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THE ZOOLOGIST: 


A MONTHLY JOURNAL 


OF 


NATURAL HISTORY. 


THIRD SERIES—VOL. XIII. 


EDITED BY 


J. E. HARTING, E.L.S8., F.Z.S., 


MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION. 


DELECTANDO PARITERQUE MONENDO. 


> 
LONDON: 


SIMPKIN, MARSHALL & CO., STATIONERS’ HALL COURT. 


1889. 


LONDON: 
PRINTED BY WEST, NEWMAN AND 0OO., 


HATTON GARDEN, E.C, 


PREFACE. 


Wits the close of the year 1889 the thirteenth volume 
of the Third Series of ‘The Zoologist’ is completed, and 
with the issue of the title-page and contents in the present 
number, the Editor takes the opportunity of thanking both 
contributors and subscribers for their continued support. 


He has on former occasions reminded them that ‘The 
Zoologist’ is what the contributors make it, and that it 
depends upon them to keep up the general standard of 
excellence, or at least of utility, which has characterized its 
existence for the past forty-six years. 


Everyone who has undertaken to publish an account of 
the fauna of the county or district in which he resides 
will be ready to admit that he has obtained more materials 
for his work from ‘The Zoologist’ than from any other 
source of information, excepting of course the collected notes 
of such competent observers as may have assisted him within 
the area of his researches. 


This of itself should operate as an encouragement to those 
who, having observed some interesting fact, hesitate to com- 
municate it for fear it may be too well known to deserve 
publication. 


It is sometimes as important to confirm an observation 
as it is to announce it for the first time, and on this 
b2 


iv PREFACE. 


account the Editor is always glad to receive communications, 
however trivial they may perhaps appear to the contributor. 


As a medium for the discussion of questions generally 
interesting to naturalists, ‘The Zoologist’ is especially useful ; 
for coming as it does to the hands of so many practical 
out-door observers, the author of an enquiry may be very 
speedily supplied with facts. 


But whether the object of a contributor be to seek 
information, or to impart it, the Editor trusts that in the 
forthcoming year he may be as favoured with communications 
from all sides as he has been in the past. 


CONTENTS, 


ALPHABETICAL LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS. 


ALLIson, Rev. Henry F., M.A. 

Sand Grouse in Lincolnshire, 184 

ANDERSON, J. C. 
A Ramble round Simla, 361 
APLIN, OLIVER V. 

Ornithological notes from the Nor- 
folk coast, 9; Scarcity of the 
Carrion Crow in N orfolk, 76; 
Notes on Willow Wrens, 105; 
Natterer’s Bat in North Oxford. 
shire, 381; Food of the Long- 
eared Bat, 382; Garganey and 
other birds in Warwickshire, 389 

ARCHIBALD, Cuas. F. 

Dusky Redshank in summer plu- 

mage in Lancashire, 109 
Barrett-Hamitton, G. BE. H. 

Ornithological notes from Wexford, 
144; Woodcocks, 233; the so- 
called Mus hibernicus, 381 

BarRineton, RicHarp M., M.A. 

Surf Scoter in Ireland, 32; Lapland 

Bunting in Ireland, 76 
BazeLey, W 

Sand Grouse in Northamptonshire, 

(a 


Benson, Rev. Henry, M.A. 

Blackbird and Thrush laying in the 
same nest, 265; Cirl Bunting 
breeding near Godalming, 391 

Buage, BE. W. H. 

Jackdaws nesting in old Magpies’ 
nests, 230; Eggs of the Grey 
Wagtail, 231, 265; Thrush’s 
nests without the usual lining, 
812; Snake swimming, 437 

Bonn, Freperick, F.Z.S. (the late) 

Sand Grouse in Middlesex, 227 

Bourenecer, G. A., F.Z.S. 

Lizard swallowed and rejected alive 

by a Viper, 234 
Brazenor, C. 

Lapland Bunting near Brighton, 

144, 436 


Butter, A. G., F.L.S., F.Z.S. 

Hen Sky Lark singing in confine- 
ment, 269; Hedgesparrow trying 
to mate with Garden Warbler, 270 

Butter, Lieut.-Col. BE. A. 

Ornithological notes from Lowes- 

toft, 231 
CAMBRIDGE, Rey. O. Prcxarp, M.A. 
Observations on a Japanese Spider, 
438 

CAMPBELL, J. MAcKNAUGHT 

Spotted Crake near Glasgow, 392 
CARRINGTON, JOHN T., F.L.S. 

Golden Oriole in Kent, 234 
CarTER, THOMAS 

Notes from Western Australia, 267 
Curisty, R. Mier, F.L.S. 

Reported nesting of the Black Red- 
start in Essex, 151 

CLARKE, W. J. 
Reported nesting of the Redstart in 
December, 106 
CLARKE, Wm. HaGLE 
The so-called Mus hibernicus, 381 
Cocks, A. H., M.A., F.Z.S. 

The Finwhale Fishery off the Lap- 

land coast in 1888, 281 
Compton, Rt. Hon. Earl, M.P. 

Method of fishing adopted by diving 

birds, 147 
Couuison-Mortey, J. L. 

Diving powers of Gannets, 25 = 
Nesting habits of the Black- 
eyebrowed and Wandering Alba- 
trosses, 26; Osprey on the 
Thames, 455 

Corsin, G. B. 

Scarcity of the House Martin in 
Hampshire, 152; White Weasel 
in the New Forest, 449 

CorDEAux, JoHN 

Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Lincoln- 
shire, 34; Weight of the Pectoral 
Sandpiper, 73 


vl CONTENTS. 


CornisH, THoMAS 
Little Gull near Penzance, 107; 
Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Corn- 
wall, 108; Black Rat in Cornwall, 
434, 450; Large Whiting Pollack 
off Land’s End, 438 
Crow .ey, Purp, F.L.S., F.Z.8. 
Crossbills nesting in Suffolk and 
Norfolk, 229 


Dack, C. B. 
Pied Squirrel in Suffolk, 68; Nut- 
cracker, Crossbill, and Sand 


Grouse in Norfolk, 75 
DaRBISHIRE, F. Y. 
Pigs used as sheep-dogs in Italy, 
433 
Denison-Roesuck, W., F.L.S. 
Burbot off the Yorkshire coast, 77 
DowkER, GEORGE 

The Noctule and Serotine Bats in 
Kent, 258; Spotted Redshank 
and Hoopoe in Kent, 435 

Dow1ine, J. J. 

Early nesting of the Little Grebe 

in Co. Dublin, 231 
Dunn, Mattrutas 

Greater Flying-fish off the Cornish 

coast, 853 
D’Urzan, W.S. M., F.L.8. 

Natural-History notes on board 

ship, 22 
Evans, WILLIAM 

Drumming of the Snipe, 315; Great 
Crested Grebe breeding in Scot- 
land, 386 

Ewart, Prof. J. C., F.R.S.E., F.L.S. 

The Electric Organs of Fishes, 61 

FEILDEN, Col. H. W. 

Distribution of plants by frugiferous 
Bats, 179; Nesting of the Ringed 
Plover, 263 ; Notes on the Rep- 
tiles of Barbados, 295; Adden- 
dum to the list of Reptiles found 
in Barbados, 352; Tringa canutus 
in Barbados, 455 

FiLemyne, Rey. WILLIAM W., M.A. 

Materials in nest of Hooded: Crow, 

35 
Gates, A, F. 

Thick-knee in Essex in January, 

106 
Gawen, C. R., B.A., F.Z.S. 

On the habits of the Great Crested 
Grebe, 18; Food of the Manx 
Shearwater, 24 

Gray, RoBERT 

Notes on a voyage to the Greenland 

Sea in 1888, 1, 41, 95 


GREENING, LInNzUS 
Bullfrog preying on Natterjack, 270 
Gunn, T. E. 

The Pectoral Sandpiper in Orkney, 

452 
Gunn, E. W. 

Fawn-coloured variety of Mus de- 
cumanus, 144; Hen Harrier in 
Essex, 144; Red-breasted Mer- 
ganser in Essex, 144; Great Grey 
Shrike near Ipswich, 144 

Gurney, J. H., Jun., F.Z.S. 

Ornithological notes from Norfolk, 
18, 134, 384; Wood Warbler at 
Cley,77; Weight of Pectoral Sand- 
piper, 109; Wilson’s Petrel in the 
Isle of Wight, 150; The status of 
the Firecrest as a British bird, 
172; Peculiarity in the bill of the 
Norfolk Plover, 250; Hybrid 
waterfowl, 260; The Bearded Tit- 
mouse, 291; Loxia rubrifasciata 
(Brehm) in Norfolk, 391 

HApFIELD, Capt. H. 

Rarer birds in the Isle of Wight, 
28; Rooks in the Isle of Wight: 
correction of error, 75 

Hateu, G. H. Caton 

Night Heron in Lincolnshire, 33; 
Nutcracker in Lincolnshire, 153 ; 
Bat resting on the water, 434 

Hamuina, J. G. 

The Avocet in North Devon, 34; 

Bittern in Devonshire, 234 
Hammonp, W. OxENDEN 

Rose-coloured Pastor in Kent, 184; 

Audacity of Jackdaws, 230 
Harcourt, H. W. 

Woodcocks, 149, 183; Pellets dis- 

gorged by Flycatchers, 265 
Harper, Ropert H. 

Ornithological notes from York- 

shire, 149 
Hart, EpwarpD 
Rare birds in Hants, 31; An un- 
recorded Squacco Heron, 34 
Hart, H. CHICHESTER, F.L.S. 
Woodcock carrying its oe 454 
Hartine, J. E., F.L.S., F.Z.8. 

Food of the Haddock, ee Pallas’s 
Sand Grouse (reports from the 
Continent), 56; The Sand Grouse 
Protection Act, 1888, 60; The 
late Churchill Babington, 66; 
Game and wildfowl in the 
Paris markets, 66; The accli- 
matisation of Red-deer in New 
Zealand, 67; Wild Dogs in New 


a 


i Hotmes, Gervase, J.P., M.A. 


CONTENTS. 


Zealand, 68; Fur-bearing ani- 
mals of Siberia, 68; The Roe- 
deer, 81; A new Australian 
mammal, 105; New British 
Fishes, 111; Hybrid between 
Roach and Bleak, 111; Peri- 
patus in Victoria, 111; Flamingo 
catching in Lower Egypt, 136; 
The late William Brodrick, 139 ; 
Daubenton’s Bat, 161; Mus 
hibernicus, Thomson, restored to 
the British Fauna, 201; A Cuckoo 
hatching its own eggs, 214; 
Daubenton’s Bat not in Nor- 
folk, 226; Sand Grouse in 
Germany, 227; Natterer’s Bat, 
241; The Sand Grouse in Meck- 
lenburg, Germany, 266; The late 
Surgeon Francis Day, 306; The 
Solway fish-hatchery, 344; Death 
of Mr. Frederick Bond, 347; De- 
struction of game and so-called 
“vermin,” 348; The Swannery 
at Abbotsbury, 348; Conviction 
under the Wild Birds Protection 
Act, 351; Breeding of Pallas’s 
Sand Grouse in Britain in 1889, 
883; The American Woodcock 
and its mode of feeding, 395; 
Training Swallows as_letter- 
carriers, 397; Memoir of the 
late Frederick Bond, 401; A 
ay work on European birds, 
37 


Henverson, Tuos. G. 


Pee’ capture of a Golden Eagle, 
Henverson, P. 
Sand Grouse in Fifeshire, 383 
_ Hewett, W. 
Sand Grouse in Yorkshire, 108 
Houmus, Rev. J. Gorpon, M.A. 
oe Dove nesting in Co. Antrim, 


neon on a Japanese Spider, 
38 


_ Howarp, Rozerr J. 


Notes on the occurrence of Pal- 
las’s Sand Grouse in Lancashire, 
51; Sand Grouse in Yorkshire, 
266 
Howsz, Ricuarp 
Crossbill breeding in immature 
plumage, 263, 350 
Huppueston, H. B., C.E. 
The acclimatisation of Red-deer in 
New Zealand, 24 


Vil 


HutcuHinson, Procter S., M.R.C.S. 

The suborbital pits of the Indian 
Antelope, 177; The Manatee at 
the Zoological Gardens, 299 

INCcHBALD, Peter, F.L.S. 

The Great Grey Shrike in Holder- 

ness, 234 
JEFFERY, W. 
Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Hamp- 
shire, 72; Notes on Bats, 450 
JENTINE, Prof. F. A. 
A new Australian Mammal, 144 
JESSE, Wm., Jun. 

Nesting of the Black Redstart in 
Hssex, 182; Number of eggs laid 
by a Magpie, 184 

JOHNSON, F. P. 
Field notes in Western Sweden, 
126; Weight of Woodcocks, 233 
Keen, Rev. J. H., F.Z.S. 
Starlings in the City, 262 
KeEtsat1, J. E 

Distribution of Daubenton’s Bat in 
Britain, 308; Distribution of 
Natterer’s Bat in Britain, 308; 
Birds attracted to burning ricks 
as to a lighthouse, 453 

Kerry, F. 

Short-eared Owls breeding in Essex, 
453; Spotted Redshanks near 
Harwich, 454 

Kersuaw, H. A. H. 
Wood Pigeon roosting with dovecot 
Pigeons, 395 
Lampert, F. W. 
Sheldrake near Oxford, 453 
Larken, EH. P. 
Badgers and Otters in Surrey, 23 
Laver, Henry, F.R.C.S., F.L.S. 

Crane near Colchester, 84; Notes 
on birds observed at sea, 146; 
Delphinus albirostris in the River 
Colne, 382 

Law, A. M. 

Two Pied Wagtails laying in the 

same nest, 391 


_| Ley, Rev. CLEMENT 


The Great Black Woodpecker in 
England, 340 
Litrorp, Rt. Hon. Lord, F.L.8. 
Hawks devouring their prey on the 
wing, 185; Notes on the Ornith- 
ology of Northamptonshire and 
neighbourhood, 422 
Lovage, GrorGcE E. 
Notes on birds in Norfolk and Cam- 
bridgeshire, 29; Kestrel’s nest on 
a wheatstack, 232 


Vili 


Lowne, W. 
Little Bustard in Norfolk, 393 
Lucas, A. H. §., B.Sc. 
On the production of colour in 
birds’ eggs, 206 
Macnas, ALLAN 
Congenital blindness in birds, 269 
Macpuerson, A. H., B.A. 

Notes on London birds, 69; On the 
production of colour in birds’ 
egos, 248; Nesting of the Little 
Grebe, 261; Rose-tint on neck of 
Albatross, 437 

Macpuerson, Rev. H. A., M.A. 

Sand Grouse in the North-west of 
England, 72; Habits of the Manx 
Shearwater, 73; Destruction of 
Eagles, 109; Ornithological notes 
from Cumberland, 175; Shoveller 
nesting in Cumberland, 187; 
Firecrest in Cumberland, 228; 
Crossbill breeding in immature 
plumage, 229, 391; Attitude of 
Grebes on land, 280; On the for- 
mer nesting of the Osprey in Eng- 
land, 256; Uncommon birds in 
Skye, 268; Plumage of the Cross- 
bill, 318; Hybrid between Shel- 
drake and Wild Duck, 314: Food 
of the Shearwater, 351 

MARSHALL, THomMAs 
The Smew in Perthshire, 33 
Martuew, G. F., R.N., F.L.8., F.Z.S. 
Occurrence of the Crane in Essex, 
435 
Martuews, Rey. A., M.A. 
Velvet Scoter in Leicestershire, 455 
MiIttett, F. W. 
Swallows in December, 76 
MitTForD, E. C. 
The destruction of small birds on 
the Continent, 185 
Mitrorp, E. L. 
A white Snipe, 35 
Moor, E. C. 
Thrush nesting on the ground, 436 
Morz, A. G., F.L.S. 

Clupea finta, Cuy., at Killarney, 
110; Motella maculata as an 
Trish fish, 154; Limnea involuta 
probably a var. of L. peregra, 154, 
235; Parrot Crossbill in Ireland, 
181; Athanas nitescens in Ire- 
land, 236 

Morerzs, Rey. Arruur P. 

Tengmalm’s Owl in Suffolk, 388; 
White-winged Black Tern near 
Salisbury, 393 


CONTENTS. 


Morais, Robert 
Little Bittern in Sussex, 390 
Mutter, A. 

A Cuckoo hatching its own eggs, 

214 
Netson, T. H. 

Sand Grouse in North Yorkshire, 
72; Sand Grouse near Redcar, 
146; Nesting of the Lesser Black- 
backed Gull, 312 

Newton, Sir Epwarp, C.M.G. 

Nesting of the Hobby in Scot- 

land, 32 
NicHou., Diesy S. W., F.L.S. 

Little Gull in Glamorganshire, 25, 
77; Green Sandpiper in Glamor- 
ganshire, 73; Notes on the rarer 
birds of Glamorganshire, 166; 
Sand Grouse in Glamorganshire, 
228; Cirl Bunting in Glamorgan- 
shire, 233; Black-winged Stilt in 
Nottinghamshire, 887; Lesser 
Tern in Glamorganshire, 391; 
Chough in Pembrokeshire, 392 

OLDHAM, CHARLES 
Whiskered Bat in Derbyshire, 


OuivEerR, Henry A. 
Habits of the Cuckoo, 260 
Park, JAmgs, F.G.S. 

On the survival of Notornis Man- 

telli in Western Otago, 301 
Parker, Prof. W. K., F.R.S. 
On the systematic position of the 
Swifts (Cypselide), 91 
Parkin, THOMAS 
Little Bittern in Sussex, 312 
PatrvTEeRSON, RoBERT 
Fulmar on Rathlin Island, 388 
PHILLIPS, COLEMAN 

On the methods adopted in New 
Zealand for the destruction of 
Rabbits, 323 

Puitirres, E. Campripes, F.L.S. 

Notes from Breconshire, 148; The 
Great Black Woodpecker in Eng- 
land, 481 

PRENTIS, W. 

Roller at Rainham, 33; 

Grouse in Kent, 109 
READ, Rogert H. 

Great Crested Grebe breeding in 
Scotland, 352, 386; Two birds 
laying in the same nest, 486; 
The Marsh Warbler in Somer- 
setshire, 450 

REEvyeEs, HEerBert K. 
Osprey in Richmond Park, 435 


Sand 


‘ 


CONTENTS. 1X 


Rerscuek, A., F.L.S. 

The habits and home of the Wan- 

dering Albatross, 337 
Ricxarps, Marcus §. C. 

Rare birds in Gloucester and Somer- 

set, 387 
Rosin, A. F. 
Threatened extinction of the Kan- 
garoo, 225 
Roprg, G. T. 
Food of the Common Wren, 184 
Saumon, E. 
Sand Grouse in Surrey, 227 
SANFORD, W. A. 

The food of Albatrosses, their 
measurements, and geographical 
range, 387 

SARGENT, Jas. 
Sand Grouse in Ayrshire, 184 
Scrater, P. L., F.B.S., F.L.S., F.Z.S. 
The Rabbit-pest, 143 
SHarre, R. Bowpuer, F.L.S., F.Z.S. 

The extinct Starling of Réunion, 

Fregilupus varius, 310 
SHUFELDT, R. W. 
Classification of the Macrochires, 
456 
SuaTer, Rev. Henry H., F.Z.S. 
The extinct Starling of Réunion, 385 
Situ, CrEcIiL, F.Z.S. 
Gadwall in Somerset, 149 
SouTHWELL, Tuos., F.Z.S. 

Notes on the Seal and Whale 
fishery of 1888, 121; A rare fish 
on the Norfolk coast, 187; Seals 
and sealers, 253; Motella cimbria 
on the Norfolk coast, 270; The 
so-called Mus hibernicus, 321; 
The King Hider as a Norfolk 
bird, 383 

STANSELL, F. 
Little Gull in Cornwall, 234 
STEJNEGER, LEONHARD 

On the Eastern and Western forms 

of the Nutcracker, 441 
Srort, C. E. 

Rough-legged Buzzard in Lanca- 
shire, 77; Jackdaws nesting on 
open boughs, 312; Colourless 
eggs of the Twite, 389 

Sutton, Jas. 

Diving powers of Gannets, 151; 
Nesting of the Black Redstart in 
Durham, 183 

Swainson, Capt. E. A. 

Kite and Raven nesting in South 
Wales, 226; Notes from South 
Wales, 388 


Tanpvy, E. 
Assumption of male plumage by 
female Crossbill, 182 
THEOBALD, F. V., F.E.S. 
Cambridge Entomological Society 
and Field Naturalists’ Club, 142 
Traiu, Prof. J. W. H., M.A., M.D. 
Ring Ouzel breeding in Orkney, 
35 


TRUE, FREDERICK W. 

On a new Deer, Cariacus clavatus, 

from Central America, 372 
Tuck, Rey. Junian G., M.A. 

Recollections of the Bustard in 
Suffolk, 107; Crossbills in Suf- 
folk, 182; Squirrel breeding ina 
church-tower, 226; Blue-winged 
Teal in Cambridgeshire, 228; 
Late stay of Bramblings in Suf- 
folk, 230; Kite in Suffolk, 234; 
Wood Sandpiper in Suffolk in 
June, 313; Montagu’s Harrier in 
Suffolk, 314; Eared Grebes in 
Norfolk, 387; Tameness of young 
Cuckoo, 392; Early appearance 
of the Pintail, 486 

UssHer, RicHarp J. 

The invasion of Crossbills in the 
East of France, 70; Crossbill 
breeding in Co. Waterford, 180; 
Early nesting of the Goldcrest, 
187; Abnormal eggs of Grey 
Wagtail and Blackbird, 314; 
Crossbills in Co. Waterford, 454; 
Redstart in Co. Waterford, 455 

WaDDILOVE, Epwarp G. 
Osprey in Richmond Park, 435 
WALTER, ADOLF 

Query—does the Cuckoo inoubate ? 

219 
WARREN, RoBERT 

Fulmar and Spotted Redshank in 
Co. Sligo, 34; Food of the Manx 
Shearwater, 74; Ornithological 
notes from Mayo and Sligo, 262; 
Hybrid between Bernicle and 
Bar-headed Goose, 894 

Watson, W. Hannan 

Change of colour in birds caused by 

food, 394 
WHITAEER, J., F.L.S., F.Z.S. 

White Hares in Nottinghamshire, 
143; Pied variety of the Coot, 
153; Stone Curlew breeding in 
Notts, 312; Goldeneyes at Rain- 
worth, Notts, 312; Sand Grouse 
in Nottinghamshire, 351; Golden 
Oriole in Derbyshire, 852; Grey 


De CONTENTS. 


Shrike in Nottinghamshire in 
April, 394 
WIicLEsworth, L. W. 
Unusual site for a Sedge Warbler’s 
nest, 35 
WILKINSON, JOHNSON 
Roller in Kirkcudbrightshire, 393 
WItuiams, EpWARD 
Golden Eagles in Co. Galway, 31; 
Pectoral Sandpiper in Ireland, 
82; Solitary Snipe and Sabine’s 
Snipe in Ireland, 33; Pallas’s 
Sand Grouse in Co. Clare, 34; 
Crossbills in Ireland, 76; Night 
Heron in Ireland, 110; Curious 
variety of the Woodcock, 153; 
Bee-eater in Ireland, 229; Loxia 
curvirostra, var. rubrifasciata, 
266; Scops Owl in Co. Water- 
ford, 313; Varieties of Red Grouse 


and Landrail, 393; A breeding- 

place of the Black-headed Gull 

in King’s County, 396; Spoon- 

bills in Co. Kerry, 455 
Wituiams, J. W. 

Mollusea in the neighbourhood of 
London, 271; Mollusca of Stour- 
port and district, 353; The basal 
coloration of the shells of Helix 
hortensis and Helix nemoralis, 
272, 

Wituis-Bunp, J. W., F.L.S. 

A nesting-place of Larus fuscus, 131 
WoRTHINGTON, W. 

Bittern in Lancashire, 75 
Youne, J., F.Z.8. 

Birds in the London Parks, 27 
Youne, Morris 

Testacella haliotidea (var. scutu- 
lum) in Renfrewshire, 236 


ALPHABETICAL LIST OF SUBJECTS. 


eslimatication of Red-deer in New | Books REVIEWED :— 


Zealand, 24, 67 

Albatross, rose-tint on neck of, 437; 
Wandering, habits and home of, 337 

Albatrosses, nesting habits of the 
Black-eyebrowed and Wandering, 
26; food, measurements, and geo- 
graphical range of, 387 

Antelope, Indian, suborbital pits of, 
177 


Athanas nitescens in Ireland, 236 
Audacity of Jackdaws, 230 
Avocet, in North Devon, 34 


Babington, Churchill, the late, 66 

Badgers and Otters in Surrey, 22 

Bat, resting on the water, 434; 
Daubenton’s (with plate), 161,— 
not in Norfolk, 226, — distri- 
bution of in Britain, 308; Long- 
eared, food of, 382; Natterer’s (with 
plate), 241,—distribution of in 
Britain, 308,—in! North Oxford- 
shire, 381; Whiskered, in Derby- 
shire, 435 

Bats, frugiferous, distribution of plants 
by, 179; Noctule and Serotine in 
Kent, 258; Notes on, 450 

Bee-eater in Ireland, 229 

Birds in London Parks, 27; rare in 
Isle of Wight, 28; in Norfolk and 
Cambridgeshire, notes on, 29; rare, 
in Hants, 31; in Gloucester and 


Somerset, 32; observed at sea, notes » 


on, 146; diving, method of fishing 
adopted by, 146; rarer, of Glamor- 
ganshire, 166; destruction of small, 
on Continent, 185; on production 
of colour in eggs of, 206, 248; un- 
common, in Skye, 268; congenital 
blindness in, 269; change of colour 
in, caused by food, 394; two laying 
in same nest, 436 ; European, new 
work on, 437; attracted to burning 
ricks as to a lighthouse, 458 
Bittern in Devonshire, 234; in Lan- 
hk 75; Little, in Sussex, 312, 
Blackbird and Thrush laying in same 
nest, 265; and Grey Wagtail, ab- 
normal eggs of, 314 
Bleak and Roach, hybrid between, 111 
Bond, Frederick, death of, 347; me- 
moir of, 401 


Our Rarer Birds: being Studies 
in Ornithology and Oology, by 
Charles Dixon, 115 

The Naturalist in Siluria, by Capt. 
Mayne Reid, 195 

Bird-Life on the Borders: records of 
Wild Sport and Natural History 
by Moorland and Sea, by Abel 
Chapman, 277 

A Monograph of the Weaver Birds 
(Ploceide), and Arboreal and Ter- 
restrial Finches (Fringillide), by 
Edward Bartlett, 318 

Catalogue of the Marsupialia and 
Monotremata in the Collection of 
the British Museum (Natural 
History), by Oldfield Thomas, 
356 


Catalogue of the Chelonians, Rhyn- 
cocephalians and Crocodiles in 
the British Museum (Natural 
History), by G. A. Boulenger, 
356 


A Catalogue of Canadian Birds; 
with Notes on the Distribution 
of the Species, by Montague 
Chamberlain, 358 

A Systematic Table of the Canadian 
Birds, by Montague Chamberlain, 
358 

Report on Bird Migration in the 
Mississippi Valley in 1884 and 
1885, by W. W. Cooke, edited and 
revised by Dr. C. Hart Merriam, 
360 

An Illustrated Manual of British 
Birds, by Howard Saunders, 460 

A Vertebrate Fauna of the Outer 
Hebrides, by J. A. Harvie Brown 
and T. E. Buckley, 464 

The Fauna of British India, includ- 
ing Ceylon and Burma. Fishes 
by Francis Day, 467 

Pig-sticking or Hog-hunting, by 
Capt. R. 8. Baden-Powell, 469 

Sylvan Folk, by John Watson, 471 

Bramblings, late stay in Suffolk, 230 
Breeding of Ring Ouzel in Orkney, 

35; of Crossbill in Co. Waterford, 

180,—in immature plumage, 229, 

263, 350, 391; of Stone Curlew in 

Notts, 312; of Great Crested Grebe 

in Scotland, 352, 386; of Pallas’s 


ae 


x11 


Sand Grouse in Britain in 1889, 
883; of Cirl Bunting near Godal- 
ming, 391 

Breeding-place of the Black-headed 
Gull in King’s Co., 396 

Brodrick, William, the late, 139 

Bullfrog preying on Natterjack, 270 

Bunting, Lapland, in Ireland, 76,— 
near Brighton, 144, 486; Cirl, in 
Glamorganshire, 233, — breeding 
near Godalming, 391 

Burbot off Yorkshire coast, 77 

Bustard, recollections of in Suffolk, 
107; Little, in Norfolk, 393 

Buzzard, Rough-legged, in Lanca- 
shire, 77 


Capreolus caprea, 81 (with plate) 

Cariacus clavaius, 372 

Chough in Pembrokeshire, 392 

Clupea finta, Cuv., at Killarney, 110 

Colour, production of in birds’ eggs, 
206, 248; change of in birds, caused 
by food, 394 

Coot, pied variety of, 153 

Crake, Spotted, near Glasgow, 392 

Crane near Colchester, 34; occurrence 
of in Essex, 434 

Crossbill in Norfolk, 75; breeding in 
immature plumage, 229, 263, 350, 
391,—in Co. Waterford, 180, 454; 
assumption of male plumage by 
female, 182; plumage of, 313 

Crossbills, invasion in east of France, 
70; in Ireland, 76; in Suffolk, 182; 
nesting in Norfolk and Suffolk, 229 

Crow, Carrion, scarcity in Norfolk, 
76; Hooded, materials in nest, 35 

Crustacea, Athanas nitescens in Ire- 
land, 236 

Cuckoo, hatching its own eggs, 215, 
219; habits of, 260; tameness of 
young, 392 

Curlew, Stone, breeding in Notts, 312; 
in Essex in January, 106; pecu- 
larity in bill, 259 

Cypselide, systematic position of, 91 


Day, the late Surgeon Francis, 306 

Deer, Red, acclimatisation in New 
Zealand, 24, 67; new, from Central 
America, 372 

Delphinus albirostris in River Colne, 
382 


Diomedea exulans, 337 

Dogs, wild, in New Zealand, 68 

Dove, Stock, nesting in Co. Antrim, 
309 


CONTENTS 


Drumming of Snipe, 314 : 
Duck, Wild, and Sheldrake, hybrid 
between, 314 


Eagle, Golden, strange capture of, 282 

Eagles, Golden, in Co. Galway, 31; 
destruction of, 109 

Eggs, number laid by Magpie, 184; 
on production of colour in birds’, 
206, 248; Cuckoo hatching its own, 
215; abnormal, of Grey Wagitail, 
231,—of Blackbird, 314; colourless, 
of Twite, 389 

Hider, King, as a Norfolk bird, 383 

Electric organs of fishes, 61 


Finwhale fishery off Lapland coast in 
1888, 281 

Firecrest, status of, as British bird, 
172; in Cumberland, 228 

Fish, Motella maculata as an Irish, 
154; a rare, on Norfolk coast, 
187 

Fish-hatchery, the Solway, 344 

Fishery, notes on Seal and Whale, ot 
1888, 121 

Fishes, electric organs of, 61; new 
British, 111 

Flamingo catching in Lower Egypt, 
136 


Flycatchers, pellets disgorged by, 265 

Flying-fish, Greater, off Cornish 
coast, 353 

Food of Manx Shearwater, 24, 74; 
of Common Wren, 184; of Alba- 
trosses, 387; change of colour in 
birds caused by, 394 

Fregilupus varius, 310 

Fulmar in Co. Sligo, 34; on Rathlin 
Island, 888 

Fur-bearing animals of Siberia, 68 

Gadwall in Somerset, 149 

Game and Wildfowl in the Paris 
markets, 66; and so-called vermin, 
destruction of, 348 

Gannets, diving powers of, 25, 151 

Garganey and other birds in Warwick- 
shire, 389 

Golderest, early nesting of, 187 

Goldeneyes at Rainworth, Notts, 312 

Goose, Bernicle and Bar-headed, 
hybrid between, 394 

Grebe, Great Crested, habits of, 18,— 
breeding in Scotland, 352, 386; 
Little, early nesting in Co. Dublin, 
2315; nesting of, 261 

Grebes, attitude of on land, 230; 
Eared, in Norfolk, 387 


CONTENTS. 


Greenland Sea, notes on a voyage to, 
1, 41, 95 

Grouse, Pallas’s Sand, Protection Act, 
60; breeding of in Britain, 383; in 
Ayrshire, 184; in Berlin, 59; in 
Cornwall, 108; in Co. Clare, 34; in 
England (north-west), 72; in Fife- 
shire, 388; in France, 57; in Ger- 
many, 227; in Glamorganshire, 
228; in Hampshire, 72; in Heligo- 
land, 56; in Holland, 56; in Italy, 
56; in Kent, 108; in Lancashire, 51; 
in Lincolnshire, 34, 184; in Livonia, 
59; in Middlesex, 227; in Mecklen- 
burg, 266; in Norfolk, 75; in North- 
amptonshire, 72; in Norway, 60; 
in Nottinghamshire, 351; near Red- 
car, 146; in Saxony, 60; in Schles- 
wig, 57; in Silesia, 59; in Surrey, 
227; in Sweden, 60; in Thuringia, 
59; in Westphalia, 60; in Yorkshire, 
72, 108, 266; Red, and Landrail, 
varieties of, 393 

Gull, Black-headed, breeding-place of 
in King’s Co., 396; Lesser Black- 
backed, nesting of, 812; Little, in 
Glamorganshire, 25, 77,—near Pen- 
zance, 107,—in Cornwall, 234 


Habits of Great Crested Grebe, 18; 
nesting, of Black-eyebrowed and 
Wandering Albatrosses, 26, 337,— 
of Cuckoo, 260 

Haddock, food of, 36 

Hares, white, in Nottinghamshire, 143 

Harrier, Hen, in Essex, 144; Mon- 
tagu’s, in Suffolk, 314 

Hawks devouring prey on wing, 185 

Hedgesparrow trying to mate with 
Garden Warbler, 270 

Helix hortensis and H. nemoralis, 
basal coloration of shells in, 272 

Heredity, Prof. Weismann’s Essays 
on, 225 

Hobby nesting in Scotland, 32 

Hooper and Spotted Redshank in 
Kent, 435 

Hybrid between Roach and Bleak, 
111; waterfowl, 260; between Shel- 
drake and Wild Duck, 314; between 
Bernicle and Bar headed Goose, 394 


Jackdaws, audacity of, 230; nesting 
in old Magpies’ nests, 230,—on 
open boughs, 312 


i threatened extinction of, 


Xili 


Kestrel, nest of, on wheatstack, 232 

Kite in Suffolk, 234; nesting of in 
South Wales, 226 

Knot, in Barbadoes, 455 


Landrail, and Red Grouse, varieties 
of, 393 

Larus fuscus, nesting-place of, 181 

Limnea involuta, probably variety or 
L. peregra, 154, 235 

Lizard swallowed alive and rejected 
by Viper, 234 

Loxia curvirostra, var. rubrifasciata 
(Bonap. & Schl.), in Ireland, 266; 
in Norfolk, 391 


Macrochires, classification of, 456 

Magpie, number of eggs laid by, 184; 
Jackdaws nesting in old nests of, 
230 

Mammal, new Australian, 105, 144 

Manatee at the Zoological Gardens, 
299 

Martin, House, scarcity of in Hamp- 
shire, 152 

Merganser, Red-breasted, in Hasex, 

4 


Mollusca in neighbourhood of Lon- 
don, 271; of Stourport and district, 
353 

Motella cimbria on Norfolk coast, 
270; maculata, as an Irish fish, 154 

Mus decumanus, fawn-coloured var. 
of, 144; hibernicus, restored to the 
British Fauna, 201,—the so-called 
(with plate), 321, 381 


Natterjack, Bullfrog preying on, 270 

Nest, unusual site for Sedge War- 
bler’s, 85; materials in Hooded 
Crow’s, 35; of Kestrel on wheat- 
stack, 232; Blackbird and Thrush 
laying in same, 265; two Pied Wag- 
tails laying in same, 391; two 
birds laying in same, 486 

Nesting of Hobby in Scotland, 32; 
reported, of Redstart in December, 
106; of Black Redstart in Durham, 
183,—reported, in Hssex, 151, 182; 
early, of Goldcrest, 187; of Shovel- 
ler in Cumberland, 187; of Kite and 
Raven in South Wales, 226; of 
Crossbills in Suffolk and Norfolk, 
229; of Jackdaws in old Magpies’ 
nests, 230,—on open boughs, 312; 
of Little Grebe, 261,—early, in Co. 
Dublin, 231; former, of Osprey in 
England, 256; of Ringed Plover, 


XIV 


CONTENTS. 


268; of Lesser Black-backed Gull, | Plover, Norfolk, peculiarity in bill, 


312; of Thrush on ground, 437 

Nesting habits of Black-eyebrowed 
and Wandering Albatrosses, 26 

Nesting-place of Larus fuscus, 131 

Nests, Jackdaws nesting in old, of 
Magpies, 230; of Thrush without 
usual lining, 312 

Note on Willow Wrens, 105 

Notes on a voyage to the Greenland 
Sea in 1888, 1, 41, 95; on Natural 
History on board ship, 22; on the 
occurrence of Pallas’s Sand Grouse 
in Lancashire, 51; on London birds, 
69; on the Seal and Whale fishery 
of 1888, 121; on birds observed at 
sea, 146; on the reptiles of Bar- 
bados, 295; on the Ornithology of 
Northamptonshire and neighbour- 
hood, 422; from Breconshire, 148; 
from South Wales, 888; from 
Western Australia, 267; field, from 
Western Sweden, 126 

Notornis Mantelli, on the survival of 
in Western Otago, 301 

Nutcracker, Crossbill, and Sand 
Grouse in Norfolk, 75; in Lincoln- 
shire, 158; on the HKastern and 
Western forms of, 441 


Observations on a Japanese spider, 438 

Oriole, Golden, in Derbyshire, 352; 
in Kent, 254 

Ornithological notes from Lowestoft, 
221; from Mayo and Sligo, 262; 
from Norfolk, 18, 134, 334; from 
Norfolk coast, 9; from Wexford, 
144; from Yorkshire, 149 

Osprey, former nesting of in England, 
256; in Richmond Park, 485; on 
the Thames, 455 

Otters and Badgers in Surrey, 22 

Ouzel, Ring, breeding in Orkney, 35 

Owl, Scops, in Co. Waterford, 313 

Owls, Short-eared, breeding in Essex, 
453 


Pandion haliaétus, 256, 485, 455 

Parrot Crossbill in Ireland, 181 

Pastor, Rose-coloured, in Kent, 184 

Peripatus in Victoria, 111 

Petrel, Wilson’s, in Isle of Wight, 150 

Pigeon, Wood, roosting with dovecot 
Pigeons, 395 

Pigs used as sheep-dogs in Italy, 433 

Pintail, early appearance of, 436 

Plants, distribution of by frugiferous 
Bats, 179 


259; breeding in Notts, 312; in 
Essex in January, 106; Ringed, 
nesting of, 263 

Plumage, of Crossbill, 318; Crossbill 
breeding in immature, 229, 263, 
850, 391 

Podiceps cristatus, 18 

Production of colour in birds’ eggs, 
206, 248 


Rabbit pest, 143 

Rabbits, on the methods adopted in 
New Zealand for the destruction 
of, 323 

Ramble round Simla, 361 

Rat, Black, in Cornwall, 434, 450 

Raven and Kite nesting in South 
Wales, 226 

Redshank, Dusky, in summer plu- 
mage, in Lancashire, 109; Spotted, 
in Co. Sligo, 85,—and Hoopoe, in 
Kent, 435,—near Harwich, 454 

Redstart in Co. Waterford, 455 ; nest- 
ing in December, reported, 106,— 
of Black, in Essex, reported, 151, 
182; in Durham, 183 

Reptiles of Barbados, notes on, 295,— 
addendum to list of, 352 

Ring Ouzel breeding in Orkney, 35 

Roach and Bleak, hybrid between, 
111 

Roe-deer (with plate), 81 

Roller at Rainham, 83; in Kirkcud- 
brightshire, 393 

Rooks in Isle of Wight, 75 


Sand Grouse, see Grouse, Pallas’s 
Sand 

Sandpiper, Green, in Glamorganshire, 
73; Pectoral, in Ireland, 32,— 
weight of, 73, 109,—in Orkney, 452 ; 
Wood, in Suffolk, in June, 313 

Scarcity of House Martin in Hamp- 
shire, 152 

Scoter, Surf, in Ireland, 32; Velvet, 
in Leicestershire, 455 

Sealand Whale Fishery of 1888, notes 
on, 121 

Seals and sealers, 253 

Sheldrake near Oxford, 458, and Wild 
Duck, hybrid between, 314 

Shearwater, Manx, food of, 24, 74, 
351; habits of, 74 

Sheep-dogs, Pigs used as in Italy, 433 

Shells, basal coloration of, in Helix 
hortensis and H. nemoralis, 272 

Shoveller nesting in Cumberland, 187 


CONTENTS. 


Shrike, Great Grey, near Ipswich, 
144,—in Holderness, 234,—in Not- 
tinghamshire in April, 394 

Shufeldt’s classification of the Macro- 
chires, 456 

Simla, a ramble round, 361 

Sky Lark, hen, singing in confine- 
ment, 269 

Smew in Perthshire, 33 

Snake swimming, 438 

Snipe, Solitary and Sabine’s, in Ire- 
land, 83; white, 35; drumming of, 
315 

Societies, ScrenTIFIC :— 

Linnean, 36, 77, 112, 155, 188, 237, 
278, 316, 456 

Zoological, 37, 79, 118, 157, 191, 237, 
274, 354, 457 ; 

Entomological, 39, 80, 114, 159, 193, 
239, 295, 317, 355, 399, 489, 458 

Cambridge Entomological and Field 
Naturalists’ Club, 142 

Solway Fish hatchery, 345 

Somateria spectabilis, 883 

Spider, Japanese, observations on, 438 

Spoonbills in Kerry, 455 

Squirrel, Pied, in Norfolk, 68; 
breeding in church-tower, 226 

Starling, the extinct, of Réunion, 310, 
385 


Starlings in the City, 262 

Stilt, Black-winged, in Scotland, 387 

Stone Curlew breeding in Notts, 312; 
Peculiarity in bill, 259; in Essex 
in January, 106 

Suborbital pits of Indian Antelope, 
177 

Swallows, training, as letter-carriers, 
397 

Swannery at Abbotsbury, 348 

Swifts, systematic position of, 91 


Teal, Blue-winged, in Cambridge- 
shire, 228 

Tern, Lesser, in Glamorganshire, 391; 
White-winged Black, near Salis- 
bury, 393 

Testacella haliotidea (var. scutellum) 
in Renfrewshire, 236 

Thick-knee in Essex in January, 
106 

Thrush and Blackbird laying in same 


XV 


nest, 265; nests of, without usual 
lining, 312; nesting on ground, 437 
Titmouse, Bearded, 291 
Tringa canutus in Barbadoes, 455 
Twite, colourless eggs of, 389 


Variety, fawn-coloured, of Mus decu- 
manus, 144; pied, of Coot, 153; 
curious, of Woodcock, 153; Limngxa 
involuta probably of L. peregra, 
154, 235; of eggs of Grey Wagtail, 
265; of Red Grouse and Landrail, 
393 

Vermin, so-called, and Game, destruc- 
tion of, 348 

Vespertilio daubentonii, 161; nat- 
tereri, 241 

Viper, Lizard swallowed alive and 
rejected by, 234 

Voyage to the Greenland Sea, notes 
on, 1, 41, 95 


Wagtail, Grey, eggs of, 231 

Wagtails, Pied, two laying in same 
nest, 391 

Warbler, Garden, Hedgesparrow try- 
ing to mate with, 270; Marsh, in 
Somersetshire, 450; Sedge, unusual 
site for nest, 35; Wood, at Cley, 77 

Waterfowl, hybrid, 260 

Weasel, white, in New Forest, 449 

Weight of Pectoral Sandpiper, 73, 109 

Whale and Seal fishery of 1888, notes 
on, 121 

Whiting, Pollack, large, off Land’s 
End, 488 

Wild Birds Protection Act, conviction 
under, 351 

Wildfowl and game in the Paris 
markets, 66 

Woodcock, curious variety, 153; 
American, and its mode of feeding, 
395 ; carrying its young, 454 

Woodcocks, 149, 183, 238 ; weight of, 
233 

Woodpecker, Great Black, in England, 
340, 481, 463 

Wren, Common, food of, 184; Wil- 
low, note on, 105 


Zoological Gardens, Manatee at, 299 
Zoological Society, see Societies. 


LIST OF PLATES. 


. The Roe-deer, Capreolus caprea 

. Daubenton’s Bat, Vespertilio daubentonw 
. Natterer’s Bat, Vespertilio nattereri 

. Mus hibernicus (Thompson) 

. Portrait of the late FrepERIoK Bonp 


To face Page 
81 


161 
241 
321 
401 


THE ZOOLOGIST. 


THIRD SERIES. 


Vou. XIII.) JANUARY, 1889. [No. 145. 


NOTES ON A VOYAGE TO THE GREENLAND SEA 
IN 1888. 


By Ropert Gray. 


[Since the publication of my notes on a voyage to the Greenland Sea 
in 1886 (Zool. 1887, pp. 48, 94, 121), I have twice visited the Arctic Seas, 
viz. in 1887, and during the present year. The ‘ Eclipse,’ the vessel in 
which I sailed, is a full-rigged ship of 450 tons burden, fitted with auxiliary 
engines of 80 h.p., nominal. She carries eight whale-boats, and is manned 
by a crew of fifty-five, all told. She is still commanded by my father, 
Capt. David Gray, who has now completed his fortieth voyage as Master 
of a whaler to the Arctic Seas. As in 1886, the main object of our voyage 
was the capture of the Greenland-Right Whale, Balena mysticetus, the 
price of whose whalebone has now made it at once the most valuable, and 
one of the rarest of all the Mammalia. In the following communication 
I propose giving a brief account of our voyage, a few extracts from my 
‘Log,’ with occasional remarks and observations on some of the animals 
we met with, and the more important phenomena of the Greenland Sea.— 


R. G.] 


Leravine Peterhead on April 16th, the ‘ Hclipse,’ having called 
at Lerwick, where twenty-five Shetland men were shipped, two 
days afterwards finally set sail for the Greenland Sea. From 
the Shetlands the whalers usually steer N.N.E. towards the island 
of Jan Mayen; but, owing to the strong easterly winds which 
prevailed, we were driven far to the westward, out of our course. 
On the 20th we weathered the Feroes, passed within 120 miles 
of Iceland on the 22nd, and on the 26th, in lat. 69° 20’, long. 

ZOOLOGIST.—JAN. 1889. B 


2 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


6° 29’ W., southward from Jan Mayen about eighty miles, we 
met the first pack ice. 

As far as I could discover, during our progress northward, 
there was a greater appearance of cetacean life than farther to 
the eastward along our usual route, more especially with regard 
to the Bottle-nose Whale, Hyperoodon rostratus; birds also were 
more numerous. ‘The following are a few extracts from my 
‘ Log’ concerning this part of our voyage :— 

April 19.—-Position at noon, lat. 61° 43’, long. 1° 10’ W. 
Water clear and blue. Besides a solitary Gannet seen now and 
again throughout the day patiently seeking its food, a Raven 
appeared near the ship in the morning, and an Oystercatcher at 
noon. Kittiwakes and Mallemokes were fairly numerous; of the 
latter we noticed the first about mid-day. 

April 21.—Lat. 62° 49’, long. 4° 6’. Water clear and colourless 
all day: temperature at the surface, 42°. Four Bottle-nose 
Whales were seen in the morning, and at night we passed a 
whaling brig which quite recently had killed some of these 
animals. 

April 22.—Lat. 65° 2’, long. 8°17’ W. The sea was green in 
the morning, but afterwards became blue and clear, the change 
being accompanied by a rise of temperature. Hight different 
herds of Bottle-nose Whales were seen during the day, all 
stationary and probably feeding, while three vessels which we 
saw were probably Bottle-nose whalers. Many Rotjes (Little 
Auks) seen, also two Snowflakes and a young Burgomaster. 

April 28.—Lat. 66° 80’, long. 7° 50’ W. Spoke the s.s. 
‘Haardraada,’ Norwegian sealer, Capt. Castberg, recently engaged 
in prosecuting the seal fishing, but now in search of Bottle-nose 
Whales. From Capt. Castberg we learnt the news of the young 
Saddle-sealing. The main body of seals were found west from Jan 
Mayen about ten miles, but owing to the open nature of the 
ice, the result of strong westerly winds, they were greatly 
scattered. Twenty-one Norwegian ships captured 38,200 seals, 
while three Scotch ships secured 1700, making a total of 39,900, 
which can far from pay the expense incurred in their capture, 
and which forms but a sad comparison with a total of over 
400,000 killed in 1850. 

April 25.— Lat. 68° 28’, long. 5° W. Water clear and 
blue; temperature at the surface 35°. Bottle-nose Whales very 


VOYAGE OF THE ‘ECLIPSE.’ 3 


numerous, all more or less stationary, and evidently feeding. 
They appeared to be going deep for their food, judging by the 
length of time they remained under water, and by their heavy and 
prolonged expirations while lying at the surface. Several herds of 
these whales swam round and round the ship, sometimes passing 
quite close under the stern; once I noticed the sunlight glance 
upon the breath of one, a beautiful but transitory bow being 
formed. Concerning one which we killed I made the following 
notes :— 


Sex.—Male. 

Colour.—Greyish black on the sides, shaded above to black along the 
ridge of the back, as well as towards the extremities and margins of the fins ; 
shaded below to greyish white along the surface of the throat and belly. 

Measurements.*—From a perpendicular erected at tip of jaw to base of 
beak, 1 ft.; to angle of mouth, 2 ft.; to “ blowhole,” 3 ft. 4 in.; to eye 
(centre of pupil), 3 ft. 6 in.; to auricular opening, 4 ft. 1 in.; to occipital 
condyles, 4 ft. 10 in.; to pectoral fins, 5 ft. 10 in.; length of pectoral fins, 
2 ft. 4 in.; greatest breadth of ditto, 8in.; to anterior end of base of 
dorsal fin, 13 ft. 10 in.; to posterior end of ditto, 15 ft.6in.; height of 
dorsal fin, 1 ft. 3 in.; to the most anterior part of the lobes of the tail, 
20 ft. 10 in.; to the most posterior part of ditto medianally, 22 ft. 10 in.; 
to the centre of a line joining the lateral tips of caudal fin, 23 ft. 8 in.; 
extreme breadth of caudal fin, 5 ft. 10 in.; girth at the eyes, 8 ft. 3 in.; 
at the neck, 12 ft. 7in.; at 3 ft. behind pectoral fins, 12 ft. 7 in.; thickness 
of blubber, 4 in. 

Contents of Stomach.—An immense quantity of cuttle-fish remains, 
mostly beaks and crystalline lenses, but there were a few almost entire, 
which I recognised as Gonotus fabricti, a cephalapod which seems to be 
largely preyed on by this whale. 

Parasites—A few Cyamus thompsoni attached to the skin of the fore- 
head, the angles of the mouth, and the upper surface of the lobes of the 
tail near their posterior margins. 


After reaching the ice, we commenced working northwards 
along its margin, now steering eastwards along an outlying point, 
again crossing a deep “‘ bight” in which the ice ran more to the 
westward. With reference to the whaling grounds which occupy 
a more or less central position, certain terms are used by the 


* The measurements referring to any of the cetaceans throughout these 
notes are, unless otherwise stated, between vertical transverse planes 
supposed to pass through the parts mentioned. 

B2 


4 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


whalers to designate the neighbouring ice. Thus the ice 
discharged from the Polar basin, and carried southward along 
the Greenland coast by the Arctic current, is called the ‘‘ west 
ice,” the ice which occasionally comes round the south end of 
Spitzbergen out of the Barentz Sea the ‘east ice,” while the 
ice formed during severe frosts in an intermediate area of more 
or less still water ‘‘ south-east pack.” The “‘ west ice,” amongst 
which the capture of Mysticetus is solely carried on in these 
seas, is an ever-moving stream of ice coming from the north- 
ward, having its position mainly determined by the current 
which, flowing at an average velocity of about ten miles per 
day, carries the ice in its sinuous course, now to the eastward, 
now to the westward, forming a series of ‘ points” and 
‘“‘bights ’ which, being remarkably constant in position, are well 
known to the whalers, several being designated by names. The 
ice, as it leaves the Polar basin, is mostly in the form of 
‘‘ floes,” circular sheets of ice from ten to twenty miles in 
diameter, crumpled up round the edges owing to contact with 
one another, and varying considerably in thickness, ruggedness, 
&c. In its progress through the Greenland Sea, the ice is 
largely affected by the strength and direction of the winds. 
While northerly winds accelerate the drift of the ice, driving it 
southwards in compact masses at the rate of sometimes fifty 
miles a day, southerly winds have an opposite effect, greatly 
counteracting the drift, and spreading the ice outwards. Again, 
westerly winds, so much beloved by whalers, gradually spread 
the ice seawards, a series of open spaces of water alternating 
with strips of ice being formed, somewhat pleasing in appearance 
to the eye; while easterly winds, with their usual accompaniment 
‘‘ swell,’ soon convert the ice into a dismal and heaving pack of 
broken ice. The amount of ice in different years is subject to 
considerable variation, fluctuating between extreme limits with 
a certain periodicity, related either to the severity of the 
preceding winter or to the rate of the set or current, but probably 
mainly to the latter, as the amount of ice in any season has 
been observed to be inversely proportional to the drift of the ice 
itself. Finally, the amount of ice, having increased during the 
winter, and therefore at a maximum during the spring, gradually 
decreases during the summer, more especially in a season of 
easterly winds. 


VOYAGE OF THE ‘ ECLIPSE.’ 5 


This year the position of the ‘‘ west ice” was fairly normal, 
but from the presence of a ‘‘ south-east pack,” in so far, the 
season was remarkable. This body of ice, formed only in 
seasons of severe frost, occupies an east and west position 
generally to the northward of the parallel of lat. 76°; it consists 
almost entirely of young or “bay” ice formed in situ, and 
seldom of great thickness. Lying in an area of more or less 
still water, unless in so far as affected by the winds, this ice 
remains almost stationary, gradually melting during the summer, 
and finally disappearing altogether. The “south-east pack,” 
although delaying somewhat the progress of the ships northward, 
by preventing the swell from breaking up the ice on the whaling 
grounds, performs an important office to the whaler, and its 
presence accordingly is hailed as a good omen. 

Meeting the ‘‘ south-east pack” in lat. 75°, we at first 
endeavoured to continue our progress northward along the 
margin of the “‘ west ice,” which could still be easily distinguished 
by its greater thickness, but eventually we had to abandon this 
attempt, and, retracing our steps seawards, proceeded east- 
wards along the margin of the south-east ice. On May 11th, 
having reached lat. 77° and long. 3° E., and finding the ice 
farther east running to the southward, we entered the pack, and 
commenced forcing our way northward through the young ice. 
The sea immediately to the westward of Spitzbergen, which is 
usually open, we found, as we proceeded northward, entirely 
covered by ice, and it was not until the evening of the 15th, 
when, having reached lat. 80° 13’ we entered the ‘‘ north water.” 
_ The following are a few notes which I made during this part of 
our voyage :— 

May 1.—Lat, 72° 45’, long. 4° 46’. Water clear and blue; 
temperature 30° at the surface. A few Saddle Seals, Phoca 
grenlandica, lying on the ice. Several which we shot were at 
the age when known to the sealers as ‘‘ Spots.” These Seals 
are probably about six weeks old, having escaped the general 
slaughter at the young sealing about a month before. They are 
bluish grey in colour, shaded to dark blue on the back, to silvery 
grey on the belly, and marked over with black spots, especially 
on the sides (hence the name). One which I measured was 


8 ft. 6 in. in length from the tip of the nose to the tip of the 


= 
¥ 


tail, and 2 ft. in girth at the shoulders. The stomachs of several 


6 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


which I examined were empty. My father informs me that the 
capture of these ‘‘ Spots” formed, until some twenty or thirty 
years ago, a fishery of considerable importance ; and it is clear 
that if the Seals are allowed to multiply by an extension of the 
close time, the Saddle Seal fishing would, to a large extent, be 
restricted to their capture at this age. The ‘‘ Spots” are found 
on the scattered pieces of ice at the pack edge, the fishing being 
carried on during the latter part of April and the beginning of 
-May. The Seals take the ice early in the morning, on which 
they sleep during the day, entering the water again at night, 
probably to feed. 

May 6.—Lat. 75° 29’, long. 5°18’. Water alternately blue 
and green; temperature at the surface, 30°. Inthe green water I 
noticed a great abundance of minute organisms, just visible to 
the naked eye. They appeared to consist of a spherical mass 
of colourless, gelatinous matter, with collections of cells (probably 
diatoms) embedded in different parts of its matrix. I afterwards 
found that although these organisms were usually, they were 
not always, present in the green or diatom-stained water, while 
a few occurred occasionally in the blue unstained parts of 
the sea. 

May 11 to 14.—During our progress northward through thé 
S.E. pack the sea had an olive-green, and sometimes a brownish, 
colour, owing to the presence of Diatomacee. The ice I noticed, 
as the ship tore it up with her iron-shod stem, was in many 
places stained a yellowish brown colour. This is the condition 
sometimes known to the whalers as “ rotten ice.” I observed 
that when the ship came in contact with a piece of discoloured 
ice, it had a tendency to split along its plane of flotation into 
two horizontal halves, a deal of discolouring matter being 
exposed. So far then, the diatoms, appeared to be locked up in 
a central and horizontal stratum of the ice, agreeing with its 
plane of flotation, and this view I afterwards found was sup- 
ported by making sections of the ice itself. Later on we 
frequently noticed pieces of ice with their margins, and especially 
the cavities, extending horizontally inwards, formed by the 
action of the sea along the line of flotation, stained yellowish 
brown with diatoms. Finally, the discoloration was almost 
entirely restricted to the “young” or ‘‘bay” ice of which the 
8.E. pack is formed, the much more permanent “heavy” or 


VOYAGE OF THE ‘ECLIPSE. 7 


“old” ice floating in ordinary circumstances in clear and 
unstained water. , 

With these facts before us, we can have little difficulty in 
understanding the formation of ‘‘ rotten ice,” and its presence 
in the §.E. pack. That part of the Greenland Sea, consisting 
for the most part of an area of still water, and whose surface 
waters are usually so deeply stained with the characteristic colour 
of vegetable organisms, bounded on the east by the coast 
of Spitzbergen, and on the west by the ever-fluctuating eastern 
margin of the ‘“ west ice,” known to the whalers as the 
** Spitzbergen land water,” having during a period of severe frost 
become frozen over with sheets or “‘floes”’ of young ice, and this 
ice having become broken up by the action of swell into the 
form known as “ pancake ice,” and the ‘‘ pans” having become 
separated, would, as already explained, become eaten into, and 
stained with diatoms round their line of flotation. We have 
next to suppose another spell of cold weather; the pieces of 
“pancake” ice, separated somewhat from one another, become 
reunited by the formation of additional ice, the whole forming 
a “‘congealed” pack, with here and there pieces of ice which, 
if crashed into by a ship or otherwise broken, would appear 
diatom-stained in the manner already described. With these 
conclusions the observations of Scoresby entirely agree, but from 
Dr. Robert Brown, who investigated the subject (‘ Trans. Bot. 
Soc. of Edinburgh,’ vol. ix., pp. 244—252), I venture to differ. 
Dr. Brown, having found a number of pits on the under surface 
of the ice containing and formed by collections of diatoms, 
arrives at the conclusion that these minute organisms, by 
melting the ice, play an important part in the economy of 
these seas. Now, so far as I have observed, the discoloration 
is restricted to recently formed ice, occurring in parts of the 
sea usually open, the ocean, where permanently covered by 
ice, being always clear and blue, and unstained by diatoms ; 
also the discolouring matter, when present, occupies a posi- 
tion round the margin of a horizontal stratum agreeing with 
the plane of flotation, and bounded in that plane by the outline 
of the ice. 

May 15.—Lat. 79° 50’, long. 5°15’ EH. Water dark green ; tem- 
perature at the surface, 29°. Auks and Divers very numerous; 
also many Narwhals, floe Seals, and a few Bears. A male 


8 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Walrus which was shot measured 11 ft. from the tip of the nose 
to the extremity of the spine, and 9 ft. in girth. The stomach 
of this Walrus was filled with large pieces of Seal’s skin, with 
the blubber attached, and also of pieces of liver. Last season 
we shot two, and both their stomachs were similarly filled; one 
of them, which was shot in the water, had a floe Seal in its 
mouth which it had just captured; so that the unfortunate floe 
Seals, persecuted on the ice by the Bears, are preyed upon by 
the Walrus while in the water. 

At this point a few words might be said with regard to the 
distribution and migrations of Mysticetus in these seas. The facts 
known are not numerous. A line drawn icewards, at right angles: 
to the sea margin, passes through the habitat of this animal. 
Following the course of such a line, the ice usually greatly 
broken up at the sea-edge owing to the action of the swell, would 
be found to consist of larger and larger pieces of ice, until finally 
the unbroken floes, as they left the Polar basin, would be found. 
Mysticetus would first be met with on losing the swell, and 
therefore a very variable distance through the ice, while beyond 
—a somewhat more sharply defined, but still more variable line— 
it would not be found. Between these ever-changing limits 
there is an area for the most part covered with floes and loose 
ice, which forms the habitat of the Greenland-Right Whale. 
With regard to their migrations two well-marked movements 
occur, viz., the advance of the Whales northward in spring, and 
their retreat southward in the autumn or “‘fall.” These 
migrations are undoubtedly associated with the presence of 
“bay”? or ‘‘ young” ice. During winter the open spaces 
between the pieces of old or heavy ice become frozen over, the 
sea being uniformly covered with ice. With the advance of 
spring, and consequent rise of temperature, the ‘“‘ bay” ice, as 
it is termed, gradually melts or ceases to form on the open 
spaces of water which are continually breaking out amongst the 
ice. Following the progress of this event, the northward 
migration occurs, while on the re-formation of the “bay ” ice, in 
the Fall, the Whales again return south. From this it follows 
that the area inhabited by Mysticetus might be represented by 
a band of variable breadth running parallel to the edge of the 
ice, the animal being most usually present where the temperature 
of the water is just above the freezing point. In the Greenland 


ORS Ie Se A eoyt 
= “on whe: ad 


NOTES FROM THE NORFOLK COAST. 9 


Sea these Whales usually reach lat. 73° early in April, 75° about 
the end of the same month, and 78° in the middle of May. The 
young Whales are generally in advance, the older animals— 
especially the males—lagging behind. 


(To be continued.) 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM THE NORFOLK COAST. 


By Ontver V. APLIN. 


Havine, with my brothers Mr. F. C. and the Rev. B. D’O. 
Aplin, spent a few days (Sept 17th to 26th) at Cley, on the 
Norfolk coast, I send you some notes on the birds which we 
met with. 

Our visit being paid some seventeen days earlier than last year 
(October 4th to 15th), it was interesting to note the difference in 
the avifauna of the marsh, which on this occasion partook more 
of a summer, or early autumn, than a winter nature. 

The following summer visitors, or early migrants, unseen last 
year, were noticed :—Redstart, Willow Wren, Tree Pipit, Ray’s 
Wagtail, Common Sandpiper, Little Stint, Whimbrel, and 
Common Tern; while Wheatears, Pigmy Curlews, Godwit and 
Turnstones were decidedly more numerous. Swallows and 
Martins were present in varying numbers each day, but I could 
not detect any migratory movement taking place. On the other 
hand, Rock Pipits, Grey Crows, and Twites, seen last year on 
October 4th and 5th, did not put in an appearance; the place of 
the second being taken by some Black Crows in the marsh on 
the 17th, the first I had seen in North Norfolk. 

News having reached us of the capture of a Bluethroat and a 
Barred Warbler the week before our arrival, we sanguinely hoped 
to meet with some rare Warblers. But, owing possibly to the 
unfavourable quarter from which the wind blew during our stay, 


small birds (with the exception of a number of Willow Wrens 


one morning) were very scarce in the scrub. We were informed 
that a north-west wind was the most favourable for bringing in 
small birds, and during the time we were at Cley the wind was 
from E. to N.N.E. 

Sept. 17.—Wind N.N.E., light. Walked down the marsh for 


10 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


a couple of hours. A Redstart in the scrub, and many Wheatears 
about the drier ground. Two Common Sandpipers on the mud 
edge, and another in the creeks. Big flock of Lapwings on the 
wing, and several Grey Plovers seen. Larks and Meadow Pipits 
numerous. A good many Black Crows* in the marsh. 

Sept. 18.—Wind N.E., light. Two or three Redstarts in the 
scrub, and a great many Willow Wrens: of three of the latter 
shot, one was a large light-coloured bird, very yellow; the other 
two were small and colder in colour. Crows gone; fewer 
Wheatears; many Meadow Pipits. A Peregrine Falcon about 
the sand-hills, also a Merlin; the latter we watched for some 
time in pursuit of a Wheatear. A fair show of waders: four or 
five Whimbrel, Curlew, a good many Bar-tailed Godwit, Knot, 
Ringed Plover, one lot of Golden Plover, Grey Plover, two Ruff 
flying over, five Oystercatchers on the sands below Stiffkey 
* freshes,’” numerous Turnstones (as many as five together on the 
pebbly flats towards Stiffkey), three or four Curlew Sandpipers, 
Redshanks, Dunlin, a couple of Herons, and a big drove of 
Lapwings. Some Mallard about the harbour, and two Terns. A 
Stock Dove, was sitting on a squab, a few days old, and an 
addled egg in a hole in the sand-hills. 

Sept. 19.—Wind N.E., moderate, fresher in afternoon ; bright 
and hot. A Ray’s Wagtail with some Pied Wagtails at the top 
of the marsh close to Cley. No Warblers in the scrub; a few 
Wheatears, and a little flock of Linnets. One or two bunches of 
Knot, and some odd birds: these must be the remains of the 
large flocks which arrived early in the season. Whimbrel pretty 
numerous, some Godwit, and a flock of fourteen or fifteen Curlew 
Sandpipers on the soft mud opposite Blakeney. Nine Sander- 
lings, unusually wild, on the sands at the Point. A Cormorant 
at the harbour mouth. A duck which passed our boat, flying up 
the harbour, and was knocked over by my brother, proved to be 
a drake Pintail, still in “‘ eclipse” dress. As this duck, according 
to Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., “is chiefly known at the present day 
as a winter visitant, and rather a scarce one”’ in Norfolk (Trans. 
Norfolk and Norwich Nat. Soc., vol. iv., p. 423), it may be worth 
mentioning that among some wildfowl received from Cley, on the 


* These possibly may have been young Rooks, The Carrion Crow 
(Corvus corone) is arare bird in Norfolk.—Ep. 


NOTES FROM THE NORFOLK COAST. 11 


12th November, were two Pintails. I heard that a small flock of 
drakes put in an appearance there last March, and several were 
shot ; two of these, which I saw stuffed, were in very fine plumage. 
A Greenshank was shot on the marsh to-day. 

Sept. 20.—Wind due E., fresh in morning; bright and hot. 
A Robin in the scrub at evening. Fair-sized bunch of Knot, 
some Godwit and Whimbrel, six Herons, and a single Golden 
Plover, flying with a Redshank and a Dunlin, which came to call. 
Grey Plover numerous on the Aster-grown mud-flats between 
Blakeney and Morston creeks. The Pigmy Curlews again in the 
same place. Four Scaup, one an adult male, in Stiffkey 
freshes. 

Sept. 21.—Wind E., light; bright and hot. A Redstart in 
the scrub, adult over the autumn moult; also a Reed Bunting. 
Some Wheatears; apparently a continuous flow of these, as they 
were seen in varying numbers all the time we were there. 
Peregrine seen again, and the Merlin, hard hit a day or two 
before, secured. A large flock of Dunlin and many Ringed 
Plover,—the first day that any numbers of either were seen; an 
adult of the former still retained the greater part of the black 
breast of summer. Five Little Stints on the mud-edge in the 
upper part of the channel. Some tame Turnstones on the pebble 
banks. All those examined were in the spotted dress of the young. 
A few Whimbrel ; and eight Curlew, coming off the land, flying 
down the harbour at sundown. One bunch of Knot, and a party 
_of fifteen Golden Plover. Still some Godwit. A Snipe at the 
mouth of Morston Creek. Four Common Terns playing about 
the harbour by the Watch-house. A flock of Gulls, many Greater 
Black-backed ones among them. A Wigeon was shot to-day. 

Sept. 22.—Wind E.N.E., light; dull morning, becoming 
_ brighter later in the day. Not many waders about. One Tern 
in the harbour. As we ran up to Cley, on the late tide, a 
beautiful calm grey evening, a Ruff passed overhead, uttering its 
sharp clear whistle, fu-whit. 

Sept. 23.—Wind E.N.E., light; thick haze and falling mist. 
_ Visited, by kind permission of the owner, the fields frequented 


x by the Sand Grouse, and saw three. 


Sept. 24.—Wind E.N.E., backing to N.E., light to fresh in 
afternoon ; some local showers at mid-day. Two Kestrels round 
the ricks inside the beach, which moved off eastwards along the 


12 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


coast. Put out to sea about a mile and a half in the morning, 
and fell in with a school of porpoises. A short distance from 
land two Golden Plovers came round the boat from seawards, and 
when about half a mile off, parties of four and six Larks and a 
Wheatear passed us, travelling steadily 8.S.W. Several small 
lots of Scoter, and some half-a-dozen Divers (apparently Red- 
throated), singly, flying E., at perhaps a mile from shore. Six 
Mallard and four Teal were also flying towards the land. A 
couple of tame Golden Plovers which my brother fell in with on 
the beach in the afternoon, and some Teal flushed from the 
creeks, were probably those seen coming in in the morning. 
A few Black Crows on Salthouse banks. One Whimbrel seen. 
Strong wind at night, and heavy rain up to 6 o'clock next 
morning. 

Sept. 25.—Wind N.E., strong and cold in morning, dropping 
later. Evidently a small immigration of ducks, thrushes, and 
some small birds last night. Two Song Thrushes and a Black- 
bird in the scrub, which was not beaten until late in the afternoon ; 
also some large Pipits, which rose silently, and proved to be 
A. trivialis. A single old Snow Bunting on the beach, rather an 
early arrival; also some Wheatears and Larks. A good bunch 
of Knots on the mud, and a few odd birds. Many waders in the 
marsh between Morston and Blakeney creeks; Grey Plover 
numerous, two or three Godwits, and a Ruff. The last-named, on 
rising from the mud, settled far out on the sands near the channel, 
where it was put up by a passing boat while I was endeavouring 
to creep up to it, and, though it came round to the call, would 
not come down. Two more Greenshanks were shot on the marsh 
to-day. A bunch of eleven Wigeon, also two and three, about 
the harbour ; two Teal came off the sea in the afternoon. 

Sept. 26.—Bright and hot. Down to the beach before breakfast. 
Many Meadow Pipits in the marsh, and several little parties of 
Larks on the beach, inclined to move eastwards along the 
coast. 

A Honey Buzzard in the first year’s plumage, now in Mr. 
F. C. Aplin’s collection, was shot at Thurgarton, near Cromer, 
on the 13th September last. 


( 18) 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORFOLK. 


By J. H. Gurney, Jun., F.L.S., F.Z.S8., 
President of the Norwich Naturalists’ Society. 


In sending you a first instalment of Notes for 1888, from 
the county with which the name of Henry Stevenson has been so 
long associated, I cannot refrain from adding my personal tribute 
to his attainments as an ornithologist. He had a genuine love 
of Nature, and as one of the pioneers of the Norwich Naturalists’ 
Society he helped to imbue many residents in this county with a 
taste for Natural History and outdoor observation. The influence 
exerted through his writings, however, was felt far beyond his 
own county, and readers of ‘The Zoologist’ especially will miss 
his periodical contributions to the pages of this widely-read 
Journal. 

In compliance ;with the editorial request for information 
concerning the reported breeding of the Green Sandpiper in 
Norfolk (Zool. 1888, p. 306) I communicated with Mr. W. E. 
Baker, who readily answered all my queries, but nothing more 
was elicited than has already been furnished by Col. Butler, 
and the matter must therefore remain doubtful, since nobody saw 
the nest referred to, and the young Sandpiper which Mr. Baker 
thought was only a few hours old, might have been the young of 
some other species. 

January, prevailing wind W. and KE. Some Wood Pigeons nest 
very late: I have a note of shooting a young one, which still 
retained some of the yellow filaments, as late as December 23rd, 
only about two-thirds grown, and remember seeing another in 


_ November which had just left the nest, and could do no 


more than flutter. Among some Wood Pigeons taken out of 
a net on January 17th last was one in immature plumage. Wood 
Pigeons may be taken with acorns soaked in Cocculus indicus : 
although ranked as a poison, it is used by brewers, and pigeons 
which have been killed with it are none the worse for eating. 
Acorns soaked in spirit have no effect at all, the Wood 
Pigeons eating them with avidity, and evidently without the 
slightest ill effects. The best way of obtaining them is by lying 
in wait for them in the plantations, and shooting them as they 
come into roost: on January 24th forty birds were obtained in 


14 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


this way by one gun, in a small plantation at Keswick, but a 
repetition of this once or twice makes them shy. 

There is no more favourite locality in Norfolk for the Great 
Crested Grebe than Ranworth Broad, from which, however, it is 
always absent in winter. On Feb. 23rd there was not one to be 
seen there, and apparently these birds do not return before 
March. ‘This is a favourite broad also for ducks. The annual 
visits of the Tufted Duck in March have been before alluded to 
(Zool. 1881, p. 330), but they are to be found all through 
February. On Feb. 28rd a flock of about twenty-five allowed 
themselves to be driven over a neck of land, when a volley from 
our barrels accounted for four of them, after which the others left 
the broad. 

On Feb. 29th two male Cirl Buntings were netted on Breydon 
marshes ; snow on the ground, and 17 degrees of frost that night, 
indicating that they were fresh arrivals, most likely from the 
interior. Mr. Pycraft exhibited them a few days later, while 
still in the flesh, at a meeting of the Norwich Naturalists’ Society. 
The Cirl Bunting is rare in Norfolk; an example, hitherto 
unrecorded, was seen some years ago at Hempstead, by Messrs. 
Farn and Standen. Yet, so far as is known, this and Mr. Pycraft’s 
pair bring up the number of authentic occurrences to five only. 

On March Sth, Mr. Smith wrote, “‘ the Wigeon at Yarmouth 
were leading off to sea in huge numbers,” and the next day 
the frost broke up. On the 12th there were over five hundred 
Wigeon on Breydon Broad, three Pintails, two Wild Swans, 
and a Scoter. Few remembered such a continuance of severe 
weather, which affected all kinds of animals by cutting off the 
food supplies. 

On the 7th six Scoters were offered for sale in Norwich Market, 
—an unusual sight. Scoters have been either more numerous or 
more sought after than for some years, in fact since 1870. They 
were abundant during the winter in the Wash, where sixty-two 
were shot off Hunstanton, on November 17th, by one gun. Mr. 
Tuck has remarked on their abundance at this place (Zool. 1888, 
p. 148), where the practice is to anchor wooden decoys on a still 
day, and shoot the Scoters when they come to them. Velvet 
Ducks and Long-tails also fall victims, and a good many of both 
were obtained last winter, as I learn from correspondents on the 
coast. At Hickling five Pintails were reported on the 18th, five 


NOTES FROM NORFOLK. 15 


Sheld-ducks on the 20th, and six Shovellers on the 22nd, by 
Joshua Nudd. 

During the greater part of February and March we had snow 
on the ground. Prior to this there had not been more than one 
or two Fieldfares in the parish of Keswick, but simultaneously 
with the snow they appeared. The largest flock, consisting of at 
least sixty, settled on a grass field which had been lately used for 
ewes, where a good many,Swede turnips, mostly entire and quite 
uneaten, had been left. Into these they at once proceeded to 
drill holes, selecting any soft or rotten spot there might be to 
begin upon. For five weeks these poor birds fed on nothing else, 
and, from having been plump and shy, they soon became tame 
and thin, dropping in weight to 2} oz., and Redwings to 1} oz. 
When the snow cleared away, around each Swede turnip might be 
seen acircle of the flakes they had pecked off, and really it was 
incredible how much they had got off, many of the turnips being 
reduced to mere shells. Nor was any of this damage done by 
Wood Pigeons, which prefer turnips growing in a field where 
they can settle in a flock in the middle of the ridges. Here they 
peck holes, and let in the frost, doing more harm in this respect 
than the Fieldfares. At Northrepps the Partridges attacked the 
broccoli which was just above the snow, and took the hearts 
completely out of some—a charge I do not remember to have 
heard brought against them before, though I believe Wood 
Pigeons are guilty of it. Some of the hungriest Rooks fed with 
my Chinese Geese, eating maize, and even scraps of bread and 
potato ; and a Hooded Crow was so intent on enjoying a meal 
on a large mussel, on Brancaster beach, that he got caught by 
the beak and was made a prisoner! As usual during severe frost, 
Dabchicks had a hard time of it, and sometimes four or five were 
to be seen at Harford Bridge, below which the Yare widens a 
little, making the most of the water while they had it. A Puffin and 
a Guillemot, probably starved, were washed up at Overstrand. 

On March 19th 2000 Canaries were sent from Norwich to the 
United States, notwithstanding the bad weather, when many 
would most likely die on the voyage, New York being snowed up 
about that time. This is what a Norwich writer says about 
them :—“ Although the weather was piercingly cold [and a bitter 
east wind] while the waggon-load of live stock was being conveyed 
to the station, the singing from the birds could be heard in the 


16 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


streets at a considerable distance. So great has been the demand 
for our Norwich Canaries this season, that we learn over 14,000 
have left the hands of Messrs. Mackley, since October last, for 
America alone, having consumed about £100 worth of seed, eggs, 
and Cayenne pepper.” Many of our Norwich Canaries are most 
beautifully coloured, and the prices put upon them are quite 
astonishing: unfortunately, owing to the artificial system of 
feeding necessary to attain their bright hue, the number which 
die before they have fully attained it is very large. Moreover, 
it is said that if they are exported in warm weather they lose 
much of their voice and plumage, and are consequently less 
saleable. ‘The Germans import a considerable number into New 
York, which it is said are bred in the Hartz Mountains, and sing 
much better than English ones. 

In April the prevailing direction of the wind was N.E. On 
the 2nd, notwithstanding the provision of the Sea-Birds Pre- 
servation Act, a Little Gull, with a pure black head, was shot 
at Hickling; all the white part of its plumage was richly suffused 
with roseate, extending even to the tail. On the 6th an old male 
Goldeneye appeared on Fritton Lake, which, though in Suffolk, 
belongs geographically to Norfolk, and, though keeping by himself 
apart from the other fowl was tamer, than any of them, and I got 
a very good look at him. ‘This famous lake has long been noted 
for its decoys, and is one of the few places in England where 
they may still be seen at work, but not many kinds besides Duck 
and Teal are taken. The lake is 2} miles long, with an average 
width of 300 yards. Two decoys are worked, one by Sir Savile 
Crossley, the other by Col. Butler. 

The take of wildfowl at Sir Savile Crossley’s during the winter, 
as supplied by Mr. Southwell, is as follows :— 


Duck. Teal. Wigeon. Shoveller. 

October, 1887 ... 41 197 0 0 
November, ,, eo OS 14 0 0 
December, ,, uO 2 0 1 
January, 1888 ... 121 2 2 0 
February, ,, mele 0 0 0 
March, ‘ aise 6 l 5 0 

‘motnl- 1. Ofo 66 7 1 


' 


NOTES FROM NORFOLK. 17 


This falls very short of the total which was reached in the 
season of 1884-5, an exceptionally good winter, when 2056 fowl 
were captured. In Colonel Butler’s decoy on the south-west side 
of the lake, where no decoy-dog is used, sixty-one Ducks and 
Mallards, and two Wigeons, were taken. The decoy-men consider 
that the Wigeon remained later than usual last spring, or rather 
uppeared on passage later. Although we only observed one, 
Col. Butler saw a hundred on April 9th within gun-shot of the 


bank. On April 19th a Water Rail, Rallus aquaticus, was picked 


up on the shore at Overstrand, and a Buzzard was seen at North- 
repps. On the 23rd a Black Stork, Ciconia nigra, retaining a few 
immature feathers on the breast, but otherwise adult, was 
obtained at Salthouse. On the 24th two White Wagtails, 
Motacilla alba, were shot at Yarmouth, as already recorded 
(Zool. 1888, p. 229), the first authenticated examples killed in 
Norfolk. 

In May the prevailing direction of the wind was W. and N. 
On the Ist an adult male White Wagtail was brought to Mr. 
Pycraft from the River Bure, near Yarmouth, the light grey colour 
extending over the whole of the back to the root of the tail. On 
the 9th a Dotterel, Hudromias morinellus, was picked up under 
the telegraph-wires at Northrepps, and taken to my father, with 
whom it became wonderfully tame, eating worms greedily, but 
lived only ten days after capture. On the 16th a Greenshank, 
Yotanus gloltts, was picked up dead at Scoulton, thirty miles 
from the sea. On the 20th an adult male Honey Buzzard, Pernis 
apivorus, was brought to my father from Thorpe Market, probably 
the same bird which had been seen by the keeper at Northrepps 


the day before. Grey-cheeked adult birds of this species are not 


common. Qn the 29th a female Montagu’s Harrier, Circus cine- 
vaceus, was shot on Kelling Heath, and three days afterwards the 
male was massacred: they probably had a nest, for when Mr. Pashley 
skinned the hen bird he found an egg, full size, ready for exclusion. 
A few days afterwards another female of this species was brought 


~ into Norwich, as I learn from Mr. Southwell; this bird also con- 
tained an egg with the shell formed. These Harriers would nest 


regularly in many places if permitted. A pair bred at or near Ran- 


_ worth, and the young in this case were reared, with one exception. 


On the 29th a female Crane was shot at Halvergate, near Yarmouth, 


and mounted by Mr. Pyeraft, who found that it turned the scale 
ZOOLOGIST.—JAN. 1889. Cc 


18 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


at 7 lbs. 7 oz. I did not see it until it was set up, but it struck 
me as being rather a small bird: some years ago I weighed 
one, which was shot in Lincolnshire, and it turned the scale at 
11 lbs. 2 oz. 


ON THE HABITS OF THE GREAT CRESTED GREBE, 
PODICEPS CRISTATUS. 


By C. R. Gawen, F.Z.S. 


Tue breeding places of this interesting bird in Britain are, I 
believe, from their size and surroundings, rather unfavourable to the 
acquirement of minuter details respecting their breeding habits. 
Having been favoured by circumstances which rendered observa- 
tion easy, I think the following notes on the habits of this 
species may, perhaps, be interesting to readers of ‘ The Zoologist.’ 

A pool on which a pair of Great Crested Grebes has, for the 
past two years nested, is about twenty-five acres in extent; as 
there is no marginal growth of reeds or sedges, the surface is 
open and exposed, insomuch that by hiding behind a tree, or even 
by remaining motionless on the open bank, I have, with the aid 
of a pair of binoculars, been able to witness much that was 
interesting in the domestic life of these birds. 

For many years previous to 1887, a solitary Great Crested 
Grebe had made its appearance upon this pool in spring, but 
made no long stay, owing, I believe, to the presence with his 
harem of that persistent bully, the domestic gander. z 

In April, 1887 (the geese having been exiled), two Grebes 
came to our pool; the male arriving on the 7th of that month, 
the female ten days later on the 17th. These birds were not, 
presumably, already paired, and they occupied their time chiefly 
in courtship ; not finally deciding upon a nesting-site until May 
17th, nor laying eggs until the second week in June. A nest was 
begun earlier than this, but abandoned for some reason or other. 

During the period of courtship, the Grebes were seldom far 
apart from each other; their favourite mode of flirtation or 
salutation consisted in facing one another at a distance of one or 
two feet, and shaking their crested heads rapidly from side to side. 
Viewed from behind, this pretty gesture had the appearance of the 
birds sparring or fencing with their bills. Once, when I suppose 


ON THE HABITS OF THE GREAT CRESTED GREBE. 19 


they were at play, I saw both dive, and presently re-appear 
simultaneously, breast to breast, the splash of their impact being 
distinctly audible at some little distance. 

After a while, a strange male disturbed their honeymoon, and 
was persistently chased hither and thither by the bird in posses- 
sion, who was stimulated to doughty deeds by the constantly 
‘repeated and duck-like ‘ kek, kek,” of his mate. Having 
endured persecution for several days, the rival departed; I saw 
no actual collision between him and the paired bird, whose 
warlike operations seemed to be singularly futile. 

In 1888, the first Grebe appeared on the 18th, and the second 
on the 25th of March. No preliminary courtship took place, 
nidification commenced about the 1st of April, and the first 
egg was laid on the 18th of the same month. So far as I 
could judge, the nest was built in exactly the same place as in 
1887. This, with the absence of courtship in 1888, renders it 
‘probable that these birds pair for life, or at aly, rate for more 
than one season. 

The situation chosen for the nest was the edge of a patch of 
lake weed, within twenty feet or so of a small island; in neither 
year was a second, or look-out platform made, that purpose being 
served, perhaps, by the island or some alder-roots out-growing 
from it. Except on the side covered by the island, the nest, with 
the sitting bird, was perfectly visible from the water’s edge; 
indeed, the lake weed in 1888 did not attain its full growth until 
after the young had been hatched. It is possible that, being new 
to the place, and fearful of being disturbed, the Grebes in 1887 
waited for the growth of the weed before they seriously began to 
build. 

The nest was a solid structure, composed chiefly of dead 
sticks and stalks of lakeweed, with dead leaves, and a few old 
flower vessels of the Spanish chestnut. Both sexes took part in 
nidification, the male while I watched them being the more ener- 
getic of the pair. He would bring stalks of weed in quick 
succession, and, laying them on the side of the nest, leave the 
female to arrange them. But he not only performed what I may 
call mere manual labour; I have also observed him assist his mate 
in shaping the nest, going round and round it, pushing here and 
tugging there, until the result was satisfactory. Once he amused 
me much by his frantic and ultimately successful efforts to bring 

of 4 


£0 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


in a large stick as part of the structure—a stick so long that he 
had to push it in front of him to the nest. While bringing 
nesting materials, the Grebes swam very low in the water, very 
swiftly, and with necks much outstretched. When they wished 
to get up to the nest, they would go close to it so that they 
leaned, or appeared to lean, against it, and then jumped on as 
easily as may be. For a moment or two an upright position 
would be maintained, in which the bird looked very comical. 

Incubation also was shared by both sexes. I have repeatedly 
seen the male performing this duty while the female has been 
occupied in fishing, or preening herself in another part of 
the pool. On one occasion, I watched the male jump upon 
the nest which his mate had left, and remain there for over an 
hour, not even vacating his post when she returned to the 
vicinity of the nest. Usually, when the female Grebe (the shyest 
of the pair), in alarm at being watched, slipped off the nest, 
hastily and imperfectly covering the eggs, the male, after care- 
fully covering them, would take her place. I have observed him 
dive several times for leaves with which to cover the eggs. 
Whether the female removed the covering I am unable to say; 
her mate certainly incubated the eggs while covered up. 

Incubation commenced at once. Thus on April 13th, 1888, 
the first egg was laid, and on that day I observed the female 
sitting. On May 21st, I saw one or more young; but as I had 
been absent from home, the one I actually saw may have been 
hatched some time; from its small size it could not have been 
more than a week old. According to this, incubation probably — 
lasts twenty-eight days or thirty-five at the outside. - 

The young was at first assiduously cared for by both parents, 
but after it was half-grown, the old male ceased to pay it any 
attention, frequented another part of the water, and was often 
absent altogether. For some time after it was hatched, the 
favourite seat of the little bird was its mother’s back, usually 
partially concealed by her scapulars, not unfrequently quite 
exposed to view. When ‘rather more than three parts grown 
it used to catch fish for itself. The old Grebes would always 
shake the fish carefully before presenting it to the young, and I 
have seen the latter decline to take it until it had been shaken a 
hitle more. But with old or young Grebes, the direction, 
“before taken to be well shaken,” seems to be carefully followed. 


ON THE HABITS OF THE GREAT CRESTED GREBE. 21 


Although these Grebes incubated two eggs (having laid three) in 

1887, and three (out of four) in 1888, they only succeeded 
in rearing one young bird each year. ‘The presence in the 
pool of a number of large pike probably accounts for their 
ill success in this respect. The Great Crested Grebe has a 
variety of notes; one of these, the alarm-note as I think, 
which is most frequently uttered at dusk, is rather crow-like, 
and, to my ear, is well syllabled by Mr. Seebohm as “ croix.” 
Before incubation, the birds constantly utter a monotonous 
eall-note, which resembles “kek,” or “chek”; this note is 
sometimes repeated at the nest very rapidly and loudly, so that 
it then becomes a chatter analogous to the ery of the Dabchick. 
Lastly, there is the sonorous love-note of the male, which is, 
I think, an amplification of the note “ croix ;” and which, to my 
ear, resembles the syllables, “Gaw-oo-oorr,” pronounced while 
drawing in the breath, and’ with the final R well rattled. In 
uttering this peculiar cry the Grebe erects his crest and tippet, 
and inflates his cesophagus, presenting to human eyes a very 
ludicrous appearance. I believe that this note is confined to the 
male bird. The young bird utters a plaintive, cheeping note. 

No bird of my acquaintance preens itself so assiduously and 
frequently as the Great Crested Grebe, and this even when 
incubation is not going on.* I have often wondered whether this 
habit is to be attributed to personal vanity or to the presence of 
parasites. Sitting upon a wet nest is, of course, a very dirtying 
occupation, and it is amusing to watch the bird after a spell 
of it, lie on its side, in order better to preen the feathers that 
have been spoiled by the nest, and turn slowly round like a 
teetotum on the axis of the leg which remains in the water. The 
head and upper neck are kept in order by the feet, towards 
which they are bent backward along the centre of the back, the 
tarsus being turned upward, apparently over the back in a 
furward direction. Sometimes this bird gives its leg an inde- 
scribable flourish along or over the back, and almost at right 


* We have several times found in the stomachs of Grebes which we have 
dissected (i.e. in P. cristatus, rubricollis, and auritus) agglutinated oval 
masses of their own feathers, evidently swallowed during the process of 
preening, and similar to the well-known pellets ejected by hawks and 
owls. These, in all probability, would have been cast up in due time had 
the birds not been shot.—Ep. 


Q2 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


angles to the line of the body, a feat which it Seen an acrobat 
to explain. 

These Grebes appear to rest a good deal during the day- 
time, either tucking their heads away in the scapular feathers, 
or inserting them up to the forehead in the feathers of the upper 
breast. While they are thus resting, a strong breeze will often 
bring them close in to the banks. The colour of their backs is 
wonderfully protective, and when there is a ripple, the birds are 
almost invisible, unless a glimpse is caught of their white satin 
breasts. 

The Great Crested Grebe is one of the most ornamental of 
water-fowl; and also, what so many gaily-coloured ducks are not, 
a most interesting and amusing bird to watch. At the same time, 
although three fish running is the most I have seen them take, 
one would rather be excused from having a pair on a pond 
which contained yearling trout, or other valuable fish of small 
size. 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


Natural History Notes on Board Ship.—On my recent voyage home 
from America, in the White Star Liner ‘ Gerrnanic,’ an unusual number of 
small land birds came on board. The weather was cold, the average 
temperature of the day being only 454 degrees, or no less than 25 degrees 
colder than on the corresponding day last year, and there was a strong 
north-west wind blowing. On the 10th of October we left the wharf at 
8.30 a.m. It was fine and elear, but rather cold, with a light westerly 
breeze. We were out of sight of land soon after noon. There were no 
sea-birds of any kind to be seen. A Cedar Waxwing, Ampelis cedrorwn, 
and an English Sparrow were flying about the vesscl till dark. Whilst the 
sun was strong, an Archippus: butterfly, Danais drchippus, was sailing 
lazily about the deek, cleverly avoiding its would-be captors ; it was bright 
and fresh, and apparently not long evolved. This butterfly is a strong 
flyer, and may often be seen soaring about in the air, a hundred feet from 
the ground, even in the midst of violent rain-storms, in California im winter. 
No doubt it has often been introduced to Europe by the agency of the 
mail steamers. Next day, the 11th, there were hundreds of small birds. 
round the vessel. The air seemed full of them, and they appeared flying 
to the vessel from all quarters. I distinguished amongst them the Golden- 
crested Wren, Regulus satrapa, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Dendra@ca coro- 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 23 


nata, and Snow Bird, Juneus hiemalis, in numbers; and several Yellow 
Warblers, Dendraca estiva, and White-throated Crested Sparrows, Zono- 
trichia albicollis. There was also one Carolina Nuthatch, Sitta Carolinensis, 
climbing about the boats; a large entirely brown Grosbeak ; and a black 
and orange Warbler like Dendreca Blackburnia. Many of these birds 
were s0 tame that they pitched fearlessly on the heads and shoulders of the 
passengers on deck ; they seemed almost perishing with cold and hunger. 
The only sea-birds seen were a Petrel and a Gull. At noon we were 
378 miles from Sandy Hook. The wind was north to north-west, and the 
weather was fine and clear in the early morning but cloudy afterwards, the 
breeze freshening in the evening. On the 12th only one or two birds were 
about the vessel. One, I think, was a Liurus auricapillus. At noon we 
were 734 miles from Sandy Hook, in lat. 42° 27’ N. and long. 58° 04’ W. 
After this no more land-birds and extremely few sea-birds were observed 
till we reached Queenstown, on the morning of the 18th, when we were 
soon surrounded by the usual crowd of Kittiwakes, aud Black-headed, 
Common, and Herring Gulls. At this place, on the 23rd of February last, 
on the outward voyage, I saw two individuals of the Little Gull hovering 
about the screw-steamer ‘ Republic,’ with the other commoner species. 
The first Dolphins seen on the voyage home were about 300 miles from 
Treland.—W. 8. M. D’Ursan (10, Claremont Terrace, Exmouth). 


MAMMALIA. 


Badgers and Otters in Surrey.—In the last week of October the 
“ Old Surrey ” hounds ran into, and unfortunately killed, before it could be 
rescued from them, a full-grown Badger. Ockley Wood, the scene of this 
catastrophe, used in former days to be a favourite resort for Badgers, and 
the older residents have many stories of moonlight Badger-hunts there, as 
well as of Badger-baitings in the neighbourhood. In a house near here there 
is a stuffed white Budger which was killed forty years ago in Ockley Wood. 
I hardly think that the animal lately killed by the hounds could have been 
a descendant of the former inhabitants of the wood, as the last few years 
have seen the springing up of so many houses in the neighbourhood as to 
render it unlikely for the Badger to have remained with us. It may have 
been a wauderer from a distant and less inhabited part of the county, or it 
may have been one recenily turned down. In the spring of this year a 
half-grown male Badger was trapped in Gatton Park, but this was thought 
to have strayed from a neighbouring park where a pair (one of which was 
afterwards found dead) had been turned out. ‘The animal lately killed, 
being full grown in October, could not, I suppose, have been the same 
animal which weighed 15 Ibs. (I weighed it myself) in April. About four 
years ago a male Otter met with his death at Betchworth, about four 
miles from here, by being run over by a train: the body of this Otter, 


24 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


frightfully mangled, was brought for sale to a local bird-stufer, who 
purchased it and set it up ; its weight was 28 lbs.—Ii. P. Laruen (Gatton 
Tower, Reigate). 


The Acclimatisation of Red-deer in New Zealand.—Judging by 
the distance Englishmen travel to obtain sport, I think it would be worth 
while to draw the attention of sportsmen to the New Zealand Red-deer, 
now thoroughly acclimatised on the Nelson Hills—indeed, so numerous, 
that an epen season is annually prochiimed by the Acclimatisation Society— 
this year extending from February 18ib to the end of March—free to alk 
on payment of a license fee of £1. By way of explanation, I may mention 
that to the north and east of Nelson, a wide area of bush-fern and grass- 
hills extend for some forty miles in either direction; these conta many 
open valleys, giades, perpetual streams, and several small rivers. This wide 
track is now stocked with deer, and Jately has been made more accessible 
by a good coaeh-road, which passes one or more village settlements, where 
comfortable accommodation can be obtained. Here, in the loveliest and 
most invigorating of weather—the end of the New Zealand summer and the 
commencement of autumn—the sportsman can stalk deer to his heart's 
content, thoroughly enjoy life, live with comfort im a cotton tent, and eat, 
if so disposed the products of his gun. ‘The history of the Nelson deer does 
not extend far back. Somewhere about 1830 the Hon. Mr. Peters—then 
a Nelson settler—presented a pair to the province. These were turned out 
in an adjoining valley which forms the source of the river passing through 
the town, and called, like the valley, the Maitai. Here for some time they 
remained undisturbed until a too-keen sportsman, evidently intent on again 
tasting venison, cruelly stalked one, leaving the survivor unmated. His 
Royal Highness Prince Albert, hearing of the matter, kindly sent out a 
second pair. These were turned out in the same valley, and within a few 
years had increased and multiplied so that travellers reported seeing young 
deer. This was eveutually corroborated in the most indisputable way, by 
predatory visits from herds of deer into the adjacent gardens, and causing 
no small diseomfiture to the owners. With their rapid increase and con- 
stantly renewed depredations, the settlers commenced driving them back, 
aud so persistently, that they were eyentually distributed over an area 
equal in extent to the half of Seotland, now offering good sport for more 
guns than are likely to be brought to New Zealand in the present century. 
The deer are not only numerous, but large in size, often weighing, when 
cleaned, 4cwt. One of my sons shot his first stag, which drew the scale 
at d¢ewt.—H. B. Huppieston, C.E. (Blenheim, Marlborough, N. Z.). 


BIRDS. 


Food of the Manx Shearwater.— With reference to Mr. H. A. 
Macpherson’s note (Zool. 1888, p. 470), I should like to say that if, how- 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 25 


ever unintentionally, I drew an inference from his words which was likely 
to mislead, I much regret it. What I wished to express was the opinion 
that his observations as worded in his article (pp. 373, 374) did not, as he 
claimed, suffice to establish as a fact that the Manx Shearwater feeds largely 
on shoals of fish. As to the power of the bill in this species, I would ask 
whether the Manx Shearwater is known to burrow, as does the Sand Martin, 
in strata harder than loose dry soil or vegetable mould, and, if this be so, 
whether it follows that the bill is strong quoad grasping struggling fish? In 
Mr. Warren's interesting and conclusive note (tom. cit. p- 470) there is one 
point which perhaps he would kindly clear up. I refer to the possibility 
that the sprats disgorged by his Shearwater may, as well as the entrails, 
have been thrown from one of the fishing-boats to which he alludes, and 
thereby have become offal, as I understand the word. It is remarkable that, 
_ with the thousands of fishes in the sea, the hundreds of Manx Shearwaters 
flying, as they must do, within a few feet of them, and the scores of human 
eyes which have watched with keen attention the movements of these birds, 
no one seems to have seen, or recorded that he has seen, a Manx Shear- 
water actually catch and swallow a fish.—C. R.-Gawen (Chetwynd Park, 
Newport, Salop). 

Little Gull in Glamorganshire.—I am glad to report another 
addition to the avifauna of this county, 7. é. the Little Gull, Larus minutus, 
an example of which was shot, on the 80th November last, near the Low 
Water Pier, at Cardiff. Mr. Storrie, the Curator of the Cardiff Museum, 
who informed me of the occurrence, states that it was one of a small flock 
of eight which had been seen about Penarth as well as near the pier- 
head at Cardiff. The example obtained is a male in full plumage, and 
Mr. Storrie has succeeded in securing it for the Cardiff Museum.—Drapy 
8. W. Nicuort (The Ham, Cowbridge). 


The Diving Powers of Gannets.—Can any of your readers furnish 
me with a few reliable particulars of the depth to which Gannets dive 
for their food? In Thompson's ‘ Natural History of Ireland’ are some 
¢xtraordinary accounts of the depth from which Gannets have been brought 
up in nets. He states that Gannets are « very commonly ” caught in 
nets sunk from “nine to twenty, but sometimes to the depth of thirty 
fathoms (not feet !), just as the fish (herrings) are lying.” He also mentions 
that one hundred and twenty-eight Gannets were caught in one net, and 
such was the buoyancy of their numbers that they raised the net, with its 
“sinkers and fish,” to the surface. Does the Gannet dive obliquely or 
perpendicularly ? Thompson states that “intelligent” fishermen regulate 
the depth of their nets according to the height from which they see the 
Gannets diving. Does the bird scize only one fish in its dive, or does it 
follow up the fish in the water and take several before coming to the 
surface ?—J. L. Cotrison-Moncey. 


26 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Nesting Habits of the Black-eyebrowed and Wandering Alba- 
trosses.— The following particulars, forwarded by Mr.J. L. Collison-Morley, 
are extracted from an account sent to the ‘ Southland Times’ of New Zealand 
by Mr. W. Dougall. Every six months the New Zealand Government send 
a steamer to the following uninhabited South Pacific Tslands,— Stewart, 
Snares, Auckland, Campbell, Antipodes, and Bounty Islands, the last-named 
415 miles south-east of New Zealand,—to overhaul and replenish food 
depéts maintained for those who may unfortunately be shipwrecked upon 
them, and the observations given below were made by Mr. W. Dougall when 
accompanying one of these trips, chiefly to take photographs on these 
islands :—* Returning to Monumental Head (Auckland Island), we picked 
up our hunters, laden with Albatrosses (Diomedea melanophrys and 
D. exulans), living and dead, and Albatross eggs in abundance. I ascended 
one of the highest hills, Mount Honey, 1866 feet (Campbell Island), amidst 
hundreds of nests of the Wandering Albatross, Diomedea exulans, surrounded 
by tussocks, ferns and ti-tree scrub. We came on the first Albatross at 
about 800 feet above sea-level, and after reaching the crown of the hill, 
1000 feet, they were sitting on their nests, and flying about close to the 
ground in hundreds. Apparently the Albatross lays but one egg each year, 
but one of the parties found two nests containing two eggs each. It was 
suggested that this was only a freak of nature, although it is known that 
the Gannet of New Zealand lays two eggs. All up the sides of the hills 
wild parsley was growing luxuriantly, often two feet high, while everlasting 
daisies clothed the ground like a carpet. The cotton-wood plant, in full 
bloom, was also plentiful. As the top—-1866 feet—is reached, variety of 
vegetation ends, and travelling becomes easier, as there is no growth to 
impede progress, but diminutive tussocks, among which are the Albatross- 
nests and their tenants. These nests are built up of moss and earth about 
four inches above the surface of the ground. ‘The material to form the 
nest is so taken from the soil as to leave a trench all round it, and this 
keeps things dry for the important object in view. The female never 
leaves the nest during incubation, a period of about sixty days, and is fed 
by her mate, who hunts for food for both. If by chance the nest is left 
unguarded for a moment, the egg is pounced upon by the Sea-hawk 
(Lestris), which is here in thousands. The Albatross is a stupid bird; it 
will sit, whether hatching or not, till you kick it over with your foot. 
Nevertheless it will resent such liberties, aud should it succeed in getting a 
hold, it will take the piece out of trousers, hose, and skin. The best way to 
catch one is to make a feint at its head with the left hand, which distracts 
the bird’s attention, and then quickly seize it by the bill with the right; 
but be sure you got the grip, for they turn very quickly, and would snap 
your fingers off if they get a proper hold. They build on the flat plateau of 
the hills, and, so far as we have seen, never lower down than 700 feet from 


NOTES AND QUERIES. Q7 


sea-level. The hatching was much farther advanced than at the Auckland 
Islands. On January 3lst the day broke beautifully, and the bay was like 
a mirror, but the glass was still low. As the day advanced, we were 
enveloped for half-an-hour in one of those dense mists characteristic of this 
part of the world, and when it passed, the hills were covered with snow. 
The height of the island (Antipodes) is marked on the chart at 600 feet; 
but this is an error, as the principal hill, Mount Galloway, is 1200 feet 
above the sea level. From seaward this hill looks conical or dome-shaped, 
but on reaching the summit a beautiful clear lake, covering an area of 
thirteen or fourteen acres, is found—a lake which, a little later in the season 
than the time of our visit, is much frequented by the Albatross, being 
virtually surrounded by thousands of their nests. We moved on north- 
wards (Stewart Island), and came on a perfect cemetery of dead Penguins 
lying rotting amidst black sand—thousands upon thousands—evidently 
cut off by some epidemic.” 


Birds in the London Parks.—It is a pleasure to be able to report 
the increase of any wild bird in the London Parks, as has been done by 
Mr. W. H. Tuck in ‘The Zoologist’ for October last (p. 389). I can 
corroborate his remarks regarding the Wood Pigeon in several particulars. 
I noticed the coming of the first pair some five years ago, and have watched 
their gradual increase up to the present year, when about ten pairs must 
have bred. One pair had two nests in an elm tree in St. James’s Park, 
close to Birdcage Walk. The first pair that came to town made their nest 
in Buckingham Palace Gardens, in a chestnut tree overhanging Grosvenor 
Road. I have often seen from forty to fifty feeding on the lawn to the 
north of Rotten Row; but I was both astonished and delighted one day to 
count no less than sixty on the ground at one time. Since then the 
bulk have gone out of town for the winter, but a few may be seen about, 
more particularly im St.James’s Park. Let us hope that their immunity from 
danger in London may not be followed by their destruction in the country, 
and that they may return in the spring to breed again in the Metropolis. 
On the other haud, Iam sorry to have to report the decrease or disappearance 
of other interesting species. In the first place, the Rook—so common twenty 
years ago in the West End of London—is now all but extinct. I remember 
three rookeries in Kensington Gardens, one in Hyde Park, small ones in 
Mayfair and Marylebone Road, and a substantial one in Holland Park, 
all of which are now things of the past. The only rookery I was able to find 
im the West End last summer was one consisting of five nests in Stanhope 


_ Place; only one of the five pairs, I believe, succeeded in rearing a brood. 


This is to be regretted ; but the total disappearance of a colony of Martins 
which had defied the interruptions of the house-painters for many years past 
at the south end of Westbourne Terrace is equally to be deplored. Last, 
but not least, is to be noted the absence—for the first time during twenty- 


28 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


six years of almost daily acquaintance with Hyde Park and Kensington 
Gardens—of the Spotted Flycatcher. This bird has bred, I believe, in 
this neighbourhood every year, and in 1887 I saw a pair feeding their young 
in Cleveland Gardens, Hyde Park; but last summer I did not observe a 
single one. It is much to be regretted that more attention is not paid to 
the subject of attracting birds, in the mode of planting our public parks and 
gardens. TI have no hesitation in saying that with the exercise of a little 
judgment and trouble, many pleasing songsters, such as the Nightingale, 
Blackcap, Whitethroat, and others which visit us on migration, might easily 
be induced to spend the summer in the parks. Some years ago a laurel 
plantation was made in Kensington Gardens, and during the summer 
the song of the Blackcap was always to be heard there; but the laurels 
disappeared one day, and I have not heard it since. A good nut-grove by 
the side of the Long Water would, I am quite sure, soon attract a pair of 
Nightingales ; and what would be more delightful to Londoners than to sit 
and listen to the prince of songsters! The Lesser Whitethroat has on 
several occasions frequented Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park; and 
were suitable places available, the Common Whitethroat would sojourn 
here, as would also the Chiffchaff, Willov Wren, Wood Wren, and many 
other birds of like interest.—J. Youne (64, Hereford Road, Bayswater). 


Rare Birds in the Isle of Wight.—lI have to record the shooting, 
early in November, of a Greylag Goose, out of a flock of twelve that were 
met with on the coast near Blackgang. ‘This species has not before been 
met with in the island. A Quail was shot in the Undercliff in November; 
whether any of these birds winter here is doubtful. Mr. Smith, the bird- 
stuffer, of Newport, informs me that he saw in June last a Blue-throated 
Warbler. This is the fifth recorded appearance of this rare bird in the 
island: two were observed, as announced at the time, at Bonchurch; one, 
an old male in perfect plumage and in full song; the other a young bird, 
the breast only partially blue; the third was seen at Shanklin; the fourth 
was shot at Steephill. Both this bird and the Hoopoe (which is to be met 
with here in most years) might probably breed in the Undercliff, if protected. 
Both Swallows and Martins are decreasing year by year, and few of either 
species now nest here; nor were many observed last summer in the North 
of England or in Wales. The Starling, now a common bird, was rarely 
met with sixty years ago in the Undercliff. Iam informed by Mr. Henry 
Nogers, of Freshwater, that the following species have been procured there 
last autumn :—Pallas’s Sand Grouse, Black Guillemot, Bulwer’s Petrel, 
Glaucous Gull, Little Tern, and Sandwich Tern. Mr. Smith, of Newport, 
informs me that he has received the following birds for preservation :—On 
Jan. 14th, 1887, a Bohemian Waxwing; on the 18th, a Hawfinch; and om 
March 3d, a Rook, which, strange to say, is new to the island fauna; on 
April 26th, a Pied Flycatcher, and on the 30th another, bird of the same 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 29 


species. A Thick-knee, Gidicnemus crepitans, on April 28th, and another 
on Nov. 7th; two Dotterels, Hudromias morinellus, were brought in on 
Sept. 11th—the first seen during the twenty-eight years he has carried on 
the business of a birdstuffer; on Oct. 27th, a Great Grey Shrike, a Raven, 
and a cream-coloured Blackbird were received.—Henry Havriep (Ventnor, 
Isle of Wight). 


Notes on Birds in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire.—A short time ago, 
hearing of some “ English wild Canaries” at a birdstuffer’s at Saffron 
Walden, I went to see what they might be, and here give a description of 
them. One, which was living in a cage with some Redpolls and a Twite, 
looked almost exactly like a hen Siskin, except that it had a very short and 
stout beak, almost like that of a Bullfinch. A light yellow stripe over the 
eye was very conspicuous. ‘This bird was caught near Saffron Walden. 
The others (there were two more) were stuffed, aud the owner told me that 
one of them was caught near J.ondon, and had been living in the Zoo. 
This was a much more gaily-coloured bird than the living one. The fore- 
head, throat, sides of neck just behind the auriculars, and breast being 
bright greenish yellow, with a few dark streaks on the flanks. The back 
was much greyer than a cuck Siskin’s, with dark streak down ceutre of each 
feather, getting yellowish gieen lower down, and tail-coverts the same 
colour as the back; top of head plain greyish green. I suppose they were 
cock and hen Serin Finch; but as I have never before seen a specimen of 
this bird, Iam not certain about them. In June last I went to the same 
shop to see some Sand Grouse. ‘The birdstuffer, Mr. Travis, had several 
in the flesh, two of which I saw weighed; the male was 114 oz., and the 
female 11 0z., aud they were both very fat. I cannot help thinking that, if 

they are not all killed, but are given a chance, until next breeding season, 
~ they will have become so far acclimatised that they will certainly breed. 
While staying in Norfolk for the partridge season, we were continually 
hearing of Sand Grouse in the neighbourhood, and many were shot on the 
sand-hills. But we did not come across them until October 24th, when we 
saw a large flock of them get up from a field of white turnips, which 
afforded very thin cover. We were out partridge-hawking with a cast of 
tiercels, and had just got a covey marked down, and were proceeding to 
put up one of the tiercels, when these Sand Grouse got up, very wild, about 
200 yards off. I should say that there were considerably over one hundred 
of them ; they flew very fast, and kept rising and falling in deep undulating 
curves, at oue time fifty feet up im the air, and anon shooting down and 
skimming close to the ground. They uttered a peculiar bubbling whistle. 
My friend Mr. T. J. Mann, with whom I was staying, had about this time 
acquired a pair alive, one of which was injured against telegraph wires, 
and the other was shot, one pellet grazing the top of its head and stunning 
it. There were three found at the same time under the telegraph-wires, 


30 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


one being killed, and the other dying the same day. I was told the 
one which was found dead had its crop crammed with wheat. Mr. Mann’s 
two birds were alive and well in November, the male bird in beautiful 
plumage; the female, unfortunately, has lost the use of one eye. They are 
fed on wheat, barley, hemp, millet, buckwheat, and turnip-seed. I have 
frequently heard these birds utter a very low clucking sort of a note. The 
cock bird is much tamer than the hen, which frequently rises and flies 
against the wire of their aviary on the too near approach of people. This 
I have never seen the cock bird do. One which I had recently sent to me 
in the flesh, had in its crop barley, wheat, and some seeds which I am not 
botanist enough to identify. The stomach was crammed with coarse grains 
of saud: this bird was very fat. Harking back to Mr. Travis’s shop, I saw 
there, also, a fine male Golden Oriole, which was obtained in the parish of 
Klndon. I heard that it was captured by some labourers who saw it 
striving to make headway against a strong wind. It was blown under the 
hedge, and they effected its capture. I saw, too, a good specimen of a 
Scops Owl, which was shot at Littlebury, in Essex, of which I read an 
iuteresting account in the ‘ Transactions of the Essex Field Club’ (1888, 
p- 111). While rook-hawking in Cambridgeshire in the spring we came 
ucross a Kestrel’s nest, or rather a Kestrel’s egg, in a wheat-stack. The 
egg was placed in a good-sized hole under the thatching of the stack. (Last 
year we heard that six eggs of a Kestrel were found on a stack in the same 
place, while it was being thrashed). It was disturbed or destroyed soon after 
we saw it, and the old birds (probably the same ones, at any rate) laid in an 
old Rook’s nest in a small clump of tall trees, about half a mile distant from 
the first site. I saw three fledged young ones outside the nest on June 
26th. This part of the country is very bare and devoid of trees, but there 
are trees and woods within a mile of the stacks in every direction; s0 it is 
curious that the hawks should have chosen so unusual a place as a stack 
in which to lay their eggs. Kestrels are not the only hawks which hover ; 
other hawks do so toa certain extent. A wild Peregrine-tiercel which we 
saw on several occasions in Norfolk, appeared one day over our garden, and 
there it hovered for a few seconds, exactly like a Kestrel. It was not more 
than about twenty yards from us, and we could plainly see its head, looking 
down and peering about on the ground underneath. Not many days after 
this I saw a wild Merlin hunting a Lark over the sand-hills. The hawk 
forced the lark to take the air until they were up a good height, the Lark 
ringing and the Merlin mounting much straighter, quickly flapping its 
wings the whole time. The Lark threw itself away very cleverly every 
time the Merlin stooped at it, and the Merlin never had any difficulty in 
gctting above its quarry again after every unsuccessful stoop. At last the 
Lark made great haste down to the saud-hills, aud, evading several more 
stoops of the Merlin, dropped like a stone among the long grass. The 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 31 


disappointed Merlin hoverel for several seconds a few feet above the grass, 
looking in vain for its hiding quarry, and then was fain to fly off to seek a 
meal elsewhere. We heard of a large hawk in the neighbourhood, which 
had been seen eating a wasp’s nest; this must evidently have been a 
Honey Buzzard. I saw the first Hooded Crow on October 38rd. Woodcocks 
seem to have come very sparingly to Norfolk this year; we heard of very 
few being about up to November; the wind during the greater part of 
October was more or less west, which may perhaps account for it. ‘There 
was also at that date a great dearth of Snipe. Partridges in North Norfolk, 
as in most other places, came to grief at hatching time, many of the 
old hens succumbing to the inclement weather with their chicks, The 
consequence of this was that the majority of the birds bagged were old 
cocks. Needless to say, they were very wild. On one occasion, while out 
shooting, we saw two Partridges get up a dozen yards apart, and, converging 
to the same spot, come into collision. One bird fell a couple of feet, but 
recovering itself flew off all right. The sound of the collision was plainly 
audible.-—G. K. Lopes (5, Verulam Buildings, Gray’s Inn). 


Golden Eagles in Co. Galway.— A large specimen of the Golden 
Eagle was killed by a gamekeeper of Mr. Mitchell Henry, Kylemore 
Castle, Co. Galway, during the month of October last. It measured seven 
feet three inches from tip to tip of expanded wings; three feet from tip of 
beak to end of tail; and wetghed twelve pounds and a half. A second,—a 
male bird,—forwarded from the same district during the secoud week of 
November, is a much smaller bird.—Epwarp WILLIAms (2, Dame Street, 
Dublin). 

[It is very much to be regretted that protection is not afforded to these 
grand birds. Eagles are now becoming so scarce that we should have 
thought most people would be delighted to give orders for their preservation 
in districts where they still breed.—Ep.] 


Rare Birds in Hants.—The gales of November last caused a great 
number of Geese and other wildfowl to take shelter in Christchurch 
Harbour. Amongst them were two birds of some interest. A curious 
variety of the Guillemot, Lomvia troile, which has all the upper plumage 
of a very pale isabelline, the primaries very light, legs and toes pale 
yellow; Dill light horn-colour. On the 10th of November, a male 
Osprey, Pandion haliaétus: length, 24 in.; alar extent, 5 ft. 62 in. One 
cannot but regret that this bird should have been killed, its visits not 
being so frequent as formerly. The examples procured are invariably killed 
in the early morning as they come from their roost to the water; always 
tuking the same course each day, the gunners soon know where to lie in 
wait. They either select the trees at High Cliff, or those on Ramsdown 
Hill as their roosting-place——Epwarp Harr (Christchurch). 


38 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Surf Scoter in Ireland.—Mr. George Dunleavy, light-keeper of the 
Fastnet Rock Lighthouse, shot a duck on Nov. 5th in Crookhaven Harbour, 
Co. Cork, and forwarded it to me. It proves to be a Surf Scoter, Gidemia 
perspicillata, and I think a young male; but as I have been unable to 
compare it with any skin or stuffed specimen, it is possible it may be a 
female. The sex was not ascertained by the birdstuffer. Only two 
specimens have previously been recorded from Ireland :—one, an adult 
male, Belfast Bay, September 9th, 1846 (Thompson, vol. iii. p. 118). 
Another (sex not given), Clontarf, Co. Dublin, October, 1880 (Payne- 
Gallwey, ‘Fowler in Ireland,’ p. 113). The distinguishing features of 
the head in the various Scoters is well shown in Baird, Brewer, and 
Ridgeway’s ‘ North-American Birds. —Ricuarp M. Barrineton (Fassaroe, 
Bray, Co. Wicklow). 


Nesting of the Hobby in Scotland.—Mr. Howard Saunders, in his 
‘I]lustrated Manual of British Birds,’ writing of the Hobby, states (p. 337) 
that “in Scotland it .... has never been known to nest.” On the 29th 
August, 1887, I saw at Kinnaird House,—a small shooting belonging to 
the Duke of Athole on the right bank of the Tay, and about half-way 
between Dunkeld and Grandtully,—nailed to the keeper’s “larder,” an 
unfortunate old Hobby and three young ones nearly full-grown and fledged, 
but with the down still hanging on their heads and backs. ‘The keeper 
told me he had got them that summer from a nest in a tree on the other 
side of the river, and on my remarking that they were not likely to kill his 
game, he answered he knew they fed chiefly on insects, but still they were 
“harks,” and that was enough for him. ‘There were also several Tawny 
Owls, a few Kestrels, a Sparrowhawk, and a Raven among these and other 
victims.—Epwarp Newton (Lowestoft). 


Rare Birds in Gloucester and Somerset.—Mr. Charbonnier, a natu- © 
ralist, who lives here, showed me recently the following birds, which had 
been sent to him for preservation:—A female Sand Grouse, which had 
been shot at Hambrook, in Gloucestershire, some time in the month of 
June last. I could not ascertain whether it had appeared alone or 
in company with others of its congeners. A Little Gull, procured at 
Clevedon about the end of Octuber or beginuing of November, in 
immature plumage, but in good condition. About the same time a 
female Hider Duck was shot on the reservoir of the Waterworks at 
Barrow, in Somersetshire, a few miles from hereex—Mancus S. C. Rickarps 
(12, West Mall, Clifton). 


Pectoral Sandpiper in Ireland. —A bird of this species (Zringa 
maculata, Vieillot) was obtained in the Dublin market in the middle of 
October last. Upon making enquiries, L was informed that it had been 


a a 


“aa yese”6Uh aw ee Oe 


fe eae 


- NOTES AND QUERIES. 33 


forwarded from Portumna along with a lot of Snipe. It was extremely fat, 
and in regard to weight differed considerably from that given in the last 
edition of Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds,’ for it almost turned the scales at 8 oz. 
It proved on dissection to be a male-—Epwarp Wittiams (2, Dame Street, 
Dublin). 


The Smew in Perthshire.—On the 20th November last a female 
Smew, Mergus albellus, was shot on one of the salmon-breeding ponds 
at Stormontfield, feasting on the young Salmon. It disgorged four 
about two inches long, and had in its stomach a number more or less 
digested. It is a rare bird in Perthshire, and its occurrence is therefore 
worth recording. I may also mention that a few Razorbills and Guillemots 
have made their appearance on the Tay in this neighbourhood; they are 
common on the estuary of the Tay, but seldom find their way so far 
inland.—Tuomas Marsaatt (The Store, Stanley). 


Roller at Rainham.—The recent occurrence of the Roller, Coracias 
garrula, one of our rarest continental visitors, is I think worth reporting. 
When first seen, on Nov. 8th, it was sitting upon the end of a mangold- 
wurzel clump, where my labourers were at work. As it appeared to be very 
weak, they gave chase over the hedge, and finally captured the bird alive 
on our Rainham Marsh. It was very thin in condition, dying soon after 
being caught, its death being probably hastened by the effects of a very cold 
day.— W. Prentis (Rainham), 

Solitary Snipe and Sabine’s Snipe in Ireland.—The second specimen 
of the Solitary Snipe, Gallinago major, which has come under my notice 
was shot by Mr. W. H. Reese, of Glenerd, Co. Galway, on October 12th. 
The so-called “ Solitary Snipes” that sportsmen meet with in Ireland are 
generally very large individuals of the common bird. I have received at 
least a dozen, forwarded for preservation under the belief that they were 
the rarer species. A good specimen of Sabine’s Snipe—now generally 
regarded as a variety of the Common Snipe —was obtained by Mr. J. Law, 
of Burt House, Londonderry, in September last. In this bird, as in several 
others of the same variety which have passed through my hands, the dark 
marks are continued right across the under parts, which are always white 
in the Common Snipe.—Epwarp Wituiams (2, Dame Street, Dublin). 


Night Heron in Lincolnshire.—A specimen of the Night Heron, 


Nycticorax griseus, in immature plumage, was shot on November 26th on 


the foreshore at Tetney, by one of the wild-fowlers who was engaged in 
plover-netting. The bird measured twenty-four inches in length; wing, 
twelve inches. The irides were bright red, bare skin round the eyes 


_ greenish yellow, and legs and feet green, with a shade of yellow. When 


first flushed it only flew a short distance and settled again.—G. H. Caron 


- Hatcn (Grainsby Hall, Great Grimsby). 


ZOOLOGIST.—JAN. 1889, D 


34 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


An unrecorded Squacco Heron.—The Squacco Heron, Ardea ral- 
loides, occurs so rarely in this country that every visit is of interest, 
especially to those who are working out the avifauna of their county. On 
writing to Sir Percy F. Shelley, asking him for particulars of one that was 
formerly in the collection of the late Mr. Berkley, he very kindly replied as 
follows :—‘ The bird you have I gave to Mr. Berkley. It was shot by my 
keeper at the Warnham Ponds, Sussex, about two miles from Horsham, 
on the hottest day of a very hot summer, 1819. In its stomach were 
fourteen small roach (without their heads, however); the Warnham Ponds 
are full of these fish..—Hpwarp Harr (Christchurch). 


Crane near Colchester—On November 9th a Crane, Grus cinerea, 
was shot in a field at Elmstead, near Colchester, and has now come into 
my possession. It appears to be a bird of the year, as its wing-feathers 
(tertiaries) are not fully developed. Its rarity, and its being probably the 
first known to have been captured in Essex, makes it worth recording in ‘ The 
Zoologist. —Henry Laver (Head Street, Colchester). 


The Avocet in North Devon.—On a recent visit to Mr. Rowe, 
taxidermist, of this town, I saw a female specimen of the Avocet, 
Recurvirostra avocetta, which was killed near the mouth of the river Taw, 
on Nov. 18th. This bird, I believe, is now very rare in the British Islands, 
and more particularly in the south-west of England. Perhaps the fact of 
one being killed so recently is worth recording, and will interest many of 
your readers.—J. G. Hamine (The Close, Barnstaple). 

[Another was shot in the same estuary the following day, and was taken 
for preservation to Mr. Frayne, taxidermist, of Barnstaple. A fortnight 
previously two Avocets were shot at Exmouth.—Ep.] 


Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Co. Clare.—A beautiful: adult male of this 
species was exposed for sale in the Dublin market during the second week 
of November last. It was shot in the Co. Clare, and £2 10s. was asked 
for it.—Epwarp Wit1tAms (2, Dame Street, Dublin). 


Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Lincolnshire.—Since the publication of my 
notes (Zool, 1888, p. 419) on the Sand Grouse in this county I have met 
with two occurrences of more recent date:—October 23rd. A flock of 
twenty, recorded in ‘The Field’ of Oct. 27th by Mr. ‘I. W. Harrison, 
was seen in the parish of Goxhill, near the Humber, and one was shot. 
Nov. 8th. A flock of forty seen at Grainthorpe, near the sea-coast, by the 
son of Mr. Stubbs, the wildfowl shooter—Joun Corpgaux (Great Cotes, 
Ulzeby). 

Fulmar and Spotted Redshank in Co. Sligo.—On the 5th of October 
Jast, when walking along the Enniscrone Sands, I found a Fulmar Petrel 
thrown up by the surf at high-water mark ; it was perfectly fresh and in fine 


— -— + 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 35 


plumage. I picked it up on the same part of the sands where I have 
previously found several others, the tides affected by high northerly gales 
bringing the water-logged birds ashore. On October 20th, when in my 
shooting punt, I came across a Spotted Redshank on the Scurmore Strand, 
but, not distinguishing it in time from the Common Redshanks about, I 
lost my chance of shooting it before it made off—Robert WarREN (Moy- 
view, Ballina). 


Unusual site for a Sedge Warbler’s Nest.—A case of the Sedge 
Warbler, Acrocephalus phragmitis, building at a height from the ground 
came under my observation last June. The nest was supported between 
the stem and one or two boughs of a young larch in a plantation of the 
same trees, and was placed at between seven and eight feet from the 
ground, or about three-quarters up the tree. There were five eggs, which 
were hatched off safely—L. W. Wicieswortu (Castlethorpe, Bucks). 


Materials in Nest of Hooded Crow.—Although I often see mention 
of curious nesting-places, I do not think many observers send notes of 
strange materials used in the construction of nests. I have looked through 
‘The Zoologist’ for the last eleven years, and can only fiud a short note on 
this subject by Mr. Booth (Zool. 1887, p. 389), in which he describes the 
materials he has found in Cormorants’ nests—such odd things as “ children’s 
whips and spades, a gentleman’s light cane, and part of the handle of a 
parasol, all of which (he supposes) the birds had picked up floating at sea.” 
Let me tell you of a Hooded Crow’s nest which was built not far from here 
last year (1887), aid which was found to contain bits of blue china, glass, 
a few small stones, and a very old half-crown! Could the birds have 
appropriated a Magpie’s old nest, after first dismantling the outworks ? 
Or, do Hooded Crows occasionally follow the bad example of the J ackdaw 
of Rheims ?—Wixtiaw W. Fiemyne (Clonegam Rectory, Portlaw, County 
Waterford). 


A White Snipe.—A white Snipe was shot at Throphile, on this estate, 
in September. The colour is not dead-white, but a very pale grey, on 
which the dark bars and markings are visible. This bird is in the pos- 
session of Col. Osbaldeston Mitford. I send the dimensions in case this 
specimen may be a variety :—Length, bill to tail, ten inches, of which the 
bill is two inches and seven-tenths; tarsus, one inch and three-tenths.— 
E. L. Mirrorp (Mitford Hall, Morpeth). 


Ring Ouzel breeding in Orkney.—In the useful ‘ Manual of British 
Birds,’ by Mr. Howard Saunders, which Messrs. Gurney and Jackson are 
now publishing in parts, it is stated (p. 15) with regard to the Ring Ouzel, 
Turdus torquatus, that it breeds “ in the greater part of Scotland, including 
most of the islands which present suitable features, eacept the Orkneys and 
Shetlands, to which it is comparatively a rare visitor.” In former years I 


36 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


was well acquainted with the birds of Orkney, more especially with those 
of the parish of Harray on the mainland (or Pomona, as it is called by 
geographers, but not by Orcadians). This parish is separated from the sea 
by hills almost all round. The Ring Ouzel, though not so often seen in the 
more level portions of the parish, was not rare in the glens or dales amongst 
the hills; and in one of these glens I once found a nest with four eggs, one 
of which I took, and still have in my possession as a proof that this bird 
does breed in Orkuey.—J. W. H. Traix (71, High Street, Old Aberdeen). 


FISHES. 


Food of the Haddock.—In the stomach of a Haddock recently pur- 
chased alive at Hartlepool, were found fourteen young whiting, from four 
to five inches long, and a small crab, with hard carapace, about one inch in 
diameter, all quite fresh and digestion barely commencing, The Haddock 
was seventeen inches long, and weighed, when gutted, twenty-six ounces. 
The weight of the young fry and crab was six and a half ounces, or almost 
one quarter of the weight of the fish. 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 


Linnean Society or Lonpon. 


December 6, 1888.—W. CarrutueEns, F.R.S., President, in the chair. 

The following were elected Fellows:—H. E. D’Alton, of Victoria; 
P. Goyen, of Otago, N. Z.; G. A. Grierson, Lecturer in Botany, Sheffield 
School of Pharmacy; Maurice Holtze, Superintendent Botanic Garden, 
Port Darwin; R. W. Hullett, Singapore; J.C. Lisboa, M.D., Fellow 
Bombay University; J. H. Lace, Forest Department of India; Professor 
J. B. L. Mackay, Director School of Mines, Sandhurst, Australia; E. W. 
Mayhew, Freemantle, W. Australia; Digby S. W. Nicholl, Cowbridge, 
Glamorganshire; D. T. Playfair, M.D.; D. Prain, M.B ; Clement Reid, 
F.G.S.; A. B. Rendle, B.A., B.Sc.; and Peter Yates, M.D. 

Mr. W. H. Beeby exhibited, and made some remarks on, specimens of 
Valeriana mikanii and sambucifolia, and a series of Potamogeton fluitans. 

Mr. F. W. Oliver described the nature and growth of leaf emergences 
in Eriospermum folioliferum. 

Mr. E. M. Holmes exhibited specimens of a new assafcetida plant, 
Ferula fetidissimna, and a monstrosity of Zea mays. 

Mr. J. G. Baker exhibited a curious varicty of Vicia sepiwn found in 
North Yorkshire. 


— Pp -:;. SS 


Add dee 


th Dine 


—— 


oy 


hha’ Y tam 
. 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 37 


Mr.T. Christy exhibited specimens of an undetermined species of Echium 
received from Persia, and employed medicinally as a good alterative. 

The first paper read was ove by Dr. Costerus on malformations in 
Fuchsia globosa, upon which Prof. Bower offered some critical remarks. 

The next paper was by Mr. B. T. Lowne, who gave an admirable 
demonstration of the mode of development of the egg and blastoderm of the 
Blow-fly. His conclusions were criticised by Prof. Stewart, Prof. Howes, 
and Mr. A. R. Hammond. 

In continuation of the Reports on the collection made by Mr. Ridley 
in Fernando Noronha, a paper was read, on behalf of Mr. Boulenger, 
enumerating the Fishes and Reptiles which had been identified by him. 

The meeting then adjourned until Dec. 20th. 


ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF Lonpon. 


November 20, 1888.—Prof. Ftower, C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., 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, September, 
and October, 1888, and called attention to the acquisition of three specimens 
of Pallas’s Sand Grouse, Syrrhaptes paradoxus, captured in Scotland. 

A letter wss read from Prof. J. B. Steere, giving a preliminary account 
of the “'Tamaron,” a Bovine animal found in the island of Mindoro, 
Philippines, which he believed to be allied to the Anoa of Celebes. 

Mr. Edgar Thurston exhibited, and made remarks upon, a collection of 
corals from the Gulf of Manar, Madras Presidency. 

Mr. H. Seebohm exhibited, and made remarks on, a specimen of a 
new species of Pheasant, Phasianus tarimensis, obtained by General 
Prejevalsky at Lob Nor, Central Asia. Mr. Seebohm also exhibited a 
specimen of a species of Plover new to the British Islands, Vanellus gre- 
garius, which had been shot in Lancashire about twenty-five years ago, and 
had been previously supposed to be a Cream-coloured Courser. [See Zool. 
1888, p. 389.] 

Mr. J. W. Hulke read a paper on the skeletal anatomy of the Mesosu- 
chian Crocodiles, based on fossil remains from the clays near Peterborough, 
in the collection of Mr. A. Leids, of Kyebury. 

Mr. Oldfield Thomas read a paper on a collection of small Mammals 
obtained by Mr. William Taylor in Duval County, South Texas. ‘Ihe 


collection contained examples of one new species and a new geographical 


variety, besides adding no less than six species to the National Collection 


_ of Mammalia. 


A communication was read from M. L. Taczanowski, containing a 
supplementary list of the birds collected in Corea by Mr. Jean Kalinowski. 


38 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Dec. 4.—Prof. FiowrEr, C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., President, in the chair. 

Mr. Howard Saunders exhibited, and made remarks on, au adult male 
of the American Green-winged Teal, Querquedula carolinensis, shot in 
Devonshire in November, 1879. [This bird was noticed at the time in 
‘The Zoologist’ (1880, p. 70), where, on the same page, another is 
mentioned which was shot forty years previously, at Hurstbourne Park, 
Hants.— Ep. ] 

Mr. Oldfield Thomas gave an account of the Mammals obtained by 
Mr. C. M. Woodford during his second expedit‘on to the Solomon Islands. 
The total number of species now known from the Solomons was twenty-two, 
of which no less than eight had been discovered by Mr. Woodford. There 
were also two new genera of Bats to be added to the one previously described. 

Mr. F. E. Beddard read a paper upon the genus Clitellio, which had been 
recently investigated by him at the Marine Biological Station at Plymouth. 
‘he paper contained an account of the anatomy of two species, Clitellio 
arenarius and C. ater ; the most important fact referred to was the presence 
of an oviduct, which had only lately been found in the Tubificide (in the 
genus Psammoryctis). ‘The paper also contained some remarks upon the 
synonymy of the two species, particularly of C. ater, which was probably 
identical with d’'Udekem’s Tubifex benedii and with Zeuger’s Peloryctis 
inquilina. It was also pointed out that C. ater is not congeneric with 
C. arenarius, but probably belongs to Eisen’s genus Hemitubifex. 

Prof. Howes and Mr. Davies read a paper on the distribution and 
morphology of the supernumerary phalanges in the Anurous Batrachians, 
The authors described for the first time the primary mode of development 
of asupernumerary phalanx. They concluded that the same is in the Anura 
identical with the interphalangeal syndesmoses, and that the syndesmoses 
and phalanges are derivatives of a common blastema. In its fully differen- 
tiated condition the structure in question was shown to be functional in 
receiving the direct thrust under the weight of the falling body in saltation ; 
all the variations in structure being readily intelligible on that view. The 
authors discussed the bearings of the facts upon classification and upon the 
broader question of the morphology of supernumerary phalanges in general. 
They showed that the facts of development indicated a probable intercalary 
origin of the latter from the inter-articular syndesmoses; and that the 
numerical increase of the phalanges in the Cetacea may have been associated 
with the loss of ungues, somewhat similarly to the way in which the 
multiplication of segments of the cartilaginous rays in the paired fins of 
the Batoidei would appear to have been connected with the disappearance 
of horny fin-rays. The authors also showed that the Discoglossid@ alone 
among the Anura retained for life the undifferentiated syndesmoses, and 
that this feature testified more forcibly than anything else to their low 
affinities. ‘Thcy also described a commuvity of structure between the 


ee Se 


i er re 


Pa 


lel ball 


*J 
3 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 89 


modified syndesmoses in certain Anura and the apparatus of the knee- 
joint in Mammals, and urged that the facts were such as to necessitate a 
reconsideration of the morphological value of the latter. 

A communication was read from Mr. J. J. Lister, giving a general 
account of the Natural History of Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean, 
which he had visited in 1887 as naturalist to H.M. surveying-vessel ‘ Eigeria.’ 
Mr. Lister gave a detailed account of the birds obtained in Christmas Island. 
Of these seven were land-birds, all of which belonged to species peculiar to 
the island, though some of them approached their allies in the Indian 
Archipelago very closely. 

Mr. Oldfield Thomas read a paper on the Mammals of Christmas 
Island, obtained by Mr. Lister during the same expedition. This was 
followed by reports on the Reptiles, by Mr. G. Boulenger; on the 
Terrestrial Mollusks, by Mr. Edgar A. Smith; on the Coleoptera, by Mr. 
C. J. Gahan; on the Lepidoptera, by Mr. A. G. Butler; on the other 
Insects, by Mr. Kirby; and on the Annelida, Myriapoda, and Land- 
Crustacea, by Mr. R. I. Pocock.—P. L. Sctarun, Secretary. 


Exromo.ocicaL Society or Lonpon. 
December 5, 1888.—Dr. D. Suarp, F.L.S., President, in the chair. 
Mr. B. A. Hower of Eltham, Kent, was elected a Fellow of the Society. 
Mr. W. F. Kirby exhibited, for the Rev. Dr. Walker, a variety of the 
female of Ornithoptera Brookiana; he also exhibited, for Major Partridge, 


~ an undetermined species of the genus Hadena, captured last summer in the 


isle of Portland. 

Mr. R. South exhibited a series of specimens of Tortrix piceana, L., 
from a pine wood in Surrey ; also melanic forms of Tortria podana, S., from 
St. John’s Wood. 

Prof. Meldola exhibited, for Dr. Laver, a melanic specimen of Catocala 
nupta, taken last September at Colchester. 

Mr. E. B. Poulton exhibited preserved larve of Sphina convolvuli, 
showing the extreme dark and light forms of the species. 

Mr. M‘Lachlan called attention to a plate, representing species of the 
genus Agrotis, executed by photography, illustrating a memoir by Dr. Max 
Standfuss, in the Correspondenz-Blatt, Verein ‘ Iris,’in Dresden, 1888. He 
considered it was the best example of photography as adapted for ento- 
mological purposes he had ever seen, especially as regarded its stereoscopic 
effect. 

The Rev. Canon Fowler exhibited a specimen of Mycterus curculionoides, 
L., sent to him by Mr. Olliff, and taken by Mr. Gunning near Oxford 
about 1832. 


40 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Mr. W. Nicholson exhibited several melanic varieties of Argynnis niobe 
and A. pales, collected by himself last summer in the Engadine. 

Mr. J. H. Leech exhibited a small collection of Lepidoptera formed last 
year by Mr. Pratt at Kiukiang, Central China. It included several new 
species, also specimens of a variety of Papilio sarpedon and other interesting 
forms. 

Mons. A. Wailly exhibited a collection of Lepidoptera lately received from 
Assam, containing upwards of thirty-five species of Papilio, Ornithoptera, 
Charaxes, Diadema, Cyrestis, and other genera. 

Mr. Meyer-Darcis exhibited specimens of Sternocera tricolor, Kerr, and 
S. variabilis, Kerr, from Lake Tanganyika; also two new species of Julodis 
from Syria. 

Mr. F. Merrifield exhibited, and mada remarks on, a long series of 
Selenia illustraria, S. illunaria, and E. alniaria, in illustration of his paper 
on “ Pedigree Moth-breeding.” 

Lord Walsingham exhibited, and made remarks on, a series of species 
representing the genera Snellenia, Wlsm., Gidematopoda, Z., and Hretmo- 
cera, Z. 

The Rev. T. A. Marshall communicated a paper entitled ‘*‘ A Monograph 
of British Braconide. Part IIL,” 

The Rev. Dr. Walker communicated a paper entitled “ Description of 
a variety of the female of Ornithoptera Brookiana.” 

Lord Walsingham read a paper entitled “A Monograph of the genera 
connecting Tinegeria, Wlk., with Hretmocera, Z.” <A discussion ensued, 
in which Mr. Stainton, Dr. Sharp, and others took part. 

Mr. Merrifield read a paper entitled “Incidental Observations in 
Pedigree Moth-breeding.” This paper contained a detailed account of 
experiments with Selenia illustraria, S. illunaria, and EF. alniaria, which, 
so far as they had yet proceeded, indicated that retardation of development 
in the growing stages of the larva, as well as in the pupal stage, was 
the cause of the darkening of colour in the perfect insects; that a low 
temperature had the effect of causing such retardation; and that growing 
the larvee at a forcing temperature tended to produce a warmer and yellower 
tint in the colouring of the moths. Lord Walsingham, Mr. Poulton, 
Prof. Meldola, Mr. White, and Mr. Merrifield took part in the discussion 
which ensued. 

Mr. J. H. Leech read a paper “Ona small collection of Lepidoptera 
from Kiukiang.” Mr. Elwes said he had examined this collection wich, very 
great interest, and was struck with the similarity of many of the species to 
those from Sikkim.—H. Goss & W. W. Fowter, Hon. Secretaries. 


THE ZOOLOGIST. 


THIRD SERIES. 


Vou. XIII.) FEBRUARY, 1889. [No. 146. 


—— 


NOTES ON A VOYAGE TO THE GREENLAND SEA 
IN 1888. 


By Ropert Gray. 


(Continued from p. 9.) 


May 21.—Lat. 79° 16’, long. 4° 46’ E. Temperature at the 
surface, 30°; water slightly green. The wind fresh from the 
westward, blowing the young ice away from the floes, a narrow 
intermediate strip of water being formed, along which we sailed 
in a south-westerly direction. In the morning a small Green- 
land Whale passed near the ship, going N.N.W. towards a, well- 
known part of the whaling-grounds, at present covered with ice. 
Mysticetus, when on a passage, is not to be mistaken. With the 
upper jaw above water and the back just covered, the animal 
while at the surface moves steadily along; a slight disturbance 
of the surface-water, in the form of a series of circles, breaking 
out in its rear, marking the action of the caudal fin. 

May 24.—Lat. 78° 54’, long. 1° W. Water slightly green; 
temperature at the surface, 29°. Experienced a slight swell 
from the southward in the morning, which broke up at the 
“floes” in the vicinity ; on proceeding to the westward, however, 
we lost it, being sheltered by a point of ice to the southward. 
A large Whale appeared near the ship at night, evidently 
feeding. 

May 25.—Lat. 78°21’, long. 2° W. Water green, but clear ; 
temperature at the surface, 29°. Cruised under canvas in a small 

ZOOLOGIST.—FEB. 1889. E 


42 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


space of open water surrounded by ‘‘ pack” or broken-up ice on 
all sides. Blowing hard from the northward, with showers of 
snow, the sea torn into a sheet of foam, the short sharp waves 
breaking high along the face of the lee-ice. There were many 
Whales about, but the boats being unable to pull to windward 
we did not succeed in making any captures. As may be supposed, 
the drift of the ice under the influence of such a strong wind was 
very great, and this being so it seemed somewhat remarkable 
that while the ocean on all sides should be covered with drifting- 
ice, one small ‘space should remain open. I noticed, however, 
that the open space became smaller and smaller, until finally, 
owing to the closing of the ice, we had to quit it altogether 
and force our way northward against wind and current towards 
another open space which had in the mean time broken out. 
This open space shared a similar fate, but not before another 
and similar space had formed, also to the northward; in fact, 
a series of open spaces were forming and reforming, and being 
covered with ice. Perhaps the current was performing a vorticose 
movement, a series of vortices being formed, with the water 
welling up in the centre. 

May 26.—Lat. 78° 18’, long. 8° 15’.. Water green, but clear ; 
temperature at the surface, 29°. Many Whales about, but other- 
wise very little appearance of life. The Whales were mostly 
coming out of the “pack” ice to the southward, crossing the open 
water and entering the ice to the northward, but some of them 
seemed inclined to sport about in the open water, returning again 
to the shelter of the ice. One which we harpooned made off 
into the “pack,” but the men being able to run over the ice 
with lances, we eventually secured it after some trouble. In the 
evening we chased several other Whales, but without success ; 
the ‘Hope,’ however, made a capture. Concerning the Whale 
which we killed I took the following scanty notes :— 


Sea.—Female. 

Colour.—Sooty black, with the exception of a few feet of white extending 
backwards from the symphises along the under surface of the lower jaw. 

Measurements.—F rom tip of lower jaw to eye, 14 ft.; to umbilicus, 
20 ft. 6 in.; to anterior end of vulva, 26ft.; to posterior end of vulva, 
27 ft. 6in.; to median cleft of caudal fin, 42 ft. 6in. Thickness of 
blubber, 8 in. 


ition 


% ane aks Sy eee ee 


: 

% 
“ 
¢ 


z 


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ft 
|= 


2 
j 


VOYAGE OF THE ‘ ECLIPSE.’ 43 


Whalebone:—The total number of plates of sufficient size to be con- 
sidered marketable was 569; of these the largest measured 7 ft. 6 in. in 
length. ‘Towards the extremities of the series of plates attached to each 
side of the upper jaw the whalebone-plates diminish in length, as also does 
the width of the interspaces, the latter decreasing from ‘615 in. to *384 in. 
Having already shown that the number of the whalebone-plates does not 
vary with growth, but remains constant (Zool. 1887, p. 136), and having 
found the width of the interspaces, where greatest, in a full-grown Whale 
we killed last year to be ‘92 in., it is very evident that with growth and 
consequent increase in the length of the upper jaw the whalebone-plates 
become farther and farther apart. 

Palate-—From sections which I made I found the palate about the 
middle of the jaw, where narrowest, to be only 3 in. in breadth, convex, 
and flesh-coloured, with irregular bluish grey markings. Immediately 
external to the palate the whalebone-plates are found, at first in the form 
of hairs, but altering gradually to the large functional plates situated most 
externally. 

Hind Limbs.—These interesting rudiments I found could be most 
easily cut out by marking out a rectangular area of skin about three feet 
square, with the opening of the vulva included in its centre; by then 
cutting inwards at right angles to the surface, through the blubber, and 
through the muscles of the abdominal wall, the whole mass may be 
speedily removed, and the bones dissected out at leisure. 

Valves.—The presence of automatic valves closing the natural openings, 
and thereby preventing the ingress of water while under pressure, 
has long been known to exist in Mysticetus. On making sections of the 
external auditory meatus as it passed through the blubber, I found it provided 
with a valve in the form of a conical outgrowth of adipose tissue, the apex 
of which is directed outwards.* A somewhat similar but larger structure, 
attached to the opening of the vagina, evidently acted in the same way with 
regard to the opening of the throat, as also did another which on a 
previous occasion I examined, attached to the base of the tongue, but which 
probably represents the epiglottis. 

Feces.— According to the general opinion of whalemen, the fceces of the 
Greenland Whale is usually of a reddish colour, and this view was supported 
by what I observed, the colour while floating in the water being vermilion, 
and as it exuded from the vent chocolate-brown. Under the microscope, 
it is seen to consist in great part of crustacean remains, but what the 


_ Species is it is impossible to determine. 


May 27.—Lat. 77° 49’, long. 4° W. Water clear and blue in 
the morning ; temperature, 29°; but after working northwards 


* See ‘Journal of Anatomy and Physiology,’ a Xxiii. p. ae 
E 


44 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


we again found it discoloured at night. The diatom-stained 
water, so far as we observed, lay to the north-eastwards, its 
western outline agreeing with the margin of the heavy ice, and 
its southern, for some distance eastwards from the ice-edge, with 
the parallel of lat. 78°. The first Whales we saw were in lat. 79°, 
and we continued seeing them as we drifted southwards until the 
colour of the water became blue. In this case, then, the dis- 
coloured water and the Whales also were maintaining their 
position, while we ourselves, along with the ice, were being drifted 
southwards with the wind. Moreover, I observed a few days 
afterwards, while lying in the blue clear water to the southward 
of the discoloured water, that many of the pieces of ice had their 
margins tinged with an orange-yellow, showing that while drifting 
southwards they had encountered an abundance of diatoms 
floating in the water. Only one Whale seen to-day ; it rose close 
under the bows, but, hearing the ship, made off immediately into 
the ice. 

May 28.—Lat. 77° 58’, long. 2°21’. Water slightly green; 
temperature at the surface, 29°. In the morning a Whale was 
reported coming up from the southward, towards the open 
space of water in which we were lying. ‘Two boats, which 
lowered away from the ship, took up positions and awaited 
the appearance of the animal, continuing, however, to pull slowly 
to windward to keep their ground. As ill luck would have it, one 
of the boats happened to be pulling just over the place where the 
Whale intended to rise, and the animal, alarmed evidently by the 
movement of the oars, ‘‘ smothered its blast,” as whalemen say 
(i. e., discharged, while under water, a large volume of air which it 
probably had intended to expire), and then set off into the ice 
without ever rising to the surface. 

May 30.—Lat. 78° 5°, long. 3° 30’ W. Water slightly green; 
temperature at the surface, 29°. Two Blue Fin-Whales, 
Balenoptera Sibbaldii, appeared near the ship during the day, 
the ice evidently having already opened out sufficiently to enable 
these animals to find their way on to the rich feeding-grounds in 
the neighbourhood. The appearance of “ Finners,” as these 
Whales are called, on the whaling-grounds, heralding, as it does, 

the speedy departure of Mysticetus icewards to less accessible 
regions, is not regarded with much favour by the whalemen. So 
intimately related geographically as these animals undoubtedly 


VOYAGE OF ''HE ‘ECLIPSE.’ 45 


are, inhabiting the same localities, and feeding ina manner so 
similar, that many forms must necessarily be common to both as 
their food, I cannot but suppose that previous to the commence- 
ment of the fishery, when the Greenland Whale was infinitely 
more numerous and less retiring in its habits, the relative distri- 
bution of the two animals must have been very different. The 
area of the feeding-grounds remaining constant, the struggle all 
along has been one of a slow swimmer with long whalebone plates 
versus a swift and active animal with short plates, with thig 
qualification, however, that Mysticetus has become specialised to 
inhabit those parts of the feeding-grounds covered by ice, its 
congener to occupy rather the open ocean. The prolonged 
prosecution of the Whale fishery, and the consequent reduction 
in numbers of the Greenland Whale, has favoured a corresponding 
increase in the abundance of the Blue Whale, at the same time 
permitting its intrusion upon the habitat of M ysticetus, and 
hence its frequent appearance amongst the ice, where for weeks 
the ships now search vainly for the Greenland Right Whale. 


Furthermore (and a similar argument applies to the case of the 


Saddle Seals), if the capture of Mysticetus was to cease hence- 


_ forward, ages probably would elapse before it would arrive at its 


former abundance, having to compete with intruders on its 
feeding-grounds. During the last twenty years the average 
number of Whales killed yearly has been only about ten: now 
this small number cannot amount to much in the same seas 
where in ten years the Dutch killed no less than 10,019 Whales. 
Far, however, from the animal becoming more abundant, it 


appears to become every year more rare. 


May 31.—-Lat. 78° 24’, long. 0° 25’E. A strange bird was 
Seen to-day in company with several Snow Birds. From the 


- description I received, it may have been Ross’s Gull, Rhodostethia 


rosea. 


June 3.—Lat.79°8’, long. 0°23’ W. The ice to the westward 


* having opened out with the recent westerly winds, we sailed in 
_ that direction into a large water surrounded by floes. The water 


was clear and blue, with a total absence of animal life. This is 


_ 4 good example of the fact that, when the ice drifts off any part 
of the ocean, upon which for some time it has been previously 


_ lying, there is always a complete absence of vegetable life at the 


surface. Darkness must obtain beneath the fields of ice, and 


46 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


hence the absence of diatoms. The absence of animal life 
proves that in the ocean, as well as upon the land, independent 
of plant-life animals cannot flourish. 

June 8.—Lat. 77° 38’, long. 0°7' H. Shot a Turnstone, 
Strepsilas interpres, the first straggler of the kind I have ever 
met with on the whaling-grounds. 

June 10.—Lat. 78° 10’, N., long. 2° W. It so happens that we 
are in the same position as on May 25th, when we were lying 
in the open space of water amongst the ice, as described. 
The formation of the ice still remains the same, and the surface 
water continues deeply discoloured with diatoms. The position 
remaining the same, it is interesting to note the different kinds 
of ice which have been drifted southwards over the ground during 
the interval. On the first occasion of our visiting the locality 
the sea was covered with broken-up bay ice; this, however, was 
soon replaced by bay floes, these in turn by newly broken-up 
fields of heavy ice, and finally large floes appeared and covered 
the ground. Subsequent to the appearance of the latter we saw 
no more Whales, and I have little doubt they retreated south- 
wards, whence they came, before the large fields of ice. 

June 14.—Lat. 77° 30’, long. 0°3’ W. Owing to our not having 
seen any Whales since May 28th, and swell having come in from 
the §.H. and broken up all the floes, we made the best of our 
way out to sea, and then shaped our course south-westwards 
along the ice, for the South Greenland whaling-grounds. 

