and fowl have been scarce, the weather remaining open, whilst these early flights have passed on to the south, to return only in March on their way northwards in Spring. Early in the month wild-fowl were reported as unusually plentiful at Salthouse, and on the 9th wild swans were seen off Blakeney; and about a week later others were seen out at sea, off Cley Harbour. On the 9th a flock of over two hundred wild geese flew over North- repps, in a N.W. direction, flying high and making much noise, and about the same time I learn that fowl in unusual numbers were heard passing over Breydon, near Yarmouth, but the nights were too dark for the gunners to do anything with them. Inland, and within a mile or two of Norwich, wild swans were seen on the wing, and a great many fowl frequented the low meadows both morning and evening. The great abundance at the same time of Golden and Green Plovers, has been already referred to, but Fieldfares and Redwings have not showed in force this winter, nor have any of our smaller resident species suffered privation, owing to the brief duration of frost, and the remarkable mildness and damp of the season generally. 100 THE ZOOLOGIST. OCCASIONAL NOTES. On THE BREEDING OF THE OrTER.—Although Otters, like other animals, appear to breed most commonly in the spring, yet instances of the capture of young Otters that must undoubtedly have been born during the autumn seem to be nearly as common, and I think a series of instances would show that there is no month in the year during which a newly-born litter could be considered extraordinary. On November 12, 1873, a male cub, picked up in the Isis a few days before, weighed (at a guess) barely 2fbs.: he had milk canines and molars, but no incisors cut (it may be worth mentioning that he did not lose the first of these milk canines until a day or two, at most, before January 22) ; he had probably not many days before emerged for the first time from the nest, and if it be correct, as stated by Brehm (‘ Illustrirtes Thierleben ’) and quoted by Lilljeborg, that the young are suckled by the mother for a couple of months in the nest before they are taken out and instructed by her in the art of catching fish, nine weeks would be somewhere about his age. ‘Two other cubs, male and female, were captured a few days after the first, making a probable total of three to the litter. On March 31, in the same year, a female cub, picked up about the 20th, in Wales, weighed 24 Tbs.; she had incisors, evidently not long cut. -Two cubs, weighing about 3 Ibs. each, were killed on October 24, 1875, while trying to scramble up a willow-tree in the floods near Oxford. Two others were caught from a fishing boat when swimming with their mother in the sea, off Megavissy, Cornwall, on February 4th, 1873 (as reported in ‘Land and Water’ at the time); one of these, which I found lying dead in its cage at the Zoological Gardens on the 24th, weighed then, at a guess, about 34 Ibs. On July 10th of the same year I caught a young female Otter in the Thames, weighing somewhere about 5 or 54 Tbs., and on comparing it with the specimen mentioned above as received from Wales in March of this year, it appeared to be from a month to six weeks younger. Two cubs were caught with Major Hill’s otter-hounds in Wales in 1870; one, a female, weighed on July 23, 5 tbs. 140z. Four young Otters, from different localities, appeared to be of much the same age—averaging about 9 lbs.— (one weighed 8 tbs. 6 oz., and was 3 feet 2 inches long, another 9} tbs., length 3 feet Linch) in the months of June, August, May, and December. The friend who sent me these wrote me word that he had tried to procure a cub, caught a few days previously, which was not much more than half the size of the specimens sent. The mother of another of these had, according to the fisherman who shot her, three teats used, as if that were the number of young in the litter. Three small cubs were killed, together with their mother, in their nest under a stack of osiers on one of the eyots on the Thames; I do not know the time of year. A female Otter, trapped on the OCCASIONAL NOTES. 101 Thames, was found by the man who skinned her to contain three young; I regret that in this instance, as in two or three others of single cubs being picked up, I have no note of the time of year. One of the two Otters now in the Zoological Gardens, received in February last, must undoubtedly, I think, have been born during the previous autumn. Two female Otters, which I have in captivity, come in season pretty nearly every month, and would, I believe, pair at almost any time of year, especially perhaps November, but unfortunately I cannot get hold of a male; the only indi- vidual I ever possessed (the first cub mentioned) died from inflammation of the lungs before he was full-grown.—ALrreD Hennacr Cocks (5, Radnor- place, Hyde Park, W.). HysriD BETWEEN THE Enetish Hare anp THE Scotcn Hare.—At arecent meeting of the Glasgow Natural History Society Mr. Lumsden exhibited a Hare, hybrid between Lepus timidus and Lepus variabilis, which was shot in December last near Dumbarton moor, where blue Hares were turned out a few years ago. He remarked that “ the editors of the new edition of Bell’s ‘ British Quadrupeds’ do not seem to have been at all sure of hares of this description occurring in this country, and state that hybrids are reported to be known in Switzerland, but that the statement requires further confirmation. It is reported, however, that they are not uncommon in some places in Perthshire.” Mr. John Cordeaux, of Great Cotes, Ulceby, informs us that when shooting in Perthshire last September, he killed a hare which he had no doubt was a cross between Lepus timidus and Lepus variabilis. This example, which he compared the same day with pure specimens of both species, exhibited very distinctly a mixture of the colours of both parents, that of the Common Hare predominating. It differed, also, in some respects from the Mountain Hare, being generally larger, with larger head, larger ears, and broader forehead. The head keeper on this moor, an experienced man, stated that there was no doubt whatever about the inter-breeding of the two species, but that the progeny was infertile. —Ep. A Fresuwater Breepine-Havnt oF tHE Sanpwica Tern.—A correct list of the breeding stations of some of our rarer sea-fowl would be both interesting and useful to those who are fond of studying the habits of our native birds; for in many instances the localities chosen are not those where the casual observer might be induced to look for them. Few, indeed, would expect to find the Sandwich Tern nesting on a little moor- land lough some miles from the sea, and totally unconnected with it; yet such was the locality selected by the Sandwich Terns frequenting Killala Bay and the estuary of the River Moy. On the 7th of April, 1851, near the island of Bartragh, I first became acquainted with this beautiful Tern. Having previously resided in the South of Ireland it was quite unknown to me, and when the attention of my brother and myself was first attracted by 102 THE ZOOLOGIST. its very peculiar cry (which if once heard can never be mistaken or forgotten) we were very much puzzled, as for a long time we could not make out what bird uttered it, or from what direction it proceeded. The sound appeared to come from all points of the compass, yet no birds appeared in sight: after some time we chanced to look upwards, and were only just able to perceive some birds wheeling about and soaring at an immense height, and all the while screaming loudly. This wild flight and strange cry, so unlike that of any other bird we knew, induced us to watch them closely, and after some time they gradually lowered their flight to the water, and we then saw that they were some species of Tern. We got into our boat, and succeeded in shooting a couple, and found they were the Sandwich Tern. This peculiar habit of soaring to a great height (almost out of sight) and wheeling about in wide circles, occasionally chasing each other and screaming loudly, is more often to be witnessed early in the season, before they begin to sit, although occasionally in autumn a pair may be seen acting in a similar manner, but almost invariably on fine bright days. As these Terns remained feeding about the bay and estuary, we were most anxious to find their breeding ground, but although we made many enquiries and searches we were unable to discover it. About the time we supposed the females were hatching, the male birds were daily seen flying inland towards Lough Conn, with sand-eels in their bills to feed their mates. Lough Conn, however, was visited twice without our seeing any trace of the Sandwich Terns, the only members of the Laride met with being Black-headed Gulls and Common Terns. Our search for the breeding haunt having thus failed I gave it up for a time, but in May, 1857, I was told of a small lough upon which a number of small gulls bred, and which is situate near the residence of the late Mr. Gardiner, of Cloona, two miles from the town of Ballina, and about three miles from the estuary. This lough, nearly surrounded by a bog, is about twenty or thirty acres in extent, and has a wooded island in the centre, with a quan- tity of reeds and bulrushes at one end. On visiting the spot I found a large colony of Black-headed Gulls breeding amongst the reeds, and a smaller colony of the Sandwich Terns located on a low flat mud-bank scarcely above the level of the water. Some of these Terns had no nests to speak of, but had laid their eggs in a slight depression of the soil, thinly lined with a few blades of dried grass, and (as well as I can remember now) I think three was the average number of the eggs in each nest. When returning I brought five or six of the eggs back with me, and at that date (the last week in May) some were nearly hatched, and too far advanced for blowing, which shows that this species breeds much earlier than the smaller terns. The following winter and spring being unusually wet, the level of the lake was raised so high as to cover the mud-bank upon which the Terns had had their nests, and as the bank continued under water during OCCASIONAL NOTES. 103 the summer of 1858, the Terns deserted this lake altogether. They have now moved to the little moorland lough of Rarouem, situated midway between Ballina and Killala, and within sight of the high-road between those towns. This lough is considerably larger than that of Cloona, but is nearly surrounded by bog, with very swampy shores, and a large quantity of reeds growing on the margin: in some places these reeds grow far out towards the centre, where there is a small circular island about twenty yards in diameter, whereon a large number of Black-headed Gulls make their nests, as they do also among the reeds, but the Terns have theirs on a bare part of the island, a little away from those of the Gulls. This lake, with the adjoining land, is the property of Sir Charles Knox Gore, who, with the spirit of a true naturalist, strictly preserves it, and does not permit either Gulls or Terns to be disturbed: last season he had the bushes and long grass cut off the island, in order to give the birds more space for their nests, so that now, being well protected, there is every likeli- hood of this beautiful species increasing every year. When visiting this lough in June, 1876, it presented a most pleasing sight from the number and variety of the birds frequenting it; the Gulls and Terns sitting on their nests, the male Terns continually coming from the sea with sand-eels to feed their mates, Wild Ducks, Teal, Coots, and Waterhens swimming in and out amongst the reeds, Ring Plovers running along the shores of the lake, and Black-headed Buntings and Sedge Warblers flitting about the stunted bushes which grow on the drier parts of the swamp. Altogether it presented as pretty a picture of lake life as could well be imagined, and one of which a naturalist could never tire. The Sandwich Terns arrive in the bay and estuary of the Moy much earlier in the spring than the smaller terns, generally making their appearance between the last week of March and the middle of April; sometimes, however, I have seen them arrive as early as the 20th of March, and as late as the 26th of April.—Roserr Warren (Moyview, Ballina). On tHe Hasirs or THE Gotpen Eaair.—I have never known the Golden Eagle to eat fish, even when quite fresh, much less in a putrid state. The Sea Eagle, on the contrary, is a foul feeder, and will eat all kinds of fish ; he also watches the fords over which salmon leap in ascending rivers, and often makes them his prey. Few have enjoyed better oppor- tunities than I have for studying the habits of the Golden Eagle, for they frequent the hills around my house, and for the last twenty-four years I have had a tame one, which seems to attract the wild ones, who sometimes sit on the top of her cage. In 1875 she laid two eggs, and last year four. She is much attached to me, and will allow me to handle her in any way. So far from being afraid of anything alive, I may state that she has killed a Peregrine Falcon, which was so tame that I allowed it to fly about, besides several Merlins, Gray Crows, and other pets that I had, which went into 104 THE ZOOLOGIST. her cage attracted by the meat. Only last month she killed a large cat in the same way. I could furnish many other anecdotes of her did space permit. The mode of hunting by the Golden Kagle is most interesting to watch. Generally speaking two of these birds hunt together, a hare being the favourite prey. When the hare is started one of them follows it as near the ground as possible; the other poises in the air, or as a falconer would say “waits on,” and watches intently. If a rock or anything else inter- venes, and the bird in pursuit loses sight of the hare, the other at once stoops and takes up the running; the first then “waits on,” and so on. The hare has little chance of life unless there is a hole in which to hide.— Wittram Prxe (Glendarary, Achill Sound, Co. Mayo). Nores rrom THE West or Enetanp.—A Rough-legged Buzzard is reported to me as having been trapped on Exmoor this winter; it is described as having been very light-coloured in its plumage, so may prove an adult. At the beginning of November a Green Sandpiper made its appearance by a warm drain close to my house, and was to be noticed there daily for some six weeks, when it disappeared, and I feared it had been shot; however, after a fortnight’s absence it returned, and one day I flushed from the same drain a smaller Sandpiper, which seemed tamer than the other bird, rising with a feeble “ weet,” and flying over the field at a short distance from me. Iam pretty positive that it was a Wood Sandpiper. About Christmas a Curlew Sandpiper was shot on the moors a little to the east of Taunton, and is, I should judge, in almost complete winter dress, in which state it is but rarely obtained in this part of the kingdom. It is not so gray on the back as the Dunlin in its winter plumage, and still shows many of the crescentic markings which characterize the young birds shot in September and October; but all the under parts from the bill to the vent are pure white, and the upper wing-coverts are very hoary, being dark gray spotted with white, not a little resembling the summer plumage of the Wood Sandpiper. Whilst on the subject of Sandpipers I may add that last summer, when fishing on the moors, I saw a Common Sandpiper rise a few feet into the air from off a bank adjoining the stream, and while it rose and slowly descended again it warbled a very agreeable little song; a clump of furze separated me from the bird and the stream by an interval of a few feet, so that the bird did not see me, while I was sufficiently near to see it clearly and to catch what was to mea hitherto unknown song. It is on record that the Wood Sandpiper also pipes a few pleasing notes.—Murray A. Maruew (The Vicarage, Bishop’s Lydeard). Rare Birds on tHE Exu.—An adult specimen of the Little Gull (Larus minutus), in winter plumage, which had been shot near Woodbury, was shown to me in the flesh on the 29th November last. On the 12th January two immature specimens were shot on the Exe, below Topsham, by Mr. Douglas Hamilton and Mr. Benjamin Cleave, who have kindly presented OCCASIONAL NOTES. 105 them to this Museum. Another immature specimen has also been shot within the last few days at Turf, on the Exe. ‘This species has occurred three times previously on the same river, once at Teignmouth, twice in Torbay, and twice at Plymouth. A Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cris- tatus) in winter plumage was shot at Powderham, on the Exe, on the 15th January, by Mr. A. K. Hamilton, who has presented it to this Museum; it is not common on the Exe, but has been obtained in various stages of plumage, principally in the early months of the year. On the 18th December last a young male Long-tailed Duck (Harelda glacialis) was brought to me in the flesh ; it had been killed on the Exe. We have now a fine series in this Museum killed on this river: an adult male in summer plumage (1847), an adult male in winter plumage, a young male (1851), another young bird (1865). A small flock of these ducks was seen on the Exe in November, 1867.—W. 8. M. D’Unpan (Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter). Rooxs Arrackine Acorns.—Your remarks on Rooks attacking acorns (page 21) reminds me of what came under my observation some twenty years since, when residing in Morayshire. I made some notes on the subject at the time, and now give an extract, thinking it will go far to prove that the Rooks you saw carrying off acorns were doing so to get at the grubs. The past autumn having been unusually mild, the thermometer in November frequently as high as 55°, grubs and worms were unusually abundant, consequently Rooks could uot have been pressed by hunger to feed on acorns. Seeing that the Nuthatch breaks the hazel-nut, we need not wonder at the Rooks breaking the shell of the walnut. The note to which I refer is as follows :—‘‘ November, 1858. Observing a number of Rooks flying in and out of a fir plantation, and remarking that they were more than usually clamorous, I was induced to watch them; I then found that on emerging from the wood they held in the beak something of con- siderable size, but what it might be I could not imagine. Snails were thought of, but it being late in November they were hybernating, so I endeavoured by a closer inspection to ascertain what could have been found of an eatable kind in the fir-trees, but the closely-matted branches effectually screened them. On leaving the wood they were observed to alight on an open space dotted with furze, under cover of which I was enabled to watch them unobserved; I then saw that what they were pecking and tearing at were fir-cones; the operation over—and it took but a few minutes—they returned to the trees for a fresh supply. On examining several of the cones strewn over the ground in different stages of decay, a grub, or maggot, was found in some of them near the core, showing clearly on what the Rooks had been feeding."—Hrnry Haprierp (Ventnor). Rooxs Arracxine Acorns.—Like Mr. R. M. Barrington I had never noticed that acorns were not included by the authorities on British Birds P 106 THE ZOOLOGIST. in the category of the Rook’s food. I have repeatedly seen them eat acorns, but was under the impression that they eat all but the outside shell. Rooks and Carrion Crows begin to come to our walnut trees on or about the 28th September every year. ‘They wrench off the nut, and sometimes carry it to a great distance before they commence to eat it. They generally take it to the middle of some large field, and holding the nut down firmly by one claw, proceed to peck it open by aid of their powerful beak. It is impossible to make one drop the coveted morsel when flying over, however much they are frightened. I never saw them bury a walnut, as related by Mr. Jesse.—C. Marruew Prior (Bedford). CURLEWS BREEDING N&AR SatsBury.—I can quite credit the para- graph in ‘The Marlborough Times,’ mentioned at page 38, concerning the true Curlew (Numenius arquata) breeding occasionally on the Aldbourne Downs. One or two pairs have bred regularly on the downs some seven miles from Salisbury for many years past. My little boys taking a great interest in Natural History, I asked a friend, in the spring of 1875, to pro- cure for mea pair of the eggs of the Stone Curlew, or Thick-knee, which bird breeds annually with us. He did so, but they unfortunately arrived when I was away from home, and were broken. He very kindly sent me a second pair on May 25th,—rather late in the season for them,—and told me whence he had procured them. On making enquiries of a person he mentioned, I was told that they were not uncommon, and that some Curlew’s eggs could be obtained from the same downs if I wanted them, as one or two pair bred there every year. I was surprised at hearing it, but size and colour and shape of the egg were described so accurately that I was convinced of the truth of their doing so. Last year (1876) I asked the person to look out for me and procure me some; but this spring none were found, it being the first season they had missed breeding there. Upon this I referred to Meyer's book on ‘ British Birds and their Eggs,’ and asked the person to point out to me which eggs were meant when “ Curlew’s eggs” were spoken of; and the right egg was pointed out without the slightest hesitation. I have not the least doubt of the fact of these birds breeding on the downs, as the Thick-knee’s eggs are comparatively common about here, and could not be mistaken for the eggs of Numenius arquata by one who was per- fectly acquainted with the eggs of both species—A. P. Morrzs (Britford Vicarage, Salisbury). Variety or SanD Marrin.—This species breeds not uncommonly in several places in the neighbourhood of Ringwood, such as old gravel-pits or railway banks. Near one of the latter situations I have often sat for hours watching their untiring and happy motions and listening to their twittering notes. Last season, during their nidification, I noticed a peculiarly coloured individual flying amongst its darker relations—in fact, it seemed to be snowy white, and was consequently very conspicuous. On the 6th of OCCASIONAL NOTES. 107 September, however, I saw a specimen which had been killed as it was flying over the river, but it was terribly battered with large shot, its head being smashed and almost severed from the body. Its general colour was a pale yellowish white, the body tinged with gray, and the feathers of the wing-coverts were each bordered with bright rust-colour, so that it would have been a peculiar variety if it had been worth preservation. This was probably the bird I had watched during the summer, for although the man who shot it said he saw another at the same time similarly coloured, no such specimen was seen afterwards.—G. B. Corsin. Gray SHRIKE AND GoosaNDER IN County AnTRIM.—A female speci- men of the Great Gray Shrike was shot at Carnmoney, County Antrim, on January 13th; the stomach contained fragments of the bones of some small bird, but of what species I could not determine. On the 9th of the same month a young male Goosander was killed ou the six-mile water near Randalstown, and came into my possession the following day.—THomas Darracu (Belfast Museum). [In Thompson’s ‘Birds of Ireland’ the Goosander is characterised as “probably an annual winter visitant to Ireland, but in very limited numbers; and chiefly to fresh water.”— Ep. | Owis Wasuixe.—I have a pet Barn Owl flying at large in the yard, and on several occasions I have seen him wash in a tub of water. I have alsoa Long-eared Owl, but never knew him to wash, although he sits outside in rain and wind both night and day, and seldom seeks shelter or even a dark corner ; it is quite the contrary with the Barn Owl, as he does not seem to like the light, and seeks the cellar in the day-time. It would be of interest to me to know if others have observed Owls washing, and if so, of what species ?—THomas Darracu (Belfast Museum). [That Owls have no antipathy to water is evidenced by the fact that they have been observed to catch fish, and in their love of bathing, when oppor- tunity serves, they probably do not differ from other birds of prey.— Eb. | ReMaRKABLE VARIETY oF THE WitpD Ducx.—On the 11th January a strange specimen of the Mallard was submitted te my inspection. The head was yellowish green, the white collar absent from the neck, very slight traces of the rufous band on the breast, speculum ashy black instead of brilliant green. . It was shot below Topsham, on the Exe, a day or two before I saw it—W. S. M. D’Urzan (Curator, Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter). [Our first impression on reading this note was that the bird must have been a drake in the plumage of a duck, still undergoing that remarkable seasonal change of plumage to which we know the Mallard is liable at the close of the nesting season. But looking to the date at which it was obtained, this could scarcely have been the case. The Mallards begin to assume the duck’s plumage about the third week in May, and retain it 108 OCCASIONAL NOTES. until August, when they again undergo a gradual change towards their own richly-coloured plumage, which is fully re-assumed about the second week in October. The bird in question, therefore, ought to have been in the full plumage of the drake at the date named, and it must accordingly be regarded as an abnormal variety, if our correspondent has satisfied himself that it is not a hybrid, or an escaped wanderer from some poultry yard.— Eb. | Herons NEAR Lonpon-—One morning in December, 1876, a Heron was seen by Mr. F. W. Denny fishing in his piece of water in Hanover Park, Peckham.—Henry F. Batney. [The spot indicated is about four miles from Hyde Park Corner. On the 10th February last we saw a solitary Heron at Kingsbury Reservoir, which is about six miles from Hyde Park Corner as the bird flies. —Ep.] Giavcous Gut on THE Exe anp Tricn.