Skip to main content

Full text of "The zoologist"

See other formats 


L4 Cece © 3 & SOM Ce 
Cc GRC OE CE 
ees ‘ee ice ag Soe 


« 


, es Pes Sra ( COR aS : 
NaS x Ee CER Sects pe Za 
66 = CCRC CRC. re poe SS 2 ss ; 
i) a C I REE OL GE HOC CES a et 5 a Ce COE: 
we 


ia 
. A Lhe 


awe 5 "haste ees « ti SE g : Pan ea x ke EO EKG ee Ce iS & P 
a < = pa sao ( a Z, eas é ae <e,8 es S < f G a oes CE 


rc tas ¢ aug 


‘ ‘ vf p sd 
Ve AVAVAVaWe 
- 


Gee ae ( 
SEX KX 


aa Neva or Ce Ce Cg ¢ eae Gi a 
—o 8S, GE Ce cee SS SE ae 


5 é iw Sores a, 


antag & 
<< ie C 
eee 
ee C 


EC e aS 
CONE Cg 


ee 


OD Vit ig, ae Yog 
yy, Mirlury Conn. 
7 ee 5 ae, 
Sud. (Oak, 1 1088 


AEB! ce y [Saas a 7 


California Academy of Sciences 


RECEIVED BY PURCHASE 


Beda a ea eee 


Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2012 with funding from | 
California Academy of Sciences Library 


http://archive.org/details/zoologist2376lond 


THE ZOOLOGIST: 


A MONTHLY JOURNAL 


OF 


DATO IR, Adie US TOK ¥:. 


FOURTH SERIES.—VOL. III. 


EDITED BY 


a 
ae iM la DELS aN T, 


LONDON : 


WEST, NEWMAN, & CO., 54,,HATTON. GARDEN. 
SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO., Lp. 


£333. 


+) 
Qf 


PUBLISHERS 


+ PRINTERS & 


) 


PREFACKH. 


Tse completion of another volume of ‘The Zoologist’ shows 
no diminution in the ranks of students of our British Fauna. 
The numbers of our contributors are practically an exact equiva- 
lent of those who produced the previous volume. Some we shall 
not hear from again, and we cannot help recurring to the loss 
of our old and valued contributor—John Cordeaux. 


The Mammalia have not been neglected, and many original 
facts and observations have been published during the present 
year. Mr. Oldham’s description of ‘‘The Mode in which Bats 
secure their Prey”’ is of permanent value. We have been enabled 
to give a good figure of the ‘Sea-Hlephant”’ (Macrorhinus 
elephantinus), while the description of the Trek-bokke (Gazella 
euchore) refers to an animal which, owing to the destructiveness 
of man, will never be seen in its vast herds again. 


Ornithology is the strength of the volume. It is unnecessary 
to detail any particulars among the many observations which 
have made ‘ The Zoologist’ for 1899, as in all previous volumes, 
a special storehouse for facts in avian bionomics. We cannot, 
however, ignore Mr. Edmund Selous’ ‘‘ Observational Diary of 
the Habits of Nightjars.” This is a unique publication, which 
seems to alone recall Prof. Mills’ method in his ‘ Psychic 
Development of Young Animals,’ published originally in the 
‘Transactions’ of the Royal Society of Canada. The many 
necessary discussions which have appeared in our ‘‘ Notes and 
Queries’? may be instanced by that on the ‘‘ Nesting Habits of 
the Moor-hen.”’ 


In Reptilia, Mr. G. T. Rope has given us the results of his 
observations on the Common Toad (Bufo vulgaris), and Mr. 
Monk has written an excellent account of the spawning of 


lV PREFACE. 


Bombinator pachypus after two years of captivity in England.. 


We have also published many other interesting notes on the 
Order. 


Pisces still claim more recognition in our pages. We have, 
however, been able to figure a great Hagle Ray (Dicerobatis sp. 2), 
taken at Port Natal; while Mr. Patterson’s notes from Great 
Yarmouth help to accentuate the dearth of news from other 
sea-ports. 


In this volume more attention has been paid to the many 
interesting questions relative to the progress of organic evolution. 
Sucb titles as ‘‘ecundity in each Avine Species, varying 
according to Accident of Locality”; ‘‘ Varying Fecundity in 
Birds”; ‘‘ The Coloration of British Birds and their Eggs”’ ; 
‘“Mimicry,” &c., tell their own tale, and prove that ‘The 
Zoologist,’ though conservative as to fact, cannot be pronounced 
as illiberal to theory. 


We shall not write the centuries by the numerals “18” 
again; may the new figures bring prosperity to our Science and 
its votaries. 


‘Sanaa 
Hi 


A jpn al 
ni Nex 


hi i Q 
Mau nia A i 
tal 


; wh ay 


CONTENTS. 


> 


ALPHABETICAL LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS. 


Apams, LIoNEL E. 
Grey Seal (Halicherus gryphus) 
at the Isle of Man, 131 
Aputin, O. V., F.L.S., M.B.O.U. 
Notes on the birds of Belgium, 149 ; 
Blackbird and ivy-seeds, 267; 
Black-breasted Partridges, 270; 
Cirl Bunting in Carnarvonshire, 
322; Notes on the Ornithology 
of Oxfordshire (1896-98), 433 
ARCHIBALD, CHARLES F’, 
Food of the Kel, 558 
ARNOLD, E. C. 
Icterine Warbler and Buff-breasted 
Sandpiper in Norfolk, 475 
Austen, H. H. Gopwin-, Lieut.-Col. 
Observations on the habits of a 
Cuckoo during the breeding sea- 
son, 135 
BaAnkKEs, A. 
Nesting habits of the Moor-hen, 82 
BARTLETT, EDWARD 
How does the new-born Kangaroo 
get into the mother’s pouch? 368 
BaYuis, E. 
Avocet in Dorset, 82 
Briaae, E. W. H. 
Variation in Cuckoos’ eggs, 223 
BRADSHAW, GEORGE W. 
Notes from Reading (1898), 136 
Brown, J. A. HARVIE- 
Songs of birds affected by weather, 
225 
BucKNILL, JoHN A. 
Nesting of the Common Snipe (Gal- 
linago ccelestis) near London, 
225 
Peron, A. G., Ph.D., F.L.8., F.Z.8. 
A stray visitor to Kent, 221; Avi- 
culture and its scientific status, 
273; The colour of the iris in 
the Jay, 477; Chiffchaff building 
on the top of small yew and box 
trees, 517 


But LER, EH. A., Lieut.-Col. 

Black-game in Suffolk, 557 

BUTTERFIELD, EK. P. 

Hawfinches near Bradford, 321; 
Economy of the Cuckoo, 322; 
Arrival of spring migrants in 
Yorkshire, 323; Is the Whinchat 
a mimic ? 369; Arrivals of Spot- 
ted Flycatcher and Nightjar, 369; 
The delinquencies of Starlings, 
370; Abundance of the Song- 
Thrush near Bradford, 554 

BUTTERFIELD, W. RUSKIN 

The Serotine (Vespertilio serotinus) 

near Hastings, 266 
CARTER, THOMAS 

Notes from Point Cloates, North- 
west Australia (December, 1898), 
139; Corrections to notes from 
North-west Australia, 371 

CHAMBERLAIN, WALTER 

Longevity of the Red-headed Car- 

dinal, 275 
CHARBONNIER, H. J, 

Some interesting variations in the 

plumage of certain birds, 188 
CLARKE, W. G. 

Karly Man in Britain—spurious 

flint implements, 18 
CLARKE, W. J. 

Great Grey Shrike at Scarborough, 
80; Late stay of Land-Rail, 81; 
Iceland Gull at Scarborough, 84; 
White Stoat, 131 

Copurn, F. 

Early appearance of Chiffchaff in 
Warwickshire, and late stay of 
Whitethroat, 132 

CoomsgE, Percy E. 

The Grey Seal on the coast of 

Sussex, 320 
CorsBin, G. B. 

Nesting habits of the Moor-hen, 81 ; 

Variety of the Song-Thrush in 


b 


vl CONTENTS. 


the New Forest, 417; Swallows 
and Hobbies, 517 
CorpEAvx, JOHN, F.R.G.S., M.B.0.U. 
Early spring migrations, 195 
Cowarp, T. A. 
Leisler’s Bat in Cheshire, 266; 
Birds of Cheshire, 518 
CrawsHay, WILLIAM T. 
White Wagtails in Co. Cork, 418 
DavEnport, H. 58. 

Original sketches of British birds, 1, 
198, 506; Songs of birds affected 
by weather, 183 

Daviss, BASIL 

Fecundity in birds, 86; Fecundity 
in each avine species varying 
according to accidents of locality, 
164 

DELVES, WILLIAM 

White eggs of Redbreast (Hrithacus 

rubecula), 221 
Distant, W. L. 

Notes on gigantic specimens of the 
Eagle Ray or Devil-fish, 146 ; 
The Meer-Kat, 179; White eggs 
of Redbreast, 221; Cape Monitor, 
226; Biological suggestions— 
Mimicry, 289, 341, 443, 529; ‘‘A 
proposed ‘correction,’ 872; The 
‘‘ Sea-Elephant”’ (Macrorhinus 
elephantinus), 385; Memoir of 
John Cordeaux, 415; Cape Scops 
Owl (Scops capensis) in captivity, 
420 

Dutuiz, W. H. M. 
Toad in nest of Titlark, 87 
Ewuiott, J. STEELE- 

Great Grey Shrike in Warwick- 
shire, 79; Early appearance of 
Chiffchaff in Warwickshire, 134 ; 
Common Crossbill in Worcester- 
shire, 222 

Farman, Last C. 

Notes from the Haddiscoe Marshes 

(Norfolk), 366 { Mus. 
Finn, F., B.A., F.Z.8., Dep. Sup. Ind. 

Swifts fighting, 418; Is the Whin- 

chat a mimic? 475 
Fitcu, Epwarp A., F.L.S., F.E.S. 

Gattoruginous Blenny in Essex, 

326 
Fow Ler, W. WARDE, M.A. 

Regularity of the Greenfinch in 
beginning his song, 135; Thrush’s 
nest piled up with ivy-berries, 
320; Songs of birds affected by 
temperature, 324; Swallows and 
‘Hobbies, 476 


Fox, W. Storrs, M.A., F.Z.8. 

Varying fecundity in birds, 23; 
Nesting habits of the Moor-hen, 
31; The coloration of British 
birds and their eggs, 168; The 
delinquencies of Starlings, 268 

FRIEND, Rev. HILDERIC 

New British Annelids, 262 
GODFREY, ROBERT 

Is the Whinchat a mimic ? 267 
GRABHAM, Ox ey, M.A., M.B.O.U. 

Food of Grebes, 32; Polecats in 
Wales, 79; White Stoat, 79; Some 
habits of Bats, 1381; Albino 
Squirrel in Wiltshire, 1382; Ab- 
normal nesting-sites of the Wil- 
low Wren, 555 

GRAVES, F. 8. 
Notes on Shetland birds, 72 
GuRNEY, J. H., F.L.S., F.Z.8. 

Ornithological record from Norfolk 

for 1898, 113 
HaAaGNneER, ALWIN C. 

Habitat of the Thick-tailed Mun- 
goose (Cynictis penicillata), 179 ; 
Note on the Cape Monitor (Va- 
ranus albigularis), 226,421; Cape 
Scops Owl (Scops capensis) in 
captivity, 420; The Suricate in 
the Transvaal, 516 

Haieu, G. H. Caton 
Flamingo in Merionethshire, 29 
HartTert, lirnst, Dir. Z. Mus. Tring 
On the first primary in Passerine 
birds, 129 
Heapiey, ALEC GOLDNEY 
Scoters in South Hants (?), 30 
HorsBRUGH, CHARLES BETHUNE 

Curious variety of the Green Wood- 
pecker, 419; Great Wood-boring 
Boe (Sirex gigas) in Ireland, 

2 


Howarp, H. E. 

Notes on some birds from North 
Worcestershire, 259; Ornitho- 
logical notes from the north- 
west of Ireland, 481 [F.L.S. 

JONES, K. Hurustone, M.B., R.N., 

The eggs and nest of the Moor-hen, 
182; Albino of the Beaver, 267; 
Curlew (Numenius arquata) at 
‘sea, 419; Vanessa atalanta twen- 
ty miles from land, 422; The 
Storm Petrel (Procellaria pela- 
gica) flying at light, 557 

JOURDAIN, Francis C. R. 

Breeding of ‘the Tufted Duck in 

south-west: Derbyshire, 476 


CONTENTS. 


LANGDALE, Rev. H. MARMADUKE 
Scotersin Hants and Isle of Wight, 
80 


LEwis, STANLEY 


eet ce Crosebille ni Yeovil. Som. | 


erset, 27; Nesting habits of the 
Moorhen, 80; Male Blackbird 
storing seeds at nest, 181; Star- 
lings nesting in fir trees, 370; 
Abnormal nesting place of Spot- 
ted Flycatcher, 556; The Moor- 
hen (Gallinula chloropus) nesting 
in trees, 557 
Mackay, Sergeant Hucu 

Ornithological notes from Malta, 

254 
MacrHERSON, Rev. H. A., M.A. 

Blue-headed Wagtail in Cumber- 
land, 267 ; Distribution of a pri- 
vate collection, 420; Hobby in 
Westmoreland, 556 

Marspen, H. W. 

White Stoat, 179; Destruction of 
Norfolk birds—a rejoinder, 188 ; 
Grey Phalarope in Co. Armagh, 
Ireland, 477 

Martin, Basin W. 
Nesting habits of the Moor-hen, 82 
MEIKLEJouN, A. H. 

Appearance of the Great Spotted 
Woodpecker (Dendrocopus ma- 
jor) in Yorkshire, 322 

Mivuar, ALFRED D. 
Zoological notes from Natal, 145 
Monk, J. L. 

On the spawning of Bombinator 
pachypus after two years of cap- 
tivity in England, 513 

Monro, H. C. 

The covering of eggs by nesting 

birds, 183 
NEtson, T. H. 
Large clutch of Wheatear’s eggs, 
321; Birds of Cheshire, 518 
NEwstTEAD, RosBert, F.E.S. 
Crossbill in North Wales, 28 
Nose, HEeAtLy 

*‘Chaffinch building on the top of 

small yew and box trees,’’ 555 
Opp1, Count Errore ARRIGONI DEGLI 

The nesting of the Black Kite (Mil- 
vus migrans) in the territory of 
Verona, 241 

OLDHAM, CHARLES 

Climbing powers of the Long-tailed 

Field Mouse, 27; Whiskered Bat 


(Myotis mystacinus) in captivity, | 


49; Pied Flycatcher in North 


! 
| 


| 


vil 


Wales, 134; The mode in which 
Bats secure their prey, 471; 
Death of a Whiskered Bat by mis- 
adventure, 475; Birds of Che- 
shire, 518 
PaRANA, Baron de 
Zebra-horse hybrids, 180 
PATTERSON, ARTHUR 

Spoonbills near Great Yarmouth, 
270; Notes from Great Yar- 
mouth (Pisces), 272; Anchovy at 
Yarmouth, 558 

PENTLAND, G. H. 

Nesting of the Mistle-Thrush, 180 ; 
Blackbird’s mimicking notes, 
181; Crossbill in North Wales, 
182; Little Tern (Sterna minuta) 
in Ireland, 182; Great Wood- 
boring Wasp (Sirex gigas) in 
Ireland, 184 

PorHam, H. LEYBoRNE 

Colour of the bill of the Grey Lag- 
goose, 224; Pelamid in Cornwall, 
421 

Potter, E. G. 

A habit of the Roseate Tern, 83 
Pricr, Davip T. 

Winter occurrence of Wheatear, 132 
RAtrFE, P. 

Terns in the Isle of Man, 32; Notes 

on Shetland birds, 72 
RamspotuHam, R. H. 

Russian Partridges, 224 
RENSHAW, GRAHAM 

Nesting habits of the Moor-hen, 80; 
Cirl Bunting (Emberiza cirlus) 
in North Cheshire, 222; Notes 
on the zoological collections of 
Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Ant- 
werp, 318; Cirl Bunting probably 
often overlooked, 418 

Rey, Dr. E. 
What is the reason of the great 
variation in Cuckoos’ eggs ? 176 
RiIpspDALE, EK. L. J. 
A proposed correction, 372 
RIVIERE, BERNARD B. 
Fecundity in birds, 137 
Ropg, G. T. 

Observations on the Common Toad 
(Bufo vulgaris), 97; Helix car- 
tusiana in Suffolk, 143 

Ross, ALEXANDER 

Strange nest of a South African 

Bush Shrike, 80 
Rout, W. BARRETT 

How does the new-born Kangaroo 

get into the mother’s pouch? 368 


62 


Vill 


RussELL, HAROLD 
Birds in Kensington Gardens in 
1897-8, 84 
DALIHR, J. ED. Se. 
Ornithological notes from Northern 
Norway, 54 
SCHREINER, 8S. C. CRONWRIGHT- 
The Trek-Bokke (Gazella euchore 
of the Cape Colony, 213 
SELOUS, EDMUND 
An observational diary of the habits 
of Nightjars (Caprimulgus euro- 
peus), mostly of a sitting pair, 
notes taken at time and on spot, 
388, 486 
SERVICE, ROBERT 
An albino of the Beaver (Castor 
canadensis), 220 
SLADE, FRANK 
Green Woodpecker near London, 
518 
SMALL, L. 
A monstrous Dinosaur, 87 
SOUTHWELL, THomas, F.Z.S. 
Nesting of the Goshawk in York- 
shire, 28; Little Bustard and 


Great Shearwater at Lowestoft, | 
31; Notes on the Seal and Whale | 


Fishery (1898), 108 
STEAD, Davip G. 
A ramble near Sydney, 407 
SwAInson, Capt. HE. A. 


The Grasshopper Warbler in Bre- | 


conshire, 221 
TANNER, CHARLES H. J. 
The Cape Monitor, 272 
Terry, F. W. 
A Viper feeding in confinement, 
518; Viper killed by a Mouse, 
519 


CONTENTS. 


TROLLOPE, Miss C. 
The haunt of the Ring Ouzel (Tur- 
dus torquatus), 403 
Tuck, Rev. JuLian G., M.A. 
Cuckoos’ eggs in nest of Red-backed 
Shrike, 223, 823; Seals in the 
Wash, 417; Demoiselle Crane 
on the Norfolk coast, 419 
UssHeEr, R. J. 
Green Woodpecker in Ireland— 
correction, 181 
WARD, ROWLAND 
Grey Plover in summer plumage 
in Yorks, 419 
WARNER, H. W. 
The vertebrates of Berkshire, 143 
WARREN, ROBERT 
Ornithological notes from North- 
western Ireland, 364 
WESTELL, W. PERCIVALL- 
Scoters in Hants ? 80 
WHITAKER, J. 
Tree Creeper nesting in roof, 556; 
Notes from Rainworth, 557 
WILLIAMS, GEORGE 
. Observations on the habits of a Cuc- 
koo during breeding season, 1385 
WILSon, WILLIAM 
Heavy death-rate of Lapwings, 
225; Abnormal occurrence of the 
Pied Wagtail (Motacilla lugubris) 
through the winter in Aberdeen- 
shire, 268; Ornithological notes 
from Aberdeen, 271; Peculiar 
conduct of the Woodcock (Scolo- 
pax rusticula), 370; Aiding a 
young Cuckoo, 3871; Sky-Lark 
singing in October, 517 


| Youne, J. 


Rooks in West-End of London, 3870 


NeEw SPECIES OF BRITISH ANIMALS DESCRIBED IN THIS VOLUME. 


VERMES. 


Fridericia magna, Friend (Cumberland), p. 262. 
Enchytreus pellucidus, Friend (Lancashire), p. 264. 


CONTENTS. 


1X 


ALPHABETICAL LIST OF SUBJECTS. 


Aberdeen, new Regius Prof. of Natural 
History, 236; ornithological notes 
from, 271 

Abraxas grossulariata, 541 

Accentor modularis, 61, 157, 161 

Accipiter nisus, 460 

Achetidz, 301 

Acipenser sturio, 317 

Acipenseride, 347 

Acrocephalus palustris ?, 161; phrag- 
mites, 157; streperus, 155, 156; 
turdoides, 155, 161 

Addax nasomaculatus, 318 

Aigialitis hiaticula, 67, 74, 160 

Aigotheles leucogaster, 140 


African, South, beetles, 237; list of | 


birds, 478 ; fauna, 478, 559 
Ageronia, 532; feronica, 350 


Agrotis ashworthii, 539; cursoria, 310 — 


Ajuga chamepitys, 446 

Alauda arvensis, 73, 159, 1638, 271, 
517; cristata, 163 

Albino Stoat, 79,179; Squirrel, 132; 
Beaver, 220, 267; eggs of Red- 
breast, 221 

Alca impennis, 382 ; 

Alcedo ispida, 160 

Alcide, 174, 175 

Altai Mountains, Zoology and Botany 
of, 334 

Amiidee, 304 

Amsterdam, 
316 

Anarrhichas lupus, 317 

Anas boscas, 70, 73 ; intermedia, 128; 
punctata, 142; superciliosa, 139 

Anchorella uncinata, 344 

Anchovy at Great Yarmouth, 558 

Animals, wild, our obligations to, 480 

Annelids, new British, 262 

Anser cinereus, 70, 224 

Antelope protecting its young, 146 

Anthropopithecus niger, 316 

Anthus obscurus, 72; obscurus ru- 
pestris, 61; pratensis, 61, 72, 87; 
trivialis, 158, 162 

Ants in Ceylon, 144 

Antwerp zoological collection, 318 

Apteryx mantelli, 317; oweni, 317 

Araschnia, 460 tg 

Archeopteryx, 295, 297 


torda, 68, 76 


zoological collections, 


Ardea cinerea, 247; garzetta, 171; 
goliath, 217; purpurea, 247 

Ardeola ralloides, 247 

Ardetta involucris, 542 

Arsilonche venosa, 539 

Asio accipitrinus, 78, 115; america- 
nus, 544 

Aspro vulgaris, 469 

Astur palumbarius, 28 

Athene noctua, 160 

Auk, Great, sale of egg, 382 

Australia, South, destruction of birds 
in, 46; North-West, corrections to 
notes from, 371 

Australian Ornithology (1898), 383 

Aviculture and its scientific status, 
273 

Avocet in Dorset, 32 


Badgers and Foxes, 191 

Bat, Leisler’s, in Cheshire, 266; Sero- 
tine, near Hastings, 266; Whisk- 
ered, in captivity, 49,—death by 
misadventure, 475 

Bats, some habits of, 181; the mode 
in which their prey is secured, 471 

Beaver, albino, 220, 267 

Bee-eater in Malta, 255, 257 

Beetles, South African, 237 

Belgium, notes on the birds of, 149 

Bill of Grey Lag-Goose, colour of, 224 

Biological scholasticism, 332; sug- 
gestions—mimicry, 289, 341, 446, 
529 

Bird-life, some peculiarities of the 
season in, 271 

Bird, stray, in Kent, 221 

Birds, British, original sketches of, 
1, 198, 506; varying fecundity in, 
23, 86, 137, 164; song, and storms, 
43; destruction of, in 8. Australia, 
46,—in Norfolk, 83; of Shetland, 
notes on, 72; in Kensington Gar- 
dens, 84; and their eggs, coloration 
of, 108, 168; Passerine, on first 
primary in, 129; songs of, affected 
by weather, 135, 183, 225, 324; 
variations in plumage of certain, 
138; of Belgium, notes on, 149; 
nesting, covering of eggs by, 183; 
of Cheshire, 518 


xX CONTENTS. 


Birds’ Protection Society, 92, 192 
Bittern, Common, in Malta, 255, 256 
Blackbird, male, storing seeds at 
nest, 181; mimicking notes of, 
181; in Malta, 257; and ivy-seeds, 
267 
Black-game in Suffolk, 557 
Blattidz, 301; regeneration of legs, 45 
Blennius gattorugine, 273, 326 
Blenny, Gattoruginous, at Great Yar- 
mouth, 273; in Essex, 326 
Bombinator igneus, 100; pachypus, 
318,—spawning, after two years of 
captivity in England, 513 
Booxs NoriceD :— 
Colour in Nature—a Study in Bi- 
ology, by Marion J. Newbigin, 33 
Flashlights on Nature, by Grant 
Allen, 35 
Animals of To-day, their Life and 
Conversation, by C. J. Cornish, 36 
Catalogue of the Syntomide in the 
Collections of the British Mu- 
seum, by Sir G. F. Hampson, 37 
The Last Link, by Ernst Haeckel 
and Hans Gadow, 89 
Zoological Results based on Ma- 
terial from New Britain, New 
Guinea, Loyalty Islands, and 
elsewhere, collected by Arthur 
Willey, 90 
Wild Life at Home: How to Study 
and Photograph it, by R. Kear- 
ton, 91 
The Fishes of North and Middle 
America: a Descriptive Catalogue 
of the species of Fish-like Verte- 
brates found in the Waters of 
North America north of the 
Isthmus of Panama, by D. S. 
Jordan and B. W. Evermann, 93 
Fossil Meduse, by Charles Doolittle 
Walcott, 93 
Birds of the British Isles, drawn 
and described by John Duncan, 
94 
In the Australian Bush and on the 
Coast of the Coral Sea, being the 
Experiences and Observations of 
a Naturalist in Australia, New 
Guinea, and the Moluccas, by 
Richard Semon, 185 
Cambridge Natural History: Birds, 
by A. H. Evans, 186; Insects, by 
David Sharp, 425 
The Resources of the Sea, as shown 
in the Scientific Experiments to 
test the effect of Trawling and of 


the Closure of certain Areas of 
the Scottish Shores, by W. C. 
McIntosh, 188 

Des Hybrides 4 l'état sauvage— 
Régne Animal (Classe des Oise- 
aux), par André Suchetet, 189 

A Dictionary of Bird Notes, to 
which is appended a Glossary of 
Popular, Local, and Old-fashion- 
ed Synonyms of British Birds, 
by Charles Louis Hett, 190 

The Foundations of Zoology, by 
Wm. Keith Brooks, 227 

The Penycuik Experiments, by J. 
C. Ewart, 229 

Wild Animals I have Known, by 
Ernest Seton Thompson, 230 

Report of Ob:ervations of Injurious 
Insects and Common Farm Pests 
during 1897 and 1898, by Eleanor 
A. Ormerod, 231 

A Text-Book of Agricultural Zo- 
ology, by Fred F. Theobald, 282 

The Geography of Mammals, by 
William Lutley Sclater and Philip 
Lutley Sclater, 276 , 

Outlines of Vertebrate Palzeonto- 
logy for Students of Zoology, by 
Arthur Smith Woodward, 277 

Report of U.S. Department of Ag- 
riculture (1898), 44; Year-Book 
(1898), 283 

New Zealand Moths and Butter- 
flies, by G. V. Hudson, 278 

Transactions of the South African 
Philosophical Society, 286 

Alfalfa, Grasshoppers, Bees—their 
relationships, by 8. J. Hunter, 
287 

Proceedings of the Fourth Inter- 
national Congress of Zoology, 327 

An Illustrated Manual of British 
Birds, by Howard Saunders, 328 

Bird-life in a Southern County, 
being Hight Years’ Gleanings 
among the Birds of Devonshire, 
by Charles Dixon, 329 

Sport in East Central Africa, being 
an Account of Hunting Trips in 
Portuguese and other Districts 
of East Central Africa, by F. 
Vaughan Kirby, 3830 

Darwinism and Lamarckism, Old 
and New, by Frederick Wollaston 
Hutton, 373 

Insects, their Structure and Life— 
a Primer of Entomology, by Geo. 
H, Carpenter, 374 


CONTENTS. 


The House Sparrow (the Avian 
Rat) in relation to Agriculture 
and Gardening, with Practical 
Suggestions for Lessening its 
Numbers, by W. B. Tegetmeier, 
375 

A List of British Birds belonging 
to the Humber District (having a 
special reference to their Migra- 
tions), by John Cordeaux, 375 

Faune de France, contenant la de- 
scription de toutes les espéces 
indigénes disposées en tableaux 
analytiques et illustrée de figures 
représentant les types caractéris- 
tiques des genres et des sous- 
genres, par A. Acloque, Préface 
de Kd. Perrier, 376 

Cries and Call-Notes of Wild Birds, 
by C. A. Witchell, 376 

All about Birds, by W. Percival- 
Westell, 377 

The Fauna of Shropshire, by H. 
Edward Forrest, 423 

The Birds of Breconshire, by E. 
Cambridge Phillips, 424 

Lancashire Sea Fisheries, by Chas. 
L. Jackson, 426 

A Handy Book of Fishery Manage- 
ment, by J. W. Willis Bund, 427 

Bird-life in an Arctic Spring, 428 

Nature Novitates, 479 

A Dictionary of Birds, by Alfred 
Newton, assisted by Hans Ga- 
dow, with contributions from R. 
Lydekker, C. 8. Roy, and R. W. 
Shufeldt, 520 

Man, Past and Present, by A. H. 
Keane, 521 

The Distribution of the Negritos in 
the Philippine Islands and Else- 
where, by A. B. Meyer, 523 

The Natural History of Selborne, 
by Gilbert White, edited, with 
notes, by Grant Allen, 523 

The North American Slime-Moulds, 
by Thomas H. Macbride, 524 

Bird Stuffing and Mounting, 525 

Bos americanus, 316, 318; bonassus, 

316, 318; depressicornis, 316 

Botaurus minutus, 542; stellaris, 542 

Bot-Fly, damage caused by, 336 

Brachioptilon hamiltoni, 146 

Brachydices, 301 

Brachypternus aurantius, 419 

Bradyornis silens, 80 

Breeding of Tufted Duck in South- 
west Derbyshire, 476 


| 
| 


xl 


Bryozoa, 536 

Bubalus pumilus, 318 

Bufo calamita, 87, 318; vulgaris, 97,98 

Bunting, Cirl, in North Cheshire, 
222; in Carnarvonshire, 322; pro- 
bably often overlooked, 418 

Bustard, Little, at Lowestoft, 31 

Buteo lagopus, 557; vulgaris, 160, 
241, 247, 250 


Caccabis saxatilis, 177 

Cacomantis pallidus, 141 

Calidris arenaria, 140, 142 

Caligus curtus, 344; miilleri, 344 

Callista fastuosa, 325 

Camelus bactrianus, 306 

Campephaga leucomela, 140 

Camponotus ebeninus (foveolatus), 
452; lateralis, 452 

Canchroma cochlearia, 317 

Canis niger, 318; pallipes, 552; vul- 
pes, 192 

Caprellide, 290 

Caprimulgus europeus, 369, 388, 406 

Capsella bursa-pastoris, 348 

Capside, 357 

Carabus stenocephalus, 310 

Cardinal, Red-headed, longevity of, 
275 

Caspian and Baltic Seas, comparison 
of faunas, 528 

Castor canadensis, 220, 267 

Casuarius bennetti, 543 

Catastomide, 304 

Catharista atra, 317 

Cats in London, 78 

Cattle, White, their origin and his- 
tory, 41 ; the Chartley, 333 

Caulerpa, 464 

Ceraloptera vampyrus, 146 

Ceratobasis robertsii, 146 

Ceratobatrachus guentheri, 542 

Cercoleptes caudivolvulus, 448 

Cercopithecus brazzex, 318 

Certhia familiaris, 157, 556 

Cerura furcula, 538; venula, 468 

Cervicapra arundinum, 146 

Chetophorus cretiferus, 538 

Charadrius morinellus, 169 ; orien- 
talis, 142; pluvialis, 66, 74 

Chartley White Cattle, 333 

Chelidon urbica, 158, 162 

Chelys fimbriata, 450 

Cheshire, birds of, 518 

Chiffchaff, early appearance in War. 
wickshire, 132, 134; building on 
small yew and box trees, 517, 555 

Chironomus, 352 


Xll CONTENTS. 


Chlenopagurus andersoni, 526 
Cheerocampa elpenor, 453; porcellus, 
4538 
Choriotis australis, 140 
Cicadidx, 351 
Circus eruginosus, 115, 250; cinera- 
ceus,115; cyaneus, 250; jardinii, 141 
Cirratulus, 462 
Cirrepidesmus asiaticus, 142 
Cladocora czspitosa, 457, 458 
Clangula glaucion, 73 
Clavarie, 463 
Clupea sprattus, 238, 239 
Coceyzus americanus, 178; ery- 
throphthalmus, 178 
Collection, private, distribution of a, 
420 
Collyriocincla rufiventris, 140 
Colobus occidentalis, 449 
Coloration of British birds and their 
eges, 168 
Columba livia, 74, 160; cenas, 160 ; 
palumbus, 86, 160, 163 
Colymbus arcticus, 69; septentrion- 
alis, 69, 77 
Commensalism, Hermit-Crab and 
Sea-Anemone, 526 
Congress, ornithological, in Bosnia, 
431 
Connochetes taurina, 316, 318 
Coracias indica, 419 
Cordeaux, John, memoir of, 415 
Coregonus artedi, 304 
Correction, a proposed, 372 
Corvus australis, 408; corax, 64, 73, 
247; cornix, 64, 73, 247; corone, 
85, 159, 163; frugilegus, 85, 370; 
monecula, 85; monedula, 159, 163 
Cotile riparia, 85, 158, 271 
Cottus gobio, 3852; scorpius var. 
erenlandicus, 273 
Coturnis communis, 160 
County REcorDs :— 
Berkshire — Notes, 186; Verte- 
brates, 133 
Cheshire — Long-tailed Field 
Mouse, 27; Cirl Bunting, 222, 
418; Leisler’s Bat, 266; Whis- 
kered Bat, 475; Birds of Che- 
shire, 518 
Cornwall—Pelamid, 421 
Cumberland — Blue-headed Wag- 
tail, 267 
Derbyshire — Moorhen, 81; Star- 
lings, 268; Tufted Duck, 476 
Dorsetshire—Avocet, 32 
Fissex — Gattoruginous Blenny, 
326; Bombinator pachypus, 513 


Gloucestershire — Wheatear, 132; 
plumage of certain birds, 188 
Hampshire—Scoter, 30, 80 ; Moor- 
hen, 81, 82 ; Song Thrush, 417; 
Swallows and Hobbies, 517 

Herefordshire—Red-headed Cardi- 
nal, 275; Ring Ouzel, 403 

Kent —- A stray bird, 221; Superb 
Tanager, 825; Chiffchaff, 517 

Lancashire — Uong-tailed Field 
Mouse, 27; Moor-hen, 30, 31; 
Wheatear, 321 . 

Leicestershire—Songs of birds, 188 

Lincolnshire — Spring migrations, 
193; Seals, 417 

Middlesex — Cats in London, 78 ; 
birds in Kensington Gardens, 84; 
Grey Lag-Goose, 224; Rooks, 
370; Green Woodpecker near 
London, 518 

Norfolk — Ornithological record 
(1898), 113; destruction of birds, 
114, 183; Spoonbill, 270; notes, 
272, 366; Demoiselle Crane, 419; 
Icterine Warbler, 475; Buff- 
breasted Sandpiper, 475; Blen- 
nius gattorugine, 273; Anchovy 
at Yarmouth, 558 

Nottinghamshire — Tree Creeper, 
556; notes, 557 

Oxfordshire — Greenfinch, 135; 
Black-breasted Partridges, 270 ; 
songs of birds, 3824; ornitho- 

— logical notes, 431; Swallows and 
Hobbies, 476; Chiffchaff, 555 

Somersetshire — Crossbill, 27; 
Moor-hen, 30, 557; Stoat, 179; 
Blackbird, 181; Starlings, 370; 
Green Woodpecker, 419; Spot- 
ted Flycatcher, 556 

Suffolk—Little Bustard, 31 ; Great 
Shearwater, 31; Toad, 97 ; Helix 
cartusiana, 143; Cuckoo, 228, 
323; Black-game, 557 

Surrey — Cuckoo, 1385; Common 
Snipe, 225; Viper feeding in 
confinement, 518,—killed by a 
Mouse, 519 

Sussex—Redbreast, 221; Serotine 
Bat, 266; Grey Seal, 320 

Warwickshire—Great Grey Shrike, 
79; Chiffchaff, 132 ; Whitethroat, 
132 

Westmoreland—Hobby, 556 

Wiltshire—Squirrel, 132 

Worcestershire — Chiffchaff, 134 
Common Crossbill, 222; notes 
259 


CONTENTS. 


Yorkshire—Goshawk, 28; Grebes, 
32; Bats, 52; White Stoats, 79, 
131; Great Grey Shrike, 80; 
Land-Rail, 81; Roseate Tern, 
83; Iceland Gull, 84, 1381; 
Wheatear’s eggs, 321; Haw- 
finches, 321; Great Spotted 
Woodpecker, 322; Spring mi- 
grants, 323; Whinchat, 369; 
Spotted Flycatcher, 869 ; Night- 
jar, 369; Starlings, 370; Grey 
Plover, 419; Song-Thrush, 554 ; 
Willow- Wren, 555 

Crab, Edible, of Sydney, 482; Her- 

mit, 526 

Cracticus torquatus, 408 

Crane in Malta, 255; Demoiselle, on 
Norfolk coast, 419 

Cranes in Norfolk, 119 

Crangon vulgaris, 468 

Craterellus, 463 

Creeper, Tree, nesting in roof, 556 

Crex pratensis, 74, 81 

Cricetus frumentarius, 306, 347 

Crossbill in North Wales, 28, 182; in 
Worcestershire, 222 

Crossbills, flock, at Yeovil, 27 

Cuckoo, habits of, during breeding 
season, 135; eggs of, the variation 
in, 176, 223,—in nest of Red-backed 

Shrike, 223 ; in Malta, 255; econ- 


omy of, 822 ; young, aiding a, 371 | 


Cuculus canorus, 64, 135, 160, 171, 
228, 255, 271, 322, 323, 371, 461 

Culicide, 309, 478 

Curlew at sea, 419 

Cyanecula suecica, 57; wolfi, 57 

Cyanops asiatica, 419 

Cychrus cylindricollis, 310 

Cygnus atratus, 410 

Cymatophora duplaris, 539 

Cynictis penicillata, 179; 
mannii, 358 


steed- 


Cypselus affinis, 418; apus, 86, 159, | 
168, 171, 370; melba, 358; paci- | 


ficus, 140 


Danais, 444 

Dasypeltis scabra, 451 

Dasypus villosus, 305 

Daulias luscinia, 153, 161, 507 

Dendrocopus minor, 64; major, 322 

Dermestes, 309 

Diary, observational, of habits of 
Nightjars, 388, 406 

Dicerobatis giorne, 146; sp.? (with 
Plate), 145 

Didunculus strigerostris, 548 


X1li 


Dinosaur, a monstrous, 87 

Dixa, 358 

Dog and Fox hybrids, 240 

Dove, Turtle, in Malta, 255, 257 

Dresser, ornithological collection, sale 
of, 384 

Duck, Tufted, breeding in South-west 
Derbyshire, 476 

Ducks (Garganey, Pintail, Pochard, 

aup, Shoveller, Teal) in Malta, 

254 


Dytiscus, 541 


Eagle, Golden, in North Scotland, 
42, 

Echidna aculeata, 316 

Eel, food of, 558 

Egernia cunninghami, 412; whitei, 
411 

Eeg of Great Auk, sale, 382 

Eggs, curious deposit of, 148; of 
Cuckoo, variation in, 176, 223,— 
coloration, 168,—in nest of Red- 
backed Shrike, 228, 323; of Moor- 
hen, 182; covering of by nesting 
birds, 183; white, of Redbreast, 
221; of Wheatear, large clutch, 
321 

Hlephant, Sea (with Plate), 886 

Elephas africanus, 551 ; indicus, 551 

Elophorus aquaticus, 5388 

Emberiza cirlus, 222, 322, 418; citri- 
nella, 68, 159, 162, 223; miliaria, 
73; scheeniclus, 68, 159, 162, 233 


| Emblema picta, 140 


Emyda sp., 431 

Enchytreus argenteus, 265; humi- 
cultur, 262; pellucidus, 264 

Engraulis encrasicholus, 557 

Ephthianura aurifrons, 140; tricolor, 
140 

Equisetace, 294 

Equus burchelli, 317; zebra, 316, 
318 

Erigeron canadense, 348 

Hriogaster lanestris, 538 

Eristalis, 356 

Erithacus rubecula, 58, 85, 153, 221, 
271, 506 

Eronia leda, 530 

Estrelata caerulescens, 317 

Euchloe cardamines, 530 

Eudynamis mindanensis, 450 

Eunomos erosaria, 445 

Euphorbiacexe, 464 

Eupecilia roseana, 531 

Eurystomus pacificus, 143, 371 


| Exidia, 463 


XiV 


Faleo wsalon, 64; barbarus, 246; 
projana, 241; subbuteo, 476, 517, 
556; tinnunculus, 73 

Faunas of Caspian and Baltic Seas, 
528 | 

Fecundity, varying, in birds, 23, 86, 
137, 164 

Felis guigna, 316 

Fishery, Seal and Whale (1898), 103 

Finches (Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Green- 
finch, and Hawfinch) in Malta, 256 

Fish, a probable species to be added to 
British lists, 429 

Fishes, seven senses of, 383 

Flamingo in Merionethshire, 29 

Flatine, 452 

Flint implements, spurious, 18; ar- 
row-heads figured, 20; axes figured, 
21 

Flower, Sir William Henry, memoir 
of (with portrait), 337 

Flycatcher, Pied, in North Wales, 
134; Spotted, time of arrival, 369, 
—abnormal nesting place, 556 

Food of Grebes, 32 

Forficula, 357 

Forficulide, 301 

Fox and Dog hybrids, 240 


Foxes in Halifax, 144; and Badgers, | 


191 


Francolinus levaillantii, 545; sub- 
torquatus, 545 

Fratercula arctica, 69, 76 

Fredericia agricola, 264; magna, 


Te eal EP RyA Or 

Fregata minor, 139 

Fringilla ccelebs, 85, 138, 158, 162; 
montifringilla, 62 

Fulica atra, 547; australis, 142 

Fuligula cristata, 136, 476; ferin- 
oides (homeyeri), hybrid between 
F. nyroca and F’. ferina, 128 

Fulmarus glacialis, 77 


Gadus morrhua, 272, 343 

Gallinago ceelestis, 74, 225 

Gallinula chloropus, 30, 31, 81, 86, 
182 

Garrulus glandarius, 159, 171 

Gastrophilus equi, 357 

Gastrosteus spina chia, 349 

Gazella euchore, 218 

Geaster, 463 

Gecinus sp. ?, 151, 159, 163; viridis, 
181, 419, 518 

Geese, Wild, in Malta, 258 

Gehyra variegata, 411 

Geoglossum, 463 


CONTENTS. 


Geoplana cerulea, 462; splendens 
462 . 

Georyssus areniferus, 538 

Glycyphila albifrons, 140 ; 

Gobius capito probably to be found 
in British waters, 429 

Goose, Grey Lag, colour of bill, 224 

Goshawk nesting in Yorkshire, 28 

Grebe, Sclavonian, in Oxfordshire, 
441 

Grebes, food of, 32; Blacknecked, 
Little, and Sclavonian, in Malta, 
254, 256, 257 

Greenfinch, regularity in beginning 
song, 135 

Grus virgo, 419 

Gryllide, 301 

Guepinia, 463 

Guinea-fowl, hybrid, 119 

Gull, Iceland, at Scarborough, 84 

Gymnodactylus platurus, 412 


Habit, a, of Roseate Tern, 83 

Habits, nesting, of Moor-hen, 30, 31, 
81, 82; of Roseate Tern, 838; some, 
of Bats, 1381; of Cuckoo during 
breeding season, 135; of Nightjars, 
388, 486 

Haddiscoe Marshes, Norfolk, notes 
from, 366 

Hematopus ostralegus, 67, 74 

Halcyon albiventris, 148 

Haliaetus albicilla, 65; leucogaster, 
412, 

Haliastur leucosternus, 142 

Halicherus gryphus, 131, 320 

Hare, Cape Jumping, anatomy of, 45 

Harrier, Montagu’s, in Malta, 257 

Hawfinches near Bradford, 321 

Hecteractitis brevipes, 371 

Hedgehogs in Halifax, 144 

Heliconiide, 444 

Helix cartusiana and H. ericetorum 
in Sukolk, 143 

Hemjsaga predatoria, 444 

Herons (Common, Night, Purple, 
Squacco), in Malta, 254 

Hevea braziliensis, 464 

Hieracidea occidentalis, 142 

Hieraétus morphnoides, 139 

Hippolyte fascigera, 535 ; 
varians, 535 

Hippotragus equinus, 318; niger, 318 

Hirundo rustica, 72, 85, 158, 162, 
271; urbica, 85 

Hobby in Westmoreland, 556 

Hybrids, Fox and Dog, 240 

Hydrochelidon leucoptera ?, 140 


(virbius) 


CONTENTS. XV 


Hy la, 553 

Hylerpeton, 301 

Hylodes martinicensis, 361 
Hylonomus, 301 

Hypoderma bovis, 336 
Hypolais icterina, 155, 161, 475 


Ibis, Glossy, in Malta, 255; spini- 
collis, 317 

Ictonyx zorilla, 449 

Inachus scorpioides, 536 

‘International Review of Fisheries 
and Fish-culture,’ 527 

IRELAND. — Mistle - Thrush, 180; 
Blackbird, 181; Green Woodpecker, 
181; Little Tern, 182; Great 
Wood-boring Wasp, 184, 421; or- 
nithological notes, 864, 481; White 
Wagtail, 418 ; Grey Phalarope, 477 

Isle of Man, Terns in, 52; Grey Seal, 
131 

‘Isle of Wight Parson,’’ 80 

Ispidina natalensis, 148 

Tynx torquilla, 159 


Jackdaw in Malta, 257 
Jay, colour of the iris, 477 
Juida zenea, 317 


Kallima, 531, 532 

Kangaroo, new-born, how does it get 
into the mother’s pouch ?, 868 

Kensington Gardens, birds in (18 97 
98), 84 

Kestrel in Malta, 256 

Ketupa ceylonensis, 317 

Kingfisher in Malta, 255, 257 

Kite, Black, nesting in Verona, 241 


Lacerta muralis, 150 

Lagopus albus, 65; scoticus, 271 

Lama guanacus, 469 

Lamprococcyx basalis, 140 

Lamprotornis aurita, 317; chalybea, 
317 

Lanius collurio, 158, 162, 176; ex- 
eubitor, 79, 80, 255 

Lapwing, heavy death-rate, 225; in 
Malta, 258 

Lark, Short-toed, in Malta, 258; Sky, 
singing in October, 517 

Larus argentatus, 67, 75; cauus, 68, 
70, 271; fuscus, 67, 75, 186; leu- 
copterus, 84; marinus, 67, 75; 
neve-hollandiz, 409; ridibundus, 
75, 86 

Lasiocampa quercifolia, 455 

Latrunculus pellucidus, 349 


Lepidodendra, 294 

Leptalis, 445 

Lernea branchialis, 344 

Lerneonema monilaris, 239 

Leto stacyi, 453 

Lichnotentha picata, 140 

Ligdus chelifer, 357 

Light attractive to fishes, 191 

Ligurinus chloris, 135, 158 

Limenitis procris, 537 

Limnius «neus, 538 

Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri, 262 

Limosa lapponica, 364; melanur- 
oides, 140 

Linnet in Malta, 256 

Linota cannabina, 159; flavirostris, 
62, 72, 272; linaria, 62 

Lion, loss of life, in captivity, 47; 
African, feeding, in Chicago, 47 

Locusta viridissima, 351 

Locustella nevia, 541 

Locustidex, 301 

Loligo vulgaris, 347 

Lophophaps ferruginea, 141 

Lophyrus pini, 348 

Loxia curvirostra, 27, 28, 182, 222 

Lusciniola schwarzi, 124 

Lycaon pictus, 215, 449 

Lycogala epidendron, 463 

Lycopodiacee, 294 

Lygeide, 357 

Lygosoma teniolatum, 411 


Macacus cynomolgus, 803 


Macegillivray, William, the late, pro- 


posed memorial to, 42 
Machetes pugnax, 115, 171 
Macropodus viridi-auratus, 318 
Macrorhinus angustirostris, 387; ele- 
phantinus, 385; leoninus, 387 
Maja verrucosa, 536 
Malta, ornithological notes from, 254 
Malurus elegans, 141; leucopterus, 141 
Man, Early, in Britain, 18 
Manta birostris, 146 
Mantide, 290, 301 
Mantis, 800 
Marasmius, 463 
Mareca penelope, 73 
Matricaria chamomilla, 445 
Melanitis ledea, 530 
Melanoplus differentialis, 287 
Meliornis nove-hollandiz, 413 
Menagerie at Haggerston Castle, 333 
Mergulus alba, 76 
Mergus merganser, 71; serrator, 71 
Merops ornatus, 371 


' Messmates, strange, 147 


XV1 


Mice of St. Kilda, 191 

Microgaster, 454 

Migrants in Aberdeen (1899), 271; 
spring, in Yorkshire, 323 

Migrations, early spring, 193 

Milport, Maine, Biological Station, 238 

Milvus ictinus, 242, 244, 245, 246, 
247; Korschun, 241; migrans, 241, 
244, 247; milano, 241 

Mimicry, 289, 341, 443, 529 

Misoealius osculans, 140 

Monitor, Cape, 226, 272; correction, 
421 

Montagu, Col. George, 378 

Moor-hen, nesting habits, 30, 31, 81, 
82, 557; eggs and nest of, 182 

Mosquitoes, how to collect, 428 

Motacilla alba, 61, 157, 162, 418; 
borealis, 61; flava, 157, 267; lugu- 
bris, 86, 268, 271; melanope, 162, 
271; raii, 286 

Mouse, Long-tailed Field, climbing 
powers of, 27 

Miiller, Johannes, monument to, zoo- 
logical sketches of, 560 

Mungoose, Thick-tailed, habits of, in 
South Africa, 179 

Mus sylvaticus, 27 

Muscicapa atricapilla, 60, 134; gri- 
sola, 60, 85, 162, 369, 556 

Museum Reports, &c.:— 
Birmingham Nat. Hist. Collection, 

236 
Chicago Academy of Sciences, 382 
Essex Local and Educational Mus. 
of Nat. Hist., 288 

London School Board, 240 
Robertson Museum, 238 

Mussels of Mississippi River, 480 

Mustela erminea, 79, 131, 179; pu- 
torius, 79; vison, 305 

Mycteris longicarpus, 412 

Mylodon, supposed existing, 380 

Myotis daubentoni, 472; mystacinus, 
49, 181, 471, 475 

Myxicola, 457 

Myxine, 350 

Myzomela nigra, 141 


Natal, zoological notes from (with 
Plate), 145 

Nautilograpsus minutus, 536 

Nemathelminthes, 348 

Nephila, 414 

Neptunus pelagicus, 432 

Nest, strange, of South African Pied 
Bush Shrike, 80; of Titlark with 
Toad in, 87; of male Blackbird 


CONTENTS. 


with stored seeds, 181; of Moor- 
hen, 182; of Red-backed Shrike 
with eggs of Cuckoo, 222, 323; of 
Thrush piled up with ivy-berries, 
320 

Nesting of Goshawk in Yorkshire, 
28; habits of Moor-hen, 30, 31, 81, 
82, 557; of Short-eared Owl, 121 ; 
of Mistle-Thrush, 180; birds, cover- 
ing of eggs by, 183; of Common 
Snipe near London, 225; of Black 
Kite in Verona, 241; of Starlings 
in fir trees, 370; sites, abnormal, 
of Willow Wren, 555; of Tree 
Creeper in roof, 556; place, abnor- 
mal, of Spotted Flycatcher, 556 

Nestor notabilis, 307 

Nests of Short-eared Owl, 421 

Niagara Falls, loss of avian life, 44 

Nicotiana tabacum, 348 

Nightjar in Malta, 256; time of 
arrival, 369; Red-necked, in Malta, 
255 

Nightjars, diary of habits, 388, 406 

Nisus sphenurus, 351 

Norfolk, ornithological record from 
(1898), 118; destruction of birds, 
114, 1838 

Norway, Northern, 
notes from, 54 

Numenius arquata, 65, 74, 271, 419; 
pheopus, 65, 74 

Nycticorax ardeola, 247; caledoni- 
cus, 140 


ornithological 


OBITUARY :— 
Baur, Georg Hermann Carl Lud- 
wig, 95 
Bonheur, Rosa, 281 
Biichner, Prof. Ludwig, 280 
Cordeaux, John, 384, 415 
Everett, Alfred Hart, 96 
Flower, Sir William Henry, K.C.B., 
F.R.S., 337 
Hewetson, Henry Hendelack, 280 
McCoy, Prof. Sir F., 280 
Marsh, Prof. O. C., 234 
Nicholson, Prof. Alleyne, 95 
Stark, A. C., Dr., 559 
Stevens, Samuel, 479 
Sykes, Christopher, 47 
Whitehead, John, 382 
Wolf, Joseph, 234 
Ocypoda cordimana, 408 
Oddi ornithological collection, 482 
(Hdemia nigra, 30, 80, 557 
(Hdicnemus crepitans, 545 
Ophiderpeton, 301 


CONTENTS. 