June 16.—Lat. 75° 50’, long. 6° 9’ W. Water dark blue and 
clear ; temperature at the surface, 31°. At a depth of about 
forty fathoms, with a tow-net, I secured a large quantity of the 
Copepod, Calanus jfinmarckicus, with their alimentary canals 
filled with diatoms. This would seem to show that (even when 
the water at the surface is blue and clear) diatoms may exist in 
abundance at a trifling depth. 

June 17.—Lat. 75° 80’, long. 10° 80’ W. The water remains 
blue and clear, the temperature being 30°. About noon we 
approached the first field of ice, behind which a Whale was 
discovered feeding. ‘Two boats left the ship and pulled towards 
it. The water being very clear, the Whale must have seen the 
boats at the surface, for it was observed to approach them very 
cautiously, as if conscious of danger, and with the intention 
evidently of examining them. At first only the eddy or swirl 


- 


Ba 
7 


woe tnt 


{VOYAGE OF THE ‘ECLIPSE. 47 


caused by the action of its caudal fin appeared at the surface, 
but soon afterwards the animal itself—-although still under 
water—became visible; moving towards one of the boats, imme- 
diately under which, at the depth of only a few feet, it afterwards 
for some time lay motionless, one of its eyes being directed 
upwards. Finally, raising the tip of its upper jaw a few inches 
above the surface, with its body depending downwards and its 
soft and unprotected back under water, it moved slowly round 
the boat at the distance of only a few feet from its side. When 
opposite the boat’s bow it suddenly raised its back above the 
surface and descended: before it disappeared, however, it was 
harpooned. The animal undoubtedly had seen the harpooner 
directing the harpoon-gun towards it, and, taking alarm, had 
endeavoured to escape. In the course of an hour or so this 
Whale was duly killed, and, the ship having been anchored to a 
field of ice, was afterwards flenched. The following are a few 
notes which I made :— 


Sex.—Male. 

Colour.—A deep velvety black throughout, with the exception of a 
little white on the under surface of the lower jaw extending backwards from 
the tip, and a greyish appearance at the rump where the lobes of the tail 
commence to expand outwards. 

Measurements.— From tip of lower jaw to articulation of condyles, 
13 ft. 6 in.; to umbilicus, 22 ft.; to preputial orifice, anterior end, 22 ft. 
6 in.—posterior end, 26 ft.; to anus, 28 ft. 6 in.; to median cleft of caudal 
fin, 40 ft.6in. Breadth across the under surface of lower jaw, 8 ft.; 
between the fins, 7 ft.3in. Length of pectoral fin, 6 ft.; breadth, 3 ft. 8 in. 
Length of longest plate of whalebone, 8 ft. 4in.; breadth at the base, 10 ft. 
Number of plates of whalebone, 579. 


The opening of the ear, which is somewhat difficult to discover, 
and which I have sometimes searched for in vain, was in this 
Whale 16” behind and slightly below the posterior canthus of 


_ the eye,—a minute opening, as in other Cetaceans. I did not 


succeed in examining the stomach, but the intestine I found 


_ contained reddish matter, similar in appearance to the foeces I 
_ obtained from the last Whale we killed. By comparing the 
_ Measurements just given with those of the female Whale killed 
on May 26th, it will be seen that there is no marked proportionate 


difference in the length of the head with relation to the extreme 
length of the body between the two sexes. In both Whales the 


48 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


head measured, as nearly as possible, one-third of the length of 
the whole body. 

From the 18th to the 29th we were engaged in cruising south- 
westwards, over the best and usually the most productive parts 
of the South Greenland fishing-grounds, between lat. 72° and 73° - 
and long. 15° W. The coast of Greenland was frequently in 
sight, the tops of the mountains dipping on the western horizon. 
The ice, which was mostly in the form of large floes, was only 
newly opening out, and hence the colour of the water, which 
was everywhere uniformly clear and blue. In accordance with 
the scarcity of vegetable life there was a general want of animals, 
a solitary ‘“‘ Finner” and an occasional school of Narwhals being 
the only representatives of the Cetaceans. A few notes which I 
made concerning the habits of the Blue Fin-whale,* Balenoptera 
Sibbaldi, may be of interest :— 

Several of these Whales were observed feeding at the edges of 
the floes. When feeding under such circumstances a sinuous 
course is pursued, the animal being alternately under the ice, in 
search of its food, and outside the edge of the floe, where it 
approaches the surface for the purpose of breathing. The period 
under water in one instance was eight minutes, during which the 
Whale had moved along the edge of the ice about a quarter of a 
mile before again appearing at the surface to breathe, while the 
period at or near the surface was about three and a half minutes, 
during which it rose to the surface at regular intervals of twenty- 
six seconds, blowing once on each occasion. While feeding in 
this manner, owing to the distance performed horizontally, the 
depth to which the animal descends must be trifling ; in fact, the 
animal is probably obtaining its food immediately under the 
surface of the ice. This view is supported by several facts. On 
several occasions I have noticed an immense number of Crusta- 
ceans, of the genus Gammari, collected under the surface of the 
ice; in the case of a piece of ice being displaced, by contact 
with the ship, they are frequently exposed. Again, a field of ice 
having become broken by the action of swell and intersected by 
narrow cracks, great numbers of small fishes, belonging to the 


* To this animal, the Blue Whale of the Norwegians (see Mr. Cock’s 
remarks), the general term “‘ Finner” is applied by Scotch writers without 
any restriction. The terms might be advantageously combined. I propose 
the name adopted in the text, ‘‘ Blue Fin-whale.” 


VOYAGE OF THE ‘ECLIPSE.’ 49 


species Gadus fabricii, are found frequenting the cracks. From 
these several facts it seems probable that those forms preyed 
upon by the Whalebone Whales collect under the ice, where, in 
the darkness necessarily prevailing, the retreat is rendered more 
secure. It must be remembered that the ice, being acted on by 
the wind, may be drifting through the water, so that while the 
forms collected under its surface receive the maximum amount 
of safety, a supply of food is provided in the form of vegetable 
organisms contained in the ever-changing water. The Blue Fin- 
whales appeared to have entered the ice from the 8.W., several 
being observed coming up from that direction. One, which passed 
near the ship, was going N.E. towards a floe, a corner of which 
lay across its path. Iwas anxious to notice whether it would 
pass under the ice which was only about one mile broad, and so 
reach the water on the other side without swerving from its path, 
—a feat which could easily have been performed by Mysticetus. 
Continuing its course to the eastward, this Whale dipped 
below the ice, heading towards the open water on the other side. 
After an interval of eight minutes the animal again appeared, on 
the same side of the floe, but half a mile farther to the eastward, 
having found it necessary to swerve to the right in order to regain 
the open water. After blowing eleven times it again turned to 
the N.E., and by this time, having rounded the point of the floe, 
continued its course in that direction. Meeting with no indication 
of the presence of Mysticetus we retraced our steps northward, 
and on reaching the ice in lat. 75° we again fell in with Whales 
in the same locality as before. The following extracts from my 
Log may assist in explaining our proceedings :— 

Juné 28.—Lat. 75°14’, long.'9° 28’ W. Water clear and blue : 
temperature 33°. Several “‘ Finners” seen in the morning, evi- 
dently feeding, reappearing at intervals of about twelve minutes, 
without shifting ground. On proceeding westwards for a few 
miles towards the floes, where the ice was closer, we encountered 
great numbers of Narwhals and also two Greenland Whales. 
The latter were both moving north-eastwards; the first was only 
Seen once, while the second was chased by our boats for five 
hours. Partly owing to the clearness of the water, and partly 
owing to the smoothness of the sea, the weather being calm, 
the boats could not succeed in approaching it, and so the chase 
terminated unsuccessfully. It was interesting to notice how, on 
the near approach of the boats, its blowing became more audible 


50 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


and was sent higher into the air, its speed at the same time 
becoming accelerated ; how when, being evidently alarmed by 
the noise of the oars, the animal sought shelter amongst closer 
ice, until being freed of its pursuers it again ventured into open 
water, and, reaching a body of compact ice, finally disappeared 
from view. 

July 1.—Lat. 74° 87’, long. 11°00’. Clear blue water all 
day; temperature, 33°. A great abundance of animal life. 
several “ Finners” and “ Whales” being seen ; also many Bears 
and great numbers of Narwhals. Two large Whales were seen, 
and chased with most unfortunate results. When discovered 
from the Crow’s Nest, one was feeding in open water, the other 
at the edge of an adjoining floe, inthe same manner as the Blue 
Fin-whale already described, remaining, however, under water for 
a period of twenty-five minutes. The Whale feeding in open 
water, seeing one of the boats approaching, immediately became 
alarmed and made off towards the floe where the other Whale 
was feeding ; we could see it all the while, swimming a few feet 
under water, with one of its eyes directed upwards, and the eddy 
caused by the action of its tail breaking out at the surface. 
Meeting the other Whale, it also became alarmed, and both set 
off together towards the N.E., swimming with great rapidity. 
The boats, on returning on-board, reported a quantity of blood- 
red crustaceans at the surface, near where the Whales were 
feeding, presenting, one of my informants said, a remarkably 
striking appearance when viewed against the submerged parts of 
the ice. I received two specimens, one of which was still alive ; 
it was about an inch in length, exclusive of the antenne, which 
were remarkably long and delicate.* Notwithstanding the 
clearness of the water, and the evident absence of vegetable life 
in the surface waters, Narwhals were very numerous, and, these 
animals being stationary and evidently feeding, it followed that 
those forms constituting their food were also abundant. The 
stomachs of two females which we killed contained cuttlefish 
remains, most probably Gonatus fabricii, a cephalopod about a 
foot or so in length, of a bleached or etiolated appearance, rarely 
or never found at the surface, hence probably living at a consider- 


* Through the kindness of Mr. John Murray, of the ‘ Challenger’ Com- 
mission, Prof. Sars has identified this crustacean as Hymourdora glacialis, 
Bach., which he regards as a semipelagic form. 


PALLAS'S SAND GROUSE IN LANCASHIRE. 51 


able depth. Besides cuttlefish remains, I found an abundance of 
blood-red crustaceans, mostly Pasiphaé tarda, but also a few 
belonging to the same species as those just mentioned as being 
found at the surface (Hymourdora glacialis). These crustaceans, 
especially Pasiphaé, have been present in nearly all the 
Narwhals’ stomachs I have examined, along with the cephalopod 
Gonatus. The blood-red colour of the crustaceans, characteristic 
of abyssal forms,—the fact of their being found in the Narwhal’s 
stomach along with Gonati, which, as I have already said, seem 
to live at a considerable depth,—all tend towards the conclusion 
that the Narwhal penetrates to a considerable depth for its food. 
The occurrence of blood-red crustaceans at the surface, I may 
add, is very unusual in these seas. Of the two Narwhals, one 
was non-gravid, while from the other I removed a foetus measuring 
5 ft. 2 in. in length, probably mature. 

July 4.—Lat. 74° 50’, long. 12° 9’ W. Water clear and blue; 
temperature at the surface, 32°. In the morning a large Green- 
land Whale was discovered in a ‘‘ bight” formed by the floes. 
Several Blue Fin-whales were feeding near, their movements 
forming a marked contrast with the graceful but less active 
movements of their congener. This Whale, the last we saw 
during the season, was eventually harpooned, but, after some 
400 fathoms of line had been drawn out, the harpoon drew. 

(To be continued.) 


NOTES ON THE OCCURRENCE OF PALLAS’S SAND 
GROUSE IN LANCASHIRE. 


By Rosert J. Howarp, 
Member of the British Ornithologists’ Union. 


In 1888, as in 1863, Lancashire was favoured with a visit 
from this interesting species; the second invasion, however, was 
on a larger scale, with a correspondingly heavier death-roll than 
that of twenty-five years ago. The first arrival of the birds, at 
almost the same date as in 1863 (as regards Lancashire, within 
two days of the same date), is remarkable. In this report 
I propose to deal with occurrences which have come within 
my own knowledge in the county of Lancashire, excepting the 
Furness district, which the Rev. H. A. Macpherson has included 


52 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


in his report on the subject, published in the ‘ Transactions of 
the Cumberland and Westmoreland Scientific Association.’ 

May 20th.—Eight were seen to alight on the moss about a 
mile north of St. Michael’s-on-Wyre. On the following morning 
Cuthbert Baines, a farm-labourer, shot four of them (two males 
and two females); the rest flew N.W. ‘These are the birds 
referred to by Mr. Hugh P. Hornby (‘Field,’ June 2nd), who 
writes me that he was misinformed as to the number of birds in 
the flock, and the date when his were shot, and that his notes 
are consequently incorrect on these points. 

May 25th.—One seen flying across Tarleton Moss, against a 
strong east wind, by Henry Cookson. 

June lst.—Two males and one female shot out of a flock of 
seven on St. Michael’s Moss, by C. Baines. One male and one 
female in Mr. Francis Nicholson’s collection; one male in Mr. 
W. B. Wardle’s collection. 

June 2nd.—A flock of about twenty seen, by a party of pigeon- 
shooters on the Manchester Racecourse, flying from the direction 
of Trafford Park; the birds, after passing over the course, 
wheeled and returned to the park. 

June 8rd.— Three males shot out of a flock of twenty on 
Rawceliff Moss, by John Taylor; the remainder of the birds flew 
N.W., and were probably the seventeen which the Rev. H. A. 
Macpherson says were seen on June 11th on the north end of 
Walney. One in Mr. F. Nicholson’s collection; one in the Black- 
burn Museum: one in my own collection. 

June 7th.—A solitary female shot on St. Michael’s Moss, by 
C. Baines. In my own collection. 

June 30th.—One seen near Blackstone Edge Reservoir, by 
James Stancliffe, gamekeeper. 

September 3rd.— One seen on Tarleton Moss, by Henry 
Cookson. This bird was flying west along the same line as the 
one which he saw on May 25th; but it was travelling in the 
opposite direction. 

From the above list it appears that in Lancashire fifty-nine 
Sand Grouse have been seen and eleven (seven males and four 
females) killed. Itis quite possible, however, that the flock of 
twenty seen near Manchester on June 2nd was the same as that 
observed on Rawcliffe Moss, forty miles N.W., on the following 
day, for most of the birds which escaped the gun flew off ina 


> f- 2L) re - 


PALLAS'S SAND GROUSE IN LANCASHIRE. 53 


north-westerly direction. All those birds referred to, with the 
exception of that seen on Blackstone Edge, were met with mm the 
low-lying district of West Lancashire, chiefly on the moss-land 
Those seen near St. Michael’s were partial to oat-fields, and were 
seldom, if ever, observed on the old grass-land. Cuthbert Baines 
told me that the birds were wild, and would not allow him to 
approach within 150 yards in the open; he had to creep down 
the moss-ditches to get within shot. The birds rose quickly 
the instant his head appeared above the edge of the ditch, and 
would not permit him to take the ‘“‘ pot” shot invariably adopted 
with Dotterel. After being flushed, whether shot at or not, 
they usually flew a few hundred yards and returned in a short 
time to the same field; in this respect, as well as in their 
partiality for oat-fields, resembling Dotterel. They do not carry 
away much shot; all were killed with No. 10 at about thirty 
yards distance. On September 6th I examined five birds in the 
Western Aviary at the Zoological Society’s Gardens. The gait 
is such as one would expect from the shape of the feet, and 
reminded me of that of a rat. 

These Sand Grouse would, I think, have little difficuity in 
finding an abundant supply of suitable food on our moss-land. 
In addition to grain (any kind of which it appears the Sand Grouse 
will eat), most of the moss-land is full of the seeds of goose-foot 
and various species of knot-grass (Polygonum); seeds of the 
latter, with germinating power unimpaired, are found buried 
several feet in the peat, and are constantly being brought to the 
surface as the land is worked. Seeds of the goose-foot (Cheno- 
podium album), a very common weed, were found in the crops of 
the Lancashire-killed specimens, and it appears that the seeds 
of a nearly-allied plant, Agriophyllum gobicum, formed the bulk 
of the food of the Sand Grouse in Central Asia. Six of the birds 
killed at St. Mtchael’s have passed, in the flesh, through my 
hands; and the contents of the crop of the other were sent to 
me by Mr. Nicholson. I forwarded the crops and gizzards to 
Mr. Robert Holland, Frodsham, who very kindly furnished me 
with the following particulars :— 


1. Crop: red clover, a few seeds of Italian rye-grass, and knotgrass 
(Polygonum persicaria or lapathifolium). Gizzard: half the bulk, small 
fragments of white quartz; seeds, knotgrass, red clover, and alsyke. 


54 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


2. Crop: red clover, a few seeds of Italian rye-grass and knotgrass. 

8. Crop: same as No, 2, with a few seeds of mouse-eared chickweed. 

4. Crop: knotgrass and red clover, a few seeds of trefoil, Italian rye- 
grass, perennial rye-grass and meadow-fescue. Gizzard: five-sixths of 
bulk, small fragments of white quartz; seeds, knotgrass, goose-foot, alsyke, 
and Italian rye-grass. 

5. Crop: red clover, Italian rye-grass, knotgrass, and goose-foot. 

6. Crop: same as No. 5. 

7. Crop: knotgrass, goose-foot, mouse-eared chickweed, Italian rye- 
grass. Gizzard: one-third of bulk, white quartz; seeds same as crop. 


Plumage, dimensions, weight, de.:— 


1. Male; length, 16-9; wing, 9°4; central tail-feathers, 7°6 ; weight, 93 oz. 
2,Female; ,, 151; ,, 82; ¥ 52s et Oaeees 
3. Male. 

A Tees FLOSS GSTs F 6:33° SSRs 
ae ti ssi LG SDY5 pts ses Ose: 9 Tbs a) Bes 
Gress » 16.3; 4, 8:55; , 3 6'3:5-) hss 
7. Female; A IIBROS So essere * 4:0)3:.° 55 9S 


The birds were in fair condition; the female, No. 2, was very 
fat—hence her weight, for she had little in her crop. The eggs 
in this bird and No. 7 were about the size of No. 4 shot. The 
testes in the male were well developed; in No. 1 the left testicle 
was °48 x °22, right 42 <°3; in No. 5 the left was °42 x °32, 
right ‘26 x°26. The plumage was clean, though bleached and 
worn. The birds which passed through my hands had cast a 
few of the inner primaries and the secondaries, giving the wing 
a very peculiar indentation. In No. 1, the new primaries 
(the ninth and tenth) project about one inch beyond the 
coverts, are lavender along each side of the shaft, gradually 
shading to black towards the edges and tips, the edges rich 
buff ‘2 wide; the new secondaries rich buff, with black stripe *3 in 
width, along outer web, leaving a narrow border of buff; one 
of the central rectrices, new, 4 in. long. No.4 has the colours 
the brightest of any I have seen. Abdominal band rich velvety 
black ; pencillings of chest-band very clear; three inner primaries 
moulted. No. 7, female, is the most forward in moult. A few 
scapulars, one of the elongated tail-feathers, 3°8 in. in length; 
the secondaries, and the three inner primaries with their coverts, 
new; the eighth and ninth primaries almost full-grown; the 


PALLAS’S SAND GROUSE IN LANCASHIRE. 55 


tenth is hidden by the coverts. The black on the new primaries, 
not so well defined in outline as in those of the males, giving the 
centre of these feathers a mottled appearance. Abdominal band 
dark umber; gular band distinct; no trace of chest-band. This 
is the only bird which shows any new contour feathers. 

I have not met with a live Sand Grouse in Lancashire; but 
on the 12th September I had the pleasure of seeing the flock of 
seventy-three at Morston, Norfolk, referred to by Mr. Southwell 
(Zool. 1888, p. 446). The birds were put up at least 600 yards 
from the place where we stood, and passed within 800 or 400 
yards of us. We could hear the call-notes soon after the birds 
rose, but it was a difficult matter to distinguish the note on 
account of the number of birds calling at the same time. Shortly 
afterwards, however, two birds passed us within 150 yards; we 
then put up three, one, and thirteen,—portions of the large flock 
which had broken up,—each bird calling as it flew. We all thought 
the note was very like the “chuck” of the breeding Snipe, with 
a slight whistling intonation, as described by Mr. Southwell (Zool. 
1888, p. 453), uttered at intervals of about a second. The note 
has a more decided short “ chuck,” and less of the whistle than 
has Tringa canutus. 

I have not heard that these birds have made any attempts to 
nestin the county. A thin-shelled, abnormally-shaped egg, found 
in a field on St. Michael’s Moss, which the Sand Grouse had 
frequented, is pronounced by Mr. Edward Bidwill, to whom 
I forwarded it, to be that of a Lapwing. 

My best thanks are due to Mr. Hugh P. Hornby, Mr. Francis 
Nicholson, Mr. Harry Hoyle, and Mr. J. Moorcroft for informa- 
tion kindly supplied, and also to Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., and 
Mr. T. Southwell for the kindness shown me during my visit to 
Norfolk, when I had an opportunity of seeing something of the 
Sand Grouse in a state of nature. 


56 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


PALLAS’S SAND GROUSE. 


REPORTS FROM THE CONTINENT. 

Heticotanv.—Herr P. C. Reisners, the proprietor of the 
restaurants on the Dune, says the first pair were shot on the 
15th of May, the last two on the 13th of June, 1888; altogether 
he shot about fifty specimens. The birds came in large flocks 
which were estimated at forty, sixty, and once at eighty head. 
The first arrivals were seen in April, and the last four specimens 
on the 17th of July. Most flocks flew to the west, and only 
one to the south. (‘Der Zoologische Garten,’ August, 1888 
p- 238). 

Houianp.—According to Dr. A. C. Oudemans, the first 
was seen in Holland on the 18th of May. It had flown against ~ 
a telegraph wire at Loosduinen, near the Hague, and was killed 
on the spot. It was a fine male, but the front of the neck was 
almost denuded of feathers by the concussion. Afterwards these 
grouse were met with in various places, both in the provinces 
and on the islands of Texel, Vlieland, Terschelling, Ameland, &c. 
It is curious how many were killed by flying against telegraph 
wires, which may be due to the fact that the birds generally fly 
at a height of from five to eight metres from the ground. 
Hitherto eggs have not been met with out of doors, but it 
is said that a hen laid three eggs in captivity at Amsterdam. 
The number of birds observed varied from two to four, and 
from twenty to thirty, to hundreds, on the islands of the 
North Sea. Hight were brought to the Zoological Gardens at 
Amsterdam, five of which soon died. Dr. Oudemans bought a 
male from Texel for the gardens at the Hague, which also died 
after six days. This bird moped from the first, although it fed 
ravenously on seeds, green food, and ants’ eggs. (‘Der Zoologische 
Garten, August, 1888, p. 234). 

Iraty.—The first were shot on the coast at Fano, on the 
lst of May. About the middle of May a male bird, dead and 
decomposed, was found in the province of Mantua. About the 
same time one was caught by hand near Trieste, and was kept 
alive at the Natural History Museum there. Two specimens 
were caught at Montagnana, in the province of Padua, one of 
which was slightly injured, and was kept alive in a large cage 


PALLAS’S SAND GROUSE. 57 


in the house of Signore Dal Fiume, being fed on millet and other 
seeds. The second specimen was eaten. A pair was shot at 
Santareangclo ; the stomach of the male contained seeds and 
grains of sand, but that of the female was empty. The flesh 
was well-flavoured, but tough. (Tom. cit. p. 235). 

France.—A great number of Sand Grouse were seen west of 
Dunkerque, in the direction of Mardyck. Those which were 
killed were sold to different museums, and others were kept 
alive in cages. There are two stuffed specimens at Carpentier’s, 
the gunmaker, at Dunkerque. Sand Grouse were also seen on 
the 28th of May, on the Dunes of Noirmontier, Dieu, and 
Olonne, in La Vendée (several hundreds, of which three were 
killed); on the 31st of May, near Calais, ten specimens, one 
killed; at the beginning of June, near Nantes in Brittany, and 
in the middle of June, in the north of the Landes. (Tom. cit. 
p- 236.) 

ScHLEswie.—First observed in Schleswig, on the “ Schubyer 
Fields,” between the middle and end of April. At this time 
they did not remain permanently, but seemed as if making 
reconnaisances in flocks of from twenty to thirty birds, and 
were only occasionally to be met with. After the birds were 
protected by the Government, the large estate owners, sports- 
men, and others who were interested in birds took the new 
comers under their special protection, hoping that they might 
obtain a new game-bird, should it become acclimatized. They 
were left unmolested, and all shooting and unnecessary disturbance 
was avoided in their neighbourhood. These birds do not appear 
to be so shy in their nature as Partridges, and they soon gained 
confidence, and took possession of a tract of meadows, pastures 
and heaths which, perhaps, were not very unlike the steppes. 
Flocks of the size mentioned, were noticed until the month of 
May was far advanced. The birds were so tame that they 
allowed themselves to be approached within a few paces; they 
sat quite still, and could be readily observed. Several instances 
of their breeding were noticed in May and June. Nests were 
found in grassy places (mostly in meadow land) containing one, 
four, five, seven, and nine eggs. [May not these have been 
nests of the Landrail ?—Ep.] The meadows lie high, and are 
dry, rather than damp; they are not marshy meadows on 
low-lying rivers. Nests of eggs were also found in grassy places 

ZOOLOGIST.—FEB. 1889. F 


58 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


on the heaths. The nests are like those of the Lapwing, being 
merely a thin layer of grass stems, on which the eggs are laid. 
These are blotched with brown, and resemble the eggs of the 
Woodcock. ‘The nests are arranged in groups, so that we may 
regard the birds as gregarious during the breeding season, which 
is rarely the case with other birds, and they were often seen 
sitting in pairs on the eggs, when they were quiet, and easily 
observed. During the hay harvest, from the end of June to 
the middle of July and later, young Sand Grouse were often 
seen while mowing was going on. Incubated eggs and deserted 
nests were also found, but were not further observed. The wet 
and cold summer must have been very unfavourable to the 
breeding of the Sand Grouse; for abandoned Partridges’ nests, 
containing from fifteen to twenty eggs, were frequently observed. 
The Raven was found to be an enemy to the Grouse, as well as 
to the eggs and young. Owing to the presence of carnivorous 
vermin, no weak or sickly specimens were found, as was the case 
in other places. The Sand Grouse were seldom seen in the 
corn-fields, which leads to the inference that they generally 
feed upon grass-seeds. It was difficult to continue to observe 
them, owing to the size and extent of the plains, and also 
on account of the rainy summer which prevented many observa- 
tions on these birds which might have been of importance. 
They finally congregated in large flocks about the middle of 
September, when two flocks of forty and sixty birds were seen 
several times. The larger size of the flocks in autumn, is 
probably due to the young birds having joined them. The 
young and old birds may be distinguished from each other in 
the flocks, as the former are not full-grown. Although the flocks 
have assembled a long time, as if they were on the point of 
migrating, the birds are still here (Nov. 26). They would probably 
survive a mild winter; but it is doubtful whether they would live 
through so severe a winter as the last. The note of the bird is 
not unlike the hoarse cry of the Sea Gull, but not so piercing.* 
They constantly utter it- when on the wing. (Copied from the 


* « Die Stimme der Vogel ist dem heiseren Schrei der Moéven nicht 
uniihnlich aber nicht so durch dringend.” This is a remarkable statement, 
and conflicts entirely with what has been written of the note of this. Sand 
Grouse by English ornithologists.x—Ep. 


PALLAS'S SAND GROUSE. 59 


‘Schleswigschen Nachrichten,’ in the ‘Bremer Nachrichten,’ 
No. 329, for 27th November, 1888). 

Livon1a.—I beg to inform you that a Sand Grouse was shot 
on the 30th October, 1888, in the district of Zarnau, in the 
province of Wolmar, in Livonia, and was brought tome. At 
the time the ground was covered with some inches of snow, and 
was already a little frozen; and the bird had probably been 
driven by hunger to a farm-yard where a farmer shot it, thinking 
because it flew very swiftly that it was a small Hawk, of which the 
people are very much afraid. The crop contained a large quantity 
of grains of barley and rye, and the bird was not particularly 
lean. No other Sand Grouse have been seen here this autumn 
so far as I know.—Harry von BLanKeNHAGEN (Oberforster, 
Zarnau, in Liyonia. (‘Beilage zur LIllustrirten Jagdzeitung,’ 
Leipzig, 21st December, 1888, p. 144). 

Sines1a.—Sand Grouse have again been seen in the neigh- 
bourhood of Leobschutz. While the workmen of Amtsvorsteher 
Heidrich-Zauchwitz were spreading [{manure, they found three 
dead birds behind a manure heap. At first they thought they 
were Partridges, but when they examined them more closely they 
perceived that the birds were quite unknown to them, and 
brought them to their master as something strange. They proved 
to be Sand Grouse. The cause of death could not be exactly 
ascertained. Anyhow, the birds were not starved, for they were 
in pretty good condition. No signs of external injuries were 
visible. (‘Beilage zur Illustrirten Jagdzeitung,’ Leipzig, 21st 
December, 1888, p. 144). 

Tuurine1a.—The Sand Grouse appear to have now (December 
21st) entirely disappeared from Thuringia, for all the local papers 
concur in saying that no more have been seen anywhere. (Loc. cit.) 

Breriin.—Two pairs of Sand Grouse in one of the aviaries 
at the Berlin Aquarium are well and lively, and very fat. They 
have been accustomed to captivity since July last, when Herr 
Schultze, architect, of Hanover, obtained them on his estate in 
the Island of Amrum, in the North Sea, feeding them on hemp 
seed and buck-wheat. They were sent to Berlin carefully packed, 
and have since lost much of their original shyness. Our Par- 
tridge is considerably handsomer both in form and colour. 
These are, perhaps, the only Sand Grousein Germany at present 
(December 28th). The others have already gone back to Tar- 

F 2 


60 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


tary. [This is extremely doubtful. Ep.] They did not breed 
here, which proves that they are only visitors. (‘ Beilage zur 
Illustrirten Jagdzeitung, December 28th, 1888, p. 157). 

WesreHaia. On the 30th November, 1888, a covey of fifteen 
birds were seen on the preserves of the estate of Niesen.— 
C. BrireriscH (Warburg, Westphalia). 

Saxony.—During two battues on the Alschlebener and 
Kliétzer estates, in the province of Saxony, during last December, 
a single Sand Grouse was shot in each. (‘ Der Weidmann, 
Blatter fiir Jager und Jagd freunde,’ 2nd January, 1889, p. 121.) 

Swepen anv Norway.—Various accounts have been received 
from Sweden and Norway about the Sand Grouse. It is said 
that these visitors have been seen in several places in the 
province of Halland. Since the harvest was gathered, large 
flocks have remained in the neighbourhood of Warbeg. In 
Norway, specimens have been shot on the eastern side of the 
Glommen-Berg in Hedemarken. It has also been stated that a 
flock of from ten to twenty individuals was observed at a great 
heightin the mountains at Taundalen (1150 feet above the sea).— 
B. Danse (Ystad, 16th December, 1888). 


THE SAND GROUSE PROTECTION ACT, 1888. 


Tue following is the text of the Sand-Grouse Protection Act, 
which received the Royal assent on the 25th December last :— 


“ An Act for the better Protection of the Sand Grouse in the 
United Kingdom. 51 & 52 Vict. ch. 55. 


‘“‘ Whereas it is expedient to provide for the protection of the 
Sand Grouse, in order that it may, if possible, become 
acclimatised in the United Kingdom : 

‘Be it therefore 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, as 
follows : 

“1, Any person who shall, after the first day of February 
one thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine, and before the 


THE ELECTRIC ORGANS OF FISIIES. 61 


first day of January one thousand eight hundred and ninety- 
two, knowingly or with intent kill, wound, or take any Sand 
Grouse, or shall expose or offer for sale any Sand Grouse killed 
or taken in the United Kingdom, shall, on conviction of any 
such offence before any justice or justices of the peace in 
England and Ireland, or before the sheriff or any justice or 
justices of the peace in Scotland, forfeit and pay for every such 
bird so killed, wounded, or taken, or exposed or offered for sale, 
such sum of money not exceeding one pound as to the said 
justice or justices shall seem meet, together with the costs of 
conviction. 

“9. This Act may be cited as the Sand-Grouse Protection 
Act, 1888.” 


On comparing the text of this Act with that of the Bill as 
originally introduced,* it appears that the intention of its 
‘promoters was, very properly, to give effect to the Act the 
moment it was passed, and the close time originally proposed 
was “‘ between the time of the passing of this Act and the first 
day of January, 1892.” ‘This was altered (as we think, very 
unwisely) to the wording above given, the result being, as might 
have been expected, that many Sand Grouse have been killed 
since the Act was passed, apparently because unscrupulous 
persons have been anxious to procure specimens before it should 
become illegal to do so. If there was to be any legislation at all 
on the subject, the pity is it did not come sooner. It is hardly 
to be expected that any good will now result from it. 


THE ELECTRIC ORGANS OF FISHES. 


Unver the auspices of the “Glasgow Natural History 
Society,” at the Inaugural Meeting of the present session, 
Professor Cossar Ewart gave an interesting lecture on this 
subject. He said there were few, if any structures in the whole, 
realm of nature which, in addition to perplexing and puzzling 
the naturalist, had attracted more general attention than the 


* The Bill was prepared and brought in by Mr. Sydney Buxton, Sir 
George Trevelyan, Lord Charles Beresford, Sir John Lubbock, Mr. G. 
Osborne Morgan, Sir Henry James, Mr. Richard Power, Sir Edward 
Birkbeck, and Mr. Broadhurst. 


62 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


electric organs of fishes. Aristotle seemed to have pondered 
long the peculiar force by which the electric ray numbed the 
fishes that came within its reach, and Darwin after long and 
careful consideration, came to the conclusion, that the electric 
organs offered a special difficulty to his theory of natural 
selection. And although, as the result of numerous investi- 
gations, a considerable increase had recently been made to our 
knowledge of these organs, it was still impossible to account for 
their origin, in some cases to offer an opinion as to their 
function, or even to say whether they were progressive structures, 
or mere useless vestiges. The Torpedo and other electric fishes 
fascinated the Greeks, and to a less extent the Romans, and 
held their ground during the dark ages. One of the most 
noteworthy facts about electric organs was that they were only 
found among fishes, and that’ although there were hundreds 
of different kinds of fishes, there were practically only three 
kinds that were known to have electric batteries sufficiently 
powerful to be of any evident use. These were Malapterurus of 
the Nile and other African rivers, the Gymnotus of South 
America, and the Torpedo found at times in our own waters, 
and in considerable numbers in the Mediterranean and the 
Atlantic. Others, in which electric organs were known to 
exist, were the once sacred Oxyrhynchus of the Nile, and the 
Skates and Rays which abound round the coast of Scotland. 
The Malapterurus was a quaint-looking fish, with a fatty dorsal 
fin like the Salmon, and six long barbules around the snout. It 
was said sometimes to reach a length of four feet. In this fish 
the electric battery was in the form of a continous subcutaneous 
jacket or tunic, which invested the whole body, with the 
exception of the head and fins. It consisted of a countless 
number of minute cells, from which electricity was thrown off at 
will. The Gymnotus was a soft-skinned, sluggish creature, with 
small stupid-looking eyes, flattened back, and long ventral fin. 
It sometimes reached a length of six feet, and as the electric 
batteries occupied nearly two-thirds of the entire fish, one could 
easily understand how much it was dreaded by the natives of 
the Orinico region, and how ordinary fishes gave the Electric Eel 
a wide berth. 

The Gymnotus had four batteries—two large and two 
small—on each side of the body, supplied by about 200 pairs of 


THE ELECTRIC ORGANS OF FISHES. 63 


nerves. The batteries were so powerful, that a shock from a 
large active fish was strong enough to strike down a man, and 
numb away his consciousness for several hours. The Torpedo 
was of special interest, because we were beginning to understand 
all the steps through which its organ had passed during its long 
and gradual evolution. Some of the species attained a great 
size. There was one, the Giant Torpedo, over four feet in 
length, which, when cast ashore at Cape Cod, was said often by 
its unexpected shocks to strike down the unwary fishermen 
when they attacked it with their harpoons and boathooks. The 
shock of the common British Torpedo was _ sufficiently 
strong to kill a duck, and when the organ was connected with a 
telephone the discharges first produced a croaking sound, but as 
the fish got excited each discharge was accompanied by a 
pronounced groan. The electricity discharged from the 
Torpedo’s batteries behaved like ordinary electricity, rendering 
the needle magnetic and emitting sparks, and it might even be ~ 
used in charging a Leyden jar. But it should be specially noted 
that the living battery of fishes differed from the ordinary 
batteries. A Leyden jar or a voltaic pile had no influence on 
the electricity it contained, while the electricity of the Torpedo 
was entirely under the control of its will, the Torpedo refusing 
to give a shock at one time, but readily discharging its batteries 
at another. What was perhaps still more remarkable, there were 
two large lobes in the brain of the Torpedo which regulated the 
production, storage, and discharge of the electricity. These 
electric lobes were composed of numerous giant nerve cells, 
from which numerous nerve fibres extended to pass direct to 
the batteries. When the electric lobes were destroyed, or the 
nerves passing from them were divided, the Torpedo was 
rendered as helpless as an engine without steam. 

Prof. Ewart then proceeded to describe the structure of the 
electric organ of the Torpedo, He stated that the battery 
consisted of an enormous number of columns or prisms—in the 
ordinary Torpedo from 400 to 500, in the American about 1000, 
making in the two batteries 2000 columns for storing electricity. 
In each of the 500 columns there were about 600 electric 
plates, so that in the ordinary Torpedo there might be about 
300,000 electric plates altogether, and in the Giant Torpedo, 
some 500,000. These plates were supplied with an enormous 


64 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


number of nerve fibres, so fine, and dividing more and more, 
that with the highest power of the microscope it was impossible 
to trace them. Each of these tissues was connected with the 
electric lobes in the brain, and when cut across, were seen to be 
made up of a large number of nerve cells. 

The lecturer described in detail the structure of the electric 
plate, and went on to say that the electric organs claimed special 
attention, not only because of their remarkable structure and still 
more remarkable properties, but because their very existence was 
a mystery. Darwin found the electric organs a special difficulty 
to his theory of natural selections, for two reasons—he was able 
neither to understand their individual nor their ancestral 
history. That the electric organs had been gradually built up 
as the Torpedo and Electric Eel became more and more 
specialised, Darwin had no doubt; but he was unable to account 
for their origin by his law of natural selection. And before 
proceeding he emphasised the difference between evolution and 
natural selection. We spoke of the fact of evolution, but the 
theory of natural selection; for while all naturalists now agreed 
that animals and plants had been evolved, there was still some 
diversity of opinion as to the method by which the evolution had 
been effected. In reference to any plant or animal, it would be 
said by most naturalists that it was slowly evolved out of a mass, 
originally shapeless, of growing protoplasm, by means of natural 
selection operating on fortuitous variations. As to the guiding 
hand, science must be absolutely speechless. In asking 
science to tell us what was the cause of causation, we were 
asking her to cross an impassable channel,—to pass from the 
domain of fact to that of belief,—a feat, which if essayed, must 
inevitably end in failure. 

When, thirty years ago, the ‘Origin of Species’ was 
launched on its wonder-working career, nothing was known of 
the ancestral history of the Torpedo. Now the position was 
altered, and he was able to tell them not only what the 
Torpedo’s organs had been derived from, but also to trace every 
step in their life-history. To redeem his pledge, he went on to 
direct attention to the so-called “ pseudo electric” organs of 
Skate. He pointed out that fifty years ago no one ever 
suspected that the Skate was possessed of electric batteries, and 
that until a few months ago naturalists would probably have 


>» “+4 On oe 


THE ELECTRIC ORGANS OF FISHES. 65 


expressed surprise had it been suggested that there was 
considerable diversity in the form and structure of the electrical 
apparatus of the various members of the Skate family. The 
discovery of the existence of the electric organ of the Skate 
was due to Dr. Stark, of Edinburgh, who read a paper on the 
subject before the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1844, but 
having been labelled by naturalists ‘‘ pseudo electric,” it had 
been until quite recently neglected alike by physiologists and 
naturalists. But the Skate’s organ was coming to the front 
again on account of the light it threw on the development of 
the powerful battery of the Torpedo. ‘The discharges from the 
Skate’s batteries, though weak, and, as far as had been 
ascertained, useless, behaved exactly like the discharges from the 
Torpedo. The Skate did not keep its electric battery at each 
side of the gill like the Torpedo, but carefully tucked away in 
the tail. 

He described at length the structure of the electric organ of 
the Skate. Instead of consisting of a series of plates, it 
consisted of a series of discs, or cones, fitted into each other 
like thimbles, and forming a long electric spindle. Each disc 


consisted of several distinct layers. The first layer, into which 


all the nerve fibres pass, was not unlike the electric plate of the 
Torpedo. Altogether in the electric organ of the Skate there 
might be 25,000 discs, or 50,000 in the two electric spindles. 
In other Skates, instead of the discs, there were numberless 
cups, each cup having led into it numerous nerve fibres. He 
further showed that in other instances the electric organ was 
composed of muscular cups; and in the young of the Skate 
the process of development of the. muscular tissue into the 
electrical organ was traced. 

In the same way, he said, the electric organ of the Torpedo, 
notwithstanding its extreme complexity and remarkable powers, 
had been formed out of ordinary muscular fibres. For some 
inscrutable reason, the fibres of certain muscles concerned in 
moving the jaws of the ancestral Torpedoes became more and 
more modified, generation after generation, until they entirely 
lost their original function, and were so profoundly altered 
in structure that it was no longer possible to recognise in them 
the remotest resemblance to muscular tissues. But though he 
had been able to show that the Torpedo’s electric organs had 


66 fHE ZOOLOGIST. 


been thus evolved, he had to admit that he had only dealt with one 
of the difficulties—he had said nothing of the manner in which 
the transformation had been effected. 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


The late Churchill Babington, D.D., F.L.8.—A distinguished scholar 
and an excellent naturalist has just passed away, at the age of 67, in the 
person of Dr. Churchill Babington, Rector of Cockfield, Suffolk. Although 
best known for his classical and archeological attainments, and his skill as 
a paleographer, his labours in the fields of Zoology and Botany were by 
no means unimportant. So long ago as 1842 he contributed to Potter's 
‘ History of Charnwood Forest,’ an Appendix on the Botany and Ornithology 
of that district, and many years were subsequently occupied in the pre- 
paration of a volume on the Birds of Suffolk, which appeared in 1886, and 
was reviewed in ‘ The Zoologist ’ for January, 1887. It is to be regretted 
that he has not lived to see the publication of his projected ‘ Flora of 
Suffolk,’ the prospectus of which has for some time been issued. He was 
perhaps more of a botanist than a zoologist, his name being familiar to 
readers of the ‘Journal of Botany,’ and was an authority on Lichens, being 
a contributor on that subject to Hooker's ‘ Flora of New Zealand.’ Yet his 
love of animals, and especially of birds, was amply apparent in the large 
and interesting collections which almost filled his charming country rectory. 
Those who have visited him there will not easily forget the kindly hospitality 
with which he welcomed his guests, and the readiness with which he 
exhibited his treasures, regardless of the trouble involved by searching for 
specimens and looking up references which he thought likely to be of 
interest. To very many the news of his death, which occurred on 
Jan. 13th, will bring “ the quiet sense of something lost.” Requiescat in 
pace. 


Game and Wildfowl in the Paris Markets.—In the Annual Report 
of the Municipality of Paris upon the consumption of food in the capital 
during the past twelvemonth, the particulars as to the sale of game and 
poultry are somewhat striking, notably the appended table, which shows 
how many head of game were sold in the markets, and what proportion 
were French, and what foreign. With the exception of Hares from 
Germany, the figures show an increase for the present year, and the report 
states that the reason why there were fewer Hares from Germany was, that 
it was found more profitable to send them to England. But there was a 
marked increase in the number of Pheasants and Partridges from Germany, 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 67 


and the prices fell to about three shillings and two shillings each, which is 
cheap for France. Most of the Deer and Wild Boar came from Germany, 
and averaged tenpence a-pound. The Wild Duck, Woodcock, and Snipe 
came chiefly from Holland and England by parcel-post, and sold well, while 
the Red-legged Partridges were mostly sent from Spain, the Quails and 
Guinea-fowls from Italy, and the Pigeons, which are also classed as 
“game” from Italy likewise. 


Species. French. Foreign. Total. 
Partridges .., -- 160,000 ... 421,499 ... 581,499 
Hares... are ee POOR... OL GAP * 8 293,526 
Fieldfares and Blackbirds 13,270" 26. 110000"... 263,275 
Quails Sos ve §«='14,772 ... 160,000 ... 174,772 


Pheasants ae Se Seal se. -7 85,000) —.. 93,251 
Guinea-fowls .., Ses PPh; DOUO0. 2 56,577 
Wild Ducks ... ses 10,000... 40,000 ... 50,000 
Plover... foo HOE GLO es 46,000 ... 46,619 
Suipe aes Age Ane CHI GM ire iatese 3 it (sais 35,1381 
Woodcock nae et kOe sl cen LE Eb s. 5, 28,467 
Leal... aes aa 3,934 ... 10,000... 13,934 
Deer ... Ee Bue BORIS asa 2S LOLBDDy- 18,285 
Wild Boar ..,, wee 299 ... 1PAO Ole. 1,699 
Miscellaneous ee 316,746 ... 85,000 ... 351,746 


——————L_—— A 


709,226 1,294,555 2,008,781 


MAMMALIA. 


The Acclimatisation of Red Deer in New Zealand,—A communication 
under this heading appeared in our last number (p. 24). We have since 
received the Fourth Annual Report for the year ending 31st August, 1888, 
of the Wellington (N. 4.) Acclimatisation Society. In this we find it 
stated that Red Deer are increasing fast on the east coast of South Waira- 
rapa County, and have shown a tendency to spread over new country, 
namely, the high hills which lie between the Maungaraki Range and the 

coast; also in the Lower Wairarapa on the ranges lying to the east of the 
Lake. During the year (1887-88) two hinds and a stag, captured by Mr. 
Harvey, were purchased at a cost of £20, and liberated on Mr. Holmes’s 
property at the foot of Tararua Range. Unfortunately the stag subsequently 
died, and another was, with some difficulty, secured at a cost of £6, and left 
with the hinds. It is hoped that they will prove the nucleus from which 
the National Deer Park, the backbone range of the island, may be stocked, 
Few people apparently are aware of the extent of splendid country for Deer 
that lies above the forest on these ranges. Upwards of 35,000 acres of 
clear rocky country, covered with grass, form part of a large permanent 


68 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


reserve of more than 300,000 acres, which it is proposed by the Government 
to set aside “for climatic purposes.” These clear tops are fringed by a belt of 
thick, almost impenetrable, scrub, from half a mile to a mile broad. Below 
this line lies birch, gradually changing to mixed forest on the lower levels, 
full of excellent food for Deer, the home of numerous wild cattle; and in 
the neighbourhood of Mount Holdsworth and Mitre Peak several tracks 
cut on to the clear mountain-tops, afford ready access to the Deer. 


Wild Dogs in New Zealand.— From the Report above quoted we learn 
that towards the northern end of the ranges mentioned, Wild Dogs (that is, 
dogs which have run wild) are very numerous, hunting in packs, on the 
lower levels, where they find plenty of food in the shape of pigs, Weka- 
rails, and occasionally even young cattle. It is chiefly from this end of the 
range that they make raids on the stations on the outskirts of the bush, 
doing considerable damage by killing sheep. In the interests of stock- 
owners it is proposed to have poison laid for them on the northern end of 
the Tararua Range, and on the Ruahine and Pukatoi Ranges, especially in 
the river-beds near the head waters of the Ruamahunga, Mangahuo, 
Maungatainoko, and Makakahi, where these animals are said to abound. 


Fur-bearing Animals of Siberia.—The Russian Government is, it is 
stated, about to take steps to preserve the fur-bearing animals of Siberia, 
which, with the present demand for furs, stand in much danger of exter- 
mination. At the great fur fair of Irbit last summer no fewer than 
3,180,000 Squirrel-skins were sold ; but there were only half-a-million Black 
Squirrel-pelts offered, against 1,200,000 of the previous year. The other 
skins sold numbered 1,300,000 Hares, 140,000 Marmots, 30,000 Polecats, 
11,000 Blue Fox, 10,000 Badgers, and a smaller quantity of Bear and 
Wolf. 


Pied Squirrel in Norfolk.x—Three years ago I reported, in the 
Naturalist columns of ‘ The Field,’ the occurrence of a pure white Squirrel 
with pink eyes and claws, the editor, in a footnote, remarking that such a 
variety was very uncommon. On the 24th October last I received a pied 
variety of this little animal, procured near Holt. It had a white saddle 
across its back, all four legs and about half the tail white, also a white tip 
to the nose.—C. B. Dacx (Holt, Norfolk). 


Whiskered Bat in Derbyshire——On New Year's Day I took a male 
Whiskered Bat, Vespertilio mystacinus, in Lathkill Dale, near Bakewell. 
It was hanging asleep in a damp place, its fur being quite wet, in a tunnel 
connected with some disused lead-mines. The Bats of this species which 
I have taken in the copper-workings at Alderley Edge, Cheshire, have 
frequently been a hundred yards or more from the mouth of the tunnel, 
but the Lathkill example was within a few feet of the entrance, sleeping 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 69 


in broad daylight—in fact, I found it before I had lighted my candle.— 
CuarLes OLpHAm (Ashton-on-Mersey). 


BIRDS. 


Notes on London Birds.—The interesting notes on London birds 
which have lately appeared in ‘The Zoologist’ have prompted me to offer 
the following observations on birds which I have met with, chiefly in 
Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, during the last few years. As to 
the Spotted Flycatcher, Muscicapa grisola, in Kensington Gardens, which 
Mr. J. Young says (p. 23) he did not observe last summer, I do not think 
it was as numerous as in previous summers, but there were certainly some 
there. I was not in town at the time of their arrival, but my sisters first 
observed them on May 22nd—very late. In previous years, according to 
our note-book, they were first observed as follows :—1887, May 4th; 1886, 
May 15th; 1885, May 9th; and 1884, May 11th. A pair usually build 
their nest on a ledge of the middle arch of the bridge over the Serpentine; 
last summer, however, they were not there. The decrease of the London 
rookeries is much to be regretted, but a good many Rooks may be still seen 
about the parks. I frequently see a party of about forty feeding on the 
open ground in Hyde Park near the Marble Arch. It was here, one rather 
foggy morning in the winter of 1885, that a Sparrowhawk flew close by 
me; and here, every April, migratory Wheatears may be observed for a 
day or two. Our smaller migrants, with the exception of the Spotted 
Flycatcher and Redstart, rarely stay in London during the summer; but 
the Whitethroat and Blackcap do so occasionally, and I have reason to 
believe that the Willow Warbler breeds in the Botanical Gardens, Regent’s 
Park. The Garden Warbler may be seen in spring for a short time while 
passing through town, and sometimes we have short visits from the 
Chiffchaff and the Lesser Whitethroat—a bird which is very common in 
the immediate neighbourhood of the Metropolis. On April 19th, 1885, 
there was quite a large party of Tree Pipits in Kensington Gardens, on the 
Hyde Park side of the Serpentine, but I have never seen them since. The 
Meadow Pipit, too, is rarely seen, except in very cold weather, when a few 
come into London for shelter. Other cold-weather visitors which I have 
noted are the Sky Lark, the Redwing, Fieldfare, Grey Wagtail, and Missel 
Thrush. Of these the Lark may be seen occasionally at all seasons, and a 
few pairs of Missel Thrushes nest in Kensington Gardens. I have seen 
the Redwing as late as April, but never earlier than December. The 
Sparrow, Starling, Wood Pigeon, Jackdaw, Blackbird, Thrush, Crow, 
Hedgesparrow, Robin, and Wren are ali residents in greater or less 
numbers; and the Great Tit, the Coal Tit and the Blue Tit have been 
noted at almost every season of the year. A Sparrow which my sisters 
found some years ago in Kensington Gardens, with a broken wing, was 


70 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


rescued from its inevitable fate, and now lives happily in a cage; its wing 
has never properly mended, and the bird is consequently unable to fly. 
After the autumnal moult last year a white tail-feather appeared, and there 
is one white feather in the head. Varieties of the Sparrow may be seen 
almost daily. On April 14th, 1886, a sooty black one was observed; on 
April 16th, 1887, there was a Sparrow in the Zoological Gardens with 
nearly all the feathers on its back edged with white, giving it a curious 
streaked appearance. Chaffinches are fairly common in summer, but in 
winter are much scarcer; I remember one Christmas seeing from my 
dining-room window a hen Chaffinch searching for food on the deep snow 
lying in the street. A Bullfinch was seen on May 15th, 1884, near the 
Serpentine, and a Linnet close to the Bayswater Road, but it is possible 
that these may have been escaped birds. Greenfinches are scarce in 
London, but are occasionally obseryed in the Botanical Gardens, and on 
Jan. 4th, 1887, I noticed one on a small tree in Oxford Terrace. I have 
only once or twice come across the Pied Wagtail, and the same remark 
applies to the Goldcrest, Kingfisher, and Tree Creeper. I nearly caught a 
Tree Creeper about a year ago in Kensington Gardens by stalking it from the 
opposite side ofa trunk, on which it was busily engaged searching for insects. 
The Swallow, Martin, Sand Martin, and Swift are all to be seen at times in 
our parks; but itis a matter of regret that the Martins which we used to 
watch building their nests every sum mer under the eaves of a house near 
the Bayswater Road, have recently deserted the spot. The only other 
species which have come under my notice in London are the Stonechat, 
the Cuckoo, the Heron, and the Kittiwake, all of which pay occasional 
visits to the Metropolis. Curiously enough, I have never had the fortune 
to see any of the Woodcock or Snipe which have often been reported to 
have been seen near Hyde Park Corner; but if these are added to this 
list, which numbers forty-four (exclusive of the doubtful Bullfinch and 
Linnet), and if we add the other species which are known to have occurred 
within the last few years (e.g., Whinchat, Black Redstart, Green Wood- 
pecker, Greater and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, Nuthatch, Partridge, 
and Storm Petrel), the result is a really long and interesting list of London 
birds.— A. H. MacrpnErson (51, Gloucester Place, Hyde Park, W.). 


The Invasion of Crossbills in the East of France.—The following- 
is an extract from an article that has appeared in the ‘Journal d’Accli, 
matation’ (August, 1888), by M. Brocard, of Besancon, President of the 
Society of Ornithologists of Franche-Comté :—“ Our Society had barely been 
formed a few months when we had the good fortune to be able to announce 
one of the most singular facts in Ornithology—an inva sion of Crossbills 
the ‘ Gipsies of the winged race.’ For my own part, though occupied with 
Ornithology for forty years, I have seen each year in the neighbourhood of 
of Besancon some isolated specimens (of the Crossbill), but never such 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 71 


numbers as in the present instance. M. Lacordaire, who has amassed a 
very fine collection of birds (now at Dijon), and was our best naturalist in 
Franche-Comté, has only recorded the occurrence of this bird as occasional 
in the lower part of the Department. We know, however, of a young 
sportsman who at Maiziers, Canton d'Ornans (Doubs), has just killed more 
than a hundred. Another, at Rougemont, has killed or caught more than 
forty of them in his garden, and this locality is at the opposite side of the 
Department. In short, people send them to us from all directions. Tn less 
than a week forty-two have passed through our hands. Nothing is easier 
than to tell the presence of this bird, which is a little smaller than the 
Hawfinch, and utters a similar ery. It is quite enough to look under the 
fir-trees, where a quantity of cones may be seen thrown on the ground and 
torn to pieces, the food of this bird consisting principally of the seeds of the 
fir. If it only stopped there, it would have done but half its mischief, for 
it is remarked also to attack the young fir-shoots, and often pulls them off 
when growing—a decided injury to the tree. This bird, we are told by 
authorities, comes to us from the North, the region of Conifers. It suddenly 
makes its appearance in the lower part of the Department,—one cannot 
‘tell why,—remains there a longer or shorter time, sometimes breeds there, 
and, strange to say, it is in January that it constructs its nest at the 
insertion of a fir-branch, anointing it with the resin of the tree to preserve 
it from wet. [This we should doubt.—Ep.] M. Ricond, of Chaux-de- 
Fonds, a collector of eggs, says that he has often seen the female Crossbill 
raise herself from the nest to shake off the snow. . . . - It would 
be important to be able to ascertain the limits of the invasion of these 
wandering hosts, and we shall therefore be much obliged to those who will 
be kind enough to communicate their observations to us by post-card, 
stating the presence of Crossbills in any locality, and later on if they 
remain there, and, above all, if they breed.” In reply to this request for 
information, M. Brocard adds, “I have received a number of letters telling 
me of the presence of Crossbills, principally in the East of France. One 
young sportsman has killed many at St. Etienne (Loire). By the end of 
- August they had almost disappeared. Since then a few have been killed 
casually, as in every year, but the bulk of the army has departed.” May 
not the late occurrence of Crossbills in Skye be connected with the above, 
as well as the following ;—In December, 1887, five were seen here at 
Cappagh. In January and February I heard of five separate occurrences 
in Co. Cork, chiefly near Mallow and Doneraile, and on April 6th I received, 
in the flesh, one of two Crossbills met with near Cappoquin, Co. Waterford. 
On November 13th ult., I saw four Crossbills feeding on the cones of larch 
here.—R. J. Ussurr (Cappagh, Co. Waterford). 

[Flocks of Crossbills were noticed at Keston, Kent, in October, and a 
young one having been picked up dead, it was inferred that a pair had 


72 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


nested in the neighbourhood. See ‘ The Field,’ Nov. 24th, p.759. On the 
18th October a large flock appeared at Edenhall, and some were shot. In 
Ireland a good many have been lately reported.— Ep. ] 


Sand Grouse in the North-West of England.—I write to ask that 
if any readers of ‘ The Zoologist ’ should happen to hear of any Sand Grouse 
killed either in Westmoreland or in the heart of the Lake District, they 
will kindly send me word, or record the bird, or birds. I may say that 
Mr. C. J. Holdsworth has kindly made enquiries in South Westmoreland, 
as also has Mr. Duckworth. I have made many local enquiries, but could 
neither hear of nor see any Sand Grouse either in Westmoreland or among 
the mountains of Cumberland. Reports from Ullswater, Keswick, Cocker- 
mouth, Kendal, Appleby, &c., all negative the idea that any Sand Grouse 
entered the centre of the Lake District; but I am anxious to thoroughly 
sift the matter. I may add that, in November last, I visited Walney with 
Mr. Duckworth, who in May and June had obligingly undertaken repeated 
visits to Walney at my suggestion. The Sand Grouse all left Walney in 
July, and only a single bird reappeared in the island early in November. 
It was on the island at the time of our last visit, but at the south end of it. 
I may add that the Walney Sand Grouse went on to Bootle and Ravenglass 
in July, and remained there until they left voluntarily in October, about 
forty being seen to depart unscathed. I believe that food was then scarce 
there. In November a small flock reappeared on the Cumbrian Solway, 
where, but for persecution, one or two hen birds would probably have 
nested in spring. I regret to say that in November they were ruthlessly 
shot down, as a matter of sport to lads on the farms. It is possible, 
however, that one or two pairs may survive, to take advantage of the new 
Act, but this is uncertain. Since the foregoing lines were written, I regret 
to say that I have heard that two Sand Grouse were shot on Walney during 
the present winter. One of these was killed in November, the other on 
December 20th.— H. A. Macruerson. 


Sand Grouse in North Yorkshire— Two Sand Grouse, male and 
female, were shot on the Kirkleatham estate, near Redcar, on or about the 
13th of November last. Both birds were in very good condition as regards 
plumage, and weighed a little over ten ounces each. The crops contained 
wheat and buckwheat.—T. H. Netson (Redcar). 


Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Hampshire.—A specimen of Pallas’s Sand 
Grouse was sent to me, for preservation, on the 15th December last, from 
Stubbington, near Fareham, apparently killed the day previous. It wasa 
male bird, in good condition, weighing 84 oz., in very good plumage, though 
the wings and tail were rather worn.—W. JrerFrery (Stoke Road, Gosport). 


Sand Grouse in Northamptonshire.— On Jan. 15th a male Sand 
Grouse was shot in the parish of Weedon, as it flew out of some turnips 


SSeS 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 73 


close to a rick of barley, where it had evidently been feeding, as its crop 
proved to be full of grain W. Bazexey (Taxidermist, Sheep Street, 
Northampton). 


Weight of the Pectoral Sandpiper.—In ‘ The Zoologist’ for January 
(p. 33), Mr. Williams, of Dublin, writing on an example of this species 
obtained during the past autumn in Ireland, says “it almost turned the 
scale at 8 oz.” Surely, for a bird slightly over the dimensions of the Purple 
Sandpiper, there must be some error in the weight recorded, or perhaps 
8 was a misprint for 3. I have never weighed a Pectoral Sandpiper, but, 
to judge from the size of the bird, and comparing it with the known weight 
of other waders, I should have thought that 2% to 3 oz. would have been 
much nearer the mark. In the last edition of Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds,’ the 
weight of the Don specimen is given at 2}0z. It is not a bad Snipe which 
weighs 44 oz., and a Knot will weigh the same; a fat Dunlin 2 oz. The 
Great Snipe, in good condition, is twice the weight of a Common Snipe, or 
8 to90z. The Golden Plover weighs 8 oz., and I once weighed eight, 
killed at the same time, which averaged 9 oz., but these were very fine 
birds and excessively fat. An example of Bartram’s Sandpiper (a bird 
rather larger than a Reeve), loaded with fat, is recorded in Yarrell’s ‘ British 
Birds’ (4th ed. vol. iii. p. 444) as weighing 6 oz. 2 dr.—JoHN CorRDEAUX 
(Great Cotes, Ulceby). 

[Considering the weight given by Mr. Williams (J. c.) to be very heavy 
for the size of the bird, and much in excess of that given by R. Gray, 
‘ Birds of West of Scotland,’ as quoted in the fourth edition of “ Yarrell” 
(iii. p. 8372), we wrote to Mr. Williams to enquire whether any mistake had 
been made, and he has replied as follows :—* In answer to your enquiries 
about the weight of the Pectoral Sandpiper, I weighed the bird with a parcel- 
post balance, and as the indicator just touched the 4-tb. mark, I concluded 
that that was the correct weight. I have since tested the balance carefully, 
and find it is just 1 oz. out, which would make the bird exactly 7 oz.; but 
from the quantity of fat, which quite soaked the plumage through, I should 
say it was, at the very least, 2 oz. over the weight of an ordinary individual 
of the same species. There can be very little doubt the weight given in 
*Yarrell’ is too little. I showed the bird to Mr. A. G. More, so there can 
be no doubt of its being a Pectoral Sandpiper. It has since been purchased 
for the collection in the Science and Art Museum, Dublin.”—Ep.] 


Green Sandpiper in Glamorganshire——On January 4th, whilst out 
Snipe-shooting near here, I shot a Green Sandpiper, Totanus ochropus. I 
have been told that this species has been known to frequent the lakes at 
Penllergare, near Swansea ; and I have also known of one that was obtained 
at Sant-y-nill Pond, St. Fagans, and another on Ely River, shot by the 
gamekeeper at St. Fagans, in 1885. Strictly speaking, however, the 

ZOOLOGIST.— FEB, 1889. G 


74 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


species must be considered a scarce one in this county.—DicBy = Ws 
NicHou (Cowbridge, Glamorganshire). 


Food of the Manx Shearwater.—In reply to Mr. C. R. Gawen’s 
enquiry (p. 24), whether the sprats disgorged by the Manx Shearwater 
might have been thrown overboard by some of the fishermen, as well as the 
entrails (also disgorged), I do not think so, for the sprats looked perfectly 
fresh and silvery, as if only swallowed a few minutes before the bird was 
shot: another reason against the supposition is, that fishermen are too 
economical of their bait to throw any of it overboard while fresh ; and the 
third reason is, that during that week’s fishing, and on that day, we used 
herrings for bait, there being no sprats for sale in the bait market at 
Queenstown. But why there should be any doubt as to the Shearwater 
catching fish for food, because it has not been recorded that any person has 
actually seen them catch and swallow fish, I cannot understand. [Capt. 
S. G. Reid has so observed them. See ‘ The Ibis,’ 1888, p. 80.—Ep.] Their 
gliding flight, and skimming the surface of the water, would give very little 
opportunity to the observer to obtain even a passing glance at the sort of 
food they pick up: even the very shape of the Shearwater’s bill, with its 
sharp sides and hooked point, shows that it must be a very efficient weapon 
for both catching and holding such slippery prey. On referring to my note- 
book I find that we were out on the “ Maide,” a fishing-ground about three 
miles outside Cork Harbour, fishing for Hake, and while at anchor—as 
early as 12 o'clock in the day—we observed several flocks of Shearwaters 
flying about, and as one flock passed close by I knocked down two birds, 
and, as we got into the small boat to pick them up, one of them—very badly 
hit, almost dying—threw up some solid matter when caught; the second, 
being only winged, swam off, diving several times, but only for a short 
distance, under water, and, when overtaken and about to be caught, 
disgorged the sprats and fish entrails, as I have already stated. On the 
same occasion I remarked a pair of dark-coloured Shearwaters, much larger 
than the others, amongst a flock of the common ones; these I took to be 
the Great Shearwater, Puffinus major; but a short time ago having been 
shown a specimen of the Sooty Shearwater, P. griseus, taken off the Kerry 
coast, J am now of the opinion they were the last-named species, from the 
under parts being so much darker than those of the Great Shearwater. 
The occurrences of that day were deeply impressed on my memory, for it 
was the last day’s Hake-fishing I ever enjoyed. We took our eighty-five 
Hake ; and my brother—quite a small boy—caught sixteen fine fish, and a 


Turbot of six pounds weight, on his own line-—Rospert WARREN (Moy- 
view, Ballina). 


Habits of the Manx Shearwater.—Mr. Gawen and myself have 
arrived at such a pleasant termination to our discussion on the Shearwater, 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 75 


that for the present I intend to say nothing more on that score. But 
Tshould like to allude to another point. Probably most of your readers 
are accustomed to find the Shearwater nesting at a very moderate height 
above sea-level; I thought myself that the colony which nests on Higg, at 
a height of nearly 1000 feet, was unusually ambitious. Mr. M. Byles, 
however, who has tenanted the island of Rum asa deer forest for several 
seasons, informs me that Shearwaters breed on that island at a height of 
more than 2000 feet above the sea—a pretty contrast to their quarters at 
Annet.—H. A. Macpuerson. 


Bittern in Lancashire.—A fine male Bittern was shot on Dec. 26th, 
1888, on Bryn Moss, about three miles from Wigan, and was sent for- 
preservation to a taxidermist in the town, at whose place I had an 
opportunity of seeing it. It had been killed by a single pellet, which had 
passed through the neck near the base of the skull and severed some of 
the principal blood-vessels, death ensuing from hemorrhage into the throat. 
It was able to run vigorously a short distance after it was shot, and being 
pursued by a dog the bird stood at bay, and, erecting its crest, assumed 
such a threatening and terrifying aspect that the dog turned tuil and refused 
to face it. The body was loaded with fat; the stomach was quite empty, 
its last meal having been thoroughly digested and disposed of. The last 
occurrence of the Bittern in this district, as far as I know, was about 
twenty-eight years ago, when two were shot at the same time on a small 
mill-pond at Roby Mill, Upholland, about five miles from here.—W. 
Worruineton (Wigan). 


Rooks in the Isle of Wight: Correction of Error.—lI find a mistake 
has been made in the note I sent you (p. 28). It was a “brown ” Rook 
that was thought strange, though white varieties are not uncommon here, 
as elsewhere. The Rook is as numerous a species in the Isle of Wight as 
in most parts of England. The error occurred in the copying, which I 
regret.—Hernry Hapriexp (High Cliff, Ventnor). 


Nutcracker, Crossbill, and Sand Grouse in Norfolk.—On Nov. 9th ~ 
I received for preservation a female specimen of the Nutcracker, Nucifraga 
caryocatactes. It flew out of an old chalk-pit, and was shot by a game- 
keeper in mistake for a young Blackbird. On Nov. 24th, when out fora 
walk, I saw five Crossbills feeding on fir-cones, the first I have seen in 
this district for twenty years. I think they are rather rare as a Norfolk 
bird. I had a right and left shot at a male and female, but unfortunately 
lost the female; the male I obtained was a fine red bird. On Nov. 30th 
I bought an old male Sand Grouse with a very long tail and fine orange 
head. I record this as we had plenty in the summer, but they all dis- 
appeared about September. The crop contained a good number of wheat- 
grains, mixed with the customary seeds that were found in all the earlier. 


76 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


killed birds. I think the visitation is about over, as I hear now of only 
here and there a straggler or two left behind, and it may be many a long 
year before they pay us another visit.—C. B. Dacx (Holt, Norfolk). 


Scarcity of the Carrion Crow in Norfolk.—Referring to the Editor's 
suggestion in the footnote (p. 10), it is possible that some of the Black 
Crows seen by me in the marsh were young Rooks, but some were certainly 
Carrion Crows. I am quite aware of the scarcity—-even rarity—of the 
latter bird in the northern portion of Norfolk, and these were the first I 
had met with in that district, although I saw some flying low over Hickling 
Broad in December, 1886.—Otiver VY. APLIN. 


Lapland Bunting in Ireland.—In the migration schedule of Mr. 
George Dunleavy, Principal Lightkeeper on the Fastnet Rock, Co. Cork, 
seven miles from shore, the following entry occurs under date Oct. 16th, 
1887 :—* One Skylark and one Twite (supposed) dead on rock, at 9 a.m.— 
believed to be killed striking; wind light, east, clear.” On the night of 
15th several Skylarks and Starlings are entered as striking, 8 to 11 p.m.; 
wind E.N.E., hazy. The “ Twite (supposed) ” was forwarded to me in the 
flesh, and it proved to be a female Lapland Bunting, Plectrophanes 
lapponicus. This is the first instance of the occurrence of this species in 
Ireland. Prof. Newton writes that the Greenland examples of P. lapponicus 
are generally larger than those from Europe, and he thinks my specimen 
is of European origin, but does not speak positively. Dr. Gadow is inclined 
to hold the opposite opinion, but he also expresses himself cautiously. The 
above occurrence is mentioned briefly in Saunders’s ‘ Illustrated Manual of 
British Birds,’ but none of the above details have yet been published.— 
R. M. Barrineron (Fassaroe, Bray, Co. Wicklow). 


Crossbills in Ireland.—I have received several Crossbills lately from 
Letterkenny (Co. Donegal), Doneraile (Co. Cork), Parsonstown, King’s 
County, Basonbay (Co. Cavan), Tipperary, and Edenderry, which shows 
they are very common in Ireland this winter. They belong, without 
exception, to the common species.—EH. Wiutams (2, Dame Street, Dublin). 


Swallows in December.— On the morning o December 17th, six 
Martins, Hirundo urbica, were observed feeding about the cliffs near 
Marazion, Cornwall, and I enclose a specimen which was shot for identifi- 
cation. On the previous evening I watched for some time three of them, 
apparently male birds in full plumage, which appeared quite as strong and 
active as they are in the summer time. Since September last this species 
has appeared at uncertain intervals, from one to three weeks apart, and in 
sunshine just as frequently as in dull and cold weather. For some weeks 
past, on bright and mild days, the Starlings have been flying about picking 
up insects in the air, very much after the fashion of Swallows,—F, W. 
Mu.vert (Marazion, Cornwall). 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 77 


Rough-legged Buzzard in Lancashire.—The local papers of Nov. 18th 
having reported the capture of an Eagle in the neighbourhood of Bolton, 
and having reason to doubt the statement, my brother and I arranged to go 
over and see it. Instead of a Golden Eagle we found that the bird was 
Buteo lagopus, with the plumage rather soiled and one leg nearly off, but 
in other respects in good condition. ‘The Field ’ for Nov. 10th reported 
the occurrence of two more near Leeds.—C. E. Srorr (Lostock, Bolton). 


Little Gull in Glamorganshire.—Since forwarding my account of the 
Little Gull in Glamorganshire (p. 25) I have been informed by Mr. Cording, 
taxidermist, of Cardiff, that a male specimen of this species was shot, at 
the mouth of the Taff, in March, 1885.— Diesy S. W. Nicaoun 
(Cowbridge, Glamorganshire). 


Wood Warbler at Cley.—Perhaps the large Warbler met with in the 
scrub at Cley, by Mr. Aplin (p.10) was a Wood Warbler, Phylloscopus 
stbilatriw, which is a species I have shot there in the young plumage in 
autumn.—J. H. Gurney, jun. (Keswick Hall, Norwich). 


FISHES. 

Burbot off the Yorkshire Coast.—On December 26th, 1888, Mr. 
T. H. Nelson sent me a fish which he stated to be very rare at Redcar, and 
not known to the fishermen. I saw at once it was a Burbot, Lota vulgaris, 
and in this determination I was confirmed by Mr. Edward E. Prince, B.A., 
who has paid much attention to the British food-fishes, and to whom I 
showed it the same day. Mr. Nelson has since informed me that it was 
caught on the day he sent it off, at sea, about a mile off the Point 
of Huntcliffe. The fishermen at Redcar told him they had never seen a 
fish like it before. It was caught on a mussel-bait. Being the first time I 
have heard of this—a river-fish—being caught at sea, I should be glad to 
learn if similar instances are known.—W. Dentson-Roxrsuck (Sunny Bank, 
Leeds). 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 


Linnean Society or Lonpon. 


January 17, 188¥.— Mr. W. Carrutuers, F'.R.S., President, in the 


chair. 


The following were elected Fellows:—J. R. Green, M.A., Prof. Botany 
_ Pharmaceutical Society; R. J. Harvey Gibson, M.A., Lecturer Botany 
~ Univ. Coll. Liverpool; James W. White, of Clifton, Bristol; and Herbert 
_ Stone, of Handsworth, Birmingham. The following recently elected 


78 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Fellows were formally admitted:—Alfred B. Rendle and Henry Powys 
Greenwood. 

On behalf of M. Buysman, of Middleburg, Mr. B. D. Jackson exhibited 
a series of careful dissections of Nymphea cerulea, collected by Dr. Schwein - 
furth in Egypt. 

Mr. D. Morris exhibited specimens of drift-fruit from Jamaica, where 
he had collected no fewer than thirty-five different kinds brought by the 
gulf-stream from the mouths of the Orinoco and Amazon. Although the 
species exhibited had not been determined with certainty, it was believed 
to be probably Humiria balsamifera, Aud. (the flower of which is figured by 
Hichler, ‘Flora Brasiliensis,’ vol. xii. pt. 2, p. 420, pl. xcii.), but the 
fruit undescribed. It was commonly known in French Guiana as Bois 
rouge, and from it was obtained a gum used medicinally and burnt as 
incense. An interesting discussion followed, in which Mr. J. G. Baker, 
Mr. Rolfe, and Mr. Breese took part. 

Mr. T. Christy exhibited a material felted from Manilla hemp, and 
waterproofed, very strong and light, and particularly useful for surgical 
bandages, for which purpose it was highly recommended by army surgeons. 

Mr. F. Crisp exhibited some specimens of agate, so curiously marked 
as to lead to the erroneous supposition that they enclosed fossil insects 
and crustacea. 

A paper was then read by Mr. J. G. Tepper, on the natural history of 
the Kangaroo Island Grass ‘Tree, Xantharrhea Tateana. This tree grows 
abundantly in Kangaroo Island, South Australia, in poor gravelly and 
sandy soil, intermixed with ferruginous concretions, and attains a height 
of from 6 to 14 feet, with a diameter of 6 to 18 inches, and a floral spike 
of from 10 to 19 feet. It is thus a most conspicuous plant, and lends a 
peculiarly weird aspect to the country it occupies. Its rate of growth is 
described as very slow, old settlers having remarked but little change in 
individual trees after thirty years’ observation. The most remarkable 
feature in the structure of the stem is the formation of a dense ligneous 
central core immediately above and connected with the roots, exhibiting 
numerous annular zones traversed by transverse (medullary) fibres. The 
flowers are borne in a dense spike upon a smooth peduncle. Individually 
they are inconspicuous, of a whitish colour, and develope a strong odour 
and abundant nectar during the warmer part of the day, when they are 
visited and fertilized by hymenopterous insects, the most remarkable being 
a large metallic-green Carpenter Bee (Xylocapa), which tunnels out cells 
in the dead flower-stalks. An interesting discussion followed upon the 
botanical position of the Grass-trees, and the antiquity of the type, in which 
the President, Mr. A. W. Bennett, Mr. J. G. Baker, Mr. Morris, and 
Mr. Rolfe took part. 

The meeting adjourned to February 7th. 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 79 


ZooLocicaL Society or Lonpon. 


December 18, 1888.—Howarp SaunveErs, F.Z.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 November, and called attention 
to a specimen of the Small-clawed Otter, Lutra leptonyx, presented by 
Mr. W. L. Sclater, Deputy Superintendent, Indian Museum, Calcutta, new 
to the Society’s Collection; and to a Monkey of the genus Cercopithecus, 
from South Africa, apparently referable to the Samango Monkey, C. samango, 
also new to the Society’s Collection. 

Mr. G. B. Sowerby read descriptions of fourteen new species of Shells 
from China, Japan, and the Andaman Islands, chiefly collected by Deputy 
Surgeon-General R. Hungerford. 

A communication was read from Mr. Herbert Druce, in which he gave 
an account of the Lepidoptera-Heterocera collected by Mr. C. M. Woodford 
in Guadalcanar Island, Solomon Islands. The collection was stated to 
contain exatples of fifty-three species, eighteen of which were described 
as new to science. 

Mr. J. H. Leech read the second portion of a paper on the Lepidoptera 
of Japan and Corea, comprising an account of the Sphingide, Bombycide, 
Notodontida, and Cymatophorida, in all 352 species. Of these thirty-eight 
Species were now described as new to science. 

Dr. Hans Gadow read a paper on the numbers and on the phylogenetic 
development of the remiges of Birds. The author showed that the number 
of primaries is of very limited taxonomic value, as was proved by the 
_ humerous exceptions mentioned in the lists contained in the paper. A 
_ comparison of the remiges of the Penguins with those of other Carinate 
seemed to indicate an extremely low stage in the Penguins, which, however, 
was not borne out by other anatomical features. The Ratite were most 


4 probably descendants of birds which formerly possessed the power of flight 
and had lost it. This view was strengthened by an examination of the 
structure of their wings and of the feathers of their nestlings. The paper 
_ concluded with general remarks upon the probable gradual development of 
the organism of flight in birds. 

: January 15, 1889.—Prof. FLower, C.B., IED. BRS President, in 


the chair. 

i The Secretary read a report on the additions that had been made to 
_ the Society’s Menagerie during the mouth of December, 1888, and called 
_ attention to a young Chimpanzee purchased of Mr. Cross, of Liverpool, 
December 6th, which was undoubtedly of the same species as the specimen 
purchased October 24th, 1883, still living in the Society’s Gardens, and 
was, so far as could be at present ascertained, referable to the Bald-headed 
Chimpanzee, Anthropopithecus calvus. 


80 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


A letter was read from Heer F. E. Blaauw, of Amsterdam, containing 
an account of the development of the horns of the White-tailed Gnu, as 
observed in specimens bred in his Menagerie. 

Prof. Newton exhibited a specimen of Pennula millsi, Dole, brought 
from the Sandwich Islands by Mr. 8S. B. Wilson, remarking that it seemed 
to be specifically identical with Rallus obscwrus, Gmelin, a species which 
has not been lately recognised. 

Prof. Bell made some remarks on the question of the food of Bipaliwm. 

Canon Tristram made some remarks ona specimen of E'mberiza cioides, 
a Bunting of Siberia, of which a specimen was believed to have been 
obtained in this country at Flamborough in October, 1887. 

Prof. F'. Jeffrey Bell read a note on the Echinoderm fauna of the Bay - 
of Bengal. 

Mr. F. E. Beddard and Mr. Frederick Treves gave an account of the 
anatomy of the Sumatran Rhinoceros, as observed in two specimens of this 
animal that had lately died in the Society’s Gardens. The muscular 
anatomy of the limbs of this Rhinoceros was especially treated of. 

Prof. Newton read a paper on the breeding of the Seriema, Cariama 
cristata, in the Society’s Gardens.—P. L. Sciater, Secretary. 


EntromoLocicaL Society or Lonpoy. 


The Fifty-sixth Anniversary Meeting, Jan. 16, 1889.—Dr. D. SHarp, 
F.L.S., President, in the chair. 

An Abstract of the Treasurer's Accounts, showing a balance in the 
Society’s favour, was read by Mr. Osbert Salvin, F.R.S., one of the 
Auditors; and Mr. H. Goss read the Report of the Council. It was 
announced that the following gentlemen had been elected as Officers and 
Council for 1889 :—President, the Right Hon. Lord Walsingham, M.A., 
F.R.S.; Treasurer, Mr. Edward Saunders, F.L.S.; Secretaries, Mr. Herbert 
Goss, F.L.S., and the Rev. Canon Fowler, M.A., F.L.S.; Librarian, 
Mr. Ferdinand Grut, F.L.S.; and as other Members of Council, Mr. 
Henry W. Bates, F.R.S.; Mr. H. J. Elwes, F.L.S.; Mr. William H. B. 
Fletcher, M.A.; Mr. F. DuCane Godman, M.A., F.R.S.; Prof. Raphael 
Meldola, F.R.S.; Dr. Philip Brooke Mason, F.L.S.; Mr. Osbert Salvin, 
M.A., F.R.S.; and Dr. David Sharp, F.L.8. 

Dr. Sharp, the outgoing President, then delivered an Address, for 
which a vote of thanks to him was moved by Mr. Elwes, seconded by 
Mr. Osbert Salvin, and carried. A vote of thanks to the Treasurer, 
Secretaries, and Librarian was moved by Mr. J. W. Dunning, seconded by 
Lord Walsingham, and carried. Mr. Saunders, Mr. Goss, and Mr. Grut 
severally replied. —H. Goss, Hon. Secretary. 


Plate I. 


Z,001. 1889. 


West, Newman &Co.rmmp. 


LHutchinson lith. 


THE ZOOLOGIST. 


THIRD SERIES. 
Vou. XIII.) MARCH, 1889. [No. 147. 


THE ROE-DEER, CAPREOLUS CAPREA. 
By tur Epitor. 
i (PiateE I.) 


THE presence in so many English Parks of herds of Fallow- 
deer, and in smaller numbers of Red-deer, has rendered the 
appearance of these two species tolerably familiar to most people, 
while the Red-deer, still a “‘ beast of chace,” is hunted with stag- 
hounds in England and Ireland, or falls to the rifle of the deer- 
stalker in Scotland. It is otherwise with the Roe-deer, whose 
appearance is less familiar, because the animal—in England, at 
all events—is much less common, while in Ireland it is quite 
unknown. It is curious that it should be so, for the Roe, 
like the Red-deer, is an indigenous British animal, while the 
Fallow has been introduced. The explanation, however, is to 
be found in the fact that while the Fallow-deer has been pro- 
tected in parks, where it is fed during the winter, and prevented 
by fences from straying away, the Roe has been suffered to 

take its chance, and has met with the fate which would naturally 
overtake any game animal of its conspicuous size and wandering 
disposition. : 

There was a time when it must have been common in all our 
English wood-lands, for there is abundant evidence, both geo- 
logical and historical, to show that it existed in widely separated 
localities in many different counties. Amongst these may be men- 
tioned Northumberland, Cumberland (whence Charles I. stocked 

ZOOLOGIST.— MARCH, 1889. H 


82 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


the royal park at Wimbledon*), Durham, Yorkshire, Lancashire, 
Leicestershire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Hants, Dorset, 
and Devon, not omitting Wales, where it was to be found in the 
time of Queen Elizabeth. The evidence of its former existence 
in these places has been so fully detailed elsewhere,t that it is 
unnecessary here to repeat it. Suffice it to say that, with the 
exception of Cumberland, where a limited number are established 
near Wigton (Zool. 1887, pp. 882, 383), Dorsetshire (Zool. 1879, 
pp. 120, 170, 209, 262, 801), and Essex (where it was re-introduced 
in 1884, after having been extinct for many years), and certain 
parks, such as Windsor and Petworth, where a few have been 
turned down, the Roe can now only be looked for in any numbers 
beyond the Scottish borders. There it still roams in many a 
covert sufficiently remote from human habitation, and there we 
have had the pleasure of observing it in all its pride of un- 
restrained freedom; now jumping up suddenly from some bed of 
fern in which it had been lying concealed; now stealing away, 
like a shadow before the shooters, or when driven by advancing 
“beaters,” coming with a rush to its doom through some accus- 
tomed pass. In Dorsetshire, too, when pheasant-shooting, it 
has been our good fortune to see sometimes as many as twenty 
or more in a day, of which three or four, perhaps, at intervals, 
would fall to a charge of No. 5 shot at close quarters, making a 
pleasing variety and weighty addition to the game-bag. On such 
occasions it was astonishing to see the almost impenetrable 
covert through which a Roe would dash at full speed without 
any apparent harm, although one would suppose that its large 
and prominent eyes could scarcely escape serious injury from 
the opposing twigs and thorns which barred its way. 

“Tt is a rare thing,” says Colquhoun, in ‘The Moor and the 
Loch,’ “ to take a right and left at Roe; they slip past so quickly, 
and generally in small numbers. I have known many old sports- 
men who have shot them all their lives, and yet never killed a 
couple right and left. During my whole shooting life I have only 


* Cf. Harting, ‘Essays on Sport and Natural History,’ pp. 47, 48. 

+ “On the former Existence of the Roe-deer in England,” Harting, 
‘Essays on Sport and Natural History,’ pp. 38—55. The Roe was at one 
time (1716) to be found in the Channel Islands on the island of Herm (Zool. 
1880, p. 899), but probably only as an introduced species. 


THE ROE-DEER. 83 


done so five times, and yet few men have slain more Roes.” 
Charles St. John has truly said (‘Sport in Moray,’ p. 34) that no 
man with any feeling can kill a Roe without a pang of regret; 
and yet his natural instinct as an animal of prey will lead him 
on to hunt and kill another Roe an hour afterwards! 

The Roe was introduced into Dorsetshire at the beginning of 
the present century by the then owner of Milton Abbey, who 
kept some in a large walled-in park which he made there. After 
they had increased rapidly, his neighbour Mr. Drax begged some, 
and turned them out in Vere Wood, which was then fenced in by 
a park-paling. Here they also went on increasing; the paling 
fell out of repair, and the deer wandered and spread over the 
country. In 1879 Mr. Mansel-Pleydell estimated that there were 
about 120 head, and in 1884 about 150 head, in the Milton, 
Whatcombe, and Houghton Woods, which fringe the southern 
side of the Vale of Blackmoor, from Stoke Wake to Melcombe 
Park, and the Grange Wood westward, the number being merely 
a question of preservation or non-preservation by adjoining land- 
owners. It is said that Lord Portman, in the interest of fox- 
hunters, gives a reward for every Roe killed in his coverts, to 
prevent his hounds from following their scent, as they will do, in 
preference to that of fox. 

From the centre of distribution above mentioned the Roe- 
deer sometimes wander to a considerable distance, but generally 
get killed before they succeed in establishing themselves in a 
new locality. In 1883 a buck was found in Somersetshire, and 
hunted by the Seavington Hounds, who came upon him in the 
chain of large coverts lying to the south of the Vale of Taunton. 
They ran him eight miles with a burning scent, and killed him 
near Otterford. No doubt he had strayed from South Dorset- 
shire, perhaps from the Hook Park coverts on Lord Sandwich’s 
property, which would be about twenty miles from the place 
where he was found. 

It was in Dorsetshire, in the spring of 1884 that some Roe- 
deer were captured in the coverts of Mr. Mansel-Pleydell at 
Whatcombe and Houghton, and of Col. Hamboro at Milton, ond 
transported by cart and rail into Essex, where they were liberated 
the next day in Epping Forest to re-stock the glades in which 
their species had formerly roamed, but where they had long been 
extinct. It was our privilege to take part in the capture, the 

H3 


84 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


feasibility of which was doubted by many, and after travelling all 
night with them to save time, we had the pleasure of seeing them 
restored to liberty in a new country within twenty-four hours of 
securing the first one. As the modus operandi has been fully 
detailed elsewhere,* it is unnecessary to repeat a description of 
the hunt. Suffice it to say that in the following spring, through 
the exertions of Mr. E. N. Buxton, one of the Verderers of 
Epping Forest, a few more were obtained from Dorsetshire and 
turned out in the forest, where, being well looked after by the 
keepers, they have since roamed undisturbed, and have increased 
in number every year. 

The keepers in Dorsetshire do not concur in the generally 
accepted belief that the Roe is monogamous, asserting that in 
the breeding season they have often seen a buck consorting with 
two and sometimes three does. This does not tally with the 
statements of foresters in Scotland and Germany, where the 
habits of the Roe-deer have been attentively studied, and may be 
an error of observation, the animals seen with the buck in the 
rutting-season being possibly a doe with a fawn, or fawns, which 
would not breed. The buck remains the winter through with 
the doe and fawns until he begins to change his grey winter coat, 
when he leaves her, and roams alone. 

The does bring forth their young in April and May, generally 
two, male and female, very rarely three,t and these, like the 
young of other species of deer, are at first speckled with white. 
The white spots disappear in a few weeks, and the colour then 
resembles that of the parent. In the ‘‘ bedding season,” as it is 
termed, the doe retires to some quiet and secluded spot, and on 
the birth of the kids covers them over so carefully that they are 
very rarely found. 

One of the brothers Stuart, who enjoyed such unrivalled 
opportunities for observing the habits of the wild animals of 
Scotland, thus graphically describes the bed of a Roe :— 


“In the middle of the thicket there was a group of young trees 
growing out of a carpet of deep moss, which yielded like a down pillow. 


* “The Field,’ 5th April, 1884. See also ‘Transactions of the Essex Field 
Club,’ 1887, pp. 46—62. 
+ See ‘The Field,’ 2nd Sept. 1871. 


THE ROE-DEER. 85 


The prints of the doe’s slender forked feet were thickly tracked about the 
hollow, and in the centre there was a bed of the velvet ‘fog,’ which seemed 
a little higher than the rest, but so natural that it would not have been 
noticed by any unaccustomed eye. I carefully lifted the green cushion, 
and under its veil, rolled close together, the head of each resting on the 
flank of the other, nestled two beautiful little kids, their large velvet ears 
laid smooth on their dappled necks, their spotted sides sleek, and shining 
as satin, and their little delicate legs as slender as hazel-wands, shod with 
tiny glossy shoes, as smooth and black as ebony, while their large dark 
eyes looked at me out of the corners with a full, mild, quiet gaze which had 
not yet learned to fear the hand of man.” 


The affection of the doe for its young is very strong, and, 
timid and feeble as it is by nature, inspired by danger 
threatening its offspring it becomes brave and daring, and in 
their defence will attack not only animals but men. When quite 
_ young the kid, if alarmed, will crouch like a hare on the ground, 
laying down its ears on its spotted back. 

One of the most singular points in the history of the Roe- 
deer is the abnormal gestation of the doe. It was well known to 
German foresters, to whom this animal is of course much more 
familiar than to keepers in this country, that the Roe-deer 
produced its fawns at the end of April or beginning of May, 
somewhat earlier than the fawns of the Red-deer and Fallow 
Deer are found,* and, although most people assumed that the 
rutting season was at the same time of year as with the larger 
Cervide (the Brothers Stuart, for example, were of this opinion, 
and even that great authority on wooderaft, Dietrich aus dem 
Winkell), German foresters asserted from observation that it was 
two months earlier, namely, in the month of August. If this 
were true, as it was proved to be by the late Dr. Ziegler, it seemed 
strange that the period of gestation should be two months longer 
than in the case of its larger relatives, and it was some time 
before the matter was explained. At length the researches of a 
well-known embryologist, Dr. Bischoff, Professor at the University 
of Munich, put the matter in a true light, and revealed a very 
curious and unexpected fact. From an examination of a consider- 
able number of does shot at various intervals between the months 
of August and May, he discovered that although the pairing 


* Cf. Harting, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1884, p, 152, 


86 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


season, as already stated, is in August (sometimes at the end of 
July), the germ, or ovum, remains dormant, and of minute size, 
for about four months and a half, until December, when it 
suddenly begins to develope at the normal rate, the whole period 
of gestation being forty weeks.* Commenting upon this singular 
fact, Bell, in his ‘ History of British Quadrupeds’ (2nd ed. p. 365), 
observes, “ As far as we are aware no similar phenomena have 
been observed in any other quadruped, and it is difficult to 
conceive why this species should differ so markedly from others 
which are nearly allied to it both in organization and habits.” 
Upon this we would remark that, having under consideration a 
great number of instances in which female Badgers, after having 
been kept in solitary confinement for periods as long as ten, 
eleven, twelve, and even thirteen months, have suddenly produced 
young, there is some reason to suspect that with this animal also 
there may be a period of “ suspended gestation,” and it would be 
well if some competent embryologist would institute as careful 
an enquiry in the case of the Badger as has been made by Prof. 
Bischoff in the case-of the Roe. 

The fawns follow their parents for about six months, and it is 
not until the following spring that the young bucks begin to get 
their horns. In their first year these are single straight tines ; 
in the second year there are two tines, and in the third year 
three, after which no other tines are added, the horns merely 
increasing in size according to circumstances, the growth of the 
antlers depending in a great measure on the abundance or scarcity 
of good and nutritious food. 

Tn no other Deer with which we are acquainted are the horns 
so liable to variation as in the Roe. A very large collection 
might be made in which no two heads would be found alike. Our 
readers may recollect that in ‘The Zoologist’ for 1884 (pp. 353, 
&c.) we described and figured some very remarkable Roe horns 
from a collection made in Germany, some of these being notice- 
able for their unusual length, or fantastic growth, and two in 
particular were figured as being probably unique of their kind. 
In one of these (Fig. 10) there are two pairs of horns growing on 
the same skull, as in the ease of the Indian Four-horned Antelope 
(Tetraceros); and in another (Fig. 11) is seen a coalescence of 


* Bischoff, ‘ Entwicklungsgeschichte des Rehes,’ Giessen, 1854. 


THE ROE-DEER. 87 


the burrs of what should have been two independent horns, and 
aunion of the two beams in the centre of the forehead with a 
subsequent bifurcation and development of a single tine on each 
prong of the fork. By many sportsmen these abnormal horns 
-are much valued and eagerly collected. The pages of the 
German sporting papers—such as the ‘ Illustrirte Zeitung’ and 
‘Der Weidmann ’—contain, in almost every issue during the 
shooting season, engravings from photographs of remarkable 
Roe heads. 

Roes shed their horns from the beginning of December until 
January, and are then at their best. In February they begin to 
fall off in condition, and by the beginning of March they are 
useless as food until the following November. Bucks shot during 
the first week of December have had their horns so loose that 
they have fallen off on the way home. The time at which they 
lose the velvet from the new horns in the spring depends on the 
mildness or otherwise of the season, the bucks during a backward 
spring retaining it sometimes until the middle of April, while in 
early seasons the horns are quite clean by the beginning of that 
month. 

Occasionally a female Roe with horns has been met with, but 
such instances are undoubtedly rare. One with budding horns 
was shot on October 26th, 1875, by Mr. Duncan Davidson, of 
Inchmarlo, Banchory, Aberdeenshire. The skull of another, 
procured from Petworth Park, Sussex, is figured in the 
‘Proceedings of the Zoological Society’ (1879, p. 297), in illus- 
tration of some remarks on the subject by the late Edward 
Alston; and on January 5th, in that year, a third “in the 
velvet” was killed on the estate of Sir James Fergusson, Bart., 
of Kilkerran, Ayrshire, as reported in ‘The Field’ of the 18th 
of January, 1879. Two other instances noted in the Black 

_ Forest, at Kippenheim, are mentioned in ‘The Zoologist’ for 
1886, p. 435. 

_ The colour of the Roe varies with the season, being reddish 
brown in summer and grey in winter.* Until they exchange the 
red hair for the mouse-coloured, says Colquhoun (op. cit.), they 


* It is noteworthy that all three species of British Deer are distinguished 
by names indicative of their colour, namely, Red, Fallow (cognate with 
the German, falb, yellow), and Roan. 


88 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


- 


are only bags of bones covered with dark dry flesh, without a 
particle of fat. 

The summer coat begins to change for the winter one in 
September, being complete in November, before which time no 
Roes should be shot. Red-deer stags, on the contrary, never 
come into prime order until they are divested of the winter grey 
and have assumed the rich red of the sporting season. 

When the woods are thick with leaves, it is very difficult to 
force a Roe into open ground at all; but instinct also warns it 
not to come into view when at its weakest state. Thus, whether 
for sport or food, the Roe should never be hunted except for the 
short time they are, or ought to be, in their prime; and if this 
rule be broken they will equally disappoint the shooter and the 
gourmand. An adult Roebuck will measure from twenty-five to 
thirty inches at the shoulder, and weigh from forty to fifty pounds. 
In Dorsetshire bucks killed in February, when in good condition, 
have been found to weigh as much as seventy pounds. 

Occasionally a white Roe has been met with, but so seldom 
as to cause considerable comment amongst sportsmen, and 
particular notice in the journals devoted to sport and natural 
history. One shot near Luss, on Loch Lomond side, is preserved 
in the collection of Sir James Colquhoun, and another may be 
seen amongst the sporting trophies of the Margrave of Baden, 
at Zwingenberg Castle, on the Neckar. 


The habits of the Roe-deer, as observed in Scotland, have been 
well described by the brothers Stuart.* 


“Like the Red-deer, Roe seek a change of places at various seasons, 
and it is essential to their condition. In the mountain forests, however, 
they do not ascend like Red-deer to the heights, but frequent more generally 
the braes, the woods, and lower pastures. In fine dry weather they lie out 
in the heather like hares, and nearly as closely. Like all wild herbivorous 
animals, their feeding-time is from a little before dawn until the sun grows 
hot, and from sunset until night. During the day they ruminate, or sleep 
in the deep brackens, heather, blaeberries, or other small coverts, or 
stand, like horses, in open woods and thickets. In winter they draw in 
from the hills and moors to the woods and coppices, and as the severity of 
the season increases, pass down. the country from the higher to the lower 
shelters, to which, if a large and tranquil forest, they will resort for twenty 


* ‘Lays of the Deer Forest,’ vol. ii. p. 149, &e. 


THE ROE-DEER. 89 


miles. In the summer those which remain, and which are generally the 
natives, keep the close coverts,.and are very fond of high ferns, junipers, 
and thorn jungies, or deep “ pots,” z.e., small abrupt dells, where the heath 
or blaeberries grow as high as their crouching bodies; but in wet and 
snowy weather they yo to the tall open woods where the herbage is short, 
and they are free from the drenching storm and rain which loads the 
bushes and low branches. On naked or short-clothed ground they always 
scrape for their bed, laying it bare to the fresh mould. This they will do 
several times during the night, so that the numbers of a family cannot be 
judged by their beds, for each will often make three or four in a night. 
Roe-deer do not wallow in pools like Red-deer, but in hot weather 
when fretted by flies, to brush them from their heads and flanks they 
stand by a bush and run round it so continually, that they soon beat 
a circle like the lunging ring of a horse. In July and August these 
circuits are often found in bushy woods, and as they occur in the weaning 
season when the kids are seen pursuing their dams for milk, by those 
ignorant of their habits, their circuitous runs have been thought an 
exercise to wean the young.” * 


Roe-deer are extremely cautious and delicate in their tread, 
always, except by accident, stepping over fallen sticks, or any 
object which might make a sound among the dry leaves; and 
when anxious or watchful, they move with extraordinary silence 
and caution, planting their feet directly and gently, without 
any tripping or trailing, and sometimes suspending an extended 
hind leg while listening, lest in setting it down they should 
rustle the leaves or otherwise attract notice. 

They will take the water readily and are good swimmers. The 
breadth of a good-sized lake will not deter them from passing to 
the opposite shore; and Boner states that he has known them 
cross the rapid Danube even where the current was strongest. 


* On this point Charles St. John writes:—‘‘ The Roe have a singular 
habit of chasing each other in regular circles round particular trees in the 
wood, cutting a deep circular path in the ground. I never could make out 
the object of this mancuvre, but the state of the ground proves that the 
animals must have run round and round the tree for hours together” 
(‘ Sport in Moray,’ p. 192). Boner explains it thus :—‘‘ The mother will play 
with her kid, bounding now towards and now away from it; and a favourite 
pastime seems to be to pursue her little one, or be pursued by it, round the 
stem ofa tree. They thus will play at ‘‘ Bopeep” together, and you may find 
trees in the forest, round the stems of which a circle is trodden in the ground, 
from the merry racings of the happy play-fellows” (‘Forest Creatures,’ p. 31). 


90 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


This will happen not only when the animal is pursued by the 
hunter, but when it has discovered beyond its accustomed haunts 
- some unusually good feeding ground, or hears the call of a doe 
in the breeding season. 

The cry of the Roe is a horse bleat, resembling the word 
boeuf, without the final f. In Germany the foresters imitate it 
very cleverly with a piece of coarse grass, or a bit of the inner 
bark of the birch tree, placed between the lips. 

The food of the Roe is of a varied nature; grass, leaves, 
heather, and the young shoots of spruce and oak forming its 
chief sustenance. Amongst other plants, the Rubus saxatilis is 
said to be such a favourite as to have earned for it in the 
Highlands the name of Roebuck-berry. The late Edward 
Alston once examined the contents of the stomachs of two Roe- 
deer, buck and doe, shot in the month of October, and found 
remains of grass, moss, blaeberry leaves, young heather, spruce 
shoots, a little corn, and numerous fragments of various species 
of fungi which abounded in the woods where the deer were shot.* 
This cbservation has since been confirmed.t 

“ Nothing can be more graceful,” says Charles St. John,f “than 
the light and agile movements of this animal while nibbling the 
tender shoots of the bushes and trees on which it feeds. The 
wild rose and the bramble are amongst its favourite morsels; 
from the long twigs of these plants it nibbles off leaf by leaf in 
the most graceful manner imaginable. The foresters accuse 
these animals of being very destructive to the young oak trees, 
and fond as I am of them, I am afraid I must admit the accusa- 
tion is just, as they undoubtedly prefer the topmost shoot of a 
young oak tree to almost any other food. Nevertheless the mischief 
done to the woods by Roe is trifling when compared to that 
of Rabbits.” St. John might have added that the practice of 
rubbing their new horns against the branches and stems of trees 
causes much injury to the young plantations. Where Roe-deer are 
plentiful you may see in all directions the stems stripped of their 
bark which hangs down in ribbons. 

In severe winters the Roe suffers greatly ; it sinks into the 
deep snow, and may sometimes be found embedded to the flanks, 


* Alston, ‘ Zoologist,’ 1864, p. 9359. + ‘The Field,’ Aug. 12th, 1871. 
{ ‘Natural History and Sport in Moray,’ p. 250. 


SYSTEMATIC POSITION OF THE SWIFTS. 91 


either dead from exhaustion, or so incapacitated as to fall an easy 
prey to Wolves and Foxes. Nor are these the only enemies 
it has to contend with. We well remember stumbling one day 
upon a dead Roe which lay strangled in a snare that had been set 
in the woods by some wily poacher, who did not, however, reap the 
reward of his ingenuity. In parts of Germany and Austria, 
where Roe-deer are more numerous than in this country, they 
_ Offer a great temptation to poachers, since their comparatively 
small size renders it much easier to carry them away without the 
aid of a pony, which could not be dispensed with in the case of the 
larger Red-deer, unless, of course, the animal were cut up and 
transported piecemeal. 

The general appearance of the Roe must be sufficiently 
familiar to most people, even to those who have never seen 
the animal alive, through pictorial illustration. But as artists 
almost invariably depict the full-grown buck and doe, we have 
thought it of interest to give in the accompanying plate (Plate I.) 
a portrait of a young buck with horns “in the velvet,” reproduced 
from an instantaneous photograph. 


ON THE SYSTEMATIC POSITION OF THE SWIFTS 
(CYPSELID 2). 


By W. K. Parxmr, F.R.S. 


My friend the Editor has recently put into my hands a 
paper on this subject by the late Professor Garrod (‘ Zoologist,’ 
1877, pp. 217—220), and invited my criticism thereon. No one 
valued the work done by that talented young anatomist—so early 
lost to us—more than I did, notwithstanding that his charity 
did not abound towards me. The fact of the case was this,—he 
was always looking at the newest specializations of this or that 
type, in the modification of the vocal organs, and the circulatory 
and muscular systems; whilst I was always in search of old 
things, any “ unconsidered trifle” that might help me to imagine 
what sort of parents the first birds had. It seems to me, in 
endeavouring to form a true estimate of the qualities of Garrod’s 
mind, that he was eminently fitted for action, but was too restless 
and impatient for contemplation. Many things in the paper just 


92 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


referred to are true and well said, but the last words on the 
relationship of the Swifts to the Swallows on one hand, and to the 
Humming-birds and Goatsuckers on the other, have not been 
said yet. 

I have just received a short, but valuable paper on the 
Swifts, by my friend Mr. Frederic A. Lucas, of Washington,* 
and I am, almost impatiently, waiting for Dr. R. W. Shufeldt’s 
paper on these birds and their relations, which I understand is to 
appear in the ‘Journal of the Linnean Society.’t 

For my part, I am always more inclined to observe and study 
facts, than to make inductions from those facts. In the present 
short communication I will try and do both. 

The Swifts lie between two groups of birds that differ in the 
most marvellous manner—the Passeres and the Picarie, or 
Coccygomorphe ; the former are jive times as numerous, as the 
latter are ten times more polymorphic, than the former. Moreover, 
the Passeres, with the Raven as their type, are the highest 
creatures that have arisen from the general mass of the Saurop- 
sida; the Coccygomorphe only take a second place; and not- 
withstanding all their plasticity, their marvellous suppleness, 
taking on as they have done any size and any shape that might 
help them in their struggle for existence, they nevertheless form 
but a small kingdom as compared with the thousands of neat 
and uniform Passeres, birds in which the elements are kindly 
mixed, and in which the large brain makes possible the highest 
ornithic intelligence. 

Why the Swallows should have come to the top, to be members 
of this most highly accomplished, most wonderfully endowed 
order of birds, and why the Swifts should have come short—have 
missed their mark as to avian nobility—no one can say. 

In one respect the Swifts certainly are at the head of the 
whole class, and that in the most distinguishing attribute of the 
class; they are the highest of all flying creatures; not only 
Insects, Pterodactyles, and Bats, but all other “ birds of wing” 
are inferior to them in their distinguishing faculty; they seem 
to me to have been ready to part with everything that they might 


* «The Auk,’ vol. vi. pp. 8—13, figs. 1—3. 

+ The paper referred to is entitled “‘ Studies of the Macrochires, morpho- 
logical and otherwise with the view of pointing out their relationships, and 
defining their several positions in the system.’’—Eb, 


SYSTEMATIC POSITION OF THE SWIFTS. 93 


obtain this coveted power, and to forego development in their hind 
limbs, that their fore limbs might carry them more swiftly by far 
than any of their relatives, ‘“‘ through the great deserts of the air,” 
as Calderon expresses it. I do verily believe that this is the key 
to the secret—that their large wings have materially detracted 
from their puny legs. 

In matters of this sort I never differ from my friend Dr. 
Sclater without a strong feeling of misgiving ; and yet his expres- 
sion, that ‘the Swifts have no relationship whatever with the 
Swallows, Hirundinide” (Proc. Zool. Soc., 1865, p. 593), is, I 
consider, too emphatic to be true. 

It would not be true of the relationship of the Swifts to any 
Passerine bird; for they certainly lie on the Passerine border of 
the Picarie, if they cannot be put even as abnormal Coraco- 
“morphe. 

I agree with my friend Dr. Shufeldt that the “ Swallow and 
the Swift are near akin.” My own opinion is not the simple 
judgment it was forty years ago. I have observed a good many 
things since then in the structure of birds of all sorts. 

To take one fact,—all the Passerine birds are ‘‘ Finch-jawed”’ 
(Aigithognathous) ; no other birds but the Swifts are so, except in 
an imperfect degree. This peculiar structure, which is isomorphic 
with what is found among the Mammalia, very commonly, and 
which arises from a fusion of the vomer (or vomers) with the 
floor of the nasal labyrinth (base of “ middle turbinal” of man), 
is not the only thing in which the Swifts agree with the 
Passerines, and disagree with all other birds. Correlated with 
the Aigithognathous palate I have always found a peculiar 
structure of the palatine bones. As a rule, in all the Sauropsida 
and Mammalia the old Ichthyopsidan cartilaginous palatine bar 
is aborted, and the palatine bone is formed directly from mere 
membrane. In Ganoids, Osseous fishes and Amphibia, the 
primary rod of cartilage becomes ossified during growth. In 
Passerine birds and in Swifts, and in no other kinds, a large 
“remnant” of the old Ichthyopsidan cartilaginous palatine is 
developed postero-laterally to the main bony bar, becomes 
ossified independently, and then becomes fused with that bar, and 
forms its projecting part, or apophysis. 

A second point is that the Cypselide are very variable. 
Amongst a few dozen specimens, there is far more variation 


94 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


in the legs than is seen in the 6000 specimens of true 
Passeres. 

Moreover, as Mr. Lucas in the paper above referred to 
has shown, the wing is extremely variable; in some it is as mar- 
vellously modified as in the Humming-bird, in others it comes 
much nearer to that of the true Swallows, Hirundinide. 

I had just noticed this in fact the day before I received 
Mr. Lucas’s welcome paper in the ‘ Auk.’ 

I will now give the measurements of the three main regions 
of the wing in two of the largest of the Cypselide :— 


Humerus. Ulna. Manus. 
Macropteryx mystacea . 24 mm. 29 mm. 47 mm. 
Chetura caudacuta : 17 mm. 24 mm. 57 mm. 


I leave these facts to tell their own tale, and proceed to one or 
two more statements. As in all the Passerines, the Swifts and 
Humming-birds have no second phalanx on the “ pollex,” nor a 
third on the “index ;” notwithstanding that these are present in 
the Goatsucker (Caprimulgus europeus), the type, certainly, which 
has the greatest right, next to the Swallow, to be accounted a 
relative of the Swift. 

I have noticed with interest a remark by Prof. Newton, in his 
valuable article “ Ornithology” in the ninth edition of the 
‘Encyclopedia Britannica.’ Speaking of the ‘‘ Oscines” (p. 47), 
he says, “ This last and highest group of birds is one which, as 
before hinted, it is very hard to sub-divide. Some two or three 
natural, because well-differentiated, families are to be found in 
it; such, for instance, as the Hirundinide, or Swallows, which 
have no near relations.” 

That passage pleases me so much, that for the sake of it 
I forgive my friend the author for his downright heresy, expressed 
in the same paper, as to the non-raptorial nature of the Owls. I 
hope as to this that he will be spared to recant. 

Bearing on the lonely position of the Swallows in their own 
proper Order, I have just discovered a most remarkable fact, 
albeit “‘an unconsidered trifle.’ Amongst all Passeres and related 
types, a Swallow is the only bird in which I have found a second 
or ungual phalanx to the pollex; and only one of the many of 
the Hirundinide examined by me, with reference to this point, 
shows it ; this isthe Sand Martin or Bank Swallow (Cotyle riparia) ; 


VOYAGE OF THE ‘ECLIPSE.’ 95 


it is well seen in the embryo, and is not quite obscured in the 
adult; in the embryo it is relatively as long as in any bird among 
the Carinate. 

One “last word;” all the Coracomorphe have a peculiar bony 
bridge over the top of the interosseous space between the 
second and third metacarpals; it is fused with both those 
bones. So it is in the Picide, Ramphastide and most of the 
Alcedinide, in which it is unusnally large; in the Gallinacee 
generally it is almost as large, but does not unite with the third 
metacarpal. The rudiment of this part is much larger in 
Humming-birds than in Swifts, which agree with the Goatsuckers 
in having this intercalary element aborted. 

I have put these facts down on paper; if any one can explain 
them it were act of charity to us all to show their meaning. 
Prof. Garrod did not say the last word either about Swifts and 
Swallows, or about any member of this bewildering class of 
vertebrates. 


NOTES ON A VOYAGE TO THE GREENLAND SEA 
IN 1888.* 


By Ropert Gray. 
(Concluded from p. 51.) 


Juty 5.—Lat. 74° 40’, long. 12° W. Water clear and blue; 
_ temperature, 32°. From a Narwhal shot to-day I removed a 
foetus measuring five feet in length. In the stomach of the 

mother a few worm-like Entozoa were present (Ascaris simplex, 
_ Rudolphi), while the pharyngeal openings of the Eustachian tubes 
formed the habitat of another parasitic form, much smaller in 


* In the clause relating to the presence of valves in the throat and vagina 
of Mysticetus the sentence ‘‘ A somewhat similar but larger structure .. .” 
_ (page 43, line 29) has undergone derangement, and instead of reading as in 
the text shouldbe readas follows :—‘‘A somewhat similar but larger structure 
attached to the opening of the vagina, evidently acted in the same way; as 

_ also did another with regard to the opening of the throat, which on a previous 
occasion I examined attached to the base of the tongue, but which probably 
represents the epiglottis.” Again, in the footnote, page 48, for ‘Scotch 
writers ” read ‘* Scotch whalers.” 


96 ” THE ZOOLOGIST. 


size (Pseudalius alatus, Leuchart), for the names of both of which 
I am indebted to Dr. von Linstow of Géttingen, through the 
kindness of Mr. John Murray, of the ‘Challenger’ Commission. 

July 9.—Lat. 74° 49’, long. 11° 40’ W. Colour of the water 
slightly grey; temperature, 35°. In the evening we fell in with 
a number of Hooded Seals Cystophora cristata, lying on the loose 
ice at the pack-edge. I examined the stomachs of several 
which were shot. While most were empty, one was packed full 
with a bluish mud or ooze, in which were embedded the crystal- 
line lenses of two eyes belonging probably to some small species 
of fish, and the remains of one crustacean common at the 
surface (Themisto). The stomachs of three other Seals contained 
mud alone. With regard to the presence of mud in these 
animals’ stomachs, while considering the depth of the water too 
great (in this instance 200 fathoms,—in another, to be afterwards 
recorded, 1100) to permit the bottom being reached, the only 
explanation I am able to offer is that the substance must be 
swallowed in small quantities by the Seals along with their 
ordinary food (crustaceans living at the surface), and that, owing 
to its indigestible nature, accumulates in course of time in the 
stomach. These Seals are occasionally observed disappearing 
under the ice, for the purpose, I believe, of feeding on the 
immense number of crustaceans which are known to accumulate 
there. Many of the ice-fields bear on their surface, immediately 
under a superficial coating of snow, cargoes of mud (apparently 
of an alluvial origin). During the process of melting, the mud 
may accumulate on submerged tongues or ledges of the ice, and 
thus become the retreat of numbers of crustaceans, which, as 
they are devoured by the Seals, are swallowed along with a small 
quantity of the mud.* Some such explanation must, I think, be 
conceived. 

July 16.—Lat. 75° 10’, long. 8° 4’ W. Colour of the water, 
slightly green ; temperature, 34°. Saddle Seals very numerous, 
some lying on the ice, others sporting about in the water. There 
was a fair proportion of this year’s Seals present, the average 
length of some which I measured being 8 ft. 2 in. from the tip 
of the nose to the tip of the tail. Unfortunately I did not 


* This conclusion is supported by a comparison of the report on the mud 
from the Seals’ stomachs with that of a sample of mud of the ice. 


VOYAGE OF THE ‘ECLIPSE.’ 97 


succeed in examining any of their stomachs, but numerous frag- 
ments of red crustaceans floating at the surface may have been 
passed in their feces. The young Saddle Seals at this season, 
with their silvery grey coats, marked here and there with an 
irregular black spot, with their large round black eyes and long 
delicate whiskers, are perhaps the most beautiful of all the Seals 
of the Greenland Sea. Their movements, too, have a peculiar 
grace and elegance, darting about with rapidity under water, 
performing various movements at the surface, and now and 
again with remarkable agility leaping clean out of the water— 
enlivening the solitary regions of the ice. 

July 17.—-Lat. 74° 87’, long. 9° 30’ W. Colour of the water, 
- greenish but clear; temperature, 39°. The evening being 
remarkably quiet and fine, I amused myself in the capture of 
surface invertebrate forms, some species of which were very 
abundant. The Crustacea were represented by Gammarus locusta, 
an amphipod occurring in great abundance throughout the 
Arctic Sea and frequently found congregating under the ice; 
of these many bore eggs. Huthemisto lbellula (Mandt), so 
often found in the stomach of the Floe Seal,—a more 
elegant form than G. locusta, and very difficult to capture on 
account of its agility—was darting about in considerable 
numbers; while the copepod Calanus jfinmarckicus, on account 
of its abundance, the crustacean par excellence of the Green- 
land Sea, and undoubtedly contributing very largely to the 
support of Balena mysticetus and Balenoptera Sibbaldi, existed 
in great numbers at the depth of a few fathoms. Besides 
crustaceans, there was an abundance of the quaint-looking shell- 
less pteropod Clio borealis, their wing-like appendages continually 
moving and meeting one another, both dorsally and ventrally. 
Some of these Cliones were very large, measuring 23 inches in 
length. The surface of the water had a very oily appearance, 
which perhaps was due to the oil-globules which now and again 
might be noticed floating up to the surface, spreading out and 
displaying iridescent colours. 

July 19.—Lat. 74° 53’, long. 10°30’ W. The water had a 
dull lead-coloured appearance, with much oil at the surface 
~ lying in streaks, running parallel with the direction of the wind. 
_ Inone of these oily streaks I noticed a number of Mallemokes 
busily engaged in eating something present at the surface. On 

ZOOLOGIST.—MARCH, 1889. I 


98 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


further examination I found an immense number of Calani 
present where the water was oily, and these crustaceans the 
Mallemokes were eating. The streaked arrangement of the oil 
must, I think, be due to the wind blowing it away from more or 
less stationary areas, where in this case Calani were present in 
abundance, either in the surface or sub-surface waters. , 
July 24.—Lat. 74° 43’, long. 11° 30’ W. During the last few 
days we have seen many schools of Narwhals, all of which 
invariably consisted of full-grown females accompanied by calves. 
The calves were all about the same size, very small, and evidently 
only recently born. This observation, together with the finding 
of the mature fcetuses already mentioned, renders it probable 
that the Narwhal usually brings forth its young at this season, 
—an «@ priori conclusion agreeing with previous observations. 
To-day a female was killed, from which I obtained a foetus 
7z inches in length,—an illustration of the fact that foetuses of 
a similar size are not unfrequently procured during the months 
of June and July. If there is a regular season for bringing 
forth the young, the period of gestation would appear to be about 
twelve months. This agrees with the fact that copulation occurs 
during May and June. The foetuses of small size—e. g. 74 in. 
in length—must, then, be regarded as about two months old. 
This may appear a somewhat rapid rate of growth, but it is well 
to bear in mind, as Owen pointed out, that the cetacean fetus 
bears, when mature, a greater proportion to the mother as 
regards size than that of any other animal. In the case of the 
Narwhal I have measured several foetuses exceeding 5 feet in 
length, the average length of the mother being 14 feet ; while in 
Hyperoodon I have seen two, both over 10 feet in length, the 
mother in each case being about 26 feet long. Therefore, both 
in the case of the Narwhal and in the case of Hyperoodon, the 
foetus may reach while in utero fully one-third the length of 
the mother. . 
The colour of the water, which, as I have already mentioned, 
was everywhere blue and clear when we first visited this locality, 
has now assumed in many places a dark green colour. The 
change was gradual, and occurred probably through the develop- 
ment of diatom spores. During the interval the ice had cleared 
away, exposing the surface waters to the light, evidently the only 
favourable condition wanting to the presence of vegetable life. 


VOYAGE OF THE ‘ECLIPSE.’ 99 


Easterly winds prevailing during the latter part of July, and 
the ice as a necessary consequence remaining close, we visited 
the northern grounds, hopeful of obtaining more favourable 
conditions for the prosecution of the fishing. During our absence 
several remarkable changes had occurred. The whole of the 
“§.E. pack” had disappeared, open water extending northward 
as far as lat. 80°. The surface waters, formerly so extensively 
turbid and discoloured with Diatomacex, were now everywhere 
clear and blue. 

During our progress northward we saw now and again a 
solitary ‘‘ Blue-fin Whale” sending its ‘‘ blast” high and pillar- 
like into the air, feeding perhaps on Limacina arctica, of which 
there was a considerable abundance in the surface waters. Some 
of these pteropods, which by the way are not so very common 
throughout the Greenland Sea as is generally supposed, were of 
somewhat unusual size, measuring fully 8 mm. in diameter. 
With regard to B. Sibbaldi, a number of observations which I 
made from the Crow’s Nest concerning its breathing gave the 
following results, viz.:—Period under water, maximum 10 min., 
mean 8m. 20s., minimum 7m.; period at surface, maximum 
4m., mean 3m. 15s., minimum 2m. 40s.: number of expira- 
tions, maximum 15, mean 12°5, minimum 11; period between 
expirations while at the surface, maximum 20 sec., mean 15°5 s., 
minimum 18 s. 

Besides these Whales there were a considerable number 
of birds about, —Looms and Rotches, mostly the former with 
their young, which, although quite unable to fly, had already 
ventured fully 100 miles away from land. The number of 
feathers of these birds, floating about on the surface, showed 
that their moulting season had already commenced. 

On reaching lat. 80° we wrought south-westwards along the 
ice-edge, in search of Whales. Owing to easterly winds, how- 
ever, the ice had altered greatly for the worse, and with the 
exception of great numbers of Narwhals hurrying to the N.W., 
which we saw on the 6th, in lat. 78° 39’, long. 0° 10’ W., there 
was very little life. 

Having overhauled the northern grounds without success, 
we continued working south-westwards along the ice. The 
following extracts from my Log will indicate our progress during 


the rest of the voyage :— 
. 12 


100 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


August 12.—Lat. 78° 41’, long. 15° 00’. Colour of the water, 
dark green ; temperature at the surface, 86°. Lay becalmed in 
a ‘“‘bight”’ formed by the ice all day; many Narwhals about, 
most of which were males with “horns.” Early in the morning 
I discovered several of these animals lying motionless at the 
surface, evidently asleep. Manning a boat we pulled quietly 
towards one in this position. As we slowly approached I enjoyed 
.an excellent opportunity of noting its position and movements. 
After we left the ship, the animal raised its head above water 
and breathed for a brief interval, relapsing immediately after- 
wards into its former position. At the distance of a few feet 
before harpooning it we could easily see that the animal 
was in a slightly bent position, its tail being immediately under 
the surface, the pectoral fins outstretched with their surfaces 
horizontal, the head weighted with a long protruding tusk 
pointing downwards, and only a small part of the back above the 
surface. The animal was absolutely motionless, not the slightest 
trace of any movement being visible,—the spiracle, or “ blow- 
hole,” being immersed, respiration could not possibly have been 
going on. From these facts, and a number of somewhat similar 
observations which I have previously made, I conclude that 
during sleep, animation being partially suspended, the period 
during which these animals are able to remain under water, with 
the respiratory organs excluded from the atmosphere, becomes 
extended. Let the Narwhal, after having completed the process 
of respiration and haying all its plexuses stored with oxygenated 
blood, relapse into sleep. During this condition the animal 
remains motionless, and the position which the body assumes is 
involuntary and becomes regulated by hydrostatic laws. If the 
individual in question be provided with a “horn,” as the 
protruding tusk is called, the whole of the head will probably be 
immersed ; if without, as in the case of the female, the opening 
of the ‘‘blowhole” may appear at the surface; but in no case, 
as far as I have been able to observe, does respiration go on until 
a protracted period having elapsed, when the animal either 
awakes or by a reflex movement raises its head, if need be to the 
surface, and unconsciously respires. Remarkable as these facts 
may appear, the matter does not rest here; many intelligent 
whalemen have long held that the cetaceans possess the 
power of remaining asleep, for a considerable period, under 


/ 


VOYAGE OF THE ‘ECLIPSE.’ 101 


water entirely removed from the surface. This belief seems 
to have been suggested by the following facts:—(1.) When a 
Bottle-nose Whale, Hyperoodon rostratus, the only one visible 
at the time, has been harpooned, has dived, and has again 
appeared at the surface, it is occasionally accompanied by a 
number of other Whales not previously in sight. I have made 
this observation myself on several occasions. May not the 
harpooned Whale in its distress have sought the assistance of 
its slumbering friends, with whose position under water it was 
acquainted ? (2.) The appearance, after an absence of a number 
of hours, of Balena mysticetus, from under a field of ice of such 
a nature that air-holes could not have existed. (8.) The daily 
appearance and disappearance, with some regularity, of Whales 
at the surface. I have noticed this concerning all the cetaceans 
of the Greenland Sea. (4.) The fewness of Whales seen asleep 
at the surface, the fact that they are only seen during calm 
weather when the water is smooth, and never when the sea is 
stormy,—all of which I am able to corroborate. Keeping these 
statements in view, and having seen that the Narwhal may be 
found motionless at the surface with the ‘ blowhole” under 
water, a position practically equivalent to complete submersion, 
—and remembering (a) that the state of the sea is seldom so 
quiet as to permit an animal resting with comfort at the surface ; 
(b) that, the animal remaining motionless and the position 
assumed being necessarily involuntary, it is doubtful whether the 
spiracle would in all cases appear above water; (c) the position 
assumed being such that the spiracle would appear above water, 
—it is questionable, owing to the low power of flotation, whether 
inspiration would be safe without voluntary or highly complex 
reflex action on the part of the animal. I venture to arrive at 
the following conclusions, viz., that in the Cetacea, during the 
condition known as sleep, the animal remains absolutely motion- 
less and passive, respiration occurring at prolonged intervals, 
when the animal either awakes and performs the function 
consciously, or, its sleep remaining unbroken, the necessary 
movements are brought about by a series of reflex and involuntary 
actions acquired by habit. The depth at which the function is 


_ performed seems to be determined by depth to which the wave- 


Motion may extend, immunity from disturbance in all cases 


being secured; the animals appearing at the surface only when 


102 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


the sea is smooth, the spiracles not necessarily being above 
water. 

August 17.—Lat. 78° 1’, long. 14°46’ W. The water a 
beautiful olive-green colour; temperature at the surface, 39°. 
Calanus finmarckicus abundant, with their alimentary canals 
filled with Diatomacee. While we were lying near the ice a 
strange Whale appeared near the ship; it was swimming back- 
wards and forwards in a somewhat erratic matter; its dorsal 
fin, which was prominent and situated well forward on the 
animal, frequently appeared above water. On approaching with 
a boat I found the water alive with Calani where the Whale 
(probably a Hunchback, Megaptera longimana) was swimming, 
and on which it was probably feeding, although a small fish with 
silvery scales, dangling from the beak of one of a number of 
Arctic Tern which were flying overhead, shook somewhat my 
faith in this belief. 

August 20.—Lat. 71° 89’, long. 14°15’ W. Water olive-green ; 
temperature, 84°5°. Many Blue-fin Whales in sight all day: for 
some time in the morning, while lying becalmed, we were quite 
surrounded by these huge cetaceans, the noise of their blasts 
being almost incessant. I noticed one young animal about 
twenty feet in length. 

August 22.—Lat. 71° 10’, long. 15° 48’ W. A few Bladder- 
nose Seals lying on the ice, two of which were shot. The 
stomach of one was empty, while the second was packed full of 
fine bluish mud, similar in appearance to that obtained on July 9th 
from the stomachs of Seals of the same species. At night we 
made our way towards the sea, and next day bore up, arriving at 
Peterhead on September 3rd. 

I conclude these notes by appending a list of the contents of 
stomachs of Whales, Seals, and Birds examined during the 
voyage of the ‘ Hclipse.’ The species determined through the 
kindness of Dr. John Murray, of the ‘Challenger’ Com- 
mission :— 

Bottle-nose Whale, Hyperoodon rostratus.—April 25th : 68° 28, 
5° W.; contained abundant remains of the cephalopod, Gonatus 
fabricti (determined by Mr. W. EH. Hoyle). 

Narwhal, Monodon monoceros.—1. July 1st : 74°37’, 11° W.; 
contained remains of Cuttlefish and fragments of Pasiphaé tarda, 
Kroyer (determined by Prof. Sars). 2. July 5th : 74°40’, 12° W.; 


VOYAGE OF YHE ‘ECLIPSE.’ 1038 


contained Cuttlefish remains. 3. July 22nd: 74° 49’, 10° 30’ W.; 
contained Cuttlefish remains, hundreds of mandibles and crystal- 
line lenses, and the fleshy portions, in a more or less digested 
condition, of at least eleven specimens of Gonatus fabricii 
(determined by Mr. W. HE. Hoyle); also crustacean remains 
belonging to two different species, both large and bright red in 
colour,—the largest Pasiphaé tarda, which was also present in 
ereatest. quantity, measuring six inches in length, the other 
Hymourdora glacialis, Buchholz, 24 inches (the latter also deter- 
mined by Prof. Sars). 4. August 12th : 73°41’.,15° W.; contained 
Cuttlefish remains (specimens recognised as belonging to Gonatus 
fabricit by Mr. Hoyle). 

Saddle Seal, Pagophilus greenlandicus.—1. June 16th: 75°50’, 
6° 9’ W.; contained Huthemisto libellula, Mandt and Lichtenstein, 
and Nyctiphanes norvegica (the former determined by the Rey. 
T. R, R. Stebbing, M.A., of Tunbridge Wells, the latter by Dr. 
Murray). 2. July 9th: 74° 49’, 11° 40’ W.; contained Z. libel- 
- lula alone. 

Hooded or Bladder-nose Seal, Cystophora cristata.—July 9th: 
74° 49’, 11° 40’ W. 1. Bluish mud or ooze, with a few fishes’ 
eyes and crustacean remains, Huthemisto libellula. With regard 
to the mud Mr. F. G. Pearcey, of the ‘ Challenger’. Commission, 
reports as follows :—A blue mud, coherent, homogeneous, gritty ; 
shows no perceptible effervescence when treated with dilute HCl. 
A few fragments of sponge spicules and one or two diatoms were all 
_ the organisms observed: the mineral particles make up probably 
_ 50 per cent. of the whole, having a mean diameter of 0°2 mm., 
angular and rounded, consisting of quartz, zircon, feldspar, 
hornblende, olidine?, mica, magnetite, and some red-brown 
coloured particles like glauconite ; silicious organisms 2 per cent., 
sponge, spores, and diatoms; fine washings 28 per cent., consisting 
of argillaceous matter and many fine mineral particles. 2. Mud 
alone present: according to Mr. Pearcey the mud present in this 
stomach is similar to the last, but the mineral particles are 
somewhat larger, the mean diameter being 0°3 mm.: the same 
organisms are present. 38. Mud alone present, similar to the 
_ above, according to Mr. Pearcey, but contains in addition a few 
small otoliths of fish and beaks of cephalopods. 4. Aug. 22nd: 
71° 10’, 15° 41’ W. Mud alone present, similar to above. To 
permit comparison, a report by Mr. Pearcey ona sample of mud 


104 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


off the surface of the drift ice, obtained in this latitude last 
season, is here inserted :—‘‘ Yellow-brown clay, very coherent, 
homogeneous ?, dries into hard lumps, showing lustrous streak 
dark brown when wet, unctuous, shows no traces of carbonate of 
lime when treated with an acid. A few diatoms and sponge 
spicules were all the organisms observed. Deposit made up of 
50 per cent. of minerals, having a mean diameter of 0°06 mm., 
rounded and angular, consisting of quartz, mica, feldspar, horn- 
blende, zircone, and magnetite, with a few coloured altered 
particles. Silicious organisms 2 per cent., consisting of diatoms 
and one or two fragments of sponge spicules. Fine washings 
48 per cent. Amorphous clayey matter with many mineral 
particles and a few diatoms.” 

Floe Seal, Pagomys fetidus.—1. May 12th: 71° 18’, 6° 87’ E. 
Euthemisto libellula, Nyctiphanes norvegica, and a few Cuttlefish 
remains. 2. June 2nd: 78° 47’, 3° 6’ HK. H. libellula and Gam- 
marus locusta. 8. June 7th: 78° 00', 2°30’ W. Entirely filled 
with E. libellula, mostly of large size, some measuring 40 mm. 
inlength. 4. H. themesto, and afew immature examples of N. 
norvegica. 5. June 26th: 73° 1’, 13°31’ W. Full of N. norvegica. 
half grown. 

Brunnich’s Guillemot, or Loom, Alca arra.— May 12th: 
78° 18’, 6°37’ EK. One stomach examined ; contained a small 
pebble and the otolith of a fish. May 19th: 79° 40’, 4°6’ HE. 
Seventeen stomachs examined ; one contained mostly young EH. 
libellula, but also a few some 30 mm. in length ; the others either 
empty or contained only a few pebbles of sandstone or other 
rock. 

Little Auk, or Rotch, Mergulus alle-—May 12th: 78° 18’, 
6°37’ E. A number of stomachs examined were found to contain 
Calanus finmarckicus in greatest quantity, but also H. libellula 
and a few young of N. norvegica. 

Black Guillemot, or Dovekie, Uria grylle.—A few stomachs 
examined contained in most cases crustacean remains, probably 
E. libellula, in others only a few pebbles. 


(-105" ) 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


MAMMALIA. 


A New Australian Mammal.—In ‘The Zoologist’ for November, 
1888, under this heading (p. 424) we referred to the then recent discovery 
near Adelaide of a small burrowing animal, externally resembling the 
Cape Mole (Chrysochloris), but differing from it as we pointed out in several 
important respects. Another new mammal from Australia has since been 
described by Prof. Milne-Edwards, in a memoir lately published by the 
Société Philomathique de Paris. He refers it to the genus Dactylopsila 
from New Guinea, and has named it Dactylopsila palpator. It is said to 
be remarkable for the extraordinary length of the fourth digit of the fore- 
limb, which is more than an inch longer than the adjoining digits, exceeding 
even in its proportions the curious third finger of the Madagascar Aye-Aye 
(Chiromys madagascariensis). ' 


BIRDS. 


Note on Willow Wrens.—In reply to Mr. Gurney’s suggestion (p.77), 
that the large, light-coloured, yellowish warbler shot by me at Cley was a 
Wood Warbler, I wish to say that the wing-formule, and especially the 
comparatively long first primary, proved that it was an undoubted Willow 
Wren. It was apparently an example of the large and (so-called) dark- 
legged race, of which Lord Clifton wrote in ‘ The Field’ for August 16th, 
1884. Lord Clifton described a male of this race, received from’ Mr. 
Swaysland, of Brighton, in spring, as considerably larger than the Wood 
Wren, of a deep brownish olive above,—something like the Garden 
Warbler,—with a band of deep buff, inclining to yellow, across the breast ; 
and a female, received with the eggs, as having the same distribution of 
buff, but much paler, and the upper parts greyish olive without any brown 
tint; legs in both, neutral coffee-brown, but not so dark as in the Chiff- 
chaff; feet as dark as, if not darker than, the legs. It is upon this last 
point that Lord Clifton lays great stress, stating that in the typical Willow 
Wren the feet are yellowish, and at all ages paler than the legs; soles of 
the feet bright yellow. I have a skin of the large Willow Wren, shot at 
Spurn Point, Yorkshire, in August, 1885 (apparently a bird of the year), 
and given to me by Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., which agrees very well with 
~ my note of the Cley bird (which was not preserved), and also (making 
allowance for the difference in the time of the year at which the specimens 
were procured, and the different ages of the birds, Lord Clifton’s being 
presumably adult) agrees in some points with the description in ‘The 
Field’ above quoted. My specimen is quite as large as, if not larger than, 


106 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


the Wood Wren ; it possesses the deep breast-band, has dark legs, and feet 
as dark as the legs. I do not think, however, that much importance can 
be attached to the colour of the Willow Wren’s legs and feet, as this seems 
a rather inconstant and uncertain character. For instance, in three speci- 
mens procured on the same day in May, these parts were coloured as 
under:—a and B, legs light brown, feet and claws paler; ¢, legs and feet 
medium brown, claws darker. The soles of the feet in all three were clay- 
coloured, and in my experience it is only in birds of the year that they are 
bright yellow; a bird of the year procured in the following September had 
them so coloured. In a male and female procured in April, both with pale 
legs, the feet (in the dried skins) are no paler, but in a young bird procured 
in August they are decidedly so. On the other hand, in a male sent to me 
from Rainworth, Nottinghamshire, by Mr. Whitaker, early in May, 1887, 
the legs are dark brown, darker than those of the Spurn bird, and nearly 
as dark as those of the Chiffchaff; feet decidedly darker, and as dark as in 
the latter bird. Yet this example is no larger than typical Willow Wrens. 
It is a very grey bird, and bears some resemblance to those described by 
Mr. H. Seebohm (Brit. Birds, vol.i.) from high latitudes, with “ all the 
yellow and green abraded, leaving the general colour earthy brown, the 
eye-stripe having faded to a greyish white.” My grey bird, however, still 
exhibits a little dull greenish yellow on the upper parts, and the eye-stripe 
is slightly tinged with the same, but there is very little sign of the usual 
yellow and buff on the under parts. Laid side by side with an ordinary 
Willow Wren, also procured in spring (four days only earlier in the year), 
the difference in the appearance of the two birds is very striking. Dark 
legs then cannot be said to characterise the larger race of Willow Wren.— 
Oxtver V. Apuin (Bloxham, Banbury). 


_ Thick-knee in Essex in January.—A specimen of the Norfolk 
Plover, or Thick-knee, Cidicnemus crepitans, was shot on the marshes 
near here last month. This is perhaps worth recording, as the bird, being 
of migratory habits, usually leaves us about September. Just previously 
a fine Peregrine Falcon was picked up on the same marshes. It had been 
shot at and wounded, but was alive when found.—A. F. Garzs (Marsh 
Gate Lane, Stratford). 


Reported Nesting of the Redstart in December.—There appeared in 
the local papers at Scarborough an account of a Redstart’s nest and eggs 
being discovered on Christmas Day. Knowing that the Redstart is a 
summer visitor only, I went to the place where the nest had been found 
(Hackness, a small village some six miles from Scarborough), and made 
inquiries. I was fortunate enough to find the individual who discovered 
the nest, and I obtained the following information :—The nest, which was 
placed in a hole in an oak tree, was built of “ wicks” moss and grass, and 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 107 


lined with hair and feathers. The bird, which was seen to leave the place 
was described as “a small brown bird with a red tail.” ‘ihe egg, which is 
unfortunately broken, is undoubtedly that of the Common Redstart. Is 
not this a most uncommon occurrence? The Redstart has hitherto been 
looked upon as a summer visitor only, coming in April nd leaving about 
September. Yet here are two birds, which have apparently passed the 
winter with us, and actually have a nest and two cggs on the 25th of 
December. Has any similar case been known? I cannot hear of one in 
this district—W. J. CLarKxe (35, Londesborough Road, Scarborough). 
[Were it not for the assertion that the egg examined was undoubtedly 
that of the Common Redstart, we should have been inclined to suspect 
that it was that of the Wren, this bird, like the Robin, occasionally 
nesting during the winter months when the season is a mild one.—Eb.| 


Little Gull, near Penzance.—I have lately (Feb. 15th) received from 
St. Just, to the west of Penzance, an adult specimen of the Little Gull, 
Larus minutus. It weighed a little under 7 oz., and measured 13 in. from 
tip of bill to end of tail feathers, the expanse of wing being 2 ft. 9 in., or 
more than double the length of the bird. It is now being “ set up,” and 
will soon be on view should any one like to call on me and see it.—THomas 
CornisH (Penzance). 


Recollections of the Bustard in Suffolk.—I had lately the pleasure 
of a conversation with perhaps the only person who can claim to have seen 
the indigenous race of Suffolk Bustards, both alive and dead, as well as 
_ their nests and eggs. Mr. W. Bilson, formerly a bird-stuffer in Bury, who 
was born in 1808, happened to call on me, and while looking over my birds 
the Great Bustard was mentioned. Mr. Bilson well remembers as a lad 
seeing the eggs in a Bustard’s nest at Icklingham, and as the then owner 
of the Icklingham estate was very careful to preserve the few remaining 
Bustards, the eggs in question were, to the best of my informant’s know- 
ledge, left undisturbed. This ‘would probably be between 1818 and 1825. 
He also told me that a man once sold his father a hen Bustard freshly 
killed for £3, and subsequently offered him a fine cock bird for £10, 
but the two could not come to terms, Mr. Bilson, sen. declining to go 
beyond £7; however, the owner of the Bustard obtained his price from 
another customer. He can also recollect once seeing near Thetford a cock 
Bustard, flying with (as he expressed it) “the pouch hanging down.” 
Whether or not the pouch is perceptible during flight, or whether the long 
neck-feathers were mistaken for the pouch, I must leave for those to decide 
who have seen the Great Bustard on the wing.—Juuian G. Tuck (Tostock 
Rectory, Bury St. Edmunds). 

[The hen Bustard bought by the father of Mr. Tuck’s informant was 
doubtless that trapped at Hriswell, as mentioned by the late Mr. Stevenson 


108 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


(Birds Norf. ii. pp. 85, 86); but the cock bird was (we understand from 
Prof. Newton, who had the story from Mr. W. Bilson in 1855) offered to 
his father by the notorious otidicide George Turner.—Ep. ] 


Sand Grouse in Yorkshire.—I have to report the occurrence of three 
Sand Grouse, one male and two females, which have come into my 
possession. One of the females was found dead in a fallow field near 
York, and the other two were shot near Beverley in June last. The male 
bird was a particularly fine one, by far the best I-have seen out of some 
sixty specimens which I have examined ; the bright orange feathers at each 
side of the head being unusually fine, and the length of the two central 
tail feathers, and the first primary of each wing, being especially noticeable. 
The majority of the birds I have seen were in poor plumage (some 
well advanced in moult), and chiefly females. The sixty specimens 
examined by me were all shot in Yorkshire—Wittram Hewert (3, Wilton 
Terrace, Fulford Road, York). 


Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Cornwall.—I was much interested in Mr, 
Southwell’s article on ‘ Pallas’s Sand Grouse,’ which appeared in the 
‘ Zoologist ’ for December last ; for during the previous months of August, 
September, and October, I was the fortunate possessor of a live male 
of this species. It was fairly tame when I received it, having then been in 
captivity about two months, and consequently I could observe its actions to 
advantage. Mr. Southwell mentions, from information he was able to 
gather, that when in captivity the Sand Grouse show a great indifference to 
water. J kept my bird in a cage made out of an old wine-case padded at 
the top to prevent injury to the bird when flying up suddenly. The 
bottom of the cage I covered with fine sea-sand about an inch in depth, but 
I soon had to substitute straw, as [ found the bird’s legs and belly. were 
always in a mess from its persistently getting into the water-trough. I at 
first thought it had fallen in by accident when flying to the top of the cage, 
but having watched it for some time, I saw it on several occas'ons 
deliberately get into the water and remain there for some minutes at a 
time. On different occasions I have seen it drink, which it did after the 
manner of a Pigeon, filling the throat well before lifting its beak out of the 
water. Unfortunately it never got through the moult, and died in 
the month of October. On January 3rd, I had brought to me in the flesh 
another male Sand Grouse. It had been shot at Kelynack, in St. Just-in- 
Penwith, the same place from whence I obtained my live specimen.— 
Tuomas CorRNIsH (Penzance). 


Sand Grouse in Kent.—It may interest you to hear that a specimen 
of Pallas’s Sand Grouse was picked up in the fog on the 14th December 
last with its head cut clean off, lying underneath the telegraph wires on the 
Isle of Grain railway. Three weeks previously four Sand Grouse had been 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 109 


seen on a ploughed field five miles distant, which when disturbed, about ten 
yards off dropped again in the same field.—W. Prenrts (Rainham). 


Weight of the Pectoral Sandpiper.—Referring to the question which 
has arisen (p. 73) as to the weight of the Pectoral Sandpiper, I may 
remark that one which was shot in Norfolk, in September, 1887, weighed 
2% 0z., as reported by Mr. R. W. Chase (Zool. 1887, p- 433), in whose 
collection that specimen is preserved.—J. H. Gurney, jun. (Keswick Hall, 
Norwich). 


Dusky Redshank in Summer Plumage in Lancashire.—I don’t know 
whether the occurrence of a Dusky Redshank (Totanus fuscus) on the coast 
of Lancashire is sufficiently unusual to merit a notice in the ‘ Zoologist,’ 
but I may report that one was shot by a keeper in the month of April, four 
or five years ago, and he still has it stuffed. JI had a good look at it, and 
found that it agreed exactly with the description in Yarrell’s ‘ British 
Birds,’ except that the legs and the dark red base of the lower mandible 
have lost their colour. The back also. was whiter than I expected, but he 
explained that he had made the white show as much as possible for effect. 
When first observed the bird was standing by a pool on the “ marsh ” land 
near the mouth of the Ribble, and was quite tame, and he shot it on the 
ground. It is in the sooty black summer plumage as I suppose all these 
birds are in April.—Cuartes F. Arcurspatp (Rusland Hall, Ulverston). 

[Although Totanus fuscus is an annual migrant to the British Islands, 
passing through the country twice a year in spring and autumn, it is much 
less common during the former than the latter season. We have often 
seen it in September and October, but on two occasions only have we met 
with it in the breeding plumage, once in Breydon Harbour, Norfolk, and 
once in Pagham Harbour, Sussex, and have seen but few specimens in the 
black plumage procured in England. We remember once when staying at 
Abbeville in the autumn, and shooting on a marsh near St. Valery, on the 
south bank of the Somme, we fell in with a small flock of these birds, 
Which were still in the black plumage peculiar to the breeding season. 
They were too wild however to suffer a sufficiently near approach to shoot 
one.—Ep.] 


Destruction of Eagles.—I observe with much pleasure the editorial 
protest against the destruction of Golden Eagles (p. 81), and, as I feel 
rather strongly on the subject, perhaps I may be allowed to emphasise, from 
personal observation, what has been said. In 1886 I was in North Uist, 
and enquired after a pair of Golden Eagles that had an eyrie on the island. 
‘They were protected by the proprietor. Were they thriving, then? No; 
they had nested duly, but the male bird had been trapped or shot, and the 
survivor was left a widow. In 1887 a pair of Golden Eagles occupied an 
eyrie in Skye. Of course, they bred? No; a keeper succeeded in 


110 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


destroying one of them while the nestlings were still young. In 1888 
another pair of Golden Eagles nested on the Skye-coast: they had bred 
for several years just on the march between two properties, and, though 
our shepherds complained of losing lambs, we had been delighted to 
encourage them. In May, 1888, a keeper laid out some poisoned rats for 
Hooded Crows: one of the breeding Eagles took the poison, and its 
carcase was found on the hill-side some weeks later. I have its skeleton. 
These are instances of the destruction that goes on in spite of the efforts 
of proprietors to protect their Golden Eagles. The White-tailed Eagle 
has been similarly persecuted, and is all but extinct in Skye. Only a few 
years ago one miscreant shot an old bird of this species on her eggs, and 
sent bird and eggs to a collector in the South. On another occasion a 
shooting tenant shot the feathered young in the nest, as he could not get 
them alive. But I believe that most mischief is done by egg-collectors, 
who corrupt the morals of keepers and shepherds. One Edinburgh 
tradesman is reputed to have obtained a hundred Eagles’ eggs from the 
Scottish Highlands ; and if I was at liberty to reveal confidences, I could 
show that the instigators of egg-stealing are not all dealers by profession, 
as one would have supposed, but often men who well know what harm they 
are doing.—H. A. Macpurrson. 


Night Heron in Ireland.—A specimen of the Night Heron, Nycticorax 
griseus, was shot on December 31st, in an old quarry on the south side of 
Dublin. The bird is in the immature spotted plumage, was in very good 
condition, and measured 3 ft. 5 in. from tip to tip of wings, J ft. 114 in. 
from point of bill to end of tail. The stomach contained the remains of 
frogs—EpwarD WILLIAms (2, Dame Street, Dublin). 


FISHES. 


Clupea Finta, Cuv., at Killarney.—The occurrence of a Shad, Clupea 
finta, Cuv., in Killarney Lake, was first made known by the late William 
Andrews, who was informed that ‘‘ Herrings” were occasionally captured 
by the fishermen. Charr are also often called “* Herrings” in many of the 
Trish lakes, and I have obtained specimens of both Shad and Charr from 
the Lower Lake of Killarney. These Shad are taken by the “trawlers ” 
when drawing their nets for Salmon, and especially when using a smaller 
mesh for Trout. I never saw any specimens at all equal in size to the 
Shads, also A. finta, which are taken in the river Moy, of which I have now 
before me a specimen measuring nearly 24 inches in length; or the 
so-called “* Bony Horsemen,” (A. ‘finta), which in May frequent the mouth 
of the Blackwater in Waterford to the length of 20 inches. When visiting 
Kerry I often tried to ascertain whether anything was known of the 
breeding habits of the Killarney Shad, and whether it is ever found 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 111 


ascending from the sea. But the result of my enquiries was that I could 
never hear of any being taken, either in the river Laune, or in the salt 
water. They are captured in numbers, and of various sizes according to 
the season of the year, always small, up to about Herring size; and I am 
now inclined to believe that these small Shads are resident in the Lake of 
Killarney, as in some of the Italian lakes. If this surmise is correct, we 
have here an instance of a land-locked Shad, resident and breeding in fresh 
water, perhaps an incipient species—A..G. More (92, Leinster Road, 
Dublin). 

New British Fishes.—At a recent meeting of the Zoological Society, 
Dr. Giinther exhibited and made remarks on some fishes which had been 
taken on the west coast of Scotland by Mr. John Murray, and which were 
not previously known to occur in British waters. They were Cottus 
Lilfjeborgii (Colett), Triglops Murrayi (sp. n.), Gadus E’smarckii (Nilsson), 
Onus Reinhardti (Colett), Hierasper acus (Briinnich), Stomias ferox (Rein- 
hardt), and Scopelus scoticus (sp. n.). He also exhibited a specimen of 
Lichia vadigo (Risso), known previously only from the Mediterranean and 
‘Madeira, and which was taken in September last by Capt. MacDonald, off 
Waternish Point, Isle of Skye. 


Hybrid between Roach and Bleak.—At the same meeting of the 
Zoological Society, Dr. Giinther exhibited a hybrid between the Roach, 
Luciscus rutilus, and the Bleak, Alburnus alburnus, which had been taken 
in the river Nene, Northamptonshire, and forwarded by Lord Lilford. 


PROTRACHEATA. 


Peripatus in Victoria.—In ‘The Zoologist’ for February, 1888 
(p. 69) we published a letter from Mr. A. Sidney Olliff, of the Australian 
Museum, Sydney, announcing his discovery of Peripatus (presumably 
PeP. Leuckhartii) in New South Wales, on a tributary of the Hunter River, 
about 120 miles from the coast. Mr. Arthur Dendy, formerly of the 
British Museum (Nat. Hist.), but now of the University of Melbourne, 
writes to say that in December last, while exploring a fern-tree gully 
at Warburton, on the Upper Yarra, Victoria, he found two specimens of 
Peripatus, believed to belong to a new and very beautiful species. He is 
not yet certain whether it is identical with the Peripatus recorded by Mr. 
Pletcher, from Victoria (Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, vol. ii. parti. (1887), 
see ‘ Zoologist,’ 1888, p. 69), but can only state at present, that if 
Mr. Fletcher's species be P. Leuckhartii, the newly acquired specimens do 
“not agree with the description of that species published by Prof. Sedgwick, 
in his Monograph of. Peripatus, printed in the ‘ Quarterly Journal of 
Microscopical Science.’ 


112 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 


Linnean Soctety or Lonpon. 


February 5, 1889.—Mr. C. B. Cranks, M.A., F.RS., Vice-President, 
in the chair. 

Messrs. J. R. Green and J. W. White were admitted Fellows of the 
Society; and, on a ballot taking place, the following were elected :—The 
Earl of Ducie, Messrs. Henry Hutton and Malcolm Lawrie. 

The Rev. E. S. Marshall exhibited several interesting varieties of British 
plants collected by him in Scotland, and made remarks thereon. 

Mr. E. M. Holmes exhibited a specimen of a new British Marine Alga, 
BRhododermis elegans, Cr., var. polystromatica. Previously this Alga was only 
known to occur at Brest. The discovery of it at Berwick-on-Tweed by 
Mr. E. L. Batters, and at Bognor by Mr. Holmes, therefore extended its 
geographical distribution. The variety found in Britain was new to science, 
since the typical plant was found by Crouan to have only two layers of cells, 
whilst the British plant had several, although it did not otherwise differ 
from the type. 

A paper was then read by Mr. A. D. Michael on three new species of 
parasitic Acari discovered by him in Derbyshire during the autumn of 1888. 
These were a Myocoptes, proposed to be called M. tenax, parasitic on the 
Field Vole, Arvicola agrestis ; a Symbiotes, proposed to be called S. tripilis, 
parasitic upon the Hedgehog ; and Goniomerus musculinus (gen. et sp. nov.), 
a minute parasite found on the ear of the Field Vole. Specimens of all 
three were exhibited under the microscope, and a discussion followed in 
which Professors Mivart, Stewart, and Howes took part. 