—An immature specimen of the Glaucous Gull (Larus glaucus) was shot on the Exe on the 20th January. It had been seen for a fortnight previously, and had been fre- quently fired at. Another specimen, also immature, occurred on the Teign about the same time. The legs and feet and base of the bill were light pink in the first-named specimen, which is now in this Museum.— W. 5S. M. D’Urpan (Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter). Sincutar Nest or tHe Brackprrp.—On the 13th May, 1875, I came across a Blackbird’s nest, on the ground, that must have wasted the time and tested the patience of the builders very considerably. It was in the bottom of an old lime quarry, placed on a sloping bank, with too little solid foundation, and the materials of the nest kept slipping down the side of the bank with their own weight, till a queue nearly two feet long and five inches wide was made. At the head of this it was at lergth triumphantly com- pleted, and on the 17th May contained three eggs.—F. S. MircHELu (Clitheroe). OccURRENCE oF THE Spinous SHark orr Prymovry.—On January 25th a Spinous Shark (Squalus spinosus), seven feet six inches in length, was captured in a trawl-net off Plymouth, and on being opened the stomach was found to contain four Picked Dogfish (Acanthias vulgaris). Although considered a rare fish this is the third obtained off Plymouth within the last eight years—Joun GarcomBe (8, Lower Durnford Street, Stonehouse, Plymouth). Sprnous Sark 1x Movunv’s Bay.—On the 17th January a Spinous Shark was taken on a hook and line off Mousehole Island, in Mount’s Bay, just where I observed the first specimen was captured about eight years ago in a similar way. The present specimen was eight feet long, but I had no time to take details. It was too much hacked about the head and gills for preservation. This makes the fourth Mount’s Bay specimen that I have seen in eight years.—Taomas Cornisu (Penzance). OCCASIONAL NOTES. 109 Tappote Fisa orr Pryzance.—A small specimen of Raniceps trifur- catus has been captured here. It was taken in a waterhole left by the receding ‘tide, and was captured owing to its pugnacity, which may be common to the species or peculiar to the individual. It was heard splashing about in its hole, a stem of seaweed was thrust in, and the fish laid hold of it and was dragged out by it.—THomas CornisH. ASTERINA GIBBOSA ON THE Coasr or BanrrsHirE.—While walking along the shore at Banff with some friends in May last, I noticed a lot of rubbish which the fishermen had taken from their lines, and knowing from experience what treasures are sometimes to be met with in such places, I at once began to explore on the chance. The first two heaps yielded nothing new or of much importance; but in the third I was well repaid by the discovery of a fine specimen of the above-named little Star- fish, Asterina gibbosa. I am not aware of the exact range of this species, having no book on the subject, nor do I know if-it has hitherto been detected as occurring in the Moray Firth. This I know, however, that the specimen here alluded to is the first I have ever met with. If I may offer the advice of an old man, let me urge upon your readers who live by the sea and take an interest in marine forms of animal life, never to pass the spots where the fishermen clean their lines without first searching them well. ‘They will not always be successful, that is not to be expected; but let them persevere, and they will sooner or later be rewarded for their trouble-——Tuomas Epwarp (Banff). [There seems to be no previous record, so far as we have been able to ascertain, of the occurrence of Asterina gibbosa on the east coast of Great Britain. In Forbes’ ‘ British Starfish’ it is said to be “apparently confined to the western and southern shores of Britain,” and the localities mentioned are Cornwall, Isle of Man, Ross-shire, Herm, Channel Isles, and all round the coast of Ireland. ‘To these localities, Gray, in his ‘ Synopsis of Star- fishes,’ adds Plymouth Sound. The habitatat now assigned to it by Mr. Edward, therefore, is new, and the fact is interesting as establishing the occurrence of this starfish much further to the north and east than has hitherto been supposed.— Ep. ] PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. Linnean Socrety oF Lonpon. January 18, 1877.—Prof. Atuman, President, in the chair. Mr. Thomas Routledge and Mr. Samuel David Titmas were balloted for and duly elected Fellows of the Society. The “ Amphibious and Migratory Fishes of India” was the title of a very 110 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. able communication by Dr. Francis Day, a well-known authority on all that relates to the fishes of the region in question. He laid down the following propositions, and by facts endeavoured to substantiate them :— (1) That there are fishes in Asia which normally respire atmospheric air direct; (2) that these fishes possess respiratory organs having a lung-like function, and which is distinct from the gills; (3) that they are essentially amphibious, inasmuch as the accessory organs receive venous and return arterial blood into the general circulation without passing through the branchie or gills; (4) that this accessory respiratory sac is certainly not homologous with the swim-bladder of fishes, but is most probably so with the respiratory sac of amphibious reptiles. He gave numerous instances of forms which respire air direct, and can live for long periods after their removal from water, being but little affected by a bandage being placed round their gills preventing the use of these organs. He observed that in the Saccobranchus both a respiratory sac and a swim-bladder co-exist—the one along the muscles of the back, the other more or less enclosed in bone but possessing a pneumatic duct. The migrations of fishes at the com- mencement of monsoons are due to two causes—breeding purposes and a search for food. The aérial respiration of certain amphibious fishes he regards as a provision to enable those forms to migrate through moist grass and muddy channels. As soon as the rains set in and vegetation starts afresh, insects, worms, land mollusks and other invertebrates are revivified, and with this the fish restlessly seek change of locality and diet, in their search for quarters where these abound. As regards the sudden appearance of fish supposed to have fallen from the clouds, these are occasionally met with in a semi-decomposed state, and are doubtless carried by whirlwinds and storms from shallow waters into mid-air, whence they fall again in most unlooked-for situations. In other innumerable instances the apparently inexplicable profusion of fish in moist spots away from water is accounted for by the remarkable retention of vitality possessed by the mud-loving species, which emerge from torpidity into active life as soon as the waters return. The Jelly-fish have lately been made the subject of study by Mr. J. G. Romanes, who read a second notice “On Varieties and Monstrous Forms of Meduse.” He expressed surprise that among the group of Jelly-fish, at least the naked-eyed groups, with their low grade of organization and proneness to exhibit phenomena of budding or germination, examples of monstrous and misshapen forms are comparatively rare. In those cases met with by him, especially in the common Aurelia aurita, the deviations from the normal type always occurred in a multiplication or suppression (i.e., abortion) of entire segments. This affects the segments of the umbrella in a remarkably symmetrical manner, whilst the ovaries and manubrium, to a certain extent, may or may not be implicated. PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 111 eb. 1, 1877.—Grorce Brntuam, F.R.S., Vice-President, in the chair. The following gentlemen were elected Fellows of the Society :—Messrs. George Boulger (Cressingham, Reading, Berks), Alfred 8. Heath (Primrose- hill Road, N.W.), and William Meller (Sewardstone, Woodford Green, Essex). Mr. Alfred W. Bennett exhibited and made some remarks on specimens of insects, illustrating mimicry. These species (Vespa and Asilus) were captured in Syria by Mr. N. Godman. Curious and interesting examples of double Anemones, and of unusually large oak-leaves gathered near Croydon were shown and commented on by Mr. Samuel Stevens. Sir John Lubbock, Bart., M.P., then proceeded to read the fourth part of his “ Contributions on the Habits of Ants, Bees and Wasps.” In this com- munication his experiments and observations related exclusively to different species of ants, and in the main were a continuation, though with considerable ingenious modifications, of his previous inquiries, to test the intelligence of these insects. In one instance, he filled a saucer with water, put a block of wood therein, and from the top of the block a horizontal wooden rod leading to a glass cell containing abundance of larve. A strip of paper was then placed as a kind of inclined plane between the latter and the nest. Another larger block of wood of an F shape, the horizontal arm of which overhung the glass cell with the larve, and merely separated by three-tenths of an inch from the latter, this space being occupied with a paper slip hanging right on to the larve; thus [7: there were two direct routes from the nest to the larve, which specimens of Lasius niger took advantage of and for several hours carried off larvie from the cell. But no sooner was the three-tenths of an inch interval left open than the ants were foiled in access to the larve, and neither were they intelligent enough to drop three- tenths of an inch or congregate en masse to the same height, and thus form a connection whereby their companions could get at the desired food-store. Industry was conspicuously shown{by one individual, which Sir John used to place in solitary confinement in a bottle as he left home for the day; but when liberated on his return home the creature immediately commenced labour. On one occasion, after a week’s absence, the ant was no sooner released than it bravely entered on its larval-gathering propensities. It seems from other experiments that ants in difficulties within sight of their companions are by no means always assisted or relieved, any store of honey or other food having attractions of far greater interest for them. On putting some specimens under the influence of chloroform, little or no notice was taken of their insensible companions; in some cases even their friends pushed them out of the way; the tendency was to let their friends lie, but strangers were dropped over the edge of the board. It seems that to get ants properly intoxicated with spirit, for experimental purposes, is no easy matter, some recovering too quickly, and others remaining so thoroughly 112 PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. drunk as to come under the rank of incapables. The sober individuals appear exceedingly puzzled at finding their friends in such a condition. As a rule, they picked them up and carried them to the nest, whilst strangers they threw into the water and drowned. In some instances, however, confusion ensued, for a few of the strangers were carried to the nest and friends were thrown into the water; but they did not return to the rescue of their friends, and occasionally they discovered the strangers in the nest and turned them out. Other interesting experiments were made to test the ants’ recollection of friends, and Sir John expresses surprise that the ants of an entire nest evidently recognise and know each other. Even after a year’s separation, old companions are recognised and amicably received, whereas strangers almost invariably are attacked and maltreated, even when intro- duced in the mixed company of old friends. There is a difference in this respect, however, among species; for while Lasius flavus behaves as above mentioned, Formica fusca shows a milder and much more courteous de- meanour towards neighbours and strangers. In certain kinds of ants sight does not seem to be a very acute sense, inasmuch as the subjoined repeated experiments prove :—TF ood was placed a few inches from the nest on a glass slip, the straight road to and from which marked ants soon learned, but when the food had been shifted only a short distance from its first position, the same ants kept meandering in an extraordinary circuitous path from several minutes to half an hour before finding out the exact route from food to nest, and vice versa. A diagrammatic chart of the path pursued appeared as one mass of confused and intricate cross lines. Slavery in certain genera is a positive institution, the Amazon ants (Polyergus rufescens) absolutely requiring a slave assistant to clean, dress and feed them. Repeated and varied experiments go to prove that they will rather die than help themselves. There are also parasite attendants on the ants, the curious blind wood-louse (Platyarthrus Hoffmanseggit) being common in nests ; but the ants pay little attention to them, and when migrating leave these scavengers behind. Certain Diptera of the family Thorid@ are also parasitic on ants, Sir John having discovered some new species, the recently described Thora formi- carum and Platyphora Lubbocki of Mr. G. H. Verrall. A paper “ On the Aspects of the Vegetation of Rodriguez” was read by Dr. I. Bailey Balfour, B.M., who, as Botanist, accompanied the Transit of Venus Expedition to that island in 1874. It seems that, like the Fauna, the Flora of Rodriguez has undergone very considerable changes, through human, subsidiary and local influences. “The Fungi of the ‘ Challenger’ Expedition” (third notice), by the Rev. M. J. Berkely, and “ Tropical Ferns,” by Prof. Harrington, U.S., were the titles of two other botanical communications which were taken as read. PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 113 ZooLoeicaL Society or Lonpon. February 6, 1877.—Osperr Savin, Esq., F.R.S., in the chair. The Secretary read a report on the additions that had been made to the Society’s Menagerie during the month of January. Mr. Sclater exhibited and made remarks on some unnoticed characters in the original and unique specimen of Comrie’s Manucode (Manucodia Comrii, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1876, p- 459). Mr. Howard Saunders exhibited a specimen of the Panay Sooty Tern (Sterna anestheta), which had been obtained on the English coast, and was the first recorded occurrence of this bird in the British Islands. Dr. A. Ginther read a memoir on the Tortoises collected by Commander Cookson, R.N., during the visit of H.M.S. ‘Peterel’ to the Galapagos Islands. The main results of Commander Cookson’'s visit consisted in giving us a knowledge of the Tortoise of Abingdon Island (Testudo Abing- doni) and of the Tortoise of the North of Albemarle Island (J. microphyes). A communication was read from Mr. Robert Collett, containing an account of his observations on Phylloscopus borealis, as met with on the Varanger Fjord and adjacent parts of Finmark. Mr. Sclater read a note on an apparently new species of Spur-winged Goose of the genus Plectropterus, proposed to be called P. niger, founded on two examples living in the Society's Gardens, which had been presented to the Society by Lieut.-General A. V. Cunningham. Prof. A. H. Garrod read a paper on the mechanism of the invertebral substance and on some effects resulting from the erect position of man. A communication was read from Sir Victor Brooke, containing notes on the small Rusine Deer of the Philippine Islands, and giving the description of a new species proposed to call Cervus nigricans, of which a female example was recently living in the Society’s Gardens. A paper by Mr. O. Salvin and Mr. Ducane Godman was read, giving the description of twelve new species and a new genus of butterflies from Central America. Dr. Ginther gave an account of the Zoological Collection made during the visit of H.M.S. ‘ Peterel’ to the Galapagos Islands, which had been worked out by himself and his assistants in the Zoological Department of the British Museum. Mr. R. B. Sharpe communicated the description of a new species of Pheasant of the genus Lobiophasis and of a new species of Pitta from the Lawas River, N.W. Borneo. Mr. Sharpe proposed to call the former L. castaneicaudatus, and the latter, Pitta Ussheri.—P. L. Sclater. 114 THE ZOOLOGIST. ENtomonocicaL Society oF Lonpon. February 7, 1877.—Prof. Wrestwoop, M.A., President, in the chair. The Secretary read a list of donations to the Library since the date of the last meeting, and thanks were voted to the donors. Election of a Subscriber. William Denison Roebuck, Esq., of Leeds, Hon. Sec. of the West Riding Consolidated Naturalists’ Society and of the Leeds Natural History Society, was balloted for and elected a Subscriber. The President nominated Messrs. J. W. Douglas, J. W. Dunning and Henry T. Stainton as Vice-Presidents for the ensuing year. The President then delivered the Address, which he was prevented from delivering at the Annual Meeting, on the progress of Entomology during the past year, and which was ordered to be printed. Exhibitions, dc. Mr. F. Bond (on behalf of Mr. Cooke, of Brighton) exhibited another specimen of the North-American butterfly, Danais Archippus, taken during the second week of September last by Mr. Alford Wood, of New Close, Keymer, Sussex, flying over a field of clover near Hassock’s Gate. This was the third specimen recorded as having been taken in this country; the first having been captured near Neath on the 6th September, and the second near Hayward's Heath on the 17th October, 1876, and recorded in the ‘Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine’ for October, and in ‘The Entomologist’ for December, 1876. The President brought for exhibition a specimen of the singular butterfly Bhutanitis Lidderdalii, Atkinson, from Bhotan. He also read a letter which he had received from Baron y. Osten-Sacken, referring to his paper on the genus Systropus, published in the last part of the ‘ Transactions’ of this Society, in which he had stated that a species received from Natal (S. crudelis) had been bred froma cocoon resembling that of Limacodes, found on a tree of the genus Mimosa. The letter referred the President to a paper by Benj. D. Walsh in the ‘ Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History’ (vol. ix., p. 800, 1864), in which he relates that he had bred a dipteron from a cocoon of Limacodes hyalinus. This dipteron, which he had communicated to Baron Osten-Sacken, proved to be the common North-American Systropus (S. macer, Loew), and was a remarkable instance of community of habit among insects of the same genus in far distant regions. The President had also been informed by M. Ernest Olivier, of Moulin, who had recently visited Pompeii, that he had observed large numbers of Bombylii flying in company with a bee of which he had forwarded a speci- men, but this proved to be an Anthophora (probably A. nigrocincta), and PROCEEDINGS OF SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. PLS not an dAndrena, like those described in his paper in the last part of the ‘ Transactions’ (“‘ Note Dipterologice,” No. 1). Mr. M‘Lachlan exhibited a case of a Lepidopterous larva sent by Dr. Kirk from Zanzibar, who had found it on a species of Mimosa. He considered it to be allied, probably, to Psyche and Oiketicus, and was remarkable on account of its form, which bore a striking resemblance to that of a flattened - Helix. It appeared to be constructed of a substance resembling papier maché, with a smooth whitish external coating. Mr. C. O. Waterhouse exhibited varieties of British Lepidoptera, viz., Chrysophanus phlwas, Polyommatus Adonis, P. Alexis and Agrotis ea- clamationis. Dr. F. Buchanan White forwarded to the Society the following account of a case of “ Pruritus from an Unusual Cause,” by Dr. Tilbury Fox, extracted from the ‘ Medical Examiner’ of 21st December, 1876 :— “ At the end of July, 1876, a gentleman resident in the Eastern Counties noticed on the eyelid of his infant a small red speck, which on examination with a hand-microscope proved to be a living parasite, partially imbedded in the skin. Several days subsequently his wife was greatly annoyed by pruritus, and her neck and chest were found studded here and there with these little red specks, which at first sight were thought to be “ petechie,” but turned out to be insects. They could be readily extracted with a pin. In the attempt to discover the source whence the parasites came, a pet pug dog was examined, and then collections of these parasites on the nose and between the eyes—where, in fact, the hair was least thick—were discovered. During August the little red visitors caused excessive annoyance to the servants and everyone in the house, defying all remedial measures, though some members of the household were very much less affected than others. Remove them as you would, the next day a fresh supply appeared, aud the insects were found on the arms of the infant as well as the face, on the back, neck and chest, and even the nipples of the adults. A favourite long-haired French cat was examined, because one of the family after nursing it was greatly annoyed, and the ears were found infested. The hair fell off, leaving bald patches where the parasites were congregated on the dog and the cat. In the middle of August the animals were shut up, isolated, and regularly dressed with equal parts of sulphurous acid and glycerine, and the plague began to diminish at once. The members of the household had tried citrine ointment, compound sulphur ointment, detergent solution of tar, &.; but still the nuisance continued in some degree, and a second cat was found affected. But when all the animals were shut out of the house the mischief did not cease. There was some doubt and difference of opinion with regard to the exact species of the parasite. A specimen was submitted to my friend Dr. Cobbold, and he pronounced it to be Zrombidium, or garden mite, 116 THE ZOOLOGIST. which lives on plants. It is closely related to the true mites, the itch-insect, the little red “spider” of hot-houses, and the well-known Leptus autwmnalis, or “ harvest-bug.” The annoying pruritus about the legs produced by the latter at the end of the summer, after a walk in the fields, &c., is well known to every one; and Dr. Heiberg has lately recorded that the nuisance assumed an epidemic form in a village in Denmark. In the present case the pruritus was chiefly around the neck and shoulders, and several parasites were removed from the eyelids. The plants in the garden were not examined to see if plant-mites were very abundant there, as this exact source was not suspected at the time. ‘There can be little doubt, I think, that the original source must have been certain plants in the garden; that the house pets, who were undoubtedly first affected, were agents in the conveyance of the main portion of the parasites to the human members of the family, but not exclusively, the probability being that many of the people, especially after the pet cats and dog were excluded from the house, managed to be infected directly from the original source.” Papers read. “Notes on the African Saturnid@ in the Collection of the Royal Dublin Society.” By W. F. Kirby. “Descriptions of new Genera and Species of Phytophagous Beetles belonging to the Family Cryptocephalide, together with Diagnoses and Remarks on previously described Genera.” By Joseph S. Baly, F.L.S. “Descriptions of new Species of Phytophagous Beetles belonging to the Family Ewmolpide, and a Monograph of the Genus Humolpus.” By Joseph S. Baly, F.L.S., &e.—F. G. NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. Eastern Persia: An Account of the Journeys of the Persian Boundary Commission, 1870—71—72. Vol. I. The Geo- graphy and Narratives, by Majors St. Jonny, Lovett, and Evan Smita, with an Introduction by Col. Sir F. GoLpsm1p, C.B. Vol. II. The Zoology and Geology, by W. T. BianrorD, F.R.S. With numerous coloured plates. Published by the authority of the Government of India. London: Macmillan & Co. 1876. Tue object of the mission of which these two handsome volumes detail the result was to settle the disputed boundaries on the NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. OE Ly/ eastern frontier of the Persian empire, the disputants being virtually the Shah of Persia on the one hand, and the Amir of Afghanistan (in right of certain acquired interest through rebel feudatories) on the other. By the settlement arrived at through this Commission, Persia got the position which is designated as Sistan Proper, while to Afghanistan was allotted the country on the right bank of the river Helmund, and, above a certain point on that stream, all the cultivated land on both banks. Owing to numerous delays and difficulties which our diplomacy apparently created rather than averted, the labours of the Com- missioners were tediously prolonged during several years, and the first volume of the work before us is occupied with narratives of the various journeys necessitated or undertaken, and an account of the observations and researches made en route by the different members of the Staff. It is in fact a kind of Blue Book of the Persian Boundary Commission, and undoubtedly embodies a large amount of valuable information, although of a nature somewhat foreign to the scope of this journal. The second volume demands a more lengthy notice at our hands. Fortunately for all who are interested in Natural History, there was one amongst the above-named officers, Major O. B. St. John, who was actuated by far higher views than those of an ordinary traveller and sportsman, and, with the aid of a native collector sent from the Indian Museum at Calcutta, he amassed during the years 1869—70—71 no less than 500 specimens of mammals and birds from such hitherto little-known districts as the forests south and west of Shiraz and its vicinity, and also from the hill ranges between Shiraz and Isfahan, from Tehran and the Elburz mountains, and from the neighbourhood of Resht, near the Caspian. The consequence of this able pioneering was that when a highly trained scientific observer like Mr. Blanford arrived in the country, in 1872, he found the road considerably smoothed for him, from a naturalist’s point of view, and indeed the valuable co-operation of Major St. John is most fully acknowledged by him in these pages. These two naturalists then made a journey in company from Gwador, in Balichistan, to Shiraz, Isfahan, and Tehran, and the result of their joint observations and collections, the latter carefully worked out in Europe with the aid of the best public and private museums for comparison and identification, appear in the present volume. 