Organic colour, origin of, 48 

Orgyia antiqua, 455 

Oriole, Golden, in Malta, 255, 256 

Oriolus galbula, 158, 162, 171 

Osteolepus, 502 

Otaria gillespu, 552 

Othonia gracilis, 536 

Otis tetrax, 32,—figured, 120 

Otocorys alpestris, 64 

Ouzel, Ring, haunt of, 403 

Ovis musimon, 549; tragelaphus, 
549 

Owl, Cape Scops, in captivity, 420 ; 
Short-eared, nesting of, 121 

Owls (Barn, Long-eared, Scops, Short- 
eared) in Malta, 254 

Oxfordshire, notes on the ornitho- 
logy of, 433 


Panurus biarmicus, 115 

Papilio cenea, 530; lyzus, 458; ma- 
chaon, 318 

Paroaria cucullata, 275 

Parra gallinacea, 467 

Parrots, tax on exports from Loango, 
287 

Partridge, variety, 126 

Partridges, black-breasted, 270; Rus- 
sian, 224 

Parus ater, 85, 157, 308; borealis, 
60; cxeruleus, 85, 157, 162, 313; 
major, 85, 157, 162, 308; palustris, 
85, 157 

Passer domesticus, 638, 72, 85, 158, 
162; montanus, 158, 162; rufi- 
pectus, 422 

Pastor roseus, 317 : 

Pearl-button industry of Mississippi 
River, 480 

Pedetes caffer, 45 

Pelamid in Cornwail, 421 

Pelamya sarda, 421 

Penthina gentiana, 531 

Perameles nasuta, 413; obesula, 413 

Perdix cinerea, 160, 271; daurica, 
270; montana, 126 

Petasia casinea, 539 

Petrels, Storm, in Malta, 255; flying 
at light, 557 

Petrosea goodenovil, 141 

Phalacrocorax carbo, 30, 70, 73, 183 ; 
graculus, 73, melanoleucus, 409; 
nove-hollandiz, 408 

Phalarope, Grey, in Co. Armagh, 477 

Phalaropus fulicarius, 477; hyper- 
boreus, 66, 169 

Pharnacea serratipes, 290 

Phasianus colchicus, 139, 160 


XVll 


Phasma rossia, 290 
Phasmide, 290-302, 455, 541 
Pheropsophus, 468 


| Philanthus triangulum, 356 


Phoceena, 409 
Pheenicopterus roseus, 29 
Phomacentridx, 464 
Photodilus badius, 317 


_ Phrynosoma, 468 


Phyciodes, 460 

Phyllium crurifolium, 456 

Phyllomorpha paradoxa, 451 

Phyllopteryx sp., 540 

Phylloscopus bonelli, 154; rufus, 133, 
134, 154, 177, 517, 555; sibilatrix, 
154; superciliosus, 221; trochilus, 
60, 85, 154, 177, 555 

Physalix, 409, 410 

Pica rustica, 64, 159, 162 

Picus major, 460 

Pieridee, 444, 445 

Pieris brassicx, 529, 530 

Pigments, green, in invertebrates, 430 

Pilobolus, 446 

Pionus acciptrinus, 317 

Pipistrellus noctula, 131, 473; pipi- 
strellus, 473 

Pisa armata, 536; tetradon, 536 

Platalea leucorodia, 270 

Platycercus semitorquatus, 141; zo- 
narius, 371 

Plecotus auritus, 471 

Plectophanes nivalis, 63 

Plotus levaillanti, 461 

Plover, Grey, in summer plumage in 
Yorks, 419 

Plovers (Golden and Grey) in Malta, 
255 

Plumage of certain birds, variations 
in, 138 

Pochard, Paget’s, hybrid, 128 

Podiceps auritus, 32 

Pecilogale albinucha, 449 

Point Cloates, North-west Australia, 
notes from, 139 

Polecats in Wales, 79; in Halifax, 144 

Poliaetus leucogaster, 142 

Poymitarcys virgo, 348 

Polyporus betulinus, 459; fomenta- 
rius, 459 

Pond-life, microscopical, 281 

Porpoise at London Bridge, 96 

Pratincola rubetra, 152, 161, 203, 267, 
369, 475; rubecula, 133 ; rubicola, 
152, 161, 208 

Pratincole in Malta, 255 

Primary, first, in passerine birds, 129 


| Procellaria pelagica, 77, 557 


XVlil 


Prolochus longiceps, 357 
Prosthemadera nove-zealandix, 317 
Protophasmide, 293 

Psalidoprocne holomelena, 147 
Psittacula galgula, 317 

Puffinus anglorum, 77 ; major, 31 
Pyrrhula europea, 139, 159; major, 61 
Python sebe, 519 


Quail in Malta, 255, 256 
Querquedula circia,115,136 ; crecca,73 


Rail, Land, late stay, 81 

Rainworth, notes from, 557 

Rana esculenta, 150, 156, 818; opis- 
thodon, 861; temporaria, 97, 98 

Ray, Eagle, or Devil-fish, a mon- 
strous (with Plate), 145 

Razorbill in Malta, 255 

Reading, notes from (1898), 186 

Recurvirostra avocetta, 32 

Redbreast, white eggs of, 221; in 
Malta, 256 

Redshank in Malta, 258 

Redstart, Black, in Malta, 255, 257 ; 
Common, in Malta, 255 

Regulus cristatus, 154; ignicapillus, 
154 

Rhinoceros bicornis, 469; simus, 469; 
sumatrensis, 318; unicornis, 470 

Rhinolophus hipposiderus, 474 

Rhomalea speciosa, 452 

Rhombus levis, 273 ; maximus, 273 

Ricinus, 464 

Rissa tridactyla, 76, 843 

Rook, singular, 118 

Rooks for South Afriea, 335; in the 
West-End of London, 370 

Rotterdam zoological collection, 318 

Ruticilla phoenicurus, 58, 170, 210; 
titys, 151, 152, 161 


Sabella, 462 
Salamandra maculata, 808; maculosa, 
318 


Salmon in the Tweed and Teviot, 46; | 
| Songs of birds affected by weather, 


Severn, 284; Welsh, 285 

Salmonide, 304 

Salticoide, 357 

Salvelinus, 304 

Sandpiper, Buff-breasted, in Norfolk, 
475; Common, in Malta, 258 

Saunders, John, testimonial to, 559 

Saxicola cenanthe, 58, 72, 1382, 152, 
170, 200, 821 

Scale-insects, 383 

‘Science Gossip,’ 47 

Sciurus vulgaris, 152 


CONTENTS. 


Scolopax rusticula, 370 

Scops capensis, 420 

Scoters in South Hants ? and Isle of 
Wight, 30, 80 . 

ScoTLanp.—Lapwings, 225; Songs of 
birds affected by weather, 225; 
Whinchat, 267; Pied Wagtail in 
Aberdeenshire, 268 ; ornithological 
notes, 271; Woodcock, 370; Cuc- 
koo, 871; Skylark, 517 


Seal and Whale Fishery (1898), 103 


Seal, Grey, at Isle of Man, 181; on 
Sussex coast, 320 

Seals, destruction of, 192; in the 
Wash, 417 

Serajevo, Bosnia, ornithological meet- 
ing at, 511 

Serpentarius secretarius, 460 

Sesia bombyliformis, 454; fuciformis, 
454 

Shag or Green Cormorant in Malta, 
257 

Shearwater, Great, at Lowestoft, 31 

Sheldrake, Ruddy, in Malta, 258 

Shetland birds, notes on, 72 

Shrike, Great Grey, in Warwick- 
shire, 79,—at Scarborough, 80,— 
in Malta, 255; South African Bush, 
strange nest of, 80 

Silurus glarus, 317 

Sirex gigas, 184, 421 

Siskin in Malta, 256 

Sisymbrium sophia, 348 

Sketches, original, of British birds, 1, 
198, 506 

Skylark in Malta, 256; singing in 
October, 517 

Snipe, Common, nesting near Lon- 
don, 225; Great, in Malta, 258 

Societies. —Royal Microscopical, 281 ; 
Zoological, Report (1898), 282,— 
new President, 382 

Sokotra, Island of, Scientific Expedi- 
tion to, 560 

Somateria mollissima, 70, 73 

Solea lascaris, 273 


135, 183, 225, 324 


| Sphongophorus, 452 
| Spiders, British and Irish, 281 
| Spiloglaux boobook, 141 


Spoonbill near Great Yarmouth, 270 
Spreo bicolor, 307 

Spirobis, 5385 

Squatarola helvetica, 142, 419 
Squilla mantis, 290 

Squirrel, albino, in Wiltshire, 132 


| Starling in Malta, 255; variety, 255 


CONTENTS. 


Starlings, delinquencies of, 268, 370 ; 
nesting in fir trees, 370 

Stenorrhynchus longirostris, 536 

Stercorarius catarrhactes, 763; crepi- 
datus, 68, 76 

Sterna arctica, 32 ; dougallii, 83 ; ma- 
crura, 67, 74; minuta, 32, 182 

Stipiturus malachurus, 140; rufipes, 
371 

Stoat, white, 79, 131, 179 

Stonechat in Malta, 257 

Storms and song-birds, 43 

Stray bird in Kent, 221 

Strigops habrobtilus, 307 

Strix delicatulus, 141 

Stromatopoda, 290 

Sturnus unicolor, 256; vulgaris, 64, 
73, 85, 159, 162, 268, 370 

Sula bassana, 73 

Suricata tetradactyla, 516 

Suricate in the Transvaal, 516 

Swallows and Hobbies, 476, 517 

Swan, Whooper, in Malta, 255 

Swifts fighting, 418 

Sydney, a ramble near, 407 

Sylvia atricapilla, 60, 154, 161; c- 
nerea, 72, 132, 154, 161, 508; hor- 
tensis, 154, 161; locustella, 221 

Syrnium aluco, 86, 160 


Tabanide, 809 

Tachonide, 454 

Tait, Lawson, and animal life, 336 

Tanganyika, Lake, fauna of, 42 

Tanager, Superb, on sexual diffe- 
rences in, 325 

Tapirus indicus, 318 

** Taxidermist,’”’ derivation ? 96 

Taxus baccata, 310 

Tern, Little, in Ireland, 182; Roseate, 
habit of, 88 

Terns in Isle of Man, 82 

Tetrao tetrix, 557 

Thomisus, 533; onustus, 533 

Thrush in Malta, 257; nest of, piled 
up with ivy berries, 320; Mistle, 
nesting of, 180 ; Song, variety, 417, 
—abundance near Bradford, 554 

Titanophasma fayoli, 292, 293 

Toad in nest of Titlark, 87; Com- 
mon, observations on, 97 

Todirhamphus pyrrhopygius, 141 ; 
sanctus, 139 

Totanus calidris, 65; hypoleucus, 66, 
74 


Trachypetes aquila, 308 
Trek-Bokke of Cape Colony, 213 
Tremella, 463 

Tremellodon gelatinosum, 463 


X1x 


Tres Marias Islands, Nat. Hist., 286 

Trichogaster fasciatus, 318 

Tringa alpina, 66, 74, 271; striata, 
66; temmincki, 66 

Triton alpestris, 318; taniatus, 318 

Troglodytes parvulus, 72, 85, 157, 162 

Tryngites rufescens, 475 

Tuberculosis among animals in Zoo- 
logical Society’s Gardens, 336 

Tubifex rivulorum, 352 

Turdus iliacus, 7,58; merula, 13, 85, 
152, 161, 181, 267; musicus, 85, 
151, 320, 417, 554; pilaris, 58, 557; 
torquatus, 59, 198, 271, 403; visci- 
vorus, 1, 180 

Turnix velox, 140 

Turnstones in Malta, 255 

Turtle in dry mud, 431 

Turtur communis, 160, 163 

Typhlopsylla hexactenus, 53 


Uria grylle, 68, 76; troile, 76 

Ursus torquatus, 316 

Utricularia, 456 

Vanellus cristatus, 74; vulgaris, 225, 
271 

Vanessa atalanta twenty miles from 
laud, 422 

Varanus albigularis, 226, 272, 421; 
niloticus, 226, 272, 421 

Variety of Stoat, 89, 131, 179; Rook, 
118; Partridge, 126; Squirrel, 132; 
Helix ericetorum, 143; Beaver, 220; 
Starling, 256; Song-Thrush, 417; 
Green Woodpecker, 419 

Vertebrates of Berkshire, 143 

Vespertilio serotinus, 181, 266 

Vesperugo leisleri, 266 

Viper feeding in confinement, 518; 
killed by a mouse, 519 

Vipera verus, 518 


Wagtail, Blue-headed, in Cumber- 
land, 267; Pied, abnormal occur- 
rence, 268; White, in Co. Cork, 418 

Wagtails (Blue-headed, Grey, and 
White) in Malta, 255, 256 

Wars.—Crossbill, 28, 182 ; Flamin- 
go, 29; Polecat, 79; Pied Fly- 
catcher, 184; Grasshopper Warbler, 
221; Cirl Bunting, 322 

Walton’s ‘Compleat Angler,’ sale of 
first editions, 48 

Warbler, Grasshopper, in Brecon- 
shire, 221; Icterine, in Norfolk, 475 

Wasp, Great Wood-boring, in Ireland, 
184, 421 

Weldon, W. F. R., new Linacre Prof, 
at Oxford, 144 


XX CONTENTS. 


Whale run down by steamer, 287 Wren, Willow, abnormal nesting, 555 
Whalebone, nomenclature of, 40 

Whale and Seal Fishery (1898), 103 | Xantholema hematocephala, 419 
Wheatear, winter occurrence of, 132; 


eggs, large clutch, 321 Yarmouth, Great, Sprat banquet, 238 ; 
Whinchat, is it a mimic ?, 267, 369 notes from, 278; Anchovy, 558 
Whitethroat, late stay, in Warwick- 

shire, 182; in Malta, 258 ; Zebra-Horse hybrids, 180 
Woodcock, peculiar conduct of, 370 Zoarces viviparus, 317 
Woodpecker, Green, in Ireland, 181,— | Zoological collections of Amsterdam, 


variety, 419,—near London, 518; Rotterdam, and Antwerp, 316 
Great Spotted, in Yorkshire, 322 ‘Zoological Record’ for 1897, 40 
Worcestershire, North, notes on some | Zoology for pharmacists, 288 


birds from, 259 Zosterops, 414; luteus, 140 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 
Plate I. Eagle Ray (Dicerobatis sp.) . : i ; . to face 145 
», LI. Sir William Henry Flower, K.C.B., F.R.S. . ; es 337 
», III. The ‘Sea Elephant” (Macrorhinus elephantinus) “ 385 
Spurious Flint Arrow-heads . ; ; : : chi, Ae ; 20 
o 55 | AKO : : : : , : : : A . 21 


Little Bustard (Otzs tetrax, Linn.) : ; : : . see - 120 


THE ZOOLOGIST 


No. 691.—January, 1899. 


ORIGINAL SKETCHES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 
By H. S. DAvENpPorRT. 


Tue Mistrix-Turusu (Turdus viscivorus). 


Tuer song of the Mistle-Thrush has an indescribable charm 
for most lovers of birds, and, it may be added, not without reason. 
Heard at a time of the year when the afternoons are visibly 
lengthening out, and our thoughts are attuned to the coming of 
spring, the associations connected with it doubtless tend to a 
pleasing influence upon the listener apart from any actual merit 
contained in the song itself, which, to my mind, is considerable. 

The melody, however, is somewhat curtailed, no matter 
whether poured forth in storm or in sunshine, with a distinct 
kind of curl in it, resembling not a little the wild notes of the 
Ring-Ouzel. I do not know if others have remarked this 
peculiarity in the song to which I have alluded, and which it is 
quite possible may be considered a very indifferent definition of 
what it is my wish to convey; nevertheless, this curious intona- 
tion, which I have attempted to describe by the term “curl,” is 
distinctly present. 

It has been stated with a show of authority that Mistle- 
Thrushes are not gregarious, but that they consort in families ; 
the fact remains, however, that Mistle-Thrushes are to be seen 
associating in considerable numbers in the month of September 
every year. Now I must say at the outset that I am far from 
wishing to criticize the observations and experiences of others, 

Zool. 4th ser. vol. III., January, 1899. B 


2 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


when irreconcilable with my own, in a harsh or captious man- 
ner, for I am by no means insensible of the heavy debt ornitholo- 
gists of every degree owe to the writings of their predecessors ; 
nevertheless, the truth is, or should be, the common object of all 
who write sketches of bird-life. 

Many a time in the spring of the year, when I have been 
waiting and watching in some plantation or wood in order to 
watch a Sparrow-Hawk to its selected nest, old nests of years 
gone by being in almost every tree, have I been indebted to the 
far less harmonious, not to say angry and objurgatory, notes of 
the Mistle-Thrush at a distance for warning to pull myself 
together and be on the alert; while a moment or so later, 
swiftly and silently winging its flight amidst the trees, has the 
special object of my ramble appeared, shooting up at last to its 
perch upon a branch, and remaining perfectly motionless while 
eventually affording me—provided my ambush had told no tales 
—the identical piece of information I was in want of. In defence 
of its nest the Mistle-Thrush is very courageous, but still more 
So in defence of its young when on the point of quitting it; I 
have observed some battles royal on the part of this bird with 
Rooks and Jackdaws, and, though successful on occasions in 
fraudulently appropriating the eggs, I have never seen the two 
species just mentioned actually capture the young. 

I have good reasons for considering this bird a very early 
breeder. I have never detected its nest in abnormal situations, 
nor have I come across abnormal eggs, either as regards colour, 
shape, or size, as has been the case with sundry other birds; but 
a most singular instance respecting the nesting of this species 
came under my notice in the spring of 1883. In May of that 
year there were two Mistle-Thrushes’ nests built low down in 
ornamental yew trees, within half a dozen yards of each other, 
opposite the hall-door of a country house in Leicestershire. 
Both nests contained eggs when I found them, and in each 
instance broods were successfully reared. Some few days after 
all the young ones had flown, I was rather surprised to notice an 
old bird again on one of the nests, and, on inspecting it, I was a 
great deal more surprised to find that it contained no fewer than 
nine eggs, five being of the type of those originally laid in it, and 
the remaining four evidently the property of the Mistle-'Thrush 


ORIGINAL SKETCHES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 3 


that had built and utilized the nest in the adjoining tree. I took 
four of the nine eggs away, and the old bird incubated the 
remainder, and in the course of time brought forth a second 
brood. Meanwhile the other Mistle-Thrush had constructed a 
second nest a short distance off, and she too was successful in 
hatching out a second brood. I should add that the eggs in the 
two nests in the first instance presented very distinctive features, 
so the absolute accuracy of what I have related need not for one 
moment be called in question. The Curator of the Leicester 
Museum and others were acquainted with this interesting case at 
the time. 

The year following (1884) only one nest was built; I found it 
on March 24th, some six weeks earlier than in 1888, when the 
two nests had been built in May, altogether a late date, except on 
the hypothesis that it was a case of second nesting, which seems 
probable. The nest was placed in pretty much the same spot in 
1884 ; it contained seven eggs, all fresh, and an old bird was 
brooding them when I discovered it. Of the seven eggs, four 
were of one size, shape, and colouring, and three of another, and 
both lots corresponded with the character and were beyond all 
doubt referable to the two types of the eggs laid in the preceding 
year. It may be hazardous to theorize on the subject, but I have 
a theory, and it is this—that the two hen birds shared a mate 
between them. In the one instance the eggs were small and 
round, while in the other they were rather elongated, the ground 
colour, moreover, as also the markings, varying with each type. 
Having kept specimens of each in 1883, I naturally compared 
them with those laid in 1884, and there can be no sort of doubt 
but that they were the produce of the same two birds. 

With regard to this species, I do not remember having met 
with anything else in their economy or life-history that need be 
reproduced here. Their conspicuous nests, built early in the 
spring of the year, and containing, as arule, four or five eggs, are 
known to most schoolboys; but when I come to deal with the 
Lapwing, I shall relate what I have every reason for believing was 
a second instance of a single male bird aiding and abetting the 
nidification of twofemales. Polygamy is natural to some species, 
but Mistle-Thrushes and Lapwings do not come within the 
category. Of course, 1 am far from contending that the accuracy 

B2 


4 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


of my theory is absolutely proven, though it satisfies my own 
convictions. 

With the advance of summer, and after the young are fledged, 
the Mistle-Thrush’s utterance is chiefly limited to a harsh mono- 
syllabic note sounding like wark, repeated at intervals. People 
have often asked me what it was, and not always believed me 
when I have told them. Some have fancied it to be the croak of 
a Frog. 

Without undue presumption, I think I may claim to have 
found a Mistle-Thrush’s nest so charmingly situated as to have 
been simply peerless in the natural beauty of its immediate 
surroundings. A huge bunch of mistletoe hung for many years 
from one of the middle branches of a lofty poplar at the four 
cross-roads between Lucton School and Mortimer’s Cross, in 
Herefordshire, and in the centre of this bunch a pair of Mistle- 
Thrushes one spring built their nest and reared their young. 
Subsequently an enterprising boy climbed the tree just previously 
to the Christmas holidays, and possessed himself of the mistletoe 
in its entirety, which doubtless he put to much less profitable use 
when it adorned the interior of his own home than had been the 
case with the striking-looking birds that had once employed it 
as a nesting site during the month of sunshine and showers. 

There is a prevailing notion that Mistle-Thrushes are silent 
after April has run its course. ‘This may be true of the majority, 
but one of the species most certainly sang to me almost daily 
during the first three weeks of May in 1894. There are, I may 
perhaps observe, many hard-and-fast notions about the history 
and economy of birds which are wholly erroneous, but which are 
possibly to be condoned from the fact that they are so often 
repeated, and therefore fostered, by so-called popular writers on 
Natural History. Original observations are what we want nowa- 
days; how seldom, comparatively speaking, do we get them 
where birds are concerned ! 


THe Sone-Turusy (Turdus musicus). 


Of so generally abundant and well-known a species through- 
out the British Islands I have not very much to say that has 
not been said scores of times already, and therefore my remarks . 
on this delightful songster will be discreetly and advantageously 


ORIGINAL SKETCHES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 5 


curtailed. Its nest is to be found in varying and odd situations, 
and in the spring of 1894 I noticed, during a long visit to North 
Wales, chiefly for ornithological purposes, that a very favourite 
site for it was not only on but in banks. I was staying at 
Llanuwchllyn, a village prettily situated near the southern shore 
of Bala Lake, and it was almost impossible for anyone who 
possesses a keen eye for birds’ nests to stroll along the charming 
lanes thereabouts without remarking those of Song-Thrushes so 
located. Children journeying to and from school twice a day 
along these lanes made sad havoc of all kinds of nests, but it 
struck me that the poor confiding Song-Thrushes fared the worst 
at their hands, not even excepting Blackbirds and Robin Red- 
breasts. The wantonness with which nests were torn from their 
picturesque sites, and the eggs flung broken on the ground, fairly 
made my blood boil on many an occasion; while I ascertained 
that the little girls were every whit as bad as the boys. If 
masters and mistresses of village schools throughout the kingdom 
—for I have little reason to doubt that the wantonness com- 
plained of is pretty general—would take upon themselves to 
impress on the youthful mind the cruelty involved in robbing 
birds’ nests wholesale without any set or scientific purpose, and 
would further impress the moral by a little salutary correction on 
the youthful bodies of hardened offenders, the result would be far 
more conducive to the peace and happiness of the birds them- 
selves, and infinitely less harrowing to the feelings of those who 
from a genuine and deep-rooted love of their subject make the 
avifauna of these islands the all-engrossing study of a lifetime. 
That some such restrictions in the matter would not be with- 
out general and good effect is shown, I think, by a visit I once 
‘paid to the Bempton cliffs, on the Yorkshire coast—between 
Bridlington and Filey—in order to watch the gathering of the 
Common Guillemots’ eggs, and make a selection of quaintly- 
marked and uncommon specimens for my own collection. On this 
occasion I was accompanied by my wife, who takes as keen a 
delight in birdsnesting as myself, and is wonderfully “‘ smart” at 
finding eggs; and as we walked along the main road from 
Bempton station to the cliffs, we noticed several nests of different 
species, containing eggs, in most exposed situations, and were, 
moreover, not a little struck by the fact that the children we 


6 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


passed were busily engaged picking the wayside flowers. There 
is more in this than meets the eye, I thought; so we stopped and 
asked an intelligent-looking boy of apparently some eight or nine 
years of age if he or his companions ever meddled with the birds’ 
nests. Quick as possible came back the answer, ‘“‘ Oh, no; we’re 
not allowed to.” And on further investigation I rejoiced to find 
that such was absolutely the case, the children in the village 
schools thereabouts being very rightly taught the cruelty of 
an indiscriminate and irrational destruction of birds’ nests 
and eggs. 

This species is an indefatigable songster, and probably if it 
were less frequentiy heard in our gardens and orchards, we 
should set greater store by its music—regard its varied and 
stirring notes with greater favour. I have heard it sing every 
month in the year at such times as the weather has been mild 
and open. I heard one give forth a few sweet notes at a quarter 
to eight on two consecutive mornings in the first week in January 
in the year 1888, and another bird sang almost every day in my 
garden throughout the November of 1893. As is the case with 
most of our feathered songsters, however, the weather plays an 
all-important part in the ‘“‘to be or not to be” question of an 
open-air vernal concert; nevertheless, the Mistle-Thrush must be 
quoted as a notable exception to this rule, and as one not to be 
deterred by storms and gales from chanting its:pleasing lay. 
Alike in fair weather and foul, and at its appointed season, the 
““Stormcock” raises its voice, perched aloft amidst the topmost 
branches—rather preferring, I have observed, to station itself in 
an isolated tree either by the roadside or in a hedgerow a field 
away for the purpose. 

The Song-Thrush is a more or less migratory species; it 
pairs early in the spring, and the nest, which is quite unique, is 
placed in a variety of situations; but because I once discovered 
one on the ground in the Rectory plantation at Skeffington is 
not conceived an adequate reason for suggesting that that is one 
of its normal situations. We talk glibly enough about the 
absurdity of drawing conclusions from single instances, and yet 
I can never get out of my head reading in some book or other 
intended for the instruction of simple tyros like myself that Nut- 
hatches’ nests were to be looked for in haystacks! I can only 


ORIGINAL SKETCHES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 7 


presume it was thought that to this grotesquely aberrant situation 
for a Nuthatch’s nest—the original of which, by-the-by, is to be 
seen in the South Kensington Museum—the Latin adage ex uno 
disce omnes would most fitly apply. Let all young ornithologists 
be on their guard against the tendency to generalize from a single 
and perhaps exceptional experience. Surely I have some memory 
of a man who once alleged he had shot a Hare at ninety yards, 
and who wrote proclaiming the feat in a well-known journal 
devoted to records of sport, and who argued therefrom that he 
could always kill Hares at ninety yards! Unless I am dreaming, 
the gentleman with the long bow was somewhat roughly handled 
by subsequent critics of both his feat and logic in the same 
journal. The writer once dropped a Grouse dead at ninety 
yards—a cross shot—that had been previously “‘ peppered’’; it 
was a precious fluke, a stray corn just chancing to penetrate the 
brain; but many another has been missed at a third of the 
distance since. It was on the beautiful Kildonan moors, in 
Sutherlandshire, that the shot was made and measured. 

However, the Song-Thrush is my theme. With regard to its 
eggs, the only abnormal-sized varieties 1 have met with have 
invariably been on the small scale. I have also found them on 
rare occasions unspotted, and in one instance, in Herefordshire, 
I took a beautiful clutch of five with blood-red markings upon 
them. The characteristic nest of this species is too well known 
to need my making any reference to it. 


Tue Repwine (Turdus iliacus). 


For a close inspection and prolonged study of the Redwing 
there is hardly a period more suitable than that of frost and 
snow, especially when a heavy fall of the latter has covered the 
ground to the depth of several inches, and the grass of the green 
fields has been hidden from our view for many days. Then it is 
that the poor birds, with their normal food supply cut short, and 
pinched with cold and hunger, draw to the roadside hedges for 
the purpose of feeding on the winter berries which, in mild open 
weather, they apparently set less store by, except on first arrival. 
During a severe spell of weather I have gone close up to as many 
as ten or a dozen in a low bush, their attitude crouching and 
despondent, and they have shown neither fear nor inclination to 


8 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


be gone at my approach. There is some old saying to the effect 
that adversity makes strange bedfellows, and the truth of it 
occurred very forcibly to me when one morning a winter or so 
ago I found some Redwings collected in a thorn-bush by the 
roadside, sitting quite still, and apparently resigned to any fate 
that might overtake them. Noticing a dark and much larger- 
looking object in the same bush, and having my curiosity 
aroused, I went up to it, and discovered that their companion in 
misfortune was a Squirrel. The poor thing, tamed by hunger 
and cold, was as confiding as the Redwings, and seemed to be 
sharing their frugal fare of hips and haws. 

I am of opinion, nevertheless, that this species is able to with- 
stand the occasional severity of our winters much more readily 
than the Fieldfare, owing to its Thrush-like habit of frequenting, 
during hard frosts, hedgerow bottoms, and feeding on snails and 
the pupe of Lepidoptera. Its haunts and habits somewhat 
resemble those of the latter bird, and it arrives in this country 
generally some few days in advance of its equally well-known 
congener. In the autumn of 1894 I saw and heard both species 
for the first time on the same afternoon, viz. October 15th. My 
attention was attracted to the Redwing by its familiar “ wheet 
wheet”’ long before I perceived it, with a companion, perched 
aloft on the dead branch of a tree ina hedgerow. I oppose the 
doctrine that Redwings by nature are exclusively insectivorous, 
and only revert to berries as a last resource ; on their arrival in 
this country they immediately set to work in small flocks on the 
hips and haws, though I admit that later in the year, in open 
weather, they may frequently be seen in the pastures feeding on 
worms and snails and other insects. They frequent the meadows 
by day, and towards the close of the afternoon, just as dusk is 
coming on, may be seen in little straggling parties repairing to 
the shelter of shrubberies and plantations, where they spend the 
night. The Redwing is easily distinguishable from the Song- 
Thrush by a broadish white stripe over the eye, in addition to 
which it is a bird of gregarious habits, which the other is not. 
As an article of food its flesh is considered very delicate— 
*‘ better than the Fieldfare,” I have heard a good judge of things 
edible declare ; but this, of course, must bea matter of individual 
taste. Personally, I should say that a fat Blackbird in the 


ORIGINAL SKETCHES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 9 


autumnal months, well hung and not too long before the fire, 
would run them both very close. 

Touching the vexed point of the Redwing nesting in this 
country, [am aware that it has been reported to have done so 
—indeed, on more than one occasion in my own county—but, 
though such may have been the case, it 1s quite out of the 
question that the mere ipse dixit of, it may be, an anonymous 
correspondent to some paper should be accepted as authoritative 
on the point. Actual and absolute proof of its nest and eggs 
having been obtained in this country has not yet been forth- 
coming, I fancy, and until the birds are killed at the nest and the 
eggs taken, ornithologists will do well to receive with the fullest 
reserve all affirmative statements that have hitherto appeared on 
the subject. It is very easy to make an assertion ; it is another 
matter to prove it. The writer has frequently been girded at as 
being too particular in his wish for indisputable evidence on 
sundry points connected with birds, but he maintains that it is a 
subject on which one cannot possibly be too particular. Only 
consider for a moment what distinguished modern writers on 
ornithology have done with a mass of flimsy and unsupported 
evidence relative to the appearance of this or that rare species in 
this or that part of the kingdom: why, they have rejected it as 
utterly unreliable; and had only a proper test been applied in the 
first instance to communications of the kind, ancient books on the 
subject of birds would have contained far less fiction. 

However, to return to the Redwing. I have had its eggs from 
Norway, and they much resemble small varieties of those of the 
Blackbird, the ground colour being almost entirely hidden by 
tiny streaks, which are evenly distributed over the whole surface. 
It has a sweet pleasing twittering kind of song as I have heard it, 
but I am not at all sure that I have heard the real thing, for the 
reason supplied by the quotation from ‘ A Spring and Summer in 
Lapland.’ ‘‘An Old Bushman” writes :—“‘ Of all the northern 
songsters, perhaps the Redwing stands first on the list, and is 
with justice called the northern Nightingale, for a sweeter song I 
never wish to listen to.” This is enthusiastic writing, which I 
can appreciate without, I regret, being in a position to endorse. 
I can never have heard the Redwing at its best. 


10 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


THe Frevprare (T'urdus ptlaris). 

A bird of passage, and of more than common interest. It 
comes to our shores in the autumn and departs in the spring; 
and, though British nests and eggs have been reported as taken, I 
believe the gravest doubt encircles all such statements. I have 
special reasons for remembering this bird, and I will relate why. 
On two occasions I have publicly recorded observations of its 
existence in this country at what were deemed unusual dates, and 
on both occasions my communications were as publicly called in 
question, and it was insinuated that I had blundered in my 
identification,—in short, had mistaken the Mistle-Thrush for the 
Fieldfare. ‘That such errors are of frequent occurrence with 
those who do not make birds a particular study is, I freely admit, 
beyond question, and consequently there is no reason really why 
an obscure ornithologist like myself should feel hurt at the 
suggestion of such lamentable ignorance. All the same, the fact 
remains that in my own estimation I am just as likely to confuse 
the two species as any two letters of the alphabet. 

In the first case: in ‘The Vertebrate Animals of Leicester- 
shire and Rutland’ I recorded a Fieldfare’s exceptionally early 
appearance at Lowesby on Sept. 2nd, 1877,—it should have been 
printed 1878,—and I am at liberty here to amplify this brief 
notice with a few details, though I would first like to point out 
that in Mr. J. HE. Harting’s edition of ‘The Natural History of 
Selborne’ there is reference to a Fieldfare shot in a garden near 
Kirby Muxloe, in Leicestershire, on July 29th, 1864, and for- 
warded to the editor of ‘The Field’ for examination. It had 
been observed about the garden all the summer. 

With regard to the Fieldfare seen at Lowesby, however, I 
remember the occasion distinctly. A cheery companion and 
friend—alas ! long gone from these scenes—and myself had just 
started out shooting, and we had only got a Jittle distance beyond 
the plantations that fringe the lower side of the Hall, when my 
attention was suddenly arrested by a kind of chuckle with which 
I am infinitely more familiar in mid-winter than during the 
opening days of Partridge-shooting. The chuckle was repeated 
more than once, and in a twinkling I descried a Fieldfare perched 
high up in a lofty tree. I tried to stalk the bird, but it was far 


ORIGINAL SKETCHES OF BRITISH BIRDS. gt 


too wary for me, and just as it took wing, it again uttered that 
well-known laughing cackle, somewhat more briskly this time, 
which I have noticed is a common habit of the species on the 
moment of taking flight. I admit that I was “let down,” so to 
say, very courteously in ‘The Vertebrate Animals of Leicester- 
shire and Rutland,’ but there is no getting away from the fact 
that my note therein is immediately followed by a reference to 
the Mistle-Thrush being frequently mistaken by sportsmen for 
an early arrival of the Fieldfare, so I can draw my own 
conclusions. 

In the second case, I wrote as follows to ‘The Field’: “On 
the afternoon of Oct. 3rd I heard, saw, and could have shot (as 
the one closely pursued the other) two Fieldfares”’; and the 
Editor appended the following note: ‘‘ Although it would not be 
exceptionally early for Fieldfares to arrive, the action described 
points with more probability to the birds in question being 
Mistle-Thrushes, and the more so because there were only two 
of them instead of a small flock.”” This was rebuff number two. 

The latest date I recollect seeing Fieldfares staying in this 
country was on May 12th, 1879. On that morning I walked 
within gunshot of a cluster of five which were winging their way 
northwards, and had settled for a few moments on the top of a 
lofty poplar. With regard to the bird seen on Sept. 2nd, 1878, 
was it a pioneer of others to follow, or was it one that had been 
wounded and passed the summer with us? At all events, there 
seemed nothing wrong with its flight or general appearance when 
I was gazing at it. 

I have found this species roosting in tall thick hedges, but 
generally on the ground, and frequently in the furrows in the 
open fields, for I have two or three times walked nearly on to the 
top of them after 10 p.m. on dark nights; they cannot even then 
resist a chuckle when thus disturbed. I think, though, the more 
common roosting-place is on the ground in small woods and 
plantations, and, after wheeling about for some time in a flock, 
first alighting on one tall tree and then taking a flight and 
settling on another, they will finally descend on the point of dusk 
to the lower trees,—ash-pole spinneys being especially favoured 
haunts at this hour. After resting for a few moments in the 
branches, the birds drop silently down in quick succession to the 


12 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


shelter and concealment afforded by the brushwood and under- 
srowth, and so bivouac for the night. I have been reminded that 
Mr. Seebohm, in a most delightful chapter on the Fieldfare, 
writes :—‘“‘ Instances are alleged of these birds having been 
flushed from the stubbles or the pastures at dusk; but this is 
the Fieldfare’s feeding-hour; and if shrubberies be near at hand, 
it is there they spend the night.”” This is a decided expression 
of opinion, and comes from a great authority; but though Field- 
fares may feed at dusk, a statement I venture to question, I 
doubt their doing so between the hours of ten and eleven at 
night, at which time, I repeat, I have often disturbed them from 
the open grass fields. 

Nevertheless, it is one thing to detect the slips and question 
the statements of previous writers, to whom we all owe so much; 
quite another to write a book; and I can only trust that any 
criticisms of mine, wherever they may appear, will not be regarded 
as written in a captious, cavilling spirit. I am too well aware 
that many of my predecessors, in whose footsteps I am humbly 
and laboriously treading, have forgotten more than I can ever 
hope to know. 

It is, of course, notorious that this species frequently breeds 
in large colonies. I have had its eggs from Norway, and was 
much struck by their resemblance to plain as well as handsome 
eggs of the Blackbird and the Ring-Ousel, with which, I should 
imagine, they may very easily be confounded at times by even 
expert oologists. Fieldfares have little knowledge of economy, 
otherwise they would better husband their resources in the 
matter of food supply. They will strip bushes of hips and haws 
in open weather when an insectivorous diet would prove equally 
sustaining, and then when a spell of frost and snow is over the 
country and there is nothing to be extracted from the fields, the 
produce of the hedges which has been prematurely attacked is 
liable to run short. 

I have dwelt at some length on this species, as it is both 
well-known and a favourite. In short, what the Swallow is to 
the spring, the Fieldfare is to the autumn,—they each in turn 
serve to mark an epoch in time’s revolving wheel. 


ORIGINAL SKETCHES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 13 


Tue Buackpirp (T'urdus merula). 


As a songster this species stands high in my regard, and, 
though the statement may be treated as open to question, I am 
not at all sure that every lover of birds is able to discriminate 
between its notes and those of the Song-Thrush. This, however, 
by the way. It breeds early in the spring, and yet in actual 
priority of date yields, to my thinking, to such well-known birds 
as the Mistle-Thrush, Song-Thrush, Long-tailed Tit, and one or 
two others. At all events, though there may be very little in 
it,—a distinction without much of a difference, perhaps,—I! have 
noticed that the earliest nests which meet my eye as year succeeds 
year are never those of the Blackbird. 

It would be superfluous to waste time on a discussion of the 
nidification of so common a species, for its nest and eggs fall an 
easy prey to every roving lad, while, in addition, there is scarcely 
a book on the birds of these islands which does not thoroughly 
deal with the question. Though the sites chosen for building 
purposes exhibit an infinite and varied assortment, there is an 
uniformity about the eggs which is sadly disappointing to the 
ornithologist, always on the look-out for abnormal coloured 
specimens. Nevertheless, I have on occasions taken some most 
richly-marked eggs, approximating to the handsomest type of 
those of the Ring-Ousel; and in two consecutive years at the 
same spot in the same hedge I found nests containing five and 
four eggs respectively, the bold markings of which I have never 
seen equalled, certainly not surpassed. I mention this case, 
however, as much with a view of drawing attention to how 
addicted most birds are to repairing year after year to the same 
haunts for rearing their young, as to show how the particular 
type of an egg laid by any species may be pretty confidently 
looked for again. Because I quote only a single instance, I am 
not generalising from it alone; I have had proof in plenty of 
what I say. 

The unspotted variety of egg is, I believe, not uncommon, 
though I have only once met with it, and that was near to 
Mortimer’s Cross, in Herefordshire, in the year 1888. ‘The bird 
was on the nest, which was placed in a thorn-bush on the brink 
of the river Lugg; it contained four fresh eggs of a pale apple- 


14 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


green colour, which I transferred without a pang to my collection, 
and which are frequently pointed at as “‘Starling’s” when the 
contents of my cabinet are on view to friends and acquaintances. 
I believe it was Pope who wrote “A little knowledge is a danger- 
ous thing,”’ and I shall make bold to add, “‘ especially where birds’ 
eggs are concerned.” My ill-success in not meeting with more 
specimens of this unspotted variety does not arise from slackness 
or laziness, as I never pass a Blackbird’s nest without inspecting 
its contents. Boys who meditate purchasing the eggs of Field- 
fares and Ring-Ousels will do well to be on their guard, as 
they bear a strong family likeness to those of the species under 
discussion. 

Blackbirds are somewhat prone to rearing a second brood in 
the same nest, and I have known less than a week elapse between 
the departure of the young and the laying of fresh eggs. In the 
spring of 1883 a pair of these birds possessed themselves of a 
vacated Mistle-Thrush’s nest for their second brood, and brought 
them off successfully. The earliest recorded date I have of an 
egg is March 16th, 1885. 

Pied varieties are occasionally met with; my youngest brother 
shot a lovely bird at Plumtree, near Nottingham, the black and 
white feathers being most evenly apportioned. But, in this 
connection, it was my own star that was destined to be in the 
ascendant on Oct. 19th, 1893, on which date I was staying with 
my friend Captain Quintin Dick at Hinton St. George, in 
Somersetshire, he having taken Lord Poulett’s extensive shoot- 
ings thereabout on a lease. A strong contingent of us had just 
commenced warfare on the Partridges in a large field of turnips, 
when I espied a white bird skimming away over the tops of them 
in front of the ‘“‘ gun” on my left, who happened to be my host. 
I heard him say sharply to one of the keepers, ‘‘ What the deuce 
is that ?”; and, though simultaneously I fairly screamed “‘ Shoot, 
shoot!” the bird was quickly out of range, and the responsive 
‘‘bang, bang,” came too late to be effective. As luck would have 
it, however, there were a brace of birds not picked when’ we 
reached the boundary hedge, for the turnips were of tremendous 
growth, and, as some little delay appeared inevitable, Capt. Dick 
very goodnaturedly let me go off in pursuit of this rara avis, an 
under-keeper accompanying me, as apparently my only chance of 


ORIGINAL SKETCHES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 15 


securing a shot was to lie in ambush, and have it driven towards 
me. For half an hour it led us a pretty dance, and we repeatedly 
had to change our tactics; and, though I felt I did not want to 
set eyes on another Partridge until I had “bagged” my own 
particular bird, I must confess to feeling considerable qualms of 
conscience all the time as to what the rest of the “guns” would 
think of my desertion and apparent wild-goose—alias, white 
blackbird—chase. However, the end occasionally justifies the 
means, as it did in this instance; for, just as I was on the point 
of abandoning the pursuit as hopeless, the bird proving as 
averse to being driven as stalked, I chanced a snap-shot at what 
at the moment of firing I thought quite a prohibitive range, and 
down it came,—a prodigious fluke, yes, I freely admit,—a stray 
corn having severed its pinion-bone, and probably not another 
gone near it. A more beautiful bird of the kind I have never 
seen, and, though a similar specimen in the South Kensington 
Museum runs it hard, I prefer the one | was lucky enough to kill 
at Hinton St. George. 

It is possible that someone or other will be found to blame 
me for what I have recorded in the light rather of a triumph—I 
deemed it one on the spur of the moment; but, though highly 
disapproving of the indiscriminate and senseless slaughter of 
rare species that might breed in greater numbers with us if left 
unmolested, I do not see that the capture of an abnormal-coloured 
Blackbird deserves reprobation, and especially when it was a 
marked bird, and the hand of almost every dweller in the district 
was against it. Indeed, considering the persecution it underwent, 
the wonder to me is that it managed to escape its doom for such 
a lengthened period. Had it been one of a pair of Golden 
Orioles nesting in the spring of the year in Kent, let us say, my 
action would have been most properly denounced as reprehensible 
in the highest degree. It is not after this manner, I have pre- 
sence of mind enough to know, that the cause of Natural History 
is best aided. However, it is far from my intention to offer an 
elaborate apology for what I did, and should probably do again 
to-morrow if I had the opportunity; ‘‘ collectors never know 
remorse, and seldom feel regret,’ and I am quite sure all my 
plunderings have not done one ten-thousandth part of the damage 
which a contrary wind inflicts at migration time. 


16 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


The keeper on whose beat the white Blackbird was shot 
assured me that he had never seen it with a mate, and that he 
did not believe it had nested during the two years he had noticed 
it about the district. Such evidence as this is, of course, not 
conclusive on the point, though I think it extremely probable 
that his conjecture was right. Had it paired and assisted in the 
rearing of a brood, surely some of the young would have been 
abnormally marked, and, in this case, he would have observed 
them on his daily rounds. A young and intelligent gamekeeper 
would let very little escape his eye. 

A word about pied Blackbirds, which, to my mind, are more 
subject to variations of plumage than any other species. I have 
seen it stated—I cannot say where, for I read pages and pages 
on the subject of birds almost daily —that the white feathers turn 
in time to black, and that even in the case of albinos nature in 
due course resumes her sway; the argument being that, if such 
were not the case, we should be continually meeting with ab- 
normal-coloured species. Again, some other writer has recorded 
his conviction that albinos never revert to the normal plumage, 
and that natural white feathers always remain white; but that 
when resulting from disease they will resume the proper colours 
at the moulting period. The cause of preternatural plumage in 
birds need not be gone into here, but my impression 1s—once 
white or pied, almost always white or pied; while I view with 
some little incredulity the contention that disease is accountable 
for some of our pied birds, and that when they resume their 
normal health they also resume their ordinary plumage. What 
evidence is there in support of this? Surely it is more or less 
assumption? It is impossible to decide offhand about disease in ~ 
a bird, especially when it is at large; while the few pied Black-~ 
birds I have known kept in cages have never reverted to the 
normal colouring after moulting, although I have heard tell of an — 
instance or two to the contrary. Of course, the obvious retort to 
this would be that none of them owed their white feathers to 
disease. So be it. 

I have on a few occasions found six eggs in nests of this 
species, but five and four are more commonly met with, while it 
is quite the exception for a clutch to be represented by less than 
the last-named number. 


ORIGINAL SKETCHES OF BRITISH BIRDS. ae 


There is one feature in the life-history of the Blackbird on 
which I have not commented, but to which I should like to just 
cursorily allude before bringing this particular sketch to a close. 
I refer to a tendency on the part of individual birds to indulge 
in mimicry; and though it has been very seldom indeed that I 
have without shadow of misgiving detected one uttering notes 
that were alien to the species, I met with a very noteworthy 
instance—quite recently in the Bala district—of a Blackbird 
copying the notes of a Curlew. ‘I'he imitator sang from the 
Same eminence on several consecutive afternoons during the 
month of May in 1895, and, though the reproduction of the 
borrowed tones was not so true to the original as that essayed 
by many a Starling in the same locality, it was impossible to 
close one’s ears to the fact that for once in a way I had made the 
acquaintance of a Blackbird that not only took delight in mim- 
icry, but modelled its refrain on the lines of that of which it had 
almost daily experience. 

It may well be that the tuneful lay of the Blackbird is com- 
menced at different seasons in different parts of the country,—I 
mean that the species will probably be heard in full song some 
days earlier in the spring of the year in a southern county like 
Hampshire, for instance, than in the more northerly regions of 
the British Islands. Considerations of this kind may not un- 
naturally be held to detract from the value of any given date 
respecting the first heard song of any particular species; but, as 
a comparative guide to my brother field-naturalists who take 
pleasure in noting the humblest details where birds are concerned, 
I may incidentally observe that I have never heard the Blackbird 

/ at the zenith of his musical powers in Leicestershire previously 

‘ to February 20th, nor, I may add, the Chaffinch previously to 
February 19th. In this connection, however, much will obviously 
depend on the atmospheric conditions prevailing from year to 
year. 


Zool. 4th ser. vol. ILI., January, 1899 C 


18 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


EARLY MAN IN BRITAIN. 
SPURIOUS FLINT IMPLEMENTS. 


By W. G. CuaARKE. 


THe making of spurious flint implements is an industry by 
no means confined to the last few years. Practically as soon as 
it was found that the evidences of man’s handiwork from the 
river gravels of England had a marketable value, men skilled in 
flint-knapping began to make imitations of them, ‘“ Flint Jack”’ 
especially obtaining notoriety for the skill with which he imitated 
prehistoric weapons. Ata meeting of the Norfolk and Norwich 
Archeologists’ Society in 1861, Mr. Pengelly stated that he knew 
there were some clever people in the neighbourhood of Caistor 
who could make ancient flint knives. And when the Suffolk 
Institute of Archeology met at Thetford in 1866, one of the 
workmen excavating gravel told the members that if they but 
gave him a few days’ notice prior to their next visit he could 
procure as many implements for them as they wished. Need 
one doubt that he looked for assistance to the skilled knappers 
at Brandon? The natives of Hast Anglia do not as a rule try to 
sell spurious bronze or iron weapons to the unsuspecting arche- 
ologist: they limit their operations to imitations of flint imple- 
ments. Rusty horse-shoe nails have, however, been offered me 
as iron spear-heads; and an egg-spoon that had been buried 
about ten years relegated to the Lake-dwellers. But in these 
cases the false descriptions were made through ignorance, and 
not of deliberate purpose as is the case with many of those who 
sell spurious flint implements. The district is so noted, and is 
visited by so many archeologists in search of flint imple- 
ments, that there are unrivalled opportunities of foisting off 
forged specimens as genuine antiques. The Brandon knappers, 
with their marvellous inherited skill and constant practice in 
making gunflints, turn out specimens of prehistoric arrow-heads 


EARLY MAN IN BRITAIN. 19 


and axes that might deceive even the elect. It is probable that 
this little Suffolk town turns out more modern imitations of 
ancient flint implements than does all the rest of England. One 
collector, to prevent deception, made it a condition of purchase 
that he should himself see the finding of the implements. This 
was all very well; but anyone that has tried it knows that this 
searching is a wearisome occupation, and the results are by no 
means always commensurate with the time employed. What did 
the knappers do then but manufacture their arrow-heads, and 
bury them overnight in certain marked spots. And how could 
the worthy antiquary have any suspicions when he saw the 
implements turned up before his eyes. Not long ago a certain 
landowner in Suffolk offered a premium for each flint implement 
found upon his estate. ‘They came in units at longer or shorter 
intervals, until one of the men hit upon the happy expedient of 
buying the modern implements at a cheap rate and then selling 
them to his master, a course which he will doubtless pursue 
until that day when “‘ comes the reck’ning, the dreadful reck’ning, 
and men smile no more.”’ 

Of late years there has been quite a revival in the manufacture 
of spurious implements in north-west Suffolk, and undoubtedly 
those turned out are beautiful specimens of the knapper’s art. In 
fact they are too beautiful and perfect. Rarely indeed do we find 
an arrow-head, for instance, that was discarded or lost thousands 
of years ago, quite perfect. Hither the point, the stem, or one of 
the barbs is damaged. But these modern implements are mathe- 
matically correct, with never a chip in the wrong place. The 
friction of the sand and the action of the atmosphere always 
causes a polish on the ancient implements, and to effect this on 
the modern implements, which are somewhat dull on being first 
chipped, they are buried for some weeks in hot sand, and care is 
taken when they are removed to leave some of this adhering. 
And when you express doubts as to the genuineness of the 
implements, the vendors triumphantly point out the soil which 
still adheres. Polishing with rags is also one of the methods of 
imparting an antiquated appearance to a spurious implement, 
and the process is more rapid than that of the hot sand. 

There is more often than not a middleman between the 


knapper and the coliector. He obtains the name of the latter 
c2 


20 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


from some scientific directory, and offers to send some im- 
plements on approval. Some of them may be genuine; a few 
are almost bound to be spurious. If asked to guarantee the 
latter as genuine, the middleman will not do so, but will guarantee 
that they came from a certain town or village, the Suffolk men 


Spurious Flint Arrow-heads. 


working chiefly from Brandon, Lakenheath, Eriswell, and Mil- 
denhall. From 5s. 6d. to half-a-crown is generally asked for 
these arrow-heads; but, should the archeologist know them to 
be forged, one shilling or even sixpence will be taken, which is © 
by no means dear, when it is considered that oftentimes two or — 
three hours’ skilled labour is involved in their production. As 
many as ten varieties of spurious arrow-heads are made, the most 
common types being leaf-shaped and barbed, the latter forming an 
almost perfect equilateral triangle. The workmanship is, asa rule, 
extremely beautiful. Mr. Frank Norgate, of Bury St. Edmunds, has 
some splendid specimens which he himself made. A bluish-white 


EARLY MAN IN BRITAIN. 21 


coating to denote age is sometimes obtained by boiling the im- 
plement for weeks in a kettle, and then polishing on a polishing 
wheel, of course removing the distinctive character of the ridges. 
The greater proportion of these arrow-heads are made of French 
flint, yellow and semitransparent. 


| 
Spurious Flint Axes: chipped ones of flint; unchipped, of plaster. 


‘Scrapers are very rarely made. Genuine ones are so common 
in the district as to render imitations unprofitable. I have a 
spurious flint dagger in my possession, which would deceive none 
but the veriest novice. Chipped axes are, next to arrow-heads, 
the implements most frequently manufactured. As they command 
good prices and are somewhat difficult of detection, their disposal 
to enthusiastic and unsuspicious collectors is a remunerative 
calling. A spurious Neolithic axe of grey opaque flint, ground 
and polished, was offered to a friend of the writer by a Brandon 
workman. It was stated to have been found in a gravel pit at a 
depth of twenty feet! It is worthy of remembrance that gum is 


22 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


of material assistance in making a good polished surface. Lan- 
ceolate knives, partaking more of the character of the Danish 
Specimens, are also most successfully worked. 

The latest development of the spurious implement trade, 
however, is probably that by which ground and polished Neolithic 
axes are made of plaster. The seat of this industry is somewhat 
uncertain. The implements are remarkably well made of a plaster 
composition, cleverly coloured and coated with gum, and are 
difficult of detection if one is unsuspicious. A request to the 
would-be vendor to be allowed to cut the article in question will 
generally elicit an indignant denial, and thus open the eyes of the 
purchaser. ‘These plaster axes have been offered for sale in the 
Suffolk villages of Hriswell, Brandon, and Lakenheath. Glass 
arrow-heads may also be purchased at Brandon; but few col- 
lectors would view these otherwise than as modern curiosities ; 
and it is doubtful if (as has been suggested) collectors could be 
found who would purchase them as American weapons. 

I am also informed, although without personal experience of 
the fact, that Paleolithic implements and weapons are made in 
Stoke Newington, and passed round among the labourers wherever 
excavations are going on. It is also stated that even the British 
Museum authorities have been deceived by some of these imple- 
ments, so perfectly are they made. As specimens of a modern 
industry which is fast dying out, these spurious implements have 
a certain interest; but their value in furthering our knowledge 
of prehistoric man is of course nothing, and collectors would 
therefore do well to be on their guard. 

The writer must express his indebtedness to Mr. F. N. 
Haward, of Chelmsford, for some of the foregoing information. 


( 23 ) 


VARYING FECUNDITY IN BIRDS. 
By W. Storrs Fox, M.A. 


In a very interesting article in the December number of 
‘The Zoologist, Mr. Basil Davies attempts to explain why 
some species of birds lay more eggs than others. Personally I 
feel grateful to him for suggesting this enquiry, and for the 
reasons he assigns for the remarkable diversity in the number of 
eggs laid by different species. If, therefore, I criticise to some 
extent the theory which he propounds, I hope that it will be un- 
derstood that I do so in no unfriendly spirit. 