Prof. Martin Duncan then gave the substance of an important paper 
which he had prepared, entitled “A Revision of the Families and Genera 
of the Echinoidea, recent and fossil.” . Reviewing the labours of his pre- 
decessors, Prof. Duncan traced the growth of the literature of his subject, 
and showed that although many lists and papers had been published from 
time to time, no general review of the class Hchinoidea had been attempted 
since 1846. Dealing with all the material at his command, he found it 
necessary to propose certain alterations in the classification, and to dispense 
with a good many genera and subgenera, which he considered had been 
needlessly founded. Above all, he had set himself the task of revising the 
descriptions of the genera, giving positive instead of comparative characters, 
a course which he believed would prove of great utility to students. The 
paper was criticised by Mr. Sladen, Prof. Stewart, and Mr. Breeze, all of 
whom testified to the necessity which had arisen for some authoritative 
revision of the subject such as had been undertaken by Prof. Duncan, and 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 1138 


which undoubtedly would es ye considerably the labours of future 
enquirers. 
The meeting adjourned to February 21st. 


_ ZoorioeicaL Society oF Lonpon. 


February 5, 1889.—Dr. St. Georce Mivart, 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 January, 1889. 

Mr. Sclater exhibited a living specimen of the Thick-billed Lark, Rham- 
phocoris clotbeyi, lately received by the Society from Southern Algeria, and 
ealled attention to its structural peculiarities. 

Mr. G. A. Boulenger read a paper on the species of Batrachians of the 
genus Rhacophorus, hitherto confounded under the name of R. maculatus, 
and pointed out their distinctions. 

Mr. Sclater pointed out the characters of some new species of birds of 
the family Dendrocolaptide, which were proposed to be called Upucerthia 
bridgest, Phacellodomus rufipennis, Thripophaga fusciceps, Philidor cervicalis, 
and Picolaptes parvirostris. 

A communication was read from the Rev. O. P. Cambridge on some new 
species and a new genus of Araneidea. Two of these species (Pachylomenus 
natalensis and Steyodyphus gregarius) were based on specimens living in the 
Insect House in the Society’s Gardens. 

_ A communication was read from Prof. F. Jeffrey Bell, containing 

descriptions of new or rare Holothurians of the genera Plexaura and 
Plexaurella. 

Dr. Giinther exhibited and made remarks on some fishes which had 

_ been dredged up by Mr. John Murray off the west coast of Scotland, and 
Were not previously known to occur in British waters, viz. Cottus lilljeborgit 
(Collett), Triglops murrayi, sp. n., Gadus esmarckii (Nills.), Onus reinhardti 
(Collett), Fierasper acus (Briinn.), Scopelus scoticus, sp. n., Stomias ferox 
(Reinhardt). 

Dr. Giinther also exhibited and described a specimen of Lichia vadigo 
(Risso), a species of which only a few specimens were previously known 
from the Mediterranean and Madeira: this specimen was obtained by 
Capt. MacDonald on Sept. 17th, 1888, off Waternish Point, Isle of Skye. 
He also exhibited a hybrid between the Roach (Leuciscus rutilus) and the 
Bleak (Alburnus alburnus), sent to him by Lord Lilford from the river Nen, 
Northamptonshire. 

Mr. Beddard read a paper descriptive of the coloured epidermic cells of 
Aolosoma tenebrarum. 

Mr. Boulenger exhibited and made remarks on a series of living 

ZOOLOGIST.—MARCH, 1889. K 


114 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


specimens of Tortoises of the genus Homopus from the Cape Colony, lately 
received by the Society from the Rev. G. H. R. Fisk.—P. L. Scars, 
Secretary. 


EntomoLogicat Society or Lonpon. 


February 6, 1889.—The Rt. Hon. Lord Watstnenay, M.A., F.B.S., 
President, in the chair. 

The President announced that he had nominated Capt. H. J. Elwes, 
Mr. F. Du Cane Godman, F.R.S., and Dr. Sharp, Vice-Presidents for the 
session 1889-90. 

The Rev. F. D. Morrice, M.A., of Rugby; Mr. A. Robinson, B.A., of 
Brettanby Manor, near Darlington; and Mr. H. Burns, of Fulham, S.W., 
were elected Fellows. 

Lord Walsingham exhibited a larva of Lophostethus dumolini, Guer., 
sent to him by Mr. Gilbert Carter, from Bathurst, West Coast of Africa. 

Mr. G. T. Porritt exhibited several melanic specimens of Boarmia 
repandata from Huddersfield, and, for comparison, two specimens from the 
Hebrides. Mr. M‘Lachlan remarked that melanism appeared to be more 
prevalent in Yorkshire and the north midlands than in the more uorthern 
latitudes of the United Kingdom. 

Capt. Elwes read a paper “On the genus Erebia, and its geographical 
distribution.” The author, after referring to the number of species and 
named varieties, many of which appeared to be inconstant as local forms, 
made some remarks on the nomenclature of the genus, and suggested that a 
better system of classification might be arrived at by anatomical investiga- 
tion. It was stated that little was known of the early stages and life-history 
of species of this genus, the geographical distribution of which was Alpine 
rather than Arctic. The author remarked that it was curious that there 
was no species peculiar to the Caucasus, and that no species occurred in 
the Himalayas, where the genus is replaced by Callerebia; that none were 
found in the Himalo-Chinese Subregion, and none in the Eastern United 
States of America. He also called attention to the similarity of the species 
in Colorado and North-West America to the European species. Lord 
Walsingham, Mr. Waterhouse, Mr. O. Janson, Mr. M‘Lachlan, Dr. Sharp, 
and Mr. Jenner Weir took part in the discussion which ensued. 

Mr. W. Warren read a paper “On the Pyralidina collected in 1874 
and 1875 by Mr. J. W. H. Traill in the Basin of the Amazons.” 

Mr. C. J. Gahan read a paper eutitled “ Descriptions of new or little- 
known species of Glenea in the Collection of the British Museum.” 

Dr. J. S. Baly communicated a paper entitled “‘ Notes on Aulocophorq 
and allied genera."—H. Goss, Hon. Secretary. 


( 115 ) 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 


Our Rarer Birds: being Studies in Ornithology and Oology. 
By Cuartes Dixon. With Twenty Illustrations by Cuar.es 
Wauymrer, and a Frontispiece by J. G. KeruLemans, 
8vo. pp. 873. London: Richard Bentley & Son. 1888. 


THE title of Mr. Dixon’s book is not well chosen, for to those 
who are tolerably familiar with British birds it does not convey 
an accurate indication of the contents. We will not do Mr. 
Dixon the injustice to suppose that he really regards as rarities 
a number of Birds which most naturalists agree in considering 
very common (that is, common in their natural haunts and at their 
proper seasons); but when we find classed as rarities such 
familiar species as the Brown Owl, the Butcher-bird, Nightingale, 
Reed Warbler, Green Woodpecker, Nightjar, Stock Dove, Turtle 
Dove, three or four kinds of game, and such well-known shore- 
birds and sea-birds as any one may meet with in the course of an 
ordinary walk along the coast, we fail entirely to appreciate the 
author’s idea of rarity. That he has enjoyed good opportunities 
however for studying a variety of birds in their natural haunts 
is evident from his descriptions, many of which are well written, 
and accurate so far as they go, though they do not contain much 
that is new. The freshest paragraphs, perhaps, are those which 
relate to the habits of some of our British birds as observed 
abroad, and these are interesting enough. Take, for example, the 
case of our well-known Hawfinch, concerning which Mr. Dixon 
writes :— 

“Thad many opportunities of studying the habits of the Hawfinch in 
the evergreen-oak forests of northern Africa. One would almost be led to 
think that the cause of the bird’s shyness in England was owing tu the 
manner in which it is persecuted by gardeners and collectors, if we did not 
find it just as wild and wary in these forest solitudes where it is never 
molested by man. I first met with the Hawfinches in a clearing of the 
forest, where the trees were scattered up and down in little clusters, and, 
as a rule, it was only when they flew from tree to tree that I could get a 
view of them. Sometimes I observed them sitting quietly among the 
branches, turning their large heads from side to side in evident alarm, and 
peering about in all directions as if in search of the danger. The flight of 
the Hawfinch is undulating, but sometimes straightforward, and is then 


116 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


very rapid. As the birds flew from tree to tree, I noticed that they usually 
dropped down into the branches in preference to flying up into them from 
below. When sitting in the trees the males occasionally uttered a 
twittering note, which put me in mind of the Greenfinch. In fact, the 
Hawfinch possesses slight claim to rank as a songster; in the vernal year 
it utters a few loud notes, which might almost be called monotonous, 
if several birds did not join in the chorus, when the general effect is far 
from unpleasing. Many birds love to perch in conspicuous positions when 
engaged in song, but the Hawfinch twitters from the dense recesses of the 
foliage, and keeps well out of sight amongst the trees. 


Writing of the Pied Flycatcher (p. 51) he says :— 


““T have had many opportunities of studying the habits of this inter- 
esting bird, both in North Africa, where it is specially common, and in the 
wooded hill districts of Yorkshire. In the former country I met with it 
both in the oasis of the Sahara, as well as in the Arab gardens high up the 
solitudes of the Aures Mountains. In England it loves the birch coppices 
near the mountain streams, especially where old decaying timber is 
abundant; and in all situations its conspicuous dress of black and white 
makes its identification easy. . .. In Africa this species is constantly to 
be seen in company with the Spotted Flycatcher, but in Great Britain the 
haunts of the two species are considerably different,—one bird loving the 
wilderness, and the other cultivated localities and the habitation of man.” 


It would have been well, perhaps, if Mr. Dixon had told us a 
little more about the St. Kilda Wren, which from his remarks 
might be supposed to have been unknown until, as he says, he 
was fortunate enough to discover it some four years ago. All 
that Mr. Dixon really did was to remind ornithologists that a 
Wren existed on St. Kilda, which was little known for the reason 
that few naturalists visit that remote isle. But it was no new 
discovery, for the bird in question may be found mentioned in 
Macaulay’s ‘ History of St. Kilda,’ 1764; and even longer ago 
than that, in Martin's ‘ Voyage to St. Kilda,’ 1698. Mr. Seebohm, 
in 1884, conceiving from its isolated haunt that it might present 
some peculiarity as insular forms often do, and believing from 
examination of a specimen brought from St. Kilda by Mr. Dixon, 
that it might be specifically distinguished from the common Wren 
of this country, described it in ‘The Zoologist’ for 1884 
(pp. 883—335) under the name Troglodytes hirtensis, giving at the 
same time a nicely engraved figure of it. The following year in 
‘The Ibis’ (1885, pp. 69—97), Mr. Dixon referred to it in an 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 117 


account which he gave of the Ornithology of St. Kilda, accom- 
panied by a coloured plate of the supposed new Wren, and it is 
an uncoloured copy of that plate (although the author has 
omitted to say so), which forms the frontispiece to the present 
volume. Since then other specimens of the bird have been 
received from St. Kilda, and from an examination of these it is 
now generally admitted by ornithologists that Mr. Dresser is 
probably right in his opinion (‘ The Ibis,’ 1886, p. 43), that after 
all Troglodytes hirtensis is not specifically distinct; an opinion 
lately echoed by Mr. Saunders in his ‘ Illustrated Manual of 
British Birds.’ As none of these facts have been alluded to by 
Mr. Dixon in the volume now under review, it can hardly be said 
that his chapter on this bird places its history in a true light. 

It is curious what misconception exists in the minds of most 
modern writers on birds whenever they take occasion to refer to 
Falconry. They almost invariably allude to it as a thing of the 
past, and (notwithstanding the information afforded by the 
“Falconry” columns of ‘The Field’), are apparently quite 
unaware of the fact that hundreds of Partridges and Grouse are 
killed in this country every game season with trained Peregrines; 
that numbers of Larks are taken with Merlins; and Blackbirds 
and Thrushes with Sparrowhawks; and that a dozen owners of 
Goshawks might be named, who annually take scores of rabbits 
and fewer hares with their trained birds. 

Mr. Dixon apparently is one of those who imagine that the 
art of Falconry is no longer practised in this country, judging 
by his remarks (p. 26), and he is equally in error when asserting 
(p. 28), that ‘“‘ Peregrines prey upon the weakly, the weary, and 
the unwary.” Had he seen as many Grouse and Partridges 
killed by Peregrines as the writer of this notice, he would never 
have penned the lines above quoted. We are well aware that 
much has been written in an attempt to prove that Falcons and 
Hawks are “nature’s police,” that by killing the weakly game 
birds (because they are presumably the easiest to catch) they 
render infinite service to man by leaving only the healthiest and 
strongest birds to breed. This is a very pretty theory, but 
unfortunately for its supporters it is not true. It is undoubtedly 
the fact, that certain birds of prey, like the Harriers and Owls 
which fly low, and quarter their ground closely, carry off numbers 
of defenceless young birds, and old ones too occasionally, when 


118 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


they find them ata disadvantage, a method not unpractised by 
the Sparrowhawk ; but they have to take their chance of securing 
healthy or sickly birds as the case may be. The Peregrine, so 
far from selecting the youngest or weakest bird in a covey 
(apparently the easiest to catch), will often knock down the 
leader at a distance, perhaps a fine old cock bird. We have 
repeatedly seen a Falcon ignore a young Grouse directly under 
her, and stoop with success at a fast-flying bird much further 
away from her; the inevitable conclusion being that there is no 
need for such an hypothesis as that of taking the weakest, 
for the power of wing in a Falcon is such as to place any quarry 
that may be selected at a disadvantage, unless by throwing itself 
headlong into the heather, bracken, or other cover, as a Grouse 
often does, it contrives to avoid the fatal stoop. 

While on the subject of Hawks, we may remark that the 
description given of the plumage of the Merlin (p. 32) is insuffi- 
cient ‘‘ to enable the young naturalist to identify” this bird, since 
it applies only to the adult male; and the majority of Merlins 
procured in this country are in the very different plumage of 
immaturity. 

Glancing at the chapters on Game-birds, the account given of 
the Capercaillie (pp. 151-154) strikes us as being quite inadequate 
after the exhaustive treatise on this bird published by Mr. Harvie 
Brown,* which was reviewed in this journal in 1879 (p. 468), and 
of which no mention is made by Mr. Dixon. Had he referred to 
this source of information he would have discovered that so far 
from having to go back 400 years to find the Capercaillie common 
in the pine forests of Scotland, the date of its extinction may be 
fixed no longer ago than 1760, and that of its re-introduction, 
1836. 

In the chapter on the Red-legged Partridge (pp. 165-169) 
there are several statements open to criticism. “ This bird,” says 
Mr. Dixon, “is not indigenous to this country, but was introduced 
here like the Pheasant, so long ago that we have quite got to look 
upon it as a bird of the southern fields.” But the two birds are 
not to be placed upon the same footing, for the Pheasant was 
introduced by the Romans, while the Red-legged Partridge was 
not acclimatized here until the latter half of the last century. 


* «The Capercaillie in Scotland.’ By J. A. Harvie Brown. 8vo, pp 160. 
Edinburgh: Douglas. 1879, 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 119 


Again, we are unable to accept the statement, that “ unlike the 
Pheasant, its immigration [a term wholly inapplicable] has not 
been attended with very great success.” So far from this being 
the case, there is abundant evidence to show that from all 
its centres of introduction it has spread in every direction, and is 
now to be found in many counties to which it must have found 
its way unaided by man’s intervention.* “It is, perhaps, 
fortunate,” says Mr. Dixon, “that the Red-legged Partridge does 
not thrive very well in this country, because in all the localities in 
which it has established itself, the Common Partridge has 
sensibly decreased in numbers, and in some places has been 
completely exterminated by the larger and much more pugna- 
cious species.” 

We do not know to what “places” Mr. Dixon refers, but 
having shot for many years in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and 
Sussex, in all of which counties the Red-legged Partridge is well 
established, we can assure him that the view above expressed is 
quite contrary to our experience. We have not only found a good 
stock of both species occupying the same farms, but have flushed 
covies of both in the same field, and have known many instances 
of their laying in each other’s nests. ‘That there is no danger of 
the Grey Partridge being “completely exterminated” by the 
Red-legged species, may be inferred from the statistics furnished 
by Prof. Newton, in an article in ‘ The Ibis,’ for 1861, p. 194. 

The statement (p. 167) that “the nesting season of the Red- 
legged Partridge is much earlier than that of the common 
species, the eggs being laid by the end of April or beginning of 
May,” is negatived by the fact that we have repeatedly seen eggs 
of the Grey Partridge during the first week of April, and eggs of 
both species, as above stated, in the same nest. 

But enough of adverse criticism. Mr. Dixon’s book has 
much in it to recommend it to the notice of all lovers of bird 
life; and if, here and there, there are passages which stand in 
need of correction, or amplification, there are many pages 
detailing the result of much patient observation, which will be 
acceptable to those who, with the same tastes as Mr Dixon, have 
had fewer opportunities of indulging them. 


* See an article ‘On the Local Distribution of the Red-legged Partridge,” 
in ‘The Field,’ 27th Jan. 1883. 


120 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


A word of praise must be bestowed also upon the capital 
illustrations by Charles Whymper. Some of them, to a critical 
eye, may be thought a little faulty in outline, but there is no mis- 
taking the species for which they are intended; and in most 
of them the drawing as well as the engraving is excellent. 
Amongst those which strike us as being particularly true to 
nature are the Oystercatcher (p. 185), and the Cormorant (p. 342), 
the latter of which through the courtesy of the publishers we 
have been permitted to reproduce. 


CORMORANT AND SHAG, 


\) 


Zool. 1889. 


LL Hutchinson ith 


Plate II. 


2 
= 


— 
nt. 


Gaby, 


Daubentons Bat. 


Vespertilio dawbentoniv. 


West, Newman &Co.imip. 


THE ZOOLOGIST. 


THIRD SERIES. 


Vou. XIII.) APRIL, 1889. [No. 148. 
ee ie 


NOTES ON THE SEAL AND WHALE FISHERY OF 1888. 
By T. Sournwett, F.Z.S. 


Ir perseverance could command success surely the Greenland 
and Davis Straits whalers would be richly rewarded, yet year 
after year they renew their costly outfit, and venture amongst 
the thick-ribbed ice, braving the fogs, storms, and countless dis- 
comforts of the Arctic Seas only to return disappointed men! 
Surely there must be some peculiar fascination which attracts 
them year after year to the inclement north to so little profit; 
for eight seasons I have chronicled the declining results of their 
efforts, and am at a loss which most to admire, their indomitable 
perseverance, and the tenacity with which they cling to their 
vanishing industry, or the manly courage with which they bear 
their reverses. Whaling, like mining, is a “ venture” which may 
prove a great success or the reverse, and there is all that element 
of uncertainty attending such a voyage which to adventurous men 
Possesses so great a charm. Who can tell but to-morrow their 
toil may be sweetened by success, and the vessel bear up for 
home a “full ship,” or any season the state of the ice may be 
found to have changed, and the long series of bad years give 
place to a series as remarkable for their successes ? 

The report from the Newfoundland Sealing for 1888 shows an 
improvement upon that of the previous season, the total number 
captured by the British vessels being 210,810 against 177,733, 
and no casualties have occurred, The fleet consisted of the 
Same vessels as took part in the season of 1887, with the exception 

ZOOLOGIST.— APRIL, 1889. L 


122 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


of the ‘Arctic,’ which was lost at the Whale fishery in Davis 
Straits, and has not been replaced. Nineteen vessels were 
present, three of which are reported “clean,” and the average of 
the remaining sixteen was 18,176 per vessel; but as usual the 
take was very unequally distributed, although not so much so as 
in 1887, for seven vessels made cargoes of over 15,000 (against four 
only in the previous year), viz. the ‘Neptune,’ 42,242; the ‘Eagle,’ 
26,000; the ‘ Aurora,’ 25,000; the ‘ Ranger,’ 24,151; the ‘ Esqui- 
maux,’ 22,824; the ‘Iceland,’ 16,000; and the ‘ Falcon,’ 15,811; 
an average of 24,575, whilst the remaining nine vessels averaged 
only 4309. No second trip was made this season. The value 
of the Newfoundland oil was about £19 15s. per ton, and the 
skins produced from 10s. to 18s. each. Four Dundee vessels 
were at the Newfoundland sealing, viz. the ‘ Aurora,’ which took 
about 25,000; the ‘Esquimaux,’ 22,824; the ‘Terra Nova,’ 
11,895; and the ‘Polynia,’ 7135; all of which are included in 
the above total. 

The young Greenland sealing was much more successful than 
in 1887; there were some twenty-three Norwegian and three 
Scotch vessels present; the former took 38,200, and the latter 
1700, or a total of about 39,900 young Saddle Seals. In addition 
to the 1700 young seals it appears that the Scotch vessels subse- 
quently shot some 9388 others, almost all Bladder-nose; and 
the ‘Alert’ returned from Cumberland Gulf with 3300, which 
brought the Greenland total up to 14,388. 

At the Newfoundland and Greenland old and young sealing 
together, eleven Scotch vessels captured 82,235 seals (against 
57,240 in the previous season), showing a considerable increase 
in both fisheries, but a total vastly smaller than was annually 
secured in days gone by. These at an average of, say, 10s. per 
skin, would produce £41,117, to which must be added 997 tons 
of oil at £20 per ton, £19,940, or a total of £61,057, against a 
similar estimate of £30,852 for 1887—a much more satisfactory 
return, so far as this branch of the industry is concerned, the 
result being helped as well by the increased capture of seals as 
by the slightly better prices of produce. Included in the seal-oil 
is the yield of 811 Walrus brought home by the Davis Straits 
vessels. 

The total number of vessels which left Dundee last season 
for the Seal and Whale fishery was ten, the same as in 1887, the 


THE SEAL AND WHALE FISHERY OF 1888. 128 


‘Earl of Mar and Kellie,’ which was not out last year, taking the 
place of the ‘ Arctic,’ which, as already stated, was lost in Davis 
Straits. The list of Peterhead vessels is increased to Six, against 
four the previous season, for although the ‘ Erick’ has entered 
the Hudson’s Bay service, the ‘ Windward,’ which had not been 
out since 1884, was put in her place for the sealing, and the return 
of the ‘Alert’ from Cumberland Gulf, where she had wintered, 
as also an irregular voyage, apparently undertaken for sporting 
purposes by the ‘Traveller,’ gave an apparent increase of numbers, 
which, however, was not real. 

Any slight advantage which was gained in the sealing was 
more than lost in the Whale Fishery; this was particularly the 
case at Davis Straits, the eight whales taken there being very 
small, and yielding only 43 ewt. of bone; the Right- Whale oil is 
not given separately, the returns under that head including the 
White-Whale oil also; but at the usual average of one ton of oil 
to every cwt. of bone, it will be seen that this branch of the fishery 
was far from remunerative. As in the past two seasons the ice 
has never cleared out of the Straits, its position remaining 
practically unaltered; and until this clearance takes place, I am 
informed, it is the opinion of practical men that there will be no 
fishing in Davis Straits, the whales having sufficient shelter to 
prevent the vessels getting within reach of them. I am told the 
spring fishing for this reason, although many whales were reported 
by the natives, was a complete failure, and that in the fall no 
whales were seen, that the eight whales secured were all caught 
in Lancaster Sound in J uly, and that even from this once-favoured 
locality the fish have either been killed off or have gone elsewhere, 
thirteen being the total number seen there during the past season. 
The ‘ Active’ returned clean. 

The reports from Greenland are not less unfavourable, not 
So much owing to the scarcity of whales as from continued bad 
Weather, and the extremely unfavourable condition of the ice; 
only four whales were brought home from Greenland, which 
although very small, yielding only 44 ewt. of bone and 52 tons of 
oil, must have been greatly superior to those from Davis Straits; 
two of these fell to Capt. D. Gray of the ‘ Eclipse,’ and two to his 
brother, Capt. J. Gray of the ‘ Hope.’ The ‘ Perseverance’ from 
Cumberland Gulf came back clean. I shall refer to the voyage 
of this vessel farther on. 


ba 


124 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


The total quantity of whaling produce brought home by the 
Dundee and Peterhead vessels was 286 tons of whale-oil, the bulk 
of which would be the produce of 902 White Whales, 28 tons of 
Bottle-nose oil, and 4 tons 7 ewt. of bone. The oil, at £20 per 
ton for Whale-oil and £26 for Bottle-nose, represents £6448, and 
the bone, at £1600 per ton (allowing for under-size), about £6360 
more; together, £12,808, against a like estimate for 1887 of 
£17,060, notwithstanding the increased price of bone. This is 
by far the smallest amount I have yet had to record. To show 
the serious falling off in this branch of the industry, I may mention 
that the estimates made on the same basis in my last five years’ 
Notes have been as follows :—£88,570 in 1884; £31,800 in 1885; 
£29,890 in 1886; £17,060 in 1887; and in the past season 
£12,880 only. 

In addition to the Whales and Seals above recorded, 311 
Walruses and many Bears were obtained. 

Of the incidents of Capt. Gray’s voyage in the ‘ Eclipse’ there 
is no need to speak, as Mr. Robert Gray, his son (and chief 
officer), has already communicated extracts from his “ Log” to 
‘The Zoologist’ (pp. 1, 41, 81 ante). 

I have mentioned the ‘ Perseverance,’ which returned clean 
to Peterhead after a fourteen-months’ voyage to Cumberland Gulf. 
I have been favoured with some particulars of her voyage, which 
I will briefly condense, as they will indicate the character of the 
autumn and spring fishery, to engage in which the vessels winter 
in Cumberland Gulf. The ‘ Perseverance,’ a barque of 163 tons, 
left Peterhead on July 20th, 1887, and after a very stormy passage 
arrived at Cumberland Gulf on Sept. 14th, where she discharged 
stores at Blacklead Island, the American station. Thence she 
was towed by the ‘ Active’ s.s. (of Dundee) to Kickerton, to dis- 
charge more stores for Mr. Noble’s station, returning to Blacklead 
Island, and proceeding to Niantilick (Winter Harbour), to take 
up position for the fall tishing. After about four weeks the ice 
began to make, and she attempted to get down to Harrison’s 
Point; but a southerly gale broke up the ice, and drove her and 
the ‘Germania,’ another sailing vessel belonging to Peterhead, 
outside the islands altogether, and they wintered off Bouilli 
Island in company. In the spring the Gulf was so filled with 
ice that they could not get their boats into the water, and the 
fishing was a failure; an attempt for White Whales was equally 


THE SEAL AND WHALE FISHERY OF 1888. 125 


unsuccessful, the fish breaking back and all escaping. Finally 
the ‘ Perseverance’ left for home on August 28th, 1888, the 
‘Germania’ staying for the fall fishing. Only one Right Whale 
is said to have been seen, and the other vessels and stations in 
the Gulf are reported to have had no better fortune than the 
* Perseverance.’ 

One of the most successful whalers is Capt. Adams, formerly 
of the ‘ Arctic,’ but now commanding the ‘ Maud,’ and in the past 
season his good fortune (skill?) has not failed him. Capt. Adams 
arrived from Davis Straits with a full ship, his cargo consisting 
of three small Right Whales, 300 White Whales, 1000 Seals, and 
175 Walrus, yielding 115 tons of whale and seal oil and 13 cwt. 
of bone; he also obtained several Bears, one of which he brought 
home alive. The following is a brief account of Capt. Adams’s 
voyage to Davis Straits, extracted from one of the Dundee papers, 
which I hope you will allow me to quote, as it not only shows the 
state of the ice in Davis Straits, but also gives a fair idea of the 
course followed by the Straits fishers. 

Capt. Adams states that the 8.W. fishery proved barren on 
account of the stormy weather. Three times the vessel was 
driven down near to the Labrador coast, 180 miles distant, and 
each time three days were occupied in regaining the fishing- 
ground. A number of Seals were secured, but only one Whale 
was seen, and the crew failed to capture it. As there were no 
prospects of success at the 8.W., the whale-fishing on the EH. side 
of Davis Straits was attempted, but the impenetrable fields of ice 
barred the way, and nothing could be done. The voyage north- 
ward was therefore continued to Disco, where a number of Walrus, 
Seals, and Bears were shot. In communication with the natives, 
Capt. Adams learned that many large Whales had been seen off 
Disco early in the year, but that the natives had been unable to 
capture any of them. Melville Bay was comparatively clear of ice, 
so that no difficulty was experienced in crossing it. Continuing 
northward, Cary Islands were passed, and Capt. Adams made an 
attempt to reach what is known as the Middle Ice fishing-ground. 
But here no open water was to be seen, the whole of Baffin’s Bay 
being completely blocked with ice. The only course was to get 
up Lancaster Sound, and this was effected after great difficulty, 
a way having to be cut for a considerable distance through the 
ice-barrier at the entrance to the Sound. Lancaster Sound was 


126 THE ZOOLOGIST. . 


exceptionally full of ice, but a passage was made to Prince Regent 
Inlet, a favourite resort of the Black and also of the White Whale. 
' Here the crew succeeded in capturing three Black Whales, one 
of medium size, with 9 ft. 3 in. in bone, one small fish, the third 
being a sucker. After the disappearance of the Black Whales 
the ‘Maud’ proceeded down the Inlet to Elwin Bay, where a 
shoal of White Whales was surrounded by the boats and the 
fish driven into a sheltered creek. Here on the tide receding 
the men entered the water and speared the fish, 300 of which 
were captured. The scene at the capture was most exciting, the 
men being waist-deep in the water, while the fish were raising 
the mud by the violent lashing of their tails in their struggles to 
escape. After these Whales—all large males—had been got on 
board it was found that the ‘Maud’s’ tanks were full, and she 
returned through Lancaster Sound and down the W. side of Davis 
Straits, along which so much ice was packed that there was no 
chance of prosecuting the fishing, even although Whales had been 
seen. The ‘ Maud’ accordingly bore up for home. 

I have again to thank Messrs. W. Grieve & Co., of Greenock, 
for the statistics of the Newfoundland Sealing; Mr. David Bruce 
and Mr, Kinnes, of Dundee, and Capt. David Gray and his son 
Mr. Robert Gray, of Peterhead, have also, as usual, very kindly 
rendered me great assistance. 


FIELD NOTES IN WESTERN SWEDEN. 
By F. P. Jounson. 


Tue following notes were made in the summer of 1888, when 
I paid a short visit to a relative who happened to be renting the 
fishing and shooting of Lake Ann, in Western Sweden. This 
lake is fed by three tributaries, all of which rise upon the water- 
shed dividing Norway from Sweden. ‘Their united waters pass 
through a chain of lakes, of varying extent, and flowing eastward 
as the River Ljungan, enter the Gulf of Bothnia near Sundsvall. 
Lake Ann extends about ten miles in length, and probably 
measures seven miles in span, including several large islands 
within its area. Its depth is for the most part insignificant, but 
the southern extremity is very deep. The finest of its tributaries 


FIELD NOTES IN .WESITERN SWEDEN. 127 


is the Handel, which rises on Sylfjellen (6552 ft.), and a short 
distance above the lake falls over a fine fosse, thence forcing 
its way through numerous small channels, intersected by islets 
overgrown with mountain-ash and willow. 

When [J arrived, on June 11th, the deeper end of the lake was 
thickly coated with ice, and snow lay in drifts down to the water's 
edge. The season was unusually late, and a rapid thaw caused 
the lake to rise considerably above its usual level. Lake Ann is 
situated in the heart of a forest region. Upon its eastern border 
the forest is continuous, only broken by the occasional presence 
of small clearings; on the western side it extends from the margin 
of the lake (2000 ft.), until the tall spruce-firs give place to a broad 
belt of dwarf willows. Across the lake, from our quarters, snow- 
capped ridges of hills extend in one unbroken line along the 
horizon. 

That birds were extremely scarce was my first impression of 
this wild region, and although, as spring advanced, fresh species 
appeared, we never found many birds except in the neighbourhood 
of the lake. 

The Fieldfare was first noticed on June 12th; on the 24th 
I took a clutch of fresh eggs, between which date and July 5th 
we examined many nests of this Thrush, some incomplete and 
empty, others containing incubated eggs. A few Ring Ouzels 
nested on the nearest fells. Redstarts found attractive stumps of 
old timber near the water, and I lifted a hen Redstart off her 
incubated eggs on June 28th. I was anxious to find the Dipper, 
Cinclus melanogaster ; but our boatman, who knew it well, said 
that the resident birds had been killed, he thought, by the severity 
of the preceding winter. 

Numerous Willow Warblers haunted the forest as well as 
bushes near the water, while an occasional Marsh Tit flitted 
through the woods. Every farmstead was frequented by a pair 
of White Wagtails, but the Grey-headed Wagtail, Motacilla 
_cinereocapilla, was seen only on the islands of the lake. The 
Tree Pipit was the only species of Anthus observed ; one obtained 
at Lake Ann proved to be smaller than an average English 
specimen. House Martins built their mud-nests under the eaves 
of our farmhouse, but we only observed the Swallow coursing over 
the country. 

The weather during my stay was brilliantly fine, and the 


128 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Bramblings, Fringilla montifringilla, sang out jubilantly from 
their favourite fir-tops. A nest of this finch, taken on June 28th 
from a spruce-fir, contained seven eggs. ‘The materials included 
fresh moss and fine stems of grass, trimmed with grey lichens, 
and quilted inside with feathers (among which we recognised with 
pleasure some feathers of the Nutcracker, the only intimation we 
had of its presence in the neighbourhood). Another common bird 
was the Reed Bunting. Magpies nested near our quarters, and 
visited us daily for scraps, an office in which the Hooded Crows, 
being early abroad, frequently forestalled them. The Cuckoo and 
Swift were likewise present. Once I picked up some feathers of 
a Snowy Owl, but we never saw or heard any Owls, nor did the 
Kite or Rough-legged Buzzard ever cross our path. The Merlin 
was fairly common, and I was interested to find one sitting on 
her eggs in a spruce-fir, about thirty feet from the ground. I shot 
her off the nest for identification. Her eggs were fresh, and the 
nest appeared to be that of a Hooded Crow. 

Desiring to obtain eggs of the Osprey, I visited two eyries 
that were tenanted and several old ones; but no eggs were to be 
had, though I gave up much time and trouble in an attempt to 
secure them. One of the nests I photographed. In both of those 
in repair the old Ospreys had chosen to build on spruce-firs, the 
tops of which had been broken off previously, thus forming a 
natural platform for the compact pile of strong and interlaced 
sticks of which the nest was composed. In this part of the 
country, fish being difficult to obtain in abundance until the end 
of July, the Ospreys breed late, in order to cater the better for 
their young; our boatman had once taken young Ospreys out of 
an eyrie in August. 

The Tetraonide of the district are Hazel Grouse, Capercaillie, 
Black-game, and Willow Grouse, regarding the first of which we 
learnt nothing new. Capercaillie nested freely in the district, and 
I often saw their droppings. Black-game preferred the islands, 
on one of which I disturbed a grey hen sitting on six eggs. For 
Willow Grouse the likeliest ground was upon the verge of the 
forest. The only eggs of the Willow Grouse that I obtained agree 
pretty closely in colour with a common reddish variety of Lagopus 
scoticus, but are decidedly smaller and in shape less spherical. 

Fishing occupied so much of our time, as to afford con- 
siderable facility for observations on such wildfowl as tenanted 


FIELD NOTES IN WESTERN SWEDEN. 129 


the lake. I never identified the Mallard, Teal, or Pintail; nor 
did I find a Wigeon’s nest, though a hen Wigeon, when shot, 
showed by her bared breast, that she had already commenced the 
duties of incubation. A pair of Scaups, Fuligula marila, might 
be seen daily feeding at the mouth of the Handel, but when shot, 
on July 2nd, their plumage showed no signs of breeding. The 
drake wore the usual nuptial dress; his mate was an interesting 
bird, exhibiting very little freckling on the back, and having the 
white under parts closely mottled with brown feathers, producing 
a marbled appearance. 

Goldeneyes came flying up the river to fish every evening, 
and I often saw them at other times, but never came across a 
nest. When [I first arrived, Common Scoters, Gidemia nigra, 
were numerous on the lake, swimming in flocks of from fifteen to 
twenty birds. I found a full nest of the Common Scoter within 
a few feet of the water; it was placed under cover of a drooping 
fir-branch, and resembled that of the Mallard. I also found some 
sucked eggs of this species. The Velvet Scoters, . fusca, had 
already paired when I first saw them on June 11th, but it was not 
until the 18th that I found a nest of this duck on a small island 
_ overgrown with bilberry. The nest, composed of down and dry 
leaves, was placed at the foot of a stump of mountain-ash—rather 
an exposed situation, but the eggs were slightly covered up. 
I shot a female Velvet Scoter off another nest a few days later ; 
_ this was placed under a low branch of birch, and contained eight 
eggs. Two drakes which I shot on the lake at the same time 
were in full nuptial dress, and showed no signs of eclipse. They 
are strong birds, very tenacious of life, and hard to kill. Red- 
breasted Mergansers, Mergus serrator, were common, and nested 
freely on the islands, concealing their nests beneath long, trailing 
branches of firs close to the water. I shot a couple of drakes in 
full eclipse in the middle of June. 

The prevalence of marshes near Lake Ann raised premature 
hopes that we should meet with some of the rarer waders, and 
had time enabled us to explore the morasses carefully we should 
no doubt have been rewarded. Cranes were observed, but only as 
passing over us, nor did the Red-necked Phalaropes, Phalaropus 
hyperboreus, prolong their visit to the lake beyond a day or two, 
when we watched them floating quietly on the water. 

Golden Plovers, of course, nested on the fells, and Woodcocks 


130 ’ . THE ZOOLOGIST. 


“flighted” through the forest-glades of their summer home, but 
I never identified the Jack Snipe, and indeed only once fell in 
with the Common Snipe. The abundance of the Common Sand- 
piper, Totanus hypoleucus, fully justified its trivial appellation, 
and I was entertained by a smart chase between one of these 
little waders and a Merlin, when the Sandpiper adroitly dived 
away from his pursuer. I was much interested in the Green- 
shank, 7’. glottis. Nearly every extensive bit of bog contained a 
pair of these birds, which on our approach raised their vehement 
protests, perching on hayracks, stumps of trees, and other pro- 
minent points; one anxious pair perched on the top of a tall 
spruce-fir. Whether they had begun to lay I do not know, though 
I searched long and fruitlessly for their nests. The Whimbrel, 
Numenius pheopus, preferred drier ground, and a clutch of fresh 
eggs of this bird was brought to me one morning from a neigh- 
bouring moss. 

The great lake was singularly destitute of sea-fowl (Laride). 
I never observed a Gull of any kind, though once a party of 
Arctic Terns paid us a short visit. Nor did I see the Red- 
throated Diver, Colymbus septentrionalis, but upwards of twenty 
pairs of the Black-throated Diver, C. arcticus, frequented this 
extensive lake. Linneus has recorded that the skin of this Diver 
was valued for its toughness, and used in the manufacture of caps 
(‘ Lachesis Lapponica,’ ii. p. 98). ‘The Swedish proprietors of the 
shooting we rented, including the lake, told us that they some- 
times shot one for this very purpose, but added that, generally 
speaking, they were protected by their extreme wariness. I secured 
two clutches of eggs, both deposited on small islands. 

In concluding these jottings, it is fair to say that they were 
made in the intervals of fishing only, and do not represent such 
results as might have been expected had our chief object been 
ornithology and the collection of specimens. At the same time, 
of course, the forest being preserved for us, we possessed 
advantages in freedom of action which would not fall to the lot 
of casual travellers. 


(13h. 2 


A NESTING PLACE OF LARUS FUSCUS. 
By J. W. Wiiu1s Bonn, M.A., F.L.S. 


It is usually stated that the Lesser Black-backed Gull, 
Larus fuscus, builds on rocks and cliffs near the coast. This, 
however, is not always the case, for it sometimes nests inland. 

I was travelling third class in a train on a Welsh railway one 
very wet day in the autumn of 1887, when a man who was in the 
carriage called my attention to the flooded state of a large marsh 
which was skirted by the railway. He said “I am glad I am 
not there now, gathering Gulls’ eggs.” On my asking for an 
explanation, he told me that he went there every year to get 
Gull’s eggs, and that they were very good to eat. He could not, 
however, name the particular species of Gull. The place was a 
large peat-moss through which a river flowed, and although, here 
and there, there were large channels and backwaters connected 
with the river, on the whole the place was dry, and by no 
means the sort of locality for Larus ridibundus, the Gull one 
would expect to find breeding in colonies inland. 

The following May I was again in this part of Wales, and I 
then determined to find out something about this “ Gullery.” 
On making enquiries I received very contradictory information, 
several people denying that there were any Gulls there at all, and 
asserting that the only birds that built in the marsh were Peewits 
and Curlews. Part of this marsh belongs to a nobleman who 
preserves his game strictly, and I enquired from one of his keepers. 
“Yes, there were Gulls there, a large number of them; the 
people came to gather the eggs and eat them. I was welcome to 
go and see.” He could not say what species of Gull built there, 
but he thought it was the Common Gull. So I started one day 
with a guide to see and judge for myself. 

The marsh is the remains of what must have been at some 
geologically recent period a large lake, probably about six miles 
long by about two across; a river flowing through the long way 
divides it into two unequal portions, and there are various brooks 
flowing across it into the river. It is one huge mass of peat, of 
which at different spots large quantities are dug for fuel. In 
places the surface is fairly smooth, in others it is covered with 


182 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


luxuriant heath; and at one spot there are numerous hillocks, 
like gigantic mole-hills. 

We saw numbers of Peewits and Curlews, but looked in vain 
for their nests, although I am sure we were close to both. We 
crossed a small brook, the marsh became higher and drier, and 
as the result saw nor heard any more of Peewit and Curlew. So 
far we had not seen any sign of a Gull, and I began to doubt their 
existence here. Going on a little further I heard a croak, and 
looking up saw a Gull I could not quite make out, though I was 
sure it was not a Black-headed Gull. About a quarter of a mile 
off some twenty or thirty Gulls were standing on the hillocks, and 
on nearing them we began to look about for nests. We soon found 
traces of these either on or near the hillocks, round depressions 
which the birds had worked out with their bodies, exactly like the 
nests of tame ducks. Some of these were lined with dry grass, 
others had nothing in them but a stray feather or two. At last I 
almost walked into one, in which there was a large brown egg 
spotted with black, about the size of a duck’s egg. Proceeding 
a little further, I found a nest containing two eggs, one grey with 
black spots, the other brown; and then, in a radius of say 100 
yards, I found half-a-dozen more nests, containing from one to 
four eggs. The Gulls were now flying all round us, and so far as 
I could see they were the Lesser Black-backed Gull; but to 
make the matter quite certain, I found a dead bird on one nest 
that had the distinctive characteristic of yellow legs. There was 
no doubt, therefore, that this was a colony of Larus fuscus. We 
soon got through the breeding place, and seeing no more nests, I 
went back to try and ascertain the area over which the nests were 
distributed. Speaking roughly, I should say that it was a space 
of about a quarter of a mile one way, and half a mile the other. 
In this area the Gulls are very numerous. I imagine there were 
at least 100 pairs, but the nests were far more numerous. I 
counted about fifty nests, of which some twenty contained eggs. 
On none of these were the birds sitting. 

They rose, and after circling round us, settled about 200 
yards off, one or two flying round croaking as long we remained. 
The ground was quite dry, the spot selected being the highest 
point of the marsh. I took one or two eggs, and found in 
the same nest one newly laid and one partly incubated. Clearly 
the birds lay in each other’s nests. The eggs are of the most varied 


A NESTING PLACE OF LARUS FUSCUS. 133 


colour, from chocolate-brown with black spots, to light grey with 
black spots. Even in the same nest the colour of the eggs often 
varies greatly. The shape also differs a good deal, some of the 
eggs being quite elliptical, others very pointed at one end. We did 
not stay long at the place, as I did not want to disturb the birds 
more than was necessary, having seen all that was to be seen. In 
the middle of the Gull colony I found a nest and eggs of the 
Meadow Pipit, Anthus pratensis, and a very short distance beyond 
a nest and eggs of the Red Grouse, Tetrao scoticus. 

About a quarter of a mile away I lay down to watch the Gulls 
return. It was some time before they did so, and they came one 
by one, flew all round, and alighted near the nest. I did not 
see any go on to the nest, but they walked about and then stood 
usually on a hillock close by the nest. In about an hour it was 
all quiet, a casual Gull flew overhead; but except that, the place 
was still. The white breasts of the birds standing about could be 
seen, but to no very great extent, and it was hard to believe 
that within a few hundred yards there was a large and thriving 
colony of Lesser Black-backed Gulls. As far as I can make out, 
all the year round chance Gulls may be seen about the place, but 
except at the breeding-time no very great number. I asked the 
keeper if they did any harm to game or fish. He said, “No; it is 
those big ones (meaning the Great Black-backed Gulls) that do 
the mischief; they will kill young birds, young rabbits, and even 
young lambs.” 

I have purposely abstained from mentioning the locality of 
this gullery, for I should greatly regret that the birds should be 
disturbed. The place lies in the regular tourist track, and the 
birds would soon be exterminated if the professional egg-hunter 
or collector was informed of the place. It is not so very far from 
an inland breeding-place of the Cormorant. It would be a pity 
to disturb the colony. I know of no other in a similar place. 


134 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORFOLK. 
By J. H. Gurney, Jun., F.Z.S., 
President of the Norwich Naturalists’ Society. 

In continuation of my Notes for 1888, which have been 
communicated to the end of May (p. 18), I now forward those 
for the remainder of the year, premising that in the month of 
June no observation was made of sufficient interest to be reported. 
I purposely refrain from any remarks on the visitation of Sand 
Grouse, which last summer attracted so much attention, because 
it seems to me that, so far as Norfolk is concerned, Mr. Southwell’s 
excellent article (Zool. 1888, pp. 442—456) leaves nothing to be 
desired. 

I may correct, en passant, a slight error in my last contribution 
which escaped me wher revising the proof, namely, the Cirl 
Buntings referred to on page 14 were obtained in January, not 
February. 

In July the prevailing direction of the wind was S.W. On 
the 4th of that month the members of the Norwich Naturalists’ 
Society made one of their summer excursions to the seat of Sir 
Reginald Beauchamp, at Langley, and in the course of their 
ramble were shown a Wild Duck which had selected the top of a 
thatched shed for the place of her nest, the colour of her plumage 
so closely resembling the old shed that it was difficult to distinguish 
her. On the 11th two full-grown young Kestrels, able to fly, 
taken at Stokesby, had the tails blue washed with rufous and 
faintly barred with black, which is singular at such an early age. 
Several of the changes of plumage which the Kestrel undergoes 
are described by Mr. Cecil Smith (Zool. 1886, p. 110) and Mr. 
F. C. Aplin (Zool. 1887, p. 112), but the blue tail is usually 
regarded as characteristic of the adult male. The sex of the two 
birds above referred to was not ascertained by dissection, but it 
is assumed that they were both males. 

In August the prevailing wind continued 8.W. On the 2nd 
a Montagu’s Harrier rose out of the sedge at Ranworth. I did 
not fire at it, but two others afterwards rose from the same 
place, and, a shot being fired, one was brought down: they were 
young birds, the one procured not being full grown. The flight 
of Montagu’s Harrier is very deliberate, and more or less a 


NOTES FROM NORFOLK. 135 


circular flight (with deviations), but-every few seconds there is a 
stop, and the wings hang motionless in the air with their points 
above the plane of the back. On the 21st an Kared Grebe, still 
in summer plumage, was shot at Salthouse. 

In September the prevailing wind was E. On the 10th Mr. 
George Power, who was so fortunate as to obtain a Barred 
Warbler, Sylvia nisoria, on September 4th, 1886 (cf. Norwich 
Nat. Tr., iv. 37), shot another within half a mile of the same 
spot. Both of them were resting in thick bushes of the shrubby 
saltwort (Chenopodium fruticosum), which is such a characteristic 
plant at Cley and Blakeney, and in each case the bird when shot 
clung parrot-like to the branches; indeed for a Warbler its feet 
are thick and powerful. This second example proved to be a 
male by dissection, and apparently a young bird; its dimensions 
were — length, 7°2 in.; expanse of wing, 10°3 in.; wing from 
carpus, 3°4 in. The colour of the beak was brown; base of the 
lower mandible and mouth flesh-colour; legs light blue. The 
contents of the stomach, microscopically examined by Mr. T. 
Southwell and Mr. J. Edwards, were considered to consist almost 
entirely of the remains of earwigs; also a small carabideous 
beetle, Acocephalus nervosus, and the limbs of a minute crab. A 
Blue-throated Warbler, shot the same day, was found by Messrs. 
Southwell and Edwards to contain a preponderance of the remains 
of Acocephalus nervosus, one Philenus spumarius, and one small 
shell of Littorina rudis. A Whidah bird (Vidua principalis, Linn.) 
was shot at Trimingham, supposed to have escaped from a vessel 
some time this month. 

In October the prevailing wind was S.W. A Stone Curlew, 
to all appearance of a pure white, took up its abode during the 
summer not far from Brandon, and was many times observed. As 
autumn drew on it joined the flock of birds of its species which 
annually assembles in that neighbourhood. ‘There it was shown, 
on October 8th, by Messrs. F. and E. Newcome, to Prof. Newton, 
who informs me that he had a good view of it both on the wing 
and on the ground, where, naturally enough, it was very con- 
spicuous. Before the close of the month, as I learnt from Mr. 
Upcher, it had disappeared. 

In November the prevailing winds were E. and 8.W. About 
the 8th a Nutcracker, Nucifraga caryocatactes, was shot at Haun- 
worth : it was a female, with rather a thin beak measuring along 


186 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


the ridge 1% inch, and the upper mandible projected 3th inch. 
The depth of the beak at its base is almost inch. 

At the beginning of November a Sea Eagle took up its 
quarters at Postwick and Plumstead, and, Mr. Buxton and Mr. 
Birkbeck having given their keepers orders to protect it, remained 
there a long time, but on December 23rd it was found dead. 
Mr. Southwell and I went several times to look for it, but could 
not obtain a view of it until at length we saw it in the hands 
of Mr. Gunn, of Norwich, for preservation. The prevailing 
direction of the wind this month was S. and 8.W. 


FLAMINGO CATCHING IN LOWER EGYPT. 


Ir has long been known that large numbers of Flamingoes 
are annually taken alive by Arabs, at the mouths of the Nile, for 
export to Europe, but the precise mode of capture has until 
lately been unexplained. 

We are indebted to Lord Lilford for having placed in our 
hands an interesting correspondence which has resulted from his 
enquiries, and those of Dr. G. H. Kingsley, who has recently 
returned from Egypt, and which embodies information obtained 
on the spot, with the assistance of Mr. W. P. Burrell, H.B.M. 
Consul at Port Said. 

From the letters forwarded it appears that the capture of live 
Flamingoes is made chiefly at Lake Menzaleh, between November 
and the end of the winter. It is effected by means of two nets 
from 20 to 25 yards long, and from 38 to 8} yards wide, connected 
at the two ends of one side by a stout cord. To these nets are 
attached at intervals upright poles, from 8 to 84 yards high, at 
the foot of which are fastened small wooden stakes, each about 
18 or 20 inches in length, one-half of which is driven into the 
ground below the water, the other half remaining above. To the 
top of each pole is fixed a strong line, about 50 or 60 yards in 
length, to be held and pulled by a man at the proper time, the 
cords of the right hand net being pulled from the left, and vice 
versd, so xs to cause the two sides to fall towards the centre, 
and meet each other like the ordinary “ clap-net” employed by 
English bird-catchers. 


FLAMINGO CATCHING IN LOWER EGYPT. 137 


When the proper time arrives, the men employed at this work, 
to the number of five or six in each boat, go in search of the 
Flamingoes at night, and as soon as they can make them out, 
standing where the water is from 18 inches to 8 feet deep, they 
stop the boat about a hundred yards off and, commence to lay 
down their nets and apparatus under water, driving into the 
ground for half their length the little stakes to which they are 
attached. They then stick into the ground under water a lot of 
slender reeds about a yard high, and at a little distance apart, so 
as to form a sort of lane about 10 or 12 yards wide, leading up to, 
and passing on either side of, the nets. All being in readiness, 


ae eS) ( ey 


Vi 
—aiaets 2 Dy rae <a 


cee ee Be. 
—— 


FLAMINGO NETS IN LOWER EGYPT. 


the men row round and put up the Flamingoes, driving them 
towards the lane of reeds, where, the water being comparatively 
shallow, they are almost sure to alight. At a given signal the 
men who are holding the cords pull over the nets and a number 
‘of birds are caught, when the men hurry up to get hold of them. 
‘Crossing their wings over their backs (like our English decoymen 
do when they want to keep alive the ducks captured by them), 
they put them into the boats and take them away for sale to 
Damietta, Matarieh, and Port Said, where they are disposed of 
at a price varying from 6 to 7 and 8 Egyptian piastres apiece. 
ZOOLOGIST.—APRIL, 1889. M 


138 ‘ THE ZOOLOGIST. 


The Egyptian piastre, which is of silver and the exact size of 
our threepenny piece, is of no greater value, so that the cost of a 
live Flamingo first-hand at the port of delivery may be said to be 
from eighteenpence to a couple of shillings. 

This information is derived from a letter in French addressed 
by a resident at Damietta, Mons. A. Anhoury, to Mr. Burrell, 
H.B.M. Consul at Port Said, and kindly forwarded by him. 

Another account, by Dr. Couvidon, forwarded by Dr. G. H. 
Kingsley, while confirmatory of the mode of capture above 
described, adds some further details of interest which are worth 
quoting. 

It appears that the poorer Arabs who do not own boats are 
obliged in this pursuit to rely on their own indididual exertions, 
and have to resort to a different stratagem. 

The Flamingoes never swim in deep water, and are generally 
to be seen in the proximity of small islands without going at any 
time out of their depth, but standing on their long legs, hardly 
ever wetting their breast-feathers. They put their heads, however, 
under water in search of food, and can remain in that position a 
long time without detriment. They are very watchful, and place 
sentinels (as Wild Geese do) to give notice of the approach of an 
enemy. ‘These sentinels watch while the rest of the flock sleep, 
standing on one leg, the long neck folded backwards in graceful 
curves, the head reposing on the back, half buried in the scapular 
feathers. At the first cry of alarm they are all off. 

These habits being known to the natives, says Dr. Couvidon, 
“the Arab who is poor and without capital goes at night, sinking 
himself in the water up to his mouth, his head covered with 
grass from the lake, crawls noiselessly near the sentinel, which 
he seizes by the legs and draws swiftly under water, before it can 
ery out or give an alarm ; and by keeping the beaks of his victims 
closed he can secure a certain number before the flock has 
awakened and departed.” 

There is yet another plan when the fowler is single-handed. 
He crawls sufficiently near to the birds to throw a net over them, 
and in this way catches sometimes as many as six or eight, and 
even more, at a time. 

Referring to the method first above-mentioned, Dr. Couvidon 
states that a few stuffed Flamingoes are used as decoys, and are 
stuck up in the centre of the net, watch being kept by the fowler 


THE LATE WILLIAM BRODRICK. 189 


until a flock arrrives, which they generally do late, between 
11 and 12 o'clock. Seeing the stuffed ones apparently asleep, 
with their heads under their wings, they gradually alight, and as 
Soon as they have settled down for the night, the Arabs at a given 
signal pull all at once on the ropes, the two sides of the net fall 
towards the middle, and perhaps the whole flock, or the greater 
part of it, is secured. 

Dr. Couvidon adds that he has seen Wild Ducks captured on 
Lake Menzaleh in a similar manner. 


THE LATE WILLIAM BRODRICK. 


To “ give honour where honour is due” has always been our 
aim, and, when death has robbed us of a master of his craft, to 
testify with gratitude to the worth of his example. A succession 
of keen votaries of the kindred sports of hunting, fishing, and 
shooting has at all times precluded the risk of their extinction 3 
but it has been otherwise with the equally ancient though less 
practised sport of hawking, which, but for the efforts of a few, in 
the face of many obstacles, has often stood in danger of being 
abandoned. As one who by his published works and private 
enterprise has done perhaps more than any of his generation to 
popularise and encourage the art of falconry in England, the 
name of William Brodrick deserves to be remembered, and his 
recent death, at the ripe age of seventy-four, will be regretted 
almost as much by those who knew him only by reputation as by 
the many personal friends whom he has left behind him. 

Mr. Brodrick died on December 2Ist last, at Littlehill, 
Chudleigh, North Devon, where he had lived for more than 
twenty years, esteemed by all who knew him. Having formerly 
held the command of the Chudleigh Volunteers, a number of his 
old corps, commanded by Colonel Lord Clifford, attended his 
funeral, eight of the non-commissioned officers officiating as 
bearers. Born in London, where his father was a barrister of 
some eminence, William Brodrick was educated at Harrow and 
University College, Oxford ; and, although he was wont to say 
& propos of his lifelong love for natural history, that “all he 
learned at Harrow was how to catch birds,” yet, as he took his 

mM 2 


140° “Opes ZOoLoeist. 


degree at Oxford, it is clear that he must have learned something’ 
more. He studied medicine at Edinburgh, but never chose to 
practise, and, after his marriage, he settled at Belford, in 
Northumberland, where he enjoyed the great advantage, to a 
young and enthusiastic beginner in falconry, of hawking over 
the moor of his uncle, Mr. Selby, of Twizel, whose name with 
ornithologists is “‘a household word.” In those early days he 
procured, trained, and used very successfully many fine eyess 
Falcons and Tiercels; Peregrines from the northern coasts, 
notably one from St. Abb’s Head, Berwickshire ; and when, later 
on, he moved to the South of England, and resided at Bath and 
Ilfracombe, he for several years procured young Peregrines from 
Lundy Island, discovering, like every other faleoner who has been 
lucky enough to obtain birds from this well-known eyrie, that in 
a Lundy Hawk he had a falconer’s treasure. Falcons from Lundy 
were much valued in the Middle Ages, and their praises have been 
echoed by Charles Kingsley, in his ‘ Westward Ho.’ Well do 
they deserve it, although of late years the persistent robbery of 
two eyries, occupied for ages on the island, has resulted, it is 
feared, in the desertion of both. Indeed, hardly a nest of this 
noble Falcon on any part of our coast, save in a few inaccessible 
spots, escapes the greed of so-called collectors, much to the 
regret of naturalists and falconers. -After leaving Ilfracombe 
Mr. Brodrick settled at Chudleigh, but, the neighbourhood there 
being quite unsuited to the practice of his favourite sport, he had 
reluctantly to give it up, and solaced himself by keeping, as pets, 
most, if not all, of the Hawks and Falcons usually employed in 
modern falconry, except the Indian Luggers and Shaheens. 
Under his care examples of the Greenland, Iceland, and Nor- 
wegian Jerfalcons, Sakers and Lanners lived for years, a source of 
admiration to all who saw them. 

But it is as a writer on falconry, and an admirable draughtsman 
and painter of birds of prey, that Mr. Brodrick was and will be 
widely known. In 1855, in conjunction with his old friend Capt. 
F. H. Salvin (who from his lifelong devotion to falconry may 
well be called the father of the craft in England), he brought out 
the first edition of that much-admired work ‘ Falconry in the 
British Isles,’ the capital illustrations to which were all drawn by 
him from the life, the letterpress being the joint production of 
Capt. Salvin and himself, and, like the plates, a labour of love. 


THE LATE WILLIAM BRODRICK. 141, 


The figures of Hawks are in their way inimitable, and bear com- 
parison with the best work of his friend and only rival in the 
same line, the accomplished animal painter Joseph Wolf. The 
letterpress has only one fault, that of being too short. It con- 
tains, however, almost all that modern falconers deem essential 
to be told, the works of the old masters—even the best of them— 
being overladen with errors, notably in the many fanciful and 
absurd recipes for the cure .of real or imaginary diseases in 
Hawks. In this direction it must be confessed the work above 
mentioned does not err, though we opine that modern falconers 
would yet be grateful for a somewhat longer pharmacopceia than 
is therein contained. In 1873 a second edition of this work 
appeared through the same publisher (Mr. Van Voorst), when, the 
original lithographic stones having been destroyed, the plates 
were re-drawn by Mr. Brodrick, with some additions. Previously 
to this, however, namely, in 1865, the same hand had produced a 
charming series of folio plates. of Hawks, entitled ‘ Falconers’ 
Favourites,’ in which he gave life-sized coloured figures of a 
famous Tiercel “‘ Comet,” from Lundy, and “‘ Hurricane,” the best 
Dutch passage Falcon he ever possessed, with other portraits ofa 
Goshawk and Sparrowhawk, Hobby, and Merlin. Nor did Mr. 
Brodrick’s talent end here. A lifelong study of the habits and 
attitudes of birds of prey, in motion and at rest, coupled with 
unusual skill as a taxidermist, resulted in the production of some 
of the most remarkable groups of stuffed birds with which we are 
acquainted. With the exception of his friend Mr. John Hancock, 
of Newcastle, no amateur in this line has ever rivalled him in his 
best efforts. His house was full of stuffed birds, and some of his 
finest cases, having to be moved for want of room, were lent for 
exhibition to the museums of Bath and Exeter, where we have 
_ often admired them, and where, it is to be hoped, they will be 
allowed to remain. Nor were the smaller kind of birds neglected. 
Of Canaries especially Mr. Brodrick was an excellent judge and 
successful exhibitor, possessing the purest, and latterly almost 
the only, representatives of that singular variety known as the 
“London Fancy.” Like all admirers of this particular strain of 
late years, he found them sterile and troublesome to breed and 
rear, and towards the end they dwindled down to one or two, and 
finally became extinct, for it is believed that there are not now to 
be found any good representatives of this once much-prized breed. 


142 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


It is curious that all young “ London Fancies,” until their first 
moult, externally resemble young “ Lizards;” but, while the 
“ Lizard” undergoes no material change of colour or markings, 
the London Canary changes from the sober hue of a brown- 
spangled bird (like a Linnet) to a splendid deep uniform yellow, or 
equally fine buff or pale yellow colour, with black wings and tails 
and ever after so remains. 

It is to be regretted that Mr. Brodrick’s shy and retiring 
disposition prevented his talents from being more widely recog- 
nised and appreciated, and it will probably surprise some of our 
readers to learn that he has left behind him some of the most 
remarkable drawings (many of them coloured) of the external 
form and internal structure of British Mollusca and Sea 
Anemones* which have perhaps been ever prepared under high 
microscopic power—a feat the difficulty of which is well known 
to all who have attempted a similar task. 

Here we lay down the pen, certain that the memory of 
William Brodrick will long be held dear by all who had the 
advantage of knowing him, and that nothing would have pleased 
him better than to have known (as it is feared he did not know) 
how very highly his ‘ Falconry in the British Isles’ was esteemed 
by the many falconers and naturalists who may happen to peruse 
these lines. 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


Cambridge Entomological Society and Field Naturalists’ Club.— 
At the Annual Meeting of this Society, held on February 15th, it was 
decided to collect information for the publication of a Fauna of Cambridge- 
shire and Huntingdonshire. It is hoped that all those who can furnish 
lists of species found in the two counties, or give any other information, 
will communicate with the Secretary, F. V. TueoBatp, F.E.S., St. John’s 
College, Cambridge. 


* A new British Sea Anemone, Phellia Brodricit, which he discovered 
in August, 1857, on the rocks at low water on Lundy Island, was named after 
him by the late Mr. P. H. Gosse, who described it in the ‘Annals and 
Magazine of Natural History’ (ser. 3, vol. iii. p. 46), and subsequently figured 
it in his ‘ History of British Sea Anemones and Corals’ (pl. viii., fig. 2). 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 143 


MAMMALIA. 


White Hares in Nottinghamshire. —In October last the Earl of 
Burford shot at Bestwood Park, near here, a full-grown white Hare with 
eyes of a pale blue, so often seen in white varieties. A white Leveret also 
was caught, soon after it had left the nest, in the previous April. Possibly 
they were both of the same litter. The Duke of St. Albans has kindly 
presented them to me for the variety collection here. In December last a 
white Hare was shot at Rufford, and it is very curious that these should 
have occurred in one year, especially as there are now so few Hares left— 
not one to twenty of former days. No white Hare has occurred about here 
for forty years to my knowledge, though Hares used to swarm all over these 
parts.—J. Wuiraker (Rainworth, near Mansfield, Notts). 


The Rabbit Pest.—Mr. W. Rodier, of Tambua, Cobar, New South 
Wales, has forwarded to this Society a printed sheet, containing, as it 
appears to me, by far the best suggestion yet made for the extermination of 
Rabbits—a subject to which my attention has been repeatedly called by 
various correspondents in the Australian colonies, where, as is well known, 
the damage done by these animals is enormous. Mr. Rodier states that 
his plan has been in operation at his station in New South Wales for 
about eight months, “ with the utmost possible success,” and has cleared 
the country of Rabbits. It is a very simple plan. Ferrets and nets are 
used in the usual way to capture the Rabbits, but while all the females 
taken are destroyed, the males are turned out again uninjured. The 
results of this mode of operation are that the male Rabbits, as soon as they 
begin to predominate in numbers, persecute the females with their 
attentions, and prevent them from breeding. They also kill the young 
Rabbits that happen to be born; and even, as Mr. Kodier asserts, when 
they largely predominate in numbers, “worry the remaining does to 
death.” This is all strictly in accordance with what we know takes place 
under similar circumstances in the case of other animals, so that we can 
readily believe it to be likely to happen. The ordinary mode of trapping, 
as Mr. Rodier points out, is more likely to increase the number of Rabbits 
than to diminish them. For reasons which he clearly explains, more buck 
Rabbits are always killed by the trappers than does. Thus the does 
predominate in numbers, and, a few bucks being sufficient for a large 
number of does, are perpetually breeding and increasing the stock. The 
plan advocated by Mr. Rodier is so simple and easy that I cannot doubt it 
will be widely followed when known. No disease that might otherwise 
cause injury is introduced, no other noxious animal is proposed to be 
imported, but advantage is taken of the well-known natural laws which 
regulate the increase of life to effect in this instance a salutary decrease.— 
P. L. Scrater (Zoological Society of London, 3, Hanover Square, W.). 


144 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


A new Australian Mammal.—Allow me to offer a brief remark. I 
see in ‘ The Zoologist’ for March (p. 105) that you suppose Dactylopsila 
palpator (Milne-Edw.) to be from Australia, but on p. 176* ‘ Mémoires 
publiés par la Soc. Phil. Paris, 1888,’ I read,— Le Muséum ne posséde 
qu’un seul exemplaire de cette espéce : c'est un male trés adulte, venant de 
la cote sud de la Nouvelle-Guinée.—F. A. Jentnx (Leiden). 


Fawn-coloured Variety of Mus decumanus. — On January 14th a 
curious variety of the Brown Rat was trapped at Holbrook, near Ipswich. 
It was fawn-coloured above, white beneath, and had pink eyes.—E. W. 
Gunn (89, Princes Street, Ipswich). 


BIRDS. 


Lapland Bunting near Brighton—On February 24th I received a 
male Lapland Bunting, Calcarius Lapponicus, which was caught by a 
birdeatcher about a mile from this town. It is of rare occurrence here.— 
C. Brazenor (Brighton). 


Hen Harrier in Essex.—An adult female of this species was shot on 
December 20th, 1888, at Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex. The ovaries were 
very small, and in its crop I found a portion of a Thrush in a semi-digested 
condition.—E. W. Gunn (Ipswich). 


Red-breasted Merganser in Essex.—An adult male of this species 
was shot on the beach at Walton-on-the-Naze on January 16th last, and 
was sent to me for preservation. It was in good condition, and had recently 
fallen in with a shoal of Sprats, for its gullet contained no fewer than 
twenty-three (some half-digested), all averaging about three inches in 
length, and amongst them I found one small Whiting. They were all 
packed in close, like Sardines. The gizzard and intestines were full of the 
remains of fish.—E. W. Gunn (89, Princes Street, Ipswich). 


Great Grey Shrike near Ipswich.—A female specimen of this bird 
was brought to me on the evening of January 28th, having been caught by 
a birdcatcher earlier in the day at Whitton, near Ipswich. It had struck 
and instantly killed his call-bird, a Goldfinch. Upon dissecting it I found 
the gizzard quite empty and the bird in poor condition, evidently half- 
starved.—E. W. Gunn (89, Princes Street, Ipswich). 


Ornithological Notes from Wexford.—In view of the preparation of 
a new edition of Thompson’s ‘ Birds of Ireland’ the following notes may 
be useful to the Editors :—In the autumn of 1885 an Osprey was shot at 
Courtown, and sent to Mr. Williams, of 2, Dame Street, Dublin, for 
preservation. On March 1st, 1886, a Brambling was shot near Adamstown, 
by the Rey. T. Manning, after a fall of snow: the bird is a rare winter 
visitor to Co. Wexford. August 28th, 1886: Dr. Gibbons, of Rosslare, 
tells me that three Hoopoes were shot in his part of the county about this 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 145 


date. No.1 was shot in his garden at Rosslare by his man, during his 
absence in Dublin. No. 2 was shot at Bargy Castle (which is about five 
miles south of Rosslare) about the same time. No.8 was received by 
Mr. J. Wheelock, bird-stuffer, Wexford, to be stuffed for some man living 
in the Faythe, Wexford: it was shot somewhere not far from Wexford. 
Mr. Wheelock told Dr. Gibbons that four or five Hoopoes had been brought 
into his shop during the four or five years preceding 1886. On October 
29th, 1886, a female Buzzard was caught, in an exhausted condition, at 
Stokestown: some men were cutting reeds, out of which it rose when 
disturbed, but flew quite weakly and was easily caught. There is at 
Stokestown a male Hen Harrier, shot in the Co. Tipperary. On August 7th 
1887, I found a Wren’s nest at Kilmanock, containing two eggs; it is such 
an unusually late date that I think it worth recording: the nest was 
forsaken, owing, I think to my finding the bird on the nest and disturbing 
her. On September 11th, 1887, another late nest was found at Kilmanock, 
—a Wood Pigeon’s—containing two eggs: the nest was lined with dry 
grass and a few feathers. On October 2nd, 1887, a Little Bittern was shot 
at Drinagh, about two miles south of Wexford, as I learn from my friend 
Mr. R. J. Ussher: it was sold by Mr. Wheelock, of Wexford, to the 
Dublin Museum. In June, 1888, Mr. R. J. Ussher received a Sand 
Grouse from Mr. J. Bent, of Rosslare. I have received the following 
further particulars about it from Mr. Bent; it was shot by his brother, in 
his own land, near the sea-shore. . . . “I have been told,” he says, “of a 
flight of them a week after that was seen in Mr. Meldon’s virgin soil land.” 
During this month a strange bird was reported to me by a coastguard at 
Fethard ; it frequented the gardens there for about a week, and evaded all 
attempts to shoot it; this bird was described to me as being in size between 
a Thrush and a Jackdaw, its colours being green and red ; it was said to be 
like a Parrot, but not one. This description, if it can be relied on, comes 
nearer to the Green Woodpecker than any other bird I know,—a bird which 
has, I believe, only twice occurred in Ireland. On October 24th, 1888, a 
Water Rail was shot near Adamstown, and sent to me: the bird is probably 
not rare in suitable localities throughout the county. On December 20th, 
1888, or about this date, a nearly pure white Thrush was shot at Canagren 
Hill, Ferns: it has since come into my possession, and the only sign of 
dark colour in its plumage is a very slight tinge on the back. TI heard of 
a ‘white Blackbird” (male), said to have been caught near Arthurstown 
this winter, which had “a few black feathers in his tail.” There is also a 
Blackbird at Arthurstown, shot in 1886, with more white in his plumage 
than black; while I have seen them with large white spots on the back— 
so that partially white Blackbirds would seem to be not at all rare in this 
district. A white Magpie was shot at Stokestown a few years ago.— 
G. E. Baxrrerr-Hamiton (Kilmanock, Co. Wexford). 


146 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Sand Grouse near Redcar.—lI regret to state that three more Sand 
Grouse, Syrrhaptes paradoxus, have been killed near Redcar. One, a 
female, was shot from a flock of seven on the South Gare Breakwater, at 
the Tees Mouth, on February 14th. Another (also a female) was killed at 
the same place on the following day ; and a third, a male, was picked up 
on the sands on the 16th. It had an old wound in the side,—the cause of 
death,—was very poor in body, and the flesh was quite putrid. Both the 
others were in good condition.—T. H. Netson (Redcar). 

[How about the Sand Grouse Protection Act, which has been in force 
since the first of February ?—Ep.] 


Notes on Birds observed at Sea.—Every fact connected with the 
migration of birds is I think worth recording, and on this principle I send 
you some extracts from letters received from my son, whose duties as a 
sailor on the ‘Sobraon’ have caused him for some years to pass between 
England and Australia, leaving home generally about September 20th. 
He writes me that this year from some cause land birds have been in 
greater abundance than he has ever seen them. From lat. 15° N. to 5° N. 
and long. 20° to 23° W. birds were very frequent, especially Swallows, and 
in company with these Swallows were three Kestrels, all of which came on 
board and were caught (one had white claws) and carried alive to Melbourne. 
The one he caught he saw chase and capture a Swallow, and, what was a 
new fact to him, it plucked and ate the Swallow while on the wing. He 
gave this bird to the Melbourne Zoological Gardens. Two small Owls, the 
smallest he ever saw, were also caught, but he could not recognize them ; 
they only lived for a few days. Some Quails came aboard, but they were 
treated in a most inhospitable manner, being utilised as food for the 
previously captured Hawks,—a fate he much regretted, as he thinks he 
might have been able to preserve them for the Melbourne Zoo also. 
Several flocks, containing a dozen or so of individuals of some species of 
birds quite strange to him, passed the ship. On October Ist, lat. 49°15’ N., 
long. 5° 56’ W., in fine calm weather, they passed a dead Whale; a boat 
was lowered to examine it, and it was found to be floating belly uppermost 
with the head a long way under water; the skin of the belly was of a 
whitish colour, with deep longitudinal cuts or folds in it; the length was 
estimated at about seventy feet. He considered it, from all he could gather, 
to be a specimen of Balenoptera musculus, and in this he was probably 
correct. It was accompanied by a few Sharks, but he did not think it was 
far enough gone to attract the birds. In running their Easting down 
they saw the usual birds,—Petrels, Albatrosses, and so on. One Albatross 
dived under the water for something sinking. This, he says, he never saw 
the large Albatross do before, although he has seen all the smaller ones 
diving frequently. In this note of my son’s, who is a capital observer, 
there is one fact stated quite new to me,—that is, the possibility of a Hawk 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 147 


plucking and devouring its prey on the wing: certainly there was nowhere 
it could rest for the purpose, but I should have thought the difficulties of 
the operation would have quite rendered it impossible. Have any of the 
readers of ‘The Zoologist’ seen a similar case? — Henry Laver 
(Colchester). 


Method of Fishing adopted by Diving Birds.—As I have ascertained 
that the following fact is not well known, I send you this account in the 
hope that it may be of interest to naturalists and tothe general public. 
Anyone who lives in the Western Hebrides will have often watched on a 
calm day the sea-birds feeding with noisy clamour in the sea-lochs and 
about the numerous islands. This is especially the case in August, when 
the shoals of small herring are very plentiful. Some years ago, when in a 
sailing-boat off the west coast of Mull, I caught with a hand-net a dishful 
of these small fry as they swam along the surface of the water. Last year, 
noticing from a steam-launch the birds congregated in great numbers at one 
spot, the idea struck me to steam to the place and try to get a share of the 
birds’ repast. The idea was at once carried out. I stood on the prow with 
landing-net in hand, and the launch was steered towards the birds. As we 
drew near, the banqueters flew away with evident dissatisfaction at the 
interruption, a few of the more greedy making their last hasty dives. In 
another moment we were at the spot, and I saw, to my intense surprise, 
about two feet under the surface, a large reddish brown ball, two to three 
feet in length and two feet in depth. I made a frantic swoop with the net 
into the ball, and brought on deck half a pailful of the sea-birds’ dinner. 
Even as we passed we could see the great living ball sinking and breaking 
into pieces. This year I and others have tried the same spot with great 
success. Sometimes the ball has sunk too deep to be reached ; sometimes 
there was no ball to be seen; but on the most successful day I filled a 
pailful in three hauls. In September we saw no ball, because, perhaps, 
the fish had grown too large for the birds to manage. As far as I can 
judge, the modus operandi is carried out by the divers, who surround a 
shoal and hem them in on all sides, so that the terrified fish huddle together 
in a vain effort to escape inevitable destruction. The divers work from 
below and other sea-birds feed from above; and, as in some cases after the 
birds had been at work for some time I saw no ball, I suppose not one fish 
is left to tell the tale. I must leave to naturalists the real explanation of 
the matter; but I may mention that, when disturbed by the boat, the 
divers seem to come to the surface in a great ring round the scene of their 
feast. I may also mention that once, when the boat was still 300 or 
400 yards away, the birds suddenly rose and whirled about with frightened 
screams. I wondered what could be the cause, until I saw the round back 
of a porpoise rolling lazily round at the exact spot, and then rolling back 
again. When we steamed past there was no sign of a ball. What two 


148 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


delicious mouthfuls for the porpoise !—Compron (Loch Luichart, Ross-shire, 
N.B. [From ‘ Nature.’] 


Notes from Breconshire.—The past season has been a fairly good one 
for Woodcocks, but I have observed hardly any Fieldfares or Redwings. 
Some rare visitors in the shape of White-fronted Geese have been killed at 
Llangorse Lake, near here, out of a flock of seven: they were exceedingly 
tame, and looked as if they had come a long way, as they seemed tired ; 
three were killed, and if large shot had been used probably nearly all would 
have shared the same fate; but on the following day they had recovered 
themselves, as it was found impossible to get within shot of them. A white, 
or nearly white, Woodcock, was lately killed by a gentleman in this county, 
and I am sorry to say was eaten! Mr. Crawshay killed a fine Bittern on 
the course of the old river near Talybont, which I shall have the pleasure 
of inspecting when he gets it from the birdstuffer’s. A curious light brown 
coloured Jackdaw has also been killed by Mr. Butler, at Llangoed Castle, 
in this county. I fear the White or Barn Owl is nearly extinct about 
Brecon, as I never see one now by any chance. Can it be that the Brown 
Owl drives it away? The Kite does not increase much, although I can 
hear of none being shot or trapped, and, though several pairs still breed in 
the country, I fancy the young ones desert us. I constantly hear of one or 
two of these birds being seen near here, but I think were the same pair, 
or possibly two pairs, as Kites cover such a quantity of ground in the 
course of aday. The same remarks apply to the Buzzard, but this bird is 
much more plentiful with us than the Kite. In very old Ravens do the 
breast-feathers get like the hackles of a cock? I saw a bird that was 
killed near here; it had the appearance of great age and was in splendid 
plumage, but the breast-feathers resembled the neck hackle of a black 
game cock, and were glossy in the extreme. A curious circumstance has 
been commented on by others besides myself, during the past season only, 
in several parts of the county, and that is the great preponderance of hen 
Pheasants over cocks in wild bred birds. During Christmas week I 
killed what at first sight appeared to be a good specimen of the old English 
Pheasant, Phasianus colchicus: it was a fine wild-bred bird, very red on the 
breast and very dark on the under parts: on carefully examining it, how- 
ever, I found just the suspicion of white on the extreme edge of a very few 
neck-feathers, showing the faintest cross of torquatus. The difference was 
distinctly apparent when compared with a Chinese bird; the English bird 
very much bigger, much redder on the breast, and much darker beneath 
whilst the rich red colour made the golden colour of the Chinese bird look 
quite a sickly yellow in comparison. I begin to despair of ever killing a 
true old English Pheasant in this county—H. Campripce PHILLIps 
(Brecon). 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 149 


Woodcocks.—It might be interesting to ascertain the experience of 
your readers in the matter of Woodcocks during the past season. Here in 
Oxfordshire both the numbers and weights of the birds have been abnormal. 
This would seem to point, so far as numbers are concerned, to the mildness 
of the weather, which may have arrested them on their westward passage, 
and, so far as weight is concerned, to the sufficiency of food they have 
found,—due also, perhaps, to the softness of the ground. During the 
third week in January one of my keepers shot two Woodcocks, right and 
left, each of which weighed over a pound, thus beating Sir F. Chautrey’s 
record so far as weight was concerned. Woodcocks are sald to have been 
shot weighing nine or ten ounces more, but I doubt if any living person 
has seen them. If it should prove that Woodcocks have been more scarce 
than usual in Devonshire last season, I think my theory may be assumed 
to be correct. I am given to understand that these birds have been more 
abundant than usual this winter in the east of Ireland. W. Harcourt 
(Nuneham Park, Abingdon). 

[We do not know how our correspondent ascertained the weight of 
Chantrey’s Woodcocks. It is not mentioned in the extracts from the Holkham 
Game Book, nor in Mr. Stanhope’s account of the well-known feat printed 
in Muirhead’s ‘Winged Words on Chantrey’s Woodcocks,’ published in 
1857.—Ep.] 


Gadwall in Somerset.—The Gadwall seems to me of sufficiently rare 
occurrence in this county to make the capture of one worth recording. I 
saw a female of this species at Mrs. Petherick’s, the birdstuffer at Taunton, 
early in February. and wrote to the owner—Mr. Hill, of Langport—for 
some information as to its capture, and in due course received the following 
account :—“‘ ‘l'he Gadwall duck was shot on January 10th, 1889, in Sedge- 
moor, about three miles from Langport: there were a duck and drake 
together, but the latter managed to get away. A drake was shot in the 
same district about three years ago.”—Cxci Smirs (Bishop's Lydeard, 


Ornithological Notes from Yorkshire.—The past antumn in this part 
of Yorkshire was marked by the occurrence of several of the more 
uncommon species of predatory birds. During the month of October and 
early part of November I heard of the capture of two Peregrines, two 
Rough-legged Buzzards, and a Hen Harrier. A Hobby also was reported, 
but on inspection proved to be a Merlin. One of the Peregrines was 
shot under the Castle Cliff about the end of the first week in October, and 
was an adult and rather large bird, probably a female. The second 
specimen was shot on the coast between Scarborough and Filey, in a little 
bay known to our fishermen as Pudding Hole. It is a falcon of the year, 
and measured 19} inches from beak to the extremity of the tail, and 


150 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


44 inches from tip to tip of the expanded wings—a fine bird in good 
plumage. The Peregrine has from time to time been known to breed in 
the vicinity, and doubtless would do so again annually were it allowed to 
remain unmolested ; but when one by chance makes its appearance on the 
coast, it is generally shot by someone lying in wait near the haunts of the 
Rock Doves. The first Rough-legged Buzzard was also procured a short 
distance from here. It is in good plumage, but as this species varies so 
much in the markings I cannot speak as to the age or sex. The other 
example was recorded in ‘The Yorkshire Post’ of November 7th, as 
having been shot near Meanwood (a few miles from Leeds), and described 
as in excellent plumage: it measured 56 inches from tip to tip of expanded 
wings. The Hen Harrier above referred to was killed a little way inland, 
at the beginning of October, in a state of moult. A young Red-backed 
Shrike was obtained, about the same date, near Hackness. On Nov. lst 
a great passage of Gulls took place, when, I am informed, thousands— 
said to be Kittiwakes—crossed Filey Brigg on their way south, and some 
hundreds were shot to send to London, where the gunners can sell 
unlimited numbers at sixpence each. All light-coloured small Gulls are 
“ Kittiakes.” A few days later I visited the Brigg, and saw many Great 
Black-backed Gulls, some fine old birds and some immature ones; also 
some large flocks of Ducks,—Common Wild Ducks, some Wigeon, a large 
flock of Common Scoters, a Common Sheldrake, and three Purple Sand- 
pipers. I heard no report of any Glaucous Gulls being seen. Mr. 
Fountain, of the ‘ Ship Inn,’ showed me a Common Guillemot, of immacu- 
late whiteness, that was shot on December 2nd, 1887, by William 
Jenkinson, of that place. The beak, irides and legs are described as being 
of a lemon-colour when ina fresh state. Woodcocks arrived on Nov. 8rd, 
in larger numbers than I ever remember near Scarborough, it being esti- 
mated that about forty were shot on Oliver’s Mount alone, and one in the 
grounds of the Cliff-Bridge Company, about a hundred yards from where I 
write. I may add to the birds above mentioned two examples of the Sooty 
Shearwater, Puffinus griseus, shot near here,—one, if not both, on October 
25th; also a female Hider, at Filey, on November 12th. In conclusion, I 
take this opportunity to draw attention to a notice of the Little Egret, 
Ardea garzetta, given by me in ‘ The Zoologist’ (1881, p. 213); I have since 
had reasons to believe that it was not a British-killed specimen, and I was 
misled, though at the time confidently assured it was authentic, and I now 
very much regret such notice should have been sent for publication.— 
Rost. P. Harper (38, Esplanade, Scarborough). 


Wilson’s Petrel in the Isle of Wight.—I learn that the supposed 
Bulwer’s Petrel alluded to by Mr. Rogers (p. 28) has the lower part of the 
back white, and pale yellow oval patches on the webs of the feet. Hence it 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 151 


is to be inferred that it is not Bulwer's, but Wilson’s Petrel, Oceanites 
oceanica. It was found dead on the shore of Freshwater Bay, Isle of 
Wight, last autumn, after a severe storm, and is now in the collection 
of Dr. Hollis, of Freshwater. This is the second Wilson's Petrel which 
has been picked up at or near Freshwater (cf. Yarrell, ‘ British Birds,’ 
iv. p. 50), or at any rate, which is said to have been found there.—J. H. 
Gurney, Jun. (Keswick Hall, Norwich). 


Reported Nesting of the Black Redstart in Essex.—With reference 
to the record by Mr. W. R. Ogilvie Grant (Zool. 1888, p- 390) of this 
Species having bred, early in May last, “in a hole in an ivy-covered oak 
tree” growing in Danbury Park, having, through the kindness of Mr. Grant 
himself, had an opportunity of inspecting the nest and eggs at the Natural 
History Museum, I should like to say that, in my opinion, the eggs and 
nest are undoubtedly those of a Robin. The white variety of the eggs of 
this bird may almost be called common, and I have repeatedly either taken 
or heard of such in this district. The nest is composed externally of dead 
hazel- or oak-leaves, the interior being constructed of bents, fine roots, and 
skeletonized leaves, lined with fine grass and a very little hair. I consider 
it a typical Robin’s nest in all respects, except that it contains no moss. 
The two eggs which have been preserved differ much in size. The larger 
and normal one measures ‘8 by °6 of an inch, almost exactly, these being 
the average dimensions of Robins’ eggs. ‘The other egg is very much 
smaller, and is evidently an abnormal egg, such as might be expected from 
a weak or injured Robin laying colourless unspotted eggs. I have not yet 
seen the site of the nest, but I feel confident the nest is that of a Robin, 
and that the “dark-coloured bird with a red tail,” which Mr. Grant’s 
informant thought she saw leave the nest was a Redstart with a nest 
somewhere in the immediate vicinity. The breeding of the Black Redstart 
in England has been several times recorded on very doubtful grounds, but 
never yet satisfactorily established. MiLLER Curisty (Chignal St. James, 
Chelmsford). 


Diving Powers of Gannets.— Having read Mr. Collison-Morley’s 
enquiry about the diving powers of Gannets (p. 25), I am induced to 
forward the following notes on the subject. I have at different times had 
the pleasure of watching great numbers of Gannets feeding, both when 
immature and adult, and I can assure those who have never seen it that 
it is a treat that will repay a walk of miles. Their mode of feeding is quite 
different to that of any other large sea-birds. The nearest approach to it 
is seen in the larger Terns, but the latter seize their prey either on or near 
the surface, and seldom go out of sight; whereas Gannets will remain 
immersed for some seconds, the time, of course, varying with the depth at 
which the fish are swimming. As to the depth they may be able to dive, 


152 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


I am unable to form an idea, nor have I ever read or heard of anyone 
attempting to fix a maximum depth. Where I mostly saw the birds in 
numbers was in that picturesque bay inside the Farnes group of islands, 
and stretching north and south from Holy Island to North Sunderland. 
There I have often witnessed the alternate falling and rising, or rather the 
plunging and ascending, of what we may liken to enormous snow-flakes, 
with an occasional dark-coloured immature bird amongst them. The flight 
of the Gannet is exceedingly light and graceful, yet powerful, and in or on 
the water its buoyancy is remarkable. On detecting a fish, it quickly 
wheels round, ascends a few feet, then drops perpendicularly with a velocity 
that is startling to witness, so suggestive of the bird’s destruction. Ina 
few seconds it re-appears on the surface as sudden and buoyant as a liberated 
bladder. I believe only one fish is secured at each plunge. On coming to 
the surface they turn head to wind, which no doubt enables them to take 
wing more easily. Ishould not consider the Gannet a “ diving-bird,” in 
the strict sense of the word, for I have never seen it attempt to go under 
except by plunging from the air. It may be able to dive perhaps if wounded 
and pursued, as many sea and shore-birds will do. I have seen the Oyster- 
catcher, for instance, and other shore-birds swim and dive when wounded 
so as to make it very difficult to secure them. There is one peculiarity about 
the Gannet that I have never seen noticed in any work on Natural History: 
the bird seems susceptible either to a sort of stupor or fear, paralysing its 
power of flight, of which only one other instance has come under my notice, 
in the case of Richardson’s Skua. Out of five specimens of the Gannet in 
my collection, three were taken alive either from the water or beach, and 
to all visible appearance were unhurt. Two are fine adult birds, the other 
immature, in the pied plumage.—James Surron (Durham). 

Scarcity of the House Martin in Hampshire.—For some years past 
I have noticed that Martins have gradually diminished in numbers in this 
immediate neighbourhood. As a boy I well recollect the rows of nests 
which were formerly built underneath the overhanging eaves of many 
houses in the street, and the not over-clean appearance of many of the 
houses in consequence, especially after the young were hatched. The 
nesting-places still remain, but the birds have almost disappeared: during 
the past summer I have seen but one solitary nest, and in that I believe no 
young were brought out. Perhaps uncongenial weather might account for 
such a state of affairs; but even people who take no particular interest in 
birds have, from time to time, called my attention to the fact of the former 
abundance, but present scarcity, of the nesting community. It would be 
interesting to know if the species has decreased in numbers in other 
localities [Capt. Hadfield says they have decreased in the Isle of 
Wight.—Ep.], and if so, what is the probable cause. I am well aware the 
common House Sparrow has often been blamed for expelling the Martins, 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 1538 


and not without reason. I cannot think, however, that the Sparrows are 
Wholly to blame, but that some more subtle influence has been at work. 
None of the Swallow tribe are particularly robust in constitution, and, 
judging from the comparatively later arrival amongst us of the House 
Martin, it is somewhat more delicate than kindred species. Is it possible 
that our cold and often retarded springs, of late years, have killed the old 
birds, and that the early frosts of autumn have caused the destruction of 
the late broods? for it must have been noticed how soon the fledglings 
succumb to the cold, and that late broods of House Martins are more 
frequently found than other allied species. It is a generally received 
opinion, if not an ascertained fact, that “our summer migrants” do not breed 
in their winter retreats. If such is the case, and our changeable climate 
is a fair representation of the reception met with in their breeding quarters, 
it is scarcely to be wondered at that the more delicate birds decrease in 
numbers, or that the migration is more circumscribed in its northern limits. 
I may mention that during last summer there appeared to be no particular 
searcity of Swallows or Swifts, and that Sand Martins were by far the 
commonest of the class, which is usually the case with us; but I noticed 
how unusually early in the year the species congregated in the early 
mornings preparatory to their journey southwards. — G. B. Corsin 
(Ringwood, Hants). 


Pied Variety of the Coot,—In March, 1888, Mr. Johnson shot on his 
mil]-dam, near Southwell, Nottinghamshire, a variety of the Coot, about a 
year old, which was splashed all over with white, and looked as if it had 
been in a snow-storm, the markings being larger and more numerous on the 
back and tail-coverts. Varieties of this species are so very rare, that I was 
much interested with the bird. I only know of two others, one mentioned 
by Morris, and one in the Packington Collection, both of which are white.— 
J. WuiTaker (Rainworth, N otts). 


Curious Variety of the Woodcock.—A very striking variety of the 
Woodcock has been forwarded from Carrick-on-Shannon, having the primaries 
pure white, a white collar round the throat, and white feathers dappled over 
the rest of the plumage, which is rather of a richer colour than the ordinary 
Woodcock. I may also mention having received a second bird marked some- 
what similar, which was shot close to the city, and which the owner believes 
to have been the same bird he had fired at unsuccessfully in the same place 
the previous season.— Epwarp Wittrams (2, Dame Street, Dublin). 


The Nutcracker in Lincolnshire. — A specimen of the Nutcracker, 
Nucifraga caryocatactes, was shot by Mr. Thomas Sargent, at Marsh 
Chapel, a parish on the Lincolnshire coast, on November 6th, 1888. This 
is, I believe, the first example of this bird known to have been found in 
Lincolnshire—G. H. Caron Harau (Grainsby Hall, Great Grimsby). 

ZOOLOGIST.—APRIL, 1889, N 


154 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


FISHES. 


Motella maculata as an Irish Fish.—A few years ago (about 1874) 
I obtained from a Dutlin fishmonger a fine large specimen of the Three- 
bearded Rockling, This I presented to the Natural History Museum, and 
placed it there under the name of Motella maculata (Giinther), as identified 
from Dr. Giinther’s excellent ‘ Catalogue of Fishes ’ (vol. iv. p. 366). My 
specimen was of a reddish salmon colour, or rich pinkish yellow, when 
fresh, with a number of black spots, and the fishmonger reported it as taken 
on the coast near Dublin. So difficu(t is it to ascertain the exact locality 
of any non-marketable, or small, insignificant fishes, when sold in the 
wholesale Dublin Fish-market, that I should like to draw attention to the 
Spotted Rockling, with a view of ascertaining whether it exists all round 
the Irish coast, or whether it be not rather a western and southern form, 
as seems likely.—A. G. More (74, Leinster Road, Dublin). 


MOLLUSCA. 


Limnga involuta probably a Variety of L. peregra.—For many 
years in succession I collected specimens of Limnea involuta (Harvey) in 
the little lake, called Lough Crincaum, above the Town Lodge, on 
Cromaglaun Mountain, near Killarney. The shells were always scarce; I 
never obtained more than from twelve to twenty specimens, which used to 
be found creeping along the tops of submerged stones, as if they were 
feeding upon the scanty Algz which grew upon the surface of the stones. 
They were very fragile, and I used to turn them carefully into a soda-water 
bottle, full of water, into which I had put a good many bits of Sphagnum 
moss. In this way they travelled safely to Dublin, and I kept them, 
several times, alive for many months, once for two years,—they subsisting, 
as it seemed, on the minute organisms contained in pure water from the 
Vartry Reservoir, in Wicklow, and they required no other food. More 
than once eggs were laid on the side of the smail glass vase in which I 
kept them, but I do not think that any young were hatched in my room in 
the Natural History Museum. I gave some to my friend the late Mr. E. 
Waller, of Aughnacloy, the well-known conchologist, and he told me that 
after two or three years, and when he had reared several generations in 
captivity, he found the involute spire disappearing in the younger progeny, 
and that he was satisfied that Limnea involuta had thus become converted 
into L. peregra (Miller). The examples which Mr. Waller brought, and 
showed to me, fully bore out this view. Some had still the involute spire ; 
others were simply thin and slight examples of L. peregra, in shape much 
like the shell figured by Forbes and Hanley (Plate exxii., fig. 5). With 
so careful an observer and so skilled a conchologist as Mr. Waller, the only 
risk seemed to be that, in feeding his Killarney mollusks as he did on water- 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 155 


cress, the ova of L. peregra might have been accidentally introduced. Still 
his shells of the successive broods were all of similar small size and of the 
same remarkable thinness, which are characteristic of L. involuta quite as 
much as the inserted spire. Some were provided with a very short spire; 
others like Forbes and Hanley’s fig. 5, as above mentioned. I have before 
now-recorded, in the ‘Annals and Magazine of Natural History’ (ser. 4, 
vol. iv., 1869, p. 46), with a figure (Pl. iii., fig. 3), that the animal of 
L. involuta does not differ from that of L. peregra, and that the former is 
not an Amphipeplea at all. Still I was desirous to carry out, or see carried 
out, a second series of experiments; but since the death of Mr. Waller I 
have not had any opportunity. I am myself inclined to believe that Mr. 
Waller's observations and his results were quite reliable, and I should agree 
with him that they do prove L. involuta to be only a variety or form of 
L. peregra (Miiller), which we know is one of the most variable of our water 
shells. Isolated for a long period in a small mountain tarn, nearly a thousand 
feet above the lower Lake of Killarney, and finding only a scanty supply of 
lime and less food than in the lowland waters, L. involuta has probably 
altered its appearance, and has shrunk, as it were, into smaller dimensions, 
drawing in its spire at the same time, while its shell became thinner and 
thinner, till when first found it was held to present sufficiently distinct 
characters to be described as a new species.—A. G. More (74, Leinster 
Road, Dublin). 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 


Linnean Society or London. 

February 21, 1889.—Mr. CarrurHers, F'.R.S., President, in the chair. 

Mr. G. A. Grierson was admitted a Fellow of the Society; and, ona 
ballot being taken, Messrs. Hindmarsh, Kirkby, Lowe, and Morton were 
elected Fellows. 

Mr. George Murray exhibited a fossil Alga, Nematophycus Logani, Carr. 

Mr. G. C. Druce exhibited some rare British plants from Scotland, 
amongst which were Calamagrostis borealis, Ranunculus acris var. pumilus, 
and Bromus mollis var. decipiens. 

Prof. Marshall Ward exhibited a sclerotium of a Fungus produced from 
_ a Botrytis spore, and explained the method by which it had been obtained. 

A paper was then read by Mr. F. Townsend, M.P., on Huphrasia 
officinalis, with a description of a new subspecies, and a discussion followed 
in which the President, Mr. J. G. Baker, and others took part. 

In the absence of the author, a paper by Mr. C. T. Drury on sexual 
apospory in Polystichum angulare was read by the botanical Secretary, 
Mr. B. D. Jackson, upon which remarks were made by Mr. Murray and 
Dr. D. H. Scott. 


156 THE, ZOOLOGIST. 


Mr. Murray then gave the substance of a paper on a new genus of 
Green Alge, proposed to be named Boodlea, and in so doing made some 
instructive observations on the affinities and distinguishing characters of 
allied genera. The paper was criticised by Messrs. A. W. Bennett, Reay 
Greene, and Dr. D. H. Scott. 

In continuation of his researches upon the eyes of insects, Mr. B. T. 
Lowne gave an admirable exposition of the structure of the retina in the 
Blowfly, illustrated by preparations under the microscope, and some 
excellent photographs. 


March 7, 1889.—Mr. Carrutuers, F'.R.S., President, in the chair. 

Messrs. Herbert Stone and Malcolm Laurie were admitted Fellows 
of the Society; and Messrs. John Bidgood and Christopher Mudd were 
elected. 

Mr. J. HK. Harting exhibited specimens of a South American Bat 
(Noctilio leporinus), alleged to be of piscivorous habits, and which, through 
the kindness of Sir William Robinson, K.C.M.G., the Governor of Trinidad, 
had been forwarded from that island by Prof. M‘Carthy, together with a 
report on the subject. From this report it appeared that the stomach of one 
specimen, opened within half-an-hour after it had been shot, on the evening 
of Dec. 29th, “contained much fish in a finely divided and partially digested 
state.” In three others procured at 6 a.m. the following morning, the 
stomachs were empty. On the morning of Dec. 31st, at 3 a.m., numbers 
of these Bats were observed returning to their caves; two were shot, and 
“both contained considerable quantities of fish.” Prof. M‘Carthy added 
that in the stomachs of other specimens examined by him fish-scales were 
undoubtedly present. Of the specimens forwarded in spirits to this country 
two had been skinned and the stomachs and intestines examined by Mr. 
Harting. The sac-like stomach was much less muscular than might be 
expected in a fish-eating mammal; but in one of them (the other being 
empty) fragments of a finely striated and iridescent substance resembling 
fish-scales were found. A discussion followed, in which Prof. Howes and 
Mr. W. P. Sladen took part, the conclusion being that, although there was 
no a@ priori improbability in the alleged piscivorous habits of this Bat, it 
could hardly be accepted as a fact until the fragments supposed to be of 
fish were really proved to be so by careful microscopical and chemical 
examination. [See report of next meeting, March 21st. ] 

A paper was then read by the Rev. Prof. Henslow, M.A., “On the 
Vascular Systems of Floral Organs, and their importance in the inter- 
pretation of the Morphology of Flowers.” The author drew attention to 
the importance of this class of observations, as supplementing development 
and teratology; for by referring all organs back to their “ axial traces,” 
their real origins could generally be discovered. Taking the cords meta- 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 157 


phorically as “ floral units,” he explained how they can, as it were, givée rise 
to axes as well as to all kinds of floral appendages. Quoting Van Tieghem’s 
definitions of axial and foliar characters, the former was shown to be subject 
to exceptions. After describing the arrangements of the cords in peduncles 
and pedicels, in which endogens often have the cords as regularly placed 
as in exogens, the author explained the different ways by which pedicels of 
umbels are found in each class respectively. The ‘“chorism” and union 
of cords were illustrated and the effects produced. Considerable light was 
thrown upon the cohesion and adhesion of organs, and the interpretation of 
the “‘receptacular tube” and “inferior ovary” was shown to depend upon 
the undifferentiated state of the organs when in congenital union. The 
true nature of axile and free central placentas was revealed, so that in the 
case of the former, with scarcely any exception, the axis takes no part in 
the structure, all “carpophores,” “stylopods,” &c., being simply the coherent 
and hypertrophied margins of carpels. Similarly the free central placenta 
of Primula received its interpretation as consisting of the coherent and 
ovuliferous bases of fine carpels, which have the upper parts of their margins 
coherent in a parietal manner. Illustrative diagrams were exhibited of 
nearly seventy genera typical of about thirty orders. The paper was 
favourably criticised by Dr. D. H. Scott, Mr. A. W. Bennett, and Prof. 
Marshall Ward. 
The meeting then adjourned to March 21st. 


ZooLogicaL Society or Lonpon. 


February 19, 1889.—Dr. St. Gzorcr Mivart, F.R.S., Vice-President, 
in the chair. 

Mr. Sclater exhibited specimens of the eggs and chicks of the Hoatzin, 
Opisthocomus cristatus, from a series collected by Mr. R. Quelch in British 
Guiana, and called attention to the extraordinary development of the wings 
in the chick, in reference to the statement that these organs are used like 
hands for climbing purposes. 

Mr. Sclater exhibited heads and skins of a new Antelope obtained by 
Mr. H. C. V. Hunter in Eastern Africa, which he proposed to call Damalis 
hunteri, after its discoverer. 

Sir KE. G. Loder, Bart., exhibited and made some remarks on a skeleton 
of the Rocky Mountain Goat, Haplocerus montanus. 

Dr. Ginther exhibited a mounted specimen of Thomson’s Gazelle, 
Gazella thomsoni, and pointed out its complete distinctness from Grant’s 
Gazelle, G. granti. The specimen in question had been obtained in 
Masailand by Mr. H. C. V. Hunter. 

Mr. R. Lydekker read a paper on the skull of Lytoloma, an extinct 
genus of Chelonians allied to Chelone. 


158 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Mr. R. Lydekker pointed out the characters of an apparently new 
species of Hyracodontotherium, based on specimens from the phosphorites 
of Bach, near Lalbengue, in France. 

Dr. A. Giinther described some new fishes from the Kilima-njaro district 
in Eastern Africa, based on specimens obtained by Mr, F. J. Jackson during 
his recent expedition into that country. He also exhibited a dried specimen 
of a fish obtained by Mr. H. C. V. Hunter from one of the crater-lakes in 
the same district, which he referred to a new genus and species of Chromide, 
proposed to be called Oreochromis hunteri. 

Dr. Giinther also exhibited a pair of horns of an Antelope obtained 
many years ago in the interior of Southern Central Africa, which were 
remarkable for their length and gentle backward curvature, with only a 
very slight twist near the tips. He referred these horns to a new species 
proposed to be called Antilope triangularis. 

Dr. Giinther read some notes on a Bornean Porcupine, which he had 
formerly described as being without a tail, and named T’richys lipura. It 
now appeared that some specimens of this animal possessed a long and 
slender tail, but that other characters would necessitate the retention of 
the genus as distinct from Atherura. 

Mr. F. E. Beddard read a paper directing attention to certain points 
in the anatomy of the Accipitres with reference to the affinities of Poly- 
boroides. This form was shown to asi to the Falconide, and to have no 
real affinities with Serpentarius. — —.___ 

Sir Walter Buller read a paper on a ‘species of Crested Penguin from 
the Auckland Islands, based on a specimen lately living in the Society’s 
Gardens, which he proposed to call Hudyptes sclateri. 


March 5, 1889.—Prof. Ftowrr, C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., 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 February, and called attention to 
four Marbled Polecats, Putorius sarmaticus, presented by Col. Sir Oliver 
St. John, K.C.S.I., new to the collection ; and toa fine specimen of Owen’s 
Apteryx, Apterya oweni, from the South Island of New Zealand, presented 
by Prof. T. Jeffrey Parker. 

Mr. A. Thomson exhibited a series of insects reared in the Insect- 
house in the Society’s Gardens during the past year, and read a report on 
the subject. 

Prof. G. B. Howes exhibited and made remarks on some specimens of 
the embryo of Myrmecobius fasciatus. 

Mr. O. Thomas exhibited a specimen of a new Muntjac from 
Tennasserim, lately discovered by M. Fea, and proposed to be called 
Cervulus fea. 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 159 


A communication was read from Mr. J. 8S. Baly, containing descriptions 
of some new South-American Coleoptera of the genus Diabrotica. 

A communication was read from the Rev. H. S. Gorham, containing 
descriptions of some new species and a new genus of the coleopterous family 
Telephoride from Hastern Asia. Thirty-nine new species and one new 
genus (for which the name Lycocerus was proposed) were described. Of these 
new forms the greater part were from India and China. 

Col. R. H. Beddome read a paper on new land-shells from the island of 
Koror (Pelew group), based on specimens collected for Dr. Hungerford by a 
resident in that island. The series comprised examples of eight new species 
of the genus Diplommatina, of two new and very curious species of 
Endodonta (a section of Helix), and of a remarkable new genus, allied to 
Diplommatina, proposed to be called Hungerfordia. 

Mr. W. E. Hoyle read a paper on the anatomy of a rare cephalopod, 
Gonatus fabricii, originally discovered by Fabricius in the last century, 
but little known in recent times. The author gave a general description of 
the anatomy of the species, and recorded the existence of several tracts 
of cartilage hitherto unobserved in the Cephalopoda. Some details were 
given regarding the structure of the pen-sac and the development of the 
pen, as well as some new facts regarding the structure of the funnel-organ, 
and a suggestion regarding its function. The genus was regarded as being 
somewhat more nearly related to Onychoteuthis than to Enoploteuthis, but 
much further removed from them both than they are from each other. 
The creation of the subfamily Gonatide was then held to be justified.— 
P. L. Sctatsr, Secretary. 


EntomoLoaicaL Society or Lonpon. 


March 6, 1889.—The Rt. Hon. Lord Watsitneuam, M.A., F.R.S., 
President, in the chair. 

The Rev. W. F. Johnson, M.A., of Armagh; the Rev. C. F. Thornewill, 
M.A., of Burton-on-Trent; and Mr. C. R. Straton, F.R.C.8., of Wilton, 
were elected Fellows. 

Mr. F. P. Pascoe exhibited several specimens of the Saiiba Ant 
(CEcodoma cephalotes), from Para, carrying portions of dried leaves. It 
seemed questionable whether the leaves were collected by the Ants for the 
purpose of making their nests or for the sake of some fungus which might 
be growing on them. 

Mr. Jenner-Weir exhibited, and read notes on, specimens of a Butterfly 
(Tirumala petiverana), from Mombaza, Eastern Africa. 

Mr. J. H. Durrant exhibited a living larva of Cossus liyniperda, which 
had entirely lost its ordinary colour and had become first pink and then 
white. He attributed the change, and subsequent loss of colour, to the fact 


160 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


that it had been deprived of its natural food and fed for eighteen months 
on pink paper, with which the box in which it was kept was lined, and 
subsequently on white cardboard. Mr. M‘Lachlan remarked that the most 
extraordinary peculiarity about this larva, in addition to the colour, was the 
absence of the usual odour of Cossus. Lord Walsingham observed that it 
was questionable whether the colours of larvae were dependent on the colours 
of their surroundings, or whether they were affected by the contents of 
the intestinal canal. Prof. Meldola said that the caterpillar exhibited having 
eaten the pink paper had most probably become dyed by the colouring 
matter, and he did not think the observation had much bearing on the 
question of the protective colouring of caterpillars. It was well known to 
physiologists that certain dye-stuffs could be introduced into the tissues 
of animals by mixing the colouring matters with the food, and paper was 
frequently stained with coal-tar dyes such as eosin, magenta, é&c., so that it 
was simply a case of direct dyeing of the larva. Mr. W. White observed 
that two extreme forms of a larva might often be found feeding side by 
side on the same tree or shrub, so that the colour of a larva could not be 
altogether governed by the colour of its food. 

Mr. B. A. Bower exhibited a specimen of Parasia neuropterella, bred from 
heads of Centaurea scabiosa, and said he believed the species had not 
been previously bred. He also exhibited series of Coleophora olivaceella, 
C. solitariella, and Laverna subbistrigella. The President remarked on the 
beautiful condition and setting of the specimens. 

Mr. White exhibited a series of male and female specimens of Orgyia 
thyalina, belonging to Mr. Leech, and obtained by the late Mr. H. J. Pryer 
in Japan. Some of the females had their wings fully developed, and some 
of them were semi-apterous, as is usual with the females of this genus. 
Mr. White remarked that he knew of no other species of the genus in 
which the females had fully-developed wings. Lord Walsingham, Prof. 
Meldola, and Mr. R. South took part in the discussion which ensued. 

Lord Walsingham exhibited specimens of preserved larvae of Hupithecia 
extensaria, from King’s Lynn, Norfolk ; also a preserved larva of Smerinthus 
ocellatus and one of Sphina ligustri. The larva of the last-named species 
was a variety, and the President remarked that it was the only one of this 
species he had ever seen. 

The Secretary read a communication from the Rev. Dr. Walker, 
announcing his intention of making an expedition to Iceland this year, 
from the 23rd June to the 29th July, and asking that any entomologists 
who might wish to accompany him would send him their names. 

Mr. Gervase F. Mathew communicated a paper entitled “ Descriptions 
and Life-Histories of new species of Rhopalocera from the Western 
Pacific." —H. Goss, Hon. Secretary. 


THIRD SERIES. 


Von. XIII.] MAY, 1889. [No. 149. 


DAUBENTON’S BAT, VESPERTILIO DAUBENTONII, Leister. 


By tHe Epriror. 


Prate II. 


WE are indebted to Mr. Edward Hart, of Christchurch, for a 
specimen of this Bat, in the flesh, captured in his neighbourhood, 
and from this the illustration, issued inadvertently with our last 
number, was drawn by Mr. Lodge. 

Although usually regarded as one of the rarer British Bats, 
it has probably either escaped particular observation or has been 
perhaps mistaken for some other species. Indeed the various 
captures of specimens referred to in the second edition of Bell’s 
‘British Quadrupeds’ (1874), and the many additional notes of 
its occurrence which we have collected, lead to the conclusion that 
it is entitled to be considered locally common; for where it 
does occur it is by no means solitary, but is found in some 
numbers. This was observed by Mr. Tomes to be particularly 
the case in Warwickshire, where he has seen hundreds flying 
over the Avon at Stratford, and has taken more than twenty at a 
time from the belfry of Stratford Church. Mr. Borrer also found 
great numbers of this Bat in the church at Christchurch, Hants, 
where in one chamber communicating with an aperture in the 
north wall, through which they passed to and from the river, their 
accumulated excrement was “knee-deep.” He had no difficulty 
in procuring as many specimens as he wanted. On several 
evenings afterwards he saw numbers flitting, much in the manner 

‘ ZOOLOGIST.— MAY, 1889, oO 


162 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


of Sand Martins, over the surface of the river near the bridge in 
the town, never appearing to rise very high in the air, and seldom 
flying much beyond the river-banks. He adds (Zool. 1874, pp. 
4127, 4128) that in April, 1856, he obtained this species from the 
Isle of Purbeck, and in July, 1863, from Ulleswater, where (as well 
as at Grasmere) they do not fly till late at night over the lakes, 
but in the boat-houses they fly by day. He has also seen 
specimens taken at Preston, near Brighton, a locality in which 
he would not have expected them, as they appear to be especially 
addicted to water, and there is none there. Before quitting the 
Isle of Purbeck, it may be well to note another locality for this 
Bat in the same county of Dorset, namely, Glanville’s Wootton, 
where Mr. J. C. Dale, in his account of the local fauna, states 
that it is abundant. From the Isle of Wight it has been reported 
by the Rev. C. A. Bury, and it is probably the species referred 
to by Mr. W. P. Cocks, under the name Vespertilio emarginatus, 
as not uncommon in the neighbourhood of Falmouth, V. emar- 
ginatus of Jenyns being identical with V. daubentonit of Leisler 
and Kuhl, but not with V. emarginatus of Geottroy, a continental 
species (with a longer, more pointed, and more deeply emarginate 
ear) which has not yet been found here. Amongst other localities 
for V. daubentonit Bell gives Milton Park, near Peterborough, 
and even mentions its occurrence in London, at Islington, whence 
three examples were procured by Yarrell. To these may be 
added another locality near London, namely, Kingsbury Reservoir, 
where we have seen it ilying over the water near the Hyde bridge, 
and where, to identify the species, we shot one about seven o'clock 
one evening in August, 1867. Another, in the collection of 
Mr. Bond, was found clinging to the wall at the head of this 
same reservoir one cold wet day in summer. On turning to an 
old note-book of that date we find the following entry :— 
“ Daubenton’s Bat seen at the Hyde bridge on the Brent several 
times. Frequents stagnant water. Flies very late; is slower on 
the wing than most of the other Bats. Wings more pointed, and 
does not turn and twist like many, but skims like a Sand Martin 
over the water.” This peculiarity seems to have struck most 
people who have had an opportunity of obtaining it alive. 
Mr. Tomes, writing in 1874 of its habits, as observed by him in 
Warwickshire, says :—‘ So peculiar are the vespertinal habits of 
this species that, while very abundant, an ordinary observer might 


DAUBENTON’S BAT. 163 


be quite unconscious of its existence. It is essentially an aquatic 
species, if such an expression be admissible applied to an animal 
which never enters the water. It haunts that element con- 
tinually, flying so near its surface as to render it difficult to 
distinguish between the creature itself and its reflection. The 
flight, quivering and slow, is performed by very slight but rapid 
strokes of the wings; it may, indeed, be said to vibrate rather 
than fly over the surface of the water. It could not well fly in 
any other manner so near the surface of the water without striking 
it, and this it seldom or perhaps never does, although it often 
pauses to dip its nose into the water, whether to drink or pick 
up some floating food we have been unable to ascertain.” 

According to the observations of Dr. Laver, of Colchester, 
this Bat is not rare in his neighbourhood. Doubleday procured 
_ it at Epping, and observed it flying over the river at Sudbury. 

At Easton, in Norfolk, it has been noted by Mr. Gurney, and 
we have the authority of Mr. F. Bond for stating that specimens 
have been taken at Carlisle. Bell states that the most northern 
locality for this species in England known to him is Durham, 
where the specimens of Vespertilio edilis, Jenyns, subsequently 
identified with V. daubentonii, were obtained. But not only is 
Carlisle somewhat further north, but we find this Bat included 
in Messrs. Meynell and Perkins’ ‘ Catalogue of the Mammalia of 
- Northumberland and Durham,’ where it is stated to have been 
met with at Darlington, Shotley Bridge, Auckland St. Andrew, 
and Long Benton. 

As regards Northumberland, also, the late Mr. Selby, in one 
edition of his ‘Fauna of Twizel,’ doubtfully included V. 
emarginatus, by which name the present species was probably 
intended. 

In Scotland Daubenton’s Bat appears to be pretty widely 
distributed on the mainland, but to be local. It was first 
correctly identitied as a Scottish species by William Macgillivray, 
who, in 1840, captured a specimen in Aberdeen Cathedral (Edinb. 
New Phil. Journ. xxxi. p. 205), where subsequently John Mac- 
gillivray found eighty in two large clusters (Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 
Vili. p. 230), and in the same county a specimen was taken by the 
Rey. G. Gordon in the church of Peterculter. It was probably 
this species which Fleming got in Fifeshire (Hist. Brit. An. p. 6), 
and referred to as having been taken near Doyer by M. Brogniart, 

o 2 


164 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


although he named it Vespertilio emarginatus, Geoffroy. Subse- 
quently Macgillivray met with it in Dumfriesshire (Nat. Libr. 
xxii. p. 95), and Robert Gray noted it in Kirkcudbright. One in 
the Glasgow University Museum was captured on Glasgow Green, 
as recorded by the late Edward Alston (Proc. Nat. Hist. Soc. 
Glasgow, i. p. 203), who subsequently examined another, which 
had been taken in the West End Park, Glasgow. 

Thomas Edward, in his list of the Mammals of Banffshire, 
appended to Smiles’ ‘ Life of a Scotch Naturalist’ (p. 392), includes 
Daubenton’s Bat as one of the two species recognized by him in 
Banfishire, the- other being the Pipistrelle. A third species, 
“larger than either of the other two,” is mentioned as having been 
“met with in woods,” but not identified. It was most probably 
Plecotus auritus. 

Fleming, in his ‘ History of British Animals’ (p. 6), identified 
the Vespertilio auriculatus of Walker’s ‘ Fauna Scotica’* with the 
Noctule; but, as pointed out by Alston, the description agrees 
much better with V. daubentonie. 

As regards Ireland, Bell states that the occurrence of 
Daubenton’s Bat in two localities has been established, namely, 
in Donegal and Kildare (Proc. Nat. Hist. Soc. Dublin, i. 
p. 154), but he has omitted to notice the specimen mentioned by 
Thompson (Nat. Hist. Ireland, iv. p. 2) as having been obtained 
by the Ordnance collectors in the Co. Londonderry, and deter- 
mined by Mr. Jenyns (now Blomefield). Since that date, 
probably, it may have been recognized in other parts of Ireland, 
and it would be satisfactory to receive information on this point. 

The difficulty of identifying any uncommon species of Bat 
was at one time considerable, owing to the want of properly 
authenticated specimens for comparison, and the absence of pub- 
lished descriptions which indicated distinctive characters with 
sufficient clearness. Now things are different. Specimens 
properly named may be found in most museums; and the 
publication of Mr. Dobson’s excellent ‘ Catalogue of the Chiroptera 
in the Collection of the British Museum’ has furnished students 
of Zoology with a reliable guide for the determination of any 
species they are likely to meet with. 

Turning to the Analytical Table, or Synopsis, of the species 


* Published in his ‘ Essays on Natural History,’ p. 472. 


DAUBENTON’S BAT. 165 


belonging to the genus Vespertilio, given at pp. 285—289 of this 
work, we find the genus divided into two sections, or aed 
which are thus characterised :— 


I. Subgen. Leuconox. 

Feet very large; wing-membrane from the tibia or ankle, 
rarely from the side of the foot ; interfemoral membrane forming 
avery acute angle in the centre of its free margin behind; tail 
projecting by the last vertebra, or by the last two vertebre, from 
the membrane; calcaneum very long, extending at least three- 
fourths the distance between the ankle and the tail. 

To this subgenus belongs V. daubentonii. 


IJ. Subgen. VESPERTILIO. 

Feet moderate; wing-membrane from the base of the toes, 
rarely from the metatarsus ; interfemoral membrane forming an 
obtuse angle in the centre of its free margin behind; tail wholly 
contained in the membrane, or projecting by its extreme tip only; 
calcaneum extending about half-way between the ankle and the 
tail. 

To this subgenus belong V. emarginatus, Geoffroy (not emar- 
ginatus, Jenyns, which is daubentonit, Leisler and Kuhl), V. 
nattereri, V. bechsteinii, V. murinus, and V. mystacinus. 

_ In the Synopsis above referred to, V. daubentonii is thus 
specially characterised (p. 286) :— 


*‘ Wings from the metatarsi. The second lower premolar stands in the 
tooth-row, or is partially drawn inwards. ‘The second upper premolar 
stands in the tooth-row, or with the first is partially drawn inwards. The 
ear laid forward does not extend beyond the end of the muzzle; fore-arm, 
1:45 in.” 

The more detailed description given by Mr. Dobson (p. 297) 
is as follows :— 

“Head very slightly raised above the face-line; ears mode- 
rately long, laid forwards the tips extend quite to the extremity 
of the muzzle; the inner margin forms a regular arc of a circle 
from the base to the tip, which is shortly rounded off; and the 
upper third of the outer margin is flat or concave, owing to the 
abrupt convexity of the succeeding middle third; tragus about 
half the length of the ear, the extremity straight, not curved 
outwards; the inner margin is straight, the outer has a very 


166 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


distinct triangular rounded lobe at the base, then becomes regu- 
larly slightly convex upwards, reaching its greatest width about 
the middle, and terminating in an acute point. 

“Wings from the metatarsi; calcaneum extending more than 
three-fourths the distance between the ankle and the tail. 

“ The face is sparingly covered with hair in front of the ears. 
The small labial glands are thinly clothed by some long straight 
hairs. 

‘* On the dorsal surface the base of the interfemoral membrane, 
as far as aline drawn between the centres of the tibia, is covered ; 
the tibie and the remaining part of the interfemoral naked. 

‘* Above, the hairs are dark at the base, with reddish brown 
extremities; beneath, similar at the base, but with white 
extremities. 

“The upper incisors are equal in size, and have strongly 
diverging cusps; the second upper premolar stands in the tooth- 
row, is very small, not one-third the size of the first premolar, 
and its summit very slightly exceeds the cingulum of the first 
molar. é : 

“ Length (of an adult male preserved in alcohol) :—Head and 
body, 1°9 in.; tail, 1°7 in.; head, 0°65 in.; ear, 0°55 in.; tragus, 
0°28 in. ; fore-arm, 1°45 in. ; thumb, 0°35 in. ; third finger, 2°4 in.; 
fifth finger, 1°9 in.; tibia, 0°6 in.; foot, 0°4 in.” 

Generally speaking, the characters most likely to strike a 
beholder upon a superficial examination are the large feet, 
moderate-sized rounded ears, pointed wings, and elongated 
caudal vertebre. Its peculiar mode of flight and partiality for 
water, already referred to, may serve as a hint to collectors in 
search of specimens. 


NOTES ON THE RARER BIRDS OF GLAMORGANSHIRE. 
By Diesy 8. W. Nicwort, F.L.S. 

In his ‘Birds of Somersetshire’ Mr. Cecil Smith has 
enumerated no less than 217 species, whilst several additional 
species, which have occurred since his book was published in 
1869, will be found mentioned in ‘The Zoologist’ for 1888 
(p. 174). : 

Somerset, as well as Glamorgan, is washed by the waters of 
the Bristol Channel, and consequently both counties offer 


RARER BIRDS OF GLAMORGANSHIRE. 167 


exceptional chances for the occurrence of some of our rarer 
marine birds. On the other hand Somerset possesses, in the 
Mendips and the Quantock range of hills, suitable places for such 
species, as, for instance the Golden Plover, to breed, and Mr. 
Smith mentions the fact that a few are said to do so in the wild 
country near Dunkery Beacon and Exmoor. 

In Glamorgan I have not been able to ascertain that the 
Golden Plover is more than a winter visitor, making its appearance 
in numbers varying with the severity of the weather. The Grey 
Plover is occasionally shot or seen on the coast in winter. 

After a great deal of correspondence with competent 
authorities on the subject, together with my own observations, I 
am able to claim for Glamorganshire no less than 218 species, 
being one more than the number given for Somersetshire by Mr. 
Smith when he published his book on the birds of that county. 

As an accidental visitor the White-tailed Eagle has occurred 
several times. I have records of nine such occurrences, only 
four of which, however, are in my opinion reliable. 

Two examples of the Goshawk, and three of that rapidly- 
decreasing bird the Kite have been obtained. In ‘ The Zoologist’ 
(1888, p. 188) will be found an interesting letter on the “* Kite in 
Glamorganshire,” received by me from Lord Aberdare. 

On the authority of the Rev. H. Morgan-Stratford, Rector of 
St. Athan, near Cowbridge (than whom no one 1s better acquainted 
with the avifauna of the county), I am able to include the Little 
Owl, a specimen of which was shot by him some few years ago, 
but unfortunately he has forgotten the date. 

The Eagle Owl is recorded as having occurred near Swansea, 
by Mr. Dillwyn, in his ‘Fauna and Flora of Swansea,’ and by 
Mr. Harting, in his ‘ Handbook of British Birds’ (1872, p. 95). 

Passing on from the Owls to the Shrikes, we have Pallas’s 
Shrike, Lanius major, a specimen of which (now in the Cardiff 
Museum) was obtained at Bridgend in April, 1881. 

There is next to be noticed the Great Grey Shrike, Lanius 
excubitor, which is only an irregular winter visitant; and then 
two of our summer visitors, namely, the Pied Flycatcher and the 
Golden Oriole. 

I have recorded in ‘ The Zoologist’ (1888, p. 229) that on the 
8th of May I obtained a male specimen of the Pied Flycatcher, 
and I believe it is the only authentie occurrence of the species in 


168 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


this county, for on reference to the ‘ Fauna and Flora of Swansea ’ 
it will be seen that the author was not at all satisfied with the 
evidence submitted to him with respect to its occurrence in 
Glamorganshire. 

That beautiful bird the Golden Oriole frequented Hendrefoilan, 
near Swansea, the seat of Mr. L. L. Dillwyn, M.P., throughout 
the summer of 1885, and I am glad to say was left unmolested. 
Mr. R. Drane, of Queen Street, Cardiff, tells me that this 
species nested at Penarth in 18638. An egg in his possession 
was seen by him on a string, with those of the Thrush and 
Blackbird, in possession of a boy, who described the nest accu- 
rately, and said that he and two others took it, and divided the 
five eggs it contained amongst themselves. 

Another summer visitor, but with no claim to rarity, is the 
Ring Ouzel. It breeds annually in the hilly part of the county 
(where it goes by the name of the Mountain Blackbird), and 
specimens are taken not unfrequently in the ‘‘ Vale of Glamorgan,” 
usually young birds. 

The Redstart, which is common in the adjoining county of 
Monmouth, is decidedly uncommon in Glamorgan, and the 
examples seen are few and far between. 

The Black Redstart has been obtained three times, all three 
examples having been well authenticated. 

In the article on the Nightingale in the fourth edition of 
Yarrell (vol. i., p. 816) there are two misprints. In the eleventh 
line from the top of the page “‘ Perthkerry ” should read ‘“ Porth- 
kerry,’ and in the twelfth line “ Boreter”” should read “ Boteler.” 
The Nightingale, though local, may be heard most years in May, 
in the Llancadle and Castleton coverts. 

On April 4th I obtained a male Cirl Bunting, Emberiza cirlus, 
at this place (the Ham, near Cowbridge). Mr. Howard Saunders, 
in his ‘ Illustrated Manual of British Birds’ (p. 203), states that 
this species, he believes, was ‘‘ unknown in Wales until Mr. KE. C. 
Phillips obtained a male on 15th March, 1888, near Brecon.” 
But I can record two previous occurrences of this species in 
Glamorganshire, one so far back as 1876. Itis apparently seldom 
seen in these parts, being but locally distributed. 

I can record one undoubted occurrence of the Tree Sparrow, 
Passer montanus, for a male was obtained by Mr. Cording, tax- 
idermist, of Cardiff, at Waterstone, in 1882. 


RARER BIRDS OF GLAMORGANSHIRE. 169 


It is not often that Glamorganshire is favoured with a visit 
from that curious bird the Waxwing. Mr. R. Drane saw a flock 
of six or seven near Cardiff, in the winter of 1859, and has 
known of a single instance of its occurrence since. The Crossbill 
has occurred oftener. 

Most winters bring a few specimens of the Snow Bunting, 
but rarely in full adult plumage. 

Amongst other winter visitors may be mentioned the 
Brambling, Siskin, and Twite, and occasionally the Hawfinch. 

Two specimens of the Rose-coloured Pastor are noticed in 
the ‘ Fauna and Flora of Swansea,’ as having occurred near there 
in 1836 and 1837. 

The Rusty Grackle, Scolecophagus ferrugineus, a North 
American species, was shot on the East Moors, near Cardiff, on 
October 4th, 1881. My informant, Mr. R. Drane, of Cardiff, 
tells me that its plumage was in a perfect state, showing, in his 
opinion, that it was not an escaped cage-bird: this, however, is 
by no means conclusive. 

Mr. Howard Saunders, writing to me about a specimen of the 
Red-winged Starling which was killed by flying against the Nash 
Light, says, “ No doubt it was an escaped bird from some Bristol- 
bound vessel,” and this may have been the case with the last- 
named. 

_ The Chough is still to be found in moderate numbers upon 
the Gower coast, but I have never heard of its having been seen 
further eastward. 

The Raven breeds annually in the cliffs between Aberthaw 
and Dunraven, and the Hooded Crow has been obtained on 
several occasions. 

Mr. E. C. Phillips, in his ‘Birds of Breconshire,’ says he 
has seen but one stuffed specimen of the Nutcracker, Nucifraga 
caryocatactes, in Wales, and that was a bird in perfect plumage 
killed in Glamorganshire many years ago, so I am able to include it. 

Seven well-authenticated specimens of the Hoopoe can be 
claimed for the county, two of which are recorded by Mr. Dillwyn 
in his ‘ Fauna and Flora of Swansea.’ 

On November 19th, 1885, a female example of the Little 
Bustard was obtained near Gileston, and is now in the collection 
of the Rev. H. Morgan-Stratford, Rector of St. Athan. This is 
the only example that I have known to occur in Glamorganshire. 


170 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


The Great Plover, or Thick-knee, is also rare in the county, 
only one occurrence—near Swansea in ]885—having come to my 
knowledge. 

The Greenshank and Spotted Redshank occur but rarely ; the 
Common Redshank is very numerous along the coast, during the 
winter months especially. 

The Green Sandpiper occurs occasionally, the last occurrence 
that I know of being one shot by myself on the 4th January last, 
and recorded by me in ‘ The Zoologist’ (1889, p. 73). 

Amongst other occasional visitors may be mentioned the 
Curlew and Purple Sandpipers, the Little Stint, Grey Phalarope, 
and Great Snipe. 

An example of the Red-breasted Snipe was shot by Mr. 
Llewelyn on Penllergare Common. Whilst it was at Leadbeater’s, 
the late Mr. Gould saw it (in the flesh), and identified the species. 

There are three Heronries in the county, namely, at Hensol, 
Margam, and Penrice. 

Mr. Cording, taxidermist, of Cardiff, tells me that a female 
example of the Night Heron was shot at Peterstone, near Cardiff, in 
1880. Mr. R. Drane notes the occurrence of the Common Bittern 
six or seven times during the last twenty-five years, and I am 
able to record five examples of the Little Bittern, one being quite 
« young bird, found dead under the telegraph-wires, by flying 
against which it had probably been killed: from this it would 
appear that its parents had bred in the neighbourhood. 

I now come to the Little Crake: Mr. Dillwyn has recorded 
one, taken by hand on the Afon River in 1839, which is (or was) 
preserved at Margam. 

Of the Anatide the Geese and Ducks form a good portion on 
the Glamorganshire list. The species of Geese (all, with the 
exception of the Egyptian Goose, of which six well-authenticated 
specimens have occurred) being more or less frequent winter 
visitants, they include the Grey Lag, White-fronted, Bernicle, 
Brent, and Bean Geese; also the Canada Goose, which is kept 
in a state of domestication on the lakes at Penllergare. 

The Ducks consist of the Wild Duck or Mallard, the Gad- 
wall, Shoveller, Pintail, Wigeon, Teal, and Garganey ; also the 
Pochard, Ferruginous Duck, Scaup, Tufted Duck, ae Goldeneye, 
and the Smew, Common and Velvet Scoters. 

The Ferruginous Duck is recorded by Mr. Dillwyn in his 


RARER BIRDS OF GLAMORGANSHIRE. yal 


‘Fauna and Flora of Swansea,’ and Mr. L. L. Dillwyn, M.P., 
tells me that he has seen examples of the Surf Scoter more 
than once in game-shops at Swansea, in hard winters.* He also 
saw one swimming in the surf off the rocks beyond Caswell 
Bay, in Gower, and he observed it carefully with the aid of a glass. 

Sir R. Payne-Gallwey, in his ‘ Book of Duck Decoys’ (p. 93), 
has given a description of the only decoy in Glamorgan, namely, 
the one at Park Wern, the property of Sir H. Hussey Vivian, 
Bart., M.P. From this decoy Sir H. Vivian has received 
specimens of the Gadwall. 

The Garganey is of rare occurrence. I possess two specimens, 
obtained near here in 1886, and have records of seven others. 

The Shoveller also, though met with far more frequently than 
the Garganey, must still be called rare. 

Mr. L. L. Dillwyn, M.P., informs me that a Hooded Merganser 
was killed during the hard winter of 1838, but he omitted to state 
where. 

The Whooper or Wild Swan occurs in severe winters, but not 
in any great numbers. 

The Red-throated Diver is recorded by Mr. Dillwyn in his 
‘Fauna and Flora of Swansea,’ while the Red-breasted Merganser, 
Goosander, Great Northern Diver, and the Great-crested, Red- 
necked and Sclavonian Grebes are also of occasional occurrence. 

Among the Alcid@ is the Little Auk. ‘Two are mentioned by 
Mr. Dillwyn in his previously-mentioned work ; and one was shot 
by the Rev. H. Morgan-Stratford, at the mouth of the Thaw, in 
January, 1856. 

The Laride are the last to be dealt with: they include the 
Arctic and Common Terns, the Lesser and Black ‘l'erns (both of 
which I give on Mr. Drane’s authority), the Greater and Lesser 
Black-backed Gulls, and the Ivory Gull, one of which was seen by 
Sir H. H. Vivian, flying about over a piece of water which he has 
near Fairwood Moor, in Gower: he tried to secure it, but 
failed. There is also a record of one seen by Mr. H. Dillwyn 
(son of Mr. L. L. Dillwyn, M.P.), in Swansea Harbour, about 
the year 1883. 

The occurrence of the Little Gull in March, 1885, and again 
in November, 1888, has been noted by me in ‘ The Zoologist’ 
(1889, pp. 25 and 77). 


* Most likely the Velvet Scoter is intended.—Eb. 


172 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Occasionally the Common Skua may be seen off the Worm’s 
Head, on the coast of Gower. Three examples of Richardson’s 
Skua have been obtained. 

The Manx Shearwater occurs occasionally. 

One specimen of Leach’s Petrel was picked up some years 
ago on the beach at Gileston, and is now in the collection of the 
Rev. H. Morgan-Stratford. 

With that tiny mite of a web-footed bird, the Storm Petrel, 
this list of the rarer Glamorganshire birds closes. Examples of 
the Storm Petrel are not unfrequently driven inland during 
boisterous weather, and a gale in October, 1881, drove many of 
these birds inland, and one was picked up in an exhausted state 
at Llantrissant. 

If any reader of these Notes can add to, or in any way help 
in rendering the avifauna of this county more complete, I should 
indeed be glad, for as yet there is no book published on the 
Birds of Glamorganshire. 


THE STATUS OF THE FIRECREST AS A BRITISH BIRD. 
By J. H. Gurney, Jun., F.Z.S. 


Tue Firecrest was introduced into the list of British Birds 
fifty-seven years ago, by the Rey. Leonard Blomefield (then 
Jenyns), on the strength of an example canght by a cat near 
Cambridge. The bird was a young one, killed in August, and is 
doubtless that described in the following terms on p. ]14 of that 
author’s ‘Manual of British Vertebrate Animals’ :— 

“The young of the year before the first moult is only to be 
distinguished from those of the last species [Goldcrest] by the 
longer and broader bill ; cheeks cinereous, without any appearance 
of the longitudinal streaks.” 

It is scarcely possible that this description can be correct as 
applying to a Firecrest, for Mr. Dresser in the ‘ Birds of Europe’ 
(ii. p. 460), quoting from Naumann, states that the young bird 
just fledged has, on the sides of the head, the black and white 
stripes so characteristic of the Firecrest, like the adult bird, but 
duller; and in a nestling from Sardinia which I examined, at 
least one stripe was apparent. The inference is that Mr. Blome- 
field’s bird was really a young Goldcrest, and this is strengthened 


THE FIRECREST AS A BRITISH BIRD. 173 


by the circumstance that August is a very unlikely month in which 
to find the Firecrest here. 

If this be so, the example obtained in Cornwall in March, 
1845, must be regarded as the first recorded British specimen, 
while the Cambridge bird, which has been referred to as a 
Firecrest by every writer on British Ornithology, should be 
expunged altogether from the list. 

The Firecrest is a winter visitant, regularly to Cornwall, and 
occasionally to the rest of England, but the number of authentic 
records north of the Thames is small. It is strictly a winter 
visitant, and not one of the reported occurrences in summer 
can be considered as proved. 

One was killed at St. Leonard’s on the 9th of April, 1868, 
and I had it in the flesh, but this was clearly a late migrant. 
Another was taken in the autumn on the rigging of a ship off 
the coast of Norfolk, in the early part of October (Mag. of Zool. and 
Bot., p. 491), and some have been obtained in Sussex in that month, 
but these were doubtless migrants from Central Germany, whence 
after the breeding season a few find their way to Belgium and 
Heligoland, and fewer still to our own shores. 

It is remarkable that it should be a winter visitant, inasmuch 
as it does not breed—unlike other visitors at that season—any- 

' where in Europe in any latitude north of England. The Firecrests 
which visit the British Islands probably come by a lateral 
‘migration from Germany, and this is confirmed by no less than 
seven having been taken in the North Sea, close to our eastern 
coast, viz., the one already alluded to, five on another occasion 
(‘ Zoologist,’ 1888, p. 225), and one brought into Yarmouth and 
certified by Mr. Gunn, of Norwich. 

The Firecrest has been taken oftener in Cornwall than 
any other county; Rodd, Bullmore, and others testify to the 
numerous examples which have from time to time been met with. 
Indeed the late Mr. Vingoe, of Penzance, is the only naturalist 
who has described its habits in this country (Rodd, ‘ Birds of 
Cornwall,’ ed. Harting, p. 48). He mentions its great shyness 
and tendency to concealment, and its preference for the higher 
branches of trees. These traits are not noticed either by Mr. 
Dresser or Mr. Seebohm, who have described the habits of this 
bird as observed in Germany and France ; but something may 
be due to difference of locality. 


174 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Mr. Monk, of Lewes, has a case of Firecrests procured in 
Sussex, and very naturally mounted on a larch bough by the late 
Mr. Swaysland, and I have had two or three from Worthing and 
St. Leonard’s. I do not think Mr. Saunders is over the mark in 
stating (‘ Manual,’ p. 57) that it has occurred twenty times in 
Sussex, although there is a story of a bird-stuffer, now deceased, 
who sold one and the same Sussex Firecrest to ten customers! 
But apart from this there is no doubt that it has occurred very 
often in Sussex. 

Other counties in which the Firecrest has been taken are 
Oxfordshire, Yorkshire, Kent, Shropshire (four), Suffolk, Dorset- 
shire (six), Berkshire, Hampshire, and Devonshire,—in fact in 
all the Southern and in some of the Midland counties. 

The Scottish records, as Mr. Saunders justly remarks, stand 
greatly in need of confirmation. There is one record for Cum- 
berland (‘ Birds of Cumberland,’ p. 8), a bird killed with a stone 
and identified by the cut in ‘ Yarrell,’ but the cut does not show 
the distinguishing features well, and Mr. Macpherson is not able 
to trace the bird, on which accordingly no absolute reliance can 
be placed. 

Mr. Hancock states (‘Cat. Birds Northumb. and Durhan,’ 
p. 75) that the only recorded occurrence in Northumberland and 
Durham is an erroneous one; and with regard to three shot on 
one occasion out of a flock of Goldcrests in Lancashire, by the 
late Mr. J. Hardy (Mitchell, ‘ Birds of Lancashire,’ p. 19), I have 
a strong suspicion that these also may have been Goldcrests, 
knowing the way in which again and again the two species have 
been confounded, and the fact that the Firecrest is a visitor 
chiefly to the south of England. 

In ‘ The Zoologist’ for 1882 (p. 49) Mr. Phillips states that 
he has killed several in Breconshire ; but this I imagine is a 
mistake, for the only authenticated Welsh specimen, available at 
least for examination, is in the possession of Mr. EH, Bidwell, and 
it is therefore not unlikely that some fine male Goldcrests may 
in this instance have been mistaken for Firecrests. Mr. Phillips, 
with whom I communicated by letter, is of opinion that they 
were Firecrests, but it is remarkable what misapprehension still 
exists about the distinctive characters of these two closely allied 
species, though Mr. Harting has pointed out in the clearest 
manner (‘ Birds of Middlesex,’ p. 56) what these characteristics 
are, 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM CUMBERLAND. 
By tHe Rey. H. A. Maceuerson, M.A. 


Since August, 1888, I have spent more time than ever in 
working at all parts of our faunal area, but notwithstanding 
almost daily railway journeys to the coast, and an active 
correspondence, the results are not commensurate with the 
labour bestowed. 

As regards Westmoreland, indeed, the least common birds 
that have come under my notice are the Bittern, Red-throated 
and Great Northern Divers, all killed in that county ; a specimen 
of the second species named having been killed by telegraph- 
wires near Kendal, and others obtained on the coast. 

With regard to Cumberland the case is brighter. The 
Shoveller nested with us as in previous years, and several young 
birds were killed by flight-shooters in August. A tolerable 
number of Waders visited our estuaries during that and the 
following month. It was numerically a poor autumn for the 
LIimicole, Grey Plover and Bar-tailed Godwits being far less 
plentiful than in 1887, though I saw a very large flock of the 
latter species on Christmas-eve, when usually only small parties 
are to be seen. A few Greenshanks, Ruffs, Curlew Sandpipers 
and Little Stints accompanied the commoner birds. The Ruffs* 
I generally found associating with Peewits, and the Little Stints 
with Dunlins. 

August 20th was a red-letter day for us, for one of our local 
gunners, whom I had long encouraged to search for Totanus 
fuscus, succeeded in shooting an immature specimen of that wary 
wader. No occurrence of this species had been authenticated in 
Cumberland for more than fifty years, though I know of a more 
recent example killed in the adjoining county, and shown to one 
of my friends as a “dusky retainer’’ (?). The late James Cooper 
informed Mr. Adamson that Mr. Heysham obtained one in 1829 
and saw another in 1833 (‘Birds of Cumberland,’ p. 159); but 
my examination of the Heysham MSS. showed that the first bird 
was shot on October 13th, 1830, and that it was in 1834 that 
Cooper saw another. 


* The occurrence of the Ruff in England in mid-winter is noteworthy as 
being unusual. See ‘ The Naturalist,’ 1889, pp. 78, 79.—Eb. 


176 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Goldeneyes arrived (and were shot) on October 10th, and were 
as usual plentiful this winter, occurring on Derwentwater and 
other lakes and rivers, from Furness to the Solway, inland 
especially. 

Pochards and Tufted Ducks, Scaups, and all the usual fowl 
visited us this month, a couple of Wigeon having been shot as 
early as August 30th. 

We searched in vain for any remarkable small birds, a pretty 
cinnamon variety of the Common Whitethroat being the only 
Warbler worthy of notice. As if to compensate for disappoint- 
ment, we were cheered by the detection of the Pectoral Sandpiper, 
Tringa maculata (Vieillot), three specimens of which were found 
near Penrith, and two were shot (‘ Ibis,’ Jan. 1889, p. 1386). We 
searched the rushy spot where they were found without obtaining 
any glimpse of the survivor. 

A young Glaucous Gull and an old Velvet Scoter were seen 
in November, but I am glad to say escaped destruction. 

Few winters or springs pass without my hearing of Wild 
Swans, but they are rarely shot, and when killed are generally 
eaten. Last December five Bewick’s Swans visited a quiet sheet 
of water, and there two of them remained until March, when they 
flew northward. The other three unfortunately strayed to the 
coast, and were shot by a punt-gunner on Christmas-day. ‘Two 
of these were cygnets, and they were subsequently staked at cards 
and lost! I traced the gamesters in time to find one bird plucked 
and headless; the other I secured, with the old one, for our local 
Museum. As we hung up these fine birds side by side to photo- 
graph them, the words rose to my lips—‘ Beautiful in their lives, 
in death they were not divided,” the trio having been shot at one 
discharge as the young birds swam up to the old male for 
protection from a Greater Black-backed Gull that hovered 
menacingly overhead. ‘The other two Swans were adults, and I 
showed them to several of my friends, the farmers in the district 
supplementing my endeavour to secure the sanctity of their 
asylum, while we studied their movements on every available 
opportunity. 

A Grey Shrike, Lanius excubitor, was captured by a bird- 
catcher early in December, while striking at a call-bird, but was 
unfortunately killed for stuffing before I heard of it. I saw 
a second, and heard of one or two others. This reminds me, 


SUBORBITAL PITS OF THE INDIAN ANTELOPE. 17 


en passant, that my friend Dr. Parker, of Gosforth, reported that 
he had seen a single Grey Shrike on a property of his, at the 
beginning of June. 

On New Year’s day was shot a Black-tailed Godwit, Limosa 
melanura, which I selected out of some Bar-tailed Godwits, all 
shot together with one of the numerous punt-guns that render 
Wild-fowl unapproachable by owners of shoulder-guns on the 
Solway. In January also I saw, but could not approach within 
gun-shot, a bird closely resembling Larus melanocephalus. I 
wrote to my friends the Manns of Aiglegill, and asked them to 
look out for a strange Gull. They did not turn up the doubtful 
bird, but a close investigation added a nice specimen of Larus 
minutus to their collection. 

Other scarce birds have since occurred here,—the White- 
fronted Goose, Black-throated Diver and Sclavonian Grebe,— 
and when the number of trained observers is increased we shall 
hope for better things. Mr. Saunders’ ‘Manual’ is a monthly 
source of pleasure to the four working men whom I supply with 
copies; I wish that ‘The Zoologist’ could circulate amongst 
them, to encourage their taste for Natural History. 


THE SUBORBITAL PITS OF THE INDIAN ANTELOPE. 
By Procter 8. Hurcuinson, M.R.C.S. 


Ir may be of interest to those who have not already noticed 
them to draw attention to the well-marked suborbital pits on the 
face of the Indian Antelope, Antilope cervicapra, now in the 
Zoological Gardens. 

These pits, or glands, are found on various parts of the body 
in several species of Antelopes, Deer, and most Sheep and Goats, 
though small in the latter. They occur chiefly on the face, but 
are found behind the ear in the Chamois, and near the tail in 
the Musk-deer. They bear some relation to the reproductive 
functions, and are larger in the male than the female, being 
entirely absent in the latter in some species. Prof. Owen, in his 
‘ Anatomy of the Vertebrates,’ associates them with the various 
scent-glands found in the Beaver, Peccary, certain tropical Bats, 
the Shrew-mice, Civet-cats, Skunk, and many other animals. 

ZOOLOGIST.—MayY, 1889. P 


178 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


The scent from these glands serves the purpose of enabling an 
animal to join the others of its own species, but also enables 
enemies to follow them; in the Skunk the awful smell given 
off serving as a defence from the latter when attacked. The 
staining of the face in deer, from the secretion of these glands, 
gives the appearance of weeping to the animal, and has been 
suggested as the origin of Shakespeare’s lines on deer weeping, 
occurring in ‘As You Like It’:— 
“The big round tears 
Cours’d one another down his innocent nose 
In piteous chase.” 
And again, in ‘ Hamlet’ :— 
‘‘ Why, let the stricken deer go weep.” 


The accompanying sketch, taken from an Antelope now in the 
Zoological Gardens, shows the situation of the gland at a short 
distance below the eye, and sufficiently near for the tears to run 


over into it. It will be noticed that the animal has the power 
of closing and opening the orifice of the gland by means of 
muscles. The pit is about an inch long and not very deep. It 
is formed by a folding in of the skin, and the secretion from the 
little glands opening into it is tenacious, and has a somewhat 
musky odour. The keeper at the Gardens told me that he had not 
noticed that the secretion was more copious or more odorous at 
one time than another, though Darwin mentions that in some 
deer it smells more during the rutting season. 


SUBORBITAL PITS OF THE INDIAN ANTELOPE. 179 


In the female of the Indian Antelope the gland is much 
smaller, appearing simply as a black marking, and the animal 
does not appear to have the power of opening it. I have 
not had the opportunity of examining it very closely, but have 
not seen any secretion from it. These animals have not bred; 
the keeper tells me that the male and female fight if put in 
the same pen. 

It was an old idea, noticed in White’s ‘ Selborne,’ that the sub- 
orbital pits communicated with the nose, and allowed the animal 
to breathe while drinking with the nose under water; but of 
course, as pointed out by Mr. Harting, in his edition of that 
book, the gland is only in the skin, and does not communicate 
with the nostril. The same author? suggests that the fallacy of 
Alemeon, that goats breathe through their ears, may have been 
due to his having seen the openings of the pits behind the ears in 
the Chamois. In Caton’s ‘ Deer of America,’ the glands found 
on the legs of Reindeer, Mule-deer, Wapiti, and other deer will 
be found described at length. These glands are found in the 
male and female, and at all ages. The only advantage to the 
animal suggested is in enabling it to find its companions by the 
scent. In the Wapiti, as may be seen by inspection of those 
now in the Zoological Gardens, the glands are placed in a tuft 
of hair on the hind legs, below the hock. 


NOTES AND QUERIES, 


MAMMALIA. 

Distribution of Plants by Frugivorous Bats.— Recently when 
walking in the Royal Botanic Gardens of Port-of-Spain, in company with 
the Superintendent, Mr. J. H. Hart, I noticed under a tree numbers of a 
large brown nut, about six or seven inches in circumference; these nuts 
evidently did not belong to the tree overhead, which bore a totally different 
fruit. Referring to Mr. Hart for an explanation, he informed me that it 
was due to the fruit-eating Bats, who resorted to favourite trees at night, 
bringing their food with them, and that suspended from a branch by their 
hind feet they fed at leisure. He further informed me that the nut I had 
noticed did not belong to any tree growing in the Botanic Gardens, nor to 
a tree that, so far as he was aware, grew in any close proximity to Port-of- 
Spain, and that the fruit must have been transported from some con- 

PR 


180 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


siderable distance by the Bats, notwithstanding the large size and weight 
of the nut. Mr. Hart then drew my attention to other trees in the 
gardens, and on the ground beneath them were accumulations of seeds of 
various kinds of fruit-bearing trees, brought thither by the same agency. 
Years ago, when passing through the Straits of Malacca, I observed at 
evening-time hundreds of great fruit-eating Bats passing overhead at a 
high altitude, like a flight of migratory birds, from the Malayan to the 
Sumatran shores, and returning in the early dawn. If these animals have 
the same habit of carrying part of their food with them, what a wide-spread 
means of distributing fruit-bearing plants and trees must exist in those 
regions! In Trinidad these fruit-carrying Bats might easily extend their 
nocturnal flights to the mainland, and possibly doso. It is quite within the 
bounds of probability that fruit-carrying Bats have been caught up in gales 
of wind, and have been borne along, still clinging to their food, until by 
some fortuitous circumstance they reached an island at some distance from 
the point of departure. This may be one of the means by which seeds 
that will not bear long immersion in salt water have been transported to 
islands.—H. W. Fritpen (Trinidad, March 16, 1889). 


BIRDS. 


Crossbill breeding in Co. Waterford.—The Crossbills, four of which 
I first noticed here on November 13th last, have continued to frequent this 
place throughout the winter, so that the loud rattling call-note, which they 
always utter on the wing, has become familiar to me and to others here. 
Their haunts have accordingly been watched, and the discovery was made 
in March of a nest, placed 87 feet from the ground, near the extremity of 
a lateral branch of a Scotch fir, the terminal tree of a group on the hill- 
slope, many other masses of old Scotch firs, with silver and larch, being 
in the vicinity. On the 21st March I watched with a telescope, from 
the high ground above the nest, the female Crossbill which was hatching. 
She frequently changed her position, preened her feathers, and would 
sometimes rise from her crouching attitude, wriggle, and turn in the nest. 
While watching her I heard the rattling cry, more subdued than usual, of 
the male, which perched on the nesting-tree. The female immediately, 
leaving the nest, joined him, and they flew away together for a short time, 
when I discovered them perched on a neighbouring tree. The female, 
which had evidently received some food there from her mate, then returned 
to the nest. On the 22nd, having learned that these birds and their nest 
were wanted for the British Museum, I ascended the tree to inspect the 
contents of the nest. To my surprise the female, which was hatching, did 
not move when I reached the base of the branch she was in, but sat staring 
at me. I then took a stick and pushed her. She resisted the pressure and 
tried to bite the stick. I then pushed her out of the nest, but she kept a 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 181 


grip of it with her claws, and as soon as the stick slipped off her, she sank 
again into the nest. I then called to my servant to get above me in the 
tree, and look into the nest while I pushed the bird off. I renewed my 
efforts to dislodge the bird, which this time consented to creep to the end 
of the branch, but not to leave it. My man reported four eggs in the nest. 
Next morning, March 23rd, my servant watched near the nest for the male 
since before 6 o'clock. He was not long there when the call-note of the 
male was heard, and the female flew away with him to some distant trees 
and was fed. After 7 o’ciock the male perched on a neighbouring tree and 
was shot. I then, with my servant’s assistance, took the female, which sat 
on the nest until—after many ineffectual efforts—we got a wire noose 
tightened on her neck. She was in greenish yellow plumage, while the 
male was golden yellow, slightly inclining in some places to red, in others 
to green. The four eggs which the nest contained have a few bold, 
rounded spots and streaks of dark red-brown, with lighter reddish brown 
markings, chiefly towards the larger end: they contained embryos whose 
eyes were about the size of No. 4 shot, but I nave been able to clean them 
out, and they, as well as the birds and nest, have been forwarded to the 
British Museum. The nest, which was placed between two or more minor 
stems in an intricate part of the branch, was well overshadowed by luxuriant 
tufts of the fir-needles. It was very loosely constructed, the materials 
forming beneath a sort of tuft hanging down between the stems that 
supported the sides of the nest. It was composed externally of the smaller 
dead twigs of Scotch and spruce fir, intermixed with dried grass and other 
stems, and lined with softer dried grasses. In general appearance it might 
remind one most of a Greenfinch’s nest. On February 11th I had heard 
the male Crossbill singing on the top of an elm not far from where the 
nest was found ; this song, which was subdued, had a mixed resemblance 
to that of some Goldfinches which were answering from a neighbouring tree, 
and to the notes of a Greenfinch. The female Crossbill, which alighted 
beside him, used her beak in climbing like a Parrot. From accounts that 
I have heard of Crossbills occasionally continuing to frequent places in the 
central counties of Iceland, as well as from their breeding having been 
recorded before in a few instances, it seems probable that when these 
strange wanderers light upon a place that suits them, as in the present 
instance, they stay and breed more frequently than is imagined, though they 
cannot be considered residents in Ireland, and are often absent for years.— 
R. J. Ussuer (Cappagh, Co. Waterford). 