118 THE ZOOLOGIST. The author’s systematic catalogue principally relates to mam- mals, birds, reptiles, and amphibia, 347 species and 2051 specimens of which were obtained, exclusive of collections of individuals of the two latter groups previously examined and described by Dr. Anderson, of the Indian Museum, Calcutta. Mr. Blanford’s scientific descriptions are supplemented by many valuable and interesting remarks by Major St. John, relative to the habits of the various species he observed during his prolonged residence in Persia, an advantage from which Mr. Blanford was necessarily debarred. He modestly states that even the present cannot pretend to be other than a very imperfect list of the fauna of this vast—and to a great extent, unexplored—country, the north- eastern portion of which is still almost a terra incognita, whilst there is much to he learned respecting the animals inhabiting the plains extending from the Tigris to the Zagros mountains, the western slopes of which are covered with forest, as are also the southern shores of the Caspian. Prior to the present expedition our knowledge of the Zoology of Persia proper was extremely limited, the explorations of Pallas and Eichwald having been restricted to the shores of the Caspian, whilst those of Gildenstadt were principally confined to the Caucasus, and by far the most important, although still meagre, information was to be derived from the “ Noté di un viaggio in Persia” (Milan, 1865), by Pro- fessor De Filippi, of Turin, who accompanied an Italian embassy in 1862. In this work a list is given of 30 species of mammals, 167 birds, 39 reptiles, 3 amphibia, and 22 fishes; but the investi- gations of Major St. John and Mr. Blanford have increased this catalogue to no less than 89 mammals, 384 birds, 92 reptiles, and 9 amphibia! The number of species is not surprising when we consider the great variation in soil, climate, and temperature to be found in a country like Persia, which consists to a great extent of desert plateaux of varying and often considerable elevation, for the most part destitute of vegetation, whilst on the shores of the Caspian is a moist forest region, and a thick belt of woodland also extends from the Zagros mountains to Shiraz; and again towards the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean the vegetation becomes more tropical, though rarely luxuriant. Mr. Blanford analyses the character of the distinctive fauna of each of the various regions, and sums up that of the Persian highlands as being Palearctic, with a great prevalence of desert forms, remarking NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 119 upon the great difficulty of establishing a desert province, although there can be little doubt as to the existence of a true desert fauna. Many of the forms of animal life are characteristic of Central Asia, especially the Ounce (F. uncia), Alactaga indica, a Jerboa hitherto only known from Afghanistan, and Spermophilus concolor, amongst mammals; whilst such more widely distributed forms as Felis pardus, F. chaus, Ovis cycloceros, Capra egagrus, &c., are also to be found, along with species restricted to Persia, represen- tative forms of well-known families. Such are the new species of Hedgehog, Erinaceus macracanthus, Vulpes persicus, Meles canescens, Gerbillus persicus, and Gazella subgutturosa, whilst under still closer restrictions as regards range we find three species of Bats, a Jerboa, and Lagomys rufescens, a Nuthatch (Sitta rupicola), and ten species of reptiles. The fauna of the forest district along the south-east coast of the Caspian is extremely interesting, for, although on the whole Palzarctic, there are several species apparently peculiar to the locality, and also several Eastern forms unknown in other parts of Persia, such as the Tiger, Cervus Caspius (a Deer allied to C. avis, belonging to the Indo-Malayan group), and a Viper (Halys Pallasii). The existence of the Tiger in the Caspian provinces north of the Elburz range, corresponding in part to the ancient Hyrcania, was well known to ancient writers, and allusion to Hyrcanian and Caucasian Tigers must be familiar to all readers of Virgil; but the fact of a Deer of Indo- Malayan affinities being found in the same district as Cervus morral, the only true Elaphine Deer which is found in Persia, is very remarkable, and an important addition to our knowledge of geographical distribution. The birds of this district call for little remark, as the author’s new species, Hrythacus hyrcanus, is con- fessedly only a local and brilliant form of the common Robin, and Garrulus hyrcanus is one of those local forms of the Jay which drive the systematist to despair, with the alternative of “lumping” nearly all the races together, or of making as many species as there are varieties. With regard to the wooded slopes of the Zagros, and the oak forest as far as Shiraz, the fauna, so far as known from Major St. John’s collections, appears to be mainly Palzarctic, although one of the characteristic mammals is the Lion, which is found in Mesopotamia. It does not appear to exist on the table- land of Persia, nor in Balichistan, and, so far as can be judged 120 THE ZOOLOGIST. from the limited knowledge we possess, it rather resembles the form inhabiting North-East Africa than the Guzerat animal. Major St. John’s notes upon this species are extremely interesting, and the narrative of his adventure with a lioness is of far more thrilling interest than half the stories put together with which we are familiar. Indeed of late nothing less than four or five lions bolting from cover altogether at a “hot corner,” and being rolled over (on paper) like rabbits, will suit the modern appetites for large bags, and it is refreshing to meet with a lioness that could look an Englishman in the face without dying on the spot. This district produced a new species of Woodpecker (Picus Sancti-Johannis), closely allied to the European P. medius, and two new Titmice—one Purus pheonolus, allied to P. aler, but distinguishable by its olive-brown back; the other P. persicus, a pale-coloured form of P. ceruleus. Of the fauna of Mesopotamia Mr. Blanford’s regard for accuracy precludes him from saying much, as available information on the subject proved very scanty, but his remarks on the Zoology of the shores of the Persian Gulf and Balichistan are of great interest, as he has personally explored this region, the fauna of which differs widely from that of the rest of Persia. The Palearctic forms are now almost entirely replaced on the high- lands by desert species of the Indian fauna, and in a few cases by Malayan types, whilst several others are African, and are either unknown in India or at most do not extend beyond Sind and the neighbouring districts east of the Indus, all of these last being desert types. Space will not permit us to pick out the new and interesting species which he has described, nor would it be fair to the author to do so. Many of the mammals and birds are illustrated by beautiful coloured plates by Keulemans, as well as by woodcuts and by lithographic engravings of the reptiles by Ford, and an excellent coloured map is given of the geographical provinces. On the whole the volume is an indispensable one to naturalists, and is in’every way worthy of Mr. Blanford’s high reputation. THE ZOOLOGIST. THIRD SERIES. Wont.) Ale Eve Lis. deegaae [No. 4. ANCIENT AND EXTINCT BRITISH QUADRUPEDS.« By A. Letra Apams, M.D., F.R.S. Any account of the quadrupeds which frequented the British Islands in bygone ages and before historic times would be im- perfect without a brief allusion to the physical conditions of the country during the period of their existence. My observations on that head, however, will be confined to the vast epoch which has elapsed since the close of what is known as the glacial period, when Europe was emerging from the white sheet which for unreckoned ages had clad it, from the Pole to the Mediterranean, in ice and snow. The proofs of this curious episode in the history of the earth are as clear as is the existence of glaciers at the present day. It is, moreover, evident, that the cold period came on suddenly, and, as regards the British Islands, at a time when the physical aspect of the country—at least, as regards the main features of the land- scape—did not materially differ from what is now observed. The Jand was then inhabited by quadrupeds, some of which were identical with species now living, although many afterwards became extinct, and did not reappear. This has been named the pre-glacial period, when our climate was perhaps somewhat milder than it is at * This article on a subject of much interest to zoologists, and upon which com- paratively little has been written, was originally published in the Natural-History columns of ‘The Field,’ and appeared in chapters during the months of October, November and December, 1875, and January, 1876. It is now reprinted for the benefit of such of our readers as may not haye seen it, and for the convenience of those who, having already perused the scattered chapters as they first appeared, may be glad to see them now collected in the more convenient and portable form of an octavo.—Iip KR 122 THE ZOOLOGIST. present. During the subsequent glacial epoch the whole of the British islands, including portions since submerged, were clothed in an eternal winter mantle, partly snow and partly in the form of glaciers, which moved down from the high to the low lands, carrying with them rocks and débris of all kinds to form fresh deposits. The remains of the animals in question have been preserved chiefly in caves or in river deposits. The limestone caverns, in which they are found, usually present the following appearances :— On the floor there is a bed of calcareous drippings hardened into a substance known as stalagmite. Under the latter may be seen successive layers of clay and stalagmite of various thickness. Some- times the osseous remains are found on the floor of the rock simply embedded in the stalagmite. The various levels formed by an alter- nation of cave-earth or clay and drippings may represent various stages in the history of a cave. For instance, on the surface flint tools, fashioned by man, together with bones of the Red Deer and Oxen, may be found; in the second layer may be discovered the remains of herbivorous quadrupeds and of Lions and Elephants, the larger bones showing evident traces of having been gnawed by predaceous animals. Under these conditions, it may be surmised that the cave was originally a den of carnivorous animals, which had dragged in the bones of their prey, until the surface, getting gradually covered over by stalagmitic drippings, became eventually the resort of man. Of course the absence of traces of his presence is no proof that he may not have been contemporary with the lions in the second deposit; at the same time, we are not justified in admitting his presence unless we find the bones of domestic animals, flint tools, or other relics of man mingled in the same stratum. As to the age of these two deposits, they may or may not represent long periods; much depends on the rapidity or otherwise of the influx of the cave-earth, either through rock-fissures or by the aid of streams, which convey large quantities of soil into underground caverns; whilst the extent of dripping of the lime-water from the roof and sides, and its hardening, depend entirely on circumstances ; for a cave may get filled to the top in a comparatively short time, or its filling may be the work of ages. In either case some covering of the bones must take place before they have time to decay, as they otherwise would do if left uncovered. It is wonderful how little stalagmite is required to preserve a bone; a mere crust, not - =f ANCIENT AND EXTINCT BRITISH QUADRUPEDS. 1238 the thickness of a shilling, will often suffice to preserve the thigh- bone of an Elephant. It is now generally supposed that many of the rivers of our southern and eastern coasts are but the head-waters of what were once much larger rivers before the severance of the islands from the mainland of Europe. The Thames is thought to have been one of the tributaries of the Rhine; and, as will be noticed in the sequel, it is seldom that oyster-dredging is prosecuted with vigour on the coasts of Norfolk and Suffolk without quantities of bones of extinct quadrupeds being brought to the surface. When the separation in question took place is not altogether clear; that England and Europe were united, however, at the close of the glacial epoch seems pretty certain, else how could such animals as the Elephant and the Lion have reached the British Islands? The probability is that there was a highway at the Straits of Dover, which may have disappeared before the Lions and Elephants died out on British soil. With the thaw of the glacial period the rivers doubtless became, then and long afterwards, subject to constant inundations, which covered large tracts of country, and formed deposits of sand, loam and clay, in which the animal remains are now found. London, for example, is built on deposits of the ancient Thames; and in many other situations where insignificant streams now exist, the banks are made up of vast beds of débrts stretching inland, and containing the bones of both extinct and living animals. Again, deep in the brick-earths of the Thames Valley, at Clacton, Ilford, Grays (Essex), and Crayford, remains representing herds of giant Oxen, Deer, Elephants, Rhinoceroses, &c., have been discovered from time to time, indicating that they had probably been drowned and carried down by inundations of the Thames. In the nature of the animal remains there is a general accord with those of river-bottoms and of the caves, thus showing that they were of the same geological period. But in the brick-earths, or lowermost strata of rivers, it sometimes happens that remains of animals are found distinct from any other species found in the upper beds and in the caves; in con- sequence, it has been surmised that the brick-earths may have been deposited during pre-glacial times, and therefore contain the animals of that epoch. Some idea of the animals which frequented Wales, South and South-Western England, the Thames Valley, Yorkshire, and the South of Ireland may be gathered from the following :— In several caverns in Glamorganshire remains of man have been 124 THE ZOOLOGIST. found, associated with bones of the Rhinoceros, Spotted Hyzna, Badger, Ermine (or Stoat), Polecat, Wolf, Fox, Otter, Grisly Bear, Brown Bear and Great Cave Bear, Reindeer, Roebuck, Red Deer, Bison, Urus (or Giant Ox), Hippopotamus, Pig, Horse, two species of Elephants, Hare, Rabbit, Water Rat, Cat, Lion, and Great-horned Deer. In the Devonshire caves the same animals, with the addition of the Sabre-toothed Lion and the Lemming. In the brick-earths and deposits of the Thames an exact repetition of the first have been found, with the addition of the Beaver. The celebrated cavern of Kirkdale was a den of Hyznas, where nearly all the animals of the other caves were found, thus showing a very general distribution throughout the country. The only Irish cave or river deposit at all fruitful was the cavern of Shandon, in the county of Waterford, where remains of the Mammoth, Elephant, Horse, Reindeer, Red Deer, Grisly Bear, Wolf, Fox and Hare were found associated. Scotland, not possessing many limestone caverns, and the Highlands being of granitic formations, together possibly with the effects of a rigorous climate during the period when the quadrupeds in question were living in England, may account for the absence of remains of any save the Wolf, Mammoth and Reindeer, although others may remain to be discovered. I now propose to note a few of the more interesting details which geologists have brought to light concerning the various species of animals which formerly inhabited the British Islands, but which are now either extinct or only exist in a few localities and in greatly diminished numbers. THE Brown Bear is one of the few extinct British beasts which survived up to the historical period, and, although it had dis- appeared probably for centuries beforehand in England, we have it on excellent authority that it was common on the Scotch High- lands as late as the middle of the eleventh century.* The date of its existence in Ireland is uot recorded;+ indeed, as will be presently shown, there are doubts if the Brown Bear (Ursus arctos) * Pennant says it was a native of Scotland in 1057. + No tradition has yet been found with reference to its Irish residence, although the name math-gamhuin (calf of the plains) is supposed by many authorities to refer to the Bear. St. Donatus, who died 4.p. 840, asserts it was not in the island in his time.—A. L.A. [The skulls of Bears referred to by Dr. Ball (Trans. Roy. Irish Acad., 1849) as having been found in Ireland, are now considered to have belonged to the Grisly Bear.—Ep.} ANCIENT AND EXTINCT BRITISH QUADRUPEDS. 125 was a native of that island. It was, however, generally distributed over Central and Northern Europe, and it still lingers on the Eastern Alps and in Russia, and is spread over Northern Asia, and probably also the boreal regions of North America. In the colour of the fur, and also in size, in different countries it is subject to considerable variation, so that naturalists considered the individuals from Norway, Syria, the Himalayas, and Siberia as so many distinct species. If the mere external coloration, however, and a few other minor points be disregarded, it will be found that the bony skeletons of all agree in characters which, as compared with other bears, at once place them in the same category with the typical Brown Bear (U. arctos). In regard to size, the skulls and bones dug up in the fens, peat-bogs, and superficial deposits in England certainly belonged to large individuals, but not larger than many now inhabiting different parts of Europe and Asia. Not only does historical evidence, accompanied by the discovery of its bones in peat and alluvium, point to the existence of the Brown Bear in unrecorded times, but we find its bones, associated with those of at all events very much larger species, in the caverns and deep soils of England; moreover, seeing that the remains in either case represent very old individuals, and that the teeth and bones differ in many respects, there is good cause to believe in the former existence in Great Britain of at least two species of Bear. The Great Bear of the caverns and the Brown Bear were therefore contemporaneous. As to the former, on arranging and comparing exuvie collected in Great Britain and on the Continent with bones of living species, it has been found that they admit of division into three, or at least two, distinct forms. One agrees with the skeleton of the Grisly Bear, now chiefly found in the Rocky Mountains and western prairies; the other (Ursus spelceus) and perhaps a third (U. priscus) have no living representatives, and may therefore be considered as having become extinct in Great Britain long before the historical period. But the Grisly Bear, as far as is known, seems to have disappeared likewise about the same time. The Ursus priscus was the giant of all. Although not rare in England, it appears to have been very common in Southern France and in the Pyrenees, judging from the quantities of bones discovered in the caves and soils. It would appear that, irrespective 126 THE ZOOLOGIST. of larger dimensions, this Great Cave Bear was distinct from the Grisly, or else an unusual variation in regard to bulk and certain ostéological characters obtained in the Grisly Bear of ancient Britain. Compared individually, the Brown, Grisly and Cave Bears stood in much the same relative height as the Shetland pony, Galloway, and dray horse. The geographical distribution of these bears over the British Isles, so far as is known, seems to indicate that the largest form was restricted to England, and that the Grisly was also common in Ireland, where no certain remains of the Brown Bear have been yet discovered. The Cave Bear no doubt was the first to disappear, followed by the Grisly, whilst the Brown Bear survived to within historical times. All were contemporaneous here long after the separation of Great Britain from the Continent, and gradually died off, it may be from failure of food or through human agency. Looking to the habits and food of living species, it is apparent that the Bear would survive the Lion, for the reason that it is not entirely dependent on flesh for its subsistence, but will eat vegetable food—indeed, many species prefer it to animal food; consequently the Lion may have died of starvation in Great Britain when the Deer and other prey became very scarce.* No doubt failure of food has brought about the extinction of many species, and in the case of the British Islands, even supposing man had not appeared on the scene, the severance from the Continent must have initiated a struggle for existence among the larger quadrupeds, of which the fittest only would survive. The great Cave Bear and the Grisly, not to mention the Lion and Hyena, must have been formidable enemies to the deer and wild oxen; indeed, the probabilities are that none of the former survived long after the separation from the mainland. . That man played a considerable part in exterminating the bear tribe is proved by the arrows, spears, and hatchets of stone which have been discovered in several cavernst either overlying the remains in question or associated with them. But, although man contributed to the extinction of many species, it is probable that * But the wild deer have outlived the lion, and survive to the present day. The wild ox was more probably the lion’s prey.—Ep. + Amongst others may be mentioned Kent’s Cavern ; Brixham Cave, Devonshire; Long Cave, near Gower; and Wokey Hole, Cheddar, Somersetshire.—Ep. ANCIENT AND EXTINCT BRITISH QUADRUPEDS. 127 these wild beasts enjoyed a long freedom before he appeared on the scene. How the thick hides were pierced by arrow- or spear- points made of stone, and how man with such weapons could have held his own against powerful and ferocious bears and lions, seems a mystery when we think of the ferocity of the degenerate descendants of these animals. It is, moreover, a curious circum- stance not easily explained that, whilst the tiger and lion are daily destroying human beings, we find no indications of man among the gnawed bones so plentifully distributed throughout the ancient caverns and dens of the post-glacial epoch. The only explanation would seem to be that the larger carnivorous quadrupeds found ample subsistence among the lower animals during the cave period without preying on the lords of creation. THe GLUTTON, now a native of the Arctic Regions of the Old and New Worlds, was contemporary with the Bears, and sought its fortunes on British soil. Its bones have been discovered in caverns and deep soils in England, but the date of its extinction is so far shrouded in obscurity. THe Banpcer is the sole remaining representative of the Bear family which still lingers in our islands. Like the Glutton, it existed with the Bears, but was not so plentiful, if we may judge from the few bones which have hitherto been discovered. THE Ermine, Potecat, Beech MartTeEN and OTTER can be traced back to the days when the large carnivores and elephantine quadrupeds lived in our islands; and it would appear that, in point of size, individuals of the ancient race did not greatly surpass their modern representatives. It seems probable, moreover, that in all cases where quadrupeds, from early epochs, have remained unchanged in point of size, although confined within narrower geographical Jimits, they have continued to enjoy abundance of their natural food. At the same time it is the fact that several animals, as the Bear and Elephant, present to a greater extent individual variations in size, according to the favourable or inimical conditions under which they have happened to be placed. These are points of great importance to the naturalist, especially when attempting to trace back the history of extinct animals by a comparison of their remains with those of living species. 128 THE ZOOLOGIST. Tur Bririsa Lion is no myth. Two species of the genus Leo existed in England long after the glacial epoch. In one of these the canine teeth, so conspicuous in dogs and cats, were enormously developed; and their sharpness and curved form has suggested for the animal the name by which it is known, the Sabre-toothed Lion. Strange to say, the only portions of its anatomy hitherto discovered in this country (in Kent’s Cavern) have been some of these very teeth; but on the European continent, as well as in the Himalayas, skulls have been found, as well as canine teeth, the latter varying in length from six to eight inches. If we may judge of the pro- portions of this beast from the size of its teeth, it must indeed hare been a monster. It was a contemporary of the extinct bears and larger herbivorous quadrupeds, but could never have been numerous. Indeed, had it been as common as the existing African and Asiatic Lion is in many inhabited parts of these continents at the present day, neither primeval nor savage man could have held his ground against it. The other species of British Lion was both taller and stouter and had broader paws than its modern representative, otherwise the latter would be regarded as a degenerate descendant of the older race. There is no sufficient reason for believing that such animals as the Lion, Elephant, or Rhinoceros did not frequent cold regions. The short-haired Tiger of Bengal is replaced by a woolly-haired Tiger in northern China; and in the frozen soil of Siberia disco- veries of entire carcases of Elephants and Rhinoceroses clad im dense fur coats prove the exception to the general rule with reference to the outer covering of their living representatives. The fossil Lion, like the large fossil Bear and Hyena, was long con- sidered to be distinct from any living species, but recent discoveries and comparisons have indicated the closest relationship between the living and the dead. Vestiges of the Lion have been discovered in nearly twenty British caverns, as well as in the deposits of rivers; associated in the former case with remains of Bears, Elepbants, Rhinoceroses and other herbivorous animals, as well as with Hyenas. In fact, the Lion was one of the earliest sojourners in the land after the glacial period had commenced to decline. A Leoparp or PANTHER, apparently not larger than existing species, also roamed over England in company with the preceding. ANCIENT AND EXTINCT BRITISH QUADRUPEDS. 