Mr. Davies compares the reproduction of birds and mammals. 
He says: “ Birds feel it their duty not only to produce a certain 
number of offspring each year, but also to bring a certain number 
to maturity.’ To illustrate this he compares the Cat and the 
Nightingale. The former breeds at stated periods whether you 
destroy her offspring or not; but the latter at once prepares to 
produce a second brood if the first is destroyed. The truth is 
that the main object of every organism is to reproduce itself. 
Each species has its own method of bringing this about. The 
Cat provides for the peopling of the world by future Cats as 
thoroughly as the Nightingale provides against the extermination 
of its kind. These facts are familiar to us, but it is not easy to 
explain them. Under natural conditions the Indian Elephant 
does not become exterminated, nor the Brown Rat exceed certain 
limits. On the one hand, with the former the period of gestation 
is about nineteen months, and rarely is more than one produced 
at a birth (Roy. Nat. Hist. vol. il. p. 536; Darwin estimated 
that though a pair might live to be one hundred years old, their 
offspring would probably average only six, ‘ Origin of Species,’ 
@th edit. p. 51); whereas the Rat bears “four or five times in 
the year from four to ten blind and naked young, which are in 
their turn able to breed at an age of about six months, the time 
of gestation being about twenty days” (Flower and Lydekker’s 


24 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


‘Mammals,’ p. 475). The immense number of eggs laid by some 
fish, and the amazingly rapid increase of some lowly animals, are 
well-known facts. Each species has its own place in nature, and 
produces sufficient offspring to keep that place filled. But how 
this is regulated is another matter. We are sure that individuals 
are quite unconscious and regardless of the requirements of their 
species. Probably the food-supply itself is the chief factor, 
increasing fertility in times of plenty, and checking it in times 
of scarcity. 

With birds is it not mainly the food-supply which confines 
the breeding to-a certain season ? Can it be supposed that our 
insectivorous summer visitants usually nest only once in the 
season because they feel that the time for migration is approach- 
ing, and a second nest is therefore useless? I understand Mr. 
Davies to suggest this. These birds leave us partly because the 
supply of insect-food is running short, and partly because a 
mighty impulse drives them to go. But they cannot be conscious 
weeks beforehand that the time for their departure is drawing 
near. If Finches as a rule go in for a second family, I would 
suggest two possible reasons, though I do so with diffidence, for 
I feel that I have not sufficient data as evidence for them. (1) Do 
not our resident Finches as a rule begin to nest earlier than the 
migratory Warblers, and so get the start of them? (2) If the 
particular food needed for feeding young birds is decreasing, the 
parent Finches can provide their own sustenance in the form of 
seeds, and so they will not need to draw upon the insect-food to 
such an extent as Warblers. Moreover, young Finches soon 
become capable of digesting seed. Nature as a whole keeps 
those numbers under control. 

I take the rules which Mr. Davies gives to amount to this :— 
Every individual does what it can to produce offspring, and to 
increase the number of its species. We can only suppose that it 
is quite unconscious of what it 1s doing. 

Now, as to the number of eggs laid by Finches and Warblers. 
Mr. Davies gives five as the average clutch; and then proceeds to 
show why this is the only suitable number. I cannot agree with 
him that a hen of small size could not well lay more than five. As he 
himself states, Tits may lay very many more. It seems probable, 
however, that the number may be limited by the catering powers 


VARYING FECUNDITY IN BIRDS. 25 


of the parents, and certainly by the covering capabilities of the 
sitting hen. Mr. Davies allows that the food-supply may affect 
the parents, for he says that the number of eggs is often less when 
insect food is not abundant. And, again, he gives as a reason for 
the two broods of Finches, &c., that ‘‘it is necessary for them to 
produce eight or ten of their kind in a season to aid in killing off 
from the cultivated lands the vast swarms of insects to which the 
summer has given birth;”’ which means that where the supply of 
insects is great there will be plenty of birds to prey upon them. 
But this ought to apply equally to the Warblers, &c. 

Mr. Davies proceeds to give reasons why in one family of 
birds the usual number of eggs laid by the species of that family 
is large; whereas in another family the reverse is true. With 
regard to Game Birds, he suggests that the large number of eggs 
is to meet a large amount of destruction. It seems to me that 
not only with Game Birds, but with all birds, this is the secret of 
a larger or smailer number of eggs. Darwin wrote: ‘“ The Fulmar 
Petrel lays but one egg, yet itis believed to be the most nume- 
rous bird in the world” (‘ Origin,’ p. 52).* And I should suppose 
that the causes which controlled the average numbers of eggs of 
different species were—(1) the supply of food; (2) the number of 
enemies; (3) the power of self-defence or escape. 

It is not possible to accept some of Mr. Davies’ reasons. For 
instance, he supposes that the Nightjar lays two eggs, because 
several gaping young birds would be a conspicuous object. As 
they only gape after dusk, no number of them would be con- 
spicuous. I know no object less conspicuous than a Nightjar 
covering its young or eggs. 

Again, is not the reason for the single egg of the Guillemot 
to be looked for in the special defences of this bird rather than 
in the shape of the egg? No doubt this shape is a protection. 
If Guillemots’ eggs were shaped like those of most birds, very 
few would be hatched. But the one egg is laid in a place of com- 
parative safety, and the bird itself is quick on the wing and an 
apt diver, and for part of the year lives far from land, and so is 
probably less subject than most birds to attacks of foes. 


* Mr. A. R. Wallace has thus modified this statement :—‘‘ The Fulmar 
Petrel exists in myriads at St. Kilda and other haunts of the species, yet it 
lays only one egg.” (‘ Darwinism,’ p. 30). 


26 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Though Pigeons only lay two eggs, they produce several 
broods in the year, : 

But the number of eggs in a clutch does not only vary in 
different families or different species, but in different individuals 
of the same species. This is clearly shown in books on birds, 
where a varying number of eggs is nearly always given in the 
account of a species. I take this variation to be the result of— 
(1) the abundance or otherwise of the food-supply; (2) the age of 
the hen. But there are curious local conditions which are difficult 
to explain. For instance, Mr. Howard Saunders, in his ‘ Manual,’ 
gives the number of a Jackdaw’s eggs as four to six. But years 
ago I was birdsnesting in East Yorkshire and found two Jack- 
daws’ nests each containing seven eggs. Whereas in North 
Derbyshire I have examined numbers of their nests, and have 
never found more than four eggs or young birds in any one of 
them. Also in the same district, with one exception, I have 
always found four eggs as the clutch of the Dabchick; but in the 
‘Manual’ the clutch is given as four to six. 

A most interesting example of the effect of food-supply upon 
the number of eggs of individuals is be found in the official 
‘“ Report on the Vole Plague in Scotland in 1889-1892.” At 
that time the Short-eared Owl, which had hitherto been a rare 
breeding species there, became a common one, many of these 
birds laying ten to thirteen eggs; whereas six is the ordinary 
clutch. Moreover, in some cases there were second broods.* 

Should Mr. Davies or others wish for another interesting 
study in connection with birds and their eggs, Iam sure that 
they would find the meaning of colours an engrossing subject. 

* No attempt is here made to discuss the relation of fertility to length of 
life. We are at present considering what are those factors which tend to 
limit or increase productiveness in birds. But length of life does not affect 
their egg-bearing powers; though the converse of this is probably true. 
Roughly, it may be said that the number of eggs laid by a species corresponds 
to the amount of destruction to which it is subjected. But it must be re- 
membered that such destruction—by starvation, epidemics, or enemies—is 
more or less a fixed quantity, and therefore is not accidental so far as the 
species is concerned, though with regard to the individual it may seem to be 
so (cf. Weismann’s ‘ Essay on the Duration of Life,’ p.11). If for a time 
more than the average numbers of a species are destroyed by enemies, the 
quantity of food per head will necessarily increase, and the birds of that 
species will become temporarily more fertile, as a result of more liberal 
feeding. But, should such additional destruction become a normal and per- 


manent condition, it may be essential that the lives of the individuals of the 
species be prolonged, in order that the species may avoid extinction, 


( 27 ) 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


MAMMALIA. 
RODENTIA. 


Climbing Powers of the Long-tailed Field Mouse.— During autumn 
and early winter Long-tailed Field Mice (Mus sylvaticus) eat the kernels 
of wild rose seeds in large numbers. To obtain the hips, the Mice climb 
among the briers, often travelling to the extremities of slender twigs in 
order to reach the fruit. The hips are nipped off with about a quarter of 
an inch of stalk attached, and if there be a bird’s nest within easy reach are 
invariably taken to it. A search in the leafless hedgerows will result in the 
finding of many nests which the Mice have used. A Thrush’s or Black- 
bird’s is perhaps the favourite, but, failing this, a Hedge-Sparrow’s or Green- 
finch’s, or even the fragile structure of a Whitethroat will serve. The Mice 
do not eat the fruit itself, but extract the seeds through a hole nibbled in 
the side, and, gnawing these with their chisel-like teeth, obtain the kernels. 
The empty seeds are left with the red pulp of the fruit, and I have seen 
piled up in a Thrush’s nest as much of this débris as would fill a quart 
measure. In the neighbourhood of Alderley Edge I trapped several Long- 
tailed Field Mice in birds’ nests last November—one of them in a Green- 
finch’s nest more than seven feet from the ground. The stomachs of those 
I examined were filled with a whitish mass of finely comminuted kernels, 
one containing in addition a small fragment of red fruit. It would appear 
that birds’ nests are resorted to not merely on account of their convenient 
proximity to the growing fruit, for husks of acorns which must have been 
carried from the ground are sometimes present among the hips. A further 
reason may be that the Mice, when feeding in the nests, are comparatively 
Secure from the attacks of their many enemies. — CHARLES OLDHAM 
(Alderley Edge). 


AVES. 


Flock of Crossbills at Yeovil, Somerset.—I received on Dec. 17th, 
from Mr. E. Little, gun manufacturer, of Yeovil, six Crossbills (Lowia 
curvirostra), shot from a large flock on Dec. 15th by a local farmer. Three 
of them were too much damaged to allow of preservation. — STanLey 
Lewis (Wells, Somerset). 


28 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Crossbill in North Wales.— Under date Dec. 7th, Mr. Arthur C. 
Parker forwarded an adult male of this species (Loaia curvirostra) from 
Bettws-y-coed for identification. He says “there are more cocks than 
hens, and the birds have now been hereabout three weeks.” Subsequently 
Mr. Parker informed me the flock is only a small one, and that unfortu- 
nately many of its members have been wantonly destroyed. To the best 
of my knowledge, the last incursion of these birds in North Wales occurred 
in December, 1887; but a flock of them was seen in Delamere Forest, 
Cheshire, at the end of 1889. — Rospert NewsrEap (Grosvenor Museum, 
Chester). 


Nesting of the Goshawk in Yorkshire.— A beautiful fully adult 
female Goshawk (Astur palumbarius) has recently* been presented to the 
Norwich Castle Museum, which was shot at its nest a few days before the 
13th of May, 1893, by Mr. W. M. Frank, a keeper on an estate at 
Westerdale, Grosmont, Yorkshire. Mr. Frank states that the nest, which 
contained four fresh eggs, was placed on the branch of a slender spruce-fir 
near the trunk, and about twenty feet from the ground. It was very large 
and flat, and the bird was very wild and difficult to get a shot at; he had 
to build a shelter of boughs to hide in, and enticed her by imitating her 
cry. Whether she had a mate, Mr. Frank is unable to state with certainty ; 
he is under the impression that she had, but he did not see two birds 
together. Two of the eggs were sent to the Norwich Museum with the 
bird, but the other two are lost or broken. The Goshawk is in the present 
day one of the rarest of its family in eastern England, and in mature 
plumage so seldom met with that I only know of a single individual which 
has been procured in Norfolk, perhaps the county most favoured by its 
visits ; and since the instance reported by Colonel ‘Thornton, who received 
a nestling from the forest of Rothiemurchus “ prior to 1804,” I believe 
there is no authentic instance of its having bred in Great Britain, although 
it has been suspected of having done so. That this bird is not a more 
frequent visitor to this country is perhaps a matter of surprise, seeing that 
it is a common species in Central Europe, Germany, and Scandinavia, and 
there are still many apparently suitable localities for its nesting should it 
show an inclination to do so; but whether it would escape the attentions 
of the ubiquitous gamekeeper in such an event is very doubtful. Mr. 
Headley Noble, who was instrumental in bringing this interesting occur- 
rence to light, suggests that the bird may have been an escaped trained 
Falcon, arguing from the facts that one bird only was seen, that the eggs 
were quite fresh, and that the bird was mutilated by the loss of a toe. As 
to the first suggestion, it has been stated by Mr. Frank that he was by no 


* Note received Dec. 6th, 1898.—Eb. 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 29 


means certain that there was not a male bird—in fact, he remained till 
dark, after shooting the female, expecting its arrival, and spent the two 
following days in the wood with the same object, and suggests that the fact 
of there being several people working round the wood (a very small one) 
might have scared it away. As to the eggs being quite fresh, he says he 
did not allow the bird time to sit before shooting her. Mr. Noble’s third 
reason—should the bird be an escape—may be of importance as a means of 
identification. The claw of one of the toes of the left foot is broken, which 
may have been done by shot, and the inner toe of the right foot is missing, 
evidently an old injury, as the stump is quite healed. Should such a bird 
have been missed about the time named, I hope this feature may recall it 
to the memory of its former owner. ‘The question arises, would a trained 
Falcon, on obtaining its liberty, construct a nest and lay its complement of 
eggs unaccompanied by a mate? A female Goshawk has produced eggs in 
Mr. Gurney’s aviary, but of course under circumstances which were not 
favourable to the construction of a nest. Prof. Newton, however, has 
called attention to a very interesting passage in Gairdner’s edition of the 
‘Paston Letters’ (see Lubbock’s ‘ Fauna of Norfolk,’ edition 1879, p. 225), 
which shows that these trained Falcons were so far sedentary in their 
habits that, provided the locality were suitable, a liberated bird might be 
expected to remain and nest. John Paston, writing to his brother in 
November, 1472, laments that a Goshawk sent him was so injured in 
transit that “she shall never serve but to lay egges.” He therefore pro- 
poses to “ cast hyr in Thorpe wood and a tarsell with hyr,” that she might 
“eyer.” This seems to indicate not only that the breeding of the Goshawk 
in the extensive woods which at that date surrounded the city of Norwich 
was not an unlooked-for event, but also, as Prof. Newton remarks, that the 
writer had some experience of a similar case; it will be noticed, however, 
that he proposed to supply her with a “ tarsell.".—TuHomas SourHwELL 
(Norwich). 


Flamingo in Merionethshire.—Early in October last my brother, Mr. 
M.H. E. Haigh, wrote to me stating that, aftera heavy gale from the south 
on the 26th and 27th of September, he had seen, on the 28th, a large bird on 
the estuary known as the ‘ Traeth-bach,” which, from his description, I had 
no doubt was a Flamingo (Phenicopterus roseus). I was, however, unable 
to come down until the 20th of October, and on the following day 
succeeded in shooting the bird. It was excessively wild, rising, as a rule, 
nearly a quarter of a mile off, and flying round the estuary in large circles 
for quite twenty minutes each time it was put up. We finally got a shot 
at about ninenty yards with a heavy shoulder gun by allowing the boat to 
drift with the tide. It was in good condition, and showed no sign of 


30 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


having been in captivity. The beak was flesh-coloured at the base and 
black at the point ; eyes brownish yellow, legs and feet bright pink. After 
being skinned the carcase was examined by Mr. Cordeaux, who tells me 
that it was excessively fat. The stomach contained nothing but fine gravel ; 
the bird was, however, shot very early in the morning. —C. H. Caton 
Haicux (Aber-ia, Penrhyndeudraeth, Merionethshire, North Wales). 


Scoters in South Hants (?).—Every Hampshire naturalist must have 
read with astonishment the statement made by Mr. Percival-Westell 
(‘ Zoologist,’ 1898, p. 505) as regards Scoters (Gidemia nigra) being 
common in Hayling Island and the Isle of Wight “all the year round, so 
doubtless breed there.” Indeed a ‘‘record” for Hampshire. But, alas! 
the writer gave away his case when he said they were called ‘Isle of Wight 
Parsons,” for, as it is well known, that is the local name for the Common 
Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo). Moreover, the Scoter is a very rapid 
flying bird, and never “lazily wings” its way. We have the best authority 
for saying that the Scoter is very rarely—if ever—in the south of Hants 
in the summer, and we are doubtful whether there is any record of its 
breeding here.—ALEc GoLpNEY HEaD ey (Portchester, Hants). 


Nesting Habits of the Moorhen.—In the last number of ‘ The Zoolo- 
gist (1898, p. 506) there appears a note asking for the results of observa- 
tions by other ornithologists of the nesting habits of Gallinula chloropus. 
In my own experience as a collector I never found the eggs of this species 
covered during the absence of the parent birds—in fact, in every case the 
eggs could be seen as soon as the nest was discovered. [I remember a nest 
which I found in a small pit near here on April 29th, 1898, containing a 
full clutch of eggs. Although the eggs were boldly marked, and both nest 
and eggs perfectly visible from the bank, there was not the slightest attempt 
at concealment by covering them up. A few weeks later I came suddenly 
upon a pair of Moorhens in a small pit at Ashley, Cheshire. The birds, 
one of which I saw quite distinctly before it saw me, flew away, and I at 
once searched for the nest, which I found quite exposed on the opposite side 
of the pit to which I had seen the parent birds. As there were only two 
eggs in it, and not a full clutch, perhaps this latter instance does not furnish 
sufficient data on which to found an opinion; but I think other ornitholo- 
gists will agree with me that at any rate in miany cases the eggs of the 
Moorhen are left uncovered.— GraHam RensHaw (Sale Bridge House, 
Sale, Manchester). 

I notice in the last issue of ‘The Zoologist,’ 1898, p. 506, a note by 
Mr. Hewitt on the nidification of the Moorhen, and an invitation to field 
naturalists to confirm or otherwise whether the sitting bird covers the eggs 
on leaving the nest. At a small lake in a thickly wooded district near 


NOTES AND QUERIES, 31 


Bath, by invitation, I spent a delightful May dav in 1897 with this species. 
Having procured the assistance of the gamekeeper, I was rowed to where 
the rushes grew, and examined a dozen or more nests, nearly all containing 
eggs; one with four eggs in it, I remember distinctly, would have been 
difficult to find by anyone but an experienced ornithologist, on account of 
the eggs being almost hidden from view by the decayed portions of the 
rushes. They had without doubt been carefully concealed by the parent 
birds, and probably by the female after depositing her egg. This nest, or 
rather more than receptacle for the eggs, was situated on one of the fallen 
and collected masses of reeds, &c., in the centre of the lake, and had I 
asked my companion I do not think he could have pointed the exact spot 
where the eggs were. Atthe several nests around the never-failing springs 
in the neatly arranged gardens of the Bishop’s Palace, Wells, I have never 
found the eggs concealed. Asa brief summary, I conclude that until the 
full clutch of eggs is laid they may or may not be hidden, according to 
the abundance of Jays or Magpies in the neighbourhood ; but after in- 
cubation has commenced it would be an exceptional case to find the eggs 
concealed, by reason that the sitting bird would not absent herself long 
enough from the nest. to allow of the visitation of an egg-sucker, although I 
have, in company with the above-mentioned keeper, watched a Magpie for 
hours, perched immediately over a sitting Pheasant, waiting patiently until 
the time arrived for her to feed.—Stanutey Lewis (Wells, Somerset). 

Mr. Hewitt asks for the experience of others with regard to the Moor- 
hen’s nest. May I state that I have never seen any covering over the eggs 
of this bird, though I have found numbers of nests in my own and other 
counties? I see no suggestion of such a habit in ‘Yarrell’ or Howard 
Saunders’s ‘ Manual.’ Butin Seebohm’s ‘ History of British Birds ’ (vol. ii. 
p. 561) there is this statement:—‘‘ The Waterhen yenerally covers her 
eggs, when she leaves the nest, with pieces of surrounding vegetation.’ — 
W. Storrs Fox (St. Anselm’s, Bakewell). 


Little Bustard and Great Shearwater at Lowestoft.— Early in May, 
1898, a male Little Bustard (Otis tetrux), in full summer plumage—a con- 
dition in which it is very rarely met with in this country, and the first in- 
stance known to me in the eastern counties—was killed at Kessingland, 
near Lowestoft, Suffolk. For obvious reasons the event was not made 
public till after the close-time had expired, when a photograph of the bird 
was sent to me. On the 14th November, 1898, the fresh skin of a Great 
Shearwater (Puffinus major), which had been brought in by one of the 
Lowestoft fishing boats, was sent for my inspection by Mr. Bunn of that 
town, who also had three live Storm Petrels about that time. Both the 
above-mentioned birds are now in a local collection.—THoMas SoUTHWELL 
(Norwich). 


32 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Avocet in Dorset. — On Nov. 12th, 1898, I received from one of my 
collectors a fine female Avocet (Recurvirostra avocetta). The bird had been 
seen in the district for several days, but was exceedingly wild; it was, how- 
ever, eventually secured during a foggy day.—E. Bay is (Birmingham). 


Terns in the Isle of Man.—Referring to former notes (Zool. 1896, 
p. 471), I may mention that a dead bird found this season at the Tern 
colony there described, and which is still occupied, proved, on examination 
of the beak and wing, to he Sterna arctica. But an even more interesting 
discovery was that of the nesting of Sterna minuta, a species, 1 believe, 
never before recorded in Man. On 22nd June last I found a small colony 
of this bird on a sandy barren close to the coast; I saw two clutches of two 
eggs each, and again a single egg. All these were laid on the bare sand, 
with no lining whatever, and scarcely any perceptible nest hollow. Many 
stones were scattered over the ground; there was little vegetation, and that 
very small and scattered.— P. Ratre (Castletown, Isle of Man). 


Food of Grebes.—Two Sclavonian Grebes (Podicipes auritus, Linn.) 
have been sent to me this winter, and when mounting the last one, on 
Dec. 19th, I found in its stomach, in addition to the feathers and elytra of 
water-beetles that I discovered in the first specimen, numbers of caterpillars, 
which I sent on to a well-known entomologist, who kindly tells me that they 
are the larvee of one of the Crane-flies, which are well known as the destruc- 
tive grubs of the Daddy Longlegs, or Tommy Taylor, as it is called in parts 
of the county (Tipula oleracea}. These Grebes have been by no means 
uncommon this winter, and were on a large expanse of inland flood-water, 
where I have had some good shooting with the lessee in single-handed . 
punts with big guns, when the water has been out and Ducks abundant. I 
take it that, the meadows being flooded, the grubs which generally feed at 
the roots of grasses, &c., climbed up into the fences, bushes, or anywhere 
they could, and so were secured by the Grebes; for, good divers as they 
undoubtedly are, I scarcely think they would pull up the grass by the roots 
in twelve or fourteen feet of water to hunt for grubs. — OxLEY GRABHAM 
(Chestnut House, Heworth, York). 


( 33 ) 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 


——___ —— 


Colour in Nature, a Study in Biology. By Marion J. NEwsiain, 
D.Sc. (Lond.). John Murray. 


Tue colours of plants and animals, or rather their super- 
ficial colourations, have always attracted naturalists, generally 
exciting admiration, and sometimes provoking enquiry. In 
earlier days problems of this description were disposed of by the 
invocation of teleology, or the doctrine of design, which afforded 
no explanation, and simply demonstrated an unknown quantity. 
The Darwinian epoch introduced what may be called the Utili- 
tarian Theory, by which animal colouration was controlled by 
‘natural selection” for useful purposes in the struggle for 
existence. In each case design is implied, but in the one it is 
more or less a theological conception, while in the other it is 
represented as a natural factor. The result is that teleology has 
died a natural death, while the Utilitarian Theory has become 
rampant. The “simple primrose” which was “ nothing more ” 
to the amiable teleologist, has developed into the mighty Banian 
tree by the aid of current theory. We had almost forgotten that 
colour represented a physical or chemical process, in our estima- 
tion of its adaptive and protective nature. 

The purpose of Miss Newbigin’s book may be said to bring 
back the subject of colouration in nature to a technical treat- 
ment; to remove it from the domain of pure theory; to glance at 
it throughout the vegetable and animal kingdoms; and to describe 
its essence without either attempting to explain its purpose, 
or accepting some other very feasible and popular explanations 
now current. The differences between pigmental and structural 
colours are fully explained, and those colours classified. In the 
first, as is well known, hemoglobin and chlorophyll play their 
great parts, while pigments, ‘‘ which are definitely waste products, 
or are produced by the modification of waste products,” are now 

Zool. 4th ser. vol. III., January, 1899. D 


34 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


being seriously studied. When we remember the deadly effects 
of such “ waste products ” on the higher vertebrates, and that 
the yellow pigment found in the wings of many of the Pieride 
are due to “ modifications of the ordinary waste products of the 
organism,” we are forced with the authoress to suppose “that 
the wings of butterflies, being relatively non-vital parts, can have 
poisonous substances stored up in them without injury to the 
organism, and that therefore the utilisation of waste products as 
colouring agents can only occur in cases where the coloured 
structures are not intimately connected with the blood system.” 

The standpoint of this bookis the physiological demonstra- 
tion of animal colouration, the nature and elements of the colour 
itself, and not its evolutionary life-purposes. This treatment is 
neither sympathetic with, nor destructive to, the general concep- 
tion of Protective resemblance and Mimicry. Colour alone must 
of course fall under the domain of Physiology and Chemistry, as, 
and in the same sense, all animal structure does, but this treat- 
ment does not explain its development in variety and markings; 
it only gives us its composites, and does not demonstrate its 
action as a force in the struggle for existence. In the last 
chapter, which is devoted to a discussion of ‘* The relation 
of facts to theories,” a rapid survey is given of the principal and 
perhaps most popular lines of modern speculation, and if Miss 
Newbigin has not come to bless, at all events most naturalists 
will agree with her concluding sentences: ‘“‘. . . . in spite of the 
fluency with which so many people talk of the meaning of colour 
in organisms, the subject is as incomplete on the theoretical as 
on the physiological side. It seems reasonable to believe that 
the two deficiencies are related, and that a little more physiology 
will arm the theorists with better weapons. In the meantime, 
we cannot end a book on colour more fitly than by an appeal for 
more facts.” 

This volume contains many facts relating to animal coloura- 
tion, and can be studied as well by a naturalist with a theory 
as by one who possesses it not. The bibliographical references 
at the end of the volume will assist a student of this fascinating 
subject. 


| 
{ 
| 
| 
| 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 35 


Flashlights on Nature. By Granr Atuen With 150 I[llustra- 
tions by Frederick Knock. Geo. Newnes, Lim. 


Tuts book is a happy combination of the literary versatility 
of the author—too little remembered as the writer of ‘The 
Colour-Sense, — and of the conscientious illustrations of Mr, 
Enock, who as described by Mr. Grant Allen is ‘“‘ an enthusiastic 
and observant naturalist, who thinks nothing of sitting up all 
night if so he may catch a beetle’s egg at the moment of hatch- 
ing; and who will keep his eye to the microscope for twelve 
hours at a stretch, relieved only by occasional light refreshment 
in the shape of a sandwich, if so he may intercept some rare 
chrysalis at its moment of bursting,” &c. 

These sketches, or “ flashlights,” are written in the clear and 
easy style which is usually termed ‘’ popular,” but which will well 
repay the perusal of ‘“‘ serious” readers. Under titles which 
smack of what is sometimes described as “sensational,” we find 
that ‘“‘a beast of prey” is no other than our old friend “ the 
common garden spider,’ of which a very full and interesting 
account is given, and a female of which — ‘* Rosalind ’’—was 
observed closely through the whole of a season. This spider 
was seen to attack and conquer wasps, a subject recently dis- 
cussed in these pages. ‘The doings of Shrikes are described as 
“A Woodland Tragedy,” and in discussing the capricious cha- 
racter of their distribution in this country, our author accepts a 
now very general view, ‘‘ that this relative frequency or scarcity 
depends upon the distribution of their proper food-insects.” 
Indeed, just as we all know that ‘‘an army fights upon its 
stomach,” so we are beginning to understand that ‘‘commissariat 
lies at the bottom of most problems of animal life.” 

It is a pleasure to meet with an interpreter of nature who 
can translate her record into plain and happy language, especially 
when there is so often a tendency to predicate profundity by 
obscurity; but Mr. Grant Allen’s pen is sometimes almost too 
facile, and literary accomplishments run away with the unadorned 
natural facts. ‘hus we read, ‘‘In the soft shmy mud, the shoots 
of the curled pond-weed le by during the frozen period, hearing 
the noise of the gliding skates above them’’; the mandibles of a 
“ mosquito-larva”’ are not too happily termed a “‘big moustache,”’ 

D2 


36 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


nor are the antenne of a mosquito more adequately repre- 
sented as a “beard.” But a few pleasantries do not detract 
from the general accuracy of the book, which throughout runs 
the danger of being too well written and too entertaining. Nor 
does the author of ‘The Woman who Did,’ fear the lash of 
pseudo-scientific jargon in being termed a ‘‘ neo-Lamarckian ”’ 
for writing “‘ Use brings structure.” 

The illustrations are excellent and instructive. The book 
has neither a preface nor index. The first is a very small matter, 
but the second is bad for both book and author if future refer- 
ence is desired. 


Animals of To-day, their Life and Conversation. By C.J. 
CornisH. Seeley & Co. Lim. 


“Tue following chapters were originally contributed to the 
‘ Spectator,’’’ is the opening sentence of the preface to this book, 
and we are reminded of a remark made by Addison in the first 
paper to the older ‘Spectator,’ ‘‘ I live in the world rather as a 
spectator of mankind, than as one of the species.” Substitute 
“animal life” for ‘‘ mankind,’ and we reach the plane of 
Mr. Cornish in this very interesting volume, the record of life- 
history being alone contemplated. The reprint of these weekly 
contributions in a complete form is very welcome, though we 
question whether they do not lose some of the original force 
as when they appeared singly, confined to one subject in mode- 
rate compass. ‘Their reprint, however, clearly bears witness to 
what is now an undoubted fact, that the British reading public 
are at present thoroughly interested in the details of animal life. 

Many facts which are supposed to be well known are here 
brought to light and emphasised. The Bactrian Camel “is a 
beast made to endure not heat but cold,” as experienced Mongol 
herdsmen well know. The austere Goat is said, when city-kept 
in parts of New York, “to flourish on the paste-daubed paper of 
the advertisements which they nibble from the hoardings.” As 
to the number of Cats in London, Mr. Cornish quotes a writer 
in the ‘Daily Mail’ for an estimate of 400,000. Mr. Hudson, 
however, in his ‘ Birds in London,’ inclined to a much higher 
ratio in metropolitan feline population, believing in a probability 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 37 


of nearly three-quarters of a million, and a certainty of not less 
than half a million London Cats. In an interesting, but to the 
zoologist melancholy article on ‘‘ Wild beasts’ skins in com- 
merce,” it is stated, as generally believed, ‘“‘ that the last of the 
Quaggas was killed years ago.” ‘This is probably a fact, but the 
writer, quite recently when in South Africa, was told by a very 
high authority that strange reports had been received on this 
subject from the Western Coast region. Is it too late to restore 
the Beaver to our streams? Mr. Cornish thinks not, and their 
presence need not be much dreaded. ‘‘ Shallow streams they 
dam; and to make this dam they cut down trees and do mis- 
chief. But on deep, slow streams, such as the Thames, they 
make burrows in the bank and ‘lodges,’ but do not attempt to 
build dams, because the water is deep enough for their wants. 
All they need is enough willow-bark to feed on. If anyone 
would turn out a few Beavers on the Thames, and let them have 
the run of an osier-bed, they would probably increase and 
multiply.” 

There are sixteen illustrations. That of ‘‘ Rob Roy’s 
Cattle” is an artistic success. 


Catalogue of the Syntomide in the Collection of the British 
Museum. By Sir Gro. F. Hampson, Bart. Published by 
the Trustees of the British Museum. 


Tuis is really the first volume of a most important publica- 
tion, being nothing less than the commencement of a descriptive 
and analytical catalogue of the Moths of the World. The 
method is so clear and simple, and the wealth of illustration so 
ample, that any ordinary student cannot fail to identify, both 
generically and specifically, such species as he may desire to 
know, and in a classificatory sense understand; while to the 
entomologist the result of an exhaustive study, based on the com- 
parison of nearly all available material, is a boon. Of course Sir 
George Hampson cannot expect that his proposed classification 
will be universally followed ; that is a proposition which, however 
reasonable, is still an open question with most lepidopterists, but 
it is probable that the great use that must be made of these 


38 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


volumes in the future, in the determination of genera and species, 
and the demarcation of families, will carry very largely the 
classification along at the same time. 

This classification is distinctly based on evolutionary prin- 
ciples, depending almost entirely on wing structure. The 
author, as an evolutionist, makes himself clear. ‘‘ The present 
families and genera are not of course derived from other existing 
ones, but from their ancestors; and when a family or genus is 
said to be derived from another, all that is meant is, that in 
order to reach their present stage of specialization, their ances- 
tors must have passed through a stage which would in essential” 
points of structure come within the definition of the other 
family or genus. And as a corollary, the plan of the book is 
‘‘to begin with the most highly specialized families, genera, 
and species, and gradually work down to the most generalized 
forms.” 

The Syntomide, as treated in this volume, number 1184 
actually described species, of which a very large proportion indeed 
is figured, generic characters pourtrayed, and full synonymy 
given. ‘The last does not represent the mere useless occupation 
of a specialist as some theoretical writers incline to stigmatize. 
A zoologist is supposed to know the animal kingdom and its 
members under one and not various names. This promiscuity 
is not altogether unavoidable by workers residing in different 
centres of activity, and of course absent from one general collec- 
tion of types. ‘To assist this work, material has been lent and 
given from all sides, which, added to the immense and almost 
unique Heteroceral wealth now contained in the British Museum 
and in private collections in the country, makes the specific 
verdict of this volume one likely to provoke little ‘‘ appeal.” 
These books mark a very prominent aspect of our age in all 
departments. ‘‘ The rich are getting richer”; in commerce the 
large undertakings are swallowing up the smaller ones; every- 
where we see centralization as a necessity exerting its sway ; and 
so in the technical zoology of the future it will be understood that 
only large national collections worked by State aid can give the 
last words in the zoological nomenclature which will be accepted 
as a canon, and liberate naturalists for other work. If we 
compare this and other catalogues with the encyclopedic work 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 39 


which appeared in zoological literature towards the end of the 
last century, we may well take heart and fresh courage. 

A separate issue of seventeen beautifully coloured plates 
accompany the volume for those who wish to acquire the same, 
and we trust that the author may have health and strength to 
finish the colossal undertaking. Meanwhile, as years must elapse 
before the whole of these volumes can be issued, it would be 
advantageous to the classificatory scheme of the author, and 
most useful to workers who would fall in line with the classifi- 
cation, if the names of existing genera under new family arrange- 
ments could be published elsewhere, and at an early date. 


40 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 


THE ‘ Zoological Record’ for 1897 appeared last December. This in- 
valuable vade mecum to all working zoologists is again a bulky volume, and 
bears witness to the vitality of our science. Only the record of Celenterata 
is held over, owing to the Recorder having left England at too early a 
period to have thoroughly completed his work. Mr. J. A. Thomson’s 
record of “* General Subjects ” is again—apart from specialization—one of 
the most valuable annual contributions to Biology. It contains 784 titles, 
and is a guide to a year’s philosophy of animal life. Perhaps the number 
of contributions gives at least the standard of activity during 1897. In 
Mammalia, Mr. Lydekker records 343 separate communications ; in Aves, 
Dr. Bowdler Sharpe enumerates 567 distinct titles; Mr. Boulenger gives 
242 referring to Reptilia and Batrachia, and 259 for Pisces. Tunicata has a 
small record; in Mollusca, Mr. Sykes gives 527 references, and in Brachio- 
poda 41. Passing the smaller work done in Bryozoa, we come to Crustacea, 
where Mr. A. W. Brown enumerates 208 contributions, 151 in Arachnida, 
and 65 in Myriopoda and Prototracheata. Insecta again heads the list with 
1205 articles, as given by the Editor, Dr. D. Sharp. For Echinoderma 
(1896 and 1897), Mr. Bather enumerates 358 titles; in Vermes, Miss 
Buchanan gives 267. Prof. R. von Lendenfeld is able to contribute 42 for 
Spongie, and Mr. Brown 171 for Protozoa. As usual, a formidable list of 
names proposed for new genera and subgenera complete another volume of 
a well-thumbed series. 


In the Proc. of the United States Nat. Mug. vol. xxi. No. 1168, Mr. 
Frederick W. True has contributed a paper ‘“‘ On the Nomenclature of the 
Whalebone Whales of the Tenth Edition of Linneus’s ‘ Systema Nature.’” 
Seven European species of Whalebone Whales are now currently recog- 
nized ; Linnzeus described four species. Of these, Balena boops is here 
considered as a synonym of B. physalus. ‘The complete list of European 
Whalebone Whales is given as follows :— 

1. Balena mysticetus, Linneus. 
The Bowhead, or Arctic Right Whale. 


2. Balena glacialis, Bonnaterre. 
The Black Whale, or Nordcaper. 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 4] 


3. Balenoptera physalus (Linneus). 
The Common Finback or Rorqual. 
4. Balenoptera musculus (Linneus). 
The Blue Whale. 
5. Balenoptera borealis, Lesson. 
Rudolphi’s Rorqual. 
6. Balenoptera acuto-rostrata, Lacepéde. 
The Little Piked Whale, or Least Rorqual. 


7. Megaptera longimana (Rudolphi). 
The Humpback. 


Mr. R. Hepeer Watuace has contributed a timely, lengthy, and well 
illustrated paper on ‘‘ White Cattle: an Inquiry into their Origin and 
History,” to the last part of the Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. of Glasgow. These 
modern Park White Cattle are often described as descendants of Bos primi- 
genius, and this opinion appears to be solely due to Prof. Riitimeyer; Mr. 
Wallace’s contention, however, is that ‘‘ they are simply the descendants of 
Roman cattle imported into the country during the Roman occupation.” 
The evidence for this view is very amply given, and total agreement is pro- 
nounced with the conclusions of Prof. T. McKenny Hughes that we may 
take it as pretty well established that ‘‘ the Urus characterizes the Neolithic 
age, having first appeared in Paleolithic times with the Bison, and having 
become extinct in Britain long before the Roman occupation. The Celtic 
Shorthorn appeared with the Urus in Neolithic times, lived down and 
through the Roman occupation, and thus may be regarded as the character- 
istic Ox of the Bronze age. The Romans improved the Celtic Shorthorn 
by crossing it with cattle imported from Italy ; the form of the Roman Ox, 
as inferred from contemporary art, being exactly what was required to pro- 
duce the modification observed in the latter Romanized breed. The charac- 
teristics of the Urus nowhere appear among the Romano-British cattle. 

The Kerry Cattle are the most typical examples in the British Isles of 
the Celtic Shorthorn, while the Chillingham Cattle are the nearest repre- 
sentation of the breed introduced by the Romans. 

The Highland and Welsh Cattle are derived largely from the Celtic 
Shorthorn, with more or less mixture of the Roman breed. All the above 
are whole-coloured or shaded. 

The Longhorns, which appear nowhere with Romano-British or early 
medieval remains, are the offspring of the large breeds imported from 
Holstein and the Low Countries in later medizval times. All these, and 
the stock crossed with them, are apt to be parti-coloured or sheeted. 

The Medieval Shorthorn, as found in the ditches, &c., of the eleventh, 
twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, is a reversion to the numerically predomi- 


492 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


nant native breed (Celtic Shorthorn) after the legionaries had been with- 
drawn, and selection and breeding had become impossible.” 


On Dec. 6th we received the following note from Mr. Rowland Ward: 
—‘ A few days agoa male specimen (adult) of the Golden Kagle was-sent to 
me for preservation by Mr. S. Lewis, of Wells, Somerset. The bird had 
been trapped in the north of Scotland, and yielded the following measure- 
ments :—Wing, 25 in. in length; head to tip of tail, 32 in.” This was 
subsequently published in ‘The Field,’ and the following note has also 
appeared on the subject :—‘‘ The Kagle mentioned by Mr. Tegetmeier in 
Saturday’s ‘ Field’ appears to have continued its peregrinations after its 
demise. It was sent from Scotland along with a couple of Buzzards toa 
Yorkshire natural history dealer, was offered to me, then sent down to 
Wells, in Somersetshire, and now appears to be finally reposing at Mr. 
Rowland Ward’s. I did not see the bird.—OxLEy GRABHAM.” 


WE rejoice to read, in the January number of ‘ The Annals of Scottish 
Nat. Hist.,’ of a proposed memorial to the late William Macgillivray, M.D., 
LL.D., who died in Aberdeen in September, 1852, and was buried in New 
Calton Burying-ground in Edinburgh. ‘ To the present hour his grave is 
not marked even by an ordinary tombstone. ‘There is nothing to indicate 
the spot save four low corner-stones, each bearing the letters ‘ W. M.’” 

Some months ago a meeting was called of all who cherish the memory 
of Dr. Macgillivray, which resulted in the appointment of a Committee 
charged with the duty of issuing a circular to his surviving students and 
others likely to be interested in the proposal, collecting subscriptions, and 
erecting a memorial at his grave, any balance to be spent in commemorating 
him also in Marischal College. 

It is proposed not only to erect a churchyard memorial—‘“ simple if it 
would be in keeping with the character of the man to be commemorated,” 
but also to found a Macgillivray Gold Medal in the University of Aberdeen, 
to be given as a prize to the best student in Zoology, Botany, or Geology ; 
or to former students for the best original research work ; or for the best 
series of specimens worthy of being placed in the Natural History Museum, 
or the Botanical Museum, of the University. 

Subscriptions may be forwarded to the Rev. Dr. Farquharson, Selkirk, 
or to the Editors of the Ann. of Scottish Nat. Hist. Edinburgh. 


OwiNG to the unique and extremely interesting nature of the fauna in 
Lake Tanganyika, the study of which was recently the object of an expedi- 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 43 


tion, supported by the Royal Society, and led by Mr. J. E. S. Moore, a 
Committee has been formed, consisting of Sir John Kirk, Dr. P. L. Sclater, 
Mr. Thiselton-Dyer, Prof. Ray Lankester, and Mr. G. A. Boulenger, for the 
purpose of organizing another expedition to the same regions, to thoroughly 
survey the basin not only of Lake Tanganyika, but aiso the unknown por- 
tions of the northern extension of the great series of valleys in which 
Tanganyika, together with Lakes Kivu and the Albert Nyanza, lie; to collect 
specimens of the aquatic fauna and flora, and to study the geological 
history of this part of Africa. The latter object of the investigation should 
be of especial interest, for it was shown by Mr. Moore that almost without 
exception the shells of the singular series of whelk-like molluscs, captured 
by him in Tanganyika, are indistinguishable from those now found fossi- 
lized in Europe among the remains of old Jurassic seas. It would thus 
appear that at some remote period of time the great valley of Tanganyika 
was in connection with the sea, and that the strangely isolated marine 
fauna which still inhabits its slightly brackish waters has remained there 
ever since.—Nature. 


Tue effect of approaching storms upon song birds is the subject of an 
interesting contribution by Mr. C. E. Linney to the ‘U.S. Monthly 
Weather Review.’ It appears that during the night of Aug. 15-16th very 
severe electrical, wind, and rain storms prevailed over the northern district 
of Illinois. An observer in Henry County, Mr. W. W. Warner, noticed 
that for forty-eight hours before the storm not a sound was heard from the 
numerous song birds in the district. ‘This observation was so full of 
interest that Mr. Linney wrote for additional information, with the result 
that he received numerous letters, some confirming it, others stating that 
birds sing louder and more persistently before a great storm, and nearly all 
agreeing that they are more restless than usual at such a time. Mr. Linney 
has found the following weather proverbs referring to song birds and 
storm :—When birds cease to sing, rain and thunder will probably occur. 
If birds in general pick their feathers, wash themselves, and fly to their 
nests, expect rain. Parrots and Canaries dress their feathers and are 
wakeful the evening before a storm. If the Peacock cries when he goes to 
roost, and indeed much at any time, it is a sign of rain. Long and loud 
singing of Robins in the morning denotes rain. Robins will perch on the 
topmost branches of trees and whistle when a storm is approaching. The 
restlessness of domestic animals and barn-yard fowls before an approaching 
storm is well known, and many of their peculiarities have been noted ; but 
the actions of song birds do not appear to have previously received par- 
ticular attention,— Nature, 


L4 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Tue Report of the Secretary of the United States Department of 
Agriculture for 1898 has come to hand. ‘The excellent work done by this 
Institution is not confined to botanicel subjects. “ The Biological Survey 
is often called upon to determine the value of birds and animals to practical 
agriculture. It is in effect a court of appeal in which complaints are 
investigated concerning those species which are considered injurious to 
crops. A careful study is made of the food of useful and injurious birds 
and mammals, and thousands of stomachs of birds are examined in the 
laboratory. Two thousand three hundred and twenty-nine stomachs, 
mainly of Sparrows, Swallows, and Woodpeckers, were examined during 
the year. A report has been prepared on the native Cuckoos and Shrikes, 
and reports on Flycatchers and native Sparrows are in preparation. Several 
of the latter birds feed largely on weed-seed during the winter, and it is a 
matter of no little interest to determine how far they can aid the farmer in 
checking the increase of noxious weeds. ‘The importance of this work is 
emphasized by the increasing demand made on the Department for informa- 
tion and publications on birds, in consequence of the recent widespread 
popular interest in ornithology.” 


THERE appears to be a considerable loss of avian life at Niagara Falls. 
The Rev. R. Ashington Bullen has contributed an interesting note on the 
subject to ‘Science Gossip’ for last December, from which we extract as 
follows :—“ Through the kindness of Mr. David Boyle, Curator of the 
Archeological Museum, Toronto, Ontario, I have received the following list 
of birds which are washed over Niagara Falls. It has been compiled by 
Mr. Roderick Cameron, who has also added an account of how the birds are 
caught. The list, so far as I can ascertain, has never before been pub- 
lished :— Whistling Swans (Cygnus americana), Common Brent-geese (Ber- 
nicla brenta, Stephens), Canada Goose (b. canadensis, Boie), Mallard 
Ducks (dnas boschas, Linn.), Pintail Ducks (Dafila acuta, Jenyns), Ameri- 
can Wigeon (Mareca americana, Stephens), American Green-winged Teal 
(Nettton carolinensis, Baird), and other varieties, American Hider-duck 
(Somateria spectabilis Leach), American Black-scoter or Sea-coot (felionetta 
perspicillata, Kaup), American White Pelican (Pelecanus tachyrhynchus), 
Shoveller, or Spoonbill Duck (Spatula clypeata, Boie), Grey Duck, or Gad- 
wall (Chaulelasmus streperus, Gray), Black Dusky-duck (Anas obscura, 
Gmelin), Wood-duck (Ata sponsa, Boie), Canvas-back Duck (Aythya vallis- 
neria, Bonaparte), Red-head Duck (A. americana, Bonaparte), Blue-billed 
Duck, or Scaup (fulia marila, Baird), Whistle-wing Duck (Bucephala 
americana, Baird), Golden-eye Duck (B. islandica, Baird), Buffle-head or 
Butter-ball Duck (B. albeola, Baird), Hider or Spectacled Duck (Somateria 
spectabilis, Leach), Scoter or Surf Duck (Oidemia americana, Swainson), 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 45 


Saw-billed Duck (two), (Hulica americana, Gmelin), and Mud-hens 
(Rallus crepitans, Gmelin), Sheldrake (Mergus americanus, Cassin), Red- 
breasted Merganser (M. serrator, Linn.), Hooded Merganser (Lopho- 
dytes cucullatus, Reichart), Common Cormorant (Graculus carbo, Gray), 
Ruddy Duck (Hrismatura rubida, Bonaparte), Summer Duck (two), Coween 
Duck (three), Great Northern Diver, or Loon (Colymbus torquatus, Brun- 
nich), Muffle-head Diver (C. arcticus). The scientific names are mainly 
taken from Samuels’s ‘ Birds of New England and Neighbouring States.’”’ 


At the meeting of the Zoological Society, on Nov. 29th, the disputed 
classificatory position of an interesting animal was considered, when Mr. 
I’. G. Parsons, F'.Z.S., read a paper on the anatomy of adult and fetal 
specimens of the Cape Jumping Hare (Pedetes caffer). In it the different 
systems—osseous, muscular, nervous, circulatory, digestive, &c.—were de- 
scribed in some detail, and contrasted with the corresponding parts in two 
Jerboas (Dipus hirtipes and D. jerboa). ‘The author regarded the muscular 
system as furnishing the best clue to the position of the animal, and, con- 
sidering all the evidence in his possession, looked upon Pedetes as being 
nearly akin to the Jerboas; but thought that, if a sharp line had to be 
drawn anywhere between the Mouse-like and Porcupine-like rodents, 
Pedetes should be placed on the hystricomorphine, and the Dipodideé on the 
myomorphine side of that line. The radial ossicle in the carpus, described 
by Bardeleben as a prepollex, was found to answer accurately to that 
writer's description; but Mr. Parsons failed to find any proof which 
satisfied him of its digital nature. 


AT another meeting of the above Society, held on Dec. 13th, a com- 
munication was read from Mr. H. H. Brindley, on certain characters of the 
reproduced appendages in the Arthropoda, particularly in the Blattide. 
It was a continuation of a paper published in the ‘ Proceedings’ of the 
Society for 1897 (p. 903), and contained observations on the process of 
regeneration of the legs in the Blattide. Some review of our knowledge of 

the regeneration of appendages in other Arthropods was attempted, from 
which it appeared that while certain appendages in certain groups when 
regenerated were always apparently exact replicas of the normal, in other 
cases, besides the legs of Blattide, regenerated appendages invariably 
differed from the normal in such constant respects that they should be 
regarded as alternate ‘‘normals” rather than as imperfect reproductions of 
the congenital normal structures. In the case investigated in detail there 
was evidence that the process of ecdysis involved reconstruction of the soft 
parts as well as of the cuticle of the appendage. 


46 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Tue ‘South Australien Registrar’ complains of the wanton destruction 
of birds there, stating that it is an unforeseen effect of the legislation 
intended to ensure the destruction of Sparrows and other feathered pests ; 
but it goes on to say that to the ruthless and indiscriminate extermination 
of birds which is now proceeding in almost every district some material 
check might be applied if Parliament would only spare an hour or two of | 
its valuable time for the consideration of the Bill promoted by the Society 
for the Protection of Birds. When that Society was inaugurated four 
years ago many people described the movement as an evanescent fad which 
would have no result, but the local branch has now 525 members, and the 
parent society in the old country numbers 16,200. South Australia is 
apparently now concerned about the fate of the native birds, and it has 
good reason to be, not only from a sentimental, but also from a utilitarian 
point of view. In many ways different species of Australian birds may 
prove themselves to be the friends of mankind. Kendall, the most essenti- 
ally Australian of all our poets, mentions not the best of these when 
he says— 

‘* Welcome as waters unkissed by the summers 
Are the voices of Bell-birds to thirsty far-comers.” 


But if only on the ground of pure sentiment, the agitation undertaken 
by the Society is fully justified. The days are surely gone by when in any 
civilized country a large proportion of the people, even in the needful work 
of extirpating pests, would wantonly prefer the cruel methods of slow 
torture to those of swift and painless destruction. No doubt one may find 
here and there wretches who would sit smoking a pipe and watching the 
struggles of a wounded bird without the slightest impulse to put it out of 
its misery. Some boys will actually pull the wings and the legs away from 
a living bird, and impale the suffering little thing against the trunk of a 
tree, in order to enjoy the spectacle of its agony. The practice of offering 
bonuses for the heads of Sparrows undoubtedly tended to harden the con- 
sciences of many young people, and the amount of wanton cruelty observed 
in the park-lands around Adelaide is quite disquieting. Unfortunately, the 
existing demand for wings for the trimming of ladies’ hats leads to an 
immense amount of cruelty, and the boys therefore are not the sole persons 
responsible for the evil. In the case of those species of birds that are 
already in danger of extermination, the caprices of fashion are peculiarly 
unpatriotic and unwise, as well as cruel, for they perpetrate their worst 
ravages at the breeding season, when the plumage is at its brightest.— Globe. 


SoME interesting facts are to be found in ‘ Angling Notes’ contributed 
to the ‘ Westminster Gazette’ of Dec. 30th. In connection with the 
details of a plan to increase the stock of Salmon in the Tweed and Teviot, 


EDITORIAL GLEHEANINGS. AT 


we read:—A hundred years ago, we are told, lands were not so well culti- 
vated and drained as they are to-day. Then, when the rains came, the 
mosses soaked up the water, which formed itself into shallow lochs and 
pools. These gave out their contents slowly and gradually, and when the 
rivers were flooded they ran full for a long time. Now all this is changed. 
The hills are well drained, as well as all lands available for cultivation ; and 
when the rain falls heavily the water rushes off at once to the rivers, which 
rise with wonderful rapidity, and then rush off with tremendous violence 
to the sea, tearing up the gravel, often altering its channel, and damaging 
the banks. The subsidence of the flood is as rapid asits rise. The damage 
which is done to the ova of Salmon when a flood of this nature occurs 
during or immediately following upon the spawning season, will be apparent 
to anyone. We have often seen whole banks of gravel washed away during 
such times, and of course, where these have been used for spawning-beds 
by the Salmon, the chances are that the greater proportion of the ova or 
undeveloped fry will be silted over and destroyed. The establishment of 
sufficiently large hatcheries where the ova and fry would be protected until © 
the latter had reached a suitable age for returning into the river would 
counteract to a great extent these many adverse influences. 


AccoRDING to a note in a late issue of the ‘ Daily Chronicle,’ the 
recent practice of feeding the Lion in the Lincoln Park Zoo, in Chicago, 
with live Dogs has created something of a disturbance, the President of the 
Humane Society denouncing the practice, even though this method of 
feeding has been undertaken from a medical point of view. The Lion 
which has been thus fed is a big African specimen, which is afflicted with 
rickets, due, it is believed, to improper diet. During the past ten years 
twenty-seven African Lions, representing a loss of more than £2000, have 
died in this way, although hitherto the disease has been diagnosed as 
paralysis, and it is in the hope of preventing. further loss that the Dogs, 
which were taken from the pound, were given to the Lion for food. 


‘THE death of Mr. Christopher Sykes took place on Dec. 15th. This 
gentleman will not alone be remembered as the “ grave young man of 
‘ Lothair,’” and the friend of Princes, but, by British ornithologists, as one 
to whose untiring exertions we owe the Sea Birds’ Protection Act. 


AFTER a successful career of over thirty years, ‘ Science Gossip,’ the 
favourite journal for amateurs devoted to Natural, Physical, and Applied 
Sciences, has just entered upon independent offices at 110, Strand. The 
editorial management is still under the control of Mr. John T. Carrington, 
assisted by Miss F. Winstone. 