The Parrot Crossbill in Ireland.—We have long been looking for the 
Parrot Crossbill, Loxia pityopsittacus, in Ireland, but it is only within the 
last few weeks that its occurrence here has been fully established. From 
the demesne of Lord Rosse, at Parsonstown, Mr. Edward Williams, of 
Dublin, received for preservation, in January last, a bird which seemed to 


182 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


him heavier and stronger in the bill than usual; and I am glad to say that 
his suspicion has proved correct. Prof. Newton confirms our determination 
of the sub-species; and Mr. J. G. Millais, of the Seaforth Highlanders, 
now quartered in Dublin, most kindly took the trouble to have sent from 
London a series of Crossbills obtained by himself in Scotland, which 
enabled me, by comparison, to make quite sure of the name, though of 
course the opinion of Prof. Newton would of itself have been quite 
sufficient. This, the first authenticated Irish specimen of the Parrot 
Crossbill, was shot, as I am informed, in Parsonstown demesne, on 
January 12th last. The past winter has been remarkable for the number 
of Crossbills which have been observed in various parts of Ireland.—A. G. 
Mors (74, Leinster Road, Dublin). 


Assumption of Male Plumage by the Female Crossbill.—On the 
18th October last I received from Edenhall two Crossbills, Lowia curvi- 
rostra, shot out of a large flock by the son of the head keeper. They were 
both in the dull crimson plumage of the male; but, on careful dissection, 
one proved to be a female bird, the ovary being slightly enlarged. To this 
I may add that Crossbills were extremely numerous in this district all last 
summer. In November their numbers were largely increased by migratory 
flocks.—E. anny (Penrith). 


Crossbills in Suffolk—A good many Crossbills have appeared this 
winter in West Suffolk, more than in any season since 1867, when I can 
remember having seen the table of a birdstuffer's shop in Bury almost 
covered with recently-killed examples in various plumages. In one box of 
seven, sent to me from near Retford, were male birds in four quite different 
plumages, one being in the bright yellow-brown dress, which seems the 
most uncommon of all. Another male, in the red plumage, measured in 
the flesh 72 inches, and has a very powerful bill: this has been pronounced 
to be intermediate between the Common and Parrot Crossbill—JuLian 
Tuck (Tostock Rectory, Suffolk). 


Nesting of the Black Redstart in Essex.—Writing on this subject 
(p. 151), Mr. Miller Christy says:—‘ The breeding of the Black Redstart 
in England has been several times recorded on very doubtful grounds, 
but never yet satisfactorily established.” As I happen to know of one 
authenticated case in which the eggs have been preserved, it may be worth 
notice. The nest I refer to was found by my father, William Jesse, whose 
name will be familiar to your readers as that of the naturalist who accom- 
panied the Abyssinian Expedition under Lord Napier, and his account of 
the discovery, which was inserted in his collection-book at the time, is as 
follows :—* These specimens [i. e. four] were taken by myself in the garden- 
wall of Mr. James Parder, Braddon House. I saw both birds myself, the 
hen on the nest, I once saw a Black Redstart (male) killed at the Hyde 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 183 


[Ingatestone, Essex] by my grandfather's gardener. My grandfather had 
it stuffed.” Of the four eggs two are now in my possession, one was given 
to Mr. W. Colchester, of Grundisburg Hall, Suffolk, and the other to 
Mr. Harvie Brown, of Dunipace House, Stirlingshire, Sept. 18th, 1867.— 
Witt14m Jesse, Jun. (Selwyn College, Cambridge). 


Nesting of the Black Redstart in Durham.—In Mr. Christy’s note 
(p. 151) on the reported nesting of this bird in Essex, he seems to be under 
the impression that Ruticilla tithys has never been known to breed in this 
country. Allow me to refer him to Mr. Hancock’s ‘ Catalogue of the Birds 
of Northumberland and Durham’ (p. 68), where it is stated that, in the year 
1845, a pair of Blackstarts nested in the garden of the Rev. James Raine 
Crook Hall, in this city. The nest and some of the eggs were secured by 
the late Mr. Wm. Proctor, Sub-curator University Museum. I feel quite 
certain that Mr. Proctor would duly identify the birds before removing the 
nest and eggs, “as was his usual strict habit.” Some time after, the nest 
and one egg were given to Mr. Hancock by the son of the rev. gentleman 
in whose garden the nest was found. They are to be seen in the Newcastle- 
on-Tyne Museum at present.—JamxEs Sutton (33, Western Hill, Durham). 

[See also Sterland, ‘ Birds of Sherwood Forest,’ pp. 67, 68.—Ep.] 


Woodcocks.—You ask how I came to know that Chantrey’s Wood- 
cocks did not weigh over 16 oz. apiece, as no mention is made of their weight 
in the Holkham Game-book. Perhaps you will allow a third party to be 
judge between us. My friend, whose authority I think no sportsman would 
be disposed to question, writes thus to me on this subject :—‘‘ The day on 
which Chantrey shot those two Woodcocks was the 20th November, 1829, 
as recorded in the Holkham Game-book, with this note:—‘ Amidst the 
events of this day it is especially worthy of being recorded that Mr. Chantrey 
killed at one shot two Woodcocks’—testified by T. W. Coke, Archdeacon 
Glover, J. Spencer Stanhope. Not one word is said about the weight of 
the Woodcocks, which, if they had scaled 1 tb. each, would surely have been 
mentioned as a most unusual weight. I have killed, in Lower Brittany and - 
Devonshire, a great number of Woodcocks,—my ten or twelve a-day for 
years, shooting three or four days a-week,—and weighed the big ones, but 
never, to my recollection, killed one over 140z.” Bewick says they generally 
weigh about 12 oz.; Yarrell that they vary from 7 to 14 or 15 oz., but 
records some heavier exceptions; and in Daniel’s ‘ Rural Sports,’ one is 
recorded as weighing 17 oz. Gould records that the weight of seventy out 
of eighty birds in fair condition will range between 11 and 14 oz., and that 
it is a very large cock that weighs 15 oz., and an extraordinary one that 
turns the scale at 16 0z. “It is my conviction,” says my correspondent, 
“that not one in 500 weighs lib. What proof then can there be,” he 
continues to say, “ that Chantrey’s Woodcocks weighed 1 tb. each? I think 


184 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


we may take it that we possess the strongest possible indirect testimony 
that they did not do so, for such rare birds would certainly have had the 
peans of their weight sung in the Holkham Game-book.” By way of 
compromise, I should be quite willing to alter the disputed passage in my 
letter (p. 149) in this fashion—* thus beating, I may be allowed to assume, 
Chantrey’s feat, so far as weight was concerned."—EK. W. Harcourt 
(Nuneham Park, Abingdon). 


Number of Eggs laid by a Magpie.—When in Cornwall this spring 
I found a Magpie’s nest, with ten eggs in it, in an orchard (April 10th). 
The nest was in an apple-tree about ten feet from the ground, and not fifty 
yards from the house: the eggs were much incubated. This nest has 
been used by the same birds for certainly three, if not four years. Do not 
Magpies, as a rule, make a new nest every year ?—WILLIAM JESSE, JUN. 
(Selwyn College, Cambridge). 


Food of the Common Wren.—On March 28th I saw, at the brink of 
a nearly dry pond, a little brown Wren busily engaged with some large 
dark object. Holding this in its beak, it kept dashing it with great vigour 
against surrounding sticks and bushes, after the manner of a Kingfisher 
with a fish, varying this treatment with an occasional savage peck. On my 
approach the Wren dropped, or rather jerked away, its prize, which proved 
to be the case of a caddis-worm, composed of dark, sodden oak-leaves. The 
occupant was missing, and was, I fancy (judging by the bird’s actions), 
successfully extracted by means of the last frantic effort—G. T. Ropz 
(Blaxhall, Suffolk). 


Sand Grouse in Lincolnshire.—I am sorry to say that three Sand 
Grouse were shot at a marsh village, Saltfleetby, near Louth, during the 
week ending Feb. 23rd. According to a local paper, they were shot from a 
flock of about 100 birds. I may add that I wrote a letter to the local 
paper, giving a copy of the Sand Grouse Protection Act, the existence of 
which, apparently, is unknown to the general public—Henry F. ALLISON 
(Beckingham, Lincolnshire). 


Sand Grouse in Ayrshire.—If not already recorded, it may be of 
interest to readers of ‘The Zoologist’ to know that two Sand Grouse 
were picked up dead in April, 1888, near Dalrymple Station, Ayrshire, 
apparently killed by telegraph-wires. Another was shot by a gamekeeper 
at Cloncaird, Maybole, Ayrshire, on Dec. 12th, which has been preserved. 
—James Sarcent (Nith Lodge, New Cumnock, N. B.). 


Rose-coloured Pastor in Kent.—I think I may with certainty record 
the occurrence of a Rose-coloured Pastor here in January last. It was 
seen in company with some Fieldfares, and from the description given to 
me, the observer being very near the bird, I have not a doubt as to its 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 185 


identity : the rose-colour was conspicuous, but the black on head and wings 
was less so: the breast was described to me as ‘a most beautiful rose,” 
and the “head above the eye dark.” The bird was also described as 
smaller than the Fieldfares with which it was feeding. About midsummer, 
1888, a young Pastor, with the immature grey-brown plumage of the first 
year, was killed at Godmersham, some six or seven miles from Canterbury, 
and was at first taken for a Starling, but subsequently identified by 
Mr. Gordon, of the Dover Museum, who had it set up. I saw this bird, 
and it was most certainly a Pastor. The occurrence of these two birds 
in comparatively the same neighbourhood in the same year, one quite 
immature, the other having passed the autumn moult, seems to point to 
_ their having been bred in the locality; at least this would be a reasonable 
surmise if the rose feathers appear after the first autumn moult. Some 
years ago I obtained a fine specimen of the mature Pastor in very nearly 
the same neighbourhood ; it was shot in a garden while eating cherries.— 
W. Oxenpen Hammonp (St. Alban’s Court, Wingham, Kent). 


Hawks devouring their Prey on the Wing.—With regard to Mr. 
Henry Laver’s query (p. 147), I may mention that, although I have never 
seen any hawk attempt to devour any bird whilst on the wing, it is to my 
knowledge the common habit of La Marmora’s Falcon, Falco eleanore, and 
the Hobby, F’. subbuteo, to devour their insect prey in this manner; and it 
is more than probable that one of these falcons taking a Swallow out at 
sea, with no perching place at hand, except perhaps the yards of a ship in 
motion, would so devour such like quarry. Mr. Laver mentions that the 
hawk specially referred to in this connection by his son was a Kestrel, in 
which case the Swallow must have been very tired, or the Hawk an 
exceptionally good flyer. I think I may confidently assert that the greater 
part of the food of both the European species of Kestrel is taken from the 
ground, whilst that of the two falcons above mentioned, as well as that of 
the Red-legged Falcon, Hrythropus vespertinus, is, with few exceptions, 
caught in the air. If the Hobby was as good a “footer” as he is a flyer, 
no small bird could escape him in fair flight Lrorp (Bournemouth). 


The Destruction of Small Birds on the Continent.—It may interest 
some of your readers to know what becomes of our migratory birds which 
collect in large flights on the South Coast in September and October. The 
fields are then covered with Thrushes, Finches, Larks, Linnets and 
Wagtails, on their way across the Channel to where the “Chasse aux 
Grives” is eagerly looked forward to by the French sportsman, and where 
all the small birds find their way to the poulterers. The great majority of 
our indigenous birds, as also those that come from Norway, as soon as they 
have crossed the Channel, follow the coast of France to Biarritz, on their 
way to the warm climates of Spain, Italy, and Africa. I was several 
Winters at Biarritz, and was witness to the great destruction of birds 


186 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


which takes place on their annual passage. As the result of subdivision of 
landed property in France, every one or two small fields is held separately 
by a peasant and his family. These are usually cultivated with Indian 
corn, haricot beans, and vegetables, and the crops are all off by September. 
The field is generally a square or a parallelogram, and as soon as it is clear, 
each man puts up a small hut in one corner, and fixes a long folding clap- 
net in the middle of his field. Seed is then spread, and tame Finches, 
Larks or Pigeons, attached by a short string, are placed as decoys. 
Monsieur le Propriétaire then sits in his hut and waits, keeping a sharp 
look-out for the flights coming from the north: as soon as he sees them 
coming he agitates his decoys, and the birds immediately come down to 
feed and rest, when a pull of the cord encloses ten, twenty, forty, or more 
at one haul. These are killed and picked clean for the market, and the 
net re-set. This goes on all day and every day during the period of 
migration in all the fields in the district, and presumably in most other 
parts of the country. I used to go round to watch the proceedings, and at 
every hut I found by the man’s side a mound (a foot or more high) of little 
victims without their feathers. The Finches were the most numerous: 
Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Hawfinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, and Siskin,—nothing 
comes amiss to them, and everything finds a ready sale in the market. 
One man I found picking a Sparrowhawk. I suggested that it was not 
eatable; but he said, ‘‘With the head and feet cut off, no one would 
know it from a Pigeon”! After all, considering the vast flights that are 
moving at these seasons of migration, it is a question whether this partial 
destruction does more than decimate the different species or sensibly 
diminish their numbers. I have stood at my window at Biarritz, over- 
looking the sea, and watched flights of thirty or forty Chaffinches every 
three or four minutes pass incessantly to the south. In addition to the 
nets, wherever there are fences or hedges I found them covered with limed 
twigs, which are visited every day for insectivorous birds. These they 
have a plan of packing by the dozen, by inserting their necks between a 
split stick tied at both ends. I was once driving at Cambo, and saw a man 
with some of these sticks of coloured birds, and thinking they might be 
rare specimens I bought one in a hurry, and on reaching home found they 
were Robins and Redstarts! They take the Stock Dove and Turtle Dove 
at Biarritz, but the capture of the Wood Pigeon isa special pursuit. Vast 
flights of our Common Cushat, or Wood Pigeon, migrate south in the 
autumn through the gorges of the Pyrenees, the inhabitants of the 
localities having an hereditary vested interest in particular narrow gorges 
in the mountains through which they pass. These are known as 
« Palombiéres.” At the proper season nets are spread acros3 these narrow 
passes from trees on one side to the trees on the other. At the top of a 
high tree at the side, a boy is stationed provided with a stuffed hawk: he 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 187 


watches the approach of the Pigeons from the north, and as soon as they 
are in view throws his hawk in the air, on sight of which they dive down 
through the gorge, where they are netted. One may judge of the numbers 
taken by seeing the markets full of them, and these “ Palombiéres ” are a 
valuable’possession to their owners. lesides, wherever there are high trees, 
which the Pigeons frequent for roosting, there are huts built high among 
the branches, from which they are shot. I will conclude this with a list of 
birds that I took down from a poulterer and game-dealer’s shop in Rome :— 
Blackbird, Thrush, Linnet, Goldfinch, Robin, Blue Tit, Greenfinch, Haw- 
finch, Jackdaw, Peewit, Sparrowhawk, Nightjar, Redwing, Blackcap, Red- 
legged Partridge, Grey Partridge, Jay, Magpie, Siskin, Lark, Wild Goose, 
Mallard, Teal, Shoveller, Pintail Duck, and Little Bustard. Besides birds, 
I saw Hare, Roe-deer, Wild Boar, and Porcupine.—E. C. Mrrrorp. 
[Cy. Waterton’s account of the Bird-market of Rome.—Ep.} 


Early nesting of the Goldcrest.—On March 24th I had a nest of 
the Golderest brought to me in a dead branch of a furze bush that had 
grown long and straggling in a wood facing the south: it contained seven 
eggs, showing no evidence of incubation, but the yolk in each adhering to 
the side, as if they had been some time laid. The finder informed me that 
when he discovered the nest, on the 14th, it contained four eggs ; that on the 
20th there were seven, and that the bird was sitting on this number when he 
took it on the 24th. As we had frost on the night of the 19th, followed 
by cold wind from the north, it is probable that the vitality of the eggs was 
then destroyed. I have never hitherto known Goldcrests to breed before 
the latter half of April, and May and June are the most usual months.— 
R. J. Ussuer (Cappagh, Co. Waterford). 


Shoveller nesting in Cumberland.—In his ‘Illustrated Manual of 
British Birds’ Mr. Howard Saunders states, of the Shoveller, that 
“ probably a few pairs inhabit the marshes on the Cumberland side of the 
Solway, inasmuch as the bird is known to nest in Kirkcudbrightshire.” Mr. 
Saunders has forgotten that in 1886 I recorded a nest of the Shoveller 
taken on the Cumbrian Solway in ‘The Naturalist,’ describing also the 
young in down. In 1887 we again obtained a nest, and, though none was 
found in 1888, the old birds bred, and young ones were shot on the marshes 
with the first days of August. The case is really stronger for us than for 
the Scottish Solway, because the Scottish evidence rests only on young 
birds shot when feathered, while we have found the nest twice, and obtained 
feathered young on several occasions. In fact the Shoveller nests with us 
in two localities, twelve miles at least apart— H. A. Macruerson (Carlisle). 


FISHES. 


A Rare Fish on the Norfolk Coast.—I am indebted to Mr. Arthur 
Patterson, of Yarmouth, for a specimen of a beautiful little fish, Scopelus 


188 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


miilleri (Maurolicus pennantit), which he obtained under the following 
circumstances ;—On April 1st, seeing some men drawing a seine-net on the 
Yarmouth side of the entrance to the river Yare, he stopped to examine 
the refuse from the net, and amongst other small fry found the subject of 
this notice, which he says he recognised from his remembrance of the figure 
in Couch’s work. Mr. Patterson very kindly sent the fish to me; but having 
been roughly handled, it reached me in a very dilapidated condition, and, in 
order to place the occurrence beyond doubt, I sent it on to Mr. Francis Day, 
who was good enough to confirm our conclusions. In 1886 Mr. Robert 
Gray sent me one of these little fishes in spirits, and in capital condition, 
which he had taken on the 1st August of that year, in lat. 73° 12’ North, 
long. 1 ° 28’ West, somewhere to the north-west of Jan Mayen (¢f. Zool. 
1886, p. 181). This specimen I also sent to Mr. Day, who described it in 
‘Nature’ of the 14th Oct. 1886. <A fish believed to be of the same species 
has been found as far south as the Mediterranean; it therefore appears to 
have a very extensive range, if indeed they are identical, which, judging 
from the diversity in the figures I have seen, may not be the case, or the 
difference in appearance may arise from the specimens figured being in 
more or less perfect condition, owing to their extreme delicacy and the ease 
with which the scales become detached.—T. SourHwEx1 (Norwich). 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 


Linnean Soctety or Lonpon. 


March 21, 1889.—Mr. CarrutHers, F.R.S., President, in the chair. 

Messrs. H. B. Hewetson, W. Narramore, W. J. Rabbits, and M. B. 
Slater were elected Fellows. 

Mr. T. Christy exhibited the pod, thirty-six inches in length, of an 
Apocynaceous plant received from the Gaboon as Strophanthus, but believed 
to be allied to Holarrhena. 

Prof. Stewart, referring to the specimens of Noctilio leporinus exhibited 
at the last meeting of the Society, stated that he had examined the contents 
of the stomachs submitted to him by Mr. Harting, and had found without 
doubt fragments of fish-scales, and fin-rays, and a portion of the lower jaw 
of a small fish, proving the correctness of the assertions which had been 
made regarding the piscivorous habits of this Bat. 

Mr. W. B. Hemsley furnished a report on the botanical collections 
made on Christmas Island during the voyage of the ‘ Kgeria.’ This 
included a complete list of the plants collected, with remarks on their 
general distribution, the author being of opinion that the flora of this island, 
which lies about 200 miles south of the western end of Java, was more 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. ; 189 


nearly related to that of the Malayan Archipelago than to that of Australia. 
Mr. C. B. Clarke, commenting on the author's observations on the buttresses 
of trees, described some remarkable instances which he had seen of this 
singular mode of growth. Mr. J. G. Baker, referring to the Ferns which 
_ had been collected, noticed their affinities and distribution. Mr. RB. A. Rolfe 
commented on three species of Orchids which had been brought home by 
this expedition, all of which were new. Mr. Thiselton Dyer, referring to 
Mr. Lister's report to the British Association on the zoological collections 
from this island, in which it was stated that the character of the avifauna 
was Australian, considered that this was not borne out by an examination of 
the flora, which was decidedly Malayan. 

A paper was then read by Mr. R. A. Rolfe, “ On the sexual forms of 
Catasetum, with special reference to the researches of Darwin and others.” 
The purport of Darwin’s paper (Journ. Linn. Soc. 1862) was to show that 
Catasetum tridentatum had been seen by Schomburgk to produce three 
different kinds of flowers belonging to the same number of supposed genera, 
all on the same plant, and that the three represented respectively the male, 
female, and hermaphrodite states of the species. Mr. Rolfe showed that 
Schomburgk’s remarks applied to two distinct species, C. tridentatum and 
C. barbatum, the females of which resembled each other so closely that 
they were thought to be one and the same, viz. Monacanthus viridis. 
Neither of these, however, belonged to the true plant of that name, which 
was really the female of another species, namely, C. cernuwm—a fact 
hitherto unsuspected. The key of the situation was that the females of 
several species resembled each other very closely, and to three of them the 
name Monacanthus viridis had been applied. 

After some critical remarks by the President and Mr. Bull, a paper by 
Mr. MacOwan was read on some new Cape plants. 

The meeting adjourned to April 4th. 


April 4, 1889.—Mr. Carruruers, F.R.S., President, in the chair. 

Mr. A. C. Lowe was admitted a Fellow of the Society, and Messrs. 
T. W. Cowan and Rupert Vallentin were elected. 

Mr. D. Morris exhibited a specimen of the hymenopterous insect, 
Eulema cayennensis, concerned in the fertilization of Coryanthes macrantha 
(see Criiger, Journ. Linn. Soe. viii. 129), and obtained from Mr. Hart, of 
Trinidad. Referring to the illustrations of the structure of the flower given 
in the ‘Gardeners’ Chronicle’ (xvii. 1882, 593, and xxiii. 1885, 145), 
Mr. Morris explained the process carried out by the insects, chiefly bees, 
in removing the pollinia and subsequently attaching them on the stigma. 
The observations of Criiger had been verified by Mr. Hart in the Botanic 
Gardens, Trinidad. 

Sir Edward Fry exhibited and made some instructive remarks on a 


190 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


copy of Grisley’s ‘ Viridarium Lusitanicum,’ 1661, presented by Linnezus 
to his pupil Loefling, the author of the ‘ Iter Hispanicum.’ 

Prof. R. J. Anderson exhibited some photographs of educational museum 
cases in Queen’s College, Galway. 

A paper was read by Mr. Lister on the Myxomycetes, or Mycetozoa, a 
group of organisms on the borderland between the animal and vegetable 
kingdoms, and formerly classed with Fungi. His remarks were illustrated 
by numcrous coloured drawings of representative species, and the author 
exhibited under the microscope the swarm-cells from the spores of 
Amaurochete and the streaming plasmodium of Badhamia. Attention was 
especially directed to the mode of feeding of the swarm-cells, and observations 
made on those of Stemonitis, where large bacilli were seen to be caught by 
pseudopodia projected from the posterior end of the organism, and drawn into 
its substance and digested. An interesting discussion followed, in which the 
President, Prof. Marshall Ward, Prof. Howes, and Mr. Breese took part. 

A paper was then read by Mr. E. W. Hoyle on the deep-water fauna 
of the Firth of Clyde, embodying the result of recent investigations. The 
explored area, which is shut off from the Irish Sea by a submarine plateau 
extending from the Mull of Cantyre to the Ayrshire coast, contains seven 
distinct deep-water basins in which the depth exceeds 20 fathoms, and in 
some cases reaches 80 or 100 fathoms. An account was given of the 
dredging which had been carried on, with lists of the species obtained at 
various depths. A discussion followed, in which Messrs. John Murray, 
W. P. Sladen, and G. B. Howes took part. 

The meeting adjourned to April 18th. 


April 18, 1889.—Mr. Carrutusrs, F'.R.S., President in the chair. 

The Rev. R. Collie was admitted a Fellow of the Society, and Messrs. 
P. Goiffon, T. W. Shore, and R. W. Scully were elected. 

In view of the approaching Anniversary Meeting, the following Auditors 
were appointed :—Dr. J. Anderson and Mr. Jenner Weir for the Council ; 
Mr. T. Christy and Mr. D. Morris for the Fellows. 

The President called attention to a valuable donation of books on 
Fishes, including the celebrated work of Bloch, recently presented to the 
Society’s Library by Mr. Francis Day, C.I.E., F.L.S., who, he regretted to 
say, was lying seriously ill at Cheltenham, upon which a cordial vote of 
sympathy and thanks for the gift was unanimously accorded. 

Mr. J. R. Jackson, Curator of the Museum, Kew Gardens, exhibited 
specimens illustrating the mode of collecting at Ichang, China, the varnish 
obtained from Rhus vermicifera, so largely used by the Chinese and Japanese 
for lacquering. He also exhibited some Chinese candles made from varnish 
seed-oil. 

On behalf of Mr. Henry Hutton, of Kimberley, some photographs were 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 191 


exhibited, showing the singular parasitic growth of Cuscuta appendiculata 
on Nicotiana glauca. 

Dr. Cogswell exhibited specimens of vegetables belonging to four 
different families of plants, to illustrate the symmetrical development of 
the rootlets. 

Prof. Martin Duncan exhibited under the microscope, and made some 
remarks upon, the Spheridia of an Echinoderm. 

Dr. Masters gave a summary of a paper “ On the Comparative Morpho- 
logy and Life-history of the Conifere,” a review of the general morphology 
of the order, based upon the comparative examination of living specimens in 
various stages of development. These observations, made in various public 
and private “pineta,” supplemented by an examination of herbarium 
specimens, demonstrated the utility of gardens in aid of botanical research. 
The mode of germination, the polymorphic foliage, its isolation or “ con- 
crescence,” its internal structure, the arrangement of the buds, the direction 
and movements of the shoots, were all discussed. In reference to the male 
and female flowers, the author described their true nature, tracing them 
from their simplest to their most complex or most highly differentiated 
condition, and showed that, so far as known, the histological structure and 
development were essentially the same throughout the order. Various 
special forms, such as the needles of Pinus, the phylloid shoots of Sciado- 
pitys, and the seed-scales of Abietinee were described, and their significance 
pointed out. The phenomenon of Enation, with the correlative inversion 
of the fibro-vascular bundles in such outgrowths was considered in relation 
to the light it throws upon certain contested points in the morphology of 
the order. The chief teratological appearances noted in the order were 
detailed and their significance discussed. The various modifications were 
shown to be purely hereditary, or partly adaptive, and dependent on 
permanent or independent arrest, excess, or perversion of growth and 
development, and to various co-relative changes. Lastly, the polymorphic 
forms of the so-called genus Retinospora suggested that in studying them 
we might be watching the development and fixation of new specific types. 

The meeting adjourned to May 2nd. 


ZooLogicaL Society or Lonpon. 


March 19, 1889.—Prof. Ftowrr, C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., President, in 
the chair. 

The Secretary read a list of the fishes collected at Constantinople and 
sent to the Society by Dr. E. D. Dickson. The species were sixty-six in 
number, and had been determined by Mr. G. A. Boulenger. 

Mr. Tegetmeier exhibited a female Gold Pheasant in male plumage, 
and a curiously distorted pair of horns of the Ibex of Cashmir. 


192 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


The Rev. A. H. Cooke read a paper on the position of the land-shells 
of Australia and the adjacent islands, commonly referred to the genus 
Physa, which it was shown (mainly from an examination of the radula) 
were really more nearly allied to the genus Limnea. Mr. Cooke pro- 
posed to refer those species to the genus Bulinus, established by Adanson 
in 1757. 

Mr. G. A. Boulenger read notes on some specimens of Lizards belonging 
to the Zoological Museum of Halle, which had been sent to him for 
examination. To these notes were appended revised descriptions of two 
Lizards from the Argentine Republic— Gymnodactylus horridus and 
Urostrophus scapulatus. 

A communication was read from Prof. W. N. Parker, containing an 
account of the occasional persistence of the left posterior cardinal vein 
in the Frog. This condition, abnormal in the Frog, was shown to be 
essentially normal in Protopterus. 

A communication was read from Mr. J. Douglas Ogilby, containing 
notes on some fishes new to the Australian fauna. 

Mr. Oldfield Thomas read a paper giving the description of a new 
Bornean Monkey belonging to the genus Semnopithecus, obtained by Mr. 
Charles Hose on the north-west coast of Borneo. The author proposed to 
name it Semnopithecus hoset, after its discoverer. 


April 2,1889.—Prof. Frowrr, O.B., LL.D., F.R.S., 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 March, and called attention to a 
specimen of the Manatee, Manatus australis, purchased March 2nd, being 
the second example of this Sirenian obtained alive by the Society; to an 
oriental Phalanger, Phalanger orientalis var. breviceps, presented by Mr. 
C. M. Woodford, of Sydney ; and to a specimen of Owen’s Apteryx, Apteryx 
oweni, presented by Capt. C. A. Findlay.. 

Mr. Smith-Woodward exhibited and made remarks on a maxilla of the 
early Mesozoic Ganoid Sauwrichthys from the Rhetic formation of Aust 
Cliff, near Bristol. 

A communication was read from Mr, W. K. Parker on the osteology of 
Steatornis caripensis. The conclusion arrived at as regards the affinities 
of this isolated form of birds was that Steatornis is a waif of an ancient 
avifauna, of which all the near allies are extinct, and the Podargus of 
Australia is its nearest surviving relative. 

Mr. Oldfield Thomas read some preliminary notes on the characters 
and synonymy of the different species of Otter. The author gave a 
revised synonymy of the four species of Lutra recognised as belonging to 
the Palearctic and Indian Regions, and of the two found in the Atthiopian 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 193 


Region. The American Otters, for want of a larger series of specimens, 
could not at present be satisfactorily worked out. 

Mr. E. T. Newton read a paper entitled “ A Contribution to the History 
of Eocene Siluroid Fishes.” Mr. Newton observed that spines of Siluroid 
Fishes from the Bracklesham Beds were described by Dixon, in his ‘ Fossils 
of Sussex’ (1850), and referred to the genus Silurus. Mr. A. Smith-Wood- 
ward had recently shown good reason for referring these specimens, and 
certain cephalic plates from the same horizon, to the tropical genus Arius. 
The greater part of a skull, from the Eocene Beds of Barton, in the Museum 
of the Geological Survey, confirmed the latter generic reference. Its close 
resemblance to a skull of Arius gagorides in the British Museum left no 
room for questioning their generic relationship, while at the same time the 
fossil differed from any known species of Arius. The fortunate discovery of 
one of the otoliths within the fossil skull, and its resemblance in important 
points to that of A. gagorides, still further confirmed this determination. 
Some other otoliths from Barton, and one from Madagascar were also 
referred to the genus Arius. 

Mr. A. Smith-Woodward read a note on Bucklandium diluvii, a fossil 
from the London Clay of Sheppey, noticed by Konig, and hitherto not 
satisfactorily determined. It was shown that this fossil was a portion of 
the skull of a Siluroid Fish allied to the existing genus Auchenoglanis. 

A communication was read from Mr. H. W. Bates, containing descrip- 
tions of new species of the coleopterous family Carabidae, collected by 
Mr. J. H. Leech in Kashmir and Baltistan. A second communication from 
Mr. Bates gave descriptions of some new species of the coleopterous families 
Cicindelid@ and Carabidae, taken by Mr. Pratt at Chang Yang, near Ichang, 
in China.—P, L. Sctater, Secretary. 


EnromoxocicaL Society or Lonpon. 


April 3, 1889.— Mr. F. Du Canr-Gopman, M.A., F.R.S., Vice- 
President, in the chair. 

Messrs. A. Cant, C. Cave, N. F. Dobrée, J. Harrison, 8. L. Mosley, 
and B. G. Nevinson, were elected Fellows. 

Mr. Osbert Salvin exhibited specimens of Ornithoptera trojana, Staud., 
and OQ. plateni, Staud., received from Dr. Staudinger, and obtained in 
Palawan, an island between Borneo and the Philippines. He remarked 
that Ornithoptera trojana was allied to O. brookiana, Wall. 

Mr. R. M‘Lachlan exhibited, and made remarks on, seven examples of 
ZEschna borealis, Zett., a little-known species of European Dragonfly. 
He said that some of the specimens were captured by himself at Rannoch, 
Scotland, in June, 1865, when he was accompanied by Dr. Sharp and the 

ZOOLOGIST.—MAY, 1889. Q 


194 TUK ZOOLOGIST. 


late Mr. E.C. Rye. The other specimens were taken in Lule&, North 
Sweden, and the Upper Engadine (5000—6000 ft.), in Switzerland. 

Mr. W. H. B. Fletcher exhibited specimens of Agrotis pyrophila from 
various localities, including two from Portland, three from Forres of a 
smaller and darker form taken by Mr. Salvage last year, and a melanic 
specimen from Stornoway at first supposed to belong to A. lucernea, but 
which, on closer examination was seen to be referable to this species. He 
also exhibited series of Triphana orbona from Stornoway and Forres, and 
T. subsequa from Forres and the New Forest. The specimens of T. sub- 
sequa from Forres were more distinctly and richly marked than those from 
the New Forest, and were also rather more variable in colour. 

Dr. Sharp exhibited specimens of Proculus goryi, Kaup, found by 
Mr. Champion in Guatemala, prepared to show the rudimentary wings 
under the soldered elytra. Dr. Sharp called attention to the existence of 
a peculiar articulated papilla at the base of one of the mandibles; and he 
also showed sections of the head of Neleus interruptus displaying this 
papilla, as well as the articulated teeth on the mandibles. 

The Rev. Canon Fowler exhibited specimens of Agapanthia lineato- 
collis, Don, and remarked that they were able to produce a distinct 
stridulation by the movement of the head against the prothorax, and of 
the hinder part of the prothorax against the mesothorax; they were also 
able to produce an unpleasant scent. He further remarked that Dr. 
Chapman had lately informed him that Hrirrhinus maculatus, F., had the 
power of stridulating strongly developed. He also exhibited a specimen 
of Barynotus, taken in Norfolk, which was apparently an abnormal example 
of B. obscurus. 

Mr. Edward Saunders exhibited, on behalf of Mr. G. A. J. Rothney, in 
illustration of his paper on Indian Ants, specimens of the following :— 
Camponotus compressus and fragments of Solenopsis geminatus destroyed by 
it; Camponotus sp.?, with a mimicking spider (Salticus sp.); Pseudo- 
myrma bicolor, with its mimicking Salticus, and a new species of Rhinopsis, 
viz. ruficornis, Cameron, also found with it, and closely resembling its 
host; Diacamma vagans; Holcomyrmeax indicus, with specimens of the 
grain which it stores and the chaff which it rejects; and Aphenogaster sp., 
with the pieces of Mimosa, &c., with which it covers its nest. 

Mr. G. A. J. Rothney communicated a paper entitled “Notes on 
Indian Ants.” 

Mr. Lionel de Nicéville communicated a paper entitled ‘ Notes 
regarding Delias sanaca, Moore, a Western Himalayan Butterfly.” 

Capt. H. J. Elwes communicated a note in support of the views expressed 
by Mr. de Nicéville in his paper.—H. Goss and W. W. Fowsmur, Joint 
Hon. Secs. 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 


The Naturalist in Siluria. By Captain Mayne Rem, Author of 
‘The Scalp Hunters,’ ‘The Death Shot,’ &. Post 8vo, 
pp. 240. London: Swan Sonnenschein & Co. 1889. 


On glancing at the title of this volume and its contents, two 
things, in the absence of any explanation from the publishers, 
strike us as somewhat remarkable: first, that a collection of 
serious essays on Natural History should emanate from a writer 
whose name has been known to us since our school-boy days as 
the author of sensational novels, and, secondly, that he should be 
writing on Natural History topics in 1889, when we happen to 
know that he died in October, 1888. Some additional words seem 
wanting on the title-page, such, for instance, as ‘‘ Posthumous 
Essays, by the late” or (if it be the fact) some indication that 
this is not the first edition which has appeared. The unwary 
reader is allowed to suppose that this is a new book, or finds 
himself, as we do, ina dilemma. Nota word of explanation is 
given in the “ Introduction,” and “‘ Preface” there is none. And 
yet, taken seriously, the book is worth notice, not on account of 
its tasteful “get up,” or illustrations, many of which are execrable 
as engravings, and erroneous in their teaching, but because it 
bears on many pages the stamp of out-door observation by a 
resident in an English rural district. which is described and 
named. 


«My residence,” says the author, ‘‘is in Siluria, contiguous to that 
singular and symmetrical ‘valley of elevation’ known as Woolhope. 
From the summit of a high wooded hill, Penyard, which rises abruptly 
in rear of my house, I can look over the whole series of Upper Silurian 
rocks, from the northern edge of their upcast at Mordiford, near the 
city of Hereford, to their southern projection by Gorstley, in Gloucester- 
shire. There they dip under the Devonian or Old Red Sandstone, 
again to show upon the surface a little further south, in the smooth 
rounded dome of May Hill, standing solitary with its crest of Scotch 
firs conspicuous from afar. .... Westward, and in fact all round me, 
extends the Old Red Sandstone, the characteristic rock of Herefordshire, 
as also the adjacent county of Monmouth.... . Near by, on the west, 


196 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


lies the valley of the Wye, rich in drifts of geological interest, and 
eastward the wide and more extended valley of the Severn, itself an 
ancient sea-bed. Turning southward, I have the Forest of Dean before 
my face, a tract of country as singular as it is celebrated.” 


So much for the district in which the author’s observations 
have been made; now for the notes themselves. We have read 
most of the book, and feel bound to say that, setting aside certain 
inconsistencies (¢.g., pp. 195, 198), repetitions (pp. 27—29, 67— 
70, 77—82, 80—91), the rehabilitation of ancient and marvellous 
tales (pp. 168, 236), and the occasional misapprehension of real 
facts for want of reading, there is much thai will repay perusal, 
either because it is confirmatory of the statements of others on 
points of interest, or because the personal observations of the 
author are li: a sense new. 

Referring to the presence of the Rock Dove, Columba lia, 
in Herefordshire, he writes (p. 27—29) :— 


“Mr. W. Lloyd, a local naturalist [of Kington], reports it as 
breeding on the Stanmer Rocks, a basaltic upheaval near the border- 
line between the counties of Hereford and Radnor—altogether away 
from the sea. It has also a nesting-place in the cliffs overhanging the 
Wye, by the celebrated Symond’s Yat, and all down through Monmouth- 
shire to Caldy Island. There, @ fortiori, they should be found, since 
these cliffs are nearer to its known habitat on the sea-coast.”’ 


(Cf. Bull, ‘ Birds of Herefordshire,’ 1888, p. 176). 

The Great Black Woodpecker, Picus martius, turns up again 
(p. 46), and is characterised as ‘‘ so rare that many ornithologists 
even doubt its existence in any part of England.” 


‘Tt has been observed, however, and in my own grounds in South 
Herefordshire, myself the observer. In the summer of 1880 [here we 
get a date] a pair passed over my head, one flying behind the other at 
an interval of a hundred yards or so. They lit in a tall linden tree 
near the house, only to stay in it for a few seconds; then continued 
their up and down flight towards some hanging woods beyond, where 
I lost sight of and never saw them again.” 


He then alludes to Mr. Chapman's observation of this species 
in the same county, as mentioned in Bull’s ‘ Birds of Hereford- 
shire’ (p.92), and concludes, ‘There can be no doubt, there- 
fore, of the Great Black Woodpecker occasionally visiting the 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 197 


Welsh bordering shires, if it be not a permanent resident in 
them.” 

Referring to the Chaffinch, and to the alleged separation of the 
sexes during winter, he says :— 


“‘T have been observing the Chaffinch, one of our most familiar 
birds, for several years throughout all the winter and summer, and 
have never known the sexes so to separate. In all cases where there 
were flocks, the cocks and hens seemed to be in about equal numbers, 
or at least no difference worth noting; and Mr. Knapp, the author of 
‘The Journal of a Naturalist,’ bears similar testimony of them. He 
says :—‘ With us the sexes do not separate at any period of the year, 
the flocks frequenting our barn-doors and homesteads in winter being 
composed of both.’ Mr. Knapp’s observations were made in Gloucester- 
shire, on the left bank of the Severn; mine chiefly in the valley of the 
Wye. Soif those of Linneus and Gilbert White be correct, then the 
habits of the birds in these western shires must differ from what they 
are elsewhere, even in our own islands—a somewhat singular circum- 
stance.”’ 


He suggests that the flocks seen by Gilbert White were 
supposed to be “ almost all hens,” because the young cock birds of 
the year had not at that season attained their characteristic 
plumage. 

Referring to the Selborne naturalist’s statement that the 
Carrion Crow goes in pairs the whole year round, he says :— 


«‘This is an error that, with many more in relation to the habits 
of this bird, has been perpetuated by Yarrell and most other English 
ornithologists, so as to become the stereotyped phraseology of the 
encyclopedias. I am able to state for certain that the Crow never 
goes in pairs, save during the days of nest-building. If seen thus at 
any other period of the year, it is because the nest has been robbed, or 
the brood in some way destroyed, leaving the bereaved parent birds 
alone for the length of another twelvemonth. But when successful in 
hatching and bringing up of their young, there is no separation nor 
pairing. Instead, the whole family keeps together—though apart from 
all others—throughout the summer, autumn, and winter, and till 
nesting time in spring. To verify this habit, I have been for years 
observing the behaviour of this bird, and can now vouch for it as a 
fact. My opportunities are excellent, as the Carrion Crow is common 
in my neighbourhood, more than one family having their cantonments 
near.” 


198 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


This may be all very true of the district in which the above 
observations were made, but it does not follow that it is of 
universal application. Indeed we feel satisfied—from what has 
been stated by other good observers—that it is net. Circum- 
stances alter cases. 

Turning to the notes on Mammalia which are scattered 
throughout the book, we observe that the Dormouse occurs in 
Herefordshire in Penyard Wood (p. 102), where also, as in the 
Forest of Dean, the Squirrel is common :— 


“One of the woodwards of the Forest of Dean informs me that in 
the larch plantations over which he had wardship for some years past, 
he had now and then noticed large branches and even tops of the trees 
themselves broken off by tle wind. Some of them were of large size, 
thick as a man’s thigh; and for long he could not tell why Eolus was 
dealing such wholesale destruction, for there were acres upon acres of 
the larch woods strewed with the dead and broken branches. He learnt 
at length, discovering the cause to be Squirrels. Their mode of pro- 
cedure was by peeling off the bark, not only in isolated patches, but in 
broad rings all round the branch or bole of the tree,—their object, of 
course, being to eat it,—and thus naturally killmg so much of the 
branch as was above, which, after a time decaying, gave way before 
the wind.” 


The author states that ‘it is rare to meet with white Stoats 
so far south as Gloucestershire, though instances have occurred, 
some even in Cornwall” (p. 120). He mentions two which were 
taken in the parish of Flaxley, Gloucester, near the Forest of 
Dean boundary, one of which was ‘‘ nearly as white as a true 
Arctic Ermine.” 

Some experiments are detailed (pp. 128, 129) to show that 
the Mole will not eat “‘wire-worms” by choice, as has been 
alleged, but will greedily devour earthworms, which are believed 
to be its principal food. 

A chapter on Wild Cats, in which the author hints at the 
possibility of one “ having found its way into Herefordshire from 
the Welsh mountains, following the course of the stream down- 
ward, perhaps here and there making temporary sojourn,” closes 
with the remark (p. 146) that, “among the wooded ‘dingles’ 
where the Wye has some of its sources—very fastnesses—this 
now rare animal is believed still to have existence.” 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 199 


Badgers are reported to be occasionally met with, notably in 
the hanging woods of Penyard Hill and on the slope of Howle 
Hill, a lofty eminence overlooking the Wye, some four miles 
below the town of Ross, where one was captured weighing twenty- 
seven pounds,—“ not one of the largest,” says our author, “ for in 
my notes I have record of many weighing at least a third more.” 
A story is told (p. 190) of a Fox and Badger being found by 
terriers in the same drain, and beside the Badger lay a china egg, 
one of those in common use as “ nest-eggs,” which no doubt had 
been taken from a farm close by, and which, notwithstanding 
sharp teeth and powerful jaws, had proved “a nut too hard to 
crack.” 

Writing of the occurrence of the Marten, which is still found 
occasionally in the district,—Siluria,—the author quotes an 
interesting letter from “a friend resident in a western shire,” 
whose uncle, a master of hounds for forty seasons “used to hunt 
Marten-cats very early in the season with the young hounds and 
a few old ones to teach them, as he said, to ‘pack’ well.” 
This correspondent says :— 


“The scent of a Marten-cat is so strong that it is hardly possible 
for hounds to lose it; and my uncle used to say that it drew them 
together and taught them to pack well, so that when they began 
fox-hunting later on it almost saved the expense of an extra whip. 
Foxes were so scarce in those days that we could not afford to go cub- 
hunting in the early part of the season, or we should have had many 
‘blank’ days before the end. Of course, now that foxes are more 
plentiful, young hounds can be entered to the legitimate scent at the 
beginning. We used to find the Marten-cats in large coverts, and it 
was a common occurrence for one to give the hounds a run of three or 
four hours in a thick cover, the animal every now and then taking to 
atree. From this it would be dislodged by some one climbing up to 
it, when it would run along a bough to the outside end, then drop into 
the cover, and away again, although perhaps twenty couple of hounds 
might be baying at it under the tree. I have seen one ‘treed’ at least 
a dozen times before it was killed.” 

**T question the correctness of my friend’s conjecture as to the 
Marten being extinct in the shire of which he speaks. Indeed, I have 
evidence of its existence in that county, though not in his neighbour- 
hood. In my own, I am happy to say, it is far from being extinct, 
many recent cases of its capture having come to my knowledge. Only 


200 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


six years ago a poacher of my acquaintance killed a beech, or as some- 
times called, ‘stone,’ Marten within less than a mile from my house. 
He found it while ‘rabbiting,’ his ferrets having run it out of a hole in 
a hedge-bank, and far away from woods. No doubt it had made an: 
excursion thither on the same business as the poacher himself. 

«‘ But in many of the fastnesses around the Forest of Dean I know 
that Martens, if not plentiful, are yet in goodly numbers. One of the 
Forest-keepers tells me that, five or six years ago, he used to see many, 
and shoot many, too, in the High Meadow Woods—a tract of the Forest 
which overhangs the River Wye; and there is the skin of one stuffed 
and mounted in the house of a farmer in that neighbourhood, which 
very recently fell to a gamekeeper’s gun. Again, a gipsy of my 
cognizance, who tents in all parts of the Forest, tells me that he and 
his tribe often meet with ‘Marten-cats,’ which he affirms to be far from 
uncommon in the woods near Blakeney and Lydney, where there is 
some rather heavy timber. He says they vary much in colour and 
markings—a remarkable fact, if fact it be.” 


In ‘The Zoologist’ for 1886 (p. 240) Mrs. Attwood Mathews, 
of Pontrilas Court, Hereford, has noticed the recent occurrence 
of the Marten in the county in which she resides, and the 
following year (Zool. 1887, p. 190) Mr. Cambridge Phillips 
reported the appearance of one near Brecon in September, 1886. 
He regards it as a rare animal in Wales at the present day. 

The illustrations to this volume, as we have said, are for the 
most part very poor. The best are copied from Bewick, the 
remainder being from different sources, and several of them 
wrongly lettered. For example, the bird figured on p. 19 as the 
Rock Dove, Columba livia, is the Stock Dove, C. @nas; that 
figured as the Nuthatch, Sitta cesia (p. 55), is the Nutcracker, 
Nucifraga caryocatactes. Of the two birds figured as Herons 
(p. 232) one is a Bittern, and none of the half-dozen warblers 
figured on p. 177 are named. 

The absence of dates, or precise reference to the time of year 
at which certain observations were made, is a serious drawback 
in estimating their value. Notwithstanding these defects, the 
extracts which we have given above sufficiently show that the 
subject matter of the book is good enough to have deserved 
better treatment than it has: received at the hands of the printer 
and publisher. 


7 


aS ~ ° \ 


THE ZOOLOGIST. 


THIRD SERIES. 


Vou. XIIL.] JUNE, 1889. [No. 150. 


MUS HIBERNICUS, TuHomrson, RESTORED TO THE 
BRITISH FAUNA.* 


TuE discovery of this almost forgotten and neglected mammal 
in the Outer Hebrides is not only important, since a significant 
extension is thereby added to its limited geographical range, but 
also because it re-opens for consideration the history and status 
of the creature itself. which it is thought most desirable should 
be undertaken. 

To the fauna of these islands the presence of this peculiar 
Irish quadruped must be regarded as an important link in the 
chain of evidence bearing upon the general zoological relationship 
of the archipelago—a link in strict consonance with the views of 
the late Mr. E. R. Alston. 

The occurrence of a Black Rat in the islands had been 
known many years to Mr. Alexander Carmichael, but to Dr. John 
MacRury our thanks are due -for’ reminding us of the fact, and 
finally enabling us to add a new species to the fauna of Scotland 
and to Great Britain. This gentleman reported the Black Rat 
as occurring there in a letter dated the 21st of August last, after 


* From Messrs. Harvie Brown and Buckley’s recently published ‘ Fauna 
of the Outer Hebrides’ (8vo, Edinburgh, 1889), of which a review will shortly 
be given. In a future number, by favour of the authors and publisher, we 
propose to reproduce the plate given of this animal. 

ZOOLOGIST.— JUNE, 1889. R 


202 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


the mammalian portion of our book had been printed. A desire 
was at once expressed to see, specimens, and a reward offered to 
the inhabitants for their capture. This resulted in our receiving 
two specimens in spirit, and these proved on inspection to 
be the species described by Thompson as Mus hibernicus, a 
species which had not hitherto, we believe, been recorded out 
of Ireland. 

It is not deemed advisable to enter into detail on the 
Hebridean range of this animal, but it is only withheld in the 
interests of a species limited not only in its distribution, but also 
in its numbers. Regarding its habits, &c., we give the following 
extracts from notes, kindly communicated to us by Dr. MacRury. 
This gentleman says: there seems to be little difference between 
their habits and those of the Brown Rat; the latter predominates, 
but it is thought the black species is holding its own; although 
they are not very numerous they seem to be more so than they 
were within the recollection of the inhabitants. They appear to 
be most numerous on the sandy portions of the island, though 
found elsewhere upon it; and they affect barns and outhouses, 
but Dr. MacRury never heard of their being seen in dwelling- 
houses. 

As to the claims of this mammal to specific rank, and as 
regards its characters, general description, and history, we 
quote the words of our friend Mr. W. Eagle Clarke, of the 
Natural History Department of the Edinburgh Museum of 
Science and Art, who has most kindly undertaken a thorough 
examination of M. hibernicus and its relationship to the larger 
species of the British Muride—a service which it affords us 
much pleasure to acknowledge. Mr. Hagle Clarke reports as 
follows :— 

On the 18th of June, 1837, Mr. William Thompson, the 
well-known author of the ‘Natural History of Ireland,’ in a 
communication * to the Zoological Society of London, described 
and exhibited a new species of rat under the name of Mus 
hibernicus = Irish Rat. In this Mr. Thompson tells us that 
although he had heard of the animal before, yet it was not, he 
says, ‘‘ Until April last, when a specimen was sent from Rath- 
friland, county of Down, to the Belfast Museum, I had not an 


* For full account see ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society,’ 1837, pp. 52, 53. 


MUS HIBERNICUS RESTORED TO THE BRITISH FAUNA. 203 


opportunity of either seeing or examining the animal. This 
individual differs from the M. rattus.... in the relative propor- 
tion of the tail to that of the head and body; in having shorter 
ears, and in their being better clothed with hair, as is the tail 
likewise; and in the fur of the body being of a softer texture. 
The difference in colour between the M. rattus and the present 
specimen is, that the latter exhibits a somewhat triangular 
spot of pure white extending about nine lines below the 
breast, and the fore feet being of the same colour..... These 
differences incline me to consider this animal distinct from 
M. rattus, and being unable to find any species described with 
which it accords, I propose to name it provisionally Mus 
hibernicus.” 

It is not a little remarkable that after the careful examination 
made by Thompson, as is evidenced by his published detailed 
account, that this excellent naturalist should have associated this 
animal with M. rattus, an error of judgment which is repeated in 
his ‘Natural History of Ireland’ (vol. iv. p. 16), published in 
1856, where it is obviously considered to be a mere variety of the 
Black Rat—an error perpetuated up to the date of issue of the 
second edition of Bell’s ‘ British Quadrupeds,’ where the animal 
is merely alluded to as a variety of M. rattus; and down to the 
present time, the primary fact of its colour being black seems 
to have exercised not only a misleading but a lasting influence 
on our naturalists. 

Since Thompson’s investigations M. hibernicus appears to 
have received practically no attention at the hands of zoologists ; 
at least, endeavours to procure further published observations 
on it have failed. Its discovery, however, in the Outer Hebrides 
has re-opened the question, and the writer has to express his 
obligations to the authors of this work for the opportunity 
afforded him of examining and reporting upon their specimens 
received in the flesh, as well as a series of skins furnished by 
their obliging correspondents. 

Before proceeding to the consideration of the true status 
of Mus hibernicus, it is desirable to institute a comparative 
examination of the British species of rats. This is con- 
veniently and sufficiently afforded by the following tabulated 
information :— 


R2 


204 THE ZOOLOGIST.- 


Mus rattus| Mus alex- Mus Mus 

(from Bell).) andrinus.*|decumanus.| hibernicus. 

an. lins|) am) in. || ain. linn ine 
Length of head and wis Ty 30.) ois (4d). 9.» Seen 6 
» of head 15 Ou) ee aeOs|| 2) Os eo mame 

>» of ears. Oreo eS | 30. 0 82 
Width of ears . ; Og soy. O27 oO mae 
Length of tail . Ape epi aC to eeu {jae He? gab 
;, of fore feet and claws Sl a0 Os 0 0 10 OS 

» of hind feet andclaws.| 1 43 a 36 ys 


The four species readily fall into two groups :— 

1. The Long-tailed and Large-eared species, in which the tail 
is longer than the head and body, and the ears comparatively 
large. M. rattus and M. alexandrinus belong to this section. 

2. The Short-tailed and Small-eared species, in which the tail 
is shorter than the head and body, and the ears comparatively 
small. M. decumanus and M. hibernicus belong to this section. 

This results in M. hibernicus being more nearly allied to 
M. decumanus than to M. rattus, with which it has hitherto been 
associated. This is most undoubtedly the case, and is borne out 
by a careful examination of the other characters of the two 
animals. Indeed, if specific rank be not conceded to M. hibernicus, 
then it must be regarded as a variety of M. decumanus. 

It is now necessary to state the differences which lead to the 
belief that M. hibernicus may be something more than a variety. 
Briefly stated, they are :— 

lst. It is a smaller and more elegant animal than M]. decu- 
manus, which is a much coarser creature in build and other 
characters.t 


* From H.M.S. ‘ Devastation.’ Forwarded in the flesh by Capt. J. R. N. 
Macfarlane, R.N. 

+ Since the above was written I have been much indebted to Mr. G. 
Barrett Hamilton, of Kilmanock, Co. Wexford, for many valuable notes. 
Mr. Hamilton informs me that he has had specimens of M. hibernicus equal 
in length to ordinary specimens of M. decumanus, but that the former were 
always lighter in weight; he also tells me that the head and tail are 
proportionately longer in M. hibernicus than in M. decumanus. I think it is 
possible, however, that melanic varieties of M. decumanus may sometimes 
be confounded with M. hibernicus. 


MUS HIBERNICUS RESTORED TO THE BRITISH FAUNA. 205 


2nd. The fur is finer in texture, and silky to the touch. In 
this respect it is even finer than M. rattus, and affords marked 
contrast to the rough and somewhat harsh coat of M. decwmanus. 

3rd. In the general colour of the fur, and its constancy in 
shade. 

4th. In its peculiar and circumscribed distribution. This 
singularly limited and isolated western range, in which it has 
been so long known to exist in some numbers, is most remarkable 
and important, and, taken together with the fact that it does not 
appear to have been recorded for the mainland of Great Britain, 
nor from Europe, affords weighty evidence against M. hibernicus 
being regarded as of varietal value only. 

The following table shows the comparative measurements of 
M. hibernicus and M. decumanus, and are taken from specimens 
while in the flesh :— 


Mus hibernicus. Mus decumanus. 

peal Female. Male. Female. 

iene}! Matas wri Gane Uren) re in 

Length of head and Pad 8 la WAR dealt 3 Sead S| ieee eels 
» of head . a Was of. Are (0s 902 4) 2 Of 

PROMORTS) | ots hy rete OF, 8h Oy Deh Oy LOS} AO, 29 

» of tail ‘Ge so {iS ss eis te = cad 

», of fore feet ane okies Om a (Visnhal’, ()al{ 0 10 

» Of hind feet and claws le “a ERS Way 7 IPSS 


Desoription.—The fur is glossy. The hairs on the back are 
of two kinds—a longer, which is white at the roots and darkens 
gradually to the tips, which are black; and under this a shorter 
fur, of an ashy grey colour. The general colour of the upper 
surface is dark silvery grey, almost black. This shades into a 
paler tint on the sides. The under surface and limbs silvery 
mouse-grey. The head is slightly browner than the back, with the 
muzzle mouse-grey. The digits silvery white. The white stripe, 
regarded as the important diagnostic character by Thompson, 
does not possess that value. In both Hebridean and Irish 
examples examined by me, the specimens wanting the stripe 
have been as numerous as those possessing it, so that it may be 
commoner to this than to M. rattus and M. decwmanus, in both 
of which it is said occasionally to occur. When present in Mus 


206 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


hibernicus it forms a patch or stripe extending from between 
the fore limbs backwards, sometimes for a length of one inch 
and a half. 

I regret that, owing to the scarcity of material, it has not yet 
been possible to make a complete examination of the osteological 
characters, if any, of M. hibernicus. The results of this and of 
further general research and comparisons are deferred for a 
future occasion. 

A male having the white stripe, and a female, are figured, 
both Hebridean specimens, and have been kindly presented to 
the Museum of Science and Art, Edinburgh. 


ON THE PRODUCTION OF COLOUR IN BIRDS’ EGGS. 
By A. H. S. Lucas, M.A., Oxon., B.Sc. Lond.* 


THE question of the cause of the coloration of birds’ eggs 
has often been referred to, but has not, to my knowledge, been 
adequately treated of in any work on Oology. Perhaps we may 
consider the latest views on the subject to be those enunciated 
by Mr. H. Seebohm in his lecture at the London Institution, 
December 20, 1886.+ I had published in the Melbourne 
‘Leader’ of December 26, 1885, a popular account of the 
colours of Australian birds’ eggs, in which I advanced sug- 
gestions which seemed to me to throw light on the subject. 
After reading the abstract in ‘Nature’ of the interesting 
lecture by this high authority, I have thought it worth while to 
make a more formal scientific record of the ideas broached 
in the ‘ Leader.’ 

My hypotheses may well be encountered with criticism, but 
they do serve at least very conveniently to connect a multitude 
of facts together. The antiquity of the Australian Avi-Fauna, 
and the preservation of ancient types, render a comprehensive 
consideration of Australian eggs of the greater value. My 
suggestions have been founded on studies of large collections, 
and after a certain amount of experience in the field. Australian 
eggs yield a, rich abundance of facts which are of scientific 


* From the Trans. and Proc. Roy. Soc. Victoria, vol. xxiv, pp. 52—60. 
+ Printed in ‘ The Zoologist,’ 1887, pp. 187—139, 


COLOUR IN BIRDS’ EGGS. 207 


interest per se, and which will be of still higher value if we can 
discern their bearing on biological problems. 

We take it that the natural or original colour of birds’ egos 
is the pure white of the mineral substance (carbonate of lime) of 
which they are composed, just as the natural colour of bone is 
white, and that, too, of the shells of mollusca, &c. All shells 
are secreted by animal membranes. In the mollusca, an external 
layer of membrane usually remains free from admixture of 
mineral matter, as an animal epidermis, which can be peeled 
off. But this is not the case with birds’ eggs; they possess a 
membranous lining, generally white, occasionally brownish or 
bluish, but outside this the animal substance and mineral matter 
are intimately commingled to the very surface. Colour, if pro- 
duced, is then, in almost all eggs, ingrained. Often it can be 
detected incorporated in the inner layers of the shell, as blotches 
beneath the surface. 

Birds’ eggs have many foes. Even where man has not 
appeared upon the scene, a number of systematic nest-robbers 
exist. Snakes, the great Lace-Lizard (Hydrosaurus or Varanus 
varius), which takes such liberties with the settlers’ hen roosts, 
the ‘native cats” (Dasyurus viverrinus and D. maculatus we 
perhaps the Bush Rats, and last, but by no means least, other 
birds, and especially the crows, are very destructive of our 
native birds’ eggs, and of the young birds in the nest. To such 
intruders pure white eggs would be a conspicuous and gratuitous 
advertisement, and the birds would be exposed to undue danger 
while in the egg. As has been remarked hundreds of times 
before, we accordingly find that white eggs, and especially eggs 
of shining or pearly whiteness, are almost always found in nests 
which either conceal the eggs completely, or which are them- 
Selves completely concealed. Thus the cookatoos, parrots, 
parrakeets, and other members of the family, in almost all 
cases, build in holes of trees, usually high up and quite out of 
reach. Owls build in holes of large gum trees; Kingfishers, 
including the Laughing Jackass /Dacelo gigas) in holes of trees 
or banks ; the Diamond Birds, the Roller, and Bee-eater, in holes 
in trees or in burrows. The Penguins and many of the Petrels 
lay their eggs at the extremities of long burrows in the ground, 
facing the sea. The eggs of all of these birds are white. 

The eggs of the doves, pigeons, and podarguses, are 


208 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


beautifully white, often shining as if enamelled. The birds con- 
struct slight nests of twigs, placed crosswise on horizontal 
branches of trees. Much light can pass through the interstices 
between the twigs, and it is a difficult matter, even for the 
trained human eye, to detect from below whether there are eggs 
in the nest or not. Here the white, light-reflecting eggs are at a 
positive advantage. 

The Australian finches conceal their eggs in the depths of 
relatively huge covered baggy nests, provided with side spout- 
like entrances. The eggs are in no way visible from without, 
are securely stowed away, and are pure white. All of the 
English finches, on the contrary, lay in open nests, and the eggs 
are spotted, usually, too, on a neutral-tinted ground. In this 
case we may presume that we have preserved the ancestral type 
in Australia. 

Since a glaring uniform white must be a dangerous colour for 
exposed eggs, we are not surprised to find that variations, 
favourable to preservation, have been originated and preserved, 
and that colour is now a protection to the great majority of 
eggs. In all cases we have to consider two questions :—(1) How . 
could the colour have been acquired ? and (2) How is the 
colour now protective or otherwise beneficial ? That natural 
selection would be called into play to preserve favourable 
markings or tints we may allow, but we believe, with Mr. 
Seebohm, that ‘‘ natural selection is not the cause of evolution ” 
in this case, “ but only its guide.” 

The first question then is, How could the colour have been 
acquired ? and I do not know that anyone has attempted 
hitherto to give any answer to it. The following has occurred to 
me as a probable explanation of the process; at least the 
phenomena are referred back to principles already recognised :— 

In the first place, it is important to note that the shell of 
the ovum is formed in the third portion of the oviduct (“the 
uterus”), and entirely during the 12—18 hours which immedi- 
ately precede the expulsion or laying of the egg. ‘This is the 
length of the period in the case of the common fowl; we may 
assume, generally, a similar number of hours, probably shorter, 
in the case of the smaller species. That the formation of the 
shell is a process distinct from the formation of the yolk, is 
further brought before us strikingly, by an experiment of 


COLOUR IN BIRDS’ EGGs. 209 


M. Tarkhanoff. He introduced a small ball of amber into the 
upper part of the ovarium, and obtained later on a quite normal 
egg, with chalaze, albumen, and shell, but with the ball of amber 
in place of a yolk. 

At the breeding season, the females of certain animals are 
well known to be especially impressionable, and we think that 
the effect of the surroundings during the time of the formation 
of the shell, upon the mental or nervous constitution of the 
bird, is a main factor in the production of colour in the eggs. 
Any variations of value are seized on by natural selection, and 
transmitted by the principle of heredity. Individuals at the 
present day are influenced in part by the surroundings, but 
mainly restricted by the tribal habits of generations. We have, 
in fact, sufficient adherence to type for an experienced collector 
to be tolerably sure of the species of bird to which a particular 
egg belongs, but sufficient variation to make him wonder at the 
differences which often exist between eggs of the same clutch. 
As we find in all groups, that some species are more stable and 
less variable than others, so the eggs of some birds are appar- 
ently fixed in colour and pattern, while those of others vary 
within wide limits. 

We will now consider in detail the influence of surroundings, 
and the utility of the effects produced. 

The general tint of the egg is often protective. The colour 
of the ground prominently before the vision of the laying bird, 
is reproduced in various shades in the eggs of the Pheasants 
and Partridges, and in our Mallee hen (Leipoa ocellata) and Mega- 
pode. Inthe rich brown variety of the egg of the domestic fowl, 
we probably see the colour developed in the feral state, now 
usually lost by reversion to the original white, as there is no 
longer advantage to be gained by its retention. 

In addition to the protective ground tint, darker spots and 
markings lend further security. The eggs of the Sandpipers 
and Dotterels cannot be distinguished, even when seen from the 
sands on which they lie, without close concentration of the 
attention. Grouse and Quail, Rails and Night-jars, Plovers and 
Terns, Oyster-catchers and Gulls, all lay on the ground, with or 
without nests, and the eggs exhibit different shades of the soil or 
of the rocks, with an appropriate ornamentation of spots, 
blotches, and smears, 


210 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


White eggs become similarly less conspicuous if the white be 
broken up by the introduction of spots or blotches of shading. 
This is a very simple, but by no means ineffective, means of 
avoiding detection. The eggs of the Australian Shrike-thrushes, 
White-winged Corcorax, and Frontal Shrike-tits, are good instances 
of exposed white eggs so protected. In many families it is note- 
worthy that those kinds of eggs which are quite concealed are 
white, while those which are exposed are speckled or freckled. 
In the Tree Swallows and Martins, we find a graduated series. 
The eggs of the English Sand Martin, laid at the ends of 
tunnels in soft sandstone, are quite white. Those of the Aus- 
tralian Tree Martin which lays in spouts of trees, are very 
slightly spotted. Those of the Fairy Martin, laying in social 
colonies, under the eaves of houses, &c., are more freely flecked. 
Lastly, the English swallow, and the Australian Welcome 
Swallow, which builds under bridges, or in shallow spouts of 
trees, in more exposed situations, are plentifully covered with 
spots. So amongst English Titmice (a family wanting in Aus- 
tralia), the only purely white eggs are those of the long-tailed 
Titmouse, whose long and roomy mossy nest, with side entrance, 
often contains a clutch of a dozen or fourteen eggs. The 
warblers, the larks, and the honey-eaters, are other families of 
birds with spotted eggs. 

The experiments of Jacob (Genesis xxx. 87—48) are recorded 
as having been successful in producing mottled colours in the 
animals under his charge. By the simple device of placing green 
rods before them at the time of conception, in which he “pilled 
white strakes, and made the white appear which was in the rods.” 
“And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth 
cattle ring-straked, speckled and spotted.” It is then not difficult 
to understand that surrounding objects of very different appear- 
ance, but of unequally coloured surface, might as readily produce 
spots and speckles on bird’s eggs, as on the skins of mammals. 

In the case of the Honey-eaters, we may venture a surmise 
as to what the parti-coloured objects are which produce the 
spotted eggs. The eggs of these birds are of various shades of 
ground colour, white, buff, salmon, flesh-coloured, with small 
dots or flecks of purple, chestnut, reddish-brown, or even black, 
The birds, as their name denotes, may be seen busily extracting 
the honey from the flowers by means of their long tongues. 


COLOUR IN BIRDS’ EGGS. 211 


Familiarity with pale and warm-tinted flowers, and with the 
dotted orange, red, purple, or black anthers, may possibly 
account for the coloration of this type of egg. 

Many birds which nest in trees or bushes have eggs which 
are of a pale or darker green ground hue, speckled or splashed 
over with olive or brown, reminding one of the different shades 
of the surrounding foliage, and, moreover, difficult to see from a 
distance through a bower of leaves. Such are the eggs of the 
Crows, Magpies, and Crow-shrikes, the species of Grauculus, the 
English Blackbirds, and the Australian Mountain Thrush and 
Robins [Petroica, Drymodes, &c.]. In this case both origin and 
use of the colour are apparent. 

Eggs with irregular streaky lines of bizarre appearance are 
found in a few families. In England, the Yellowhammers and 
Buntings are good examples. In Australia, we have the Poma- 
tostomi. The eggs of the latter are about an inch long, and 
three quarters of an inch at the widest, olive-brown, with all 
kinds of hieroglyphic pencillings in black. Both families line 
their nests with hair, and the eggs are protected by their resem- 
blance to the lining of the nest. Gould similarly remarks, in 
speaking of the Victorian Lyre-bird, “the colour resembles, in 
fact so closely that of the feathers with which the nest is lined, 
that it is not easy to detect the egg.” 

Eggs of a pale bluish or greenish uniform tint are common. 
Such neutral tints are found in the Grebes, Cormorants, Swans, 
Ducks, and Geese, the Mangrove Bitterns, the Glossy Ibis; and 
attaining to the deepest and loveliest shade in the Herons. Just 
as the hue of the eggs of the Pheasants, &c., may have been 
suggested by that of mother earth ever before their eyes, so 
these tints of the water-birds’ eggs may have arisen from the 
contemplation of vast sheets of water, and the consequent 
impression upon the mental organisation of the parents. This 
peculiarity of colour, too, has been of service in rendering the 
eggs less easy of detection, as being of neutral hues, or as 
resembling, more or less, the water around or near the nest. 

But the brightest blues of all occur, very exceptionally, in 
groups of birds of totally different habits, in no way adapted to 
an aquatic life. Such are, for instance, amongst English birds, 
the Thrush and the Starling, the Hedge Sparrow and Lesser 
Redpoll, the Wheatear, and to a less extent, the Stonechat and 


212 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Whinchat. Amongst Australian birds, are those of the natu- 
ralised Indian or Ceylon Mynah, the Coach-whip bird, and the 
Wedge-bill, and the species of Zosterops, a small family allied to 
the Honey-eaters. Such examples, it is to be noted, are ex- 
tremely scarce. It is difficult to surmise the causes which can 
have combined to produce this unique coloration. If the 
‘‘motive”” be protection, it must fall under the general principle 
that intruders are shy of the brightly coloured objects. Some 
support for this view may be derived from Mr. Bates’ well- 
known observations on deterrent colours amongst insects. It is 
difficult, moreover, to discover a blue in the surroundings of the 
birds, which could produce so pronounced a mental conception 
of this colour. It may be the blue of the butterflies on which 
they feed. It may be the blue of the aérial vault above. It 
would seem, if this second suggestion be the right one, that very 
few indeed of the birds have their attention attracted strongly 
by the azure of the skies, while they occupy their aérial homes. 

The eggs of the Ostrich vie in colour with the pale yellow 
sand of the African desert, in which they are buried for the sake 
of incubation by the sun’s heat*; but those of the Emu, laid in 
the Australian bush, are, as every one knows, dark green. Here 
we have an indication that the Australian bush is not made up 
of yellow sandy deserts. The Emu, in fact, scoops out a hole 
in the ground amongst low scrub, and contemplates eucalypts 
and salt-bush, and other dull vegetation. Its eggs are exposed, 
and protected by their colour. The Cassowary, laying and 
living amongst the bright green of the tropical grasses and the 
vivid green of a more diversified tropical foliage, produces 
lighter and brighter green eggs. 

With the birds of prey the mental perception of habitual 
surroundings seems to have been intense (as might have been 
expected from their known keenness of vision), and the influence 
upon the colouring of the eggs remarkable. The nests of the 
Eagles, Falcons, and Hawks are large, and exposed on the tops 
of trees or on the ledges of lofty cliffs. The eggs are generally 
more or less blotched with rusty red, presenting a marked 
resemblance to old blood spots, such as the family are so well 
acquainted with. The Nankeen Kestrel breeds in spouts of 


* This is a misapprehension. The process of hatching is performed by the 
male and female sitting alternately. See ‘ Nature,’ 22nd March, 1883,—Ep, 


COLOUR IN BIRDS’ EGGS. 213 


trees, where, of course, the colour cannot be protective, yet the 
eggs retain the family peculiarity. Here we see natural selection 
apparently ruled out of court, and mental receptivity as the sole 
cause of the variations in the one specified direction. The eggs 
of the other members of the family are, from their situation, 
inaccessible, and it therefore seems very questionable whether 
the factor of natural selection has operated at all in the case of 
the eggs of this group. We find very different degrees of develop- 
ment of the blotches. In one clutch of the Sparrow Hawk 
(Accipiter torquatus) one egg was white, a second smudged, and 
the third well blotched. In a clutch of the Goshawk (Astur 
approximans), again, one egg was smudged, one smudged and 
blotched, and the other blotched. Similar gradations are to be 
observed in the average colour of the species. The eggs of the 
Harriers (Circus), which lay on or near the ground, and 
generally among thick scrub, and those of the Crested Hawk 
(Baza subcristata), which builds in the holes of trees, are pure 
white ; and we have gradually more and more colour introduced, 
until the climax is reached by the Brown Hawks (Teracidea 
berigora) and Kestrels (Tinnunculus cenchrovdes ). 

Great irregularity, and much variation amongst individuals, 
characterise eggs which derive their colour from changing and 
varying appearances. We obtain thus a natural explanation of 
the infinite variety of colouring in the eggs of the rapacious 
birds, and of such birds as the Magpies and the Sparrows. 

Many birds continue to protect their eggs themselves, con- 
sciously or unconsciously. Some, as the Partridge, will cover 
up the eggs when they leave the nest. The Grebes lay eggs 
which are at first white, but become stained by mud from the 
body of the sitting mother bird, usually brown, and gradually 
browner, a tint well in keeping with the colour of the nest of 
dead reeds and leaves. Many of the sea birds, too, by fouling 
their eggs, no doubt materially assist in preserving them. 

The English Cuckoo commonly chooses the nests of Larks 
or of Wagtails for its egg. When found in the nest of a Lark, 
especially of a Tit-lark, the egg is very dark; and when found 
in that of a Wagtail, much lighter. This looks like proof 
positive of the effect of mental impression in producing the 
colour of the egg. More rarely, the egg of the Cuckoo is found 
in other nests, such as that of the Hedge Sparrow. It is most 


214 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


likely that in this case, the Cuckoo had in the course of nature 
laid its egg, and not being able to find an appropriate nest near, 
was driven to make use of that readiest to hand. For nothing 
could be more conspicuous than the contrast between the colours 
of the eggs. Our Victorian Cuckoos are likewise eclectics. The 
Pallid Cuckoo often plants its cream or flesh-coloured and 
spotted eggs in the nests of Honey-eaters, the eggs of which its 
own thus resemble. The Bronze Cuckoo patronises the dome- 
shaped nests of little birds, im which the egg will not be seen, 
and into which it doubtless conveys its eggs by means of the bill, 
for the Cuckoo is much too large a bird to obtain entrance into 
the nest by the tiny opening which serves for the rightful 
owners. The Brush and the Narrow-billed Cuckoos place their 
eggs in the nests of superb Warblers and Acanthizas, and the 
eggs of both are white, with very fine dots. 

The subject it will be seen is as yet still entirely in the 
domain of observation. Experiments are wanting. It is to be 
hoped that they will be forthcoming. Opportunities exist, 
notably in the case of the domestic birds, and of birds which 
breed easily in confinement. But we must not expect too much, 
to be able to produce extreme effects. Mr. E. B. Poulton’s 
interesting series of experiments on the production of colour in 
the pups of certain British Lepidoptera, show that the capacity 
for variation in each species is (for a single generation) limited, 
and that the variations tend in quite definite directions. It is 
probable, however, that results of sufficient, and perhaps in 
some cases of striking, interest are to be obtained by careful 
and systematic experimentation. And the field is open. 


A CUCKOO HATCHING ITS OWN EGGS. 


[In an article in ‘ Die Gartenlaube,’ vol. xxxvi., No. 25, 1888, Herr 
Oberférster Adolf Miiller, who has the reputation of being a good observer, 
has detailed his observations in a case which came under his notice of a female 
Cuckoo incubating and hatching her own egg. The case is so abnormal and 
interesting that we had intended translating the article for publication in 
this Journal; but as the Editor of ‘ The Ibis,’ in the last number of that 
periodical, has saved us the trouble, we may help to make the case more 
widely known amongst ornithologists by quoting his translation, with due 
acknowledgment aud thanks. In return we may save our contemporary some 


A CUCKOO HATCHING ITS OWN EGGS. 215 


trouble by appending a translation of an article by Herr A. Walter, of 
Cassel (Journ. fiir Orn. 1889, pp. 33—40, in which the views of Herr 
Miller are seriously questioned and criticised.—Ep.] 


Herr Muller says :—On the morning of May 16th, 1888, when 
I was looking over a young plantation in my district of the Royal 
Forest of Hohenschied, a Cuckoo rose suddenly out of the 
bushes close to me, which, from its pale brownish colour, I 
recognised as a female bird. I soon discovered, in a slight 
depression of the ground near the spot whence the bird flew up, 
three eggs, which attracted my attention from not being all of 
the same coloration, and from one of the three being of 
considerably smaller size than the other two. As I could not 
recognize the eggs as belonging to any of our smaller birds that 
breed on the ground, and as the Cuckoo kept flying about me in 
a curious way, I resolved to conceal myself under a neighbouring 
hedge in order to watch the bird more closely. After I had been 
there a few minutes I saw the Cuckoo alight on the ground and 
crawl towards the place where the eggs were. My idea now was 
that the Cuckoo was intending to add her egg to the three 
already there, and I accordingly remained in my hiding-place at 
least three-quarters of an hour, without seeing the Cuckoo take 
its departure. This long delay, and the cireumstance that no 
other nesting-bird made its appearance in the neighbourhood, 
led me to suspeot that this must be an exceptional case, and 
made me very eager to investigate it. I therefore cautiously 
approached the spot, and soon saw the Cuckoo again rise from 
the ground. On this occasion, after wheeling round in a half- 
circle, it retreated further off into the forest. A closer 
examination of the eggs convinced me that two of them 
presented no remarkable differences in size or structure, although 
the ground colour was certainly not the same. I recognized 
them as Cuckoos’ eggs of very fine grain and thin shell. One of 
them was of the characteristic yellowish white or pale waxy 
ground colour, with dark brown points and a few streaks and 
scratches. The second, of the same size, was of a reddish yellow 
or clay-colour, thickly covered with oil-coloured markings, so 
that it was something like an egg of the Redbreast. They were 
at least as large as Yellowhammers’ eggs, but more elongated. 
The most curious egg was the third, which was quite different 
from the two others. It was very like a Chaffinch’s egg, of a 


216 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


greyish green ground colour, sparingly marked with smaller 
reddish and larger reddish brown spots, and was remarkable as 
being thickly spotted at the smaller end instead of the larger. 
It was not quite so large as a Chaffinch’s egg. As I have already 
stated, the nest was on a patch of bare ground a foot or more in 
diameter, surrounded by grass and broom-bushes. 

After this examination I quickly withdrew to a rather more 
elevated position in the underwood of the beech-forest. From 
this spot, with my field-glasses, which I had luckily brought with 
me, I could survey the ground below me quite clearly. Within 
six minutes the Cuckoo came back, and after flitting around for 
some time alighted near the nesting-place, and proceeded with a 
characteristic waddle on to the nest. For more than an hour 
and a half I kept the spot in view. During all this time the 
Cuckoo sat quiet on the nest, so that there could be no further 
doubt in my mind that it was sitting on its own eggs. 

Until the 25th May I left the Cuckoo to sit undisturbed. 
On the morning of that day I visited the spot again, and, on the 
bird flying off, found, to my great joy, a young Cuckoo in the 
nest. Judging from my observations of young Cuckoos, it 
seemed to have been hatched about five or six days, for the 
shafts of the quills showed on the wings, traces of feathers were 
visible on the shoulders, and the eyes had begun to open. On 
one side of the nest I found the reddish brown and the small 
eggs. The first was crushed in and appeared to be rotten; the 
second was uninjured, but on attempting to blow it subsequently 
I found that it was unfertilized, and only contained a partly 
dried-up and wasted yolk. No doubt, like the injured one, it 
was an egg dropped during the time of sitting, and not fully 
developed nor fecundated, as was apparent from its inferior size, 
very thin shell, and small contents. 

In the meanwhile the sitting bird kept circling around me, 
flying low, at short intervals, a proof that she had great anxiety 
for her young one. My experiments with this young Cuckoo led 
me to quite a different result from that which I had previously 
formed from the behaviour of two others in the nest of a Red- 
breast. The latter were, always restless, continually extending 
their wings over the back, and one of them occasionally thrust 
his head and neck so far behind him that he fell over. The bird 
which I was now observing, on the other hand, kept quite quiet, 


A CUCKOO HATCHING ITS OWN EGGS. 217 


with his head and neck on the bottom of the nest. He did not 
even stir when I touched him with my finger on the back, in 
which the characteristic depression found in very young Cuckoos 
was still discernible, nor when I placed an egg or some similar 
substance on his back. I concluded therefore that the sitting 
mother must have herself removed the addled eggs, and not the 
young Cuckoo, as it is wont to do when in other birds’ nests. 

After this I returned again to my point of observation, but 
did not succeed in seeing the young bird fed by the old one, as I 
was disturbed by some people cutting grass in the neighbour- 
hood, and resolved to defer my further observation until a 
quieter day. 

When I returned to the place on the morning of May 26th, 
T had several times an opportunity of seeing the young Cuckoo 
fed by the old one with what appeared to me to be green 
caterpillars. On the same occasion the young nestling was sat 
upon and warmed by the mother for a long while. When I 
arrived at the spot I placed myself at my former post of 
observation, and saw with my glasses the old bird sitting on the 
nest. For twenty-two minutes I watched her in this situation, 
when I was surprised to see her suddenly rise from the ground 
at several paces distant from the nest and fly away. I seized the 
opportunity of visiting the nest, and found the young Cuckoo 
lying in the hollow with its eyes nearly quite open. When I 
approached, it erected the front part of its body, and opened its 
orange-coloured mouth, uttering its fine piping cry. The space 
round the nest was thoroughly cleared of excrement,—a striking 
proof that the mother Cuckoo possesses the ordinary instinct of 
nest-building birds, that of removing the comparatively large 
feces of the young with its bill. About three minutes after I 
had got back to my hiding-place I saw the old Cuckoo alight on 
an open spot six or eight footsteps distant from the nest, after 
which it fed the young with some green substance, apparently 
caterpillars, as I could see with my glasses, and then covered it 
with her body again for about a quarter of an hour. The 
mother left the spot on this occasion again by flying up from the 
neighbouring place before mentioned, and not immediately from 
the nest. Within a few minutes she returned with a similar lot 
of food, and, after feeding the young one, retired in the same 
way as was before described. After the second return and 

ZOOLOGIST.—JUNE, 1889. 8 


218 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


feeding, the warming of the young bird was again repeated. 
After a good quarter of an hour in my hiding-place I left the 
spot without disturbing the old bird. 

All through my period of observation in this part of the 
forest I had noticed the unusual frequency of the calls of the 
male Cuckoo. I counted at least six individuals challenging 
one another with their songs. In the higher wood close by I 
had listened at short intervals to the furious blows of the wing 
exchanged in combat by the males and to the call-notes of 
both sexes. I had an entertaining view of the proceedings of 
the amorous birds, as I passed on my way shortly afterwards. 
On the tops of the oaks and pines sat the excited males, with 
their tails carried high and their wings drooping down, 
repeating their usual call-notes, among which the ordinary 
“ cuckoo” was often prolonged into “ cuc-cue-koo,” and in other 
cases was shortly and abruptly broken off in the middle. 
Every now and then they dived into the branches in pursuit of 
the hens, which were recognizable by their paler and browner 
coloration. In short, this particular spot in the forest was 
evidently a special rendezvous of Cuckoos. In spite of the 
unseasonable weather this day (overcast sky and frosty wind), 
there was a singing and fighting going on which could hardly 
have been exceeded in the warmest day of May or June. 

Anxious to ascertain the reason of such a concourse of 
Cuckoos at this spot, I dived into the surrounding wood, 
which was that from which I had seen the mother Cuckoo 
bring food for her young one. I discovered here, on a group 
of oaks, a large colony of caterpillars of T'ortria viridana, 
which were easily seen from a distance hanging by their silky 
webs, and found also many of them on the leaves. No doubt 
this colony was the attraction that caused the concourse of 
Cuckoos. 

What I have stated renders it quite clear:—(1) That the 
Cuckoo, in exceptional circumstances, incubates and hatches one 
or more of its own eggs, which, in these cases, it apparently lays 
together in a safe place on the ground without preparing any 
nest. (2) That the eggs of the same Cuckoo may be very 
different in colour and markings. If this be so, the purely 
theoretical idea held in certain quarters that each hen Cuckoo 
lays eggs of the same colour and markings or of “one peculiar 


DOES THE CUCKOO INCUBATE ? 219 


type,” which are destined to be laid in the nests of one particular 
species of small bird, and are nearly the same colour as those of 
the foster-mother, and that she only lays them in the nests of 
this species, falls to the ground. 


QUERY—DOES THE CUCKOO INCUBATE? 


By Aportr WALTER.* 


In June of last year the ‘Gartenlaube’ astonished its readers 
with an article headed “The Cuckoo incubates.” This number 
of the periodical referred to was handed to me by a friend, with 
the words :—‘‘ Here is an important observation; the Cuckoo 
incubates.” I returned the paper without looking at it or asking 
who the author of the article was, and told my informant that it 
was either a joke or an invention, and that the Cuckoo was, as 
everybody knew, unable to incubate. * * ¥* ay 

I did not think of this article again until I received the J uly 

-humber of the ‘Zoologische Garten’ containing the same 
announcement. This caused me to give the article more 
attention, as its author proved to be the well-known ornithologist 
Adolf Miller. I was surprised, on reading it, to find that the 
writer still holds the opinion that the Cuckoo occasionally 
incubates, although it has been shown, by Dr. A. Brehm and 
others, that the observation made by Herr Kiessel, who 
thought he had seen a female Cuckoo sitting on two eggs, was 
unreliable, and that there was a confusion between the Cuckoo 
and the Nightjar (Caprimulgus). I was still more astonished 
when I had finished reading the article, which is worded in the 
most serious manner and with minute details of time and place. 
I could not but imagine that there was some mistake, for much of 
what the author relates, and relies upon to support his case, does 
not seem at all probable. In my opinion the observation can 
only be regarded as a delusion, and how easy it is to fall into 
error is only too well known. 

Herr Miller says that “this time certainly no voice will be 


Oe SS AE SESE ET EES TEES OBES roc hd 4 2 ee 


* For this translation from the ‘Journal fiir Ornithologie’ (Jan. 1889, 
pp. 383—46) we are indebted to Herr A. W. Kappel, who kindly undertook to 
prepare it at very short notice. For the sake of brevity, we have omitted 
several dispensable paragraphs.—Eb. 

82 


220 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


raised to support the convenient suggestion that the native 
Cuckoo has been again confounded with the Nightjar, &c.” I 
am quite willing to concede that few ornithologists would suspect 
that there was any confusion with the Nightjar in this case, for 
the character and habits of the Cuckoo are correctly portrayed 
in the course of the narrative. Nevertheless none of the 
ornithologists with whom I have been able to discuss the matter 
believe in the incubation of the Cuckoo; they all consider the 
report to be an error of observation. 

As I have paid much attention to the habits of the Cuckoo, I 
was asked by several distinguished ornithologists, both verbally 
and by letter, to publish my opinion of Herr Miller’s article in a 
scientific Journal, and I now do so, although it is not pleasant for 
me to have to differ in opinion from so eminent an ornithologist. 
I take it for granted that the July number of the ‘ Zoologische 
Garten’ is before the reader, or that he at least knows the gist 
of Herr Miuller’s observations. I therefore confine myself to 
recapitulating the heads of the discussion as briefly as possible. 

The nest containing three eggs of different size, colour, and 
shape, was found on May 16th by Oberfodrster Miiller, in his 
official district of Hohenschied, in a shallow depression on the 
ground, which was clear of grass and brambles for thirty to 
thirty-five centimetres. A brownish female Cuckoo had just 
risen close to this place. Herr Miller drew back quickly, and it 
reappeared after a few minutes, and alighted not far from the 
nest. After waiting for three-quarters of an hour, the bird, 
which Herr Miller assumed was about to lay its egg with the 
three, was again found near the nest, and now for the first time 
he recognised the three very different-looking eggs as the eggs of 
the Cuckoo, which were extremely fragile and thin-shelled. 
Here I beg to observe that no one can notice the thinness of the 
shell in an unbroken Cuckoo’s egg, especially as, according to 
Brehm and others, Cuckoos’ eggs have not got thin shells. After 
making this observation Herr Miller quickly retired, and observed 
from a place of concealment that the Cuckoo flew to the nest 
again after six minutes, and remained constantly sitting on the 
eggs during the whole time of observation, which lasted over an 
hour and a half. 

On May 25th, after the Cuckoo had quitted the nest, a young 
Cuckoo, about six days old, was found in the nest, and not far 


DOES THE CUCKOO INCUBATE ? 221 


from it the two Cuckoo’s eggs, a reddish brown one, and a very 
small one which the female Cuckoo had pushed aside. After 
Herr M. had repeatedly observed the Cuckoo feeding her young 
one with little green caterpillars at short intervals (three times in 
ten minutes), he found on June 10th that the young Cuckoo had 
left the nest, but it was still close by, and was being fed by its 
parent. 

This shortly is the gist of Herr Muller’s “ personal observa- 
tions.” Before discussing the matter further, I must express my 
astonishment that Herr M. has overlooked what would have 
afforded a better explanation, and lent more probability to his 
narrative. To begin with, I may mention as a most striking fact 
that he did not keep the unincubated eggs and egg-shells. Most 
certainly several of our ornithologists—I need only mention Dr. 
Baldamus, Dr. Kutter, and Herr W. von Nathusius—would have 
been able, by examining the egg-shells, to prove whether the eggs 
which were pushed aside were Cuckoos’ eggs or not. In such a 
remarkable case no naturalist would throw a fragment of an egg 
away. For my part I carefully preserve such specimens in my 
collection. I have, for example, fragments to show that the 
Cuckoo invariably lays similar eggs. Besides, fragments of 
Cuckoos’ eggs are in much request for examination of the shell. 

Returning to the discussion, I may observe that Herr M. 
is frequently in opposition with ascertained fact, and insists on 
untenable views. Thus he allows his Cuckoo to lay and sit on 
three eggs of a different colour and size, and avers in effect that 
one and the same Cuckoo laid them. This is not accurate; 
for one and the same female, as is the case with other birds, 
always lays similar eggs, as I am clearly able to prove. Now if 
all three eggs had really been Cuckoos’ eggs (and they were 
not recognized as such by Herr M. on his discovery of the nest), 
they must have been laid by three different Cuckoos, which is 
absurd. Therefore the Cuckoo did not sit on its own eggs, or at 
most on only one of them. In my opinion, however, these three 
eggs could not have been Cuckoos’ eggs at all,—certainly not the 
small one, as shown by its small size, its colour, and especially 
by its brittleness. Cuckoos’ eggs are, in fact, not brittle, but 
uncommonly firm and hard. Who would take for an egg of the 
Cuckoo that which is thus described by the observer ?—‘ The 
most curious egg was the third, which was quite different from 


222 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


the two others. It was very like a Chaffinch’s egg, of a greyish 
green ground colour, sparingly marked with smaller reddish and 
larger reddish brown spots, and was remarkable as being thickly 
spotted at the smaller end instead of the larger. It was not quite 
so large as a Chaffinch’s egg.” 

Of the brittleness of the third and smallest egg the observer 
says, “ On finding the young Cuckoo, the two unincubated eggs, 
the reddish brown one and the small one, lay by the side of the 
nest. The first was crushed in and appeared to be rotten, the 
second was uninjured, but on attempting to blow it subsequently, 
he found that it was unfertilized, and only contained a partly 
dried-up and wasted yolk. No doubt, like the injured one, it was an 
egg dropped during the time of sitting, and not fully developed 
nor fecundated, as was apparent from its inferior size, very thin 
shell, and small contents.” 

An “extremely brittle and thin shell” (as I have before 
remarked) is not possessed by any Cuckoo’s egg, whether large 
or small; on the contrary, no egg of any of the foster-parents of 
the Cuckoo has such a hard and dense shell as that of the 
Cuckoo itself. If the small egg was so heavily coloured as the 
observer states, it must have been also fully formed, for the 
colour is the last stage in the development of the egg as regards 
the shell. 

Already, in 1880, Dr. Kutter, and then Herr Hauptmann 
Kriger-Velthusen, simultaneously with myself, drew attention to 
the unusual hardness and firmness of the Cuckoo’s egg (see Orn. 
Centralb. 1880), and subsequently I wrote, in the 9th Jahres- 
bericht of the ‘ Ausschuss fir die Beobachtungsstation der Vogel 
Deutschlands’ (p. 201), concerning a Cuckoo’s egg found here in 
Cassel in 1884, in which the beak of the young Cuckoo was to 
be seen through the egg. This Cuckoo’s egg (which was already 
perforated by the embryo so that the beak of the young one 
was visible as a small point) was found in the accidentally 
destroyed nest of a Hedgesparrow, Accentor modularis, with four 
well-incubated eggs of that bird. Yet twelve days afterwards 
I was able to empty the egg artificially without breaking it, and 
it now rests in my collection as a proof of the hardness and 
firmness of the Cuckoo’s egg. On the other hand, the much- 
incubated eggs of the Hedgesparrow broke on the first attempt 
to blow them. Not to digress too much from my task of 


DOES THE CUCKOO INCUBATE ? 223 


discussing the extraordinary observations of Herr Miller, I will 
very briefly mention two more instances of the remarkable 
strength of the Cuckoo’s eggs which I think will be of interest. 
(Two such instances are then given, and Herr Walter con- 
tinues:—] I think that I have now sufliciently demonstrated 
the strength of Cuckoos’ eggs, but I can prove just as conclusively 
that one and the same Cuckoo always lays similar eggs, and 
consequently that the nest found by Herr Muller could not have 
contained the entire clutch of one Cuckoo. In proving this 
I am able to controvert one of the three arguments which Herr 
Miiller uses to support his assertions. 

The conclusions which he draws from his owr observations 
are two in number. [These have been already quoted, p. 218.] 
My observation, however, goes further, namely (3), that the 
young Cuckoo—contrary to my experience of the young of this 
species reared by the common small birds—becomes full-fledged 
in about twenty-one days, whilst young Cuckoos bred in the 
nests of song-birds, as I have observed, take six weeks to become 
capable of flight. Doubtless the reason for this rapid maturing 
of the Cuckoo in the first case is the much abundant supply of food 
brought by the parent bird. [The meaning here is very obscure.] 

The first conclusion of Herr Miiller cannot be positively 
disproved, for the matter stands thus :—TIf he asserts that he has 
positively seen the Cuckoo incubating for an hour and a half on 
the nest, and that he afterwards saw the old Cuckoo feeding the 
young ones with caterpillars, a denial would be tantamount to 
accusing him of falsehood. We can only draw our own con- 
clusions from what has been already stated. But as regards 
points 2 and 3 it can be positively shown that Herr Miiller has 
made a mistake. 

For more than ten years I have made repeated observations, 
and at the annual meeting of the “ Allgemein Deutsche Ornitholo- 
gische Gesellschaft’’ of Berlin, have proved by exhibition of eggs 
that the same female Cuckoo always lays similar eggs, so that it is 
almost superfluous to adduce fresh proofs, or to repeat old ones. 
I will therefore only refer to my own observations and those of an 
enthusiastic naturalist, Herr K. Ochs, of Cassel, and allow him 
to speak for himself. 

Herr K. Ochs has made some interesting observations on 
Cuckoos’ eggs, and knows the. Cuckoos of the Habichtwald (the 


224 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


locality of his observations, where he is a landowner) almost as 
well as he does the Canaries and Goldfinches of his aviary. He 
knows exactly whether his old friends have returned or not, and 
whether a new hen Cuckoo has taken the place of an old one that 
has died. He knows the old females which have returned, partly 
by their colouring, but more particularly by their eggs, which 
have always the same marking for the same female, but which 
vary much from those of other females—each female always 
returning to the same restricted locality. 

AsI did not find him at home when I called to talk over the 
matter with him, Herr Ochs wrote me a letter, which I copy 
exactly. It runs as follows:—‘In consequence of observations 
made for thirty years on the Cuckovos occurring here annually, 
I have come to the conclusion, after finding more than 100 eggs, 
mostly laid in the nest of the Robin, that (1) a Cuckoo returns 
every year to its chosen haunts; (2) that the eggs of a particular 
bird remain the same in form, colour, and size; so that the eggs 
of a new-comer to the locality may be distinguished from those 
of other Cuckoos by anyone who understands the subject.” 

[Herr Walter then refers to certain statements of his own 
made in 1876, at the first annual meeting of the ‘‘ Allgemein 
Deutsche Ornithologische Gesellschaft” (Bericht, Allg. Deutsch. 
Orn. Gesel. i. pp. 17, 84), and to other remarks of his printed 
in the ‘Monatschrift des Deutschen Vereins zum Schutze 
der Vogelwelt’ (1883, p. 36), to show that every female Cuckoo 
(1) always lays similar eggs, (2) always seeks the nest of the 
same species of foster-parent, and (8) always returns to the same 
locality ; and he adds that after six years further study he is 
still of the same opinion. ‘The lengthy paragraphs which follow 
are chiefly amplifications of former statements, and need not be 
here repeated. ] 

He thus concludes :—With regard to Herr Kiessel’s state- 
ment I consider it, for many reasons, best to be silent. A. Brehm 
has already said enough about it. Moreover, Kiessel appears to 
have been unacquainted with the young of the Cuckoo, for he says 
in a letter to Herr A. Miiller—“‘ The young Cuckoo, when only 
just hatched, had dark down (dunkelen Flaum) on several places, 
especially on the head and shoulders, like all young birds.” But 
the young Cuckoo when just emerged from the egg, as Herr 
Miller has correctly remarked, has no down, and is perfectly 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 225 


white, or rather of a very pale flesh-colour; but even in the 
course of the second day the back of the head becomes grey, and 
this grey becomes darker on the following day, and continues to 
extend. 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


Prof. Weismann’s Essays on Heredity.—lIn response to the interest 
aroused by this subject, a collection of these essays has been translated under 
the care of Mr. E. B. Poulton, of Oxford. The volume is nearly ready, 
and will be published by the Clarendon Press. 


MAMMALIA. 


Threatened Extinction of the Kangaroo.—That there is an extreme 
likelihood that, unless preventive measures be taken, the Kangaroo will, 
in the course of a few years, have become a curiosity in its native country, 
is a statement which will probably be read with some amount of surprise, 
and perchance incredulity, by naturalists in England. That this assertion 
is, however, based on fact is proved, not only by the testimony of Australian 
naturalists, but also by American tanners, who find that, owing to the high 
prices now obtainable for the skins, large quantities of small unsaleable 
hides are forced upon the market—a course of action which they are 
beginning to recognise must inevitably result in the extermination, within a 
comparatively short period, of the Kangaroo. The following extract from a 
letter which I have recently received—in my capacity as secretary to the 
committee now seeking to secure better protection for the native fauna and 
flora of South Australia—from Mr. R. G. Salomon, one of the largest tanners 
in the United States, with respect to the desired prohibition of the sale in 
our colony of Kangaroo-skins under 1 fb. in weight may be of interest :— 
“T beg leave to say that it is of the greatest importance, not only to South 
Australia but also to Victoria and to Western Australia, that immediate 
steps be taken to stop the killing of small Kangaroos, or the total exter- 
mination of this animal will be brought about. It would surely be better 
to stop the killing of the young animals entirely in every part of Australia, 
by enacting a law which would impose a fine for the killing of any Kangaroos 
whose skins weigh less than teu-twelfths of a pound. Lighter skins than 
these are almost unsaleable, and yet there are very large quantities of such 
forced upon the market. The Kangaroo-skin is mainly used in the United 
States, and almost all those that are sold to England are resold to consumers 
in this country. As stated, I am deeply interested in the passing of this 
law; and shall, on the other hand, do everything possible to induce every 
tanner in this country to agree not to buy any skins not in conformity with 


226 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


your restrictions. I think that the strictest co-operation can be established 
by which we shall succeed in the conservation of the trade, and make it a 
lasting one. Otherwise this will be absolutely destroyed, for in a few years 
the Kangaroo will be exterminated.” We are now seeking to secure the 
enforcement of this restriction throughout Australia and Tasmania, and 
also, at the suggestion of Mr.{Salomon, to have a close season declared 
between January Ist and May Ist; for eighty per cent. of the skins that 
are obtained in the period covered by these four months are totally ruined, 
being sunburnt while drying. We shall likewise endeavour to secure total 
protection in our own colony for the Rock Wallaby, for Kangaroos under 
three years of age, and for Wallabies (other than the Rock Wallaby) under 
two years of age. What success we shall have time will show.—A. F. 
Rosrn (‘ Advertiser’ Office, Adelaide, South Australia). 


Daubenton’s Bat not in Norfolk.—In the article on this species 
which appeared in the last number of ‘ The Zoologist,’ it is stated (p. 163) 
that “at Easton, in Norfolk, it has been noted by Mr. Gurney.” This, it 
appears, is a mistake, the bat found at Kaston being the Barbastelle. The 
error arose in consequence of Bell having applied the same specific name 
to both species, Vespertilio daubentonit and Barbastellus daubentonii. 
According to the latest authority (Dobson, ‘ Catalogue of the Chiroptera’), 
the Barbastelle should be known as Synotus barbastellus (Schreber).— 
J. HK. Harrine. 


Squirrel breeding in a Church-tower.— While looking about our 
church-tower one day last mouth, I was surprised to see a Squirrel run out 
of one of the loop-holes, and on examining the nest I found three young 
ones. The Squirrel’s nursery has for its foundation an old Sparrow’s nest, 
to which a large quantity of fine dry grass has been added. The choice of 
the tower for a nesting-place seems the more singular, as an extensive 
plantation of lofty trees joims the churchyard. In another loop-hole close 
to the Squirrel’s a pair of Kestrels (no doubt those mentioned by me in 
‘The Zoologist’ for 1888, pp. 269, 308) have laid their eggs, and I hope 
the young ones may be safely rearedJuxian G. Tuck (‘Tostock Rectory, 
Suffolk). 

BIRDS. 


Kite and Raven nesting in South Wales.— Within the last two years 
the Kite and Raven have nested in Brecon. Omitting the exact localities, 
I may state that both nests were within six miles of the town of Brecon. 
In the spring of 1887, having seen a pair of Kites soaring over an 
extensive oak-wood on a steep hill-side, I went, with a friend who is well 
acquainted with the appearance of the Kite, to try and find their nest. On 
nearing the place we saw the Kites soaring over the wood, and found their 
nest without much delay. It was well placed for security, at a height of 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 227 


about forty-five feet from the ground, on a slim, nearly branchless oak, 
which at that point divided into three limbs. By climbirg another tree, 
higher up on the slope, we could see three young birds in the nest; they 
looked about ten days old, and were of a yellowish white colour. ‘The nest 
was very much like a Crow’s, but much larger, and was remarkable in 
having many loose sticks hanging from its sides. The Raven's nest was 
placed in an ash tree growing horizontally from the side of a precipitous 
ravine on a slope of the Brecon Beacons. An aneroid gave fifteen hundred 
feet as the height above the sea. I went to the nest, which I believe is 
two years old, on March 22nd of this year, and found it much the same as 
it was last summer. I went again on April 15th, and noticed the nest had 
been added to, and re-lined with white wool, and contained three eggs of the 
light blue variety, and one young bird. The inside of the nest could be 
well seen from another tree higher up on the cliff. The next day another 
young bird had appeared, and with difficulty I secured an egg, which proved 
to be addled. While I was there the two Ravens were in close attendance, 
soaring overhead, and sometimes perching on the rocks, and one returned 
to the nest very soon after I left it. The latter is a very large structure, 
nearly three feet high. It would seem that in twenty-five days the nest 
had been repaired, four eggs laid, and incubation all but completed.— 
E. A. Swatnson, Capt. (Woodlands, Brecon). 

[We sincerely trust that the naturalists of Brecon ‘will do all in their 
power to protect these fine birds.—Ep. ] 


Sand Grouse in Germany.—In a long article extending over thirty- 
three pages, Dr. Reichenow, in the ‘ Journal fiir Ornithologie’ for January 
last, has traced the occurrence of this species in Germany during the year 
1888, mentioning all the localities in which, so far as he could ascertain, it 
had been observed. 


Sand Grouse in Middlesex.—As I have not seen any notice in print 
of the appearance of Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Middlesex during the recent 
immigration of this species, it may be well to record that a little flock of 
about a dozen birds were seen in this neighbourhood, near Staines Moor, 
on June 19th, 1888. They were observed at close quarters by a neighbour 
of mine, who, on seeing in my collection the stuffed specimens which I had 
procured during the former invasion of this species in 1863, had no 
hesitation in identifying the species. So far as I know they were not 
molested, and I am glad to say that no one about here carries a gun in the 
summer time.—F’. Bonp (Staines, May 20). 


Sand Grouse in Surrey.—The following notice of the occurrence of 
Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Surrey is taken from the ‘ Graphic’ of March 2nd 
last :—* Pallas’s Sand Grouse, which was very plentiful last year, still 
lingers. A specimen was shot by mistake for a Dove, at Shirley, near’ 


228 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Croydon, the last week of February." —Ernest Satmon (Clevelands, Wray 
Park, Reigate). 


Sand Grouse in Glamorganshire.— This is an additional species 
to the Glamorganshire list. Mr. J. T. D. Llewelyn, of Penllergare, 
tells me that about this time last year, when the Sand Grouse were 
occurring so frequently all over these islands, a flock of sixteen appeared 
at Llanrhidian, in Gower, and two were shot (a male and a female) by 
Mr. S. Davies, of Llanrhidian Farm. The birds remained there only 
about a week. The two that were shot were stuffed, and may now be seen 
in the possession of Messrs. H. M. and C. E. Peel, in Swansea. Mr. 
O. H. Jones, of Fonmon Castle, near Cowbridge, has also written to tell 
me that a pair of Sand Grouse appeared last year, in the spring, on a farm 
about three miles from where he lives, and are said to have bred there. 
The farmer states that he saw them with young ones, but Mr. Jones thinks 
that there is very considerable doubt as to their having bred.——DicBy 
8. W. Nicnoxtt (The Ham, Cowbridge). 


The Firecrest in Cumberland.—As my friend Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., 
has taken exception (p. 174) to the record of Regulus ignicapillus from 
Cumberland, on the ground that the specimen is not now forthcoming, 
I think it right to say that the person who killed the bird is forthcoming, 
and that he is, and always has been, certain that his bird was a Firecrest, 
basing his opinion on Yarrell’s description. This person (Mr. Graham, of Car- 
lisle,) has a good knowledge of the rarer British birds. He has always stated 
that he gave the bird to a certain birdstuffer formerly well known in Carlisle. 
This man—by name Baily—latterly formed a collection of his own ; but at 
the time that the Firecrest was killed he usually disposed of his specimens. 
Whether this specimen went to Mr. Heysham or not, is not at present 
known, scarcely any of his letters referring to that period. But we do know 
that some of Mr. Heysham’s best specimens were destroyed by moth, and 
this specimen may have been among them. At all events, Mr. Graham 
adheres to his statement that the bird was a Firecrest; and he himself, 
when first giving the information in writing, correctly described the 
distinctive points between the Firecrest and the Goldcrest.— H. A. 
MacrHeErson (Carlisle). 


Blue-winged Teal in Cambridgeshire.—On April 24th Mr. L. Travis, 
the Bury birdstuffer, showed me a duck he had just set up, which had 
been sent to him in the flesh a few days before from March, in Cambridge- 
shire with a male Shoveller. A reference to Mr. Saunders’ ‘ Illustrated 
Manual of British Birds’ (p. 422) enabled us to identify it as a mature 
male Blue-winged Teal, Querquedula discors. It has the broad white 
streak in front of the eye, the brilliant blue wing-coverts, and legs like 
those of the Shoveller. In answer to enquiries Mr. Travis kindly made 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 229 


for me, he was informed it was killed near March. I had hopes of being 
able to trace it to Norfolk.—Juxian G. Tuck (Tostock Rectory, Suffolk). 


Crossbill Breeding in Immature Plumage.—TI read with much 
pleasure Mr. Ussher’s notes (p. 180) upon the Crossbill breeding in Co. 
Waterford, and the more so as Dr. Giinther had kindly shown me the birds 
referred to, a few days before. The interesting point, of course, is to find 
the male of Lowia curvirostra breeding in a yellow dress, and before 
assuming the red plumage of maturity. Your readers will recollect that 
Mr. A. C. Chapman found the Pine Grosbeak breeding in immature 
plumage in the Tana valley, and Mr. Seebohm states that Carpodacus 
erythrinus does the same. I may add that the Lesser Redpoll also breeds 
in immature plumage, i.e., before the male has acquired the rose-pink 
breast, which Professor Newton describes as the summer plumage of that 
species. Among the Falconide the male Hen Harrier has been proved 
more than once to breed in immature plumage ; and if attention were paid 
to this point, probably similar facts would be elicited in regard to other 
species.—H. A, Macruerson (Carlisle). 


Crossbills Nesting in Suffolk and Norfolk.—TI have just received 
(April 11th) through Mr. Marsden of Gloucester, two nests of Crossbills, 
five eggs in each, and one hen bird shot from the nest; the one taken 
at Wrangford, in Suffolk, on April 4th, the other at Westing, in Norfolk, 
on March 30th. Perhaps they are of sufficient rarity breeding so far south 
as to be worth recording in ‘ The Zoologist.'—Puitip CrowLey (Waddon 
House, Croydon). 

[The nest of the Crossbill has been found very much further south 
than Mr. Crowley supposes, as, for example, in Hampshire, at Bourne- 
mouth, and in the Holt Forest. In this forest, before the Scotch firs were 
cut down (in 1888) to allow more room for the growth of the young oaks, 
Crossbills commonly bred there; and when the fir trees were thrown 
in the year referred to, four nests and eggs of this species were found 
amongst the branches, as recorded by Mr. Lewcock, of Farnham, Zool. 
1843, p. 189.—Ep.] 


Bee-eater in Ireland.— On the 2nd May last a male Bee-eater 
(Merops apiaster) was shot at Ballbriggan, Co. Dublin, in beautiful 
plumage, and in good condition. The stomach contained the remains of 
bees.—Epwarp Wit11Ams (2, Dame Street, Dublin). 

[What a pity it is that these beautiful birds cannot be left unmolested 
on their arrival, and that one selfish individual should invariably deprive 
all the naturalists in his county of the pleasure of observing it. We fail to 
see the use of a “ Wild Birds Protection Act,” obtained with so much 
trouble, if those who profess to be ornithologists do not aid in getting it 
enforced.— Ep.] 


230 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


The Attitude of Grebes on Land. — The attitudes of diving birds 
when on land are so little known that I make no apology for troubling you 
with a brief observation on the subject. Yarrell states that Grebes “ sit 
upright on the whole length of the tarsus.” This is illustrated by his 
figures of the Eared and Sclavonian Grebes, which are represented as 
resting like any of the Alcide on the tarsus. On May 4th my cousin and 
I closely examined a Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus, at the 
fish-house in the Zoological Gardens, Regent’s Park. We found that the 
bird sat up naturally enough, not with the tarsus resting on and parallel 
with the ground, but raised at an angle of about 223°. It is clear, there- 
fore, that Yarrell had in his thoughts the Alcida, and that he was mistaken 
in ascribing their action to the Grebes.~H. A. Macruerson (Carlisle). 


Late Stay of Bramblings in Suffolk.—Bramblings have remained in 
Suffolk later than usual this year. On April 17th a fine male, which 
looked very dark in colour, was feeding under some beech-trees near the 
house. A week later there were two male Bramblings in the flesh in a 
shop in Bury; one was in ordinary winter dress, but the other had the 
head almost black, and differed from any other which has ever come under 
my notice, in having the part of the back which is usually white, of 
a bright canary yellow. This curious variety is now in my collection. On 
April 25th my gardener, who is a very keen-sighted observer, saw a pair 
here.—Juian G. Tucx (Tostock Rectory, Suffolk). 


Audacity of Jackdaws.—Jackdaws abound here in the old trees, and 
have become so mischievous, destroying all the Blackbirds’, Thrushes’, and 
other eggs (to say nothing of game) that, rather reluctantly, I ordered their 
numbers to be reduced. The next day, or nearly so, my shepherd saw a 
Jackdaw plunder a Kestrel’s nest near the house, that I have each year 
tried to protect, and take the eggs. The bird dropped one, and in order to 
identify it, I directed the man to bring me the broken egg-shell, which he 
did; and I found it to bea Kestrel’s. This attack on a hawk’s nest, although 
the Kestrel is not a bold bird, still shows a Jackdaw’s audacity to be con- 
siderable—W. OxeNDEN Hammonp (St. Alban’s Court, near Wingham, 


Kent). 


Jackdaws Nesting in old Magpies’ Nests.—In some small planta- 
tions near here Jackdaws have lately taken to occupying the Magpies’ nests. 
In May, 1887, I found in these plantations four newly-built nests of the 
Magpie, but from one of these the Magpies had been ejected by a pair of 
Jackdaws before they had completed their nest; the Jackdaws had lined 
the nest and laid eggs therein. In 1888 I did not visit these woods. On 
May 7th of the present year I found there were six old nests of the 
Magpie, each tenanted by a pair of Jackdaws, and one pair of Magpies had 
built a new nest, and up to that time kept possession of it for themselves. 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 231 


The nests are situate at the top of tall Scotch and larch fir-trees, and have 
been plentifully lined by the Jackdaws with sheep’s wool and other 
materials. I believe Jackdaws are very rarely found nesting on the open 
boughs of a tree, and that they have never been known to actually build 
for themselves in such a situation. Is any correspondent of ‘ The Zoologist’ 
aware of any such instance? In the present case, when the Jackdaws have 
succeeded in driving all the Magpies away, they will either have to build 
for themselves or else change their quarters.—E. W. H. Buage (Cheadle: 
Staffordshire). 

[Several instances of Jackdaws building nests in trees will be found 
recorded in ‘ The Field’ of May 22, 1875, and ‘ The Zoologist,’ pp. 185, 
823, 9572.— Ep. ] 


Eggs of the Grey Wagtail.—On May 11th, I found five eggs of the Grey 
Wagtail, very different from the ordinary form of the eggs of this species, 
which is, I should say, an egg with a yellowish underground, thickly covered 
with rather darker markings. The eggs in question have the underground 
quite white, and are spotted with grey, very much like eggs of the Pied 
Wagtail. Has this variety been found before ? I have never seen such eggs, 
nor can I find mention of them in any works on Natural History I have 
consulted.—E. W. H. Buaae (Cheadle, Staffordshire). 

‘The question naturally suggests itself, “‘ Are they eggs of the Grey 
Wagtail ?” Our correspondent does not state that.the birds were seen at the 
nest, or offer any evidence of correct identification.—ED.] 


Early: Nesting of the Little Grebe in Co. Dublin.—- On the 2nd 
April I discovered a nest of the Little Grebe, Podiceps minor, con- 
taining five eggs. It would seem therefore that some of these eggs 
must have been laid at the end of March. Is not this a very early date for 
the nesting of this bird? Mr. Miller Christy, in his little book on ‘ Birds- 
nesting,’ gives the time of nesting of this bird as from May to July. One 
of the eggs was accidentally broken by me, but I have the remaining four, 
and there can be no doubt as to the identity of the species. The nest was 
in the usual situation on the outskirt of some reeds, floating and almost 
level with the surface of the water, and was thoroughly soaked, the eggs 
lying in the wet interior. Contrary, however, to my usual experience with 
the nest of this bird, the eggs were wholly uncovered, and are consequeutly 
much cleaner than the generality of the eggs of this bird which I have 
seen.—J. J. Dowxine (1, Fingal Terrace, Howth Road, Clontarf). 


Ornithological Notes from Lowestoft.— The following notes were 
made last year at Herringfleet Hall, near Lowestoft Several Ring 
Ouzels in immature plumage were observed about the hedges and on the 
common in the middle of September, and up to about October 8th, after 
which date they disappeared. Mr. Pyecraft, a birdstuffer in Yarmouth, 


232 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


informed me that an Osprey was shot on Fritton Lake during the second 
week in September. A Jack Snipe was shot by Mr. L. Peto, on September 
25th near here, and I shot one myself on the marshes near St. Olave's 
Station, on September 26th, a somewhat early date for their appearance. 
On October 17th, while Snipe shooting on the “rands” near St. Olave’s 
Station, my retriever caught a Spotted Crake, and brought it to me alive- 
It was a good specimen, a hen bird, and remarkably fat. I flushed two 
others on the same ground the same day. I flushed a Short-eared Owl out 
of some long grass while snipe-shooting in the marshes near St. Olave’s 
Station, October 27th. I observed a Buzzard, apparently the Common 
Buzzard, in the woods surrounding the Fritton Lake, daily from about 
August 4th to the 16th, after which it took its departure. About May 29th, 
Mr. Bunn, birdstuffer, Lowestoft, received for preservation a female Sand 
Grouse that was picked up dead on the shore near the town; the ovaries 
were not at all developed. On May 30th, Mr. Sheals, birdstuffer, Belfast, 
received one that was killed at Killough, Co. Down. On May 31st, Mr. 
James Sutton wrote me that two Sand Grouse, also females, killed by the 
telegraph wires, were in the hands of the Sub-curator at Durham. A 
beautiful specimen of another hen bird that was shot at Blundeston, near 
Lowestoft, is now in my possession. A nest of the Shieldrake, containing 
fresh eggs, was taken by a friend of mine on the sandhills near Burnham, 
Somersetshire, August 23rd, which seems to be an unusually late date at 
which to find fresh eggs. A Snow Bunting was killed at Cromer on 
October 29th. In a letter received by me from Mr. W. E. Baker, dated 
Tilney, All Saint’s, Norfolk, October 29th, 1888, he says :—* I think there 
must have been an unusual number of Hawfinches this year with us, as I 
found six nests containing eggs and young in oneday. The Sand Grouse 
have not yet left Norfolk, as I saw a fine pair at one of our local bird- 
stuffers last week, in full plumage and in splendid condition, as also a Ring 
Ouzel.”—E. A. Butter, Lieut.-Col. (Herringfleet Hall, near Lowestoft). 


Kestrel’s Nest on a Wheat-stack.— A pair of Kestrels have layed 
in a wheat-stack this year as they did last year, and on the same farm, s0 
probably they are the same birds. Two eggs were found, while the stack (one 
of four) was being thrashed, about the beginning of May. The stacks were 
by the road-side, about 800 yards from the farm buildings. I am glad to 
say that the Kestrels on this farm are not molested, except by such an 
accident as thrashing the stacks, in which they seem so fond of laying 
their eggs. About 400 rats and six weasels were killed in these four stacks, 
and it seems wonderful, therefore, that the hawks’ eggs were not eaten by 
them.—GrorcE EK. Lopes (5, Verulam Buildings, Gray’s Inn). 


Strange Capture of a Golden Eagle.—During the last week of April, 
as Mr. Alexander Shaw, farmer, Oldtown, Stratherrick, on the estate of 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 233 


Captain Fraser of Farraline, was going round among his sheep stock about 
four o’clock in the afternoon, he came on two Golden Eagles near the edge 
of a birch wood. They were lying on their sides, and at first sight Mr. 
Shaw thought they had been trapped, but on closer examination he found 
they were engaged in a desperate combat with each other, and had got their 
talons so closely locked together that he approached and placed his feet on 
them, and, holding one of the birds by the wings, managed to secure it. He 
made an effort to retain the second bird, but it ultimately made its escape. 
Mr. Shaw stuck gallantly to the one bird, and, holding it firmly by 
the wings, forced it in front of him to the nearest farm-house, where he 
threw a bag over its head, and made it captive. Strange to say, Mr. Shaw 
escaped without the slightest injury, although the bird frequently struck at 
him. Hearing of the peculiar capture, I purchased it from Mr. Shaw, and 
sent it to the Zoological Gardens, Regent’s Park, London. When des- 
patched, the bird was quite lively, fully grown, and in excellent plumage.— 
Tuomas G. HenpErson (Inverness). 


Weight of Woodcocks.—Having seen a letter of Mr. Harcourt’s in 
‘The Zoologist ’ of April last about the weight of two Woodcocks shot by 
his gamekeeper, it may interest him to know that on the 29th October 
last I shot one in this neighbourhood that weighed just over 1 lb. The soft- 
ness of the ground cannot have had much to do with the size of this one, it 
being before the time of much frost. I have killed a good number of 
Woodcock at different times, over 100 one season in the west of Scotland, 
but this is the largest I remember. I regret that I did not verify the sex.— 
F. P. Jonnson (Castlesteads, Brampton, Cumberland). 


Woodcocks.—The following notes on Woodcocks in Ireland may be of 
interest to Mr. E. W. Harcourt :—-In the south of Wexford, Woodcocks 
have been more scarce than usual this year, and in 1888 also they were 
scarce. They never visit this part of the county in large numbers, but 
are more frequent in the north, where some breed, I believe yearly. The 
best bag on record in the north of this county (at Wilton) in one day was 
sixteen and a half couple; in 1887 thirty-five cocks were killed in two 
days ; in 1886 nineteen in one day, but I am told there must have been 
seventy birds seen. I heard that in Meath cocks were a little scarce, and 
this appears to apply to Waterford also.—G. Barrerr-Hamitton (Kilma- 
nock House, New Ross, Co. Wexford). 


Cirl Bunting in Glamorganshire.—For the last few weeks, so Mr. 
W. Allen tells me, a pair of Cirl Buntings have come regularly to pick up 
crumbs and corn in front of the windows of the Rectory at Porthkerry. 
He thinks that they intend building close by. Mr. Allen sent a notice of 
the occurrence to ‘ The Field,’ which appeared in the issue of May 4th.— 
Diepy S. W. Nicnott (The Ham, Cowbridge). 

ZOOLOGIST.—JUNE, 1889. T 


234 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Golden Oriole in Kent.—On April 21st I saw in Westerham Park, 
Kent, a male specimen of Oriolus galbula feeding in company with two or 
three Thrushes. I watched it for nearly half an hour, hoping to see a 
female Oriole, but failed to detect one. I have abstained from recording 
this rare visitant, trusting to give ita chance of life, until it had overcome 
the fatigue of migration—Joun T. Carrineron. 


The Great Grey Shrike in Holderness.—This somewhat local bird 
was met with last April at Arram Hall, near Hornsea, the residence of 
Mr. Thomas Bainton. It visits us, though sparingly, towards the end of 
autumn, returning to the north of Europe for the breeding season.— 
Peter Incuparp (Hornsea, near Hull.) 


Bittern in Devonshire.— On January 15th a Bittern, Botaurus 
stellaris, was shot in the parish of Bickington, about eight miles from 
Barnstaple, and was taken to Mr. Rowe, the taxidermist, of this town, 
at whose shop I had an opportunity of inspecting it.—J. G. Hamiine 
(The Close, Barnstaple). 


Kite in Suffolk—A male Kite was taken at Hriswell, in Suffolk, on 
November 16th last. This is the same bird which is referred to last 
December in two issues of ‘ The Field,’ under the heading of “ The Kite 
in Norfolk.”—Jutian Tucx (Tostock Rectory, Suffolk). 


Little Gull in Cornwall.—On February 21st, whilst out on the sand- 
flats between Hayle and St. Ives, a friend of mine observed two specimens 
of the Little Gull (Larus minutus), one of which he was fortunate in 
shooting for me, a good specimen of a young bird.—F’. Sransevx (Staple- 
grove, Taunton). 


REPTILES. 


Lizard swallowed and rejected alive by a Viper.— Mr. R. H. 
Ramsbotham, Waterside, Todmorden, has sent to the British Museum, 
for examination, a Viper and a Lizard in spirit, with the following 
remarks :—‘‘ This adder was caught at Trowbers Warren, Sussex, on 
April 24th, 1889, about noon. It was kept in this bottle without spirit 
till the following morning, between 9 and 10, when the bottle was filled. 
Immediately after this was done, the Lizard (which is still in the bottle, 
and has not been touched) crawled out of the snake’s mouth, and was 
quite lively for a short time.” We have thus in this observation three 
facts well worthy of record:—(1) That Vipers do occasionally swallow 
Lizards, although their food normally consists of small rodents. (2) That 
in this instance the snake did not avail itself of its poison-apparatus in 
seizing its prey. (8) That a Lizard retained life for nearly twenty-four 
hours in the gullet of a Viper. The Lizard is an adult female Lacerta 
vivipara.—G. A. BouLenGER (Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road). 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 285 


MOLLUSCA. 


Limnza involuta probably a Variety of L. peregra.—The question 
broached by Mr. More (pp. 154 and 155 ante), as to what is now known 
as L. involuta being merely a variety of L. peregra, I may point out, is not 
new. Adams, on p. 35 of his ‘ Collector’s Manual of British Shells’ (1884), 
broaches the question, but, without giving any reasons, siraply remarks, 
“Tt is probably a variety of Limnea peregra.” I would like to ask 
Mr. More on what physiological or other grounds is it conceivable that 
the scanty supply of lime-salts and of food-stuff in the Lough could produce 
an involuted spire? If the smallness of the mountain tarn and the isolation 
of involuta have anything to do with its conversion into that form from 
L. peregra, then I would point out that there seems to me here a con- 
tradiction. I presume that for the sake of the exactness of experiment 
Mr. Waller kept the involuta Mr. More sent him isolated, and also I presume 
the tank—or whatever he used—was somewhat smaller in its capacity than 
Lough Crincaum. Then, taking the supposition that these two conditions 
obtained in Mr. Waller’s experiment, and taking also the supposition that 
the isolation and the smallness of the mountain tarn may have produced, 
or have helped to produce, the conversion of L. peregra into L. involuta, 
we have the anomaly of similar causes producing two diametrically opposite 
effects—in one case the conversion of L. peregra into L. involuta, in the 
other the reversion of L. involuta into L. peregra. In this, I consider, lies 
the futility of the evidence advanced by Mr. More in favour of the theory 
he promulgates. Again, supposing that the scarcity of lime-salts and of 
food-stuffs in the Lough may have produced, or have helped to produce, 
the conversion of L. peregra into L. involuta, I may point out that there 
exists a thin and small variety of L. stagnalis (called var. fragilis by 
Jeffreys) which may be as legitimately considered to be produced by the 
scarcity of lime-salts and of food-stuffs in the medium in which it lives, yet 
it does not possess an involuted spire. Against this supposition, however, 
I would point out a statement for which Prof. Rolleston and Mr. W. 
Hatchett Jackson (‘ Forms of Animal Life,’ 1888, p. 127) are answerable :— 
“The thickness of a shell does not depend upon the amount of lime in the 
waters in which the animal dwells, but rather on the workings of its tissues, 
modified by surrounding influences, whether chemical or non-chemical. 
This may be readily seen by a comparison of the dense shell of a Pearl 
Mussel, Unio margaritifer, from the mountain-streams of Westmoreland, 
with the thin shell of Anodonta from Oxford waters, much richer in lime.” 
And even if here these authors are speaking specially of the Lamellibranch 
shell, yet there is no reason why it should not equally apply to the shell 
of a Basommatophor. The very fact that Mr. Waller fed his involuta upon 
water-cress lends a decided assumption to a belief that he accidentally 


236 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


included a nidamental mass of L. peregra (or even a few detached eggs of 
this species, which would be easily overlooked) among the food introduced. 
And if L. involuta is merely a variety of L. peregra, then I should be 
inclined to suppose that reversions to ancestral conditions would be found 
in the Lough. It would be interesting to know whether L. involuta differs 
in its internal anatomy from L. peregra, for this would settle at once their 
specific distinctness or the reverse, and if I could obtain any live specimens 
of the former I would be willing to examine them in this relation; the fact 
that the contour, &c., of their bodies, when externally examined, are alike, 
experience has taught me to regard as of very little weight for diagnostic 
purposes. So far, taking into account what I have stated above, with the 
almost alpine distribution of L. involuta and the differences in the shell 
between it and L. peregra, I must still maintain the opinion I have long held 
of the specific distinctness of L. involuta from L. peregra.—J. W. WILLIAMS 
(Mitton, Stourport, Worcestershire). 


Testacella haliotidea (var. scutulum) in Renfrewshire.—More than 
six years ago I requested a gardener of my acquaintance to pick up for the 
Paisley Free Museum as many varieties of slugs as he could find. He 
promised to do so, and it was not long before he gave me several, among 
which was one of Testacella haliotidea, which I recognised from the figures 
in Jeffrey’s, Forbes and Hanley’s, and Dr. Gray’s works. I desired him 
to procure for me, if possible, a few more. Ina short time I had twelve 
from him. These I kept for some months alive, but as we were busy 
getting up a large addition to our Museum, they were neglected and died, 
but the shells were saved for the Museum. The throng being over and 
the place well filled, I desired to procure specimens to preserve in spirits ; 
for this purpose, in January, 1889, I spoke to another gardener, and showed 
him figures of the slugs. Soon he sent me sixteen fine specimens ; these 
Thad the pleasure of exhibiting alive at one of our monthly Natural History 
meetings. I have preserved in spirits a few of the most marked specimens, 
as well as their eggs; and, thinking that I might again lose the species, 
I have allowed the remainder to get loose in a garden near at hand.— 
Morris Youne (Curator, Paisley Free Museum). 


CRUSTACEA. 


Athanas nitescens in Ireland.—I do not think that this pretty little 
crustacean, so like a miniature lobster, has yet been recorded as Irish. 
In 1869, when collecting for the Royal Dublin Society, in the West of 
Ireland, I captured this rare species, in a rock-pool, on the small island of 
Magdara, which is noted also for a very interesting old chapel ruin. It lies 
a short distance to the south of Roundstone, Connemara,—A, G. More 
(74, Leinster Road, Dublin). 


( 237 ) 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 


Linnean Society or Lonpon. 


May 2, 1889.—Mr. C. B. Crane, M.A., F.R.S., in the chair. 

Messrs. H. B. Hewetson (of Leeds), M. B. Slater and T. W. Shore 
were admitted Fellows of the Society; and Messrs. C. Hedley, T. W. 
Girdlestone, and E. EK. Prince were elected. Prof. W. Pfeffer, of the 
University of Tubingen, was elected a Foreign Member. 

With reference to a recent exhibition, by Mr. D. Morris, of leaves of 
different species or varieties of plants included under H'rythroxylon Coca, 
Lamarck, Mr. Thomas Christy made some remarks on the leaves of a 
variety from Japan. These he described as brittle and thin, with hardly 
any trace of cocaine, though yielding 8 per cent. of crystallizable substance. 
The thicker leaves of the Peruvian plant yielded more cocaine, though at 
first rejected on account of their more glutinous nature. 

Mr. John Carruthers read a short paper on the cystocarps, hitherto 
undescribed, of a well-known sea-weed, Rhodymenia palmata, upon which 
remarks were made by Mr. G. Murray and Mr. A. W. Bennett. 

The second part of a monograph of the Thelephoree was communicated 
by Mr. G. Massee. 

Mr. Mitten contributed a paper on all the known species of Musci 
and Hepatica recorded from Japan. An interesting discussion followed 
on the character of the Japanese Flora, in which Mr. J. G. Baker, 
Dr. Braithwaite, and Mr. G. Murray took part. 

The meeting adjourned to May 24th. 


ZoouoaicaL Society oF Lonpon. 


April 16, 1889.—Dr. A. GiinrHER, F'.R.S., Vice-President, in the chair. 

The Secretary exhibited a pair of a fine large Buprestine Beetle of the 
genus Julodis (J. Ffinchi), obtained by Mr. B. 'T. Ffinch near Karachi; 
and a Mole-cricket, Gryllotalpa vulgaris, sent by Mrs. Talbot from Bagdad. 

Mr. Sclater made some remarks on the animals he had noticed during 
a recent visit to the Zoological Gardens of Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and 
Antwerp. 

A communication was read from Mr. A. H. Everett, containing remarks 
on the zoo-geographical relationships of the Island of Palawan and some 
adjacent islands, In this paper it was contended that Palawan and the 


238 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


other islands intervening between Borneo and Mindoro form an integral 
portion of the Bornean group, and do not naturally belong to the Philippine 
Archipelago, with which they have hitherto been treated. The writer 
founded his contention upon the grounds (1) that the islands in question 
are connected with Borneo by a shallow submarine bank, while they are 
separated from the Philippines by a sea of over 500 feet depth ; and (2) that 
a comparison of the Bornean and Philippine elements in the fauna of 
Palawan, so far as it is known, shows a marked preponderance of the former 
over the latter element; while the Philippine forms are also more largely 
and more profoundly modified than the Bornean species. This fact 
indicated that they had been longer isolated, and consequently that the 
fauna of Palawan was originally derived from Borneo, and not from the 
Philippines, though a considerable subsequent invasion of species from the 
latter group had taken place. 

A communication was read from Mr. Oldfield Thomas, containing an 
account of the mammals of Kina Balu, North Borneo, from the collections 
made on that mountain by Mr. John Whitehead in 1887 and 1888. The 
species represented in Mr. Whitehead’s collection were twenty-one in 
number, of which six had proved to be new to science. 

Mr. G. A. Boulenger read the second of his communications on the fishes 
obtained by Surgeon-Major A.S. G. Jayaker at Muscat, on the east coast of 
Arabia. The two collections recently received from Mr. Jayaker contained 
examples of eighty species not included in Mr. Boulenger’s former list. 


May 7, 1889.—Prof. Frower, C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., 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 April, and called attention to a 
young male Sinaitic Ibex, Capra sinaitica, from Mount Sinai, presented 
by Sir James Anderson; and to a young male of the Lesser Koodoo, 
Strepsiceros imberbis, from East Africa, presented by Mr. George S. 
Mackenzie. 

Mr. Sclater exhibited and made remarks on a living specimen of an 
albino variety of the Cape Mole, Georychus capensis, lately presented to 
the Menagerie by the Rev. George H. R. Fisk. 

The Secretary read a letter addressed to him by Dr. E. C. Stirling, of 
Adelaide, containing a copy of his description of a new Australian burrowing 
Mammal, lately published in the ‘Transactions of the Royal Society of 
South Australia,’ and promising to send to the Zoological Society a more 
complete account of the same animal. 

Mr. Seebohm exhibited and made remarks on the skin of a male example 
of Phasianus chrysomelas, which had been transmitted in a frozen state from 
the Trans-Caspian Provinces of Russia. 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 239 


A communication was read from Col. C. Swinhoe, containing descriptions 
of seventy-five new species of Indian Lepidoptera, chiefly Heterocera. 

A communication was read from Rev. O. P. Cambridge, containing the 
description of a new Tree Trap-door Spider from Brazil, proposed to be 
called Dendricon rostratrum. 

Mr. F. E. Beddard read some notes on the anatomy of an American 
Tapir, Tapirus terrestris, based on a specimen lately living in the Society’s 
collection. 

A communication was read from Prof. Bardeleben, of Jena, on the 
prepollex and prehallux of the Mammalian skeleton. The author recorded 
the presence of a two-segmented nail-clad preepollex in Pedetes, and that of 
a two-segmented pisiform (post-minimus) prehallux in Bathyergus. He also 
stated that he had discovered vestiges of the prehallux and prepollex in 
certain Reptilia. He then passed to the consideration of the Mesozoic 
Theriodesmus of Seeley, and denied the existence of the scapho-lunare of 
that author, while he produced good reason for believing the same observer's 
second centrale to consist of two elements, and his przaxial centrale to be 
the basal element of a prehallux. 

Mr. Oldfield Thomas read the description of a new genus and species 
of Muride from Queensland, allied to Hydromys, which he proposed to 
call Xeromys myoides.—P. L. ScuaTER, Secretary. 


Entomotoaicat Society or Lonpon. 


May 1, 1889.— Mr. Freprricg Du Cane Gopman, M.A.,, F.B.S., 
Vice-President, in the chair. 

Mr. Walter F. H. Blandford, B.A., and Mr. John W. Downing, were 
elected Fellows; and Dr. Neville Manders and Mr. Arthur Cant were 
admitted into the Society. 

Mr. W. L. Distant announced the death of Dr. Signoret of Paris, one 
of the Honorary Fellows of the Society. 

Dr. Sharp exhibited male and female specimens of an abnormal form 
of Rhomborhina japonica, found in Japan by Mr.G. Lewis. ‘They exhibited 
a contraction of the thorax, which was much narrower than usual at the 
base, so that the mesothoracic epimera were entirely exposed. Dr. Sharp 
also exhibited a small collection of Coleoptera made by Dr. N. Manders 
in the Shan states, Upper Burmah; this collection contained several new 
interesting forms, the most remarkable being a small Heteromerous insect 
bearing a considerable resemblance to Rhysodes. Amongst the specimens 
was an example of Batocera roylei, which he had retained in a relaxed 
condition, so that the Fellows might have an opportunity of hearing its 
stridulation; this was produced in a very audible manner by the base of 


240 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


the prothorax passing backwards and forwards over a striated space at the 
base of the scutellum. 

Mr. C. O. Waterhouse exhibited, for Mr. Frohawk, a series of wings 
of British Butterflies, prepared in accordance with a process (described by 
Mr. Waterhouse in the Proc. Ent. Soc. 1887, p. xxiii), by which they were 
denuded of their scales so as to expose the neuration. 

Dr. P. B. Mason exhibited cocoons of a species of spider,—Theridion 
pallens, Black.,—from Cannock Chase, distinguished by the presence of 
large blunt processes on their surface. 

Mr. H. Goss exhibited, for Mr. N. F. Dobrée, a number of scales of 
Coccida, picked off trees of Acacia melanoxylon and Grevillea robusta, 
growing in the Market Square, Natal. These scales had been referred to 
Mr. J. W. Douglas, who expressed an opinion that they belonged to the 
Fam. Brachyscelida, and probably to the genus Brachyscelis, Schrader. He 
said that most of the species lived on Hucalyptus. 

Captain H. J. Elwes exhibited a long and varied series of Terias 
hecabe. He remarked that all the specimens which had strongly defined 
chocolate markings were taken in the cold and dry season, and that 
those which were without, or almost without, markings were taken in 
the hot and wet season. Capt. Elwes further observed that he believed 
that many specimens which had been described as distinct were merely 
seasonal forms of this variable species. Mr. W. L. Distant, Mr. F. D. 
Godman, Prof. Meldola, Mr. H. T. Stainton, and Mr. G. Lewis took part 
in the discussion which ensued. 

Mr. W. Dannatt exhibited specimens of Thaumantis Howqua, West, 
from Shanghai. 

Mr. H. Burns exhibited, and made remarks on, a number of nests of 
living ants of the following species, viz., Formica fusca, Lasius alienus, 
L. flavus, L. niger, Myrmica ruginodis, M. scabrinodis, &e. One of the 
nests contained a queen of L. flavus which had been in the exhibitor’s 
possession since September, 1882. 

Mr. G. C. Bignell communicated a paper entitled “ Description of a 
new species of British Ichneumonide.” 

Mr. A. G. Butler communicated a paper entitled “A few words in 
reply to Mr. Elwes’ statements respecting the incorporation of the Zeller 
Collection with the General Collection of Lepidoptera in the Natural 
History Museum.” Capt. Elwes, Mr. Stainton, Mr. Godman, and others 
took part in the discussion which ensued.—H. Goss and W. W. Fow.xr, 
Joint Hon. Sees. 


aa 


Plate III. 


“AdAtATIOU I2PYLAASAY 
‘yeq sdercsyen 


West, Newman &Co. ump. 


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L.Hut 


THE ZOOLOGIST. 


THIRD SERIES. 


Vou. XIII.] JULY, 1889. [No. 151. 


NATTERER’S BAT, VESPERTILIO NATTERERI. 
By tsar Epiror. 
Pratt III. 


TWENTY years ago, when living a good deal in West Sussex, 
we often saw this Bat flying about the oak trees on the outskirts 
of the woods. It appeared earlier in the day than the other 
local species, even making its appearance before sunset. It was 
by no means shy, but allowed so near an approach that, as we 
stood motionless against the tree trunk around which it was 
feeding, it would pass within a few feet, and enable us to identify 
the species without killing it. In Middlesex, also, when residing 
at Kingsbury, we had many opportunities of seeing and handling 
Natterer’s Bat, specimens of which were procured at Hampstead, 
the Hale, Edgeware, and Stanmore. Subsequently, on noting 
its occurrence in many other parts of England, Wales, and 
Ireland, we came to the conclusion that it cannot be so rare a 
species in the British Islands as is generally supposed. 

The name “ Reddish-grey Bat,” bestowed upon it by Bell 
(‘British Quadrupeds,’ 2nd ed., 1874, p. 54), has always struck 
us as not very appropriate, the dorsal surface of the specimens 
obtained by us being very pale yellowish grey, and the under 
parts nearly white. Its colour and size, as well as the length of 
the ears (about as long as the head), made it easy to distinguish 
it on the wing from either the Pipistrelle or the Long-eared Bat, 


ZOOLOGIST.— JULY, 1889. U 


242 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


the only two species in the localities where we observed it with 
which it could be confounded. 

Its flight when feeding was by no means rapid, though on 
leaving one tree for another at a little distance it flew much 
faster, though never so rapidly as the Pipistrelle or high-flying 
Noctule. 

So far as could be ascertained without actual examination of 
the prey captured, its food appeared to consist principally of 
small Diptera and Micro-lepidoptera, which it captured not only 
on the wing, but snatched off the leaves on the outside branches 
of the trees with great dexterity. Just as a dog will “bolt” a 
rabbit and catch it before it has gone many yards, so this Bat 
would disturb a small moth and seize it within a few inches of 
the leaf or twig on which it had. been resting. An entry in an 
old note-book reminds us of a particular day in autumn (Aug. 24) 
when we watched one of these Bats, at 3 p.m., flying round an 
almost leafless oak, much slower than a Pipistrelle, and at a 
lower elevation. On another occasion we watched one for some 
time hawking for flies round an old pollard ash, quite early in 
the afternoon, while the sun was still shining. Its dexterity was 
remarkable, and as we called to mind the well-known lines in 
Collins’s ‘‘ Ode to Evening,” — 


‘** Now air is hush’d, save where the weak-eyed Bat 
With short shrill shriek flits by on leathern wing,” 


we were forced to the conclusion that the poet had hardly done 
justice to its powers of vision. The “short shrill shriek” 
admirably describes its vocal effort, and no better verb than “flit” 
could be found to describe its movements on the wing; but for 
“ weak-eyed ” we should prefer “ keen-eyed,” as depicting more 
truthfully its really marvellous powers of sight. Indeed, were it 
not gifted with excellent vision it would scarcely be able to get a 
living by the chase of small and active insects on the wing. 

Its usual abode by day is preferably the hole of a tree, often 
in a wood, being what may be termed a woodland species ;* but 
it has also been taken from the rafters of a cottage (Bell’s edition 
of White’s ‘ Selborne,’ i. p. 84); from a hole in a bridge, four feet 
above the water’s edge (Zool. 1853, p. 4012); from a hole in a 


* Bats have their peculiar haunts, like birds; the Pipistrelle haunts the 
neighbourhood of houses, and the Barbastelle loves water. 


NATTERER’S BAT. 243 


wall (A. Newton, Zool. 1853, p. 3804), and from the roof of a 
church (Bell, Brit. Quad., 2nd ed., p. 55). 

Like other Bats it is gregarious, and has occasionally been 
found in large colonies. A notable instance of this is mentioned 
in ‘The Zoologist’ for 1853 (p. 4012), where Dr. Kinahan 
records the fact of 27, 85, and 58 having been counted while 
issuing from one and the same hole in the abutment of Tankards- 
town Bridge, which crosses the River Barrow at Levitstown, on 
the confines of Kildare and Queen’s County. 

The almost entire disappearance of Bats during the winter, 
unless tempted forth by unusually mild or warm weather, has led 
to the belief in some quarters that they migrate like birds, 
though it is certain that their absence in most cases is to be 
accounted for by their hybernation. But something very like 
migration has been observed, if not actually proved. It has been 
ascertained by Blasius that Bats not merely seek for a change of 
locality, but that they do so with such regularity that it becomes, 
in his opinion, a “ migration.” Bell, apparently loth to accept 
this view, remarks (op. cit., p. 9), “‘ May we not suppose that the 
migration of Bats observed by Professor Blasius was the mere 
unconscious appearance, night after night, of these creatures at 
a spot somewhat removed from that of the previous night, thus 
following the twilight, rather than what may be properly termed 
a migration?’ There is other evidence, however, besides that 
of Blasius, to which he has not referred. 

Spallanzani discovered that in Italy a great many Bats, 
especially Vespertilio murinus, migrate at the approach of cold 
weather. At Pavia there are no grottoes nor caverns to which 
they can retire, and not a single Vespertilio could be found in 
winter, though no pains were spared in searching for them. The 
latest date at which he observed Bats flying at Pavia was Nov. 2, 
when the thermometer was at 55°. Another species, V. equinus, 
was seen at Modena on Nov. 4th. None were then observed 
again until March, when the temperature was 45°, and then 
V. equinus had not reappeared, the weather being too cold for it ; 
for some species are quite torpid at a temperature which others 
are able to endure without their muscular energy being 
diminished.* 


* Spallanzani, ‘ Rapports de l’air avec les étres organisés,’ il. p. 125. 
u 2 


244 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


In Sussex Mr. William Jeffery has observed a great increase 
in the number of Noctules in August, and supposes that they are 
moving southwards then. 

Mr. A. J. Clark-Kennedy, on May 23rd, 1874, about 5 p.m., 
saw a flight of twenty-seven large Bats, flying steadily in a north- 
easterly direction, at Little Glenham, Suffolk.* 

That Bats are able to find their way back to their old haunts, 
just as Swallows and Martins have been proved to do, has been 
shown by Mr. Gyles, of Kilmurry House, Waterford, who by way 
of experiment captured several Pipistrelles alive, on an island in 
the River Suir, and, carrying them to a distance, liberated them 
separately on the mainland. Each of them, after making one or 
two circuits in the air, went off in a direct line for its home, 
notwithstanding there was a bright sun shining at the time, and 
a strong wind blowing against them.t 

On these points (migration, and homing instinct in Bats) 
there is room for much interesting experiment, and it would not 
be difficult to catch and mark Bats, just as Swallows and Martins 
have been marked, by fastening lightly round one of the hind feet 
a thin bit of silver wire, before restoring it to liberty. On 
discovering the haunt of a colony a number might be caught and 
marked, and carried some miles away. It would be easy to re- 
visit the place and ascertain whether any of those marked had 
returned ; and under favourable circumstances this might be 
done without disturbing them much, for the silver wire being 
fastened to the hind feet, it would be readily seen, as the Bats 
hang suspended head downwards. 

Another point of interest, upon which it would be desirable to 
have more information, is the precise nature of their food. We 
know that, in this country at least, Bats are exclusively 
insectivorous. But on what particular insects do they chiefly 
prey? With the Noctule the little hairy cockchaffer, Amphi- 
malla solstitialis, is said to be a favourite food. Mr. D’Urban 
has observed that in Devonshire the Pipistrelle comes out in 
March, about the time the spring Noctuide appear at the catkins 
of the sallows, and that it picks these moths off the blossoms as 
it flies past. Mr. Bond has seen the Serotine taking moths off 


* ¢ Zoologist,’ 1874, p. 4075. 
t Note on “ Homing Instinct in Bats,” ‘ Zoologist,’ 1883, p. 173. 


NATTERER’S BAT. 245 


the blossoms of the blackthorn. When the sallows are in bloom 
the Long-eared Bat catches several species of Teniocampa which 
feed on the blossoms, and Doubleday watched this species 
picking moths off the flowers in his garden. Couch also has 
seen it take a fly off a leaf without alighting.* When dealing with 
the larger Lepidoptera they bite off the wings close to the body 
and drop them, eating only the body; and the haunt of a Bat 
may sometimes be discovered by the quantity of insect wings 
lying just below. 

The present distribution of Natterer’s Bat in the British 
Islands cannot be stated in a few words. So much attention has 
been bestowed of late years on the Chiroptera that even in the 
second edition of Bell’s standard work (1874) the records of the 
occurrence of this species are very incomplete. In our annotated 
copy of that work, without much trouble, we have been able to 
add some thirty additional localities for V. Nattereri to those 
mentioned in the text, and there are doubtless others which have 
escaped notice. Briefly speaking, it may be said that Natterer’s 
Bat is found in England and Wales from Cornwall to Durham, 
and from Norfolk in the east to Merionethshire in the west,—a 
pretty wide distribution. In a few counties, it is true, it has 
hitherto escaped observation, but its discovery in these is 
probably only a question of time, now that such close attention 
is paid to the fauna of particular areas, although we should not 
expect to hear of it in the mountainous parts of England and 
Wales. Its occurrence in the following counties has been 
vouched for by good observers :— 


Cornwatu. — At Looe, Sept., 1852 (Couch, ‘ Zoologist,’ 1858, 
p- 3937+ ; ‘ Cornish Fauna,’ 2nd ed., 1878, p. 2). 

Drvon.—No mention is made of this Bat in any of the 
Devonshire Catalogues by Turton and Kingston, Bellamy 
(1839), Brooking Rowe (1868), D’Urban (1875), or Parfitt 
(1877). In our annotated copy of Bell’s work, however, 
we find a memorandum of its having been noted at Torquay 
by Mr. Gurney, though he has no recollection of it. 

Dorset.—Ensbury, Borrer (Zool. 1874, p. 4127). 


* * Zoologist,’ 1848, p. 343. 
+ His observations on Bats (J. c.), extending over seven pages, are worthy 
of attention. 


246 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Hants.—New Forest, Brockenhurst (Bond), Hamble Church, 
near Southampton (Kelsall), and Selborne (Bell, ed. White’s 
‘ Selborne,’ i. p. 34). 

Istze or Wicut. — Bonchurch (Bury, More, Bond, Borrer), 
Ventnor (Hadfield). 

Sussex. — Cowfold, Henfield, St. Leonard’s Forest (Borrer), 
Balcombe, Three Bridges (Bond), Poynings (Oxford 
Museum), Midhurst, Nigh Woods, Rogate, West Grinstead, 
and Hellingly (Harting). 

Kent. — Chislehurst (Bell), Tudely near Tunbridge (Hadfield, 
Zool. 1857, p. 5664). 

Essex. — Epping (Doubleday, Zool. 1848, p. 6), Colchester 
(Yarrell, Jenyns). Said to be common around Colchester 
in houses and buildings in summer; in cellars and caverns 
under the Castle in winter; sometimes in wells clinging to 
the brickwork (Laver, ‘ Trans. Essex Field Club,’ vol. ii. 
p. 160). 

MippiesEex. — Hampstead (Bond), The Hale, Edgeware, and 
Stanmore (Harting). In London (J. E. Gray, Zool. Journ. 
1825, p. 108). Some years ago we received one which had 
flown into a house in Thayer Street, Manchester Square; 
others procured in the neighbourhood of London are 
preserved in the British Museum. 