129 If its numbers can be at all estimated from the remains which have been discovered in caverns and river deposits, it is clear that this feline animal was not common; the likelihood may have been that it had no chance with its more formidable rivals just men- tioned, who monopolised more or less their common prey. TuE Lynx, which is still resident in many parts of the Continent, was also a native of pre-historic England, but hitherto its remains have only been discovered in a single locality. Tae Witp Cart, although now very local in its distribution, still lingers on the scene where its progenitors lived with the Lion, Bear, Wolf, and other carnivorous animals. On comparing the skeleton of the ancient British Wild Cat with that of a recent individual, no difference is observable, for the reason probably that birds and rabbits, its natural prey, have abundantly supplied ils necessities; it has, however, been gradually destroyed, or driven back to a few remaining strongholds, by civilized man. Tue Hy#na, which frequented Great Britain in pre-historic times, and contemporaneously with the extinct bears, was of larger dimensions than any species now living, although it is now generally regarded as the progenitor of the Spotted Hyzna. THE Sporrep Hyna, as we may call it, was at one time very common in England, but does not seem to have existed either in Ireland or the Highlands of Scotland. A graphic description of one of its numerous dens is given by Dr. Buckland,* who, in referring to the contents of Kirkdale Cave, Yorkshire, likens the floor to a dog-kennel, where gnawed fragments of the bones of Elephants, Rhinoceroses, Bears, Lions, and herbivorous quadru- peds were strewn about among the remains of no less than three hundred Hyznas, the droppings (coprolites) of which were also met with in profusion. This ancient den must have been used by them fora very long period, and, considering that the remains of no less than twenty different species of animals were discovered there, it may be surmised that, at all events, there was a great variety of quadrupeds in the woods and wolds of Yorkshire in those days. Although the Hyena does not refuse flesh in a fresh state, it prefers a putrid carcase; and its powerful jaws and strong * Bridgewater Treatise. 130 THE ZOOLOGIST. conical teeth, surrounded at the base of the crown by a belt of enamel, are eminently adapted for crunching bones, for which it has a predilection. It is a sneaking and cowardly animal, and on any show of resistance by its intended victim will hesitate and even retire. Remains of the Spotted Hyena have been found in upwards of thirty different caverns in England, and generally in such abundance, as compared with other bones, as to show that it was plentifully distributed over the low lands and forests of ancient Britain. The reason for its absence from Ireland, as before noticed, is not clear; unless, perhaps, there was no direct highway between the two islands, as there was between England and the European continent. Moreover, it may be that the country was not suffi- ciently inviling, although large game, such as the Reindeer and the so-called Irish Elk, abounded. At all events, not a trace of the Hyzna has as yet been found in Ireland, and there are no authentic accounts of any such remains from Scotland, which, as far as the northern parts were concerned, was then doubtless more or less clad in snow and ice. Again, the habits of the Spotted Hyena, as now known, show that it is not a beast of the moun- tains, but of the plains. All the quadrupeds which have lingered on in Great Britain to within historical times were evidently sooner exterminated in England than elsewhere. THE Wo.r furnishes an instance. It Was quite a scourge in various parts of Ireland and Scotland during the seventeenth century, especially in the former country, where a breed of wolf dogs was carefully preserved.* This race of dogs is now also extinct. It resembled the Scotch Deerhound, but the skull was more wolf-like, so that there is now some difficulty in distinguishing the one from the other. Traces of old circular entrenchments, into which cattle, sheep, and goats were driven for protection from wolves, are still met with in abundance in many parts of Ireland, especially in the southern counties. Unlike other extinct British beasts, the Wolf apparently has not deteriorated in size, for the fossil bones which have been discovered are not larger, nor in any way to be distinguished from those of European Wolves of the present day. * The last Wolf killed in Ireland was in county Kerry, in a.p. 1710. It was common in Connaught, according to O'Flaherty, in 1700. In 1641 and 1652 Wolves were very troublesome, and a council order by Cromwell, dated at Kilkenny, pro- hibits the exportation of wolf dogs.—A. L. A. 7 ANCIENT AND EXTINCT BRITISH QUADRUPEDS. 131 When Hyznas and Lions roamed over England, the Wolf was apparently the only large carnivore in Ireland. From this circum- stance it has been argued that Ireland was detached from Europe before England and Scotland; or, what may have been more likely, that the physical conditions of the former were not suited to the habits of the animal. Indeed, the apparent anomaly might be explained by comparisons with recent species. Thus, the Brown Wolf, although met with along the lowland valleys of the European and the Asiatic Alps, is not found on the high moun- tains; and on various parts of the Himalayas Bears, Deer, Ibex, &c., may abound on one range and not on the adjoining one, although apparently equally inviting. To the naturalist who traces back the history of animals into the unrecorded past it is ‘important to know the habits and haunts of living species, and especially their general and particular distribution, inasmuch as the finding of fossil remains in abundance in one situation, and the absence of such remains in another, might lead to the belief that the localities represent two different stages in the earth’s history. Moreover, many wild animals repel other species from their haunts. It is said that few of the large quadrupeds frequent districts resorted to by the African Elephant, in consequence of his nocturnal habits and the disturbance he creates in his wander- ings; and the Ibex and Great-horned Goat of the Himalayas monopolise whole ranges, and maintain the sovereignty against all other ruminants. The Wolf must have fed sumptuously in Ireland among the herds of Reindeer and the Great-horned Deer which abounded in that country, seeing that it had no rival, such as the Lion, Panther, or Hyzna, to dispute its rights; indeed, naturalists have surmised that the finding of the skeletons of herds of the latter in the mud of ancient lakes in Ireland indicates that the animals had been driven into the mire by packs of Wolves. We can well imagine the enactment of such a scene as the “ Race for Life,” so artistically pourtrayed in Mr. Joseph Wolf’s ‘ Wild Animals,’ on many a tarn of ancient Ireland, before the formation of the peat. Tue Arctic Fox has been but lately added to the ancient British fauna, whilst the Common Fox, as one of a few privileged Species, has contrived to maintain its footing in the country to the present day. 132 THE ZOOLOGIST. THE Deer tribe was represented in our islands from the glacial period up to recent times by the gigantic animal known as the Trish Elk, which, with the Moose or Elk, and Reindeer, dis- appeared from this country before the historical epoch, whilst their contemporaries, the Red Deer and Roe, have, through careful protection, survived them. THe GREAT-HORNED, or GIGANTIC DEER, was unquestionably one of the most magnificent quadrupeds that ever trod the face of our planet. A full-grown stag, standing erect, measured from ten feet to twelve feet from the ground to the summit of the antlers, the spread of which covered over ten feet; with such a span, it has often been a matter of wonder how the animal could proceed through the forest, unless, as the Red Deer often does, it con- stantly dipped the antlers, which in case of pursuit would greatly impede its progress, Hence the supposition is that it fed more in the open, along the bare hill-sides and by the margins of lakes. The first entire skeleton was discovered in the Isle of Man about 1825; subsequently larger and more perfect skeletons were found in Ireland, and, almost without exception, in the shell marl and clay underlying the bogs. We believe we are correct in stating that no remains of the Great-horned Deer have yet been found in the peat, which shows that the animal must have died out before the moss and other water plants commenced to form on the lakes. Notwithstanding the discovery of several thousand heads and bones of this Deer, they afford no indication that man was con- | temporary with it, and old Irish literature has been ransacked in vain for evidence on this point. It was, however, contemporary with the Reindeer in England and Ireland, where remains of the two have been found associated, whether through chance or choice; and there is no doubt that the animal was at one time extremely common in the sister isle—so plentiful, indeed, that there are few peat bogs which have not produced exuvie. During the summer of 1875 no less than thirty skeletons huddled together were exhumed from underlying clay in the bog of Killegar, among the Dublin mountains, whilst in the same situation (both instances occurring in an area of not a hundred yards by twenty) in 1847 as many as thirty more heads of this Stag were found. However the deer perished—whether by getting mired when ANCIENT AND EXTINCT BRITISH QUADRUPEDS. 183 crossing the lake, or when feeding along the margin, or on being driven there by wolves—it is clear that entire herds were destroyed at the same time. The above is only one of many such instances. Amongst the heads found at Killegar in 1847 were two with interlocked antlers. Another and similar instance is recorded from a bog near Limerick,* so that it would seem that many deer lost their lives in mortal encounter along the sides of lakes. . The objection to this deer being called an Elk is the obvious dissimilarity in the form of the antler in the true Elk and so-called Irish Elk. The former had neither brow nor bez antlert; for a _long time they were confounded, although, when the difference is pointed out, a glance is sufficient to distinguish them. The weight of the heaviest skull and horns of the Elk seldom exceeds 55 tbs., and the extreme breadth across the latter is about 70 inches; whereas many dried specimens of its Irish congener weigh upwards of 90 tbs., and give a horizontal measurement of antlers of as much as 120 inches, The great ugly skull and short neck of the Elk, allowing the antlers to be easily thrown back on the withers, contrast with the small handsome head and long serpentine but powerful neck of the Great-horned Deer. The delicately formed limbs of the latter are unlike the large-boned extremities of the former; in fact, the entire aspect of the latter shows a rare combination of great strength and agility, not equalled in any living species of the family. Although no remains of this deer have been found in conjunction with those of other wild denizens of Ireland, excepting the Reindeer, the probability is that, like the latter, if was a contemporary of the Bear, Horse, and Mammoth. Its remains have turned up in about twelve different English caverns, and in various river deposits, associated in several instances with bones of the large Carnivora and other extinct quadrupeds, showing that it had a place in the qncient British fauna at an early period. Nowhere, however, does it seem to have been so plentiful as in Ireland. This has been accounted for, as before observed, by the paucity of carnivorous quadrupeds, and of * Oldham, Journal Geological Society of Ireland, vol. iii., p. 252. + Several attempts at imposition have been practised in Ireland by importing horns of the Moose, and painting them red to give a semblance of antiquity. The head of the male Gigantic Deer isin great request among dealers, and in a recent instance as much as £25 was given for a skull and horns of by no means a large individual.—A. ZL. A. 134 THE ZOOLOGIS'T. such blood-thirsty enemies as the Lion, the Hyzna, and the Bear. In all probability the sharp-pointed antlers ably resisted the attacks of the packs of Wolves which doubtless hung on the flanks and rear of the herd to pull down the young and weakly. A few years ago, under a bog in county Longford, several bones of the Giant Deer were discovered, in which were deep incisions, as if made by man; indeed, had there not been a ready explana- tion to the contrary, the appearances were almost conclusive in regard to the artificial nature of the indentations, which resembled the clean cuts made by an axe or hunting-knife. On the shaft of a thigh-bone, close beside it, and fitting into the incision, was the sharp, angular side of the shaft of a tibia, or leg-bone, of the same animal. The quaking or constant up-and-down movement of the mud of the bog for ages, under the successive influences of heat and cold, had caused the tibia to cut deeply into the thigh-bone, and so imitate the appearance of a clean incision by some sharp- edged implement. But, although there are no records of the contemporaneous existence of this Deer and man in Ireland, there are caverns, such as Brixham, Kent’s Cavern, and Wokey Hole in Somersetshire, where stone implements of man have been found in proximity with its remains. Many of its bones found in Irish bogs contain marrow, and blaze freely when burned. The small value put on them in times past may be gathered from the fact that the intelligence of the Battle of Waterloo was celebrated in a village in county Antrim by a bonfire of the bones of this animal, while its great horns were often used to form garden fences. The freshness of the remains, allowing for the excellent pre- serying influence of the marl, would seem to indicate that the decease of the Giant Deer is of more recent date than that of many of its congeners, and yet, so far as Ireland is concerned, man does not seem to have contributed in any way towards its extermination. The former existence of the ELK or Moose in the forests of ancient Britain has been inferred from several discoveries. On one occasion portions of its remains were found in the cave of Llandebie, in Wales, in proximity with remains of the Brown Bear. It is not probable, however, that the Elk was very plentiful in this country, although still not uncommon in Norway, and generally distributed over Canada; it is evident that no deer ANCIENT AND EXTINCT BRITISH QUADRUPEDS. 135 could have sojourned for ages in a country without leaving behind them traces of their former existence, not only in their cast antlers, but on account of the fact that they were much more numerous than the Carnivora which prey upon them. The Fatrow Derr, a native of Southern Europe, and still met with in several islands of the Mediterranean and elsewhere, has, on the discovery of a single horn in the mud of the Thames at Clacton, been supposed to have inhabited Great Britain in the days of the elephants, bears, and other animals of the post-glacial period.* THE REINDEER was one of the earliest arrivals on British soil after the ice and snow of the glacial epoch began to disappear. It must have been very common in England and Ireland, and perhaps also in Scotland—at all events, after the great glaciers began to recede. Remains of the animal have been discovered in thirty caverns and in as many river deposits throughout England, and in Irish caverns, and in shell marl under Irish bogs and Scottish lakes.t It is still plentifully distributed over the boreal regions of Europe, Asia, and America, but varies considerably in dimen- sions, and somewhat in the appearance of the antlers, in different countries ; indeed, as regards height and weight, there are remark- able peculiarities in different regions. Thus the Reindeer of Lapland is small, as compared with the Siberian and Newfoundland forms; the former stands about three feet five inches, whilst the latter is on an average four feet two inches at the withers, their weights respectively being often 90 tbs. and 300 Ibs. There is no evidence to show when the Reindeer disappeared from the British Isles, but it was contemporary with the Lion, Hyena, and Elephant, and lingered on until the advent of man, whose flint tools have been discovered in the same deposits which contain its bones. The fossil remains, as compared with the bones of recent varieties, such as the Caribou or Great Woodland Reindeer of of Canada and the smaller forms of Northern Europe, approach, in the rounded beam and large brow antler and dimensions of bones, to the Norwegian and Lapland Reindeers, which are pro- bably direct descendants of the old British stock; so that the * Vide supra p. 92. + As many as 1000 antlers are said to have been taken from a rock fissure in South Wales. Falconer, Paleontological Memoirs, vol. ii., p. 510. 136 THE ZOOLOGIST. ancient Reindeer of Great Britain was not relatively so large as many individuals now liviug. The bones found in English caverns, and that of Shandon, in Ireland,* were fragmentary, and had evidently been dragged there by predaceous animals. There are, however, two splendid heads, almost entire, from the bog marls now in the museum of the Royal Dublin Society, one of which has been already referred to in connection with the discovery of the skulls and bones of the Giant Deer; the other, and more perfect of the two, is from a neighbouring locality among the Dublin mountains. As known to us at the present time, the Reindeer is associated _ with an Arctic climate. It is, however, still not uncommon in North America as far south as New Brunswick, and was even common lately in the forests of New England, latitude 40°. But doubtless the climate of our islands in former days was much colder than at present; indeed, the same may be said of Central Europe, inasmuch as Reindeer remains have been found in the caverns of the South of France. There are no ruminating animals more given to extensive migra- tion than many varieties of the living Reindeers of North America and Asia, so that their northern and southern limits frequently include many degrees of latitude. They are easily hunted down, and consequently soon exterminated from particular tracts. Tue Rep Deer, like the Roebuck, the Mole, and the Water Rat, is one of the few survivors of the extensive list of mammals which inhabited Great Britain during the Pliocene epoch—i.e. the epoch which immediately preceded the glacial period. Their pedigrees, therefore, are as ancient as any in the land—at all events, so far as the discovery of fossil relics is concerned; but in all probability neither of the two first-named would have survived but for the protective influence of man. Remains of the Red Deer are met with in peat and superficial soils; in clay and marl below the latter; in more ancient cavern deposits, associated with relics of nearly all the extinct and several living species, as well as in estuaries and river deposits, said to have been formed before the glacial epoch. The bones and horns * Shandon Cave, near Dungarvan, Co. Waterford, where bones of upwards of fifty individuals have been found associated with those of the Wild Horse, Mammoth, Red Deer, Wolf, Bear, and Fox.—Eb. ANCIENT AND EXTINCT BRITISH QUADRUPEDS. 137 of the more ancient individuals are, on an average, larger than our semi-domesticated races. Indeed, the denizens of Great Britain are inferior in size and development of horn to those of Northern and Central Europe; whilst the Red Deer of Siberia and the Himalayas are even larger still, and approach more nearly the largest fossil forms, and to the great Wapiti of Canada: so that, considering the antiquity and wide-spread distribution of the Red Deer, and the varying climates in which it exists, one might almost refer them all to one species, certain varieties of which have become differentiated under the influence of food, climate, and situation. Horns of the Red Deer from the same deposits in Ireland as those of the Gigantic-horned Deer are not so massive as those of the same age from many localities in England and Scotland. THe RoeBuck does not appear to have been a native of Ireland, according to the historian Giraldus Cambrensis, who seems to have been well acquainted with the beasts found in England in his day (1180), and at all events made inquiries in Ireland with reference to the wild animals of that country; but when its condi- tion at that period is considered, the probability is that its fauna was comparatively unknown. Te Mctsk Ox, or Musk Suerep, as it is variously named, now confined to the Arctic Regions, was once a native of England, as testified by the discovery of its remains in eight or ten different localities, either in caverns or river deposits, associated here and there with remains of the Hairy Mammoth and the Hairy Rhinoceros. The ancient British oxen were of two species, a Giant Ox and a Bison. THE PRIMEVAL or GIANT Ox was a noble animal; but both species were gigantic in size, and were doubtless formidable antagonists to even the lions of the period. The Bison seems to have been prevalent in Great Britain during and long after the Roman invasion, whilst, on the other hand, there are evidences to imply that the one under consideration lived in the land before the glacial period. The Primeval Ox’s remains are met with in ancient tumuli, but perhaps it was exterminated before Czsar’s landing.* * Cesar mentions this animal, “ Urus,” as plentiful in the Hercynian forests, but does not refer to its presence in Britain—Ep. fy 138 THE ZOOLOGIST. In the brick earths of the Thames valley magnificent heads of this noble-looking animal have been discovered from time to time. Even the horn cores in many instances measure three feet, with a breadth of forehead between horns of one foot. Although abundant remains have turned up in England, Wales, and Scotland, there are no authentic data of the animal in connection with Ireland. Whether the semi-feral Chillingham breed belongs or not to this species, it is evident that it is, as regards size, a degenerate race of either of the British fossil oxen. As to the assertion that our domesticated cattle are descended from the Giant Ox, it may be stated that, unless introduced by the Romans, there is a probability that the Long-fronted Ox, which will be noticed presently, may have sprung from the latter, and in the course of ages become through domestication a distinct variety, from which all our modern cattle have been derived; but the foreign wild species are so numerous, that to speculate on domesticated breeds and their progenitors would be a fruitless undertaking. With reference ,to our islands, and Europe generally, it was believed by Cuvier—and Bell in his ‘ British Quadrupeds’ is of the same opinion—that our domestic cattle are the degenerate descendants of the Wild Ox, whilst Professor Owen is more inclined to think that the Romans were the first to introduce cattle into England. The discovery, however, of remains of the Long-fronted Ox in various parts of the country, associated with stone and bronze implements con- sidered pre-Roman, gives strength to the view that it was reclaimed by the ancient Britons long before the invasion. It seems, however, now impossible to differentiate all the points in connection between the wild and tame oxen, so as to come to just conclusions as to their relationships; indeed, as far as pedigree is concerned, the British human and bovine animal are on a par. THE Bison or AuRocHS seems, if anything, to have been more plentiful than the Giant Ox. It was larger than the living Bisons of Europe and America, but the connections between the three are very close, and, when we admit time as a factor, in conjunction with food, region, and climate, it may be fairly allowed that the present denizens of the Lithuanian, Moldavian, Wallachian, and Caucasian forests and North-western America are very closely allied to each other, and to the fossil remains found in Great ANCIENT AND EXTINCT BRITISH QUADRUPEDS. 139 Britain and on the Continent.