48 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


A very good set of the first tive editions of Walton’s ‘ Compleat Angler ’ 
came up for sale on December 1st at Messrs. Sotherby’s, among the 
choice library of books on angling formed by the late Mr. Edward Snow, of 
Boston, Mass., U.S.A. These five editions were those which appeared 
during the lifetime of Izaak Walton, and the Snow copies are uniformly 
bound in olive morocco extra by F. Bedford. The set was knocked down 
to Messrs. Pickering and Chatto for £235. The Ashburnham set, unique 
as regards size and condition, realized £800 in May last, and some of the 
volumes possessed the further sentimental advantage of having the author’s 
autograph notes written in them. The Snow copies were slightly “ shaved ” 
in some places, and some of the leaves in the first issue were defective, and 
the entire set was sold “not subject to return.” A second copy of the 
second edition of the same work, with many of the headlines cut into, 
brought £19 15s., and three other copies of the third edition respectively 
sold for £12 10s., £35, and £11. Other angling books included an im- 
perfect copy of ‘ The Secrets of Angling,’ by John Dennys, 1652, £36. The 
total of the sale of 669 lots amounted to £1280. 


Mr. EF. T. Mort, of Crescent House, Leicester, has reprinted in 
pamphlet form two papers expressing his theories on the “ Origin of 
Organic Colour,” which were respectively contributed to ‘ Science,’ and read 
at the Nottingham Meeting of the British Association in 1893. Mr. Mott 
predicates a ‘“‘great concentrating wave of organic life in its progress 
towards an unknown climateric,” as a result of which ‘the beauty of 
summer as we know it now, though it has never been paralleled in the past, 
will be as nothing to the blaze of brilliance which shall mark the summers 
of the future.” ‘In the animal world brilliant colour is still comparatively 
rare, this branch of the organic wave being perhaps less advanced than that 
which rules the department of vegetation.” 


THE ZGOOLOGIST 


No. 692.—February, 1899. 


WHISKERED BAT (MYOTIS MYSTACINUS) IN 
CAPTIVITY. 


By CHARLES OLDHAM. 


THE observation of Bats in a free state is, owing to their 
nocturnal habits and peculiar mode of life, a matter of con- 
siderable difficulty, and but very little is known of the economy 
of even our common British species. Many of their actions may 
be studied in captivity, but it is not easy to maintain the supply 
of insect food essential to the welfare of the little creatures, which 
seldom survive confinement long. These considerations are per- 
haps sufficient excuse for the publication of the following notes 
on a Bat which I kept alive for nearly five weeks last winter. 

On Nov. 27th I obtained a male Whiskered Bat, Myotis 
mystacinus (Leisler), from one of the tunnels of the disused 
copper mines on Alderley Edge. It would not eat some meal- 
worms I offered it, although it greedily lapped water from a 
camel-hair pencil and from the palm of my hand. Five days later, 
after many unsuccessful attempts to induce the Bat to feed, I pro- 
cured some moths (Scotosia dubitata) from the copper mines, and 
placed them in a box with it; but no attention was paid to them. 
On the evening of the following day I placed the Bat under a bell- 
jar with six of the moths, and, on going to look at it an hour after- 
wards, found that it had caught and eaten them all, rejecting 
only the wings and legs. The available supply of moths was 
exhausted in a few days, and I began to despair of keeping my 

Zool. 4th ser. vol. III., February, 1899. E 


50 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


little captive alive, as it still ignored the mealworms, even when 
they crawled over its face and wings. On Dec. 5th I fastened a 
moth’s wing to half a mealworm, and moved it about just in front 
of the Bat’s nose. This ruse succeeded admirably; the Bat 
made a dash at the imitation moth, and speedily devoured the 
mealworm. From that time it took the mealworms readily, and 
soon learned to look for them if I held my finger-tips near its 
face. I fed it nearly every day, and for so small a creature it had 
an enormous appetite. On one occasion, although it had eaten 
seven mealworms on the previous evening, it ate, between two 
and eight o’clock, eight mealworms, a large spider, and six 
S. dubitata ; after which it merely snapped at the moths, but 
would not eat them. During the ensuing night, however, it ate 
seven more moths which I had left with it under the bell-jar. 
On another evening it ate two fragments of raw rabbit, seven 
mealworms, one S. dubitata, and two thick-bodied moths (Gono- 
ptera libatrix). On Dec. 28th the Bat appeared to be in good 
health, and ate seven mealworms. I did not feed it on the 29th, 
and on the morning of the following day it was hanging as though 
asleep, except that its legs were straight instead of flexed; but, on 
touching it, I found that it was dead. 

The Bat bit me viciously when I took it from the roof of the 
tunnel and warmed itin my hand, but it never showed any temper 
subsequently, and in a few days had become absurdly tame. It 
evinced little disposition for flight, especially after feeding, and 
if compelled to take wing would, after one or two turns round the 
room, drop on to the floor, or pitch on a curtain, chair, or my 
head or body. When settling on a vertical surface it used to 
pitch head upwards, then quickly shuffle round and hang sus- 
pended by its toes in a convenient position for taking wing again. 
It could rise from a flat surface by making a sudden spring up- 
wards and expanding its wings immediately. Although loth to 
fly, it seemed never tired of running about among the papers and 
other objects on the table, and was seldom stationary unless it 
was eating. ‘The bell-jar in which I kept it was raised above a 
stand on supports rather more than +} in., or, to be exact, just 
7 mm. in height, and whenever the perforated zinc guard was 
removed from the intervening space the Bat would creep out at 
once. The bright light of the lamp on my table seemed to cause 


WHISKERED BAT IN CAPTIVITY. 51 


it no inconvenience, for it used to sit, supported on feet and 
wrists, eating mealworms within a few inches of the flame, and 
never showed any desire to retire to dark or shaded places. 
Sometimes it would creep under my hand, or up my sleeve, but 
this, I think, was ov account of the sensation of warmth it expe- 
rienced in nestling against my skin 

The sense of sight seems to be but feeble in the Whiskered 
Bat. The example under notice could not see, or at all events 
recognize, a mealworm or wet paint-brush if more than an inch 
from its face. As this species is more diurnal than any other 
British Bat, and may frequently be seen abroad at midday in 
summer, the inability of my captive to see objects an inch away 
cannot be attributed to the dazzling effects of too strong a light, 
especially as this inability existed equally in the daytime and in 
the artificial light of a lamp. Its hearing also appeared to be 
dull, as it never showed by any movement of its head that it 
perceived a sudden noise, such as the snapping of my fingers, or 
the click of a watch-lid being closed. It sometimes slept prone 
upon the floor with wings folded and pressed closely to its sides, 
at other times suspended by its toes to the rim of a wooden box. 
During sleep, which was always profound, its temperature fell 
considerably, and it felt, as all Bats do in this state, extremely 
cold. It usually wakened in the evening, but exceptionally in the 
daytime without beirg roused; while, as a rule, it was necessary 
to warm it into activity by holding it for a minute or two in my 
hand if I wanted to feed it by daylight. It was constantly thirsty, 
and would readily lap milk or water even when not sufficiently 
roused from sleep to seize food. Its voice, often used, was a 
feeble squeak, less shrill than that of the Long-eared Bat. 

My captive used to tuck its head away under its body directly 
it had seized an insect, at the same time bringing its feet forward, 
so far indeed that it sometimes lost its balance and toppled 
over on its back. ‘This habit, practised from the very first, 
was evidently one of old standing, and not a trick acquired in 
confinement. By feeding the Bat ona sheet of glass so that I 
could see it from beneath, or, better still, by giving it an insect 
as it hung suspended by its toes, the reason of its action was at 
once apparent. ‘The tail being directed forward beneath the 


body, the interfemoral membrane formed a pouch into which the 
E 2 


~ 


52 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Bat thrust its head, and was thereby enabled to get a firmer grip 
of its prey without any danger of dropping it. When the Bat was 
on a flat surface the lower side of this pouch was pressed closer 
to its belly than would be the case during flight, so that it some- 
times failed to get its head into the pouch, and let a mealworm 
drop. When this was the case it never made any attempt to 
seize its prey again, and the mealworm would escape by crawling 
out from beneath its wings or tail. When the Bat was sus- 
pended, however, the bag was wide open, and the insect never 
escaped. Experience seemed to teach it that the mealworms 
were incapable of escape by flight, and latterly it did not always 
thrust its head into the interfemoral pouch after seizing one, but 
devoured it without this preliminary. In a free state Bats, 
capturing the greater part, if not all, of their food on the wing, 
must often fail to grip large insects securely at the first bite, and 
it would be a manifest advantage to have some means of adjusting 
their hold without alighting. An insect accidentally dropped 
during flight could hardly be recovered, and would probably be 
abandoned without further thought, as was the case when my 
Whiskered Bat dropped a mealworm. A Long-eared Bat which 
I kept for a few days invariably thrust its head into the inter- 
femoral pouch on seizing a moth. Both Long-eared and 
Whiskered Bats have the tail curved beneath them during flight, 
although they are usually figured with it held straight behind 
them; and I have httle doubt that when on the wing they actually 
use the method I have described for securing their prey. Further 
observation will probably show that this curious habit is common 
to all our British species, with the possible exception of the 
Horseshoe Bats, in which the interfemoral membrane is com- 
paratively small, and the tail, during repose at any rate, is carried 
in a very different way. 

Having firmly secured its prey, whether moth or mealworm: 
by the head or tail, my Whiskered Bat used to swallow it length- 
wise, crunching it thoroughly by rapid movements of the jaws as 
it slowly disappeared. Neither foot nor carpus was ever used in 
any way to assist it in capturing or holding an insect. The use 
of either would of course be quite impossible during flight. 
Moths and spiders moving near it were pounced upon and cap- 
tured, but mealworms dissociated from my fingers seemed to 


WHISKERED BAT IN CAPTIVITY. 53 


puzzle it, and only once did I see it capture one itself, although 
the creatures frequently crawled just before its eyes and over its 
wings and feet. The wings and legs of moths were always 
dropped, but once or twice a wing accidentally encountered in 
the Bat’s ramble about the table was picked up and eaten. The 
mealworms were, as a rule, entirely consumed, but sometimes 
the horny heads were left. 

After being fed or handled, the Bat always went through a 
rather elaborate toilet. It used to hang by one foot and comb 
the fur of its face and body with the other, often sucking its toes 
first, and always moving the free foot with great rapidity. It 
would then change the foot used for suspension, and repeat the 
operation. It paid much attention to the wings and interfemoral 
membrane, licking them inside and out, and distending the mem- 
branes by thrusting its nose among the folds. When washing 
itself, as well as when securing prey in the manner described 
above, it displayed remarkable suppleness. 

Despite its cleanliness it was the host, as every Bat seems to 
be, of some external parasites. I removed a large tick from the 
upper surface of the interfemoral membrane near the root of its 
tail, and caught two fleas (which Mr. Edward Saunders has 
identified as T’'yphlopsylla hexactenus) in its fur. 


54 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORTHERN 
NORWAY. 


By J. H. Sauter, D.Sc. 


Tuanxs to the numerous contributions to the subject which 
have appeared in ‘ The Zoologist’ and elsewhere, the avifauna of 
most parts of Norway is as familiar to English naturalists as 
that of the Scotch Highlands. I have therefore, in writing the 
following notes of a month’s holiday spent in the far north during 
the past summer, dwelt chiefly upon the points which appeared 
to be of interest, and have tried to avoid repetition. Tromso, in 
69° 38’ N. latitude, was selected as offering facilities for making 
the acquaintance of certain birds of a distinctly arctic type. Ten 
days spent in the birch woods and on the fyeld tended to confirm 
in almost every detail the account given by Mr. O. V. Aplin 
(Zool. Dec. 1896), to whom I am much indebted for this and 
for other information. A few species were noted which Mr. Aplin 
failed to meet with, his visit having been paid earlier in the 
summer, before the snow had fully melted. On the other hand, 
in mid-July we found many birds silent, and hence less readily 
identified. 

In company with a friend, I crossed from Newcastle to Ber- 
gen, the latter place being reached early on the morning of July 
7th. In the grounds of the Fishery Exhibition, the Nygaards 
Park, but few birds were to be seen, owing to the wet. I noted 
the Chaffinch, White Wagtail, and very tame House Sparrows. 
We left at 11 p.m. in the ‘ Sirius’ for Trondhjem, and rose next 
morning to find, in place of the gloomy Bergen weather, bright 
sunshine and blue sea. A crowd of cackling Gulls, Lesser 
Black-backs, hovered over our wake. In the quiet channels 
many Shags were perched on the rocky islets. As we rounded 
the Stadtland, justly dreaded for its rough seas, birds were 
numerous. There were many Common Guillemots. Kittiwakes 
appeared to be breeding on the white wave-worn rocks of the 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORWAY. 55 


headland, and the first Black Guillemot passed, flying low and 
fast just above the waves. Late in the afternoon we came to 
Aalesund. A stay of an hour and a half allowed of a hurried 
scramble about the grey rocky bluff behind the town. Herea 
Common Whitethroat was singing. Molde was reached at ten. 
We took advantage of the lingering twilight to run up to the fir 
woods. Robins were singing as we roamed through the forest, 
collecting plants and vainly hoping to stumble upon a Fieldfare 
colony. Next day, while passing the large island of Hiteren, 
haunt of the Red Deer, the first Kiders were sighted. At Beian, 
at the mouth of the Trondhjems Fjord, a White-tailed Eagle 
passed us, and was assaulted farther on by two Hooded Crows. 
Many of the latter species, with Common Guils, were resting on 
the stones and posts of the breakwater as we came into Trondhjem 
Harbour. After visiting the cathedral there was time for a stroli 
through the town and suburbs. White Wagtails were feeding 
newly-fledged young upon the yellow-lichened roof of an old 
monastic building. A Willow Wren was singing, and the Spotted 
Flycatcher’s note came from the black poplars. Magpies chat- 
tered from trees across the meadow. A Chifichaff sang from a 
dingle below us, where in moisture and shade grew blue colum- 
bine, meadow cranesbill, and a wealth of ferns. A Whinchat was 
scolding as it carried food. Down by the shore many House and 
Sand Martins hawked about, with Swallows in smaller numbers. 
At 11 p.m. Robins were singing, and Swifts were still upon the 
wing. The sun was out of sight, but clouds in the north-west 
were still illuminated, and by midnight the short spell of twilight 
was fast giving place to daylight once more. 

Next morning (July 10th) we left for the north in the 
‘Vesteraalen.’ As we ran down the fjord a Richardson’s Skua 
flapped low over the surface of the water. Just beyond Beian 
there were hosts of Kiders dotted about amongst the low grassy 
skerries. In the evening we were threading our way through the 
narrow sounds of Vigten, amidst a perfect archipelago of islets. 
Some of them were Hider-holms. One Duck, Eider, carried two 
young upon her back. Oystercatchers piped from the rocky 
strand. Upon two islands which were tenanted by Common 
Gulls, the glass showed several young in the down. As we 
passed Torghatten at eleven, sea and sky were still illumined with 


56 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


the purple and golden hues of the northern twilight. Gulls were 
still playing above the shoals of fish, a Cormorant flapped along 
the water, and a Black Guillemot rose from a dive. Next 
morning, by contrast, was fresh and overcast, and as we crossed 
the Arctic Circle the snow-patches became more numerous. 
Arctic Terns passed us beating up the channel, as we neared the 
seaward front of the lion-like Rédo. Skuas were seen at frequent 
intervals, and I watched the amusing performance so often de- 
scribed by visitors to this coast. Screams of a Common Gull 
drew my attention: a Skua was hot in chase. Its tail was 
spread kestrel-wise, showing the projecting middle tail-feathers. 
It swooped and grappled, putting down its feet to tackle the 
Gull. The latter settled on the water, but the Skua kept making 
feints at it, till a Lesser Black-back joined in and chased the 
two. Finally the Gull reached a rock, and its persecutor 
sheered off. 

As we steered to seaward to round the promontory of Kunnen, 
I heard a Whimbrel, and three Scoters flew past in company with 
Hiders. Numerous Puffins rose before the vessel. The islands 
just outside Bodo were swarming with Kiders. With them were 
Oystercatchers, Gulls of two or three species, and a pair of Red- 
throated Divers. As we anchored off the little town of Bédo, 
with its wharves and shipping, a Raven flew past. About 2 p.m. 
we saw the wild Matterhorn peaks of Kjaerring, outposts of the 
grand district of the Folden Fjord. The vessel steered through 
the Gissund, a narrow strait with clear green water. Here were 
whole fleets of Hiders, at least one of the old birds followed by 
young ones. Oystercatchers ran over the stones and seaweed; a 
White-tailed Eagle rose from the rocky shore, and flapped slowly 
past our stern. It was an immature bird, its back splashed with 
lighter colour, and its tail not yet white. We now steered out 
into the Vest Fjord, and tossed and rolled over thirty miles of 
open water to Svolvaer in the Lofotens. Black-backs and a Skua 
followed the vessel. A short run ashore added only one species, 
the Wheatear, to our list. Later in the evening, as we skirted 
this lofty coast, Herring Gulls appeared. They seem to avoid 
the more land-locked waters farther south, where the vessel was 
followed by Common Gulls and Lesser Black-backs only. 

On the morning of the 12th, as we neared Tromso, the savage 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORWAY. 57 


mountains gave place to gentle slopes green with grass and 
feathery birch wood. We had seen nothing so verdant for hun- 
dreds of miles. There was moss-fjeld with melting snow patches 
aloft. A flock of Arctic Terns was fishing in the channel, and a 
Skua in mottled plumage passed us. In the course of the 
morning we landed at Troms6, after just a week of travelling. 
Ten days were spent there, three of them being occupied by a 
trip to the Lyngen Fjord, where ice-clad mountains, separated by 
glaciers and snow-filled gorges, rise from the water's edge toa 
height of between five and six thousand feet. The small hours 
of an extremely wet morning were spent on shore at Lyngseidet ; 
while, by taking advantage of the fact that the boat calls twice at 
Skjervo, we were able to spend rather more than twelve hours 
upon that island, which lies just north of lat. 70°. On July 21st 
we left Tromso in the ‘ Rost.’ Next day we got two or three 
hours ashore at Stokmarknaes while stopping to coal. The 
Raftsund, grandest of the Lofoten straits, was traversed, and 
Svolvaer reached on the evening of the 22nd. Three days were 
spent in making excursions in the neighbourhood of Svolvaer, 
and we finally left for Trondhjem and Bergen on the 26th. Much 
time was lost in steamboat travelling, or the following list might 
have been somewhat extended. 

Cyanecula suecica.—We met with the Red-spotted Bluethroat 
frequently in the willow swamps. Apart from the slight differ 
ence in plumage, it appeared to be the counterpart of the white- 
spotted form which I had met with on the Rhine, though, as the 
males had ceased singing, I had no opportunity of comparing the 
songs of the two species. The females showed themselves more 
freely than those of C. wolfi, which, in my experience, are given 
to skulking. Skjervé appeared well suited to this species, as in 
moist hollows amongst willows and birches on the rocky slopes 
beyond the village we saw representatives of three pairs. On 
July 15th, in the Tromsdal, some distance below the Lapp 
encampment, a pair of Bluethroats scolded from willows by the 
stream. With them were the young ones, which had not long 
left the nest. They reminded one of young Stonechats or 
Robins, but were more richly coloured. On the 24th we saw a 
similar family amongst birch scrub a short distance inland from 
Svolvaer, 


58 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Ruticilla phenicurus.—We only once identified the Redstart, 
in the lower part of the Tromsdal, to wit, on July 15th. 

Hrithacus rubecula.—The Robin seems to be a shy woodland 
bird in Norway. Several were singing at Lyngseidet about 
1 a.m. on the 17th, as the dull morning light strengthened. 

Saxicola enanthe.—A pair of Wheatears, with their brood, on 
rough ground below the birch woods, were amongst the first 
birds that we saw at Tromso. ‘Two days later another pair 
upon the rocky shore of Grindo had young just flying. On July 
23rd we met with this species on an islet off Store Molle, in the 
Lofotens. 

Turdus ithacus.—Our first day at Troms6é, spent in the birch 
woods in pouring rain, introduced us to the Redwing’s song of a 
few whistling or piping notes. Sometimes a young bird which 
had left the nest would bustle out of the top of a birch tree with 
a chuckle. The old birds which had young were exceedingly 
fussy. Thus on the 13th, in the woods at the base of Floifjeld, 
a Redwing clucked and scolded persistently hke a Song Thrush 
as it flew round us, but we could find nothing. A second pair, 
in a great state of excitement, led to a search, with the result that 
we put up some of their young ones just flying. ‘Two or three 
Redwings were singing in the woods at Lyngseidet in heavy rain 
early on the morning of the 17th. Owing to its shyness, or to 
its habit of not breeding in colonies, this species appears to be 
far less numerous than the Fieldfare, but such can hardly be the 
case in reality, judging from the numbers which visit us in 
winter. While the Fieldfare sits boldly, the Redwing slips off its 
nest at the approach of an intruder; so that its eggs are not 
easily identified. A nest found on July 19th on the far side of 
the island was attributed to this species. The eggs, which were 
warm, were not to be distinguished with certainty from Field- 
fares’, but, though we watched for some time, no Fieldfare 
appeared to lay claim to them, while the Redwings were close at 
hand and vociferous. 

T. pilaris.—We met with Fieldfares in every locality visited, 
even on Skjervo, where the birches were very small; but in 
Lofoten, where wood was scanty and of low growth, we only came 
across them upon one occasion. A first day in the woods at 
Tromso, in steady rain, had yielded little, when the excited 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORWAY. 59 


scolding of a pair of Fieldfares called attention to their nest 
with three eggs, about seven feet from the ground against the 
trunk of a small birch. Several pairs were breeding in birches 
beside the track which led through the woods to Sandnaes, but 
in this and other cases the pairs were too few and too scattered 
to deserve the name of a colony. One bird was sitting upon 
three eggs, while two more were built into the bottom of the nest. 
Next day (July 18th), in the large woods at the base of Floifjeld, 
we met with nests the contents of which varied from a single 
fresh egg to young birds which flew as we knocked the trunk of 
the tree. In one nest the four eggs were all above the usual 
size, one of them very decidedly so, measuring 1°35 by °95 in. ; 
while the average dimensions, as given by Howard Saunders, are 
1°2 by °85 in. But most of the nests were empty, probably in 
consequence of an earlier raid by collectors. Next day, upon 
Grindo, we found a nest with two fresh eggs. In the Tromsdal, 
on the 15th, leaving the track, which was thronged with tourists 
making for the Lapp encampment, we found a large colony of 
Fieldfares, but the birches were very awkward to climb, many of 
them being mere poles about thirty feet in height, and too slender 
to support a man’s weight. On the 19th, on the far side of the 
island, nests still contained eggs or young in various stages of 
srowth. Eggs from the same nest often showed very varied 
degrees of incubation, and sometimes no two young ones of a 
brood were of the same size. One nest was not more than 3 ft. 
9 in. from the ground. Many birds, having finished breeding, 
were scattered over the clearings, feeding upon berries. On 
July 22nd, at Stokmarknaes, we climbed to many nests, but all 
were empty with the exception of a single one, which contained 
four well-fledged young. A few old birds were noisy, but many 
young ones were flying, and the breeding season was evidently 
over. I should much doubt whether in these latitudes the 
Fieldfare attempts two broods; it was difficult to form an opinion 
on the point at Tromso, owing to the probability of the birds 
having been disturbed. 

T. torquatus.—The Ring Ouzel was seen at Skjervo, about 
the high rocky part of the island, where, amongst crowberry and 
heather, Gulls were breeding. While waiting for a view of the 
midnight sun, we noticed that for about half an hour birds were 


60 THK ZOOLOGIST. 


silent. Immediately after twelve the light improved, and the 
‘tack tack”’ of a Ring Ouzel was heard. The influence of con- 
tinuous daylight upon the routine of bird-life in the far north is 
worthy of further study. On July 25th we noted the Ring Ouzel 
on the top of a rocky bluff near Svolvaer. 

Phylloscopus trochilus.—We share Mr. Aplin’s view as to the 
Willow Wren being the most numerous bird at Tromso. In 
mid-July many pairs were feeding young which had just left the 
nest. But the song was to be heard daily all through the month, 
while in this country the bird is silent for about three weeks 
before recommencing with its quiet summer song early in August. 
Thus I noted that the Willow Wren was still singing at Svolvaer 
on July 25th, and again at Bergen on the 30th. 

Sylvia atricapilla.— On July 13th a Blackcap was singing 
in a sheltered gully on the lower slopes of Floifjeld. Its 
presence seemed in keeping with the luxuriant vegetation of 
this favoured spot. Birch and mountain-ash hung from the 
steep banks of the little ravine, where water from the melting 
snow-patches above trickled over sheets of moss, amongst which 
crew Parnassia, Geum rivale, and quantities of that delicate and 
beautiful fern, Cystopteris montana. There were patches of a 
tall white-flowered umbellifer, and the rest was a rank jungle of 
meadow-sweet, wood-cranesbill, great valerian, and the blue 
alpine sow-thistle. ‘The only sound beside the Blackcap’s song 
was the note of a Northern Marsh Tit, which was busily investi- 
gating the rotten birch-stumps, some of which showed the marks 
of its bill. And all this in the latitude of Disco Island, and far 
north of Iceland! On the morning of the 17th I heard another 
Blackcap at Lyngseidet. 

Parus borealis—The Northern Marsh Tit was ranging the 
woods in family parties. The usual call is the familiar ‘‘ chee 
chee chee”’ of our own bird, but on Grindé one puzzled me for a 
time by making use of a fresh note. In many places this species 
had been pecking and digging into the old birch-stumps. 

Muscicapa atricapilla.—I saw a male Pied Flycatcher perched 
on a rail at Lyngseidet early on the morning of the 17th. 

M. grisola.—Its note called my attention to a Spotted Fly- 
catcher at the same time and place as the last. Lyngseidet would 
appear to be a favourite locality with the smaller birds, 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORWAY. 61 


Motacilla alba.—The White Wagtail was not very numerous 
at Tromso, though on July 20th we noted eight roosting side by 
side on a sloop at anchor in the strait. There were several about 
the shore at Lyngseidet; two were seen at Skjervo, and one at 
Svolvaer. 

M. borealis.—The Northern Yellow Wagtail was noted the 
day after our arrival, when one rose from the willow scrub by the 
shore of the strait near Storstennaes. Next day we saw several 
on Grindo. One much-excited pair led us to make a search, 
with the result that we caught a young one just able to fly, and 
saw another. 

Anthus pratensis.— The satisfactory determination of Norwegian 
Pipits is well known to be a matter of no small difficulty. I 
examined some scores with the field-glass upon the bogs and 
crowberry “barrens” in the hope of detecting the Red-throated 
Pipit, but all appeared to be of the present species. Some 
Meadow Pipits were feeding young, but the majority had eggs, 
doubtless a second brood; and so numerous were they that in 
the Tromsdal we stumbled across three nests in the course of 
about half an hour. Upon Grindo a boy showed us a nest with 
six eggs in a clump of moss and Hmpetrum. We watched for 
the return of the bird, much bitten by Mosquitoes the while, and, 
though she did not turn out to be the wished-for Red-throated 
Pipit, it was interesting to note the artless and unconcerned 
manner in which the bird, under pretence of feeding, stole up to 
the nest. 

A. obscurus rupestris.—The Norwegian Rock-Pipit cannot be 
numerous in the part of the Nordland which we visited, as, 
though constantly upon the look-out for it and frequently about 
rocky shores well suited to its requirements, I only met with it 
at Svolvaer. 

Accentor modularis.—The Hedge-Sparrow seems to be a shy 
bird in Norway, keeping to the cover of birch and willow. One 
was singing at Lyngseidet on the morning of July 17th, and 
another the same day at Skjervo. A third, heard in Lofoten on the 
25th, was also singing in an unfrequented spot far from the village. 

Pyrrhula major.—On July 12th, a wet day spent in a first 
exploration of Tromso Island, I twice heard the low piping note 
of this species as we pushed through the birch woods. 


62 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Innota linaria.—We never failed to meet with the Mealy 
Redpoll wherever there was birch or willow cover of any but the 
most stunted growth. The first nest found, on July 13th, was 
thickly and warmly lined with feathers (fowls’) and willow down. 
It contained six eggs, which were incubated; but two others, 
found the same day, each contained three fresh eggs. Willows 
seemed to be preferred, and in some cases the nest was only 
three or four feet from the ground. On July 15th a crowd of 
tourists from the Hamburg-American liner ‘ Auguste Victoria ’ 
visited the Lapp encampment. In passing through the woods 
many of them brushed past, and must almost have touched, a 
Mealy Redpoll’s nest, placed shoulder-high in a birch tree beside 
the track. The five eggs were warm, though the bird was not 
sitting. At Skjervé, on the 18th, there were many Redpolls 
about the village, pecking at dandelions, or perched on fences, 
fish-rails, or path. One or two of the cocks were brilliant little 
fellows, with blood-red forehead and crimson breast. 

L. flavirostris—On July 23rd, landing upon an island off 
Svolvaer, we soon recognized Twites by their note. The locality 
seemed well suited to this moorland species, for, though there 
was only a scanty growth of heather, the peat soil was covered 
with berry-bearing plants—Vaccinium myrtillus and uliginosum, 
Arctostaphylos alpina, and, in wet spots, Rubus chamemorus, 
yielding the luscious méltebaer. 

Fringilla montifringilla——At Tromso one could not walk in 
any direction beyond the outskirts of the town without hearing 
the Brambling’s drawling note. A nest found just after our first 
Fieldfares’ on July 12th was some eight feet from the ground in 
the fork of a birch. It was an untidy nest, with Willow Grouse 
feathers worked into it. The bird fluttered off her four eggs, 
squealing and tumbling about. The cock bird then appeared; 
his note was a sharp “‘kip, kip,” which, often heard subsequently, 
always reminded me of the Meadow-Pipit. Another nest, higher 
up than the first, was thick-walled and deep, made of moss, bents, 
and lichen, lined with hair and “rype” feathers. On the 15th 
the young had just left a nest near the Lapp camp, leaving an 
addled egg. Both the old birds were much excited. Our last 
nest, found on the 19th on the far side of the island, had small 
young ones and an egg, the latter probably hatching. 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORWAY. 63 


Passer domesticus.—As Mr. Aplin remarks, House Sparrows 
are scarce at Troms6. On July 14th I noted one in the street. 
Three days later, as we touched at Havnaes on the U0, halfa 
dozen Sparrows were chirping on the roof of a warehouse by the 
landing-stage, and next day we saw plenty at Skjervo. Both 
localities are farther north than Troms0; so that the reason of 
their scarcity at the latter place does not appear. 

Eimberiza citrinellaa—Several Yellow-hammers were singing 
at Lyngseidet as we landed, shortly after midnight on the morning 
of the 17th. On the 25th I saw one amongst the birches not far 
from Svolvaer. 

Hi. scheniclus—Young Reed-Buntings, not long out of the 
nest, were once or twice detected in hiding amongst the willow 
scrub. Thus, on the 15th, there were some just able to fly near 
the Lapp camp. 

Plectrophanes nivalis.—On July 13th we ascended the Floifjeld, 
a hill lying opposite to Tromso just across the strait. It rises to 
a height of about 2500 ft. Above the zone of creeping birch we 
met with a great variety of small herbaceous plants of arctic and 
alpine type, including almost all the characteristic species of our 
Highland and Lake District summits. An Arctic Hare, in blue 
grey summer dress, was seen for a moment as it stole away, and 
amongst the grass were the runs and droppings of the Lemmings. 
After gaining the shoulder of the hill, our way led over bare 
stony tracts of fyeld, with a very gradual rise towards the summit. 
We had just passed a herd of about sixty Reindeer, when, as 
we came to a more broken rocky part of the slope, the Snow 
Bunting’s call-note drew attention to a male bird of this species 
perched upon a boulder. We soon discovered that there were 
about two families of them,—the old cocks in full black and 
white livery, hen birds, and young ones which had not long left 
the nest. It has been remarked that, to one who has only known 
him in winter in the south, to come across the Snow Bunting in 
his summer quarters is like making the acquaintance of a new 
bird. Again, on July 25th, after a fatiguing ascent of one of the 
mountains near Svolvaer, under an almost tropical sun and 
through jungles of lady fern six feet in height, as we at length 
gained the ridge and rested on its northern side, where in the 
shade several large snow patches still lay unmelted, a twittered 


64 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


call-note from the rocks below led to the identification of another - 
pair of Snow Buntings. 

Sturnus vulgaris.—At Lyngseidet, early in the morning of the 
17th, several Starlings were passing to and fro, and just before 
we left Tromso on the 21st, we noted a small party in trees close 
to the Museum. 

Pica rustica.—Magpies were everywhere in evidence. They 
are more pert and familiar than with us. Thus at Lyngseidet, 
on the wet morning of the 17th, they were prying into fish-sheds, 
chattering on window-sills, gables, and church roof, tampering 
with the split Cod hung to dry on the fish-rails, and making 
mischief generally. | 

Corvus corax.—The Raven was seen so frequently that it 
must be a very common bird in the Nordland. It was often 
noted about the fishing villages as we came alongside in the 
coasting steamer. [our were seen near the top of Floifjeld, and 
five came croaking overhead at Skjervo. 

C. cornix.—The Hooded Crow was fairly numerous, and its 
large nests were sometimes seen in the birch woods. When the 
young had only recently flown, the old birds were very noisy, 
angry, and excited. At Skjervé there were Grey Crows about 
the houses and church. 

Otocorys alpestris.—On July 14th, as we came down the 
Floifjeld, I heard an unfamiliar note. The field-glass showed a 
pair of birds, which, from their black moustaches and the ear-tufts 
of the male, were identified in a moment as Shore Larks. They 
were very quiet, and gave no indication of having a nest. A pair 
of birds which puzzled us earlier in the day were no doubt of 
this species. 

Dendrocopus minor.— Woodpeckers are scarce at Tromso, 
and none were seen. But on July 19th I noticed a birch stump 
which had apparently been worked by this species, a Northern 
Marsh Tit having nested in the hole subsequently. 

Cuculus canorus.—The Cuckoo, which at home had been 
silent for three weeks or more, was calling in the woods at 
Tromso on the day of our arrival, July 12th. Another was heard 
at Lyngseidet as we landed soon after midnight on July 17th. 

Falco esalon.—Of the smaller birds of prey, the Merlin was 
the only one met with, but it appeared to be fairly numerous. 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORWAY. 65 


One passed over our boat off the southern end of Troms6 Island 
on the 14th. Three days later, when in the ‘Lyngen’ off 
Dybvik, one flew over, and we saw another early next morning 
at Skjervo. On the 24th, in a glen behind Svolvaer above the 
head of the lake, we again heard the shrill note of the Merlin. 
There appeared to be a whole family of them amongst the birches 
which covered the lower slopes of the grey granite peaks. 

Haliaetus albicillaa—On July 19th we saw a White-tailed 
Eagle on the far side of Tromso Island. It was mobbed by 
Gulls. 

Lagopus albus. —A first meeting with the Willow-Grouse 
during a walk through the birch woods at Tromsé6 on July 12th 
served to remind us that we were in northern latitudes. The 
white wings and white-tipped tail render it a much more showy 
bird than our own. A pair fluttered up out of the willow-scrub, 
pitched again, ran with their heads down, and scuffled in great 
excitement, as six or eight ‘‘ cheepers”’ got up one after another, 
flew weakly, and dropped again into cover. On the 19th, at the 
spot from which a pair rose, we found a young one with its leg 
broken. It had probably been attacked by a Gull. The same 
day, in coming down from the higher part of the island over a 
bank deep in crowberry, we put up another pair with about 
thirteen cheepers, some of which flew, while others skulked. 
Several old birds and another brood were seen on Skjervo. 
When there were young, the tumbling and fluttering performance 
always occurred. On the 25th we climbed one of the peaks in 
the neighbourhood of Svolvaer. At about 1800 ft., while still 
struggling through the fern, something white appeared to fall 
from near our feet. It was a Willow Grouse tumbling down the 
hill-side. Two cheepers flew. 

Numenius arquata.—The Curlew was sometimes heard about 
muddy or sandy shores, as at Lyngseidet on the 17th. On the 
20th, when we landed on the large island of Kvalo, it appeared 
to be breeding on the moors in company with Golden Plover. 

N. phe@opus.—We heard the Whimbrel’s rippling note coming 
from the muddy shore at Lyngseidet, where it was feeding in 
company with Curlews and Oystercatchers. 

Totanus calidris.—Redshanks seemed to prefer the far side of 
Tromso Island, where they piped excitedly or ran amongst the 

Zool, 4th ser. vol. IIl., February, 1899. F 


66 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


long grass just above the shore. One would sometimes perch on 
a tree. At Grindé, on the 14th, a boy gave us a “ hard-sat”’ 
egg. On the 20th several were noisy about the Kvalé pools. I 
put up a young one just able to fly, and another swam out to 
avoid us. 

T. hypoleucus.—The Common Sandpiper was seen on the 
stream in the Tromsdal above the Lapp encampment, and again 
on the 24th about the shores of the lake behind Svolvaer. 

Tringa temmincki.—On July 20th we landed at Tisnaes, the 
point of the big island of Kval6 which is nearest to the southern 
end of Tromso Island. Walking over the peat-bog where cloud- 
berry showed its ripening fruit, we roused a small wader, which 
flew round with a trilling note, then settled on a lump of peat. 
It was presently joined by the other one; no doubt they had 
young hidden somewhere close at hand. 

T. striata.—A Purple ‘Sandpiper was seen on July 23rd on 
the rocky shore of an islet off Store Molle in the Lofotens. It 
was excessively tame. 

T. alpina.—The Dunlin was seen on the 20th on the Kvalo 
moors, and was from its manner evidently breeding. 

Phalaropus hyperboreus.—Walking over these moors, which 
strongly reminded me of Wales, we came to higher ground, and 
reached the series of small lakes of which we were in search. 
From a pool margined with sedge, a small wader got up and 
flew anxiously round, with a noise like “ wick wick,” then settled 
on the water. We watched both birds, one, probably the female, 
being rather the larger and brighter of the two. They swam 
high in the water, with the neck straight, head well up and 
nodding. Nothing of bird life in Norway pleased us more than 
this introduction to these trimly-built and confiding little waders. 
My friend half swam, half waded, out into the pool, and on a 
spongy islet found a slight hollow in the moss, the empty nest. 
We then in two places noticed something moving on the water as 
if a fly had fallen in. The glass showed that the appearance was 
due to a couple of nestling Phalaropes, which were swimming 
with scarcely more than their bills above water. 

Charadrius pluvialis.— There were many pairs of Golden 
Plover about these barren uplands; in fact, 1 have never seen 
them so numerous on any moor. 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORWAY. 67 


Ajgialitis hiaticula.—On July 14th a boy showed us a Ringed 
Plover’s nest with four eggs on the shingle at Grindé. On the 
20th there were several of these birds about the beach at Tisnaes. 

Hematopus ostralegus.—Oystercatchers were very noisy about 
the rocky point at the north end of Grindé. They had made 
many nest hollows on the beach, which was here entirely com- 
posed of broken shell, with bits of coral and of calcareous 
Sponges. On the 17th, near Lyngseidet, a vociferous pair must 
have had young ones hidden close at hand. Others were feeding 
with Curlew on the mud-flats. We saw Oystercatchers on the 
23rd on a little island off Svolvaer. 

Sterna macrura.—On July 16th, just before the ‘ Lyngen’ 
touched at Finkroken, on the Reino, we passed a little island 
upon which a large colony of Arctic Terns was nesting. They 
filled the air like snowflakes. Others were seen on the 28rd 
during a boating excursion off Svolvaer. 

Larus marinus. —A few Great Black-backs were seen. On 
the 23rd I noted a pair about an eg-vaer, or Hider hatchery, off 
Svolvaer. | 

L. fuscus.—A few Lesser Black-backed Gulls were breeding 
in company with the next species about the far side of Troms6 
Island. The higher part of Skjervo Island, very rough ground, 
all crowberry and rock, was a gullery of these two species. Here 
on the 17th we caught three young birds of different ages, two 
of them nearly ready to tly. Others had. already gone down to 
the beach. 

L. argentatus.—Herring Gulls were very numerous on the 
17th at Lyngseidet, where in the early morning they were pil- 
fering split fish from the drying rails. ‘The shore was littered 
with cod-heads and backbones, the usual refuse of a Norwegian 
fishing village. On the 18th we touched at the whaling station 
of Skaaro. Eleven freshly-killed Whales were floating at anchor 
alongside, two or three ashore were being flensed, and about a 
dozen carcases which had been stripped were waiting to be made 
into fish-guano. The water was covered with oil and floating 
refuse, so that the place naturally had special attractions for 
Gulls, which were in countless numbers. At Tromsé we bought 
two Herring Gulls’ eggs of the variety mentioned by Mr. Aplin. 
They are marked with red-brown and ash on a warm cream- 

FZ 


68 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


coloured ground. The locality given was Musvaer, behind 
‘T'roms6, and report said that in the whole colony, a large one, 
only one nest contains these red eggs each year. 

L. canus.—The Common Gull appeared to be generally dis- 
tributed, breeding upon the ‘‘ egg-holms”’ in the sounds, about 
small pools upon the bogs, and on rocky islets in the lakes. 
Wherever we went, a few pairs cackled overhead. At Skjervo, 
on the 17th, I waded across the softest of spring bogs to a nest 
with three eggs. At the Kvalo pools several old birds were noisy 
overhead, and we saw two young ones swimming. On the lake 
behind Svolvaer two or three pairs had young ones just flying on 
July 24th. 

Stercorarius crepidatus.—Richardson’s Skua was frequently 
seen about the sounds and channels in the neighbourhood of 
Tromso. At Grindo, on the 14th, I watched one amusing itself 
with a Common Gull, threatening it playfully. On July 20th, 
landing at Tisnaes on the Kval6, and walking inland, we soon 
reached the moors already mentioned in connection with the 
Golden Plover. A Skua appeared on the wing some distance in 
front of us. Its long pinions and hawk-like flight reminded one 
of the Kite. It was evidently excited. After some search 
amongst the lichen and crowberry, my friend picked up a nest- 
ling Skua in dark smoky down, its quills and mottled scapulars 
just showing. The bird, first seen, which was of the lighter 
variety, tumbled about. It was soon joined by another, wholly 
dark. Both showed their flight to perfection, and were rather 
noisy. The young one was not in the nest, but the latter must 
have been close at hand. On the 23rd we noted a Skua of the 
light variety flying over one of the islets off Svolvaer. Another 
was chasing an Arctic Tern. 

Alca torda.—At Tromso, Razorbills were constantly on the 
move up and down the channel. 

Uria grylle-—The same remark applies to the Black Guille- 
mot. Several were noted on the 14th when we rowed to Grind6. 
On the 22nd, in the ‘ Rost,’ we ran into the Trold Fjord, an inlet 
of the Raftsund, with grand surroundings. Here a few pairs of 
Black Guillemots were evidently breeding. Next day many were 
noticed in the course of a boating excursion to the islands off 
Svolvaer. Landing on a large rocky islet off Store Molle, we 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORWAY. 69 


scrambled along shore, and came to an inlet of blue-green water, 
framed by the scorched red granite rock, and with a dazzlingly 
white beach of broken shells and coral in places. The contrast 
of colours made a brilliant picture. Six or eight Black Guille- 
mots were fishing, each one going off with its fish when caught to 
feed young. Others were certainly nesting on an islet upon 
which we were not allowed to land, as the wooden cross and 
watcher’s hut proclaimed it an eg-vaer, or Eider hatchery. One 
of those seen was in the barred plumage ; can it have been a last 
year’s bird unusually late in assuming the adult dress ? 

Fratercula arctica.—Many Puffins were seen from the deck of 
the ‘ Lyngen’ as we ran across from Kvitnaes on the Vanné to 
the mouth of Lyngen Fjord. 

Colymbus arcticus.x—We rarely met with a lake or pool of any 
size that had not a pair of Divers upon it, usually followed by 
their two young ones in the down. On the 14th we saw three 
settle upon the Praestvand, the lake in the woods behind Tromso 
which supplies the town with water. At Skjervo they were con- 
stantly passing to and fro, uttering harsh cries while on the wing. 
As we watched the midnight sun a fine pair of Black-throated 
Divers with their young floated upon a pool just below us. 
Probably a dozen places were found where trampled water- weeds 
and pieces of egg-shell showed that young had been hatched. 
One pair had bred at the Kvalo pools. Others were seen near 
Svolvaer; one pair near Oos on the 25th had well-grown young. 

C. septentrionalis. —'The Red-throated Diver was not less 
numerous. Three were wailing in the inner bay as we landed at 
Skjervo on the 17th. As we came to one of the small sheets of 
water amongst the birch-clad hills, a pair were much excited, 
barking and rushing about the pool. We took this as an in- 
dication of eggs or young, but on returning an hour later the 
birds were gone. On the 19th we came across a string of lake- 
lets in the woods towards the northern end of Tromso Island. 
Upon the uppermost one floated a fine pair of Red-throated 
Divers amongst the flowers of the small yellow water-lily (Nuphar 
pumilum). They must have had young, as before taking flight 
they swam up to within twenty yards of us, and we could not but 
wonder how long they would survive if guilty of such temerity in 
less unsophisticated latitudes, A pair had a single young one at 


70 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


the first of the Kvalo lakes; another pair had two young on the 
sedgy pool where the Red-necked Phalaropes were breeding. 

Phalacrocorax carbo.—Cormorants were seen on July 23rd on 
the rocks and skerries off Svolvaer. | 

Anser cinereusx—We did not actually meet with Grey-lag 
Geese, but, to judge from their droppings, they frequent the 
boggy margins of the forest pools on Tromso Island. The 
pinioned Grey-lags in the courtyard of the Grand Hotel at 
Tromso are said to have come from Karls6. 

Anas boscas.—One seen at a pool on Skjervo, another at the 
Kvalé lakes. A duckling which we caught on the 19th close to 
the water-lily pool above mentioned was probably of this species. 

Somateria mollissuma.—EHiders were common about Tromso 
and the neighbouring islands, but we saw only ducks with their 
young broods ; the drakes appear to prefer more open water. On 
July 14th there were many off Grindé. One party numbered five 
old birds and about twenty young; another duck had five, and 
yet another four under her charge. On the rocky point at the 
northern end of the island we found two young in the down 
washed up; they may have been killed by the big Gulls. A 
maternal Hider grumbled ‘‘ og og”’ as a Great Black-back settled 
beside her brood. ‘There was a nest in a hollow amongst the 
rocks with the down still in it; others amongst the rocky knolls, 
or just within the birch wood, had been cleared out, and were 
now mere hollows. A boy showed us a nest by the shore; the 
bird was sitting in a little stone shelter, from which she bustled 
clumsily out. There were only two eggs; one taken was on the 
point of hatching. On the morning of the 17th, as we walked to 
a rocky point near Lyngseidet, many Kiders swam out from the 
shore with their broods. It was very common to see two old 
ducks with five young ones between them: very many had none. 
Next day, at Skjervo, I noted two old birds followed by fifteen 
young ones, no doubt the produce of a couple of nests which had 
not been discovered ; we found one such still full of down on the 
less frequented side of the island. At Svolvaer semi-domesticated 
Kiders swam in the harbour amongst the boats, close under the 
hotel windows. When returning in the ‘Sirius,’ we lay to for 
some time at Kobberdal, on the island of Lokta, to take on board 
three hundred barrels of herrings. Close to us was a small islet 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORWAY. 71 


completely covered with huts for the Eiders to nest in; they 
were made of slabs neatly roofed with turf. 

Mergus merganser.—At Grindo, on the 14th, we saw a female 
or young Goosander in the channel just off the southern point of 
the island. 

M. serrator.—The Red-breasted Merganser appeared to be 
numerous. On the 14th there were several off the southern end 
of Grindo. At Lyngseidet, in the early morning of the 17th, as 
we rounded a rocky point, a female Merganser plumped off a rock 
into the water, while nine young ones tumbled over after her, 
showing white under sides and fluttering paddles for a moment as 
they wriggled off a flat stone into the water. The same day, at 
Skjervo, four females, immature birds, were at rest on a rock in 
the inner harbour, and a pair rose from one of the Diver-frequented 
pools. On the 28rd, as we were exploring an islet off Store 
Molle, three alighted on the water near us, and next day there 
was a party of four on the lake behind Svolvaer. 


72 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


NOTES ON SHETLAND BIRDS. 
By F. S. Graves & P. Rare. 


Tue following notes were made during a visit to the Shetlands 
from 20th May to 4th June, 1898, when the breeding season of 
most species in these islands is commencing. ‘Three days at the 
beginning and end of the time were spent among the shores and 
islands about Scalloway, and two days in Unst. The remainder 
of the excursion included a day on Foula, a hurried run to Papa 
Stour, and several days in the Walls neighbourhood, with whose 
dreary heather-clad waste and countless lochs we became very 
familiar. ‘The weather, though dry, was for the most part cold, 
with high wind, which prevented much boating, and confined us 
largely to the land. 

WHEATEAR (Saxicola enanthe). — Very common everywhere. 
This and the Skylark are the characteristic small birds. Several 
nests with eggs found. 

WHITETHROAT (Sylvia cinerea).—On the rocky edges of the 
little landing creek on F’oula were a few warblers of this species. 
They were very shy and silent, and must have felt sadly out of 
their element, as there are no bushes there. 

Wren (T'roglodytes parvulus).—A few seen. 

Merapvow-Pirir (Anthus pratensis) — On the moorlands; 
common. 

Rocx-Prrrr (A. obscurus).—The ‘“‘ Bank Sparrow” was nume- 
rous on the Scalloway islands, where we found a sucked egg. 
Under a detached piece of rock on Foula was a nest with 
two eggs. 

SwatLow (Hirundo rustica). —On the 25th May we saw two 
on Foula, hawking along the little sheltered burn which falls into 
the creek forming the landing-place. On the 28th we saw two 
near the Loch of Cliff, Unst. 

Common Sparrow (Passer domesticus).—Seen in the neigh- 
bourhood of houses and outbuildings. 

Twitk (Linota flavirostris). — Frequent; principally on the 
coast, 


NOTES ON SHETLAND BIRDS. 73 


Corn-Bountine (Emberiza miliaria).—About Walls and Balta- 
sound, in the neighbourhood of cultivation. 

Sxy-Larxk (Alauda arvensis).—Very numerous. The exquisite 
song, poured out amidst the high cold wind, enlivened the 
dreariest heaths of the country between Walls and Sandness. 
A nest with three eggs among the heather. 

STARLING (Sturnus vulgaris). — Numerous on Foula and else- 
where. We found them nesting in a variety of situations, as 
below the eaves of a stable, on sloping ground between two 
boulders on one of the islands near Scalloway; and in Unst, in 
the loose stone base of a low sod fence within a few inches of a 
little stream. They seem to place their nests anywhere within 
shelter. 

Hoopep Crow (Corvus cornix).—Common. There was an 
occupied nest on the bell-gablet of the Wesleyan Church at 
Walls. 

Raven (C. corax).—One on Foula, buffeted by an Oyster- 
catcher. ‘Two between Walls and Lerwick. 

SHORT-EARED Ow. (A8to accipitrinus).—One among the rocks 
near Braga Ness, Walls, persecuted by Hooded Crows. 

Kestreu (Falco tinnunculus).—One seen in Unst. 

Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo). — Saw some birds, but no 
breeding place. 

SHae (P. graculus)—Common. Owing to the rough weather 
we visited no nesting place. : 

GANNET (Sula bassana).—A few seen off the coast. 

Maruarp (Anas boscas).—Met with nesting both in Mainland 
and Unst, some of the nests being hidden in tall heather. In 
three cases the duck was sitting on nine eggs. 

TEAL (Querquedula crecca).—Two on one of the Walls lochs. 

Wiarton (Mareca penelope).— Two drakes on Hulma Water, 
21st May. 

GoLDENEYE (Clangula glaucion).— Two on a small lake near 
Walls; others noted in Unst. 

Ewer Ducx (Somateria mollissima).—Nesting on the islands 
near Scalloway. In two cases where there were three fresh eggs 
the nests were lined with down. Abundant off Papa Stour; we 
saw, as meutioned by Mr. Raeburn, birds among the Great Black- 
backed Gulls on Lyra Skerry. 


74 RAE: ZOOLOGIST. 


Rocx-Dove (Columba livia). — Seen everywhere on rocky 
coasts. In a cave on Fore Holm, F. S. Graves, with great 
difficulty, reached a nest in which were two hard-sat eggs. Close 
to this was another with newlv-hatched young (31st May). 

Corn-CrAkE (Crex pratensis).—F ive eggs taken on Foula in 
1897 were shown us. 

GoLDEN PLovER (Charadrius pluvialis)—Only a few pairs 
seen, near Walls and in Unst; evidently nesting. 

RincED PLovER (Atgialitis hiaticula).— Very common on holms 
and stony barrens; sometimes also on loch-sides inland. Abun- 
dant in the interior of Papa Stour, where the surface has been 
stripped of sods, leaving a waste of sharp-edged red and white 
shingle, with scraps of sickly vegetation. Nests found on the Scal- 
loway islands. One on Hildasay was formed of the dry droppings 
of rabbits arranged in a well-shaped ring round the four eggs. 

Lapwine (Vanellus cristatus).—A few here and there. Evidently 
breeding near Whiteness and Walls. 

OysTERCATCHER (Hematopus ostralegus). — Common every- 
where on the coast. Nesting abundantly on the Scalloway 
islands. One nest contained four eggs. We saw the birds buffet 
the Raven and Hooded Crow. 

Common Snipe (Gallinago celestis)—We saw one pair at 
Snarravoe, Unst. 

Dounun (Tringa alpina).—A few pairs seen by grassy loch- 
sides. We repeatedly heard their reeling “‘ song,’ which was 
uttered when the bird was standing on a tussock, and not when 
on the wing. ‘They were very tame. At one of the places they 
frequented were several small cup-shaped nests on the tufts of 
grass, but laying seemed not to have commenced. 

Common SaAnppiPpeR (Totanus hypoleucus).— 'Two pairs met 
with near Walls on inland lochs. 

WHIMBREL (Numenius pheopus). — Heard the characteristic 
cry from the steamer while in Bastavoe, Yell. 

Curtew (N. arquata).—A few only seen, both on the moors 
and coast. One apparently breeding on Hermanness, Unst. 

Arcric TERN (Sterna macrura).—Noticed none on our first 
visit to Scalloway islands (20th May) ; on second visit (31st May) 
they were numerous at their well-known stations, and noisy, 
although no vestiges of nesting were yet to be seen. 


NOTHS ON SHETLAND BIRDS. 75 


BuAcK-HEADED Guu (Larus ridibundus).—Seen at two places ; 
a few perhaps breeding on the shore of a voe near Weisdale. 
There is a colony on a rocky knoll in the middle of a loch in 
another neighbourhood. This little island has steeper sides than 
is usual, and a luxuriant growth of Luzula. On 21st May there 
were about twelve nests, empty, or with one, two, or three eggs. 
The eggs in each nest agreed in colour. 