Brrxs.—Godstowe (jide Kelsall, more information wanted). 

Oxrorp.—Charlton-on-Otmoor, “ not uncommon” (O. V. Aplin), 
Begbroke Church (Kelsall). 

CAMBRIDGE.—Swaffham Prior (Jenyns, Man. Brit. Vert. An.). 

Norruampron.—Lilford Hall, Oundle; Achurch, Pilton Church 
(Lord Lilford, Zool. 1887, p. 64). 

Surrotk. — Elveden, near Thetford (Newton, Zool. 1853, p. 
3804), Blaxhall (Rope). 

Norroux. — Norwich (Bell), Framingham Pigot, near Norwich 
Stevenson, Zool. 1871, p. 2752; Southwell, Trans. Norf. and 
Norw. Nat. Soe., vol. i. p. 73, and vol. iii. p. 667). “ By no 
means rare in Norfolk, frequenting houses and outbuildings” 
(l. c.). Near Sparham (Norgate). 

LricesTER.—Gumley (Matthews, Zool. 1885, p. 216). 

Warwick.—Arrow, near Alcester (Tomes; fide Bell, op. cit.). 

WoncrstTER.—Dripshill, Upton-on-Severn (Jenkinson, Zool, 1857, 
pp. 5590, 5664). 


NATTERER’S BAT. 247 


Srarrorp. — Near Burton (Garner, ‘ Nat. Hist. Staffordshire,’ 
p. 244). 

SuropsHire.— At Eyton, once (Kyton, Ann. Nat. Hist. 1840, 
p- 396). 

MERIONETHSHIRE. — Harlech Castle, July 1835 (Thompson, 
P. Z. 8. 1837, p. 52; Nat. Hist. Ireland, vol. iv. p. 2; and 
Kelsall, Zool. 1887, p. 346). 

LincontnsHire.—Rare, once near Grainsby, in July, 1876 (Caton- 
Haigh, Zool. 1887, p. 143). 

YorxsuirE.—Oakwell Wood, Birstal (Denny, Ann. Mag. Nat. 
Hist. 1840, p. 385; Clarke and Roebuck, Handb. York. 
Vert., p. 4). Harefield Wood, near Pateley Bridge (Zool. 
1884, p. 173). 

Dvurxam.—On a tree in Hoffal Wood (Meynell and Perkins, Cat. 
Mamm. Northumb. and Durham, p. 163), 


So far as we are aware Natterer’s Bat has not been met with 
in the three northernmost counties of England, namely, 
Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmoreland ; and evidence 
of its occurrence is wanting for the following counties, namely, 
Lancashire, Cheshire, Derby, Nottingham, Bedford, Huntingdon, 
Rutland, Herts, Bucks, Surrey, Hereford, Gloucester, Somerset, 
and Wilts; though it is very likely we may have overlooked 
records for some of these counties. 

As regards Scotland this Bat is said to have been found near 
Edinburgh (ef. ‘ Proc. Glasgow Nat. Hist. Soc.,’ vol. iv.); and a 
specimen procured at Inverary, Argyllshire, was presented to the 
British Museum by his Grace the Duke of Argyll. 

In Ireland it is reported to have been obtained near Ennis- 
kerry, Co. Wicklow (Mangan, ‘Report Nat. Hist. Soc. Dublin,’ 
1844, p. 18), and near Dublin (McCoy, Ann. and Mag. Nat. 
Hist., vol. xv., first series, 1845, p. 270; Leith Adams, Proc. 
Roy. Dublin Soc., 1878; and Barrington, ‘Guide to Co. 
Dublin, its Geology, Fauna, &c.,’ 1878, p. 90). In the summer 
of 1853 nine full-grown specimens were taken by Dr. Kinahan 
and Mr. F. Haughton, from a hole in Tankardstown Bridge, 
which crosses the River Barrow near Levitstown, on the borders 
of Kildare* and Queen’s County (Zool. 1858, pp. 4012, 4013). 


* As regards Kildare see ‘ Dublin, Nat. Hist. Review,’ vol. vi., 1859. 


248 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


In April, 1888, Mr. J. F. Darling captured a specimen of this 
Bat in the woods of Castlefreke, Co. Cork, the seat of Lord 
Carbury (Zool. 1888, p. 294). When first observed it was flying 
about in the sunshine, at 2 o’clock in the afternoon, and being 
observed to catch some prey, with which it alighted on a tree 
trunk, it was seen to be munching the body of a large moth, 
which it pushed into its mouth with its thumbs. 

Finally, there is a specimen of Natterer’s Bat in the British 
Museum (Natural History) which was procured in the Co. Long- 
ford, and presented by Mr. G. E. Dobson, the author of the 
excellent ‘ Catalogue of Chiroptera in the British Museum.’ As 
the dimensions and dentition of this Bat may be found described 
in this Catalogue, as well as in Bell’s work above quoted, it 
seems unnecessary here to repeat the description. Attention, 
however, may be particularly directed to the large size of the 
ear (about as long as the head), and to the long, narrow, lanceo- 
late tragus, which is about two-thirds the length of the auricle. 

Possibly some of our readers may be able to name localities 
for this Bat in some of the counties above mentioned, respecting 
which at the present time we are without information. 


THE PRODUCTION OF COLOUR IN BIRDS’ EGGS. 
By Artuur H. Macpuerson, B.A. 


THe last number of ‘The Zoologist’ contains a very 
interesting paper by Mr. A. H.S. Lucas, suggesting that the 
influence of the surroundings on the parent bird during the 
formation of the shell affects the colour of the egg. 

This “mental receptivity” is considered as a cause of 
variation, and the hypothesis ingeniously applied to many cases. 
But it seems to me that many difficulties arise. In the case of 
birds whose eggs vary very much, it is nearly as hard to explain 
the variations by the hypothesis of Mr. Lucas as by “ protective” 
or “sexual selection.” 

Take the stock instance of the Guillemot. We have here 
infinite variations in the colour and markings of the eggs. It is 
supposed that the same bird lays similar eggs each year; but it 
is, apparently, not known for certain whether the faculty of laying 
an egg of a given colour is hereditary, nor to what extent (if any) 


COLOUR IN BIRDS’ EGGS. 249 


the eggs of (say) a blue-egged Guillemot are affected by mating 
with one that comes of (say) a brown-egged family. 

At any rate Mr. Lucas says (p. 209), “ Individuals at the 
present day are influenced in part by the surroundings, but 
mainly restricted by the tribal habits of generations.” So the 
hypothesis in question assumes that the faculty of laying eggs of 
a given colour is hereditary, but capable of being varied to a 
certain extent in each case by the action of external objects on 
the brain of the parent bird. How are we to reconcile the 
extraordinary variety of colour in the eggs of this bird with the 
assumption that the colour is inherited by the race through many 
generations? Guillemots breed in large colonies. Surely in the 
course of generations, if the coloration of the eggs were 
determined mainly by a principle of heredity, the eggs in any 
given colony would gradually assume a more or less definite type, 
as in the case of other birds living together and interbreeding. 
It is evident that no one of the many varieties referred to is 
sufficiently superior to the others to have been “seized on” by 
Nature and transmitted by the principle of heredity. 

“ Mental receptivity,” as stated, may explain slight variations 
in eggs; but if applied to more marked variations, we must in 
these cases conclude that the effect of the surroundings on the 
individual bird is sufficiently strong to counteract any variations 
which Nature might have intended it to transmit ; in other words, 
a bird whose eggs at the present day are found to vary 
considerably is influenced not merely in part, but mainly, by its 
surroundings. 

We are to suppose that hen Guillemot No. 1, about twelve 
hours before laying each egg, is so much influenced by the colour 
of the sea that she lays a greenish or bluish egg; No. 2 is so 
affected by the appearance of sea-weed that her egg is covered 
with brown, green, or black markings, resembling sea-weed; and 
so on. And here again many questions naturally arise. For 
instance, what effect has the colour of the first egg laid, or rather 
the causes which produced that colour, on eggs subsequently 
laid? If none, how are we to support the assumption that 
each bird always lays similar eggs? Is her nature such that she 
is always impressed by the same objects ? 

When we come to birds which lay bright blue eggs, as the 
Hedgesparrow, it is impossible to believe that the colour is 


250 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


caused solely by a continuous contemplation of the blue vault of 
heaven. 

In the case of the Cuckoo, it seems to me that matters are 
not much clearer than they were before. No suggestion with 
regard to the colour of the eggs of this bird has yet been made 
which is not full of difficulties. 

Dr. Romanes has remarked :—‘‘ We cannot imagine the Cuckoo 
to be able consciously to colour her egg during its formation in 
order to imitate the eggs among which she is about to lay it; nor 
can we suppose that, having laid an egg and observed its 
colouring, she then carries it to the nest of the bird whose eggs 
it most resembles.” Still the latter supposition is perhaps easier 
to believe than most of the suggestions, especially when we 
consider how very little is known as to birds and colour.* Any 
experiments in this direction would be sure to lead to interesting 
results, for birds are esthetically much more highly developed 
than mammals. 

Then there is Prof. Newton’s suggestion (‘ Animal Intelligence,’ 
p. 307), that “ there is very reasonable probability of each Cuckoo 
most commonly placing her eggs in the nest of the same bird, 
and of this habit being transmitted to her offspring.” 

This view seems to require— 

(1) A Cuckoo to have a favourite bird in whose nest to lay 

her eggs ; 

(2) An egg resembling the egg of that bird; and 

(8) Both these characteristics to be hereditary. 
And, apart from the criticisms put forward by Dr. Romanes on 
this hypothesis (‘Animal Intelligence,’ p. 308), would not this 
state of affairs, if true, result in considerably greater variations 
than are usually found among Cuckoos? Except one well 
recognized variety of the young bird, Cuckoos seem to vary very 
little. Would not several generations of Cuckoos all brought up 
by (say) Hedgesparrows, and fed to a great extent on Hedge- 
sparrows’ food, result in a well-marked variety, even though the 
difference between the food of a Hedgesparrow and (say) a Shrike 
were not sufficient to cause a strong difference to show itself 


* ‘Animal Intelligence,’ p. 307. This suggestion was made by Mr. 
Harting in an article on the Cuckoo published in ‘Science Gossip’ for May, 
1870, and subsequently reprinted in ‘ Sketches of Bird Life,’ 1883, 


COLOUR IN BIRDS’ EGGS. 251 


immediately? We know that a Bullfinch fed on hemp-seed and 
a Canary on Cayenne pepper become black and orange 
respectively. Mr. Wallace, too, has given (I think in ‘ Tropical 
Nature’) a remarkable instance of change of colour, caused by 
food, in a Brazilian parrot.* Not much is known on the subject, 
still I cannot help thinking that in this case of the Cuckoo we 
should soon have well-marked varieties ; unless we are to believe 
that the impossibility of always finding the desired nest, and the 
mating with birds brought up by a different species, would 
counteract this tendency. 

Nor do I think that Mr. Lucas helps us much. According to 
his view the Cuckoo determines beforehand what nest to lay its 
egg in, looks at the eggs therein contained, and has such a vivid 
impression of their appearance during the period of formation of 
the shell, that the egg which she eventually lays resembles those 
in the nest. 

The Cuckoo has so often been discovered carrying its egg in 
its bill, apparently searching for a nest in which to deposit it, 
that evidence would first be required to show that the bird had 
previously examined the eggs of the nest in which she intended 
to lay her own. 

Prof. Newton, in Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’ (ed. 4., vol. ii., 
p. 408), says that the supposition that the colour of the egg can 
“in any mysterious way be affected by the action of external 
objects on her perceptive faculties,” is “wholly unreasonable.” 
And certainly Mr. Lucas’s view does seem to be somewhat far- 
fetched. 

If we take the latest List of British Birds, and look through 
it from the Missel Thrush onwards, besides the two obvious 
generalisations with regard to the eggs and nests (viz., that birds 
which build in holes are brightly coloured, and that eggs laid in 
holes are colourless), it is remarkable that the brightly coloured 
eggs are laid by birds at the top of the list; the plain coloured 
eggs by those at the end of the list. The brightness of the 
colour of the egg may be roughly taken to indicate the develop- 
ment of the esthetic faculties of the bird, as shown by singing 
and the nest-building instinct. 


* This statement as to Chrysotis festiva is said to need corroboration. 
Vide Semper’s ‘ Animal Life,’ p. 67. 


252 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Are we to explain this by saying that the lower forms of 
birds, appreciating only the simple colours of such things as bare 
ground and sea, lay eggs whose colour is the result of the effect 
of these things on the parent’s brain ; while the higher forms, 
capable of being impressed with more brilliant and complicated 
surroundings, on account of their higher esthetic faculties, 
therefore lay eggs more beautifully coloured and marked? And 
if so, is it all unconscious? It is almost impossible to ascribe 
the proceedings of the Cuckoo, as suggested by Mr. Lucas, to a 
course of purely unconscious actions. But if there is conscious- 
ness about it, we must ascribe the varieties in the eggs of such 
birds as the Guillemot to the variety of objects which attract the 
attention of different Guillemots. 

Is one egg streaked because the bird which laid it was more 
influenced by the contemplation of a piece of dry sea-weed than 
by any other neighbouring object? Once admit an element of 
consciousness, and there is no knowing where to stop. But 
without following the hypothesis of Mr. Lucas to its results, let 
us look at the root of the whole matter. 

Do external objects around the hen bird really affect the 
colour of her eggs ? 

Let us apply the theory, as Mr. Lucas asks us, to “ birds 
which breed easily in confinement.” 

The Common Rock Dove is a natural instance. What can 
be more different than the surroundings of these three—Columba 
livia nesting in a cave in a rocky cliff by the sea; a semi-wild 
Pigeon nesting on a pillar of St. Paul’s; and a pair of Fantails 
in an open wicker cage in a ladies’ drawing room ? Yet their 
eggs are all alike—quite white. 

Take the Canary. It is stated in ‘ The Gentleman’s Recrea- 
tion,’ published in 1677, that Canaries were at that time regularly 
imported from Germany. If so, surely the egg in the course of 
over two hundred years might be expected to have altered in 
appearance considerably. Ought it not to be brown, from the 
colour of the interior of its cage? or reddish, from the sand in 
its tray? But such is not the case. 

I would not, then, go so far as to say that external objects 
have no influence upon the colouring of the eggs laid by a 
bird, for, undoubtedly, mental and nervous conditions fre- 
quently produce chemical bodily changes ; but at present there 


SEALS AND SEALERS. 253 


seems very little on which to base such assertion. And if the 
influence exist at all, it can, at the most, only form one of 
many causes which combine to produce variations such as those 
which Mr. Lucas has tried to explain. 


SEALS AND SEALERS. 
By Tuomas SoutHwELL, F.Z.S. 


Ir is very difficult, when writing for a purpose, to avoid ex- 
tremes, and, when it happens that the purpose which inspires the 
pen is one of kindly feeling for a class of animals so harmless 
and beautiful as the Seals, it is hardly a matter of surprise that a 
tender-hearted lady should express somewhat strongly the pity 
she feels so acutely. Every lover of Nature can but sympathise 
with and admire the sentiments which have prompted Lady Blake 
to denounce what she so feelingly deplores ; but when, in her recent 
article in the ‘ Nineteenth Century,’ she stigmatises as “savages” 
a class of men employed in an arduous and dangerous, but 
legitimate industry, such as that followed by the St. John’s Seal- 
hunters, she certainly does these bread-winners an injustice. By 
her own showing the employment is one of extreme peril and 
privation, from ice, storm, frost, and exposure, and if the 
remuneration last season, in the case of the most successful 
voyage ever known, that of the ‘ Neptune,’ did not exceed £13 15s. 
per man, poor indeed must be the general return for so great an 
expenditure of energy and endurance. 

As well might Lady Blake stigmatise as savages the large 
number of respectable men who gain their daily bread by the 
occupation of slaughtermen as the poor sealers of St. John’s, 
who, however revolting their calling may be, are equally inoffensive 
members of the community, and—not to justify one cruelty by 
another—the misery inflicted in the daily slaughter of calves and 
pigs must far exceed that inflicted every season on the New- 
foundland ice-fields. The writer does not know personally a 
single St.John’s sealer, but he does know several who attend the 
Greenland sealing, and he would be sorry to regard men as 
“‘ savages’ who have, on their own petition, obtained enactments 
which have rendered impossible, in the present day, what were 
undoubtedly the most cruel features in the Greenland sealing as 
formerly prosecuted. 


254 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


One of these “savages,” well known to your readers as a 
contributor to this Journal, was recently decorated by Her 
Majesty with the Albert medal for distinguished bravery in 
saving life in the Greenland Seas. 

In the main Lady Blake’s account of the modus operandi 
of the St. John’s sealing is unquestionably correct, and on her 
article being read over to an old Newfoundland sealer there was 
very little to which he took exception; but although admitting 
that such practices as Lady Blake describes as general, were 
certainly possible, he maintains that they were very exceptional. 

Those who attended the International Fisheries Exhibition 
of 18838 will remember the series of models and drawings of the 
departure of the sealers from St. John’s, their meeting with the 
Seals, killing, flenching (or “skulping” as it is called by the 
sealers), and the hauling the skins to the ship: these were stated, 
by those conversant with all the operations, to convey an excel- 
lent idea of what really takes place when the vessel has got 
among the Seals; and how, under these circumstances, such 
scenes as are depicted by Prof. Jukes could occur, it is impossible 
to imagine, for it is as certain that no captain would encumber 
the decks of his vessel with three hundred dead and dying Seals 
as that the men would never incur the labour of dragging them 
to the ship: Prof. Jukes describes what he saw, and therefore 
it must have happened, but it is difficult to account for. 
The first thing after killing all the Seals within his reach, 
which the hunter does, is to divest them of their skins and 
blubber ; this is easily effected whilst the carcase is warm, but 
should it become frozen it is a matter of some difficulty: these 
skins, with the blubber attached, are dragged, perhaps many 
miles over the ice, to the vessel, and it may readily be imagined 
the men do not burden themselves with an ounce more than is 
absolutely necessary. Lady Blake refers to this mode of bringing 
in the tows” at p. 520. It is certain therefore that the state 
of things described by Prof. Jukes does not apply to the present 
day; and let us trust that in this respect, if in no other, more 
humanity is displayed by the sealers. 

At p. 514 Lady Blake says that not more than six or seven 
steamers leave St. John’s, and that the largest steamers belong 
to Dundee. As a matter of fact, there were nineteen British 
steamers at the St. John’s sealing last season; four owned from 


SEALS AND SEALERS. 255 


Dundee, three Greenock, six Liverpool, and six Newfoundland ; 
the two largest, the ‘ Esquimaux’ (466 tons) and the ‘ Neptune’ 
(465 tons) belonging to Dundee and Liverpool respectively, and, 
as no vessel arrived in port earlier than the 8th of April, no 
second voyage was possible. The total number of Seals taken by 
these nineteen vessels, including the great catch of 42,242 by the 
‘ Neptune,’ was 210,810, a number far short of 500,000. 

There are no “floes” on the Newfoundland coast, the ice 
being broken up by the swell into “ pack ice” long before it 
reaches the coast, and it is on portions of this ice known as 
“pans” that the young Seals are produced, the old Seal visiting 
the water not through a hole bitten or scratched through the ice 
(p. 516),—an impossibility,—but by open spaces between the 
different pieces forming the pack. The statement that the Harp 
Seals yield more oil than the “ Hoods” is not borne out by 
actual results. These are small matters apparently ; but if Lady 
Blake has been misinformed in small matters, we may assume 
that some of her other information is equally inaccurate. 

It is unhappily a fact, as Lady Blake states, that ‘ trading 
interests” in the present day, whether in “‘ smashed birds”’ for 
ladies’ hats or in Seal skins, override all other considerations, 
and in the struggle for existence (only those engaged in it know 
how severe it is) it must be so; the Seal-fisheries are an 
established fact, and the Seal-hunter—however much we may 
regret his mode of earning his bread—will always remain a Seal- 
hunter so long as there are Seals to hunt, and his occupation can 
no more be suppressed than that of the slaughterer of oxen, 
sheep, and swine. The whole animal world is a complex system 
of cruelties, in which one form preys upon another as its only 
means of existence, and man, as the strongest, subjects all 
creation to his necessities or pleasures. Hducation may in time 
ameliorate the sufferings of the lower animals at our hands, and 
has doubtless done much in that direction already. The whole 
question resolves itself to this—Are the Seals to be killed at all ? 
If so, as a matter of absolute necessity, their fate must be a 
cruel one, and let us by all legitimate means try to alleviate it as 
much as possible; but I fear this is not to be accomplished by 
any system of “ putting down,” or applying terms of opprobrium 
to those who are striving to provide for their families as honestly 
as they can. 


256 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


ON THE FORMER NESTING IN ENGLAND OF THE 
OSPREY, PANDION HALIAETUS. 


By tHe Rev. H. A. Macrpuerson, M.A. 


Dp the Osprey breed in England in the olden days? Prof. 
Newton and Mr. Seebohm both give the suggestion a decided 
negative (cf. Yarrell, ed. 4, vol. i., p. 88; Seebohm, B. B., vol. i., 
p. 57). But I think that, when all the evidence to be adduced is 
laid before them, they may admit that the Osprey used to nest in 
the neighbourhood of the English Lakes. The witnesses that I 
can cite are few, and their statements short; their evidence 
therefore may be given in full. 

Francis Willughby comes first. He says distinctly that the 
Osprey breeds in Westmoreland. ‘‘ There is an aery of them in 
Whinfield Park, Westmoreland, preserved carefully by the 
Countess of Pembroke” (‘ Ornithology,’ p. 21). This refers to 
1676, or a little earlier; but so excellent was the care taken of 
the birds that, in 1787, Clarke, in his ‘ Survey of the Lakes,’ 
again recorded the existence of these birds in the old locality. 
“The Osprey I have seen,” says he: ‘‘ there was a nest, a few 
years ago, of this bird in Whinfield Park: they seem to be of the 
Hawk kind, and are about the size and colour of a Magpye; in 
what manner fish are charmed by them let others tell, for I 
cannot: I saw one fly into the rock at the Giant’s Cave, and on 
its crossing the river there, the fish sprang to the top and 
remained six or eight seconds as if intoxicated ” (‘ Survey of the 
Lakes,’ p. 190). Clarke’s other notes prove that he was a good 
sportsman and a keen observer ; in all likelihood he had never 
seen Willughby’s statement. 

This is, briefly, the case for one eyrie. Two independent 
witnesses call the birds “ Ospreys,” and the first states that the 
birds were thought rare enough to need protection, which explains 
the preservation of the race.* 


** Mr. A. G. More stated, in his essay on ‘ Distribution of Breeding Birds,’ 
that Willughby mentioned a nest of H. albicilla in Whinfield Park, but does 
not seem to have enquired whether that estate included any precipices on 
which that Eagle could nidificate. Asa matter of fact it does not, having 
been originally a wild heath; in Clarke’s time it was reclaimed, divided into 
farms, “the rabbits destroyed, and the deer circumscribed in narrower 
bounds; by which means the red-deer are much diminished in number” 
(‘Survey of the Lakes,’ p. 5). Doubtless the Ospreys of Whinfield Park 


FORMER NESTING OF THE OSPREY. 257 


My two next witnesses allege, as I understand them, that a 
pair of Ospreys bred in the Ullswater district under their own 
Observation. The Rev. Wm. Richardson, a good naturalist and 
accurate withal, in 1793 drew up a sketch of the Zoology of the 
Ullswater District, for insertion in Hutchinson’s ‘ History of 
Cumberland.’ In this he quotes Berkenhout’s description of the 
Falco halieétus, Osprey, or Fishing Eagle. He adds, “ The 
Osprey, or Fishing Eagle, is frequently seen fishing ; he is very 
bold, and in pursuit of his prey will dart down within forty yards 
ofa man.” He then notices the Whinfield Park birds mentioned 
by Willughby, and shows that he did not understand that author, 
who speaks of it as “the Ossifragus, or Sea Eagle.” But if he 
had been a little more careful, he would have seen that Willughby 
anglicised the name as the “ Osprey,” though no doubt wrong in 
_ his synonyms; Dr. Heysham erred in like manner. Heysham, 
then the most accomplished naturalist in the north of England, 
included in his Catalogue of Cumberland animals the Sea Eagle, 
Falco ossifragus. This he distinguished from both the Golden 
and White-tailed Eagles; I have no doubt that the Osprey was 
the bird he meant to indicate. 

Richardson has already told us that the Osprey regularly 
fishes Ullswater. Dr. Heysham says, “I am not certain whether 
the Sea Eagle breeds at present in Cumberland or not, but a few 
years ago there used to be an annual nest in the rocks which 
surround the lake of Ullswater, and the great Trout of that lake 
has been taken out of its nest, upwards of ten pounds weight; it 
however frequently visits this country.” This statement supports 
Richardson. But could this “ Sea Eagle” be anything else but 
the Osprey? It was not the Golden Eagle, for that species is 
not piscivorous ; besides, Dr. Heysham expressly distinguishes it 
from the Golden Eagle. But was the “Sea Eagle” identical 
with the White-tailed ? This is negatived by the details that he 
furnishes of the latter species. Ido not deny that Golden and 
White-tailed Eagles then existed in our lake area ; I am certain 


a SE ee ee ee ee ee ee 
nested in Scotch firs, as they still doin Sweden. Another fact inconsistent 
with Willughby’s birds being White-tailed Eagles is that the Countess 
“preserved” them. Most assuredly no one in the Lake District would 
preserve Hagles at a time when the parish authorities paid head-money for 
them as destructive vermin. 

ZOOLOGIST.— JULY, 1889. x 


258 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


they did. But I claim that the Osprey was their neighbour. 
Dr. Heysham distinguishes between the food of the ‘‘ Sea Eagle” 
and that of the White-tailed Eagle. Of the former, he says 
that “its food is principally fish.” Of the latter, he says that 
though it sometimes feeds on fish, yet “it feeds chiefly on land 
animals,” thinking no doubt of young lambs and carrion, which 
in Scotland constitute the chief food of this Eagle. I hope that 
the passages cited may clear up the confusion that has 
existed between the Osprey and the White-tailed Eagle, among 
our lake hills. 

Before I take leave of the subject, allow me to cite one more 
witness to the former presence of the Osprey in the north of 
England. 

The late Mrs. Howard, of Corby Castle on Eden, about 1831, 
published privately two volumes of personal Reminiscences. 
Writing of the banks of Eden (vol.i., p. 97), she says,— 
“We will descend the Sandwalk to the right of the Tempietto, 
where observe, among others, the Osprey Eagle tree,—an old oak 
so called from having been the resort of these voracious birds, 
which feast on Salmon.” This suggests that a third eyrie may 
possibly have existed long ago in the north of Cumberland. 
During the last half century a good many Ospreys have doubtless 
visited our faunal area; but though my records date from 1837, 
and refer to all parts of our district from the Solway to Furness, 
the list of Ospreys that have been shot locally is a small one as 
compared with other parts of England. 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


MAMMALIA. 


The Noctule and Serotine Bats in Kent. — Vesperugo noctula is 
particularly abundant here; one day in May I counted sixty-eight emerge 
from a small opening at the upper gable of my house. On May 17th I 
counted fifty-seven from the same place, and during last week they came 
out at 8 o’clock in the evening exactly. On the 19th I waited for them 
from half-past 7, and they came out as usual at 8; I shot three of them 
as they flew away, and they were all females. This evening, being cloudy 
and raining, they came out exactly at the same time. They emerge from 
their dormitory in rapid succession, and in about five minutes:they are all 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 259 


out; they fly very rapidly, and go away across the marshes that are 
opposite my house for some considerable distance. The other evening, 
immediately after their flight, I walked nearly a mile into the marshes to 
see if IT could meet with them, but they were either too high to be observed 
or had flown further away. As we have been favoured with bright sun- 
shine and fine evenings, it might appear that their distant flight was in 
consequence, but they have flown away exactly the same the last two 
evenings that have been dulland wet. I have observed them at the same 
time of the year on previous years, and have noticed them as late as 
September. A few years ago (April, 1884) my son cut off the dead branch 
of an old walnut tree, in the hollow of which we found eight Bats of this 
species that were all males: it would be very curious if the males hybernate 
in one place and the females in another. [On this point see Zool. 
1874, p. 4194, Ep.] These Bats are remarkably uniform in size and 
appearance ; the three I shot the other evening measured each exactly 
fourteen inches in expanse of wings. I have noticed also, in my neigh- 
bourhood, the Serotine Bat, which rather exceeds in size the former 
species; and the Pipistrelle, which is the common small Bat of the 
neighbourhood,—one of the first to appear in the evening all through 
the summer months, and even in mild weather in winter. The other 
Bat often met with is the Long-eared Bat, which is very particular in 
its choice of evenings for flight, or else comes out later; it is found in 
less abundance here than the Pipistrelle, but I have met with it in the 
wooded parts of Kent in old houses, in such abundance that you might 
hive a hatful of them as they hung down clustered together from the rafters 
of the house. Ihave heard of the Greater Horse-shoe Bat in Hast Kent, 
but have not myself met with it.—Grorez Dowxer; Stourmouth House, 
Wingham, Kent. [It has been procured at Dartmouth and in Canterbury 
Cathedral.— Ep. ] 
BIRDS. 


Peculiarity in the Bill of the Norfolk Plover.—In ‘ The Field’ of 
Dec. 4th, 1880, and in his ‘ Rough Notes on British Birds,’ Mr. E. T. Booth 
has pointed out that the male Norfolk Plover, Zdicnemus crepitans, when 
adult, has for a short time in the spring two small knobs at the base of the 
upper mandible. In May, 1872, he met with two birds thus adorned on 
the Sussex downs. One of them is stuffed in his collection at Brighton, 
and a figure of the head is given in ‘ The Field’ (/.c.) and in ‘ Rough 
Notes.’ No other naturalist seems to have observed this feature in the 
Norfolk Plover, though what may be called an item of evidence is mentioned 
in ‘ The Zoologist’ for 1882 (p. 295), which, so far as it goes, is favourable 
to Mr. Booth’s theory. The Norfolk Plover being in the Schedule of 
protected birds, it has been almost impossible (and very rightly so) to obtain 
examples, but two having been killed by hawks during the first days of 

X2 


260 ._ THE ZOOLOGIST. 


May the desired opportunity was afforded for examination. Both birds 
were males, by dissection, and neither of them had any trace of the knobs 
on the bill, the surface of the upper mandible being quite level along its 
ridge. On April 25th I examined a live Norfolk Plover, which was 
supposed to be a male, and it also had no knobs on the bill, but this is not 
conclusive, for the sex was not definitely ascertained. On the other hand, 
a knob—as large as in the plate referred to—was distinctly visible in 
a male which was unfortunately shot near Holt, in Norfolk, on or about 
the 20th of May last, and was discernible seven days after the bird was 
stuffed. I was told by Mr. Dack, who mounted it; that when fresh the 
knob was rounded, but that in a week’s time it had become shrivelled, 
though still quite apparent. This bird, however, had ouly one knob on the 
bill, not two as in Mr. Booth’s figure, though in the same position, viz., on 
the ridge of the upper mandible and almost at its base.—J. H. Gurney, Jun. 
(Keswick, Norwich). 


Hybrid Waterfowl.—In the Newcastle Museum there may be seen the 
skeleton of a hybrid Swan bred between a female Whooper, Cygnus ferus, 
and a male Mute Swan, C. olor. In this hybrid, which was reared on 
Gosforth Lake, in Northumberland, the trachea does not enter the sternum, 
which nevertheless is slightly hollowed as if to receive it. A year or two 
ago I was shown in London a supposed hybrid between a Black Swan and 
a Mute Swan, and a similar hybrid was once reared in County Cork (Proc. 
Zool. Soc. 1847, p. 97). A hybrid between a Wild Swan and a Goose has 
been described (Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. xii. p. 119), but it is doubtful if it was 
such. My father has a hybrid between an Egyptian Goose and a domestic 
Duck of the Penguin breed. No birds are more liable to hybridism than 
Ducks, especially in confinement, and no two kinds interbreed more readily 
than the Pintail (Anas acuta) and Mallard (A. boschas). I have had two 
examples of this cross, and many years ago I believe my father had several of 
them alive, though unfortunately none of them are now in existence. A 
rare cross is that between Wild Duck and Sheldrake: of this cross a duck 
and drake, as we are informed in Hele’s ‘ Notes about Aldeburgh,’ were 
killed near that place in January, 1864, and it was suggested by a 
writer in ‘The Field,’ that as this cross had been successfully bred at 
Saxmundham, the pair may have escaped from there. The only other 
instances known to me are a drake obtained at Cambridge by Mr. Whitaker, 
and given by him to Mr. William Borrer, and a brood which, according to 
Messrs. Harvie-Brown and Buckley (‘ Fauna of the Outer Hebrides,’ p.102), 
were bred in North Uist.—J. H. Gurney, Jun. (Keswick, Norwich). 


Habits of the Cuckoo.—A pair of Cuckoos have this year chosen a 
position for their spring operations in my garden well suited for observa- 
tion. The nest is a Hedgesparrow’s, in a bush near a pigsty. There 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 261 


were two eggs in it when my gardener saw both the Cuckoos invade it. 
The female turned out one of the eggs, and laid her own in the nest, the 
male bird sitting in an apple tree close above. The egg was of a deep 
reddish hue, and therefore not resembling those of its foster parents. The 
Sparrow afterwards laid two more eggs, and her three nestlings were 
hatched at the same time as the Cuckoo. Two days afterwards my 
gardener, who was occupied in the pigsty, heard “a very curious noise,” 
and from his place of concealment saw both the Cuckoos near the nest. 
The male bird went to the nest, took out the young Sparrows one by one 
in his beak, flew to a rail close by, and dropped them alive on the ground. 
When the destroyers of domestic peace had departed, my gardener replaced 
two of the Sparrows; but the Cuckoos returned almost immediately, and 
the young ones were again ejected by the same process. Both old Cuckoos 
continued to show an interest in their progeny for some time, coming early 
every morning and two or three times each day, and at first actually fed it. 
Recently, however, their visits have been less frequent. ‘Che young bird is 
now fledged, and more than fills the nest. It is assiduously tended by the 
Sparrows, who feed it from a twig close above the nest,—and is as savage 
as a Hawk. Its only beauty, when in its callow state, was the deep orange 
of the inside of its huge gaping mouth, which will be more than large enough 
to hold an egg of the size of two from which it sprung, should it in after 
years wish to entrust its offspring to the care of a Wren. The dark grey 
(almost black) pencillings on its rich brown feathers make it now a hand- 
some bird. My gardener has been a bird-fancier all his life, and has a 
practical knowledge of bird-lore which many might envy. He has seen 
many Cuckoo's eggs, but all of them of a reddish hue; has known them 
laid in Robin's nests, where they would be less distinguishable from the 
foster-parent’s egg than from a Hedge Sparrow’s, but has never seen one 
like the latter. As I know that there are many theories as to the pro- 
ceedings of the Cuckoo, some of them based upon insufficient evidence 
Owing to the rare opportunities of actually seeing what occurs, I venture, 
at the suggestion of our friend the Rev. A. C. Smith, to send you this 
statement.—Henry A. OxiveR (Westgreen House, Winchfield). 


Nesting of the Little Grebe.—With regard to the note on the early 
nesting of the Little Grebe (p. 231) I find, on referring to the ‘ Proceedings 
of the Marlborough College Natural History Society,’ that eggs of this 
species have been frequently taken in that neighbourhood during the first 
few days of April, and in 1882 were found as early as March 16th. In 
1883 I found a nest of this bird on the Kennet, near Marlborough, con- 
taining eggs during the first week in April, and remember seeing the same 
nest, in the middle of the following term (in June, I think), with another 
clutch of eggs,—evidently a second brood.—Artuur H. Macpuersoy. 


262 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Starlings in the City.—A pair of Starlings, which have lately been 
seen in the neighbourhood of Christ Church, Spitalfields (situated close to, 
though really outside, the City boundary), have this year bred in the 
steeple. I have to-day (May 27th) seen their nest, containing two half- 
fledged young birds, on a narrow ledge protected by a weather-board, just 
above the clock. On the same ledge, which is not more than two yards 
long, there were also three Pigeons’ nests,—two containing eggs, and one a 
young bird.—J. H. Ken (Church House, Spitalfields). 


Ornithological Notes from Mayo and Sligo.—Although the Sandwich 
Terns appeared earlier than usual,—on March 19th,—the cold and wet 
stormy weather drove them out of the estuary, and until the 24th I did 
not see them again, when a pair returned to fish in the channels; but the 
main flock did not make its appearance until some days later. The 
very stormy and unusually wet weather of this spring had a remarkable 
effect on our smaller summer visitors, both in retarding their return to their 
summer haunts and in lessening the numbers that usually visit this 
locality. Rain or hail fell on eighteen days during the month of March, 
and on nineteen days in April, while the thermometer seldom rose beyond 
50° or 53° in the latter month ; and up to the 23rd of May rain has fallen 
on eighteen days also. I did not hear a Willow Wren until April 29th, 
and, strange to say, it is the only bird of this species singing in our woods, 
though in former seasons several could be heard singing all about the place ; 
and another singular fact worth mentioning is, that not a Chiffchaff has 
visited us this season : we had only one bird last season, though in previous 
years several used to frequent our woods and plantations of about fifty 
acres in extent. I saw a Swallow on May Ist, and heard a Whimbrel, 
Numenius ph@opus, on the same day. The Corn Crake was heard on the 
9th, aud the Spotted Flycatcher on the 10th, but not a Whitethroat was 
heard until the 22nd. The Cuckoo was also late, but being from home I 
was unable to record the date when first heard. I heard the Common 
Sandpiper, Totanus hypoleucus, on the Bunree River, near Ballina, on the 
13th, and saw a pair at the same place on the 20th; and saw Swifts for 
the first time on May 11th. On April 5th, in order to observe what birds 
were about the estuary, I went down to Bartragh and the Moyne Channel 
in my punt, seeing four Wigeon and a Great Northern Diver (in winter 
plumage) near the island of Baunross ; and on the Moyne Sands a flock 
of twenty-four Sheldrakes and about two hundred Godwits, Limosa 
lapponica (none of them showing any trace of the red summer plumage), 
a few small lots of eight or ten Curlews, three Grey Plovers, and a few 
Knots and Turnstones. In the Channel and in Killala Pool I saw five 
Great Northern Divers; and lying on the point of land running out into 
the Channel, nearly opposite the old abbey, a herd of fourteen or fifteen 
large Seals, all of which shuffled into the water before I could get within 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 2638 


150 yards of them, though afterwards many showed their heads above 
water when watching the punt, even approaching within 50 or 60 yards 
before their curiosity was satisfied. The great flock of Godwits let me get 
so close that I knocked over a few with an ordinary shoulder gun, and 
never saw birds in finer condition, one of those killed weighing fourteen 
ounces and measuring seventeen inches in length. On April 10th, resting 
on a sand-bank close to the shore here, I observed twelve Wigeon and a 
large number of Bar-tailed Godwits; and again, a month later, on 
May 10th, I saw fifty or sixty of these birds, with a few Knots and Whim- 
brels, resting on a point of the shore outside one of my fields here.— 
_Roserr Warren (Moyview, Ballina). 


Crossbill Breeding in Immature Plumage. —I read with surprise 
the remarks of your correspondent, Rev. H. A. Macpherson, in the last 
number of ‘ The Zoologist * (p. 229), on the Common Crossbill breeding in 
immature plumage. Surely it ought, now, to be well known to ornitholo- 
gists that the “yellow dress” of the Crossbill is the mature plumage of 
the adult male. In the first, immature, plumage the young Crossbills, 
male and female, are spotted. At the first moult, as is proved by a 
specimen in the Hancock collection in the Newcastle Museum, the young 
male takes the red dress, after which, in all succeeding moults, it acquires 
in the males a greenish yellow or orange-yellow dress. The male bird, 
therefore, observed at the nest by Mr. Ussher was in a very mature 
plumage, and certainly not in immature dress. The large collection of 
stuffed birds and skins of this species in the Newcastle Museum confirm 
the opinion of all those authors—as Temminck, Selby, J. Hancock, and 
others—who contend, and have stated, that the Crossbill acquires and 
wears the red dress at the first moult only, and at all after moults the male 
plumage assimilates to the colour of the female, but is more yellow and 
brilliant. Linnsus. said of his Lowia enucleator, ‘‘ Junior ruber ; senior 
flavus,” and this assumption of the red plumage by the young males 
before acquiring the yellow dress is probably true of all the species allied 
to the Common Crossbill.”—RtcuarpD Howse (Curator of Newcastle-upon- 
Tyne Museum). 


Nesting of the Ringed Plover.—In ‘ The Zoologist ’ for 1886 (p. 418) 
T noticed what I deemed at that time to be an abnormal instance of nesting 
on the part of our common Ringed Plover, Charadrius hiaticula. Having 
passed a portion of this spring at Wells, Norfolk, I have had frequent 
opportunities of following up this subject. The main body of the 
“ Stone-runners,” as they are locally called, settle down to nesting early in 
April, and resort in numbers to the long ridges of shingles and gravels 
near the sea, where, after scratching several holes, they finally select the 
one in which the eggs are deposited. Many of these nesting-sites, being 


264 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


below the reach of the highest tides, are sadly pillaged by the men and 
boys who travel along the beach, and very few of the clutches laid on the 
shingles below high-water mark are hatched off. Later in the spring, 
apparently taught by experience, many pairs of Ringed Plovers move 
inland to the marshes. These marshes, intersected by innumerable tidal 
creeks, extend over an area of many thousand acres, along the North 
Norfolk shore: they are composed of deep beds of homogeneous stiff clays, 
devoid of stones, and containing few fossils, what there are being shells of 
Mollusca now living in the adjoining seas. The surface of these alluvial 
mud-beds supports a vegetation composed largely of Statice limonium and 
Atriplex littoralis (locally called Crab-grass): in the months of July and 
August these marshes present a very pleasing appearance, for then the 
Statices are in full bloom, and their blossoms spread—for miles and 
miles—a shade of delicate lilac over the long low shore. In favoured 
localities amid these marshes, various species of birds find suitable 
breeding-places. Redshanks hide their beautiful eggs in tufts of grass; 
the Lapwing lays hers in the open; whilst the Common Tern, Sterna 
fluviatilis, and the Ringed Plover likewise nest there in considerable 
numbers. On the 2nd of June, this year, without any very careful search, 
we found two Redshank’s nests, with the full complement of eggs; a 
Lapwing’s nest, with four eggs; seven Common Terns, each with three 
eggs; and four nests of Ringed Plover, each containing four eggs, in an 
area not exceeding two acres in extent. These four nests of the Ringed 
Plover were placed in circular depressions scraped out of the soil, and in 
each case the eggs rested on a fairly substantial nest made up of the 
leaves and stems of Atriplex littoralis. Not a quarter of a mile off many 
Ringed Plovers were nesting on the shingle, and there not a trace of grass 
or plant was used in the construction of their nests, which were merely 
depressions scraped in the gravel, and, as usual when the eggs are 
incubated in such situations, fragments of shells were placed under them. 
Thus within a short distance we find the same species of bird adopting two 
very distinct methods of nest-making. On thoroughly dry and pervious 
shingle ridges the birds deposit their eggs on the surface. When the 
marsh is selected, the eggs are raised from the cold and damp mud by a 
substantial nest of dry plant stems. The Common Tern adopts a similar 
course on the sand-hills and shingle ; its eggs are laid in bare depressions, 
sometimes a stalk or two of marram grass being laid in or about the hole. 
On the marshes a fairly large nest is built, and in those I have examined 
the stems and dried last year’s blussoms of Statice limonium were chiefly 
used in their construction. Iam glad to say that I have not seen a better 
show of birds breeding on Wells marshes for several years than this 
season, and this is doubtless owing to the fact that the Lord of the Manor, 
the Earl of Leicester, has ordered egg-gathering to be discontinyed in the 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 265 


area over which he exercises manorial rights: consequently the tenants now 
rigidly prohibit the taking of eggs from the marshes on any plea what- 
soever. I trust that the senseless and indiscriminate plundering of eggs 
that formerly took place will now be entirely put a stop to._-H. W. 
FErLpEn (West House, Wells, Norfolk). 


Pellets disgorged by Flycatchers.—While watching a Spotted Fly- 
catcher, which had built a nest on the outside of one of the corridors 
of this house, I remarked that the bird was looking somewhat uncomfort- 
able. It sat on an iron balustrade, with its feathers ruffled and its neck 
extended. Ina minute or two it rejected from its mouth a pellet about 
the size of a horse-bean, and then hopped away apparently much relieved. 
Upon my picking up the pellet I found it to be composed of a mass of 
beetles’ wings and other entomological curiosities, amongst which the 
wing-case of a brilliant green beetle was very conspicuous. I have not 
observed, in the ordinary descriptions of the Flycatcher, any note of this 
peculiar habit. If it is common there could be no difficulty, as in the 
ease of the Owl, of indicating with some precision the nature of its food, 
and perhaps of clearing the character of this charming and useful little 
bird from the aspersions with which vulgar report has sometimes assailed 
its character,—namely, its destruction of bees and cherries. My object 
in writing this note is to endeavour to draw from the readers of ‘ The 
Zoologist’ further information on this subject—E. W. Harcourt (Nune- 
ham Park, Abingdon). 

[We have long been familiar with the fact that Flycatchers—like 
Hawks and Owls, Shrikes, Rooks, and other birds—reject the indigestible 
portions of their food in the shape of “ pellets,” or, as they are termed by 
falconers, “‘ castings.” Those of the Flycatcher, from their small size, are 
troublesome to find, unless the bird is closely watched, but a careful 
analysis of their contents would doubtless lead to some interesting 
results.— Ep.] 


Blackbird and Thrush laying in same Nest. — On April 20th a 
Thrush’s nest was found by the gardener at Westbrook, Godalming, in 
which were two Thrush’s and three Blackbird’s eggs. The hen Thrush 
was on the nest ; this was built in an Acacia tree, and was about ten feet 
from the ground. I may add that there is no likelihood of its having been 
tampered with.— Henry Benson (Farncombe Rectory, Godalming). 


Variety of Eggs of Grey Wagtail.—I fear your editorial remarks 
about my Grey Wagtail’s eggs (p. 231) will cause your readers to be 
sceptical about them. I omitted to state that I saw the old birds in order 
that my note should not take up too much space. I am well ucquainted 
with this bird, which breeds regularly in several localities about here. I 
discoyered the nest by seeing both old birds fly to it; it was then empty. 


266 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


On that day week I visited the nest again, on which the hen bird sat until 
I nearly touched her, and both cock and hen then flew round me while I 
was taking the eggs. These are as I described them, all of them very 
similar; the shells smooth and well formed, and do not show any signs of 
the bird being in bad health when she laid them. In the last (fourth) 
edition of Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’ the ordinary yellow variety is the only 
one mentioned.—K. W. H. Biaae (Cheadle, Staffordshire). 


Sand Grouse in Yorkshire.—Four Sand Grouse were seen in a corn- 
field on the edge of Manshead Moor, five miles S.E. of Todmorden, about 
the middle of June, 1888, and all the birds (two males and two females) 
were shot by a man named Stocks. The place where the birds were killed 
is about 900 feet above sea-level. The Sand Grouse seen by James 
Sutcliffe (misspelt Stancliffe in Zool. 1389, p. 2) was on the open moor, 
1200 feet above sea-level, the greatest elevation I have seen recorded for 
Sand Grouse in this country.—Rosr. J. Howarp (Fern Bank, Blackburn). 

[The wanton destruction of two pairs of these birds in the nesting 
season is really too bad, and it is to be hoped that the “ Act for the better 
protection of the Sand Grouse ” will be enforced, and that the shooter may 
be made to pay the full penalty, £4 and costs.—Ep.] 


The Sand Grouse in Mecklenburg (Germany).—In the ‘ Archiv des 
Vereins der Freunde der Naturgeschichte in Mecklenburg,’ 1888, Herr C. 
Struck, of Waren, has a paper (pp. 175—184), ‘“‘ Ueber Steppen oder Faust- 
hithner (Syrrhaptes paradoxus) in Mecklenburg,” in which, after referring 
to the earlier appearance of the bird in 1859, 1862, and 1863, he traces its 
occurrence at several localities in the Duchy of Mecklenburg between the 
dates 18th April and 6th August, 1888. 


Loxia curvirostra, var. rubrifasciata (Bonap. & Schl.), in Ireland.— 
Among other Crossbills sent to me for preservation, obtained at Edenderry, 
King’s Co., in March, was a bird remarkable for two pale reddish bars 
across the wings. This I forwarded to Prof. Newton, who very kindly sent 
me the following information, which I quote from his letter :—* I cannot 
remember having ever seen a Crossbill similar to the one sent; but in the 
wing-markings it essentially resembles the figure of the male given in pl. 5 
of Bonaparte and Schlegel’s ‘ Monographie des Loxiens,’ under the name of 
“ Loaia curvirostra rubrifasciata,” though it does not so well agree with 
their description, which states that the adult male of this form has the 
wing-coverts tipped with reddish (rougedtre), whereas in your specimen, as 
well as in the figure (at least in my copy) the tips are buff. Nevertheless 
I have little doubt your bird belongs to this form, in which the colour of 
the tips seems to vary from bright to dull red, and hence may occasionally 
be also buff. I cannot regard it as a distinct species, as has been done 
by C. L. Brehm, who named it (‘ Naumannia,’ 1853, p. 194) Crucirostra 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 267 


rubrifasciata,* but I agree with Bonaparte and Schlegel in considering it a 
variety of the common Lozia curvirostra.” This form, I believe, is new to 
Britain, and is in some respects not unlikely to be mistaken for a White- 
winged Crossbill.—Epwarp WituiaMs (2, Dame Street, Dublin). 


Notes from Western Australia.—My last letter to ‘The Zoologist 
was, I believe, chiefly concerning an overland trip to the southern part of 
this colony. I returned to this district at the end of March, 1888. During 
the previous summer there had been unusually heavy and welcome rains ; 
this river (the Minilya) ran through, as did the Gascoyne, which had not 
done so for nearly four years. The Minilya does not empty itself into the 
sea, but into the vast salt marshes behind the coast sand-hills. Natives 
assert that in a very wet season they have seen these two rivers join by 
way of these marshes before any Whites were here. On a large lake-like 
pool formed by the overflow of the Minilya, forty miles below this, we saw 
great numbers of Black Swans. We counted more than four hundred on 
one-half of the pool. Both eggs and young of this bird have frequently 
been obtained here by the owner and men at the station adjoining. The 
so-called “‘ Crested Partridge” mentioned in a former communication, and 
which I was unable to see during my first visit here, proves to be the Rust- 
coloured Bronze-wing Pigeon, Lophophaps ferruginea, a most elegant and 
striking bird, and on first view certainly more like a partridge than a 
pigeon. It may be found along this river, especially where the nature of 
the ground is rocky, in considerable numbers, but not in flocks. When 
courting, the male—with plume erect and tail-feathers widely spread out 
like a fan—presents a striking appearance, and is usually very fearless ; in 
fact, I have frequently had both sexes running round me within arm’s 
length. The eggs, two in number, are placed on pebbly, or even rugged, 
ground, with no sign of a nest. I have found them laid quite in the open, 
though sometimes a bush partially shelters them. Gould infers from this 
that the young of this species are able to run soon after leaving the egg. 
We kept two young in the house here a little time; when found they must 
have been upwards of a week old, and on the second day of their imprison- 
ment they could only feebly waddle round their cage. arly in October I 
took a trip across to the Lyndon River, and from thence to the Lyons, 
nearly as far as Mount Augustus. On the latter river this bird was plentiful, 
and I secured some fresh eggs. The large pools of water on the Lyons 
abounded with aquatic birds: among them Pelicans (Pelecanus conspi- 
cillatus), Cormorants, White Egrets (Herodias melanopus ?); and various 
Ducks—among them the Teal (Anas punctata), Pink-eyed Duck (Mala- 
corrhynchus membranaceus), and Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna Eytont). 


* By an oversight, this word was misprinted bifasciata in the 4th edition 
of Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds,’ ii. p. 201, foot-note. 


268 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


There were also great numbers of the Straw-necked Ibis, Carphibis 
spinicollis, a bird which all colonists here agree has only once been previously 
seen in the district. These birds I first observed last May, feeding near 
the stock-yards and houses; then they betook themselves more to the 
rivers and water-holes, though often met with in great flocks on open flats. 
The Gascoyne River has also been visited by great numbers of these birds. 
They were in a most emaciated condition on their arrival, and great 
numbers died. Others, however, were in better condition, or else speedily 
grew fat, for I found one day, on shooting three, they were quite as much 
as I cared to carry a quarter of a mile. Though not nearly so numerous 
as they were a few months ago, many still remain, but though they have 
been here eight months I cannot hear of their breeding. Most of the 
natives here regard it as a new bird. A species of Laughing Jackass 
(Dacelo cervina?) is abundant on the Lyons and Gascoyne Rivers, but 
curiously enough does not occur on the Minilya; I believe it is also found 
on the Lyndon. Emus have been wonderfully plentiful this season: these 
birds prolong their time of laying very much; eggs were brought in here 
in May, and early in December last I came upon a party of ten young 
ones with their parents; the former were certainly not a fortnight old. 
The reason may be that the first clutches of eggs are often taken by natives. 
Migration goes on here to a considerable extent among several species of 
birds, but it is difficult to make exact notes in a new country. During the 
months of October and November great numbers of what from Gould's 
description must be, I think, the Letter-winged Kite, Elanus scriptus, 
appeared here. Many died from some cause which I could not ascertain, 
and very few are now to be seen. When in Carnarvon, last November, I 
saw some young Magpies that a teamster had brought down the river 
with him : it was the same species as occurs in the southern portion of this 
colony, and I previously imagined the Murchison River to be its northern 
limit. It is a curious fact that many species of bush quadrupeds com- 
pletely died out here some years ago; their unoccupied habitations may be 
seen all over the bush. The Kangaroos in this district were almost totally 
exterminated some years when so many natives succumbed to the 
“measles ”: they say the Kangaroos and other species contracted this 
disease. It is, however, certain that some species have died out entirely ; 
others are now increasing again. Many species of birds here lay whenever 
a good rain falls, no matter what time of year.—THomas Carrer (Minilya 
River). 

Uncommon Birds in Skye. — Although the Greater Spotted Wood- 
pecker (D. major) has long been known to visit the Shetlands, it has 
not to my knowledge been recorded from the Hebrides. I ought, perhaps, 
to say that it has recently occurred in Skye, on at least one occasion. In 
October, 1886, a male bird was shot near Edinbane, by Mr. Boyd, the 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 269 


shooting tenant, when in company with Mr. M. B. Byles. I received 
particulars orally from both these gentlemen, and traced the specimen in 
the ledger of the person who mounted it. It is now in Mr. Boyd’s 
possession in town. Among other birds which have occurred in Skye, but 
which I was not able to include in my list of the avifauna of that island in 
1886, are the following : — Brown-headed Gull, which probably visits us 
on its way to breed in North Uist, where Mr. J. Mackenzie tells me he 
has seen it breeding; Bar-tailed Godwit, obtained in mid-winter; Chiff- 
chaff, first observed by myself in April, 1889; Crossbill, detected by Mr. 
G. 8. Dumville Lees; Sand Martin, observed by myself in summer, and 
by Mr. Lees in autumn; Pintail, Pochard, Scaup, Scoter, Smew, and 
Pinkfooted Goose ; Pallas’s Sand Grouse; Quail; Tawny Owl obtained in 
several quarters; Buffon’s Skua and Leach’s Petrel. Incidentally, I may 
say that no Glaucous or Iceland Gulls have occurred, to my knowledge, on 
the Skye coast for three years, though a very sharp look-out has been kept. 
As the Pintail is rare in the Hebrides, it may be well to state that I 
myself identified the species —H. A. Macrpuerson (Carlisle). 


Hen Skylark singing in Confinement.—Last year I reared a Skylark 
(taken when six days old), and after the autumn moult it began to repeat 
the usual song; I then turned it into one of my smaller aviaries with 
a pair of Leiothria; it soon got used to the size of its home and flew about 
freely, being rarely on the ground, and to my surprise frequently using a 
ledge and sometimes a branch as a perch, its long hind toe being used as a 
support, exactly after the manner of perching birds; at intervals, and 
usually when my older caged Skylark was singing, this bird would 
commence the same song, which, however, terminated abruptly whenever 
a Leiothria dashed down near to it. On June 16th I heard it singing, and, 
not having examined it minutely, I naturally concluded that it was a cock 
bird ; but on the following day it laid an egg upon the grass in the aviary, and 
thus decided its sex beyond question. I should be glad to know whether 
anyone else has ever heard of a hen Skylark singing.—A. G. BurLer 
(Penge Road, Beckenham). 


Congenital Blindness in Birds.—I hope you may think the following 
sufficiently interesting for publication in ‘ The Zoologist,’ of which I am 
always a most interested reader. While on a visit to a country rectory near 
Pontefract, a chicken six weeks old, of the ordinary barn-door variety, and 
one of a brood of a dozen or so, was pointed out to me as being almost, if 
not quite, blind. On examining it I found it to have double congenital 
cataract. Both lenses were so opaque that it could only have had the 
smallest possible amount of vision, if any. One could pick it up without- 
any attempt on its part to escape, and it was quite unable to find its food, 
which had always to be put immediately under its bill. It was small and 
weakly as compared with others of the same brood. Oue kuows that 


270 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


cataract is not uncommon in dogs and cats among domestic animals, but I 
have not yet met with, or heard of a case, more especially of congenital 
cataract, in any bird.— ALLAN Maonas (King’s College Hospital). 

[We remember to have met with a case of congenital cataract in a Wild 
Duck, and published a note on the subject at the time. See ‘ The Field,’ 
Sept. 30th, 1871.—Ep.]. 


Hedgesparrow trying to mate with a Garden Warbler.—One of my 
larger aviaries contains the following birds:—A pair of Yellowhammers, a 
Reed Bunting, Hedgesparrow (female), Garden Warbler (male), Meadow 
Pipit (male), a Grey Wagtail and a Pied Wagtail. The Yellowhammers 
recently built in an Arbor vite, and during the progress of the building, 
which occupied them four or five days, I frequently noticed my Hedge- 
sparrow following the Garden Warbler about and trying to entice him to 
pair with her; on one occasion I noticed her behaving in a similar manner 
towards the Pied Wagtail, but both birds treated her with the utmost in- 
difference; the Meadow Pipit however strutted about in the greatest 
excitement, and tried in every way to make up to her, though she 
constantly gave a peck whenever he advanced near to her. Whether she 
has at last succeeded in gaining the affections of the Garden Warbler I 
cannot say, but she has deposited a clutch of eggs in the Yellowhammer's 
nest and is sitting steadily upon them, so that the evicted tenants have had 
to start afresh A. G. BuTLER (Penge Road, Beckenham). 


FISHES. 


Motella cimbria on the Norfolk Coast.—-Mr. Arthur Patterson, of 
Great Yarmouth, has sent me a sketch and description of a Four-bearded 
Rockling, Motella cimbria, which he found amongst the refuse left by the 
drawnetters on Yarmouth Beach, on May 28rd last. Its total length was 
83 inches, and from its stomach he took a full-grown brown shrimp. I am 
not aware that this species has been previously observed on the Norfolk 
coast.—T. SourHWELL (Norwich). 

[This fish, from the coasts of Northern Europe, must be regarded as 
rare around the British Isles. It was first noticed as British by Parnell, 
who found it in the Firth of Forth, and has been recorded from Banff, 
Aberdeen, St. Andrew's, Falmouth, and Penzance. We have not heard of 
its previous occurrence on the east coast of England. There is a good 
figure of it in Day’s ‘ British Fishes’ (plate 88) from a specimen eleven 
inches long. He states (i. p. 317) that the longest-recorded British 
specimen measured fourteen inches.—Ep-]. 


BATRACHIA. 


Bullfrog preying on Natterjack.—On April 27th, 1889, I visited the 
sand-hills near Southport, and captuied about sixty Natterjacks to turn 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 271 


down in my garden. These Toads are very plentiful there, and the sound 
of their bellowing love-calls was audible at a distance of a quarter of a mile. 
It would be difficult to estimate their number, but on the area we inspected 
there must have been tens of thousands. Of those I put in my garden 
some climbed a wall eight feet high and made their way to the flashes at the 
back, where I trust they will become localised. I placed a few in a case 
adjoining a case of American Bullfrogs, and noticing the latter eyeing them 
in a greedy way, I placed one amongst them; it was promptly devoured. 
I then put in some more, and one Bullfrog ate four Natterjacks in about six 
minutes; as the toads were full-grown, his meal was a good one. I have 
had some difficulty in providing food for my Bullfrogs, but find that they 
will eat raw meat if it be cut into strips about two inches long and then 
moved before them as if alive; if it be left motionless they will not touch it. 
It may be interesting to record that last week I noticed an Edible Frog, 
Rana esculenta, eat a full-grown Salamandra atra. I was the more surprised 
as I have bred S. atra, S. maculosa, Molge cristata, and M. vulgaris in the 
same case for some months without noticing anything of the kind ; although 
the Common Newts were becoming fewer, I thought they might have 
escaped through the wire cover of the case, but after seeing where S. atra 
went, I have no doubt the Newts had suffered a similar fate. I feed these 
- frogs with earthworms, and occasionally insects, upon which diet they thrive 
and have spawned in captivity. On May 11th I found a female S. atradead 
on the bottom of the case. She had died in the act of parturition; the tail of 
the young one protruded nearly an inch; I extracted it, and found it had 
reached the adult form. Last June some S. maculosa brought forth their 
young in the gill state, some being born in the tank and others on the floor 
of the case: the latter died, the former flourished, and I have one still in 
the gill state, now nearly three inches long; it is just beginning to show 
the brilliant yellow markings of the adult. Some two weeks ago, on moving 
an old tree-root in my garden, I found a Salamandrina perspicillata, 
evidently one of a number which had escaped from their case last summer, 
and had managed in its snug retreat to survive our northern winter.— 
Linnaus Grernine (Birch House, Warrington). 


MOLLUSCA. 


Mollusca in the neighbourhood of London.—On May 16th I took 
a white variety of Bulimus obscwrus from a nettle-covered bank between 
Hampstead Heath and Hendon. It was the only form of this species 
I could find, and T searched the bank well, for I knew that this snail 
had not hitherto been recorded for Middlesex ; at any rate it is not so 
recorded in Taylor and Roebuck’s ‘ Census of British Land and Fresh- 
water Mollusca.’ [It is recorded in Cooper’s List.—Ep.] On the very 


272 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


same bank Helia cantiana (Mont.) and its white variety live in hun- 
dreds, I might almost say in thousands. One specimen of Succinea 
putris (Linn.) was found, a large quantity of Avion ater (Linn.) and 
Lehmann’s var. brunnea, with Limax agrestis (Linn.) [chiefly belonging to 
Draparnaud’s sylvatica] and Hyalinia cellaria (Mill.), Helia rufescens 
(Penn.), H. rotundata (Miill.), and H. hispida (Linn.). In company on the 
nettles with Helix cantiana live also H. hortensis (Mill.) and H. nemoralis 
(Linn.), but not in such great profusion. Of the former of these the yellow 
variety (Moquin-Tandon’s lutea), with the band-formula of 00000, are the 
most common ; there is also present the white variety with a band-formula 
of 12345 (Moquin-Tandon’s albida). Of the latter, the flesh-coloured 
variety (Roebuck and Taylor’s carnea) is the most common, and those of 
the band-formule of 00000, 00300, 128(45), 12345; others are also 
present, as the yellow variety (Risso’s libellula), with band-formule of 
00300, 00345, and 12345, and the tawny-coloured variety (Moquin-Tandon’s 
Petiveria), with band-formule of 12345 and 00000.—J. W. Wi~t1ams 
(Mitton, Stourport). 


The Basal Coloration of the Shells of Helix hortensis and H. 
nemoralis.—Shell-workers have no doubt observed, as I have ofttimes 
done, the difference in colour from the general body colour of the basal 
portion of the body-whorl in these two species. Thus, in the white variety 
of H. hortensis there is generally a basal coloration of light yellow, and in 
the flesh-colourcd variety of H. nemoralis (which Roebuck and Taylor have 
called var. carnea) there is generally a brownish basal coloration almost 
identical in colour with that forming the body-colour of the variety which 
Moquin-Tandon has called castanea. And not to mention other instances, 
which will occur to the reader, there is, even in the yellow form of these 
two species, a deeper coloration of yellow in the basal portion of the shell. 
These are of adult shells. But in young shells, and in those which have 
only recently become adult there is no difference of colour shade to be 
noted between the basal portion of the shell and the portion above and 
directly around the periphery. The basal coloration is then, I think, not 
congenital, but acquired, and I throw out the suggestion that it is due to 
the action of moisture, from the snail drawing that portion of its shell 
continuously over damp earth. And the ground I have for this suggestion 
is that I have observed the flesh-coloured variety of the shell of H. nemo- 
ralis become of that brownish tinge (which is found normally at its basal 
portion) from the unlimited action of damp in the course of two weeks. 
It will be remembered that the loved haunt of these snails is a nettle- 
covered hedge-bank, and it will be generally found that the soil in which 
nettles grow is of a soft, moist character.—J. W. Wui..tAms (Mitton, 
Stourport). 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES, 


Linnean Soctety or Lonpon. 


June 6, 1889.—Mr. CarrurHers, F.R.S., President, in the chair. 

Dr. John Anderson, Mr. J. G. Baker, Dr. Braithwaite, and Mr. F. Crisp 
were nominated Vice-Presidents. 

Mr. Digby S. W. Nicholl was admitted a Fellow; and the following 
were elected :—The Marquis of Lothian, Messrs. W. Williams, C. S. Wild, 
and W. Schaus, 

Prof. Martin Duncan exhibited under the microscope some beautifully 
mounted preparations of the ambulacral tentacles of Cidaris papillata, and 
drew attention to the fact, previously unrecorded, that the tentacles of the 
abactinal region of the test differ in form and character from those of the 
actinal region. The latter have a well-developed terminal disk, and are 
richly spiculated; whereas the former have no disk, but terminate distally 
in a pointed extremity with very few spicule. Mr. W. P. Sladen made 
some remarks on the significance of this dimorphism with reference to its 
archaic character, and its relation to the primitive forms of Echinoids and 
Asteroids. 

Mr. Narracott exhibited a singular fasciated growth of Ranunculus 
acris, found at Castlebar Hill, Ealing. 

Mr. H. B. Hewetson exhibited under the microscope a parasite of 
Pallas’s Sand Grouse, Syrrhaptes paradozus, taken from a bird shot in 
Yorkshire, and described as a species of Argas. Mr. Harting pointed out 
that an apparently different parasite, from the same species of bird, had 
been recently described by Mr. Pickard Cambridge (Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist., 
May, 1889), under the name Hemaphysalis peregrinus. 

Dr. Cogswell showed some examples of Jerusalem artichoke and potatoe, 
to illustrate the spiral development of the shoots from right to left. 

Governor Moloney, C.M.G., of the colony of Lagos, exhibited a large 
collection of birds and insects from the Gambia, the result of twelve months’ 
collecting in 1884-85. The birds, belonging to 184 species, had been 
examined and named by Capt. Shelley. Amongst the beetles, of which 
89 species had been collected, he called attention specially to Galerita 
africana and Tefflus megelii, and to the Rhinoceros and Stag-horned beetles. 
Of butterflies there were 90 species, amongst which the most noticeable 
and characteristic were the Acreas and the pale green Eronia thalassina, said 
to be typically Gambian. The moths, of which some 220 species had been 
brought home, were named by Mr. Herbert Druce, and several had proved 
to be new or undescribed. A portion of this collection had been exhibited 
at the Indian and Colonial Exhibition of 1886, but had since been carefully 

ZOOLOGIST.—JULY, 1889. ¥ 


Q74 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


gone over and named, and was now exhibited for the first time in its 
entirety. Mr. Herbert Druce alluded to some of the Lepidoptera which 
are most characteristic of the Gambia region ; and Mr. Harting made some 
remarks upon the birds, pointing out the wide geographical range of some 
of the species which had been collected. 

Mr. Clement Reid exhibited several specimens of fossil plants from a 
newly-discovered Pleistocene Deposit at South Cross, Southelmham, near 
Harleston. 

Mr. D. Morris exhibited specimens of the fruit of Siderorylon dulet- 
ficum, the so-called “ miraculous berry” of West Africa, belonging to the 
Sapotacea. Covered externally with a soft sweet pulp, it imparts to the 
palate a sensation which renders it possible to partake of sour substances, 
and even of tartaric acid, lime-juice, and vinegar, and to give them a flavour 
of absolute sweetness. The fruit of Thaumatococcus, Phrynium Danielli, 
possessing similar properties, was also shown, and living plants of both had 
lately been received at Kew from Lagos, through Governor Moloney. 

Mr. Thomas Christy exhibited living plants of Antiaris towicaria (the 
Upas-tree) and Strophanthus Kombe, both of them poisonous, to show the 
similarity of the foliage. 

On behalf of Dr. Buchanan White, a paper was then read by Mr. B. D. 
Jackson, entitled a ‘‘ Revision of the British Willows.” 

The meeting adjourned to June 20th. 


ZooLoeicaL Society oF Lonpon. 


May 21, 1889.—Prof. FLowrr, C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., President, in the 
chair. 

Mr. Sclater exhibited and made remarks on a mummied Falcon 
(probably a Kestrel) from a tomb at Thebes, procured by Mr. A. G. 
Scott; and some photographs of groups of Sea-birds and Seals taken on 
the shores of Antipodes Island, Antarctic Ocean. 

Mr. Sclater also called attention to a specimen of a Leaf-insect living in 
the Society’s Insect House, which had been received from the Seychelles, 
and presented by Lord Walsingham. It was not quite fully developed, but 
was believed to be referable to Phyllium gelonus, Gray. 

Mr. Martin Jacoby read a list of the species of Coleoptera of the families 
Crioceride, Chrysomelid@, and Galerucida, of which specimens had been 
collected in Venezuela by M. Simon, and gave descriptions of the new 
species. 

A communication was read from Mr. A. G. Butler, containing the 
description of a new extinct genus of Moths belonging to the Geometrid 
family Huschemide, based on a fossil specimen obtained from the Kocene 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 275 


Freshwater Limestone of Gurnet Bay, Isle of Wight. This insect was 
named Lithopsyche antiqua. 

Mr. W. F. Kirby read a paper containing descriptions of new genera 
and species of Dragonflies, chiefly from Africa, in the collection of the 
British Museum. 

Dr. Hans Gadow read a paper on the taxonomic value of the intestinal 
convolutions in birds. After pointing out the different forms assumed by 
the intestinal convolutions in this class of animals, and suggesting a 
nomenclature for them, the author proceeded to give the outlines of a 
classification of birds based solely on this part of their structure, and to 
show the differences and resemblances of the various groups. 


June 4, 1889.—Ossrrt Sauvin, 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 May. 

Mr. H. E. Dresser exhibited and made remarks on some eggs of the 
Adriatic Black-headed Gull, Larus melanocephalus, and of the Slender-billed 
Gull, Larus gelastes, which had lately been obtained at their nesting-places 
in the marshes of Andalucia by Col. Hanbury Barclay and himself. 

Dr. G. J. Romanes read a paper on the intelligence of the Chimpanzee, 
as shown in the course of experiments made with the female Chimpanzee 
called ‘‘Sally,” which has been living several years in the Society's 
Menagerie. 

A communication was read from Signor F. 8. Monticelli, containing 
notes on some Entozoa in the Collection of the British Museum. 

Mr. Sclater read a list of the birds collected by Mr. George A. Ramage 
(the collector employed by the joint Committee of the Royal Society and 
the British Association for the exploration of the Lesser Antilles) in 
Dominica, West Indies, and made remarks upon some of the species.— P. L. 
ScrateEr, Secretary. 


Enromotoaicat Soorrty or Lonpon. 


June 5, 1889.—The Right Hon. Lord Watstnenam, M.A., F.RB.S., 
President, in the chair. 

Mr. W. M. Christy, of Watergate, Emsworth, was elected a Fellow of 
the Society. 

Mr. 8. Stevens exhibited a specimen of Acrolepia assectella, Zeller, 
included in a lot of Tineide purchased by him at the sale of the late 
Mr. A. F. Sheppard’s collection, and determined by Mr. Stainton. He also 
exhibited, for comparison, a specimen of A. betuletella. 

Mr. J. J. Walker, R.N., exhibited a collection of Lepidoptera made in 
1887 and 1888 in the immediate vicinity of the Straits of Gibraltar. The 
collection included sixty-eight species of butterflies, of which thirty-six were 


276 : THE ZOOLOGIST. 


obtained on the Rock of Gibraltar itself, and the remainder on the European 
side of the Straits, and about 160 species of moths. 

Dr. P. B. Mason exhibited a number of specimens of a South-European 
species of Ant—Crematogaster scutellaris, Oliv. He said that the specimens 
were all taken in the fernery of Mr. Baxter, of Burton-on-Trent, and had 
probably been imported with cork. 

Mr. O. E. Janson exhibited a pair of Neptunides stanleyi, a species 
of Cetoniide, recently received from Central Africa, and described by him 
in the February number of ‘The Entomologist’; also some varieties of 
N. polychrous, Thoms., from the Zanzibar district. 

Dr. N. Manders exhibited a number of Lepidoptera collected by himself 
in the Shan States, Upper Burmah; also a collection of Lepidoptera made 
by Captain Raikes in Karenni. 

Mr. M‘Lachlan exhibited over 400 specimens of Neuroptera, being a 
portion of the collection formed in Japan by Mr. H. J. 8S. Pryer. They 
represented nearly all groups (excepting Odonata, now in the hands of Baron 
De Selys). Some of the Ascalaphide, Panorpida, and especially Trichoptera, 
were of great beauty; notably amongst the latter was the curious moth-like 
genus Perissoneura, M‘Lach. 

Dr. Sharp exhibited the peculiar cocoons of an Indian moth, Rhodia 
newara, Moore; these were the cocoons possessing a drain at the bottom 
in order to allow water to escape, already described in the ‘ Proceedings of 
the Zoological Society’ for 1888, p. 120, where, however, their great 
resemblance to the pods of a plant had not been alluded to. 

Mr. Enock exhibited, and made remarks on, specimens of Cecidomyia 
destructor, bred from American wheat. 

Mr. W. Warren exhibited a bred specimen of Retinia posticana, Zett., 
from Newmarket; also specimens of Hupithecia jasioneata and Gelechia 
confinis, bred by Mr. Gardner, of Hartlepool. 

Mr. C. O. Waterhouse exhibited and explained a number of diagrams 
illustrative of the external characters of the eyes of insects. A discussion 
ensued, in which Mr. M‘Lachlan, Mr. Verrall, Lord Walsingham, Mr. 
Jacoby, Mr. Kirby, and others took part. 

Mr. A. G. Butler communicated a paper entitled ‘ Descriptions of some 
new Lepidoptera-Heterocera in the collection of the Honble. Walter de 
Rothschild.” He also contributed a second paper entitled “ Synonymic Notes 
on the Moths of the earlier genera of Noctuites.” 

Dr. Sharp read a paper entitled “An Account of Prof. Plateau’s 
Experiments on the Vision of Insects.” Lord Walsingham, Mr. Jacoby, 
Mr. White, and Mr. Waterhouse took part in the discussion which ensued.— 
H. Goss, Hon. Secretary. 


( 277 ) 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 


Bird-Life of the Borders: Records of Wild Sport and Natural 
History by Moorland and Sea. By Aspen CHapman. 8vo, 
pp. 286. With numerous illustrations. London: Gurney 
and Jackson. 1889. 


Ir we have delayed until now to notice this very pleasantly 
written volume, it has been from no want of appreciation of its 
merits. It is the sort of book of which we should like to see a 
good many more; not a compilation from the works of other 
writers on birds, but written from the author’s personal 
experience of the border moorlands, with which as a sportsman 
and a naturalist he is evidently well acquainted. 

It has been our good fortune to spend a fortnight in May on 
a Northumbrian moor, and, after three seasons’ Grouse shooting 
upon another moor in the same county, we are able (though 
with far less experience than our author) to testify to the fidelity 
of his descriptions of the haunts and habits of moorland birds. 

In pursuit of Grouse, Plover, and Snipe we have shot over 
various moors in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, with 
“all sorts and conditions of men,” and have been struck with 
the want of acquaintance which many display with any 
birds but those which are the immediate object of pursuit. 
It seemed to us that some of them have made little use of 
their opportunities, and have failed to realize more than half the 
pleasure of a moorland walk. We can well believe that such a 
walk in company with Mr. Chapman would be a very different 
matter, and we shall be much mistaken if those who go north- 
wards in August with gun and rod do not thank him for the 
instruction they will derive from a perusal of his book. 

Nor will it be of interest only to those to whom such scenes 
are unfamiliar. Experienced sportsmen may borrow useful hints 
from the author’s narrative of success and failure, and will find 
in his descriptions many a reflection of their own experience. 

As a specimen of Mr. Chapman’s style (though to readers of 
‘The Ibis’ it must be already well known) we give a couple of 
extracts from the volume before us,—one relating to a “ game 
bird,” the other to a ‘ wildfowl.” 


278 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Here is a description of the English haunts of the Black 
Grouse, Tetrao tetrix :— 


‘‘ Whilst in August one’s eye rests day after day upon an almost 
unvarying, unbroken sea of purple heather, glorious in its fullest 
bloom, with its golden pollen streaming away in a little cloud to 
leeward of the course of dog and man; now our sport, in search of 
Black-game, lies amidst widely different scenes, no less wild and 
hardly less beautiful. Stretches of rolling prairie-land, of rough grass, 
rush, and bracken, interspersed here and there with straggling patches 
of natural birch and hazel, take the place of the heather ; and instead 
of wide-spreading moors, one now rambles along tortuous little cleughs, 
shaggy with lichen-covered birch and rowan-tree, or up the rugged 
course of a steep-sided rocky glen, the favourite haunt of young “grey,” 
and many of which are amongst the most exquisitely wild and charming 
nooks ever carved out by Nature. In these sequestered spots, as a 
September sun shines brightly through the scattered birches, upon the 
masses of bracken and variegated foliage below, amongst which the 
setters are bustling about, their russet coats in sharp contrast with the 
dark rushes and paler fern, surely one has as fair a scene as eye need 
wish to rest on. 


Youne Buacxcocx. September 1. 


“Young Black-game are among the slowest of game-birds in 
attaining maturity. They are hatched early in June, but cannot be 
considered full-grown till the end of September, and during their four 
months of adolescence are certainly the ‘‘ softest’ and most tender of 
all the game-birds—a curious contrast with their strong and hardy 
nature when adult. Even when half-grown it is quite common to see 
a young Blackcock, if put up two or three times on a wet day, become 
so draggled and exhausted as to be unable to rise again. 

«The habits of young Black-game are precisely analogous with 
their tardy bodily development. All through their protracted adoles- 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 279 


cence, and during August and September, they are the very tamest of 
birds. Then all at once they appear to gain a sudden accession of 
strength and wildness; their timid skulking nature is discarded along 
with the weak, little, pointed, ruddy tails of their nestling plumage, 
and in a few weeks, even days, the young Blackcock, from being the 
tamest, becomes the wildest, of all our game-birds§ * * * By 
the middle of September the young Blackcocks are nearly full-grown, 
and about three parts black, with spreading tails. At that period they 
separate themselves from the young Grey-hens of the brood, and for a 
time become quite solitary. Being then scattered singly over a wide 
extent of rough country, they are less easy to find than to get at, for, 
though nearly full-sized, they lie extremely close in beds of bracken 
and rushes, or in the ‘‘ white grass’’ or patches of heather. Towards 
dusk they begin to feed on the seeds of rushes, especially the ‘“‘ spratt”’ 
or flowering rush, and being then temporarily gathered together, are 
much wilder than during the day. They continue ‘ on feed ” till it is 
quite dark. 


Youne Mate Scaup. November. 


“This (mid-September) is the season when young Black-game 
afford by far the finest sport over dogs ; for though they lie close, and 
offer easy shots, they require a great deal of hunting for; and a bag of 
perhaps eight or ten brace of well-grown handsome young birds, varied 
by a few brace of moor-partridge, and an odd Grouse or two picked up 
on the outskirts of the heather, is a very satisfactory day’s work.” 


The haunts of the Scaup, Fuligula marila, are thus 
described :— 


“The favourite feeding-grounds of the Scaup is over rocks where 


280 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


seaweed grows luxuriantly, and where they dive among the long 
waving tangles in search of the various shell-fish and their spawn, and 
the host of minute forms of marine life which abound in such places. 
Owing to this preference, their company is often confined all through 
the winter to certain localities,—usually about the harbour entrance, 
or a rocky bay adjoining the open’sea; hence they are less frequently 
met with than the Golden-eyes, which are scattered in odd pairs all 
over the sandy channels of the estuary. Moreover, such places as 
alluded to are not very accessible to punts; the water is too deep, and 
the long inward roll of the sea, even when smooth, is dangerous for 
these low-sided craft, to say nothing of the difficulty of using a big 
gun, when one moment half the fore-deck is buried in a great oily, 
sloping swell, and the next the gun points heavenwards, far over the 
heads of the fowl. I have taken a punt, in broad daylight, within 
forty yards of nice packs of Scaup in such situations, but never could 
work a shot to advantage for the above reasons. 

« Besides the places where, as above indicated, the main bodies of 
the resident Scaup Ducks take up their winter-quarters, one frequently 
meets with small bunches of half-a-dozen or so inside harbour, espe- 
cially about the ‘‘ scaps,” or mussel-beds (whence probably their name), 
and even on the edge of the ooze, where they occasionally vary their 
shell-fish diet with a feed of sea-grass. They always, however, keep 
afloat, or nearly so: it is very seldom one sees a Scaup or Golden-eye 
go on to dry land, nor (on the coast) have I ever heard either species 
utter a note. 

“Scaup are the tamest of all the Duck tribe, and—exactly the 
reverse of the Golden-eye—they continue throughout the winter as 
tame and as easily approached as when they first arrive in October. 
On seeing a pack of them, one can shove the punt close in upon them, 
and then, if scattered, can wait securely till they arrange themselves 
nicely to receive the charge. Scaup are also among the toughest of 
birds, and the most tenacious of life. At least half the cripples 
usually escape, and any that are captured alive it is all but impossible 
to kill. I have seen, when the bag was emptied on to the kitchen floor, 
a couple of Scaups, which had appeared as dead as door-nails, return 
to life and flutter vigorously round the room. Kvyen when killed, how- 
ever, they are of no value, being the strongest, nastiest, and most 
utterly uneatable Ducks I ever tried.” 


We are indebted to the publishers, Messrs Gurney and 
Jackson, for the reproduction of two of Mr. Chapman’s illustra- 
tions, selecting those which illustrate phases of plumage not 
figured and hardly noticed by previous writers on British Birds. 


eT es ae a 


——-_—'= 


A." 4 


Cod 
SAAL Who 


THE ZOOLOGIST. 


72 i By 
be ‘ 2° 
2 Uy vey 
THIRD SERIES. 


Vou. XIII.) AUGUST, 1889. [No. 152. 


THE FINWHALE FISHERY OFF THE LAPLAND COAST 
IN 1888. 


By Atrrep Heneace Cocks, M.A., F.Z.S. 


Tue total take in 1888 again shows a considerable diminution 
from the preceding season. My friend Capt. G. Sérensen (Har- 
bourmaster of Vard6), for the first time, has apparently forgotten 
to send me a list of the whales killed,* so that my returns for the 
Finwhaling during 1888 are more imperfect than usual; as, 
besides gaps, my information concerning a few of the companies 
may not include the last whale or two killed at the extreme end 
of the season. If, however, we allow (to make even numbers) 
13 beyond the numbers recorded at the end of this paper, the 
total only amounts to about 730, or probably from 120 to 130 
less than the total obtained in 1887, which in its turn was 100 
less than the total in 1886. 

The number of Companies (in spite of a few changes) remains 
the same as in 1887; the number of whalers was greater by 
three, or—as I am not sure that two of the vessels were in 
commission before the latter part of the season—the increase is 
perhaps more correctly stated as one. 

The falling off in the numbers of each of the three species of 
Rorqual appears, as far as my returns go, to have been about 


* As it takes a month to receive a reply from Vardé, I did not write 
a reminder to Capt. Sérensen, because I could not tell but what the next 
post might bring me the desired information. 

ZOOLOGIST.—AUGUST, 1889. Z 


282 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


proportionate, while the only apparent increase is in Humpbacks, 
a tolerably sure sign of the scarcity of the two larger species. 

The numbers obtained by two Companies may be specially 
noted :—Yeretiki, the easternmost of the whaling stations, 23 
whales, against 60 in the previous year, the principal falling 
off being in Common Rorquals: and Sérver, in West Fin- 
marken, no Blue Whales, against 17 in previous season; 
Common Rorquals increased by nearly five times; the unprece- 
dented catch of 110 Rudolphi’s Rorquals in 1887, was last season 
reduced to the yet extraordinary number of 60; and Humpb.cks 
11, against 4 in 1887. 

The chief point of interest about the season’s operations was 
the killing of a Blue Whale off Vardi, early in July, which had 
one side considerably enlarged, and whose vertebral column was 
said to be distorted. There was no external mark to explain the 
circumstance. After it had been flensed the “krang” was sold 
to one of the guano factories, where, on cutting into the enlarged 
side, there ensued considerable effusion of blood and matter, 
followed by the finding, between two of the ribs, a small harpoon, 
or “bomb-lance.” The point of interest consists in the fact that 
this is undoubtedly of American manufacture, and that the whale 
must have received this unpleasant guest somewhere on the 
American side of the Atlantic, and subsequently crossed the 
ocean. The lance is 163 (English) in. long, and { in. diameter, 
and bears the inscription engraved, ‘‘E. PIERCE’S PAT. JUNE 1, 
69.”* It unscrews into three main sections and four interior 
smaller pieces. Capt. Sdrensen, in whose custody it was at the 
time of my visit to Vardé, kindly allowed me to photograph it, 
and I sent a copy to Prof. F. W. True, of the U.S. National 
Museum, Washington, asking him to be so good as to give me 
any information in his power as to place of manufacture, and in 
what whaling trade such pattern was used. Prof. True has very 
kindly taken considerable trouble about it, and has furnished me 
with the following particulars, in a letter dated May 24th:— 

‘Soon after receiving your letter, I wrote to Mr. Eben Pierce 
regarding the harpoon, and obtained from him some very interesting 
papers, copies of which I enclose. 

«The harpoon is of the kind which in America is called a bomb- 


* The figures looked like C 9, but no doubt represent the date as 
aboye. 


THE FINWHALE FISHERY. 283 


‘lance. We have one of exactly this pattern in the Museum. The 
wires which are to be seen in the left end of the shaft are not part of 
an electrical apparatus,* but belong to the guiding-wings, which are 
wanting in the specimen photographed. I enclose a copy of some 
notes on the construction of this bomb, contained in the late Mr. J. T. 
Brown’s ‘London Fisheries Exhibition Catalogue,’ a copy of which 
you may not have at hand. 

“« Mr, Pierce’s statement that he has never sold any of these bombs 
to the Norwegian whalers is, it seems to me, of much importance. 
The Scotch whalers, if I have properly understood your reports on the 
whale fishery, do not chase the Finback Whales, while, on the other 
hand, our Provincetown whalers do capture them, and use these 
explosive bombs for the purpose. It is possible, therefore, that the 
individual from which the Pierce bomb was taken was shot at by one 
of our whalers, and afterwards crossed the Atlantic to the coast of 
Finmarken. 

‘“‘ We do not yet know very much about the Finback Whales that 
frequent our Atlantic coast, and I have been intending for some time 
to visit the stations in Massachusetts, with a view of gathering some 
new information regarding them.” 

The extract enclosed from the ‘ London Fisheries Exhibition 
Catalogue’ is as follows :— 

“U.S. of America.—E. ‘The Whale Fishery and its Appliances.’ 
By James Temple Brown. Washington, 1883, p. 59.” 

‘* PreRcE’S BOMB-LANCE.—Main portion, or powder chamber, brass 
tubing ; anterior end provided with nipple for percussion-cap and time- 
fuse. Rear end, or tail-piece, composition metal; fluted sides, with 
longitudinal slots for reception of the wings. Guide-wings, sheet 
brass, fastened to brass wires; closed by a brass ring when placed in 
the gun, and expand radially from a common centre when discharged. 
Lance-point, composition metal; four cutting edges; recessed, con- 
taining a hammer secured by a wooden pin, which is broken by the 
concussion of the explosion of the charge, and explodes the cap on the 
nipple in the end of the shank, communicating the fire to the maga- 
zine by means of the time-fuse. Button, sole leather, fastened with 
ascrew. Length, 19 inches.t New Bedford, Massachusetts, 1882. 
56355. Manufactured and presented by Captain Eben Pierce. Used 


* As we in Vardé had conjectured. 
} The difference in the length of the Vardi example is probably to be 
accounted for by the absence of the “‘ guide-wings.” Possibly also the 1882 


pattern may vary from that of 1869. 
z2 


284 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


with Pierce & Eggers’ Shoulder-gun. Made in three sections. The 
lance is loaded by detaching the rear section, and capped by detaching 
the cutting-point.” 


It is only necessary to give brief extracts from the papers 
referred to as received by Prof. True :— 

Capt. Eben Pierce, in a letter dated New Bedford, Feb. 28, 
1889, says, ‘‘ In reply to yours about bomb-lances I would say I 
have never sold any lances to the Norwegians. I have sold them 
to the Scotch whalers.” As the name Blue Whale leaves the 
identity of the whale in doubt, I will mention that although I 
did not see the individual, yet the name Blue Whale in Norwegian 
(I believe I was the first to adopt it in English) always signifies 
Balenoptera Sibbaldii. The present instance proving that this 
species also occurs on the American side, it is probably identical 
with either the Sibbaldius tuberosus or tectirostris of Cope. 

The bomb is considered to be one of the first manufactured 
by Capt. Eben Pierce, of New Bedford (Massachusetts), and he 
has some of this patent still on hand. .‘“‘ He is still engaged in 
their manufacture, but on an improved plan, and are those mostly 
used in the Arctic by American whalers.” ‘“ Sometimes some 
careless persons fire these bombs into the whale without being 
loaded, and in this case they do not explode, but remain in the 
whale for years in their perfect state. This bomb never con- 
tained poison, but simply powder.” 

Capt. Berg, of Syltefjord, and Capt. Hoff, of Jarfjord, send the 
following notes of foetuses found during the last season, the obser- 
vations of each being distinguished by the letters (B) and (H) :— 


Norw. 
ft. in 
Common Rorqual, May 19 4 0 (B) 
% June 2 AN 5 J 
iY July 16 Sir ra 
” ” 20 3 0 ” 
:; jae 4 6 (H) 
- Aug. 4 5 4 (B) 


- ,, 20; probably between 5 and 6 feet, 
but quite decomposed, as the whale had been 


killed five days when flensed. (H) 
Rudolphi’s Rorqual, July 26... ... 8 1 (B) 
S Angi 16) 238) loan cain 6 (H) 


, 5 ais REL DR tale okt eyelet 


THE FINWHALE IISHERY. 285 


Two foetuses of the latter species were found at Pasvig on 
August 10th, one measuring 6 ft. and the other about 5 ft. 

Capt. Sérensen (now Harbour-master of Vardo) believes that 
Common Rorquals pair in December or January, and generalises 
to the effect that foetuses of this species are from 6 to 12 inches 
in April, and from 6 to 10 feet in August, and are from 16 to 
20 ft. long at birth. He is also of opinion that Blue Whales 
have no fixed time for pairing, as foetuses may be found at the 
same date of from 1 to 20 feet in length. 

There seems little doubt that whalers do not as a rule lose 
much through not coming earlier to the fishing quarters, as the 
only report I have of whales seen on the passage north is from 
Capt. Hoff, who reports, “‘ On the 16th March a pair of Hump- 
backs seen half a (sea ?) mile from land, outside Gamvig-Mehayn, 
and no whale seen besides them on the passage north from the 
6th to 17th March.” But he goes on to say, ‘‘A quantity of 
Common Rorquals and Humpbacks seem to have been under the 
land about Vardé, and on the Murman coast, in the month of 
February.” 

“Did not see whales congregated in any large numbers. 
Rudolphi’s Rorquals, up to fifty together, were observed forty 
English miles north of Tanahorn on 24th July, and sixty English 
miles N.N.W. of Nordkyn on 20th August.” . 

“The whales have this year remained constantly far out at 
sea, especially between twenty-five and sixty English miles from 
land, as the fishing, so far as the’ East Finmarken vessels were 
concerned, has been constantly outside the Nordkyn, and the 
North Cape; and only of short duration, and occasionally, to the 
eastward of Tana. Common Rorquals were scarcely obtained to 
the eastward of Vardé, and only a few Blue Whales to the east- 
ward by Norwegian boats. The season has been uncommonly 
stormy right throughout until the second half of July, but, on 
the contrary, calm and beautiful weather the greater part of 
August.” 

Capt. Berg (Syltefjord) writes, “‘ The months of April and 
part of May were unusually cold in Finmarken this year, the 
- temperature of the sea being especially very low, to which we 
attributed the poor ‘‘ Loddefiske ”” (= Capelan* fishery), and also 


* Mallotus arcticus. 


286 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


that the whales kept so far out to sea, generally about twenty to 
forty miles off shore; and the weather being also very unsettled 
at the time, the whalers had avery poor chance. We caught 
only four whales in April, two in May, and three in June: there 
was no great quantity of them all these months between the 
North Cape and the Murman coast. About the middle of July 
I first observed any shoal of whales—between Tana and Baads- 
fjord, thirty miles off shore; and here Blue Whales, Common 
Rorquals, and Humpbacks were represented. We caught eight 
whales between the 15th and the 22nd of that month. During 
the first days of August there were also several whales of these 
different species off the Nordkyn. After the 20th of August 
very few whales were seen; on my last cruise (August 27th 
and 28th), between the North Cape and Vardé, I only saw three 
stragglers (Common Rorquals), about forty miles north of Nord- 
kyn. We left our station at Syltefjord on the 30th of August, 
having stayed there since the 21st of March.” 

Capt. M. C. Bull (of Sérver, on Sérdéen, West Finmarken), 
writes :—‘‘ Blue Whale: very few examples seen, none obtained. 
Common Rorqual: there were several at the end of May, seven 
to eight (? sea) miles off Séréen, and thus by the 5th of June we 
had obtained thirty. Rudolphi’s Rorqual: were under the coast 
in July, but not in such large numbers as in 1887. The weather 
in 1888 was unusually stormy, with highseas. For ten days from 
St. Hans’ Day (= 24th June) we had so heavy a gale that the 
vessels had to lie in harbour. The weather was unusually cold. 
The temperature of the water so low that the Capelan, which 
usually come under land at the end of March and April, died in 
consequence; so we from our whalers observed thousands upon 
thousands of barrels of dead Capelan outside Sédréen, right up 
to North Cape. The cod fishery was thus pursued first in 
May; but a small quantity was caught, as the fishermen went 
home early. The fishermen believed that the reason why the 
Capelan died was that the water was so foul from the whaling 
factories that the fish could not live in it. They were ignorant 


that the temperature of the water could have any influence on 
the fish.” | 


The fishermen always maintain that the whales (or at least 
one or more species of them) pursue the shoals of Capelan, and, 
swimming round them, force them into compact masses and 


THE FINWHALE FISHERY. 287 


gradually drive them close in shore. The Cod likewise, wishing 
to prey upon the Capelan, follow the driven masses towards the 
shore, and so come within reach of the fishermen: They are 
fully persuaded that if the whales are in turn harried at this 
time, they will shift far out to sea, and the Capelan being 
no longer frightened towards the coast by their gigantic 
pursuers, the cod fishery will fall off, and that it has even already 
begun to do so. 

All this the whalers deny in toto, and, so far as I can judge, 
with reason: for even allowing that the shoals are rounded up by 
whales, to afford them a more complete mouthful, is it likely that 
the survivors will rush away for miles towards the land because 
they have been alarmed by the apparition of the gigantic jaws of 
a Rorqual? Is it not rather in the nature of such small fish to 
be content with a flight at best speed of a few yards, or, as we 
_ dre speaking of the open sea, of a few fathoms ? 

However, this question—so constantly brought forward by 
the fishermen—was considered of such serious consequence 
(considering the enormous value to the country which the cod - 
fishing represents) that Prof. G. O. Sars, of Christiania Univer- 
sity, went up to Finmarken last summer to investigate the matter 
at first hand; and there I had the pleasure of making his 
acquaintance. Capt. Bull has kindly sent me a copy of his 
‘Report to the Department for the Interior, from Prof. Dr. 
G. O. Sars, on the practical scientific investigations set on foot 
by him in the summer of 1888, concerning the sea-fisheries, also 
concerning the close season for whales in Finmarken. Christi- 
ania, 1888.’ 

As it is impossible to quote his arguments in extenso, I will 
merely say that he acquits the whaling of any damage to the 
fisheries, a conclusion in which I fancy most people (except the 
fishermen) will agree with him. 

On the passage out from England across the North Sea, on 
August 3rd, when 140 miles N.E.4N. (magnetic) from the Spurn, 
saw at least three whales heading about 8.S.E., which were 
probably feeding. I could not identify them with certainty, but 
believed: them to be Rudolphi’s Rorquals. From their dark 
colour: the choice lay between this species and Humpbacks. 
Directly afterwards saw two (at least) Common Rorquals 
(almost certainly) heading about S. by W., so as almost 


288 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


to meet the others. These last were travelling, and not 
feeding. 

On the afternoon of the 5th, a little to the north of Molde 
(off Ulsunet), saw four Ospreys; and on the 8th, at Vol Sund 
Tarn (the entrance to Namsen Fjord, twenty English miles 
S. of Namsos), saw an Osprey fishing for Coalfish, in company 
with a number of Lesser Black-back, Herring, and Common 
Gulls. Also a Killer, Orca gladiator, and what was probably a 
Lesser Rorqual; and my friend Mr. Henry Balfour, who was 
with me, thought he saw a third smaller Cetacean (if so, probably 
a Dolphin). 

On the evening of the 9th, at the mouth of Salten Fjord, 
passed a school of mixed Cetaceans, chiefly Dolphins, and among 
them one (or more) that we took to be Pilot Whales, Globicephalus 
melas, and probably a Lesser Rorqual. 

Prof. Collett having (as mentioned in ‘ The Zoologist’ for 
1888, p. 106) called my attention to the species of Dolphin 
commonly met with along the Norwegian coast, I was especially 
glad to find last year two newly-stuffed specimens of Delphinus 
albirostris in the Throndhjem Museum; for one may see a 
Cetacean over and over again at sea, and obtain near and 
comparatively clear views of it, but, unless one has also the 
opportunity of examining specimens on shore, one’s ideas of it 
are tolerably certain to remain somewhat hazy. 

By the opportunities above mentioned, and especially on the 
following day (the 10th), between Kjeé and Lédingen, between 
Grsholmen and Harstad, and near Havnvig, we had unusually 
good views, including plenty of jumping, and we quite satisfied 
ourselves that in each case where we could see clearly, the 
Dolphins were D. albirostris, and all apparently were the same 
species. 

At Bugten (Capt. Grén’s), in Busse Sund, was lying the 
krang of a Killer (no doubt Orca gladiator) which had been taken 
by one of his whalers. Total length, 22 ft. 2 in. Fin said to 
have been barely 1 foot high. Nose to parietal ridge, 3 ft. 3 in. 
Breadth of nasal bones (1 inch behind last tooth in upper jaw, 
and immediately in front of orbital process), 1 ft. 24 in. 
Greatest width of skull (zygomatic arches), about 2 ft. 6 in. 
Length of flipper, about 3 ft. 1 in.; breadth of ditto, 1 ft. 7} in. 
Span of flukes, 5 ft. 53 in. (probably rather more when 


THE FINWHALE FISHERY. 289 


fresh). Notch between flukes fully 23 in. deep. Width of 
flukes, at eight inches from central line of vertebral column, 
1 ft; 7 in. 

Capt. I. Bryde told me that on one occasion (two or three 
years ago), when towing a Blue Whale to his factory in Busse 
Sund, he fell in with a small school of these marine wolves, and 
by the time he reached the sound they had pretty well stripped 
the blubber, and even the flesh, off the whale. 

The last live whales that I saw were three Blue Whales 
going south into Varanger Fjord, about opposite Ekkeré, on 
August 20th. 

The dead whales included several Common Rorquals, of one 
of which I took the following notes at Evensen’s Factory at 
Vardo, on August 21st :— 

Male, 71 English feet long. Left upper and lower lip 
jet-black. Right lips enamel- or milk-white. The colour of 
the inside of the lower jaw on each side, the contrary to the 
outside. The right side was already flensed, but the white 
certainly extended much further round to the side than on the left 
side. Black above. Whole under side, except left side of chin 
and last twelve feet of tail, white; the black on the keel being 
grey-black, and shading off somewhat gradually. The sinall, 
or tail about one foot from flukes, only measured about fifteen or 
sixteen inches transversely. The ridges on the under side white, 
the furrows nearly all black. 

On the 20th passed Capt. Hoff on the Hvalen, in Varanger 
Fjord, towing a very light-coloured Common Rorqual and a 
small black-bellied Humpback. Another Humpback (a male) 
on the same day, in Busse Sund (Capt. Gron’s), was white- 
bellied, and nearly the whole of outside of flipper was white; a 
patch of black, about a foot wide, near the middle of the 
under side. A female Rudolphi’s Rorqual, also lying there, was 
blue on the under side, with hardly any white. 


In the list on the next page the changes in Companies, &c., 
are marked by italics. 


THE ZOOLOGIST. 


290 


List oF WHALES KILLED, 1888. 


"MOSVOS O[OT AM: OT} MWOISSIUIUIOD UT SBA OYS JL} OANS JOU TAB . 


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CaP* } 


THE BEARDED TITMOUSE. 
By J. H. Gurney, Jon., F.Z.S. 


Tue Bearded Titmouse, Panurus biarmicus (Linn.), was first 
discovered by Sir Thomas Browne, the learned physician of 
Norwich, in Charles the Second’s time, but not until after he had 
written his ‘ Account of Norfolk Birds,’ in which no mention of 
it occurs. Subsequently, in a communication to John Ray, he 
described it from an example which had been shot in an osier- 
car, probably on the Norwich river. Norfolk is now its last 
home, including the north of Suffolk, and these are the only two 
counties in which it still breeds, the Broad district, where alone 
it may be found, extending over an area of little more than 
twenty miles. 

So scarce, however, has this bird become that I am sorry to 
say I have been on Norfolk Broads scores of times without 
seeing one, and this is the experience also of others besides 
myself. The marshmen would have strangers believe that this 
scarcity is owing to hard winters, but their own cupidity is really 
the chief cause of the decrease, for they know full well the 
market value of the eggs. The truth is, as Messrs. Lubbock, 
Stevenson, and Booth have pointed out, the Bearded Tit is a 
much hardier bird than its frail appearance would lead one to 
expect. 

At Hickling Broad there is not one where ten years ago there 
used to be twenty. Joshua Nudd, a weighty authority in such 
matters, estimated the number this year (1889) on Hickling 
Broad and Heigham Sounds at two pairs, and four pairs on 
Horsey Broad adjoining, a sad contrast to the time when they 
were so plentiful that in one morning’s search he could find forty 
fresh eggs; but then Nudd could not resist taking them, thus 
practically killing the geese which laid these golden eggs. For 
years there has been a trade in them, the recognised price being 
fourpence apiece, and this is enough to tempt a Norfolk marsh- 
man to leave his legitimate occupation of mowing sedge at 10s. 
a week and take to “‘ egging.” 

There is a partial remedy for this state of things, though 
there are some objections to it: if the proprietors of the Broads 
would allow the reeds to grow instead of cutting them, we should 


292 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


have high and thick covert which would be an asylum that would 
defy the dealers, and where many a nest would escape detection. 
Reeds are worth £6 a load, but the expenses of cutting them are 
considerable, and there is much less thatching now in Norfolk 
with reeds than used formerly to be the case. 

Since the drainage of Salthouse Broad the Bearded Tit has 
ceased to nest anywhere on the Norfolk coast, and it is possible 
that the examples obtained of recent years at Cley by Dr. Power, 
and at Burnham by Mr. Richford, and by others at Blakeney 
and Morston, were migrants which had crossed the German 
Ocean. Lord Leicester informs me that within his recollection 
they used to breed at Holkham, adjoining Burnham, but they have 
long ceased to do so. I am sure examples may still be met with 
occasionally by the coast if sought for, but there will never be 
sufficient numbers to compensate for the losses sustained on our 
inland waters. 

In regard to habits, I must confess that, notwithstanding a 
somewhat extensive acquaintance with this beautiful little bird, 
I am able to add but little to what has been already written 
about it. On looking over my entries of the dates of nesting I 
quite agree with the late Mr. Stevenson that this bird is an early 
breeder. I once saw young ones as big as their parents in the 
middle of June, and at the same time an incomplete clutch of 
fresh eggs, which makes me think they may sometimes breed 
three times in a season, the first clutch being generally hatched 
in April. But, to prevent misconception, I should observe that 
the dates referred to are dates of nests found, not taken, for 
I have never taken one myself, nor have I ever shot a bird. 

A more beautiful object than a male Bearded Tit clinging to a 
reed-stem it is difficult to imagine. Except in the vicinity of 
their nests they are decidedly shy; it is only then, as a rule, 
that they flit across open spaces, and sometimes unfortunately, 
in their anxiety for their eggs, they betray their whereabouts. 
They are very unsuspecting when they have young, going 
straight to the nest in the presence of spectators, but having 
instinct enough to approach by creeping instead of flying; and 
a similar habit has been observed in the Coal Titmouse. I have 
been surprised sometimes, when walking with Joshua Nudd, to 
notice how often he heard the note when neither of us could see 
the bird; long experience in looking for them had sharpened his 


THE BEARDED TITMOUSE. 293 


ear. If there is any wind they do not show themselves; a very 
little is enough to wave the tops of the reeds and keep them at 
the bottom ; it is also difficult to hear their notes unless it be a 
still day, for they are not loud at any time, although described 
by many persons as shrill. One who has kept them in confine- 
ment syllables the ordinary call-note thus: “tjunk, kjunk, tjink, 
tjink.” Another circumstance which renders them difficult to 
see is their protective tawny colour, so like the old brown reeds 
of the preceding year. Their long tails have earned them the 
local appellation of ‘ Reed Pheasant,” another local name being 
“‘Maish [7.e., Marsh] Pheasant.” Occasionally the natives of 
Hickling and the neighbourhood allude to them as “Maish 
Tits,” but I do not attach much importance to local names, 
except in particular cases. 

The flight of the Bearded Tit may be described as somewhat 
laboured and slow; it flits rather than flies, and never seems to 
rise into the air. The head is held high, and the tail, which 
certainly must incommode the bird, has the appearance of being 
partly spread. There is nothing in this to distinguish these 
birds from our woodland Titmice, from which they are by no 
means so dissimilar as some writers would have us believe. 

The Rev. Richard Lubbock has remarked that in cold weather 
they sometimes nestle closely together upon the same reed, in 
the same manner as does the Long-tailed Titmouse; and a 
fenman brought him as many as six, which had been killed at 
one shot just before dark, when they were thus huddled together 
(‘ Fauna of Norfolk,’ 2nd ed. p. 56). 

The nest is generally placed about a foot above the level 
ground, and never in any way suspended, the tallest and oldest 
reeds being generally selected for its support, but a nest may 
occasionally be found in a cluster of sweet gale (Myrica gale), 
Carez, and alder. The nest is made of the brown leaves of 
Arundo phragmitis, and always lined with its feathery top ; 
I think I have seen sweet gale interwoven in the fabric also. 
The inside diameter is about 2°8 in., and the eggs are not 
incommoded by a bit of reed sticking through the bottom. 
Yarrell alludes (vol. i. p. 516) to the nest being placed in a 
tuft of grass or nettles, but nettles do not grow on our Broads, 
and a tuft of grass, unless it was very rank marsh-grass, is not 
a likely place in which to find a nest. No one can think 


QoL THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Yarrell’s woodcut of either nest or bird very good; the bird is 
depicted with a double moustache, and the head erroneously 
appears to be of the same colour as the back. The outline, 
however, is good, and I have somewhere read that it was sketched 
from life by the late Mr. Blyth. 

The eggs are generally six in number, though I have found 
seven, white, with irregular specks and short wavy lines of 
brown, with a pink or golden tinge about them when perfectly 
fresh, but showing a dark zone when incubated, owing to the shell 
becoming opaque. Joshua Nudd once found two nests on the 
Broads, one on the top of the other, each containing seven eggs. 
On another occasion he found twelve eggs in a nest, but in this 
case two birds claimed ownership, as he suspected, from seeing 
two hens close to the nest. I have seen the cock bird fly off the 
nest, though the fact of its taking any part in incubation is 
doubted by a good authority. 

The plumage is almost too well known to ornithologists to 
require description. All the hen birds which have passed 
through my hands have had some trace of the black markings 
on the back, but Messrs. Sharpe and Dresser state (‘ Birds of 
Europe,’ vol. iii., p. 60) that it is ultimately lost. One partly in 
male plumage, and with a trace of the black moustache, lived 
and laid eggs in the aviary of Mr. Keulemans, and it is just 
possible that some such specimen may have suggested the 
remarks of the authors just mentioned. For a long time after 
quitting the nest the young have black backs, and this is visible 
a long way off when flying; the back is also quite black when 
they are in the nest, the immature plumage in this respect being 
very distinct from that of the adult.* 

The nestling when just hatched is blind, and even when only 
one day old has a brilliantly coloured mouth, which brilliancy 
consists of four rows of black and white spots raised on the 
surface of the palate, which is red. How long the young present 
this remarkable appearance I do not know, but it is not lost 
until after they have left the nest. 


* In this plumage the young bird looks so different to the adult that it 
was once regarded by Bonaparte as specifically distinct, and described by 
him as Calamophilus sibiricus (‘Comptes Rendus,’ 1856, p. 414).—Eb. 


NOTES ON THE REPTILES OF BARBADOS. 


By Coronet H. W. Feiupen. 


Tue island of Barbados emerges from the Atlantic Ocean, 
some hundred miles to the eastward of the chain of the Lesser 
Antilles, being separated from the islands of St. Lucia and 
St. Vincent, its nearest neighbours, by an oceanic depression of 
not less than a thousand fathoms; to the southward, between 
Barbados and the continent of South America, similar depths 
are found, whilst to the. eastward it rapidly descends into the 
profound abyss of the Atlantic. Geologically speaking, Bar- 
bados is a true oceanic island in the sense that it has not been 
connected with a continental area since the introduction of its 
present flora and fauna. A remarkable feature in the formation 
of Barbados is that no volcanic rock, so far as I am aware, 
protrudes through the basement series, which consist of sedi- 
mentary rocks, which are supposed to be either late Eocene or 
Miocene. Their exact age has not been satisfactorily deter- 
mined, but they will in all probability be found to correlate 
with the rocks of Trinidad and the South American continent. 
Resting unconformably on these rocks are deep beds of true 
Oceanic ooze, similar, we may suppose, to those which cover the 
floor of the Caribbean and Atlantic areas, and on these oceanic 
oozes the coral covering of the modern island of Barbados has 
been built. It is therefore impossible to escape from the con- 
clusion that the older Eocene or Miocene rocks, which now form 
the basement series of the island, must have participated in the 
prodigious downthrow of the Caribbean area, to a depth of at 
least 1000 fathoms, in order to bring the floor of the ocean into 
harmony with its present depths. By no other train of reasoning 
can we account for the vast accumulations of oceanic ooze now 
resting on the oldest rocks of Barbados. When the process of 
upheaval which brought the modern island of Barbados into 
existence was sufficiently advanced, the reef-forming Zoantharia 
commenced building the coral-reefs, which, in the shape of 
coralline limestone, now forms a capping over six-sevenths of 
the island, down to the sea-level, beyond which the same process 
of reef-building is still proceeding. The only portion of the 
island not covered by coralline limestone is the north-east 


296 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


section (Scotland District), where the coral-capping has been 
removed by subaérial denudation. The elevation of Barbados 
from the ocean, though intermittent, as shown by the numerous 
lines of old sea margins, rising one above the other, appears to 
have been progressive since the time when the structure of the 
coral polypes first emerged, and which at its highest point now 
stand at an elevation of over 1000 feet above present sea-level. 
If this outline of the geological structure of the island of 
Barbados be correct, its fauna ought to bear out the conclusions 
arrived at. 

An examination of the Reptiles inhabiting the island of 
Barbados points to their recent introduction. They are by no 
means numerous, consisting, so far as I have discovered, of one 
species of Snake, four species of Lizards, a single species of Toad, 
and aTree-frog. The Snake, Liophis perfuscus, Cope (P. Ac. Phil. 
1862, p. 77), is the only puzzle, for, so far as we at present 
know, the species is restricted to Barbados, and the transport of 
a Snake by natural causes over a wide expanse of ocean offers 
considerable difficulties. The introduction and restriction of the 
venomous Fer-de-lance, Craspedocephalus lanceolatus, to the 
islands of Martinique and St. Lucia, its original habitat being, I 
understand, the South American continent, is equally remarkable. 
Two hundred and thirty years ago, when Ligon wrote his history 
of Barbados, Liophis perfuscus appears to have been extremely 
numerous, and though innocuous, very troublesome to the 
settlers; from its habit of crawling up through the windows of 
the dairies and drinking the milk, he mentions how they were 
obliged to build their milk-houses with projecting ridges to keep 
out these unwelcome intruders. At the present day, owing to 
the high state of cultivation, little harbour is left for Snakes, and 
in a space of twelve months I only succeeded in obtaining two 
adult specimens and two young. The introduction and great 
increase of the Mongoose must have assisted in the destruction 
of the Snake, and it may be predicted that before many years 
have elapsed, the species will be extirpated from the island. The 
young are almost black in colour, and very different to the 
adult, and hence has arisen the belief which I have heard in 
Barbados that two species of Snakes inhabited the island. 

Of the four species of Lizards found in Barbados, the Gecko, 
or “ Wood-slave,” Hemidactylus mabuia, Mor., has an almost 


NOLES ON THE REPTILES OF BARBADOS. 297 


world-wide distribution in the tropics, and its occurrence in 
Barbados may be easily accounted for, as it is known to be 
transported in ships. Mabuia agilis, local name “‘ Scorpion,” is 
rather rare in Barbados; it chiefly affects damp and rushy 
situations. I procured it from Graeme Hall Swamp and 
Chancery Lane; it occurs over the greater part of Tropical 
America, and its transport either by the agency of man, or by 
individuals, or eggs, on floating trees from the South American 
continent may be readily conceived. Anolis alligator, the pretty 
little Common Green Lizard of Barbados, is special to the Lesser 
Antilles. Naturalists have subdivided it into almost as many 
species or varieties as the islands it inhabits; lately Mr. S. 
Garman, an American naturalist, has given the Barbados form 
the specific name of Anolis extremus (Bull. Essex Inst. vol. xix. 
1887). It must be remembered that no animals appear to have 
a greater aptitude, when cut off from the parent stock, in 
assuming specific variations than Lizards. The introduction of 
Anolis alligator into Barbados would probably be concurrent 
with the advent, from some other island of the Lesser Antilles, 
of the prehistoric men who first grounded their canoes on its 
shores, for this Lizard may be often seen sunning itself on boats 
hauled up on the beach, and individuals often take an involuntary 
cruise in the fishing-boats. Centropyx intermedius, Gray, the 
largest and handsomest Lizard in Barbados, where it is known 
by the name of “Guana,” probably a corruption of Iguana, and 
not, as | have heard in Barbados, from its having been intro- 
duced by the guano-laden ships, has likewise received specific 
rank at the hand of Mr. Garman as Centropyx copii. Whether the 
difference between the Barbados form and the South American race 
is sufficiently distinct to entitle it to specific rank I would not 
venture to determine, but Mr. G. A. Boulenger, who has examined 
the specimens I brought from Barbados, informs me that there 
is not the slightest difference between them and the typical 
specimens of Centropyx intermedius, Gray. It is very remarkable, 
as I am likewise informed by Mr. Boulenger, that the large series 
of Centropyx intermedius in the British Museum from South 
America consists only of females, and the specimens I brought 
from Barbados are of the same sex. Apparently the male is 
undescribed, and I take this opportunity of suggesting to some 
of my kind friends in Barbados that a series of males, preserved 
ZOOLOGIST.—AvUGUST, 1889. QA 


298 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


in strong spirits, would be an acceptable donation to our National 
Institution. The species is quite common at Chancery Lane, 
though I was informed that the Mongoose had taken to devouring 
it. Sir R. Schomburgk, in his ‘History of Barbados’ (p. 679), 
gives a list of ten species of Lizards as occurring in Barbados; 
he simply enumerates a certain number of species, without giving 
any particulars. Iam afraid that little or no reliance is to be 
placed upon this formal catalogue. 

The little Tree-frog, Hylodes martinicensis, Tschudi, is un- 
doubtedly a very recent introduction ; twenty years ago, as I am 
credibly informed, it was quite unknown. It is now spread over 
the entire island, and until the ear gets accustomed or deadened 
to it, the monotonous incessant chirping of this Frog throughout 
the night, during rainy weather, is enough to drive a person 
distracted. This Frog is found in Martinique, St. Kitts, Saba, 
Dominica, and Porto Rico, and doubtless in many others of the 
islands. Its transport to Barbados, along with plants, or by the 
direct agency of man, was to be expected. 

There can be no question that the Toad in Barbados, Bufo 
marinus, L., vel B. agua, Daud., is an importation of recent years. 
Schomburgk, writing in 1848, notes :—‘‘ I have been assured that 
this species, which is so common in Demerara, was introduced 
from thence about fifteen years ago. It has increased most 
rapidly, and is now to be met with in as large numbers as in 
Demerara.” There is certainly no falling off in the stock at the 
present time, as this Toad is ubiquitous throughout the island and 
countless. It is found in the islands of Grenada, St. Lucia, 
St. Kitts, Martinique, Montserrat, Jamaica, and Nevis, into all of 
which islands it has probably been introduced either by accident 
or on purpose, for it is said to be an exterminator of mice and 
to keep off rats. 

I have already recorded in this magazine (1888, p. 236) the 
interesting fact of an Alligator being transported alive on the 
trunk of a tree from the continent of South America to Barbados 
in 1886. I do not refer to the marine reptiles which frequent 
the shores of Barbados, because their visits do not possess the 
same z00-geographical interest as the question of the introduction 
of the terrestrial ones. 


(-299' |) 


THE MANATEE AT THE ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 
By Procter S. Hutcuinson, M.R.C.S. 


One of the recent acquisitions of the Zoological Society is 
the curious Manatee. This animal, which comes from Demerara, 
may be seen in a warm-water tank in the Reptile House of the 
Gardens. It is the South-American species, Manatus americanus, 
of which one specimen has been in the Gardens before, but 
unfortunately died in about a month, probably from the water 
being insufficiently warmed. 

The Manatees belong to the Order Sirenia, or Sea-Cows ; 
besides this species there are two others, the Floridan, M. lati- 
rostris, and the African, M. senegalensis. The Halicore, or 
Dugong, having tusk-like incisors and no nails on the flippers, 
and Steller’s Sea-Cow, Rhytina Stelleri, entirely without teeth, 
belong to other genera of the same Order: the latter animal, 
which inhabited Behring’s Straits up to the end of the last 
century, but is now believed to be extinct, was twice as large as a 
Dugong or Manatee, but of similar habits. 

The Manatee, like the Whale, is not, as many erroneously 
suppose, a fish, but a mammal, suckling its young and having 
warm blood. It agrees with whales in the absence of mid- 
limbs and the possession of a horizontal tail-fin, but differs in 
the conformation of its nostrils, which are never used as blow- 
holes, though they can be opened and closed at will by means of 
a valve. We might apply to it what Trinculo says of Caliban :— 

‘‘ What have we here? a man ora fish? .... Warm, o’ my troth! 
I do now let loose my opinion; hold it no longer. This is no fish, but 
an islander.” 
It has a rounded head, very small eyes, no external ears, a pair 
of anterior flippers, which it can move in all directions, with 
small nails on them; no hind limbs, and a broad flat tail, 
horizontal, not vertical like fishes. The lips are covered with 
stiff bristles, but the skin is thick and almost hairless. There 
are several skeletons of Manatees both in the College of Surgeons 
and the British Museum, and at the latter place a fine skeleton 
for comparison of Rhytina. From these it will be seen that 
their bones are very thick, and that they have the great peculiarity 
of only six cervical vertebre instead of seven, a feature only 
2a2 


300 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


present in one other mammal, namely, Hoffmann’s Sloth: this 
does not apply to the Dugongs or to Rhytina. 

It was noticed that the Manatee formerly in the Zoological 
Gardens was unable to move when its tank was dry, from which 
it may be inferred that its habits are entirely aquatic, and that it 
cannot progress upon land. It inhabits the shores and rivers of 
Eastern South America and Western Africa, feeding exclusively 
on water-weeds. The animal now in the Gardens is fed on 
lettuces. In its motion through the water there are none of the 
lateral movements characteristic of Seals; the flexions of the 
body are vertical. It puts the tips of its flippers into its mouth 
somewhat like a cat licking its paws. 


The Manatee is said to have been trained to come to a call, 
for though having no external ears there is a small outer opening 
for the ear, with a drum and ossicles, differing essentially from 
fish, which have only internal ears and no drum, and not receiving 
definite sounds. It is hunted by the Indians of South America 
for food, the flesh being highly prized, and described as resembling 
pork; it also furnishes a clear oil, which does not become rancid. 
Above is a sketch of the animal now in the Gardens; it is a 
young one, and has yet to grow considerably. 

It will be noticed that there is no trace of hind limbs 
externally, and in the skeleton only two small girdle bones 
represent them. Like the Whale, it has to come to the surface 
of the water from time to time to breathe; in the tank at the 
Gardens it comes up every two and half minutes. 

The South American Manatee which lived for some time in 
the Westminster Aquarium was described in ‘ The Zoologist’ of 
1878 (p. 285), from which some facts in the above account have 
been taken. To this the reader may be referred for a description 
of the very singular mode of feeding in this animal, effected by 


NOTORNIS MANTELLI IN WESTERN OTAGO. 301 


the action of lateral lip-pads, the jaws moving horizontally instead 
of vertically. This indeed is the most curious 

point to be noted in the anatomy of the Manatee, a) 
and is well worthy of observation by naturalists f 
while the opportunity is still afforded of seeing \ e 
a living specimen. The annexed figure of the 3 
animal’s mouth, viewed from the front, was aed 
drawn while it was opening its lips to enclose pieces of lettuce. 


ON THE SURVIVAL OF NOTORNIST MANELLI IN 
WESTERN OTAGO.* 


By James Park, F.G.S. 


Up to the present time only three specimens of this remark- 
able bird have been secured, and, as the opinion has been 
expressed by some naturalists that it is now quite extinct, I have 
prepared the following notes, collected during the progress of 
various explorations in Otago, as tending to show that it not only 
exists, but is probably as numerous now as when the colony was 
first settled by Europeans. 

I may mention at the outset that the genus Notornis was 
founded by Professor Owen in the year 1848, upon portions of a 
skull and other parts of the skeleton of a large Rail discovered 
at Waingongoro by the Hon. Walter Mantell, while exploring at 
that place for Moa-bones. These fossils are all that now remain 
to testify the existence of the Notornis in the North Island, where 
it was known to the natives as the Moho. 

By a strange, and at the same time most fitting, coincidence, 
the first two specimens of the Notornis, or Takahe as it was 
called in the South Island, were secured by Mr. Mantell in 1849. 
The first of these was captured by a party of sealers at Duck 
Cove, Resolution Island, in Dusky Sound; and the second by the 
Maoris on Secretary Island, opposite to Deas Cove, in Thompson 
Sound. Both of these were forwarded to England, and are now 
in the British Museum in London. 

After a lapse of over thirty years the third specimen was 


* From the ‘ Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,’ vol. xxi. (May, 
1889), pp. 226—230. 


302 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


captured by a party of rabbitters about the beginning of 1880, 
on the Maruroa Flat, on the east side of Lake Te Anau. This 
bird was also sent to England, and at the present time probably 
adorns the shelf of some foreign museum. Since the above 
date no fresh example of the Notornis has been secured, 
although much time has been spent in the search around Lake 
Te Anau. 

My first acquaintance with this bird dates back to 1881. 
During the months of January and February of that year 1 was 
engaged, with Mr. A. McKay and Mr. John Buchanan, on a 
geological and botanical exploration of the Wanaka country. On 
the 20th of January we struck our camps at the forks of the 
Matukituki, opposite Mount Aspiring, and proceeded up the south 
branch of that river to Cascade Creek, a distance of eight or ten 
miles. Here we pitched our tents, at an altitude of 2000 feet 
above the sea, in the shelter of the Fagus bush which covers all 
the slopes of the surrounding mountains and the greater portion 
of the river-flats. 

Shortly after dusk our attention was attracted by the call of 
a strange bird which approached within a few chains of our 
camp, uttering at short intervals a loud booming note. Now, 
we were all pretty familiar with the calls of the different birds 
usually met with in the high lands of Otago, but the call of this 
bird was quite unlike any of them. We knew also the booming 
note of the Bittern, which, although like this in kind, was left 
far behind both in volume and intensity. Besides, this was a 
high, mountainous, bush-covered country, ill adapted for this 
bird, which usually frequents raupo-swamps and creek-banks. 
After some deliberation we arrived at the conclusion that this 
was the Notornis, a determination subsequently borne out by 
facts which came under my own observation. 

The next evening, with Mr. McKay’s assistance, I lit a large 
bright fire in the bush, about four chains from the camp, knowing 
from experience that birds of nocturnal habits were often 
attracted by the light of a camp-fire. Retiring a short distance 
from the fire, we awaited the result. As we anticipated, in less 
than half an hour our friend of the previous evening approached, 
uttering his booming note as he walked about. We now crawled 
towards the fire, making as little noise as possible in passing 
over the dry twigs and leaves lying upon the ground. When we 


NOTORNIS MANTELLI IN WESTERN OTAGO. 303 


drew near, the bird retreated from the opposite side of the fire, 
and when we withdrew it again approached. This manceuvre 
was repeated several times without any success on our part; but 
at the same time it should be mentioned that the bird, by its 
movements, exhibited no signs of haste or alarm. 

On several occasions we were probably within four yards of 
it, and at these times when it uttered its note we could distinctly 
feel the ground vibrate beneath us. We, however, failed to catch 
a glimpse of it, as in the intense darkness of the forest this was 
quite impossible, excepting it chanced to get between us and the 
fire, which it carefully avoided doing. 

The next day I examined the scene of the previous night’s 
adventures, and found that the clear space below the matted 
branches of the scrub under which the bird had eluded us was 
about twenty inches high, thus affording a means of approxi- 
mately determining its height. 

The Notornis remained in the vicinity of the camp during our 
stay at this place, being evidently more curious than alarmed at 
our presence. He generally sallied forth at dusk and retired at 
daybreak, his deep note completely dwarfing the cries of the Kiwi 
and noisy Kakapo. 

On the 29th January we struck our tents and returned to 
our old camping-ground near the forks of the Matukituki. 
Shortly after dusk of this evening we heard the note of a 
Notornis, and, proceeding up the south branch to the upper end 
of the gorge, I disturbed the bird under a sand-bank close to 
the river. On examining this spot I found that it had scraped 
a shallow hole in the dry sand, after the same manner, and pro- 
bably for the same purpose, as the common barn-door fowl. 

The river-flats at this place, situated about 1700 feet above 
the sea, are covered with a scanty mixed bush, affording but 
little cover; the ground, however, is thickly strewn with large 
masses of rock which have fallen from the steep cliffs on the 
south side of the river, and below which the Notornis no doubt 
found shelter during thé day-time. 

The next evening I again proceeded to the upper end of the 
gorge, where the Notornis announced his arrival by his loud note. 
Knowing where to look for it, I approached the bank as cautiously 
as possible, but, just as I looked over, it scampered away as fast 
as it could run. 


3804 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


On this occasion I was fortunate enough to catch a passing 
view of it, although in the uncertain starlight I could only make 
out its general outline. It must be remembered that it was only 
in sight a few seconds; but the impression it left upon my mind 
at the time was that its colour was very dark, and its height 
about that of a full-grown Turkey. An important fact to be 
noted here is that, although I got within a few feet of it, the 
bird made no attempt to fly, but ran away very swiftly, and 
without making any sound or cry of alarm. There can be little 
doubt that with a sharp dog I could easily have caught it; but, 
unfortunately, we had no dog attached to our camp at this time. 

Seven years now elapsed before the Notornis again came 
under my observation. At the beginning of this year I visited 
Dusky Sound for the purpose of examining the mineral deposits 
discovered there by Mr. William Docherty, the well-known 
prospector. On the day after my arrival—the 5th of January— 
I accompanied Docherty to his pyrrhotine lode on the lower 
slopes of Mount Hodge, situated about a mile from the beach. 
Shortly after commencing the steep ascent we heard the deep 
booming call of a bird, which I at once recognized as similar to 
that of the strange bird I had heard in the Matukituki Valley in 
1881. After listening for a while I expressed my belief that this 
was the Notornis. Docherty, however, stoutly denied this, 
stating that he had often heard the same sound, which was what 
he called in his own words “a voleanic noise in the bowels of 
the earth.” Without stopping to argue the point, I pressed 
along, hoping to see the bird, which appeared to be somewhere 
onour path. The ascent at this point was very steep, our track 
being along the right bank of a precipitous rocky stream. Ina 
few minutes we got so close to the bird that there could be no 
doubt whatever as to the organic origin, so to speak, of the 
sound, which seemed to proceed from the crop of the bird. I 
now told Docherty to keep quiet for a little, and he would soon 
see the cause of the booming, at which he became very excited, 
and shouted loudly that nothing would convince him it was not 
a ‘ voleanic noise.” I need hardly state that we heard nothing 
more of this bird that day. 

On returning to the hut in the evening my field-hand informed 
me that when he was fishing off the point close by he had heard 
a Takahe in the bush, in the direction in which I had been 


NOTORNIS MANTELLI IN WESTERN OTAGO. 805 


during the day. On asking him what he knew of that bird, he 
said he was one of the party of rabbiters who caught the Takahe 
near Lake Te Anau in 1880; and, as he had often heard the call 
of that bird and its mate, which, by the way, was never captured, 
he was quite sure the booming note which he had heard during 
the day was that of a Takahe. In view of the determination I 
had previously arrived at, I considered this evidence conclusive 
that this was indeed the Notornis. I may mention that this was 
the first occasion on which I heard the Notornis spoken of as the 
Takahe, the only name by which it was known to my field-hand. 

That same evening, and every successive evening afterwards 
during my stay at Dusky Sound, I heard two Takahes in the bush 
at no great distance from the hut. In the course of my various 
excursions in this sound I heard the Takahe at the following 
places, not including those already mentioned :—In the left-hand 
branch of Docherty’s Creek, not far from the open country; at 
the north end of Cooper’s Island ; ina gully on the southern slopes 
of Mount Pender, apparently not far from the beach ; and on the 
south side of the sound, about opposite the upper end of Cooper’s 
Island. 

It will be remembered that the first specimen of Notornis, 
secured by Mr. Mantell, was captured at Duck Cove, Resolution 
Island, a distance of some seven miles from Cooper’s Island ; and 
the second at Secretary Island, in Thompson’s Sound, about thirty 
miles further up the coast. After a lapse of over thirty years a 
third specimen was captured in 1880, near Lake Te Anau; and 
the following year it was heard in the Upper Matukituki Valley, 
behind Mount Aspiring, by myself and others of an exploring 
party; and now, again, in the beginning of the present year, at 
Dusky Sound, by myself and others. When passing through 
Wellington some four months ago Docherty informed the Hon. 
Mr. Mantell that he had recently seen a Notornis at Dusky Sound. 
He said he came upon it in the bush close to the beach, and that - 
it flew some distance on to the water, and then made back to 
the shore. 

I think I have said enough to show that the Notornis still 
exists in the lonely sounds and mountain-recesses of Western 
Otago, in places far removed from the ordinary haunts of men. 
That it is gradually becoming extinct is no doubt quite true, but, 
whatever the cause, it can hardly be said to be on account of the 


306 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


inroads of man. Its extinction is, possibly, partly due to scarcity 
of food, and partly to a process of natural decay which is no 
doubt in a measure induced by the effects of the first. 

So recluse and retiring in its habits, it is probable that few 
if any further additions will be made to the three specimens of 
this bird already secured, unless special efforts be made in this 
direction; and, though this may entail a considerable 
expenditure of time and energy, the object is one deserving the 
support of every true naturalist. 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


The late Surgeon Francis Day, C.LE., F.L.S., F.Z.S. — On the 
10th July, at Cheltenham, after a long and painful illness, there passed 
away a naturalist who has long been known as a leading authority in this 
country on all that relates to fish and fish-culture. To our readers doubtless 
Dr. Day’s name will be chiefly familiar in connection with the latest work 
on British Fishes which he published in parts between 1880 and 1884, and 
his volume on. British Salmonide, which appeared only two years ago 
(1887), to say nothing of the many papers which he contributed to the 
‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society,’ ‘ Journal of the Linnean Society, 
‘The Zoologist,’ ‘The Field,’ and ‘Land and Water,’ as well as to the 
‘Transactions of the Cotswold Naturalists’ Field Club and Cheltenham 
Natural Science Society,’ of which he was President at the time of his 
decease. But it was as an authority on the Fishes of India, Burma, and 
Malabar that he first made his mark, and acquired a reputation which on 
his retirement from the Madras Army as Deputy Surgeon-General, led to 
his appointment as Inspector-General of Fisheries for India, a post which 
he held until 1877, and which gave rise to the publication of many valuable 
Reports. His standard work on the Fishes of Malabar appeared in quarto 
in 1865, although two years previously he had published his first book, 
which he called ‘The Land of the Permauls; or Cochin, its past and its 
present.’ It was not until 1878 that he was able to complete his 
great work on the Fishes of India, the publication of which had been 
commenced in 1875. This important work did for ichthyologists what 
Jerdou’s ‘ Birds of India,’ to some extent, did for ornithologists. It gave 
them a comprehensive view of the Fish Fauna of India, Burma and Ceylon, 
and supplied a vast amount of information on many species which were 
either previously undescribed or very imperfectly known. As a contribution 
to zoological science, however, it is much superior to Jerdon’s work. The 
species are more skilfully diagnosed, the synonymy properly worked out, 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 3807 


and—most important of all—a large number of the Species described are 
accurately figured. Beautiful as many of the drawings are, and carefully 
lithographed by Mintern Brothers, whose work in this respect it would be 
difficult to excel, it is to be regretted that the Government of India did 
not afford that financial support which would have admitted of the plates 
being coloured. This indeed would have been a boon, for everyone knows 
how gorgeous are the hues of tropical fishes, and how very evanescent 
these colours are. But we have much to be thankful for in the work as it 
stands, with the Supplement to it which appeared only last year.* Still 
more reason have we to be grateful that the author’s life was spared long 
enough to enable him to furnish Dr. Blanford, as editor of the new ‘ Fauna 
of British India,’ with the MS. of two volumes on the Fishes, one of which 
has just been published, in which we shall happily find the latest views of 
the most competent authority on Indian Ichthyology. During the last few 
years of his life much of his time was spent at Howietown with Sir James 
R. G. Maitland, whose successful efforts there to establish a fish-farm and 
school for fish-culture were considerably aided, we may assume, by the 
knowledge and practical advice which Dr. Day was well able to bestow, until 
failing health caused him to return to his home at Cheltenham. Foreseeing 
that the end was near, Dr. Day resigned himself with calmness to the 
inevitable, and with that liberality which always characterized him through 
life, he made valuable presents of books from his library (including bound 
volumes of his collected papers) to the Linnean and Zoological Societies, of 
which he was a Fellow, and a series of fishes from his large collections to 
the Natural History Museum, in furtherance of the science which he had 
made a livelong hobby. His death will be a loss not only to ichthyologists 
in all parts of the world with whom he was in correspondence, but to many 
a poor fisherman in this country in whom he took interest, and to whom 
When occasion offered, he delighted to do “‘a good turn.” A certain 
brusqueness of manner sometimes caused him to be misunderstood by 
those who did not know him well, and a warm temperament led to his 
resenting such misunderstandings, instead of trying, as others might have 
done, to remove them. Nevertheless, beneath this brusque exterior there 
was a kind heart and a genuineness of purpose which one could not but 
admire. If his teaching, ichthyologically speaking, was not always couched 
in the clearest language, at least one felt sure that his statements might 
be relied upon, so anxiously did he strive to be accurate in what he wrote. 
His acquaintance with the literature of his subject, combined with long 
practical experience, enabled him not only to correct the mistakes of other 
authors, but to make very important additions to the Natural History of 


* We understand that the entire stock of this work, with the Supplement, 
is now in the hands of Mr. Wheldon, 58, Great Queen Street. 


308 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Fishes, both indigenous and exotic, supplying information when it was 
most needed in volumes which must for a long time to come remain 
standard works of reference. 


MAMMALIA. 


Distribution of Daubenton’s Bat in Britain.—To the summary of 
records of this species given in ‘ The Zoologist’ for May last (pp. 161, 162), 
one or two other instances of its occurrence might be added, so that this 
volume may contain about as much as is known on the subject. There is a 
specimen from Devonshire in the British Museum (vide Dobson’s Catalogue 
of the Chiroptera). It doubtless occurs on the Isis between Oxfordshire 
and Berkshire, for in some notes by the late Mr. H. Norton in the 
‘Midland Naturalist’ for 1883, the Whiskered Bat is described as flying 
low over the water there in large numbers—a description which can only 
apply to this species, the author being well acquainted with the Pipistrelle 
and Noctule. Mr. W. Jeffery, of Ratham, has shown me a specimen of 
this bat which was taken in Surrey, and there is perhaps no harm in 
referring to records so recent as those for Leicestershire (Zool. 1885, p. 216), 
Lincolnshire (Zool. 1887, p. 143), and Merioneth (tom. cit. p. 346). I have 
a specimen taken at Hereford last year. Garner records it for Staffordshire, 
Sir Oswald Mosley for Derbyshire (Nat. Hist. Tutbury), and Mr. Jenkinson 
for Worcestershire (Zool. 1857, p. 5661). Lastly, in ‘ Science Gossip’ for 
1885, is an account of a specimen taken in Renfrewshire, which devoured 
tinned fish in captivity—J. E. Kensatt (Fareham, Hants). 


Distribution of Natterer’s Bat in Britain.—It may be convenient 
to collect here some records of this bat which were overlooked in the 
preparation of the list given in the last number of ‘The Zoologist’ (pp. 242— 
248). Its occurrence in Devonshire was noted in ‘ The Field’ for 1874 in 
Mr. Newman’s “Collected Observations on British Bats,” and at Sawtry, 
in Huntingdonshire, in ‘ The Zoologist’ for 1843. The specimen procured 
at Godstow (Berks), referred to on p. 246, is in the Oxford University 
Museum, and was formerly labelled as V. Bechsteinii (Zool. 1884, p. 483). 
This mistake was excusable on the part of its captor, the late Mr. H. Norton 
(who was not book-learned on the subject, though a keen observer), for he 
would have found the rarer species described in Bell’s ‘ British Quadrupeds,’ 
and its characteristics are mostly those of V. Natterert somewhat exaggerated. 
The same observer should have the credit of finding Natterer’s Bat at 
Begbroke Church, Oxfordshire. He described it under some fantastic name 
as occurring there, and there is a drawing of it in his MS. notes, which 
were kindly shown to me by Mr. A. H. Macpherson, and are now in the 
hands of Prof. Westwood, of Oxford. I visited this church on May 28th, 
1885, and found a specimen of Natterer’s Bat dead in the belfry, and heard 
others squeaking in a hole out of reach. He wrote that they “ issued from 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 809 


the church and spread themselves into the adjoining trees,” and that they 
were so delicate as generally to be killed by the stroke of his butterfly-net, 
so that he only procured one alive; but perhaps these were only the young. 
Mr. F. Bond has written me word of its occurrence in Gloucestershire, 
The Kildare (Tankardstown) record is a mistake; see Dublin Nat. Hist. 
Review, vol. vi. 1859. The bats taken there proved to be V. Daubentonii, 
which (as the Editor remarks on p. 162) is our most aquatic species, not 
the Barbastelle (p. 242, note).—J. KE. Kersaun (Fareham, Hants). 

[Mr. Kelsall is right. For “ Barbastelle” (p. 242, note), read 
“Daubenion’s Bat,” whose aquatic habits were commented on in the 
article on the latter species (pp. 162, 163). When noticing the occurrence 
of Natterer’s Bat in Hampshire (p. 246) we unintentionally omitted to 
state that Mr. Edward Hart had found it to be not uncommon at Christ- 
church, whence some months ago he was good enough to forward a living 
example, from which Mr. Lodge’s figure of the species was drawn for our 
last number (Pl. III). Mr. H. A. Macpherson reminds us that Cumberland 
need not have been omitted from the list of counties in which this bat 
has been found, inasmuch as its occurrence there has been recorded by 
him in the ‘ Transactions of the Cumberland and Westmoreland Nat. Hist. 
Assoc.’ for 1887 (p. 43). It is there stated that early in August, 1886, a 
colony of Natterer’s Bat was discovered by Mr. A. Smith in an outhouse at 
the Gasworks at Castletown, a few miles from Carlisle, whence three living 
specimens were forwarded to Mr. Macpherson, one of which escaping in a 
room afforded him an opprrtunity of making some observations on its 
powers of flight, which he described as graceful and buoyant. Mr. Duck- 
worth afterwards saw one which had strayed into a room at Castletown, 
and was probably one of those previously evicted from the outhouse already 
referred to, whence others were subsequently procured.—Ep.] 


BIRDS. 


Stock Dove nesting in Co. Antrim.—On April 80th last I discovered 
the nest of a Wild Pigeon in a secluded part of Lord Massereene’s demesne 
not very far from the town of Antrim. The nest, which consisted of a few 
twigs, and fronds of the oak polypod fern, was placed on the earth in a hole 
in the fringe of a water-worn bank. It contained two fresh eggs, much 
smaller and more oval in shape than the eggs of the Ring Dove, Columba 
palumbus. I concluded they were the eggs of the Stock Dove, C. enas, 
and, as this bird is of very rare occurrence in Ireland, I drew attention to 
the matter in one of our local papers. In reply I received a letter from 
Mr. R. Lloyd Patterson, Secretary of the Belfast Naturalists’ Field Club, 
suggesting that I should forward the eggs for identification to London. This 
was accordingly done, and one of the eggs in question was, I understand, 
submitted by him to you and to Mr. Grant, of the Natural History 


310 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Museum, with the result that both referees expressed themselves satisfied 
that it was an undoubted egg of the Stock Dove.—J. Gorpon HoLmEs 
(Vicar of Antrim). 

[The egg referred to was forwarded by Mr. R. Lloyd Patterson, and 
from its size and shape, as well as from the description of the nesting-place, 
we have no doubt it was that of a Stock Dove. This is not the first time 
that this bird has been ascertained to breed in Ireland. The late Lord 
Clermont found a pair nesting in a crevice of a rocky hillside between 
Louth and Armagh, and it has also been found breeding in the Co. Down. 
See ‘ Zoologist,’ 1877, p. 883.—Ep.] 

The Extinct Starling of Reunion (Fregilupus varius).—Time alone 
can prove whether we are right in calling the Fregilupus an extinct species, 
for many people have imagined that the bird still exists in the interior 
forests of the Island of Réunion; but as year after year passes by, and no 
specimens are discovered, we fear that we must class the Starling of 
Réunion, along with the Dodo and other birds of the Mascarene Islands, 
as having been exterminated by the hand of man. ‘The earliest mention of 
the Fregilupus is believed to be that of Flacourt, who, in an account of a 
voyage to Madagascar, speaks of a bird called the “Tivouch,” found in 
Madagascar, Bourbon, and the Cape, and described as being ‘‘ black and 
grey, with a fine crest.” The species was for along time supposed to 
inbabit the Cape, and Montbeillard calls it the “ Huppe noire et blanche 
du Cap de Bonne Espérance.” Its crested head and curved bill were 
evidently the cause of the bird being called a Hoopoe, as was done by most 
of the older writers, until Levaillant in 1806 put it down as a Merops or 
Bee-eater. The latter author knew of eight specimens at least, two in the 
Paris Museum, one in the possession of each of the following persons,— 
MM. Gigot Dorey, Mauduit, l’Abbé Aubry, M. Poissonier, one in the 
collection of M. Raye at Amsterdam, and one in Levaillant’s own collection. 
The fate of most of these specimens is unknown at the present day; they 
have doubtless decayed or been destroyed, as the mode of preservation of 
animals at the beginning of the century was by no means perfect. In 
1833 a very fine specimen was sent by Mr. Nivoy to the Paris Museum, 
where lately we saw it, along with a more ancient individual, doubt- 
less one of the two known to Levaillant. The same Museum also 
possesses two specimens in spirit. The only representative of the genus 
Fregilupus in this country has hitherto been a skeleton in Prof. Newton's 
possession. This individual was shot in 1833 by the late Jules Verreaux, 
who gave it to Prof. Newton. We are happy to announce, however, that 
the Trustees of the British Museum have recently acquired a very fine 
example of this extinct Starling, one too which, curiously enough, was not 
known to Dr. Hartlaub when he gave in 1877 the list of specimens 
supposed to exist in Museums. The bird now in the Natural History 


NOTES AND QUERIEs. 311 


Museum has been acquired from the well-known Riocour collection at 
Vitry-la-Ville. This famous collection, the work of three generations of 
the Counts de Riocour, consisted of a series of excellently mounted speci- 
mens, forming a choice little Museum which it would be hard to excel, 
The grandfather of the present Count was the founder of the collection, 
and was an intimate friend of Vieillot and the old French naturalists at 
the beginning of the century. Nearly all the specimens of that age are 
named by Vieillot, several of whose types are in the Riocour collection ; and 
Dr. Giinther has been successful in securing these also for the cabinets of 
the British Museum. A more interesting link with the past than this 
collection of the Counts de Riocour can scarcely be imagined, and we are 
glad to know that in the hands of Mr. Boucard, who is now the owner of 
the collection, it will receive the kindly consideration which such a famous 
Museum deserves. Writing in 1877, Dr. Hartlaub, in his ‘ Vogel von 
Madagascar’s,’ gives a list of the specimens of Fregilupus known to him, 
as follows :—Four in the Paris Museum (two stuffed and two in Spirits) ; 
one in the Caen Museum; one at Leyden (old and bad); one in the 
Stockholm Museum: one in the Museum at Florence; one in the Pisa 
Museum ; one in the Genoa Museum ; one in the Turin Museum ; and 
one in the collection of Baron de Selys-Longchamps. Sir Edward Newton 
likewise knew of two specimens in the Museum at Port Louis in Mauritius, 
and there is also the skeleton in Prof. Newton’s possession ; so that, with 
the one recently added to the British M useum, there are probably sixteen 
Specimens in existence. The Italian Museums received their specimens 
from the same source, viz., from Prof. Savi at Pisa: and some of those in 
other Museums are from the same source. Count Salvadori has published 
a very interesting article on the Fregilupus, in which he informs us that 
Savi received several specimens from a Corsican priest named Lombardi, 
and that these specimens were given away by Savi in the most generous 
spirit, as he appears to have retained only a single specimen for the Pisa 
Museum. Like other insular forms, the Fregilupus seems to have courted 
extermination by its very tameness and ignorance of danger. The late 
Mr. Pollen stated, in 1868, that the species had become go rare in Réunion 
that when he visited the island not one had been heard of for ten years, 
though it was still believed to survive in the forests of the interior. The 
old people who remembered when the birds were still common told him 
that they were go stupid and fearless that they could easily be knocked 
down with sticks. The extinct Necropsar rodericanus, Sclater, was the 
representative of Fregilupus in Rodriguez (cf. Giinther and E. Newton, 
Phil. Trans., vol. clxviii., Pp. 427), and its nearest living ally of the 
Fregilupus is probably Falculia of Madagascar, but there is also con- 
siderable affinity to Basileornis of Celebes and Ceram. An excellent 
account of the osteology of the genus was given by Dr. Murie in the 


312 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


‘Proceedings of the Zoological Society’ for 1873.—R. Bowprer SHARPE 
(in ‘ Nature’). 

Thrush’s Nests without the usual Lining..—On April 7th last I 
found two nests of the Song Thrush, both containing eggs, and neither of 
them having any of the usual lining of rotten wood or mud. They were 
exactly like the nest of the Blackbird. Some years ago I found a similar 
nest of the Thrush. The only mention I can find of such nests is in 
‘The Zoologist’ for 1887 (p. 268), where Mr. Whitaker records having 
found three similar nests.—E. W. H. Buaae (Cheadle, Staffordshire). 


Jackdaws nesting on open Boughs.—Mr. Blagg’s query (p. 231) as to 
whether Jackdaws actually build their nests on open boughs, is one which 
I have for a long time been puzzled with. When on a visit in Leicester- 
shire, in 1882, I was surprised to see that two or three pairs of Jackdaws 
had taken possession of some nests in the middle of a small rookery, and 
I was unable to decide whether these nests had been built by the Jackdaws 
or only appropriated by them. I hardly think they will independently 
build their nests on open tree-boughs [but see editorial note, p. 231.—Eb.], 
and in the case just cited I came to the conclusion that the scarcity of their 
favourite nesting-resorts was the cause. If I mistake not Mr. Blagg’s 
country is rather hilly.—C. KE. Srorr (Lostock, Bolton). 

Stone Curlew breeding in Notts.—I am glad to say that there have 
been two pairs of these birds nesting this summer within a few fields of 
my house; and though one nest was accidentally destroyed by the plough, 
I feel sure the other pair got safely off with their young.—J. WHITAKER 
(Rainworth, Notts). 


Little Bittern in Sussex.—A female specimen of Ardetta minuta was 
brought to Mr. Bristow, taxidermist at St. Leonard’s-on-Sea, for preserva- 
tion, about the second week in May. It was shot near the Lifeboat House, 
in the Guildford Level, near Rye Harbour. Mr. Dresser, in his ‘ Birds of 
Europe,’ makes no mention of its ever having been obtained in Sussex ; but 
Yarrell (4th edition) includes this county amongst others in which it has 
been met with.—TuHomas Parkin (Fairsest, High Wickham, Hastings). 


Goldeneyes at Rainworth, Notts.—One Sunday, in February last, on 
looking out of my window, I was delighted to see, within twenty yards of 
the house, a pair of Goldeneyes on the water here.. I had the pleasure of 
watching them for more than half an hour, during which time they were 
constantly diving, and seemed by their actions to be obtaining plenty of 
food. On going out a short time afterwards, they rose and flew away to 
the west. From what I could see they were both in immature plumage,—- 
J. Wurtaker (Rainworth, Notts). 

Nesting of the Lesser Black-backed Gull.—Owing to absence from 
England I have only recently read Mr. Willis Bund’s article (p. 181) on 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 313 


“A Nesting-place of Larus Juscus.” Last year I visited the breeding- 
quarters of the Lesser Black-backed Gull at a spot situate on the N.W. 
coast of England, and very similar in position and character to that 
described by your correspondent. The place in question is an extensive 
peat moss, about two miles from the coast, and inhabited by large numbers 
of Hares, Red Grouse, and a few pairs of Curlews. The Lesser Black- 
backed Gulls numbered about a hundred pairs ; their nests were formed of 
rough grass, and usually placed under bunches of heather : at the time of 
my visit, the end of May, they all contained the full complement of three 
eggs,—brown in ground colour, spotted and streaked with black. Probably 
owing to their being unmolested, very little variation was observed in their 
colouring, and in this respect they presented a great difference to the eggs 
of Larus fuscus on the Farne Islands, which show an endless diversity of 
ground colour and markings. I may add that the moss referred to above, 
like that mentioned by Mr. Willis Bund, is in the track of tourists, but is 
strictly preserved, and therefore fairly secure from molestation.—T. Ey 
Netson (Redcar). 


Wood Sandpiper in Suffolk in June.—On June 12th I put up a 
Wood Sandpiper from a marsh at Aldeburgh, Suffolk, about half a mile 
from the railway-station. Two days afterwards I saw a flock of five at the 
same place, and had a good view of them through a glass. Having in 
former years shot this bird several times at Aldeburgh, I recognized the 
note and appearance on the wing at once. —Jurran G. Tuck (Tostock 
Rectory, Bury St. Edmunds). 


Scops Owl in Co. Wexford.—A specimen of the Scops Owl, Scops 
git, was obtained at Foulk’s Mills, Co. Wexford, on May 81st last, by Mr. 
F. R. Leigh, who has presented it to the Irish collection in the Science 
and Art Museum, Dublin.—Epwarp WituraMms (2, Dame St., Dublin). 