* The finest bulls of the Lithuanian breed stand about five feet six inches at the withers, whilst, according to Richardson, the American Bison is upwards of six feet in height. The fossil British Aurochs, as compared with these, must have frequently reached a height of seven feet at the shoulder. The Grisly Bear is at present one of the most formid- able enemies to the American Aurochs, as doubtless was also the case in bygone times on British soil. THE LoNG-FRONTED or SMALL Fosstt Ox is considered by Prof. Owen to be an ancient and distinct species which sojourned with the other oxen, bears, elephants, and like extinct quadrupeds. It seems to have been very plentiful in Ireland, and survived at all events up to the human, and most likely the historical, period, in which cattle are frequently noticed in old Irish MSS.,t but of course not described with the necessary exactness to enable us to determine the species or breed. In bogs, and the deposits of lakes, especially in those of Loch Gur, its bones and skulls have been found in numbers. Many of the latter show fractured inden- tations on the forehead. { The antiquity of the Long-fronted Ox has been lately disputed by Professor Boyd Dawkins, who is of opinion that this Ox and the Goat were brought to Great Britain from the Continent by man long after the larger animals had disappeared—some time in the period which intervened between the commencement of the formation of bogs on the ancient Irish lakes, and the first historical evidence of the animals of the country. It is doubtful, however, whether or not we have sufficient evidence as to the exact antiquity of this Short-horned Ox. It would seem that remains have recently been found both in conjunction with the Bison and Giant Ox, Elephant, and Rhinoceros in England, and in lacustrine marls in Ireland, associated with bones of the Great-horned Deer. Looked on in connection with the origin of our cattle, it seems at all events, whether descended from the Urus or any other wild * The American Bison has fifteen pairs of ribs, while the Kuropean has fourteen. As regards the Aurochs, no fossil skeleton hus been found sufficiently perfect to show the exact number of ribs it possessed.—Ep. + Inacurious Irish MS. of the ninth century, wild oxen are spoken of as inhabiting the county of Clare,—A. L. A. + Many of these cuts are small, and may have been produced by blows from the narrow bronze hatchets (celts) plentifully discovered throughout the country.— A.L. As 140 THE ZOOLOGIST. species, to have contributed towards the tamed stock; none of these, however, retain its well-marked cranial characteristics, which are conspicuously shown in the lengthened forehead. There are decidedly, however, as far as Ireland is concerned, very many variatious in the curvature of the horns of skulls dug out of peat, which would seem to point to a long course of domestication; at all events, whether the animal was or was not a wild denizen of the land, it was very generally reared and eaten in England and Ireland during the early colonization of the islands. Few facts in the natural history of the British Islands are more surprising than that elephants, rhinoceroses, and a species of hippopotamus once dwelt in our land, when its physical aspect was not materially different from what obtains at the present day. No doubt these and other extinct mammals were more plentiful when Great Britain formed part of the continent of Europe, and when the Thames and other rivers were broader, as testified by their deposits. Still there is evidence to show that they lingered on after Great Britain had become separated from the mainland, a few only surviving the prehistoric period. The Thames valley in olden times, as shown by the animal remains found in its deposits—7. e., remains of elephants, rhino- ceroses, and river-horses, deer, oxen, and so forth—must have presented a wilder aspect than even the banks of the upper Nile at the present day. Not many years ago, whilst some workmen were employed in deepening a cellar below a club in Charles Street, St. James’s, they discovered the grinding tooth of an Elephant, a portion of the back-bone of the Giant Ox, and the curved canine tooth of a Hippopotamus, all in the clay which underlies the gravel so well known to London geologists. THE GreAT Hiproporamus, which inhabited England before the glacial epoch, returned again at its close, along with other quadru- peds. It appears to have been not uncommon, secing that remains have been found in bone caves in Devonshire, South Wales, Somersetshire, Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Gloucestershire, Middlesex, and Yorkshire, and in the deposits of the rivers Thames, Ouse, Cam, and Avon. There is only one record, and that not well authenticated, of its occurrence in Ireland, ANCIENT AND EXTINCT BRITISH QUADRUPEDS. 141 a canine tooth having been found near Carrickfergus, and in Scotland no traces have turned up. In size and character the extinct river-horse of North-western Europe differed in some degree from the present denizen of the Nile, which even in historical times was plentiful in Egypt, where teeth of individuals have been discovered in river alluvium as large as those of many of the Great Hippopotamus. It may be that the former is a degenerate and modified descendant of the latter; and whilst we hesitate to associate in idea the naked hide of the Nile animal of the present day with our colder climate, enough is known of the Hairy Elephant and Rhinoceros, which dwelt here con- temporaneously, to warrant the inference that the Hippopotamus may also have had a woolly coat. Great Britain, or rather the area embraced by the insular group, during that epoch which preceded the glacial period—when, as has been already remarked, the aspect of the country, so far as its plains, rivers, mountains, and valleys were concerned, did not differ materially from what obtains at the present day—was tenanted by two species of elephants, one of which, the Southern Elephant, did not re-appear on the scene after the glacial ice and snow had begun to yield to the coming temperate climate. The other species, named the Ancient Elephant, returned to its old haunts, and the Mammoth Elephant appears now on the scene for the first time. At all events, so far as has been ascertained, there are no indications of the latter having arrived beforehand, as none of its remains have been discovered in deposits anterior to those of the glacial period. The discovery of an entire Mammoth in the flesh, at the commencement of the present century, in frozen soil at the mouth of the river Lena, and the subsequent removal of the carcase to St. Petersburg, where it now remains, show that, like the Hairy Rhinoceros hereafter mentioned, it was an animal adapted for a cold climate. Tue MammorH at the period under consideration, and up to a late geological date, had an almost world-wide distribution. Its tusks are found in such quantities along the Siberian shores and islands to Behring’s Straits, that a thriving trade in ivory has resulted, whilst the fishermen on the coast of Norfolk have dredged up many thousand grinders and tusks of the animal. It has left 142 THE ZOOLOGIST. its remains in North America as far south as Mexico, and in Europe from the frozen seas to Rome. In Great Britain it has been traced throughout England, Wales, and the south of Scotland, and remains have been found in two widely distant localities in Ireland.* In fact, of all'the aneient British mammals the Mam- moth was evidently one of the most common, and seems to have survived the Elephant next to be mentioned. Of its contempora- neous existence with man in Europe, we have evidence not only in the discovery of stone implements along with its remains, but a few years since a fragment of the tusk of a Mammoth was found in the cave of La Madelaine in the Dordogne, on which was a rude but faithful representation of this hairy Elephant, etched by means of the stone implement of some cave dweller of the period, when, together with the Reindeer and the Bear, it roamed over Southern France. THE ANCIENT ELEPHANT, as it has been named, was, as far as our islands are concerned, not so gigantic in stature as the Mammoth, and was distinguished by the possession of grinders formed on a very different pattern. Taken in conjunction with other differences in the skeleton, these characters afford as well-marked distinctions between it and the Mammoth as those which exist between the African and Asiatic Elephants. The Ancient Elephant has been more frequently found in middle and southern Europe than in the north-west; nevertheless, from the quantities of teeth and bones found in England, the probability is that it was at one time quite common here. In regard to geographical distribution, the exuvie hitherto discovered show that it was confined to Europe. The tusks of the Mammoth curved considerably upwards, whilst those of the Ancient Elephant much resembled the tusks of living species, and were nearly straight. In point of size, neither of the fossil species very much exceeded the largest African Elephant, although the bull Mammoth, as a rule, was considerably taller than its living representative. Admitting points of distinction between these two extinct elephantine animals, we are naturally led to inquire how far they differed from the Asiatic and African Elephants of the present day. It may be stated generally that in its skeleton the Mammoth is closely allied to the Asiatic Elephant; so alike are they, indeed, * Cavan and Waterford. ANCIENT AND EXTINCT BRITISH QUADRUPEDS, 143 that, but for the peculiar construction of the grinders and the curling tusks of the Mammoth, it would be difficult to distinguish them. Allowing, therefore, for influences before referred to, we may assume that the naked skin and other differences observable in the Asiatic Elephant may be due to conditions under which the animal had lived for long ages; indeed, there appears to be a growing belief among naturalists that the Mammoth might have been the progenitor of the Elephant of Asia. In the case of the Ancient Elephant there is also an agreement, though less marked, in its teeth and bones with those of the African Elephant; but we must wait for further discoveries in the soils and caverns of Southern Europe and Asia before any more exact relationships between the living and extinct species can be determined. Tue Rurnocerosss that inhabited Britain possessed characters which in the opinion of many naturalists warrant their division into two or three species, all of which carried two horns, like the animals now living in Sumatra and Africa, as distinguished from other species. THE TICHORHINE Two-HORNED R#INOCEROS—so named from having a bony septum to its nose—was very plentifully distributed over England after the glacial period. It is the same animal which the Russian naturalist Pallas found frozen and entire, in 1771, in the sands of the river Viloni, in Siberia. The body was clad in long shaggy hair, and the flesh and skin were for the most part pre- served, from constantly lying in frozen soil—how long, who is to say? At all events, no native traditions speak of the animal. Its remains (chiefly teeth) have turned up in about sixty different localities in England, and are usually associated, as in Siberia, with remains of the equally hirsute Mammoth. Its nearest living ally is the African or Two-horned Rhinoceros, which stands nearly five feet in height, with a length of eleven feet. To judge by the measurements of the individual discovered by Pallas, the above is a somewhat smaller animal than the extinct Tichorhine species. Another fossil species (or variety, as some consider it) has been named the LEPTORHINE Tw0o-HORNED RHINOCEROS, and is distin- guished from the last-named by a more slender body, as evidenced by its bones and teeth. The third form, named the MEGARHINE Two-HORNED RHINOCEROS, is distinguished by the presence of 144 THE ZOOLOGIST. incisive teeth. The second was not nearly so plentiful as the first, whilst the third has only been met with on a few occasions in deep river deposits, thus indicating its existence before the glacial epoch. Altogether, up to the present time remains of rhinoceroses have been discovered in no less than eighty different localities in England, whilst not a trace of the genus has been hitherto met with either in Scotland or in Ireland. THE WILp Hoe was an ancient tenant of British soil, and main- tained its footing as long as there were forests to give it shelter and its enemy—man—allowed it to exist. It still haunts the least civilized parts of Europe and Asia, and, by its accommodating disposition, can subsist where other herbivorous quadrupeds would perish. It seems to have been plentiful in Great Britain, and the Boar, as a rule, was larger, and had the canines and molars more highly developed, than is usual with individuals of the species nowadays. Remains have been found associated with those of almost all the large extinct mammals, both in caverns and in river deposits. Its skull, battered in by either stone or metal axe, like those of the Long-fronted Ox, is often met with in the bogs and lake bottoms in Ireland, where large specimens have been found. It ceased to be a wild animal in that country after the beginning of the seven- teenth century, but was very common in the twelfth century, according to Giraldus, who remarks :—“ In no part of the world have I seen such abundance of boars and forest hogs; they are, however, small and misshapen and wary.” * A Horse about the size of a Galloway seems to have been very common on British soil after the glacial period; indeed, single teeth, found in conjunction with remains of the Mammoth, Hippo- potamus, and Rhinoceros, indicate an animal between fourteen and fifteen hands high, but the sizes of the teeth are no certain indication of the height of their owners. No doubt there were both large and small races, but, taking the bones into considera- tion, it may be safely surmised that the majority were about the dimensions above stated. The skulls indicate what horse dealers would designate a “fiddle head,” but the limb bones imply that the owners combined strength with agility. The Horse * Topographia Hiberniz. ANCIENT AND EXTINCT BRITISH QUADRUPEDS. 145 was a native of Ireland in the days of the Mammoth and Reindeer, with remains of which it has been found in the lately excavated eave of Shandon. The extinction of this animal appears to have taken place long before any record of its existence was made. Some idea of the numbers of this ancient British Horse may be gathered from the fact that its remains have been recognized in no Jess than fifty different situations in England alone, and in northern, central, and southern Ireland; whilst, strange to say, it has not been identified in any deposits north of the Tweed. In fact, the Mammoth and Reindeer appear to have been the only large mammals which at that time frequented Scot- land, where the climate was doubtless inimical to the habits and requirements of other species. THE BEAVER was not uncommon in the rivers of Wales towards the close of the twelfth century, according to the Welsh author Giraldus Cambrensis. It was also, according to historians, a native of Scotland and England in the fifteenth ceutury ; but Giraldus asserts that it was not found in his time in Ireland, where up to the present day not a trace of its existence has been discovered. The bones of Beaver, Hare, Red Deer, Roebuck, Ox, Brown Bear, Wolf, and Boar have been dug up in peat-bogs; moreover, it lingered on to historical times, and was finally extirpated by man. A few are still to be found in the more remote and sequestered river- tributaries of Central and Eastern Europe,* and the species still flourishes in Canada, in spite of trappers and the Hudson’s Bay Company. Along with this Beaver there lived in pre-glacial times a gigantic species to which the name of Cuvier’s gigantic Beaver has been given. ‘This species, however, did not survive the glacial period, and ought not properly to be included with the quadrupeds now under consideration. The connection, however, between the two shows that the smaller and more recent species survived the intense * In Lord Clermont’s ‘Guide to the Quadrupeds of Europe’ (1859), it is stated (p. 83) that the Beaver, though in greatly reduced numbers, is still found in several rivers of the northern and central countries of Europe, such as the Danube, Rhine and Rhone, on which last it is recorded by Crespon as occurring from Pont St. Esprit to the sea, especially among willow plantations, on which it sometimes inflicts serious injury. It is rare in Russia, except on the Dwina and Petchora, but according to Pallas, is numerous in Siberia, Tartary and the Caucasus. As regards Siberia, see the first of the “ Occasional Notes” in the present number.—Ep. U 146 THE ZOOLOGIST. cold of the glacial epoch, possibly by migrating during its con- linuance to Southern Europe. The comparison in size between these two Beavers, at one time contemporaneous, coupled with anatomical characters, seems to preclude the possibility of the larger being a more highly developed race of the smaller. Beavers’ bones have been dug up in the lower brick-earths of the Thames, and under the streets of London, and there can be no doubt that at one time the Beaver built its dam on this river and its tributaries as well as on many other English, Scotch and Welsh streams and lakes.* THE Hare and Rassit have pedigrees which extend back to the days of the British Elephants, Rhinoceroses, Lions, and other large quadrupeds, nor do they seem to have been of greater size then than their present representatives, although jaws and skulls of hares have been occasionally met with somewhat larger than the same parts of any living species of the genus. THE Prkas or Tartiess Hares of Northern Asia were once dis- tributed over Europe, and several portions of their skeletons have been found in cave-deposits in England, associated with remains of nearly all the large extinct mammals. Tae LEMMING, still plentiful in Northern Europe, and renowned for its voracious habits, had a representative in England in olden times, as proved by the discovery of its remains in several cave- deposits. The Marmots or Ground Squirrels also had a compeer, as shown by the discovery of its relics in the cave of Fisherton, near Salisbury. The WaTER Rat seems to have been common, also the Lone- and SuHort-TaiLeD Fiztp Mice and the Common House Movse. Tue Larce HorskEsHoer Bat and the NocruLe or Great Bat, both still natives of the British Islands, have left their bones in * Fossil remains of the Beaver have been found in Berkshire (Phil. Trans. 1757, p. 112), and in Cambridgeshire (Jenyns'’ ‘ British Vertebrate Animals,’ p. 34), in Berwickshire and in Perthshire (Neill, ‘Wernerian Memoirs,’ vol. iii., p. 207). In ‘the ninth century the animal was known by the Welsh as “ Llosdlydan” (Leges Wallice, iii., 11), and in Gaelic it is still termed from tradition ‘‘ Losleathen.” For some further particulars on the subject the reader may be referred to an article entitled “Beavers, Ancient and Modern,” which appeared in ‘The Field’ ot March 22, 1873.—Ep. ANCIENT AND EXTINCT BRITISH QUADRUPEDS, 147 caves; but, considering that they live in these situations and hide in crevices and holes, it is possible that the bones of recent individuals may get mingled with those of fossil animals. The same may be said of the Motz, Common Surew and HEDGEHOG; at the same time there is every probability that these animals were contem- porary in many cases with the larger quadrupeds, with whose remains their bones have been found mingled. The last of the mammals to arrive on the British Islands after the glacial period may or may not have been Man. It is not likely, however, that he would have pushed northwards in a land destitute of the animal food on which he must have depended for his existence; it is probable therefore that the large herbivorous quadrupeds at all events preceded him. It is clear, moreover, that he lived on the same area with them, as proven by the discovery of his flint implements in conjunction with their remains in caves and peat-bogs. In Brixham Cavern flint instruments of the chase, comprising arrow and spear heads, axes and knives of stone, have been found mingled with the broken bones and teeth of the Bear, Lion, Great Horned Deer, Reindeer, Red Deer, Roebuck, Wild Horse, Elephant and Rhinoceros. In Kent’s Cavern, at Torquay, where the Fauna were more numerous, the same conditions have been observed. In the Gower Caves, Wokey Hole, and many other situations, the proofs of man’s contemporaneous existence with these extinct animals are placed beyond a doubt. It is clear, moreover, that in some instances he contributed towards, and in others succeeded in, exterminating many of the quadrupeds just mentioned ; but, so far as the evidence yet extends, it is not certain that he dwelt on British soil before the glacial period. Although stone implements, more or less rude in construction, have been discovered in Ireland and Scotland, there are no recorded instances of their having been found associated with the bones of any extinct quadrupeds; at the same time there can be little doubt that the stone arrow and spear points, wherever found, are indica- tions of the venatorial habits of the people who fabricated them. The evidence perhaps is more circumstantial than direct; but, taking into consideration the small number of flint tools found in Ireland, with the abundance of the remains of its giant deer, it is probable that, if man existed on the island.at a time when it was overrun by herds of this animal, he would have destroyed them, 148 THE ZOOLOGIST. and their broken bones would bear traces of his violence.* But this is not the case; whilst in England the long bones have often been found broken in such a manner as to indicate that they were split by man for the sake of the marrow which they contained. Such are a few of the most remarkable animals which lived and died on British soil during what may be styled a period insignificant in duration as compared with the antiquity of the zons which preceded. It is not the object of the writer to deal with the details from which the various periods have been differentiated ; but, in conclusion, the reader is invited to realise the belief, founded on a study of the phenomena as deciphered by such geologists as Lyell, Ramsey, Forbes, and others, that the intervals of time, both before and after the junction and separation of the British Islands and the European Continent, embrace four distinct periods. These may be set down as follows :— Period 1.—A general continental land, when the British area was a continuous portion of Western Europe. Period I1.—A submergence by which the land north of London and the Thames, and Bristol with Ireland, was reduced to an archipelago of frozen islands. Period I1].—When the sea-bed rose again, and the land equalled if not exceeded in extent that of the first period; the physical outline, as far as the mountains and rivers are concerned, being at first much the same as at present, only that the land rose higher above the sea, until the cold or glacial period, when the land first sank, and then was re-elevated, when the climate, still rigorous, gradually became milder, and the animals, many of which had * The statement made by Mr. Betham in ‘ The Field’ of the 25th December, 1876, regarding the discovery of a flint arrow-head in the rib of an Irish Elk, would, of course, at once settle the point atissue. It is not, however, by any means the only asserted instance known to the writer; but unfortunately the objects have not been preserved, whilst all so-called examples hitherto subjected to the critical inspection of comparative anatomists have been proven to be the result of injuries or disease, not inflicted or caused directly by human agency. The natural historian, therefore, is bound to be careful in accepting evidence, unless authenticated by competent authorities, or the presence of the objects themselves. A rib of an Irish Elk with a hole through it is figured in Owen’s ‘ British Fossil Mammals.’ This may have been done by man, but the chances are that the injury was caused by the point of an antler of an antagonist.—d. L. A. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF DONEGAL. 149 retired to the south as the glacial period set in, again returned to their former haunts, whilst not a few became extinct. Finally, Period 1V.—After an interval, more or less lengthened, the ultimate separation of the British Islands from the European Continent, and of Ireland from England took place, resulting in the geographical outline now delineated in a map of Europe. Unreckoned ages are included in these changes, and no one can form even an approximate idea, according to modern computation, of their extent or duration. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF DONEGAL. [At a meeting of the Glasgow Natural History Society, held on the 30th January last, the following paper, entitled “ Notes on the Natural History of County Donegal, with some Account of its Archeology,” by Mr. James A. Mahony, Corresponding Member, was read. ‘The paper was illustrated by an enlarged map of County Donegal, and was accompanied by lists of the phanerogamous plants and ferns, and of the birds of the district.] A GLANCE at a map of Donegal will show that it is a county of considerable extent, generally very hilly, and with a coast line of most irregular character. Lough Swilly, Mulroy Bay, and Sheep- haven are arms of the sea penetrating southward from the Atlantic from twelve to sixteen miles, and modifying the climate so much that when snow falls, as it does very rarely, it never lies, but dis- appears in a very short time. These deep-sea fiords, with their rich marine fauna and flora, the coast outside beaten by the Atlantic surge, the numerous fresh-water loughs—many of them of con- siderable size—the bogs, mountains, marshes, sands, and cultivated grounds, present such a variety of conditions as is most favourable to the student of Natural History. I propose briefly giving some account of the Geology, Botany, Zoology, and Archeology of the district. The primary and metamorphic rocks form the backbone of the County Donegal. In very local patches, and in small quantities, the more valuable minerals and metals occur. Lead, copper, silver and gold have been found, but so sparingly as would not repay the expense of working. The post-tertiary deposits are everywhere met with, and are often full of interest. The boulder clay is very 150 THE ZOOLOGIST. general over the county, but, unlike its equivalent near Glasgow, it is a loose agglomeration of sand and hunch-backed pebbles and large stones. At Bloodyforeland it forms a cliff 110 feet in height, the matrix being a drab-coloured clay. Overlying the boulder clay in many places is a coarse gravel, highly charged with peroxide of iron; and where this is overlaid by the turf the stratum of gravel in contact with it is seen to be white instead of a reddish colour: this seems to be caused by the deoxidation of the iron by the organic matter in the turf. Bog-iron is to be found wherever the land is bleak and barren, and hundreds of tons of it are shipped annually to England, where it is used instead of lime for the purification of gas. Along the shores of Lough Swilly a light blue clay is found about forty feet above the present sea-level: it contains numerous fragments of shells, and seems to mark the old sea-beach. Bog is the surface deposit on a large portion of the county, and in some places it is as much as twenty feet deep, with trees occurring abundantly in it. In an island in the Rosses district the sea beats against a seven-feet cliff of bog, and im different places trees can be seen submerged, and the structures known as “ smelting-pots,” which were used some centuries ago for reducing iron, have been seen in three fathoms water. These facts point to a comparatively recent depression of the land, and this is apparently going on, although it is in no place so well marked as in the Rosses district. The influence of plant-life in modifying geological conditions is not so often referred to nor so well understood as its influence in modifying climate. An instance of the former may be noticed. At Glassagh, in the district of Faunett, thirteen miles from Ramelton, the shores at one time were very sandy, and the kelp made from the seaweed cast in there brought only alow price; but some years ago the Earl of Leitrim planted all the bare sand above high-water mark with bent, which has held the sand together, so that now enough vegetable soil has been produced as permits of the growth of a sward composed of Viola tricolor, Anthyllis vul- neraria, Erodium cicutarium, some of the coarse grasses and arenaceous mosses. The sand has been gradually disappearing, and the shore consists now of granite rock and beautiful pebbly strands, enabling the cottars to secure the weed free from sand, and to get the highest price for their produce. On the same Fannet coast the marine Algw may be studied without much effort, THE NATURAL HISTORY OF DONEGAL. 161 as every tide washes in very perfect specimens of many of the deep-sea species, while the rock-pools are brilliant with Clado- phore, Chylodadie and Polysiphonia, and an abundance of Codium tomentosum and Laurencia pinnatifida. The economic uses of the Algz, described as useless by old Virgil, is well illustrated here in early summer. In May the old frond of Laminaria digitata becomes constricted, and is pushed off by the new frond, and the first storm drives in masses of this weed, forming often a bank four or five feet in depth: the natives call it “Scie weagh,” meaning the May fleece, and the scene when it is coming in is an animated one. In one bay seventy carts may be counted, the horses up to the girths in the sea, and the natives forking up the precious crop. In the Faunett district, which has a coast of six miles, 8500 tons are secured, which, when dried, produces about 400 tons. From the beginning of August till the end of September is another busy time, when the “harvest weed” comes ashore: it consists of the variety stenophylla of Laminaria digitata, which is quite entitled to be ranked as a species, as it sheds not only its frond, but also a portion of the stipes, and its structure and chemical constitution are entirely different. Leaving the shore and going further west, one is struck by the abundance of the royal fern, which, instead of being the nearly extirpated rarity it is in the Clyde Valley, is here a common weed, growing in clumps like a little forest: it is dis- liked by the farmers, and, along with rushes and mosses, are all to be banished by drainage, ‘‘ when the times mend.” Ferns are not so specifically numerous as in Scotland. In Marine Zoology there is much to interest and delight the student. At a short distance from the shore the boat glides over a stretch of Laminarie-covered bottoms, where the large Eclimus sphere may be seen prowling over the brown seaweed in the society of numerous star-fishes, shoals of Meduse, and the beautiful zoophyte, Cydippe pileus, while multitudes of dogfish sport along the surface. The estuarine shores of Lough Swilly yield numerous species of Mollusca, while at Fort Stewart the whole littoral zone is covered with the shells of Anomia ephippium and Pecten striatus, and thousands of the valves of the oyster recall the days when that succulent bivalve could be bought here for threepence per hundred. As for Mammalia, the Otter is too frequent. The Squirrel, Ferret, Fox, Weasel, Bat, and Hedgehog are often to be seen, and 152 THE ZOOLOGIST. it seems to be quite true that there are no toads, moles or snakes in Ireland. The Black Rat (Mus rattus) is said to be found in an island in Mulroy Bay, but this requires confirmation. Donegal can give a good account of birds, from the lordly Eagle downwards. The Golden Eagle has been often shot, and some- times captured alive. The Peregrine Falcon and Merlin have been kept for long periods in confinement; and some have suc- ceeded in making pets of the Barn and the Tawny Owl. There is a sufficient variety of song birds to keep up an interest in these charming neighbours. The Song Thrush (Turdus musicus) makes musical the dawn and gloaming from February till the middle of April: one fine performer which sings in a horse-chestnut in the garden brings flocks of the villagers specially to hear what they call the “Irish Nightingale.” The Wren, Bullfinch and Swallow build about the houses, as do numerous Blackbirds; and in winter may be seen every day the Common Crane,* the Waterhen, and the Cormorant, and sometimes the gleam of the Kingfisher may be marked in his swift flight up the stream. Wigeon, Teal, and Bernicle Geese frequent the muddy flats of the Swilly in winter, and are shot in numbers by those enthusiasts who choose to lie out all night in a flat-bottomed boat. By the student of antiquity the County Donegal is held in reverence as the birth-place of St. Columb, and numerous are the legends connecting him with every hill and lough. The island of Tory is said to have been the scene of his missionary labours and miraculous exploits; but be that as it may, it is an island full of interest to the antiquary. Besides the old croms and round towers, which have been so carefully built that they resist effectually the climatic influences, and justify the poet in speaking of them as “the conquerors of time,” the crannoges, or lake dwellings, which in the earlier periods of Irish history were preferred by the Irish chiefs to buildings on the mainland, are objects of great interest. The drainage of lands, which has been going on for the last few years, has revealed many of these old dwellings, long lost to sight, and at Portlough, four miles from Ramelton, one has recently been revealed which affords a fine example of the nature and uses of these settlements. The shell-mounds, which are common in the district. of Faunett, are of considerable interest: they are invariably * The bird here intended is the Heron, which in many parts of Ireland is called the Crane.—Ep. ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM BEVERLEY. 153 near the shore, above high-water mark, and are easily recognisable, even at a distance, by their rising eight or nine feet above the level sand. They all contain heaps of rough stones, which may be the remains of the hut, but the bulk of the mound is composed of shells of such edible mollusks as Littorina littorea, Patella vulgaris, Cardium edule, &c. Bones also of the cow, horse, sheep and pig are common, and are almost always split up—an entire bone is rare. These shell-mounds are less rich in remains than those of the Hebrides, and they cannot claim to be of high antiquity; that they are not of yesterday, however, is clear from the fact that on the shore adjacent no periwinkles or limpets can now be got, and the oldest inhabitant has no tradition of their origin. Their probable date may be the fifteenth or sixteenth century. ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM BEVERLEY. By Frepericx Bovyss. A REMARKABLY cold and backward spring, with a long con- linuance of easterly winds, may account for the non-arrival in 1876 of at least one summer migrant and the appearance in diminished numbers of some others. But whilst it deprived us of these, it appeared so to check the northward migration of our winter birds that, in one or two instances, they found it convenient to remain and breed with us. To this cause, at least, I attribute the breeding of the Hooded Crow, Spotted Crake, and some other birds in this neighbourhood in the summer of 1876. Although I cannot say that we had any remarkable feature worth especial mention, we had nevertheless some very interesting occur- rences which were unusual and new to me. These were the breeding of the Redshank in three or four different localities; the nesting of the Red-backed Shrike, and that of the Spotted Crake, which latter fact, though not absolutely established, is so far proved that I think there is no doubt about it. My notices of the arrival of our spring migrants are very incom- plete, owing partly to the very cold weather, which prevented them giving their well-known notes, and partly to their great irregularity in arrival, so much so that in many cases I gave up looking for them. I do not at any time attach much importance to these x 154 THE ZOOLOGIST. records, as it is manifest that at best they are very unreliable. A single bird may arrive in the neighbourhood and go unnoticed for weeks unless some one who knows it discovers it. Again, I may put down the date of my first hearing or seeing a certain bird here, whereas it may have appeared a fortnight earlier a few miles away. So, too, some birds do not make their presence known immediately on their first arrival. The Corn Crake is one of these, and it generally remains mute until sufficient shelter is afforded it: this is proved by finding them with pointers or setters when none have been heard thereabouts, or perhaps not at all that season. On February 10th I saw, in the snow on the river-side, the foot- prints of a Bittern. It had walked to several places where the sedges were highest, evidently looking for a place of concealment, but the shelter apparently had not been sufficient, for it had then walked back to the water-side and taken wing. Two of these birds were seen several times during the winter at a private piece of water here, where the owner always preserves them: I am told that one or more are seen there almost every winter. The dreadful storm of thunder and lightning we had early in March, accompanied by a deluge of rain, caused the river again to overflow its banks, and once more all our low-lying “ carrs” were under water for many miles. In consequence of this, vast numbers of Peewits, which annually breed in these low grounds were driven away from their breeding haunts, and the eggs of such as had laid were of course destroyed. These low grounds called “ carrs” lie adjacent to the river stretching beyond Beverley northward almost to Driffield, a distance of about twelve miles, and are liable to be submerged at any moment by the bursting of the river-banks. In former times the river annually overflowed, and all the adjoining land below a certain level became swamp and bog, and in many places open water. Indeed, up to the beginning of the present century there was no means of getting the water away. Many hundreds of ducks used to be taken here in decoys, and even now no sooner do the fields get submerged than they are at once frequented by great numbers of wild-fowl. About the 11th of April, when the water in the “carrs” had partly subsided, a Ruff and three Reeves were seen, and the Ruff and one of the Reeves shot. The male bird was in transitional plumage, just acquiring a beautiful glossy black ruff, ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM BEVERLEY. 155 and a few warts were appearing near the base of the bill; the frill, so far as it had been assumed, was composed entirely of new feathers. During the summer of 1876 the Nightingale was absent frow East Yorkshire. Considering, however, that we are on the extreme northern limit of its range, it is not surprising that it should fail to reach us in such a miserably cold and backward spring as that of 1876. A female Hawfinch, with considerably developed eggs in™the ovary, and which had been previously shot at and wounded, was picked up alive on May 7th on Westwood Common, where—as I have already mentioned (2nd ser. p. 4763)—two nests were taken last year. It appears they have again returned to the same place to breed. I afterwards made a search and found three nests, two apparently those of last year, and the third barely finished. At the last-named the old bird no doubt was at work, for it made a great outcry when I went near it. I thought it looked scarcely com- pleted, but knowing what a flimsy and unfinished kind of nest this bird makes, I climbed up to it, and must have been seen, for it was afterwards forsaken. On the same day a Black Tern and a Common Tern were shot on our river; and J may here mention that it is a common practice . for people to go up the river in a boat on Sundays, and shoot anything and everything, whether protected by the Sea-birds’ - Protection or any other Act. On the 10th May I saw a beautifully-plumaged Oystercatcher on the river-side: this is the first time I ever saw or heard of one here. The following day I heard a Ring Ouzel singing, and saw a large flock of Fieldfares. The 11th May seems a late date at which to find the last-named birds here, but they remained with us this year until May 19th. For upwards of sixty years a pair of Missel Thrushes have nested in our garden, with scarcely an exception. This spring the old gardener came to me, with a mournful look, and said he was afraid something was going to happen, as he had not noticed them about as usual; but when I pointed out to him the old bird sitting on her nest high up in a pear tree, his face brightened up, and he said, “Hey! well, that’s all right! I am glad.” So much for super- stition. Last year they built in a tree overhanging the middle walk, and the old bird flew off every time anyone went near. I was 156 THE ZOOLOGIST. surprised at the length of time she remained away from the nest, and fully expected the eggs would be addled, but she hatched off safely. This year she sat so close that, for so shy a bird, I could not have credited it had I not been a witness of it. She would allow me to fire off my gun beneath the tree without quitting the nest. I had been constantly shooting Sparrows for some time before I noticed this. Twice these Missel Thrushes have reared two broods in the same nest. There are three or four trees in which they invariably build, but very seldom nest two years in the same tree. Only one pair returns each year. A male Shoveller and a male Teal were seen on the river on May 2Ist, which looked as if the ducks of each species were sitting somewhere in the neighbourhood. In the “carrs” near the river, about six miles from Beverley, two pairs of Redshanks were nesting, for the first time, to my know- ledge, on May 24th. No doubt the swampy nature of the ground from the recent floods had invited them to remain. The actions of these birds were very interesting and new to me. They toyed about a long time and were very noisy; one of them alighted on some posts and rails near me, whistling and making a chatting noise like the word “chick, chick, chick, chick,” repeated any number of times. Presently it rose on the wing and flew a little way, gave a few very rapid vibrations of its wings, then held them pointed downwards in a peculiar manner, reminding one of the Common Sandpiper as it skims along a drain, or a butterfly that has been nipped the wrong way in the net. Every now and again it would return and go through the same performances. A Dunlin in full summer plumage, on the river the same day, was probably on its way to its breeding haunts. On May 27th four young Redshanks, a few days old, were found, and I regret to say the old female, after five or six unsuccessful shots, was killed, on one of our commons called Swinemoor. This common lies very low, and was once a swampy morass where the Bittern and Redshank held their sway: it is now drained and made into a pasture for cattle and a so-called “recreation ground” for the people. [We regret to learn that the Wild Birds Protection Act is not more respected there. A momentary consideration ought to convince the shooter that a nesting bird is as useless for the table as, from its ragged state of plumage at this season, it must be to the collector.—Eb. | ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM BEVERLEY. 157 The Red-backed Shrike is a very rare bird here, and I cannot ‘ hear that one has been seen for fifteen years. On May 27th a hen bird of this species was shot, and the following day a pair were obtained. A circumstance occurred in connection with the capture of these birds that is perhaps worth mentioning. It appears the male and female were both silting on a dead branch near each other when the female was shot. The person who shot it repaired to the same place early the following day to shoot the male, when he found a second female: this he shot, and later in the day he shot the male. Is it possible that the male had two wives? It is scarcely reasonable to suppose that he could have picked up another mate in so short a time in a part of the country where these birds are so rare. JI ought to mention that the first female was laying, and had an egg fully developed in the ovary. A search was afterwards made, and the old nest containing one egg found near the spot where all the three birds were shot. The second female was a younger bird, and showed no signs of breeding, the eggs in the ovary being very small. The stomachs of these birds contained nothing but humble-bees, the largest and commonest kind, with the yellow bands on the abdomen. [What a thousand pities that these inoffensive birds should have been shot, especially since they are stated to be so rare in the neighbourhood. Ep. ] T think I may safely say that the Spotted Crake nested on the margin of our river in May, 1876. I have never before heard them in the summer, though we generally have plenty in the autumn. The males begin to call at dusk, like Corn Crakes or Quails, only the note is very different, and may be imitated by pronouncing quickly the words “gluck, gluck” every three or four seconds. They were calling loudly on May 27th, and continued to do so for some weeks, almost always in the same places. I sought diligently for a nest, but from the large amount of shelter afforded by the sedges at this time of year, I was not able to find it. On June Sth a Nightjar was sitting on two eggs. I have seen several of these birds sitting on their eggs here in the open moory ground, and it is by no means a fact that they always turn their heads away from the sun. [From onr own observations we can confirm this. No bird is fonder of basking in the warm sunshine than the Nightjar. We have found it sitting on the shingle at the seaside, where the stones were so hot with the noonday sun that the hand could scarcely bear the contact.—Eb. | 158 THE ZOOLOGIST. During the month of October last we had an immense number of wild geese in this neighbourhood, more than have been known for a very long time. I think they were attracted by the quantity of food, for in consequence of the Jong continuance of wet weather many of the wold farmers were unable to gather the rakings of the stubble, and these formed an abundance of food for the wild geese, which at early dawn arrived in hundreds. On the 15th of that month a very fine female Rongh-legged Buzzard was shot at Holderness. On the 2Ist another was shot: it had been seen in company with the one killed on the 15th: this bird unluckily fell into the Humber, and the tide going out it was lost. On the 18th November a third was killed at Hull. A Shore Lark was shot at Spurn on October 21st, and an im- mature male Longtailed Duck on November 8th. On the 22nd of that month another Longtailed Duck was shot, a female, and on December 8th a third. These were obtained on the same piece of water where I had seen a small flock on September 29th. On the 22nd November a fine male Osprey was brought for my inspection by Mr. D. Burton, of Cherry Burton, a village three miles west of Beverley: it had been shot the previous day by one of that gentleman’s keepers just in front of the Hall. I may say that it was a most unlikely place for such a bird, as there is no water in the immediate neighbourhood. Probably it was passing over on its southward journey, or it may have got lost during the thick weather which prevailed about that time. Why it did not soar high enough to keep out of gunshot I cannot tell. I dissected it, and found it in very good condition, although not fat. The stomach was empty, except a piece of stick and some dead grass— foreign substances, swallowed, no doubt accidentally, with its natural food. This is the bird mentioned by Mr. Cordeaux as shot on the 23rd November, which is the wrong date, as I had word sent to me by the keeper the very day of its capture, and the bird was in my hands the following morning. During the last week of November large flocks of Wood Pigeons (Ring Doves) passed over the town of Beverley, the wind at the time being westerly. These birds may generally be seen flying over this district during strong westerly gales, and invariably fly against the wind. An old male Rednecked Grebe shot on our river on December 5th still retained some of the red on the throat. ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM ST, ANDREWS, N.B- . 159 There was a very large advent of wild-fowl in the Humber on Christmas Day. My informant, who is a capital shot, and has lived on the Humber-side all his life, said he never remembered to have seen so many geese and ducks in the Humber in all his experience, and I am certain no one could be better qualified to give an opinion. Amongst the slain on this side of the Humber were three Bernicle Geese: they were shot by a young farmer, a son of the person above referred to. —_0-——_ ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM ST. ANDREWS, N.B., DURING THE AUTUMN AND WINTER OF 1876. By W. J. Kerr. THE ancient city of St. Andrews stands upon a small and some- what rocky promontory on the eastern seaboard of Scotland, in front of which stretches an arm of the sea called St. Andrew’s Bay, bounded on the south by that portion of the county of Fife terminating in Fife Ness (in the provincial dialect known as the “East Neuk o’ Fife”), on the north by Forfarshire, terminating in the bold rocky headland called the “ Red Head.” To the north of the town is the small and dangerous harbour, and beyond, towards Fife Ness and the mouth of the Forth, a somewhat monotonous line of rocky coast scenery, nowhere attaining a sufficient altitude for the nesting of sea-birds. These low rocks, however, when uncovered at low tide are the favourite resort of such birds as the Turnstone, Purple Sandpiper and Rock Pipit. On the north the coast is of a perfectly different character, being flat and sandy, a natural line of sandhills preventing the sea from overflowing a low-lying cultivated country which stretches for some miles inland. Two miles to the north of the town the River Eden flows into St. Andrew’s Bay. This sluggish stream forms at its mouth an estuary of some three miles in length and about a mile in width: at high tide it has the appearance of a salt-water loch and at low tide forms a considerable extent of mud-flat and mussel-scaup, peculiarly adapted to the requirements of waders, sea ducks, et id genus omne—an advantage, I am glad to say, which they seem fully to recognise and appreciate. Beyond the Eden to the Tay lies a bleak and wild moorland called “Tent’s Muir,” skirted on 160 THE ZOOLOGIST. the seaside by a line of sandhills. This dreary uncultivated tract of country abounds in rushy pools and peat-bogs, the home of Snipe and Duck, where doubtless long ago the “boom” of the Bittern was often heard—a sound which, alas! no longer greets the wild-fowl shooter as he returns from the evening flight-shooting. Some interesting birds breed yearly on this moor, among which may be mentioned the Eider Duck, Shieldrake, Curlew, Golden Plover, Redshank, Dunlin, and a large colony of Terns. The locality therefore must be regarded as a most favourable one from which to study the habits of wild birds in their proper haunts. I will only add that such notes as I may contribute to ‘The Zoologist’ will be penned solely from my own observation. On the 2nd September I shot a Greenshank up the Eden: a few of these birds are procured every autumn, but only en passant ; none seem to remain through the winter. During this month the mud-flats at the mouth of the river present a very lively appearance, owing to the numerous flocks of various waders which for a time pay us a visit en roule for more southern shores. Among others I noticed several flocks of Bartailed Godwits and Gray Plovers; one of the latter which I shot—evidently a young bird of the year— was so much marked on the back with a light shade of yellow that I took it for a young Golden Plover, and it was not until I got home that, by the presence of the hind toe, I detected the species. The first wild geese seen this autumn were observed flying over the links on September 26th. Early in October a great number of Gannets were fishing in the bay, mostly young birds of the year, doubtless from the Bass Rock, which is but a short distance off. On the 7th a Red-breasted Merganser was shot. Enormous flocks of Plovers, both Green and Golden, breed on the hills inland, and frequent the mud-flats at low tide and the adjoining fields at high tide during the autumn, but leave us towards the end of October, a small number only remaining throughout the winter. Several Knots killed out of a large flock on the 16th retained traces of the summer plumage: in some specimens the whole of the breast was suffused with a light buff-colour; these are doubtless young birds of the year. Returning home at dusk from shore-shooting on October 18th, two small waders rose close to me, and began wheeling round, uttering a plaintive but pleasing note with which I was not familiar, ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM ST. ANDREWS, N. B. 161 eventually settling some thirty yards off. One which I shot proved to be a Little Stint. This small Tringa seems to be somewhat rare on this coast; I have not noticed it before, and the gunners do not seem to know it. Probably it is a regular autumnal visitor, but from its small size is apt to be overlooked. Mr. Harvie Brown informs me he has procured specimens upon the Forth on several occasions. On the 19th October I shot a Curlew Sandpiper out of a flock of Dunlins: as they flew past me a third at least of the birds appeared to be white-rumped, but although I dropped six of the number I only procured one Curlew Sandpiper. When snipe shooting on Tent’s Muir on the 27th IT saw a Marsh Harrier on the wing. The Snow Bunting was first seen on the 30th, when a single bird was procured. During the first week of November about a dozen Turnstones were observed on the rocks below the town. These birds seem to be local on this part of the coast: I generally find them about the same spot, feeding on the rocks uncovered at low tide. The first fall of snow of any consequence was on the 9th, on which day a few Bramblings were seen amongst a flock of Chaffinches and Linnets; large flocks of Larks, Fieldfares and Redwings were flying south in continued succession all day. A flock of about two hundred wild geese passed over the town on the 29th ; they have been very scarce in this neighbourhood during the past autumn and winter. On the 3rd December I noticed several Skuas chasing the Gulls that were fishing on the Eden bar. Amongst the latter was a Kittiwake: this species, although it is numerous enough during the summer, and breeds in some numbers on the Island of May— a few miles distant, is rarely seen here in the winter. When shooting along the coast with Mr. Harvie Brown on the 6th December, we noticed flying towards us over the bay at a great height an immense number of Wood Pigeons. The flock must have been about five miles in length, and was preceded by a closely compact advanced guard, which in itself must have con- sisted of some hundreds of birds, the remainder following in a long straggling line. We watched them for some time after they had passed us as they flew in a north-westerly direction, until lost to sight over the Forfarshire hills. When just seen they were some miles out at sea, the coast of Norway lying behind them, and Y 162 THE ZOOLOGIST. we had no doubt that the flock we had observed was migrating from that country. Amongst a lot of gulls seen flying along the coast on December 15th, I observed several immature specimens of Larus glaucus. From the number of Short-eared Owls which were brought to a birdstuffer in the town for preservation during the month of December, it would seem as if this species had visited us in unusual numbers this winter. During the last week of December three Whoopers visited the estuary of the Eden. I did not see them myself, but heard of them from several persons, one of whom, a famous wildfowl-shooter and good field ornithologist, informed me that a wild swan which passed within eighty yards, and which he shot at, whooped several times a note with which he is familiar from having often heard it in the Solway Firth. ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM DEVON. By JoHn GaAtTcomBE. In consequence of the severe and long-continued gales during the month of January, Kittiwakes became exceedingly tame and very numerous in our harbours, and I am sorry to add that hundreds were wantonly shot. Northern Divers were plentiful and almost daily brought to our birdstuffers; but it seems remarkable that among so many specimens a really adult bird was rarely found, ~ and I have lately been much struck with the great difference which is observable in the plumage of the fully adult bird in winter and that of the young bird of the year. Although all the upper plumage of the old bird is more or less tipped and edged with gray, yet the general markings have not that wavy appearance so observable in the young, but show a great resemblance in form to the white spots and oblong square patches of the summer dress: the dark band on the neck, too, is much more conspicuous. The adult bird in winter may also be distinguished by the shape of the larger feathers of the back and scapulars, which are nearly square at the tips, instead of rounded as in immature specimens. For some time I daily watched a large Northern Diver with my telescope, and could easily distinguish it from others, at any reasonable distance, by its plumage alone, and on visiting a ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM DEVON. 1638 birdstuffer’s shop one day I at once recognised the poor bird lying dead on the table. On examination I found that, as I suspected, it was an old bird in full winter dress. The stomach contained some crabs and a few stones, but no fish-bones. Shags were very plentiful in January, and it was astonishing to see the ease with which they dived in the midst of a tremendous surf amongst the rocks without the least injury; indeed I have sometimes seen them washed clean over the top of arock by a large wave. Many Gannets were obtained by the fishermen off Plymouth, either with a baited hook or the old plan of a board and fish; many also were washed ashore. On the 6th January a large Glaucous Gull was seen flying up the Hamoaze, and on the 14th of the same month I saw another: they were both in immature plumage. On the 15th there were immense flocks of Golden Plover and Lapwings on the Plymouth Racecourse, or Chelson Meadows, which are very swampy at this season of the year. The following day a Lesser Spotted Wood- pecker was killed near Plymouth. Great Black-backed Gulls were very numerous in our harbours and on the coast. On January 19th I observed two adult Swans flying up the River Tamar at a great height, and some days afterwards the following paragraph appeared in a Cornish paper:—“ Two wild Swans, perfectly white, were killed at St. Endellion on Monday, the 25th.” No doubt, the same birds seen by me. The Bartailed Godwit seldom remains with us during the winter, but one was shot near Plymouth on January 28th. On the 31st I bought a very fine Rough-legged Buzzard, in the flesh, which was shot on Ditsworthy rabbit-warren, Dartmoor, by the warrener’s grandson, a little boy about eight years of age, who killed a splendid old Snowy Owl at the same place in March, 1876. This buzzard was extremely fat, and its stomach contained the remains of a small rabbit; when shot it was in company with another bird of the same species. Rough-legged Buzzards, however, are rarely obtained on Dartmoor. I saw several immature Black Redstarts during the month of January, and I am told that some Gray Phalaropes were seen swimming off the quay at Penzance on the 25th of that month. In February many Great Northern Divers and a few Red- throated Divers. were brought to our birdstuffers; indeed the 164 THE ZOOLOGIST. former birds have been more plentiful during the present winter than I can remember for many years past. Mr. Stephen Clogg, of Looe, Cornwall, informs me that he observed two of them fishing above the bridge at that place—a circumstance which he had never previously noted during a residence of forty years. Through the kindness of the same gentleman, I was enabled to examine a beautiful variety of the Arctic Tern, which had been killed by a boy with a stone during the past autumn. It appears to be a young bird of the year, pure white, with the bill and legs red, but unfor- tunately the colour of the eyes was not noticed. It is now in the collection of Mr. J. Marshall, of Belmont, Taunton, who informs me that he has lately obtained a milk-white Jay (shot near York), a white Pipit, a pied Red-breasted Pipit, and a buff Red-breasted Flycatcher—the three latter procured in the neighbourhood of Constantinople. During the early part of February Razorbills and Guillemots appeared in some numbers on our coasts, and many adult and immature Great Black-backed Gulls were shot. A Shieldrake—a species seldom obtained in this locality except during very severe weather—was killed in the neighbourhood on the 13th. By February 16th Cormorants had well advanced towards their : breeding plumage, gray feathers appearing about the head and neck, and the white patch above the thighs very conspicuous. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was brought to a Stonehouse bird- stuffer on the 17th of that month, and another on the 23rd: this species is much more commonly met with near Plymouth during winter than at any other time of the year. On the 22nd I observed a Black Redstart on the coast. By that date Chaffinches were in full song, and many Black-headed Gulls had assumed the dark hood. By February 26th Guillemots had assumed the perfect breeding-plumage. —+9——. OBSERVATIONS ON EGG-BLOWING. 3y Epwarp BIpwett. Durine the last few seasons I have had considerable expe- rience in egg-blowing, and though endowed by nature with a good pair of natural bellows, I frequently found that blowing a hundred large eggs in an evening was no light task, and it occurred to me OBSERVATIONS ON EGG>BLOWING. 165 that could I devise a machine for the purpose it would be a great boon to collectors. My first attempt was with a large india-rubber syringe attached to a blow-pipe by a tube; but I found that it did not always contain sufficient air to empty the egg. I then substituted a kitchen-bellows for the syringe, but besides being clumsy it frequently broke the egg, from the handle requiring so much pressure that it moved the blow-pipe. I then procured a cylindrical bellows, shown in the engraving, and find it answers admirably, as it works very steadily, and it is easy with this to regulate the pressure of the air to the size of the egg. SSS INN \ \N \ SE : SSECRRRKKRAERMEERMEEEM_EN_RAAAAAANA Fig. 1. The blow-pipe (A) is held in a groove by two small buttons, so that whilst firmly fixed it can easily be removed for cleaning should it get stopped up. Bis the tubing connecting the pipe with the bellows (c), which is supplied with air through a hole (p) in the wooden stand to which it is fixed. When travelling, the space E is fitted with a box for the drills, &c. For greater steadiness a block of lead weighing about two pounds is placed in the space under the bellows, or the latter can be fixed to the table by means of a small clamp. A small wooden stand is used as a rest for the left hand while holding the egg. On the subject of drilling I should have had no remarks to offer had I not learned from Mr. Seebohm that he used a carpenter’s spiral drill for eggs, which he fixed in a horizontal position. Fig. 2 shows a small appliance which I have adapted for this purpose. It is held in a vice, and is fitted with a drill, 166 THE ZOOLOGIST. which is turned by hand. Should greater speed be required it can easily be fitted for a bow and the handle unscrewed. It will be found a great saving of time if, when the hole is drilled in an egg, the membrane around it be extracted with a fine pair of spring pliers. The contents come out much more rapidly, and the shell drains much sooner. * Every egg-collector knows the annoyance and danger of cotton- wool, &c., adhering to eggs through their not having drained thoroughly, which is frequently caused by the egg rolling after it has been placed on the blotting-paper pad. To obviate this I have had thin brass tubes of different sizes cut into lengths varying from one-fourth to five-eighths of an inch and bent to an oval. If the egg is placed in this with the hole touching the blotting-paper, the nuisance of its moving is done away with. The rings fit into each other, and so take up very little room. A small india-rubber syringe possesses great advantages over the old-fashioned “ squirt” for injecting water for rinsing, as it can be used with one hand whilst the egg is held in the other, thus lessening the danger of breakage, and enabling the user to keep the exterior of the shell dry—a matter of greater importance than many consider it. Now that collecting “‘clutches” is so much in vogue, it is of greater importance than formerly to bring home each “clutch” intact, and to secure this I use round tin boxes, into which five pill-boxes have been glued in a circle, thus forming six compart- ments. Each egg is wrapped in cotton-wool and placed in a division. Every box is numbered, and particulars of its contents entered in a rough note-book on the spot. Another good plan is * There is another advantage in extracting the membrane. If allowed to remain in, it often contracts so much in drying as to cause thin shells to cra:k.—Ep. WILD FOWL PRESERVATION. 167 to wrap each egg in tissue-paper after rolling it in wool, as, if this is not done the egg frequently works out of the wool and gets broken. The whole of the apparatus described fits into a box twelve inches long by six inches deep and six wide, and may be seen at Messrs. T. Cooke & Son’s, 30, Museum Street, London, who will be happy to show it. WILD FOWL PRESERVATION. [We have received so many enquiries concerning the “ Wild Birds Protection Act, 1872,” and the ‘“‘ Wild Fowl Preservation Act, 1876,” from correspondents who are anxious to know how the law at present stands on the subject that we think it desirable to print the two Acts mm extenso. In doing so, we need only observe that had the legislature acted upon the recommendations of the promoters of the Bill of 1872, that is to say, the Committee of Naturalists appointed by the British Association, there would now have been one Act instead of two, much confusion would have been avoided, and such a period would have been fixed for the close-time as would have met with general approbation. Unfortunately the recommendations referred to were not adopted.—Eb. ] (35 & 86 Vict., Chapt. 78.] An ACT FOR THE PROTECTION OF CERTAIN WILD BIRDS DURING THE BREEDING SEASON. {10th August, 1872.] WHEREAS it is expedient to provide for the protection of certain wild birds of the United Kingdom during the breeding season: Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same: 1. That the words “wild bird” shall for all purposes of this Act be deemed to include the birds specified in the schedule to this Act; the word “ sheriff” shall include steward and also sheriff substitute and steward substitute. 2. Any person who shall knowingly or with intent kill, wound, or take any wild bird, or shall expose or offer for sale any wild 168 THE ZOOLOGIST. bird recently killed, wounded, or taken, between the fifteenth day of March and the first day of August in any year shall, on con- viction of any such offence before any justice or justices of the peace in England or Ireland, or before the sheriff or any justice or justices of the peace in Scotland, for a first offence be repri- manded and discharged on payment of costs and summons, and for every subsequent offence forfeit and pay for every such wild bird so killed, wounded, or taken, or so exposed or offered for sale, such sum of money as including costs of conviction shall not exceed five shillings, as to the said justice, justices, or sheriff shall seem meet, unless he shall prove to the satisfaction of the said justice, justices, or sheriff that the said wild bird was or were bought or received on or before the said fifteenth day of March, or of or from some person or persons residing out of the United Kingdom: Provided nevertheless, that every summons issued under this Act shall specify the kind of wild bird in respect of which an offence has been committed, and that not more than one summons shall be issued for the same offence. 3. Where any person shall be found offending against this Act, it shall be lawful for any person to require the person so offending to give his Christian name, surname, and place of abode, and in case the person offending shall, after being so required, refuse to give his real name or place of abode, or give an untrue name or place of abode, he shall be liable, on being convicted of any such offence before a justice of the peace or the sheriff, to forfeit and pay, in addition to the penalties imposed by section two, such sum of money not exceeding ten shillings as to the convicting justice or sheriff shall seem meet. 4. All offences mentioned in this Act which shall be committed within the jurisdiction of the Admiralty, shall be deemed to be offences of the same nature and liable to the same punishments as if they had been committed upon any land in the United Kingdom, and may be dealt with, inquired of, tried, and deter- mined in any county or place in the United Kingdom, in which the offender shall be apprehended or be in custody, in the same manner in all respects as if they had been actually committed in that county or place; and in any such information or con- viction for any such offence, the offence may be averred to have been committed “on the high seas,’ and in Scotland any offence committed against this Act on the sca coast, or at sea beyond WILD FOWL PRESERVATION. 169 the ordinary jurisdiction of any sheriff or justice of the peace, shall be held to have been committed in any county abutting on such sea coast, or adjoining such sea, and may be tried and punished accordingly. 5. Where any offence under this Act is committed in or upon any waters forming the boundary between any two counties, districts of quarter sessions or petty sessions, such offence may be prosecuted before any justice or justices of the peace or sheriff in either of such counties or districts. SCHEDULE. Avocet Nuthatch Stonechat Bittern Owl Stonehatch Blackcap Oxbird Summer Snipe Chiffchaff Peewit Swallow Coot Phalarope Swan Creeper Pipit Swift Crossbill Plover Teal Cuckoo Plovers-page Thick-knee Curlew Pochard Titmouse, Long-tailed Dotterel Purre Titmouse, Bearded Dunbird Quail Wagtail Dunlin Redpoll Warbler, Dartford Flycatcher Redshank Warbler, Reed Godwit Redstart Warbler, Sedge Golden-crested Wren Robin Redbreast Whaup Goldfinch Ruff and Reeve Wheatear Greenshank Sanderling Whinchat Hawfinch or Grosbeak Sand Grouse Whimbrel Hedgesparrow Sandpiper Wigeon Kingfisher Sea Lark Woodcock Landrail Shoveller Wild Duck Lapwing Siskin Wood Lark Mallard Snipe Woodpecker Martin Spoonbill Wood Wren Moor (or Water’ Hen = Stint Wren Nightingale Stone Curlew Wryneck Nightjar 170 THE ZOOLOGIST. (39 & 40 Vict., Chapt. 29.1 An ACT FOR THE PRESERVATION OF WILD FowL. (24th July, 1876.] Whereas the wild fowl of the United Kingdom, forming a staple article of food and commerce, have of late years greatly decreased in number by reason of their being inconsiderately slanghtered during the time that they have eggs and young; and whereas, owing to their marketable value, the protection accorded to them by the Act of the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth years of the reign of Her present Majesty, chapter seventy-eight, intituled “ An Act for the protection of certain wild birds during the breeding season,” is insufficient; it is expedient therefore to provide for their further protection during the breeding season: Be it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritnal and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows :— 1. The words “wild fowl” shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to include the different species of Avocet, Curlew, Dotterel, Dunbird, Dunlin, Godwit, Greenshank, Lapwing, Mallard, Oxbird, Peewit, Phalarope, Plover, Plover’s Page, Pochard, Purre, Redshank, Reeve or Ruff, Sanderling, Sandpiper, Sea Lark, Shoveller, Snipe, Spoonbill, Stint, Stone Curlew, Stonehatch, Summer Snipe, Teal, Thick-knee, Whaup, Whimbrel, Wigeon, Wild Duck, Wild Goose, and Woodcock; the word “ sheriff” shall include steward and also sheriff substitute and steward substitute. 2. Any person who shall kill, wound, or attempt to kill or wound, or take any wild fowl, or use any boat, gun, net, or other engine or instrument for the purpose of killing, wounding, or taking any wild fowl, or shall have in his control or possession any wild fowl recently killed, wounded, or taken between the fifteenth day of February and the tenth day of July in any year, shall, on conviction of any such offence before any justice or justices of the peace in England or Ireland, or before the sheriff or any justice or justices of the peace in Scotland, forfeit and pay for every such wild fowl] so killed, wounded, or taken, or so in his possession, such sum of money not exceeding one pound as to the said justices or sheriff shall seem meet, together with the costs of the conviction. WILD FOWL PRESERVATION. 171 8. The Home Office as to Great Britain, and the Lord Lieu- tenant as to Ireland, may, upon application of the justices in quarter sessions assembled of any county, extend or vary the time during which the killing, wounding, and taking of wild fowl is prohibited by this Act; the extension or variation of such time by the Home Office shall be made by order under the hand of one of Her Majesty’s Principal Secretaries of State, after the making of which order the penalties imposed by this Act shall in such county apply only to offences committed during the time specified in such order; and the extension of such time by the Lord Lieutenant shall be made by order to be published in the Dublin Gazette, and a copy of the London Gazette or Dublin Gazette containing such order shall be evidence of the same having been made. 4. Where any person shall be found offending against this Act, it shall be lawful for any person to require the person so offending to give his Christian name, surname, and place of abode; and in case the person offending shall, after being so required, refuse to give his real name or place of abode, or give an untrue name or place of abode, he shall be liable, on being convicted of any such offence before a justice of the peace or the sheriff, to forfeit and pay, in addition to the penalties imposed by section two, such sum of money not exceeding two pounds as to the convicting justice or sheriff shall seem meet, together with the costs of the conviction. 5. One moiety of every penalty or forfeiture under this Act shall go and be paid to the person who shall inform and prosecute for the same, and the other moiety shall, in England, be paid to some one of the overseers of the poor, or to some other officer (as the convicting justice or justices may direct) of the parish, township, or place in which the offence shall have been committed, to be by such overseer or officer paid over to the use of the general rate of the county, riding, or division in which such parish, township, or place shall be situate, whether the same shall or shall not contri- bute to such general rate; and in Scotland, to the inspector of the poor of the parish in which the offence shall have been committed, to be by such inspector paid over to the use of the funds for the relief of the poor in such parish; and if recovered in Ireland, such penalty shall be applied according to the provisions of the Fines Act (Ireland), 1851, or any Act amending the same. 6. All offences mentioned in this Act, which shall be committed 172 THE ZOOLOGIST. within the jurisdiction of the Admiralty, shall be deemed to be offences of the same nature and liable to the same punishments as if they had been committed upon any land in the United Kingdom, and may be dealt with, inquired of, tried, and determined in any county or place in the United Kingdom in which the offender shall be apprehended or be in custody, in the same manner in all respects as if they had been actually committed in that county or place; and in any information or conviction for any such offence the offence may be averred to have been committed “on the high seas;” and in Scotland any offence committed against this Act on the sea coast, or at sea beyond the ordinary jurisdiction of any sheriff or justice of the peace, shall be held to have been com- mitted in any county abutting on such sea coast, or adjoining such sea, and may be tried and punished accordingly. 7. Where any offence under this Act is committed in or upon any waters forming the boundary between any two counties, districts of quarter sessions or petty sessions, such offence may be prosecuted before any justice or justices of the peace or sheriff in either of such counties or districts. a, OCCASIONAL NOTES. Beavers IN SipeRta.—The Beaver which, some centuries ago, was so numerous in Russia and Western Siberia, and which was supposed to have totally disappeared from both countries, continues to exist on the rivulet Pelyin. M. Poliakoff has procured from an ostyack on the Obi five skins of these animals killed last year, and he has engaged a hunter to procure this winter complete specimens for the Museum of the St. Peters- burg Academy. No farther back than a century ago the Beaver was common on one of the affluents of the Irtysh, Bobrofka, but it has now totally disappeared from the locality, the last colony existing probably on the Pelyin.—‘ Nature,’ 18th January, 1877. On THE BREEDING oF THE Orrer.—lI am very glad to see that the breeding of the Otter is attracting the attention of your correspondents, and trust the result may be something more definite than the stereotyped “three to five young ones in March or April.” I have long paid great atten- tion to the habits of the Otter in the county of Norfolk, and so far as I have been able to ascertain with certainty, the young ones are almost invariably born in the dead months of the year. I read with interest Mr. A. H. Cocks’ note on the breeding of the Otter (p. 100), but cannot agree with OCCASIONAL NOTES. 