Common Guuu (ZL. canus).—Common, and nesting in many 
places, on the low rocky brows of the Scalloway islands, in 
swampy lowlands near Whiteness, and at the tide-edges at Litt- 
lure, near Walls. Most of the lakes of the Walls district had a 
few pairs, the characteristic sites for the nests being little knobs 
of rock or boulders rising a foot or two above the water-level, 
with a hollow on the top just large enough to accommodate a 
single nest. Few of these by the end of May contained their full 
complement of eggs. Im a little shallow pond on the Chingies, 
Scalloway, were nests similarly placed. The cry of the Common 
Gull, a kind of harsh croak, is very characteristic. 

Herrine Guru (L. argentatus).— Common on the coast; we 
did not observe it nesting inland. Innumerable Herring Gulls, 
however, were resting on the Loch of Cliff. Opposite the Rusna 
Stacks, Walls, we saw nests with eggs on 23rd May; at the end 
of the month others on the islands at Scalloway had also their 
complement. 

LesseR Buack-BACKED Guut (L. fuscus).—Common. A few 
pairs nesting on Hildasay, both on a loch which that small island 
contains and on its coast; others on the cliffs near Walls. In 
many of the lakes of the Walls district are islands on which this 
species was gathered, sometimes in large numbers, for nesting 
purposes. These islands had lost the. ling which carpeted the 
lake-sides and other islets, and were richly verdant, and in some 
cases delightfully adorned by flowering marsh-marigolds, at this 
season almost the only conspicuous wild flower of Shetland. (On 
verdure produced by Gulls, see Mitchell, ‘ Birds of Lancashire,’ 
p. 253, second edition.) On one or two of these spots which we 
visited on 23rd May nesting operations had only just commenced ; 
we saw no eggs during our stay. 

GREAT BLACK-BACKED Guu (L. marinus).—Odd pairs breed- 
ing on some of the Scalloway islands. We saw (across a chasm) 


76 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


the colony of Lyra Skerry, described by Mr. Raeburn (Zool. 
1891, p. 131), and great numbers of the birds, mixed with other 
species, were assembled on the shallow ponds in the interior of 
Papa. The darker colour of the mantle, as compared with that 
of L. fuscus, was very noticeable. We were shown some eggs, 
taken recently (25th May) on Foula, where, we were told, the 
bird is rather scarce. 

KittiwakE (Rissa tridactyla).—Common. ‘There are great 
colonies, as is well known, on Foula, and in Burra Firth, Unst. 
On the former island we saw innumerable Kittiwakes flying from 
a bit of wet ground inland to the cliffs, each with a morsel of 
moss in its beak. 

GREAT Sxua (Stercorarius catarrhactes).— We saw the colonies 
both on Foula, and, by permission of Mr. EKdmondston, on Her- 
manness. At the former laying had just commenced. On 25th 
May we saw a number of empty nests, others with one egg, and 
about twelve with their full number of two eggs. The nest was 
usually a scratched hollow about a foot across. 

Ricuarpson’s Sxua (S. crepidatus)—Saw them nesting on 
Hermanness and Foula, on the latter in two places, near the 
Great Skua, and, in larger numbers, on the level not far from the 
landing place. On 25th May, on Foula, we saw one egg only, 
where a very large number of Skuas was collected; yet we were 
several times actually struck by the birds, which never occurred 
with the larger species, nor indeed with this species on Herman- 
ness, where in a few cases two eggs had been laid on 28th May. 
In both colonies dark-plumaged birds seemed to be in the majority. 

RazorBiuu (Alca torda). GuittEMot (Uria troile).—Abun- 
dant on the sea; we saw little or nothing of their breeding. 

Buack GuitLemMor (Uria grylle).—Very common and abun- 
dant; quite the characteristic sea-bird of Shetland. Laying 
scarcely commenced by the beginning of June. 

Lirtte Aux (Mergulus alle).—On the top of the brow near 
the Kaim, Foula, we picked up a part of a skeleton with the 
wings attached. 

PurFin (Fratercula arctica).—Numerous ; nesting abundantly 
on Foula; eggs seen. One we picked up had been carried some 
distance inland, no doubt by a Raven or Crow; it was undamaged 
except by a small dent, probably caused by the bird’s bill. 


NOTES ON SHETLAND BIRDS. 77 


Rep-THROATED Diver (Colymbus septentrionalis).—A pair on 
a small loch near Walls, 21st May. We afterwards probably saw 
one of the same birds, flying overhead with outstretched neck, 
and uttering its strange unearthly cry. These were the only 
Divers seen, except a single bird on the sea near Yell, which 
was perhaps C. glacialis. 

Storm Perret (Procellaria pelagica).—Their nesting-holes 
were shown on an island near Scalloway. We saw also some 
eggs taken in 1897 at Brindister. 

Manx SHEARWATER (Puffinus anglorum).—We saw, on Foula, 
an unblown egg which had been taken on 18th May. 

Futmar (Fulmarus glacialis).\—Multitudes on certain parts of 
the Foula cliffs, as at the Kaim and Smalie. They had just 
begun to lay ; we saw an unblown egg taken about 25th May. 
The increase of this species, which established itself on Foula 
some time between 1870 and 1880, is very remarkable. 


78 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


MAMMALIA. 
CARNIVORA. 


Cats in London.—The number of Cats in London, and their depreda- 
tions on wild birds in our parks, having been variously estimated, I applied 
for information to the manageress of the ‘‘ London Institution for Lost and 
Starving Cats,” who has obliged me with the following communication.— ED. 

‘“‘T have much pleasure in replying to your letter, and in giving you 
the information you require. According to Mr. Hudson’s book, ‘ Birds of 
London,’ the number of Cats in our great metropolis cannot be less than 
three-quarters of a million, and the stray and starving ones certainly not 
under 80,000 to 100,000. The number of Cats we have taken in during 
the three years from the 22nd January, 1896, to 22nd January, 1899, is 
exactly 13,994. The first year we received 2450, the second year 4010, 
and this third year 7527, making a total of 13,994 Cats. We could 
increase the number tenfold but for want of means, and, in consequence, 
want of hands and premises. Depots ought to be established in every part 
of London, with one headquarter to take the Cats collected daily at these 
various stations. Also a tax ought to be levied on Cats, so as to decrease 
the shocking number of stray and starving Cats which now infest our 
streets, and thereby lessen the abominable cruelties to which they are 
exposed. We are only in our infancy as yet, but I hope, with energy and 
push, we shall in a few years’ time establish an institution on similar lines 
to the Battersea Dogs’ Home, with the exception that we search for Cats 
in every available corner, and call for them at people’s request free, but with 
the prayer for a little help. I should think the probable number of Cats in 
London could be easily estimated. There are few houses which do not shelter 
at least one Cat, and every tenement has, with few exceptions, one. Cats 
have on an average three litters a year of at least three kittens at a time, 
and the Cats breed at six months old. A Cat’s age ought to extend 
to about ten years, but this is only when they have good homes and are 
taken in at night. Cats exposed to all the hardships of weather hardly 
live beyond five years, and stray Cats very few months after they are 
deserted. We have received Cats in one or two instances twenty-two years 
of age, and several over eighteen. These of course were great pets, with 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 79 


every care lavished on them. A Catisa delicate animal, with innumerable 
ailments. It easily becomes ill. It is a cowardly animal—if I may so 
express myself—and allows itself to die by not struggling against its 
malady, though at the end it dies hard. When a Cat gets a cold, or 
pleurisy, or distemper, it loses, through its nose being ‘ bunged up,’ all 
taste and sense of smell. The moment it cannot smell its food it will not 
touch it, and dies of starvation even with a dish of food alongside it. There- 
fore a Cat, when ill, must at once be forcibly fed, or it will let itself die. 
Every one of these 13,994 Cats have passed through my hands, therefore I 
ought to know something about them.” 


Polecats in Wales. — Last November I had two of these animals 
(Mustela putorius) sent to me from a certain district in Cardiganshire, 
where they are not so uncommon as is supposed. ‘They were both males, 
and in excellent pelt. The larger of the two is a beauty, his total length 
23 in., length of tail 7 in., weight 2 lb. 3 oz. The fur is of great length 
and thickness.—OxLry GRABHAM (Heworth, York). 


White Stoat.—Although the winter has been so mild, I procured, 
during the last week in December, the whitest Stoat (Mustela erminea) that 
I have in my collection; barring the black tip to the tail and a few brown 
hairs round each eye, it is pure white. Its dimensions were—total length, 
123 in.; length of tail, 3} in. ; weight,6}0z.; female. As will be noticed, 
the tail is very short, and the black tip only measured half an inch. Now, 
in my small series of skins, this is the second short-tailed Stoat that I have 
procured. The assumption would be that they had met with some accident, 
and part of the member was missing; but they were both skinned by 
myself. The tail tapered off to a fine point as in normal specimens, and 
there was nothing to indicate that any injury had been received. I should 
mention that the other of these short-tailed Stoats is a male. A friend of 
mine has a theory that these white Stoats are in several ways different to 
the common form—wmore slender in make, fur more silky, &c.—but in this 
I cannot agree with him. Certain it is, however, that they differ inter se 
very considerably in the length of their tails, and in the size of the black 
tip at the end.—Oxcey GraBuam (Heworth, York). 


AVES. 


Great Grey Shrike in Warwickshire.—A specimen of Lanius eacubitor 
was taken by a birdcatcher at Harbury Spoil Banks, near Leamington, on 
Dec. 27th, 1898. It was caught on the bird-lime, having made a dash at 
the stuffed decoy Goldfinches fixed upon a bush. Hvidently a young bird 
of the year, as I noticed the markings on the edges of the breast feathers 
were very distinct. When I saw the bird a fortnight after it had been 


80 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


taken it had become comparatively tame and accustomed to confinement. -—— 
J. STEELE-HLuiorr (Clent, Worcestershire). 


Great Grey Shrike at Scarborough.—On Dec. 30th a Great Grey 
Shrike (Lanius excubitor) was killed on the shore a little to the north of 
Scarborough. ‘The bird had apparently just arrived, and was making its 
way towards the cliff when first noticed.— W. J. CLarxe (44, Huntriss Row, 
Scarborough). 7 


Strange Nest of a South African Bush Shrike.—lI found a nest of 
the Pied Bush Shrike (Bradyornis silens) near the Fountains, Pretoria, 
Transvaal, on Nov. 6th, 1898. The nest was about eight feet from the 
ground, in the fork of the stem of a small thorn tree. It was built purely 
of twine. I examined it carefully, but could not find any other material 
used in its construction. The inside was lined with small white feathers. 
It contained three eggs of a pale green colour, splashed with red at the 
larger ends.—A.Lrx. Ross (Johannesburg, Transvaal). 

[Fountain Grove is a short distance from Pretoria, and is a favourite 
resort. ‘There is a hostelry there, many picnics held, and many corks 
drawn. Hence the twine.—ED. | 


Scoters in Hants and Isle of Wight.—Mr. Percival-Westell’s note on 
these birds (Aidemia nigra), appearing in your last December number 
(p. 505), rather puzzles me. Knowing the localities mentioned well for a 
number of years, I have found the provincial name of “Isle of Wight 
Parsons ” applied to Cormorants, and though frequently having met with 
Scoters, their flight has been of such a character that a description of them 
as ‘lazily winging their way” would require some qualification. Since 
1866 | could number the instances of having met with them on my fingers, 
but owt of the breeding season they are met with frequently by the shore 
boatmen, who usually describe them to me as “some of them ’ere Scouter 
Ducks.” In November last year I had one close to me diving amongst the 
rocks between Bonchurch and Shanklin, and a party of five flew by me 
out by the wreck of the ‘ Kurydice’ in March, 1878. However plentiful 
Scoters may be, they are not generally known as “ Isle of Wight Parsons,” 
nor do they breed there. —H. Marmapuxe Lanepae (The Vicarage, 
Compton, Petersfield). 


Scoters in South Hants ?.—When I wrote that the Scoter (Cidemia 
nigra) was called the “Isle of Wight Parson” (Zool. 1898, p. 505), I was 
fully aware that the common Cormorant was subject to the same appella- 
tion, and I should have stated this in the first instance. In spite of 
Mr. A. G. Headley’s assertions, I still adhere to the fact that 1 saw the 
common Black Scoter every day during my fourteen days’ vacation in the 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 81 


county in the middle of August last, either at Hayling Island, the Isle of 
Wight, or flying across the sea from one to the other; and that the drum- 
major at Kastney Barracks told me that they could always be seen all the 
year round. When I pointed one out to him, not twenty yards distant, 
he remarked, ‘‘ We call those Isle of Wight Parsons”; and others con- 
firmed this statement. I am a young ornithologist, and only too pleased to 
be corrected in any statements I may make, and I am much indebted to 
Mr. Headley for pointing out the error I made in regard to the Scoter’s 
flight. Those I saw did fly rapidly, and it was a grave slip on my part to 
say they lazily winged their way. The word regularly should have been 
substituted for lazily.— W. PrErcivat-WEsTELL (5, Glenferrie Road, 
St. Albans). | 


Late Stay of Land-Rail.—On Dee. 3rd I had a freshly-killed specimen 
of the Land-Rail (Crew pratensis) brought to me. On dissection it proved to 
be a female, and showed no signs of having suffered any injury which 
might have prevented it migrating at the usual time.—W. J. CLARKE 
(44, Huntriss Row, Scarborough). 


Nesting Habits of the Moorhen (Zool. Dec. 1898, p. 506 ; ante, p. 30). 
— We are well aware that birds differ somewhat in their habits in different 
localities, but this is often an adaptation to surroundings. My experience 
with regard to the species in question (Gallinula chloropus) is that it 
seldom, if ever, covers its eggs on leaving the nest, at least in this neigh- 
bourhood. In my birdsnesting days I have seen many nests and eggs of 
the bird, as I sometimes had the privilege of boating upon some three or 
four miles of the river Avon, which, being strictly “ preserved,” was a fine 
nursery for the reed-loving species, and I do not recollect ever finding a 
nest in which the eggs were even partially covered, except perhaps where 
the parent bird, alarmed at my near approach, had scuttled off, and in her 
haste had drawn a promiscuous reed across her eggs, with no attempt at 
concealment; indeed, the nwmber of eggs in the nest was often discovered 
before a very near approach, and this notwithstanding the approximate hue 
of the ground colour of the eggs and the reeds of which the nest was made ; it 
often seemed to me the similarity in colour of nest and eggs were protective 
items not to be overlooked. On one occasion, in particular, I remember 
finding a large branch of a tree which, during the winter flood, had been 
washed down and stranded in the very midst of a shallow and lagoon-like 
part of the river ; on a projecting portion of this branch, standing up some 
two feet out of the water, the decaying reeds, &c., had accumulated, and on 
the top of it was a Moorhen’s nest quite exposed, and the eggs were easily 
detected at a distance, as on account of the shallowness of the water at the 
time it was with difficulty the punt could be got to the spot; and I may 


Zool. 4th ser. vol. II1., February, 1899. G 


82 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


here remark that, although the river was unusually wide at this particular 
place, yet within two hundred yards of the site of the nest a wood came 
down almost to the water's edge, the higher trees of which were occupied 
by a ‘‘ Rookery,” which one would think would have been an inducement 
for the Moorhen to use every precaution to protect her home; so unlike 
the habits of the Little Grebe, the eggs of which are invariably covered more 
or less. It always seemed a mystery to me how the latter bird managed to 
cover up her eggs so adroitly, and, greater mystery still, how she managed 
to hatch them in such a situation. With regard to the nidification of the 
Moorhen, I have often found that a much larger number of nests seem to 
be constructed than are ever used; but for what purpose is this apparent 
waste of time and labour? We are well aware the same thing occurs with © 
other species—the Lapwing, for instance; possibly some annoyance or 
unsuitable site is discovered after the work is begun, but in many instances 
another nest is made in close proximity to the one deserted. 1 have not 
found a large amount of variation in the eggs of this species, but on one 
occasion I discovered a nest containing three eggs which differed somewhat 
from the normal type, in that the larger end was much darker than the 
other portions of the shell, which was almost spotless except upon this 
darker zone.—G. B. Corsin (Ringwood, Hants). 

With reference to Mr. W. Hewitt’s interesting note on this subject 
(Zool. 1898, p. 506), may I be permitted to give the results of my small 
experience? 1 have never found nests of the Moorhen with the eggs 
covered over, neither when the first egg only has been laid, nor when the 
clutch has been complete. Only last year (1898), I examined, in this 
neighbourhood, more than a dozen nests of the Moorhen, and not one of 
them had the eggs covered over in any way. It is a well-known fact, how- 
ever, that the Little Grebe, or Dabchick, invariably covers its eggs over on 
leaving the nest. With regard to Mr. Hewitt’s suggestion as to the local 
variations in the habits of birds, I may say that what Moorhens’ nests I 
have found in other parts of the country—e.g. Essex, Middlesex, Surrey, 
Herts, Hants, and Suffolk—have never had the eggs covered over.—Basi 
W. Martin (Darley Abbey, Derby). 

With reference to Moorhens covering their eggs, I have one record of 
a bird of this species doing so, or partly doing so, after her full clutch was 
laid. This was near here, on May 21st, 1894, when a Moorhen I disturbed 
off her nest containing nine eggs, partly covered them with pieces of sea- 
weed and a fresh green leaf or two. She had then laid her full clutch, but 
was only just beginning to sit, as the eggs were fresh. On July 19th of 
that year I found, close to the same spot and probably belonging to the same 
pair of birds, one Moorhen’s egg lying on the bare ground, with a few bits 
of reed placed round it; on visiting the spot a few days later there were 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 83 


four eggs in quite a respectable nest, as good as these birds usually make 
on land. On neither of these two latter occasions was there any attempt 
to cover the eggs.—A. Banxss (Beaulieu, Hants). 


A Habit of the Roseate Tern.—I think it is not generally known 
amongst students of birds that it is alleged (and I have great faith in the 
allegation) that the Roseate Tern (Sterna dougalli) robs the commoner and 
allied species with which it associates, of its food, after the manner of the 
Skuas. Some time ago I asked a friend, although not a professed ornitho- 
logist, but who had lived near a colony of Roseate Terns for two or three 
summers, and had constant opportunities of observing the birds, to give me 
a few particulars of the habits of this species, and he told me as a positive 
fact that he had seen the Roseate Tern rob the other Terns of their food, 
*‘not once or twice, but hundreds of times,” generally whilst on the wing ; 
but he has also seen them take food from the young of the Arctic Tern, 
with which their parents had just provided them. In fact my correspondent 
says :—‘* They fly a great deal swifter than the Common or Arctic Tern. 
They very seldom fish for themselves; if they see a Common or Arctic 
Tern with a fish in their bills, they pounce upon it just the same as a Hawk 
will upon a small bird, and take the fish clean out of their bills; they are 
very quick. I have even seen them take a fish out of a young Tern’s 
bill that has been in the nest. I can tell a Roseate Tern amongst a 
thousand Common Terns. When they are flying they seem to be longer 
in the body and longer in the wings than any other Tern, and they have a 
very hoarse cry, quite different to any other Tern’s. I have never seen 
three Roseate Tern’s eggs in one nest, nor even heard of their laying three 
eggs.” I visited the locality last season, but the majority of the birds had 
not commenced to lay their eggs, being unusually late in that respect. I 
did not actually see any Roseate Tern take food from the commoner species, 
although I watched several of the birds circling and wheeling about for 
minutes together. ‘This may be accounted for by the fact that they were 
not busy with nesting operations, and that this robbery is practised much 
more when the eggs are hatched, even if they do not then obtain all their 
food in that manner. Whilst in the district I made all enquiries I could 
respecting this alleged habit of the Roseates, and could get nothing but 
corroboration, sometimes even without seeking it. One of the local names 
for this bird is the ‘‘ Rosette ” Tern, probably only a corruption or a mis- 
understanding of the word “ Roseate,” and sometimes it is called the 
‘*Rosy” Tern; but another local name used more among the natives who 
know the species is the “ pirate ” bird, from its habit of robbing the other 
Sea-swallows. One man with whom I am acquainted, and who has lived 
near this habitat of the Roseate Terns for eight years, told me he was 
certain he had seen these birds snatch food from the other Terns very 

G2 


84 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


frequently, but said it was chiefly done when they had young to feed. I do 
not know anyone who has had such opportunities of observing this species as 
my informant, or who is better acquainted with the bird or its habits in the 
summer season. I also questioned one of the oldest inhabitants—a sea- 
faring man—who I have no doubt has been in the nesting locality of these 
birds more often than any other living man, and he is convinced the Roseate 
Tern does rob the other Terns of the small fish they carry in their bills 
from the sea. Several other men likely to know told me the same. 
Another striking piece of evidence is as follows:—Whilst I was watching 
a man repairing a small steam yacht, he remarked to me, “ Well, have you © 
been to see the pirates to-day?” That was just after my first visit to 
the colony in company with the owner of the above mentioned yacht, and 
it was the first time I had heard the birds spoken of as “ pirates.” The 
term had to be explained somewhat before I really understood what was 
meant. I shall be glad to learn whether any reader can confirm or refute 
this allegation.—E. G. Potrrer (14, Bootham Crescent, York). 


Iceland Gull at Scarborough.—On Jan. 1st, while fishing from the 
rocks in the North Bay, I noticed a Gull fly past which I took to be Larus 
leucopterus from its small size and the absence of black on the primaries. 
A gunner not very far from me shot down the bird as it passed over 
him, and brought it to me. It was, as I had imagined, an Iceland Gull in 
the cream-coloured plumage, with the back inclined for slate-grey, which 
immediately precedes maturity. The tip of the lower mandible was 
missing, having apparently been carried away on some previous occasion 
by ashot. The bird had, however, not suffered by the injury, and was in 
excellent condition. The stomach was empty. I have only noticed this 
Gull on two previous occasions at Scarborough. — W. J. CrarkeE (44, 
Huntriss Row, Scarborough). 


Birds in Kensington Gardens, 1897-1898.—The gradual extermina- 
tion of most species of birds in London makes it interesting to put on 
record from time to time those which still exist there, or are to be seen on 
migration. Mr. Yarrell has somewhere mentioned that in his day seventy- 
two species frequented Kensington Gardens. During the past two years I 
have kept a careful note of all the birds which I have happened to see in 
the Gardens. These I find amount to twenty-seven species. Of these, 
fourteen species still regularly breed there. The remainder are visitors, 
some appearing only at the season of migration, but with annual regularity. 
I have no doubt that more constant or regular observers might contribute 
to swell the list of visitors, but I have limited my catalogue strictly to birds 
which I have myself seen, only in Kensington Gardens, and clearly identi- 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 85 


fied. Perhaps some other readers of ‘The Zoologist’ will send additions 
to the list. 


Song-Thrush (Turdus musicus).— Resident and fairly plentiful, but 
decreasing gradually. 

Blackbird (7. merula).—Resident, but somewhat less plentiful than 
the last. 

Robin (Hrithacus rubecula).—Resident and common. 

Hedge-Sparrow (Accentor modularis).—A few pairs still resident. 

Willow-Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus).— Very regular visitor on 
migration, and may be heard daily at the end of April. 

Great Tit (Parus major).—Several pairs still resident, but decreasing. 

Blue Tit (P. c@ruleus).— Resident, and the most abundant of the Paride. 

Coal-Tit (P. ater).— Now only a visitor, I think. 

Marsh-Tit (FP. palustris).—A rare visitor. One specimen used to haunt 
the flower-walk in November, 1898, but, from its plumage, seemed fresh 
from the country. 

Wren (Troglodytes parvulus).—Not uncommon ; resident. 

Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)—Abundant and resident. Nests in the 
hollow trees and buildings round the gardens. 

Jackdaw (Corvus monecula).—A few pairs frequent the gardens, and 
nest in the old trees near the Broad Walk. 

Carrion-Crow (C. corone).—A pair (and sometimes two pairs, I think) 
nest regularly near Speke’s obelisk. In the winter I have seen parties 
of four or five in the morning before the gardens are disturbed. 

Rook (C. frugilegus).— Only a visitor since 18938, when for the last time 
twelve nests were occupied at the north end of the Broad Walk. A few 
Rooks visit the gardens daily, and on Feb. 2nd, 1898, a pair began a nest 
in an elm on Palace Green, but soon gave up the work. 

Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa grisola). — Still a regular summer 
visitor, and very interesting as the only summer migrant which still 
remains to nest. For the last two years a pair (and, I fear, the last) have 
had a nest somewhere near the Albert Memorial and Rotten Row. 

Swallow (Hirundo rustica).—A regular and very common visitor on 
migration. 

Martin (H. urbica).—A much less common visitor on migration. 

Sand Martin (Cottle riparia).—Rare; but, I think, comes regularly 
every spring. 

House-Sparrow (Passer domesticus). — Very abundant, and probably 
increasing. In these mild winters I have seen London Sparrows busy 
nesting on Jan. 25th. Partial albinos seem increasing in numbers. 

Chaffinch (Fringilla celebs).—Not long ago was resident, but now, J 
think, only an occasional visitor, 


86 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Pied Wagtail (Motacilla lugubris).— Fairly regular visitor on migra- 
tion, but only in the early morning. I have seen them in March and 
December, 1898. 

Yellow Wagtail (M. raiz). — Very rare on migration. I saw a party of 
five near the round pond early on April 27th, 1898, but they had departed 
by 8 a.m. 

Swift (Cypselus apus).—Rare visitor on migration. I saw four hawking 
over the pond on the afternoon of Aug. 8th, 1898, when the gardens were 
crowded with people. 

Tawny Owl (Syrntum aluco).—A pair, I think, of genuine wild birds 
used to inhabit a hollow tree near the orangery, and hoot loudly at night. 
They disappeared in the spring of 1897, and J have heard none since. 

Wood-Pigeon (Columba palwmbus).—Abundant and fearless. A few 
pairs remain all the year, but most depart in winter. They are early 
breeders, and I noticed them in pairs and cooing loudly in January. 

Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus).—Resident and nests at the Serpentine. 
IT have seen sometimes half a dozen together, but often all disappear for a 
time, and, I suppose, visit the other London lakes. 

Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus). — A winter visitor from October 
(or earlier) to April. Large parties often make their way from the Thames, 
but seldom stay long about the pond. Most of them are birds in imma- 
ture plumage and very fearless.—Harotp RussEit (Kensington Palace). 


Fecundity in Birds.—I have to thank Mr. Storrs Fox for his kindly 
notice of this subject (ante, p. 28). Perhaps he will excuse me if I in turn 
touch upon one or two points he brings forward. He says, “‘ Birds cannot 
be conscious weeks beforehand that the time for their departure is drawing 
near.” If Mr. Fox was in the habit of keeping caged birds he would 
realize, I think, that a Nightingale, for instance, feels the approach of the 
period of migration weeks in advance ; it is vaguely restless and unsettled. 
That it argues logically from this feeling of unrest, I could not venture to 
infer: what I believe is, that the bird is influenced so that it cannot quietly 
attempt to nest again. I have found in the case of both winter and summer 
visitors, that the migratory instinct begins to work upon the bird a month 
or more before it actually leaves. My caged Bramblings, to give a second 
example, begin to fret before February is out. Mr. Fox extends my 
suggestion, “a hen of small size could not well lay more than five eggs,” 
from the Finches and Warblers to the Tits. Again I was relying on cage- 
bird experiences. I have frequently stimulated Finches to lay more than 
five eggs, with the result that I have subsequently lost the hen: I have had 
fourteen eggs from a hen Bullfinch in about five weeks, after which she has 
died. From a foreign bird, neither Finch nor Warbler, I have had forty 
and fifty eggs in a season with no apparent resulting injury to the parents. 


NOTES AND QUERIES, 87 


What I said is, I think, true of Finches, but it can only be extended to other 
genera with care. Mr. Fox will, I hope, see in another article some notes 
I had prepared on the other subject he mentions towards the conclusion of 
his paper, for the kindly criticism of which I am very grateful.—Basi1 
Davies (Lincoln College, Oxford). 


A MP ELLE DA. 

Toad in Nest of Titlark.— On the 14th June last year, when exploring 
some sandhills in the island of Vlieland, in North Holland, I put a Titlark 
(Anthus pratensis) off her nest, and, on examination, found it contained 
three eggs, and also what at a first glance I took to be a young bird, and, 
from its size, perhaps a Cuckoo. On stooping down to examine it closely, 
I discovered that it was a Toad, and that the bird’s eggs were lying on its 
back. The Toad, on being touched, slowly and deliberately crawled out of 
the nest, the eggs slipping off its back into the hollow below, and began to 
bury itself in the sand outside. Inside the nest was an inner rim or ledge, 
which, from its appearance, looked as if the Toad had rested there some 
time. Curious to know the effect produced on the eggs, which formed the 
middle part of this strange sandwich, lying between the breast of a warm- 
blooded bird and the back of a cold-blooded reptile, I broke one of them, 
and found it nearly fully incubated and healthy. The Toad was a Natter- 
jack (Bufo calamita).—_W. H. M. Duruatx (Row, Doune, Perthshire). 


PALHONTOLOGY. 


A Monstrous Dinosaur. — Assistant-Professor W. H. Reed, of the 
Geological University of Wyoming, has made a great discovery by unearthing 
the petrified bones of the most colossal animai ever taken from the earth’s 
crust. ‘This fossil monster was a dweller in the Jurassic age, a Dinosaur, 
measuring nearly 130 ft. in length, and being perhaps 35 ft. in height at 
the hips and 25 ft. at the shoulders—an animal so terrible in size that its 
petrified skeleton alone is believed to weigh more than 40,000 pounds. 
Prof. Reed made the great find last August while prospecting for fossils 
ninety miles north-west of Laramie, and during the time which has elapsed 
since then the members of the University have been secretly at work in its 
restoration. The skeleton of the animal is so vast that its smallest bone 
yet found is more than a man can lift, and, with two men constantly at 
work, it is believed that many months will be required before the monster 
can be placed on the campus at Laramie. Although its restoration is as 
yet incomplete, still enough of its bones have been disinterred to establish 
its zoological position, and to place it in geological history as the king of 
all animals restored from fossil fields. In comparison to a Mammoth, this 
animal was in size as a horse toa dog. In the known fossil world there is 


88 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


but one creature that can be compared at all with it, and this would be 
only as a child beside it. The famous Brontosaur at the Yale Museum, at 
New Haven, is its only animal criterion of measurement. This was an 
animal of its own kind, a fellow-creature in Wyoming, where for millions 
of years they have laid together in the same deposit. The skeleton at Yale 
was restored in 1879 by Prof. Reed, under the direction of Prof. Marsh. 
Beside this monster, the largest Dinosaurs of Kurope, and indeed the 
world, have remained since its discovery as only pigmies. For years the 
geological students have made pilgrimages to New Haven to study and to 
marvel at its immense skeleton. ‘This monster is believed to have been 
70 ft. in length, and to have weighed perhaps 80,000 pounds in life. Prof. 
Reed says that, although it is practically out of the question to give an 
accurate idea of a living Dinosaur, he should think that the animal now 
being restored would weigh in life sixty tons, that it had a neck 30 ft. in 
length, and a tail about 60 ft. in length, and the cavity of its body, with 
lungs and entrails out, would make a hall 34 ft. long and 16 ft. wide; the 
head of the animal is very small for the size of the body. There is no 
building in Laramie large enough to hold it, and when taken there, it will 
probably be placed temporarily on the campus. The work of restoring has 
been greatly interrupted by snow, but it is being carried on as rapidly as 
possible. For a great number of years Wyoming has been known to con- 
tain some of the world’s most wonderful fossil fields, the first discovery 
dating back to 1858, and since 1877 Wyoming has been known to have the 
petrified remains of the largest land animals that have ever lived.— 
L. Smazt (777, Lincoln, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.). 


( 89 ) 


NOTICHS OF . NEW | BOOKS: 


The Last Link. By Ernst Harcxen (Jena); with Notes and 
Biographical Sketches by Hans Gapow, F.R.S. Adam 
and Charles Black. 


One of the most interesting, and certainly most suggestive 
addresses delivered at the recent meeting of the International 
Congress of Zoology at Cambridge, was that of Prof. Haeckel 
“On our Present Knowledge of the Descent of Man.” This 
has now been published in book form, as above; with many 
“additions and notes” by the Professor’s old pupil, Dr. 
H. Gadow. 

Man’s place in Zoology is still, as Huxley described it, ‘‘ the 
question of questions for mankind”; and if that remark was true 
in 1863, it is still more pressing to-day, when, as the author 
most truly observes: ‘‘ At the end of the nineteenth century, the 
age of ‘natural science,’ the department of knowledge that has 
made most progress is zoology.” The position of man in the 
animal world is now considered with calmness and discussed 
with urbanity. It was even quite recently, when brought into 
line with science, or discussed on an old and dear tradition, 
described, on one side, as “a tale told by an idiot,” or, on the 
other, as a matter of “sound and fury signifying nothing.” 
Both sides have come nearer to each other with further knowledge, 
and all who study the question now admit the evidence of an 
evolutionary plan. Whether that plan is simply the result of 
natural forces, or an evidence of a design beyond our cognition, 
is a question not for these pages. 

We can only summarise Prof. Haeckel’s views on this problem. 
He considers the celebrated fossil Pithecanthropus erectus, dis- 
covered recently by Dr. Dubois in Java, as a form which connected 
primitive man with the anthropoid apes, and as indeed the long- 
searched-for “missing link.” That man was “ known with cer- 


90 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


tainty to have existed as an implement-using creature in the last 
Glacial epoch. His probable origin cannot, therefore, have been 
later than the beginning of the Plistocene. The place of origin 
was probably somewhere in Southern Asia.” 

In the evolution of man Prof. Haeckel is an advocate of the 
“heredity of acquired characters.” In this he is in distinct anta- 
gonism with Weismann and his followers. That this is not the 
crime against Darwinism frequently advanced is to be gathered 
from the testimony of the Professor, who states that on the three 
occasions he visited Darwin “we discussed this fundamental 
question in complete harmony.” The following observations 
seem incontestable. ‘‘If one denies with Weismann the heredity 
of acquired characters, then it becomes necessary to have recourse 
to purely mystical qualities of germ-plasm. Iam of the opinion 
of Spencer, that in that case it would be better to accept a 
mysterious creation of all the various species as described in the 
Mosaic account.”’ | 

Zoology has only fulfilled her mission in the discussion of 
this question. For a long time indeed will she foster the study of 
‘* man’s place in nature.” We are not concerned whether science 
ultimately solves the problem—absolute truth will probably be 
the ideal more than the goal of our enquiries; but we may rest 
assured that ‘“‘ the work done in the present century by Lamarck 
and Darwin will in all future times be considered one of the 
sreatest conquests made by thinking man.” 


Zoological Results based on Material from New Britain, New 
Guinea, Loyalty Islands, and elsewhere. Collected during 
the years 1895-97. By Arruur Wit.eEy, D.Sc. Lond., &c. 
Parts I. & Il. Cambridge: at the University Press. 


THis is what we venture to designate as a real zoological 
publication, restricting its scope as purely scientific and technical. 
Dr. Willey made an expedition to the Pacific in search of the eggs 
of the Pearly Nautilus, an enterprise, in a biological sense, as 
much, or more, important than many other belauded expeditions. 
But science is not justified in all her children. This publication 
is devoted to the description and elucidation of the general 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 91 


collections made during this expedition, which, we read, “‘ have no 
claim to completeness, since they were not part of my special ob- 
ject; but new facts relating to such forms as Nautilus, Peripatus, 
Amphioxus, Ctenoplana, Balanoglossus, &c., cannot fail to pos- 
sess a peculiar interest.” 

‘The opening memoir is by Dr. Willey on a species of Peri- 
patus which he obtained in the island of New Britain. One 
interesting fact is here brought out, that whereas formerly, and 
based on our then knowledge, it was a conclusion that the 
species of Peripatus could be arranged in three groups in 
accordance with their geographical ranges—viz. Neotropical, 
Australasian, and Ethiopian—the new species constitutes the 
type of a new group which may be designated Melanesian. The 
biological strength of this paper is beyond the aim of our pages; 
but itis not by new species that this journey will be alone remem- 
bered. Some animals were procured which, though known to 
science, were unrepresented in our National collection, such as the 
rare marine Snake Aipysurus annulatus, and Prof. Studer’s Kchi- 
noderm Astropyga elastica. ‘The work, as we announced in these 
pages (1898, p. 376), will comprise five or six parts; and the first 
and second have as yet only just reached our hands. Consequently, 
at present, a detailed review is impossible. Already a good staff 
of naturalists have commenced to contribute; and the names of 
Arthur Willey, Paul Mayer, G. A. Boulenger, R.J. Pocock, 
D. Sharp, Sydney J. Hickson, F. Jeffrey Beil, IF’. P. Bedford, 
Arthur E. Shipley, J. Stanley Gardiner, F. G. Beddard, and 
Isa L. Hiles are guarantees of special work by specialists. The 
work is beautifully illustrated. 


ee 


Wild Life at Home: How to Study and Photograph it. By 
R. Krarton, F.Z.S. Cassell & Co., Ltd. 


THE well-deserved success of the author’s last work, ‘ With 
Nature and a Camera,’ with its beautiful illustrations of animal 
life, has induced a wide-spread interest in the method of photo- 
graphing glimpses of nature. In response to many enquiries, as we 
are told, the present book is intended to clear the way for the in- 
creasing number of those who wish rather to possess realistic pho- 
tographs than the actual birds or nests, A “technical instructor” 


92 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


would, however, be a misnomer for this publication, for it contains 
a host of good zoological observations. 

Mr. Kearton has a fair word to say for London Cats. ‘I have 
recently seen it stated that the birds of London and its suburbs 
have decreased because of the Cats and increased population. 
Whilst recognising the folly of hating a dumb animal merely 
because it carries into operation an inherited liking for one 
particular kind of food, I must frankly confess that I do not love 
Cats ; and it will be well to bear this avowal in mind whilst reading 
the following account of my experiences. This year I have known 
of the following species of birds having nests and eggs within five 
hundred yards of a Greater London farmhouse, boasting an 
army of no less than five adult Cats:—Pheasant, Partridge, 
Carrion-Crow, Missel-Thrush, Song-Thrush, Blackbird, Starling, 
House-Sparrow, Hedge-Sparrow, Robin, Wren, Barn-Swallow, 
House-Martin, Chaffinch, Lark, Whinchat, Red-backed Shrike, 
Yellowhammer, Moorhen, Lapwing, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Kestrel, 
Turtle-Dove, Whitethroat.”’ Of course the retort is obvious, that 
these farm Cats were presumably well fed and housed, and that 
the worst feline marauders are those houseless and starving 
brutes which, ill alike for themselves and the birds, haunt the 
crowded abodes of man. 

The author also gives his experience on a question now being 
discussed in these pages as to the nesting habits of the Moorhen. 
He states that during his residence in the neighbourhood of 
Elstree, owing to the depredations of Carrion Crows, “I do not 
think I can call to mind one instance of a Moorhen succeeding 
in hatching off her first clutch of eggs. The species has to 
depend for its perpetuation on the growth of reeds and rushes, 
which the old birds bend over their nests and thus hide 
their eggs.” 

The illustrations, as in Mr. Kearton’s previous books, are 
again very charming: photography more than illustrates—it 
reveals—nature. No longer are her secrets to be pourtrayed by 
the imaginative artist; we have now reached the stage of actual 
representation. In time the traveller must illustrate his books 
by the aid of the camera, or not at all. 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 93 


The Fishes of North and Middle America: a Descriptive Cata- 
logue of the Species of Fish-like Vertebrates found im the 
Waters of North America, north of the Isthmus of Panama. 
By D. S. Jorpan, Ph.D., and B. W. Evermann, Ph.D. 
Washington: Government Printing Office. 1898. 


In 1897 (‘ Zoologist,’ p. 178) we drew attention in these 
pages to the first part of this great publication. Part II. has 
now appeared in the shape of another massive volume, bringing 
up the pagination to a total of 2183, the number of genera 
described to 798, while the described species are now no fewer 
than 2510. 

In reading the descriptions of the gorgeous and bizarre 
colouration of many of these fishes, one cannot but feel that 
some of our speculations as to the meaning and service of 
animal colouration will have to be qualified by much apparently 
different piscatory evidence. How suggestive is the following 
account of the young of the Garabaldi (Hypsypops rubicundus), 
which are of a dusky scarlet, with intensely bright blue markings. 
‘* These brilliant little fishes inhabit only large, deep rocky pools, 
hiding under the seaweed of ledges, and frequently swimming out 
into the open water of the pool. They are accompanied by the 
adult, the usual uniform scarlet colour of which appears a distinct 
lustreless yellow in the water.” The fish is common on the coast 
of California. 


Fossil Meduse. By Cuarues Doourrrte Watcorr. Washington: 
Government Printing Office. 


Tuts is one of the monographs of the United States Geolo- 
gical Survey, and forms vol. xxx. of that series. As the author 
remarks: “To the biologist the suggestion of silicified Meduse 
is a violent attack upon his previous conceptions of such or- 
ganisms, and the possibilities of their preservation as fossils in 
any other manner than as faint impressions on fine limestone, 
sandstone, or shale.” They, however, occur in a silicified con- 
dition, and have been found to belong to the Jurassic, Permian, 
and Cambrian faunas. ‘Their mode of occurrence in the Middle 
Cambrian of Alabama “ suggests at once the habit of living on a 


94 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


muddy bottom in great numbers.” This monograph not only 
describes the American remains, but also those of the Jurassic . 
lithographic limestones of Solenhofen, the Permian fossils of 
Saxony, and those belonging to the Cambrian age in Northern 
Europe and Bohemia. With the usual ample, we might almost 
say lavish, manner with which these American governmental pub- 
lications are issued, this volume is embellished with no fewer than 
forty-seven plates. 


Birds of the British Isles. Drawn and described by Joun 
Duncan. Walter Scott, Limited. 


T'H1Is volume consists of a reprint of pen-and-ink sketches of 
British birds, with short descriptive notes, contributed by the 
author weekly during the last ten years to the ‘ Newcastle 
Weekly Chronicle. From an introduction, written by Mr. 
Charles Dixon, we learn that the author from his childhood has 
been a lover of bird-lfe: ‘‘ And this seems only natural, for he 
is the son of Robert Duncan, the Newcastle taxidermist, and was 
consequently brought up in an ornithological atmosphere, and in 
a, house where the family talk was almost invariably about birds.” 

Consequently this is neither what may be called exactly a work 
of science, nor a book of reference. It is, however, a publication 
which in its lengthy serial form must have drawn many of the 
ardent Newcastle politicians who read the ‘ Newcastle Weekly 
Chronicle’ away from the views of both Joseph Cowen and John 
Morley to a more peaceful study of bird-life. 

It is a book that many will buy who have never heard of 
Howard Saunders or his ‘ Manual,’ and therefore will reach a 
reading public to whom more scientific ornithology is a stranger. 

The work has been revised by Mr. Dixon, and is a real 
standard of skill and industry combined with a true love of 
nature. 


( 95 ) 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 


THERE will be few zoologists indeed to whom the name of Prof. Alleyne 
Nicholson is unknown, and by whom his text-books haye not been used. We 
greatly regret to see his death recently announced, and to observe the ranks 
of the older zoologists gradually thinning. Henry Alleyne Nicholson was 
born at Penrith, Cumberland, in the autumn of 1844, his father being Dr. 
John Nicholson, who gained considerable distinction as a linguist and 
philologist, especially in Oriental literature. The son was educated first at 
Appleby Grammar School, subsequently at Gottingen, and finally at the 
University of Edinburgh. At the latter University he gained the Baxter 
Natural Science Scholarship, and when only twenty-five he was appoiuted 
(in 1869) Lecturer on Natural History in the Extra-Mural School of 
Medicine in that city, an appointment which he held till 1871, when he 
became Professor of Natural History and Botany in the University of 
Toronto. This post he relinquished in 1874, when he moved to Durham 
in the same capacity. In 1875 he accepted the Natural History Professor- 
ship at St. Andrews. This post he held till 1882, when he was appointed 
Regius Professor of Natural History in the University of Aberdeen, and 
here he remained till the end. We need not enumerate his special work, 
as it will follow him. Tor the facts and dates of the above appointments 
we have relied on “ R. L.” in ‘ Nature.’ 


Grora Hermann Carxt Lupwie Baur was born in Weisswasser, 
Bohemia, Jan. 4th, 1859, and died very early and mentally exhausted on 
June 25th, 1898. As a paleontologist and zoologist, his life’s work was 
done in America, and in the January number of ‘ The American Naturalist ’ 
_ Prof. W. M. Wheeler has given a sympathetic obituary notice of the 
deceased naturalist, with a list of his scientific publications. ‘These number 
144, and perhaps one by which he may be best rememberea is that in 
which he expressed the opinion that ‘the Dinosauria do not exist.” He 
believed that this group isan unnatural one, and is made up of three special 
groups of archosaurian reptiles which have no close relation to one another. 
His other most revolutionary enunciation—one since gaining the assent of 
many well-known workers—is the subsidence theory. ‘‘ Dr. Baur rejected 
the hypothesis of the consistency of continents and oceans, and asserted 


96 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


that the Galapagos, like the Antilles, were formed by subsidence and not by 
upheaval, and that they were at one time connected with Central America 
through Cocos Island. This contention Dr. Baur attempted to prove by 
showing that each separate island has its own peculiar and harmonious 
fauna and flora—a condition which could hardly exist if the archipelago were 
of volcanic origin, and had acquired its plants and animals through acci- 
dental importation by means of currents from the mainland.” 

ALFRED Hart EVERETT, whose name as a naturalist and collector is so 
connected with the Malayan region, died last June from fever, combined 
with dropsy, contracted during his last voyages. An obituary notice has 
just appeared in ‘ Novitates Zoologice’ (vol. v. p. 606), from which we 
extract the following particulars:—Mr. Everett ‘“ was born in 1848, on 
Norfolk Island, where his father held the post of medical officer; but in 
1853 his family settled in England, where he was educated. He began to 
show a strong taste for natural history at an early age, and it was not long 
before he conceived the idea of becoming an explorer. With this in view 
he entered the service of the Rajah Brooke of Sarawak. His work on 
Borneo in nearly all branches of zoology is too well known to require 
description. From there he made his successful expeditions to the Philip- 
pines, and to Palawan and Balabac, collecting chiefly birds for the late 
Marquis of Tweeddale. Being aware of Mr. Everett’s abilities as a 
collector, the Editors of ‘ Novitates Zoologice’ felt great satisfaction when, 
during his stay in England in 1894, he offered his services to Mr. Roth- 
schild, and they heartily regret that they are now terminated by his death. 
Besides collecting birds and insects for the Tring museum, he did much 
in other branches of natural history during his last voyages. There never 
was a more ardent zoologist than Mr. Everett, and when on the sick-bed a 
few days before his death he talked of nothing but birds and mammals, 
and of zoo-geographical problems and future trips to unexplored islands 
as soon as he should be strong again.” 


On the afternoon of January 23rd, a large Porpoise was to be seen 
swimming in the Thames off Blackfriars Bridge, which was watched by 
hundreds of persons.—Daily Chronicle. 


“ TAXIDERMIST.”—Who is responsible for the invention of this vile 
phrase? It is not in Johnson’s ‘ Dictionary.’ I suppose we get it from 
the French. It would have been easy to suggest a more regular formation, 
such as ‘‘ taxidermatist,” or more correctly “‘ dermatotaxist,” or even “ der- 
mataxist.” But scientific people are above such matters, and seem to con- 
temn them.—JuLian MarsHatt (Notes and Queries, Jan. 14th). 


tn ZOOLOG LST 


No. 693.—March, 1899. 


OBSERVATIONS ON THE COMMON TOAD 
(BUFO VULGARIS). 


By G. T. Roper. 


Hypernation.— Toads generally prefer a dry retreat in which 
to pass the winter. I have several times at that season found 
them buried in the dry soil at the top of a bank, under a thick 
thorn hedge. During the summer the shallow tunnels made by 
the Mole are often appropriated by these batrachians as diurnal 
retreats, and it seems not improbable that those holes which 
penetrate farther into the earth may sometimes be utilized as 
winter habitations. In like manner the burrows of our smaller 
rodents, those of the Bank Vole in particular, which run for a 
part of their course in a horizontal direction just beneath the 
surface-soil, are often tenanted by Toads ; and one of these 
creatures may often be seen comfortably seated within, with its 
head towards the entrance. 

In East Suffolk the period of hybernation appears to begin 
about the latter end of October, though an occasional individual 
may be seen moving about later. In the year 1892, near Stalham, 
in East Norfolk, I observed a full-grown ‘T'oad abroad on the 
25th of October; and in 1888 a male was noticed hopping about 
here* as late as the 29th of that month. As is the case with our 
Common Frog (Rana temporaria), the young remain active and 
lively up to a much later period than the adults, and hybernation 

* Blaxhall, Suffolk. 
Zool. 4th ser. vol. III., March, 1899. H 


98 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


with them appears to be far less complete; indeed, it is not very 
unusual to find them moving about well into November. In the 
year 1888, I saw a young Toad of the previous year climbing 
about among long grass and other herbage as late in the season 
as Dec. 3rd. Another on the same day, found secreted under a 
large stone, was quite brisk and lively. On Feb. 9th, 1891, a 
large female was turned out by the spade at a depth of about 
four inches, from ground which had been well dug during the 
previous winter, and was consequently in a comparatively loose 
state. This Toad sprawled feebly with all its limbs, at the same 
time alternatively opening and shutting its eyes. Three weeks 
or a month later it would probably have emerged and been 
making for water. 

BreEepine Hapirs.—Though the breeding season of B. vul- 
garis is rather later than that of R. temporaria, the former is to 
be seen abroad almost as early in the year as the latter. Toads 
have farther to travel to their breeding places than Frogs, as 
their winter quarters are often far removed from water. Males 
are often met with on their accustomed spring journey quite at 
the beginning of March. There is always a marked preponder- 
ance of that sex at the commencement of the breeding season, 
and all the time the Toads remain in the water the males exceed 
the females in number, though not to the same extent as at first. 
The former are the first to awaken from their long winter’s sleep. 
In the year 1882, I observed a male Toad making for water as 
early in the year as Feb. 26th, and in the following year noticed 
one close toa pond in which many breed on the 28th of the same 
month. In 1885 one was heard “chirping’’* or ‘‘ piping”’ in the 
same pond on March lst. In the years 1872, ’84, and ’93, I saw 
Toads in or near water during the first week in March; while in 
five other years (1886, ’88, ’89, 90, and ’94) their first appearance 
abroad, or rather the occasion on which their presence was first 
detected, has been some time during the second or third week of 
that month. These dates can only, of course, be considered as 
approximately indicating the actual first appearance. 

Toads usually remain in the water till the middle of April or 
even later; on one occasion (in 1884) I heard one in a ditch on 


* The high pitched note of the Toad can hardly be called a ‘‘croak.” 
The word ‘“‘ chirp”’ seems to express it more accurately. 


OBSERVATIONS ON THE COMMON TOAD. 99 


May 9th. After the spawning season is over they seldom resort 
to water, except occasionally in very hot weather, or when they 
are suffering from the attack of a species of fly (Musca), which 
deposits its eggs under the skin or within the nostrils. 

The case of the Toad after these eggs are hatched is wretched 
in the extreme, and has been fully described by the late Mr. 
Newman in one of the admirable series of articles entitled 
“ Collected Observations on British Reptiles” (‘ Zoologist,’ Sept. 
1869, p. 1830). 

An irresistible impulse drives these helpless and defenceless 
creatures forth every spring in quest of water, but a considerable 
proportion never reach it, but perish by the way from some mis- 
hap or other; while others, more or less injured by wheels, 
hoofs, &c., manage to reach their destination in a maimed and 
mutilated condition, minus a few fingers or toes, or even a whole 
limb. The wound soon heals, and, handicapped as they are, 
they nevertheless make shift to move about in some fashion, both 
on land and in water. In March the roads near their breeding 
places are sometimes so crowded with Toads that it is difficult to 
avoid treading on them. I once counted six males within three 
square yards, and the next day took four from a small under- 
ground cistern not more than a foot square. At this season, 
before they reach the water, there seems to be a tendency among 
the males towards assembling in small groups of from three to 
five or more. 

The male at this season is easily distinguished from the 
female by his smaller size and spare attenuated figure, which 
presents a strong contrast to the bulky form of his mate. His 
skin too becomes much smoother and more shining than at other 
times, somewhat resembling in texture that of the male Frog at 
the same season, but is not loose and baggy. The muscles of the 
forearm become much enlarged, and the general colouring is 
lighter than at other times, often taking a more decided greenish 
or olive tint. Possibly this may be caused by recent casting of 
the skin. A hard warty excrescence also is developed on the 
inner surface of the thumb and first finger. The skin of the 
female remains rough and warty as at other seasons. 

Among a number of Toads spawning in a ditch, I once found 


a male with two of his toes entrapped and held fast by a small 
H2 


100 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


bivalve—some species of Spherium or Pisidium. One of these 
molluses had closed its valves upon the inner finger of one of the 
fore limbs, while another held tightly by the middle toe of one 
of the hind feet. Yet, seriously impeded as its movements must 
have been, the Toad was still able to swim after a sorry fashion. 

At the same time and place I noticed a very small male which 
had only one hind leg; all the bones of the corresponding 
limb were apparently wanting, but the foot was present, though 
smaller than its fellow, and attached to the trunk by the 
skin alone. 

Our Common Toad has a habit of swimming with the hind 
legs alone, keeping the fore legs or arms pressed against the 
sides. The Fire-bellied Frog (Bombinator igneus) often adopts 
the same method. 

The casting of the skin frequently takes place soon after the 
arrival of these batrachians at their breeding places in early 
spring, but whether the operation is always performed at this 
season I do not know. In the year 1882, I noticed two females 
in the water casting their skin on March 20th; and in the 
following year met with another female thus engaged in April. 
I have never been so fortunate as to detect a male in the act. 

The tadpoles of both Frogs and Toads are excellent scaven- 
gers, and the vast numbers which literally blacken the water of 
many ponds and ditches must be of great use in keeping it pure 
and wholesome. Decaying matter of almost any sort, animal or 
vegetable, is greedily devoured by them. I have seen them 
feeding on the dead bodies of Toads (possibly their own parents), 
Sticklebacks, and even of tadpoles, as well as on cow-dung which 
had dropped into the water; also on the soft parts of submerged 
and decaying leaves of trees and various plants, the veins being 
left untouched. 

Instead of roaming about, as it were, at random in search 
of food, some degree of unity and method may sometimes be 
observed in the movements of these vast armies of tadpoles. In 
the marsh ditches, where they abound, it is not unusual to find 
two dense streams of them steadily travelling close alongside 
one another, but in opposite directions; an “up” and a “ down” 
line, in fact, seems to be strictly maintained and adhered to, in 
order to prevent confusion. I once saw a number of tadpoles, 


OBSERVATIONS ON THK COMMON TOAD. 101 


swimming in a long continuous line, which took the form of a 
figure of 8. As long as I watched them they kept on steadily 
tracing this figure, like the dancers in a Scotch reel. 