Plumage of the Crossbill.—I am surprised to hear that the Curator 
of the Newcastle Museum still pins his faith to the obsolete heresy that 
the adult dress of Loxia curvirostra is of necessity a yellow dress, My 
own views on the subject may be right or wrong; but they were formed 
after an examination of a number of specimens, at a time when I was 
specially studying the Fringillide. At that time I referred to every 
authority I could lay hands on; and nothing pleased me better than a 
paper contributed to ‘ The Intellectual Observer’ by the late Mr. Wheel- 
wright, whose long residence in Sweden and Lapland had enabled him to 
acquire a large series of skins of this species. But Mr. Howse has only to 
refer to the second volume of the fourth edition of Yarrell (p. 202) to find 
that Prof. Newton, with every desire to give due weight to Mr. Hancock's 
opinion, has there stated that the view that the yellow dress is the 
normally adult dress of the Common Crossbill must be set aside as “a 

ZOOLOGIST.— AUGUST, 1889. 2B 


314 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


misconception.” Mr. Seebohm approaches the subject with an obvious 
desire to weigh all opinions; but all that he can say in favour of Mr. 
Howse’s heresy is this, which I admit, that “yellow males occasionally 
occur in a wild state, and are possibly old and barren birds” (‘ British 
Birds,’ vol. ii., p. 36). I quote these opinions chiefly to justify myself in 
the eyes of your readers. Mr. Howse is hardly accurate in describing the 
nestling plumage of Lowxia curvirostra as “spotted.” I have had living 
nestlings in my possession, and the skius of others lie now before me; in 
these the lower parts are streaked or striated, but not “ spotted."—H. A. 
Macraerson (Carlisle). 


Montagu’s Harrier in Suffolki—About the middle of June last an 
adult female Montagu’s Harrier, Circus cineraceus, was shot by a keeper at 
Risby, near Bury St. Edmunds. It had been noticed about the place for 
some time. Mr. Travis, who showed me the bird soon after he had 
mounted it, told me that the ovary contained well-developed eggs.—JuLIAN 
G. Tucx (Tostock Rectory, Bury St. Edmunds). 


Hybrid between Sheldrake and Wild Duck.— Mr. Gurney’s note 
on hybrids between the Sheldrake and Mallard is hardly complete without 
a reference to a passage in Thompson’s ‘ Natural History of Ireland,’ where 
similar facts are narrated. That author refers (vol. iii., p. 70) to a male of 
the Common Sheldrake kept “at the Falls near Belfast,” which paired with 
a female Common Duck for two or three successive years, producing a 
handsome progeny. Thompson appears to have been the first British 
ornithologist to record this cross; the late Mr. R. Gray was the first 
Scottish ornithologist to do the same, and it was in 1867 that he examined 
the North Uist birds mentioned by Mr. Gurney, though he only recorded 
the fact in the ‘Birds of the West of Scotland’ in 1871. I remember 
having some conversation with Mr. Gray about the facts, which I also 
enquired into, for my own benefit, of Mr. Mackenzie, who knew something 
of them. Sheldrakes are often domesticated in the North of England, but 
I have never yet come across the hybrid of these two species myself, and 
there can be no doubt of its extreme rarity. — H. A. Macrnerson 
(Carlisle). 


Abnormal Eggs of Grey Wagtail and Blackbird.— Having noticed 
Mr. Blagg’s description (p. 231) of eggs believed to belong to the Grey 
Wagtail, I send for your inspection two clutches of six eggs each, taken by 
me on May 18th, 1888 (a second clutch), and on April 4th, 1889, 
respectively. In each case I saw the Grey Wagtail leave the nest myself. 
No other Wagtails frequent my stable-yard and offices where this bird 
breeds. I have taken two clutches, of six eggs each, from this bird for 
two years,—that is, twenty-four eggs,—-all similarly coloured, and she has 
hatched and reared (or is now rearing) a third clutch of eggs similarly 


ee 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 3815 


coloured. The Grey Wagtail breeds commonly in Ireland, in some places 
more commonly than the Pied, but seldom lays more than five eggs, and 
I have never known one lay eggs of this type of colouring before. [The 
peculiarity of these eggs consists in their being more heavily marked than 
usual, with a greater confluence of colour towards the larger end.—Ep.] 
I also send for your inspection and observation four Blackbirds’ eggs, 
samples of four clutches of three eggs each, taken from the same neigh- 
bourhood, and those taken this season from the same gentleman’s demesne 
near Cappoquin. They were taken respectively April 10th, 1885; April 
26th, 1889 ; May 4th, 1889; and May 20th, 1889. Of these the first two 
clutches were taken before incubation had commenced, but the last two were 
partly incubated. I saw the Blackbird sitting on the third clutch (three 
eggs only being then laid) on April 28th, though it was not taken until 
May 4th, so that it could not have been laid by the same bird which pro- 
duced the clutch of April 26th. These facts show that in the locality 
where these eggs were found there is more than one Blackbird, and has 
been one at least, since 1885, which lays clutches of three eggs like those 
forwarded, and which are almost or altogether devoid of green ground- 
colour.—R. J. UssnEer (Cappagh, Co. Waterford). 


Drumming of the Snipe.—On June 15th, when ascending Ettrick 
Pen, in Selkirkshire, I had a good opportunity of observing the actions of 
a Snipe while “drumming,” and should like to draw the attention of the 
readers of ‘ The Zoologist’ to the appearance of the tail as distinctly seen 
through a pair of powerful binoculars. I do not know that I can better 
describe the general appearance of the tail than by saying that it resembled 
a fan about three-fourths expanded, with the outermost ray on each side 
detached along its entire length from the succeeding one, and pulled well 
away from it, so as to leave a considerable space between their opposing 
edges. It is to the outstanding position of these outer rectrices that I 
wish particularly to call attention. The fan-like expansion of the tail has 
often been pointed out, but I cannot find that anyone has noticed the 
existence of a clear space between the outermost feathers and those next 
them ; indeed Mr. Hancock (‘ Catalogue of the Birds of Northumberland 
and Durham,’ p. 107) takes it for granted the latter will overlap the former, 
and uses the assumption as an argument against the “tail” theory of the 
sound. It is of course possible, but I think highly improbable, that the 
bird I saw had lost the second feather on each side of the tail. If further 
observation should show that the appearance I have described is always 
present during the “drumming” of the Snipe, the fact may possibly help 
to throw some light on the vexed question, the mode in which the sound is 


produced.— Witt1am Evans (18 a, Morningside Park, Edinburgh). 


316 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


SCIENTIFIC ‘SOCIETIES. 


Linnean Soctety or Lonpon. 


June 20, 1889.—Mr. CarrutTuers, F'.R.S., President, in the chair. 

Messrs. A. Denny, R. Miller Christy, and John Fraser were elected 
Fellows. 

Dr. H. Trimen exhibited specimens and drawings of the Tuberculated 
Lime of Ceylon, and made some interesting remarks thereon. 

Governor Moloney, C.M.G., of the colony of Lagos, West Africa, 
exhibited an extensive collection of butterflies and moths, the result of 
twelve months’ collecting during the rainy season; the former comprising 
representatives of 65 genera and 158 species; the latter, 78 genera and 
112 species, had been named and arranged by Mr. Herbert Druce. A few 
Chelonians belonging to the genera Trinonyaw, Sternotherus, and Cinixys, 
were also exhibited, and a remarkably large block of resinous gum, which, 
in the opinion of Prof. Oliver, was referable to some species of Daniellia, 
and which had been found in Ijo country. As an article of commerce, 
it possessed the advantage of requiring a heat of 600° F. to “run” it, so 
as to unite with linseed oil in the manufacture of varnish. In addition to 
these specimens, Governor Moloney exhibited some long-bows and cross- 
bows obtained from chiefs of Ibadan from some battle-field in that neigh- 
bourhood, and used by natives 800 miles from the coast-line. A discussion 
followed, in which Dr. Anderson, Mr. D. Morris, and Mr. Harting 
took part. 

Prof. Stewart next exhibited some skulls, adult and immature, of 
Ornithorhynchus paradoxus, and explained the very curious dentition of 
this animal, upon which Dr. Mivart and Prof. Howes made some critical 
remarks. 

A paper was then read by Dr. John Anderson, F.R.S., on the Mammals, 
Reptiles, and Batrachians which he had collected in the Mergui Archipelago, 
and concerning which he had been enabled to make some interesting field- 
notes. Attention was particularly directed to a new Bat (Hmballonura), 
and to the occurrence on some of the islands of Pteropus edulis, besides a 
Wild Pig, Musk-deer, Grey Squirrel, and a Crab-eating Monkey (Semno- 
pithecus) which hunts along the shore in search of crustacea and mollusca, 
Some remarks were made on Rhinoceros going out to sea, and on a 
Crocodile being found twenty miles off the coast. 

A communication was read from Mr. Charles Packe on a remarkable 
case of prolonged vitality in a Fritillary bulb. 

The meeting (the last of the session) was brought to a close by a most 
interesting demonstration on “ animal locomotion” by Mr. E. Muybridge, 


i i i 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 317 
who illustrated his remarks with projections on the screen— by oxy- 
hydrogen light—of instantaneous photographs taken by him, to which 
motion was imparted by means of the zoo-praxiscope. 


ENnromonoeicaL Society or Lonpon. 


July 3, 1889.—The Right Hon. Lord Watstxauam, M.A., F.R.S., 
President, in the chair. ° 

The Rey. W. A. Hamilton (Calcutta), and Mr. H. W. Vivian (Glenafon, 
Taiback, South Wales), were elected Fellows of the Society. 

A letter was read from Mr. E. J. Atkinson, Chairman of the Trustees 
of the Indian Museum, Calcutta, in which assistance was asked from 
British entomologists in working out various orders of Indian insects. 

The following motion, which had previously been unanimously passed 
at the meeting of the Council, was read to the Society :—‘ That papers 
containing descriptions of isolated species widely remote in classification 
or distribution, are, as a rule, undesirable for publication, as tending to 
create unnecessary difficulties for faunistic or monographic workers.” 
Mr. M‘Lachlan, Mr. Jacoby, Mr. Elwes, Dr. Sharp and others took part in 
the discussion which followed. 

Mr. J. W. Slater exhibited a doubtful specimen of Arctia mendica, L., 
which appeared as if it might prove to be a hybrid between that species 
and A. lubricipeda, L. 

Mr. M‘Lachlan, on behalf of Prof. Klapalek, of Prague, who was present 
as a visitor, exhibited preparations representing the life-history of Agrio- 
typus armatus, Walk., showing the curious appendages of the case. Prof. 
Klapalek, in answer to questions, described the transformations in detail. 
A discussion followed, in which Mr. M‘Lachlan and Lord Walsingham 
took part. 

Mr. H. J. Elwes exhibited a specimen of an undescribed Chrysophanus, 
taken in the Shan States, Upper Burmah, by Dr. Manders, which was very 
remarkable on account of the low elevation and latitude at which it was 
found; its only very near ally appeared to be Polyommatus Li, Oberthur, 


from Western Szechuen, but there was no species of the genus known in 


the Eastern Himalayas or anywhere in the Eastern tropics. 
Mr. G. T. Porritt exhibited a remarkable series of Arctia mendica, L., 


“bred from a small batch of eggs found on the same ground at Grimescar, 


Huddersfield, as the batch from which the series he had previously exhibited 
before the Society was bred. This year he had bred forty-five specimens, 
none of which were of the ordinary form of the species: as in the former 
case, the eggs were found perfectly wild, and the result this year was even 
more surprising than before. 


318 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Mr. R. W. Lloyd exhibited specimens of Harpalus cupreus, Steph., and 
Cathormiocerus socius, Boh., recently taken at Sandown, Isle of Wight. 

Mr. O. E. Janson exhibited a fine male example of Theodosia howitti, 
Castelnau, a genus of Cetoniide resembling some of the Dynastide in the 
remarkable armature of the head and thorax. The specimen had recently 
been received from N.W. Borneo. 

Mr. W. White exhibited specimens of Heterogynis paradoxa, Ramb., 
and stated that this insect represented an extreme case of degeneration, 
the mature female being only slightly more developed than the larva, 
the prolegs being quite atrophied. Lord Walsingham made some remarks 
on the subject. 

Mr. W. Warren exhibited bred specimens of Tortrix piceana, L. 

Mr. T.R. Billups exhibited a fine series of the very rare Byitish beetle, 
Medon (Lithocharis) piceus, Kr., taken from a heap of weeds and vegetable 
refuse in the neighbourhood of Lewisham on May 19th; and specimens of 
Actobius signaticornis, Rey, and A. villosulus, Steph., taken in eompany 
with the above. Mr. Billups also exhibited specimens of Hulophus dami- 
cornis, Kirby, belonging to the Chalcidide, bred from pupx found by 
Mr. Adkin attached to the leaves of lime-trees at Oxshot, Surrey, but the 
host was unknown. 

Mr. W. F. Kirby read a paper entitled “ Descriptions of new species of 
Scoliides in the collection of the British Museum, with occasional reference 
to species already known.” 

Mr. J. B. Bridgman communicated a paper entitled “ Further additions 
to the Rev. T. A. Marshall’s Catalogue of British Ichneumonide.” 

Mr. J. S. Baly communicated a paper “ On new species of Diabrotica 
from South America.”—-W. W. Fowxer, Hon. Sec. 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 


A Monograph of the Weaver Birds (Ploceidz) and Arboreal and 
Terrestrial Finches (Fringillide). By Epwarp Barrett, 
Curator of the Maidstone Museum. Parts I.—III., 4to. 
Published by the Author. 1888—89. 


Fox.owine the example of several modern ornithologists who 
have issued expensively illustrated volumes on special groups of 
birds, Mr. Edward Bartlett has commenced the publication of a 
Monograph with the title given above. Three parts are now 
before us, and bear evidence of considerable labour and pany 
taking compilation on the part of the author. 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 319 


The plan of the work is to give, as far as possible, after 
the English and scientific names of each species a very full 
synonymy, with a reference to notable figures, followed by the 
French, German, and native names by which the bird is known 
in its real home, and a list of localities where it has been met 
with. This is followed by a description of the male, female, and 
young (if known), and an account, so far as can be given, of its 
habits, nidification, and distribution. The number of pages 
devoted to each species varies according to its rarity or otherwise, 
and extends from two to four or five pages, accompanied by a 
coloured plate, drawn and lithographed by Mr. Frohawk. 

It has become the fashion of late years in monographs of this 
kind to work out the synonymy to an extent that is perfectly 
appalling, and in our judgment wholly unnecessary. In the case 
of a bird which is comparatively little known, or concerning whieh 
little has been previously published, it is doubtless convenient to 
give references to those authors who have written upon it, but in 
the case of such well-known species as the Java Sparrow, the 
Virginian Cardinal, and the common House Sparrow, it seems to 
us preposterous to print three or four quarto pages of synonymy, 
including references to the most ordinary text-books with which 
every ornithologist should be familiar, and to trifling allusions 
in papers of no particular value. Pages thus filled are quite 
unreadable, and, considering the cost of printing, would be more 
useful if devoted to other and more important points in the bird’s 
history. As they stand, they are of no great use to scientists 
who know where to look for such information if required, and 
cannot be of interest to the general reader. When we say that 
the synonymy in this case is overdone, we indicate what appears to 
us to be a fault in Mr. Bartlett’s work, though doubtless this, after 
all, is a matter of opinion. In other respects, the author is to 
be congratulated upon the way in which he has brought together 
such information as he has been able to collect concerning the 
life-history of every species of Finch and Weaver-bird included 
in his Monograph. 

From a study of the localities in which the Virginian Cardinal 
has been obtained, Mr. Bartlett finds that the distribution from 
north to south, and east to west, covers about 3,698,000, or 
nearly 4,000,000 square miles; in this area the bird becomes very 
variable in size and colour, the more southern forms being the 


320 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


smaller and richer coloured, while the northern is larger and 
paler. Mr. Robert Ridgway has remarked that this difference 
between the two geographical races is most obvious in the 
females, adding that this is the case with all the climatic or local 
forms into which the species is “ split up.” 

The account furnished by Mr. Hubert D. Astley of the breeding 
of a pair of these birds in a state of liberty in England is very 
interesting. Briefly stated, it appears that they escaped from a 
large pheasantry, where they had been confined for two years, 
and soon became acclimatized. They got out on May 15th, and 
three days later Mr. Astley observed that a nest had been com- 
menced in a very bare yew tree. It was very frail, with no 
foundation, merely bits of dead grass and some old pieces of rush, 
lightly interwoven, the whole structure being decidedly small for 
the size of the bird. Exactly a week after their escape the first 
egg was laid. It was rather larger than a Sparrow's in size, and 
dirty white in colour, with large blotches of reddish brown, 
chiefly at the larger end. Five eggs were laid in as many con- 
secutive days, and four young birds were eventually hatched, the 
period of incubation being fourteen days. 

We have referred to the coloured plates by Mr. Frohawk. 
Some of these strike us as being somewhat flat, but the later 
ones are much better, the artist evidently having improved with 
practice. 

In concluding our notice of Mr. Bartlett’s Monograph, we 
would venture to suggest that, considering that most of the 
species dealt with are favourite cage-birds, some information 
upon their proper treatment in captivity, with hints as to 
food, &c., would be particularly acceptable to owners of aviaries, 
and might result in attracting as subscribers many who, in the 
absence of such information, would regard the work as deficient 
from their point of view. Works of this class are naturally 
costly, owing to their size, and to the number of coloured plates 
which they contain, but tending as they do to the material 
advancement of zoological science, we trust that this Monograph, 
like those which have preceded it, will meet with the cordial 
support and encouragement which it deserves. 


fool 1889. Placveuas 


Peter Smut del.et lith. 


Mintern Bros . imp. 


MUS HIBERNICUS, Thompson. 


THE ZOOLOGIST. 


THIRD SERIES. 


Vou. XIII.) SEPTEMBER, 1889. . [No. 153. 


THE SO-CALLED MUS HIBERNICUS. 


By Tuomas SourHwe tt, F.Z.S. 


Prate LY. 


At p. 36a of their recently published ‘ Fauna of the Outer 
Hebrides’ (as noticed in ‘The Zoologist’ for June), Messrs. 
Harvie-Brown and Buckley report the occurrence of this animal 
in the Outer Hebrides, and invite a consideration of its 
geographical range and the status of the creature itself. I shall 
be glad, therefore, to be allowed to give, as briefly as possible, 
some observations with regard to three individuals which 
appeared to me to agree with Thompson’s Mus hibernicus, and 
which were killed in 1882 at Norwich, as already described by 
me in the ‘ Transactions of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists’ 
Society’ (vol. iii. p. 419). 

On August 18th, 1881, an example of Mus alexandrinus, 
which I exhibited at a meeting of the Norfolk and Norwich 
Naturalists’ Society, was killed at a wharf in that city; no 
others, so far as I am aware, were obtained at that time, but 
shortly after I was told that there were very uncommon Rats 
sometimes seen in that neighbourhood, and I asked (fully 
expecting that there were other Alexandrine Rats there), in the 
event of any being killed that I might be allowed to see them. 
On March 25th, 1882, my friend Mr. Utting sent me a Rat which 
in general appearance as to colour and texture of the fur, and elon- 
gated muzzle, very much resembled M. alexandrinus, but both in 


ZOOLOGIST.—SEPT. 1889. <\\90Miv5 26 
{Pe Be AG 
A a wy 
Vu, rN ig 


lal HIS” 


322 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


size and length of tail approached /. decumanus: this I will call 
No. 1. On March 27th I received No. 2, which also resembled 
M. alexandrinus in having the upper jaw much longer than the 
under, but the total length of the head and body much exceeded 
that species, and the tail was shorter. The feet were strongly 
tuberculated ; eyes, large, bright and black ; general colour slate- 
black; hair long and coarse; a somewhat triangular or heart- 
shaped spot of white on the chest, and the fore feet white. No.1 
had not the white chest mark. A third specimen, received on 
May 9th, closely resembled No. 2, and had the white chest 
mark, but was even more robust. This last I sent to Mr. J. W. 
Clark, of Cambridge. Mr. Eagle Clarke’s figures in the ‘ Fauna 
of the Outer Hebrides, which I am glad to hear are to be repro- 
duced in ‘ The Zoologist,’ might have been drawn from Nos. 2 
and 3, above described. 

But for M. de l’Isle’s assurance that he could not induce 
M. rattus (which he considers specifically identical with M. 
alexandrinus) to breed with M. decumanus,* I should at once 
have regarded these Rats as hybrids between the Alexandrine 
Rat—an example of which had already been obtained from the 
same locality—and M. decumanus, and I am now strongly of 
opinion that such was the case; more than one generation had 
probably intervened in the seven months since the occurrence of 
the former species, and perhaps a further infusion of the native 
Rat would account for the greater similarity to the latter species. 
I am further inclined to this opinion from the examination of 
two Rats killed in the same neighbourhood in 1888, in which the 
apparent mixture of Alexandrine blood was slighter still. It 
may be that M. de I’Isle’s experiments at interbreeding under 
more favourable circumstances would have proved more suc- 
cessful. 

The sporadic occurrence of the recorded examples of the so- 
called Irish Rat, both as to time and locality, also tends, in my 
opinion, to show that the variety arose from the crossing of the 
Brown Rat with another species, whether it be M. rattus or M. 
alexandrinus appears to be a matter of indifference; probably 
both the Irish and the Orkney examples arose from a cross ~ 


* M. de l’'Isle’s paper will be found in the ‘Annales des Sciences 
Naturelles’ for 1865, pp. 173—222, 


DESTRUCTION OF RABBITS IN NEW ZEALAND. 323 


between M. rattus and M. decumanus, and in the Norwich case 
it seems likely that M. alexandrinus was the intruder. 

For comparison I give below some corresponding measure- 
ments in the Common Rat (a very variable quantity, but I give 
Mr. Eagle Clarke’s figures), of one of the Norwich specimens, of 
M. alexandrinus, and of Mr. Clarke’s M. hibernicus. 


WM. decuma- Norwich WM. hiberni- WM. alexan- 


nus, Clk. Rat. cus, Clk. drinus. 

In. lin. In. lin. In. lin, In. lin. 

Length of head and body 9 1 Pay 8 5 6 8 
A Garg 2 oooh. OD 0 8 0784.2 dy 0 

iy tail Boe eaets 7 eal o ab ee 8 2 


Mr. Eagle Clarke's measurements of Mus alexandrinus seem 
to have been taken from an unusually fine animal; those given 
by me were from an adult male, the largest I have ever seen. 


ON THE METHODS ADOPTED IN NEW ZEALAND FOR 
THE DESTRUCTION OF RABBITS.* 


By Coteman PHILLIPs. 


I wish to place on record the facts connected with the out- 
break of rabbit-disease in the South Wairarapa, and the methods 
by which the rabbit-pest was conquered in that district, as a 
guide for other places, especially insular lands of the globe. 

Early in the year 1884, finding that our poisoning operations 
to reduce the pest were proving futile, and not caring to erect 
rabbit-proof fencing around my land to protect myself from my 
neighbours, I determined upon calling the settlers together for 
the purpose of simultaneously taking proper measures to grapple 
with the evil. The pest had been worst with me during the 
years 1881-88, but by 1884 I had personally managed to get it 
down so far as my own run was concerned. The settlers met 
upon the 19th April, 1884. A voluntary system of simultaneous 
action was resolved upon, and I am pleased to be able to say 
now, in the year 1889, that the pest has been thoroughly con- 
quered over the whole district. The rabbits now only require 
watching, as they are watched in any country of Europe. 


* From the ‘Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,’ vol. xxi. (May, 


1889), pp. 429—488). 
2c2 


824 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


The measures the neighbours adopted were simultaneous 
poisoning with phosphorized grain and the simultaneous turning- 
out of the natural enemy, chiefly the ferret. A few of us had 
been previously poisoning, and breeding and turning out ferrets, 
and some of us the domestic cat; but the Hon. Mr. Waterhouse 
was the first to turn out ferrets, some four or five years 
previously. In 1886 Mr. E. J. Riddiford preferred turning out 
stoats and weasels upon the land, and I think he turned out two 
to three hundred (one hundred stoats and two hundred weasels). 
From 1878 to 1888—say in the ten years of the pest—the 
measures taken, therefore, to grapple with the evil were hunting 
and shooting with dog and gun, poisoning with phosphorized 
grain, and the turning-out of cats, ferrets, stoats, and weasels. 
Seeing that we were turning out the natural enemies, I induced 
the settlers not to make use of traps. At the present moment 
so little is this question understood that a reference to Mr. 
Bayley’s (the Chief Rabbit Inspector of the colony) Annual 
Report for 1888 will show that the Government and every Rabbit 
Inspector are willingly allowing the use of traps in every other 
district of the colony. Of course this is almost fatal to the 
natural enemies. The use of traps must be absolutely prohibited. 
With regard to rabbit-proof fencing, I always thought it a 
weak thing, and I would have nothing to do with it. I preferred 
to reduce the pest upon my neighbours’ runs as the best method 
of protection for my own land. 

Time ran on; the rabbits were disappearing fast, the lands 
were becoming clear; and now a rather great factor of sup- 
pression appeared—I suppose I may say the greatest of all— 
viz., disease—bladder-worm or tape-worm of the dog, concerning 
which the facts are as follows:—Harly in the year 1886 I had 
noticed that my rabbiter’s pack of dogs were looking miserably- 
poor, half-starved, mangy skeletons. I spoke to the man, and 
told him that I could not allow him to keep his dogs in that 
condition. (I had now only one pack of dogs employed: 
formerly, in 1882, I had four. I think I sent home about one- 
quarter of a million skins during the pest.) I had previously 
noticed that a neighbour’s pack of dogs were in much better 
condition, and that neighbour’s rabbiter had told me that he 
gave his dogs areca-nut to relieve them of worms. I advised my 
rabbiter to give his dogs the same medicine, And, although 


DESTRUCTION OF RABBITS IN NEW ZEALAND. 825 


Professor Thomas, in his late report, tells me that I did wrong 
in giving the dogs this medicine, yet must I, from practical 
experience, say that to it, and the consequent dissemination of 
pieces of the tape-worm all over the run during the last two 
years, can I alone attribute the thorough infection of my land 
with bladder-worm or rabbit-fluke. The diseases of liver-rot, 
scab, and lice also appeared. The few rabbits that I have 
remaining are now nearly all diseased. I may perhaps have 
been wrong in administering monthly doses of the medicine— 
two-monthly doses would have been better; but that the mistake 
‘was not fatal is proved from the fact that the run now is 
thoroughly infected with the disease. I therefore still advise 
runholders in the South Island to each use a pack of dogs, feed 
them upon raw rabbit during the week and boiled rabbit upon 
Sundays, and give them two- or three-monthly doses of areca- 
nut. For I must respectfully ask scientific men, like Sir James 
Hector and Professor Thomas, to concede a little to practical 
experience in this special matter, seeing how great the evil really 
is to be contended with. (A reference to Professor Thomas’s 
report will show that that gentleman lays great stress upon the 
efficacy of the winter poisoning in my district. All I can say is 
that the winter poisoning did us very little good. Under it the 
rabbit-pest was as bad as ever.) 

About eight or nine months since my rabbiter informed me 
that he had applied to the New South Wales Government for the 
reward offered for a proper method of suppressing the pest in 
Australia. His suggestion was, infection with venereal. I did 
not believe in this, and considered in my own mind that the 
disease I had upon the run would be a better thing for Australia. 
We often discussed the matter amongst ourselves. The rabbits 
had disappeared like magic. Surely the remedies we had taken 
would apply to Australia. As to the ferret, I was not at all 
satisfied with its action. It did not appear to have done nearly 
the good that I had anticipated. The cats were doing as much 
good, I thought. I placed as little reliance upon the ferret as I 
did upon poisoning or rabbit-fencing. The ferrets died off 
rapidly from distemper. They did not appear to at all increase 
in sufficient numbers to cope with the evil. Although a gill- 
ferret littered in large numbers, yet the young ones did not 
appear to survive. But they had done acertain amount of good. 


3826 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


(Consequently I still advise their use. I would say this, how- 
ever : that they must not be relied upon in the South Island for 
the high snowy lands.) 

I therefore determined to apply for the reward myself, and 
I sent one of the diseased rabbits to Sir James Hector to ask his 
opinion. That gentleman replied favourably. He had previously 
received two specimens of the disease from the Wairarapa, and 
he had himself seen a virulent disease of some kind amongst the 
rabbits in North America. Sir James had previously spoken to 
me about this disease that he had observed, and he therefore 
made up his mind definitely to identify it, upon receiving this 
third specimen from me, with the North American disease. 
Professor Thomas differs from this view, and says that the tape- 
worm is not the same—that it is totally distinct. It may be so, 
and Sir James Hector may be wrong. Our rabbit is not the 
game animal as the jack-rabbit of North America—a sort of 
hare; but, nevertheless, I wish to record my thorough apprecia- 
tion of Sir James Hector’s services in identifying the disease so 
far as he did. Sir James did not know which animal acted as 
host in passing the particular worm that is here. I said it was 
the dog. We had all along observed it coming from the dog. 
Neither Sir James Hector nor Professor Thomas thought it 
could be the tame dog, although Professor Thomas was careful 
to express no decided opinion. It will be observed upon reference 
that Sir James Hector thought it came “ probably from the wild 
dog and cat.” Of course we have wild dogs, and I have turned 
out many cats, which have thriven remarkably well; and these 
may have started the disease: but the tame dogs certainly do 
carry it on, and they will spread it readily in the South Island. 
The cats may also spread it, as there are at least a hundred cats 
upon my run now. The disease only requires to be started upon 
the runs in the south or elsewhere to perform as good work as it 
performed with us in the Wairarapa. 

My letter to the Colonial Secretary of New South Wales, 
applying for the reward, found its way into the newspapers of 
Australia, and immediately I was told by many of my fellow- 
settlers in the Wairarapa that the disease was no new thing; 
that some of them had observed it two, four, even six years ago ; 
that they had it upon their runs, and other diseases as well, such 
as liver-rot, mange, scab, and lice. The generality of them said 


DESTRUCTION OF RABBITS IN NEW ZEALAND. 827 


the disease (bladder-worm) was no good, and wondered at my 
taking any notice of the matter. Many of them, and the general 
number of rabbit-men and Maoris, considered that the bladders 
were caused by gunshot wounds. Even the other day, when I 
was bringing a good specimen of the disease down to Sir James 
Hector, the Maoris, clustering round the box, remarked, ‘‘ Ah! 
that rabbit was wounded.” All this evidence points to the one 
fact that for six years past this disease has been silently at work 
upon the runs of Wairarapa, and to it may be attributed, just as 
much as to the winter poisoning or the ferrets, the further great 
fact that in the Wairarapa the rabbit-pest has been conquered. 
(I attribute the subjection of the pest to the three things acting 
in combination.) The mange, itch, or scab had also been 
observed upon my own and the neighbouring runs; but the 
rabbiters considered that such rabbits had been scorched or 
badly burnt in the many fires lit to clear off the scrub. Liver- 
rot had also been observed, especially upon Mr. Tully’s run—a 
run celebrated for the bad state of the rabbit-pest there, but 
which I am happy to say is now almost clean. Prof. Thomas’s 
interim report does not say whether liver-rot is attributable to 
bladder-worm—or rabbit-fluke, as Sir James Hector named it: 
I fancy it is. 

Now, let us leave detail and go into principles. Let us see 
what this bladder-worm really means. Let us take an atlas of 
the earth, and inquire into the reasons why the four great conti- 
nents of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America are free from the 
rabbit-pest, and why it is so bad in Australia and New Zealand. 
If my course of reasoning is found to be sound, then, surely, 
M. Pasteur’s proposed mode of suppressing the difficulty with 
cholera-microbe solution will be found to be as absolutely useless 
as our winter poisoning, and very far indeed removed from the 
right method of cure. I use the words ‘absolutely useless” in 
this sense: that it will be no good M. Pasteur sweeping off the 
rabbits by millions if they breed up again, and have to be again 
swept off. Under the winter poisoning we are sweeping off the 
rabbits in New Zealand at the present moment at about fifty 
millions a year. 

And, first, it will be remembered by members of this Institute 
that last year I read a paper upon “‘A Common Vital Force.” 
The reasoning in that paper has furnished me with matter for 


328 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


clearing up the present question. My argument is as follows— 
and Professor Thomas, before sending in his full report, will do 
well to think over what I am about to say, and to amend his 
summary of conclusions at the end of his interim report lately 
presented to Parliament :— 

The rabbit appears to have started in Africa. Negro legends 
all point to it as the cunning animal, just as our legends point 
to the fox. From Africa it passed to Asia and Hurope, as 
European lands emerged from the sea. (I consider Africa the 
oldest continent, geologically, and the negroes the oldest race of 
men, ethnologically.) From Asia it passed into America, or the 
jack-rabbit there may have been in America coterminous with 
the rabbit’s existence in Africa or Asia. With the rabbit went 
the stoat, weasel, ferret, cat, dog, fox, wolf, and other natural 
enemies. I am speaking now of many thousand years ago— 
long before men ever appeared upon the face of the earth, but 
still while the four present great continents were continents, and 
Australia and New Zealand isolated. 

And these animals, which we call the natural enemies, were 
specially sent by nature to watch the rabbit and prey upon it, 
and prevent its excessive increase. Thus the common vital 
force always acts. One order of creation is not allowed to take 
possession of the earth—another checks it; and so the balance 
of utility is preserved. 

Sir James Hector, thinking as I think, stated some months 
since that soon there would be no rabbits in New Zealand. I 
would point out to Sir James that in saying that he has gone too 
far. Nature checks excessive increase, it is true, but nature 
does not willingly allow any one order of creation to be exter- 
minated. On many an estate at home there will still be found, 
after a thousand years of experience, the fox, the stoat, the 
weasel, the dog, the cat, and the rabbit side by side. Trap off 
the ground-vermin, as it is called, and the rabbit will rapidly 
increase; so that any idea of our depending entirely upon 
bladder-worm or any disease must be abandoned. The rabbit 
will never be exterminated now from the lands of Australasia. 
Nor is it advisable for us to exterminate it. 

But there is a great distinction between the rabbit as an 
animal and the rabbit asa pest. Nature carefully makes this 
distinguishment in all living things. Only those things came to 


DESTRUCTION OF RABBITS IN NEW ZEALAND. $29 


this planet of use to it, as its climatic conditions proved favourable 
to their reception, and each thing carried with it its own check 
from excessive increase. The general check (this course of 
reasoning supposes space to be filled with germs, and other 
planets inhabited) is a worm of some kind. For when any 
living thing becomes too thick—be it man, sheep, rabbit, pig, 
horse, ox, or other animal—immediately the land becomes 
infected by the excessive excreta of itself or its natural check. 
I rather fancy that its own excreta first starts the check, which 
rapidly spreads by means of the host. In the sheep we see it 
when we say that the land becomes sheep-sick. Upon such 
lands the hoggets get the lung-worm, and die off. So that, 
supposing we tried our best to keep but one animal running 
constantly upon one set of lands, the end would be that that 
animal would dwindle down to very few indeed. In the case of 
the rabbit, its own intestinal worms, or the intestinal worms of 
the natural enemy, are always ready to infect the lands and 
guard those lands against entire occupation. And so determined 
is nature to do this, that away up in the arctic regions, where 
the rabbit, jack-rabbit, and hare can go in comfort, being furred 
animals, there is it followed by the stoat changed into an ermine. 
The stoat puts on a warmer coat, and follows the rabbit even to 
the poles. For that reason stoats are alone to be relied upon by 
our Government here for suppressing the plague in the high 
snowy lands of the South Island. 

Now let us look at the atlas, and see the position of Australia 
and New Zealand. What is it? Disconnection from the four 
great continents. Here there were neither rabbits nor any 
natural enemy (I allude to the end of the secondary period in 
geology, when Australia is supposed to have been separated from 
' the mainland). The land was clean from either. Lately we 
have brought the rabbit, and, finding no check either against 
itself or against it asa pest, it rapidly developed into the pest 
form. Neither ferret, stoat, weasel, fox, nor wolf was here to 
infect the lands with the tape-worm eggs, and so the rabbit 
throve and multiplied. The dog alone was here, and in the 
Wairarapa the dog appears to have carried out nature’s law of 
check. My accidentally giving the dogs areca-nut but assisted 
nature’s law. 


Of course, I do not say that the tape-worm I use is the worst 


330 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


form of tape-worm. There are two hundred and fifty different 
kinds of tape-worm, and I have no doubt that the tape-worm of 
the fox and wolf is a far more virulent disease than the tape- 
worm of the dog. But then I do not like to introduce such 
animals into Australasia amongst our sheep. The Hon. Randall 
Johnson tells me that a proposition comes from Africa for us to 
use here the civet-cat and the meer-kat. (The civet-cat is 
closely allied to the aard-wolf.) But, again, I say that I do not 
like introducing here more ground-vermin than are absolutely 
necessary. I find that I have succeeded with the dog, cat, ferret, 
stoat, and weasel. What necessity is there to introduce anything 
further yet awhile ? I feel almost sure that these animals will 
perform the work for Australasia. At any rate they should be 
tried before introducing any of the other animals. We never 
know how the fere nature develop in these new lands. These 
require their check just as much as the rabbit requires its check: 
hence my aversion to their introduction. Had the dog, cat, and 
ferret been capable of performing the work of suppression, I 
would never have introduced the stoat and the weasel into the 
Wairarapa. At any rate, if we have to concede to the full extent 
of the round. of nature’s law, let us wait until population 
becomes a little more dense with us, to impose the proper check 
of man. 

From all this it will be seen how totally wide M. Pasteur is 
from the truth, and how little dependence can be placed upon 
purely scientific reasoning in dealing with this question. 

That the rabbit multiplies itself rapidly upon insular lands 
of the globe is seen from two instances recorded in history. In 
A.D. 1 the inhabitants of the Balearic Isles petitioned the Roman 
Emperor Augustus for assistance in subduing a rabbit-pest there. 
Two legions of the Roman army were sent to get the plague 
down. It is evident now, from my course of reasoning, that 
these islands wanted the natural enemy. 

Also, in the case of one of the Canary Islands, or Teneriffe. 
Prince Henry of Portugal, I think, sent some rabbits to one of 
them, and the inhabitants had very great difficulty in subduing 
the pest. Iam a little uncertain as to the facts in this case, but 
I remember meeting with it some time since, accidentally, in the 
course of reading. This case, and the former one of the 
Balearic Isles, and New Zealand and Australia, are exactly alike. 


DESTRUCTION OF RABBITS IN NEW ZEALAND. 331 


A narrow view of this question is therefore quite inadmissible. 
We can but look at it from the point of view 1 suggest—viz., with 
an atlas of the globe before us. Hitherto we have regarded the 
matter too narrowly in New Zealand, and M. Pasteur’s remedy, 
strange to say, is too narrow also. 

With regard to rabbit-fencing: I do not object to rabbit- 
fencing, but I consider it a waste of money. The best and most 
sure fence is the egg of the tape-worm upon the grass. The 
calculation for each dog is as follows: 1 x by 100 tape-worms, 
x by 100 segments, x by 1000 ova. 

As to the expense of the remedy, the beauty lies in its cheap- 
ness. Supposing the owner of each run in the South Island got 
but two of my diseased rabbits, and fed those rabbits to two 
hungry dogs in his pack, and then went steadily hunting over 
his land, the moist lands would quickly become infected with the 
tape-worm eggs. The rabbits would eat them and get fluked, 
and soon the whole pack of dogs would be infected. The dogs 
would then infect the whole of the lands. Whether the ferrets, 
stoats, and weasels also carry the worm about I cannot say. I 
firmly believe they do; but I have all along been quite certain 
that the tame dog does so, and I think the cat also. Neither 
Sir James Hector nor Professor Thomas are able to tell me 
anything about this; so I can but be guided by my practical 
experience. This is why I object to rabbit-fencing. I wish free 
open fences for the dog and natural enemy to disseminate the 
tape-worm ova. 

With regard to the danger of the sheep becoming fluked, I 
have never heard of a single case of the sort in the Wairarapa 
during the six years the disease has evidently been silently at 
work amongst the rabbits. Nor do I think that the bladder- 
worm of the rabbit can possibly infect the intestines of the sheep. 
Each order of nature has its own check. This can be seen from 
the fact that there are some two hundred and fifty different sorts 
of tape-worm. The rabbit might carry the proper sheep-fluke 
about in occasional instances, but I do not think that the sheep 
could possibly carry the rabbit-fluke about. At any rate, my 
sheep have been running upon my badly-infected, rabbit-fluked 
lands, and no instance of death has yet occurred. 

I need scarcely point out the severity of any tape-worm 
disease. A few years since seven hundred thousand pigs died 


$32 (HE ZOOLOGIST. 


near Chicago from trichinosis: last year a score of thousand 
hoggets died from lung-worm in the southern portion of this 
North Island of New Zealand; millions of sheep die in England 
from sheep-fluke. These are but instanees of the severity of 
nature’s laws. And nature’s proper laws are continuous; not 
like M. Pasteur’s remedy, or our own winter poisoning. How 
well do we know here that the rabbits grew proof against the 
poisoned grain, and refused to take it! So will the rabbits grow 
proof against cholera-microbes. Even a few fowls in each hen- 
roost always escape the ravages of chicken-cholera. Again, 
there were, and are still, many places in the South Island where 
we could not lay the poisoned grain. This escape from poison 
and disease, and these inaccessible places, yearly afford bases 
for the rabbits to breed up again. But there is no escape from 
bladder-worm or liver-rot. 

With respect to the time the disease takes to effect the death 
of the rabbit, Professor Thomas mentions thirteen and twenty- 
one days after infection. We have always thought it took 
longer, but Professor Thomas thinks that he can make the 
disease even still more fatal. This is good news; but I do not 
think there is any necessity for it to be more fatal than it is. 
My runis clear now from the pest. I keep but one rabbiter and 
a pack of dogs over twelve thousand acres, and he catches about 
twenty-five rabbits a week. Hecould look after twenty thousand 
acres just as easily as twelve thousand. (I do not think his 
time thrown away in regularly going round the run. He saves 
his wages in other directions.) Iam, however, indifferent what 
disease is selected, provided one of nature’s true remedies is 
applied. As to any disease like cholera suddenly sweeping off 
millions, I do not believe in its applicability to our present 
circumstances. Too much virulence would do harm. 

In the use of so many dogs there is, of course, a danger of 
some dogs going wild. I should recommend the Government to 
publish the resolutions the settlers arrived at in my district, in 
1884, upon this question. We are now through the rabbit-pest, 
and I do not think the wild dogs have killed a thousand sheep 
during the last four years over a million acres. Still, there are 
a few dogs gone wild in the bush, which we occasionally hear 
and see; but these can easily be got if the search for them is 
properly gone about. Prevention in this matter is better than 


DESTRUCTION OF RABBITS IN NEW ZEALAND. 333 


cure. I prefer this danger to the introduction of the fox or 
wolf tribe. 

There is some talk of this rabbit-disease attacking man in 
the form of hydatid. So it will. Hydatid from sheep attacks a 
few persons in Australia. Hydatid from the dog attacks a few 
of the Iceland people. I do not think much of these things. 
People cannot give up eating rabbit or mutton, or keeping dogs. 
To do that is the true remedy for the alarmists, and it is 
impracticable. 

I would repeat that Professor Thomas does not draw the 
same conclusions from the mode of conquest of the pest in the 
Wairarapa that I draw. The winter poisoning had little or no 
effectuality. The ferrets worked well only in isolated places ; in 
other places they would not live at all. But the three things 
acting in combination—viz., the poisoning, the natural enemy, 
and these diseases—effectually did the work of suppression. 
The poisoning swept off the millions ; the ferret, cat, stoat, and 
weasel ate the young ones left ; and then this bladder-worm and 
liver-rot attended upon all and completed the cure: but the 
poisoning itself was of little good. Herein it will be seen that 
practical experience is better than scientific theory. I hope 
Mr. Thomas, after reading this paper, will amend his interim 
report in the proper direction. It is not because the tape-worm 
here may not be exactly the same tape-worm that sweeps off the 
jack-rabbit in North America that Sir James Hector was wrong 
in the application of the general principle. That principle is 
that the excess of every order of life is held in check by some 
particular worm. 

On the other hand, I must say that I saw far more from my 
ten years’ practical experience in reducing the pest than Gir 
James Hector or Professor Thomas could tell me about it. 
Combining these things with M. Pasteur’s proposals, I must be 
excused for doubting scientific conclusions. Sir James Hector 
proposes the introduction of the kit-fox here: I think such a 
step would be wrong and unnecessary yet awhile. My opinion 
is that the wolf and fox tribes are the natural enemies of the 
sheep. We are clear of sheep-fluke now in Australasia, and I 
have no wish to introduce it. The bladder-worm hydatid of the 
rabbit and sheep hydatid are luckily two distinct things. 

With respect to complete rabbit extermination, I wish to say 


834 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


that it will be most inadvisable to attempt such a measure; and 
if it is attempted in Australia it will not succeed. 

I am told that Iam making too much of these diseases, and 
that specially favourable circumstances aided me in suppressing 
the pest in my own district. Those who say this do not see the 
importance of the principle contended for. So great is that 
principle that I have offered to reduce the rabbit-pest to a 
minimum in the South Island of this colony if I am allowed four 
years in which to doit. For that was the time it took me to 
reduce the pest in the South Wairarapa. 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORFOLK. 
By J. H. Gurney, Jon., F.Z.S. 


In continuation of my former Reports (p. 134), the following 
are the most important notes made during the first half of the 
year 1889 :— 

On Jan. 9th a Sand Grouse, Syrrhaptes paradoxus, was taken 
alive at Southrepps, and placed by my father in a cage with 
another previously obtained. The beak and skin round the eyes 
in spring lost their greenish tone, and by June had acquired a 
blue tint, which was brightest when the birds were excited. 

On Feb. 5th Capt. Applewhite sent a Dabchick choked 
by a “ Miller’s Thumb,” Cottus gobio, from Pickenham: the fish 
was firmly fixed with the tail projecting, in which position 
Mr. Gunn has since preserved it with the bird. On Feb. 18th I 
procured a Cormorant at Cley, where another was shot on the 
14th, and a third shortly before that. This is not a very common 
bird in Norfolk. Mr. Southwell and I saw two on Hoveton 
Broad as late as May 16th. 

About the beginning of April it was remarked that a duck 
at Keswick, in rather more than half male plumage, was evidently 
supposed by its companion—a pure-bred decoy-drake—to be a 
male, and accordingly he commenced a system of bullying, while 
his own mate looked on placidly, the supposed drake all the time 
fleeing from the pursuer, proclaiming her sex with loud 
“quacks.” On April 19th, at Brooke, a Woodcock was sitting 
on four eggs in a large wood of 163 acres, composed entirely of 
oak, with an extensive undergrowth of stub. It was so tame 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORFOLK. 335 


that a sketch was made of the sitting bird in the presence of 
four witnesses. The nest was in the midst of a spreading oak 
stub, and was composed entirely of the leaves of this tree with 
a few of the Woodcock’s body-feathers, and measured inside six 
inches across; the eggs all pointed towards one side, and it was 
noticed that the flank-feathers of the bird were much extended 
when she was sitting. 

On May 12th a large flock of Dotterel, Hudromias morinellus, 
appeared on Yarmouth Denes: Mr. G. Smith thinks he saw at 
least a hundred, and some of them were very tame, permitting a 
near approach. About May 13th Ospreys were shot at Weybourne 
and Salthouse, and soon afterwards a large hawk—supposed to 
be another Osprey—was seen at Hempstead. On May 22nd 
Mr. W. E. Baker showed me a Hawfinch’s nest containing four 
eggs; and on further search we discovered, in the same wood, 
another nest of this species containing five eggs, besides two 
unfinished nests and one of last year. It was gratifying to find 
these rare birds so plentiful, and we left all the eggs untouched, 
to the gratification of the old Hawfinches, who were too shy to 
do more than peer at us from a distance. One of the nests was 
in a whitethorn, one in an elder, and three in maple trees, at 
altitudes varying from ten to twenty feet. In one part of this 
wood there is a great deal of grey lichen growing, chiefly on 
maple, which is possibly the attraction to the Hawfinches, for I 
do not remember to have seen a nest which had not some lichen 
in it. Many Chaffinches nest in this wood, as does also the Tree 
Sparrow, Passer montanus, and Chiffchaff, which last is, strange 
to say, a rare bird in Norfolk. LEven such a veteran collector as 
my friend Mr. Norgate has only met with a few nests of the 
Chiffchaff in the course of a long experience. On the same day 
(May 22nd) Mr. Baker proposed a visit to a small wood of spruce 
fir and oak, where there were about fifty Heron’s nests: I climbed 
up to several of them, all of which contained young, and found 
their chief food to be eels. In one nest there was an eel 
eighteen inches long, in another a roach. Some of the nests 
were more than four feet in diameter; as they were decidedly 
odoriferous, I only stayed by them long enough to observe that 
several contained four occupants, and others only three. The 
most cup-shaped were fully six inches deep, but others were mere 
shallow platforms, yet tightly woven. No doubt they become 


336 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


much flatter after the young are hatched. Below the second 
Heron’s nest which we inspected was a Sparrowhawk’s nest, con- 
taining five eggs, the distance between the two being not more 
than four or five feet. There were no remains of fur or feathers 
about the Hawk’s nest (which was not a small one), and merely 
some of its own down in the lining. A little further on we found 
a Jay’s nest, and three nests of the Carrion Crow, a bird which 
is getting very scarce in most game-preserving districts. One 
was in an oak tree, and two of the young Crows, apparently 
oppressed by the heat (for it was a very warm day), were craning 
their long necks over the edge of the nest with wide-open mouths, 
which we could see from below were bright red; the second nest 
was unfinished, and the third held two young Crows, still quite 
blind, with disproportionately large red mouths. The cup of 
this nest was four inches deep and a foot across, lined with wool, 
a piece of black cloth, and two pieces of newspaper ; it was built 
on the flattened top of a leaderless spruce fir, thirty feet high. 

Mr. Baker informs me that.he has every reason to believe 
that the Curlew has nested more than once on the Sandringham 
estate, where there is a good tract of ling strictly preserved by 
H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. One of the keepers, named 
Salmon, found a nest with eggs there. Salmon knows the 
difference between the Norfolk Plover, or Stone Curlew, and 
Numenius arquatus, and is aware that the former only deposits 
two eggs, and does not lay them in the ling. This is the first 
intimation received of the Curlew nesting in Norfolk. 

On June 28th a keeper showed me the nest of a Reeve, 
Machetes pugnax, which he had found in the early part of May, 
and which then contained four eggs. Unfortunately at the time 
of my visit there were only the broken shells, indicating, as he 
supposed, the work of a Marsh Harrier, Circus @ruginosus, which 
had come after his decoy-ducks. As we were leaving the place 
we stumbled on another nest with four eggs, beautifully hidden 
in green rush-grass, nowhere more than a foot high. The eggs, 
which were very handsome, all pointed inwards, their four small 
ends meeting. The diameter of the nest was 3°83 inches, which 
is less than that of a Redshank; it was constructed of dead 
bents of Eleocharis multicaulis, mixed apparently with Triglochin 
palustre. For this identification I am indebted to Mr. A. H. 
Evans, who knows all the plants of the locality. A “run” made 


HABITS AND HOME OF THE WANDERING ALBATROSS. 337 


by the old bird led almost up to the nest, from a distance of 
twelve yards, and on the other side there was another “ run” not 
so long. I have seen many similar “runs’’ made by Redshanks 
and Water Rails. As I was anxious to identify the eggs beyond 
all doubt, we retired to some distance, and after some time had 
the pleasure of seeing the Reeve return to the nest. 


THE HABITS AND HOME OF THE WANDERING 
ALBATROSS, DIOMEDEA EXULANS.* 


By A. Reiscuex, F.L.S. 


Tus noble bird may justly be called the king among the sea- 
birds. Many times during my sea-voyages have I admired its 
flight and easy sailing over the waves, as it followed our vessel, 
hundreds of miles from the nearest land. Its power of flight 
surpasses that of most birds, and is easily accounted for by the 
unusual development of the muscles of the breast and wings, 
the latter being equal to, if not stronger than, those of the eagle. 
It is worthy of remark that the quills of the wing are spread or 
brought close together according as the bird is rising or falling 
in its flight. The steering is done not with the tail alone, but 
also with the broad webbed feet. These, when a straight course 
is being followed, are stretched out, and nearly concealed under 
the tail; but when a quick turn is required their position is 
altered, and the webs are spread in such a manner as to greatly 
assist the bird in turning. When there is little wind and the 
ocean is calm, Albatrosses have great difficulty in-rising from the 
water ; when there is a swell they run along the water and rise 
with a wave. When alighting, on nearing the surface they bend 
the head back, curve the wings upwards, beating the air with 
numerous laboured strokes, then, straightening their feet, they 
let themselves fall. They are fast swimmers, but cannot dive. 
Their food, which consists chiefly of some of the lower forms of 
marine life found floating on the surface of the ocean, they scoop 
up with their bill in the same manner as Ducks. 


* From the ‘Transactions of the New Zealand Institute,’ vol. xxi. (May, 
1889), pp. 126—128. 
ZOOLOGIST.—SEPT. 1889. 2D 


338 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


I had long been anxious to visit their breeding-haunts, but 
had no opportunity of doing this until January, 1888, when I 
was afforded the privilege of accompanying the Government 
steamer ‘ Stella’ on her yearly cruise among the islands to the 
south of New Zealand. After visiting Stewart Island and the 
Snares, the steamer’s course was directed towards the Auckland 
Islands, and on the 25th January we anchored in Carnley 
Harbour. Having ascertained from Captain Fairchild that the 
vessel would not leave until the following evening, I at once 
prepared for an expedition to the hills, on which I was informed 
that Albatrosses were then breeding; and at 4 o'clock in the 
morning the chief officer put me ashore. The first creatures 
I met were several Sea-lions sleeping in the long grass, over 
which I almost fell. They gave discontented growls at being 
disturbed and driven from their lair, sitting up on their haunches 
and gazing at the intruder with their large eyes, showing their 
white canine teeth all the time. Moving onwards I had a 
dreadful scramble through dense low scrub interspersed with 
holes and swampy places, but at last I gained the hills above. 
My exertions caused me to suffer greatly, being far from well 
through overwork on the west coast of the South Island. After 
climbing over hills for about three miles I came to a slope where 
a colony of Albatrosses had established a breeding-place. The 
birds were scattered about among the tussock-grass, sitting on 
their nests, and from their white plumage could be easily 
distinguished from the vegetation at a great distance. I found 
that their nests are always placed on sloping ground, and always 
on the most exposed side of the hill. They are composed of earth 
and grass cemented together, and are built in the form of a cone. 
They are usually about two feet in diameter and about eighteen 
inches high. Outside they are surrounded by a shallow drain, 
intended to carry off the surface-water. Within is placed a 
single egg. This is white, with a few brown spots on the broad 
end, and measures about 5°5 inches in length by 3°1 inches 
broad. In most cases I found the female on the nest, the male 
bird standing close to her, and occasionally feeding her. I 
noticed that sometimes the male relieved the female, but they 
never both leave the nest until the young one is able to defend 
itself against the Skua Gull, Lestris parasiticus. This rapacious 
bird devours every egg or nestling left unprotected. While 


HABITS AND HOME OF THE WANDERING ALBATROSS. 339 


taking the measurements of the first nest I came to I laid down 
the egg beside me, when a Skua darted at it and destroyed it. 
They were so bold that they frequently came close enough for 
me to hit them with a stick. 

On my approaching an Albatross’s nest, the old bird seldom 
left it, but set up a croaking noise, clapping its mandibles 
together and biting at the intruder. After turning it off and 
taking away the egg, it returned and sat on the nest as before. 
The eggs were quite fresh on the 25th January, and good for 
eating when fried. There appears to be a difference in the time 
of laying at the different islands, for at Campbell Island, 
considerably to the south of the Auckland Islands, their eggs 
were nearly all hatched by the end of January, while at Antipodes 
Island, a little to the north again, they had hardly begun to lay 
at the beginning of February. 

The Albatross takes five years to become fully mature, 
and in each year there is a slight change of plumage. The 
young, which are hatched in February, are covered with snow- 
white down, and a beautiful specimen in this stage exists in 
the Otago Museum. In the following December they lose their 
down, and the plumage is of a brown colour, with white under 
the wings and on the throat. In the second year the plumage 
is the same, except that there is more white on the throat 
and abdomen. In the third year there is still more white, 
although mixed with blotches of brown, the under parts, how- 
ever, being nearly all white. The wings and tail remain dark 
brown. In the fourth year they very nearly acquire the full 
‘plumage. The male is white, with a few very fine dark 
specks, except the wings, which are dark brown. In the fifth 
year they reach their full growth, and the mature plumage is 
displayed—white, with blackish brown wings. The measure- 
ments are as follows: — Total length, from the tip of the bill 
to the end of the tail, 3 ft.3in. Bill, 7in. Tail, 7°25 in. 
Whole wing, from 4 ft. 10 in. to 5 ft. 10 in.; primaries, 1 ft. 8 in. 
Whole leg, 1 ft. 10} in.; tarsus 4°5 in.; middle toe, 7in. The 
female is much smaller, as can be seen at once from the specimens 
exhibited. 

Notwithstanding the ease and grace of the Albatross on the 
ocean, on the land it is a most clumsy and helpless bird. Its 
walk is slow and waddling, like that of a Duck, and it cannot 

2n2 


340 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


take flight from a level piece of ground. It is for this reason 
that these birds have been gifted by nature with the instinct of 
making their nests on the slopes of mountains, for by running 
down-hill, and labouring hard with their wings, they can at last 
acquire momentum sufficient to raise themselves in the air. 
Once there they exhibit their true power, and are seen to the 
best advantage. 


THE GREAT BLACK WOODPECKER IN ENGLAND, 
By Rey. Cuement Ley. 


[In our review of ‘ Notes on the Birds of Herefordshire,’ collected by 
Dr. Bull, which appeared in ‘The Zoologist,’ 1888 (pp. 277—280), we noticed 
a statement to the effect that ‘‘ there could be no doubt of the Great Black 
Woodpecker having been observed on several occasions in Herefordshire,” 
and quoted (p. 279) the evidence on this subject adduced by the Rev, 
Clement Ley, of Ashley Parva, Lutterworth, Leicestershire. Mr. Ley 
having since published a long letter on the subject in the ‘ Hereford 
Times,’ intended as a reply to certain critics who seem to have imagined 
that there was some mistake in the identification of the birds seen by 
him, we reprint this letter for the benefit of our readers who may not 
have seen it, omitting only, for the sake of brevity, three paragraphs which 
are not material. ED. ] 


On the subject of my own observations of this bird in 
England, I have not for some time asked for space in the 
columns of the ‘Hereford Times.’ The causes of my silence 
have been partly that no re-statement of those observations would 
of itself add force or credibility to my first statement; partly 
because I have entertained the hope that some other naturalist 
would in course of time have been able to confirm my evidence by 
his own observations; and, after all, one single piece of positive 
evidence from any thoroughly capable and veracious observer will 
outweigh many pages of negative criticism. I was not anxious 
to appear in any hurry to reply to any hostile remarks. From 
the moment that I first heard the note of this bird in England, 
and still more from the time that I first saw the bird, I antici- 
pated even more general disbelief and more severe denunciations 
than my statements have in fact received. The man who has 
been so fortunate, or so unfortunate, as to see a prodigy not once, 
but twice, should either hold his peace or should expect to meet 


GREAT BLACK WOODPECKER IN ENGLAND. 341 


with such unbelief as I myself should perhaps bestow upon him, 
were he other than myself, or not an intimate acquaintance. So 
that my critics have perhaps, in the main, done as they would 
be done by. I shall in this letter refer to no criticisms of ‘The 
Birds of Herefordshire,’ the work of my old and valued friend 
Dr. Bull, except in so far as these criticisms relate to certain 
observations of mine therein recorded. 
* * x # * 

T adhere to every statement made by me concerning English 
and foreign birds. But it may be due to some readers that I 
should add a very few particulars concerning my observations of 
Picus martius, and one brief explanation of a statement, disbe- 
lieved, concerning Jynzx torquilla. Iam not going to weigh the 
evidence of Capt. Mayne Reid (Zool. p. 196); and I know nothing 
of what befell Mr. D. R. Chapman at Belmont, or of the reasons 
why he seems to be slightly ignored. 

It is through necessity that this letter is almost entirely 
egoistic. The only witnesses who in my company had an excel- 
lent view of Picus martius in England were Mr. E. W. Du Buisson, 
M.R.C.S., of Castle Street, Hereford, who permits me to state 
that he has a vivid recollection of the occurrence, and believes 
he can still point out the tree in Ruckhall Wood in which we 
watched the strange visitor,—and in 1876 my daughter, who 
retains a similar recollection of this bird as we saw it at Mount 
Edgecumbe, in Devonshire. But although these witnesses were 
at those dates keen young naturalists, and well acquainted with 
the appearance and the notes of the three well-known British 
Woodpeckers, they were each at those respective dates only about 
ten or twelve years of age,—too young, perhaps, to add much 
weight to my testimony, in the thoughts of my critics. I heard 
the cry of Picus martius twice, unmistakably, at Pengethley Gorse, 
Ross; once, unmistakably, in the parish of Fownhope; once, 
dubiously, distant and uncertain, on the Little Doward. For 
myself, I possessed the faculty, which I still retain (though 
my ornithological rambles are probably over), of never forgetting 
the note of any bird which I had once heard ; together with the 
barbaric habit of tracking silently, at home or abroad, through 
brambles and leaves, those animals whose voices I had heard, but 
not as yet identified, until this habit became no longer necessary. 
But there is one barbarous deed which I never committed, though 


342 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


very frequently carrying a gun. I never slew a very rare though 
probably indigenous bird. It might be well, if it were possible, 
to extirpate such writers as the ‘Atheneum’ critic of Dr. Bull’s 
work, the advocates of the ceaseless pop-gun,—men destitute of 
any enthusiasm for living nature, whose eyes and thoughts do 
not travel beyond the four walls of a museum bird-room; men 
who publicly state that they will believe nothing until they see 
the bleeding form of a fresh-killed specimen; men, the polar 
antitheses (I trust Prof. Huxley may not see my adjective) of that 
great observer who, having killed a Crossbill partly by accident, 
—in, I think, the Shrewsbury Garden,—could not for years 
persuade his tongue to tell the sad story. No Wild Birds 
Protection Acts, none of the intelligence of those few landlords 
who strenuously preserve to the best of their ability all rare wild 
birds on their property, can, I fear, be a match for these anta- 
gonists of Nature. I fear that my words will do nothing to cure 
this evil. I believe, however, that what has twice happened will 
probably happen again. If it be true that all the evidence with 
respect to the occurrence of Picus martius in England previous 
to my own sight of this bird is unsatisfactory, then certainly 
what I saw is to me wonderful. But it is not so wonderful as it 
might appear to other people. Possibly not one man in a million 
residing in England can recognize the note of Picus martius (and 
had I not recognized this I should not in England have seen the 
bird). Selecting the men who would recognize the note, I am 
inclined to question whether one of them is likely to have 
possessed those habits and that mode of life which led me to 
recognize the bird. Still, we have to deal with generations, not 
living men; and the question of antecedent probabilities is 
complex, and scarcely calls for algebra here. 

One of your correspondents, whom I will treat as anonymous, 
refers to me as writing romance. Had his scientific reading 
been a little more extensive than it has been, he would not, 
perhaps, have used this term. As it is, he is one whose personal 
acquaintance I should much like to make, to whom I should like 
to show my birds’ eggs, with whom I should like to discuss (were 
it not for the waste of his valuable time) the notes, habits, and 
anatomy of every British bird. Now this writer, as a comparison, 
it seems, with my plain statements, tells some story of an 
acquaintance, who was not only romantically deceived and a 


GREAT BLACK WOODPECKER IN ENGLAND. 343 


deceiver, but actually could not distinguish, by the mere sense 
of touch, the eggs of one of our Columbide from the eggs of one 
of our Picide. Can your readers swallow that, Sir? Then we 
have another correspondent, writing something about the inci- 
dence of solar rays upon the back of a Rook, making the latter 
look to him like a Wood Pigeon. Does he really believe that any 
naturalist has not observed that kind of phenomenon; the like 
of which, when the sun shines, you must have seen on almost 
any day on aslated roof? Can he, having gone to a museum, 
actually suppose that any sane man can have mistaken Picus 
martius flying at less than twenty yards distance toward the 
north-east of the observer, the sun being in the west, for any 
other bird? ‘There is a good deal else of what I will dignify 
with the name of dust, not equalling rubbish, which a camel’s- 
hair brush would sweep away in two or three strokes. I shall 
not use the brush, not simply because it would be a waste of my 
time, but because it would encroach upon your space. 

As regards the forty eggs of the Wryneck, obtained from the 
same nest-hole, the offspring of the same mother, taken I 
believe in about forty consecutive days (see Bull’s ‘ Birds of 
Herefordshire,’ p. 97), I should mention that many of them were 
shown to me by the late J. Skyrme in his then valuable collection. 
The latest laid of them were extraordinarily small. I regret that 
I have no notes of measurement. These eggs ought to be, and 
probably are, existent somewhere. He gave me the account 
of how they were obtained; but this had been previously com- 
municated to me by the experimenter, Dr. Powell, of Fawley 
Court, and the hole from which he had taken them was shown 
to me. I believe him to have been perfectly honest, and a 
careful observer. Anyhow the experiment was an old one, as I 
should have thought the critic ought to have known. Any of your 
readers, by making a series of such experiments, with patience, 
care as to hours, &c., will probably easily beat the record. I 
have seen something more surprising—a Song Thrush trying 
to sit on eighteen eggs. I know nothing about their parentage, 
but there was no mistaking the species of the parents. There 
was mud and clay all about the place, and there was no footprint 
of any human intriguer. Of the thirteen eggs which I removed, 
some were almost fresh ; others had undergone incubation, not, 
I think, of more than five days. 


344 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


* * * * * 

What I have written about my own observations, I have 
written in simple honesty, well knowing that, like some sister 
virtues, honesty must be often for the present disbelieved. I 
appeal to one witness, who seems in no hurry to answer any 


bird-call, but who will probably answer it one day, Picus martius 
himself. 


THE SOLWAY FISH HATCHERY. 


Eieut years ago Mr. J. J. Armistead, who had acquired 
extensive experience as a pisciculturist in the English Lake 
district and elsewhere, was led to establish a fish hatchery on the 
lands of Kinharvie, in the parish of New Abbey,—one of some 
half-dozen that exist in Scotland,—and the interesting and novel 
industry has flourished and grown apace in his skilful hands. To 
the untrained eye the site was a very unpromising one—for the 
most part a rush-covered meadow; but to the specialist it pre- 
sented several important advantages. Most notable of these was 
the command of a water-supply not only constant and abundant, 
but of various quality, for the natural element of the fish is as 
diverse in its constituents and capabilities as the natural element 
of the plant. A water altogether admirable for hatching purposes 
may be totally unsuited for the rearing of plump fish, and vice 
versa. With the Pow Burn on the one hand, and the Tannocks 
Burn and other small streams meandering through the wood on 
the other, and a copious and unfailing spring conveniently at 
hand, Mr. Armistead is able to make choice of the kinds best 
suited for his various experiments. The configuration of the 
ground is also favourable, permitting of the construction of a 
series of ponds at slightly differing levels, and thus facilitating 
the leading of the water-supply from the one to the other. In 
the course of the few years that Mr. Armistead has held it on 
lease—and during great part of which he laboured under the 
disadvantage of residence at Douglas Hall, fifteen miles distant 
—the appearance of the land has been greatly transformed, and 
if it does not yet quite “ blossom as the rose,” it gives abundant 
promise of soon doing so. And now that he has acquired it by 
purchase from Lord Herries, we may expect the work of 
improvement and extension to receive a greater impetus from 


THE SOLWAY FISH HATCHERY. $45 


“the magic of property.” That the sense of security conferred 
by possession is exerting its natural influence was apparent on a 
recent visit, from the operations in progress and the plans which 
we learned are in contemplation. 

The busiest season of the year at the fishery—the hatching 
time—is over. On the occasion of the writer's visit a compara- 
tively few ova, taken from late fish, remained upon the grills, 
some being those of salmon; but a good many of the imma- 
ture fry were still on hand. Here we see Nature not only assisted, 
but in part we may say superseded by art. The fish are spawned 
by hand, and the after stages of incubation and rearing the fry 
take place under artificial conditions. The hatchery proper is a 
long stone and lime building, fitted up with numerous narrow 
and shallow wooden boxes, through which there is kept up a 
constant circulation of the purest water. These are in the first 
instance filled with little grills, which are frames full of glass 
tubes, on which the ova is deposited, and as the season progresses 
they become the home of the fry in various stages of develop- 
ment. The naturalist has the opportunity of following the 
progress of the young life with the closest observation from the 
time that the first faint indication of vital form tinges the semi- 
transparent mass of the egg until the fish has emerged, appearing 
like a minute tail attached to a ball of disproportionate size, and 
until this ball or sac, with which Nature has provided for its 
sustenance during an infancy of three months, has been absorbed, 
and the tiny fish has become a feeding, self-supporting animal, 
ready, after several weeks of probationary training, to be set up 
in life on his own account. The boxes occupied by the fry 
present a very animated appearance, shoals of thousands reposing 
in a dark, inert-looking mass on the gravelly bottom; then sud- 
denly dissolving into as many active, quick-darting atoms, when 
disturbed, or when attracted by the offer of food. It is in the fry 
stage, of course, that the greatest quantities are sent out from 
the fishery. This season quantities have been dispatched to all 
parts of the country, literally from Land’s End to John o’ Groats’. 
Ova is also supplied from the fishery in considerable quantities, 
consignments having been sent even to the Antipodes. For the 
transit of yearling fish zinc tanks are provided, of circular and 
tapering form, with a smaller inverted can on the top, filled with 
ice, the drip from which preserves an equal temperature in the 


846 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


water below. ‘These carriers, while extremely suitable for con- 
veying yearlings, will not do for fry, which require water of a 
higher temperature, and these are all sent out in glass vessels 
specially made for the purpose, resembling carboys. The angle 
of the water with the glass has been duly considered, and when 
properly filled, a rotary motion is caused during transit, which is 
as a running stream to the little fish. Orders are less frequently 
received for larger fish, and only recently a consignment of fish 
averaging 2 lbs. each was despatched to a gentleman who wished 
to provide immediate sport. A large business is done in yearlings, 
which are made a special feature at the Solway Fishery. 

The fish are reared in a series of ponds, many of them like 
broad trenches, others of larger dimensions and square in shape. 
The number permits of a perfect classification both as to species 
and age. The largest pond area at present immediately adjoins 
the hatchery and Mr. Armistead’s residence; but a range of 
small ponds has been constructed on the crest of the rising 
ground at the further end of the field. It is intended to extend 
them along the whole face of the slope, and also to erect a 
second hatching-house in their vicinity. To secure a proper 
water-supply for this series of ponds has involved no small labour 
and outlay. The Pow Burn was tapped half-a-mile distant, a 
rough caul being thrown across it to dam it back at the place, 
and an aqueduct of that length has been constructed through 
the wood. Much of the cutting was through granite, and blasting 
had frequently to be resorted to. The work of pond construction 
has, however, been greatly facilitated by the retentive nature of 
the ground, which renders unnecessary the puddling or concreting 
of the bottom. 

Gratifying, and in a measure surprising, results have been 
obtained in the cultivation of fish; not only larger individual 
specimens being reared than are to be met with under more 
strictly natural conditions, but gradual and constant improvement 
in their produce, and consequently in the general standard of the 
breed, being secured by the selection of ova only from perfectly 
healthy and well-grown fish. The Loch Leven Trout, the 
American Trout, the Windermere Char, and the Common Trout 
have received special attention at the hands of Mr. Armistead, 
and the most satisfactory results have attended his experi- 
ments with and careful rearing of them. A draught of the net in 


Notés AND QUERIES. 347 


any of the ponds brings to hand a sparkling mass of fine, healthy 
fish; among the older ones are a number of remarkable size. Perch, 
Tench, and other species are also reared; and there is a pond 
devoted to Gold-fish, with a small colony also of Leather Carp, 
reared from American fish. He has it in contemplation to try a 
series of experiments with our own Salmon, with a view to 
acclimatize it in the fresh water, and produce, as the Americans 
have done, a landlocked variety, which the owner of a pond or 
stream may always have at command. 

Of course where so many fish are kept in a limited area they 
have to be artificially fed. Twice a day, and oftener in summer, 
animal food of various kinds is thrown to them; and on a warm 
day it is an animated sight to see the surface of the ponds all 
a-ripple and sparkling with bubbles caused by the continual 
leaping of their numerous tenants. Crustaceans and even Tad- 
poles reared ‘“‘on the premises” go to supplement the hand-feeding 
in their season. A nursery of aquatic plants is also maintained 
for the sustenance of fish-life. 

The situation of the fishery is somewhat remote,—two miles 
from the postal and telegraph station at New Abbey, and four 
from the railway, at Killywhan,—but an ample supply of good 
water and other facilities far more than compensate for this. 
The site, too, is a very pleasant one, under the shelter of the 
fine wood of larch and fir that stretches up towards Kinharvie 
House, with the New Abbey hills and the Waterloo monument in 
the background, and a fine view of Criffel and the Solway com- 
manded by the climbing of a gentle eminence, whence the privileged 
visitor is sure to carry away the pleasantest memories of a 
personal kind. 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


Death of Mr. Frederick Bond.—On the 10th August, at Staines, 
where he had resided for many years, our dear old friend Frederick Bond 
passed quietly and peacefully away, in the seventy-ninth year of his age. 
He will be much missed by everyone who knew him, but by none more 
than by the present generation of ornithologists and entomologists, to whom 
he was truly a guide, philosopher, and friend. When it is remembered 
that he helped to found ‘The Zoologist,’ in 1848, and contributed to its 
pages at intervals from that date to the present year (his last note, on the 


348 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Sand Grouse in Middlesex, having appeared in the month of June last), it 
will be evident that we have lost in him no ordinary supporter. His life- 
long experience as a field naturalist enabled him, when appealed to, to give 
most valuable information, and we feel sure that very many readers of 
this Journal will share the Editor’s profound regret at his demise. A man 
who has done so much for British Zoology as the late Frederick Bond 
deserves more than a mere passing notice of his death, and we reserve for 
a future number a memoir of one whom it has been our privilege and 
pleasure to know for more than a quarter of a century. In preparing this 
tribute to his memory, we need scarcely say that we shall be grateful for 
any suggestions from friends, or for the communication of facts that might 
be usefully mentioned. 


Destruction of Game and so-called Vermin.— All that is not 
“came” is “vermin,” according to most keepers: both are destroyed, the 
one because it is ‘‘ game,” the other because it is “ vermin,” and what an 
enormous destruction of animal life is the result! During the shooting 
season of 1888 the following species were killed on the Austro-Hungarian 
crown lands of Salzburg :—294 Stags, 1505 Roe-deer, 1270 Chamois, 3562 
Hares, 3 Marmots, 178 Capercailzie, 176 Black-game, 222 Hazel Grouse, 
9 Ptarmigan, 471 Pheasants, 1237 Partridges, 40 Quail, 65 Snipe, 10 Wood- 
cock, and 357 Wild Duck. Besides these there were destroyed 980 Foxes, 
252 Martens, 72 Polecats, 9 Otters, 11 Wild Cats, 76 Badgers, 9 Hagles, 
22 Owls, and 770 Hawks of various kinds. Years hence, when some of 
the wild creatures here mentioned will have become extinct, the above 
will be an interesting, though melancholy, record of man’s propensity for 
destroying life. 


BIRDS. 


The Swannery at Abbotsbury.—This famous Swannery, of which an 
illustration is given in Mr. Mansel-Pleydell’s ‘ Birds of Dorsetshire,’ has 
been so often mentioned in ‘ The Zoologist’ that readers will doubtless be 
interested to hear of a recent lawsuit concerning it, in which judgment was 
delivered by Mr. Justice Kekewich on the 10th August last. It was an 
action by the Earl of Ichester, the owner and Lord of the Manor of Abbots- 
bury, in Dorsetshire, for an injunction to restrain the Defendants Rashleigh 
and others from trespassing on Chesil Bank and the Fleet, which were 
were alleged to be part of the estate. It appeared that Chesil Bank united 
Portland with the mainland, and extended from Portland Roads in a north- 
westerly direction to Abbotsbury, where it joined the coast line. Between 
this bank and the coast there was a piece of water called the Fleet, extending 
from Portland Ferry Bridge to Abbotsbury, a distance of about nine 
miles. At Abbotsbury end there is a Swannery, which existed in Queen 
Elizabeth’s time, and contained several hundred swans. The Plaintiff 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 849 


claimed the land covered by the Fleet, the Chesil Bank, the wildfowl 
decoy, and the Swannery. On December 26th, 1887, the Defendants, 
who represented the fishermen on the coast, it was said, came up the Fleet 
in boats, penetrated into the Swannery, fired off guns, and made violent 
noises, which disturbed and frightened the birds, the result being that 
several flew away. The Plaintiff then brought this action simply to establish 
his right to the Swannery, the Fleet, and the Chesil Bank, but he had no 
intention to interfere with the fishing industry, and, in fact, he had conceded 
the right of the Defendants and other persons having lawful occasion to 
cross the Fleet in that part which was outside the Abbotsbury parish, and 
to use the eastern portion of Chesil Bank for hauling their boats, dragging 
their nets to shore, and drying them, &c.; but he objected to their navigating 
the Fleet west of Abbotsbury stone, where the Swannery was. The 
Defendants contended that they were entitled to use all parts of the bank 
and the Fleet, and that the Fleet was an arm of the sea, subject to the 
influx and reflux of the tide, and was navigable, and was therefore jus 
publicum, or public property: but, if that were not so, they had acquired 
the right to use it by custom. The Plaintiff contended, however, that 
the tide had no perceptible effect upon the water in the north-western 
portion of the Fleet, and it was not navigable, being only two feet deep 
and thick with weeds, and he denied the alleged custom, as watchmen had 
been constantly employed by him to warn off people who came up that 
portion of the Fleet. The Earl of Ilchester and several witnesses gave 
evidence in support of the Plaintiff's case, and a great deal of documentary 
evidence extending back to a distant period was adduced to show that the 
Fleet and the Chesil Bank was part of the Abbotsbury estate. On the 
part of the Defendants, evidence was given to the effect that they did not 
fire off guns or disturb the swans on the occasion mentioned, and they 
submitted that they had been accustomed to use all parts of the Chesil 
Bank for fishing operations, and to pass over the whole of the Fleet; that 
the Fleet was navigable; that it was influenced by the tides from end to 
end, and that therefore it was an arm of the sea and open to the use of 
the public. At the conclusion of the arguments, his Lordship reserved 
judgment. Subsequently, in giving judgment, he reviewed the evi- 
dence at length, and the numerous authorities bearing on the subject, 
and said that the action was brought by the Plaintiff to restrain the 
Defendants from trespassing on the Chesil Bank and the waters of the 
Fleet west of the Abbotsbury stone, which he claimed as his property. 
The Defendants contended, however, that it was an arm of the sea, and 
was subject to the ebb and flow of the tide, and, being navigable, the public 
had a right to use it. On that point, his Lordship drew attention to the 
fact that witnesses had been called who had stated that the western portion 
of the Fleet was dry land at some periods, and therefore it could not be said 


350 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


to be navigable. As regards its being an arm of the sea and subject to the 
tides, he thought the scientific evidence showed it was not. If the depth 
of the water differed from time to time, it was caused by the streams that 
ran into it, and the percolation of the sea through the Chesil Bank. He 
came to the conclusion that the Plaintiff had made out his claim to the 
western portion of the Chesil Bank and the Fleet, and he must, therefore, 
restrain the Defendants from trespassing on the waters of the Fleet west of 
the Abbotsbury stone, and also the western portion of the Chesil Bank above 
high-water mark, He was glad to say that in granting the injunction he 
was not interfering with the fishing industry carried on by the Defendants. 
—Injunction accordingly against the Defendants, but without costs. 


Crossbill breeding in Immature Plumage.—In replying to my note 
(p. 263), Mr. H. A. Macpherson tries (p. 813) to lure your readers away 
from the statement at issue. His point is this :—‘ The interesting point, of 
course, is to find the male Loxia curvirostra breeding in a yellow dress, 
and before assuming the red plumage of maturity.” In the words italicised 
it is assumed by Mr. Macpherson that the young male Crossbill wears the 
yellow dress before acquiring the red dress, and that this yellow dress is 
immature, an assumption directly at variance with the opinions of the most 
careful observers. Here, first, is the admission or opinion of Professor 
Newton (Yarrell, 4th ed. ii. p. 200) :—- By September the young cocks have 
lost much of the striped (sic) appearance, and at their moult begin to assume 
the red plumage of maturity,” &c. This statement agrees fully with 
Mr. J. Hancock’s observations, and it implies also that the red dress (or, as 
it may be styled, the marital dress) of the young males is donned at their 
first moult. Next, in the ‘ Ornithologie Européenne,’ by Degland (vol. i. 
p. 177), are these words:—‘ Des jeunes males, tués le 15 Aout prés de 
Lille, étaient en mue, et offraient quelques plumes rouges sur les parties 
inférieures. A l’age d’un an cette couleur est plus ou moins dominante.” 
Admitting, also, the correctness of the observations recorded by Mr. Dresser 
(‘ Birds of Europe,’ vol. iv. p. 128), that young males do sometimes moult 
directly into the yellow or greenish yellow dress, yet how, even with this 
admission, can the bird in the yellow dress observed by Mr. Ussher have 
been, as Mr. Macpherson says, in the immature plumage. But, as stated 
by Mr. J. Hancock (‘ Birds of Northumberland,’ p. 50), male birds in the 
yellow dress have been observed breeding in the same locality with other 
pairs, the male being in a red dress. To suggest, as Mr. Macpherson 
quotes, that these yellow males are barren birds, without first having care- 
fully examined the state of the sexual organs of freshly-killed specimens in 
the breeding season, is merely jumping at a conclusion, and is most 
probably as inaccurate as Mr. Macpherson’s statement that the yellow 
dress is the dress of an immature male. But enough. The criticism 
about my use of the word “spotted” is perhaps best replied to by asking 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 351 


what Latin word would Linnmus have used if he had had the chance of 
describing the young of the Common Crossbill in the first plumage? Would 
it have been maculosus, lineatus, or striatus? It satisfies me to think that he 
would have used the first of these three words. A spot may be of any shape, 
longitudinal, triangular, square, or irregular as in the Spotted Woodpeckers. 
“Obsolete heresy” is something I cannot comprehend, but in the present 
state of our knowledge the word “heresy” is a term that ought not to be 
used by searchers after or lovers of truth. Let the word and its associations 
be “ obsolete.” —Ricuarp Howss (Museum, Neweastle-on-Tyne). 


Food of the Shearwater.—Some little time ago the writer described 
in ‘ The Zoologist’ (1888, p. 874), how he had seen Shearwaters, Puffinus 
anglorum, feeding on small fishes, in company with Herring Gulls, Larus 
argentatus, a circumstance in keeping with the fact that he had found the 
digested remains of fish in the stomachs of some of these birds killed on 
land. Mr. Gawen, however, expressed the opinion (tom. cit. p. 426) that 
the birds in question had swallowed “ fish offal.” Mr. R. Warren then 
(p. 470) added the weight of his experience to that of the writer, who, 
rather than press his views unduly, preferred to wait for further evidence. 
This has now been obtained. An example of P. anglorum, shot in his 
presence by Mr. F. P. Johnson, proved to contain only the remains of 
fishes, so small that they could not have been taken in any net but a 
muslin one. The bird in question was one of a flock which had been 
observed for some days, and the observers, both of whom have studied 
P. anglorum for eight or nine summers, felt satisfied that its companions 
were fishing in the same way. ‘There is no evidence, so far, that anyone 
has ever seen a Shearwater swallow a fish. Under ordinary circumstances, 
they certainly catch their prey on the wing, as Terns do, and their move- 
ments are too rapid to allow an observer to detect their seizing their prey, 
to say nothing of the fact that they almost always fish in a breeze where the 
water is a little ruffled. All through the long summer days their beautiful 
- evolutions may be studied within the Inner Hebrides, and at nightfall their 
weird cries resound across the water—H. A. Macpuerson (Carlisle). 

Sand Grouse in Nottinghamshire.—The flock of seventy or more 
Sand Grouse which arrived here during the last week in April, 1888, 
remained until the end of October, when they left, and have not returned. 
Every care was taken of them, and as the ground suited them in every 
way, one would have thought they would have remained here. One pair 
nested, and two eggs were taken. ‘Though this has been mentioned in 
‘The Field,’ I think a notice should appear in ‘The Zoologist.’ In 
addition to this flock, four other lots were seen in different parts of the 
county.—J. Wurraxer (Rainworth, Notts). 

Conviction under the Wild Birds Protection Act.— The Society 
for the Protection of Birds during the Close Season has made a start and 


352 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


obtained a conviction at Newmarket, against a man named Fenn, of 
Isleham. The Society's officer, in July last, went to the premises of this 
birdeatcher, and there found huddled together, in all the dirty misery it 
was possible for them to be in, Blackbirds, Thrushes, Linnets, Plovers, 
and other birds, all of which had been recently captured during the close 
time. The man was convicted and fined 15s. It is to be hoped that the 
conviction will operate beneficially, and the law may continue to be 
enforced by the Society, of which we should be glad to hear more. 

Golden Oriole in Derbyshire.—A beautiful male specimen of this bird 
was shot just over the county boundary at Creswell, Derbyshire, on 
May 18th. Why will not people observe the Wild Birds Protection Act, 
and give this and other beautiful birds a chance to stay and nest here?— 
J. WH1TAKER (Rainworth, Notts). 

Great Crested Grebe breeding in Scotland.—I have this year 
discovered in the South of Scotland the nest and eggs of the Great Crested 
Grebe, Podiceps cristatus. As I am not aware that this bird has been 
recorded to breed in Scotland, a note of the occurrence may be of interest.— 
Rosert H. Reap (Cutheart, Glasgow). 

[Selby states (ii. p. 394) that this bird breeds on a few of the northern 
Scottish lakes, but does not specify any locality. This is not confirmed by 
Messrs. Harvie Brown and Buckley (p. 245), and Robert Gray, in his 
‘Birds of the West of Scotland’ (p. 405), adds nothing to this bare 
statement.—ED.|] 

REPTILES. 

Addendum to the List of Reptiles found in Barbados.—In the 
August number of ‘ The Zoologist’ (pp. 295—298) is published a list of the 
terrestrial reptiles of the island of Barbados, in which I stated that only 
one species of snake is found there. This statement has now to be modified. 
Mr. G. A. Boulenger, on examining the small collection of reptiles from 
Barbados that I submitted to him, reported that it only contained one 
species of snake, Liophis perfuscus, Cope. I was then under the impression 
that Mr. Boulenger had seen all the reptiles collected by me in Barbados ; 
but, through an oversight on my part, another small snake had got astray 
amongst some bottles containing Barbados mammals. This specimen has 
since been handed over to Mr. Boulenger, who identifies it as Stenostoma 
bilineatum, Schleg., hitherto known from Martinique and Guadeloupe. Mr. 
Boulenger remarks in a letter to me that the habits of the Stenostomatide 
being very much those of earthworms, they may easily be transported 
in mould. ‘This little snake is certainly very rare in Barbados; but its 
existence is known to some of the planters, for Mr. T. E. N. Dean, of 
St. Nicholas, mentioned to me that there was a second species of snake or 
slow-worm found in the island,—black, and a few inches long,—generally 
under heaps of decayed leaves or litter, and that the coloured people call it 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 853 


the ‘ Seven-year Snake,” as he or she who kills such a one is supposed to 
obtain remission of sins for a like period! When I obtained a specimen of 
this little reptile in Barbados I thought it was a second species of snake, 
and remained under that impression until my collection had been critically 
examined, when it proved, so far, only to contain one species, and I wrote 
accordingly (vide antea, p. 296). I have now to modify that statement, 
and to express my regret that carelessness on my part caused the omission 
of Stenostoma bilineatum from my list of Barbadian reptiles. —H. W. 
FEILpEn (West House, Wells, Norfolk). 


FISHES. 

Greater Flying-fish off the Cornish Coast.— During the second 
week of July last the crew of a fishing-boat, the ‘ Little Gleaner,’ when ten 
or twelve miles off the Lizard, on drawing their mackerel-nets, found a 
Flying-fish, E'xocetus volitans, Day, entangled in the meshes. It measured 
144 inches in length, and was in good cordition.— Marruras Dunn 
(Mevagissey, Cornwall). 

MOLLUSCA. 

Mollusca of Stourport and District.—The following list of species 
' taken by me last Whitsuntide at Stourport, may form an interesting 
addendum to what is already known concerning the molluscan fauna of 
Worcestershire :—Limnea glabra (Mill.), very plentiful in a ditch on 
Hartlebury Common ; some very large specimens also in a ditch in a field 
on the Severn side belonging to the Coney Green Farm. Planorbis 
spirorbis (Miill.), in the same ditch on Hartlebury Common, and also in 
Hillage Pool. Out of Hillage Pool I also took L. peregra (Mill.), with its 
vars. ovata (Drap.) and labiosa (Jeff.), Bythinia tentaculata (Linn.), B. leachit 
(Shepp.), Valvata piscinalis (Mill.), Ancylus oblongus (Lightfoot), Planorbis 
umbilicatus (Mill.), P. carinatus (Miull.), P. vortex (Linn.). Limnea 
palustris (Mill.), Spherium corneum (Linn.), Anodonta anatina (Linn.), 
and Unio tumidus (Phillippson). Swccinea elegans (Risso) and S. Pfeifferi 
(Rossm.) were common on the sedges round the pool. Typical specimens of 
Helix arbustorum (Linn.), with vars. pallida (Taylor) and marmorata (Poff.) 
were common at Lincombe Bay, and on a nettle-covered bank at the base 
of Stagbury Hill. At Lincombe Bay I also took fine examples of Succinea 
putris (Linn.) and S. elegans (Risso), which were living-on the nettles near 
the Severn in company with Helia sericea (Miill.), H hispida (Linn.), 
H. rufescens (Penn), H. rotundata (Miull.), Helix nemoralis var. carnea 
(Roeb. and Taylor), with band-formule of 00300 and 123(45), Helix 
hortensis var. lutea (Mogq.), with band-formule of 00000, 12345, 128(45), 
and var. albina (Moq.), with band-formule of (12345), 12345, 1(234)5, 
Hyalinia cellaria (Mill.), H. alliaria (Mill.), Clausilia rugosa (Drap.), and 
Cochlicopa lubrica (Mill.). In the “Deep Meadow” near the Severn at 
Stourport I found Succinea putris (Linn.), 8. elegans (Risso), Arion subfuscus 

ZOOLOGIST.—SEPT. 1889. 2E 


354 _ THE ZOOLOGIST. 


(Drap.), Limax levis (Mill.), Hyalinia fulva (Miull.), H. nitida (Miill.), 
Physa hypnorum (Linn.), and Carychium minimum (Mill.). In my note 
on “ Shells round London” (p. 270), Arion ater var. brunnea (Lehm.) should 
have been Arion ater var. brunnea (Roebuck).—JoszeH W. WILLIAMS 
(Mitton, Stourport). 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 


ZoouocicaL Society ofr Lonpon. 


June 18, 1889.—Prof. FLower, C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., President, in the 
chair. 

The Secretary exhibited (on behalf of Mr. J. F. Green) a very fine 
example of the Common Eel, obtained from a pond in Kent, and measuring 
upwards of four feet in length. 

Mr. B. B. Woodward exhibited and made remarks on a drawing 
representing a living example of rope kaffra, a carnivorous snail from 
the Cape Colony. Mr. Woodward also exhibited an example of a fossil shell 
from the Eocene of the Paris Basin (Neritina schmideliana), and a section 
of it showing the peculiar mode of its growth. 

Mr. Eadward Muybridge, of the University, Pennsylvania, exhibited a 
series of projections by the oxyhydrogen light, illustrative of the consecutive 
phases of movements by various quadrupeds while walking, trotting, 
galloping, &c., and of birds while flying. 

A communication was read from Professor Giglioli, containing the 
description of a new genus and species of Pelagic Ganoid fish from the 
Mediterranean, proposed to be called Hretmophorus kleinbergt. 

Lieut.-Col. H. H. Godwin-Austen read the first of a proposed series of 
papers descriptive of the land-shells collected in Borneo by Mr. A. Everett, 
with the descriptions of new species. The present paper treated of the 
Cyclostomacea. 

Capt. G. E. Shelley read a list of birds collected by Mr. H. G. V. Hunter 
in Masai-land during the months of June, July, and August, 1888. The 
collection (which Mr. Hunter had presented to the British Museum) con- 
sisted of examples of ninety-four species, seven of which were described by 
the author as new to science. 

Mr. P. L. Sclater gave a further description of Hunter’s Antelope, 
Damalis hunteri, from specimens obtained by Mr. H. C. V. Hunter on the 
river Tana, Eastern Africa. 

Mr. F. E. Beddard read a paper on the freshwater and terrestrial 
Annelids of New Zealand, with preliminary descriptions of new species. 

A communication was read from Mr. H. W. Bates, containing descrip- 
tions of some new genera and species of Coleopterous insects collected by 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 355 


Mr. Whitehead during his recent visit to Kina Balu. The collection was 
stated to comprise an unusual proportion of new and remarkable forms. 
This meeting closed the session.—P. L. Scuarsr, Secretary. 


Exromorocicatn Socrery or Lonpon. 


August 7, 1889.—The Right Hon. Lord WatsineHaM, M.A., F.B.S., 
President, in the chair. 

The Rey. John Walley, of Wuhu, China, was elected a Fellow ; 
Professor Charles V. Riley, of Washington, United States, was elected an 
Honorary Fellow in place of the late Dr. Signoret, of Paris; and Colonel 
Swinhoe and the Rev. F. D. Morrice were admitted into the Society. 

Mr. Walter F. Blandford exhibited a specimen of Cardiophorus cinereus, 
Herbst, taken at Tenby, and remarked that the species had rarely, if ever, 
previously been found in the United Kingdom. Mr. C. O. Waterhouse said 
he believed that there was a specimen in the collection of his late father 
and also another specimen in the collection of the British Museum. 

Mr. Waterhouse stated that the British Museum had just received from 
the Rev. Arthur Elwin, of Hangchow, China, a luminous larva about 14 in. 
long and 34 lines broad, which he believed to be one of the Lampyrida. 

Lord Walsingham exhibited specimens of Conchylis degreyana, M‘Lach., 
bred from seed-heads of Plantago lanceolata at Merton, Norfolk ; also a 
specimen of Tineide allied to the genus Solenobia, probably belonging to 
Dissoctena, Staud., but differing somewhat in the structure of the antenne. 
Lord Walsingham remarked that the specimen was taken by himself at Merton 
on the 31st July last, and that the species was apparently undescribed. 

Mr. Meyer-Darcis exhibited a collection of Coleoptera, comprising 
specimens of a species of Loethrus from Turkestan ; Julodis globithoraz, Stev., 
from the Caucasus; a new species of Julodis from Kurdistan ; Cardiaspis 
Mouhotii, Saunders, from Sikkim; Carabus smaragdinus, Fisch., from 
Siberia; Julodis ampliata, Mars., from Aintab, Asia Minor, and a variety 
of the same from Kurdistan; and Julodis luteogramma, Mars., from Syria, 
and a variety of the same from Kurdistan. 

Mr. H. Goss read extracts from letters from Mr. R. W. Fereday, of 
New Zealand, and Sir John Hall, K.C.M.G., relating to a number of 
Lepidoptera collected recently at sea, about half way between the River 
Plate and Rio, at a distance of over 250 miles from land, in about 30° S. 
lat. and 46° W. longitude. It was stated that the ship was surrounded by 
swarms of moths. Mr. J.J. Walker, R.N., observed that he had seen a 
large number of insects at sea about 150 miles off the coast of Brazil, and 
he referred to other records of the capture of insects at sea in Darwin's 
‘ Voyage of the Beagle,’ and Dr. Coppinger’s ‘ Cruise of the Alert.’ The 
discussion was continued by Dr. Sharp, Lord Walsingham, Mr. White, 
Mr. Kirby, and others. 


356 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Mr. E. Meyrick read a paper entitled On some Lepidoptera from New 
Guinea,” and exhibited the species therein described. He stated that 
the specimens were derived from two sources, viz. (1), a portion of the 
collection received by the Society from Baron Ferdinand von Miller, 
F.R.S., and collected by Mr. Sayer when accompanying the Australian 
Geographical Society’s Exploring Expedition; and (2), a number of speci- 
mens collected by Mr. Kowald near Port Moresby, and obtained from him 
by Lord Walsingham. 

Mr. Blandford read a letter from Mr. Wroughton, of Poona, Deputy 
Conservator of Forests, asking for assistance in working out certain Indian 
Hymenoptera and Diptera in the collections of the Bombay Natural History 
Society. Lord Walsingham, Colonel Swinhoe, and Mr. Moore made some 
remarks on the subject.—H. Goss, Hon. Secretary. 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 


Catalogue of the Marsupialia and Monotremata in the Collection of 
the British Museum (Natural History). By O.prre.p 
THomas. 8vo, pp. 400, Plates I.—XXVIII. Printed by 
order of the Trustees. 


Catalogue of the Chelonians, Rhynchocephalians, and Crocodiles 
in the British Museum (Natural History). New Edition. 
By G. A. Bouneneer. 8vo, pp. 311, Plates I.—VII. 
Printed by order of the Trustees. 


Ir is highly satisfactory to mark the steady progress which 
is being made in the preparation of the Catalogues of the 
Zoological Collections in the British Museum, and the important 
additions which are being constantly made in almost every branch 
of Zoology. 

Since the year 1843, when the late Dr. Gray brought out his 
‘ List of Mammalia in the Collection of the British Museum,’ no 
general account of the Marsupials in that collection has been 
published, whilst nearly all the other Orders of the Class have 
been made the subjects of continuous study and revision. This 
seeming neglect, as explained by Dr. Gunther in the Preface to 
the above first-mentioned. Catalogue, was chiefly due to the 
appearance in 1846 of two works, viz., Waterhouse’s standard 
work on these Mammals, which in the course of the following 


NOTICES OF NEW BOokKs. 357 


twelve years was supplemented by Gould’s ‘Mammals of 
Australia.’ Both these works had a direct relation to the col- 
lection in the British Museum, and for many years seemed fully 
to satisfy the needs of zoologists. The collection, however, grew 
apace like that of the other Mammalia, no opportunity being lost 
of making such additions as were required to complete the 
series, and the number of specimens appear now—after the lapse 
of some forty years—to be about trebled. Especially in the 
course of the last three or four years, during which time the 
‘Catalogue of the Marsupialia’ has been in progress, the col- 
lection, chiefly through the efforts of Mr. Thomas, has received 
many important additions. 

The specimens now enumerated amount to 1240 Marsupials 
and 64 Monotremes, making 1304 in all. Of this total, 173 are 
preserved whole in spirits, while the osteological collection of 
skeletons and skulls amounts to 703. Apart from the mere 
number of specimens, however, as the value of zoological col- 
lections depends so largely upon the possession of types, it is 
important to note that in the Marsupialia and Monotremata alone 
the British Museum possesses more type specimens than all the 
Continental Museums put together. Here are the figures:— 
British Museum, 74; Paris, 21; Leyden, 8; Genoa, 7; Christi- 
ania, 5; Vienna, 4; Berlin, 83; Munich and Copenhagen possessing 
only one each. This wealth of types is, no doubt, in a great 
measure due to the possession of the late Mr. Gould’s collection 
of Australian mammals (which contained not only a complete set 
of the types of the many species described by him, but also a 
fine series of all the Australian mammals he obtained) and the 
collections of Sir George Grey, from South Australia, and Mr. 
Ronald Gunn, from Tasmania. 

From this it will be seen that, in the preparation of the 
Catalogue before us, Mr. Thomas has had much valuable material 
upon which to work,—material which he has taken care to 
supplement by visiting the principal Continental Museums for 
the purpose of examining the types there, and other important 
specimens in these two Orders of mammals. The result is a 
very valuable Catalogue, useful not merely as an enumeration of 
what may be found in the National Museum, but because it 
embodies double synopses of the genera and species of the 
Marsupialia and Monotremata which will enable students to 


858 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


identify specimens either from their external characters or from 
the skulls alone. The introductory remarks on dentition, and 
upon the method of measurement adopted by the author, are well 
considered, and deserve careful perusal. 

In striking contrast with what has occurred in other groups 
of Vertebrates, the increase of known species of Cheloniangs, 
says Mr. Boulenger, “‘ has been very slight within the last well 
years.” In fact Mr. Boulenger’s Catalogue contains a much 
smaller number of species than did the late Dr. Gray’s 
‘Supplement’ to his ‘Catalogue of Shield Reptiles,’ published 
in 1870. This, no doubt, is due to the different views held by 
the writers as to what ought to constitute specific characters, and 
partly also to a better understanding at the present day of the 
amount of variation to be found within given forms. 

In the volume before us, with the title above given, we find a 
complete revision of both higher and lower groups, the synonymy 
carefully worked out, clear synopses given of the genera and 
species, with half-a-dozen well-executed plates and numerous 
woodcuts. It need scarcely be said that, embodying, as it does, 
the most recent views of classification and nomenclature, this 
volume will of necessity supersede all previous Catalogues of 
the Chelonians and Crocodiles which have emanated from the 
British Museum. 


A Catalogue of Canadian Birds; with Notes on the Distribution 
of the Species. By Monracue CuamBeruain. Sm. 4to, 
pp. 148. St. John, N.B. (McMillan, 98, Prince William 
Street). 

A Systematic Table of Canadian Birds. By Monracuz 
CHAMBERLAIN. Large 4to, pp. 14. St. John, N.B. (same 
publisher), 1888. 

AutTHouGH neither of these works can be accurately described 
as ‘“‘new books,” having lain for some months on our table, we 
have no doubt that they will be “new” to many of our readers, 
and some allowance may be made for the delay in noticing them 
on the ground of foreign publication, which generally implies 
delay in transit. 

Some authoritative work on the Birds of Canada has long 
been wanted, the very few volumes hitherto published on the 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 859 


subject being quite unimportant and not very trustworthy, the 
best perhaps being Mr. McIlwraith’s ‘ Birds of Ontario.’ Canada, 
in fact, has done nothing hitherto for Ornithology, and even the 
Reports of the Geological Survey do not help us in this direction, 
While we know in a general way what species occur there, and 
something of their distribution, many problems of much interest 
in relation to North American birds can only be settled satisfac- 
torily by means of extensive field-work and large series of 
specimens collected in the great regions north of the United 
States. It is to be hoped, and indeed expected, that for this 
research Mr, Chamberlain’s book will pave the way. He has 
furnished a carefully prepared Catalogue of such birds as are 
known with certainty to occur in Canada, and although for the 
sake of brevity he has omitted all synonyms, and even descrip- 
tions of species, some useful notes are given upon nearly every 
bird mentioned. We are not sure that it was wise to omit 
descriptions of size and general coloration, which might be-very 
briefly noted, for, although assuredly such information is to be 
found in many excellent text-books on North American birds, 
travellers and collectors as arule are not disposed to carry many 
books about with them, and to find what they want in a handy 
volume—say double the size of Mr. Chamberlain’s Catalogue— 
would be a great boon. 

The object of the present work, as stated by the author 
in his Preface, is to bring together the names of all the birds 
that have been discovered within the boundaries of the Dominion, 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and north to the Arctic Ocean ; 
to present these in the system of nomenclature and in the 
sequence now generally adopted by American ornithologists, and 
to give (briefly) the geographical distribution of each species. 

The book is nicely and clearly printed on good paper, and is 
a decidedly welcome addition to ornithological literature. 

In the ‘Systematic Table of Canadian Birds,’ by the same 
author, printed on larger paper, and on one side of the page only, 
we are enabled to see at a glance the exact position which any 
given species occupies in the scheme of classification, the 
headings of the columns—which extend across a very wide 
page—being “ Family,” ‘‘ Subfamily,” “Genus,” “‘ Subgenus,” 
‘‘ Species,” “Subspecies” (if any), and “‘ English Name.” The 
sportsman, for example, who may desire to know what “ game 


860 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


birds” are to be met with in Canada, will find a list of them— 
twenty in number—on page 6; and the wildfowler may see at a. 
glance, on page 3, what ducks, geese, and swans are likely to 
reward his search along the coast or on the inland waters. 
Thirty-five different kinds of Ducks, a dozen different Geese, and 
two species of Wild Swan, ought to tempt many an English 
sportsman to try Canadian waters. 


Report on Bird Migration in the Mississippi Valley in the years 
1884 and 1885. By W. W. Cooxs. Edited and revised 
by Dr. C. Hart Merriam. 8vo, pp. 313, and Map. 
Washington, 1888. 


Tur present Report, which has been prepared by Prof. W. W. 
Cooke, with the assistance of Mr. Otto Widmann and Prof, 
D. E, Lantz, is the first fruit of the co-operative labours of the 
Division of Economic Ornithology of the Department of Agri- 
culture and the Committee on Bird Migration of the American 
Ornithologists’ Union. It consists of two parts: (1) an intro- 
ductory portion, treating of the history and methods of the work, 
together with a general study of the subject of Bird Migration, 
including the influence of the weather upon the movements of 
birds, the progression of bird-waves and causes affecting the 
same, the influence of topography and altitude upon migration, 
and the rates of flight in the various species ; and (2) a systematic 
portion, in which the five hundred and sixty species of birds 
known to occur in the Mississippi Valley are treated serially, the 
movements of each during the seasons of 1884 and 1885 being 
traced with as much exactness as the records furnished by the 
one hundred and seventy observers in the district permit. 

The chapters entitled “ The Relation of Migration to Baro- 
metric Pressure and Temperature,” and “ A Study of the Bird- 
waves which passed up the Mississippi Valley during the Spring 
of 1884,” are worthy of the most careful perusal; and the articles 
on the Kingbird and Purple Martin, in the systematic portion of 
the Report, are particularly instructive. Indeed we feel no hesi- 
tation in expressing the belief that the present Report is one of 
the most valuable contributions ever made to the subject of 
Bird Migration. 


THE ZOOLOGIST. 


THIRD SERIES. 


Vot. XIII.) OCTOBER, 1889. [No. 154, 


A RAMBLE ROUND SIMLA. 
By J. C. ANDERSON.* 


I wit suppose that you have a short holiday in October or 
November and find yourself at Simla. The first want you will 
feel—at least I always did—was to get out of it without 
unnecessary delay: those distant snows and forests are too 
alluring. Some preparations must, however, first be made. In 
the first place, you must have dogs. Any dog with a nose will 
do, and it is strange how many dogs have noses, though few of 
them know it. A fox-terrier, or bull-terrier, trained to use his 
nose and thoroughly well in hand, is as good for this work as a 
spaniel or setter,—better I think in many respects, as he is 
lighter and not so easily fatigued on those steep rocky hill-sides ; 
on the other hand, it must be admitted, he has usually a way of 
helping himself to pheasant that has to be guarded against. The 
best dog out of a regular pack of all sorts that it fell to my lot 
to see was a tiny, mean-looking, yellow pai,—the most veritable 
cur you ever set eyes upon,—and yet with a nose that was truly 
marvellous, combined with a judgment that would have adorned 
the Bench. A shikaree, too, you will want—a man who can work 
the dogs, and who has some knowledge of the country and the 
sport to be found there. Tents, of course, if you are going to 
leave the road and the bungalow. They must be small and light, 


* From the ‘Journal of the sities Natural History Society,’ 1889, 
pp. 56—66. (SH ap 
ZOOLOGIST.—ocT. 1889. (Db : 


362 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


and, like all the rest of your luggage, capable of being carried 
on mules or on men’s backs. If you are going for a short holiday 
only, with no definite plans made for you by some friend on the 
spot, I should advise you to stick to the Thibet and Hindoostan 
high road (a pathway from three to twelve feet in width) on which 
for over a hundred miles there are good bungalows, distant some 
ten or twelve miles from each other. Shooting all that you can 
reach from these bungalows on either side of the road, you may, 
if you are keen and in good trim, cover a great quantity of very 
fairly good ground, and you will be incomparably more comfort- 
able than you could be in tents, with the thermometer at nights 
well below freezing-point. A servant, too, you must have who 
can cook, and has some experience of marching in those districts 
and knows the language of the people. And, lastly, a man who 
can skin birds. Such a man can almost always, I believe, be got 
in Simla for a salary of Rs. 15 or Rs. 20 a month, and it adds 
enormously to the pleasure of a ramble in a new country to 
be able to collect specimens as you go along. It is scarcely 
worth while in October or November taking a rod with you; but 
there is no harm in taking a small trout rod, a few flies, and one 
or two small flying spoons, which you can get at Luscombe’s, of 
Allahabad, better than anywhere else that I know of. I have not 
fished myself, being told that at that time of the year it was 
useless; but a forest officer, whom I met last November, told me 
he had just caught several small fish in the Giri, in the direction 
of the Chor (a big hill not very far from Simla), I think he said 
with a fly. If your visit should be in May or June, certainly take 
your fishing-tackle. Both in the Giri to the east and the Sutlej 
to the west the Indian Trout, Barilius bola, and Mahseer (though 
not of any great weight), are to be caught, and give good sport. 
So at least I am informed on the very best local authority. At 
that time of the year, when the upper rivers are full with the 
melting snow-water, the fish ascend the smaller tributary 
streams, and descend when the water begins to run fine again at 
the end of the rains, say in September and October, after which 
the fish must be looked for in the bigger waters in the plains 
below. I would advise you to take a rifle, though it is. quite 
possible you may find little or no use for it. It depends, of 
course, a good deal on the direction in which you go, and how 
far. If you are simply rambling round about Simla, which is all 


A RAMBLE ROUND SIMLA. 363 


that I am now supposing you to intend to do, and nearly all that 
I can myself pretend to have done, you may not possibly see a 
four-footed creature bigger than a Jackal or a Fox. By the way, 
a Simla Fox, Vulpes montanus, in autumn (and even more so in 
winter, I believe) is a beautiful creature. It has a lovely coat and 
a noble brush, and makes a very handsome rug when properly 
mounted. There are bears there, and in some places a good 
many. I have heard of as many as five being shot in one day 
close to the road. I mean the Himalayan Black Bear, Ursus 
tibetanus ; the Brown Bear of Cashmere, Ursus isabellinus, is 
very rarely, if ever now, met with in this neighbourhood, though 
I believe there was a time, not so very long ago, when it was not 
so scarce. The Barra-singh of Cashmere, Cervus cashmirianus, 
too, is another animal which used occasionally to be seen in this 
district, but has been crowded out by the multiplication of guns. 
Goral, however, Nemorhedus goral, a small species of mountain 
goat, you will find in some places, and those not far from Simla, 
pretty plentifully I believe. I have heard local sportsmen speak 
disparagingly of Goral shooting as very tame work, and, to judge 
by some accounts of it I have heard, it must often be so. My 
own experience was as small as it well could be; but the one I 
saw and shot, on the only occasion I ever went after Goral, gave 
me as pretty an afternoon’s walking and climbing on a steep hill- 
side, among oaks and ferns and rhododendrons and grand grey 
crags, as one could well wish to have. If your larder is low, you 
will not despise Goral; a saddle of Goral is by no means to be 
contemned, even if you do not strictly follow the advice a 
serjeant pensioner gave me, to be “ sure and hang it three weeks, 
Sorr.” Tahr and Burrel, and even Ibex, you may meet with if 
you go far enough ; but I will not say how far that may be. I 
never saw any of them, though I have come across “ pugs” (on 
a retired part of Hattoo, I think) which doubtless belonged to 
one or other of them,—I could not make out which from my 
shikaree. It is not your rifle, then, you must depend upon for 
your sport, but your gun. For this you may always find some 
occupation pretty well anywhere in that neighbourhood. If you 
must have big bags, you will almost certainly be disappointed ; 
if you are content with a grand day’s walk and a moderate bag, 
hardly and honestly won, you need scarcely ever be so; and of 
course it is to the pheasants that you will chiefly look to provide 
2F2 


364 : THE ZOOLOGIST. 


you with your amusement and fill your larder. Wherever there 
are trees, or even bushes, though it be on the very roadside, you 
feel you are not quite safe from one or other of that game and 
handsome family. The pheasants that you may expect to meet 
at this season of the year are practically four only, unless, 
indeed, you go somewhat further afield than I am now contem- 
plating your doing. These are the Monal, Lophophorus impey- 
anus; the Koklass or Pucras, Pucrasia macrolopha; the Cheer, 
Phasianus Wallichi; and the White-crested Kalij, Huplocamus 
albocristatus. The handsome Jewar, or so-calied ‘‘ Argus 
Pheasant” of that region, Ceriornis melanocephala, one of the 
tragopans, is still, I believe, to be met with in the higher regions 
of forest, somewhat more remote from Simla, but quite as an 
exception within the region I am now considering. It is a shy 
bird apparently, of somewhat meditative, if not gloomy dispo- 
sition, favouring the darkest depths of the remotest forests. Yet 
curiously, as pointed out by more than one writer on the subject, 
it seems to be the most easily tamed of all the Himalayan 
pheasants ; while the Kalij, which in its wild state seems scarcely 
happy far away from the sound of the human voice, is the most 
difficult to domesticate. 

The Monal and the Koklass, and specially the former, are 
distinctly forest birds, loving the dark dense forests of deodar, 
juniper, and yew ; while the Cheer and the Kalij prefer somewhat 
more open ground, interspersed with woods of pine, oak and 
rhododendron, with a thick undergrowth of bushes, ferns, and 
grasses. The Monal I have not found at a much lower elevation 
than 7000 feet; the Koklass seldom below 6000 feet ; from 5000 
or lower to 7000 feet seems to be the favourite region of the Cheer 
and the Kalij. Though all four birds are now, I believe, uni- 
versally regarded as Pheasants, you will see from a comparison 
of specimens that they differ from one another very consider- 
ably in character. There is no mistaking the Cheer, with his 
typically long tail, for anything else than a Pheasant. A cock 
Cheer in form and feature, though not in colour, differs very 
slightly from the cock Pheasant of our English covers, and is 
about the same weight, say 33 lbs. The Koklass is evidently a 
near relation, being a typical Pheasant in all respects, save that 
he is wanting in the long tail-feathers. But the Monal, with his 
gorgeous blue, green, copper, and bronze tints, his peculiar 


A RAMBLE ROUND SIMLA,. 3865 


upright crest, and his compact thickset body, and strong, short 
legs, evidently adapted for digging, is obviously as nearly related 
to the Peacocks as he is to the Pheasants ; while you have only to 
look at the tail of the Kalij to see his relationship to the next sub- 
family at the other end of the scale, viz., the Galline—comprising 
the Jungle Fowls, Fire-backs, &c. All four birds seem distinctly 
to prefer shade to sun and damp to dryness. The neighbourhood 
of running water seems almost an essential with all of them. In 
short, such as the fern is in its choice of locality, so is the 
Pheasant; the two are evidently firm friends. As with trout and 
many other fish you are pretty sure to take day after day behind 
the same stone or in the same eddy, so it was I found, not always 
for any apparent reason, with these Pheasants. There were 
certain spots, for instance, on the road from Narcanda to Bhagi 
(which, by the way, passes through one of the grandest pieces of 
forest scenery I suppose to be seen on any roadside in the world, 
where the deodars must some of them be quite 200 feet high, 
with their dark sombre green veiled in many cases from top to 
bottom in the flame-coloured leaves of the Virginia creeper). 
There were certain spots on this road where, in my visit of three 
years ago, I was sure day after day to find a bird or two, in spite 
of the fate that had overtaken their predecessors at the same 
Spot, it might be only the previous day. On visiting the same 
locality last November, there, in the very same spots, I nearly 
always found birds. The Monal, the Koklass, and the Kalij 
seem to spread themselves pretty indiscriminately over the area 
where the conditions they require are to be found. It is curiously 
otherwise with the Cheer. One little valley may hold Cheer, and 
a dozen all round, where apparently the conditions are precisely 
the same, may not hold a single one. I have heard of residents 
of Simla shooting regularly for years together all round the 
neighbourhood, and never so much as seeing a single Cheer, and 
then subsequently coming on them by chance one day in some 
place not previously shot over, though perhaps quite close to 
Simla, and always thereafter finding them in the same place year 
after year. I was fortunate enough on this last visit to Simla to 
be shown one of these haunts of the Cheer, from which three 
specimens I have were secured. The ground corresponded very 
accurately with the description of the favourite locality of the 
Cheer given by Messrs. Hume and Marshall in their well-known 


‘366 . ' THE ZOOLOGIST. 


work on the ‘Game Birds of India.’ The hill-side on which 
they were found was composed of a number of little cliffs one 
above the other, each perhaps from twenty to thirty feet high, 
broken up by ledges on which one could barely walk, thickly set 
with grass and bushes, and dotted sparingly with more or less 
stunted trees, with curious roots hanging down the little cliffs 
and long trailing arms of scarlet creeper. I had a red setter and 
three spaniels with me. The setter was put to range over the 
whole hill-side ; men were stationed at various points to mark 
down the birds while we sat on a knoll opposite and looked on, a 
deep ravine lying between. It was a pretty sight to see the dog 
working half-way up the hill. Soon there might be seen, scuttling 
up hill at an amazing pace, across the little open glades between 
one clump of brushwood and another, a family party of some five 
or six Cheer, their heads down and long tails drooping. The dog 
soon overtook and flushed them, and then all eyes were wanted to 
mark down each bird. The birds have pitched in various places, 
only a little lower than where they were flushed, having wheeled 
round to the right and left soon after they had got on the wing. 
You cross the ravine and ascend the hill on the other side. You 
find it is much stiffer work than it looked, requiring a good head 
and a careful use of your feet. At last you get to the destined 
spot below bird number one, and as close as you can conveniently 
get thereto—it may be twenty yards or it may be a hundred or 
more. You have a most insecure footing, and you are not quite 
sure that your gun going off will not remove you from it; but 
you mean to have a shot at that Cheer, though you perish in the 
attempt. The shikaree climbs up still higher to flush the bird 
with the spaniels at his heels. After a good deal of beating of 
bushes and inciting of the dogs, a great fluttering is heard over- 
head, but it may be out of sight. The next moment a mighty 
rush as of some archangel ina hurry; you spin round, let off 
your gun, and upset yourself, all in the twinkling of an eye; and 
if you get that bird it is probably, as Mr. Hume remarks, not the 
first time you have shot Cheer. If you do not get him, he is 
again marked down, probably on some lower slope of the same 
hill, where you may with perfect confidence leave him till you 
have looked up, by a similar process to that first described, the 
other birds originally flushed. It is curious how close these birds 
will sit when put up once or twice. You may leave them half an 


A RAMBLE ROUND SIMLA. 367 


hour, and find them under the very bush you saw them pitch in ; 
and you may beat that bush, or cause it to be beaten, till you are 
on the point of being convinced the bird must have gone, when 
up it gets almost under your very nose, and shoots with tre- 
mendous velocity down hill. This grand bird is, as I have already 
stated, even now very scarce in the neighbourhood of Simla, and 
I very much fear it will soon disappear altogether, its ways and 
habits laying it open to complete extinguishment more than do 
those of other Pheasants. The rest, I think, will always be 
sufficiently able to take care of themselves, a wise Government 
now protecting them in the breeding season, in common, I believe, 
with all game birds of that region. 

As to the Monal, it is more easy for me to be brief, inasmuch 
as the bird is now comparatively scarce in any easily accessible 
part of the neighbourhood of Simla, and it is certainly by no 
means true now, and of that locality, whatever may have been 
the case when “ Mountaineer” wrote (so often quoted by Mr. 
Hume and by Mr. Barnes) that ‘‘ the most indifferent sportsman 
will find little difficulty in getting the Monal.” This is because 
it has been, and is, so much shot for its gorgeous plumage, a 
small piece of which, a lady tells me, costs as much as a guinea 
or more at a fashionable West End bonnet-shop. The man I had 
with me this year to skin what I shot told me he had himself 
skinned some two thousand last season for one firm of exporters 
in Caleutta, the majority of which, I believe, came from the 
neighbourhood of the Chor —a hill some twenty miles (as the 
crow flies) from Simla, but somewhat rugged and inaccessible, 
and removed from any good road. From what little I have seen 
of this bird I can quite imagine that the best sport with it would 
be got by shooting it, as suggested by “ Mountaineer,” with a 
small rifle — such a rifle as the ‘320 or ‘380 bore, Winchester, 
and which I have lately had an opportunity of proving to be a 
wonderfully accurate and reliable little weapon. The bird has a 
habit, when first flushed by dogs, of getting into a bare branch 
of some lofty tree, and thence abusing with great loquacity the 
disturbers of its peace. While so engaged, you may approach to 
within some eighty or a hundred yards of it by using the cover of 
intermediate trees, and at that distance it affords a good mark 
for such a weapon. It is difficult to approach near enough for 
an effective shot with a gun, and the bird is so very wide-awake 


368 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


(though “ Mountaineer ” somewhat quaintly assures us that there 
is nothing of guile in its nature) that, when once on the wing, it 
seems to have a very good notion of where the guns are, and how 
they are to be avoided. I once witnessed the sight that seems to 
have impressed ‘‘ Mountaineer” so, and small wonder,—a cock 
Monal, his peacock-crest erect, sailing across a valley, with all his 
gorgeous plumage shivering and shimmering in the sun with a 
curious vibratory movement. A very living glittering rainbow it 
was,—a sight that almost took one’s breath away. I was with a 
companion who did not shoot, and would rather discourage 
shooting in others. I am happy to say, though, that he could 
play as good a knife-and-fork-game as any of our party when a 
Pheasant was on the table. ‘‘ What on earth is that?” he said. 
‘‘ Why, that is a cock Monal,” said I, somewhat testily, a bird he 
knew I very much wanted to get aspecimen of. ‘ And do you 
mean to say you would be brute enough to shoot that glorious 
thing ?” he asked; and for once I almost doubted whether there 
might not be something in what he said. 

The Kalij and the Koklass I will dismiss with but a few words, 
not because there is not much to be said about them, or that they 
are unimportant to the Simla visitor. Quite the contrary is the 
case. They will form the mainstay of your larder, and give you 
most of your sport. Both birds, if not old roosters and properly 
kept (you can hang them well nigh a week at that time of the 
year), are most excellent eating, every bit as good as an English 
Pheasant in my opinion. And both give excellent sport. ‘The 
two are found in somewhat different ground, as I have before 
stated, but the mode of shooting them is much the same. The 
guns are below, and the dogs and one or two men above. The 
ever welcome short bark, followed by a hurried “ clinking” of the 
frightened bird, is heard above; ‘‘ Ata, Sahib,” ‘‘ Ata, Sahib,” 
rings down through the trees, followed almost instantaneously 
by a rushing thunderbolt to your right or left, or coming straight 
for you out of the trees in your front; then somehow your gun 
goes off, and, if you are on the spot that morning, a crash is 
heard through the tops of the trees below you, and your faithful 
retriever is soon seen proudly wagging his tail with the bird in 
his mouth. You do not very often come across either of these 
birds collected together in more than twos or threes. Sometimes, 
however, you will be fortunate enough to light on a regular 


A RAMBLE ROUND SIMIA. 369 


“hot corner,” and have five or six down on you more rapidly 
than you can well load. These are moments to live for. The 
joy of battle is yours. Every nerve is braced, every sense strung 
at its highest pitch. You feel you are being stormed, and that 
you must rely solely on the keenness of your own eye and the 
steadiness of your pulse. Perhaps, when all is over, you smile 
at your own excitement: yet many things you may forget before 
you forget these few moments. Both these birds are amazingly 
quick on the wing, and almost invariably fly straight downwards, 
—sometimes, indeed, a bit too straight. It is as much as you 
can do sometimes to avoid being knocked down by a bird you 
have just shot. I have had the shikaree at my side bowled over 
like a ninepin, and rendered considerably foolish in this way. 
When flushed by dogs alone, both these birds will often at first, 
especially in the afternoons, perch on some tree, whence they will 
keep up their excited cackling for a considerable time. This is 
the moment of your shikaree’s reward; you give him your gun 
and he stalks ventre-a-terre (the favourite attitude of the Duke of 
Wellington, according to the French books of my youth) through 
the trees, and “pots” the bird on the bough. It is wonderful what 
eyes these men have for a bird in a tree; they will often see them 
in passing without anything having occurred to cause them to 
expect to see a bird there, and it is almost certain that their 
efforts to make you also see the bird will be altogether unavailing. 
Many and many a long day spent on their own account with just 
one cunning little dog and some old “ shooting iron” is, I fancy, 
the secret of it. On this topic, however, you will not find your 
shikaree prepared to be over confidential. 

Nearly related to the Pheasant is the Red Jungle-fowl, Gallus 
Jerrugineus. If you keep to the higher ground, 5000 feet and 
over, you will not come across this bird; but down in some of 
the valleys, especially near the rivers (if you are fishing), this 
bird, I am told, in many places gives good sport. 

We come now to the partridges. In this family there is one 
bird at least that deserves most honourable notice. This is the 
Chukor or Red-legged Partridge, Caccabis chukor, a very near 
relation of, if not identical with, our friend the ‘“‘ Frenchman,” 
Caccabis rubra. This bird will test all your powers of walking, 
all your boasted accuracy of shooting, all your endurance, and all 
your patience. Open, broken ground in the neighbourhood of 


370 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


cultivation is their favourite resort, on which, while still, they are 
exceedingly hard to see. If they were not such arrant chatterers 
they might perhaps have a comparatively great life of it. There 
must be an awful struggle for “ the last word” amongst Chukors. 
I fancy they must sometimes almost welcome the gun as an 
oceasion for changing the subject. Your shikaree takes base 
advantage of this little weakness of the Chukor (which, however, 
they only indulge in early and late in the day while feeding). He 
sends men out to mark them down very early in the morning, 
while the grey snows are still asleep, and the stars are flashing 
their last and brightest in the clear black sky. Poor fellows, 
wrapped in their blankets, how cold they seem when you come 
up with them some hour or two later, when the sun is just 
touching the hill-top! Then, directed by your watchmen, you 
begin to look up one of the coveys they have marked down for 
you, working round and below the birds, and then very quietly 
walking them up. These birds are very strong, and take a good 
deal of shot. They get up wonderfully smartly, and are off in 
every direction. If you secure a right or left, you are to be 
congratulated. Your men all over the ground are on the look-out 
to mark down the birds which almost invariably separate, and 
often go some considerable distance before they pitch in some 
bush clump of grass or scrub. You must lose no time in looking 
up each group one by one; if you have more than one gun, the 
guns should separate and divide the walk, as success in making a 
bag of Chukor depends on leaving the birds no time to regain 
their composure. Constant and rapid disturbance seems to make 
the birds a bit “ mazed,” as they say in Devonshire, and increases 
your chance. But shoot as you will, and walk as you will, probably 
you will not be too pleased with your performance when all is over 
and done,—not at least while you are still a novice at Chukor 
shooting. A Chukor, I may add, is excellent eating. The only 
other Partridge I recollect seeing on these hills is a very handsome 
little bird,—one of the wood partridges, Arboricola torqueola. It 
is essentially a forest bird. You may expect to find it where you 
would find the Pheasant. I shot one in the Bhagi forest: it was 
dusk, the bird was alone, and it flitted through the trees and 
pitched on a bare bough, some fifty yards off, in such a way that 
I almost thought it must be some species of Owl. My shikaree 
told me these birds were pretty numerous in that neighbourhood, 


A RAMBLE ROUND SIMLA. 371 


but I cannot remember having seen more than that one. Other 
Partridges, as well as Quail, are to be got in the lower regions of 
the valleys. 

The last game bird I will mention is our old friend the 
Woodcock, Scolopax rusticola. This bird is occasionally met with 
near Simla as early as the end of October or beginning of 
November, when working for the Kalij Pheasant; but it is then, 
at any rate, decidedly scarce. I do not doubt that a few weeks 
later there must be a good number of them scattered about in 
the neighbourhood, but the forest in most places is so extensive 
that the birds are hard to find. In the not very distant Kulu 
Valley, I have been told, on the best authority, that the Woodcock 
shooting in the winter is first-rate. Such, then, is the sport you 
may expect to find in a ramble round Simla. 

If time had allowed, I should like to have said something as 
to the delights there prepared for the artist and the botanist. 
Without being exactly either, your daily ramble is a continual 
feast to the eye. You are gladdened by the red and golden 
autumn tints of the chestnut, the walnut, the wild pear, and wild 
cherry; the deep dark green of the deodar is here and there 
aflame with the scarlet Virginia creeper; the soft grey of the 
steep crags, ever and anon breaking the monotony of the dark 
forest, is a perfect marvel of mosaic in purple and madder, 
carmine and orange,—scarlet, green, and ochre. Under foot it 
is well nigh in some places all fern, the maidenhair and the 
exquisite parsley fern being the most conspicuous: on the open 
hill-sides you recognize your old friend the silver-stemmed 
raspberry, and the bright yellow and scarlet clumps of the bar- 
berry ; you stoop to pick a lingering wild strawberry beautifully 
powdered with white crystals of frost, or a modest white violet, or 
mauve marguerite; and when the day’s delights are at last all 
over, and the last lingering flush has left the snows, you are back 
at your bungalow, where a roaring wood-fire awaits you; you have 
a good dinner of Welsh mutton (it is nearly as good) and roast 
pheasant, smoke the pipe of peace, muse or talk a bit over the 
cheerful flame, pile on the logs, and tumble into bed. 


372 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


ON A NEW DEER, CARIACUS CLAVATUS, FROM CENTRAL 
AMERICA.* 


By Freperick W. TRUvE. 


In Messrs. Salvin and Godman’s ‘Biologia Centrali- 
Americana, Alston enumerates four species of Deer as 
inhabitants of the region between Texas and the Isthmus of 
Panama. ‘These are Cariacus macrotis (Say), C. virginianus 
(Boddaert), C. toltecus (Saussure), C. rufinus (Bourcier et 
Pucheran). Of these, the first three belong to the subgenus 
Cariacus, as defined by Sir Victor Brooke, and the fourth to 
the subgenus Coassus. 

It is now my intention to add to the list of Central American 
Deer a fifth species, which, as I shall presently show, presents a 
superficial resemblance to the species of the subgenus Coassus, 
but belongs in reality to the subgenus Cariacus. 

The description is based upon a good series of specimens in 
the National Museum, including young and adult individuals of 
both sexes. The species never acquires branched antlers, and I 
have therefore chosen for it the name of Cariacus clavatus. 

Description.—Stature medium ; antlers simple spikes, directed 
backwards nearly in the line of the face. In general appearance 
and colour like C. virginianus. A small metatarsal gland present. 
Hoofs yellowish at the extremity. 

Male, young, summer pelage.—General colour bright chestnut. 
Head greyer than the back. A white spot on each side of the 
yhinarium, succeeded by an oblique dusky brown band, which 
reaches from the nostril to the margin of the upper lip, and is 
continued by a spot on the margin of the lower lip. Behind the 
dusky band is one of whitish grey, which is merged into dark 
grey posteriorly. The latter colour is strongly tinged with 
chestnut on the cheeks, temples, and forehead. The median line 
of the face is occupied by a dusky brown band, which extends 
backwards nearly to the line of the eyes. The forehead is 
occupied by a broad crest of long reflexed hairs, which in the 
mass are darker than those of the face. The individual hairs 
are brownish grey at the base, darker near the tip, where this 
colour is succeeded by a ring of light yellow, more or less 


¥ Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1889, pp. 417—424, 


NEW DEER FROM CENTRAL AMERICA. 373 


reddish; the tips of the hairs are dusky brown. There is a 
whitish grey ring around the eye, conspicuously lighter than the 
grey of the face. The outer surface of the ear is for the most 
part grey, but there is a rather large area of nearly pure white at 
the base of the posterior free margin, and another smaller area 
at the base of the anterior margin. The latter is continued 
inside the ear by a fringe of long white hairs, which grow shorter 
upwards, and are replaced about the tip of the ear by short hairs 
closely set. The posterior inner margin of the ear is clothed 
with short hairs, which are more or less tawny at the base of the 
ear, but white at its tip. ‘These characters are much less clearly 
observable in the summer coat than in the winter coat. In the 
former, the hair of the back of the ear is often entirely rubbed 
off, and the inner side is only scantily clothed. The back is of a 
_ nearly uniform light chestnut or tawny colour. The hairs are 
grey at the base, and grow darker above. The tips are black, 
while between this colour and the grey is a chestnut or tawny 
ring. On the flanks the basal half of the hairs is whitish, and 
the distal half pale chestnut, without a black tip. The hair on 
the buttocks is the same, but is fully 23 inches long. The colour 
of the tail above is tawny, like the back, but the hairs are dark 
brown in the basal half. The hair of the under side of the tail, 
the perineum, the scrotum, the inside of the thighs, and the 
abdomen nearly to the navel, is long and pure white. The tawny 
colour of the flanks extends without interruption over the chest. 
The median line of the breast is dusky brown. The neck is pale 
greyish chestnut, the grey colour being due to the fact that the 
grey of the lower part of the hairs is mingled with the colour of 
the upper parts of the same. ‘The jaw and throat are white, 
except that there are, as already stated, two dusky brown spots 
on the margin of the lower lip. The colour of the upper 
surfaces of the body is continued on the legs. The proximal 
half of the inside of the fore legs is pure white; but distally 
there is little difference in the colour of the inner and outer 
surfaces. The same is true as regards the distal half of the hind 
legs; the inside of the upper hind Jeg, however, is paler than 
the outside, but is not pure white. The hairs of the tarsal gland 
are pure white; of the very small metatarsal gland, scarcely 
lighter than that of the surrounding tawny-grey area, so that this 
gland is only with much difficulty to be found. 


3874 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Male, winter coat.—As in other species of Cariacus, the winter 
coat is grey instead of tawny, the general colour being that 
commonly known as ‘ pepper-and-salt.” Behind the navel, as 
far as the penis, the colour is tawny rather than pure white. The 
tarsal gland is surrounded by blackish hairs, but outside of these, 
anteriorly, there are some white hairs. The surrounding area is 
tawny-grey. On the upper side of the tail the hairs are all dusky 
brown at the base and tawny at the tip. Legs grey. 

Skull. — Compared with C. virginianus, the forehead of C. 
clavatus is flatter. The level is maintained as far as the proximal 
end of nasals, beyond which it dips down, so that the nasal bones 
are more curved than those of C. virginianus. The skull is much 
deeper in front of the eyes in C. clavatus than in C. virginianus ; 
the eyes are larger, the lachrymal bone also larger and its free 
margin more convex, while the lachrymal pit is shallower. The 
orbital processes of the frontal and malar, forming the back 
of the orbital ring, are much the broadest in C. virginianus, and 
are more transverse. The pedicels of the antlers are directed 
upwards much more in C. clavatus than in C. virginianus. The 
tube of the exterior auditory meatus is much larger in the 
former than in the latter, and extends beyond the superlying 
ridge of the squamosal, so that it is plainly seen upon looking 
down upon the skull from above. The tube of the internal 
meatus is also prolonged in C. clavatus and ends in a sharp 
point. 

Antlers.—The antlers of young males of C. clavatus are 
simple, slightly curved spikes. The burr is small and moderately 
rugose. In a young individual from Tehuantepec, No. 9442, and 
in No. 14212, the antlers are more or less triangular in section. 
In the adult males, like No. 13038 from Costa Rica, the antlers 
are slightly lyrate, considerably compressed laterally, and sharply 
pointed. The burr, though broad, is in some cases not 
distinctly marked off from the beam, and the rugosities extend 
up the anterior surface of the latter along the basal two-thirds in 
antlers which are little worn. The right antler of No. 13038 is 
deformed, the beam being bent over backwards and downwards, 
so that the tip is on a line with the burr. In No. 13040 the 
antlers are abnormal; the beams are straight, slender, and 
smooth, and are distinctly marked off from the burr, somewhat 
as in the Roebuck (Capreolus). In. No. 14212 the antlers are of 


NEW DEER FROM CENTRAL AMERICA. 375 


typical form, but the upper half has been worn perfectly smooth 
by rubbing. 

Affinities—Were it not for the difference in age among the 
specimens now before me, it might be thought that they were 
merely the young of some known species with branched antlers. 
That such is not the case becomes evident upon examination of 
the skulls. In the largest male skulls the teeth are those of the 
second or permanent set, and the crowns of the same are well 
worn. Furthermore, the sutures of the base of the skull are 
obliterated by anchylosis and the pedicels of the antlers are 
much enlarged. ‘There can be no doubt that this is the skull of 
an adult individual. 

* * # “ * * 

The question of whether C. clavatus may not be identical with 
some previously described species having simple antlers merits 
more serious attention. 

It must be taken into consideration at the outset that in 
dealing with species having simple horns we are debarred from 
employing one series of characters which are universally used in 
distinguishing between the different groups of Deer with branched 
antlers, namely, those drawn from the form of the antlers them- 
selves. While it is fitting, for example, that the species of Dama 
should be separated from the Cervus group, on account of the 
difference in the form of the antlers, if for no other reason, it 
will not, on the other hand, be logical to bring together into one 
group all species possessing simple antlers; for, on account of 
their very simplicity, these antlers lack tangible characters. We 
are forced, therefore, to turn to other parts to find the means of 
discrimination. 

It is unquestionable, I believe, that this new Deer belongs to 
the genus Cariacus, but the question as to which subgenus of 
the group it falls in remains to be answered. Our first inclination 
would be to place it in Coassus, on account of its lacking branched 
antlers, but, as we have just pointed out, it is unsafe to trust to 
this negative character. In fact, on account of other characters 
which we will now consider, C. clavatus cannot be placed in 
that subgenus. 

In Sir Victor Brooke’s Revision of the Cervide,* four 


* Proc, Zool. Soc, 1878, pp. 883—928, 


376 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


subgenera of Cariacus are recognized. ‘These are Furcifer, 
Blastoceros, Cariacus, and Coassus. The first two of these groups 
I shall be obliged in the present connection to regard as sections 
of the subgenus Cariacus, for, aside from the form of the antlers, 
I find no tangible characters in Brooke’s diagnoses by which the 
species may be distinguished from those of Cariacus. The small 
amount of material which I have been able to examine seems to 
warrant such a disposition of them. Coassus, on the other hand, 
presents many characters which distinguish it from Cariacus. In 
Sir V. Brooke’s valuable diagnoses four differential characters 
may be found. These are as follows:—In Coassus (a) the 
auditory bulle are less inflated than in Cariacus; (6b) the 
rhinarium is ample, as in Cervulus ; (c) the facial profile is more 
arched than in Cariacus ; and (d) the stature is small. In the 
first three of these characters our new species agrees with 
Cariacus rather than with Coassus. The fourth character, 
relating to stature, is perhaps scarcely worthy of consideration 
as a subgeneric distinction ; it is a matter apparently correlated 
with the small size of the antlers. To bring together our new 
Deer and the various species of Coassus, on account of their 
small size, would not be more logical than to approximate 
two large species merely on the score of their common mag- 
nitude. 

Leaving size out of consideration, therefore, C. clavatus, 
judged by the diagnoses of Sir Victor Brooke, belongs in the 
subgenus Cariacus. I now desire to bring forward three addi- 
tional characters which this new Deer possesses in common with 
the known species of the subgenus Cariacus, and which separate 
it from Coassus. 

It is pointed out by Sir V. Brooke that in the Deer of the 
New World the vomer extends backward in the nasal cavity, 
dividing it into two completely separated compartments. Upon 
examining the vomer in the different species of the subgenus 
Cariacus, C. virginianus, macrotis, &c., I find that the posterior 
end of the superior horizontal plate, while it covers the pre- 
sphenoid, does not extend over the suture between the 
presphenoid and the basisphenoid. The free posterior margin 
of vertical plate is falcate, and in old individuals the attenuated 
extremity of the same curves backward, and touches, or actually 
grows into, the surface of the basisphenoid. In Coassus, on 


NEW DEER FROM CENTRAL AMERICA. 377 


the contrary, the horizontal plate of the vomer extends back far 
enough to cover the suture between the presphenoid and 
basisphenoid, and the free posterior margin of the vertical 
plate is straight or only moderately emarginate. In C. cla- 
vatus the form of the vomer is that of Cariacus, and not of 
Coassus, 

As a second distinguishing character, I find that in all the 
species of the subgenus Cariacus the osseous walls of the external 
auditory meatus are incomplete in the centre behind, while in 
Coassus the vacuity occurs much higher up. In this, as in the 
last character, C. clavatus shows a relationship to species of the - 
subgenus Cariacus. 

The third character to which I shall call attention relates to 
the arrangement of the hair on the face. The matter of the 
arrangement of the hair, as Sir Richard Owen has somewhere 
stated, deserves more attention than it has thus far received. 
So far as my observations go, the style of arrangement is very 
constant in individuals of the same species, or in the species of 
a group. In all the Cats, for example, the hair on the nose, in 
advance of the eyes, has the tips directed forwards. In all 
species of Bovine which I have examined the hair immediately 
bordering the muffle or rhinarium is reflexed, but that imme- 
diately behind has the tips directed forwards. In the horse, as 
is well known, there ig invariably a leng and very definitely 
marked “ part” in the hair on the flanks, immediately in front of 
the hind leg. Examples of this kind might be greatly multiplied, 
but it may suffice in this place to say that, considering the con- 
stancy in the position and form of these “parts ” and divisions 
of the hair, there is, I believe, no reason why they may not be 
trusted as indications of relationships. 

In all the species of the subgenus Cariacus I find that the 
hair on the median line of the head is directed backward 
without interruption. In Coassus, on the contrary, there are in 
the median line two “poles,” or points from which the hair 
radiates in every direction. One “pole” is on the crown, and 
the second about midway between the eyes and the rhinarium. 
In front of the second pole the tips of the hair are directed 
forwards to the nostrils. In C. clavatus the arrangement is 
that of the subgenus Cariacus, the tips of all the hairs in the 

ZOOLOGIST.—ocT. 1889. 24 


378 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


median line of the face being directed backwards without inter- 
ruption. 

From the facts adduced it is, I think, proven that our new 
Deer must be regarded as a species of the subgenus Cariacus, 
with simple horns. We may, therefore, consistently omit all 
further comparisons with the various species of Coassus. ‘There 
is, however, one species with which our new Deer might be 
thought to have close relationship, or to be identical. This is the 
Cervus capricornis of M. de Saussure, described in the ‘ Revue et 
Magasin de Zoologie.’ * 

The substance of M. de Saussure’s account of this Mexican 
Deer is briefly as follows :—While hunting he saw, but did not 
obtain, a Deer of about the size of C. mexicanus, armed with 
large, curved spikes. He at first considered this to be a young 
Mexican Deer, but was afterwards informed by the native hunters 
that it was well known to them under the name of Venado 
cuernicabra. They also stated that it was rare, and that it never 
had branched antlers. Before leaving the country he obtained a 
single right antler, with a portion of the skull attached, which he 
believed to belong to this species. 

His description of this antler is as follows:—“‘I] mesure 
0°200m., selon la corde de sa courbure; il est trés-divergent, 
trés-arqué, et n’a qu'une seule courbure qui regarde en haut et 
en dedans; sa base est trés-noueuse, sa couronne médiocre, et la 
seconde moitié de la corne est comprimée, assez épaisse. De 
plus, ce bois n'est pas gréle, comme les dagues des jeunes; il a 
plutot le caractére de la vieillesse.” 

That this antler did not belong to an individual of our C. 
clavatus is, I believe, quite certain. The terms “ trés-divergent”’ 
and “ trés-arqué ” do not apply to the antlers of our species, but 
to the dag-antlers of C. virginianus and other species of Cariacus 
with branched horns. Furthermore, the length of the antler in 
a straight line is greater than that of the antlers of our oldest 
C. clavatus. It is a matter of interest in this connection, that 
among the antlers in the collection of the National Museum is 
one from Orizova, which corresponds almost exactly to M. de 
Saussure’s description, and furthermore has upon it the original 
label of the collector, bearing the words ‘‘ Venado cuernicabra.” 


* 2nd ser. x1i, 1860, p. 252. 


NEW DEER FROM CENTRAL AMERICA. 379 


This antler certainly does not belong to our C. clavatus, but 
appears to be a dag-antler of the Virginia Deer, of which we 
have many in the collection. 

Our species differs from Cariacus yucatanensis (Hays) (= C. 
acapulcensis, Caton), in the presence of a metatarsal gland, and 
in the size and form of its antlers. The latter species, according 
to Mr. Hays, does not change its colour, which is not true of C. 
clavatus. ‘There is in the collection of the National Museum a 
male Deer labelled C. gymnotus, which was presented by the 
Zoological Society of Philadelphia, and was supposed to have 
been derived from South America. It is not clearly distinguish- 
able from C. yucatanensis, and also agrees in colour with the grey 
form of our C. clavatus. From the latter, however, it is distin- 
guished by the absence of a metatarsal gland, and by its forked 
antlers. It is also much darker on the face and back, while the 
insides of the legs are whiter. The hairs surrounding the tarsal 
gland are white, and the hair posterior to the navel has the points 
directed backwards, while in C. clavatus they are directed forwards. 
The hoofs are black throughout in this specimen, but in C. 
clavatus they are yellow horn-colour at the extremity. 

It seems to me improbable that Cariacus toltecus (Saussure) is 
identical with C. yucatanensis, but rather with C. sartorit (Sauss.) 
(=Coassus rufinus, B. & P.). At all events none of these 
nominal species appear to have any close relationship to our 
C. clavatus. 

From the specimens in the National Museum it appears that 
the range of C. clavatus extends at least from the province of 
Tehuantepec, in Mexico, to Costa Rica; but its presence in 
Yucatan, British Honduras, and Nicaragua has not been ascer- 
tained. There are no specimens from the Pacific Coast of Central 
America, and it is improbable that the species occurs there. 

Measurements of two mounted skins of C. clavatus, in milli- 
metres.—Catalogue No. 16075: locality, E. Honduras ; collected 
by C. H. Townsend in 1887. Sex, ¢: height at shoulder, 782 ; 
length of head, 246; of ear from behind, 130; calcaneum to top 
of hoof, 312 ; tail with hairs, 239 ; top of front hoof to knee, 199 ; 
depth of hind hoof in front, 37 ; antler from behind, 88: young. 
—Catalogue No. 16076: sex, ?: shoulder, 685; head, 230; ear 
from behind, 132; calcaneum to hoof, 306; tail with hairs, 238 ; 


front hoof to knee, 199; hind hoof in front, 34: young. 
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NOTES AND QUERIES. 


MAMMALIA. 


The so-called Mus hibernicus,—We have read with interest Mr 
Southwell’s notes (p. 321) on the singular Rats captured at Norwich, and are 
quite inclined to think with him that there would appear to be combined 
in them the characters of Mus decumanus and Mus alexandrinus, or 
Mus rattus. We have, however, no hesitation in saying that they are not 
the Mus hihernicus of Thompson. Since the account was written by 
Mr. Clarke for the ‘Fauna of the Outer Hebrides,” we have examined 
about a score of specimens—chiefly in the flesh—of Mus hibernicus, and 
propose shortly to give the readers of ‘The Zoologist’ the results of our 
examinations and other investigations. Meanwhile we should be glad to 
receive information on the occurrence of Mus hibernicus, or of black varieties 
of the Common Rat, Mus decumanus, from any part of the British Isles.— 
Wo. Eacie Crarxe and Greratp Barrert-Hamitron. 


Natterer’s Bat in North Oxfordshire.—Since the appearance of the 
Editor’s article (p. 241) on the distribution of Natterer’s Bat in Great 
Britain I have discovered the existence of this species in a new locality. 
The church here is inhabited by a considerable number of bats, which are 
not infrequently observed by the congregation flitting about the edifice 
during evening service. These bats annoy our parish clerk considerably. 
Not long ago he was complaining to me of the mess they made in the 
church, and I asked him to bring me any he happened to catch. He said 
he would, but explained that they dwelt during the day in an inaccessible 
hole in the roof of the nave, and also that a raid made upon them by night 
some time ago with ladders and bat-fowling nets had been almost entirely 
unsuccessful. The Barn Owl usually rears its young in the belfry, and no 
doubt keeps down the number of the bats to some extent; but this year 
I have not noticed them. Jackdaws and Starlings inhabit the spire, 
and the Sparrow is of course quartered on the building. The only bat 
I have hitherto received from the church was brought to me on August 6th, 
having been captured, just before 6 p.m., while flying about the church- 
yard among the elms and pollard ashes which stand rather thickly on 
the south side. Showers had fallen during the day, but it was a sunny 
afternoon. It proved to be a male specimen of Natterer’s Bat, and I can 
add that my identification has been confirmed by Mr. J. E. Kelsall, who 
has kindly examined the skin. Bloxham is about fifteen miles, as the crow 
flies, from Charlton-on-Otmoor, the other Oxfordshire locality of which 
I sent the Editor notice. The flight of this bat, during the evening it 
lived in my room, was easy and direct, but rather slow. It refused house- 


382 THE zZOOLOGIS‘T. 


flies,—the only insects at hand,—vut drank eagerly of water offered on the 
tips of my fingers, which it carefully licked with its tongue. The disposition 
of Natterer’s Bat is rather fierce, and, having bitten, it retains its grip with 
the tenacity of a bulldog. Having fastened on my finger, and been lifted 
up by it, on one occasion, it hung suspended by its teeth for fully a minute. 
It had a shrill, angry squeak, always uttered when it was touched. Although 
apparently adult, it measured only 9-5 in. in expanse of wings; head and 
body, 1:9 in.; head alone, ‘6 in.; ears, ‘6 in.; tragus, ‘4 in.—O. V. APLIN 
(Bloxham, Banbury). 


Food of the Long-eared Bat.—In the article on Natterer’s Bat (p. 244) 
reference was made to the slight knowledge we possess of the particular 
kinds of insects usually preyed upon by the different species of bats in the 
British list. I have lately been able to satisfy myself that the large-bodied 
moths, the wings of which are so often found strewn about the haunts of these 
animals, are eaten especially by the JLong-eared Bat. At Great Bourton, 
the seats in a summer-house were regularly strewn with moths’ wings, and, 
although unable to catch a bat in the building, I felt pretty sure that it was 
this species, which was very common there. This summer a friend here 
told me of the number of moths’ wings which he found regularly in a small 
empty outhouse in his garden, and one evening, about the end of July, while 
we were sitting in the garden, about nine o’clock, we watched two or three 
bats hawking for insects (probably Lepidoptera, for border and bed were 
ablaze with attractive flowers), and occasionally disappearing in the direction 
of the outhouse. On this occasion again I followed the bat, and captured 
an example of V. auritus which was fluttering about the roof. I may add 
that, as far as I know, bats do not roost in either of the buildings here 
referred to, but merely retire to them to eat the prey they have caught. 
In my experience in this neighbourhood, the Buff Ermine (Spilosoma 
lubricepeda), Yellow Underwing (Triphena), and Silver Y (Plusia gamma), 
are more extensively eaten by bats than any other moths.—O. V. APLIN 
(Bloxham, Banbury). 


CETACEA. 


Delphinus albirostris in the River Colne.—On the 11th September 
last a man coming up the river Colne above Wyvenhoe, Essex, came upon 
seven Porpoises in the shallows of the river, the tide being out. He managed 
to drive one on shore, and plunged his pocket-knife into its chest as near as 
he could judge to the heart ; eventually killing it he brought it home. I soon 
after saw it, and found that it was a female specimen of the White-beaked 
Dolphin, Delphinus albirostris, measuring 6 ft. 5 in. in length. This I at 
once secured, and offered it to the British Museum, as I thought ita pity 
so good an example of this uncommon species should be destroyed. The 
Museum authorities having declined it, I suppose it must go to the 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 383 


melting-pot. This is the first specimen I have seen in this country. Since 
writing the above I have obtained some other particulars. It appears that 
Mr. Barton, of Alresford Lodge, was informed by the pilot at the railway 
bridge at Alresford that there was a school of Porpoises near his house. He 
shot at several of them from a punt with his rifle, and managed to capture 
two. One was 9 ft. 6 in. long, and the other 6 ft., both being females. 
Another which he shot at got into deeper water, and was picked up next 
day by Harry Barr, a fisherman at Wyvenhoe; this was 9 ft. 6 in. long, the 
sex not noted. The crew of the yacht ‘ Valfreyia’ captured a fourth, also 
full-grown, and of this I sent a note. The fifth came into my possession ; 
it was captured by Abraham Collins, of Colchester, and, as I have men- 
tioned, was a female 6 ft. 5 in. long. So that out of a school of seven or 
nine,—my informant is not quite clear on this point,—five were killed. 
None of our fishermen have ever noticed similar specimens before, and they 
all mention the peculiar white beak and belly as distinguishing marks.— 
Hewry Laver (Colchester). 


BIRDS. 


Breeding of Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Britain in 1889.— At the 
meeting of the Biological Section of the British Association at Newcastle- 
on-Tyne, on Thursday, the 12th of September, Professor Newton made 
some remarks “ On Syrrhaptes paradowus as a native of Britain,” exhibiting 
a specimen of one which could not have been more than two or three days 
old. This bird was caught in the North of Scotland on the 8th of August 
last, and was received by Professor Newton the next day. He also exhibited 
a drawing of the same by Mr. Frohawk, which will be reproduced in 
illustration of the paper he has in preparation for ‘The Ibis. The 
specimen has been beautifully mounted for the owner by Mr. Cullingford, 
of the Durham University Museum, and Professor Newton stated that, so 
far as he knew, it was the first that had been seen by ornithologists. 