173 his conclusions that “Otters, with other animals, appear to breed most commonly in the spring”; and T am inclined to think that the instances adduced tend to prove that such is not generally the case. It is very difficult to judge the age of a young Otter, they differ so much in size and weight, but judging to the best of my ability, from the data given I should think the ten young ones mentioned by Mr. Cocks would be born somewhat as follows :—No. 1, early in September; No. 2, early in January; No. 8, early in August; No. 4, October; No. 5, February; No. 6, February ; No.7, November (?); No. 8, March (?); No. 9, October (?); No. 10, May (?). There is, I think, more uncertainty about the last four than there is about the others. This shows a sufficiently wide margin certainly, but if I am right in my estimate of their age, only two of the examples mentioned appear to have been born in the spring. One of the young ones now in the Zoological Gardens Mr. Cocks says must undoubtedly have been born in the autumn, and indications mentioned by that gentleman as observed in the case of the two females now in his possession seem to point to the dead season of the year as the most probable period for the young to be born. In ‘Land and Water’ for March, 1873, it is stated that a young Otter which could not see (sic) was picked up dead on the banks of the Want, a tributary of the River Don, on the 15th December, 1872. In the same paper for January 16, 1875, two young Otters are said to have been killed while in company with their mother near Maidenhead on 10th January, 1875; and “a little baby Otter” is said to have been caught by the tail in January, 1875, by a man lying in ambush for wild duck at Llechrhwyd, in the issue of the same journal for April 10, 1875. The following cases in which it is possible to form an approximate idea of the age of the young ones, or in which the condition of the female indicated the time of breeding, have come under my own notice since the paper to which you did me the honour to allude (p. 18) was published :— February 23, 1873. A female big with young. March 15, 1873. Female and young one; the latter 20 inches long and 1} tb. weight. probably six or eight weeks old. April 12, 1873. Two young ones, both females, 25% inches long and 4} Ibs. weight, and 25% inches long and 42 tbs. weight respectively— probably rather under four months old. End of November, 1874. A female giving suck (Rev. E. J. Blofield). - November 24, 1876. A female giving suck; three teats on each side all distended with milk. December 26, 1875. Three young ones, one of which was taken alive: when I saw it on the 30th April following I took it to be about six months old. January 5,1877. An old female and three young ones. The female was still giving suck (three teats on each side all in use); although the young 174 THE ZOOLOGIST. ones measured 35 inches long they still retained their milk-canines; the permanent canines were well grown—much larger than the milk-teeth: I have several times noticed this in young Otters. Of these three young ones I cannot guess the age, nor do I know the weight, as I did not see them in the flesh. I mention these particularly, as they seem to tell against my theory as to the period of birth, and are almost the only instances I have met with in this neighbourhood. In my article on the Otter I was unable to say with certainty the number of teats found in the female Otter. I have now on several occasions found it to be six. As to the number of young produced at a birth, two and three appear to be about equally frequent; in only one instance have I known four—that number was found in a nest in the middle of February, 1865. The heaviest Otter I have ever seen (a male) weighed 37 tbs., and measured only 48 inches in total length, whereas I have seen a male Otter measuring 53 inches which weiged only 27 tbs.; so much for condition. A very poor female which I saw on the 16th of the present month (March) measured 43 inches and weighed only 10 tbs. Ihave noticed in very young Otters that they differ almost as much in comparative weight and size; so that weight is certainly not a safe indication of the age of the little one; length would be much more reliable. But I should be very glad to hear that Mr. Cocks had mated his lonely females, and was likely to observe with certainty the period of gestation and progress of the young ones. ‘The time of pairing in confinement I do not think would be of any value as an indication of what takes place in a state of nature.—T’. Sournwrxt (Norwich). Rare Brrps 1n tHE Humper Disrrict.—During the past autumn and winter I have noted the following uncommon birds in this district :— On the 6th September a rather rare wader was obtained at Spurn Point— namely, the Spotted Redshank. This example, now in the collection of Major Seddon, of Waltham Cross, is a female bird in immature plumage. Between the 2lst and 27th September three Black-tailed Godwits, all females and immature, were obtained at Spurn. Also, in the same locality, a remarkably fine old male Velvet Scoter, shot October 18th. It is very curious how rarely we meet with the Velvet Scoter in any stage of plumage near our coast or within the estuary of the Humber. It is essentially a sea duck, and rarely occurs close in shore. It is far commoner at sea off the Norfolk coast than along the Lincolnshire or Yorkshire seaboard; in the former locality nearly every flock of the Common Scoter will contain one or more pairs of Velvet Scoters, readily distinguishable by the white speculum on the wing. North of the Wash it is quite a rare occurrence when at sea to come across any of these ducks. On January 21st I saw a Great Ash-coloured Shrike within a short distance of the town of Grimsby. I first noticed it perched on an upper twig in a quick-fence; on leaving OCCASIONAL NOTES. 175 this it fortunately flew in my direction, passing within twenty yards with an undulating jerky flight, much like a wagtail’s; it was apparently a bird of the year. I followed it for some distance along a double post and rail fence, the shrike keeping about five and twenty yards ahead, flitting from post to post—but always in a very dedgy manner—on the off-side of the fence, and in each flight, short as they were, dropping near the ground and rising suddenly to the post-top: when perched the tail was never still for a moment. Mr. Bailey, of Flamborough, has informed me of a Goshawk in his possession, an old female, shot by the gamekeeper to the Rev. Lloyd Greame, of Sowerby Hall, Bridlington, about the 24th of January. Mr. Bailey says the bird measured four feet one inch from tip to tip of wing, and was two feet one inch in length: it was seen by the keeper to kill a full-grown rabbit and carry it twenty yards or more—JouN CoRDEAUX (Great Cotes, Ulceby). WHite-TAILeD Eacte 1x HererorpsHire.—On the 18th November, 1876, I was in Henry Shaw’s shop in Shrewsbury, and found he had just commenced skinning a fine specimen of the White-tailed Eagle, which had been received that morning from Berrington, near Leominster, the beautiful seat of Lord Rodney. The bird had been trapped a day or two previously, and, having been caught by only one hind-toe and not in the least degree injured, it was a thousand pities it was destroyed. It was a female, probably of the second year, as although the plumage was very handsome, being a dark mottled brown, there was no indication of the “white tail.” This eagle was a very powerfully made bird, full of flesh, very muscular, and altogether in high condition. As Berrington is situated nearly in the centre of Herefordshire, and as I believe the nearest sea coast is about eighty miles distant, it is very difficult to conjecture from what locality so remarkable a bird could have wandered.—Joun Rocxs (Clungun- ford House, Shropshire). PuREGRINE F’atcons NEAR WAREHAM.—A fine pair of Peregrine Falcons have been lately trapped near Wareham, one about the 26th February, and the other—of unusually light colouring about the head and neck—on March 9th or 10th. They are apparently birds of last year, in the characteristic plumage of the first year, with longitudinal markings down the breast. It has been asserted that certain strains of this falcon, from different districts, retain their first plumage for two years sometimes, or even more. I should be glad if any of your readers can substantiate this.—A. P. Morrzs (Britford Vicarage, Salisbury). RouGcH-LEGGED BuzzaRDs NEAR TisBuRY, Witts.—In the last week of December four specimens of the Rough-legged Buzzard were trapped by the keeper in a large wood at Fonthill, near Tisbury, in this county. One, a male bird, was of a light colour; two others were females, and much darker. There was a fifth bird of the same species seen about the place 176 THE ZOOLOGIST. at the time, but this fortunately escaped. The rough winds of the past winter would doubtless account in some measure for the unusual number of this species and that of the Short-horned Owl which have visited us this season.—A. P. Morrzs. Rovcu-Leccep Buzzards 1x Easr Yorxsuire.—These birds appear to have been uncommonly numerous in different parts of the country during the past autumn and winter months, and this district has also been visited by them in some numbers. Four to my knowledge have fallen victims to the gun, and I have heard of others having been seen. The last obtained was a very fine old male, shot at Patrington on the 24th January last. This bird was very fat, and in its stomach was a quantity of fur and the remains of one or more field voles. A Rough-legged Buzzard frequented our low grounds all the winter, and was at length shot. It proved to be an immature female. The stomach contained mouse’s fur, and the bird was very fat. This low-lying country has been inundated for many miles, with here and there little islands studded about, on which the rats, mice and moles were driven to take shelter, and on these there is little doubt the Buzzards fared sumptuously. I quite endorse what Mr. Sclater says about second-hand information. I have had so much of it, and found it so wholly unreliable, that in a very great majority of cases it certainly is not worth printing. The so-called “eagle” sent to Beverley has come under my observation, and Mr. Sclater is quite correct in his surmises. It is an immature Rough-legged Buzzard, and is at present alive and well.— I’. Borns (Beverley). Mertins 1x Kent.—On February 4th I saw a magnificent old male Merlin here, with bright blue back and orange breast. Since that I have seen another blue male rather paler in colour, and a female. As mentioned in my note in February's ‘ Zoologist,’ this is somewhat earlier than I usually see male Merlins here. As a general rule, females predominate in autumn and males in spring about here.—Cxirron (Cobham Hall). Late Assumption or Aputt Pirumace sy tae Marr Kesrret.— About the second week in J anuary a male Kestrel was shot here, which was hardly distinguishable from an old female, except in slightly smaller size and a warmer tone of rufous on the back. ‘The tail was slightly washed with blue, but not so much as in some old females. Even the upper tail-coverts were rufous, and the feathers on the nape were whitish, forming a rather merlin-like collar. I took it at first for a small female.—In. Trencmatm’s Owr in Essex.—One day towards the end of January last some boys noticed a bird in a tree near the iron bridge in the Barking Road, Poplar. They frightened it out, and as the poor Owl was not used to flying by day it soon paid the penalty for its rashness in venturing out. It was brought to my office in the flesh, but as I was away the person who had it thought best to make a skin of it for me. It is a very nicely marked OCCASIONAL NOTES. 177 specimen of Tengmalm’s Owl, but Iam not able to record the sex. The majority of specimens of this Owl which have been obtained in Great Britain appear to have been killed in the winter months.—Hpwarp - Brpwett (Richmond, 8.W.) Eacie Own 1n Yorxsnire.—My brother saw an Kagle Owl which was captured by two farm servants in July, 1876, on the edge of Rombald Moor, near Ilkley. I think Pennant mentions the occurrence of this species in this county.—H. P. Burrerrizxp (Wilsden). [It is Montagu who mentions the occurrence of the Eagle Owl in York- shire. The specimen recorded by Pennant, in his ‘ Caledonian Zoology,’ p. 18, was killed in Fifeshire.—Ep.] Snowy Own In THE Luewrs.—About the end of November, 1876, I received a fine adult male Snowy Owl from the island of Lewes. A friend of mine: who had the shootings of Bervase, in the northern portion of the island, had seen this bird on several occasions, but both he and his keeper failed to obtain it. When he returned south, word was left with the keeper, that if he could get it ‘‘clean-killed” and would send it to Shrews- bury, he knew a collector who would be glad of it. I was much pleased shortly afterwards to find that the bird had arrived in a most beautiful state of preservation, and was nearly as white a specimen as I have ever seen. ‘These birds have been so numerous of late in “the North” that this additional capture is not very remarkable. Still, as I believe this is the first recorded instance of its occurring in the Lewes, a notice of it may be interesting.—Joun Rocke (Clungunford House, Shropshire). OrniTHoLocicaL Notes From THE West or Enextanp.—Mr. Hayden, of Fordingbridge, in the New Forest, informs me that an example of the Red-legged Hobby was killed close to that place in December last. It is singular that several birds which are only summer visitants to the South of Kurope should from time to time be obtained in this kingdom in late autumn or mid-winter, Another instance of the Red-legged Falcon’s having been procured in England in the winter time is mentioned in Dr. Bull- more’s ‘Cornish Fauna.’ This specimen was shot near Falmouth in the month of February. A Peregrine Falcon was killed at Bagborough during the severe north-westerly gale which swept across Taunton Dene on the night of the 19th February last. Many trees were blown over, and by the side of a fine elm was picked up the crushed body of an old tiercel which had been roosting in the tree, and had perished with it—a singular death for a noble Falcon. The first “cold snap” (as the Americans say) brought Hawfinches into this village; on most days I see one on my lawn feeding on the red berries which strew the ground under some whitethorns. The Acts for the Preservation of Birds include several which are only rare visitors to this country, and only to be distinguished by experienced ornithologists, which might justly be 24 178 THE ZOOLOGIST. termed “ fancy birds,” while some which are most useful to the agriculturist have no protection, and are in consequence in great danger of extermina- tion. There are no two more deserving members of the rural police than the White and Brown Owls: the foolish fashion of exhibiting the masks and wings of these birds in the form of hand-screens is leading to their constant persecution and slaughter, and in some parts of the country they are fast becoming scarce. A birdstuffer in Taunton informed me that on an average he mounted fifty Barn Owls and forty Brown Owls a year, and, as I have sometimes seen half-a-dozen fresh victims brought into him at once, I can well believe that these figures are not over-stated. There is another birdstuffer in the town who seems to do an equally large trade in mounting unfortunate owls. So keenly are they looked after that when a short time since a White Owl was so ill-advised as to show himself in the Priory Meadows five gunners watched patiently for him evening after evening until one succeeded in bringing him down. ‘The natural result is an inconvenient increase of small vermin. One of the villagers here told me that last spring he trapped more than sixty field mice by one row of peas in his allotment, and that unless he had been thus vigilant in destroying these small depredators his crop would have been quite lost. Years ago he stated it would have been unusual to have trapped more than two or three. Surely it is time that something was done in the interest of poor gardeners, to protect their best friends, the owls, from senseless slaughter.— Murray A. Maruew (The Vicarage, Bishop's Lydeard). PureLe GALLINULE IN SomersETsHIRE.—The following are the par- ticulars of the capture of a bird of this species, as sent me by Mr. Filleul, of Biddisham:—“ A Purple Gallinule was caught in a ditch at Tarnock, in Badgworth parish, on August 25th, 1875. It is now in the possession of a farmer of the name of James Burrows, whose lads caught it. It was caught alive, and kept for a few days in a hamper. It died of starvation, I suppose, and was then stuffed. I have seen it twice; it is a very handsome bird, shaped like a Coot, but the legs are longer.” I understand that another was seen at the same time.—Ib. Srneutar Acecrpenr To a KinerisHer.—While Snipe-shooting one winter round Hickling Broad, in Norfolk, I noticed some small object splashing in the water at the side of a dyke, and on proceeding to the spot I discovered an unfortunate Kingfisher, which had come to grief in a very singular manner. The bird had evidently at some former time been struck by a shot which had passed through the upper mandible. This wound was quite healed up, but a small piece of the horny substance of the beak had been splintered, and into the crack produced by the fracture two or three of the fine fibres which form part of the flowers or seeds of the reed were so firmly fixed that the bird was held fast. It must have been flying up the dyke, and, brushing too closely to the reeds that grew on the banks, got OCCASIONAL NOTES. 179 caught in the manner described. The struggles of the captive had broken down the reed, which was lying flat on the water, except when lifted up by the victim in its vain attempts to escape. On being liberated it flew off, apparently none the worse for the mishap.—E. T. Boor (Brighton). GosHAWK AND oTHER Brrps 1n YorxsHireE.—On the 30th October last I was at Filey, where Mr. Brown showed me a Long-tailed Drake in most perfect plumage, which had been shot while flying over the Brigg the previous week. During the present winter several other examples have been met with, but all females or immature birds. Both the Black- throated and Red-throated Divers have been very abundant off the Yorkshire coast. On January 29th I went over to Flamborough to see Mr. Bailey ; he showed me a fine adult female Goshawk, just mounted, which had been killed at Sewerby on the 28rd. This bird had frequented the neighbourhood for some time, and was shot at near Flamborough on Christmas Day, but unsuccessfully; length 2 feet, expanse of wings 4 feet linch; irides, bril- liant orange. On February 8th I saw in Mr. Brown’s shop, at Filey, an immature Hen Harrier, killed a few days before near the cliffs. Long-eared and Short-eared Owls have been very common this winter, and many, I am sorry to add, have been killed. On February 4th a Raven was seen by Mr. Roberts flying along shore to the southward of Scarborough; twenty-five years ago he can remember a pair breeding annually in the rocks near Scarborough Castle. In our immediate neighbourhood this winter rare birds have been “conspicuous by their absence.”—Jutian G. Tuck (Old Vicarage, Ebberston, York). Hawks 1x Surroitx.—In the month of September, 1876, an adult male Merlin (Falco @salon), in exquisite plumage, was shot at Westley, near Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. A Hobby (Falco subbuteo) was shot in the covers at Finborough Hall, near Stowmarket, Suffolk, the latter end of January, 1877, and another was killed in the same place some months previously, but whether they were male and female I have not been able to ascertain. One or two Rough-legged Buzzards (Buteo lagopus) were shot in the neighbourhood of Newmarket during the month of December, 1876, but whether on the Suffolk or Cambridgeshire side Iam unable to say.— H. K. Creep (Chedburgh Rectory, Suffolk). [The occurrence of the Hobby in this country in mid-winter is note- worthy, for this bird is a summer visitant, and generally leaves us about September, or at latest in October, just as the Merlin arrives to take its place for the winter.—ED.] Scarcity or THe Woop Piason anp Increase oF THE Stock Dove IN THE County Durwam.—In answer to your editorial remark, and as an addenda to my note (page 55), I beg to say that Stock Doves are now quite common here. They could not have chosen a safer retreat than the Denes in this neighbourhood afford them. They almost invariably nest 180 : THE ZOOLOGIST. amongst the roots of the yew-trees overhanging the tops of the rocks, and are thus comparatively secure. I saw several yesterday, and also heard their grunting notes in different places, but not a Wood Pigeon was to be seen. Perhaps I ought also to have added that there were more Sparrow- hawks found nesting in this locality last year than I have ever known; they may have scared the Wood Pigeons away, but they certainly killed but few; when they do kill them the act is easily traceable—Jonn ScLaTER (Castle Eden, Durham). [The circumstance of Stock Dove frequenting and even breeding amongst rocks is, we believe, unusual, although not unnoticed. Some years ago the fact that the Stock Dove occasionally breeds in the rocks on the Dorsetshire coast was recorded in ‘ The Field,’ 14th April, 1866, and quite recently a correspondent writing in the Natural History columns of that journal (3rd March, 1877), stated that he had observed Stock Doves congregating amongst rocks at Merthyr Tidfil. He shot two of them in order to identify the species.—Eb. } PassENGER Pickon 1N YorKsHtrE.—In the last published part of the Nat. Hist. Transactions of Northumberland and Durham (vol. v., part iii.) Mr. John Hancock records the capture of a Passenger Pigeon in Yorkshire. At p. 387 he says :—‘ On the 13th October, 1876, I received a specimen of this North-American bird from the Dowager Marchioness of Normanby, who stated in her letter which accompanied the bird that ‘it was shot here today by Lord Harry Phipps.’ The bird must therefore have been killed on the 12th, and as her ladyship’s letter is headed ‘ Mulgrave Castle,’ it is clear also that the bird was obtained at Mulgrave, the seat of the Marquis of Normanby.” Mr. Hancock adds that “the quill-feathers in the wings are much worn and broken, and on the forehead above the bill they are apparently worn off to the skull, as though the bird had been trying to get out of a cage or some other enclosure; therefore I cannot come to any other conclusion than that this specimen, a female, had made its escape from confinement.” It may be observed that the Passenger Pigeon has been previously recorded to have been met with in the British Islands on five different occasions as follows:—One, Monymeal, Fifeshire, December, 1825 (Fleming, Hist. Brit. An. p. 145); one near Royston, Hertfordshire, July, 1844 (Yarrell, Hist. Brit. Birds, vol. ii., p- 317); one near Tring, Hertfordshire (Yarrell, op. cit.); one near Tralee, 1848 (Thompson, Nat. Hist. Ireland, Birds, iii., p. 443); and one near Mellerstain, Berwickshire (Turnbull, Birds of East Lothian, p. 41). With regard to this last, how- ever, it is stated that a gentleman in Berwickshire had turned out several Passenger Pigeons shortly before it was shot.—Ev. Brack Stork iN OxForpsurre.—A gentleman residing at Bicester has an immature example of this rare bird, and has very kindly collected for me a few particulars concerning its capture. It was shot on the 5th August, OCCASIONAL NOTES. 181 1865, on Osmoor, a large tract of low-lying land some nine miles N.E. of Oxford, by F. Gorum, who is well known in the vicinity of Oxford as a good shot. From him it passed to its present possessor, who preserved it. The Stork was at first mistaken for a Heron.—C. M. Prior (Bedford). Witp-row. 1x BeprorpsHIRE.—Wild Duck, Snipe, Golden Plover, and Lapwing, have been unusually plentiful in this county this winter. The last two species might be counted by thousands, and I saw over fifty ducks reposing on the floods near to the road. There were also occasionally a few gulls. Wherever a green patch appeared above the floods it was literally crowded with Plover: I repeatedly saw a Sparrowhawk, evidently a male from his small size, dash at them, but from their habit of rising from the ground and meeting him, I could not perceive that he was successful. Owing to the extensive floods very few of these birds have been shot.—Ib. VaRIETIES OF THE Sky Larx.—With the exception of the House Sparrow I think the Sky Lark is more subject te abnormal variation of plumage than any other British bird. The commonest phase is buff, but I once bought a singular slate-coloured one in Leadenhall Market. Another curious Sky Lark in my collection was netted near Stockton-on-Tees by a birdeatcher, and it appears to me that at the time it was caught it was pied, and that a diet of hemp-seed afterwards has, in addition, operated on its plumage, and turned the portions which were brown, black, so that now it is black and white—a much greater anomaly than a brown and white one would be. At one time I considered this a unique specimen, but I believe others have occurred, and one similar one is described by Mr. Hele, as a great curiosity, at p. 95 of his ‘ Notes about Aldeburgh. —J. H. Gurney, Jun. (Northrepps Hall, Norwich). WoopcockS FREQUENTING THE SEA-sHORE.—Mr. Roberts, of Scar- borough, tells me that in the winter of 1863-4 Woodcocks frequented the harbour to dig for worms in the mud. As some of the birds were shot ‘there was no mistake about the species.—In, Winter VIsiITaNts TO THE IstE or WieHtT.— Mr. Smith, the Newport naturalist, informs me that he has lately received the following birds for preservation :—A Common Buzzard, shot in the parish of Shalfleet, on the 23rd December; an adult female, measuring twenty inches in length, and fifty in extent of wings. The stomach contained a vast number of earth- worms, also a quantity of grass. I am reminded by Mr. Smith that a Common Buzzard was procured at the same date in 1873.