After completing their metamorphosis the young Toads, then 
hardly larger than the common house-fly, and nearly black in 
colour, soon begin to change to various shades of brown or dark 
grey, being always lighter on the under surface. Many acquire 
a more or less rufous tint, a deep dull brick-red or rust-colour 
being.very frequent. At this stage of their existence they are 
decidedly pretty and even lively little creatures. Numbers of 
them may be seen in early summer clambering actively about the 
wet grass-blades and herbage growing by the pond or ditch where 
they were bred, but not as yet venturing far from the brink. 
Owing, however, to their minute size, they often escape notice. 

Notwithstanding that the breeding season of the Toad is 
rather later than that of the Frog (according to Bell the ova are 
deposited about a fortnight later), the general exodus of the 
tadpoles of both seems to take place almost simultaneously. 
For this a thoroughly wet state of the ground is necessary, and, 
though their departure sometimes occurs much earlier, it is often 
delayed until the first soaking rain in August. In 1889 some 
young Toads in this neighbourhood (Blaxhall, Suffolk) had left 
water by the 27th of June, remaining, however, up to that time 
among the wet grass close to the ditch from whence they had 
emerged. On the 11th of July, however, after a heavy rain, 
young Toads were swarming all over the low meadows, and about 
the roads and lanes leading from them; but as yet none were 
to be seen on the higher ground. As these hordes of young 
batrachians spread themselves abroad over the face of the 
country, they show a great deal of perseverance and determina- 
tion in their attempts to surmount such obstacles as bar their 
progress. It is amusing to watch these little fellows striving 
manfully to climb an almost perpendicular bank ; time after time 
they come slipping down, but at once resume their efforts with 
unwearied zeal, and, being good climbers, their perseverance is 
often rewarded with success. On these journeys their way is 
beset with many dangers, and their ranks are sadly thinned by 
numerous enemies—such as Rats, Hedgehogs, various members 
of the Crow family, Fowls, Ducks, Corn-Crakes, and many other 


- 102 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


birds. In game-preserving districts, Pheasants probably clear 
off great numbers. 

The small weak voice of the Toad is occasionally heard at 
other times than the breeding season, though much less fre- 
quently. I noticed it on many occasions in the year 1892, more 
especially from the beginning of August till October, and heard 
one calling in a pond in Norfolk as late as the 4th of the latter 
month. At almost any season, on being taken in the hand, a 
Toad will occasionally protest feebly against such treatment by 
means of its voice. 

As a rule, batrachians of all kinds, as far as I am aware, breed 
but once in a year, having a “‘set time” in spring or early summer 
devoted to that purpose.* I have nevertheless once or twice at 
other seasons met with Toads having the altered appearance 
assumed by these animals at their spawning time. 

On the 14th of October, 1882, on a sandy common in Suffolk, 
I met with a male showing at that time those marked character- 
istics which I supposed to be peculiar to the season of repro- 
duction. The skin was smooth, shining, and of a greenish tint, 
the forearm exceedingly thick, and the thumbs furnished with 
knobs; but in this case they were whitish instead of black. It 
called out loudly on being taken up. 


* There are, however, notable exceptions to this rule regarding the 
regular recurrence of the breeding season; particularly in the dry climate of 
Australia, where the spawning time of various Frogs seems to be regulated 
and determined by the rainfall. Cf. J.J. Fletcher, ‘‘ Observations on the 
Oviposition and Habits of certain Australian Batrachians”’ (Proc. Linn. Soc. 
N.S. Wales, vol. iv. (ser. 2), p. 357 (1889). 


( 103 ) 


NOTES ON THE SEAL AND WHALE FISHERY, 1898. 
By Tuomas Soutuwett, F.Z.S. 


At eight o’clock on the morning of the 10th of March, 1898, 
the steam sealing fleet left the harbour of St. John’s, Newfound- 
land, under the most favourable auspices, the prognostications 
as to their probable success, as well as that of the sailing vessels 
which had preceded them, being cheering in the extreme. A 
local paper, speaking of the departure of the fleet, says, ‘never 
did the voyage begin under more auspicious circumstances.” On 
the 27th of March these sanguine hopes were rudely dispelled, 
and the whole colony plunged into grief by the news of the most 
terrible disaster ever recorded in the annals of the Seal fishery. 
The s.s. ‘ Greenland’ was reported sheltering in Bay de Verd, and 
the next day she arrived at St. John’s with the bodies of twenty- 
five of her crew which had perished on the ice, and reported 
twenty-three others as missing, whose bodies were never re- 
covered ; many of the survivors being terribly frost-bitten. The 
cause of this disaster will be briefly explained farther on, but, as 
may be imagined, such a terrible commencement threw the 
deepest gloom over what was in other respects a fairly successful 
voyage. Nor was this the only fatality which had to be recorded, 
for the ‘ Leopard’ also lost two men, and the ‘ Mastiff’ became a 
total wreck, her crew, however, being happily rescued. 

By virtue of an enactment which came into force in the past 
season, the steamers were allowed to commence killing on the 
12th of March instead of on the 14th, as heretofore, and the 
season is prolonged to the lst of May instead of ending on the 
20th of April. The sailing vessels also, under certain restric- 
tions, are granted a bounty of 4 dols. per ton; this, it is hoped, 
may prove beneficial in inducing many vessels which would 
otherwise remain idle at that time, to engage in the fishery, and 
thus find employment for both men and ships. By some it is 


104 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


hoped great advantages may be derived from these concessions, 
but, as usual, there is considerable diversity of opinion. 

Great uncertainty always exists as to the locality in which the 
breeding Seals will be found, and so entirely does this depend 
upon circumstances which it is impossible to anticipate with any 
degree of confidence, that the most experienced are often dis- 
appointed in their forecasts. What usually takes place on the 
east coast seems to be as follows:—Until the last days of 
February the breeding Harp Seals are found frequenting the 
neighbourhood of Greenbay and Whitebay, then, their time for 
reproducing having arrived, they all disappear, going off in 
search of suitable ice on which to whelp; this, as a rule, they find 
in about the latitude of Cape Bauld, sometimes comparatively 
near, at other times farther off the land; they then drift south 
with the ice borne by the southerly arctic current, which probably 
expands as its flows. But their progress is by no means an 
uninterrupted one: many and violent are the storms to which 
they are exposed, and the ice is driven hither and thither, some- 
times comparatively open, at others rafted and piled in in- 
extricable confusion, many of the young Seals perishing owing to 
the ice-fields on which they he being broken up. Westerly winds 
drive the ice off the shore, and easterly winds in the contrary 
direction, or it may be broken up and more or less dispersed by 
northerly gales. ‘The weather too is variable in the extreme, 
the changes being often sudden and unexpected. Hence the 
difficulty in forecasting the probable position of the breeding 
pack, and the great risks attending their pursuit when found. 
The Seals are very sagacious, and it is said of them that when 
Greenbay and Whitebay are full of ice at whelping time they will 
not go so far out to whelp as they would if the bays were free 
from ice, their object appearing to be to get a good stretch of ice 
between themselves and the land. 

The steamers, many of which had deserted St. John’s in 
favour of a more northerly point of departure, have in the past 
season nearly all returned to that port. Highteen vessels in all 
(two less than in 1897) took part in the venture, five of them 
visiting the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the remainder fishing off the 
east coast. The latter found the Seals without loss of time 
some distance to the N.E. of Funk Island, but the state of the 


NOTES ON THE SEAL AND WHALE FISHERY. 105 


ice was most unfavourable, it being compacted into vast sheets of 
great thickness, which the vessels were quite unable to penetrate 
except by occasional openings or cracks, in one of which the 
‘Mastiff’ met with her disaster. An attempt was made by her, 
on the 14th of March, to reach the main body of the Seals about 
seventy-two miles N.N.E. of the Funks by passing up one of 
these lanes of open water, when a sudden change of wind caused 
the floes to close in upon her, and in less than two hours she 
sank, crushed by the ice, with 7000 Seals on board. Happily 
her crew were saved by other vessels in her vicinity. 

The story of the ‘Greenland’ is asad one. On the 21st of 
March she had four watches on the ice, consisting of 189 men 
(out of a crew of 207), recovering panned Seals, of which there 
were about 20,000; later on she took on board the first watch 
consisting of thirty-five men, and on proceeding to recall the 
others the steamer got jammed in sight of the men, who were 
unable to reach her owing to open water between them and the 
vessel; at 4.30 the storm broke with such fury that the ship 
barely escaped foundering. At five o’clock the next day the gale 
somewhat abated, and they succeeded in rescuing one hundred 
men, all of whom were frost-bitten, and some badly injured by 
falls on the ice. ‘The wind then again increased to such a degree 
that it was impossible to get the boats out. On the 28rd six 
more men were picked up alive, and sixteen dead. Only one 
other dead man was subsequently recovered, and on the 26th the 
search was abandoned and the ‘Greenland’ bore up for home, 
seriously damaged, and with twenty-five of her crew dead on 
board, twenty-three others being missing. The two men lost 
from the ‘Leopard’ probably perished from exhaustion, or 
walked into the water through ice-blindness ; a third man was 
fifty-nine hours on the ice, and in a deplorable condition when 
rescued. Sucha chapter of accidents has never previously been 
known in the Seal fishery, and the circumstances under which 
the misfortunes occurred bring forcibly to mind the dangers and 
hardships owing to sudden atmospheric changes, as well as the 
personal toil and risk which are experienced in the prosecution. 
of this arduous and perilous occupation. 

The young Harp Seals were struck by most of the vessels on ~ 
the 13th of March, which, falling on Sunday, killing did not begin 


106 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


till the 14th; and, although found thus early, they were well 
matured. The patch lay E. and W. along the edges of the ice- 
sheets, not in the middle of the pans, as is usually the case; and 
the ‘Algerine’ reports that when she came up to the main body 
of the young Harps the noise was so great that orders given on 
board the ship were heard with difficulty; on the 14th her own 
crew killed 12,000. The ‘ Walrus’ was equally fortunate in 
finding the Seals, but in the gale which followed she lost thirty- 
seven pans, containing some 5000 Seals. The ‘Newfoundland’ is 
also said to have lost over 3000 in the same way; and who can 
tell how many more were thus unprofitably sacrificed? The 
‘Terra Nova’ was the only vessel which secured any appreciable 
number of Hooded Seals later in the season. 

Of the four vessels which went to the Gulf fishery, the 
‘Panther’ ran down the Newfoundland shore in loose ice with 
the hope of reaching the eastern Harps which are supposed to 
whelp near Cape Whittle, on the Canadian shore; but, finding 
the winds unfavourable and the ice getting tighter, ran back 
again, and was fortunate in finding the Hoods seventy miles 
E.N.E. of the Bird Rocks, and secured nearly 6000 old and 
young of these large Seals. The ‘Nimrod’ and ‘ Hope’ found 
the young Harp Seals on the 22nd of March off Byron Island, 
but the ‘ Kite’ and the ‘ Harlaw,’ which went in search of the 
western Harps, did very badly. 

With regard to the Gulf fishery, Mr. Thorburn was good 
enough to give me the following particulars :—‘‘ Westerly winds 
force the ice on the Newfoundland shore, and those from the 
east on that of Canada; so that the safest plan is, as a rule, to 
keep in the centre of the Gulf, where there is almost always 
a movement in the ice when the tide turns. Capt. Joy, who has 
been much in the Gulf, informs me that he thinks there are two 
currents, one going N.K., the other S.W., which meet off Cape 
Whittle, keeping that part of the Gulf more or less open. I do 
not think the masters of the Gulf boats make up their minds as 
to what Seals they are going after until they enter the Gulf and 
ascertain the state of the ice, and how the winds are. Owing to 
the prevalence of westerly winds, I do not think the eastern 
Harps were ever seen last year, and these same winds blew the 
western Harps, which are seldom got at, towards the Newfound- 


NOTES ON THE SEAL AND WHALE FISHERY. 107 


land shore and the open Atlantic to the southward of that. They 
are supposed to whelp fifty miles or so to the westward of the 
Magdalene Islands on immense sheets, or possibly, even probably, 
on ice frozen to and extending out a long distance from the 
Canadian shore. Unless there is a prevalence of strong westerly 
winds, or an unusually mild spring, these Harps are seldom got 
in any quantities. Capt. Joy says that the eastern Harps whelp 
on the ice in the neighbourhood of Cape Whittle, and are driven 
by the winds up or down the Gulf, or from shore to shore; he 
also told me that the people on the Magdalene Islands told him 
that a good many small black [dark coloured ?] Seals whelp near 
there, and that their young take to the water as soon as born. 
From what he heard, he believes that about 13,000 western Harps 
were taken by the people on the Magdalene and Byron Islands, 
and that many Seals were crushed by the ice rafting on these 
islands.” 

The total number of Seals taken by the fleet of eighteen 
steamers, of the aggregate capacity of 5595 tons, and manned by 
3802 seamen, was 241,708, of a net value of about £80,000, as 
compared with 126,628, valued at £32,564, in the previous 
season; to these must be added some 30,000 taken by the 
sailing vessels and by the shore fishermen—a very considerable 
improvement on the last two years. 

The ‘ Aurora’ again headed the list with 25,633, closely 
followed by the ‘ Neptune’ with 25,503. ‘There were five others 
which secured more than 15,000 each, and another five had more 
than 10,000 each; the remaining six averaged 5088 each. The 
most unfortunate were the ‘ Kite’ and the ‘ Harlaw’ (1235 and 
778 respectively) which went in search of the western Harps in 
the Gulf of St. Lawrence. No Dundee vessels were present at 
the Newfoundland sealing. 

In my last year’s notes (p. 77), I mentioned that a company 
called the ‘‘ Cabot Whale Fishery Company” had been formed at 
St. John’s to prosecute the Fin-Whale fishery off the coast of 
Newfoundland after the Norwegian fashion. This fishery has 
been carried on from Snook’s Arm (near Cape John in Notre 
Dame Bay). The season closed early in November, and ninety- 
two Whales were captured by the ‘Cabot,’ the only vessel at 
present employed, Only the blubber and baleen are at present 


108 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


utilized, and the carcases are sent adrift; but the Company, Mr. 
Thorburn informs me, are fitting up premises in Hermitage Bay, 
where a winter Cod-fishery is carried on, for disposing of the 
Whales which are still in that neighbourhood, probably for the 
same reason which proves attractive to the Cod. From the east 
coast, where the Whales had been very numerous near the shore, 
they disappeared early in November, but in 1897 they are said to 
have been more numerous in that locality in November and 
December than at any other time. Three different kinds of 
Whale are said to have been killed by the ‘ Cabot,’ but I have 
not been able to ascertain the species farther than that they are 
reported as ‘‘ Finbacks”’ and ‘‘ Hump-backed” Whales. 

The Seal fishery in the Greenland Seas, so far as the Dundee 
vessels is concerned, has practically become a thing of the past, 
and, such as it is, has almost drifted into the hands of the Nor- 
wegian vessels. Only the ‘ Polar Star’ and the ‘ Balena’ were 
present last season ; the former killed fifty Seals, and the latter 
about 400, but later in the season this number was increased to 
716. A total of 779 represented all the Seals brought home this 
season both by the Greenland and Davis Straits vessels. There 
were twelve Norwegian vessels at the Greenland sealing. I am 
not aware what the total number of Seals killed by them 
amounted to, but their success could have been little better than 
that of the Scotch ships, for I am told the largest catch of the 
fleet was only 700 Seals. Compare this with a total catch of 
37,922, and an average of 2917 for thirteen Scotch vessels 
in 1883. 

The ‘ Polar Star’ and the ‘ Balena’ were the only two Scotch 
vessels in the Greenland Sea, and during the whole season not 
a single Right Whale was seen by either of them. From other 
circumstances, however, their experiences were of considerable 
interest. Capt. Davidson, of the ‘Polar Star,’ finding the ice 
quite unsuitable for whaling, early in June headed for the coast 
of Greenland in search of Hooded Seals and Walrus; seventy of 
the latter, fine old animals, he was successful in securing, but no 
Seals. ‘* While in lat. 74° N.,” says the report of Capt. David- 
son’s voyage, ‘‘ with fine weather and light ice, he took his vessel 
close inshore, and without difficulty landed on a spot only one 
hundred miles to the southward of the farthest point reached by 


NOTES ON THE SEAL AND WHALE FISHERY. 109 


the German expedition,* which partly explored this coast. The 
scenery was magnificent. It was a mountainous country, with 
smiling fertile valleys clothed with verdure and carpeted with 
wild flowers and grasses, the air summer-like and balmy; butter- 
flies fitted here and there, bees and wasps hummed from flower 
to flower, and singing birds made the air resound with merry 
music. . . . In the valleys were seen large herds of Musk-Oxent 
browsing contentedly on the green sward, and hunting expeditions 
were quickly arranged. . . . The total bag amounted to twenty- 
four head. It was with regret that a district so charming was 
left behind for the rigours of the Greenland Sea.” 

Although perhaps this description may be a trifle florid,{ it 
can easily be imagined how charming this arctic paradise must 
have proved, in such perfect weather, to men who had been for 
so many weeks pent up on shipboard, anxiously threading their 
way through the ice-floes. Mr. Kinnes tells me the Musk-Oxen 
were very numerous,§ and that the crew of the ‘ Polar Star’ killed 
only those they found straggling on the beach and islands, and 
did not molest those on the mainland. In latitude 74° 45’ N., 
long. 20 W., an Esquimaux graveyard was discovered, containing 
the remains of a large number of bodies of both sexes, with im- 
plements and weapons; several of these latter were brought 
home by the crew. 

The ‘ Balena, as already said, was equally unsuccessful in 
her search for Whales; consequently her captain determined to 
revisit Franz Josef Land in search of Walrus. He arrived at 
Cape Flora on the 25th of June, and, in spite of bad weather, 
killed 257 of these beasts; but they were of small size, and con- 


* The Danish expedition in 1891-92, under Lieut. Ryder, is probably 
here referred to. He wintered in Hekla Harbour, Scoresby’s Sound, in 1891. 

+ See also ‘ Zoologist’ for 1890, p. 83. 

} That this is not overdrawn we have the testimony of Lieut. Ryder, who, 
on the same coast, found a profusion of animal and vegetable life; Reindeer 
in “*wonderful numbers,” many Musk-Oxen, thirty-two species of birds. 
The richness of the vegetation and the size attained by the plants, he says, 
was “astonishing.”” One hundred and fifty flowering plants were found in 
Scoresby’s Sound. In fact, we who have not witnessed it have little idea of 
the beauty and profusion of the Arctic flora in favoured localities. 

§ Through the kindness of Mr. Kinnes, I have been able to secure a 
good head for the Norwich Castle Museum. 


110 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


sequently of little value. Returning once more to the Greenland 
fishing, Capt. Robertson continued his search for Right Whales 
until the 22nd of August, but without success, and on that day 
bore up for home. 

The absence of Right Whales in the Greenland Seas is to be 
attributed to the condition of the ice on their feeding grounds; 
it was not only too far north, but, when found, too hght to be 
attractive to these animals. The fact of the landing of the crew of 
the ‘ Polar Star’ on the east coast of Greenland, already referred 
to, is indicative of a very unusual absence of ice on that shore. 
Farther east, Dr. Nathorst, in the Swedish ship ‘ Antarctic,’ not 
only made a thorough survey of Bear Island, to the south of Spitz- 
bergen, but visited White Island, the mysterious Wyche’s Island 
(misnamed King Charles’s Land), and other islands in the N.E., 
and was enabled to circumnavigate the whole of the Spitzbergen 
group in one season, a feat, I believe, never before accomplished. 
In the longitude of Charles XII. Islands he reached 81° 14’ N. 
latitude, and is of opinion that had he been a fortnight earlier 
he might have attained a still higher latitude. Farther west 
(4° 9’ W.) he found the margin of the Greenland pack-ice in 
78° 1’ N. latitude. 

The fact of the ‘ Balena’ and two Norwegian vessels again 
reaching Franz Josef Land is a sufficient indication of the state 
of the ice farther east. Capt. Robertson says :—‘*‘ When there 
is good ice on the east longitude, we have the best chance of 
fishing ; when we cannot see Spitzbergen from the edge of the 
ice in lat. 79° N. during May, it is a poor look-out.’’ Such being 
the case, the failure of the Whale fishery in the exceptional ice- 
years we have had of late is not a matter of surprise. The ‘ Polar 
Star’ brought home with her seventy Walrus, fifty Seals, yielding 
eight tons of oil, and seventeen Bears; the ‘ Balena,’ two hun- 
dred and fifty-seven Walrus, seven hundred and sixteen Seals, 
yielding thirty tons of oil, and twenty-two Bears, four of which 
were alive. ‘lhe Bottle-nose Whale fishery, which was once so 
productive, is now quite discarded by the British vessels. 

Three vessels, the ‘ Eclipse,’ ‘ Diana,’ and ‘ Nova Zembla,’ left 
Dundee for Davis Strait, and the ‘ Active ’ made an experimental 
voyage to Hudson Strait, the result of which was one hundred and 
fifty Walrus and seventeen Bears. In May and June the ‘ Eclipse’ 


NOTES ON THE SHAL AND WHALE FISHERY. 111 


searched the east side of Davis Strait, working gradually north- 
ward; she experienced very adverse weather, gales of wind alter- 
nating with calms and dense fogs, and it was not till reaching the 
‘“‘middle-ice,” that on the 16th of July she saw her first fish. 
Whales being abundant in this locality, she remained fishing 
there, but lost her first two owing to fog; better fortune, how- 
ever, awaited her, for on the 18th she killed a fine fish of 11 ft. 
6 in. bone, and between that date and the 27th had increased the 
number to five, all killed in the space of nine days. Further 
search proved vain, and no more Whales were seen by Capt. 
Milne after that time. Towards the end of August the ice began 
to mass in the Straits, and the ‘ Eclipse’ had some difficulty in 
running south; but on the 7th September she bore up for home, 
accomplishing the passage in thirteen days. The ‘ Kclipse’ had 
on board five Right Whales, twenty-three Walrus, and fifteen 
Bears (one of which was captured alive), producing 72 tons of 
oil and 90 cwt. of bone, a cargo worth something like £7000. 

The ‘Diana’ was not so fortunate as the ‘Eclipse’; she 
encountered the same heavy weather, and, after a visit to Melville 
Bay, put back to the ‘‘ middle fishing,” where she was successful 
in killing one good fish early in July; but, although several 
others were seen, this was the only one which fell to her lot. 
Proceeding to Elwin Bay, White Whales were found to be 
numerous, and 450 were killed up to the 16th of August, when 
search was made on the north side of the Sound for Walrus, but, 
owing to bad weather, with small success. Pond’s Bay and 
Scott Bay were full of ice, and the ‘ Diana’ was headed for 
Godhavn, which she reached on the 6th of September, and two 
days after bore up for home, reaching Dundee after a fine passage 
of fifteen days, with one Right Whale, four hundred and fifty 
White Whales, eighty large Walrus, and five Bears, one of which 
was alive. The yield of oil was 94 tons, and 22 ewt. of bone. 

The ‘ Nova Zembla’ was still less successful, and lost valuable 
time on two occasions beset in the ice; her only good fortune 
was in Prince Regent’s Inlet, where she killed five hundred and 
thirty-three White Whales, five Narwhals, and nine Walrus. 
Finally her take was five hundred and thirty-four White Whales, 
eleven Walrus (one of which was captured alive), and four Bears 
—yielding 78 tons of oil. 


112 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


The total catch of the Dundee fleet was 6 Right Whales, 
984 White Whales, 591 Walrus, 779 Seals, and 80 Bears, yielding 
297 tons of oil and 112 cwts. of bone. The produce is of so 
miscellaneous a nature that I am unable to estimate its total 
value, but may say that the present price of whalebone is £1450 
per ton (that under six feet long half-price) ; the oil, all round, 
£17 10s. per ton; White Whale skins vary from 30s. to 35s, 
each ; and Walrus hides, if very large, may be worth as much as 
£40 each, or, if small, as little as 5s. each; those taken by the 
‘Active,’ ‘ Diana,’ and ‘ Polar Star,’ I am told, would average 
about £12 each; but the ‘ Baleena’s,’ from Franz Josef Land (as 
last year), being small and of light weight, were of little value. 
The Walrus ivory is said to be worth ls. 6d. to 2s. 9d. per Ib., 
according to size. 


My best thanks are, as usual, due to Mr. Michael Thornburn, 
of St. John’s, Newfoundland, and Mr. R. Kinnes, of Dundee, for 
their kindness in supplying me with the bulk of the statistics 
embodied in the above notes. 


(oe EBB) 


ORNITHOLOGICAL RECORD FROM NORFOLK 
FOR 1898. 


Bw. Tle 'Gurnny, W.Z7S: 


(AssistED By OTHER Locat Naruratists.) 


As usual, with the Editor’s permission, I apply myself to the 
office of coroner for the birds of the county, but am glad to say 
an East Anglian naturalist’s note-book is not such a death-roll 
as it used to be, except for Hawks and Owls, the law seeming to 
be a dead letter as regards these birds. A more self-opinionated 
race than gamekeepers does not exist. One of the fraternity 
remarked in my hearing that he did not think the Kestrel did 
much harm, but he added significantly, ‘“ It is all the same to me; 
if I have my gun, I shoot all Hawks.” I think all masters should 
forbid indiscriminate shooting. Surely there is no preserver of 
game to whom it would not be mortifying to see a beautiful 
Kestrel swinging in a post-trap, which in its last struggles (per- 
haps with “ Velveteens ” looking on) has thrown up a large pellet 
of beetles’ wings ; and this was witnessed on the 16th of August, 
when there was no excuse for setting a pole-trap. The keeper's 
onslaughts on the Sparrow-Hawk may be pardoned, because this 
thief is almost entirely a bird-eater, and there is no fear of his 
exterminating that species while so many arrive both by night 
and day. ‘They must still be very common somewhere. I do 
not wish to give the pretty Butcher-bird a bad name, but I have 
it on pretty good authority that our Red-backed Shrike was again 
convicted of killing some very small Pheasants at Cromer. This 
is no surprise to anyone who has seen this strong bird carrying 
off in its feet a prey half as big as itself, but keepers should know 
that the large yellow-tailed Humble-bee is its favourite food. 

Another deadly robber of game-eggs is the Carrion Crow, but. 
for all that I am glad to say they have again this summer nested 
by the river at Keswick, though not in their old plantation. We- 
found the nest, which is always a large construction, with a very: 

Zool. 4th ser. vol. IIT., March, 1899. I 


ae THE ZO00LO0GIST. 


substantial foundation of thick sticks, and I think it is more cup- 
shaped than a Rook’s nest. A very few of these birds still keep 
to our river valleys, but before long they will be as extinct as the 
Raven. Mr. Caton Haigh tells me they are still abundant in 
Lincolnshire, as well as the Magpie, which is becoming very rare 
in Norfolk. 

There is another class which is suffering greatly—I mean the 
marsh birds—which in the past have helped to render Norfolk 
Broads so attractive by their presence. This great diminution is 
no doubt in part due to the decreasing area of our Broads, most 
of which are gradually “ growing up”; but still more owing to 
the number of river yachts and wherries which visit these attrac- 
tive water-ways, and scare the. birds, to say nothing of what 
has been done to compass their destruction by a well-known 
dealer in birds’ eggs in the West of England. 

It is now several years since the Reeve has bred in Norfolk, 
in fact, not since 1889, when, walking over ‘‘ Rush-hills,” I found 
the nest, and was near treading on the four eggs. The last 
appearance, or rather re-appearance, of these birds in any quantity 
was in 1893, when for some reason there was an unprecedented 
passage of waders of all sorts through Norfolk. On May 24th of 
that year my correspondent, the Rev. M. C. Bird, observed more 
than twenty Ruffs and Reeves at their old home, some of the 
males with fine frills, a sight neither he nor any other naturalist 
is likely to see again. 

Coincident with the increase of the Shoveller, the Garganey 
Teal has become very rare, and the reason is not obvious. The 
marshman at Sutton has not known of a nest for some years, and 
I doubt if 1898 saw two nests hatched off in the whole Broad 
district ; while there is no other spot in England where these 
birds breed. I remember when their eggs were not uncommon 
at Hickling, but now Mr. Bird’s notes from time to time only 
mention the Garganey as a great rarity compared to the 
Shoveller, and generally seen in April. Mr. Bird has not been 
able to definitely ascertain whether any Garganeys have bred in 
the Hickling district since 1891. 

Of another species, the Spotted Crake, formerly very charac- 
teristic of the Broads, Mr. Bird, in a recent letter, writes :— 
‘“‘ Spotted Rails have not been nearly so frequent of late years ; 


ORNITHOLOGICAL RECORD FROM NORFOLK. 115 


one at Potter Heigham, on the 5th of October, is the only one I 
have heard of being shot for some time.” It appears that up to 
twenty years ago Spotted Crakes were pretty numerous, but 
since September and October, 1881, when there was a migration, 
they have been steadily decreasing in Kast Norfolk (cf. Mr. Bird’s 
notes, Zool. 1890, p. 457). I am glad to see from Mr. Archi- 
bald’s communication that it is not the same in Lakeland, and 
have no doubt the presence of so many visitors on our principal 
Broads helps to drive them away. 

The annexed table is an approximate estimate of the decrease 
in the Norfolk Broads district of six species in the last forty 
years, drawn up from fairly reliable sources. The Short-eared 
Owl is included in the table, but what little evidence there is 
points to its never having been anything more than a scarce 
breeder among the Broads. | 


1858. 1868. | 1878. | 1888. 1898. 
Ee) US | Ae 


| 


| About About | About | About 
Ruff 14 nests 5 nests | 2nests| 1 nest | O nests 
(Machetes pugnazx). | 


Bearded Tit $7), 100) - 5 SO 455 5 74 ote nes es 
(Panurus biarmicus). 


Garganey Teal 7A) ae Pte REZ ae Te re 
(Querquedula circia). | 


Montagu’s Harrier Gin.4 5 ean eg a De Ay hs 
(Circus cineraceus). | 


Marsh Harrier beer alts Da ce On 33 Oss. 
(Circus eruginosus). | 
| 

| 

| 


Short-Eared Owl Ee ee ae: ee 
(Asto accipitrinus). | 


With the extinction of the Ruff, Norfolk loses fifteen breeding 
species, or, if the Greylag Goose, Savi’s Warbler, and Little 
Bittern are reckoned, eighteen. At the same time it may well 
be that Savi’s Warbler, a bird which leaves its shelter very 
reluctantly, flying only ashort distance, and, dipping down again, 
to be immediately hidden, is still an annual visitant in very small 
numbers. 


12 


116 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


The year has passed almost without a single occurrence of 
such regular migrants as the Glaucous Gull, Little Auk, Fulmar 
Petrel, and three species of Buzzard. No Eider Ducks are 
reported, although Mr. Paynter describes them as having had an 
unusually prolific breeding season at the Farne Islands. The 
chief occurrences of 1898 are a Roller, two Little Bustards, four 
Cranes, and a Ruddy Shelduck. In August there was a large 
migration of Crossbills, which are not, strictly speaking, autumn 
migrants. September was far too mild to delay rare birds on 
passage, which, according to previous experience in open weather, 
pass over Norfolk; but the common immigrants generally come 
to us as much in fine weather as in foul, that is, those like the 
Blackbird, Grey Crow, and Shore Lark, which have no intention 
of going farther than England. 

In October there were marked arrivals of Scaup Ducks, 
Bewick’s Swans, Greater Spotted Woodpeckers, and Goldcrests, 
the two latter extending far to the northward of Norfolk. Mr. 
Cordeaux reports ‘‘ there has been no such arrival of Goldcrests 
at Humber mouth since 1892”; but it is probable that neither 
then, nor now, was Norfolk so largely visited as Yorkshire. 

November was uneventful, but in December Blackbirds must 
have poured in, judging from the numbers seen when covert- 
shooting. A very considerable influx of Kingfishers and Wood- 
Pigeons took place, and at the end of the month some Woodcocks 
arrived, in good condition. 

It might be expected that immigrants, on reaching our shores, 
would be more or less exhausted ; but, on the contrary, no one 
who watches Sky-Larks, Crows, Jackdaws, Hawks, &c., coming 
in from the sea can fail to be struck by the methodical way in 
which they fly on, and never alight while the eye can follow them. 
Woodcocks and Blackbirds also, which have evidently only been 
in England a few hours, are found when shot to be in plump con- 
dition, and none the worse for their long voyage. 

And now a few words on migration. Without doubt it is the 
wind and weather in Scandinavia which influence the start of the 
ordinary autumn immigrants, such as those we have referred to— 
Woodcocks, Blackbirds, Redwings, and Wood-Pigeons ; but in 
the case of birds which set out from Eastern Russia it is different 
—e.g. the Greater Spotted Cuckoo, Macqueen’s Bustard, and 


ORNITHOLOGICAL RECORD FROM NORFOLK. 117 


Yellow-browed Warbler. With them it must be the nature of 
the weather when they arrive in Norfolk, Lincolnshire, and York- 
shire which determines whether they halt or pass on. 

A certain number of Russian and Eastern Asiatic birds pro- 
bably pass over Norfolk and the east coast every autumn, for the 
most part by night, and at so high an altitude asto be beyond the 
limits of human sight. As they are not seen their presence is 
never suspected. Migratory phenomena of this sort only become 
apparent when brought within our ken by unsettled weather and 
sometimes fog, as clearly demonstrated by Herr Gitke in his long 
course of observations on Heligoland. 

There is no migrant whose movements can be better observed 
than the Blackbird’s. They come from the east, for the most 
part in “rushes,” from October to Christmas Day, first dropping 
into turnip-fields with an incredible number of Thrushes, and 
then swarming in plantations. It is in December and January 
that Norfolk obtains the old yellow-billed cock Blackbirds, which 
indicates either that the adults are the last to migrate from 
Scandinavia, or that, owing to dull plumage and brown bills, 
these old cocks are not recognized as such by English observers 
in October and November. 

By the Ist of February the northward movement has begun 
again, almost before the southward movement of individuals 
nesting in the higher latitudes is over; and, under certain 
circumstances of wind and weather, it is probable the two 
streams sometimes amalgamate, or actually cross one another. 
If any ornithologist possessed of keen sight would go to sea in 
one of our Yarmouth herring smacks, or obtain the Trinity 
Board’s permission for a week’s sojourn on such a floating light- 
ship as “‘ The Outer Dowsing,” or ‘‘ The Leman and Ower,” in 
the month of October, he could not fail to identify a number of 
species in transit, especially if the wind was from the west. A 
wind which the migrants (nearly always to be seen at Cromer 
arriving from the east) would have to fly against would delay nine- 
tenths of them until sunrise, or later, when they could be easily 
identified. Its velocity must be an important factor, and it would 
probably be found that they choose a high or low stratum, 
according as they are thereby enabled to minimize its power. 
By anchoring a boat at a measured distance of half a mile from 


118 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


the light-vessel, valuable notes might be further obtained on the 
comparative speed in flight of different species of birds as they 
passed along. Possibly the Green Woodpecker, Nuthatch, and 
House-Sparrow, which have not yet been proved to be migratory, 
would also be identified, and much more might be learnt than we 
know about the effects of wind. The light-ships of Ireland have 
added no fewer than six new species to the Irish fauna (Barring- 
ton), which shows what is still to be done. 


J ANUARY. 


lst.—F lock of Mealy Redpolls near Cley (H.N. Pashley) ; a 
true winter migrant, but whose appearance has nothing to do 
with severity of weather. . 

3rd.—A very singular Rook with about half of each wing slate- 
coloured, including the greater wing-coverts and scapular feathers, 
which was flying about with other normal Rooks at Eaton, was 
at first sight rather suggestive of hybridism with a Hooded Crow ; 
but this cross has never been detected in Norfolk or Suffolk. 

8th.— Mr. C. Hamond met with two Black Guillemots in 
Holham “ bay,” near Wells, at no great distance from the shore. 

25th.—A Little Bustard shot at Feltwell (Zool. 1898, p. 125). 
a migrant probably from the South of France or Spain, as the 
species is commoner there than in North Africa. 


FEBRUARY. 
8th.—A wounded Shag picked up at Stiffkey (Pashley), and 
another disabled by a stone, are almost the only records in my 
note-book for February. 
21st.—Bewick’s Swan on Breydon (B. Dye). 


Marcu. 


9th.—Three hundred Wigeon, with a few Pintails and Shovel- 
lers, on Breydon Broad (S. Chambers). 

10th.—A thousand Wigeon now on Breydon (Chambers). 

13th.—Shag found dead at Yarmouth (Dye). 

15th.—A white Blue Titmouse, or nearly white, very busy at 
a cocoa-nut hung out for these birds in Mr. Digby’s garden at 
Fakenham. 

28th.—A Shag brought in from sea (A. Patterson). 


ORNITHOLOGICAL RECORD FROM NORFOLK. 119 


APRIL. 


2nd.—Jackdaws going seawards (Patterson). 

7th.—Mr. Pashley, to whom these annual notes are always 
indebted, to-day announced the advent of four magnificent Cranes 
on their spring migration, which halted near the Glaven, and 
remained all the forenoon of one day (7th) in the same spot, and 
that within two hundred yards of a gang of men on the marsh side 
of Wiverton bank. Mr. Pashley had a good view of them as they 
were flying eastwards, and they were next reported as visiting a 
piece of water near the sea at Weybourne, where their great size 
attracted attention. They were again watched for several hours, 
and subsequently seen at Runton, after which they took their 
departure. We have not had a visit froma Crane since April, 
1888, but the number of occurrences is now brought up to seven- 
teen, of which only two were in the autumn. 

16th.—A Spoonbill on Breydon since the 8th (Patterson), 
which, like the Cranes, escaped. 


May. 


2nd.—A Short-eared Owl’s nest with five eggs (but said to 
have originally contained seven) discovered in a field of rushes 
not far from the sea in the vicinity of one of our Broads. 

5th.—Only one Reeve seen on the Broads up to this date 
(M. Bird). 

16th.—Six hundred Bar-tailed Godwits, in round numbers, 
and Grey Plovers, with a good many Knots, and fifty Whimbrel, 
on Breydon mud-flats (A. Patterson and Chambers), and a similar 
show of waders at Cley and Blakenny (H. Pashley) marked a 
strong May passage, hopeful for the return in autumn. Mr. 
Patterson believes that the smaller waders are in search of 
Corophium longicornis, a small crustacean which pushes its way 
out of the mud; but whatever they eat is difficult of detection after- 
wards. Simultaneously with the northward movement of waders, 
two Grebes, supposed to be Red-necked Grebes, were on Wroxham 
Broad (Capt. Sparrow), and Pied Flycatchers were in evidence at 
Cley, Holt, Northrepps, Sutton, and Framingham (S. Bligh). 

18th.—Lady Lothian has a hybrid Guinea-fowl, the produce 
of an egg laid at Saxthorpe. It isa very large bird, with some 
white on the breast, and a good deal of slate-colour about the 


120 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


wings, and appears to be between a Domestic Fowl and a white 
Guinea-fowl. A similar hybrid living in the Zoological Gardens 
is decidedly whiter than the Norfolk one, and even uglier, and in 
both eases the Guinea-fowl’s voice has been noticed. A third, 
given to the Museum many years ago by my father, and, I 
believe, not now in existence, was bred between a Game-cock and 
a Guinea-hen ; but these hybrids must be considered very rare. 

24th.—Two Goosanders on Breydon (S. Chambers). 

27th.—Two Spoonbills on Breydon (Chambers). 

28th.—A Roller picked up at Yelverton (T. Southwell), the 
twentieth in Norfolk, and a female, as most of the others have been. 


Otis tetrax, Linn. 


30th.—An adult male Little Bustard, in full breeding plumage, 
shot, in spite of close-time, at Kessingland, in the north of 


ORNITHOLOGICAL RECORD FROM NORFOLK. 121 


Suffolk (T. Southwell), (ante, p. 31), about five miles from our 
border, and since added to Mr. Connop’s museum. As it has 
never been obtained in the British Isles in this attire before 
(though once taken on Heligoland in June), the accompanying re- 
production of a photograph may be acceptable. It was sent to be 
preserved to Mr. Bunn, of Lowestoft, who, in skinning it, noticed 
that the neck was large, a seasonal dilatation which in some form 
seems to show itself in the male of all the Bustards, and which 
is shown in the cut. Three Kentish Plovers on Breydon mud- 
flats (Patterson), and a red or ‘“‘ hepatic” Cuckoo at Hickling 
(Bird). 
JUNE. 

1st.—Turtle-Dove caught on a smack (Patterson). 

4th.—A pair of Avocets halted at Salthouse (their breeding- 
place up to 1825) for two or three days (Pashley). 

9th.—By skill and dint of patience my correspondent, Mr. 
Bird, at last watched a Short-eared Owl to her nest, situate in a 
dry marsh of very wide expanse, doubtless similar to the site 
chosen on May 2nd, where the pointed rush prevails, and is 
everywhere higher than a man’s knee. A few bents of Carex or 
Juncus, rather dropped than arranged, constituted the whole nest, 
which contained only one egg, and on that the female Owl was 
sitting close as late as 8 p.m.—so close that, being suddenly dis- 
turbed, she unfortunately forsook the nest. The nest, such as it 
was, measured 5 x 6 in., and the egg 1°2 x ‘9 in., and by it Mr. 
Bird picked up two pellets of the bones and fur of a young Water 
Vole. Another nest subsequently found by Mr. Bird was a 
forsaken one, containing only a whole egg and a broken one, 
probably laid by the same pair of Owls. I learn from Mr. Bird 
that two eggs of the Montagu’s Harrier were found at Horsey, 
and, when searching with him for Owls’ nests, we came upon a 
trodden place in the marsh—in fact, the commencement of a 
nest—which contained what seemed to be the remains of a 
dropped or soft-shelled Harrier’s egg. The spot was a rough 
circle within thirty yards of where Mr. Bird found eggs in 1896, 
and also near to where I was shown a nest in 1883. Itis a great 
pity that these beautiful marsh Hawks continue to be so per- 
secuted, but every man’s hand seems to be against them, and I 
fear the day will come when they and the Owls will be both alike, 


122 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


as local breeders, extinct. Forty years ago the Broad district 
could not have held jess than a dozen Harriers’ nests, but whether 
the Hen-Harrier bred there is uncertain. 

12th.—Spoonbill at Swimcoots (Nudd), probably one of three 
which left the Blakenny muds on that day (Pashley). 

22nd.—Green Sandpiper seen at Hickling by Mr. Bird. 

23rd.—A very dark immature Stock-Dove—almost a variety 
—caught on Snetterton Heath, probably bred in a rabbit-hole ; 
and a Wood-Lark seen at the same time. Although, at Keswick, 
Stock-Doves have the accommodation of tubs for nesting, a pair 
this summer chose an uninhabited dovecote in a very frequented 
place. 

25th.—Of thirty netted adult cock House-Sparrows, twelve 
had the chest-feathers, which are ordinarily black, strongly tinted 
with chestnut-colour, a phase of plumage not accounted for in 
any work on British birds. Perhaps the Passer rufipectus of 
Buonaparte. 


JULY. 


9th.—Green Sandpiper at Intwood, a bird whose presence in 
summer evidently does not imply breeding. 

14th.—A Green-backed Porphyrio, seen in Potter Heigham 
Sounds by Mr. H. E. Harris, was shot a few days afterwards 
on Barton Broad, and sent to Norwich. Sutton and Barton 
Broads are very much “grown up’’ now, and their dense reed- 
beds resemble the lagoons of Egypt, where this noble bird— 
‘Dic Sultani” of the natives—used to be so common that thirty 
could be killed in a day. From Egypt I expect the supplies 
imported to this country by Cross, Jamrach, and Castang of late 
years come. 


Avueust. (Mean temperature, 62°6°.) 


The first week in August brought bands of Crossbills from 
over the sea, which were seen simultaneously in four or five sea- 
side parishes, and immediately afterwards in various places a little 
farther inland, as from Sandringham (R. Clarke) southwards, 
and as far inland as Horningtoft. A medlar tree in Canon 
-Venables’ garden at Burgh was covered with them, from which 
they turned their attentions to a bullace and apple trees, and 
even gooseberry bushes and cherry trees were visited (A. Patter- 


ORNITHOLOGICAL RECORD FROM NORFOLK. 123 


son). In one case some were seen on ragwort plants (Gunn), 
During the first six days of August the wind was west, and it 
was probably then that they crossed, but on the 7th it was 
E.N.E. with rain; so it is not very easy to follow their move- 
ments, but they seem to be commoner in England than they used 
to be. Their customary tameness and cry of “gip gip”’ on the 
wing was most likely to attract attention, but the recent extension 
of our county close-time to Aug. 3lst saved many, though one or 
two fell a prey to cats and stones, and one was recovered from a 
muddy creek. They were not so fortunate on the coast of 
Suffolk, whence Mr. Gunn received several to preserve, and Mr. 
Lowne, of Yarmouth, had thirty-two, chiefly red males; but the 
flight soon passed on. The Crossbill is, and always has been, 
an irregular bird in Norfolk, even from the days of Sir T. Browne. 
From 1869 to about 1891 very few indeed appeared, but since 
then there have been a good many strolling bands, for the most 
part in June, August, and September. It appears that the 
present “‘wave”’ flowed in other parts of England, the west 
especially. With regard to the female which bemired itself in a 
creek, it may have been wounded, as it did not live long. But I 
remember some years ago hearing of Crossbills which got into a 
sluice at Swaffham, probably to drink, when the soft mud was like 
bird-lime to their plumage, and soon led to capture. 

18th.—A good adult female Ruddy Shelduck sent up from 
Yarmouth ? (Connop), and an old male Pintail, but in “ eclipse” 
as to plumage, caught by Mr. Partridge on Saham mere. This 
is the third time Mr. Partridge has had a Pintail on his mere as 
early as August, significant of these birds breeding somewhere 
on British soil, unless they were migrants, which is not likely. 
Pinioned Pintails formerly bred on the lake at Stanford. 


SEPTEMBER. 


N. wind fourteen days, S. wind seven days, W. wind seven 
days. Less than a quarter of an inch of rain in the whole 
month. The 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th were very hot days, with a 
fine aurora on the 9th. 

The Pheasants, impelled by drought, scraped the dusty soil 
off potato-beds, and ate considerable portions of the potatoes ; 
and, where turnips were in proximity to their coops, in some 


124 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


places nothing was left but the ribs of the leaf by the thirsty 
game-birds. The turnips themselves suffered so much that 
there was not the requisite cover for Partridges, and beech trees 
had the appearance of being withered. Three Bearded Tits, 
driven from their usual asylum on the Broads, or wanderers 
from Holland, were seen on a pond near Holt, where I never 
remember any before; and three Egyptian Geese and some 
Canada Geese were moving about in the vicinity of Cromer, the 
latter probably from Gunton lake, where the young are seldom 
pinioned. 

On the 31st House-Martins still had young not flown on the 
steepest part of Runton cliffs, and Mr. Patterson met with Sand- 
Martins’ nests in a hole in the wall. I cannot say whether the 
drought had anything to do with the choice of such habitations, 
or with the fact that a Greater Spotted Woodpecker was hewing 
holes at Keswick as if it had been May. But much later than 
this there were Starlings’ nests, with young in them, at Hellesdon 
and Keswick. 

5th.—Shoveller at Hempstead. 

16th.—A Norfolk Plover, with some Lapwings, close to the 
town of Yarmouth, where eight Spotted Redshanks have lately 
been shot (E. Saunders). 

20th.— Two Ospreys at Filby Broad, the precision with 
which they caught fish being particularly noticed by the Rev. 
C. B. Lucas. 


OcTUBER. 


W. wind ten days, S. wind seven days, E. wind six days, 
N. wind four days. 

Migration now set in with some earnest, and Kingfishers and 
Greater Spotted Woodpeckers were in evidence. One Wood- 
pecker was among the Wells sand-hills (Col. Feilden), and I met 
with others alive, and in shops; but perhaps their migration was 
more marked higher up the east coast. From the observations 
of Mr. Boyes in ‘The Field,’ and Mr. Evans in the ‘ Scottish 
Naturalist,’ Norfolk has not had so many Greater Spotted Wood- 
peckers since 1868, and that also was a great Crossbill year. 

Lusciniola schwarzi was shot in Lincolnshire on the lst, and 
three Dajila spinicauda in Suffolk, but the latter must have 


ORNITHOLOGICAL RECORD FROM NORFOLK. 125 


escaped. For the most part rare birds passed on to other 
countries farther south, but we had most of the regular sorts. 

8th.—Seventeen Wild Swans settled on a pond at Felbrigge 
Park, doubtless all Bewick’s Swans direct from Northern Russia, 
as one shot by Mr. Cremer was of that species, and Bewick’s 
Swan has occurred once in October before. The same, or 
another, flock was soon after seen at Heigham Sounds, and one 
taken (Bird); another was obtained at Runton (Fitch), another 
at Salthouse, and another at Yarmouth (Dye). We have had 
larger flocks than this, but the date is early ; and their tameness 
on first arrival, and their settling on such a small piece of water 
about two miles from the shore, points to their having made a 
long journey. 

10th.— Received three live Scaup drakes from Saham decoy- 
cage, and about the same time there was a sudden abundance of 
them at the mouths of our rivers and similar places. A Yarmouth 
game-dealer named Durrant had forty-four hanging up, of which 
twenty-eight were killed on the 8th (Patterson), and on the same 
day five at Stalham (Bird). Two were shot at Felbrigge, two at 
Beeston (Cremer), and one near Keswick (all on ponds), and one 
at Holkham ; and Mr. Pashley was able to account for fifteen, 
besides which Mr. Gunn received some from Suffolk, and the 
taxidermist at Lincoln told me he had seven brought him. I have 
never been successful in keeping the Scaup on my pond long, but 
one of the birds above mentioned is still in excellent health, and 
comes readily to be fed with bread. 

16th.—Mr. Patterson picked up an immature Black Redstart 
under the telegraph-wire. 

The following notes are from Mr. Patterson :—Golden-crested 
Wrens trooped in last week. St. George’s Park, Yarmouth, was 
alive with them on Thursday; Cats were on the alert, and 
accounted for the demise of five on the 15th. The park-keeper 
saw many Fieldfares and Redwings passing over, and numbers of 
the latter alighting among the shrubs, exhausted. A Greater 
Spotted Woodpecker alighted on a fishing-boat, and Rooks and 
Grey Crows have been crossing plentifully. A Woodcock flew 
into a tavern in Albion Road, another flew against a window, 
one was caught in George Street, and another in Yarmouth 
Cemetery. 


126 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


19th.—Little Gull at Breydon (B. Dye), the only one reported 
this year. 

27th.—A chestnut variety of the Partridge shot at Bylaugh, 
and since presented to the Museum by Mr. D’Arcy; about the 
same time, I was told of three at Elmham, which apparently were 
not preserved. ‘This is quite as curious and persistent a variety 
as the Sabine’s Snipe, and, not constituting a melanism, is even 
more remarkable, an excess of red colour being more abnormal 
than an excess of black. 

NovEMBER. 

Exceedingly mild weather all this month. 

1lst.—A female Scaup, ina very rufous state as regards breast, 
neck, and head, received from Mr. Patterson, had probably 
acquired that ferruginous colour from feeding in water where 
there was oxide of iron. It had been shot when making its last 
meal, for several Cyclas cornea (identified by Mr. Reeve) were in 
its gullet. On showing it to Mr. Caton Haigh, he said that he 
had seen one as rufous (cf. ‘Birds of Norfolk,’ iii. pp. 78, 190). 

2nd.—Received a Great Grey Shrike which had pounced on 
a “call-bird” at Downham; this proved an amusing pet while it 
lived, and further presented an unusual continuation of the black 
lores in a line across the forehead. I may here mention that in 
the Museum there is one killed at Ranworth which is quite as 
dark on the head and back as Lanwus algeriensis; but this is a 
genus of varieties. Another Grey Shrike was taken in Yarmouth 
Gardens (EK. Saunders), but we have not had a real Shrike year 
since 1880. 

4th.—Lapland Bunting at Yarmouth (B. Dye), the only one 
reported this year. 

9th.—A Water-Ouzel with a chest-band of brown chestnut, 
shot at Hillington by Sir W. Ffolkes; the Scotch type is ex- 
tremely rare in Norfolk, and, if it came from Scotland, is a proof 
that some migrants do not cross the sea. 

10th.—Greater Shearwater at Lowestoft (T. Southwell). 

13th.—A chestnut Partridge shot at Cawston (G. Herd), and 
on the 24th another near Dereham, making six in Norfolk this 
season, one last year, and three the year before. ‘This is the 
erythrism—for it can hardly be called a race—which has been 
known as Perdix montana since 1760, and it is not unlikely that 


ORNITHOLOGICAL RECORD FROM NORFOLK. 127 


the Norfolk specimens were from eggs laid by Hungarian Part- 
ridges, many of which have been turned out in Norfolk during the 
last few years, and may have produced this breed. On the other 
hand, as many as twelve were shot in Northumberland as far back 
as 1863-71, and another afterwards ; Hancock does not suggest 
that they were introduced. It has also been shot in Ireland, and 
other parts of England and Scotland from time to time; and 
Mr. Cole tells me that one was killed in Norfolk about twenty- 
four years ago, which passed through his hands. 

14th.—A Coot, which had probably lost its way in the fog, 
discovered in a horse-pit among houses in Northrepps Street. 

16th.—Spotted Crake at Horsey (I. Saunders). 


DECEMBER. 


12th.—After a high wind from the west thousands of Wood- 
Pigeons were seen by Mr. Patterson passing over the town of 
Yarmouth, and on the same day Mr. Haigh noted their abund- 
ance in Lincolnshire. About this time there was a great 
accession to their ranks at Keswick, Hempstead, and other 
places, and nearly coincident with the visit of the Wood-Pigeons 
was the arrival of more Woodcocks. 

24th.—The unusual sight of four Reeves’s Pheasants in 
Norwich Market is an indication of the introduction of these 
long-tailed ‘‘rocketers” into Norfolk, but at Merton they are 
being killed off, as they drive about the common ones; and for 
the same reason I have found it impossible to keep Reeves’s 
Pheasant in the same aviary with Ambherst’s. Occasionally 
Reeves’s Pheasant will produce a very handsome cross with our 
Common Pheasant, if the plumage of the latter predominates, 
and we have a good specimen in the Museum. I believe as much 
as £50 was given for one of the first pairs of Reeves’s Pheasants 
which came to Norfolk, and several hybrids were bred from 
them at Earlham; but they are not popular, in spite of their 
long tails. 