Sand Grouse in Fifeshire.—Mr. P. Henderson, of 20, Barrack Street, 
Dundee, writing on August 19th, says ;—‘‘ The Pallas’s Sand Grouse are 
still on Tent’s Muir, Fifeshire. I have seen them several times: they are 
not in packs, as they were last season, but mostly in pairs, and I think 
some of them must have bred there. The parties in charge, however, are 
very reticent in the matter, and I have not been able as yet to get any 
definite information on this point.” 


The King Eider (Somateria spectabilis) as a Norfolk Bird.—For 
many years this species had been included in the Norfolk lists, on the 
authority of Mr. Lilly Wigg, who stated that a female King Duck was 
killed on Breydon Broad on the 25th July, 1813. The occurrence is 
mentioned in a MS. book, in the possession of Sir J. D. Hooker, entitled 


$84 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


‘Memoranda touching the Natural History of Yarmouth and its environs,’ 
by Sir William Jackson Hooker, Thomas Penrice, Esq., Mr. Lilly Wigg, 
Rev. Joseph Burrell, Rev. R. B. Francis, and Dawson Turner, Esgq., 
extending from 1807 to 1840. The entry is as follows:—‘ King Duck. 
A female shot on Breydon, July 25th, 1813,” and is initialled “D. T.” 
Hunt, who was a Norfolk man, and generally referred to any rarity in his 
native county which came under his notice, does not mention this 
occurrence in his ‘ British Ornithology’ (title-page dated 1815), nor does he 
include the species in his list of Norfolk birds contributed to Stacy’s 
‘History of Norfolk’ (1829). Messrs. Sheppard and Whitear do not 
mention it in their “Catalogue of Norfolk and Suffolk Birds,” printed 
in the ‘ Transactions of the Linnean Society,’ and read in 1824 and 1825. 
The first published notice of the occurrence with which I am acquainted 
occurs in the ‘Sketch of the Natural History of Yarmouth and its Neigh- 
bourhood,’ by the brothers Paget, published in 1834; and here, strange to 
say, although the King Hider is mentioned in precisely the words above 
quoted from the Hooker MS., no mention is made of the Common Hider, 
which must have been known to the authors of the ‘Sketch’ as an 
occasional winter visitant. From that time the King Duck appeared 
unquestioned in all the lists of Norfolk Birds up to, and including, 
Mr. Stevenson’s “Sketch of the Ornithology of Norfolk,” in White’s 
‘Directory’ of the county, published in 1864. In 1879 I edited a new 
edition of Lubbock’s ‘ Fauna of Norfolk,’ and after due consultation with 
Mr. Stevenson and other authorities on Norfolk birds, I thought it best, 
although reluctantly, to append a note (foot-note 149, pp. 161—2), calling 
attention to the extremely unsatisfactory claim of this species to a place in 
the Norfolk avifauna. In addition to the very improbable date (July 25th) 
of the alleged occurrence, Mr. Stevenson very rightly remarks, “In the 
days before Yarrell, I question if Wigg, or any one at Yarmouth, would 
have recognised the female of the King Hider as distinct from the more 
common species,” and with regard to another of Mr. Wigg’s rarities, he 
also calls attention to the fact that “ Lilly Wigg was not an ornithologist 
proper, and yet three of the rarest and most questionable species in the 
Norfolk list rest almost entirely on his authority—the Red-breasted Goose, 
the Harlequin Duck, and the King Eider.” Mr. Stevenson has retained 
the Red-breasted Goose for reasons which will be found in the ‘ Birds of 
Norfolk’ (vol. iii. pp. 39—41), but I had no hesitation in following the 
authority of his last list in White’s ‘ Norfolk’ (edit. 1883), from which both 
the latter birds are omitted; Somateria spectabilis will therefore only be 
found mentioned in a foot-note at p. 192 of the forthcoming third volume 
of the ‘ Birds of Norfolk.’ In the autumn of last year the Rev. Julian G. 
Tuck kindly favoured me with some valuable notes on the birds observed 
by him at Hunstanton, and mentioned a young male Hider which he saw 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 885 


in a case ata fish-shop in that town, and which he said appeared to him 
to differ from other Hiders which he had seen, and especially from a 
young male Common Hider in his own collection, but as he had no books 
of reference with him he made a mental note of it as “a rather dark and 
small Eider,” and suggested that it might possibly be an example of the 
King Eider. I had an opportunity of examining this bird in the last week 
of July,—-unfortunately after my article on the Hider for the ‘ Birds of 
Norfolk’ had been printed,—and was delighted to find it a young male 
Somateria spectabilis. I lost no time in purchasing the specimen, which 
I have presented to the Norwich Museum, where I trust it will long remain 
en evidence. The bird was shot off Hunstanton about the middle of January, 
1888, and was stuffed by Mr. Clark, of Snettisham, for Mr. Osborne, of 
whom I purchased it. It was seen alive on several occasions by the Hun- 
stanton gunners, among others by Mr. Tuck’s correspondent, Mr. B. Bowler 
(see ‘ Zoologist,’ 1888, p. 148). There can therefore be no question as to 
its identity, and it gives me great pleasure to restore the species to a place in 
the Norfolk list on such satisfactory evidence.—T. SouraweEtt (Norwich). 


The Extinct Starling of Reunion.—Referring to Mr. Sharpe’s remarks 
on this bird (p. 810), I fear there is remarkably little ground for hope that 
Fregilupus varius will ever be seen in the flesh again. ‘Thirty years is too 
long a time for any bird, particularly a very tame one, to have survived 
unnoticed on an island only ninety miles long, with a considerable French 
population, many of whom shoot, and a good number are constantly on the 
look-out for birds of value. Early in 1875 I passed a month in Réunion, 
with the express view of investigating this and other matters. It was then 
believed that the bird might still be found in the forests of the interior 
(although it had not been heard of for fifteen years); wherefore I availed my- 
self of the services of the best native “chasseurs,” and made trips of several 
days’ duration into the most promising forest regions, from about 300 ft. to 
nearly 6000 ft. above the sea. The French Colonial Government kindly gave 
me every facility, and authorized me to obtain any specimens I desired,— 
although it was during the close season,—with their usual courtesy, such as 
no naturalist, British or foreign, of however high reputation, could hope to 
meet with in this country. I made the minutest enquiries, wherever I 
went, of any one likely to throw the least light on my search. I explored 
the greater part of the island, sufficiently closely to be able to make a 
tolerably complete and exact map of it; and when I left, it was with the 
conviction that Fregilupus varius was undoubtedly a thing of the past. 
Certainly this conclusion was only arrived at upon negative evidence; but, 
after the lapse of nearly fifteen years more, nothing has occurred to shake 
it, and now I do not expect to hear of anything that will. Mr. Sharpe will 
excuse me if I correct a small verbal error in his article from ‘ Nature,’ as 
reprinted in ‘The Zoologist’ (1889, p. 811), viz., “ Necropsar rodericanum, 


386 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Sclater,” should be “ Necropsar rodericanum, Slater” (see Phil. Trans., vol. 
elxviii. p. 427).—Hewnry H. Srater (Irchester Vicarage, Wellingborough). 


Great Crested Grebe breeding in Scotland.—The nest referred to in 
my last communication (p. 852) was found early in June, floating amongst 
the sedgy grass on the edge of a small islet on a broad sheet of water, on 
which were Coots, Ducks, and other water-birds. It contained three eggs, 
stained a deep yellow-brown. Although quite warm they were entirely 
uncovered in the nest. One old bird, probably the male, was swimming 
and diving some distance off, and later on was joined by its mate. Most 
of its time appeared to be spent under water, and when it came to the surface 
it was interesting to see how quickly it would glance around in every 
direction, and at the same time expand the curious ruff or tippet around its 
neck and erect the two feathery horns on its head. Another pair were 
breeding in the vicinity; and a Glasgow birdstuffer informs me that he 
has obtained birds in Scotland during the breeding season for the past two 
or three years, so that this is probably not the first year they have bred in 
this country.— Roper H. Reap (6, Osborne Villas, Cathcart, Glasgow). 

[Mr. Harvie Brown writes that he has long considered the fact of the 
Great Crested Grebe nesting in Scotland to be well established, and is 
himself acquainted with Scottish localities where it breeds. He thinks Mr. 
Read is quite right in withholding indication of the precise spot wherein he 
found the nest above referred to, and although he is not aware that this 
bird breeds anywhere in Sutherland or Caithness, he is of opinion that the 
“ northern Scottish lakes ” of Selby (ef. antea, p. 352) include an area “ suffi- 
ciently explicit for the information of naturalists, or at all events for publica- 
tion.” We quite agree with him that it is not always desirable to make 
known the precise haunts of birds which are sufficiently rare to attract the 
attention of unscrupulous collectors, but we think that the county at least 
might be specified, as being more explicit than Selby’s expression, “a few 
of the northern Scottish lakes,” and yet sufficiently vague to prevent the 
possible and probable destruction of the breeding birds.—Ep.] 


Great Crested Grebe breeding in Scotland.— With reference to 
Mr. Read’s note (p. 852) regarding the breeding of the Great Crested 
Grebe in Scotland, may I draw attention to Mr. Angus’s communication 
published in the ‘ Transactions of the Glasgow Natural History Society’ for 
1885—86 (vol.i., new series, p. 385), in which he mentions having seen on 
two lochs in Aberdeenshire nests and eggs of this species—at least I infer 
they ‘were of this species, but I may be mistaken. I am much interested 
in Mr. Read’s note, as I have on several occasions during the last half-dozen 
years seen Great Crested Grebes during the breeding season on more than 
one loch in the East of Scotland, and have little doubt the birds were 
breeding, though I have hitherto failed to obtain such substantial proof as 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 387 


Mr. Read is able to adduce—namely, the discovery of the nest and eggs.— 
Wirutam Evans (184, Morningside Park, Edinburgh). 


Eared Grebes in Norfolk.—In ‘ The Zoologist’ for 1884 (p. 488), and 
in the volume for 1885 (p. 480), I reported Hared Grebes, Podiceps nigri- 
collis, Brehm, as having been sent me from Hunstanton. Mr. Southwell 
wrote to me asking me to look carefully at them, and pointing out the 
difference in the wing of this bird and the Sclavonian Grebe, Podiceps 
auritus, Linn. (vide Saunders, ‘Manual of British Birds,’ p.708). Further 
inspection showed that while one (that of 1884) was a genuine Hared Grebe, 
the other was a Sclavonian Grebe, which is a much more common bird in 
Norfolk.—Jutian G. Tuck (Tostock Rectory, Bury St. Edmunds). 

(It is unfortunate that the specific name of auritus bestowed by Linneus 
should be found to appertain, not to the Hared Grebe, but to the Sclavonian 
Grebe, which until lately has been generally known as Podiceps cornutus. 
The Eared Grebe, it seems should be distinguished as P. nigricollis of 
C. L. Brehm.—Eb.] 


Black-winged Stilt in Nottinghamshire.—I have lately purchased 
for my collection, from Mr. J. Cording, taxidermist, of Cardiff, a fine 
specimen of this rare bird. It was shot on the banks of the Trent, near 
Nottingham, by Mr. White, in January, 1888.—Diesy S. W. NicHoLi 
(Cowbridge). [An unusual date surely for this species.—Ep.] 


The Food of Albatrosses, their Measurements, and Geographical 
Range.—In consequence of our conversation about Albatrosses, I have put 
down a few memoranda of my own experiences of them. With regard to the 
food of Diomedea exulans, I caught several of these during my voyage to 
Australia in the sailing-ship ‘ Anna Robertson,’ in the year 1851, and skinned 
and dissected them. Without exception, I found in the stomach the beaks of 
large cuttle-fish, apparently Calamaries. The beaks were quite as large as 
those of large Octopi, 4ft. long, which I have dissected; and I have frequently 
seen the birds lift some large object from the water, which might well 
have been the animals to which the beaks belonged. A living specimen of 
Diomedia melanophrys, which I kept for some time and brought home, and 
gave to the Zoological Society, would eat nothing but fish not salted, but 
he survived a fast of about six days of the voyage, when no fresh fish was 
procurable. It was December when I passed from the longitude of the Cape 
of Good Hope to Cape Leeuwin, about the latitude 48° to 45°, and we saw 
but few Albatrosses till we got to lat. 40°. The first we saw were, I suppose, 
D. melanophrys, aud then others of the allied forms, such as D. cylminata, 
D. chlororhyncha, and also the Sooty Albatross, and Giant Petrel. The 
number of D exulans increased the further south we went. We had a 
succession of cyclones, and the birds were in every case caught during the 
calm preceding the cyclone. No young ones were caught, and all were in 


388 THE ZOoLOGistT. 


the plumage of the fourth year, fully adult. I have never seen any 
mention of the beautiful rose-coloured powder which covers the white parts 
of the adult or nearly adult D. exulans in December; this comes off on a 
handkerchief, but is evanescent, or rather it changes to a dirty brown 
colour in the preserved skin. In this respect it resembles, to a certain 
extent, the rose-colour of Caccatua leadbeateri, and that on the breast of the 
Great Red Kangaroo of Australia in the breeding season, though the fading 
in these animals is less than in the Albatross. The beak is also of a delicate 
rose-colour at the same scason. ‘The furthest north I have ever seen any 
Albatross is abont 5° or 6° north of the Cape of Good Hope. Diomedea 
melanophrys reached this latitude inthe autumn in 1885, and the Sooty 
Albatross a degree or two further south, and I have seen ata distance 
during the winter D. exulans in Table Bay; but I believe they occur 
further north. With regard to the expanse of wing of these birds, I have 
never measured an Albatross which was above 11 ft.—-I think the exact 
measurement was 10 ft. 10 in.—in the expanse of the wings; but I have 
been confidently assured by others that they have measured some as much as 
14 ft., and in one instance I was told of one which was 17 ft. across the 
extended wings. I have but little confidence in these measurements. Ifa 
giant race of these birds exists, I suspect it is in the neighbourhood of Cape 
Horn, as all the accounts of them referred to specimens from that locality.— 
W. A. SanrorD (Nynehead Court, Wellington, Somerset). 


Fulmar on Rathlin Island.—I have received information from Mr. 
Gage, the owner of Rathlin Island, that on Sept. 2nd an adult specimen of 
the Fulmar Petrel was caught alive on the east side of that island, and 
was brought to him. ‘This bird is sufficiently rare here to be worth 
recording.—Robert Patrerson (1, Windsor Park Terrace, Belfast). 


Tengmalm’s Owl in Suffolk—While staying lately with my brother- 
in-law, the Rector of Thorington, Suffolk, I heard that a young keeper in 
his parish had got the smallest Owl he had ever seen, which he had trapped 
in the parish, and of which he thought a great deal. On going to see it, 
I found it to be a very good specimen of Tengmalm’s Owl, and very fairly 
set up by a local taxidermist at Lowestoft. It was trapped on a pole on 
Jan. 15th, 1889, by an intelligent young gamekeeper named William 
Haylock in Hally Hills Wood, in the parish of Thorington, near Hales- 
worth, in Suffolk. The property belongs to Major Bence Lambert, and he 
not caring to have it preserved, gave it to the young keeper, who values it 
much. Thorington being within a few miles of the east coast, I should 
think there was ro doubt of its being a genuine immigrant.—Arraur P. 
Morass (Britford Vicarage, Salisbury). 


Notes from South Wales.—The following notes may be of some 
interest as showing the birds which probably breed in one of the least 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 889 


requented parts of what may be termed the “ Highlands of South Wales.” 
On June 4th last, a party of four, we left Brecon, on a trip to the Brecon- 
shire Van Mountain, which lies some seventeen miles in a westerly direction 
from this town. The route follows the well-wooded valley of the Usk, 
almost to its source, and the day being brilliantly fine, the summer song- 
birds were heard to advantage, and we identified among others the notes of 
the Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Wood Wren, and Tree Pipit, the last 
named being common. At an altitude of eleven hundred feet, the ascent of 
the mountain began, and from that point, where the woodland birds were 
replaced by those of the moor, we took note of every species seen up to a 
height of nearly two thousand feet, where we reached a small lake on the 
mountain side. At this elevation the only bird seen was the Meadow 
Pipit, though the Dipper, Sky Lark, and Carrion Crow occurred nearly as 
high, and a little lower the note of the Raven was heard, and soon after 
a pair of these birds were seen. I was directed by a shepherd to a rocky 
glen where a pair of Ravens nested yearly; although not more than thirty 
feet from the ground, the nest was, as the man described it, ‘in a very 
awkward place to climb to.’ The young had, of course, already left the 
nest, which was snugly placed on a ledge of rocks, and was built of ivy- 
sticks. I also saw on the mountain-side a small hawk, which I believe was 
a Merlin, the Red Grouse, Snipe, Ring Ouzel, Wheatear, Curlew, and, on 
a rocky stream, the Grey Wagtail, and several Common Sandpipers, which 
apparently had nests near at hand. The Sandpiper, although common in 
April on the lower portions of the Usk, seems for the most part to move 
up to the moorland streams to nest. The Yellow Bunting, Wren, Linnet, 
Stonechat, and Pied Wagtail complete the list of birds observed in this 
upland district.—E. A. Swarnson (Brecon). 


Colourless Eggs of the Twite.—My attention was called last June 
to a clutch of six eggs of the Twite, Linota montium, of a pure white 
colour and perfectly fresh. On blowing them, I found the shells firm, and 
they all contained what I suppose should be the proper proportion of yelk 
and white. That afternoon we found several nests of this species containing 
seven eggs, while clutches of six were common.—C. KE. Srorr (Lostock, 
Bolton-le-Moors). 


Garganey and other Birds in Warwickshire. —I have recently 
received strong presumptive evidence of the Garganey breeding in War- 
wickshire this summer in the shape of—I am sorry to say—a freshly- 
skinned drake, which had been shot on one of the canal reservoirs in the 
south of the county. It was observed on the 21st June, while flying round 
at a low elevation over a thick bed of rushes, close to the edge of which it 
presently alighted, and was immediately shot. It came into my hands a 
few days later. Early the next morning another bird, supposed to be the 


390 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


duck, was observed close to the same spot, but fortunately was not molested. 
Considering the late date in the season at which the drake was killed, I am 
in hopes that a young brood was already hatched out, in which case they 
would of course do well under the charge of the duck alone. Compared 
with a very fine adult male procured at Surlingham, Norfolk, on the 2nd of 
April, 1852, the Warwickshire specimen is a less conspicuous bird. It is, 
indeed, considerably advanced in its summer “eclipse” moult. The long 
graceful scapular feathers, with their sharply contrasted distinctive black 
and white markings, have been entirely lost, and most of the flank feathers, 
delicately vermiculated with black and white, are replaced with others of a 
dark brown colour, with paler edges. The white of the under parts below 
the lower breast is obscured by a wash of brownish buff, and the breast is 
less distinctly marked, a considerable number of new long-edged feathers 
having made their appearance in this portion of the plumage. No change of 
colour has taken place in the head and neck, but the feathers in those parts 
were rather loose. Two pairs, at least, of Great Crested Grebes were 
bieeding on the water at that time, two nests, containing one and three 
eggs respectively, having been discovered. One of these eggs is now in my 
possession. I consider these a little late, for on another pool I have known 
young Grebes one-third grown by that date; but, on the other hand, I have 
also known the young only just hatched by the middle of July. Four or five 
Black Terns frequented the reservoir for a few days about the 20th June; 
one which was shot is a young bird of the previous year. Some Common 
Terns were also observed about that time, also a large Gull. Coots were 
breeding in considerable numbers. Now, to avoid any misunderstanding, 
and perchance rebuke also, I may as well say at once that I had nothing 
whatever to do, either directly or indirectly, with the death of the birds here 
recorded. But, while greatly regretting and deprecating their destruction, 
I do not think that any good end would be served by withholding a record 
of their occurrence from other ornithologists. Since it appears from the last 
edition of ‘ Yarrell,’ and Mr. Howard Saunders’s ‘ Manual,’ now in course 
of publication, that Norfolk and Suffolk are the only counties in which the 
Garganey has been known to breed of late years (although it is believed 
to have done so formerly in Northumberland, and it visits Lincolnshire in 
April), the strong probability of this little duck having nested in South 
Warwickshire this summer is especially noteworthy. — O. V. ApLin 
(Bloxham, Banbury). 

Little Bittern in Sussex.— On the 31st October, 1888, a Little 
Bittern, Botaurus minutus, was taken, at about 7.30 a.m., on the Esplanade 
at Eastbourne, and lived some hours after capture. It is now in the pos- 
session of Mr. C. H. Simmons, of this town. Knox, in his ‘ Ornithological 
Rambles in Sussex,’ records the capture of an adult male at Pulborough.— 
Rosert Morais (67, Seaside Road, Hastbourne). 


a 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 891 


Loxia rubrifasciata (Brehm) in Norfolk.—In October, 1871, I saw 
a male Crossbill which had been killed in Norfolk, with marks on its wings 
as in Mr. Williams’s bird (p. 266); and not long ago I saw another, marked 
in the same way, at Newcastle, which had been shot at Beaufront-on-the- 
Tyne, near Hexham.—J. H. Gurney, Jun. (Keswick Hall, Norwich). 


Crossbill breeding in Immature Plumage.— Your correspondent, 
Mr. Howse, has evidently “jumped to an inaccurate conclusion,” as to the 
views I hold regarding the moult of the Common Crossbill. I never 
suggested that the red dress, of what Professor Newton, Mr. Howard 
Saunders, and myself consider the mature male, must needs be obtained 
by passing through a yellow dress. I have no doubt that such is the case 
in some instances; but I could show Mr. Howse a nestling changing to 
red direct. How Mr. Howse can declare that his views coincide with 
Prof. Newton’s opinion, while he pronounces the mature dress to be yellow 
I cannot comprehend. Your readers are well able to judge for themselves 
whether I “tried to lure them from the statement at issue.” I suggested 
that anyone might examine the bird, and no man could do more.—H. A. 
MacpHersoy (Carlisle). 


Two Pied Wagtails laying in the same Nest.—I send you an account 
of what I take to be a rather remarkable instance of two birds laying in 
the same nest. Some time back a shepherd, whom I had employed in 
collecting eggs for me, brought me nine eggs of the Pied Wagtail, Motacilla 
lugubris, which he had taken from one nest. On examining the eggs 
closely, I found that four of them were of a distinctly different type to the 
other five, and it was evident that they must have been laid by two different 
birds. I told the shepherd my opinion, and he said that he had not 
watched the nest at all, so could not say whether there were two or more 
birds about, but that this was the second clutch “ t’ year,” as about a month 
before the birds had hatched off eleven young in the same nest that he had 
taken the eggs in question from. I should be glad to know if any of your 
readers have come across a similar instance.—A. M. Law (Thetford). 


Lesser Tern in Glamorganshire.—Mr. Cording, of Cardiff, received 
from the sands near Porthcawl, in August last, seven specimens of this 
Tern, two of which I have in my collection.— Diepy 8. W. Nicnonn 

( Cowbridge). 


Cirl Bunting breeding near Godalming.— On August 26th I was 
shown the nest of a pair of Cirl Buntings, Hmberiza cirlus, which contained 
three eggs, and on which the bird was sitting. The unusual lateness of 
the date is my chief inducement in sending you this notice. Another nest 
of the same bird, probably of the same pair, was shown me in May last— 
I cannot recall the exact day. It had eggs, which were hatched in due 


$92 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


course, and was placed not many yards from the bush, a juniper, in which 
that seen on Aug. 26th was built. The former, however, was on—or all 
but on—the ground among some elm-suckers, whereas the latter is three 
feet above it. I may add the locality is that in which I found a nest of the 
same bird, and afterwards a second, in 1887, as reported to you in August 
of that year (Zool. 1887, p. 803).—Henry Benson (Rector of Farncombe). 


Chough in Pembrokeshire.—On the 6th August last, Mr. Cording 
received, for preservation, a specimen of the Chough, sent to him from 
St. David’s.—Diesy S. W. Nicuoin (Cowbridge). 


Spotted Crake near Glasgow.—A young male of Porzana maruetta 
was found dead at Possil, about two miles N.W. from Glasgow, on the 1st 
September. It was still warm, and was supposed to have been killed by 
flying against a wire fence near which it was lying. It was in full 
plumage, but, from the appearance of the sexual organs, evidently a bird 
of the year. So far as I am aware, this species has not been recorded for 
the west of Scotland north of the river Clyde.—J. Macknaueat CAMPBELL 
(Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow). 


Tameness of Young Cuckoo.—During the first few days of August 
a young Cuckoo was a source of great amusement to a party of visitors at a 
house very near my own. The tennis-ground had been surrounded by 
nets kept up on stakes to prevent damage to the flowers, and the bird 
seemed to imagine that this arrangement had been made for his special 
convenience, as he was almost always to be seen perched on either the nets 
or poles. On one occasion he perched on the net while play was going on, 
and allowed the balls to pass over him several times. We could never tell 
what species of bird brought him up, as we never saw him fed by any bird, 
except on one occasion by a Wagtail, which used to bring its own family 
to feed on the lawn which the Cuckoo frequented. Two pyracanthus plants 
on the house were much infested by caterpillars, identified by Mr. Frank 
Norgate as the larva of Orgyia antiqua, and on these the Cuckoo chiefly 
fed. When perched on a stake, with wings and tail pointing down and 
head drawn in, he looked very much like a hawk; so much so that the 
Swallows would dash down at him again and again, almost brushing him 
with their wings, and uttering the sharp angry twitter with which they 
resent the appearance of a cat near their nest. My brother searched the 
remains of an old hot-bed for worms, and when these were thrown on the 
grass near the tennis-net the Cuckoo ‘ went for them” at once, and soon 
after helped himself to some froma plate. From the 4th to the 25th of 
August he was fed daily with worms, for which he came as regularly as any 
Robin for crumbs. As he grew bigger and stronger, he could manage a 
worm of three or four inches in length; in disposing of a large one he 
never used his feet to hold it, but would get one end in his bill, and swallow 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 393 


it whole with a series of movements which reminded one of a terrier killing 
arat. If our party had numbered an amateur photographer, some novel 
and interesting life-studies might have been obtained, as the bird would 
allow himself to be approached within four or five yards, and when engaged 
in devouring his worms would come even nearer. He disappeared after the 
25th of August, much to our regret, for he had become quite a pet of the 
household; and it is almost too much to hope that so tame a bird would 
safely reach the “sunny south.” I have seen a good many species of birds 
brought close up to a house by regular feeding, but probably this is the first 
instance in which it has been tried, and has succeeded, with the Cuckoo.— 
Jutian G. Tuck (Tostock Rectory, Bury St. Edmunds). 


Varieties of Red Grouse and Landrail.—I have recently received 
two very unusual varieties of the Red Grouse and Landrail. The latter, 
shot at Abbeyleix, Queen’s Co., early in July last, and now in the collection 
of Mr. Marshall, of Taunton, is perfectly snow-white, with the exception 
of two patches of the ordinary colour in the middle of the back and nape. 
The Grouse is of a bluish white, showing the ordinary markings through, 
and is an old male bird. Another, in similar plumage, was observed on 
the same mountain, in Co. Fermanagh, and is being protected by the owner, 
to see what its progeny are likely to be next season.—HpDWARD WILLIAMS 
(2, Dame Street, Dublin). 


White-winged Black Tern near Salisbury.—On the 30th April last 
I saw in our meadows at Britford, Salisbury, five specimens of the White- 
winged Black Tern, H. leucoptera. They came within twenty yards of me, 
and the white tail and shoulders of the wing were distinctly discernible. 
They were evidently on their migration, and followed the course of the 
river towards Christchurch, where Mr. Hart generally sees a few of them in 
the early spring. I saw him the following week, and he said he had been 
looking out for them for the previous day or two. He has some nice Christ- 
church specimens.—Artuur P. Mornzs (Britford Vicarage, Salisbury). 


Little Bustard in Norfolk.—-I have been requested by Mr. Southwell, 
of Norwich, to inform you, for the benefit of readers of ‘The Zoologist,’ 
that I received, for preservation, in August last, a female specimen of the 
Little Bustard, Otis tetrax. It was shot by a boy in a turnip-field at 
Waxham, Norfolk, and was purchased by a gentleman on board a pleasure- 
boat, Mr. A. J. Flaxman, of London, for whom I have preserved it. On 
examination, it was found to have been feeding on clover-leaves and beetles. 
—W. Lownz (Taxidermist, Fuller's Hill, Great Yarmouth). 


Roller in Kirkcudbrightshire.—When out Partridge shooting on the 
Mabie estate, Kirkcudbrightshire, on Sept. 9th, one of our party killed a 
fine specimen of the Roller, Coracias garrula, It proved, on dissection, to 

ZOOLOGIST.— OcT. 1889. 2H 


894 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


be a male, and is now in the hands of Mr. Picken, of Bridge Street, 
Manchester, to be preserved for the collection of Mr. George Comber, of 
Myddleton Hall, Cheshire. I have carefully gone through several bird- 
books, including about ten years of ‘ The Zoologist,’ but cannot find any 
record of the Roller having been met with in Kirkcudbrightshire before.— 
Jouxson WILKINSON (Huddersfield). 

[For records of the occurrence of this species in Scotland, see Gray’s 
‘ Birds of the West of Scotland,’ pp. 202, 203.—Ep.]} 


Grey Shrike in Nottinghamshire in April.—During the second week 
in April a Grey Shrike was shot by a keeper within a few fields of this 
house, and brought to me. It was a female bird, and having only one 
bar across the wing, I presume is Pallas’s Grey Shrike.—J. WHITAKER 
(Rainworth, Notts). 


Change of Colour in Birds caused by Food.—In ‘The Zoologist’ 
for July Mr. A. H. Macpherson, in his remarks on the coloration of birds’ 
eggs, refers (p. 251) to an instance of changed colour, supposed to have 
been caused by food, in the plumage of Chrysotis festiva, which statement, 
according to a foot-note, is said to want corroboration. A similar instance, 
which was brought before the Zoological Society of Glasgow, may have 
some bearing on the case. At a meeting of this Society in January, 1888, 
a pair of Red-faced African Love-birds, Agapornis pullaria, were shown by 
Mr. Andrew MacLennan, in which the feathers on the back, as well as a 
number on the head, neck, and shoulders, with two or three of the wing- 
feathers, were in the female bird of a bright canary-colour, the male being 
similarly coloured, but in a less degree. Mr. MacLennan ascribed the 
peculiar colouring to the effects produced by their having eaten cayenne- 
biscuit, which was provided for other birds in the same aviary. In the 
expectation that the birds might become entirely yellow, the same feeding 
was continued, but the birds died, it is supposed, from the injurious effects 
of cayenne.—W. Hannan Watson (Sec. Zool. Soc. Glasgow, 219, St. Vincent 
Street, Glasgow). 


Hybrid between Bernicle and Bar-headed Goose.—In addition to 
the hybrids mentioned in ‘The Zoologist’ (p. 314), the cross between the 
above-named geese is, I think, as remarkable as, if not more so, than any 
already noticed. The parent birds are kept on the ponds of St. Stephen's 
Green,—-that little park so beautifully laid out for the use of the Dublin 
people by Lord Ardilaun,—and where a fine collection of waterfowl is kept 
The Bar-headed Goose was supposed to be a male bird by Mr. Williams, 
who presented it to the Park Committee; but a short time after the little 
Bernicle gander deserted his companion, and, paying attention to the 
attractive Bar-headed Goose, the result was a brood of four splendid young 
birds, now as large as their parents, and far larger than the Bernicle. The 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 895 


parent birds are still in charge of their four young, the little Bernicle taking 
the greatest care, and trying to drive away any other birds approaching his 
charge. The young birds resemble the Bar-headed Goose in shape and 
size, and are very pale in colour, but the markings on their heads are like 
those of the Bernicle, although pale and indistinct. — Ropert WARREN 
(Moyview, Ballina). 


Wood Pigeon roosting with Dovecote Pigeons.— Some time ago 
I obtained from a wood near here a young “ Cushat,” or Wood Pigeor, 
which I reared. ‘The bird eventually became quite tame, feeding and 
roosting with the other Common Pigeons. One day during a severe gale 
the cote was blown down, and the Pigeon flew off down wind in the 
direction of Manchester; it was absent for several hours, but came back 
towards evening. On several other occasions it disappeared suddenly for 
the day, but always returned to roost. Is not this a rather uncommon 
trait in the habits of so wild a bird ?—E. A. H. Kersuaw (Beech House, 
Middleton, Lancashire). 


The American Woodcock and its mode of Feeding.—A correspondent 
of ‘ Forest and Stream’ (Paul Pastnor), writing on the American Woodcock, 
thus describes its mode of feeding:—‘ When the moon rose I took a 
position near one of the moist places along the brook, where the borings 
were freshest and most plentiful, and awaited developments. For a long 
time the bright light of the moon fell full upon the spot I wished to 
observe, and I could see everything with the utmost plainness. At about 
eight o'clock a Woodcock dropped down silently beside the brook. Pre- 
sently another bird walked out of the shadow and joined it. Both began 
to “bore” for worms—an operation I had never seen before, and a curious 
performance it was. The birds would rest their bills upon the mud and 
stand in this position for several seconds, as if listening. Then, with a 
sudden, swift movement, they would drive the bill its entire length in the 
soil, hold it so for a second, and then as swiftly withdraw it. Though I 
watched the birds carefully with the glass, I could not detect the presence 
of a worm in their bills when they were withdrawn. But a subsequent 
process gave me the clue to their method of feeding. After having bored 
over a considerable piece of ground—a square foot or more—they pro- 
ceeded to execute what looked comically like a war dance upon the perforated 
territory. They also occasionally tapped the ground with the tips of their 
wings. My intense curiosity to know the possible utility of this process 
was at length gratified by seeing a worm crawl, half-length, from one of the 
borings, when it was immediately pounced upon and devoured by one of 
the Woodcocks. Presently another worm made its appearance, and so on 
until the two Woodcocks had devoured as many as a dozen of them. Then 
the “vein” seemed exhausted, and the birds took their leave. I have 


396 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


subsequently studied the philosophy of this method of digging bait, and 
have come to the conclusion that certain birds are a great deal wiser than 
certain bipeds without feathers. If you will take a sharpened stick and 
drive it into the ground a number of times, in aspot which is prolific with 
worms, and then tap on the ground with the stick for a few minutes, you 
will find that the worms will come to the surface, and that they will come up 
through the holes which you have made. I account for it by the supposition 
that the tapping of the stick somehow affects the worms the same as the 
patter of rain, and it is a well-known fact that worms come to the surface 
of the ground when it rains. The antics of the Woodcocks after they had 
made their borings, then, were simply mimetic, and intended to delude the 
worms into the belief that it was raining in the upper world. The worms, 
being deceived, came up and were devoured. All this may seem ridiculous, 
but, if it is not true, will some naturalist please state how a Woodcock can 
grasp and devour a worm when its bill is confined in a solid, tight-fitting 
tunnel of soil, and also how it is enabled to know the exact spot where it 
may sink its bill and strike a worm? And further, of all those who have 
seen a Woodcock feeding, how many ever saw it withdraw a worm from 
the ground with its bill ? 

[The extremity of the bill of the Woodcock is very flexible and 
sensitive, and we have no doubt, from what we have observed, that the 
bird is able to grasp a worm with it below the surface, guided by its sense 
of touch only.—Ep.] 


A Breeding-place of the Black-headed Gull in King’s Co.— On the 
11th of May last, in company with two ornithological friends, I visited 
what I think may be considered the largest breeding-place of the Black- 
headed Gull, Larus ridibundus, in Ireland, and one which has not hitherto 
been mentioned in print. This gullery is on the property of Lord Digby, 
in King’s County, and lies two miles from Tullamore, on one of those 
extensive bogs so common in Ireland. Killeemore Bog is some 1200 acres 
in extent, and is covered with heaths of different kinds, very wet in some 
places, with small floating patches surrounded by water, in which grow 
quantities of the common bog-bean, Menyunthes trifoliata. It is in such 
places that the gulls seem most to congregate, as many as seven or eight 
nests being placed on many of these little islets, some of them perhaps not 
four yards in diameter. Although the nests may be found scattered all 
over the bog, in several such places as described they are crowded close 
together ; and when standing on the outskirts, while my friends were in 
the centre of the bog, I could compare the clamour of the gulls only to the 
distant noise of the sea when breaking gently on the shore. The nests 
for the most part were built.of the stems of the bog-bean, mixed with 
heather, and contained three eggs, but on two occasions we counted four in 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 397 


the same nest. We had a good opportunity of noticing the wonderful 
variations in the colouring of the eggs, from a pale straw-colour to every 
shade of a rich olive-brown, and one very beautiful variety had the appear- 
ance of being scorched and smoked, while the ground colour of this egg 
was a lovely pale green. In many instances the young birds were already 
hatched, and seemed quite able to run and swim as soon as they got their 
plumage dry after emerging from the egg. On being approached they at 
once put themselves in a defensive attitude. One particularly early bird 
was almost as large as the parents, having the quill-feathers already half 
grown; and this bird, when lifted up, made noise enough to summon the 
whole colony to his assistance. We made a careful estimate of the 
number of gulls on this bog,—a very difficult matter, as they were going 
and coming, bringing food for the young, from all sides, —and we were 
pretty well agreed that not less than eight thousand were in sight at once. 
The “ White Crows,” by which name they are known to the country people, 
begin to appear on the breeding-ground during the first week in March, 
and on the 12th of August—when the bog is shot over for Grouse—not 
one is to be seen. I noticed a good many birds in the second year’s 
plumage, having the brown bands on the wings and tail, and, being curious 
to ascertain if they were breeding, I secured one, and was surprised to find 
the hatching spots on the breast quite bare of feathers. I afterwards dis- 
sected the bird, and found eggs the size of buckshot in the ovary, with 
every appearance of the bird having laid. From this it would appear that 
the Blackheaded Gull sometimes breeds in the second year, although it is 
generally supposed that they do not do so until they attain their full 
plumage, in the third year. I may add that this particular specimen had 
not even the full black head, the forehead being dappled with white. I am 
glad to say that in this privileged spot the birds are rigidly protected by 
order of Mr. Reginald Digby, of Geashill Castle, who takes a keen interest 
in Natural History, and will allow no one on the bog without his written 
permission: thus the gulls increase and multiply in perfect security, and, 
from what one of the watchers told me, they have become much more 
numerous during the last few years. There certainly were about three 
times as many birds breeding than on the occasion of a previous visit in 
the year 1880. Amongst other birds which breed on this bog are Grouse, 
Teal (in numbers), Wild Duck, Curlew (a pair), Redshank, and Meadow 
Pipit. Tullamore is just on the verge of the range of the Jay in Ireland, 
as Mr. Digby informed me three or four pairs breed annually in Clonad 
Wood, just in view of the bog, but apparently are not increasing. —EpwarpD 
Wituiams (2, Dame Street, Dublin). 


Training Swallows as Letter Carriers.—‘ The Globe’ of the 22nd 
August last contains the following remarks from a correspondent in Paris:— 


398 THE ZooLoGist. 


“When reports were circulated a few days ago that an ingenious Frenchman 
was training Swallows for the work of carrier-pigeons, most people put them 
down to be mere canards ; but for once the sceptical were in the wrong, and 
the Swallow as a winged messenger has become almost an accomplished 
fact, as will be seen from the details which I subjoin. They are furnished 
by the trainer himself, M. Jean Desbouvrie, who lives in a village near 
Roubaix, and who has just been visited by an ornithological friend. It is 
now more than thirty years since he began his task. He was then a lad of 
of eleven. Being passionately fond of birds, he determined to try his hand 
on Swallows, and to show that, in spite of the universal belief to the 
contrary, they could be tamed and reared. At that time he served as 
errand boy to his father, and in the course of his rounds robbed all the 
nests he could come across. At length he succeeded in training a dozen 
or so to follow him about wherever he went. They would fly round his 
head and perch on his shoulders in the open street. To-day he has not 
only been able to tame them, but also to rear them, to make them keep to 
their cage, to fly in and out like pigeons, and, what is more extraordinary, to 
acclimatise them. ‘If the Swallow leaves us at the end of summer,” he 
says, “it is less from fear of cold than from lack of nourishment. As 
everybody knows, it lives on insects. Now, when the fine season is over 
the air ceases to be full of insects, and the Swallow migrates to escape 
starvation. Give him a shelter exposed to the south, and food which he 
can eat, and he will remain with us throughout the winter as in summer.” 
What the food is the trainer reserves to himself as a valuable secret. 
M. Desbouvrie has not yet begun to hatch the Swallows, which he assures 
us would be easy for him todo. He confines himself at present to obtaining 
the young ones from their nests. The upper storey of his house is set 
apart to them entirely. ‘There are two rooms; one is transformed into a 
large cage, the other adjoining it opens on a balcony, and serves as a kind 
of ante-chamber. ‘The cage contains twenty young birds; twelve of them 
are allowed to go in and out at leisure, the other eight are kept in captivity, 
and sold to fanciers. The carrier Swallows are easily recognised, having a 
small bit of coloured silk on their feet, and the age and quality of each bird 
are registered. For example, a red piece of silk indicates a Swallow perfectly 
trained, while a blue piece signifies one whose training is not yet complete. 
Four of the little prisoners, the oldest not more than twenty days, were let 
loose. It was raining in torrents at the moment, a circumstance by no 
means favourable to the trial. The birds rose in the air, flew round the 
house several times, and then darted off into the country, disappearing on 
the horizon. Twenty-five minutes after the youngest returned and perched 
on the balcony; the other three did not come back before an hour. They 
all then entered the cage-room, when M. Desbouvrie gave them some food, 
which they ate out of his hand. Capt. Degouy, who has been commissioned 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES, 899 


by the Government to make an inquiry into the subject, and to see how far 
these trained Swallows may be useful to the army as messengers in time 
of war, has not yet been able to test their efficacy, owing to the fact that 
the birds at present in possession of M. Desbouvrie are too young, and 
require further training before they can be fairly experimented with. An 
instance of the rapidity of their flight is quoted by the trainer. An untamed 
Swallow, which had its nest in a farm near Roubaix, was caught and taken 
in a cage to Paris, where it was released. It returned to its nest in ninety 
minutes, having accomplished a distance of 258 kilometres, or over two 
miles a minute. M. Desbouvrie is certain that a far greater speed will be 
obtained from trained birds. Should the Government accept his idea, which 
he is convinced it will, he proposes to build a Swallow-house on the heights 
of Montmartre, and another on Mont-Valérien. The superiority of Swallows 
over Pigeons as carriers, both as regards the swiftness of their travelling 
and the difficulty of shooting them, is evident; but they have yet to be 
tried on a large scale before a verdict can be pronounced on them. Still the 
results already obtained are remarkable, and the prospect of the messenger 
of the zephyrs, as one old poet calls the sacred little bird, being pressed into 
military service, is another proof of the utilitarianism of the age.” We quote 
these remarks as likely to be of interest to our readers, but have no faith in 
the writer's idea that the experimentalist will succeed in his object. 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 


Enromo.LocicaL Society or Lonpon. 


September 4, 1889.— Capt. H. J. Ewes, F.L.S., Vice-President, in 
the chair. 

Prof. C. H. Fernald, of Amherst, Mass., U.S.A., and Mr. C. J. Fryer, 
of Emscote Road, Warwick, were elected Fellows; and Prof. C. V. Riley, 
of Washington, U.S.A., and Dr. A. S. Packard, of Providence, Rhode Island, 
U.S.A., were admitted into the Society. 

Mr. George T. Baker exhibited two remarkably dark specimens of 
Acronycta ligustri taken near Llangollen. 

Mr. P. B. Mason exhibited and remarked on a collection of Lepidoptera 
which he had recently made in Iceland. The following species, amongst 
others, were represented, viz. :—Crymodes exulis, Triphena pronuba, Noctua 
conflua, Plusia gamma, Larentia casiata, Melanippe sociata, Coremia 
munitata, Phycis fusca, and Crambus pascuellus, 


400 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


The Rev. Dr. Walker also exhibited a number of Lepidoptera, Diptera, 
and Hymenoptera, recently collected by himself in Iceland. The collection 
included the following, viz.:—Crymodes ewulis, Noctua conflua, Larentia 
casiata, Coremia munitata, Culex pipiens, Scatophaga stercoraria, Calliphora 
erythrocephala, Helophilus grenlandica, Bombus terrestris, &c. 

Mr. W. White exhibited, on behalf of Mr. G. C. Griffiths, a specimen 
of Nephronia hippia, Fab., var. g@a, Feld., which he believed to be 
hermaphrodite. He also exhibited, for comparison, a female of the same 
species. A discussion on hermaphroditism ensued, in which Mr. Distant, 
Capt. Elwes, Mr. M‘Lachlan, and Mr. Baker took part. 

Dr. Sharp exhibited specimens of Cychramus luteus and fungicola, Auct., 
and stated that they are the sexes of one species, C. luteus being the 
male, C. fungicola the female. In working through the Central American 
Cychramini, he had found that in some genera the males differed greatly 
from the females in size and sculpture; but this was not a constant 
character, for in some species, while certain males scarcely differed from 
the females in these respects, others were so different that they would 
scarcely be recognised as belonging to the same species. 

Mr. Edward A. Butler exhibited specimens of Platymetopius undatus, 
Deg., from Ewhurst, Surrey. He remarked that the species was recorded 
as having been once previously taken near Plymouth by the late Mr. John 
Scott. 

Mr. G. T. Baker read a paper entitled, ‘‘On the distribution of the 
Charlonia group of the genus Anthocharis.” Mr. Baker stated that the 
species, six in number, of this small division of the genus Anthocharis 
formed a very natural and closely allied group, presenting many points of 
interest, both in their relationship to each other and in their geographical 
distribution, which extended from the Canaries on the west to the valley 
of the Indus on the east. The author's theories as to the causes of the 
present distribution of the group, which were based on geological data, 
were discussed by Capt. Elwes, Mr. M‘Lachlan, Mr. Distant, and Mr. 
Stainton. 

The Chairman read a paper entitled “ On the genus Argynnis,” which 
gave rise to a discussion in which Mr. Distant, Mr. Jenner Weir, and 
Prof. Riley took part.—H. Goss, Hon. Secretary. 


THE ZOOLOGIST. 


THIRD SERIES. 


Vou. XIII.) NOVEMBER, 1889. [No. 155, 


MEMOIR OF THE LATE FREDERICK BOND, F.Z.S., F.E.S, 


In the list of English naturalists of mark who have passed 
away during the present generation, must, to our regret, be 
included the name of Frederick Bond, who, at the age of 78, 
died at Staines on the 10th of August last. Not that he made 
any remarkable biological discovery, or published any important 
work on Natural History : his claim to distinction as a naturalist 
arises solely from the impetus and encouragement which his 
verbal teaching and the display of his valuable collections 
undoubtedly gave to the study of Zoology in the persons of all 
those, and they were very many, who applied to him for 
information and advice. 

Of his earlier life little is now remembered even by his 
contemporaries. The son of Capt. Bond, of the 77th Regt., he 
was born at Exmouth on the 22nd of February, 1811. He was 
educated at Brighton, and, by his father’s wish, commenced to 
study for the medical profession, but, owing to the repugnance 
which he felt towards the necessary dissection of the human 
subject, a feeling which he was never able to overcome, he 
abandoned his design. Possessing sufficient means to render 
him independent of a profession, he gradually settled down 
to the enjoyment of a country life, —first at Winchmore Hill, 
near Edmonton, and subsequently at Kingsbury, where he 
went to live in 1828, and remained until 1855. In the latter 
year he temporarily took up his abode in London,—first in 
Cavendish Road, St. John’s Wood, and subsequently in Adelaide 

ZOOLOGIST.—NOV. 1889. 21 


402 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Road, Hampstead,—returning in 1862 to Kingsbury, where he 
remained until 1865, when he proceeded to Cambridge to further 
the education of his nephews, he himself having never married. 
Thirty years of his life, therefore, were spent at Kingsbury, 
although during this time, and especially in the shooting season, 
frequent’ excursions were made to different parts of England and 
Scotland. He was especially fond of Snipe and Wildfowl 
shooting, and the present writer, who, as his pupil in later years, 
was often his shooting companion, has heard him speak with 
delight of the great fens of Cambridgeshire, Lincoln, and 
Huntingdon, parts of which he was old enough to remember in 
their undrained condition, with all their wealth and variety of 
bird-life. 

Bittern and Bustard were to be found, in his boyhood days, 
before the draining of the Fens, and butterflies of species now 
extinct were not uncommon, and used to delight the eyes of the 
young naturalist. The sunsets of the Great Fen, all the more 
striking from the wide sweep of horizon, were never forgotten, 
and the low flat scenery had always a charm for him in after 
life, from the memory of those days. 

In an eloquent lecture on the Fens, given to a Mechanics’ 
Institute at Cambridge, in 1867, Charles Kingsley spoke of a 
certain sadness as pardonable to one who has “ watched the 
destruction; of a great natural phenomenon which had turned a 
waste howling wilderness into a garden of the Lord. And yet,” 
he adds, ‘‘ the fancy may linger without blame over the shining 
meres, the golden reed-beds, the countless water-fowl, the 
strange and gaudy insects, the wild nature, the mystery, the 
majesty,—for mystery and majesty there were,—which haunted 
the deep fens for many hundred years. Little thinks the 
Scotsman, whirled down by the Great Northern Railway from 
Peterborough to Huntingdon, what a grand place even twenty 
years ago (1847) was that Holme and Whittlesea which is now 
but a black, unsightly, steaming flat, from which the meres and 
reed-beds of the Old World are’gone, while the corn and roots of 
the New World have not as yet taken their place. But grand 
enough it was,-ithat black ugly place, when backed by Caistor 
Hangland and Holme Wood and the patches of the primeval 
forest ; while dark green alders, and pale green reeds, stretched 
for miles round the broad lagoon, where the Coot clanked and 


MEMOIR OF THE LATE FREDERICK BOND. 403 


the Bittern boomed, and the Sedgebird—not content with its own 
sweet song—mocked the notes of all the birds around: while 
high overhead hung, motionless, Hawk beyond Hawk, Buzzard 
beyond Buzzard, Kite beyond Kite, as far as eye could see. Far 
off upon the silver mere would rise a puff of smoke from a punt 
invisible from its flatness and white paint. Then down the wind 
came the boom of the great staunchion-gun; and after that 
another sound, louder as it neared ; a cry as of all the bells of 
Cambridge and all the hounds of Cottesmore; and overhead 
rushed and whirled the skein of terrified Wildfowl, screaming, 
piping, clacking, croaking, filling the air with the hoarse rattle 
of their wings, while clear above all sounded the wild whistle of 
the Curlew, and the trumpet-note of the great Wild Swan. They 
are all gone now! No longer do the Ruffs trample the sedge into 
a hard floor in their fighting-rings, while the sober Reeves stand 
round, admiring the tournament of their lovers, gay with ruffs 
and tippets, no two of them alike. Gone are Ruffs and Reeves, 
Spoonbills, Bitterns, Avocets ; the very Snipe one hears disdains 
to breed. Gone, too, not only from the Fens, but from the 
entire country, is that most exquisite of butterflies, Lycena 
dispar, the Great Copper, and many a curious insect more.” * 

It may well be imagined that a man with his taste for out-of- 
door life, with leisure to indulge it, and with such happy hunting 
and collecting grounds as those above described, must have en- 
joyed exceptional opportunities for the study of Natural History. 
-His whole life was devoted to outdoor observation, and to the 
formation of what came to be one of the best collections of 
British Lepidoptera, Birds, and Birds’ Eggs. In the formation 
of these collections the knowledge which he acquired often 
astonished the younger men who were following in his footsteps. 

It is much to be regretted that he kept no journals, for there 
can be no doubt that, had it not been for a natural disinclination 
to sit indoors and write, he might, if he had been so minded, 
have produced a volume (aye, many volumes) which would have 
rivalled in interest the delightful productions of Charles St. John, 
the author whom, perhaps, of all others he most resembled in 
his tastes, and whom he most admired. All that he accomplished 
in the way of publication was confined to the brief notes which 


= Prose Idylls,’ pp. 95, 96, 
212 


404 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


he communicated from time to time to ‘The Zoologist’ and 
‘The Entomologist,’ of which latter journal he was one of the 
Editors from 1877 until the time of his death. As regards 
‘The Zoologist,’ he was one of those who—with the brothers 
Doubleday, Thomas Bell, William Borrer, Bree, Couch, W. R. 
Fisher, J. H. Gurney, Hewitson, Waring Kidd, A. E. Knox, 
Rodd, Salmon, Frederick Smith, William Thompson, and Yarrell 
(of whom alas! only two are still living)—helped the late 
Edward Newman to found it: he wrote in the first volume (1848), 
and in the last, his latest communication (on the appearance of 
the Sand Grouse near Staines) having appeared in the number 
for June of the present year. 

Taking them in chronological order, the notes he contributed 
to this Journal were the following :— 


1843.—Birds shot at Southend, p. 89; Water-birds (57 species) 
occurring at Kingsbury Reservoir, 102; Occurrence of rare British 
Insects (including a Locust near Hampstead), 125 ; Occurrence of rare 
British Birds (including the Purple Martin, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, 
and Wilson’s Petrel), 148; Cure of grease in Insects, 175. 

1844.—Edible Frog in Cambridgeshire, p. 393; Colias edusa and 
hyale in Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire, 397; Anthus petrosus 
at Kingsbury Reservoir, 447; Note on the Kestrel, 491; Summer 
Birds at Kingsbury, 650; Missel Thrushes, 656; Hen changing her 
colour, 667 ; Edible Frog, 677; Rare Waders at Kingsbury Reservoir, 
Greenshank and Curlew Sandpiper, 767. 

1845.—Polyommatus arion in Northamptonshire, p. 803; Food of 
the Pheasant, 873. 

1846.—F lowers attractive to Moths, p. 1841; Occurrence of Sphinx 
convoluuli near Kingsbury, 1510; Occurrence of the Locust near 
Kingsbury, 1518,—at Duxford and Fulbourne, 1521. 

1847.—Vanessa antiopa near Kingsbury, p. 1791; Lepidoptera 
near Yaxley, 1881; Locust near York, 1881. 

1848.—Young of the Little Bittern near Enfield, p. 1969; Capture 
of Buprestis mauritanica in Plaistow Marshes, 1999; Locust in Cam- 
bridgeshire, 2000. 

1849.—Colias edusa and C. hyale, p. 2612. 

1850.—Great Grey Shrike near London, p. 2698; Scolopax 
Brehmi (?) near London, 2703; Little Auk at Newmarket, 2706 ; 
Waxwing in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, 2767 ; The Exotic Grosbeak, 
2770; Black-throated Diver at Chesterfield, 2775; Kite at Kingsbury, 


MEMOIR OF THE LATE FREDERICK BOND. 405 


2797; Black Redstart near London, 2798; Fork-tailed Petrel near 
London, 2803. 

1851.—Captures of Lepidoptera at Hornsey, Wicken and Burwell 
Fens, 8012; Iceland Falcon in Ross-shire, 3275. 

1852.—Occurrence of the Gannet in Cambridgeshire, 3712 ; Occur- 
rence of the Egyptian Goose in Cambridgeshire, 3712; Occurrence of 
Vaenssa antiopa near London, 3715. 

1858.--The Red and Willow Grouse, their distinctness affirmed, 
p. 6264. 

1859.—Capture of the new Snake, Coronella austriaca, at Ring- 
wood, New Forest, p. 6787. 

1860.—Serin Finch in England, near Brighton and London, first 
recorded p. 7105 ; Occurrence of Deilephila lineata at Brighton, 7107 ; 
Sesia spheciformis in Sussex, 7249. 

1862.—The Little Gull at Brighton, and at Freshwater, p. 7939 ; 
Notes on Sabine’s Snipe (considered a variety), and Jack Snipe (a 
black variety), 8000. 

1863.—Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Cambridgeshire, p. 8722. 

1864,—_Redwings singing in England, p. 9021. 

1865.—Early arrival of Summer Birds at Freshwater, p. 9562. 

1867.—Water Pipit at Brighton (second record of its appearance 
in England), p. 792; Wood Lark in flocks at Brighton, 792. 

1868.—Early breeding of the Common Snipe in Sussex (shot 
by Mr. Harting from a nest with four eggs, on April 4th), p. 1256. 

1870.—Ornithological notes from South Devon, p. 1983; Rare or 
new British Birds taken near Brighton, 1984; including Richard’s 
Pipit, Tawny Pipit, Shore Lark, Scarlet Grosbeak (Pyrrhula erythrina), 
first occurrence ; Supposed Citril Finch, proved to be a Wild Canary, 
2022 ; Supposed Snow Finch, Fringilla nivalis, proved to be the White- 
winged Lark (Alauda sibirica), its first occurrence, 2022 ; Supposed 
Emberiza rustica, proved to be a young male Lapland Bunting, 2022 ; 
Lapland Bunting near London, 2061; Little Gulls in Leadenhall 
Market, 2066; Little Gull in the City, 2108; Tawny Pipit, Ortolan 
Bunting, and Lapland Bunting near Brighton, 2883; Second occurrence 
of the Scarlet Grosbeak (Pyrrhula erythrina) near London, 2883. 

1871.—Late-staying Hirundines, p. 2440; Quail nesting between 
Hampstead and Kentish Town, 2683 ; Singular nesting of the Nuthatch 
in a haystack at East Grinstead, Sussex, 2850. [This nest was figured 
in ‘ The Field’ of October 28th, 1871, and is preserved in the British 
Museum. ] 

1872.—The Whitby Wader a young male Ruff, 2905. 

1873. —Goshawk at Hampstead, p. 3368 ; Late Cuckoo, 3368. 

1877.—Tawny Pipit at Brighton, 299. 


406 : THE ZOOLOGIST. 


1879.—Bullfinches eating Privet-berries, p. 220; An albino 
Weasel in Cambridgeshire, 455. 

1884.—Manx Shearwater inland in Shropshire, p. 481. 

1887.—Hedgehog eating Swedes, 345; Swifts nesting in Martins’ 
nests, 348; Distribution of the Bank Vole, 425. 

1889.— Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Middlesex, 227. 


Before the first appearance of ‘The Zoologist,’ however, in 
1848, he was a reader of, and an occasional contributor to, 
Loudon’s ‘ Magazine of Natural History.’ So long ago as 1830, 
we find the following note from his pen (vol. iii., p. 449), and 
this, so far as can now be ascertained, was the first note published 
by him :— 


“A female Sparrowhawk with a blue back.—-Sir,—In the ‘ Magazine 
of Natural History ’ (vol. i., p. 220) your correspondent T. F. says he 
has never seen a female Sparrowhawk with a blue back like the adult 
male. I have seen two the last year (1829) ; one shot in October, the 
other in November, by myself, in the act of pursuing a wounded 
Fieldfare, and it is now in my possession, stuffed.—F. B.; Kingsbury, 
February, 1830.” 


Until ‘The Entomologist’ was re-commenced, in 1864, the 
principal medium for the publication of information concerning 
insects (chiefly British) was ‘The Zoologist, to which periodical, 
as the above list shows, Frederick Bond occasionally sent notes 
concerning rare or little-known British Lepidoptera, for, it 
should be stated, that he knew as much of Entomology as of 
Ornithology, and possessed one of the finest collections of 
butterflies and moths in this country, the greater number of 
which were taken by himself. In the opinion of those best 
competent to judge, it is regarded as probably the most extensive 
and representative now in existence, combining the past with the 
present, for, until a short time only before his death, he missed 
no opportunity of adding to it and improving it. His name has 
been appropriately associated with T'apinostola Bondii, Knaggs, 
best known as a British insect, and Sthenias Bondii, Pascoe 
(Trans. Ent. Soc., ser. 2, vol. v., p. 48), a fine longicorn beetle, 
subsequently separated generically under Xynenon (op. cit., 
ser. 3, vol. iii., p. 159). 

The following letter, lately received: from one who knew him 
intimately, the Rev. O. Pickard-Cambridge, of Bloxworth Rectory, 


MEMOIR OF THE LATE FREDERICK BOND. 407 


Wareham, will find an echo in the heart of many a young 
collector who had the privilege of knowing him and of profiting 
by his generosity :— 


*‘T do not know when I have felt anything so much as the death 
of our dear old friend Frederick Bond. He and I began our 
acquaintance in the early part of 1849, so that we had been friends for 
over forty years! We collected insecis together for many years in the 
New Forest, Isle of Wight, Portland, and here at Bloxworth, and I 
cannot recall a single word, or act as a collector, to mar the wholly 
pleasant recollection of our work together. His unselfishness and 
generosity were a bye-word among all who knew him, and his cheeriness 
and unfailing good humour made many a blank day (entomologically 
speaking) one of our pleasantest days. His pertinacity in working for 
an insect he believed ought to be found in one locality or another was 
most remarkable, and was generally rewarded by finding it. 

‘‘A common feeling amongst all of us who had the privilege o1 
his friendship was how we could best help to enrich Bond's collection 
and I need scarcely say that few ever found themselves anything but 
gainers in the end. 

‘‘ Bond’s manipulation of Lepidoptera was also remarkable, and 
the rapidity with which he set them could scarcely be exceeded. What 
also was more important was that an insect never looked the worse for 
his manipulation. New methods of setting have come into practice of 
late years, but I do not observe any improvement in the results com- 
pared with what came off Bond’s “ setting-boards.” No doubt he 
followed to a great extent the old practice amongst British collectors 
of setting insects low down on the pin, thus bringing them low down 
on the bottom of the cabinet drawer, but it always ‘ went against the 
grain’ for him to do so; and, indeed, to keep the wings just clear of 
the bottom of the drawer, so as to avoid injuring the ciliz of the wings 
was the point he always kept in view. 

“T will not say that there are no other entomologists left like 
Frederick Bond, but if there are they are unknown to me; and I say 
this without a word or thought of disparagement to the many valued 
friends still left to me in the ranks of entomologists.” 


Another friend who knew him well, the Rev. Murray _ 
Mathew, of Buckland Dinham, Frome, writes :— 


«In your memoir of our old friend Bond I hope you will record 
instances of his kindness in helping and encouraging schoolboy 
naturalists. I have always felt that I, among many others, owe him 


408 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


a great debt of gratitude in this respect. In ‘ the fifties,’ when I was 
at Kensington Grammar School, I used to spend many half-holidays, 
happy and delightful hours, at Bond’s house in Cavendish Road, 
St. John’s Wood, when he not only showed his splendid collections, 
but was ready to give all manner of information, and to listen kindly 
to schoolboy prattle about pets at home. Once or twice it was my good 
fortune to be with him when someone arrived from a collecting tour, 
and to watch the unpacking and display of all the treasures, certain 
at the end to receive some gift of egg or insect to carry rejoicingly 
away. And how kind he was in replying to the letters sent him, in 
answering numerous questions, in naming boxes of moths unknown to 
the capturer (too often so rubbed as to be almost beyond identification), 
and in sending back with the named insects perfect specimens of his 
own setting, with others which he thought would come as a welcome 
gift. And then how proud he would make us by giving us some com- 
mission to do, such as asking us to secure and send him a family of 
Dippers in the nestling plumage, or any similar task to be easily and 
delightfully accomplished by the trout streams of Devonshire. Of 
late years it has not been my privilege to have had much intercourse 
or correspondence with him; but I shall ever have a loving and 
grateful recollection of him as having been (after William Brodrick) 
my best teacher in Natural History.”’* 


“My personal recollections of our deceased friend,” writes 
Mr. Harting, ‘‘are of the pleasantest kind. For about fifteen 
years we lived in the same parish (Kingsbury), and within half 
a mile of each other. During a great part of this time we met 
almost daily, except while I was away at College, or he was 
absent on some shooting or collecting expedition. He taught me 
to shoot, and to skin birds, and some of the happiest hours of 
my early life were passed in his museum or in his company 
shooting. I believe it was the sight of his collections, when a 
boy of ten, that caused me first to take an interest in Natural 
History. Looking with wonder and admiration at his cases of 
stuffed birds, and cabinets of birds’ eggs, and butterflies and 
moths, I thought ‘Can it be possible that all these beautiful 
things are to be found alive in this country?’; and when told 
‘Yes, and many of them in this parish,’ I was wild with excite- 
ment to find them for myself. He often accompanied me in my 


* For a Memoir of the late William Brodrick see ‘ The Zoologist’ for 
April, 1889, p. 139. 


MEMOIR OF THE LATE FREDERICK BOND. 409 


search, and under his tuition I quickly learned to distinguish all 
our commoner birds by their notes, flight, or peculiar actions, 
and many of the more conspicuous insects. I had commenced 
making a collection of birds’ eggs at school, a collection which 
was afterwards often added to by my kind friend and mentor. 
And how cherished were those specimens of ‘ British taken’ 
rarities! Then, having learnt to skin under his direction 
(beginning with a Starling), I commenced to collect birds, and in 
this he often helped me, either by giving me duplicates, or by 
shooting birds for me, and sending them to me ‘in the flesh.’ 
Many a time a servant would arrive with a small parcel and a 
message ‘ Mr. Bond’s kind regards, and he thought perhaps you 
might like this.’ The parcel being tenderly unfolded, displayed 
perhaps a Hawfinch, or a Green Sandpiper, shot at our brook. 

** Kingsbury Reservoir was our happy hunting-ground, and in 
those days (twenty or five-and-twenty years ago) it was a paradise 
for an ornithologist. There was no railway-viaduct at one end 
of it then, as now; the extension of the Midland line to Bedford 
had not been commenced. When we visited London we had to 
drive our own horses, or go by one of the two coaches which 
were then on the road, one of them going to and from St. Alban’s, 
the other to Stanmore and Elstree. It was no uncommon thing, 
as we crossed the two bridges over the reservoir, and the Hyde 
water, to see Wild Ducks there, and Gulls and Terns flying 
about at the period of their migration in spring and autumn. 
About the end of April and beginning of May, and again in 
August to about the middle of September, the number and 
variety of wading birds which visited this fine sheet of water 
were most remarkable. Plovers and Sandpipers, Snipe and 
Jack Snipe, were all there in their proper season, and there were 
always afew Herons about, which came either from Osterley Park, 
Black Park, Uxbridge, or Wanstead Park in Essex. The water 
was very little disturbed then by human visitors, and we have 
many a time walked round it, about two miles, and followed the 
Brent towards Hendon, or in the other direction towards Brent- 
ford, without meeting anyone but farm-labourers, or perhaps one 
or two anglers. Here in the early morning might be heard the 
note of the Ringed Plover as it ran along the shingle at the head 
of the Reservoir, or the musical cry of the high-flying Redshank 
which we marked down, to be stalked and shot. On the muddy 


410 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


margins in the bed of the brook, especially at a bend devoid of 
trees, the Green Sandpiper, Totawus ochropus, might be found 
every spring and autumn; and more rarely the Wood Sandpiper, 
Totanus glareola, and Temminck’s Stint, Tringa Temminckit. 
On September 4th, 1869, I shot a nice specimen of the last- 
named little bird there, and also a Greenshank, Totanus glottis ; 
and on that date, at 6 a.m., I counted seven different species of 
shore birds there, seeing besides those just mentioned, the 
Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, 
and Heron. 

“Tn ‘ The Zoologist’ for 1848, p. 102, will be found a List, by 
Mr. Bond, of Waterfowl met with at Kingsbury Reservoir. He 
enumerates fifty-seven species, and adds that he has not 
included one which was not thoroughly well identified, and, 
indeed, of most of them he had himself shot and preserved 
specimens, which I have seen many a time and oft. But our 
rambles were not confined to Kingsbury Reservoir and the Brent. 
We visited the Hampstead and Highgate Woods, in those days 
a rare place for insects, and for some of the more or less uncom- 
mon small birds, such as the Wood Wren, Pied Flycatcher, 
Hawfinch, and Spotted Woodpeckers. We visited Golders 
Green, and the lower part of Hampstead Heath, getting many a 
Snipe and Jack Snipe there in the early morning. Along the 
brook at Colin Deep Lane our dogs were sure to find and hunt a 
Moorhen, and Stanmore Common and Bushy Heath supplied our 
collections with splendid Wheatears and Stonechats in full 
plumage, and the rarer Dartford Warbler. We shot over four 
parishes, including a bare open tract lying between Kingsbury, 
Kenton, and Edgeware, known as Hungry Downs, where 
Golden Plover and Peewits came in winter, and the Dotterel, 
Eudromias morinellus, appeared in spring and autumn. One of 
the last-named stands, stuffed, before me as I write, a memento 
of byegone days, when, with our guns and dogs, we were out 
from morning till night. We each had a couple of spaniels, and 
IT had in addition an excellent red Irish setter, which I reared 
frcm a pup, and broke to retrieve, and which would fetch a duck 
out of the water in cold weather as well as any ordinary retriever. 
This dog once brought me a wounded Jack Snipe which I had 
shot, and carried it so completely within his closed mouth that I 
thought he had come back without it ; but on reaching the spot 


MEMOIR OF THE LATE FREDERICK BOND. AL1 


where I stood he opened his mouth, when the Snipe dropped 
out, and fluttered away to a considerable distance,—so tenderly 
had it been carried. This dog we found most useful for collecting 
purposes, as he would find a small bird in thick covert, and bring 
it without further injury. With our united “ pack” we rambled 
about the country, shooting and collecting, and sometimes 
making excursions to a distance. He came to stay at our house 
in West Sussex, and greatly enjoyed the walks over the chalk 
downs, and through the beech woods, where we found a great 
variety of land and fresh-water Mollusca. We collected between 
sixty and seventy different wild flowers in bloom there one 
summer, and I remember that he was particularly struck with 
the Orchids, of which ten or a dozen species were identified, 
including the Fly, Bee, and Butterfly Orchids, Lady’s Tresses 
(Neottia spiralis), and the Bird’s-nest Orchis (Listera nidus-avis). 
In the woods and hollow lanes in that part of the country, the 
great variety of Ferns and Fungi to be met with, many of 
which he could name off-hand, made our country walks most 
delightful. Amongst the rarer birds’ eggs we obtained there were 
those of the Grasshopper Warbler, Woodlark, Great Spotted Wood- 
pecker, Water Rail, and Teal. Never shall I forget the pleasure 
che expressed on my showing him a Teal’s nest in sttu,* nor his 
delight on receiving a beautiful clutch of Snipe’s eggs which I 
had searched for and secured for him, at his request, together 
with the old bird, which I shot from the nest, at a date (April 4th) 
which he considered to be unusually early.t 

“Tt was at his house that I first saw ‘The Zoologist,’ and 
from the time that I commenced to take it in regularly, in 1860, 
it was read with keen interest every month, and discussed in 
detail by us. His criticisms of the observations which it con- 
tained were always kindly expressed, and the way in which he 
explained what were evidently errors of observation, or want of 
knowledge on the part of correspondents, taught me volumes. 
Little did I think in those days, when studying the pages of 
‘The Zoologist,’ that I should one day come to be the Editor of 
the Journal which I then so much admired.” 


* Described in ‘ The Birds of Middlesex,’ p. 281. 
+ He communicated a note on the subject to ‘The Zoologist,’ 1868, 
p. 1256. 


412 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


About this time the late John Gould was issuing in parts his 
splendid folio work on the ‘Birds of Great Britain,’ and few 
persons gave him more information for his text than our mutual 
friend Bond. His knowledge of species, and intimate acquaint- 
ance with birds in a state of nature, enabled him to give many 
valuable hints, and, although he would rarely take the trouble 
to write down information, he would tell you more in an hour 
than you could learn from books in a week. Many of the 
birds figured in Gould’s work were drawn from specimens 
obtained by Bond, and some of them—as the Black Redstart, 
Scarlet Grosbeak, White Wagtail, Crested Lark, Serin, and 
others—were, through his instrumentality, introduced for the 
first time in the List of British Birds. Indeed the aid he gave 
to his friends who had more taste for writing and publishing 
than himself was considerable ; and the information which he 
communicated to the author of the ‘ Birds of Middlesex,’ and to 
Mr. A. G. More for his observations on the fauna of the Isle of 
Wight (published in Venables’ ‘ Guide to the Isle of Wight,’ 1860), 
and for his excellent paper ‘‘On the Distribution of Birds in 
Great Britain during the Nesting-season ’’ (printed in ‘ The Ibis’ 
for 1865), must be apparent to those who are familiar with these 
publications. 

It now only remains to notice some of the more remarkable 
specimens in his collection of British birds and their eggs, in the 
formation of which he spent a lifetime; and it is perhaps the 
more desirable to have some record of them here, as he himself 
made no catalogue of his treasures, and the history of many of 
the specimens is now only to be ascertained from an examination 
of the labels attached to them. Many, alas! are without labels, 
and all that can be said of them is that they are ‘‘ certainly 
British, and in many cases were obtained by himself.” 

The birds are preserved partly in glass cases, of which there 
are about 150 stacked round the walls of his study ; partly in 
skins preserved in cabinets. As the cases have been recently 
numbered and catalogued by the present writer, it will perhaps 
be most convenient to refer to them here by their numbers, as, 
in consequence of the way in which they are stacked, it would 
be impossible to take them in any scientific order without first 
entirely re-arranging them. 

In the Case numbered 1, containing the British Shrikes, a 


MEMOIR OF THE LATE FREDERICK BOND. 413 


noticeable bird is the young Woodchat, shot by H. Rogers, at 
Freshwater, Isle of Wight, in September, 1856 (¢f. Yarrell’s ‘ Brit. 
Birds,’ 4th ed. i. p. 216). 

In Case 4 there is an Alpine Accentor, not mentioned in the 
latest edition of Yarrell, which was purchased at the sale of the 
Margate Museum, and is labelled ‘‘ Killed at Hove, near Shore- 
ham, Sussex, 1845.” In Case 6 is the young male Black 
Redstart obtained by Bond at Kilburn, Middlesex, Oct. 25th, 
1829, and the first recorded British example of this species 
(‘ Zool. Journ.’ vol. v. p. 103). In Case 8 are a pair of Pied 
Flycatchers from Cumberland, 1848, received from Heysham, 
the well-known ornithologist ; and two young birds of the same 
species, evidently reared in this country, — one taken near 
Brighton, in September, 1866; the other at Hampstead, in 
August, 1868. The label has “ Sept. 1868” for the last-named 
specimen ; but in an interleaved copy of * The Birds of Middlesex,’ 
in the writer’s possession, there is a MS. note of the occurrence, 
written at the time, from information supplied by the birdcatcher 
(Davy, of Camden Town), who took it with three others, from 
which it appears that it was in August they were obtained. This 
renders it the more likely that, being all immature birds, they 
were reared at no great distance from where they were found, 
namely, on the outskirts of the Hampstead Woods. 

In Case 9, besides three examples of the Grasshopper Warbler, 
and an albino Sedge Warbler (from Lewes, Sussex, Sept., 1860), 
the most remarkable bird of the group is Savi’s Warbler, 
Acrocephalus luscinoides (Savi), a single specimen, labelled “ Fen 
near Baitsbight, Cambridge, May, 1845.” From information 
supplied by Mr. Bond to Prof. Newton (¢f. Yarrell’s ‘ Brit. Birds,’ 

“Ath ed. vol. i. p. 891) it would appear that the specimen just 
‘mentioned, as well as some others from the same district after- 
‘wards, were obtained through the intervention of one Harvey, 
the lock-keeper, at Baitsbight, on the River Cam. 


«« At that time a large extent of fen in the neighbourhood was over- 
grown with one of the social sedges (Cladium mariscus), which towards 
autumn was regularly cut, and, being made into bundles, was carried 
by water to Cambridge, to serve as kindling for fires. The sedge- 
cutters used commonly to find many old nests of singular construction 
in the course of their work,—nests which could not be assigned to any 
of the known kinds of fen-birds; and this fact was learned by Harvey, 


414 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


who dealt in various objects of Natural History. The people of the 
district were also aware of a reddish brown bird, having a peculiar 
song, often heard at night, not altogether unlike that of the Grass- 
hopper Warbler or ‘ Reeler,’ but still quite distinct ; and this bird they 
called indifferently the ‘ Brown,’ ‘ Red,’ or ‘ Night Reeler.’ Instigated 
by his customers, Harvey at length procured from the fen-men speci- 
mens of this bird, and a few years later its fresh nests and eggs. The 
earliest of the former so obtained seem to have passed into Mr. Baker’s 
hands ; and the first of the latter, taken in May, 1845, were purchased 
by Mr. Bond, who distributed the eggs to several of his friends,— 
among others to Yarrell, to Newman, by whom they were described 
(‘ Zoologist,’ 1846, p. 1212), and to Hewitson, who, in the same year, 
figured a specimen in his ‘Eggs of British Birds,’ Pl. XXV.” 
“Thus,” adds Professor Newton (tom. cit., p. 892, note), ‘‘ Mr. Bond 
is entitled to the merit of having been the first to bring the discovery 
of the eggs and very peculiar nest of this species to the knowledge of 
naturalists.”’ 


He presented one of the nests to the British Museum, and a 
representation of it forms the final vignette to the article on 
Savi’s Warbler in the latest edition of Yarrell’s standard work. 

Another fen-bird in this collection, the Bearded Tit (of which 
old and young specimens from Whittlesea Mere, June and August, 
1849, are in Case 10), deserves mention, as having been obtained 
by Bond himself in the old days before drainage had destroyed 
or considerably circumscribed its ancient haunts; and a pair of 
Crested Tits from Carr Bridge, Perthshire (obtained by the late 
Mr. Charles Thurnall in 1852) are conspicuous in Case 14. 

The first recognized occurrence of the White Wagtail, Mota- 
cilla alba, in this country was in May, 1841, when Mr. Bond 
found two pairs of this bird on the banks of Kingsbury Reservoir, 
Middlesex, and shot two males and a female (see Ann. Mag. Nat. 
Hist. vol. vii. p. 850; also Yarrell, ‘Brit. Birds,’ 4th ed. vol. i. 
p. 548). Two of these are preserved in Case 18; the third he 
gave to Yarrell. The Grey-headed Wagtail, Motacilla fava (the 
first British specimen of which was obtained by Henry Doubleday 
at Walton-on-the-Naze in October, 18384), is represented in 
Case 11 by a specimen taken near Brighton in 1866. 

Case 131 contains a female Pine Grosbeak, Pyrrhula enucleator, 
shot at Harrow-on-the-Hill, and figured by Yarrell, who was the 
original possessor of the specimen (‘ Brit. Birds,’ 4th ed. vol. ii. 

‘ p. 177); and in another case, in a cabinet drawer, is the Scarlet 


MEMOIR OF THE LATE FREDERICK BOND. 415 


Grosbeak, Pyrrhula erythrina (also a hen-bird), caught at 
Hampstead, and figured by Gould in his ‘Birds of Great 
Britain.’ Several Waxwings, Ampelis garrula (Case 17), from 
various localities, including the neighbourhood of London, were 
obtained during the great visitations of 1851 and 1866-67, when 
numbers of these birds were shot in different parts of the 
country (see ‘ Zoologist,’ 1867). 

In Case 122 is the first recorded English specimen of the 
Crested Lark, Alauda cristata, procured at Littlehampton, 
Sussex, and figured by Yarrell (vol. ii. p. 177). The Siberian 
Thrush, Turdus sibiricus, Pallas, shot between Guildford and 
Godalming in the winter of 1860—61, sent to Mr. Bond as a 
variety of the Redwing, and identified by the late Edward 
Blyth, who noticed it incidentally in ‘The Field’ of 24th 
September, 1870. 

In the autumn of 1845 several small flocks or family parties 
of the Two-barred Crossbill, Lozia bifasciata, appeared in 
Cumberland, and ten or a dozen were shot in the neighbourhood 
of Brampton (‘ Zoologist,’ 1846, p. 1551, and 1847, p. 1688). 
Of these some were secured and preserved by Mr. T. C. Heysham, 
of Carlisle, and besides those traced by Mr. Macpherson (‘ Birds 
of Cumberland,’ p. 52) to the collections of Messrs. Doubleday, 
Dix, Stevenson, and John Hancock, two, both female birds, were 
sent by Heysham to Bond, in whose collection they now are 
(Case 130), with a pair of the Parrot Crossbill, Loaia pityopsit- 
tacus, from Christchurch, Hants, March, 1862, and an adult 
male of the last-named species shot near Lymington, Hants, in 
March, 1843, out of a flock of eleven birds. 

Golden Orioles, shot in Middlesex and Bedfordshire (Case 182), 
and Hoopoes from Sussex and Leicestershire (Case 118), are 
conspicuous amongst the brighter plumaged birds. 

Case 114 contains an American Purple Martin, Hirundo 
purpurea, which belonged to Yarrell, and was said to have been 
shot with another one at Kingsbury Reservoir in September, 
1842, but no one now believes the story; and there can be no 
doubt, from the result of inquiries made, that Yarrell’s credulity 
was imposed upon. In the same case is a specimen of the 
Alpine Swift, Cypselus melba, which is stated erroneously, in 
‘The Birds of Middlesex’ (p. 129), to have been shot at Reading 
in August, 1841, It was received by Mr. Bond from Mr. Wheeler, 


416 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


of Reading, in October, 1841, but was shot in the previous 
month of August at Chobham, in Surrey. It is quite possible 
that this may have been the bird seen shortly before at Kings- 
bury Reservoir, but this is merely inferred from the infrequency 
with which this species has been observed in England. 

A female Little Bittern (Case 44) is noteworthy, as having 
been shot on the Lea, near Enfield, on the 10th September, 1847 
(Zool. 1848, p. 1969), and a specimen of the American Red- 
breasted Snipe, Macrorhamphus griseus, deserves mention, as 
having been shot, probably at low tide, on the banks of the 
Thames, near Battersea, some forty years ago. This is the 
specimen referred to in ‘The Birds of Middlesex’ (p. 195), the 
second Middlesex specimen therein mentioned as ‘‘killed at 
Stone Bridge, on the River Brent,” having been deposited by the 
author in the collection of British Birds in the Natural History 
Museum, together with other rare wading birds shot by him at 
Kingsbury Reservoir, amongst others the Little Ringed Plover 
and Temminck’s Stint. A Little Ringed Plover, in Case 54, is 
in precisely similar plumage to that just referred to, and was 
also obtained at Kingsbury Reservoir by Mr. Bond. The date 
cannot now be ascertained, but it is almost certain to have been 
in August or September, the season at which the young of most 
grallatorial birds are met with on their southward migration. 

The Red-necked Phalarope, P. hyperboreus, is much rarer in 
the South of England than the Grey Phalarope, which in some 
years is comparatively common, and birds in summer or 
breeding plumage are very seldom met with in the spring. 
Case 87 contains a specimen of P. hyperboreus in summer 
plumage, which (strange to tell) was shot in the summer of 
1850, while running between the rails near the Stratford Station 
on the Great Eastern Railway, and was presented by Mr. E. 
Shepherd. 

The series of wading birds in this collection is very fine, 
containing good specimens of all the British Charadrude and 
Scolopacide, most of which were shot by their late owner at 
Kingsbury Reservoir, Southend, and the Isle of Wight. 

The pair of Sand Grouse in Case 67, although not labelled, 
were received from Cambridgeshire in July, 1863 (cf. ‘ Zoologist,’ 
1863, p. 8722), the female from Cottenham, and the male from 
Swaffham Prior. Another male, which was shot at the same 


MEMOIR OF THE LATE FREDERICK BOND, 417 


date and only winged, lived for some time in the aviary of 
Mr. F. Barlow, of Cambridge, an old friend of Mr. Bond. 

If a full account of this remarkable collection were to be 
written, the numerous cases of “varieties” would require a 
chapter to themselves. We know of only two other collections 
of such abnormalities in this country which are at all comparable 
to that of Mr. Bond, namely, those owned by Mr. Whitaker, of 
Rainworth, Notts, and Mr. John Marshall, of Belmont, Taunton. 
We are unable to say which of these three collections of white 
and pied varieties contains the largest number of specimens, but 
it will suffice for our present purpose to notice a few only of the 
more remarkable forms which have been so carefully preserved 
by our deceased friend. Two Jays, one white the other pied, are 
in Case 20. Pied and white varieties of the Rook and Jackdaw 
(Case 84); a white Magpie (Case 35). Amongst the smaller 
birds may be mentioned Case 108, containing albino specimens 
of the House Sparrow, Redpoll, Linnet, Tree Pipit, Bullfinch, 
Yellowhammer, and Greenfinch, all from the collection of the 
late Mr. Hugh Hanley, of the 1st Life Guards. From the same 
collection came Case 116, containing three Starlings, one pure 
white, one silver-grey, one dark cream with a few spots, a pure 
white Bunting (Emberiza miliaria), a white Sand Martin, and a 
white Hedgesparrow. Another white variety of the Common 
Bunting, from Foulmire, Cambridgeshire, with a white example 
of the Black-headed Bunting from Berkshire, and presented by 
the late Mr. Gould, will be found in Case 121. 

Case 109, with varieties of the Linnet, Yellowhammer, and 
Chaffinch (all taken near Woolwich), a white Linnet (near 
London), a cream-coloured Sparrow from Cambridge, and two 
abnormally-marked Goldfinches and a Linnet from Brighton. 
Case 110 includes six varieties, one pure white, of the Starling, 
from Leicester, Freshwater, Lewes, Darlington, and Warwick 
Castle. In Case 111, besides four abnormally-coloured Sky 
Larks, are several varieties of species usually accounted rare by 
collectors, and seldom found to present much variation in 
plumage, such as the Tawny Pipit, Shore Lark, and Lapland 
Bunting. Apropos of this last-named, a case of Buntings (134) 
contains a male Lapland Bunting, the third of its kind recorded 
to have been obtained in England,.which was taken by a London 
birdcatcher in Copenhagen Fields in September, 1828, as noticed 

ZOOLOGIST.—Nov. 1889. ak 


‘418 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


by Gould (‘ Zool. Journ.’ vol. v. pp. 103, 104), and Yarrell 
(‘ Brit.. Birds,’ 4th ed. vol. ii. p. 16); also a hen-bird of this 
species, shot by Mr. Bond near the Red House, Battersea Fields, 
during the winter of 1830. In the same case, amongst some 
Snow Buntings from Hertfordshire, Middlesex, and Sussex, is a 
cream-coloured variety of this species, received from Heysham, 
to whom it was presented by Macgillivray. 

In Case 122, which contains a white Sky Lark from Sussex, 
and a Wood Lark from Welshpool, are two other birds which 
deserve special mention, namely, the first recorded English 
specimen of the Crested Lark, Alauda cristata, figured by Yarrell, 
and referred to in the 4th edition of his ‘ British Birds,’ vol. i. 
p. 633; and a Shore Lark, Otocorys alpestris, which was caught 
near Brighton on the 15th November, 1861, and kept alive in an 
aviary for a year and eight months (cf. ‘ The Ibis,’ 1862, p. 88). 
Five very singular varieties of the Sky Lark are preserved in 
Case 112, cinnamon-coloured, silver-grey, white, variegated 
white, and black and white pied. The last-named, which has 
the head, neck, back, and whole of the under parts black, with 
wings and tail white, variegated with black, was obtained at 
Hampstead by the late Mr. Herbert Greenwood. 

White and cream-coloured Swallows and Martins are displayed 
in Case 113, the most remarkable specimen in this case being a 
Swallow with a white head from Reading. A fawn-coloured 
Mistle Thrush (Case 22), and a Fieldfare with the head and 
shoulders white, shot near Hendon (Case 115) deserve notice, as 
do also (in the last-mentioned case) a young Cuckoo with white 
wings, from Sussex, presented by the late A. EH. Knox, the 
author of ‘ Ornithological Rambles in Sussex,’ and a Nightjar of 
a dark cream-colour, obtained by the late Mr. C. Thurnall while 
partridge-shooting at Duxford, Cambridgeshire, on Sept. Ist, 
1859. Another Nightjar, nearly white, is preserved in Case 120. 

One cabinet is entirely set apart for a collection of “‘ varieties ”’ 
of small birds, which are mounted in groups in the drawers, 
instead of in cases. Conspicuous amongst these are a hybrid 
Goldfinch and Greenfinch, taken near London in 1868; a white 
Brambling from Dayy, the birdcatcher, of Camden Town, 
probably captured near Hampstead, on his favourite ground for 
Linnets; a red variety of the Chaffinch, caught by boys ‘‘ bat- 
fowling” at Hammersmith; a Scarlet Bullfinch, Pyrrhula 


MEMOIR OF THE LATE FREDERICK BOND. 419 


erythrina (a female bird), taken at Hampstead, Oct. 5th, 1870, 
and figured by Gould in his ‘ Birds of Great Britain’; a Bull- 
_finch of a smoky white, obtained at Hampton Court in 1875; a 
very curious variety of the Hawfinch, nearly white, with black 
wings and tail, caught at Denmark Hill, and presented by 
Mr. K. Bidwell ; an abnormally-coloured Yellowhammer, taken 
in Hackney Marshes in 1872; a pied Linnet, caught also near 
London ; and a singular variety of the Chaffinch, with the head, 
neck, and part of the wings and breast white, obtained at Staines 
in 1880. So much for this unique cabinet. Then we have a 
white Partridge, shot at Brandon in September, 1856 (Case 36) ; 
a white Knot, Tringa canutus (Case 47); four very curious 
varieties of the Common Snipe, and one so-called Sabine’s Snipe 
(Case 47), regarded by the owner as a melanism of the common 
species (Zool. 1862); an albino Black-headed Gull, Larus ridi- 
bundus (Case 58); two Puffins, one white, the other pied (Case 
71); and (amongst the collection of skins) a pure white female 
Hider Duck (ef. Yarrell, ‘ Brit. Birds,’ 4th. ed. vol. iv. p. 462). 

It is a curious fact that although the young of most, if not 
of all, hawks are clothed with white down when first hatched, 
they very rarely grow up white, and indeed an albino specimen 
of any diurnal bird of prey is so seldom met with, notwith- 
standing the numbers of hawks shot and trapped by game- 
keepers, that ‘‘ when found” it deserves to be ‘‘ made a note of.” 
There is a white, or rather cream-coloured, Sparrowhawk in this 
collection (Case 18), which was purchased at the sale of the late 
Dr. Crisp’s Museum, on May 12th, 1884, but no particulars have 
been noted as to when and where it was procured. At the moment 
of writing we can only call to mind two other cases of albinism 
amongst the Falconide. Mr. Howlett, the birdstuffer at New- 
market, in 1865, had a white Kestrel, F’. tinnunculus, which was 
shot that year on Newmarket Heath; and he afterwards preserved 
a white Sparrowhawk, shot at Garely in 1876, which, if we 
mistake not, is now in the collection of Mr. John Marshall, of 
Belmont, Taunton. 

Next to the “varieties” may be-mentioned the ‘‘ hybrids,” 
which, although not numerous, are some of them extremely 
curious. Amongst these may be noticed a cross between the 
Mallard and Pintail, and Teal and Wigeon (Case 38), and a 
hybrid duck, purchased at Mr. Doubleday’s sale at Epping, 

2K2 


420 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


August 28rd, 1871, and figured in the 1st edition of Yarrell’s 
‘ British Birds’ as the American Scaup, Fuligula mariloides. In 
1872 the following remarks on this identical specimen appeared 
in the ‘ Handbook of British Birds,’ p. 64 :-— 


«The specimen figured by Yarrell belonged to Doubleday, and at 
the sale of that gentleman’s collection, in August, 1871, it was 
purchased by Mr. Bond, in whose possession it now remains. From 
an examination of this specimen I have little doubt that it is a hybrid 
between the Pochard and Scaup, although it is but fair to add that 
this view is not shared by Mr. Bond, who considers it a hybrid between 
F. ferina and F’. ferruginea. The broad bill, however, and dark colour 
of the head and dorsal plumage are points which seem to me to 
indicate a relationship to the Scaup.” 


One of the most singular birds in the collection is that in 
Case 84, a supposed hybrid between a Baldpate Pigeon and a 
Silver Bantam. It was stuffed by Sayer, of Norwich, in April, 
1864, and was presented by Mr. J. H. Gurney, who saw it before 
it was skinned. Its history will be found in an article by the late 
well-known artist, Mr. T. W. Wood, who has also furnished a 
very good engraving of the bird in ‘ The Country’ for July 24th, 
1873. Mr. Wood says :—‘ After carefully examining the speci- 
men, which is stuffed, I told Mr. Bond that I guessed it to be a 
hybrid bald-headed Pigeon and Bantam. Mr. Bond then said 
I had guessed rightly, and added that Mr. J. H. Gurney, Sen., 
the well-known ornithologist, had seen the bird when in the flesh 
dead.” As Mr. Wood characterizes it as ‘probably the only 
example known of such an extraordinary hybrid,” we may 
assume that he believed in the possibility of such a cross, though 
admitting that others dissented from him. We confess our 
inability to share his opinion, for the fact that chickens when 
hatched are clothed with down and able to run, while Pigeons 
at birth are naked and helpless, and require to be fed by 
the parent, seems at once to create an insuperable difficulty 
in the production of such a hybrid. For this reason, and 
having regard to the structure and shape of the legs, feet, 
and tail, which are essentially of the Columbine type, we are 
disposed to consider the bird an abnormal Pigeon of the 
colour of a Bantam. It is asserted, in the account given by 
Mr. Wood, that the bird in question was reared by a game-dealer 
at Norwich named Engall, in an aviary which contained both 


MEMOIR OF THE LATE FREDERICK BOND. 421 


Pigeons and Bantams. What, it may be asked, was Mr. Bond’s 
Opinion on the subject? It was somewhat oracular. He said 
that ‘he did not know what to make of it, and had never seen 
anything like it; the pigeon-like shape and the fowl-like plumage 
would lead any one, without reflection, to believe in its asserted 
hybridity.” 

Here we must take leave of the Birds, and devote the 
remainder of this memoir to a few remarks on the beautiful 
collection of Eggs of British Birds, in the formation of which 
Mr. Bond spent the best years of his life. To this collection, 
unfortunately, access cannot now be readily gained, since it was 
disposed of some years ago to Baron Louis d’Hamonville, and 
has been removed to France. It is undoubtedly one of the 
finest collections ever formed in this country; not only 
because it was commenced so long ago that it contains the 
eges of many birds which no longer breed in the British 
Islands, or are now almost impossible to procure here, but 
also because it contains such well-selected, typical examples of 
every species, with occasional varieties, and every one of 
them carefully identified. Many and many a time have we 
revelled in an examination of the contents of that egg-cabinet, 
and admired the treasures it enclosed, the gem, of course, being 
the egg of the Great Auk, which was previously in the col- 
lection of Yarrell, and the history of which, so far as is 
known, is given in Mr. Grieve’s Monograph of that bird (page 
105). British Eagles, Ospreys, Kites, and Buzzards, each with 
a history; Honey Buzzards from the New Forest; Harriers 
and Short-eared Owls from the Fens, whence came also eggs of 
the Black-tailed Godwit, Reeve, and Redshank, Spotted Crake, 
and (if our memory serves us) of the Black Tern also; to say 
nothing of ducks of different sorts, and such marsh-loving birds 
as the Bearded Tit, Savi’s, and Great Reed Warblers, Dotterels 
from the North-country “fells,” and Kentish Plovers from the 
Sussex beach, English Crossbills and Golden Orioles, Choughs 
and Ravens, and many others dear in the eyes of a collector. 
With what pleasure would he open drawer after drawer and 
recount to a delighted listener the history of the specimens most 
prized, and the incidents of the day on which they were found. 
He could remember the time when a hatful of Water Rail’s and 
Spotted Crake’s eggs might be purchased of a “‘ fenman”’ for a 


429 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


shilling, and when ‘Large Coppers” (Lycena dispar) might 
be bought at the rate of ‘‘two shillings a dozen, if you took them 
as they came, or half-a-crown a dozen if you picked them.” 
Those good old days have passed away, and with them the 
worthy naturalist (one of the last) who could remember them. 
His memory will still live in the hearts of his many friends and 
pupils, of whom the present writer is proud to have been one, 
while the benefit of his teaching, too little recorded, will be’ 
admitted by every naturalist who had the pleasure of his 
acquaintance. 

As we stood bare-headed at his grave, on the 14th August 
last, in the quiet little churchyard of St. Mary, at Staines, where 
the last years of his life had been spent, we thought of many a 
byegone day spent with him in the woods and fields, in the 
autumn stubble and the wintry marsh, and recalled many 
an act of friendship. The sky was overcast, the heavens 
frowned, and as if unable, like ourselves, to repress a parting 
tear, dropped gentle rain as we moved away; while a few 
passing Swallows, with lowered flight, twittered o’er the open 
grave, a fitting dirge for one who had been the friend of birds 
through life, and who had made so many others feel the pleasure 
which he himself derived from a study of their haunts and habits. 

The accompanying photograph was taken in 1882. 


NOTES ON THE ORNITHOLOGY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 
AND NEIGHBOURHOOD. 


By tHe Rr. Hon. Lorp Livrorp, F.L.S., F.Z.S. 


I CONTINUE my notes from Oct. 25th (Zool. 1888, p. 466). 

Oct. 31st. One Swallow reported at Lilford.—R. C. 

Nov. 3rd. A Jack Snipe snared at decoy weighed full 3 oz. A 
very fine young male Golden-eye shot by my son near Aldwincle. 

Nov. 7th. Two Coots (first appearance this autumn ) on the 
river near Lilford.—R. C. 

Nov. 14th. ‘‘A tiercel Peregrine came at the decoy-pigeon 
at the hawk-hut and struck it so hard as to prevent its using its 
wings ; the hawk came again and again, but would not ‘ bind to,’ 
and after some ten minutes of repeated stooping, flew slowly 


NOTES FROM NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 423 


away. I caught a young male Sparrowhawk three days ago, and 
set him at liberty."—R. C. [R. Cosgrave, falconer.] 

Nov. 17th. “The Shag (cf. my notes, Sept. Ist, 1884) has a 
crest the usual size. I only noticed it this last week or so.”— 
R. C. This is the first notice that I received of any appearance 
of a crest on this bird, which had lived on our ponds since the 
date last quoted. I may add that this old favourite was drowned 
under the ice on Dec. 14th, 1888, and Mr. J. Cullingford, of 
Durham, to whom I sent it for preservation, in writing to me on 
the 17th of that month, states :—‘‘ The Shag is a male, and very 
fat, not less than a quarter of an inch of fat on the skin; not 
fully through the moult, many of the quills being full of blood.” 

Noy. 19th. “I caught a female Sparrowhawk at the hut this 
morning; she is a bird of the year, and must be a very plucky 
one, as she knocked the Pigeons about like a Peregrine; I sent 
her on to the Rev. Gage E. Freeman. Skelton brought in a 
Water Rail alive, snared at the decoy. I forgot to say thata 
pair of Shovellers visit the Aviary Pond; I first saw them on the 
12th inst.; they are getting tame.”—R. C. 

Nov. 20th. Female Pintail taken, with a few Teal, on the 
decoy. 

Nov. 22nd. “A Bittern shot at Faxton.”— Wm. Bazeley (Sheep 
Street, Northampton), in a letter to me. | 

Dec. 8rd. ‘‘A common brown Buzzard flew over my lodge 
about a fortnight ago, and was seen in Wadenhoe Wood after 
that.”—D. M. 

Jan. 2nd, 1889. ‘I saw Lord Lyveden’s gamekeeper, and he 
told me that he had seen the Buzzard several times about 
Farming Woods, and lately went to Deene Park, where he saw 
it dead at the keeper’s house; it was killed by one of the under- 
keepers in the Corby Woods, and was unfortunately too far gone 
for stuffing.”—D. M. 

Jan. 4th. My son reported about 100 Golden Plovers going 
over southwards. 

Jan. 5th. The same correspondent tells me of fourteen Wild 
Geese passing southwards. 

Jan. 12th. “One male Gadwall on the decoy.”—R. S. 

Jan. 16th. “The Black Vulture, Vuliwr monachus, female 
(taken from a nest in Central Spain in June, 1865) and Griffon 
Vulture, Gyps fulvus (from a nest near Irun in May, 1867) are 


494 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


already nest-making in the same corner (of their aviary at Lilford) 
as in previous years.’—R. C. 

Jan. 19th. “A fine male specimen of Pallas’s Sand Grouse, 
weighing 113 oz., was shot in the parish of Weedon on 15th inst. 
It flew out of some turnips close to a rick of barley, where it had 
evidently been feeding, its crop being full of the same.”—Wm. 
Bazeley (from ‘Northampton Daily Chronicle’). 

Jan. 23rd. Seven Wild Geese seen going northwards over 
Aldwincle. 

Jan. 28th. My fisherman, writing from Lilford under this 
date, states :—‘* The weather at present is very mild, and Thrushes 
and Hedgesparrows are singing every day; they began to sing 
about the middle of November last, and continued until the frost 
came. The Rooks were at their nests for several days. 

Jan. 3lst. Through the good offices of Lord Burghley, I this 
day received a pair of wings of Pallas’s Sand Grouse from John 
Munton, one of Lord Exeter’s gamekeepers at Southorpe, near 
Stamford, who subsequently gave me the following information 
by letter dated Feb. 4th:—‘“ Twelve of these birds were first 
seen, in one flock, in one field on the Southorpe Mill Farm, on 
the last day of May, 1888, and again on June lst; on this latter 
day two of the birds were shot by a boy in the employ of the 
occupier of the farm; the others were not seen again.” 

Feb. 6th. “I am pleased to see the Golden Eagles (at Lil- 
ford) begin nesting again. I gave them a lot of sticks, moss, &c., 
which they at once began to take to the place where the nest was 
last year; they are getting savage.”—R. C. These Eagles are a 
pair that I received in 1877 from a nest in Inverness-shire; they 
built a nest for the first time in 1888, and laid three eggs, of which 
they broke one and devoured another; the third was addled. 

Feb. 13th. “This afternoon, when I went to the park aviary 
to lock the fence-gate for the night, I was surprised to see two 
wild Swans rise from the pond. When I first caught sight of 
them they were close by the pinioned ones (Whoopers and Mute 
Swans). As they flew away they kept calling to the others. There 
is also a female Pochard which dropped in yesterday; she goes 
to the river when I go near, but returns to the pond again.” —R. C. 

Feb. 19th. “Three Swans flying southwards this morning. 
Gadwall brought alive to me from the decoy, caught on the 
18th.”—R. C. 


NOTES FROM NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 425 


Feb. 21st. “A few fowl begin to take to the decoy-pond again, 
now that the floods are going down; fifteen Ducks, seven Teal, 
and four Wigeon in to-day. Twenty Golden Plovers seen on 
15th.”—R. 8. 

Feb. 23rd. Three Swans seen going northwards. Wm. Seal 
(a London birdcatcher) says positively that he saw two Wheatears 
at Wadenhoe on 21st.—R. C. 

Feb. 28th. “‘The Bearded Vulture, Gypaétus barbatus (one of 
two received from separate nests in Andalusia in 1878), is making 
a nest (at Lilford); the only material used is wool, but she does 
not line the bottom of the hole that she has scratched in the 
sand—she only collects the wool around it.”—R. C. This bird 
did not lay, and till last year has never during the ten years she 
has been in my possession shown any desire to nest. The other 
bird, which I believe to be a male, was so bullied by his fellow- 
captive, that we were forced to separate them about six years ago, 
but at present (September, 1889) they are living together in 
perfect amity. 

March ist. Our total of wildfowl for the past season is 
singularly poor, as the produce of the decoy, gun, and telegraph- 
wires—viz. 1 Landrail, 4 Spotted Crakes, 5 Water Rails, 1 Golden 
Plover, 7 Woodcocks, 85 Snipes, 17 Jack Snipes, 177 Mallard, 
24 Teal, 1 Gadwall, 1 Pintail, 6 Wigeon, and 1 Goldeneye. 

March 9th. “ The Black Vulture (¢f. supra) laid on 5th, quite 
in the open; I put the egg in the nest: she and the Griffon sit 
upon it by turns.”—R. C. 

March 20th. “ There are 20 Ducks, 10 Teal, and 6 Wigeon on 
the decoy; there were two Pochards in on 15th. Twelve Sea- 
gulls (? species) passed over on 16th.”—R. S. 

March 22nd. “‘ The Golden Eagle (cf. supra) laid this morning, 
and sits very ciosely; both Hagles are very savage.” —R. C. 

April 9th. ‘‘The Eagles are sitting closely by turns on two 
eggs. A very fine young Falcon came a few days ago and looked 
at my Pigeon at the ‘hut,’ but would not stoop at it. On the 2nd 
there were several Herring Gulls going down over the river, and 
yesterday I saw two Gulls which looked like the Brown-headed, 
Larus ridibundus.”—R. C. 

April 22nd. ‘“ During the past week I have seen several large 
flocks of Mistletoe Thrushes going northwards. On the 19th 
there was a solitary Fieldfare about the lawn at Lilford; he 


496 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


seemed to be quite lost, and only flew from tree to tree. A Grey 
Crow was seen on 19th.”—R. C. 

April 23rd. “A nest of Little Owl found in a hollow bough 
of old ash-tree in the park; the finder lifted the old bird, who 
would not leave the nest, and could make out one egg.” —S. J. 
I am glad to say that these Little Owls (a pair of many set at 
liberty here in July, 1888) succeeded in hatching out and rearing 
four young birds, which left their nursery about June 10th. 
I have good reason to believe that one, if not two, other broods of 
this species, Athene noctua, were successfully reared in the 
neighbourhood of Lilford during this summer. 

April 25th. “I regret very much to find that this morning 
the Eagles have left their nest, and have left nothing but a few 
broken pieces of egg-shell. I have no doubt that they have 
eaten the eggs.”—R. C. 

April 26th. Miss M. K. Stopford informed me in a letter 
bearing this date, that on the previous day she and her father 
saw a very large bird, which they are convinced was an Hagle, 
flying steadily northwards over Tichmarsh at a very great height. 

April 29th. “I saw a Fieldfare on 27th, and found the first 
Pheasant’s nest, containing ten eggs on 10th; first Partridge’s 
eggs on 27th.”—D. M. 

May 3rd. “I have seen two broods of Wild Ducks in the 
meadows, and know of two nests of eggs still unhatched. I saw 
two of the Common (?) Sea-gull on April 27th, and three of the 
grey Gulls (probably ZL. argentatus, immature) on 380th; three 
Sea Swallows on May Ist and a Coot on 2nd.’—R. 8S. 

May 6th. Under this date Mr. W. Tomalin, of Northampton, 
wrote to me as follows:—‘“I went to Spratton this morning to 
inspect the Snipe’s nest reported to me as having been found 
there on 8rd inst. The finder took me to the spot, and I saw 
the bird sitting on the nest; when we were about seven yards 
from it she flew away and pitched about forty yards off. The 
nest contained four eggs; I did not touch it or them: it was 
partially concealed by some rushes, and appeared to be lined with 
dry bents. There are cattle and sheep in the field; the nest is 
on rising ground about twenty yards from a snipe-bog which in 
the driest weather would be over one’s knees in mud.” I have 
recorded the above particulars because they are the only details 


NOTES FROM NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 497 


that I have ever received concerning a nest of Snipe in 
Northamptonshire. 

May 10th. “A male Wigeon dropped into the decoy on 4th; 
it stops on the pool, and is getting very tame.”—R. 8. Major 
C. J. Strong, under this date from Thorpe Hall, near Peter- 
borough, wrote :—“ Knowing that you like to note the occurrence 
of any uncommon bird in this county, I write to say that a male 
Pied Flycatcher passed May-day here. I saw him several times 
on that day, but, alas! on the next, his place—generally a wire- 
fence—knew him not, and I suppose he had moved on.” 

May 18th. Mr. G. Hunt informed me that thirty-five Whim- 
brels passed up our valley on 9th inst. 

. May 17th. “I saw a large Curlew on 10th.”—R. 8. 

May 28th. Our butler, who has a very fair acquaintance with 
British birds, assured me that he saw and closely identified a 
male Cirl Bunting near Achurch. He first saw this bird yesterday 
morning, and on my expressing some doubt, went this afternoon 
to the spot where he had seen it, and had so near a view that he 
is quite convinced as to species and sex. I am only acquainted ~ 
with two previous occurrences of the Cirl Bunting in North- 
amptonshire. 

June 4th. First hatch of Partridges reported—very early for 
our neighbourhood. A Great Titmouse is sitting on ten eggs in 
a disused iron pump in the kitchen garden, her only meaus of 
access to the nest being literally “up the spout.” On the removal 
of the iron pump-cover she seldom retires further than into this 
spout, whence she hisses and snaps at visitors. I am glad to say 
that this bird, in spite of constant disturbance, succeeded in taking 
off seven young ones into the garden. 

June 8th. Three male Shovellers dropped into the decoy, and 
were caught and brought to me; they were in beautiful plumage, 
only just beginning to moult. I had three pinioned widows 
of this species on my wildfowl-pond, and placed these roving 
gentlemen at their disposal; another solitary male was taken on 
the decoy on the 10th inst., and turned down with the others. 
The Shoveller is by no means common in Northamptonshire at 
any time of year, and I am rather puzzled to account for the 
occurrence of these four adult males here at this season. I can 
only suppose that they had retired to moult to some spot from 
which they were driven by the heavy floods which prevailed in 


428 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


this neighbourhood during the early part of June. I may mention 
that these four drakes became fairly tame, and are now (Oct. 12th) 
beginning to show their true colours, after nearly three months 
of comparative dinginess. 

June 14th. The Garden Warbler is unusually abundant here. 

June 19th. I sent my falconer to try and find a Hobby’s nest 
in the wood from which we have procured young birds for the last 
three years; but although he saw a pair of old birds he could not 
find their eggs, the nest from which he took two young birds last 
August (cf. Zool. 1888, p. 468) being to-day occupied by five very 
young Kestrels. 

July 8th. My friend Lieut.-Colonel Irby, whilst searching for 
Lepidoptera in the wood above alluded to, flushed a Woodcock. 
I have several records of the nesting of this species in our county, 
but it may be fairly regarded as a very rare bird during the 
summer therein. Heard the hooting of the Tawny Owls for the 
first time since our arrival from Bournemouth on May 21st. 

July 11th. Although perhaps not strictly appertaining to 
county ornithology, I may mention that one of my Algerian 
Horned Larks, Otocorys bilopha, which escaped from its cage a few 
days ago, was recaptured this morning in a village more than two 
miles from this house, and brought back to me alive and uninjured. 
This recapture was most satisfactory to me, not only on account 
of the intrinsic value of the bird, but from the fact that had it 
fallen into the hands of an “intelligent taxidermist,” it would 
probably have been sold for an enormous sum, and figured in 
some collection as the first specimen of a species new to the 
British list. 

July 12th. First report of Snipes, seen on 7th, and a Green 
Sandpiper on 11th inst. 

July 14th. Noticed my Ruffs in the aviary eagerly pursuing 
and devouring the midges, which have been an intolerable and 
unusual nuisance during the last few days. I mention. this 
because I could not see that the other waders,—Knots, Redshanks, 
Godwits, Turnstones, &c.,— took any particular notice of these 
little pests. A solitary Curlew passed over, southwards bound. 

July 16th. Four Snipes on banks of the decoy pool. 

July 21st. My son reported the first Teal of the season. 

July 22nd. I received three young Hobbies of about ten days 
old from an old nest of Carrion Crow in our bordering county of 


NOTES FROM NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 429 


Rutland. I mention this only because these are the earliest 
nestlings of their species that I have ever seen. 

July 23rd. Several Cirl Buntings seen lately about the same 
spot as the bird of this species previously mentioned. 

July 24th. A female Peregrine seen close to the house. 

July 30th. Mr. W. Nichols was good enough to make me a 
present of a Dotterel, Hudromias morinellus, stuffed and mounted. 
This bird was killed on the Grange Farm, Raunds, on Oct. 26th, 
1886, and is the only Northamptonshire specimen of its species 
that I have ever seen, although a flock of these birds appeared in 
our meadows in April, 1887, as already recorded in this Journal 
(cf. Zool. 1887, p. 253). A Spotted Crake was flushed by the 
otter-hounds this afternoon above Aldwincle. 

Aug. 4th. Pied Wagtails, in family parties of fives and sixes, 
gathering about the gravel-drive in front of the house to the 
number of thirty to forty. 

Aug. 7th. A Curlew was brought to me alive, but dreadfully 
emaciated, by one Tiney, of Woodford, who informed me that it 
was picked up, unable to fly, near that village, about a fortnight 
ago. Although many of this species pass southwards up our 
valley in late summer and early autumn, and some, no doubt, 
upon their return migration in April and May, this is the first 
Northamptonshire Curlew that I have handled. 

Aug. 11th. On this day, and on many subsequent occasions, 
my young Rutland Hobbies (cf. supra), now flying “at hack” in 
the park, were joined by an old bird of their species. 

Aug. 12th. My falconer, after several fruitless expeditions 
in search of Hobbies to the wood whence we have previously 
obtained them, to-day discovered the nest, at a considerable 
distance from the quarter formerly frequented by these hawks, 
but two young Hobbies had taken wing, and were careering from 
tree to tree, closely attended by the old birds. The nest only 
contained one rotten and discoloured egg. 

Aug. 13th. Six large grey Gulls going over southwards. 

Aug. 19th. A very perfect specimen of Spotted Crake was 
picked up on the L.N.W. Railway near Thorpe Station, and 
brought to me, having obviously killed itself by flying against the 
telegraph-wires. 

Aug. 26th. Mr. G. Hunt reported that whilst Wood Pigeon 
shooting on his manor to-day, he witnessed the passage of fifty - 


430 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


five Wild Geese, seven Curlews and some three hundred Peewits, 
all bound in a south-westerly direction. 

Aug. 28th. The station-master at Thorpe, L.N.W.R., brought 
me a wing of Spotted Crake, clean cut off from the body by 
telegraph-wires, and picked up this morning on the railway line. 

Aug. 3lst. We flushed the first Water Rail of the season on 
the left bank of the river, between Lilford and Stoke Doyle. 

Sept. 5th. Saw the first Grey Wagtail of season. 

Sept. 7th. Saw the first Merlin of season. 

Sept. 8th. The first Wigeon of season dropped on to the 
decoy-pool, and was joined by four more on the 16th inst. 

Sept. 21st. Very large numbers of House Martins congregating 
in sheltered spots. 

Sept. 22nd. A Spotted Crake, shot on Thorpe, brought in 
to me; another seen at the decoy. 

Sept. 23rd. First report of Redwings this season. 

Sept. 80th. A Spotted Crake, snared at the decoy, brought 
to me quite uninjured, and immediately set at liberty. First Grey 
Crow of season seen; first Jack Snipe of season seen, and shot. 

Oct. 4th. First Woodcock of season reported. 

Oct. 7th. A male Peregrine passed the hawk-hut, but being 
evidently full-fed, took no notice of the decoy-pigeon. 

Oct. 10th. First report of Brambling this season. 

Oct. 13th. First Pochard of the season (a fine old male) 
dropped in upon the wildfowl-pond close to the house. First 
Fieldfare of season reported. 

Oct. 16th. First flight of migrating Wood Pigeons reported. 

I conclude by mentioning the dates of the appearance of 
summer migrants in Northamptonshire in 1889, which may be 
useful for comparison with dates observed in other parts of the 
country :—Feb. 21st, Wheatear. March 25th, Chiffchaff; 31st, 
Wryneck. April 6th, Woodcock; 10th, Willow Wren; 17, Swal- 
low; 18th, Redstart; 19th, Nightingale, Blackcap; 20th, Jack 
Snipe, Tree Pipit; 22nd, Sedge Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat ; 
93rd, Green Sandpiper, Cuckoo; 24th, Whitethroat, Common 
Sandpiper; 25th, Landrail, Ray’s Wagtail; 30th, Redshank. 
May 1st, Reed Warbler, Pied Flycatcher, Turtle Dove, “ Sea- 
swallow”; 8rd, Whinchat; 5th, Swift; 7th Spotted Flycatcher ; 
8th, Red-backed Shrike; 9th, Whimbrel; 10th, Curlew; 11th, 
Nightjar; 20th, Hobby, 


( 481 ) 


THE GREAT BLACK WOODPECKER IN ENGLAND. 


By E. Camsripce Puiiuties, F.I..S. 


THe disinclination on the part of Professor Newton and 
Messrs. Seebohm and Saunders to give Picus martius a place in 
the List of British Birds is now well known to ornithologists, 
and doubtless their decision was arrived at after a careful and 
painstaking enquiry. It is not with the slightest intention of 
setting my humble opinion against theirs that I offer these few 
remarks. The publication, in the ‘ Birds of Herefordshire,’ of a 
distinct statement of the occurrence of Picus martius in that 
county has reopened the question, and as the statement has 
called forth many letters on the subject, it has seemed to me 
worth while to notice the reported occurrences of this bird in 
this paper, alluding principally to those mentioned in the ‘ Birds 
of Herefordshire,’ in the hope that its omission from the List of 
British Birds may be reconsidered. 

First, I must mention Mr. Harting’s list in his well-known 
and useful ‘ Handbook of British Birds.’ There he enumerates 
thirty-three instances of its reported occurrence, out of which 
eight are considered to be doubtful. Professor Newton, however, 
who seems to have taken great pains in the matter, states, in 
the 4th edition of Yarrell’s Birds, that Mr. J. H. Gurney has 
critically revised this list, and has completely dlsposed of the 
claims set up in nearly every instance. I may, however, point out 
that the two shot at Nottingham, and referred to by Macgillivray, 
whose name carries considerable weight, seem to have been 
certified by the person who procured them. 

I next come to those instances recorded in the ‘Birds of 
Herefordshire,’ and which have attracted far greater attention 
than anything else in the book, as evidenced by the controversy 
which has arisen on the subject. The statements of the Rev. 
Clement Ley are undoubtedly of the greatest value, because he 
has heard the cry of the bird when on the Continent, and even 
an adverse critic says that his statements are deserving of 
the greatest consideration. The Rev. Clement Ley states with 


* Read at the Annual Meeting of the Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club, 
at Hereford, October 3rd, 1889, 


432 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


great distinctness that he saw Picus martius in Ruckhall Woods, 
Baton Bishop, about the year 1874, in company with Mr. du 
Buisson and his daughter, that he also saw it and heard it at 
Mount Edgecombe in Devonshire in 1876, and that he heard its 
ery twice unmistakably in Pengethley Gorse, Ross, once unmis- 
takably in the parish of Fownhope (certainly a most likely 
place), and once dubiously, distant, and uncertain, in the parish 
of Little Doward ; and what is of the utmost value in cases like 
this, he adds, he possessed the faculty, and still retains it, of 
never forgetting the note of any bird which he has once heard, 
and he points out that without the knowledge of this note (and 
I quite agree with him) he would have been unable to recognise 
the bird. He graphically adds :—‘‘Can any sane man have 
mistaken Picus martius flying at less than twenty yards distance 
towards the north-east of the observer, the sun being in the 
west, for any other bird?” That is a question which appears to 
me to require a great deal of answering. Unfortunately the 
state of Mr. Ley’s health is, I regret to learn, very feeble, or a 
paper from him instead of myself would have been highly 
appreciated. 

Mr. D. R. Chapman, another member of the same Naturalist’s 
Club, and an observer of considerable experience, states that he 
saw a Black Woodpecker at Belmont, about a mile from where 
Mr. Ley saw it, in the spring of 1879. To make sure he crawled 
along the meadow for some sixty or seventy yards, and was 
rewarded by a clear view of the bird. 

Captain Mayne Reid also states that in 1880 he saw two 
specimens in the woods near Frogmore, Ross, and has noted the 
occurrence in ‘The Naturalist in Siluria’ (p. 46). As he has 
given great attention to Natural History, his statement is 
deserving of consideration. See ‘The Zoologist’ for May last 
(p. 46). 

Lastly, I come to the bird seen by myself and one of my sons 
as it was flying from an oak at Dinas, near Brecon, on Whit 
Monday, 1885, and reported by me in ‘The Zoologist’ (1885, 
p. 305). I certainly should not have noticed it but for its cry, 
which was most startling, loud, and resonant, and quite unlike 
anything I ever heard before or since, although I have been a 
field naturalist for thirty-five years. This cry was very like the 
cry of the Curlew when unexpectedly disturbed (omitting the 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 433 


“ Courlee’’), but was louder and more weird-like, and I think I 
may add, almost human in its shrillness. I admit that this cry 
is most difficult to describe, and, although the Rev. Clement 
Ley says that it would not have occurred to him to compare it 
to the startled cry of the Curlew, still he agrees with me in the 
main. That it was a Woodpecker, and a Black one, I have no 
doubt, and if it was not Picus martius, what bird was it? I 
omitted to state that it flew with a bold sweeping flight, and with 
its tail slightly forked. I heard its cry twice afterwards, but 
saw it no more. 

It must not be forgotten that the bird at Ruckhall Wood was 
seen in the month of June, that in Devonshire in the month of 
April, that at Belmont in the spring, that by myself at Dinas, 
Brecon, on the 25th of May, whilst no date is assigned to 
Capt. Mayne Reid’s specimens; and, although the Rev. Clement 
Ley says that the evidence against the supposition that Picus 
martius is migratory seems to him overwhelming, yet the circum- 
stances of the above occurring in the spring and early summer 
are certainly worth noting. Probably it is more silent in winter, 
but possibly it may be a stray summer visitant. I think, more- 
over, that it is almost impossible that the observers in the cases 
I have quoted could have been mistaken in every instance. It 
may be remarked with a great deal of truth that most of this 
has been said, and better said, before. I admit that there are 
links of evidence yet wanting, and probably most people will 
agree that the production of a freshly-killed British specimen in 
the flesh will alone settle this much-disputed question. 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


MAMMALIA. 


Pigs used as Sheep-dogs in Italy.—A curious custom, which I first 
observed while travelling on the Apennines, and staying at Gavinana, near 
Pistoia, is worth recording for the benefit of your readers. The mountain 
peasants, though apparently poor, have under their care, either as their own 
property, or as that of rich landowners, large tracts of chestnut-woods. 
Some of them also own flocks of sheep. ‘lhe expense of keeping a good 
sheep-dog for these would, in most cases, be too much for them. Hence, 

ZOOLOGIST.—Nov. 1889. 2L 


454 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


as a substitute, they employ small mountain pigs, which practically cost 
them nothing. They are as good as sheep-dogs in keeping the flocks 
together, and when a suitable feeding-place has been found, the pigs, as 
they wander about under the chestnut trees, pick up chestnuts and other 
food. The reason why they are employed thus seems to be that they may 
be trained to become good substitutes for dogs, and by finding their own 
food in the woods cost their owners nothing.—F. V. Darpysxtre (Balliol 
College, Oxford). 


Black Rat in Cornwall.—A specimen of the “ Old English” or Black 
Rat, Mus rattus, was taken at Tredorwin in Towednack, about five miles 
north-east of Penzance, and is—in this neighbourhood, at least—decidedly 
of rare occurrence. Some years ago I was advised of a small colony of 
this rat which had established itself at a farm called Trenuggo, about 
four miles west of Penzance; but I failed to secure a specimen, and they 
seem to have deserted the place.—Tuomas Cornrsu (Penzance). 


Bat resting on the Water.—One evening in July last I witnessed an 
unusual action on the part of a bat (Vespertilio daubentonii). 1 was fishing 
for Tench in a large pond overhung by willows, which forms a favourite 
hunting-ground for bats of this species, when one of them, after hovering 
repeatedly over a particular spot, suddenly dropped flat on the surface of 
the water with its wings fully extended. Having remained motionless for 
several seconds, it rose with apparent ease and continued its flight. The 
action appeared to me to be voluntary, and not the result of accident. 
I have had many opportunities for observing these bats, both here and in 
North Wales, but never previously saw one take to the water. The power 
of avoiding obstacles possessed by bats is, I think, much exaggerated, and 
I have known Daubenton’s Bat strike against my fishing-line several times 
in the course of a single evening.—G. H. Caron Hateu (Grainsby Hall, 
Great Grimsby). 


BIRDS. 


Occurrence of the Crane in Essexi—While shooting with a party, 
on Sept. 26th, in the adjoining parish of Little Oakley, I had the pleasure 
of seeing a fine specimen of the Common Crane. We were sitting at lunch 
under a hedge, when, happening to look up, I noticed—as I at first 
thought—a large Heron flying towards us. It was then about a mile off. 
Presently I looked up again, and by that time it had come much nearer, 
and to my astonishment I observed that the bird held its head and neck 
stretched out in front of it, as Herons never do, and from its immense size 
there was no mistaking what it was.. It still came gradually towards us, 
and appeared to be looking for a place whereon to alight, for it flapped its 
great wings several times over its back until they almost appeared to touch, 
and then glided on with outstretched pinions. This it repeated several 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 435 


times, and then pitched in the next field, and well in view from where we 
sat. It looked a grand bird as it stood upon the grass with the bright sun 
shining upon it. Unfortunately it was a long way out in the field, and out 
of shot from the hedge. However, I thought I would try and stalk it, so 
crept down by the edge of the field we were in, until I reached a gap near 
the bottom, which I crawled through into the next field, where I was well 
out of sight of it. I then went on until I arrived nearly opposite to where 
I supposed it to be standing, then looked through cautiously and had a 
fine view of it. It was about 150 yards off, and appeared to be an old bird 
in perfect plumage. Of course it was no use firing at it at such a distance, 
but I thought if I went on a few yards further, and crawled through a gap, 
and ran in upon it, I might get within shot before it rose, or that it might 
fly towards me. But while I was thinking of this it took wing, and flew 
right away from me towards some salt marshes, where it pitched again. 
I followed to the bank, and, upon looking over, saw it about a mile off 
standing on some bare mud. Soon after it was fired at by some one from 
a boat which was in a creek near at hand; and it then flew off to the 
westward, and [ lost sight of it—Grrvase F. Maruew, R.N. (Lee House, 
Dovercourt). 


Osprey in Richmond Park.—On the 22nd September last, at about 
5.25 p.m., while walking in Richmond Park, Surrey, an Osprey flew slowly 
over our heads at a distance of less than twenty yards, the black eye-stripe 
and white throat being most apparent. The bird flew out of the plantation 
at the head of the Pen Ponds, and with heavy peewit-like flight flapped 
slowly away in a north-westerly direction. A Rook and a Jackdaw in full 
pursuit had the game all to themselves for half-a-mile or so, but when lost 
to sight behind one of the more distant plantations the Osprey was being 
mobbed by a mixed horde of Corvide several hundred strong. Our object 
in going to Richmond Park was to see whether some birds which we had 
seen on the Pen Ponds on August 25th,—viz., a Kingfisher, some thirty 
Wild Ducks, and two birds which, without glasses, we could not positively 
identify, but which looked uncommonly like Teal, —were still there ; and itis 
a pleasure to be able to record that the Kingfisher had obtained a companion, 
and that seven at least of the Wild Ducks still remained; of the Teal—if 
Teal they were—we saw nothing. A third person was with us when we 
saw the Osprey.—Hersert K. Reeves (Fernbank, East Sheen); Epwarp 
G. Wappitove (21, Old Square, Lincoln’s Inn). 


Spotted Redshank and Hoopoe in Kent.—TI have to record the 
appearance of the Spotted Redshank, Totanus fuscus, which was shot 
by my son, on the 9th September last, by the river Stour. It is a fresh 
addition to my list of East Kent birds. I had some notes of the Spotted 
Redshank having been taken some years ago, but it was outside my 


436 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


district; and I do not know that it has been recorded in Kent for the last 
ten years at any rate. I have sent the specimen for preservation to 
Mr. Gordon, of the Dover Museum. It was in good plumage, and I 
believe a young bird. The Redshank, Totanus calidris, is tolerably abun- 
dant, and breeds in our marshes. I suspect the Spotted Redshank may 
have been mistaken for the former bird, as I find it is often recorded from 
neighbouring counties. A specimen of the Hoopoe was shot lately near 
Dover by Mr. Crundel while out partridge-shooting—Grorcre DowkER 
(Stourmouth House, Wingham, Kent). 


Two Birds laying in the same Nest.—Although I have never found 
two Wagtails laying in the same nest, as mentioned by Mr. Law (p. 391), 
I have come across many similar instances with other birds. I once found 
eight eggs of the Song Thrush in a single nest, three eggs of the Wood 
Pigeon in a nest, and a fourth broken on the ground below, evidently the 
produce in each case of two hen birds. Last year nine eggs of the Redstart 
were found in the same nest, but, not having seen them myself, I can say 
nothing further about them. I have found two Pheasants laying in the 
same nest, a Pheasant laying in a Partridge’s nest, a Jackdaw and Starling 
laying together in the Starling’s nest, and this year a Swift sitting on one 
of its own eggs and one of a House Sparrow. This year, too, I have found 
many nests of the Black-headed Gull with four, five, and six eggs—in each 
case evidently the produce of two birds; also two nests of the Common 
Tern with four eggs in each, but as in both cases the eggs closely resembled 
each other, it is impossible to say in either case whether the set was the 
produce of a single bird or not.—Roserr H. Rerp (6, Osborn Villas, 
Cathcart, Glasgow). 


Lapland Bunting near Brighton.—I received on Sept. 23rd a good 
specimen of the Lapland Bunting, Calcarias lapponicus, caught near 
Brighton by a local birdcatcher; on dissection it proved to be a female. 
Since writing the above I have received a second specimen of the Lapland 
Bunting (a male), which was taken by a birdcatcher near this town on 
Oct. 10th. I also obtained from a poulterer’s two pied varieties of the 
Red-legged Partridge—C. Brazenor (Brighton). 


Early appearance of the Pintail—A male Pintail, Dajila acuta, 
changing into winter dress, was shot at Aldeburgh, Suffolk, on Sept. 30th, 
and sent to me a day or two afterwards, in the flesh. This is a very early 
appearance of a bird which is seldom met with in Suffolk, even in severe 
weather. In ‘The Zoologist’ for January last (p. 10), Mr. Aplin mentions 
one which was shot at Cley, on the Norfolk coast, on Sept. 19th.—JuLiay 
G. Tuck (Tostock Rectory, Bury St. Edmunds). 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 437 


A new Work on European Birds.—We understand that Mr. James 
Backhouse, jun., of West Bank, York, has in the press a ‘ Handbook of 
European Birds, for the use of Field Naturalists and Collectors,’ which 
will be published in a few months by Messrs. Gurney and Jackson. It is 
to be a crown octavo of about 800 pages, and will contain descriptions of 
the various plumages of each species, with brief notes upon the distribution 
and habitat. The moderate cost to subscribers (7s. 6d.) should place it 
within the reach of every ornithologist. 


Thrush nesting on the Ground.—Early in April last a lady informed 
me of a Thrush’s nest, containing four eggs, placed on the ground. This 
I at first hardly believed, but on visiting the wood myself for the purpose 
of seeing it, and upon getting near the spot, up flew the Thrush from its 
nest, actually placed upon the bare ground. I consider this a curious 
place for a Thrush’s nest, for the wood contained several trees, upon which 
other thrushes were building.—E. C. Moor (Great Bealings, Woodbridge). 

[This is by no means an exceptional case. See ‘The Zoologist,’ 1878, 
p- 350, and 1887, p. 12.—Ep.]} 


Rose tint on Neck of Albatross.—In a Report on the Birds of 
Kerguelen Island, by Dr. Kidder, published at Washington in 1875, the 
writer says (p. 20):—‘ All the nesting Albatrosses that I saw, without 
exception, showed a slight pinkish discoloration of the neck, as if a blood- 
stain had been washed out; usually on the left side, and extending 
downward from the region of the ear.” Dr. Bennett, in his ‘ Gatherings 
of a Naturalist in Australia,’ alludes to “a streak of delicate rose-tint” on 
each side of the neck, which fades after death. Perhaps this appearance 
is due to the rose-coloured powder on the adult Diomedea exulans during 
December, which Mr. Sanford describes in the last number of ‘The 
Zoologist’ (p. 388). Both the authors quoted refer, however, only to the 
neck as being coloured, not to the whole of the white parts of the bird; and 
Dr. Bennett adds that he only noticed this rose-colour in those birds with 
black pencillings on the back,—i.e., in individuals which Herr Reischek 
considers (antea, p. 339) to be birds of the fourth year,—which is curious. It 
is noteworthy that Dr. Bennett’s specimens were procured on June 8th, while 
Dr. Kidder visited the colony at Kerguelen Island on January 2nd. It 
would appear therefore that the colour is not peculiar to the breeding 
season.— ARTHUR H. Macruerson (51, Gloucester Place, Hyde Park, W.). 


REPTILES. 
Snake swimming.—On the afternoon of the 6th inst. I saw a Ringed 
Snake swim across a pool of water twelve yards wide. The snake swam 
with its head just showing above the water, its body forming a series of 


438 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


curves just on the surface. I believe it is an uncommon thing for a snake 
to swim at any time of the year; I was certainly surprised to see one 
apparently enjoying itself in the water in October. The snake could 
easily have got to the other side of the valley by travelling a short way to 
either end of the pool, and when first seen it was apparently playing about 
in the water, so that I am inclined to think it was swimming for pleasure 
rather than of necessity.—E. W. H. Buaae (Cheadle, Staffordshire). 

[We do not regard it as anything remarkable for snakes to be found in 
or near water. Many instances of the common Ringed Snake and Viper 
swimming have come under our notice.—Eb.] 


FISHES. 


Large Whiting Pollack off the Land’s End.—The largest recorded 
Whiting Pollack (Lythe), Merlangus pollachius, was taken by Lord St. Leven 
off the Rundle Stone, near the Land’s End, in September last, and was 
sent for preservation to Mr. Rowe, of Lea Moor, near this place. It turned 
the scale at 24} Ibs., and from the tip of the upper jaw to the fork of the 
caudal fin it measured just three feet.—THomas CorNisH (Penzance). 


ARTHROPODA. 


Observations on a Japanese Spider. — The following is an extract 
from a letter dated ‘‘ Utsunomyea, Japan, July 7th, 1889,” written by 
Mr. Gervase Holmes, J.P., M.A.:—‘‘I saw a curious thing in Natural 
History yesterday that was quite new to me, and would be, I fancy, toa 
good many. The circumstance may be quite common, but I never heard 
of it. I was waiting in my balcony for the coming up of a thunder-storm, 
and just as it began to rain I saw a large spider, whose web was fixed at 
the corner of the house, unfasten the lower edges and begin furling it, 
rolling it up into a ball. This he did very quickly, then unfastened it from 
the top suspending line, and walked off with it to his den under the roof. 
This morning I see the same web is again set. When you come across a 
naturalist, I wish you would ask if this is a common occurrence, or 
whether it is peculiar to Japanese spiders. There is no doubt about the 
web being the same; I noticed yesterday that it was old and torn, and full 
of the remains of mosquitos, so I am sure I am not mistaken on that 
point.” 

[We have submitted this letter to the Rev. O. P. Cambridge, a well- 
known authority upon spiders, who writes in reply :—‘*On the above 
account I. would remark that it is well known that spiders of the family 
Epeiride roll up their webs and devour them; this is no doubt what the 
spider in question did, and then formed a new one. The formation of a new 
web is accomplished very often with marvellous rapidity, and insects, &c., 
coming into it at once would in a few hours, or less, give it the appearance 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 439 


of the old web. This explanation seems to meet the facts of the case in a 
way consistent with the known habits of spiders, while the idea that the 
spider rolled up its web and kept it in safety for a time and then unrolled 
and reset the identical lines is simply inconceivable.—O. P. CamBripGr 
(Bloxworth, Rectory, Dorset). ] 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 


ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF Lonpon. 


October 2, 1889.—The Right Hon. Lord Watstneuay, M.A., F.RB.S., 
President, in the chair. 

Mr. Arnold Umfreville-Henn, of Heaton Chapel Rectory, near Stockport, 
was elected a Fellow. 

Mr. F. P. Pascoe exhibited a number of species of insects of all orders, 
collected by himself during the past summer at Brindisi, and in Greece and 
the Ionian Islands. 

Mr. J. W. Douglas sent for exhibition specimens of Lygus viscicola, 
Puton, a species new to Britain, taken at Hereford, in September last, 
exclusively from mistletoe, by Dr. T. A. Chapman. 

Mr. R. M‘Lachlan exhibited nearly one hundred specimens of 
Trichoptera recently collected in Iceland by Mr. P. B. Mason. Only six 
species were represented, and of these five had been previously recorded 
from the island. He remarked on the great amount of variation existing 
in some of the species. 

Mr. E. B. Poulton exhibited a mounted specimen of the yellow powder 
from the cocoon of Clisiocampa neustria under a power magnifying 188 
diameters. The powder was thus seen to consist of crystals so minute that 
the form could only just be made out. He said the powder was present in 
a crystalline form in the malpighian tubules, and was discharged from the 
anus of the larva. A discussion ensued as to the functions of the mal- 
pighian tubes, &c., in which Mr. Stainton, Lord Walsingham, Mr. M. 
Jacoby, Mr. P. B. Mason, Mr. M‘Lachlan, and Dr. Sharp took part. 

Mr. Poulton also exhibited some photographs of living larves of Hemero- 
philla abruptaria, showing different depths of colour which had been 
induced by experiment; specimens of the larve preserved in spirit were 
also shown, '{together with water-colour representations of two varieties. 
He said that, as in other experiments of the kind, the larve had been 
rendered very pale by being surrounded by green leaves and stems only, 
whereas they became extremely dark when numbers of dark twigs were 
intermingled with the leaves of the food-plant. All were bred from eggs 
laid by the same female. 

Mr. F. Merrifield said that Dr. Chapman had recently obtained similar 
results from experiments on the larye of Hnnomos alniaria. 


440 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


The Rev. Dr. Walker exhibited, and read notes on, a number of 
Coleoptera, Neuroptera, Hymenoptera, and Diptera, which formed the 
second instalment of the collection he had recently made in Iceland. 

Mr. R. South exhibited a specimen of Luperina testacea, bred from a 
pupa found at the root of a species of Silene at Kastbourne ; also a specimen 
of Luperina Nickerlii, Freyer, caught in Lancashire last August. He also 
exhibited, and read notes on, a long series of Boarmia repandata, bred 
from larve collected in North Devon. Mr. Poulton, Mr. Merrifield, and 
Lord Walsingham took part in the discussion which ensued. 

Mr. J. J. Walker, R.N., exhibited a number of Coleoptera collected 
during the past summer in Cobham Park, Kent. Thirty-three species 
were represented, amongst which were the following, viz., Hros minutus, 
Philonthus fuscus, Homalota hepatica, Abreus granulum, Anisotoma grandis, 
Agaricophagus cephalotes, Thalycra sericea, Cryptophagus ruficornis, Platy- 
tarsus setulosus, &e. He also exhibited a living larva of Helops c@ruleus. 

Mr. Jacoby exhibited a curious Phytophagous beetle found by Mr. J. H. 
Leech in the Corea. He stated that he was unable to determine the genus, 
as was also Mr. J. S. Baly, to whom he had submitted the specimen. 

Mr. R. Adkin exhibited specimens of Retinia resinella, received by him 
from Forres. Lord Walsingham remarked that he had never seen the 
species in Scotland, but that it was not uncommon in Germany, and he 
had found it at Hamburgh. 

Mr. W. Dannatt exhibited a male specimen of Papilio Antimachus, 
Drury, from Lukolela, a missionary station about 500 miles from the 
mouth of the Congo. He stated that the species, although very rare, 
had a wide range, as three other specimens of it had been received from 
the Stanley Falls, which were more than 800 miles further up the Congo. 

Lord Walsingham exhibited preserved specimens of the larva and 
imago of Cidaria reticulata, from the Lake District, sent to him by 
Mr. Hodgkinson. 

Mr. W. White stated that as some doubt had been expressed at the last 
meeting as to whether the specimen of Nephronia hippia, Fab., var. g@a, 
Feld., which he then exhibited, was hermaphrodite, he had, with 
Mr. Griffith’s permission, handed the specimen to Mr. G. T. Baker for 
dissection. 

Mr. J. Jenner Weir exhibited fore wings of the males of Argynnis 
Paphia, A. Adippe, and A. Atlantis, denuded of the scales, in order to show 
that there was no dilatation or thickening of the median nervules and 
submedian nervure in that sex of these species; but that the apparent 
dilatation was produced by a dense mass of scales crowded together on each 
side of the nervules. He also read a short paper on the subject entitled, 
“‘ Notes on the nervules of the fore wings in the males of Argynnis Paphia 
and other species of the genus.” —H. Goss, Hon. Secretary. 


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THE ZOOLOGIST. 


THIRD SERIES. 


Vou. XIII.) DECEMBER, 1889. [No. 156. 


ON THE EASTERN AND WESTERN FORMS OF THE 
NUTCRACKER.* 


By LronHarD STEJNEGER. 


Having recently been asked by Baron von Tschusi-Schmid- 
hoffen to express an opinion in regard to the races of Nucifraga 
caryocatactes, I shall not attempt a full analysis of the whole 
question, but only review the material in my hands, as it may 
throw some light on the subject. 

Brehm was the first to clearly define the two races of Nut- 
crackers, which most ornithologists who have studied the question 
are now willing to admit. He was, however, unable to assign to 
them definite and distinct habitats; and partly because the shape 
of the bill, which is the principal characteristic of the two races, 
is in itself subject to great individual variation as well as to 
considerable changes on account of wear and tear, partly on 
account of the unreasonable prejudice of ornithologists concerning 
the forms described by Brehm, the races or subspecies in question 
were either misunderstood, or entirely ignored for more than half 
a century. When, in 1872, I examined and measured a number 
of Nutcrackers in the museums of Bergen and Christiania for 
the monograph of Von Tschusi-Schmidhoffen,+ I laboured under 
the same impression, viz., that because both thick-billed and 
slender-billed specimens occurred in Norway there could not well 
be any racial difference. But after the elaborate monograph of 


* Proc. U.S. Nat. Museum, 1889, pp. 425—432. 
+ ‘ Der Tannenheher (Nucifraga caryocatactes).’ Dresder, 1873, p. 4. 
ZOOLOGIST.—DEC. 1889. 2M 


442 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Dr. Rudolph Blasius,* in which he most convincingly demon- 
strates that the resident bird of Europe is the thick-billed form, 
while the slender-billed individuals belong to the numerous 
flocks which, with short and irregular intervals, invade the 
western countries from the foreign region of Siberia, there is no 
excuse for confounding them any more. 

Before proceeding any further, it will now be necessary to 
ascertain the correct names of the two forms. While expressing 
my great appreciation of Dr. R. Blasius’s painstaking work, I 
cannot but most severely condemn that he should think it 
necessary to reject the old names for the trifling reason that they 
are unsuitable, and substitute new terms in direct violation of the 
law of priority recognized both by the code of the American 
Ornithologists’ Union and by the Stricklandian code. The new 
names are imposed in order to avoid misunderstandings and con- 
fusions, but they have only made confusion more confounded. 
It is safe to say that if Dr. Blasins and Von Tschusi had stuck 
to the old terms, they would by this time have become familiar 
to all ornithologists. As it is, the new names should be sup- 
pressed as soon as possible, before more mischief is done. 

The following is a condensed, but correct and nearly complete, 
synonymy of the two forms. It is plain that the resident form 
of Sweden, upon which Linneus bestowed the name Corvus 
caryocatactes, must stand as the typical form. The Thick-billed 
Nutcracker, therefore, is entitled to the name— 

Nucifraga caryocatactes, Linn. 
Corvus caryocatactes, Linn., Syst. Nat., 10 ed. i. p. 106. (1758.) 
Caryocutactes maculatus, Koch, Syst. Baier. Zool.,1. p. 98. (1816.) 
Nucifraga guttata, Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat., v. p.354. (1816.) 
Caryocatactes nucifraga, Nilsson, Orn. Suec., i. p. 90. (1817.) 
Nucifraga brachyrhynchus, Brehm, Lehrb. Kur. Vog., p. 104. (1823.) 
N. platyrhynchus, Brehm, Isis, 1833, p. 970. (18383.) 
N. alpestris, Brehm, Vogelf., p. 66. (1855.) 
N. caryocatactes major, Brehm, Journ. f. Orn., 1860, p. 236. (1860.) 
N. caryocatactes pachyrhynchus, R. Blasius, Ornis, ii. p. 543; extr. p. 107; 

pl. ii. figs. 3, 4.; pl. iii, (1886.) 

Should it be found necessary to use a trinomial in order to 

avoid mistakes, it should be no other than Nucifraga caryocatactes 


* Der Wanderzug der Tannenheher, &c.,’ Ornis, ii., 1886, pp. 487—550, 
+ pl. i. to iii. (separate copies paged 1—114). 


EASTERN AND WESTERN FORMS OF THE NUTCRACKER. 443 


brachyrhynchus. On the other hand, the Slender-billed Nutcracker 
should stand as— 


Nucifraga caryocatactes macrorhynchus, Brehm. 

Nucifraga macrorhynchus, Breum. Lehrb. Eur. Vég., p. 103. (1823.) 

N. hamata, Brehm, Isis, 1833, p. 970. (1833.) 

NN. caryocatactes, Selys-Longch., Bull. Ac. Brux., xi. (p. 298), (part; nee 
Linn.). (1845.) 

? N. arquata, Brehm., Vogelf., p. 66. (1855.) 

N. caryocatactes macrorhynchus, Brehm, Verz. Samml., p. 4. (1866.) 

N. caryocatactes leptorhynchus, R. Blasius, Ornis, ii. p. 543 ; extr. p. 107; 
pl.i.; pl. ii. figs. 1,2. (1886.) 


It appears that Von Tschusi-Schmidhoffen, quite indepen- 
dently and about the same time, came to the same conclusions as 
Dr. R. Blasius,* and both these ornithologists agree in dividing 
the Nutcracker into two races—one western, thick-billed, and 
another eastern, slender-billed. According to them N. caryoca- 
tactes brachyrhynchus “‘ breeds in the northern temperate zone of 
the western portion of the Palearctic Region, viz., in the forests 
of Lapland, Scandinavia, the Baltic provinces of Russia, Hast 
Prussia, the Harz, the Riesengebirge (Béhmerwald), the Schwarz- 
wald (Black Forest), the Carpathians (the mountains of Bosnia, 
Herzegovina, and Dalmatia), the whole extent of the Alps, and 
the Pyrenees.” N. c. macrorhynchus, on the other hand, is 
stated to “breed in the northern temperate zone of the eastern 
portion of the Palearctic Region, viz., in the forests of Asia, from 
Kamtschatka and Japan west to the Ural Mountains, and the 
governments of Perm and Vologda in Kuropean Russia.” 

Mr. Henry Seebohm, in a paper “ On the Arctic Form of the 
Nutcracker,” + has lately taken issue with Dr. R. Blasius in regard 
to the alleged distribution of the two forms, though agreeing with 
him in the general result, viz., the distinctness of the forms, and 
the migrant into northern Europe being the slender-billed 
Siberian race. He contends that ‘‘that there is not an eastern 
and a western form, * * * but an arctic and a temperate 
form. * * * The Siberian form appears sometimes to winter 

* See ‘‘ Verbreit. und Zug. d. Tannenhehers,” ‘ Verhandl. k. k. zool.-bot. 
Ges. Wien.,’ 1888, p. 488 ; separate copies, p. 82. 

+ ‘ Ibis,’ 1888, pp. 2836—241. 

2M2 


444 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


in north China, as well as in southern and western Europe, but 
the Japanese form appears to be a resident, and to be, to all 
intents and purposes, identical with the resident form of Europe. 
The white spots, both on the upper and under parts, and on the 
ends of the tail-feathers, are rather more developed in the Japanese 
birds than in the resident European ones, but not so much so as 
in examples from Siberia.” 

My material is not sufficient to solve the puzzle entirely, but 
I think it is large enough to show that Mr. Seebohm’s theory is 
not well founded. But before examining my material I must, 
from a general standpoint, protest against the terms “arctic 
form” and “temperate form,” used by Mr. Seebohni. In the 
first place, the Nutcracker is not an “arctic” bird. In Europe 
it occurs, more or less, stationary from Spain (roughly, 42° N. 
latitude*) to northern Norway (about 64° N. latitude). In north- 
western Russia the typical form hardly extends so far north, while 
farther east the slender-billed race is not known to occur north 
of 62° north latitude, and the southern limit of its breeding range 
in the Ural seems to be about 62° north latitude. In Asia the 
latter has been found by Mr. Seebohm himself in the valley of 
the Yenisej, as far north as 67°, though farther east it hardly 
exceeds the 64th degree of latitude. The southern limit of its 
breeding range in western Asia seems to be the Tian-Shan, { 
consequently about 40° N. latitude, while in the extreme Kast 
slender-billed birds have been found in summer, at least as far 
south as 38° N. latitude. It will be seen that the distribution of 
the Siberian form, on the whole, is not more arctic than its 
western representative, if we regard the latitudes alone. But the 
adjectives—-“ arctic” for the former and “temperate” for the 
latter—are not better founded if, by such a nomenclature, we 
would indicate the relative distribution of the two forms where 


** Blasius, as quoted above, states that it breeds in the Pyrenees; but 
according to Dr. Companyo, in Dresser’s ‘ Birds of Europe’ (iv. p. 458), it 
is only a rare bird in the Eastern Pyrenees, while Arévalo y Baca (‘ Aves de 
Espana,’ Madrid, 1887, p. 260) expressly says that it occurs only acci- 
dentally in Spain. In Italy, according to Gigioli (‘ Avif. Ital.,’ 1886, p. 13) 
and Salvadori (‘ Uce. Ital.,’ 1887, p. 189), the Nutcracker is stationary only 
in the Alps. 

+ Nazarow, ‘ Rech. Zool. Steppes Kirguiz,’ 1886, p. 31. 

t Zeverzow, ‘ Journ. f. Orn.,’ 1875, p. 172. 


EASTERN AND WESTERN FORMS OF THE NUTCRACKER. 445 
their ranges meet, for there is no evidence that in any part of the 
whole Palearctic Region breeding localities of the slender-billed 
race are situated north of those of the thick-billed form on 
approximately the same degree of longitude, unless Mr. Seebohm 
be correct in referring the Japanese specimens to the typical 
form. In fact, this identification by Mr. Seebohm seems to be 
the only foundation for his theory of an arctic and a temperate 
race, aS opposed to Blasius’s of a western and eastern. Upon 
a proper reference of the Japanese specimens, therefore, hinges 
the whole question. 

I have before me four examples from Japan, which I can 
compare with four from Korea, one from Kamtschatka, and a 
number of both forms from Europe. According both to Blasius 
and Seebohm, the slender-billed individuals from Western Europe 
are only immigrants from Siberia; they will consequently serve 
as well as specimens’from the latter country. 

Both Blasius and Seebohm lay considerable stress on the 
dimensions of the bills as indicating the subspecific difference. 
To a certain extent this is so, but only if the specimens can be 
examined at the same time, for it is plain when inspecting a series 
of these birds that the peculiar shape of the bills in the two birds 
is of more importance than the leugth and the height. In the 
typical form the upper mandible is more swollen, the upper 
tomium more inflected, and the basal portion of the culmen 
straighter and more parallel with the commissure, while in the 
slender-billed form the upper tomium is hardly inflected at all, 
and the culmen tapers at once towards the tip from the frontal 
feathering. At the latter point the bills of both forms are nearly 
of the same height, and consequently Dr. Blasius’s method of 
measuring the bills in the middle is more expressive than that of 
Mr. Seebohm, who measures them at the angle of the gonys. It 
is plain that this difference is easier to appreciate in the specimens 
than to express in words or condense into a satisfactory diagnosis, 
the more so since the bills in these birds are subject to consider- 
able individual variation in all directions. I will also call attention 
to the fact that the bills of the resident birds of Kurope seem to 
vary to some extent locally, as both Blasius and Von Tschusi- 
Schmidhoffen have noted a difference in the stoutness of the bill 
in specimens from Sweden and from the Alps. 

The other character to which Blasius has culled special 


446 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


attention is the width of the terminal white band of the tail- 
feathers. In the typical form the average width is stated to be 
18°3 mm., while in the slender-billed subspecies it is given as 
averaging 27°4 mm. onthe outer pair. The difference in the 
width of the white band is also admitted by Mr. Seebohm, and I 
find it corroborated by the material before me. I will remark, 
however, that this character is also subject to some individual 
variation, but, so far as I can make out, there is no local 
variation within the two races. On the other hand, as in 
many other birds, the white ends to the tail-feathers are 
probably, on the whole, smaller in the young birds than in the 
old ones. 

With these remarks in view, | shall now proceed to examine 
the material before me. 

The first one is U.S. National Museum, No. 110,015, from 
Petropaulski, Kamtschatka, collected December 27th, 1885. It 
is the easternmost example I have seen, and is a very pronounced 
slender-billed bird, agreeing closely with Blasius’s fig. 2, pl. 1. 
Tts coloration exhibits the maximum amount of white, as might 
be expected. 

Next come four birds collected by Mr. P. L. Jouy, at Fusan, 
southern extremity of Korea (latitude 35°), the southernmost 
locality, I think, in which specimens of this species have ever 
been taken (U.S. National Museum, Nos. 114,097—114,100). 
They are all alike, and very characteristically slender-billed, 
belonging undoubtedly to N. macrorhynchus, both on account of 
the shape and size of the bill and the width of the white tail- 
band. From Norway I have four slender-billed birds, evidently 
Siberian immigrants, collected near Bergen during the great 
invasion in 1887* (U.S. National Museum, Nos. 113,218—1138,222), 


* T have seen only a few notices of the 1887 migration. According to 
J. Collin, in his ‘Bidrag til Kundskaben om Danmarks Fuglefauna,’ the 
Nutcracker has never before occurred in such numbers in Denmark. In 
Norway the immigration was remarkable, both on account of the number of 
birds and the extent of country covered, specimens having been taken even 
north of Tromsé. Near Bergen about one hundred individuals were killed 
during September, and Mr. V. Storm states that the bird appeared in the 
vicinity of Trondhjem in vast numbers about the first of that month, 
Numerous specimens were received from Roeraas, Guldal, Girkedal, Rissen, 
and more northern localities.— (K. Norske Vid. Selsk. Skr. 1886—’87, 
Trondhj., 1888, p. 52: Naturen, xii., 1888, p. 224. 


EASTERN AND WES'TERN FORMS OF THE NUTCRACKER. 447 


which are in every particular identical with the Korean examples. 
It would be utterly impossible to tell these birds apart were 
the labels removed, and the uniformity of these eight specimens 
of so variable a species, and from so distant localities, is truly 
astonishing. 

Finally, I have four specimens from Japan, collected by Mr. 
Jouy, but as two of them are young birds, which have not yet 
fully assumed the adult plumage, they may safely be left out of 
the comparison. The remaining two are U.S. National Museum, 
No. 88701, ¢ ,Fuji, July 2, 1882, a fully adult bird, just moulted 
into a fresh plumage,—possibly the mother of the two young 
birds referred to, which were shot in the same locality on the 
same day,—and the other, No. 91392, 3, Tate-Yama, December 
17, 1882. The latter is unquestionably a typically slender-billed 
bird, very much like the one described from Kamtschatka, with 
a slightly longer bill, the length of which exactly equals the 
average of the eight specimens from Korea and Norway referred 
to above, while the amount of white on the tail almost reaches 
the maximum. The bill is just a trifle higher than that of the 
other slender-billed specimens (though not reaching the maximum 
height of specimens measured by Blasius, e.g., his Nos. 30, 31), 
but its shape is normal, and differs in that respect from the 
resident Scandinavian birds as much as any one in the series. 
The Fuji-Yama bird, found breeding near the extreme southern 
range of the species, differs only in having the bill shorter than 
any other specimen in the series. The shape, however, is that of 
N. macrorhynchus, and the white on the tail is almost up to the 
average, as established by Blasius, or 3 mm. wider than the 
maximum of any specimen referred by him to the typical thick- 
billed form. That the shortness of the bill is no argument 
against referring this Japanese specimen to the Siberian form is 
very plain, from the fact that it is nearly identical with a Yenisej 
specimen collected by Mr. Seebohm himself (No. 176 of his col- 
lection, fide Blasius, ‘ Ornis,’ 1886, p. 472, extra, p. 36, No. 8).* 

My material, therefore, contradicts Mr. Seebohm’s suggestion 


* In the table alluded to, the length of the bill is given as 30mm. This 
I take to be a misprint or aslip of the pen for 40 mm., as the length from 
nostril to tip of bill is said to be 34-2 mm., exactly as in the Japanese speci- 
men before me, the exposed culmen of which is 40 mm. 


448 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


that the resident bird of Japan is, “to all intents and purposes, 
identical with the resident form of Europe.” On the contrary, it 
is evident to me that it is, to all intents and purposes, identical 
with the Siberian, or the slender-billed form, N. c. macrorhynchus. 

The very meagre details in regard to his specimens, which Mr. 
Seebohm furnishes in his article, do not support his own conclu- 
sion that ‘‘ the white spots * * * on the ends of the tail-feathers 
are * * * not so much [developed] as in examples from Siberia;” 
for he himself gives the white on tail as varying between 0°9 and 
1'1 inch in the Japanese birds, against a variation of from 0°8 to 
1°25 inch in Siberian and Chinese specimens and presumed 
European migrants, consequently nearly coinciding with the limits 
established for the latter. 

I am, therefore, forced to conclude that Dr. R. Blasius and 
V. von Tschusi-Schmidhoffen are right in distinguishing between 
an eastern and a western race, and that Mr. Seebohm is wrong in 
assuming the existence of an arctic and a temperate form of the 
Nutcracker. 

Before closing I would say, however, that I will not deny the 
possibility of a large series of Japanese birds, showing a some- 
what shorter bill, on the average, than continental Asiatic 
specimens; but I will venture to say that the difference in size 
and shape will not be so great as it is between resident birds 
from Scandinavia and Southern Europe, and I do not think that 
the differences will ever prove tangible or constant enough to 
allow a further subdivision of this species. Blasius and Von 
Tschusi have made it pretty plain that the differences in size 
and shape of bill in the two subspecies recognized are due to the 
difference in the food, the nut of the Siberian form of Pinus 
cembra haying a thinner shell than the typical form growing in 
the mountains of Central Europe. The difference between 
resident Scandinavian and South European specimens is easily 
explained from a similar reason, as Pinus cembra does not occur 
wild in Scandinavia, where the Nutcrackers are compelled to live 
on seeds or nuts harder and more difficult to open. Pinus cembra 
is said to occur in the highest mountains of Hondo, Japan, but 
apparently in limited number. It is therefore doubtful whether 
the Nutcracker to any great extent feeds on this fruit. I am also 
unable to say whether the Japanese P. cembra belongs to a thin- 
shelled variety or to a thick-shelled, as I cannot find it stated 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 449 


whether the form occurring in Japan is P. cembra sibirica or not. 
It may be useful to remark that Prof. Schubeler (‘ Die Pflanzen- 
welt Norwegens,’ Christiania, 1875, p. 154) characterizes the 
seeds of the two forms (or species?) as follows :—P. sibirica 
having the seed sooty brown in colour, and rather attenuated in 
shape at one end, one hundred seeds weighing 24°75 grms. 
while those of P. cembra typica are light brown, oval or nearly 
globular, one hundred seeds weighing 39°10 grms. There are 
consequently three questions for the resident field ornithologists 
of Japan to solve: (1) Are the bills of the Nutcrackers residing 
in Japan normally and on the average shorter than the bills of 
the birds residing on the Asiatic main-land? (2) What kind of 
seed or nut forms the principal food of the Nutcracker in Japan ? 
(3) Are the seeds of Pinus cembra in Japan encased in a harder 
shell than those from Siberia ? 


[Here follows a Table of Measurements of the specimens in the U.S. 
National Museum above referred to. 

So long ago as 1845 the late Mr. W. R. Fisher discussed in this 
Journal the supposed existence of two species or varieties of Nutcracker. 
See Zool. 1845. p. 1073.—Ep.] 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


MAMMALIA. 


White Weasel in the New Forest.—On the 16th of October last I © 
saw a perfectly white Weasel, which had been caught a few days previously 
by a man who was carting fagots from the Forest. He had observed it in 
the fagot-stack, and would have caught it alive, but was afraid of its bite. 
It proved to be a male, and a perfect albino, with pink eyes. Length, from 
head to tip of tail, 10 inches, of which the tail measured 24 inches; weight 
exactly 3 ounces. Its shorter tail, and lacking the black tip,—if not its 
comparatively small size,—at once distinguished it from the Stoat, but, 
though wanting in bulk, it was not deficient in the characteristic odour of | 
its kind. The tail appeared, in proportion to its size, to be more bushy 
than that of the Stoat, and the roots of the hair had a slight trace of the 
brown hue of the summer pelage, though not conspicuous, the rest of the 
fur being perfectly white. Is it a fact that albinos are more or less deaf ? 
—G. B. Corgis (Ringwood, Hants). [We should say not.—Ep.] 


450 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Notes on Bats.—Mr. Kelsall has referred (Zool. p. 308) to a specimen 
of Daubenton’s Bat (which he kindly named for me) taken in Surrey. I 
may further state that at the time this specimen was captured (July, 1888) 
seven others were taken, and many more escaped. They were disturbed by 
poking a stick up a hollow apple tree at Cranleigh, and were caught in an 
insect-net. Mr. Kelsall also detected in my small collection two Whiskered 
Bats, Vespertilio mystacinus, obtained at Ratham, and I have since (Oct. 
18th last) obtained another specimen. The Noctule, perhaps for want of 
accurate observation, appears to have been less common of late years than 
formerly, when, as stated by the Editor (p. 244), I used to notice it in 
great numbers in August, and came to the conclusion that they were 
migrating, but this by my note-book appears to refer to the first week in 
August, 1863, and August 3rd, 1866. This year I saw none in August, 
nor in the preceding months, though during September, and as late as the 
18th of October, they were observed, but not in great numbers. The 
Pipistrelle is of course our common bat, and the Long-eared Bat is fairly 
numerous. I may add that, although searched for, no specimens of 
Daubenton’s Bat were found in the apple tree at Cranleigh during the past 
summers.— WILLIAM JEFFERY (Ratham, Chichester). 


Black Rat in Cornwall.—In your last number (p, 434) I recorded the 
occurrence of the ‘ Old English” or “ Black” Rat, captured at a place 
about five miles north-east of Penzance. Immediately after that capture 
a perfectly trustworthy observer saw near Camborne, at a place ten miles 
south-east from where my specimen was obtained, a Black Rit which was 
certainly not the ordinary Hanoverian Rat; and to-day I have seen and 
handled another specimen which is unmistakably the Black Rat, captured 
in Paul Parish, about three miles south-west of Penzance. ‘These facts appa- 
rently point to an incursion of this animal, which is gregarious certainly, 
and probably a vagrant in herds, but not a migrant.—Tuomas Cornisa 
(Penzance). 


BIRDS. 


The Marsh Warbler in Somersetshire.—About the middle of July, 
1888, during a visit to my home in Somersetshire, a young farmer friend 
brought me a nest, containing five eggs which puzzled me for some little 
time. At the first glance I took them to be unusually lightly coloured. 
eggs of the Reed Warbler, but the nest more resembled that of the Lesser 
Whitethroat, except that there was no wool in it. It then occurred to me 
that they might belong to the Marsh Warbler, Acrocephalus palustris, 
already recorded to have been found nesting in Somersetshire, some twenty 
five or thirty miles away (Zool. 1875, p. 4713), and turning up my copy of 
Seebohm’s ‘ British Birds’ on my return here, I found that they undoubtedly 
belonged to that species. The nest and eggs are there very accurately 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 451 


described, although the coloured plate of the latter is very poor. My friend 
informed me that he had found two nests, the one in question with fresh 
eggs on June Sth, and another a little later with eggs just hatching. I went 
with him to see this latter nest, hoping that it might still contain young, 
and that I might get a glimpse of the parent birds, but found it quite 
empty. It was much more substantially built than the first nest, and more 
neatly finished, so I do not think it could have been a second nest of the 
same pair. Unfortunately I could not get the exact date of its discovery. 
It was very clean, and not at all damaged, and I am therefore rather doubtful 
whether the young brood had remained in the nest until fully fledged, or 
whether they had been destroyed by Shrikes, which are very plentiful in 
that district. Both nests were built amongst the rank herbage of tall 
grasses, nettles, and meadow-sweet, with here and there a bramble, which 
almost choked up a ditch alongside the hedgerow of an arable field. The 
ditch was about two feet deep, and the nests were placed at about ground- 
level. The first nest was loosely woven of round grass-stalks with one or 
two flat grass-blades, lined with a few fine roots and a very few black horse- 
hairs. Diameter of cup, about 2-2 inches x 1:5 inches in depth. Eggs, 
greenish white ground-colour, with pale purple-grey and olive-brown 
markings; darker spots in middle of many of the markings and scattered 
about over the surface of the egg generally ; average measurements, 
‘73 X ‘53 inches. The second nest was compactly woven of round grass- 
stalks, lined with a large quantity of fine roots and a few black horse-hairs. 
Diameter of cup about 2°25 inches x 1-6 inches in depth. Last summer 
Tasked my friend to look out for any similar nests, but not on any account 
to disturb them. 1 was in Somersetshire in July last, and he informed me 
that he had found two nests in precisely the same spots as the previous year. 
The first one contained one egg, but unfortunately the birds forsook it, and 
this nest was afterwards destroyed. The lining of the second one was 
hardly completed, and he fenced this about with hurdles to protect it from 
the sheep, but the birds never finished it, and forsook it without laying. 
This was in the month of May, but about the beginning of June, when 
cutting a piece of clover, the mowing-machine on its first round cut away 
the supporting-stalks of a third nest, leaving them and the nest suspended 
by the adjacent herbage on the edge of the ditch. It contained five fresh 
eggs quite uninjured. This nest was beautifully woven in between stalks 
of nettle and hemlock, a good deal of cobweb, or web of some kind of 
caterpillar, being used in binding it to the stalks. This is the nearest 
resemblance to a Reed Warbler’s nest that I have seen, and is much deeper 
on the outside than either of the two previously found nests. ‘The eggs 
are similar in their markings to those of 1888, but the ground colour is a 
much clearer white, with a faint tinge of blue in it; average measurements, 
“74 x ‘53 inches. I have received a set of Marsh Warbler’s eggs from 


452 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Germany, which are intermediate in ground-colour, and barely distinguish- 
able from either of the two sets obtained in Somersetshire. I took the 
unfinished empty nest which had been fenced round. It was built low 
down in the hedgerow, nearly on a level with the ditch, in one of the outer 
branches of a thickly-grown bush of dog-wood (not dog-rose), and was loosely 
woven with webs of insects amongst the twigs, and composed of similar 
material to the others. These four nests and two sets of eggs are in my 
possession. My friend was never able to obtain a good view of the bird. 
It always slipped off the nest on his approach, and disappeared almost 
unperceived amongst the thick herbage of the hedgerow.—Rosert H. 
Reap (Cathcart, Glasgow). 


The Pectoral Sandpiper in Orkney.—On the 28th August I received 
a freshly-skinned example of the Pectoral Sandpiper, Tringa maculata, 
Vieillot, together with the body, for dissection, from Mr. F. Menteith Ogilvie, 
and as this species is of rare occurrence in the British Islands the following 
particulars of its capture, kindly furnished by Mr. Ogilvie, will be of 
interest :—‘ This bird was secured when Snipe-shooting round the edge of a 
loch in Westray, Orkney, Aug. 26th, 1887,strong W.N.W. breeze week before. 
It rose in company with two or three full Snipe, without calling, and 
I imagined it was a Jack Snipe which had arrived earlier than usual. 
TI shot at two of the full Snipe, missing the second one, and J then becaine 
aware that the bird flushed with the Snipe was calling a note which I did 
not recognise; it seemed to be a short double note, or perhaps a single one 
repeated twice in quick succession. I watched the bird, and after a long 
flight it pitched straight down, as Suipe will generally do, into the rushes 
at the east end of the loch. I walked round, but finding the grouud 
extremely boggy, took off my boots and stockings, and struggled along as 
well as I could, often sinking over my knees in the soft mud, towards the 
spot where I had marked it down. The‘ going’ grew worse at every step, and 
just as I was about to turn back, fairly beaten, the bird rose behind me, 
and but for its curious call would have escaped. As it was, I could only 
turn round with the greatest difficulty, owing to both my legs being firmly 
embedded in the mud, but a rather lucky shot brought it down, and 
without much further trouble it was brought to bag. The bird was thin 
and in poor condition; unfortunately I was unable to weigh it, as the 
only obtainable scales had no weight under } fb. I took the following 
measurements :—length from tip of bill to end of tail, 9—9¥% in., and from 
carpal joint to end of longest primary, 5} in.; irides very dark brown; legs 
and toes yellowish green, rather more yellow than green. I send youa 
sketch, showing colour a few hours after death, and the body of bird for 
dissection.” In plumage the bird appeared to be adult, having the arrow- 
pointed markings on the breast-feathers, the principal distinction between 
the adult and immature of this species (see ‘ Yarrell,’ 4th ed., vol. iii. p.372). 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 453 


The tail consists of twelve feathers, the two centre ones extending about a 
quarter of an inch beyond the others. The legs, as stated by Mr. Ogilvie, 
were. decidedly yellowish green, which differs from Mr. Saunders’s descrip- 
tion, who states these parts to be yellowish brown. The bird, on dissection, 
proved to be a female, the ovary containing a large number of minute eggs. 
The stomach contained remains of small Coleoptera and grit.—T. E, Gunn 
(St. Giles Street, Norwich). 


Short-eared Owls breeding in Essex.— Whilst shooting on the 
bentlings near Walton-on-the-Naze, on the Bank Holiday in August, 1884, 
I saw three of these birds, two of which were shot; at that time I fully 
believed they had bred somewhere near. On the 31st July last I saw an 
old bird hawking, in the afternoon, over the bentlings and continually 
calling. 1 at once made enquiries, and found that the Owls had nested in 
the rough grass on an island, and that some of the young Owls had been 
caught before they were able to fly.—F. Kerry (Harwich). 


Birds attracted to Burning Ricks as to a Lighthouse.—Hearing 
that many birds were seen flying round some ricks set on fire by lightning 
at Stebbing, in Essex, on September Qnd, I asked the Vicar (Rev. A. R. 
Bingham Wright) for details as to the species, in case you should care to 
publish them, and he kindly replied as follows :—“ My informant in charge 
of our fire-engine said there were a lot of Larks (this probably would include 
Sparrows, Yellowhammers, Greenfinches, &c.), some Plover (Lapwing, no 
doubt), and some Gulls. The place is about twenty miles from the estuary 
of the Blackwater. Another wituess of the fire described the two kinds of 
large birds (he was ignorant of their respective names) as wheeling above 
the ricks at different heights, each flock keeping to itself. I may mention 
that in stormy weather Gulls are frequently about the fields here.”— 
J. KE. KEvsatt. 


Sheldrake near Oxford.—On the 8th October I saw a bird, which 
I believe was a Common Sheldrake, swimming on the River Isis adjoining 
Portmeadow (a large piece of ground close to Oxford). The bird allowed 
me to approach within a distance of about thirty yards, then rose, and after 
flying round several times made off up the river out of sight. As it flew, it 
had somewhat the appearance of a large Magpie. I give the description 
from a note taken on the spot, as I have at present very little acquaintance 
with the ducks in a state of nature:—It was apparently a young bird. 
Beak, pink; head and neck, brown; back, darker brown; wings, black ; 
upper aud under wing-coverts, white—under parts, white; legs, pale (pink, 
T think). About the size of an ordinary domestic duck. As it sat on the 
water it had a curious mottled appearance. It had doubtless been driven 
inland by the storm which raged the day before. I might add that there 
was also a Gull—I could not get near enough to determine the species— 


454 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


flying about and dipping in the water a short distance from the Sheldrake.— 
F, W. Lampert (17, Woodstock Road, Oxford). 


Spotted Redshanks near Harwich.—We have had quite a flight of 
these birds in this neighbourhood; several frequented a piece of bentlings 
at the mouth of the River Orwell, and a female specimen was shot on the 
4th September. I had previously shot one in the same place on the 1éth 
August, 1885. Their call is quite different from that of the Common 
Redshank, and may be distinguished some distance off, when, if fairly 
imitated, the bird will fly towards you.—F. Kerry (Harwich). 


Woodcock carrying its Young.—In ‘ The Zoologist’ for 1879 there 
is an article by the Editor on the mode in which Woodcocks carry their 
young. It appears that they have been observed to transport them in at 
least three different ways :—(1) pressed to the body by their legs, (2) pressed 
between their legs, and (3) grasped in their feet, authority for each of these 
methods being quoted, and the third mode illustrated by an excellent 
sketch by J. Wolf. As I understand that some doubt has been expressed 
whether a Woodcock is able to grasp anything in the feet as described and 
depicted, it may be of interest to say that J can confirm the statement from 
personal observation. In the last week of May, or beginning of June last, 
T was beating an alder clump for moths in the early part of the day, when 
my attention was arrested by the low cheeping note of a young bird, and 
on looking up I was astonished to see that it came from a nestling wood- 
cock, dangling from the lowered legs of its parent, and evidently grasped by 
the old bird's feet as the latter flew slowly away into a neighbouring 
plantation. It was not ten yards from me when I first saw it, and the 
scene I witnessed at once recalled the illustration above referred to, which 
I had seen years ago in ‘ The Zoologist.—H. Caicuester Harr (Carra- 
blagh, Croaghross, Co. Donegal). 


Crossbills in the Co. Waterford.—Crossbills were seen about my 
plantations here on the following dates :—July 12th, a flock seen on the 
wing; twenty, counted, formed but partof it. July 20th, twenty feeding 
on Scotch firs, on the top of the Black Hill. July 2lst, three seen. 
August 17th, a flock flying high over the stable-yard; followed to the 
plantations, and found feeding there. Aug. 28th, sixteen seen on the wing 
on the Black Hill. October 7th, three (one of them a red bird) seen by 
myself on asilver fir. Oct. 23rd, a flock of nineteen near the Giants’ 
Rock. Oct. 26th, I saw two in the top of an ash tree, one singing; 
recognised by the song, which was louder than that heard on Feb. 11th, 
and saw the peculiar beaks, and heard the cry of both birds as they flew 
away. From these and similar observations of my friend Mr. Allan Ellison, 
in the north of this county, near Clonmel, on June 10th, as well as in 
Co. Wicklow during the past few months, it appears to be certain that the 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 455 


birds which invaded Ireland last year have bred in considerable numbers.— 
R. J. UssHer (Cappagh, Co. Waterford). 


Redstart in Co. Waterford.—A bird of this species, Ruticilla phani- 
curus, was picked up dead at Sweetbriar, near Tramore, on October 12th, 
and has been kindly presented to me, for the Science and Art Museum, 
Dublin, by the owner, Mr. Thomas Spencer. The feathers of the chin and 
throat are black, with light-coloured edges ; the breast, under parts, and 
tail are distinct. The white spot on the forehead is not developed through 
the bases of the feathers ; these are whitish. This is the first instance in 
which I have met with the Redstart in Co. Waterford, though the Black 
Redstart has often occurred from October to March. —R. J. UssuEr 
(Cappagh, Co. Waterford). 


Tringa canutus in Barbados.—In a paper contributed to ‘The Ibis’ 
{October, 1889), giving a list of the Birds of Barbados, I recorded the Knot 
as evidently a very rare straggler to that island. I must now modify this 
statement, as I have lately received from Mr. J. P. Massiah the skin of a 
Knot, killed in Barbados this season, with the following remarks :—* I 
send you a bird by parcel post, shot by Johnny Ashby, at Chancery Lane, 
on September 30th. He skinned it himself, and, although useless to you 
as a specimen, it will enable you to identify the bird; we usually get a few 
of them with the Lesser Yellow-legs and Pectoral Sandpipers, but they are 
never numerous.” We are therefore justified, I think, in considering the 
Knot as an annual visitor to Barbados, insmall numbers.—H. W. Freripen. 


Spoonbills in Co. Kerry.—On the 30th of September last I received 
aspecimen of the Spoonbill forwarded from Waterville, Co. Kerry. It was 
exceedingly fat, weighing four pounds and a half. On November 5th 
another was received, which had been shot at Tarbert, in the same county. 
Both specimens were in very faded plumage, the ends of the feathers being 
much abraded.— Epwarp WILLIAMs (2, Dame Street, Dublin). 


Velvet Scoter in Leicestershire.—On November 12th a female Velvet 
Scoter, Qidemia fusca, was shot on the Reservoir at Saddington, in this 
county, by Mr. R. Burgess, of Saddington Hall.—A. Marruews (Gumley, 
Market Harborough). 

[This must be a rare bird in the county. It is not included in Mr. 
M. Browne's recently published ‘ Vertebrate Fauna of Leicestershire and 
Rutland.’—Ep.] 


Osprey on the Thames.—Your correspondents, Messrs H. K. Reeves 
and E. G. Waddilove, will be sorry to hear of the fate of the Osprey which 
they had the pleasure of observing in Richmond Park, as reported in the 
last number of ‘ The Zoologist’ (p. 485). An Osprey (probably the same 
bird) was shot on the Thames, at Barnes, during the first week of November, 


456 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


and was sent to a birdstuffer in London. It was found to measure 5 feet 
2 inches from tip to tip of extended wings.—J. L. Cotiison Morey. 


Dr. Shufeldt’s Classification of the Macrochires.—I see I have 
made a lapsus calami in my paper on the Macrochires, which appeared in 
the ‘ Linn. Soc. Journ.’ (vol. xx., No. 122), and it occurs on p. 384. Near 
the bottom of the page it should read, ‘I am convinced that, so far as the 
United States forms of this group of birds are concerned, there are cer- 
tainly two very well-defined families of the Caprimulgi. From what we 
know of their external characters, and from what I have shown of their 
widely different internal structures, these might readily be characterized as 
the families Antrostomide and Chordeilida—the former to contain the 
genera Antrostomus, Phalenoptilus, and Nyctidromus ; the latter the genus 
Chordeiles.”’ It will be clear to you that I meant “ families,” and not 
“subfamilies ” as it now stands. Should the point be mentioned to the 
Society, I should like to have it corrected. A note in ‘The Zoologist’ 
would go far towards correcting it. Subfamilies should read families, and 
of course Antrostomine should be Antrostomide, and Chordeiline should be 
Chordeilid@ ; the rest you will see by comparison.—R. W. SHuFELD?. 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 


Linnean Society or Lonpon. 


Nov. 7, 1889.—Mr. W. Carrutuers, F.R.S., President, in the chair. 

Messrs. Miller Christy, John Fraser, W. T. Rabbits, and Col. Swinhoe 
were admitted Fellows; and Mr. Thomas Scott, of Leith, and Mr. A. J. 
Campbell, of Melbourne, Australia, were balloted for and elected. 

Mr. H. Veitch and Rey. Prof. Henslow exhibited a beautiful series of 
East Indian hybrid Rhododendrons, on which Prof. Henslow made some 
valuable remarks on the effects of cross-fertilization in regard to colour and 
form, upon which some critical observations were made by Mr. Veitch, 
Prof. Bower, and Capt. Elwes. 

Mr. E. M. Holmes exhibited and made remarks upon some new British 
Marine Alge, describing their origin and affinities. 

Dr. St. George Mivart exhibited a drawing by a Surgeon, who had been 
consulted as to amputation, of a tail-like process in the human subject, 
being a prolongation of the coccyx to the extent of 4 centimetres. — 

Dr. Mivart also exhibited a photograph showing a remarkable resem- 
blance between two arm-stumps; one the result of an amputation, the 
other a congenital defect in the child of a nurse who had attended the 
patient whose arm was amputated. Both cases were commented on and 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 457 


explained by Dr. W. 0. Priestley, and further remarks were offered by 
Dr. Murie and Mr. W. Thistleton Dyer. 

Mr. W. B. Hemsley then read a paper by General Collett, C.B., and 
himself, “On a collection of plants made in the Shan States, Upper Burma.” 
An interesting discussion followed, in which Messrs. J. G. Baker, C. B. 
Clarke, and Capt. Elwes took part. 


ZoorocicaL Society oF Lonpon. 

Nov. 5, 1889.—Prof. Fuowrr, C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., 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, and called attention to certain interesting accessions which 
had been received during that period. Amongst these were specially 
noted a Short Python, Python curtus, from Malacca, presented July 2nd 
by Mrs. Bertha M. L. Bonsor; and a Prétre’s Amazon, Chrysotis pretrii, 
purchased July 23rd; both new to the collection. 

Mr. J. H. Gurney, Jun., exhibited and made remarks on a hybrid 
Wagtail, bred in confinement, between the Grey Wagtail, Motacilla 
melanope, and the Pied Wagtail, M. lugubris. 

Mr. W. B. Tegetmeier exhibited and made remarks on some variations 
in the plumage of the Partridge, Perdia cinerea. 

Prof. Bell exhibited and made remarks on two specimens of Virgularia 
_ mirabilis, recently dredged by the Hon. A. E. Gathorne Hardy, M.P., in 
Loch Craignish. He also exhibited two young living specimens of Palinurus 
vulgaris, received from Mr. Spencer, of Guernsey, in which the stridulating 
organs were still capable of making sounds. 

A communication was read from the Rev. Thomas R. R. Stebbing, 
containing an account of the Amphipodous Crustaceans of the genus 
Urothoé, and of a new allied genus proposed to be called Urothoides. 

A communication was read from Col. C. Swinhoe, containing descriptions 
of a large number of new Indian Lepidoptera, chiefly Heterocera. 

Mr. P. L. Sclater gave an account of the birds collected by Mr. Ramage 
in St. Lucia, West Indies, which were referred to thirty species. 

Mr. G. A. Boulenger read a note on the Short Python, Python curtus, 
a specimen of which was stated to be living in the Society’s Reptile House. 

A communication was read from Dr. E. C. Stirling, of the University 
of Adelaide, on some points in the anatomy of the female organs of generation 
of the Kangaroo, especially in relation to the acts of impregnation and 
parturition. 

Mr. F. E. Beddard read some notes on the anatomy of an Oligochetous 
worm of the genus Dero, relating principally to its reproductive system. 

ZOOLOGIST.— DEC. 1889. 2N 


458 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


A communication was read from Mr. Scott B. Wilson, in which were 
given the descriptions of four new species of Hawaiian birds, proposed to be 
called Chrysometridops c@ruleirostris, Loxops flammea, Himatione montana, 
and H. stejnegeri.—P. L. Sciater, Secretary. 


Entomotoaicat Society oF Lonpon. 


November 6, 1889.—Prof. J. O. Westwoop, M.A., F.L.S., Hon. Life- 
President, in the chair. 

Mr. Richard S. Standen, of Framlingham Earl Hall, Norwich, was 
elected a Fellow; and the Rev. C. F. Thornewill, M.A., was admitted into 
the Society. 

Mr. J. W. Douglas sent for exhibition specimens of Anthocoris visci, 
Dougl., a new species, taken from mistletoe, at Hereford, in the end of 
September last by Dr.T. A. Chapman; also specimens of Psylla visci, Curtis, 
taken by Dr. Chapman from mistletoe, at the same time and place. 

Mr. R. M‘Lachlan exhibited coloured drawings of a specimen of Zygana 
filipendule, in which the left posterior leg is replaced by a fully-developed 
wing, similar to an ordinary hind wing, and with the neuration almost 
precisely the same, but less densely clothed with scales. The specimen was 
described by Mr. N. M. Richardson in the Ent. Mo. Mag. for June, 1889, 
and the drawing was executed by Mrs. Richardson. Mr. M‘Lachlan also 
exhibited a female specimen of the common earwig Forficula auricularia, 
with a parasitic Gordius emerging from between the metathorax and 
abdomen. He said that it had been placed in his hands by Mr. A. B. 
Farn, by whom it was taken, and that other instances of similar parasitism 
by Gordius on earwigs had been recorded. 

Mr. W. F. Kirby exhibited a gynandromorphous specimen of Lycena 
icarus, having the characters of a male in the right wings and the characters 
of a female in the left wings, caught by Mr. T. Brown at Keyingham, York- 
shire, on the 22nd of June last; also a specimen of a variety of Crabro 
interruptus, De Geer, found by Mr. F. Woodbridge in a hole in a log at 
Uxbridge. 

Mr. W. L. Distant exhibited a male and female specimen of a species 
belonging to a new genus of Discocephalina, from Guatemala, in which the 
sexes were totally dissimilar, the female having abbreviated membranes, 
and being altogether larger than the male. 

Dr. D. Sharp stated that he had observed that in the Ipsine division of 
Nitidulide there was present a stridulating organ in a position in which he 
had not noticed it in any other Coleoptera—viz. on the summit of the back 
of the head. He had found it to exist not only in the species of Ips and 
Cryptarcha, but also in other genera of the subfamily; on the other hand, 
he could not find any trace of its existence, except in members of the Lpsine. 


SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 459 


He exhibited specimens of Ips and Cryptarcha, mounted to show the organ 
Dr. Sharp also exhibited a box of Rhynchota, chiefly Pentatomide, in which 
the specimens were prepared so as to display the peculiarities of the terminal 
segment in the male sex. 

Mr, R. Adkin exhibited, on behalf of Mr. H. Murray, of Carnforth, 
a fine series of Polia wanthomista, var. nigrocincta, from the Isle of Man, 
and Cidaria reticulata and Emmelesia teniata from the Lake District. 

Mr. W. White exhibited a living larva of Zeuzera @sculi, and called 
attention to the chitinous scutum or thoracic segments with several rows of 
minute serrations, which evidently assist progression. He stated that the 
larva exudes from its mouth, when irritated, a colourless fluid, which he 
had tested with litmus-paper and found to be strongly alkaline. Prof. 
Westwood made some remarks on the subject. 

Captain H. J. Elwes exhibited a number of insects of various orders, 
part of the collection formed by the late Otto Méller, of Darjeeling. 

Mons. A. Wailly exhibited the cocoon of an unknown species of Antheraa 
from Assam ; also a number of cocoons and imagos of Anophe venata from 
Acugua, near the Gold Coast, West Africa; specimens of Lasiocampa otus, 
a South European species, which was said to have been utilized by the 
Romans in the manufacture of silk; also a quantity of nests containing the 
eggs of Hpeira madagascariensis, a silk-producing spider from Madagascar, 
locally known by the name of “ Halabe.” He also read extracts from letters 
received from the Rey. P. Camboué, of Tananarivo, Madagascar, on the 
subject of this silk-producing spider. 

Mr, H. Goss read a communication réceived by him from Prof. S. H. 
Scudder, of Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A.,on the subject of his recent discoveries 
of some thousands of fossil insects, chiefly Coleoptera, in Florissant, Western 
Colorado, and Wyoming. Prof. Westwood remarked on the extreme rarity 
of fossil Lepidoptera, and called attention to a recent paper by Mr. A. G. 
Butler, in the Proc. Zool. Soc., 1889, in which the author described a new 
genus of fossil moths belonging to the Geometrid family Huschemida, from 
& specimen obtained by Mr. A’Court Smith at Gurnet Bay, Isle of Wight. 

Mr. F. P. Pascoe read a paper entitled ‘ Additional Notes on the genus 
Hilipus,” and exhibited a number of new species belonging to that genus. 

The Rey. Dr. Walker read a paper entitled “ Notes on the Entomology of 
Iceland.” Mr. Roland Trimen asked if any butterflies had been found in the 
islands. Dr. Walker said that neither he nor Mr. P. B. Mason had seen any 
during their recent visit to Iceland, nor were any species given in Dr. 
Staudinger’s list. In reply to a question by Mr.G.C. Champion, Mr. Mason 
said that during his recent visit to Iceland he had collected nearly a hundred 
species of insects, including about twenty Coleoptera. He added that several 
of the species he had taken had not been recorded either by Dr. Staudinger 
or Dr, Walker. Capt. Elwes enquired if Mr, J. J. Walker, with his great 

2Nn2 


460 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


experience as a collector in all parts of the world, was aware of any land 
except Iceland, outside the Arctic Circle, from which no butterflies had been 
recorded. Mr. J.J. Walker replied that the only place in the world which 
he had visited, in which butterflies were entirely absent was Pitcairn 
Tsland.—H. Goss, Hon. Secretary. 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 


An Illustrated Manual of British Birds. By Howarp Saunpers, 
F.L.S., F.Z.8. 8vo, pp. xl, 754. With illustrations of 
nearly every species. London: Gurney & Jackson, Pater- 
noster Row. 1888—89. 


In ‘ The Zoologist’ for August, 1888, we noticed the com- 
mencement of this useful work, of which four parts had then 
appeared. The punctuality with which it has been issued 
in monthly shilling parts reflects credit alike on author and 
publishers, and now, with the appearance of the twentieth part, 
it has been brought to a satisfactory conclusion. 

In a single volume of nearly 800 pages we have a condensed 
account of 367 birds which, in the opinion of Mr. Saunders, are 
entitled to rank as British, accompanied by an illustration of 
almost every one of them, including several species whose 
portraits have been expressly engraved for this ‘ Manual,’ and 
are supplementary, therefore, to those previously figured in the 
volumes of Yarrell’s standard work. 

The scientific arrangement followed is mainly in accordance 
with that of ‘The Ibis’ List of British Birds, in which again the 
sequence is almost identical with that in Mr. Dresser’s ‘ Birds of 
Europe.’ The introduction, extending to forty pages, is occupied 
chiefly with systematic diagnoses of the genera, the utility of 
which is obviously greater in facilitating the comparison of 
allied genera than the old plan of giving a diagnosis of each 
genus in the place assigned to it in the body of the work. 

It will, perhaps, surprise some readers to find the Nightingale 
located with the Thrushes in the subfamily Twrdine, instead of 
with the Warblers in the subfamily Sylviine, with which it has 
been familiarly associated; but the reason for this is to be found 
in the appearance of the young on leaving the nest, young 
Nightingales, like young Thrushes, having the upper and under 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 461 


parts of the plumage spotted, instead of differing very little in 
colour from their parents, as do the members of the subfamily 
Sylviine. 

We are amongst those who regard with disfavour what 
appears to be an unnecessary multiplication of genera, and 
the more we examine closely the points relied upon for the 
separation of such allied forms as Sasicola and Pratincola, 
Erythacus and Cyanecula, Phylloscopus and Hypolais, Acro- 
cephalus and Locustella, Panurus and Acredula, Fringilla and 
Acanthis, Calcarius and Plectrophanes, &c., &c., the less inclined 
we are to admit the necessity, or even the utility, of such 
separation. 

The location of the Cypselide in the Order Picarie, and far 
removed from the Hirundinide, we hold to be unwarranted by 
the light of the latest researches upon this much-vexed question. 
Of late years certain ornithologists have never lost an oppor- 
tunity of telling us that the Swifts have nothing to do with the 
Swallows, that they}are abnormal Humming-birds, and that 
consequently they should not only not be placed in the same 
family with the Swallows, but not even in the same Order.* 
The author of any ornithological treatise contravening this view 
has been held to be in error and behind the age (see, for example, 
‘The Ibis,’ Oct. 1889, p. 571). But it seems to us that the critic 
is here at fault, for in the latest attempt to elucidate this 
ornithological problem, Dr. Shufeldt (whose opinion as a well- 
known student of avian anatomy carries the greatest weight) 
has shown conclusively that although there are undoubtedly 
points of resemblance between Swifts and Humming-birds, in 
all the most important osteological characters, the former are 
much more nearly related to the Swallows.t So that the old 
view, after all, was correct, although the classification, since 
objected to, was based upon external characters, and upon 
similarity of flight and mode of life. When we add that 
Dr. Shufeldt’s view is endorsed by Prof. W. K. Parker,{ than 

+ “Studies of the Macrochires, morphological and otherwise, with the 
view of indicating their relationships and defining their several positions in 
the system” (with 8 plates), by R. W. Shufeldt, M.D., C.M.Z.S., ‘Journal 
Linnean Society,’ vol. xx. No. 122 (1889). 

} See his paper ‘‘ On the systematic position of the Swifts,” ‘ Zoologist,’ 
1889, pp. 91—95. 


462 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


whom no one in this country is better qualified to express an 
opinion on the subject, we need do no more than recommend 
to our readers a careful perusal of Dr. Shufeldt’s paper. 

In his treatment of the Owls, we observe that Mr. Saunders 
has not invariably adopted the views of Prof. Newton, as set 
forth in the first volume of the 4th edition of Yarrell’s ‘ British 
Birds’; but, although we are glad to see our old friend the 
Barn Owl re-appearing under the time-honoured name of Strix 
flammea, we still think that the Owls, as a family, have been 
separated into too many genera. The Tawny Owl, Tengmalm’s 
Owl, and the Little Owl might well be placed in one and the 
same genus, the points of difference as detailed in the diagnoses 
of the genera Syrnium, Nyctala, and Athene being so slight as 
hardly, in our opinion, to warrant generic separation. They all 
have the head large, round, and without ear-tufts, bill decurved 
from the base, cere small, ears large, wings full and rounded, 
legs and toes feathered. Wherein, then, lies the alleged generic 
distinction? In Syrniwm the tail, in proportion to the closed 
wings, is long; in Nyctala short. In Athene the toes above are 
clothed with soft bristles instead of feathers, as in Nyctala. 
But, to parody Burns, ‘ An owl’s an owl for a’ that.” 

Similarly fine distinctions are drawn between allied genera 
in other orders of birds, as, for example, between Aigialitis and 
Eudromias, and between Anas, Dajfila, and Mareca. True, these 
distinctions are not of our author’s making, but only of his 
adoption: the question is whether he would not have acted 
wisely in discarding some of them as unnecessary, and thus 
have simplified his classification. 

Considering that the limits of the work did not admit of 
more than two pages of letterpress being devoted to each species, 
it would be difficult to give a better condensation of facts in 
fewer lines than has been contrived by Mr. Saunders; but 
inasmuch as the object of his ‘Manual’ is to give an account 
of birds in, not out of, the British Islands, it may be said that 
the paragraphs relating to the geographical distribution of 
species abroad might have been usefully replaced by further and 
fuller information than is here given as to haunts, habits, food, 
nesting, &c., as observed by British ornithologists. This remark 
applies especially to such species as Savi’s Warbler, the Bearded 
Titmouse, Kite, Honey Buzzard, Bustard, Bittern, Dotterel, 


NOTICES. OF NEW BOOKS. 463 


Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff and Reeve, Crane, Spoonbill, and 
other birds, which, as breeding species, are most of them no 
longer to be observed in England. We should much have 
preferred to see under the head of Hen Harrier the interesting 
remarks by Mr. Elmhirst (‘ The Field,’ Nov. 27th, 1886) on the 
status of this bird sixty years ago in Lincolnshire, where it used 
to breed regularly and in some numbers, than the less acceptable 
statistics which are given concerning its distribution in the 
palearctic region. 

The question of nomenclature is one upon which it is appa- 
rently hopeless to expect unanimity, and we are at a loss to 
understand why certain names adopted with good reason in the 
4th edition of ‘Yarrell’ should be again altered. For example, 
we have it on Prof. Newton’s authority that the Great Reed 
Warbler is Acrocephalus arwndinaceus (Linneus), and the Sedge 
Warbler Acrocephalus schenobenus (Linneus). Mr. Saunders 
now calls the former Acrocephalus twrdoides (Meyer), and the 
latter A. phragmitis (Bechstein), though without assigning any 
reason for the change. Should not the Linnean names have 
priority ? 

As to those species which have crept into the British list 
with very slender claim to recognition as British, Mr. Saunders 
has, perhaps, done well to discard them,—at all events, 
such species as the Blue Rock Thrush (Monticola cyanus), 
the American Regulus calendula, Vireo olivaceus, Zonotrichia 
albicollis, as well as the American Woodpeckers ; but we are 
somewhat disappointed to note the rejection of the Great Black 
Woodpecker (Picus martius), which, as an Old World species, 
frequently reported to have been observed in England, stands 
upon a very different footing. In this case at least it might 
have been well to republish the figure, if not the description, of a 
bird which, like a “will-o’-the-wisp.” many persons in this 
country believe they have seen, but have never apparently been 
able to capture and produce. 

The new engravings which appear in this ‘ Manual,’ in 
addition to those from ‘ Yarrell,’ are noteworthy, the following 
making their appearance for the first time: the Isabelline, 
Black-throated and Desert Wheatears, the Barred Warbler, Wall 
Creeper, Needle-tailed Swift, Lesser Kestrel, Killdeer and 
Sociable Plovers, and Mediterranean Black-headed Gull; while 


464 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


fresh figures have been substituted for the unsatisfactory originals 
of the Marsh Harrier, Goshawk, Merlin, and Great Auk. Apropos 
of the last-named, Mr. Saunders might have included amongst 
British-taken specimens (as he did in the 4th ed. of ‘ Yarrell,’ 
vol. iv. p. 65) the Great Auk noticed by Wallis in his ‘ Natural 
History and Antiquities of Northumberland,’ 1769, wherein he 
observes (vol. i. p. 840) ‘‘ the Penguin, a curious and uncommon 
bird, was taken alive a few years ago in the island of Farn, and 
presented to the late John William Bacon, Esq., of Htherstone, 
with whom it grew so tame and familiar that it would follow 
him with its body erect to be fed.” It is difficult to conceive that 
the bird here referred to could by any possibility have been a 
Razorbill or Guillemot, species so common on and around the 
Farn Islands that they must have been perfectly familiar to the 
captors of the bird in question, as well as to many of those who 
subsequently saw it. Moreover, Wallis, as if to make its identi- 
fication clearer, quotes from the ‘ Fauna Suecica’ (p. 43), the 
Linnean diagnosis, ‘‘ Alca rostri sulco octo; macula alba ante 
oculum,” a brief though sufficiently pertinent description of 
Alca impennis. The omission of this record from the “‘ Manual” 
conveys the impression that Mr. Saunders is not quite satisfied 
of its value, whereas it would seem to be quite as much entitled 
to credence as the earlier reports of ‘‘ M. Martin, Gent.,” or Sir 
George McKenzie. 

We have only to add that the natural history loving portion 
of the British public ought to be grateful to Mr. Saunders for 
having placed within reach at a moderate cost, and in one 
volume, such a well-illustrated and accurately-written account 
of our native birds. 


A Vertebrate Fauna of the Outer Hebrides. By J. A. Harvie 
Brown and T. E. Bucxiry. 8vo, pp. xciii, 279. With 
illustrations. Edinburgh: Douglas. 1889. 


Exprotations in regard to this book, aroused by the appear- 
ance of the companion volume on Sutherland and Caithness 
(cf. Zool. 1888, p. 38), have been more than realised. The 
result of eighteen years’ exploration and observation, supple- 
mented by hints from shooting tenants, factors, gamekeepers, 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 465 


and others, has culminated in the production of a work which, 
for accuracy and fulness of information, aided by excellent 
illustrations and maps, places it in front of all the books (and 
they are many and various) which have been written on the 
Western Isles. It would, indeed, have been well if our authors 
had given a bibliography of these works, for it would be curious 
to trace the growth of information concerning a portion of the 
British Islands which to very many Englishmen is less known 
than New York. 

The introductory chapters deal with the geographical position 
and physical features of the Outer Hebrides, each island being 
described in turn; and, following some remarks on the faunal 
position and importance of the group, we have chapters on the 
Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, and Fishes (by Mr. W. 
Anderson Smith), succeeded by remarks on the general geological 
features by Professor Heddle. 

Although we do not doubt that our authors are well acquainted 
with all the accessible literature relating to this group of islands, 
we think they might very well have quoted some of the remarks 
of their predecessors concerning certain animals about which 
they themselves give no information. To take the Roe-deer, for 
example, of which we learn nothing but the Gaelic names (p. 84), 
we are told in an explanatory note (p. 12), that species which 
‘have not any notes attached to them are entered merely for 
purposes of comparison and future additions, and have nothing 
directly to do with the present state of the fauna of the Outer 
Hebridean Area.”’ From this we are to infer that the Roe-deer 
is not now to be found in the Islands. Yet Dr. Johnson, in his 
‘Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland,” 1775, observed 
(p. 121), “‘the Isle of Skye has stags and roe-bucks, but no 
hares.” If there are no longer Roe-deer in Skye, it would have 
been well to note this. Similarly, under the head of Weasel 
(p. 18), we find nothing but the Gaelic name for this animal, 
while Dr. Johnson has the interesting note (p. 189) that, although 
“there are in Skye neither rats nor mice, the weasel is so 
frequent that he is heard in houses rattling behind chests or 
beds, as in England,” to which he adds “ that they probably owe 
to his predominance that they have no other vermin; for since 
the great rat took possession of this part of the world scarce a 
ship can touch at any port but some of his race are left behind. 


466 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


They have within these few years (1775) begun to infest the Isle 
of Col, where, being left by some trading vessel, they have 
increased for want of weasels to oppose them.” Messrs. Brown 
and Buckley make no allusion to this under the head of Brown 
Rat. Dr. Johnson is not known to have possessed much 
acquaintance with natural history, but he collected his informa- 
tion on the spot where his observations were written, and the 
statements of such an author are worthy of consideration. If 
he were in error, it would have been well to have pointed out his 
mistake. 

Martin, in his ‘ Description of the Western Islands of Scot- 
land,’ remarked (in 1703) that the Mertrick (or Marten) was 
pretty numerous in Harris, but our authors, in their account of 
this animal, do not take us farther back than 1777, quoting 
an observation of Pennant in his Preface to Lightfoot’s ‘ Flora 
Scotica.’ 

In the case of animals which have been introduced to the 
Inner Islands, as the Roe-deer has been in Islay, Mull, and 
Jura (fide Alston, ‘Fauna of Scotland,’ 1880, p. 25), or are indi- 
genous there, like the Long-tailed Field Mouse (Mus sylvaticus), 
it would have been useful, for the purpose of indicating the 
limits of their distribution westward, to have noted this. 

The plan of introducing the names of species which are not 
only unknown in the Hebrides, but do not occur in any part of 
Scotland, is, in our opinion, very inconvenient, and cannot be 
said to serve any useful purpose. It may be urged that it shows 
what forms are absent from the fauna, or are not known to 
occur, and may be looked for on the chance of their discovery. 
But this cannot be held to apply to such species as the Rock 
Thrush (Monticola saxatilis), Nightingale, Dartford Warbler, 
Savi’s Warbler, Bearded Tit, Gold-vented Thrush (Pycnonotus 
capensis), Scarlet Grosbeak (Carpodacus erythrinus), Needle- 
tailed Swift (Acanthyllis caudacuta), Russet-necked Nightjar 
(Caprimulgus ruficollis), Bee-eater, and many others which might 
be named, and which are not in the least likely to occur. The 
introduction of these names only tends to confuse the reader, 
and to unduly swell the list of species which have really been 
obtained or observed. 

Subject. to this objection, we have nothing but praise for a 
work which must have cost its authors an infinity of labour, and 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. A467 


which for a very long time to come must be the standard work 
of reference on the subjects of which it treats. 

The full-page illustrations are admirable, ‘‘ The interior of 
North Uist,” ‘‘ Mingalay Village,” and the ‘“ Eyrie of the White- 
tailed Eagle, Shiant Islands,” being especially noticeable, as 
tending to convey with photographic exactness the scenes in 
which the authors’ notes and observations have been made. 

With many English yacht owners nowadays a favourite 
summer cruise is to the Western Islands, and for them and 
their friends on board the present volume will be found 
invaluable, for, apart from the general information which it 
contains on the geographical position and natural history of the 
islands, the maps and charts, with the latest soundings, will be 
of use even to the practised mariner. 


The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Edited 
by W.T. Buanrorp. Fishes by Francis Day. 2 vols. 8vo, 
with illustrations. London: Taylor & Francis. 1889. 


About a year ago (‘ Zoologist,’ 1888, p. 395) we noticed the 
appearance of the first volume of this important series of 
manuals on the Fauna of British India, namely, Part I. of the 
Mammalia, by Dr. Blanford. We have now to call attention to 
the fact that two more volumes have been published entitled as 
above. It will be generally admitted that no one could have 
been found better qualified to write these two volumes than the 
late Surgeon Francis Day, whose death we had so recently to 
deplore (Zool. 1889, p. 806). A long residence in India, where 
he was for some years Inspector-General of Fisheries, afforded 
him ample opportunities for becoming generally acquainted with 
the fish-fauna of that country, and for the collection of the 
materials which enabled him, in 1878, to complete his great 
work on that subject. Fortunately for science he was spared 
long enough to finish the present undertaking so far as to admit 
of the volumes going to press, though much of the labour of 
revising the proof-sheets, we understand, devolved, through his 
illness, upon the Editor. 

The present work is chiefly an abridgement of his larger 
‘Fishes of India,’ with such alterations and additions as were 
rendered necessary by information since collected, and much of 


468 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


which appeared in his ‘Supplement’ of 1888. The synonymy, 
having been already fully worked out in his previous treatise, 
has not been reprinted, but under the head of each species a 
reference is given to the original specific description, and to the 
page of the former work where fuller details may be found. 

With few exceptions the woodcuts which serve as illustrations 
are reduced copies of the quarto plates. 

We learn from the Editor’s Preface that the limits of the 
area of which the fresh-water fauna is here described are those 
defined in the Introduction to the volume on Mammals, and are 
those of British India and its dependencies, such as Burma, the 
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Manipur, Nepal, Cashmere, 
Baluchistan, &c., together with Ceylon. The marine fishes are 
all known to inhabit the seas around British India. 

As there are no representatives of the Salmonide in India, 
it was, perhaps, hardly to be expected that the Index would 
contain any reference to ‘“‘ Trout,’ but inasmuch as there is a 
spotted fresh-water fish (Barilius bola), one of the Cyprinine, 
which takes the fly well, and is popularly known to Anglo- 
Indians as ‘‘ Trout,” it might have been well to give this name 
in the Index, and so enable any uninformed reader to discover 
the real name and affinities of this fish. This leads us to 
remark that the work would have been made more acceptable to 
English sportsmen and naturalists in India if some information 
had been given about the size and weight of what are commonly 
known as “‘ game-fishes,” that is, fishes sought for by the angler, 
as, for example, the “‘ Mahseer” (Barbus tor), belonging also to 
the subfamily Cyprinine, with an indication of such species as 
are to be recommended for food or avoided, and a reference to 
such rivers as are celebrated for the sport which they afford to 
lovers of the fly-rod. 

The absence of such information as this makes the work 
quite unreadable. It is merely a reliable “book of reference ” 
for those who want no more than a comprehensive and systematic 
catalogue of Indian fishes, containing the scientific and native 
names, with brief but sufficient diagnoses of the species, and 
supplemented where possible with illustrations. These un- 
doubtedly will enhance its value in the eyes of non-scientific 
readers. Like all works emanating from the press of Messrs. 
Taylor and Francis, it is admirably printed. 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS, 469 


Pig-sticking or Hog-hunting : a complete account for Sportsmen 
and others. By Capt. R. 8. Bapren-Powenn, 13th Hussars, 
Illustrated by the Author. 8vo., pp. 212, London; 
Harrison & Sons. 1889, 


We have had no better book on this subject since the appear- 
ance of Capt. Newall’s ‘ Hog-hunting in the East,’ and no more 
graphic illustrations since the publication, in 1851, of Capt. 
J. F. Fotheringham’s ‘ Sporting Sketches and Scenes in India’ 
(in oblong folio), which, devoted exclusively to Hog-hunting, 
soon went out of print, and has never been re-published. 

Those who have had opportunities of taking active part in 
this thoroughly Anglo-Indian sport insist that it puts every other 
kind of hunting completely in the shade, not excepting Fox- 
hunting, and aver that not only do you get as fast a run over as 
difficult ground as is to be found anywhere, but there is the 
greater excitement of pursuing at full speed an animal which. if 
brought to bay or wounded, will turn upon its pursuer and show 
gallant fight. After reading some of Capt. Baden-Powell’s 
stories of good days after pig, we cannot wonder at the enthu- 
siasm which has prompted him to write this very entertaining 
book. 

He explains the choice of title by remarking that in Bengal 
the sport is designated ‘ Pigsticking,” and in Bombay ‘ Hog- 
hunting,” adding that the modern form of it (that is, riding 
down a boar on horseback and killing it with a spear), is not of 
great antiquity, but ‘‘ became recognised only at the beginning 
of this century as the substitute for bear-sticking, which had 
until then been the most popular sport in Bengal.” He tells us 
the ‘‘ points” of a good boar, the signs of age, size, weight, &c., 
describes the animal’s haunts and habits, its craftiness, speed, 
and ferocity, and descants upon the long spear and the short 
spear, discussing their respective merits. 

The chapter on “rearing pig” will have no interest for 
British agriculturists ; it relates not to feeding and fattening, 
but to getting the beast out of covert. For Hog-hunting, like 
other sports, has its technical terms. You may “‘flush” a 
Woodcock, “put up” a Wild Duck, “spring” a Pheasant, or 
“rouse” a Stag, but you “rear” a Wild Boar, and (as our 


470 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


author points out) have to mind how you do it!* Full directions 
are given on this subject in the chapter referred to (Chap. IX.), 
but the pages which concern us most are those which deal with 
the natural history of the Wild Boar. These are full of interest, 
and we only regret that want of space will not permit of our 
making extracts. 

There is a capital account of a pitched battle between a Boar 
and a Tiger (p. 72), as observed by a friend of the author, from 
a hiding-hole near a pool where the wild beasts came to water. 
The result showed the extraordinary muscular power of an old 
Boar, and the extensive nature of the injuries he is capable of 
inflicting with his terrible ‘“‘tushes.”” He is indeed a foe well 
worthy of the hunter’s steel, and to vanquish him is to ensure 
a triumph not realized in overcoming any other animal. 

But it is not on this account only that Capt. Baden-Powell 
sounds the praises of boar-hunting. There are other and 
weightier reasons why it should be encouraged and practised 
wherever the “‘ quarry ”’ can be found by English sportsmen. 


“ Apart from the fact that any hardy exercise conduces much to the 
training and formation of a soldier, ‘ pig-sticking ’ tends to give a man what 
is called a ‘ stalker’s eye,’ but which par eacellence is the soldier's eye. It 
teaches him to keep looking about him, both near and far, so that by 
practice he gets to notice objects in the far distance almost before an 
ordinary man can distinguish them even when pointed out tohim. In 
difficulties of ground he will learn to keep a look-out to the front, and not 
only see his way over present obstacles, but also the best line to take when 
these have been successfully disposed of. The habit of looking for and 
noticing the smallest signs of pig teach a man to note and carry in his 
mind those little marks by which he can often obtain important informa- 
tion, and will always get the country more or less mapped into his brain by 
a succession of insignificant signs and landmarks, the value of which can 
be duly appreciated when he has once had to perform a reconnaissance by 
night, or to work through an unknown country in time of hostilities.” 


Coming from a soldier and a sportsman, this argument 
furnishes a good raison d’étre for a very entertaining and 
instructive volume. 


* “ Jinking” is another term peculiar to this sport, and signifies turning 
sharply to the right or left when on the point of being speared while going 
at full speed. Tracking is termed “ pugging,” and the animal’s tusks are 
known to the craft as ‘‘ tushes,” 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 471 


Sylvan Folk: Sketches of Bird and Animal Life in Britain. By 
Joon Watson. Small 8vo., pp. 286. London: Fisher 
Unwin. 1889. 


Tur title of this little book is not well chosen, the word 
folk ” being inapplicable to birds and beasts, and ‘ sylvan folk” 
being suggestive rather of fairies than of wild animals. The 
chapters (sixteen in number) deal with various matters of out- 
door observation, some of them having already appeared in print 
and being now re-published in a collected form. Here and there 
we find an interesting note called forth by the author’s experience, 
as when he tells us, in the chapter on small British mammals, 
that he has seen Shrews, ‘‘on the sides of Hellvellyn, 1500 feet 
above the sea-level” (p. 47). 

We do not quite follow Mr. Watson when he says (p. 38) that 
the Pheasant is not an indigenous British bird, nor is it a distinct 
species,” At least three species are well known here in a wild 
state,—Phasianus colchicus, torquatus, and versicolor,—and of 
late years a few others have been introduced and turned out by 
way of experiment. In referring to the earliest mention of the 
Pheasant in England, he is in error regarding the date; 1177 

being the date of the MS. in which the bill of fare is mentioned, 
and not of the bill itself, which was framed a.p. 1059, 

In ‘ The Field’ of March 81st, 1888, appeared an article (not 
by Mr. Watson) on the subject of small birds being assisted in 
their migrations by larger ones, and of this (without any acknow- 

-ledgment) Mr. Watson gives a réchauffé in the first portion of his 
chapter on ‘‘Bird-problems,” the second portion of the same 
chapter, on the flight of birds, having been evidently inspired by 
a perusal of the Duke of Argyll’s ‘ Reign of Law.’ This style of 
writing is not to be commended, for it allows the unwary reader 
to suppose that a chapter so constructed is new and original, 
whereas it is only a counterfeit. Worse than this, it sometimes 
saddles the author quoted with mistakes which he has not com- 
mitted. We may point to an instance of this on p. 74, where 
Mr. Watson, commenting on what is now a well-known fact, viz., 
that the Woodcock carries its young from the nest to the feeding- 
ground, observes that the young are not conveyed either by or in 
the bill, and that ‘it is just as erroneous to substitute the claws, 
as some have done, for the bill.” If Mr. Watson had attentively 


472 THE ZOOLOGIST, 


read the article on this subject, from which he evidently quotes, 
and which appeared in ‘ The Zoologist’ for 1879 (pp. 4833—440), 
he would have found the evidence on which this statement was 
grounded. Curiously enough, on his next page, he is so incon- 
sistent as to quote (very inaccurately) a passage from Stuart’s 
‘Lays of the Deer Forest’ (correctly quoted in ‘ The Zoologist’ 
for 1879), wherein the writer states that he saw the young 
Woodcock carried ‘‘in the claws” of its parent, an observation 
which is confirmed by Mr. Chichester Hart in our present 
number (p. 454). 

To the statement (p. 175) that ‘‘ Peregrines are very de- 
structive to Grouse,” we cannot object: they can catch and kill 
them easily, though many sportsmen affirm that a driven Grouse 
is the fastest bird that flies. But when Mr. Watson adds that 
‘it is just as true that they pick off the slowest and weakest 
birds,” we entirely disagree with him, having repeatedly had 
ocular proof that this is not the case. Having taken some part in 
‘‘ Grouse-hawking ” for three seasons, and having seen as many 
as six or eight Grouse killed in one afternoon by Peregrine 
Falcons, we may confidently claim to express an opinion on this 
subject, an opinion, by the way, which has been already called 
forth (antea, p. 117) by an iteration of the popular fallacy 
which Mr. Watson still tries to maintain. Once put a plausible, 
though erroneous, statement into print, without any evidence to 
support it, and it will be copied over and over again, in spite of 
contradiction. We have another instance of thisin Mr. Watson’s 
book, on p. 78, where he tells us that the dark brown variety of 
Fallow-deer was introduced into England from Scandinavia, a 
fallacy that has been long since exposed (see ‘Essays on Sport 
and Natural History,’ p. 12). 

We might give other instances of want of accuracy, but have 
no desire to pursue such criticism further. The book, though 
not without its redeeming features, is on the whole a dis- 
appointing one. It savours too much of ‘‘ book-making,” and 
too little of the well-considered, well-expressed truths that might 
be collected by a more careful writer. 


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Ane AY 


CONTENTS. 


Notes on a Voyage to the Greenland Sea in 1888, Robert Gray ; 
Ornithological Notes from the Norfolk Coast, Oliver V. Aplin, 6 
Ornithological Notes from Norfolk, J. H. Gurney, Jun., F'.L.S., PZS., 13. 
On the Habits of the Great Crested Grebe, C. R. Gawen, F.Z.S8., 18. 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 
Natusal History Notes on Board Ship, W.S. M. D' Urban, F.L.S., 22. 4 
Mammatia.—Badgers and Otters in Surrey, H. P. Larken, 23. The Accli- 
matisation of ‘Red-deer in New Zealand, H. B. Huddleston, C.H., 24. He 
Brros. —Food of the Manx Shearwater, C. R. Gawen, F.Z.S., 24. Little Gull | 
in Glamorganshire, Digby 8. W. Nicholl, F.L.S., 25. The Diving Powers 
of Ganmners’ J. L. Collison-Morley, 25. Nesting Habits of the Black- 
eyebrowed and Wandering Albatrosses, 26. Birds in the London Parks, 
J. Young, F.Z.S.,. 27. Rare Birds in the Isle of Wight; Capt. H. Hadjield, 
28. Notes on Birds in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, G. . Lodge, 29. 
Golden Eagles in Co. Galway, Edward Williams, 31. Rare Birds in Hants, — 
Edward Hart, 31. Surf Scoter in Ireland, Richard M. Barrington, M.A., © 
32. Nesting of the Hobby in Scotland, Sir Kdward Newton, C.M.G., 32. ~ 
Rare Birds in Gloucester and. Somerset, Marcus 8. C. Rickards, 32. 
Pectoral Sandpiper in Ireland, Hdward Williams, 32. The Smew in Perth-— 
shire, Thomas Marshall, 33. Roller at Rainham, W. Prentis, 33. Solitary 4 
Snipe and Sabine’s Snipe i in Ireland, Hdward Williams, 33. Night Heron, 
in Lintolnshire, G. H. Caton Haigh, 33. An unrecorded Squacco Heron, | 
Edward Hart, 34. Crane near Colchester, Henry Laver, F.R.C.S., F.L.S., 
34. The Avocet in North Devon, J. G. Hamiling, 34. Pallas’s Sand Grouse. . 
in Co. Clare, Edward Williams, 34. Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Lincolnshire, 7 
John Cordeaux, 34. Fulmar and Spotted Redshank in Oo. Sligo, Robert ~ 
Warren, 34. Unusual site for a Sedge Warbler’s Nest, L. W. Wiglesworth, § 
35. Materials in Nest of Hooded Crow, Rev. William W. Flemyng, M.A., 
35. A White Snipe, . L. Mitford, 35. Ring Ouzel breeding in Orkney, | 
Prof. J. W. A. Trail, M.A., M.D., 35..; 5 
Fisees.—Food of the Haddock, 86. , es ok 
Screnrrric Soctutres.—Linnean, 36. Zoological, 87... Entomological, 39. 


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RANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Manager. 


The Birkbeck Building Society’s Annual Receipts exceed Five Millions. 
Ho to PURCHASE A HOUSE for TWO GUINEAS per MONTH, with immediate possession, & no Rent 
pay. Apply at the Office of the BirkBEcK BUILDING Society. 29) Southampton Buildings, Chancery Li 
Hox to PURCHASE A PLOT of LAND for FIVE SHILLINGS per MONTH, with immediate possess 
W either for Building or Gardening purposes. Apply at the Office of the Brrepeck LAND Soctery, as ab 
i i BIRKBECK ALMANAC, with full particulars, on application.—FRANCIS BAVENSCRORE,, Mai 


E 
“a 


JUST PUBLISHED, 


eTHE ERE: REGISTER: 


A DIARY from the DAY of BIRTH to OLD AGE; to facilitate an orderly 
‘record of personal events, pursuits and attainments, ‘and: to serve the higher 
purpose of helping the perception of the dignity of living. May be commenced 
at any age, or begun by parents for their children. 

Prices: in cloth binding, 1s. 6d.; 12 copies, 12s.; 50 copies, £2 5s. “In roan 
wallet, hand-made paper, gilt "edges, 3s. 6d.; 12 copies, £1 8s. 

*“‘A novelty in the book world. * * * * Altogether the volume is a fascinating 
suggestion. Great would be the advantages, personally, socially, biographically, and 
scientifically, if there were in existence this somewhat brief and: simple record of the life 
of every individual. Every parent must be tempted to devote such a book to the history 
of his child.” —School Board Chronicle. 


London : : West, Newman & Co., 54, Hatton Garden, E.C. 


W. K. MANN, Naturalist (Esrp. 1868), 
WELLINGTON TERRACE, CLIFTON, BRISTOL. 


___A verv large stock of BRITISH and FOREIGN LEPIDOPTERA, 
COLEOPTERA, BIRDS’ EGGS and SKINS. A special Catalogue of 
North-American Birds’ Eggs free. 
BOOKS.— Complete set of.* Entomologist’ and ‘ Entomologist’s Monthly 
Magazine.’ 
_ Fine stock of LAND SHELLS from all parts of the world. 


ee New General Catalogue free. 


H. W. MARSDEN 
Natural History Agent and Bookseller, 
: 37, MIDLAND ROAD, GLOUCESTER. 


_ EUROPEAN LEPIDOPTERA.—The largest and best stock in England at 
ete very moderate prices. 
ho EXOTIO LEPIDOPTERA, COLEOPTERA, ORTHOPTERA, &c. 
¥ PRESERVED LARVZ of rare British Lepidoptera. 
q “CABINETS and APPARATUS of all kinds for Extomotocists, OéLogists, 
a OrnitHoLocists, Botanists, &c., &c. 
Be BOTANICAL CASES, DRYING PAPER, &e. 
a BRITISH and EXOTIC SHELLS. 
: - BRITISH SPECIES of BIRDS’ SKINS & BIRDS’ EGGS.—Of these 
_ the stock is‘far the largest and most authentic in Britain, probably in Europe, while 
_ alarge stock of Exotic Skins and Eggs, especially American, are always on hand. 
Bs YOUNG BIRDS in Down. 
" Parcels of Exotic Insects, Birds, or Shells, sent for selection. ‘British Birds’ 
Mt Skins sent on approval. Other articles guaranteed. 
he BEST BOOKS ON ABOVE SUBJECTS recommended and supplied. 
* (Send for the new and enlarged Catalogue of August, 1886.) 


Aetna COOKE ¢ SON 


SPSS natant 


i 


SF iy 


a 


7, 


(Late of 5183, NEW OXFORD STREET), 
80 MUSEUM STREET, OXFORD STREET, W.C. 


)RITISH BIRDS’ EGGS: a Handbook of British Zoology. By Artur G. 
“Butter, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c. Illustrated by 38 Plates, containing 371 
ately coloured Figures, representing the Eggs of 195 Species. Cloth, price 
6d. nett, post free. 


London : KE. W. Janson, 35, Little Russell Street. 


CONTENTS. 


Notes on a Voyage to the Greenland Sea in 1888, Robert Gray, 41. 
Notes on the Occurrence of Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Lancashire, R. J. Howard, 51; ~ 
Pallas’s Sand Grouse: Reports from the Continent, 56. . 
The Sand Grouse Protection Act, 1888, 60. 
The Electric Organs of Fishes, 61. 


NOTES AND QUERIES. Peas 
The late Churchill Babington, D.D., F.L.8., 66. Game and Wildfowl in the ae 
Paris Markets, 66. ) 
Mammaria.—The Acclimatisation of Red Deer in New Zealand, 67. Wild Dogs" Y 
in New Zealand, 68. Fur-bearing Animals of Siberia, 68. Pied halen 
in Norfolk, C. B. Dack, 68. Whiskered Bat in Derbyshire, C. Oldham, 68. 
Brrps.—Notes on London Birds, A. H. Muepherson, B.A., 69. ‘The tienen 
of Crossbills in the East of France, R. J. Ussher, 70. Sand Grouse in the ~ 
North-West of England, Rev. H. A. Macpherson, M.A., 72. Sand Grouse ~ 
in North Yorkshire, T. H. Nelson, 72. Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Hampshire, — 
W. Jeffery, 72. Sand Grouse in Northamptonshire, W. Bazeley, 72. Weight — 
of the Pectoral Sandpiper, J. Cordeaux, 73. Green Sandpiper in Glamor- 
ganshire, Digby S. W. Nicholl, F.L.S., 73. Food of the Manx Shearwater, _ 
R. Warren, 74. Habits of the Manx Shearwater, Rev. H. A. Macpherson, 74. 
Bittern in Lancashire, W. Worthington, 75. Rooks in the Isle of Wight: a 
Correction of an Error, Capt. Hadfield, 75. Nutcracker, Crossbill, and Sand — 
Grouse in Norfolk, C. B. Dack, 75. Scarcity of the Carrion Crow in Norfolk, 
O. V. Aplin, 76. ‘Lapland Bunting in Ireland, R. M. Barrington, M.A., 76. 
Crossbills in Ireland, #. Williams, 76. Swallows in December, F’. W. Millett, — 
76. Rough-legged Buzzard in Lancashire, C. E. Stott, 77. Little Gull in — 
Glamorgunshire, Digly 8S. W. Nicholl, 77. Wood Warbler at Cley, J. H. 4 
Gurney, Jun., F.LS., F.Z.S., 17. 
FisnEs.—Burbot off the Yorkshire ‘Coast, W. Denison-Roebuck, F'.L.S., 77. 
Sctenriric SocrEries. en tai nak 77. Zoological, 79. Entomological, 80. ° 


NATURAL HISTORY SPECIMENS. a 

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8th. "ead 

R. J. C. STEVENS will SELL BY AUCTION,, at his Grek Rooms, 
38, King, Street, Covent Garden, on Monday, February 18th, at half- ~ 
past 12 precisely, EXOTIC and BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA and other — 
Insects, Shells, Minerals, Fossils, Birds well set up in Cases, Bird and Animal © 4 
Skins, Heads and Horns, Corals, Birds’ Eggs, Cabinets, and other Natural 
History Specimens, &c., de. 3 
On view the Saturday prior from 10 till 4, and morning of sic and q 
Catalogues had. ; 


Valuable British Lepikopine 

‘R. J.C. STEVENS has been favoured with instructions from the Executora™ 

of the late Aucustus SHEPPARD, Esq., to Sell by Auction, at his Great B 
Rooms, 88, King. Street, Covent Garden, early in March, his well- known | 
and extensive COLLECTION of BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA, Furthe 
particulars in next Advertisement. “3 


Just published, 56 pages, price 3d., 
fi Mipaases. HISTORY and SCIENTIFIC BOOK CIRCULAR, No. 98, : 
containing upwards of 1400 titles of valuable and important works on | 
MICROSCOPIC ZOOLOGY, 
ENTOMOLOGY, 7 
CONCHOLOGY. | 


ee, 


¥ Diet 


NATURAL HISTORY. 
EDITED BY 


J. E. HARTING, F.LS, F.Z.8. 
f MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION. 


oe d 


DELECTANDO PARITERQUE MONENDO. 


ra 


Se es LONDON: 
~ SIMPKIN, MARSHALL & CO, 
STATIONERS’ HALL COURT. 


ee 
ny 


Price ONE SHILLING. 
Z nat a 5 : ~ 


nyt af 


ny 


ste & Ser ‘READY, p Price ‘one ‘gitiuaike 


--Birdanesting and Bird-skinnin 


ect th t COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE NESTS AND- 
EGGS OF BIRDS WHICH BREED IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. a 


SECOND EDITION; Edited, revised and re-written, 
eee Directions for calecting and Preserving ig the feggs. and Skins of Birds, A: 


By MILLER CHRISTY.» is 


‘“A sterling book. for the oologists and bird: skinners in our schools." — Natu 
History Journal.’ 


5 “Thoroughly well calculated to serve the modest purpose aimed at by its eile =)! 

' The chapters on egg-collecting and bird-skinning are practical and well written, and. the” 
whole represents careful and painstaking work.’’—‘ Pall Mall Gazette.’ 3s 

> Colonel Irby has supplied: a real want—a handy pocket-book, giving fina His 

diagnostic characters of every species. What Col. Irby has’ done for the Birds, Bae 

Miller Christy has done for the Eggs; and it is certain that with this book in his hands — 

_ the young student can gain a very good idea of the eggs which are likely to be met with 1 in 


England.” —‘ Nature.’ 
T. FISHER UNWIN, 26, ee SQUARE. 


In the Press, and will shortly be vablistical: Sa x 

ie VERTEBRATE ANIMALS OF LEICESTERSHIRE AND” ¥ 
RUTLAND. By Monracu Browxn, F.Z.S., Curator, Town Museum, © 
Leicester. D’crown 8vo, cloth, gilt, four plates and a map. A few copies not 
eulepabed for, at 10s. 6d., or interleaved, 13s. Prospectus, &c., on application. . 


RITISH BIRDS’ EGGS: a Handbook of British Zoology. By ARteest G, ‘ 
Bururr, F.L.8., F.Z.8., &e. Illustrated by 38 Plates, containing’ BIL 
Rconbately coloured Figures, representing the Eggs of 195 Species. Cloth, ‘price 
31s. po: nett, post free. : 


London: EB. W, SANSOM; 35, Little Russell Street. 


Just published, 56 pages; price 3d., 


NA ATURAL HISTORY and SCIENTIFIC BOOK CIRCULAR, No. 93, 
| containing upwards of 1400 titles of valuable and important wor ks on - 


i ‘MICROSCOPIC ZOOLOGY, 

: ENTOMOLOGY, 
iis CONCHOLOGY. 
Wes Wrnzaw WESLEY .& Sent Scientific Booksellers, 28, Essex Street; Strand, London. 


PALLAS’ SAND GROUSE, S. Paradoxus, | 


A finely marked clutch of 8, Price £3 17. 6. 


| We have also recieved the following clutches, with others, too numerous to mention. Sy 

3 White-tailed Eagle, 8/6 3 Spotted do. 12/ 5 Merlin, 4/6 “3 Rough-legged Buzzard, 

3 Kite, 3/ 4 Hoopoe, 3/6 5 Brambling, 3/6 5 Grasshopper Warbler, 6/6 3 Bustard, 4/ 

2 Crane, 6] 4 Schinz’s Sandpiper, 3/3 Little Gull, 7/6 4 Bd-billed Sandpiper, 18/6 
Any of the above sent ‘‘ om approval’ on rece pt of remmitance. Single eggs at very low prices 


- 2 Improved Steel Egg Drills, and Metal Blow: pine: 1/- Post free. 
Glass Suction Bulbs, for Eggs. 3d. : Glass Blowpipe, 2d. Box and say rs 2d. extra, 
List of British Bird’s, tor Labeil.ng, Reference, or Exchanging, 1d. each, ; 9d. per doz. ; ditto printed 
pratontey type for Labelling Eggs, 3d. ‘ Hints.on Egg Collecting and N patiues . 3d; Egg Cabinets fi om, 16. 
~ ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF NATURALISTS REQUISITES, APPARATUS, EYES, EGGS, SKIN 
NESTS, LEPIDOPTERA, CABINETS, STORE BOXES, BUOKS, “ce. Now ready. Post free. 


J.& W. DAVIS, *tusisiat DARTFORD. KEN 


Sy Sis Et baad “a ike Beye) ae  : Ps. £7} 5 : a MSS 
7, K. MANN, Naturalist (Estasiisuep 1868), — 
‘WELLINGTON TERRACE, CLIFTON, BRISTOL. 


TI have pleasure in announcing my purchase of the EXTENSIVE and 
VALUABLE COLLECTION of BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA, formed by 
__W.H. Gaiee, Esq., of Bristol. The Collection is in excellent condition, a large 
number being bred, and consists of 1,776 species and 21,403 specimens. The 
following are some of the rare species in the Collection :—Lathonia, Antiopa, _ 
” Dispar, Acis, Galii, Spheciformis, Scolizformis, Exulans, Pulchella, Caja (34 vars.), 
Ccenosa, Ilicifolia, Viduaria, Fuliginaria, Circellata, Sacraria (1 from Mr. Bond), 
© Grossulariata (109 vars.), Teniata, Jasioneata, Sinuata, Polygrammata, Reticulats, 

_ Sicula, Vinula (2 dark vars.), Par, Albipuncta, Canne, Brevilinea, Conspicillaris, 

_ ‘Leucophea, Exulis, Subrosea, Erythrocephala, Cesia, Barrettii, Nigrocincta, 
- Conformis, Gnaphalii, Scutosa (see EK. M.M.., vol. xvi.), Orichalcea, Bractea, 
_. Literalis, Cilialis, Niveus, Decrepitalis, Zelleri, Alpinellus, Adelphella, Abietella, 
ee ‘&c., &e. With all the rare species data can be supplied. 

«= A Price List of ubove is in hand, and will be ready during March. 


as H. W. MARSDEN 

3 ss Natural History Agent and Bookseller, 
i “37, MIDLAND ROAD, GLOUCESTER. 

: 


+ EUROPEAN LEPIDOPTERA.—The largest and best stock in England at 
Bee very moderate prices. pants 
- « EXOTIC LEPIDOPTERA, COLEOPTERA, ORTHOPTERA, &c. 
Eee PRESERVED LARVZ: of rare British Lepidoptera. ats 
__ CABINETS and APPARATUS of all kinds for Extomoxoeists, OéLoaIsts, 
| SSB See - OrnitHoxocists, Boranists,-&c., &c. "eS Osea 
BOTANICAL CASES, DRYING PAPHR, &e. 
ae BRITISH and EXOTIC SHELLS. . 
|. BRITISH SPECIES of BIRDS’ SKINS & BIRDS’ EGGS.—Of these 
the stock is far the largest and most authentic in Britain, probably in Europe, while - 
> alarge stock of Exotic Skins and Eggs, especially American, are always on hand. 
BLy YOUNG BIRDS in Down. ee 
Parcels of Exotic Insects, Birds, or Shells, sent for selection. British Birds’ 
Pe Skins sent on approval. _ Other articles guaranteed. 
» The BEST BOOKS ON ABOVE SUBJECTS recommended and supplied. 
en. (Send for the new and enlarged Catalogue of August, 1886.) 


THOMAS COOKE & SON 
Naturalists, Dealers in Entomological Apparatus, é&e. 
(Late of 513, NEW OXFORD STREET), A 
a 80 MUSEUM STREET, OXFORD STREET, W.C. 


: ze Established 1851. Pay 
IRKBECK BANK, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane. 


2 THREE per CENT. INTEREST allowed on DEPOSITS, repayable on demand. TWO per CENT. — 
TEREST on CURRENT ACCUUNTS calculated on the minimum monthly balances, when not drawn 
£100. TAH BIRKBECK ALMANAC, with full particulars, can be obtained, post-free, on application. 

; FRANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Manager. . 


‘The Birkbeck Building Society’s Annual Receipts exceed Five Millions. 


Eye PURCHASE A HOUSE for TWO GUINEAS per MONTH, with immediate possession, & no Rent to ; 
_ pay. Apply at the Office of the BinkBeECk BuILDING Society, 29 Southampton Buildings; Chancery Lane. 
WW to PURCHASE A PLOT of LAND for FIVE SHILLINGS per MONTH, with immediate possession, 
* either for Building or Gardening purposes. Apply at the Office of the BrrKBECK LAND Socrery, as above. 
IRKBECK ALMANAC, with-full particulars, on application.—FRANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Manager. 


\ ~ 


The Roe: deer, Capreolus caprea a (Plate Tj, The Hilton. 81. 
Biles on a Voyage to the Greenland Sea i in 1888, ohare Gray, 95. 


PM karin: EAN New Australian Mammal, 105. 


ee —Clupea finta, Cuv., at Killarney, A. G. More, PTGS 110. N 


~ PROTRACHEATA. —Peripatus in Victoria, 111. 1 Wetaey, 
 Sctentiric Socretres.—Linnean, 112. Zoological, 113, ‘Entomotogions 114. 
- Norrczs or New Booxs.—‘ Our Rarer Birds: being Studies in Ornithology a 


NOTICE.—All Articles and Communications intended for publication 
‘The Zoologist,’ and Books and Pamphlets for Review, should be addresset 


_ in future to.J. E. Harting, Linnean Society, Burlington House, noe 
London, W. 


26th, at half- -past 12 precisely each day, the VALUABLE and EXTENSIVE 
y COLLECTION of BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA formed by the late A. 
Suerearp, Esq., with which has been amalgamated that of the late Major 
- SHEprarp, E.L.S., containing many species not now found, comprising — lo 
‘series of Chrysophanus dispar, Noctua subrosea, and numerous other varieties 
and computed to consist of about 27,000 specimens, together with two first-r: 
 A0-drawer Mahogany Insect Cabinets, built to order by StanpisH, Sen. 


Catalogues had. © oe, 


CONTENTS, — 


On the Systematic Position of the Swifts (Cypselide), W. K. Parker, F, Ri. | 
NOTES AND QUERIES. 


seebiag —Notes on Willow Wrens, ‘Oliver V. Aplin, 105: Thick: ijt in Flea 
; in January, A. F’. Gates, 106. Reported Nesting of the Redstart in Decembi 
W. J. Clarke, ¥06. Little Gull near Penzance, T: Cornish, 107. Recollectio 
of the Bustard in Suffolk, Rev. Julian G. Tuck, M.A., 107. Sand Grouse 
Yorkshire, W. Hewett, 108. ° Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Cornwall, 7’. Corni. 
108. Sand Grouse in Kent, W. Prentis; 108. Weight of the Pastoral Sand- ~ 
piper, J. H. Gurney, jun., F.Z.S8., 109. Dusky Redshank in Summer 
‘Plumage in Lancashire, C. F’. “Avehibald, 109.-- Destructiow of Eagles, Rev 
H. A. Macpherson, M.A., 109." Night Heron in Ireland, E..Williams, 1 


British Fishes, 111. Hybrid between Roach and Bleak, 11. 


Oology, by Charles Dixon, 115. 


Advertisements and Subscriptions to be sent to West, Newman & Gc 
54, Hatton Garden, London. eee 


oe MONDAY & TUESDAY, MARCH 25th & 26th. 
The Valuable and Extensive Collection of British Lepidoptera. — 


R. J. C. STEVENS will SELL BY AUCTION, at his Great Roo 
38, King Street, Covent Garden, on Monday and Tuesday, March 25th an 


' On view the Saturday prior from 11 to 4, and mornings of Sales, « 


od al published, 8vo, cloth, with numerous Tihusteatious by the Author, Test 6 


IRD-LIFE OF THE BORDERS; Records of Wild Sport and Nata 
History on Moorland and Sea. By ABEL CHAPMAN, | 


GURNEY & JACKSON, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW 
- (Successors to Mr. Van Voorsr). 


“Wusr, Newman & Co., Printers, BA, Hatton Garden, F.C. ri Bais 


APRIL, 1889, (Vor. XIIL, No. 8. RG | 


a 


-) BDITED BY 


_J. E. HARTING, F.LS, F.ZS. 
; Mausen or THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ Union. 


eee = LONDON: 


‘SIMPKIN,. MARSHALL & CO, 


STATIONERS’ HALL COURT. 


es OF ANIMAL LIFE. A Manual of Comparative Anatomy, wi 


» D.M., ¥.R.S., Revised and Enlarged by W. Harcurrr Jackson, MAL Royal 
 8vo, cloth, 36s. 


_ appeared in the English language.”’—Ozford Magazine. 


- conscientious mafiner in whith Mr. Jackson has fulfilled his task, and the signal service — 
he has thereby rendered to zoologists, ‘ Forms of Animal Life’ is a unique book.” —N ature.” 


~ London: HENRY FROWDE, Clarendon Press Warehouse, AMEN CORNER, E.C. 


KUROPEAN LEPIDOPTERA.—The largest and best stock in England at 


: CABINETS and APPARATUS of all kinds for Exromotogisrs, ee 


” the stock'is far the largest and most authentic in Britain, probably in Europe, while 
_ a large stock of Exotic Skins and Eggs, especially American, are always on hand. 


: Parcels of Exotic Insects, Birds, or Shells, sent for selection. British ‘Birds’ 


aly Diesen ite! 


_A finely marked clutch of 3, Price £3 17. 6. 


al ely th re 


= Glass Suction Bulbs, for Eggs. 3d.: Glass Blowpipe, 2d. Box and postage 2d. extra, » 
: gtaduated type for Labelling Eggs, 3d. .‘ Hints on Egg Collecting anid Nesting.’ 3d. Egg "Gabinete from 12/6 


t & W.DA CABINETS, STORE BOXES, BuOKS, &c. Now ready. Post free. 2d. 


: PIREBECK BANK, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane. 


» INTEREST on CURRENT ACCOUNTS calculated on the minimum monthly balances, when not drawn. 
) velow £100, TUE BIRKBECK ALMANAC, with full particulars, can be obtained, post-free, on application. 


es HS 3 Poke mutes ALM AAC: ‘with full Repairs on application. —FRANCIS, BANS OS 


The BEST BOOKS ON ABOVE SUBJECTS, recommended and ane oe 


8 Kite, 8/ 4 Hoopoe, 3/6 5 Brambling, 3/6. 5 Grasshopper Warbler, 6/6 3 Bustard, al 
ea Crane, 6| 4 Schinz’s Sandpiper, 3/ 3 Little Gull, 7/6 4 Bd billed Sandpiper, 18/6 


PUBLISHED “hy: ie CLARENDON. ‘PRESS, 


Descriptions of Selected ‘l'ypes. By the late GEORGE ROLLESTO 


‘A text-book of Zoology, in many respects the most comprehensive that has yet 


“Tn concluding, we acknowledge in the fullest degree the singularly painstaking and 


Full Clarendon Press Catalogues free on application. 


: H. W. MARSDEN 
Natural History Agent anv Bookseller, 
37, MIDLAND ROAD, GLOUCESTER. 


very moderate prices. 
EXOTIC LEPIDOPTERA, COLEOPTERA, ORTHOPTERA, &e! 
PRESERVED LARV& of rare British Lepidoptera. 


OrnirHotocists, Botanists, &., &c. 
BOTANICAL CASES, DRYING PAPER, &e. x 
_ BRITISH and EXOTIC SHELLS. Rey 
BRITISH SPECIES of BIRDS’ SKINS & BIRDS’ EGGS. —of these 
YOUNG BIRDS in Down. 


Skins sent on approval. Other articles guaranteed. 


(Send for the new and. enlarged Catalogue of August, 1886.) 78 


‘PALLAS’ SAND GROUSE, S. Paradoxus, 


We have also recieved the following clutches, with others, too numerous to mention, 
8 White-tailed Eagle, 8/6 3 Spotted do. 12/ 5 Merlin, 4/6 3 Rough-legged Buzzard, 


Any of the above sent ‘* on approval ”’ on receipt of remmitance, Single eggs at very low prices . 
y 


2 Improved Steel Egg Drills, and Metal Blow-pipe. 1/- Post free: 


Listiof British Bird’s, for Labelling, Reference, or Exchanging, 1d. each, ; 9d. per doz. ; ditto printéd in es 


ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF NATURALISTS REQUISITES, APPARATUS, EVES, EGGS, SKINS, - it 


J.& W. DAVIS, Taxidermists: DARTFORD, KENT. 


Established. 1851. = 
THREE per CENT. INTEREST allowed on. DEPOSITS, repayable on demand. TWO per CENT. 


Parsee ee RAVENSCROFT, Manager. : 


The Birkbeck Building Society’s Annual Receipts execdd ies Five Millions. 


OW to¥URCHASE A HOUSE for fWO GUINEAS per MONTH, with immediate possession, & no Re at 
. pay. Apply at the Office of the BrrkBECK BummpING Society, 29° Southampton Buildings, Chancery: 


OW to PURCHASE A PLOT of LAND for FIVE SHILLINGS per MONTH, with immediate’ posse: 
either for Building or Gardening purposes. Apply at the Office of the BrrkBEck Lanp Socte' 


se % 


284 pa pages, ce at Send 200 engravings, 8vo, 10s: post Sree, 
INTRODUCTION to ENTOMOLOGY. By J. Henry Comstock, ° 
~ Professor ~of Entomology in Cornell University, with many original 
Afustrstions drawn and engraved by A. B. Comstock. Part I 


To be completed in two parts; Part I. includes the Grammiar of the Science 
d about half the Systematic Part, viz., the Orders Thysanura, Pseudonetroptera, 
Orthoptera, Physopoda, Hemiptera, and Neuroptera. 


W. WESLEY & SON, 28, Esspx STREET, STRAND, Lonpon. 


DARWIN’S NATURALISTS VOYAGE. : 
» Now Regay, A Sebi AND Povucar Epition, with Portrait of the Author, 
Bate crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. 


‘HE VOYAGE or H.M.S. ‘BEAGLE’ rotund tHz WORLD, wits 
- “Notss on THE NATURAL , HISTORY ann GEOLOGY or tHe 
UNTRIES VISITED, By CHARLES DARWIN, M.A., F.R.S.,. Author of 
Cas of Species,’ &e. 


JOHN MURRAY, Albemarle Street. 


THOMAS COOKE & SON 


Naturalists, Dealers in Entomological Anparatig &e, 
(Late of 518, NEW OXFORD STREET), 


“30° ‘MUSEUM, STREET, OXFORD STREET, W.C, 


UAE READY, price ONE SHILLING, 


, Birdsnesting and Bird- skinning : 


- -A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE NESTS AND 
R OF BIRDS WHICH BREED IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 


; SECOND: EDITION ; Edited, revised and re-written, 
with: eee: for Collecting and. Preserving the Eggs and Skins of Birds. 


By MILLER CHRISTY. 


‘A wondertil ‘shilling’s-worth: No wonder a second edition is called for. The tail-pieces © 
after Bewick ; but to whom are due the dear little vignettes of long- and short-tailed 

: ee "Graphic. 

‘book. for. the country, and @ book for boys—and for girls too. It is cheap, easily 
tood, and. slips into the pocket. Fathers will give it to their sons; and if any 

u Squire or- r clergyman ‘wishes to make an intelligent village boy a small present, 
hich will be eagerly welcoméd, here is the= ‘very thing. Altogether it is a capital little: 
ook, and one for which Mr. Miller Christy deseryes the thanks of all who admire 

2 little work—a bird’s-hest,’ ”—Bell’s Weekly Messenger. 


Sul se PISHER UNWIN, 26, PATERNOSTER SQUARE. 


O. 


On the Ist of every Mouth, price 1s. 3d., _- 
THE JOURNAL OF BOTANY 

\ 2... BRITISH AND*FOREIGN. 

= Entenp sy JAMES~ BRITTEN, F.L.S. i i 

nt sant articles by our leading British Botanists, Notices of Books, - 
ngs of Societies, and Botanical News. Especial attentionis now given: _ 
h Bony. ‘There is usually at least one plate, drawn by a well- know i 
tical artist. . 

ubscription for the year, payable in advance, Twarve Suit.ines, post free. 
for Advertisements may be had on application to the Publishers, 

Wesr, Newman & Co., 64, Hatton Garden, E.O. 


Ke Mourvsca.—Limnea involuta probably a Variety of L. peregra, A. G. More, 15 


— CONTEN' 


ad Nowe on ane Seal and Whale Fishery 'y ve 1888, T", Southwell, ‘R. Z, S, 
Field Notes in Western Sweden, Ff’. P: SF ohiaon, 126, 
A Nesting Place of Larus fuscus, J. W. Willis Bund, M.A., aE 8., 131. 
- Ornithological Notes from Norfolk, J. H. Gurney, Jun., F. Z. S., 134. 
Flamingo Catching i in Lower Egypt, 136, 
The late William Brodrick, 139. 


AR 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


Cambridge Entomological Society and Field Naturalists’ Club, 142. 


Mammatta.— White Hares in Nottinghamshire, J. Whitaker, F.LS., FZ. 8; 148;- 
The Rabbit Pest, P. L..Sclater, F.R.S., 143. A new ‘Australida Mammal. 
Prof. F. A. Jentink, 144. Fawn-coloured Haney of Mus_ decumanus, 

EH, W. Gunn, 144. 
-Brrps.—Lapland Bunting near Brighton, C. Brazenor, 144, Hen Harrier in 
Hssex ; Red-breasted Merganser in Essex; Great Grey Shrike near pswich, 
E. W. Gunn, 144... Ornithological Notes from Wexford, @. E. Barrett-— 
Hamilton, 144. Sand Grouse near Redear, I: H. Nelson, 146, Notes on 
Birds observed at Sea, Henry Laver, M.R.C.S., F.L.S., 146. . Method of» 
Fishing adopted by Diving Birds, Rt: Hon. Karl Compton, 147. Notes from’ 
Breconshire, LH. Cambridge Phillips, F.L.S., 148. Woodcocks, H. W. Har- 
court, 149. Gadwall in Somerset, Cecil Sriath; FZ.S., 149. Ornithological — 
Notes from Yorkshire, AR. P. Harper, 149. Wilson's Petrel in the Isle of ; 
Wight, J. H. Gurney, Jun., 150. Reported Nesting of the Black Redstart in. 
Hssex, Miller Christy, 151. Diving Powers of Gannets, James. Sutton, 151, 
Scarcity of the House Martin in Hampshire, G. B. Corbin, 152. Pied 
Variety of the Coot, J. Whitaker, 153. Curious Variety of the Woodoock, 
~ Edward Williams, 158. ‘The Nutcracker in | Lincolnshire, GQ. A. Caton 
reer: Haigh, 153. 4 
_ Fisnrs.—Motella maculata as an Irish Fish, A. @. More, F.L. 8. 154. 


: 
E 
ee 
os 
‘a 
4 
i 


Sorentiric Socrerres.— Linnean, 155. Zoological, 157. Entomological, 159 


—-. NOTICE.—All Articles and Communications intended for publication i 
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ae Mee 


NATURAL HISTORY. 


EDITED BY 


J. BE, HARTING, F.LS, £.Z.8. 


| MmMBer oF ‘THE British ORNITHOLOGISTs’ Union. 


an | 


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THE JOURNAL OF BOTANY. 

BRITISH AND FOREIGN. Ag 3 

Epirep sy JAMES BRITTEN, F.LS. s 

Contains original articles by our leading British Botanists, Notices of Books, — 

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> AS Pioieasa: of © e edialgy in Cornell University, ‘with many original 
illustrations drawn and engraved by A, B. Comstock. Part I. 
- To be completed in two parts; Part I. includes the Grammar of the Science 
and about half the Systematic Part, viz., the Orders Thysanura, Pseudoneuroptera, 
rthoptera, Physopoda, Hemiptera, and Neuroptera. 
~ W. WESLEY & SON, 28, Essex Srruer, Srranp, Tonnom: 


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- The'status of the Firecrest as a British Bird, J. H. Gurney, Jun., F. Z:8., 172, 
Ornithological Notes from Cumberland, Rev. H. A. Macpherson, M.A., 178, : 
~ The Suborbital Pits of the Indian Antelope, Procter 8. Hutchinson, M. R. ee ps 1 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


ee —Distribution of Plants by Frugivorous Bats, Col. H. W. Feilden, 17 


_ Brrps.—Crossbill breeding in Co. Waterford, R. J. Ussher, 180. The Parro 

; Crossbill in Ireland, A. @. More, F.L.S., 181. Assumption of Male Plumag 

by the Female Crossbill; L. Tandy, 182. Crossbills in Suffolk, Rev. Julia 

Tuck, M.A., 182. Nesting of the Black Redstart in Essex, William Jesse 

- Jun., 182. —Nesting of the Black Redstart in Durham, James Sutton, if 

Bore Woodcocks, E. W. Harcourt, 183. _ Number of Eggs laid by a’ Mag 

W. Jesse, Jun., 184. Food of the Common Wren, G: T. Rope, 184. Sand ~ 

Grouse in Lincolnshire, Rev. Henry F. Allison, M.A., 184. “Sand Grouse” 

o “in Ayrshire, James Sargent, 184. ‘Rose-coloured Pastor in Kent, W. Oxenden — 
ie Hammond,184. Hawks. devouring their Prey on the Wing; ‘Rt. Hon. Lord. 

ee Lilford, FLS., 185. The Destruction of Small Birds on the Coutine 

E.C. Mitford, 185. Early nesting- of the Golderest, R. J. Ussher, 187 
Shoveller nesting in Cumberland, Revs H. A. Macpherson, LOTS aoe 


_ Fisnus.—A Rare Fish on the Norfolk Coast, 7. Southwell, F.Z.S., 187. 
© Serenrrerc Socreties.—Linnean, 188. Zoological, 191. Batouolowieal 193. 


~ Noriczs or New Booxs.—‘ The Naturalist in Siluria.’ By Captain Mayne 
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ae: 
JUNE, 1889. [Vor.. XIIL., No. 150. |Negess 


al 


- THE ZOOLOGIST 


eae Monthly Journal 


EDITED BY 


J. EB. HARTING, F.LS,, F.Z.8. 


. 
MgMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION, 


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ais with Directions for Colleeting and Preserving the Eggs and Skins of Birds. 


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p AN ‘INTRODUCTION to ENTOMOLOGY. By J. Henry Comstock, 
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~ and about half the Systematic Part, viz., the Orders Thysanura, Twigg 
3 _ Orthoptera, Physopoda, Hemiptera, and-} Neuroptera. 


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ane Ane: 


CONTENTS. 


Mus Hibernicus, Thompson, restored to the British Fawia; 201. % 
On the Production of Colour in Birds’ Eggs, A. H. S. Lucas, M.A., , 206. 
A Cuckoo hatching its own Eggs, 214. ; 
Query—Does the Cuckoo incubate? Adolf Walter, 219. 


NOTES AND QUERIES. ad NOR) ees eae 
Prof. Weituann! s Essays on Heredity, 225. 
Mammatia. — Threatened Extinction of the Kangaroo, 4. F. Robin, 225 
Danubenton’s Bat not in Norfolk, J. ZH. Harting; F.L.S., F.Z.S., 226. 
Squirrel breeding in a Church-tower, Rev. Julian G. Fuck, M.A., 226, 
Birps,—Kite and Raven nesting in_South Wales, Capt. H. A. Swainson, 226. 
Sand Grouse in Germany, 227; in Middlesex, F. Bond, F.Z.S., 227 
in Surrey, Ernest Salmon, 227; in Glamorganshire, Digby S- W. Nicholl, 
 F.L.S., 228. The Firecrest‘in Cumberland. Rev. H. A: Macpherson, M.A., 
998, Blue- winged Teal in Cambridgeshire, Rev. Julian G. Tuck, 228. Cross: 
bill breeding in immature Plumage, Rev. H. A. Macpherson, 229. Crossbills 
nesting in Suffolk and Norfolk, Philip Crowley, F.L.8., 229. Bee-eater in ~ 
Ireland, Edward Williams, 229. 'The Attitude of Grebes on Land, Rev. H. A. 
Macpherson, 230. Late stay of Bramblings in Suffolk, Rev. Julian G. Tuck, 
230. Audacity of Jackdaws, W. Owenden Hammond, 230. Jackdaws nesting 
in old Magpies’ Nests; Eggs of the Grey Wagtail, H. W.H. Blugg, 230, 281. 
Early nesting of the Little Grebe in Co. Dublin, J. J. Dowling, 231. 
Ornithological Notes from Lowestoft, Lieut.-Col. H. A. Butler, 231. Kestrel’s 

Nest on a “Wheat- stack, George E. Ladies 232. Strange Capture of a Golden 
Hagle, Thomas G. Henderson, 232. Weight of Woodcocks, F. P. Johnson, 238. — 
Woodcocks, G. Barrett-Hamilton, 233. Cirl Bunting im Glamorganshire, 
Digby S.W. Nicholl, 233. Golden Oriole in Kent, John T. Carrington, F.L. ro 
234. The Great Grey Shrike in Holderness, Peter Inchbald, F.L.S., Q34, 
Bittern in Devonshire, J. G. Hamling, 234. Kite in Suffolk, Rev. Julian G. 
Tuck, 234. . Little Gull in Cornwall, F. Stansell, 2384. 
Repritus.—Lizard swallowed and rejected alive by a Viper, G. A. ‘Boulenger, 

a F.Z.S., 234. 

“Moxusca.—Limnea involuta probably a Variety of L. peregra, J. W. Williams, ‘2 
235. Testacella haliotidea (var. scutulum) in Renfrewshire, M. Young, 236. 
Crustacra.—Athanas nitescens in Ireland, A. @. More, FL. 8, 236. 
Sorenrrric Socreties.— Linnean, 237. Zoological, 237. ‘Entomological, 939. 


- NOTICE.—All Articles and Communications intended for publication in — 
_ 'The Zoologist,’ and Books. and Pamphlets for Review, should be address 
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Advertisements and Sibaoripttons to be sent to West, Newman " C 
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NATURAL HISTORY SPECIMENS. . 


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On view Saturday prior, 10 to 4, and morning of Sale, and- Catalogues hod 


ss. 6 


West, Newman & Co., , Printers, 54, Hatton Garden, E, C. 


. 


ETRE Te RE ea Ae 
_ NUMBER CONTAINS A PLATE. 


Tip Szams.] JULY, 1889. (Vor. XIII, No. 151. 6 


3 Bonthly Journal 


OF 


NATURAL HISTORY. 


kes ea _ EDITED BY 


- J. B. HARTING, F.LS, F.Z.S. 


, > - 
: MEMBER OF THE BRIISH-ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION. 


Ps eee LONDON: 
~ | SIMPKIN, MARSHALL & CO, |. 


- STATIONERS’ HALL COURT. 


Price ONE SHILLING. . 


Ar 


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Beds to inform his corr espondents and sascorees that he has REMOVED to the 
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_ Where he hopes to receive a continuance of the confidence reposed i in him for 
so many years. : 


N.B.—The Gloucester business has been entirely discontinued. aon 


H. W. MARSDEN 


Natural History Agent anv Bookseller, 
, 21, NEW BOND STREET, BATH. 


"EUROPEAN LEPIDOPTERA.—The largest and best stock in England a at: oe 
Eis very moderate prices. . 
~ EXOTIC LEPIDOPTERA, COLEOPTERA, ORTHOPTERA, &e. 
PRESERVED LARV of rare British Lepidoptera. 
“CABINETS and APPARATUS of all. kinds for Exromoxoeists, Osis 
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BOTANICAL CASES, DRYING PAPER, &c. 
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_ the stock’is far the largest and most authentic in Britain, probably in Europe, while .. 
_ a large stock of Exotic Skins and Eggs, especially Saninene are always on hand. 
“YOUNG BIRDS in Down. oe 
~ Pareels of Exotic Insects, Birds, or Shells, sent for selection. British Birds” 
Skins sent on approval.” Other articles guaranteed. 
The BEST BOOKS ON ABOVE SUBJECTS recommended and supplied. 


_ (Send for the new and enlarged Catalogue of July, 1889.) si e. 


EP treet 


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sust READY, price “ONE SHILLING, 


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ees a COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE NESTS AND us 
Gas OF BIRDS WHICH BREED IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 


- ae SECOND. EDITION ; Edited, revised and re-written, 
— Directions for Collecting and Preserving the Eggs and Skins of Birds. 


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“A book for the country, and a book for boys—and for girls too. It is cheap, easily 
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hich will be eagerly welcomed, here is the very thing. ' Altogether it is a capital little 

dbook, and one for which Mr. Miller Christy deserves the “thanks of all who admire 
that little work—a bird’s-nest.’’—Bell’s Weekly Messenger. 


a2: FISHER, UNWIN, 26, PATERNOSTER SQUARE. 


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¥ “Maker of every deseription of Entomological Cabinet; Books and Store- 
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et -. THE’ TRADE SUPPLIED. 

INSECT CABINETS.— Drawers fitted with Glass Tops and Bottoms 
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H KINS; NESTS, LEPIDOPTERA, CABINETS, BOGKS, &c. Now i eaay 2d. Post free. ay 
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P Natterer’s Bat, Vespatiitio Nattereri, The Editor (vith a Plate), a4. a ee 


Birps.—Peculiarity in’ the Bill of the Norfolk Plover; Hybrid’ Waterfowl, : 


He Fisaus.—Motella cimbria on the Norfolk Coast, 7’homas Saatiancll, F.Z.S. 


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“FOSSILS, SHELLS, CABINETS, and other Natural- -History Specimens. ; 


“CONTENTS. 


The Production of Colour in Birds’ Higes, Arthur H. Macpherson, B. A, 248 us 

Seals and Sealers, Thomas Southwell, F.Z.8., 253... : 

On the former Nason 3 in- England of the Osprey, Rev: HA. Macpherson, M. 1, 
256. one 


NOTES AND QUERIES. ‘ 
Mammatia.—The Noctule and Serotine Bats in Kent, George Dowker, 258. 


J. H. Gurney, Jun., F.Z.8., 259, 260. Habits of the Cuckoo, Henry As 
Oliver, 260. Nesting of the Little Grebe, Arthur H. Macpherson, B.A 
261. Starlings: iu the City, Rev. J. H. Keen, 262. Ornithological Note 
from Mayo and Sligo, Robert Warren, 262. Crossbill Breeding in Immature 
Plumage, Richard-Howse, 263. Nesting of the Ringed Plover, Col. H. 
Feilden, 263. . Pellets disgorged by Flycatchers, E. JV. Harcourt, 265. 
Blackbird and Thrush laying in same Nest, Henry Benson, 265. Variet: 
of Eggs of Grey Wagtail, EH. W. H. Blagg, 265. Sand Grouse in York 
shire, Robert J. toward: 266. The Sand Grouse in Mecklenbur, 
(Germany), 266. | Loxia curvirostra, var. rubrifasciata, in Ireland, Edwar 
‘Williams, 266. Notes from Western Australia, Thomas Carter, 
_ Uncommon Birds in Skye, Rev. H. 4. Macpherson, M.A., 268. ° 
lark - Singing in Confinement, 4. G. Butler; F.L.S., 269. 
Blindness in Birds, dllan Macnab, 269. Hedgesparrow trying to ma 
with a Garden Warbler, 4. G. Butler, F.LS., 270. 


Mottusca.—Mollusea,in the neighbourhood of London; The Basal Coloration” 
of the Shells of Helix hortensié and H. nemoralis, J. W. Williams, 270,271. 


Barracura.—Bullfrog preying on Natterjack, Linnaeus Greening, 272. 


and Natural History by. Moorland.and Sea,’ by Abel Chapman, AS 


NOTI1CE.—AIl Articles and Commantegtions utewdod tor publication in’ 
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MONDAY, JULY Sth. 


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12 precisely, the well- known Collection of BRITISH BIRDS, beautifully SE 
UP IN CASES, formerly the property of the late H. Coxtins, Esq., of 


other calebtaiad™ Collections 3 also INSECTS, BIRDS’ EGGS, MINERAL 


‘Tamp Seas.] AUGUST, 1889. [Vor. XIII., No. 152. Sa 


THE ZOOLOGIST 


A Monthly Journal 


NATURAL HISTORY. 


EDITED BY ~ 


J. B HARTING, FE.LS. F.Z.S. 


MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION, 


DELECTANDO PARITERQUE MONENDO, 


_SIMPKIN, MARSHALL & CO., 


STATIONERS’ HALL COURT. 


Price ONE SHILLING. 


- Begs to inform his correspondents and customers that he has REMOVED to the / 


_ EUROPEAN LEPIDOPTERA. —The largest and best stock in England at 


_ The BEST BOOKS ON ABOVE SUBJECTS recommended and cupplied. 


4 a“ to¥URCHASE A HOUSE for TWO GUINEAS per MONTH, with immediate possession, &r no Rent 


| THE, BIRKBECK ALMANAC, with full par ticulars, on application. FRANCIS RAVENSCBOFT, ia 


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NOTICE (OF _REMO _ 


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very moderate prices. 3 
EXOTIC LEPIDOPTERA, COLEOPTERA, ORTHOPTERA, &c. 
PRESERVED LARV of rare British Lepidoptera. 4 
CABINETS and APPARATUS of all kinds for EntromoxoGisrs, Ostoaisrs, a 
OrnirHoLocists, Botanists, &e., &e. 3 
BOTANICAL CASES, DRYING PAPER, &e. a 
BRITISH and EXOTIC SHELLS. ie 
BRITISH SPECIES of BIRDS’ SKINS & BIRDS’ EGGS.—Of these © 
the stock is far the largest and most authentic in Britain, probably in Europe, while ~ 
a large stock of Exotic ‘Skins and Eg ggs, especially American, are always on hand. 
YOUNG BIRDS in Down. ie 
Parcels of Exotic Insects, Birds, or Shells, sent for selection. Bulky Bie > 
Skins sent on approval. Other articles guaranteed. 


(Send for the new and enlarged Catalogue of July, 1889.) 


THOMAS COOKE & SON 


Naturalists, Dealers in Entomological Apparatus, &c. © 
(Late of 513, NEW OXFORD STREET), ; 


80 MUSEUM STREET, OXFORD STREET, W.C, 


Established 18351. iE 


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FRANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Manager. 


The Birkbeck Building ae s Annual Receipts exceed Five Millions. 
pay. Apply at the Office of the BrrkBeck BuinDInG Society, 29 Southampton Buildings, Chancery 


either for Building or Gardening purposes. Apply at the Office of the BIRKBECK LAND as al 


price ONE SHILLING, — 


? teen 
nes and Bird- skinning 
ay “COMPLETE DESCRIPTION OF THE NESTS. AND 
S. oF’ BIRDS WHICH BREED IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 
tae SECOND EDITION ; Edited, revised and re-written, 

with Directions for Collecting and Preserving the Eggs and Skins of Birds. 
By MILLER CHRISTY. 


- Bok Meondertal shilling’s-worth. No wonder a second edition is called for. The tail-pieces 
‘are after Bewick; but to whom) are due the dear little vignettes of long- and short- tailed - 


tits, &e. 2_Graphic. 
“A book for the country, and a book for boys—and for girls too. It is cheap, oy 


understood, and slips into the pocket. Fathers will-give it to their sons; and if any 

~ country squire or clergyman wishes to make an intelligent village boy a small present, 
which will be eagerly welcomed, here is the very thing. Altogether it is a capital little 
- handbook, and one for which Mr. Miller Christy deserves the thanks of all who admire © 
‘that little work—a bird’s-nest.’ ”—Bell’s Weekly Messenger. 


T. FISHER UNWIN, 96, PATERNOSTER SQUARE. 


HINTS ON EGG COLLECTING, 


eae AND NESTING. 
PRICH THREEPENCHE. 


{ Er abel List for Labelling Eggs, graduated type 3d. | 


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ILLUSTRATED GATALOGUE OF NATURALISTS REQUISITES, APPARATUS, EYES, STORE BOXES, 


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e _” Yarrell’s British Birds. “ 4 Vols. The. edition just published at £4. Price 67,6 
dd. & WW. DAVIS, Naturalists, 31, HYTHE St, DARTFORD, KENT. 


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‘Maker of every description of Entomological Cabinet ; Books and Store- 

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THE TRADE SUPPLIED. 


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ee 


sy oe 


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BRITISH AND FOREIGN. 
_ Epirep By JAMES BRITTEN, _F.L:S. 


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- a. wit, €° **e"9 3) tS ey, LRA Se eli = ay y 5 Sr aby 
© (0) N T E N . 8. eis ee ep 

~ The Finwhale Fishery off the Lapland Coast in 1888, Alfred Henenge Al. 
M.A., F.Z.S., 281. 

The Bearded Titmouse, J. H. Gurney, Jun., F.Z.S., 291, 

Notes on the Reptiles of Barbados, Colonel H. W. Feilden, 295. 


The Manatee at the Zoological Gardens, Procter S. Hutchinson, M.R.C.S., 299. Py 
_ On the Survival of Notornis Mantelli in Western Otago, James Parks, F.G.S., 301. 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 
The late Surgeon Francis Day, C.LE., F.L.S., F.Z.S., 306. 


| Mamaarta.—Distribution of Daubenton’s Bat in Britain; of Natterer’s Bat in ~ 
Britain, J. H. Kelsall, 308. : ; ws 2 ae 
Birps.—Stock Dove nesting in Co. Antrim, Rev. J. Gordon Holmes, M.A., 809 
The Extinct Starling of Reunion, R. Bowdler Sharpe, F.Z.S.,310. Thrus 
Nests without the usual Lining, H. W.-H. Blayg, 312. Jackdaws nesting 
on open Boughs, C. KH. Stott, 312. Stone Curlew breeding in_ Notts, ~ 
J. Whitaker, F.Z.S., 312. Little Bittern in Sussex, Thomas Parkin, 312: 3 
Goldeneyes at Rainworth, Notts, J. Whitaker, 312. Nesting of the Lesse 
Blackbacked Gull, 7. H. Nelson, 312. Wood Sandpiper in Suffolk: in june 4 
Rev. Julian G. Tuck, M.A., 318. Scops Owl in Oo. Wexford, Edward © 
Williams, 313. Plumage of the Crossbill, Rev. H. A. Macpherson, M.A., 318. 
Montagu’s Harrier in Suffolk, Rev. Julian G. Tuck, 314. Hybrid between 
Sheldrake avd Wild Duck, Rev. H. A, Macpherson, 814. Abnormal Eggs ~ 
of Grey Wagtail and Blackbird, fi. J. Ussher, 314. aegis of the etna 4 
William Evans; 315. 
ScrentiFic Socretres,—Linnean, 316. fin iomnle tel. 317. 


- Novices or New Booxs.—! A Monograph of the Weaver Birds (Ploeeida) aida 
Arboreal and Terrestrial Finches (fringillide), by Edward sees Curator — 
of the Maidstone Museum, Parts I.—III., 318. 4 


Ready this day, 32 pp. and Outline Map, 8vo; post free, 1s. 2d. - 


oo VISITATION of PALLAS’S SAND GROUSE to SCOTLAND 
in 1888. Together with an Account of its Nesting, Habits, and — 
Migrations. Prepared “chiefly from information collected by Professor Newrox, | 
F.R,S., and J. A. Harvin Brown, Esq. ei 
R By the Rev. H. A. MACPHERSON, M.A., 
Author of the ‘ Birds of Cumberland.’ - 


London: R. H. Epurae, 18, Prince’s Street, Cavendish Square. 


Just ready y, Part I., royal Ato, 24 pp. letterpress and Two Plates, par tly Lad dy 
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A MONOGRAPH of ORIENTAL ™ CICADID A. By Wap brani 
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pondans H.S. Kine & Co.; 5 and E, w. Janson. 


ANTED.—Seebohm’s ‘Birds’; Harting’s ‘ Handbook’; *Zoolbgiat? ‘for 
1865-6; ‘Ibis’ containing Wright's ‘ Birds of Malta”; Coue’s Ke 
St. John’s ‘ Tout i in Sutherland’, * Birds of Somersetshire.’ : 


BA: Gwinn Woodlands, Brecon. 


Si 


West, Newman & Co., Printers, 54, Hatton Garden, E.C. gs 


ban 


eee A Ree pe AT, 


BER CONTAINS © A “PLATE. 


SEPTEMBER, 1889. (Vor. XIII., No. 153. 


THE ZOOLOGIST 


A Monthly Journal 


NATURAL HISTORY. 


EDITED: BY 


-E, HARTING, E.LS., F.Z.S. 


MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION. 


Mig DELECTANDO PARITERQUE MONENDO, 


Be a bah _ LONDON: | 
_ . SIMPKIN, MARSHALL & 


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Price ONE SHILLING. 


: PEN Nes 
Oe Ste. 
J. CROCKETT ae 
(Late J. SCOTT), Tg Sees 
Maker of every description of Entomological Cabinets Books a Store-- 
boxes; Setting-boards, flat and oval; &c. AIl best Work. . 
Prices on application. Lowest possible terms for cash. Estimates supplied. 
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Street, Lonpon, W. 
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INSECT CABINETS.—Drawers fitted with Glass Tops and Bottoms 
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17 x 15 X 23. Polished stained deal, 10s. per drawer. Polished mahogany, ~ 
lds. ae drawer. ; 


| Avo. CLARKE, E 
NATURAL-HISTORY AGENT AND BOOKSELLER, GLOUCESTER. — 


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(Late of 518, NEW OXFORD STREET), | 


«30 :~‘MUSEUM STREET, OXFORD STREET, W.C. 


Se H. W. MARSDEN 


Natural History Agent and Bookseller, 
21, NEW BOND STREET, BATH. 


- EUROPRAN LEPIDOPTERA.—The largest and best stock in England at 
Re very moderate prices. 


ae EXOTIC LEPIDOPTERA, COLEOPTERA, ORTHOPTERA, &c. 
a PRESERVED LARVA of rare British Lepidoptera. 
& OABINETS and APPARATUS of all kinds for Entomoxoaists, Odxocists, 
OrnitHoLoetsts, Boranists, &c., &e. 
BOTANICAL CASES, DRYING PAPER, &e. 
BRITISH and EXOTIC SHELLS. 
BRITISH SPECIES of BIRDS’ SKINS & BIRDS’ EGGS.—Of these © 
the stock is far the largest and most authentic in Britain, probably in Europe, while 
a large stock of Exotic Skins and Eggs, especially American, are always on hand. 
YOUNG BIRDS in Down. 
Parcels of Exotic Insects, Birds, or Shells, sent for selection. British Birds’ 
Skins sent on approval. Other articles guaranteed. 
The BEST BOOKS ON ABOVE SUBJECTS recommended and supplied. 


(Send for the new and enlarged Catalogue of July, 1889.) 


E. HINTS ON EGG COLLECTING, 
E AND NESTING. ~ 
‘ PRICE THRHHP HN CEH. 


Se ae ee ee Oe aL el 


Esl 
Ee abel List for Labelling Eggs, graduated type 3d, 
: 2 Improved Steel Egg Drills, and Metal Blow-pipe. 4/- Post free. 
Large Egg Drill, best pattern, 6d. _ Glass Suction Bulb for Eggs. 3d. : Glass Blowpipe, 
2d. _ Box and postage, 2d. extra. Pink Wadding, 4d. per sheet. White do. 3d: 
- ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE OF NATURALISTS REQUISITES, APPARATUS, EYES, STORE BOXES, 


2 

EGGS, SKINS, NESTS, LEPIDOPTERA, CABINETS, BOOKS, &. Now ready, 2d. Post free? 
ie : Coloured Model of the Great Auk’s Egg, 5j- Cabinet. Photo do. 1|- 

a ” Yarrell’s British Birds. ‘ 4 Vols. The edition just published at £4. Price 676 
3 


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3 be Established 1851. 
-Prexsece BANK, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane. 


oak THREE per CENT. INTEREST allowed on DEPOSITS, repayable on demand. TWO per CENT. 
-- ENTEREST on OURRENT ACCOUNTS calculated on the minimum monthly balances, when not drawn 
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Lig FRANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Manager. - 


; The Birkbeck Building Society’s Annual Receipts exceed Five Millions. irs 
OW toPURCHASE A HOUSE for TWO GUINEAS per MONTH, with immediate possession, &no Rentto 
25 _ pay. Apply at the Office of the BirKBECK BuILpING Society, 29 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane. _ mA 
oJ He to PURCHASE A PLOT of LAND for FIVE SHILLINGS per MONTH, with immediate possession, ee 
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THE ees ALMANAC, with full particulars, on application.—FRANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Manager. 


Pa 
a) 
¢ 


Deere Paulas oie sat 


“CONTENTS. 


The so-called Mus hibernicus, Thomas Southwell, F.Z.S. (with a , Plate), 
On the Methods adopted in New Zealand for the Destruction of Rabbits, Cole 

Phillips, 323. a ‘a 
Ornithological-Notes from Norfolk, J. H. Gurney, Jun., F.Z.S., 334. ae 
The Habits and Home of the Wandering Albatross, Diomedea eewaney i 

A. Reischek, F.L.S., 337. 
The Great Black Woodpecker in England, Rev. Clement Ley, 340.” 
The Solway Fish Hatchery, 344. — 


NOTES AND QUERIES. a 

Death of Mr. Frederick Bond, 347. Destruction of Game and so- celled Vermin, 348; = 
Brrps.—The Swannery at Abbotsbury, 348. Crossbill breeding-in Immature ~ 
Plumage, Richard Howse, 350. Food of the Shearwater, Rey. H. A. 
Macpherson, M.A.,-351. Sand Grouse in Nottinghamshire, J. Whitaker, “S 
OE TAS S080 ke Ucaviction under the Wild Birds’ Protection Act, 351. © 
Golden Oriole in Derbyshire, J. Whitaker, 352. Great Crested Grebe 
breeding in Scotland, Robert H. Read, 352. 
REPTILES. Addendum to the List of Reptiles found in Barbados, Col. H. We 
Feilden, 352. 
Fisuus.— Greater Flying-fish off the Cornish Coast, Matthias Dunn, 353. 
Moxxusca.-—Mollusca of Stourport and District, Joseph W. Williams, 853. 

_ SorentiFic Socretres.— Zoological, 354. Entomological, 355. 

- Notices or Nuw Boors.—‘ Catalogue of the Marsupialia and Monotremata in the ~ 
Collection of the British Museum (Natural History),’ by Oldfield Thomas; — 

‘Catalogue of the Chelonians, Rhynchocephalians, and Crocodiles in the 
British Museum (Natural History),’ by G. A. Boulenger, 356. ‘A Catalogue 
of Canadian Birds; with Notes on the Distribution of the Species,’ “by 
Montague Chamberlain; ‘A Systematic Table of Canadian Birds,’ by Mon- g 
tague Chamberlain, 358. ‘Report on Bird Migration in the HSS PE ie 
Valley i in the Years 1884 and 1885,’ by W. W. Cooke, 360. 


NOT1CE.—All Articles and Communications intended for publication in 
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NOW READY, price ONE SHILLING, 


Birdsnesting and Bird-skinning: 


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SECOND EDITION ; Edited, revised and re-written, . 
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| THE ZOOLOGIS? 


SB Monthly Journal 


NATURAL HISTORY. 


EDITED BY 


J. E. HARTING, F.L.S., F.Z.S. 


MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION, 


DELECTANDO PARITERQUE MONENDO,. 


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MES: ©. STEVENS will SELL BY AUCTION, at his Great Rooms, 
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On view the day prior from 2 till 5, and morning of Sale, and Catalogues had. 


VALUABLE COLLECTION OF MINERALS. 
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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29th. 
COLLECTIONS OF LEPIDOPTERA. 


R. J. C. STEVENS will SELL BY AUCTION, at his Great Rooms, 

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Coloured Model of the Great Auk’s Egg, 5j- Cabinet Photo do l1'- 

_ We have just recieved a fine lot of Clutches of Eggs, most of them are very finely marxed, and 
all are recently taken. Full” data‘ and localities where taken, ean be given. 

Tilustrated Catalogue of Naturalists’ Requisites, Lepidoptera, Birds’ Kygs,(in clutches, and sing- 
ly ) Stuffed Birds’ and Skins, Nests, Artisicial Eyes, Store Boxes, Taxidermists’ Tools, Entomelogicat 
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British, European and Exotic Leprmorrera, CoLEoprTera, &e. -— 
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: W. K. MANN, Naturalist, 
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ib 


On the 1st of every Month, price 1s. 3d., 
THE JOURNAL OF BOTANY 


BRITISH AND FOREIGN. 
Epirep sy JAMES BRITTEN, F.LS. 
> Contains: original articles by our leading British Botanists, Notices of Books, 
I Bruscedings of Societies, and Botanical News. Especial attention is now given 
io British Botany. There is usually at least one plate, drawn by a well-known 
nical artist. 
Subscription for the year, payable in advance, TwELve SHILLINGs, post free. 
ms for Advertisements may be had on application to the Publishers. 


London : West, Newman & Co., 54, Hatton Garden, E.C, 


ek i r 


ns 
Gn anew Deer, Cariacus etiett from Central America, F’ 7 ‘ede ck 


NOTES AND QUERIES. = 
Mammatia.—The so-called Mus hibernicus, Wm. Eagle Clarke é Gerald Bor 
Hamilton, 881, Natterer’s Bat in North Oxfordshire, O. V. Aplin, 381 
Food of the Long-eared Bat, O. V. Aplin, 382. 
- Crracka. —Delphinus albirostris in the River Colne, Henry Laver, F.L.S., 382 
a —Breeding of Pallas’s Sand Grouse in Britain in 1889, 383. Sand Grous 
in Fifeshire, 383. The King Hider (Somateria spectabilis) as_a Norfolk 
Bird, T. Southwell, F.Z.S., 383. The Extinct Starling of Réunion, Rev. 
Henry H. Slater, F.Z.S., 885. Great Crested Grebe breeding in Scotland, 
Robert H. Read, 386. Great Crested Grebe breeding in Scotland, William — 
Evans, 386. Hared Grebes in Norfolk, Rev. Julian G. Tuck, M.A., 387. 
Black-winged Stilt in Nottinghamshire, Digby S. W. Nicholl, F.L.S.,387. The 
Food of. Albatrosses, their Measurements, and Geographical Range, W, Ae 
Sanford, 387; Fulmar on Rathlin Island, Robert Patterson, 388. Teng 
malm’s Owl in Suffolk, Rev. Arthur P. Morres, 388. Notes from South» 
Wales, Capt. EF. A. Swainson, 888. Colourless Eggs of the Twite, C. H. Stott, 
#89. Garganey and other Birds in Warwickshire, O. V. Aplin, 369. Little 
Bittern in Sussex, Robert Morris, 390. Loxia rubrifasciata (Brehm) in~ 
Norfolk, J. H. Gurney, Jun., F.Z.S., 391, Crossbill breeding in Immature | 
Plumage, Rev. H. A. ‘Macpherson, M. A., 391. Two Pied Wasgtails laying in 
the same Nest, 4. M. Law, 391. eager Tern in Glamorganshire, Dighy 
S. W. Nicholl, 391, Cirl Bunting breeding near Godalming, Rev. Hens 
Benson, M.A., 391.- Chough in Pembrokeshire, Digby S. W. Nicholl, 392. 
Spotted Crake near Glasgow, J. Macknaught Campbell, 392. ‘Tameness of 
Young Cuckoo, Rev. Julian G. Tuck, 392. Varieties of Red Grouse and 
Landrail, Edward Williams, 393.. White-winged Black Tern near Salisbury, © 
Rev. Arthur P. Morres, 393. Little Bustard in Norfolk, W. Lowne, 398. 
Roller in Kirkcudbrightshire, Johnson Wilkinson, 893. Grey Shrike in” 
Nottinghamshire in April, J. Whitaker, F.Z.S., 394. Change of Colour i in 
Birds caused by Food, W. Hannan Watson, 394. Hybrid between Bernicle — 
and Bar-headed Goose, Robert Warren, 394. Wood Pigeon roosting” with | 
Dovecote Pigeons, EH. A. H. Kershaw, 395. The American Woodcock and - 
its mode of Feeding, 395. A. Breeding-place of the Black-headed Gull in 
King’s Co., B. Williams, 396. Training Swallows as Letter Carriers, 397. — 
ScteNnrIFric Soorerres. —Entomological, 399. Bias 


H. W. MARSDEN , : 
Natural History Agent and Bookseller, 
21, NEW BOND STREET, -BATH. 


EUROPEAN LEPIDOPTERA.—The largest and best stock in England 
very moderate prices. 
EXOTIC LEPIDOPTERA, COLEOPTERA, ORTHOPTERA, Ke, 
PRESERVED LARVZ of rare British Lepidoptera, 
CABINETS and APPARATUS of all kinds for Enromotosaists, Odxoai 
OrnitHoLocists, Botanists, &c., &c. 

BOTANICAL CASES, DRYING PAPER, &e. 
BRITISH and EXOTIC SHELLS. x 
BRITISH SPECIES of BIRDS’ SKINS & BIRDS’ EGGS. —oft 
the stock is far the largest and most authentic in Britain, probably in Europe, while 
a large stock of Exotic Skins and Eggs, especially American, are alnays on hand. - 
YOUNG BIRDS in Down. ; 
Pisiels of Exotic Insects, Birds, or Shells, sent for selection. British 
Skins sent on approval. Other articles guaranteed. : 
The BEST BOOKS ON ABOVE SUBJECTS recommended and sup 


= i 
> Semmes.) -NOVEMBER, 1889. [Vor. XIIL,, No. 155. <3 5) 


NATURAL HISTORY. 


EDITED BY ~ 


s pd: E. HARTING, F.L.S., F.Z.S. 


‘MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION. 


DELECTANDO PARITERQUE MONENDO. ee 


: aunts { 
Pe AGi MUA 1 ae 


7 


‘STATIONERS’ HALL COURT. 


Price ONE SHILLING. 


aie Soak Pes ee OY a I rae mnie DE tag pei eee 1 A, ah ede: 
(CLARENDON ‘PRESS. WORKS ON 

Just Published, demy 8v0, cloth, with a Map. and One éolowed. Pla 1 
alae: BIRDS OF OXFORDSHIRE. By O. V. APLIN, Member O 
British Ornithologists’ Union. - : 

‘* No-work on the Birds of Oxfordshire tx a collected and acenetbls form 

has yet been written. To fill up this blank, in some measure at the least, by. 

contributing to the series of county faunal works the requisite information relating 

to Oxfordshire, and to furnish the residents in the county with some idea of fin 

birds around them, are the objects of the present volume. 


New Votume or THE TRANSLATIONS OF FOREIGN BroLocicat Memoirs. 

# Lately Published, 8vo, cloth, 16s. a3 

pssays UPON HEREDITY AND KINDRED BIOLOGICAL 24 

; PROBLEMS. By Dr. Aveust Weismaxy, of the University of Freiburg. ~ 

_ Authorized ‘Translation. Edited by E. B. Povtron, M.A., F.L.S., Tutor of § 
Keble College, Oxford; Setmar Scuontanp, Ph.D.; and A. i. Surrey, M.A., 

F.L.S., Fellow and Lecturer of Christ's College, Cambridge. ‘4 

“2 Uniform with ‘ Memoirs on the Physiology of Nerve, Muscle, and of the q 

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fol s 


Royal 8vo, cloth, 36s. : ig 
ORMS OF ANIMAL LIFE. A Manual of Comparative Anatomy, with }: 

_ + Descriptions of Selected Types. By the late Grorce Rotieston, D.M., © 
_ F.R.S. Revised and Enlarged by W. Harcuerr Jackson, M.A. ~ 4 


‘A text-book of zoology, in many respects the most comprehensive that has yet a 
_ appeared in the English language.”—Oaford Magazine. - : 


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A; LIONEL CLARRIE, 


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NATURAL-HISTORY AGENT, BARTON STREET, GLOUCESTER. 


Supplies Collectors with every kind of apparatus for the various branches of 
_ Natural History; Cabinets, Store Boxes, &c. 
5; -Brirps’ Eaes, Sxins, Lepiporprera and Cotnoprera, &c., kept in stock i in % 
_ large quantities. 
_ A Fine Srocx of Eees always on hand in Clutches or single specimens. 


New and Seconp-Hanp Booxs. % 
: TaxIDERMY.— Birds skinned and prepared for Cabinets, or mounted. by + 

skilled assistants. 
N.B.—Send addressed Wrapper for full Catalogue. 


W. K. MANN, Naturalist, 
WELLINGTON TERRACE, CLIFTON, BRISTOL. 


I have now in Stock-one of the most complete and authentic Qollections 0 of 
BIRDS’ EGGS for sale at moderate prices, over 300 Seeciges in CLurcHEs, | 
with full data, and many complete with Nest. One of the largest selections in — 
this country of BIRDS’ SKINS, BRITISH and EXOTIC LEPIDOPTERA, © 
COLEOPTERA, &c. Beautiful stock of SHELLS for sale cheap. _ Books, 

_ Cabinets, and all kinds of Apparatus supplied. Exotic Insects, Bird-skivs, and ~ 

- Shells sent on approval. Following Lists are now ready -— General Catalogu 
New priced List of British Lepidoptera ; Price List of North American and Ex 
Birds’ Eggs. Other Lists ready shortly. 


« 
Pear eA, , 


5, Sy BANG. ea ee Wa oe eae 
H, W. MARSDEN | 
Natural History Agent and Bookseller, 
-_ «1, NEW BOND STREET, BATH. < 
EUROPEAN LEPIDOPTERA.—The largest and best stock in England at 
As eae “ very moderate prices. 
_ _-EXOTIC LEPIDOPTERA, COLEOPTERA, ORTHOPTERA, &e. 
Fes - PRESERVED LARVZ of rare British Lepidoptera. ee 
CABINETS and APPARATUS of all kinds for Enromoxogisis, O6LoGisis, a 
~  OrnitHoLocists, Boranists, &e., &e. 
BOTANICAL CASES, DRYING PAPER, &c. 
é BRITISH and EXOTIC SHELLS. 
m= BRITISH SPECIES of BIRDS’ SKINS & BIRDS’ EGGS.—Of these 
the stock is far the largest and most authentic in Britain, probably in Europe, while 
a large stock of Exotic Skins and Eggs, especially American, are always on hand. 
Se YOUNG BIRDS in Down. 
Parcels of Exotic Insects, Birds, or Shells, sent for selection. British Birds’ 
SC ReieS Skins sent on approval. Other articles guaranteed. 
-* The BEST BOOKS ON ABOVE SUBJECTS recommended and supplied. 
- (Send for.the new and enlarged Catalogue of July, 1889.) 


__ NB.—Mr. Marspey’s well-known Gloucester business has been entirely removed to the 
_ above address, and any person or persons pretending to be his successors or using his name 
) do so illegally. 


EE are ; i T. CROC KETT, 

"~~ Maker of every description of Entomological Cabinets and Apparatus ; Store- and 

~~ Book-boxes, fitted with camphor-cells; Setting Boards, Oval or Flat, &e. Cabmets 

of every description kept in stock, SPECIAL INSECT CABINETS,: with 

~ Drawers fitted with Glass Tops and Bottoms to show upper and under side — 

without removing insect. Store Boxes specially made for Continental Setting, 

highly recommended for Beetles. All best work. Lowest possible terms for cash. — 

“Prices on application. Estimates supplied. Trade supplied. Established since 1847. 
Show Rooms.—7 a, Princu’s Srreet,-CavenDisHh Squarsn, W. (7 doors from 

- Oxford Circus. Factories.—34, Ripixcsouse Sr., and OciE Sr., W. 


~* 


My 


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N BE RELOADED. 


ae 


! 2 ie 
| THE CARTRIDGE CASES FOR THE LARGEST SIZES ARE MADE OF METAL, AND CA 


ee Sin tac ca eh Ra tg to tas at EI OE EO CN A Nea a ee Maat Monat at Meet eget taut eat ese Oe : 
- TAXIDERMISTS’ TOOLS. A Complete set of Tools for Skinning & Stuffing Birds, in 
- a well-made box, 8/6; Small set 5/- ( not in box, ) Postage 6d, extra. : 
 ” Yaprell’s British Birds. ‘‘ 4 Vols. The edition just published at £4. Price 67/6 
Coloured Model of the Great Auk’s Ege, 5i- Cabinet Photo do 1'- if 
| We have just recieved a fine lot of Clutches of Eggs, most of them are very finely mar .ed, and 
gll are recently taken. Full” data‘ and localities where taken, can be given, : 
Tlvustrated Catalogue of Naturalists’ Requisites, Lepidoptera, Birds’ Eggs,(im clutches, and sing= 


Stuffed Birds’ and Skins, Nests, Artijicial Eyes, Store Boxes, Daxidermists’ Tools, Entomelogical _ 
tory Books, dc. dec. 2d. Post free. —— 


hy’ 


ly) 
Pins, (Silvered and Black.) Apparatus, Nets, Cabinets, Natural His 


J. & W. DAVIS, Naturalists, 31, Hythe St, DARTFORD, KENT.» 


Oe Established 1851. ak 
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* ‘THREE per CENT. INTEREST allowed on DEPOSITS, repayable on demand. TWO per CENT. — 
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ow £100, THE BIRKBECK ALMANAC, with full particulars, can be obtained, post-free, on application. 
for , Hien ere FRANCIS RAVENSOROFT, Manager. 


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"OW to ¥URCHASE A HOUSE for TWO GUINEAS per MONTH, with immediate possession, & no Rent to — 
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OW to PURCHASE A PLOT of LAND for FIVE SHILLINGS per MONTH, with immediate possession, 
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KBECK ALMANAC, with full particulars, on application. —FRANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Manager. 


“es SélENTIFIC SocrEtres.— Entomological, 439. 


Memoir of the late Frederick Bond, F.Z.S., F.E.S. (with Portrait), 401. 

Notes on the Ornithology of } Northamptonshire and Neighbourhood, Rt. H 
Lord Lilford, F.L.S., #.Z.8., 422. 

The Great Black Woodpecker in England, E.. Cambridge Phillips, F. I; S., 431. 

Notres AnD QuEeRres.—Mammalia, 433. Birds, 434. Reptiles, 437. Fishes, 48 
Arthropoda, 438. aS 


In a few days, 28 pp., with Portrait, price One Shilling, Be. 
\ EMOIR of the late FREDERICK BOND: being reprint of the dttile a 
- in the ‘ Zoologist,’ by J. E, Hartine, F.LS., &e.; together with that in — 
the ‘ Entomologist,’ by J. W. Dunyine, M.A., F.L. S., &e. a 
London: West, Newman & Co., 54, Hatton Garden. 


TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12th. 3 

. BIRDS’ EGGS AND LEPIDOPTERA. = 
En M R. J. ©. STEVENS will SELL BY AUCTION, at his Great Rooms, 
: 38, King Street, Covent Garden, on Tuesday, November 12th, at half- 

past 12 precisely, a Collection of BRITISH BIRDS’ EGGS, NESTS, and- 
CLUTCHES, also BRITISH BIRDS’ SKINS, and a Gollactiog of 
._ LEPIDOPTERA, being for the most part the Collections of the late P. H 
RYLANDs, Esq., of Manchester, and Morean Daviszs,. Esq., of Swansea. A 
Small Collection of about 400 choice Humming Birds and others; a Collectio 
of Australian Eggs, Cabinets, &c.; all in fine condition. 
On view the day prior from 2 till 5, and morning of Sale, and Catalogues had. ; 


TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26th. , 
FINE COLLECTION OF BUTTERFLIES, &c. 


R J. CG. STEVENS will SELL BY AUCTION, at his Great Rosas 

38, King Street, Covent Garden, on Tuesday, November 26th, at aio 

12 precisely, a FINE SERIES of -BUTTERFLIES, collected by Mr. C. Mi = 
WooprorD in the Solomon Islands; comprising Ornithoptera Durvilliana and ~ 
many other rare Species. Also a small Collection of rare Sikkim Butterflies in 3 
papers, received direct from the Collector. Likewise Butterflies 4 in papers from= 3 
Burmah, &c., &e.> a 
On view the day prior from 2 till 5, and morning of Sale, and Catalogues had. : 


WILLIAM WESLEY & SON, 
Sctentific Booksellers X Publishers, 
28, ESSEX STREET, STRAND, LONDON. 


ATURAL HISTORY & SCIENTIFIC BOOK CIRCULAR: No. 96 
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ATURAL HISTORY & SCIENTIFIC BOOK CIRCULAR: No.9 
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West, Newman & Co., Printers, 54, Hatton Garden, E.C. 


IRIPTIONS HAVE EXPIRED. 


“Tarp Sznms.] DECEMBER, 1889. [Vot. XIII., No. 156. 


3 Monthly Journal 


NATURAL HISTORY. 


EDITED BY 


J. E. HARTING, F.L.S., F.Z.S. 


Mamsen OF- THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION, 


DELECTANDO PARITERQUE MONENDO. 


LONDON : 
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es ae te es Ae eae he Cdl ; 
“oyster SUCHETET, a ee at Boten: INE INFi 
Franon, being interested in the CROSSING of ANIMAL 
~ much obliged to any person making known to him the hybrids that they 
~ obtained, or possess, or that they may have observed in other places, living 0 
ee eect fats) 


Just Published, 

ORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. By-H. Seasrns To be completed in. 

12 Parts, containing 36 coloured Plates, after Water-colour Drawings. by 

Robert Ridgway, A. Goering, and Gustav Mentzel. Milwaukee, United States, — 

_ 1889. Parts | and 2, with 6 coloured plates, 4to: Price 4s. 6d. each part. 


W. WESLEY & SON, 28, Essex Street, Strand, London. 


W. K. MANN, Naturalist, 
WELLINGTON TERRACE, CLIFTON, BRISTOL. 


4 I have now in Stock one of the most complete and authentic Collections of 
BIRDS’ EGGS for sale at moderate prices, over 800 Spxctgs in CLurcHEs, ~ a 
with full data, and many complete with Nest. One of the largest selections in 4 
this country of BIRDS’ SKINS, BRITISH and EXOTIC LEPIDOPTERA, 

_ COLEOPTERA, &c. Beautiful stock of SHELLS for sale cheap. Books, - 

: Cabinets, and all kinds of Apparatus supplied. Exotic Insects, Bird-skins, and — 
Shells sent on approval. Following Lists are now ready :—General Catalogue SS 
New priced List of British Lepidoptera ; Price List of North American and Eeuey K, 

_ Birds’ Eggs. Other Lists ready shortly. 


Ars ElONE £ CLARKE. 


(Late Assistant of the Gloucester business), 


NATURAL- “HISTORY AGENT, BARTON STREET, GLOUCESTER. 


Supplies Collectors with every kind of apparatus for the various branches of 
_ Natural History; Cabinets, Store Boxes, &c. r 
Birps’ Kees, Sxixs, Lispipopawpa and CoLeoprEera, &c., kept in stock i in 
i “large quantities. 
A Fine Srock of Eees always on hand-in Clutches or single specimens. 
New and Seconp-HanpD Books. = 
_ TaxipERmy.— Birds skinned and’ prepared for Cabinets, or mounted by x 
skilled assistants. a 
N.B.—Send addressed. Wrapper for full Catalogue. 2 


THOMAS COOKE & SON 
Naturalists, Dealers in Entomological Apparatus, &c. 
(Late of 513, NEW OXFORD STREET), 4 

30 MUSEUM STREET, OXFORD STREET, W.C,: 


WILLIAM WESLEY & SON, a 
Sctentific Booksellers & Publishers, 
28, ESSEX STREET, STRAND, LONDON. 


The following recently published Circulars include a portion of their stock:— 


ATURAL HISTORY & SCIENTIFIC BOOK GIRCULAR: No. 97— — 
Contents: ICHTHYOLOGY: Reptilia and Amphibia ; General Zoology, including ~ 
Ancient Works, Biographies, Classification, Darwinism, Manuals, Periodicals, Transactions — 
of Societies ; Anatomy, Physiology, and Embryology. Price 4d. a 
peeCURAL HISTORY & SCIENTIFIC BOOK CIRCULAR: No.9 

, Contents: Mammalia, including Cetacea,. Sirenia and Pinnipedia. Ornitholog 

. “iBotiting Eggs and Nests. Faunas of Buithin; the Contihents of Europe, Africa, A 1er ri 
Asia, Australasia,. Zoological Voyages and Geographical Works. Price 6d. 


Ww. WESLEY & SON, 28, Essex Street, Strand, Londgiis 


atural ose Acne ane Bookseller, 
21, NEW BOND STREET, BATH. 
UROPFAN LEPIDOPTERA. —The largest and best stock in England at 


very moderate prices. 
"EXOTIC LEPIDOPTERA, COLEOPTERA, ORFHOPTERA, &e. 
PRESERVED LARVZ of rare British Lepidoptera. 
CABINETS and APPARATUS of all kinds for Extomoxogisrs, Odxoaists, 
Le OrnitHoLocists, Botanists, &c., &c. 

BOTANICAL CASES, DRYING PAPER, &e. 

BRITISH and EXOTIC SHELLS. 
_ BRITISH SPECIES of BIRDS’ SKINS & BIRDS’ EGGS,—Of these 
hs stock is far the largest and most authentic in Britain, probably in Europe, while 
a large stock of Exotic Skins and Eggs, especially American, are always on hand. 
YOUNG BIRDS in Down. 
is Parcels of Exotic Insects, Birds, or Shells, sent for selection. British Birds” 

IS ; Skins sent on approval. Other articles guaranteed. 

=; The BEST BOOKS ON ABOVE SUBJECTS recommended and supplied. 
_ (Send for the new and enlarged Catalogue of July, 1889.) 


a __ N.B.—Mr. Manrspen’s well-known Gloucester business has been entirely removed to the 
_ above address, and any person or persons popending to be his successors or using his name 


zs do so illegally. 
| J. T. CROCKETT; 


2 Maker of every description of Entomological Cabinets and Apparatus; Store- and 
= Book- boxes, fitted with camphor-cells; Setting Boards, Oval or Flat, &c. Cabinets 
- of every description kept im stock. SPEOIAL INSECT CABINETS, with 
- Drawers fitted with Glass Tops and Bottoms to show upper and under. side 
_ without removing insect. Store Boxes specially made for Continental Setting, 
E highly recommended for Beetles. All best work. Lowest possible terms for cash. 
_ Prices on application. Estimates supplied. Trade supplied. Established since 1847. 


~~ Show Rooms.—7 a, Prixcx’s Street, CavenpisH Square, W. (7 doors from 
rs - Oxford Circus. Factories. —34, Ripise House Sr., and OeueE Sr., W. 


— Walking- -stick Guns, for Ornitholigists & Naturalists. 


g (Breechloading, ) 15/6 ; 17/6 ; & 80/- each. 
ae & LOADED CARTRIDGES, In Boxes Sbigaintne 50; 3s. & 3/6 
Bs 


“THE CARTRIDGE CASES FOR THE LARGEST SIZES ARE MADE OF METAL, AND CAN BE REDOMIES 


a a al A a ee a ai i ae 


_ TAXIDERMISTS' TOOLS. A Complete set of Tools for Skinning & Stuffing Birds, in 
well-made box, 8/6; Small set 5/- ( not in box, ) Postage 6d. extra. 


-” Yaprell’s British Birds. “ 4 Vols. The edition just published at £4. Price 67/6- 
or eee Coloured Model of the Great Auk’s Egg, 5j- Cabinet Photodo.1/- . : 
We have just recieved a fine lot of Clutches of Eggs, most of them are very finely marked, and 
pall are recently taken. Full”’ data‘ and localities where taken, can be given. 


_ Illustrated Catalogue of Natwralists’ Requisites, Lepidoptera, Birds’ Eggs,( in clutches, and singe 
|) Stuffed Birds’ and Skins, Nests, Artificial Eyes, Store Boxes, Taxidermists’ Tools, Entomelogical 
#8, (Silvered and Black.) Apparatus, Nets, Cabinets, Natural History Books, &c. &e. 2d. Post free. 


Jd ‘& W. DAVIS, Naturalists, 31, Hythe St, DARTFORD, KENT. ~ 


: Established 1851. = 
IRKBECK BANK, Southampton Buildings, Chancery Tana ‘ 


THREE per CENT. INTEREST allowed on DEPOSITS, repayable on demand. TWO per CENT. 
EREST on CURRENT ACCOUNTS calculated on the minimum monthly balances, when not drawn 
w £100. THE BIRKBECK ALMANAC, with full particulars, can be obtained, post-free, on applicatiou. 

~ . FRANCIS RAVENSCROFT, Bis col ; 


The Birkbeck Bilaing Society’s Annual Receipts exceed Five Millions, 


“OW to PURCHASE A PLOT of LAND for FIVE SHILLINGS per MONTH, with immediate possession, t 
either for Building or Gardening purposes. Apply at the Office of the BrrxBeck LAND SocteTy, as above. —__ 
Seige full t pesticulere on E Au pisatd aise —FRANCIS bona fags caer toes : 


ow to PURCHASE A HOUSE for TWO GUINEAS per MONTH, with immediate possession, { no Rentto y 
a . Pay. Apply at the Office of the BirksEeck Bumpine Sorry, 29° Southampton Buildings, ChanceryLane, _ 


sent to West, Newman & Co., 54, Hatton Garden, Prepaid 


On the Eastern and Western Forms of the Nutcracker, Leonhard Stejneger, 
NOTES AND QUERIES, git ue oe 
MammMatta.—White Weasel in the New Forest, G. B. Corbin, 449. Notes on 
Bats, William Jeffery, 450. Black Rat in Cornwall, Thomas Cornish, 450. — 
Birps.—The Marsh Warbler in Somersetshire, R. H. Read, 450. The Pectoral — 
Sandpiper in Orkney, 7. H. Gunn, 452. Short-eared Owls breeding in Essex, — 
F. Kerry, 453. Birds attracted to Burning Ricks as to a Lighthouse, J. H. — 
Kelsall, 453. Sheldrake near Oxford, F. W. Lambert, 453. Spotted Red- — 
shanks near Harwich, F’. Kerry, 454. - Woodcock carrying its Young, H.C. — 
Hart, F.L.S., 454. Crossbills in Co. Waterford; Redstart in Co. Water- — 
ford, R. J. Ussher, 454,455. Tringa canutus in Barbados, Col. H.W. Feilden, 3 
455. Spoonbills in Co. Kerry, E. Williams, 455. Velvet Scoter in Leicester- — 
shire, Rev. A. Matthews, M.A., 455. Osprey on the Thames, J. L. Collison ~ 
Morley,455. Classification of the Macrochires, Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, 456. 
Screnriric Socteties.—Linnean, 456. Zoological, 457. Entomological, 458. 


‘Norices or New Books, 469. 


Subscriptions expire with the receipt of the present (December) 
number. Susscrrption for 1890, Tweive Suriniines, may be 


_ Subscribers receive all Double Numbers free. 


NATURAL HISTORY SPECIMENS. 
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10th. 


| M® J. GC. STEVENS will SELL BY AUCTION, at his Great Rooms, — 


ie AN ILLUSTRATED MANUAL OF BRITISH BIRDS. By Howarp — 


- Those who would like to take part in this very interesting Expedition are — 


eg a 


of ‘ Yarrell’s History of British Birds,’ Fourth Edition. 


’ Expedition to the River District of the Amazonas, one of the most magnificent — 


references. Very experienced in tropical voyages. 


38, King Street, Covent Garden, on Tuesday, December 10th, at half- . 
past 12 precisely, NATURAL HISTORY SPECIMENS, comprising British ~ 
and Foreign Insects, Birds set up in Glass Cases, Bird-skins, Birds’. Eggs, — 


~ Minerals, Fossils, Shells, a large collection of abnormal Natural History — 


Specimens, Cabinets, &c. 
On view the day prior from 2 till 5, and morning of Sale, and Catalogues had. 


TWO NEW BOOKS ON BIRDS. 
Demy 8vo, 650 pages, with an etching by Frank Short, 18s. 


“\JOTES ON SPORT AND ORNITHOLOGY. By His Imperial and : 


Royal Highness the late Crown Paince Rupour or Austria. Translated, = 
with the Author's permission, by C. G. Danrorp. 
In One Volume, 790 pages, Demy 8vo, with 367 fine woodcuts 

and three maps, £1 1s. 


Saunpers, F.L.S., F.Z.S., &c., Editor of the Third and Fourth Volumes — 


GURNEY & JACKSON, 1, PATERNOSTER ROW. 
(Mr. Van Voorst’s Successors ) 


JIVER AMAZONAS EXPEDITION.—A young German Gentleman, 
experienced Naturalist, will undertake in the beginning of next year an — 


parts of the world, to explore it scientifically during about 10—20 months. — 


> 


requested to apply as soon as possible, and with all particulars to ‘ 
G. de K., “ Frora,” Villa Marianna, Pro Sao Paulo, Brazil. ' 


Knowledge of foreign languages is not absolutely necessary, but partakers — 
must be willing to cover a part of the expenses of the Expedition, ~ First-class — 
eae 


ORR 


West, Newman & Oo., Printers, 54, Hatton Garden, E.C. 3 a 


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