30th.—Four hundred and sixty-six Coots gathered after the 
annual Coot battue on Hickling Broad, said to be a record bag 
for nineteen boats (Bird) ; the art lies in keeping the line un- 
broken, and leaving the dead to be picked up afterwards. 


128 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


3lst.—The ‘‘ Pagets’ Pochard,” taken last year, is still in 
excellent health, and the breast, which became a dull brown in 
summer, is again as red as the head. It has never been as tame 
as the Pochards, which will occasionally even take bread from the 
hand, and does not dive so much as they do, but has the same 
peak-like raising of the feathers on the crown. Its back is far 
darker than a Pochard’s now, and its beak not so white a 
lavender. Of its hybrid origin there can be no doubt. This 
cross has received the name of Fuligula ferinoides, Bartl., and 
F’. homeyeri, Baed., and Suchetet thinks it may also be Anas 
intermedia, Jaubert (cf. Leverk. J. f. O. 1890, p. 223). That it 
is really between F’. nyroca and F’. ferina there cannot be the 
slightest doubt. 


( 129 ) 


ON THE FIRST PRIMARY IN PASSERINE BIRDS. 
By Ernst Hartert. 


In ‘ The Zoologist,’ 1898 (p. 241), appeared a very interesting 
article by Messrs. A. Gardiner Butler and A. George Butler on 
the presence of the first primary in the F'ringillide, Motacillide, 
and Hirundinide, in which it has generally been supposed to be 
absent. Most interesting as this fact is to those who did not 
know it, and valuable as some of the special observations made 
by Messrs. Butler are, the discovery that the first primary is 
present in these families is not new. 

In 1888 (Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. p. 664), Dr. Gadow says of 
those families in which the first primary has been supposed to be 
absent, “‘ The tenth quill* is, as a rule, reduced to a tiny feather, 
which is hidden between the 10th covert and outer vane of the 
9th quill.” From this article we see also that an eleventh 
primary is frequently present in front of the tenth (our “ first”) 
primary, but that this eleventh quill is completely lost in many 
families of Passerine birds. 

Dr. Gadow’s valuable article has been, it seems, most fre- 
quently overlooked by ornithologists, and I myself did not read 
it before I had discovered the same facts about the first primary. 
In Novit. Zool. ii. p. 13 (1896), I said :—‘‘ I was rather surprised 
to find that in the so-called nine-quilled (or rather nine-pri- 
maried !) Passeres the tenth primary is not always, nay, not even 
as a rule, and very likely never, entirely absent, but only much 
reduced, and often difficult to find, because stiff and narrow and 
hidden by its longer covert. From these reduced little feathers 
to those of Pholidauges, Sturnus, or Calornis is no longer step 
than from the latter to Acridotheres, Basilornis, and Gracula.”’... 
On p. 14 I then acknowledged Dr. Gadow’s article at length. 

The failure to find our ‘‘tenth”’ primary in certain families 


* Dr. Gadow calls it 10th, as he begins to count them in the middle of 
the wing, where they meet the secondary quills.—E. H. 
Zool. 4th ser. vol. III., March, 1899. K 


130 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


is no doubt due to the impossibility of seeing it from below, and 
to a certain extent to an omission which is very frequently made 
in natural history, namely, that only a few forms of a supposed 
group are examined, and that conclusions about the whole group 
are made from such scanty observations; from the nature of the 
point in question, which served to characterize the groups, a 
certain species is afterwards classified, and thus an everlasting 
circulus vitiosus is entered. 

The removal of the under wing-coverts cannot have caused 
the mistake, as the first primary in most cases where it has been 
supposed to be absent is lying somewhat above the first func- 
tionary long primary, hidden by and somewhat assimilated to 
the primary coverts. 


(2 Tem.) 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


MAMMALIA. 


CHIROPTERA. 


Some Habits of Bats.—I have been very much interested in Mr. 
Oldham’s account of the habits in captivity of the Whiskered Bat (Myotis 
mystacinus). I have kept nearly all the British species at various times, 
and in most things my experiences tally with those of Mr. Oldham. There 
is one point, however, in which they are at variance. He says (ante, p. 52):— 
“ Neither foot nor carpus was ever used in any way to assist it in capturing 
or holding an insect. The use of either would of conrse be quite im- 
possible during flight.” I thought that it was fairly well known that Bats 
do most certainly use the “thumb” to assist them in rending asunder 
their prey, and I have frequently observed it in the case of the Noctule 
(Pipistrellus noctula) and the Serotine (Vespertilio serotinus). In the case 
of the latter, which was numerous on the borders of a large forest in North 
Germany, and which used to come abroad long before twilight, I was 
often puzzled at first to account for a sudden drop in their flight of several 
feet, and I put it down to the fact that they saw some insect below them, 
and dropped on to it; but, on shooting several with a saloon pistol, I 
actually found the claw of the thumb on one side imbedded in the tough 
elytra of a cockchafer (Melolontha), and dung-beetles (Geotrupes), which 
were held in the Bat’s mouth. OxLry GraBuHam (Heworth, York). 


CARNIVORA, 


White Stoat.—I had a white Stoat (Mustela erminea) brought in on 
Feb. 2nd. It is a very good white all over, with the exception of a small 
brown patch on the top of the head, and of course the tip of the tail. Con- 
sidering the extreme mildness of the winter, the fact is perhaps worth 
recording.—W. J. CuaRrKeE (44, Huntriss Row, Scarborough). 


Grey Seal (Halicherus gryphus) at the Isle of Man.—In June, 1881, 
in a small unfrequented cove between Port Kirin and Bradda Head, I came 
upon the almost entire skeleton of a very large Seal. I secured the skull, 
all the important teeth of which were missing, and have carefully preserved 
it ever since. I have not been able to identify it till a few days ago 


(February), when Mr. R. Lydekker was kind enough to compare it with 
K 2 


132 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


specimens at the South Kensington Museum. It turns out to be, as I had 
suspected, that of the Great Grey Seal. Mr. Lydekker writes :—‘* The 
specimen you have sent is Halicherus gryphus, and agrees exactly with one 
of our examples.” Mr. P. M. C. Kermode, of Ramsey, informs me that it 
has not been hitherto recorded for the Isle of Man.—Lionut EK. Apams 
(68, Wolverhampton Road, Stafford). 


RODENTIA. 


Albino Squirrel in Wiltshire.—On Nov. 28th I happened to enter the 
shop of a north-country taxidermist to enquire whether he had had anything 
interesting in lately, when he produced the most beautiful Squirrel (Sciwrus 
vulgaris) I have ever seen. It was pure white, without a dark hair any- 
where, very long ear-tufts, and pink eyes. I should have very much liked 
to have secured it, but he told me that the owner would not part with it ; 
and, on enquiring for data, all I could obtain was that it had been shot in 
Wiltshire, and the reason he gave for not telling me more, was that it had 
been shot by a keeper without his master’s knowledge, and the man was 
afraid of getting into trouble—OxLry GraBuHam (Heworth, York). 


AVES. 


Winter Occurrence of Wheatear.—Having had occasion to visit the 
Nover’s Hill Fever Hospital for the last four Wednesdays, beginning from 
the 1st of February, I have at each visit had the pleasure of observing a 
Wheatear (Sazicola enanthe) haunting the newly laid-out grounds of that 
institution. I should imagine it to be a hen bird, as the mantle is still of 
avery sombre hue. On each occasion its movements have been such as 
denote complete satisfaction with its surroundings, and a very high distaste 
for man’s proximity. The first time I saw it I made enquiries among the 
men at work on the grounds as to whether they had noticed the bird at all, 
but with no result. One man was interested, however, and, on being shown 
the bird alluded to, expressed his opinion that it was what he called “a 
Redsturt.”—Davip T. Pricr (2, Upper Byron Place, Clifton, Bristol). 


Karly Appearance of Chiffchaff in Warwickshire and late Stay of 
Whitethroat.—The district around the great city of Birmingham is not one 
which the average ornithologist would look to for unusual migratory move- 
ments on the part of birds, but when the fullness of time arrives, I shall, I 
think, have a tale to unfold which will surprise not a few. Two instances it 
may be of interest to the readers of ‘ The Zoologist’ to relate now. The season 
of 1897 was marked in this district for the early disappearance of summer 
migrants, and long after the last straggler had left I was astonished, during 
one of my long rambles on the 14th November, to meet with a solitary 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 135 


specimen of the Whitethroat (Sylvia cinerea). The day was warm and 
beautiful, and the bird busily engaged catching insects in a hedgerow near 
the water. Nov. 14th is, I think, the latest date on record for the appear- 
ance of the Whitethroat in Great Britain. The second instance is that of 
the Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus rufus), which has broken all previous records by 
appearing at Castle Bromwich this year on the 16th February. Mr. Ernest 
C. Tye was shooting Lapwings on that date, when he thought he heard the 
well-known note of the Chiffchaff, but uttered in a low key, and caught 
sight of a little bird skulking about a bush. Scarcely believing that it 
could be the Chiffchaff he heard, at such an extraordinarily early period of 
the year, he brought it down, but with a full charge of No. 6 shot (the 
smallest shot he had with him), from a 12-bore, with the result that the little 
bird was terribly mangled. Mr. Tye brought to me this little mass of 
blood ard feathers as proof of his correct identification, and, although it 
looked like a hopeless case, I determined to save the skin of this record- 
breaker, and, by dint of much patience, I have made a good specimen of it. 
I consider the middle of March a very early date for the appearance of this 
bird in my district; but I have one previous record for the extreme end of 
February, when I saw a little bird skulking about the lower part of a 
hedgerow, but in such a manner that I could not get a sufficiently clear 
view to be absolutely positive whether the bird was Chiffchaff or Willow 
Warbler; and, as it remained silent, ] had to trust to eyes instead of the 
more satisfactory ears. However, there need be little doubt that it was a 
Chiffchaff. That February was followed by a beautiful spring, and a hot, 
dry summer. All the spring migrants came early, and there was a good 
breeding season. I did not intend to go past these two instances, but I am 
tempted to add that on the 12th February last I saw Stonechats (Pratin- 
cola rubecula) at Karlswood. These birds cross this portion of the midlands 
towards their breeding haunts; and this again is the earliest date by far on 
which I have seen them here. This, in conjunction with the appearance 
of the Chiffchaff a few days later, led me to think that an extraordinarily 
early migratory movement was afloat; and on the 19th February I had a 
long ramble—I was walking for eight hours—hoping to get a glimpse of 
other migrants; but in this I was disappointed. However, I was rewarded 
with the grandest and most varied chorus of bird-song I can recall to 
memory for such an early period of the year. The following birds were in 
full and rich song:—Mistle- and Song-Thrushes, Blackbirds, Hedge- 
Accentors, Wrens, Starlings, Chaffinches, Reed Buntings, Yellowhammers, 
and Sky-Larks. Great, Blue, Coal, and Marsh Tits were all giving their 
low calls; while the Long-tailed Tits were paired. A flock of Lesser 
Black-backed Gulls passed overhead ; Woodpeckers were preparing their 
nesting-holes ; Kingfishers darted across my path, and sped before me in 


184 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


plentiful numbers. The sun was so genially warm that lolling on the 
grassy banks was a pleasure. Add to this the fact of Stonechats hurrying 
across to their breeding haunts, and the Chiffchaff with us, and we get a 
picture for the middle of February, 1899, to which I can find no parallel. 
It reads more like the middle of April. I do not think that the few frosty 
nights we have lately had will cause much inconvenience to other Chiff- 
chaffs which may have arrived, as I have seen these birds singing 
vigorously in backward spring seasons; also in late autumn, when every 
twig has been thickly covered with hoar frost.—F. Copurn (7, Holloway 
Head, Birmingham). 

I have recently examined the Chiffchaff (supra) which was killed at 
Castle Bromwich by a friend of mine ou Feb. 16th last. It was singing, 
but in very subdued notes. Possibly, owing to mildness of the present 
winter, it may have wintered with us, or at least in this country ; if not, 
then it is a remarkably early occurrence, seldom being heard in Warwick- 
shire before the third week in March. — J. Sree.e-Exuiorr (Clent, 
Worcestershire). 


Pied Flycatcher in North Wales.—In Capt. Swainson’s sketch of the 
distribution of this species (Muscicapa atricapilla) in Wales (Zool. 1898, 
pp. 420-424) no mention is made of Carnarvonshire, and only two instances 
of the bird nesting in Denbighshire are cited. To the woods—chiefly 
composed of oak, ash, and fir—in the Conway and Llugwy valleys, on the 
border of the two counties, at Bettws-y-Coed, the Pied Flycatcher is an 
abundant summer visitor. During a short stay in that neighbourhood in 
the middle of May, 1898, I used to see the birds daily, and so plentiful were 
they that on more than one occasion I encountered half a dozen pairs in 
the course of a morning ramble. On the llth of the month I watched 
two birds carrying nesting material to a hole about eighteen feet from the 
ground in the bole of a tall oak in a small wood within a stone’s throw of 
the village street, and saw two more pairs in the same wood. ‘The 
deliberate but pleasing song of the male, reminding one of a Redstart’s, is 
generally uttered when the bird is stationary, but sometimes during flight 
from tree to tree. When at rest both sexes constantly move their tails 
vertically, a habit common to the Whinchat and other birds. In its mode 
of feeding this species differs in several respects from the Spotted Fly- | 
eatcher. Although I watched them for hours at a time, I never saw a Pied 
Flycatcher return to the same twig after darting out to catch an insect on 
the wing. The bird usually alights on a different branch, and often in 
another tree. Sometimes it clings Tit-like to a tree-trunk for an instant, 
and often feeds upon the ground. The chaste and beautiful colours of the 
plumage are never seen to greater advantage than when the bird hovers, 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 135 


exactly as the Wood-Wren does, in order to pick off an insect from beneath 
a broad sycamore leaf.—Cuas. OLpHam (Alderley Edge). 


Regularity of the Greenfinch in beginning his Song.— The following 
table of dates may be interesting as showing not only how regular this bird 
(Ligurinus chloris) is in opening his song, but how little he is affected in 
this respect by the weather. Chaffinches, Yellowhammers, and Blackbirds 
are also fairly regular, but vary, according to my experience, more than this 
strong and hardy species. ‘The song here alluded to is the familiar long- 
drawn snore, which is usually accompanied from the first beginning by the 
equally familiar twitter :— 

1893, Feb. 18th.—F ine and warm. 

1894, Feb. 20th.—Very cold; thermometer 22° at 8 a.m. 

1895, Feb. 17th.—Bitterly cold, with hard frost. 

1896, Feb. 21st.—Warm and damp. 

1897, Feb. 19th.—Fine and mild. 

1898, Feb. 24th.—Mild, after a few cold days. 

1899, Feb. 25th.—Fine, with cold wind and early frost. 
All these observations have been made in Oxford, either in Christ Church 
Meadow, the Parks, or the Botanic Garden, and before 10 a.m. I may add 
that, in my opinion, based on many years of observation during January and 
February, our resident species are not affected in any degree by the tem- 
perature, either in regard to pairing or singing.—W. WarpbE FowLer 
(Lincoln College, Oxford). 


Observations on the Habits of a Cuckoo during the Breeding Season. 
—The case came to my notice last summer, by hearing that a Cuckoo 
(Cuculus canorus) had deposited her egg for a second time in a greenhouse 
at Gosden House; and, calling on Lady Sitwell, she very kindly took me 
to see the nest, in which the young Cuckoo was then sitting with open 
mouth, and evidently well cared for. The Wagtail’s nest was in a flower- 
pot, not quite full of earth, which stood on a shelf about seven feet from the 
ground; but a short ladder stood by, on which it was easy to stand and 
look well on to the nest. I saw the gardener, and heard his long story, 
and I advised him to put it all in writing as soon as possible. He sent me 
eventually the following account, showing that he is much more observant 
than most of his class, who have peculiar opportunities for observing the 
habits of birds, and he deserves, I think, great credit for the record he has 
kept, which I trust will be supplemented by another visit this year of the 
same birds. H. H. Gopwrn-AusTEN (Nore, Godalming). 

“‘T found that the Water Wagtail had started making its nest again last 
year, in the early part of April. I did not disturb the nest in any way, and 
I found the old bird had laid four eggs, when she began to sit. One day, 
when she was off the nest, I looked in, and found that a Cuckoo had laid 


_ 186 - THE ZOOLOGIST. 


an egg. I watched the nest then every day to see when the young Cuckoo 
was hatched. On’'May 18th I found the young Wagtails were hatching 
(there were two young ones and one coming out of its shell). Next day 
(the 19th) I saw the old Cuckoo around the greenhouse several times in the 
morning, as if she wanted to get in. I left the door open while I went to 
my dinner, and when I came back I disturbed the old bird, and I found 
the three young Wagtails and one egg lying on the shelf; one of the young 
ones was still alive, and a young Cuckoo in the nest not quite out of its 
shell. Some people have an idea that it is the young Cuckoo that turns 
the young birds out of the nest, but it is the old Cuckoo that comes and 
turns the young ones out; for the young Cuckoo was not quite out of its 
shell when the Wagtails were lying on the shelf. This is the third year 
the Wagtail has had its nest in the greenhouse. Last year she brought 
up two lots of young ones, and two years ago the same as this year. One 
day there were four young Wagtails in the nest, and the next day they all 
lay dead on the stage, but a young Cuckoo in the nest; though I did not know 
it was a Cuckoo's egg, as I thought the old Cuckoo was too shy a bird to 
enter the greenhouse to lay. When I found the egg this year I kept a 
good watch to see if I could detect the old Cuckoo feed tlie young one. It was 
a common occurrence two years ago to see the old Cuckoo going in and out 
of the greenhouse by myself and others, including two painters that were 
at work on the vinery. Close by we saw her with food in her mouth, and I 
have, with others, kept a good look-out this year to see if we could observe 
her feed the young one. We saw her many times very close to the door 
and lights; but I only saw her twice this year, viz. on May 22nd, when she 
came out of the top light at 8.30 a.m., and on June lst, when I saw her 
come out of the door at 7 a.m. The old Wagtails still kept feeding the 
young Cuckoo until it was able to fly. — Grorax WILLIAMS (gardener to 
Lady Sitwell, Gosden House, Bramley, Surrey).” 


Notes from Reading (1898).—On April 4th I saw, in the flesh, a male 
Tufted Duck (Fuligula cristata), shot on the Thames at Sonning. Crossbills 
have been very abundant this year at Aldermaston, about eight or nine miles 
from here; I had avery young one brought to me on May 25th, probably 
one of a local brood. . On April 80th a very fine adult Lesser Black-backed 
Gull (Larus fuscus) was shot at the Clappers, Caversham Lock. On July 
27th I saw a family party of Weasels cross a road near Cane End, in South 
Oxfordshire. Otters seem to be fairly abundant in the river Kennett; I 
saw a young one alive, caught about Jan. 11th last, which is now at the 
Zoological Gardens. I have also seen a young and an old one in the flesh 
lately. On December 16th I saw a young male Garganey (Querquedula 
circia), shot the day before at Theale, a few miles from Reading ; weight, 
11 oz.; the blue speculum was a lovely bright colour. I presume it was 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 137 


one of last year’s birds from Norfolk. — Gzorex W. Brapsuaw (54, 
London Street, Reading). | 


Fecundity in Birds. — Respecting Mr. Basil Davies’s very inter- 
esting article on the Fecundity in Birds (‘ The Zoologist,’ 1898, p. 495) 
I should like, if I may, to make a few remarks, and to ask some 
‘questions, hoping that Mr. Davies will not resent the liberty I am 
taking in doing so. In Section I. (dealing with Finches, Buntings, and 
the larger Warblers) he writes :—‘ It is not, I think, difficult to see why 
‘they respectively lay their five and ten* eggs a season. These birds, 
resident and migratory alike, feed their young on‘various forms of insect- 
life. . . . The two parents would be unequal to catering for the wants of a 
larger brood than five. Neither could a hen of this size well produce more 
than five eggs.” Now, the fact that insectivorous birds can rear a con- 
siderably larger brood than five is clearly demonstrated by the Tits, Wrens, 
and small Warblers (Chiffchaff, &c.), as is also the fact that a bird of half 
the size of a Bunting can and does produce more than five eggs. Lower 
down, in Section II., he writes :—‘‘ Another point is that eight young Tits 
would hardly require more food that five greedy little Robins, and so the 
labours of the parents in the two species would not differ appreciably.” 
And again, in discussing the smaller Warblers :—‘‘ Here again it is no 
more difficult to feed eight small Warblers than five large ones.” Now, it 
seems to me that, though ten young Golden-crested Wrens (for instance) 
might not require altogether a greater quantity of food than five young 
Robins, yet, as the minuteness of the food would be in proportion to the 
smallness of the bird, each young Gold-crest would require to be fed the 
same number of times a day with gnats as a young Robin would with cater- 
pillars (or even more); therefore the ten of them would give their parents 
twice as much work to do as would the five young Robins. In the introduction 
to Col. Montagu’s ‘ Dictionary of British Birds’ an account is given of a 
female Gold-crest feeding its eight young ones, which were placed in a cage 
upon the window-sill. The bird brought food every one and a half to two 
minutes during sixteen hours of the day. A friend once timed a Robin to 
and from its young, and found that there was an interval of about ten 
minutes between the visits. So that, as far as catering powers are con- 
cerned, it would seem that a Robin might easily rear more that five young 
ones. Mr. Davies suggests that our migratory Warblers do not produce a 
second brood, owing to the near approach of the migration period.. This 
argument is broken down by the Swallow kind, all of which produce a 
‘second brood. In Section VI., on Doves and Pigeons, Mr. Davies says: 
.— I have only the old hackneyed explanation for the unvarying pair of 


* The ten here refers to two separate broods of five.—B. R. | 


138 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


eggs laid by these birds, ¢. e. that they are conspicuous among birds for their 
tender affection for their mates, and that the eggs always hatch out male 
and female in the same nest.” Why should this affection to their mates, 
or the fact that the two eggs usually hatch out male and female, cause them 
to lay only two eggs? As a matter of fact, I have frequently known the 
two eggs of Domestic Pigeons hatch out two males. In discussing Plovers, 
Mr. Davies makes the statement that in species in which the young are 
hatched fully formed and able to run, the egg is abnormally large for the 
size of the bird. Is thisso? Roughly speaking, the Pigeon and Partridge 
are about the same size. The young Pigeon comes into the world blind and 
perfectly helpless, while the young Partridge is hatched well-formed and 
able to run; yet the Pigeon’s egg is if anything rather larger than that of 
the Partridge. Again, the young of the Guillemot, which lays as big an 
egg in proportion to itself as almost any other bird, are hatched in a help- 
less condition. In Section VIII. I find :— Owing to the cover afforded 
by the stems, the young (of Crakes and Rails) need not be so large when 
hatched as the young of the Plover, consequently the eggs are much 
smaller, and the hen can incubate a greater number.” Why need they not 
be so large? I should think it would be of more advantage to a young 
Plover, hatched out in the open, to be small, than it would be to a young 
Water-Rail, which among the reeds and rushes would not be so easily seen. 
And then, is a newly-hatched Rail much smaller in proportion to the adult 
than a young Plover? Lastly, in Section IX., Mr. Davies writes of game- 
birds :—‘‘ I should not be surprised to learn that they were originally less 
prolific before they were persecuted under the name of sport.” It is well 
known that game-birds are not only not “ persecuted ” during the breeding 
season, but that they are perhaps better preserved than any other bird. 
Are not the large clutches produced by Pheasants and Partridges rather 
due to the almost semi-domesticated life they lead, and to the artificial 
feeding, where they are very strictly preserved. This would account for the 
least-preserved species, 7. ¢. the Ptarmigan, laying the smallest clutch. But 
this is only a suggestion. As an example of a local variation in fecundity, 
I may quote the Yellowhammer, which hardly ever lays more than three 
eggs in Fifeshire. I hear that clutches of three are not uncommon in 
Gloucestershire also. Seebohm gives four to five as the usual clutch of 
this bird.— Brernarp Riviere (St. Andrews, N.B.). 


Some interesting Variations in the Plumage of certain Birds.— 
Chaffinch (F'ringilla celebs).— Plumage white, with the exception of rather 
more than half the tail-feathers, upper tail-coverts, one primary and one 
or two secondaries in one wing; also a few feathers scattered over the head, 
neck, and wing-coverts, which are normal. Besides this there is a faint 
tint of canary-yellow on the back and secondaries, and the rump is de- 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 139 


cidedly yellow; bill and legs pinkish horn-colour, and iris dark. The bird 
(a female) was shot at Poole by Mr. Alan Bengough. Could this be a 
hybrid between Chaffinch and Canary ; and would any of your readers who 
have seen hybrids between these two species kindly state whether the 
plumage was anything like this ?—Bullfinch (Pyrrhula europea). Plumage 
pale grey, top of head and the tail dark grey, ramp white, iris dark. The 
bird (a female) was shot at Stoke Gifford by Mr. J. V. Hewitt.— Pheasant 
(Phasianus colchicus). Male; plumage a warm grey, pencilled with a darker 
shade of grey, very dark on the head and neck ; collar white, iris dark grey. 
The plumage was not at all abraded or worn, but had all the beautiful gloss 
characteristic of the Pheasant’s plumage. It was shot in North Devon.— 
H. J. CHARBoNNIER (Redland, Bristol). 


Notes from Point Cloates, North-west Australia, December, 1898. 
—dAs the weather and seasons greatly influence the scarcity or abundance 
of most birds, I give, first, a brief account of this year’s weather. January, 
until the 20th, was one violent gale of cool south winds. The next four 
days were extremely hot and close, and on the 25th one of our north-west 
hurricanes, or “ willy willy,” brewed up, and spent its greatest violence 
immediately over here, accompanied by floods of rain. It subsided on the 
26th, and was followed, in February, by heavy thunderstorms and rain, so 
that there was abundance of vegetation and insect-life throughout this 
locality. Quiet weather succeeded until September, when the usual heavy 
south winds set in. With the exception of a few light showers there was 
no rain in the winter. On Jan. 25th, as the wind and rain of the hurricane 
were commencing, I saw a flock of strange birds hovering over the house. 
I shot two, and they proved to be Frigate Birds (regata minor), the first 
I have seen here. The natives knew them, and said they were the sure 
sign of violent weather. ‘There were a number of these birds for a few 
days after the storm. There were countless numbers of Swifts, Pigeons, 
and other birds flying at a great elevation the day the “ blow” commenced. 
Feb. 21st I shot a Sacred Kingfisher (Todirhamphus sanctus) at the house, 
which, by the way, is situated among sand-hills about a quarter of a mile 
from the sea, the nearest fresh-water pool being thirty miles distant. Every 
year I notice one or two of these birds about that date. The same day a 
native picked up and brought me a Little Eagle (Hieraétus morphnoides) 
in an emaciated state. It had one small yellow land-crab in its gizzard. 
The previous night had been one prolonged thunderstorm. I have not 
seen this bird before March 3rd. I had to pay a visit to an out-station of 
mine about sixty miles south-east. The intermediate country, where I had 
never seen water lying, was in many places flooded and boggy. At one 
spot was a large swamp with numbers of Wild Duck (Anas superciliosa), 


140 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


and Terns (Hydrochelidon leucoptera 2). Many of the Ducks had young, 
and I found nests in hollow white gum trees. When returning, I shot a 
Nankeen Night Heron (Nycticorax caledonicus) in a patch of trees some 
miles from water ; the head-plumes were black for three inches from the 
tip. Gould describes them as white. Next day I found a nest of the Tri. 
coloured Ephthianura (£. tricolor), containing three eggs, and an egg of 
some sort of Cuckoo, not identified. March 24th, flocks of Swifts (Cypselus 
pacificus) were travelling south. Pied Honey-Katers ( Lichnotentha picata) 
and White-fronted Glycyphila albifrons were in abundance; also the Tri- 
coloured Ephthianura, and a few Yellow-fronted EH. aurifrons. Swift- 
flying Turnix (7’. velox) were everywhere in the luxuriant grass, and | saw 
several young in down on the 29th. From March 31st to April 2nd 
countless numbers of Swifts were flying south; and I may mention Cossack 
and Roebourne, farther in the north-west, were partially destroyed by 
another hurricane on April 2nd. Turkeys (Choriotis australis) were abun- 
dant, and often varied our bush meals. April 5th, I visited the nearest 
pool which is permanent, and situated in a deep rugged gorge in the ranges 
thirty miles north of this.locality. Here I shot a Painted Finch (Lmblema 
picta), the first I have seen, and so far this is, I believe, the farthest south 
and west record. I was climbing up the precipitous cliffs out of the gorge, 
when it alighted on a ledge below me, and I was obliged to shoot there and 
then to secure the bird, and unfortunately smashed it; but there was no 
mistaking the species; its crop was full of small seeds. Gould says he 
thought its food might differ from other Finches, as its beak is of a different 
shape. Immediately after I shot a Yellow-bellied Shrike-Thrush (Collyrto- 
cincla rufiventris) and White-bellied Owlet Nightjar (AZgotheles leucugaster), 
but was unsuccessful in securing another fine Nightjar, though I flushed 
it several times. April 14th, I shot a male and female Emu-Wren close to 
a patch of mangroves; they were in company with immature Superb 
Warblers, and are the only ones I have seen. My correspondent, Mr. A. 
G. Campbell, of Melbourne, to whom I am much indebted for naming 
numerous birds, thinks it may be a different species to Stipiturus mala- 
churus, as this is such a usually dry country ; and I have forwarded him 
the skins, but not yet heard his decision. April 25th, shot two Sander- 
lings (Calidris arenaria). May 19th, shot a Black-eared Cuckoo (Miso- 
calius osculans) on a rocky range here, the only specimen I have seen. 
May 27th, secured one out of two Barred-tailed Godwits (Limosa melanur- 
oides) on the beach. May 29th, shot three Narrow-billed Bronze Cuckoos 
(Lamprococcyx basalis), and saw a considerable number of these birds 
evidently migrating. Flocks of Yellow Zosterops (Zosterops luteus) and 
immature Campephaga leucomela were often seen. ‘The former were to be 
found until September, and I have no doubt were breeding, but I was not 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 141 


fortunate enough to find their eggs, nor could I spare the time to hunt for 
them. The Campephage disappeared in July ; they were exceedingly shy. 
The White-winged Superb Warbler (Malurus leucopterus) was abundant 
this year, and I secured specimens of the Graceful Superb Warbler (M. 
elegans), but they were rare. 

On June 10th a curious and, to a flock-owner, startling circumstance 
occurred. One of the natives brought me a live Rabbit, to know what the 
strange animal could be. MJabbits are now over the western bush border in 
numbers in the far south-east; but that is some nine hundred miles distant, 
and it is strange if they have crossed the continent from east to west with- 
out being observed east of here. I went to where the Rabbit was caught, 
and some distance away found a shallow burrow with numerous recent 
tracks and beaten roads, with heaps of dung radiating from it. We dug it 
out, but it was empty, and since then have seen no further sign of this 
pest. There have been numerous wrecks on the dangerous reefs here 
both before and after the country was opened out, but the last. wreck was 
fifteen years since, and if Rabbits have been here since then it is extra- 
ordinary if the numerous natives never noticed them. Altogether it is 
a very puzzling affair, but it seems most probable the single specimen 
secured, which caused much alarm and correspondence, came from some 
vessel. Practically no visitors call here, so it could not have been turned 
down by a passing traveller on the road. Towards the end of June I went to 
look at some wonderful trees of which the natives informed me in a patch of 
unexplored country. We found them in a small basin of good soil sur- 
rounded by bad ranges. They were few in number, but remarkably inter- 
esting, being a species of palm tree about forty feet high. I am informed 
they are the cabbage-tree palm, which only grows in one other part of this 
colony, so far as is known. I shot on this trip a Delicate Owl (Strix 
delicatulus), and a Boobook Owl (Sptloglaux boobook). The former seemed 
to have fed mostly on beetles. [I noted and shot a Collared Parrakeet 
(Platycercus semitorquatus); Rust-coloured Bronze wing Pigeons (Lophophaps 
Jerruginea) in some numbers. Also secured a beautiful clutch of three 
‘Osprey’s eggs. The Black Honey-Hater (Myzomela nigra) and Red- 
capped Robin (Petroeca goodenovit) were not uncommon. Gould thought 
the latter was only found in the interior. I have several times shot it 
close to the beach. Delicate and Boobook Owls were often seen in June 
and July. 

July 15th, I secured specimens of Red-backed Kingfishers (Todi- 
rhamphus pyrrhopygius) aud Pallid Cuckoo (Cacomantis pallidus), and two 
Jardine’s Harriers (Circus jardinit). I had long tried to identify a fine 
slate-coloured Hawk that is fairly plentiful here in good (z.e. wet) seasons, 
but extremely shy. This year I have proved beyond doubt it is that 


_ 142 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


beautiful bird (Jardine’s Harrier), having shot several specimens, and 
secured nests with eggs and young. As early as April I noticed a pair of 
these birds building a nest in a small tree about eight feet from the ground. 
This nest I visited regularly, always seeing the birds, which made slow 
progress with their work until the end of August, when they forsook it, 
although the nest was just completed. Aug. 17th, I found a nest of this 
bird about seven feet from the ground, in a similar tree. It contained 
three fresh eggs, laid on a lining of green leaves. Aug. 27th, I took one 
egg from another nest, considerably incubated, and next day took two young, 
half-grown, from a nest about twenty feet from the ground, in a white gum 
tree. They would have made most interesting skins, but as my native boy 
and I were desperately hungry and hunting for food, we lunched off the 
unfortunates. I always found the crops of those I shot contained Lizards 
only. My friend Mr. Keartland, who was naturalist for the late unfortunate 
Wells Expedition, says he found this bird nesting in desert gums in the 
far interior. Close to the last mentioned nest was a pool of some size, on 
which were numbers of Coots (fulica australis), Teal (Anas punctata), and 
small Grebes. I shot three Rollers (Hurystomus pacificus). This pretty 
bird is very abundant on the Gascoyne River. Asiatic Dotterel (Cirre- 
pidesmus asiaticus) appeared in flocks about the middle of September, 
which is earlier than usual, and are still here on the open plains, and 
occasionally on the beach. Sanderlings (Calidris arenaria) were quite 
common on the beach since October; I shot five on the 13th. I saw Grey 
Plover (Squatarola helvetica) on the beach in November, but almost always 
singly. Ishot a Golden Plover (Charadrius orientalis) last month. On 
Nov. 23rd I saw a White-bellied Sea-Kagle (Polioaétus leucogaster) busy 
with something on the beach. On my approach it flew heavily away, with 
a long object trailing from its talons to the ground. This it eventually 
dropped, and I found it to be some species of sea-snake new to me, about 
5 ft. 6 in. in length and 3 in. in diameter, still alive. I am sorry to say 
this noble bird will kill lambs and weakly ewes ; I have caught it in the 
act. The same day, after some careful stalking, I shot a wader new to me, 
It appears to me to resemble a Purple Sandpiper, but it is many years 
since I last saw this bird in Iceland, when the Rev. H. H. Slater secured 
a specimen, and we took a nest of eggs on snow-covered mountains. 
Gould’s handbook does not mention this bird, so I am in doubt. One day 
last winter I picked up, side by side, a dead White-breasted Sea-Hagle 
(Haliastur leucosternus) and Western Brown Hawk ( Hieracidea occidentalis) ; 
they appeared to me to have fought a bitter fight, terminating fatally to 
both.— THomas Carrer (Point Cloates, N,W. Australia). 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 143 


MOLLUSCA., 


Helix cartusiana in Suffolk.—In September, 1898, I found a single 
shell of this species at Little Glemham, Suffolk, in a small pit where there 
are veins of chalk in the soil. It was a “‘ dead shell,” but in excellent con- 
dition, and so fresh looking that it must have been living very recently. 
-To make certain of the species, I submitted it to Mr. G. B. Sowerby, who 
pronounced it to be a typical specimen of Helix cartusiana. The place 
where it was picked up is some six or seven miles from the coast, and the 
character of the surrounding country very unlike the usual habitat of this 
species, it being rather enclosed and fairly wooded. H. cartusiana is not 
included in the Rev. Carleton Greene’s list of the Land and Fresh-water 
Shells of Suffolk, and has not, so far as I am aware, been hitherto observed 
in any part of the county. In the adjoining parish of Marlesford a small 
obscurely marked variety of H. ertcetorum occurs in some numbers. The 
ground colour is rather darker than in the type, and the banding either 
entirely absent or only faintly indicated. I have a single shell from Wood- 
bridge of a similar variety, but much thinner, more fragile, and semi- 
transparent. Throughout a great part of Hast Suffolk this species rarely, 
if ever, occurs; Witnesham, near Ipswich, however, is given as a locality 
in Mr. Greene’s list, on the authority of the Rev. J. W. Horsley.— G. T. 
Rope (Blaxhall, Suffolk). 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


The Vertebrates of Berkshire.—Are there any lists extant of the 
vertebrate fauna of the royal county? If so, I should be greatly obliged 
to any reader or contributor of ‘The Zoologist’ who would kindly inform 
me in what publication or publications such lists are to be found. I 
noticed in the ‘ Field’ a week or two since that in the class Aves upwards 
of two hundred and fifty species have occurred, including, of course, the 
rarer visitants.—W. H. Warner (F'yfield, near Abingdon). 


144 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 


Mr. W. F. R. Wxexpon, Professor of Zoology at University College, 
London, has been elected Linacre Professor of Comparative Anatomy at 
Oxford, in succession to Professor Ray Lankester, resigned, but now 
directing the Natural History Department of our British Museum. 


‘Tae Manchester Microscopical Society does not limit itself too severely 
to microscopic work. Its ‘ Transactions,’ of which the last Annual Report 
for 1897 (issued July, 1898) is now before us, contains a number of most 
interesting natural history communications. Mr. W. F. Keeble gives his 
‘Impressions of Tropical Life” during a stay in Ceylon, from which we 
extract the following quite original observation :—‘ One of the strangest 
sights I ever witnessed was an ant-army marching beneath shields of 
butterfly wings. The heavy tropical rain which prunes so vigorously the 
trees, and breaks down branches, leaves, and flowers, had no doubt 
surprised a flight of butterflies and destroyed them; the ants had found 
them, disarticulated each wing, and were bearing off the gaudy treasure, 
though for what purpose I do not venture to suggest.” 


WE extract the following note from ‘The Halifax Naturalist’ and 
Record of the Scientific Society, vol. iii. 1898-99 :— 

Natural History Norges rrRoM CHURCHWARDENS’ Accounts. — The 
following extracts, quoted in the Rev. Mark Pearson’s ‘ Northowram ’ 
from ‘ Ye Olde Towne’s Books,’ show that Foxes and Polecats formerly 
existed in the parish, though they are now, and have probably for a long 
time been, exterminated— 

« May 11th, 1677.—The account of Joshua Crowther, Church-warder 
for ye yeare just past :—June 7th, paid for a Fox head, £00 01s. 00d. 

“* May 30th, 1688.—John Morris, who was Church-warden last year :— 
For 8 Urchins (Hedge Hoggs) and 1 Polecat, £00 Ols. 06d.” 


“ Hedgehogs, it might be mentioned, are still not uncommon in the 
district, though not often seen. In the grounds at Warley House they 
were recently so numerous as to be a pest, and they may be met with in 
woods in the Ryburn Valley, and about Hebden Bridge.” 


3°ds sunqowsq ‘AVY WIOVA 


"BBS ‘WSIBOLCOZ 


‘T 938I[d 


THE ZOOLOGIST 


No. 694.—Apri, 1899. 


ZOOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NATAL. 
By Aurrep D. Minvar. 
(Pxuate I.) 


A Monstrous Ray or Devin-risH.—In April, 1898, a crowd 
was seen on the sea-shore at Durban, drawn together by the inter- 
esting object represented in the accompanying Plate (I.), a 
reproduction of a photograph taken by Mr. Burn, of the Natal 
Drug Company. Some Indians were fishing with their net on 
the sea-coast when they discovered that something unusually 
large had come within their grasp, whereupon these men, with 
great excitement, quickly drew the net shorewards, and, as the 
waves receded, an enormous Eagle Ray, with its single young, 
was disclosed to view. The captors smartly fastened ropes to 
their prize, and anchored it to the shore, gradually drawing it 
out of the water, but with considerable difficulty. 

The measurements taken of this fish were 14 ft. 6 in. across 
the disc, 6 ft. from head to root of tail, and with a tail 6 ft. in 
length. In order to turn this enormous creature to be photo- 
graphed on its reverse side, no fewer than twenty natives were 
required, thus giving some idea as to its weight, which was 
roughly estimated at about 15 cwt. 

Although several of these monsters have been observed dis- 
porting themselves about Durban, this is, I believe, the largest, if 
not the only specimen of its kind that has been landed on our 
shores, and it is now preserved and contained in the Durban 


Museum. 
4ool. 4th ser. vol. III., April, 1899. L 


146 THE ZO00LO0GiIST. 


[This is not the first time that attention has been called to these 
gigantic fishes in the pages of this magazine. In ‘ The Zoologist’ (1849, 
p. 2358), the late Edward Newman gave an account by Capt. Hamilton of 
the capture of a specimen in the Gulf of California, which measured nineteen 
feet across the back. For this unidentified species Mr. Newman proposed 
the provisional name of Brachioptilon hamiltoni, which by Jordan and 
Evermann, in their ‘ Fishes of North and Middle America,’ is placed as a 
synonym of Manta birostris (Walbaum). This fish, generally recorded 
under the name of Ceratoptera vampyrus, attains a width of twenty feet. 
Gosse, in referring to this animal under the generic name of Cephaloptera, 
gives a sensational narrative :—‘‘ Col. Hamilton Smith, in the neighbour- 
hood of Trinidad, had the pain of witnessing a fellow-creature involved in 
the horrible embrace of one of these monsters. It was at early dawn that | 
a soldier was endeavouring to desert from the ship by swimming on shore. 
A sailor from aloft, seeing the approach of one of these terrific fishes, 
alarmed the swimmer, who endeavoured to return; but, in sight of his 
comrades, was presently overtaken, the creature throwing over him one of 
its huge fins, and thus carrying him down.” ‘The same writer also gives 
the following extract from a Barbadoes paper :—‘“‘ On the 22nd of August 
[1843] the brig ‘ Rowena’ was lying in La Guayra Roads, the weather 
perfectly calm. I discovered the vessel moving about among the shipping. 
I could not conceive what could be the matter. I gave orders to heave in, 
and see if the anchor was gone, but it was not; but, to my surprise, I 
found a tremendous monster entangled fast in the buoy-rope, and moving 
the anchor slowly along the bottom. I then had the fish towed on shore. 
It was of a flattish shape, something like a devtl-fish, but very curious 
shape, being wider than it was long, and having two tusks, one on each 
side of the mouth, and a very small tail in proportion to the fish, and 
exactly like a bat’s tail. ‘The tail can be seen on board the brig ‘ Rowena.’ 
Dimensions of the fish were as follows :—Length from end of tail to end 
of tusks, 18 ft.; from wing to wing, 20 ft.; the mouth 4 ft. wide; and its 
weight 3502 lb.” (‘ The Ocean,’ pp. 193-4). 

According to Prof. Seeley, the Ox Ray, or Sea-Devil (Dicerobatis 
giorneé) has been captured in the Mediterranean, 28 ft. wide and 21 ft. 
long, and estimated to weigh a ton. Mr. Lydekker has stated that an 
Indian representative of Dicerobatis is known to measure 18 ft. across the 
disc, and a weight of over 1200 lb. has been recorded. 

Mr. Boulenger (Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. vi. vol. xx. p. 227, 1897) 
has described a new genus and species from Jamaica, allied to Ceratoptera 
(Ceratobasis robertsit). ‘The specimen was a young one, but the species is 
said to grew to a very large size; ‘“ but specimens are almost impossible to 
obtain, owing to the superstitious fear of the fishermen.” 

The species here figured probably belongs to the genus Dicerobatis, but 
as dentition principally separates that genus from Cephaloptera, absolute 
certainty cannot be obtained from a photograph alone.— ED. |] 


An ANTELOPE PROTECTING ITs Youna.— There are many 
instances recorded in which animals have displayed remarkable 


courage in the protection of their young, and they will frequently 
expose themselves to imminent danger, though this is common alike 


ZOOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NATAL. 147 


in the higher as well as in the lower orders of animal life. An 
interesting incident was observed whilst Snipe-shooting at Clare- 
mont, near Durban, on the 1st November last. My pointer-dog 
started a young Reed-buck (Cervicapra arundinum), and immedi- 
ately gave chase. The little buck was apparently but a few days 
old, and rushed off frantically in the long grass; but the dog 
soon gained ground, and was just about overtaking it, much to 
my regret, when the little buck, fearing capture, started bleating. 
This gave warning to the mother, who, watching us approach, 
had remained concealed in cover only eighteen inches in height. 
Immediately the bleating was heard, a fine doe Reed-buck rose 
within one hundred yards from us, and rushed off gallantly to 
rescue her young. The dog, not noticing the doe, was in hot 
pursuit, and within a yard or two of the little fawn, which in a 
few moments must have fallen to its pursuer. The doe now 
rushed at full speed, answering her little one’s call in a deep 
guttural note, and, on overtaking the dog, deliberately jumped 
over it, and whilst in the air kicked out with her hind legs. The 
dog fell, but whether from fright or through being kicked 
over—probably the latter—I was unable to detect ; however, be 
that as it may, the dog was so startled at such an incident that he 
immediately pulled up, and stood staring in wonderment, whilst 
the mother proudly cantered off with her young, a sight that any 
sportsman would delight to see. 

STRANGE Messmatres.—In October last I had occasion to 
watch a pair of Black Saw-winged Swallows (Psalidoprocne holo- 
melena), in order to discover their nest, and was soon rewarded 
by seeing one of the birds suddenly disappear in the ground 
carrying grass. On approaching I found a deserted hole of an 
Ant-bear,* into which the Swallow had gone. These birds 
frequent the holes of Ant-bears in preference to an embankment 
when nesting, and the reason may be readily understood when it 
is seen what protection is thus afforded against their many 
enemies. Having observed that the bird was then only con- 
structing its nest, I decided to revisit the spot shortly afterwards, 
when, to my surprise, I found that the Ant-bear had returned 
home to his old haunt, taking up his abode inside. The ground 
being much disturbed, with the hole partly closed, it struck me 


* Ardvaark (Orycteropus capensis). 
L2 


148 HE ZOOLOGIST. 


that the Swallow would not return; consequently I determined 
to dig down to the nest. Entering the excavation head first, I 
soon found a small hole about two inches in diameter leadiug 
upwards about three feet from the entrance. I started burrowing, 


when the first thing discovered was a spherical white egg recently 


deposited on the bare ground. This was identified as the egg of 
the Natal Kingfisher (Ispidina natalensis), the clutch usually 
consisting of four eggs; and, on going a short distance further in 
the same hole, I came across the Swallow’s nest, with a clutch of 
three small pure white elongate eggs, the nest being constructed 
wholly of minute grass-tufts. Both the Swallow and Kingfisher 
had made use of the same entrance. The Ant-bear I did not 
attempt to burrow after, this being a task usually ending in 
fruitless results, as these curious animals can dig faster than any 
two individuals provided with spades. 

A Curious Deposir or Eacs.—For some time past a pair of 
Brown-hooded Kingfishers (Halcyon albiventris) have frequented 
my garden, but I was unable to locate their nest. At last, how- 
ever, I came across one of the birds carrying a grasshopper, which 
at once led me to understand I was too late, and that the birds 
were feeding their young. They had nested in the bank of a pit, 
as is their wont, generally penetrating into the earth about three 
or four feet. Down this pit an old ladder had been left pro- 
jecting several feet above the pit’s mouth. About a week later, 
when revisiting the spot, to my surprise and delight I observed 
four large round white eggs lying on the ground immediately 
below one of the bars of the ladder, from which the eggs had 
evidently been dropped. The bird, having young in its nest, was 
apparently on the horns of a dilemma; it was useless depositing 
her eggs with the young, and hence the bird quietly disencumbered 
herself of the superfluous eggs in this easy but somewhat remark- 
able manner. The clutch of this bird consists of four round 
eggs, the shells being very thin, while the newly-laid egg has a 
salmon tint, the yolk reflecting through; but when the egg is 
blown it becomes pearly white. October is the nesting season. 


¢ 


( 149 ) 


NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF BELGIUM. 
By O. V. Apuin, F.L.S. 


I spent a few days in June, 1898 (2nd—10th), in the 
valley of the Meuse, staying at Dinant, and exploring the main 
valley from Houx up to Givet just over the French frontier, and 
parts of the beautiful valley of the Lesse up to Houyet. As the 
distribution of birds on the European continent has not been 
very minutely worked out for English readers, a list of those that 
I saw may be worth printing in ‘ The Zoologist.’ The valley of 
the Meuse about Dinant and about as far up the river as Hastiére 
is generally narrow. In places the river is closely hemmed in by 
high ground, rising sometimes so abruptly as to form towering 
cliffs inhabited by numerous Jackdaws. At other places the high 
ground falls back, and leaves space for meadows, a stately 
chdteau, a farm, or a village. Where the slopes are gradual 
their sides are covered with scrub wood of hazel, beech, oak, 
and juniper; and box and other shrubs clothe the broken parts 
of the cliffs, which are further brightened, except on their 
smoothest faces, by trailing ivy, yellow lotus, viper’s bugloss, 
campion, marjoram, wallflower, hawkweed, and rock-rose. Fine 
plants of blue columbine form an attractive feature on stony 
banks, while the stinking bear’s-foot (Helleborus fetidus), only a 
doubtful native with us, grows in profusion. Above the valley 
stretches a rolling, rather bleak arable country, with some 
resemblance to parts of the Berkshire downs, save that it is 
ruled here and there with long lines of roadside poplars and 
pines. Villages nestling among orchards and paddocks are 
frequent, and the country waved with rye and corn, and was 
sweet with sainfoin and trefoil. Above Hastiére the heights 
sink away, and the valley spreads out into rich wide meadows, 
corn fields and orchards, varied by some wooded rising ground. 
This part of the district is very favourable for many kinds of 
small birds; at that season it was looking its best, the hawthorns 


150 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


and some late apples in bloom, and the flowery meadows more 
sweet with the scent of clover than any I had ever noticed else- 
where. Winding valleys leading from the main one penetrate 
the high-lying land, their sides thickly clothed with woods of 
oak, elm, ash, and hazel, with alder in the bottoms by the 
streams, and varied by birch, rowan, beam, and the lines of 
spruce firs where the roads cut through the woods. The wild 
and winding valley of the Lesse, with its rapid river now flowing 
under spreading branches at the foot of wooded slopes, dashing 
over boulders or washing the base of some cliff, like that on 
which the Chateau Walzin is perched; now passing more peace- 
fully through little meadows where the high ground falls back 
and leaves space for farms and orchards of apple, walnut, and 
cherry, is not easy to get about in; like all the wooded valleys 
and scrub-clothed heights, it abounds in Nightingales. I went 
to Houyet in order to walk through the Royal Forest of Ardenne 
(now, I believe, turned into a game preserve for the inhabitants 
of the hotel, once a royal palace) by the glorious road which 
winds with bold sweeps to the high ground at Sanzinne (about 
260 metres). The forest is of oak, birch, hazel, some beech, a 
kind of elm, ash, and some patches of spruce. Very fine spruces 
line the road; the undergrowth is very thick, and there is a fair 
number of large trees. The forest clothes the sides of a valley 
rising rather steeply from a tiny stream. Where the stream 
widens out into ornamental water near Houyet, swarms of 
Edible Frogs (Rana esculenta) were holding high carnival; and 
on the stony banks of the road, as elsewhere, Lizards were not 
uncommon on the side which caught the sun. I caught one in 
another part of Belgium, which appeared to be a brown form of 
Lacerta muralis. It escaped in my garden here; and I turned 
‘up another (the green form), bought in London, to keep it 
company. 

Some of the birds which I did noé see in the district are worth 
remarking upon; for although I may have overlooked some of 
them, others are, from their habits in early June, so conspicuous, 
that Ido not think I could have failed to detect them had they 
been present, or present in any but very small numbers. I failed 
to see the Missel-Thrush, Redstart, Lesser Whitethroat, Long- 
tailed Tit, Nuthatch, Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Flycatcher, Gold- 


NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF BELGIUM. 151 


finch, Corn Bunting, Rook, and Kestrel. The Missel-Thrush 
might have been present, for at that season, with young flown, 
it is rather a quiet bird. The Nuthatch also becomes much 
quieter at that season than it is in the spring; I have seen it in 
October in the woods about La Roche, some thirty miles to the 
eastward. And the Long-tailed Tit is not usually numerous 
enough for one to make sure of seeing it during a search of only 
ten days’ duration. The Rook seems to be anything but gene- 
rally distributed on the Continent. The Kestrel certainly could 
not have been otherwise than scarce; I expected it would be 
common about the cliffs. But I hardly think I could have 
overlooked the other six species. The conspicuous Pied Fly- 
catcher, which to all appearance would have been exactly suited 
by the hanging woods coming down to a dashing river and 
orchards in the Lesse valley, is so local in its distribution that 
one must never wonder at not finding it. But I was astonished 
not to see the familiar grey friend of our gardens. Gardens 
there were in abundance, but I did not see a single Spotted Fly- 
catcher in the district; at all events it must have been rare, for 
its ways make it conspicuous. When staying a few days at 
Mechelen, later on, I found it in the Botanic Garden there. 
The Common Redstart would not easily be overlooked, but I did 
not see it in Belgium; though R. titys was common. The Gold- 
finch—conspicuous alike in plumage, song, and call-note—I did 
not meet with; and the Corn Bunting—which one would at first 
expect to find enlivening the high-lying, open arable land with 
its skirling song—remained true to its character of a curiously 
local bird by shunning the land. But, on considering the matter, 
I remember that there is an absence of low hedges and walls, as 
of tall thistle and dock, on this well-cultivated field, so that the 
Corn Bunting would have no suitable perch whereon to alight 
after one of those wobbling flights which it delights to take, with 
its legs dangling. Woodpeckers were scarce. I never saw either 
the Spotted or Barred (the former I saw once at La Roche in 
October); and though I occasionally heard a Gecinus, I could not 
even decide for certain upon the species. The Ring Dove and 
Stock Dove were both scarce; the former curiously so. 

Turdus musicus.—Here, as in some other parts of the Conti- 
nent, a shy forest or woodland species, Three were singing in 


152 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


the upper part of the Forest of Ardenne; and another on the 
wooded slope of the valley of the Molignée about Montaigle. 

T. merula.—Its haunts are similar to those in this country ; 
common. 

Saxicola cnanthe.—A pair on high, open ground, near 
Sanzinne (about 800 feet), perched several times in young 
walnut trees and an apple tree in an orchard. I saw a female 
about a marble quarry close to the Meuse below Dinant. 

Pratincola rubetra.—Numerous in the meadows along the 
Meuse, some way above Dinant. 

P. rubicolan—Quite common along the Meuse above Dinant ; 
perhaps drawn away from the bushy hillsides and cliffs by the 
railway and telegraph wires. Also seen in a bushed gorge lead- 
ing up from Bouvigne. 

Ruticilla titys —Common, and generally distributed in suit- 
able localities. It is quite a house-bird, frequenting even con- 
siderable towns; and during this visit to Belgium I only twice 
saw it away from buildings. In one case an old male sat ona 
projecting rock on the cliff face a long way from any houses; in 
the other, a male was perched on a dead branch of a low bush in 
the middle of the refuse bank at a marble quarry. In Givet three 
were singing; one of them from the steeply-pitched roof of the 
church in the middle of the town. At Hastiére one sang from 
the roof of the old inn; and another from the new brewery 
chimney. At Hermeton-sur-Meuse, a farm—with its odoriferous 
cowhouses and yard deep in manure, which it loves so well—had 
its pair, for each pair seems to have its allotted location, and does 
not, in the country at least, often admit of very near neighbours. 
When dwelling in a town amid a waste of steep roofs of all sizes 
and pitched at all angles, they are rather less exclusive. Stately 
chateau, vile modern villa, and humble white-walled cottage are 
alike favoured by this most domestic bird. It dearly loves one 
of those typical Ardenne villages like Houyet; or long, straight, 
one-streeted Sommiére, where the cowhouse can hardly be dis- 
tinguished from the owner’s green-shuttered dwelling, and the 
doors of each are alike and side by side, while a rude ladder con- 
ducts the hens to a hole in the wall; almost every house is pro- 
vided with a midden-place in lieu of a front garden, the manure 
neatly supported by a low wall or a wattle fence. All this results 


NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF BELGIUM. 1538 


from the almost universal plan of house-feeding the cows, and is 
to the advantage of the Black Redstart, for flies and other in- 
sects swarm. The male occasionally, when flying from one spot 
to another, finishes its flight with wings thrown up and tail 
somewhat spread. Seen thus against a dark background it is a 
pretty object, the red tail being very conspicuous. Although 
more than one male was located within easy earshot of my bed- 
room window in Dinant, it was only in the very early hours of the 
day—before the dog-carts and trolleys and long, narrow country 
carts began their frightful rattle and din on the sharp-edged 
rough stones with which the streets are so vilely paved—that I 
could hear the song well. But if you are awake at dawn, while it 
is yet too dark to see the birds, you can hear the song to per- 
fection. The song of one bird, written down there, was some- 
times “chy wy wy wy wy (quickly) chee e eo,” or “‘chich wich wich 
tich (quickly) itchyty (confused and internal) cheeo weo dee” 
(clear and sweet). It is, perhaps, the crystal clearness and 
brightness of the song, with its rather shrill tone, which makes 
this pure, sweet song carry so far. And it is this characteristic 
purity and clearness which constitutes its individuality. It is 
probable that two broods of young may be reared by some pairs. 
On June 4th full-fledged young sat with quivering, hardly fully- 
grown tails, on a heap of ancient stones piled up in an angle 
between the Norman church and the wall in the neglected 
churchyard at Hastiére. 

Erithacus rubecula.—A good many seen and heard in the 
woods ; also some in the gardens at the back of the Casino at 
Dinant, which include a piece of the steep wooded rocky 
hillside. 

Daulias luscinia.— Could be heard from the hotel at night and 
early in the morning; haunted the Casino gardens and the rest 
of the wooded cliffs at the back of Dinant, and all possible loca- 
lities. In the woods it was abundant, and really rather a nuisance 
sometimes when one was trying to listen to other birds. I 
listened in one wood to a babel of sound produced by three 
Nightingales, a Garden Warbler, a Robin, a Chiffchaff, and a 
Chaffinch, all singing at once, and not far apart. Some young 
birds were probably hatched by the 3rd, as I heard the sharp 
“whit”? and the croak from one anxious pair, and the croak. 


154 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


from others. Nightingales could often be seen on the roadsides, 
and were wonderfully tame. 

Sylvia cinerea.—N ot very common. 

S. atricapilla.—In the woods and Casino gardens, &c. The 
song of some birds seemed exceptionally fine and powerful. 

S. hortensis—Common in the woods, and noticed on the 
wooded slopes. In fine rich song. 

Regulus cristatus—Appeared to be tolerably common in 
spruce firs. 

RK. wgnicapillus.—I had a good view of a bright male in a 
spruce by the side of the road passing through the Forest of 
Ardenne. It looks rather a longer bird than the last, and is very 
quick in its ways. 

Phylloscopus rufus:—Common in woods, gardens, and wooded 
cliffs. 

P. trochilus.x—On the 8rd I noticed several in song in a 
wooded part of Lesse valley near Walzin; but it was not 
observed elsewhere. 

P. sibilatriz.—In the Forest of Ardenne there were two or 
three about some oak trees, and I listened for some time to the 
curious “ chit-it-tit-titereeeeeee,” beginning rather slowly and 
going into a trill. There was another in song ina little oak wood 
by the Lesse at Houyet. 

P. bonellui.—I had a long interview with a pair of Bonelli’s 
Warblers in the Bois de Roquet, near Dinant. The male sang 
often. The song is a quick, rapid outburst, louder and fuller 
than a Wood Wren’s, but shorter, and with no preliminary slower 
syllables. It might be lettered ‘‘ chititereee ’’—a short outburst, 
shorter and more rapid than the Lesser Whitethroat’s, which it 
somewhat resembles, but than which it is less loud and metallic. 
A call-note (that of the male) I noted down on this occasion as 
a kind of ‘‘ creech creech creech,” followed by one or two sharp 
little notes, only sometimes heard. I first became acquainted 
with this curious note in the high-lying cork and oak forest on 
the spurs of the Atlas in western Tunisia. It puzzled me greatly 
at first; but finally I shot a male in the act of uttering it. I find 
that at that time I noted it down as the call of the male, consist- 
ing of five notes, and rendered it thus: ‘“‘aych aych aych chit chit.” 
The pair I saw near Dinant frequented some oak trees, and came 


NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF BELGIUM. 155 


low down, so that I got good views of them. Bonelli’s Warbler 
is a coldly-coloured little bird when seen against fresh, young 
green leaves, and at a little distance shows no yellow tints. The 
range of this little bird in Central Kurope does not appear to be 
fully worked out at present. 

Hypolais icterina.—I met with about half a dozen birds in 
wooded places, a wood, and a garden. The song is marvellously 
varied, and the variations seem endless; short phrases are tried 
over three or four times sometimes, long ones only once: the 
song is a running one to this extent. It is a very remarkable 
and striking song, but I do not think it is a fine one, the notes 
being usually very harsh, and wanting in mellowness and melody. 
In the space of a quarter of an hour, during which the bird sang 
continually, I could detect no mocking of other birds. There is 
a characteristic sound about the song of this bird (shared in 
some degree by at least two others of the genus Hypolais) by 
which you can recognise it at once; but the bird is sometimes 
easy to see when you have once made out its greenish-yellow 
tints against the foliage, and you can note its orange mouth and 
throbbing throat. Here are some phrases I took down from the 
song of the bird just mentioned:—‘“‘ ts quairk (grating and 
twangy) tisk tisk; sik sik sik, kik kik kik (high and shrill); 
tsairk (low and quavering like the cry of young hawks) poo-it 
poo-it; pit-it pit-it pit-it; tip tip tip; ti-op ti-op; pitch-it 
pitch-it; kip kip kip care; it-care it-care; ik-waya ik-waya; 
too-ay, too-ay too-ay; it-tay it-tay it-tay it-tay: wik wik zay” 
(three times over). 

Acrocephalus streperus.—Two or three at some pools near 
Givet (see below); and one singing in a willow bush on the 
banks of the Meuse at Houx. 

A. turdoides.—Just below Givet, in some flat grassy waste 
land, there are some large pools, perhaps partly formed by 
digging material for banking in the river (which is locked). The 
pools are partly grown up with thick beds of reeds, flags, and 
other water plants, and thickets of willows of two or three 
species,—some bushes eight or ten feet high. As I approached 
the pools, and was still at a considerable distance from them, I 
was attracted by some notes of a peculiarly guttural song, and as 
I drew nearer I had no doubt that here was one of the birds I 


156 THE ZO0O0OLOGIST. 


was hoping to meet with. Here I found these great Warblers in 
some numbers, and listened to perhaps half a score or more in 
the limited space I explored. The place was a veritable strong- 
hold for the birds, as, in the absence of a boat, one could not 
hope to reach a nest, or indeed get very close to the birds. But 
the loud croaking song could be listened to easily, and could be 
heard from afar. Not much less conspicuous were the birds 
themselves, with their dull brown upper parts, reddish-brown 
tail, and whitish under parts (the contrast between the colours of 
the head and back and the tail is not very obvious in dried skins, 
but it is remarkable in the living bird), for they often perched on 
an upper willow twig, quite high up, or on a flag or reed stem in 
an open spot. The Great Reed Warbler sits, when singing, in a 
very upright position, with the point of its bill raised, the biil 
open as it sings, and the throat throbbing and swelled so that 
the small feathers part, showing their dusky bases, and the bird 
appears almost to possess a dusky gular spot. It is a restless, 
bold, and noisy bird at this season, and often takes flight from 
bush to bush. The song is very remarkable. The likeness of 
some notes in it, in character, to those of a Frog is very striking, 
although they do not exactly resemble those of any kind of Frog 
with which I am acquainted. The bird’s notes are chiefly 
grating, and often have a guttural tone. These are some notes 
and phrases which I wrote down :—“ Gurk gurk gurk; gurruck 
gurruck gurruck ; ick ick ick ick; gik gik gik (shrill and squeaky) ; 
ajik ajik ajik; jirp jirp jirp ik ik; garra garra geek (last note 
high, and the g hard); gak gak karry karry (the last two notes 
high). Two or three Reed Warblers (Acrocephalus streperus) 
sang in their leisurely way in some of the thicker willows. 
Edible Frogs (Rana esculenta) in great numbers croaked their 
loud harsh grating cries, or splashed noisily into the water from 
spots where they had been sunning themselves. On the grassy 
land between the pools and the Meuse several Blue-headed Wag- 
tails ran after insects, or rose with their plaintive “ wich-ooo”’ or 
‘‘wich-eee”’ as I passed. Sedge Warblers, haunting the ditch 
below the river bank, contributed their hurried song, and a few 
Sky-Larks and Whinchats made up the bird-life in evidence, 
although visions of small species of the genus Porzana and some 
more secret Warblers made me long for a boat and a week’s 


NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF BELGIUM. 157 


search of the reed-beds and lush vegetation of the pools, over 
which a small species of dragonfly darted and hovered in numbers. 
I did not find the Great Reed Warbler in any other locality in 
the Dinant district, but met with it near Mechelen. 

A. phragmitis.—Pretty common along the Meuse, especially 
above Hastiére. Often to be seen singing on the wing, flying 
up high into the air also and then descending singing into a low 
tree or bush. I could not detect the Aquatic Warbler. 

Accentor modularis.—I only saw two; one near the railway 
- at Agimont, the other singing from the top of a roadside spruce 
in the Forest of Ardenne. Here, as in Switzerland, it does not 
seem to be the familiar garden bird it is with us. Later on I 
met with it, however, in the Botanic Garden at Mechelen. 

Parus major.—This widely distributed species was on the 
whole the commonest Titmouse; there were fully fledged young 
at Houx on the 9th. 

P. ater.—I met with some in the Forest of Ardenne, and a 
pair in the valley of the Lesse near Walzin. 

P. palustris.—Seen in the same localities, and in about the 
same numbers as the last named species. 

P. ceruleus.—Frequently seen; almost as common as the 
Greater Tit. 

Troglodytes parvulus.—Frequently seen; Forest of Ardenne, 
Casino gardens, &c. 

Certhia familiaris.—Seen once. 

Motacilla alba.—Common. Young broods were on the wing, 
and, as I could only see these and old males (at least I could not 
see a bird which looked like a female), I imagine the females 
were sitting on second clutches. White Wagtails were especially 
common by the Meuse below Hastiére; they often flew about 
half-way across the river with a dancing flight, about a foot above 
the surface of the water, to catch flies, and then returned to sit 
on the road, the low stone posts, or the iron protecting rail. 

M. flava.—There were many Blue-headed Wagtails all down 
the Meuse from Givet, but they were commonest in the wide 
meadows above Hastiére. Some hawked flies over the river, 
returning to perch near the spot they started from; they usually 
hawked higher in the air than the White Wagtails. These Wag- 
tails perched habitually in the willows and the young fruit trees 


158 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


planted along the path by the river. A male without a tail had 
a most extraordinary appearance. 

Anthus trivialis. — Fairly common; about the edges of 
woods, &c. 

Oriolus galbula.—I heard the note of this bird in the Bois de 
Roquet. 

Lanius collurio.—Ii saw four males and one female. A male 
flew past one day with a cockchafer in his bill. Having settled 
on a bare branch, he put the chafer under foot and devoured it 
piecemeal, giving two or three harsh notes of satisfaction at 
the finish. 

Hirundo rustica.—Not very numerous, and far less so than 
the next species. 

Chelidon urbica.—Abundant. All up the Meuse from Namur, 
as we approached Dinant on a wet evening, the House Martins 
were conspicuous over the river, and they were numerous at 
Dinant, and about a large farm in the Lesse valley. In Givet 
they were in some numbers, and bred unmolested in the corners 
of windows, as well as under the eaves. In these towns there 
are not the swarms of Sparrows that we have. A crowd of 
Martins were collecting mud at a small pond at Sanzinne, and 
the same day we found them swarming in Houyet, a typical 
Ardenne village devoted to cows. It is quite a pleasure to see 
any number of Martins, for it is some years since I have seen a 
building well decorated with nests in England. 

Cotile ruparia.—A small colony in a shallow sand-pit near 
Agimont. As they were common over the Meuse about Dinant, 
I supposed that some bred in holes between the stones of the 
built-up river banks, and other supporting walls where roads had 
been cut out, for I saw no sandy places in the immediate neigh- 
bourhood. Yet all day they skimmed low over the water, and 
they haunted the river more than either Swallows or House 
Martins. 

Ligurinus chloris.—Seen occasionally. 

Passer domesticus.—Did not swarm as with us. 

P. montanus.—Seen about young apple trees at Agimont; a 
pair near Houyet, and others in a garden there. ‘The Tree 
Sparrow appears to be rather a common bird in Belgium. 

Fringilla celebs.—Common; in the roadside trees in the 


NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF BELGIUM. 159 


Forest of Ardenne, for instance. Many are kept caged in towns 
and villages, and sing very loudly; all that I examined were 
blind. The Chaffinch here sings along and good strain. The 
first part is long, although usually rather sibilant; the second 
part is loud and full. The fact that the song of the Chaffinch 
differs (more or less) in different districts was remarked upon 
long ago by Humboldt, who, writing of the Canary of Montaiia 
Clara, says :—‘ The note of these birds varies with their flocks, 
like that of our Chaffinches, which often differs in two neigh- 
bouring districts’ (‘ Personal Narrative,’ vol. i. p. 89). 

Linota cannabina.—Common about bushy cliffs and box-clad 
gorge, as well as by the river. 

Pyrrhula europea.—I met with a pair in a wood bearing the 
curious name of Bois de Froide Veau (so in the map), and 
another in the valley of the Molignée. 

Emberiza citrinella.—Seen about the arable land, and bushed 
gorge above Bouvigne. 

fj. scheeniclus.—One by the Meuse. 

Sturnus vulgaris.—A few near Dinant. 

Garrulus glandarius.—Two in the Forest of Ardenne, one of 
which was making a queer attempt to sing, or rather to chant. 

Pica rustica.—Occasionally seen. 

Corvus monedula. ——- Numerous; they haunt, among other 
places, the cliff under the Chateau Walzin, various bare cliffs 
along the Meuse, the old Norman church at Hastiére, and the 
ruins of the Chateau Montaigle, on an isolated rock rising straight 
from the Molignée. 

C. corone.—Seen about the cliffs and wooded heights along 
the river, and in the Forest of Ardenne. 

Alauda arvensis.—Fairly common on the open arable land, 
and some near Givet. 

Cypselus apus.—A fair number about Dinant, and Swifts were 
to be seen about high cliffs here and there between that place and 
Givet. In Givet the Swift was the ruling species, and abundant. 

Lynx torquillan—Heard twice in the distance. 

Gecinus ?,—I heard several times the note of a Green 
Woodpecker in the woods and forest, but never saw the bird. On 
some occasions the laugh seemed deep in tone, as if it proceeded 
from G. canus, but this is uncertain. 


160 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Alcedo ispida.—One crossed the Meuse with a silvery fish 
crosswise in its bill. 

Cuculus canorus.—Common. On one occasion three in close 
company crossed a road leading through a wood. 

Syrnium aluco. — 'The remains of one lay by the roadside in 
a wood. 

Athene noctua.—On two occasions I heard what I believe was 
the note of this bird, in woods. 

Buteo vulgaris.—In the Forest of Ardenne I watched one 
soar up out of sight; saw another mobbed by Crows, and heard 
the wailing cry on two occasions. 

Columba palumbus.—Strangely scarce; two only seen flying 
along wooded heights across the river. 

C. enas.—One in the distance flying along a wooded slope at 
Houyet. 

C. lwia.—I saw a bird exactly resembling a wild Rock Dove 
about some river cliffs far from any (visible) house. 

Turtur communis.—Several in woods. 

Phasianus colchicus. — Heard several times in the Bois du 
Séminaire and the Forest of Ardenne. 

Perdix cinerea.—I saw birds twice, once on the high ground 
at the back of Dinant, and again near Sommieére. 

Coturnix communis.—I heard a Quail calling from a field gay 
and sweet with sainfoin and yellow trefoil on the high-lying 
arable land above Bouvigne. 

Aiigialitis hiaticula ?.—I saw a bird flying in the distance over 
the pools at Givet, which appeared to be a Ringed Plover. 


From the 10th to the 14th of June I was at Mechelen, in 
the flat rich Flemish country. I made a list of the birds I saw, 
and it may be worth giving shortly. ‘Those species marked with 
an asterisk were not met with about Dinant. The sandy land 
around Mechelen is very highly cultivated, and corn-fields, varied 
by many acres devoteé to the cultivation of asparagus and other 
vegetables for the great marché of Mechelen, stretch away as far 
as the eye can see. But the country is well wooded with lines of 
poplars and plantations. There are grass marshes along the 
tidal, embanked Dyle and elsewhere, and willow and alder along 
the drains. But the country is densely populated, and a few 


NOTES ON THE BIRDS OF BELGIUM. 161 


hours’ drive over the paved roads takes you past numerous little 
villages and scattered houses, cheerfully adorned with red roofs, 
white walls, and green shutters. It was not therefore surprising 
to find that resident birds were scarce. The numerous popula- 
tion of small cultivators may account for the scarcity, as well as 
for the fact that you may probably see in Mechelen more carts 
drawn by dogs than in any other town. 

Turdus merula.—In the Botanical Garden. 

Pratincola rubetraa—Some in the grass marshes. 

P. rubicola.—A pair carrying food on the bushed banks of a 
fortification. 

Ruticilla titys. — Several seen in Mechelen (49,000 inhabi- 
tants), on the houses; one in the Grande Place. 

Daulias luseinia.—Heard in all the small plantations, and about 
country houses; I saw and heard several in the Botanical Garden. 

Sylvia cinerea.—Fairly common. 

S. atricapilla.—Plantations and Botanical Garden, where it 
was in very fine song. 

S. hortensis.—Appeared to be common in plantations. 

Hypolais icterina.—One heard to the north of the town; 
another haunted the Botanical Garden. I heard a few rather 
good notes from this bird, and a regular screech once or twice ; 
but I had no opportunity of listening to it well on account of a 
brass band and a crowd of people interfering on one occasion, 
and a cold grey morning on another. 

* Acrocephalus palustris ?.—A bird singing, but out of sight, in 
a patch of tall rye bounded by a wet ditch and garden ground, 
was probably a Marsh Warbler. I heard imitations of the notes 
of Swallow, Whinchat, and Stonechat, with Nightingale-like notes 
and low chattering notes. 

A. turdoides.—I heard the grating notes from some reeds and 
willows some way off on the other side of the Dyle. At a forti- 
fication to the north of the town there was a moat, of which I 
could get an occasional glimpse from the road. There I heard 
two or three of these Warblers, and caught sight of one. I did 
not think it desirable to poke about the place much with glasses 
and note-book ! 

Accentor modularis.— Seen once or twice in the Botanical 


Garden. 
Zool. 4th ser. vol. III., Aprul, 1899 M 


162 TAH: ZOOLOGISE: 


Parus major and P. ceruleus.—Occasionally seen. 

T'roglodytes parvulus.—About gardens, several times. 

Motacilla alba.—Saw a few. In the Botanical Garden was 
the only adult female, so far as I could judge, that I saw in 
Belgium. It had the crown sooty mixed with grey. 

* M1. melanope.—To my great surprise, I saw a black-throated 
Grey Wagtail sitting on a bare twig over a piece of water in the 
Botanical Garden. A tidal creek, or branch of the Dyle, bounds 
the garden on one side. 

Anthus trivialis.— Seemed fairly common about wayside 
poplars. 

Oriolus galbula.—I heard the note in a wood near the Chateau 
Rubens. One bird (and I think another also) was singing in the 
thickest parts of the tall trees which stand round the Botanical 
Garden. I moved it more than once, and at last got the glass on 
a male as it flew out. It is far from a conspicuous bird when 
seen against a background of fresh green, and moreover it is loth 
to leave the thick foliage. Its sweet rich “‘lit-a-vool” or “ lit-a- 
vool-ee”’ was, I think, followed by some low chattering notes, 
heard only on two occasions, when I was just under the place 
where I thought the bird was sitting; but I could never see it 
when it was perched. 

Laniwus collurio.—One male. 

*Muscicapa grisola.—Several about the Botanical Garden. 

Hirundo rustica.—In fair numbers. 

Chelidon urbica.—A few only compared with some places. 

Passer domesticus.—N ot conspicuously abundant. 

P. montanus. — Saw a good many. Some seen about pollard 
trees, and several times dusting by the roadside. Apparently 
rather a common bird in Belgium. 

Fringilla celebs.x—About gardens and wayside trees. 

Emberiza citrinella.a—Fairly common by the roadsides. Some 
males were very bright, as at Dinant also. 

E. sheniclus.—Several along the high banks of the tidal 
Dyle; also about reeds in the grass marshes, and along a canal. 

Sturnus vulgaris—Common about grass marshes, &c. Some 
were in flocks; others inhabited St. Rombaut’s great tower. Seen 
in Antwerp. 

Pica rustica.—Several times seen by the wayside. 


NOTES ON SPHE BIRDSVOF BHEGIUM. 163 


Corvus monedula. — Inhabited St. Rombaut’s ‘lower and the 
Botanical Garden. In the Zoological Gardens at Antwerp I saw 
a pair of white Daws with pink legs and bill, and white (ordinary ?) 
irides. 

C’. corone.—Two or three seen. 

Alauda arvensis.—A few seen one day. 

*A. cristata.—On a large open bare sandy piece of ground out- 
side Mechelen I saw a Crested Lark (very much the colour of the 
soil), which was beating some prey against the ground. When 
this Lark is alarmed its long crest stands up. I was glad to hear 
again its call-note ‘‘sweet-a-weet,” or ‘‘ weeta,”’ or “‘seee weet weet.” 
Another bird was singing, flying about in a desultory way, going 
a little way, and then pausing to sing its very sweet song (with a 
variation of the call-note) with beating wings; then dropping 
away down wind, to bear up again presently, and repeat the per- 
formance. So the song is often interrupted by flights. The big 
bill of the Crested Lark is conspicuous, as also is the light, 
bright brown in the tail when the bird flies up. 

Cypselus apus.—Swarmed in great numbers round the huge 
cathedral tower (St. Rombaut’s, 324 ft.). They could be heard 
from our windows screaming faintly, apparently at a vast height, 
after 9 p.m., when it was almost dark. In the evenings they 
swarmed in the air round the tower, and also about a large 
building looking like a factory ; there were fair numbers all about 
the town and in the vicinity. In few other towns have I[ seen 
Swifts in such numbers. 

Gecinus ?.,—A Green Woodpecker (apparently G. viridis) 
heard in a plantation. 

Columba palumbus.—Several about plantations. 

Turtur communis.—Several about plantations. 


mM 2 


164 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


FECUNDITY IN EACH AVINE SPECIES, VARYING 
ACCORDING TO ACCIDENTS OF LOCALITY. 


By Basi Davis. 


In a former article I attempted to describe how the peculiari- 
ties of any species might cause its reproduction to differ from 
that of another: it is now my purpose to describe, if in a some- 
what partial and incomplete manner, how the members of a single 
species may differ inter se as regards this function, because of the 
more or less favourable circumstances under which they may 
happen to breed. The possibility, and, later, the certainty of 
these differences and their origin, was early brought under my 
notice, seeing that for several years I alternately resided in the 
bleak and smoky outskirts of a northern manufacturing town, 
and on the edge of some of the richest land in the fertile western 
counties. I have also to thank Mr. W. Storrs Fox for supplying 
a little evidence upon my present subject in his kindly criticism 
of last month. 

My ornithological books early informed me that a Hedge- 
Sparrow laid from four to'six eggs, yet near my northern home 
I never found a clutch to exceed two; and so scant was the 
insect-life of the neighbourhood that a year would occasionally 
pass without my finding a single nest of the species. I personally 
have notes of many completed clutches of two, and a friend’s 
voluminous diary can only furnish three clutches exceeding that 
number during a continuous residence of several years in the 
same district. In Gloucestershire, however, five was the usual 
number, and a nest of six occasioned no remark. In Lancashire 
the lingering winter, combined with a foul and smoke-polluted 
atmosphere, rendered insect-life nowhere abundant. In most 
English localities you may rely on retaining a pair of “resident ” 
birds to breed with you during the summer, if you mark them 
frequenting your fields and hedgerows in the latter end of March ; 
but at R the birds would weary of waiting for the tardy 


FECUNDITY. 165 


spring. By means of some agency in the bird-world, corre- 
sponding, I suppose, to our daily press, they would hear of lovely 
nesting weather in Derbyshire; and to me March’s promise 
brought but regrets in May. Even when insectivorous birds 
were few and far between, nature’s providence forbade the laying 
of a full clutch, clearly evidencing the sparseness of the food- 
supply. Near Clifton I have often found six Hedge-Sparrows’ 
nests containing the full clutch within the bounds of a single 
field, without regard to Chiffchaffs and Whitethroats catering for 
hungry families on very similar lines. 

My favourite authorities would further inform me that the 
Sand-Martin is accustomed to lay from four to six eggs in its 
solitary clutch year by year. My notes of expeditions in the 
south and west confirm this rule, giving five as the common 
number, and fouras the minimum. There rises before my vision 
a northern colony of this river-haunting bird. I see a miniature 
amphitheatre of oozing clay, its lofty sides dotted with Irishmen 
wielding spades and encroaching yet farther on the plateau-like 
meadow-land above; where we expect the arena is a loathsome 
clay-pool, slimy brown and forbidding, destitute of reed or flag. 
One side of the encircling banks has ended abruptly in a sand- 
wall, and here the Martins have found a home. The birds are 
flitting over the clay-pool, actually struggling for each rising fly. 
The meadows they will resort to towards sunset. The land is 
too poor to breed the humble fly ; there are on it only the tiny 
moths which sleep by day among the blades and grass roots. On 
Aug. 10th, 1896, I examined seventeen nests in such a place as 
this, and no nest contained more than three eggs or young. 

If we transport ourselves to some shelving sand-bank on some 
southern stream, we see the Martins flitting about careless of 
each other’s prey. A warmer temperature and the vegetation 
plenteous in the stream-bed render insect-food abundant, and 
every tunnel in the wall’s face will give to light five or six young 
Martins before September comes. 

It is a great help in bird study to acquaint oneself with 
gamekeepers. One vacation I was trespassing, countenanced by 
the head keeper, and I found two Sparrow-Hawks’ nests in 
woods three or four miles apart. Hach contained the magnificent 
clutch of seven eggs, forming a picture none the less delightful 


166 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


because I had no desire to “collect” them. I resolved to tell 
the keeper of the unusual discovery, although I expected him to 
grumble because I had not destroyed them. ‘To my surprise he 
was well pleased. He told me how his master had caused all the 
Hawks on his estate to be slain as far as was practicable, with 
the exception of an occasional pair in woods lying remote from 
each other. He desired to protect his coverts, but, like a true 
sportsman, he could admire a stately bird in mid-air; con- 
sequently a pair was suffered to nest here and there undisturbed. 
These orders, the keeper continued, had been in force some ten 
years, and the clutches of surviving pairs had each year increased 
from the time when he had received orders to destroy as many 
as possible. There were now remaining some three or four pairs 
of Sparrow-Hawks on the whole estate. The Kestrels had been 
exterminated. He had frequently found clutches of six of late 
years, and on rare occasions the larger number of seven. This 
certainly appears to point to the conclusion that increased scope 
for foraging results in increased fecundity. 

The Yellowhammer is an excellent example of my point. 
After a long correspondence in the ‘ Feathered World,’ Mr. John 
Craig, of Beith, and one or two others began to collect statistics 
regarding the usual number of eggs deposited by this Bunting in 
one nest. Mr. Craig himself showed that in Ayrshire a clutch of 
three was normal ; this county consists largely of sheep-farming 
land, and alternates between rather thin close-cropped grazing- 
ground and furze-clad moorland, foliage and herbage being nowhere 
luxuriant. Ina western English county I obtained sufficient evi- 
dence to show that five was there the usual clutch; while a Cheshire 
friend stated that four was usual in his neighbourhood, five and 
three being of less common occurrence. Cheshire, as regards 
fertility, comes about half-way between the two extreme in- 
stances previously cited. It possesses a tolerably productive soil, 
bearing a reasonable proportion of woodland and thick ground 
herbage. 

To speak on broader lines, I everywhere found large clutches 
in the west and small clutches in the north. I well remember 
one afternoon with the birds of Somersetshire. The ground we 
traversed was a large plain, moist, loamy, and dark-soiled, inter- 
sected by numerous rhines, fences, and hedgerows. Nests were 


FECUNDITY. 167 


everywhere abundant, everywhere cramful of eggs, and all species 
seemed to be adequately represented. Nearly every nest we 
examined contained the maximum clutch permitted by book- 
writing authorities, and in some cases the legitimate number was 
exceeded, the most notable instance, perhaps, being that of a 
Whinchat incubating seven eggs. Indeed, the wit of the party 
remarked that the prescribed maximum had been passed in the 
case of every nest we had found, save that of the miserable 
Cushat-Dove, which had merely deposited the regulation couple. 


168 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


THE COLORATION OF BRITISH BIRDS AND 
THEIR EGGS. 


By W. Srorrs Fox, M.A., F.Z.S. 


Some three years ago I made a rough table of the coloration 
of British birds and their eggs. I did this for the benefit of a 
local Naturalists’ Club. Last year I had reason to revise this 
table. AsI do not know of the existence of anything on quite 
similar lines, it has struck me that it may be of interest to some 
of the readers of ‘ The Zoologist.’ 

In dealing with coloration it stands to reason that there 

cannot be one law for birds found in the British Islands, and 
another which applies to those inhabiting the rest of the world. 
But, being more familiar with our own birds, I have drawn my 
illustrations from them almost entirely. I believe that the 
principles laid down in this paper are of universal application, 
and that the interest attached to them will not be lessened by 
the fact that the examples given are taken from a small group 
of islands. 
_ The introduction to the second volume of Seebohm’s ‘ British 
Birds’ consists of an account by Mr. Charles Dixon of the pro- 
tective colour of eggs. ‘The subject is there dealt with at some 
length. Dr. A. R. Wallace, when treating of the coloration of 
birds’ eggs, refers to that ‘“‘ valuable work.”’* Mr. Dixon has 
collected a number of very interesting facts, and everyone inter- 
ested in the subject ought to read his account. 

It will be seen from the two following tables that certain 
general principles govern the colours of both birds and their eggs. 
There are, however, some very awkward exceptions to the rule. 
Perhaps someone will throw light upon these difficulties. When 
it is clear that eggs are usually protectively coloured, it is strange 
that we ever should come across any which lack such protection. 


* ¢ Darwinism,’ p. 214. 


COLOURATION OF BIRDS AND THEIR HGGS. 169 


So also with the birds themselves, it is difficult to see why the 
cock Song-Thrush should be protectively coloured, but the cock 
Blackbird conspicuous on account of his intense black plumage. 
IT am not aware that the former assists in incubating the eggs, 
and that the latter does not perform any such office. It is obvious 
that certain birds have little or no need of protectively coloured 
plumage. Some are naturally protected by their size and strength, 
e.g. the Swan; others by size combined with gregarious habits, 
as the Rook and Heron; or, by these defences combined with 
great powers of diving, as the Cormorant and Guillemot. Birds, 
except very small ones, which nest in holes can dispense with 
protective colours. It may fairly be said that the position and 
structure of the nests regulate the colouring of the birds them- 
selves as well as their eggs, and that wherever there is no special 
need for sombre shades of plumage, conspicuous or bright hues 
prevail. ) 

I. Of birds which make open nests, either (a) both sexes are 
protectively coloured; or (0) the hen so coloured and the cock 
more showy. 

It will be readily seen that small birds, and birds frequenting 
very exposed places, specially need protection. It is such birds 
which have both sexes protectively coloured, e.g. Song-Thrush 
Hedge-Sparrow, Lark, smaller Game-birds, Rails, Plovers, Sand- 
pipers. Certain species of the last-named group have the sexes 
different. 

That the hen should be sombre but the cock conspicuous is 
not surprising in large birds, such as Ducks and the larger 
Game-birds. But in a less degree it holds good also in the 
case of many small birds, such as the Blackbird, Blackcap, Wag- 
tails, some of the Finches, and Buntings ; but in all these (except 
the Blackbird) the colouring of the upper parts tends to har- 
monize with their surroundings. 

Among the Plovers and Sandpipers the Dotterel (Charadrius 
morinellus) and Phalarope (Phalaropus hyperboreus) may be men- 
tioned as exceptional, for with them the female is more brightly 
coloured than the male. The explanation lies in the fact that 
these males perform the duties of incubation. 

Most sea-birds are equally showily coloured in both sexes. 
They nearly all have pure white under parts, which strongly 


170 THHKE ZOOLOGIST. 


contrast with the grey or black of their upper parts; as, for 
instance, Terns, Auks, Gulls, Divers, Grebes. 

Here it must be pointed out that (1) parts of plumage which 
are never displayed are dull-coloured; (2) parts which are out of 
sight when the birds are at rest, but which appear during flight, 
or under excitement, are often ornamented with beautiful colours 
or patterns. Examples may be found among Pheasants and 
Sandpipers. Conspicuous marks exposed during flight possibly 
act as danger signals* Probably all such showy colours and 
patterns are made use of in courtship and in battle. 

The larger Gulls take three or four years before they attain 
to mature plumage. The plumage of quite young Gulls is sombre, 
The stages through which they pass before arriving at maturity 
are supposed to be recapitulations of former states of colouring.t 

II. Birds which nest in holes. 

As arule, both sexes of such birds have conspicuous plumage ; 
as Woodpecker, Kingfisher, Sheldrake; and, among foreign 
birds, Parrot, Toucan. But small birds, such as Tits, Nuthatch, 
are much less brightly coloured than larger ones. 

There are some noticeable exceptions to this rule. In the 
case of the Wheatears and Redstarts, the hens are sombre in 
colour, and the cocks much more striking looking. According to 
my own experience of Saxicola enanthe and Ruticilla phenicurus, 
they place their nests quite out of sight. I have very little 
acquaintance with the other members of these genera, but, so far 
as I can gather, the nests of some species are usually quite 
hidden, whereas those of others may be as much open to view as 
are many nests of the Pied Wagtail. Is it possible that with our 
common Wheatear and Redstart the sombre hues of the hens’ 
plumage date back to a time when the nest was always more 
exposed to view ? 

The Wryneck and many of the Petrels are also exceptions, as 
both sexes are clad in dull-coloured garb. I know of no satis- 
factory explanation. 

III. All British birds which build covered nests have both 
sexes alike, and are sombre in colouring. They are small 


* Newton’s ‘ Dictionary of Birds,’ p. 101; Wallace’s ‘ Darwinism,’ 
pp. 217-226. 
+ Newton’s ‘ Dictionary of Birds,’ p. 100. 


COLOURATION OF BIRDS AND THEIR EGGS. 171 


defenceless birds, such as the Wren, Willow-Warbler, and 
Dipper. 

IV. Nocturnal birds, e.g. Nightjar, Owl, have plumage which 
will conceal them during the day. At first sight the Barn Owl 
would seem to be an exception, but this species is much more 
retiring than most of the others, and hides away entirely out 
of sight. 

VY. The usually dull colours of the Accipitres may help these 
birds to escape the notice of their prey. Such an explanation is 
not very satisfactory, as they do not sit still and wait for their 
prey to approach them. But, as these birds are well able to 
take care of themselves, they might be expected to have bright- 
coloured plumage. 

There are certain individual cases which are very difficult to 
explain :— 

(a) Why is the common Swift (Cypselus apus) such a sombre- 
looking bird ? 

(b) Does the Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) really mimic a Hawk ? 
There are other members of this family which appear to mimic 
species which are not allied to them. 

(c) How is the Egret (Ardea garzetta) protected? It is not 
large, and has pure white plumage. Is its beak a sufficient 
means of defence ? 

(dq) Ruffs (Machetes pugnax) are adorned with variously 
coloured plumes about the neck. They go through a form of 
battle for the Reeves. Such characteristics are contrary to the 
rule of the family (Scolopacide) to which they belong. By way 
of explanation, Darwin* states that the males of this species are 
probably polygamous. 

(ec). The plumage of the hen Oriole (Oriolus galbula) and the 
Jay (Garrulus glandarius) is quite bright enough to be con- 
spicuous. But they nest among the thickest foliage. 


Just as the coloration of birds’ plumage falls naturally into 
divisions depending upon the nesting habits of the species con- 
cerned, so also may their eggs be grouped on similar lines. And 
moreover, the less important divisions also correspond in both 
cases. But when we are considering eggs laid in open nests, it 


* © Descent of Man,’ ch. viii. 


172 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


is necessary to remember that such nests are nearly always 
partially covered by overhanging leaves and branches, by a pro- 
jection of rock or stone, by thick herbage, or by sedges and long 
grasses. This fact will often account for the deeper or paler 
shades of egg-colouring. 

I. Eggs laid in open nests are coloured. 

(a) The ground colour of those laid in trees and bushes is 
often some shade of green or blue marked with brown, red, or 
black, e.g. Thrushes, Finches, Crows. 

(b) When the nest is placed very low down amongst herbage, 
or when it is placed in a covered site, the ground colour of the 
eggs is: paler, and so are the markings, which are sometimes 
greenish, ¢.g. Redbreast, Wagtail, Whitethroat; but not so the 
Pipits. 

(c) When exposed to some extent on the ground they are 
generally clay-colour, or brown, or greenish brown, spotted and 
blotched with a darker shade, or even with black, e.g. the Lark, 
Lapwing, Curlew, Gulls. 

(d) Certain birds, as Ducks, Partridge, Grebes, cover their 
eggs when they leave the nest. Such eggs are usually white or 
of a pale tint. This might be expected, as the protection of 
colour is in such cases unnecessary. 

(ec) Large birds which are able to defend themselves may be 
expected to be capable of keeping their eggs safe from the attacks 
of Crows, &c. Swans and Cormorants will come under this head. 

II. Birds which nest in holes nearly always have white eggs, 
e.g. Swift, Woodpecker, Kingfisher, Puffin, Petrel. But very 
small birds so nesting generally lay white eggs speckled with red. 

The only exceptions which occur to me are the Wheatear, 
Redstart, Starling, Jackdaw, and Chough. The first two of 
these have already been dealt with. I have no personal know- 
ledge of the Chough. But there is some reason to suppose that 
nesting in holes is a comparatively recent habit both with the 
Starling and the Jackdaw. In 1887 I found two Starlings’ nests 
which were “open.”’ One was at the top of a spruce-fir, built 
upon an old Wood-Pigeon’s nest; the other was inivy. Perfectly 
fresh-laid Starlings’ eggs differ very much, varying from a 
decided blue to nearly white. Jackdaws sometimes lay their 
eggs in hollow trunks, where they can be seen from above. 


COLOURATION OF BIRDS AND THEIR EGGS. 1738 


Moreover, I have a note to the effect that near Kyam, in 1887, 
some Jackdaws were nesting among the branches, after the man- 
ner of Rooks. In the ‘Naturalists’ Journal’ (vol. vu. No. 72, 
June, 1898) a similar occurrence is recorded. 

III. When birds build covered nests the eggs are white, spotted 
finely with red, black, or brown, e.g. the Wren’s, Chiffchaff’s, 
Swallow’s; or pure white, e.g. the Dipper’s. The House- and 
Tree-Sparrows are exceptions. 

IV. Nocturnal birds lay white eggs, as the Short-eared Owl ; 
or nearly white, as the Nightjar. Protective colouring is not 
needed in such cases, as the birds sit on their eggs throughout 
the day. 

V. The eggs of the Accipitres are safe under the parental 
guardianship. ‘They are pure white, white slightly spotted with 
red, or boldly blotched with red, or in some cases the ground 
colour is entirely hidden by the overlying red. 


Here again the exceptions to the rule present great difficulties. 
Some of them are interesting enough to have attracted the atten- 
tion of Dr. Wallace and Prof. Poulton. 

(a) All the breeding habits of the Cuckoo are strange and 
abnormal. Until more is known about them we cannot hope for 
a satisfactory explanation of the variability of its eggs. 

(b) It is a surprising fact that the Wood-Pigeon, which 
makes an open nest, lays pure white eggs. Dr. Wallace* and 
Prof. Poulton} give the following explanation:—They suggest 
that the egg is white as a protection from below ; that the Wood- 
Pigeon builds a flimsy wicker nest, through the bottom of which 
the eggs can be seen; but that, being white, they are incon- 
spicuous against the blue sky. [Dr. Wallace expresses it rather 
differently. After remarking that light may be seen through the 
nest from below, he says :—“‘ It is a difficult matter to discover, 
from beneath, whether there are eggs in the nest or not, while 
they are well hidden by the thick foliage above.’] It seems 
hardly possible that this is the true explanation. Wood-Pigeons’ 
nests are not always of the wicker type; and, if itis an advantage 

* ‘Darwinism,’ p. 213. 


+ ‘Colours of Animals,’ p. 62; cf. also Beddard’s ‘ Animal Coloration.’ 
pi its. 


174 THE: ZOOLOGIS?, 


for the eggs to be unnoticeable from below, the natural course 
for the birds to take would be to build solid-bottomed nests 
always. Nor has it yet been proved that a white egg és less 
conspicuous from below than a coloured one. Mr. Beddard has 
shown that white is not invisible from below,—that a snowflake, 
when seen against a blue sky, looks black. If the colours of 
eggs have any meaning, they are obviously a protection against 
marauders above the nest. It is not usual for eggs laid in open 
nests to be white, even when dense foliage overhangs them. The 
eggs being white and the nest so flimsy, it might be supposed 
that until recently these birds built in holes. But the fact that 
by far the majority of the members of this great family (Columbide) 
—which embraces some three hundred species— does not nest in 
holes is a very strong argument against such a theory. These 
birds lay but two eggs, and often begin to sit as soon as the first 
egg is laid. In this way the need of colour would to some extent 
be obviated. 

(c) Lastly, we must turn our attention to the Alcide. The 
eggs of the Common Guillemot display an extraordinary variety 
in ground colour and markings. Dr. Wallace* and Mr. Dixont 
suppose that this is due to their being laid on inaccessible cliffs, 
and thus completely protected from enemies. [If this is the 
correct explanation, it seems strange that the eggs should be 
coloured atall. Buta visit to Flamborough Head in the breeding 
season will show that these eggs are not safe from all marauders. 
These cliffs are tenanted by Jackdaws as well as by Guillemots. 
And that the former have a taste for the eggs of the latter is 
evident, for the shells of sucked eggs may be seen lying about on 
the top of the cliffs. Prof. Poulton { believes that a more feasible 
explanation is that all this variety of colouring enables ‘“ each 
bird to know its own eggs.”’ But, if this is necessary in the case 
of Guillemots’ eggs, how do Terns and Gulls, which nest together 
in such dense numbers, dispense with a similar provision ? Most 
of the eggs of any one species are very much alike, and are so 
difficult to see that the greatest care must be taken by anyone 
visiting their nesting stations in order to avoid treading on them. 

* ¢ Darwinism,’ pp. 214, 215. 
+ Seebohm’s ‘ British Birds,’ vol. ii. p. xxvii. 
t ‘Colours of Animals,’ p. 213. 


COLOURATION OF BIRDS AND THEIR EGGS. 175 


The Razorbill also lays its eggs on precipitous rocks, but 
they are placed under cover. Though the markings vary to some 
extent, the ground colour is generally white, sometimes brown. 
‘he Puffin’s eggs are laid far down a hole, and they are pure 
white. When they are fresh and clean faint traces will be found 
of those bold markings which are so common on the eggs of the 
Alcide. Do not these suggest that long ago the Puffin laid 
coloured eggs in the open, after the manner of its cousin the 
Guillemot at the present day ? 


I hope that these remarks will draw out criticisms and 
observations from your readers, and that thus the difficulties of 
the subject may to some extent be cleared up. 


176 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


WHAT IS THE REASON OF THE GREAT 
VARIATION IN CUCKOOS’ EGGS ?* 


By Dr. E. Rey, Lerezie. 


Translated and communicated by W. Wrtis Buapen, Vice-President, North 
Staffordshire Field Club. 


Amone the many attempted explanations of the great variation to be 
found in the colouring and markings of Cuckoos’ eggs, the application of the 
Darwinian theory of selection seems at first sight to be most feasible. But 
on closer examination it does not appear to be in accordance with many 
well-founded facts. This theory supposes that those female Cuckoos whose 
eggs most resemble those of the nest chosen, have greater chance for the 
preservation of their offspring than others, whose eggs would be more liable 
to be destroyed by the foster-parents. As it may moreover be presumed 
that their daughters would lay eggs similarly coloured, and would make the 
same selection of nests for their offspring as their mothers, the consequence 
would be a preponderance of females whose eggs are similar to the nest 
eggs in colouring, whereas the other class would become more rare, and 
finally disappear. 

I have already demonstrated in my work on the Cuckoo, and am now 
able to confirm by material at my disposal, and by nearly 2000 examples, 
that eggs matching those of the foster-parents are only to be found in a 
small percentage of cases. Those who only take into consideration the few 
examples in which Cuckoos’ eggs are coloured like the nest-eggs, would 
alone venture to ask that the theory of selection should be accepted ; whereas 
others, who consider the question in its entirety, will reject it as untenable, 
as far as the Cuckoo is concerned. 

If the resemblance of its eggs to those of the foster-parents were such 
an advantage to the Cuckoo it would not be found as an exception to the 
rule, but would, on the contrary—at least here in the neighbourhood of 
Leipzig—be very perceptible in connection with Lanius collurio, most 
Cuckoos’ eggs (84 per cent.) being found in the nests of these birds; of 
282 Cuckoos’ eggs found in the nests of the Red-backed Shrike, only 
sixteen, about 5 per cent, were of the type of Lanius eggs. 


* « Was ist der Grund fiir die grosse Variabilitit der Kuckuckseier? ”’ 
Ornith. Monatschrifte des deutschen Vereins z. Schutze der Vogelwelt. 
Jahrgang 1895. Nr1l. 


VARIATION IN CUCKOOS’ EGGS. | 177 


Quite irrespectively of this, how would it be possible to explain, by 
means of the theory of selection, the fact that there are a great number of 
Cuckoos’ eggs which have a particular type of colouring not to be found in 
any eggs known to us, and others marked like eggs with ‘which eggs of the 
Cuckoo are seldom placed. We must therefore cast about for another 
explanation. Ina number of species of birds we see that the eggs differ 
considerably in colour and marks when they come from places far apart. To 
quote a few examples: eggs of Phylloscopus trochilus from Lapland are, 
contrary to those found in our parts, marked with dark spots, so dark as 
almost to be mistaken for eggs of Phylloscopus rufus. Again, whilst 
spotted eggs of the Redstart are rare here, examples are frequent in high 
northern latitudes; and whereas Caccabis sawxatilis lays distinctly spotted 
eggs in the alpine regions, its eggs from Greece are monochromous, or but 
very slightly marked. 

Now, as Wickmann has demonstrated that eggs take their colour from 
the transposing products of the blood, so must we lead back the varieties 
of colouring to the variety of these transposing products, and the latter 
again to the chemical or physical properties of the blood. We must look 
upon food as the chief cause of the difference in the formation of the blood, 
for according to its different chemical properties it will produce lesser or 
greater variety in the composition of the blood. We must therefore take, 
as the cause of the variation in the colouring of the eggs of the same bird 
from different places, the difference of food according to the place of their 
residence. Not that different nourishment would produce an immediate 
change in the colour of the eggs—for we know that every female bird will, 
during its whole life, unless pathological changes should occur, lay the 
same, or at least very similarly, coloured eggs—but the difference in food 
will, in the young female bird, whilst the body is developing, have an abiding 
influence upon its blood-forming organs, and determine the colour of her 
future eggs. It is clear that apparently similar food can produce different 
results, for we often see that insects and larve, externally alike, have, 
chemically, quite different bodies; and, again, quite distinct insects are 
chemically alike. 

If, on the one hand, the variation in the eggs of different female birds 
of the same species is occasioned in this way, the law of heritage confines 
it on the other. We see that Shrikes and Pipits lay very different eggs, 
but notwithstanding the number of varieties there is a decided type running 
through them all. Here we see a certain inherited resemblance, whereas 
in other cases the eggs are so completely distinctive as to be unrecognizable. 
If we apply this to the Cuckoo, we are not astonished if almost every bird 
lays differently coloured eggs, because the difference of food arising from 
the various foster-parents, according to their kind and individuality, pro- 


Zool, 4th ser. vol. III., April, 1899. N 


178 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


duces a much larger variety than in other birds. And if we further apply 
to the Cuckoo the law of heritage, over and above the difference in food, 
the variation in the eggs would be enormously increased. Considering the 
manifold variety thus produced, it is quite possible that the eggs of the 
Cuckoo should assume a likeness to the eggs of other birds, even of such 
as it does not choose to lay with. We must also admit that the principle 
that the food of many birds, though it may not affect their own eggs, has 
its influence on the colouring of the eggs of their offspring, can also be 
applied to the Cuckoo, in the case also when it is nurtured for generations 
in the nests of the same species of birds whose eggs do not vary much. 

We can, with some amount of certainty, assume that our Cuckoo, before 
he became a nesting parasite, laid monochrome blue eggs, as we see now in 
its near relatives the North American Coccyzus americanus and C. erythro- 
phthalmus, which have already occasionally begun to give up rearing their 
own young. ‘The blue eggs of the Cuckoo, exclusively found in the nests 
of the Nedstart, which also lays blue eggs, may be traced to similarity 
of food and inheritance. 


Ce LIS?) 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


MAMMALIA. 
CARNIVORA. 


Habitat of the Thick-tailed Mungoose (Cynictis penicillata).— 
According to the ‘Royal Natural History’ the Thick-tailed Mungoose 
inhabits the Cape Colony. Nothing is said about other parts of South 
Africa. As far as my own personal experience goes, C. penicillata also 
inhabits both the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. I have often 
seen and shot the animals on the Free State flats some miles north of 
Bloemfontein. Some time back I shot two examples of the same species 
about twenty miles north of Johannesburg, in the Transvaal. They are 
somewhat difficult to shoot, but, being spurred into a great desire of 
obtaining one for identification by the statement in the ‘ Royal Natural 
History,’ I finally managed to shoot the two individuals above mentioned. 
I have their skins before me now. ‘The one is of a brilliant orange drab 
on the back, fading into light yellowish grey on the flanks and under parts. 
The fur is finely speckled owing to the hairs being ringed with alternate 
black and amber-brown. The tips of the hairs are amber, and the roots 
white. ‘The other example is of a greyish yellow colour, much lighter 
than the former. The fore feet of both have five toes, and the hinder ones 
only four. The tail is bushy, and has a white tip. There can be no doubt 
as to their identity. The question is, How far north do they extend ? 
That I cannot say as yet.—Atwin C. Haacner (Dynamite Factory, P. O. 
Modderfontein, Transvaal, South Africa). 

[I procured a specimen of the Meer-Kat (Cynictis penicillata) near 
Pretoria in 1890, and recorded the same in my ‘ Naturalist in the Trans- 
vaal,’ p. 159 (1892). This specimen I placed in the British Museum, 
which, Mr. W. E. de Winton informs me, is “still the only specimen we 
have with locality north of the Colony.”—Eb. | 


White Stoat.—In the last issue of ‘The Zoologist’ (ante, p. 181), I 
observe the record of a white Stoat (Mustela erminea) from the North of 
England. About the 21st of November last I received a similar specimen 
from West Somersetshire (near Watchet), and, considering the mildness of 
the weather at that time, I was surprised at its appearance. It was pure 
white, except some regular light brown markings over each eye, looking 

N 2 


180 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


much like eyebrows, and, of course, the usual black tail-tuft.—H. W. 
Marspen (40, Triangle, Clifton). 


UNGULATA. 


Zebra-Horse Hybrids. —I have just read, in the ‘ Bulletin de la 
Société Nationale d’Acclimatation de France’ (October, 1898), the translation 
of the article published in ‘ The Zoologist’ (1898, p. 49) on the hybrids of the 
Burchell Zebra and mare by Prof. J. Cossar Ewart. I have perused this 
memoir with much interest, because you will see by the publications I forward 
that I elso have crossed the Zebra and mare. Until now I believed that I 
was the only one who had obtained this production, but by the article in 
question I see that I am not; and besides, my first production was born 
three and a half months after that of Prof. Ewart’s—my first, Sordello, 
being born Dec. 5th, 1896, and Prof. Ewart’s Romulus Aug. 12th, 1896. 
It is very curious to note that neither of us has known of the other’s 
writings and ideas, yet have both carried into execution these experiments 
within a few months of each other. At this moment Prof. Ewart is the 
first in Europe, and myself the first in America, who have obtained these 
hybrids by crossing the Zebra with the mare, or, rather, other writings on 
the subject are unknown to me. I send you some photographs of my 
first two hybrids, but have not yet any of the others; but when I have will 
forward them to you. Iam writing also to Prof. Ewart, and sending the 
same documents and photographs. 

La Société Nationale d’Acclimatation de France has published, in its 
Bulletin of October, 1897, my account of ‘ Le Croisement du Zébre avec 
la Jument.” 

Dr. Fr. Steinriede published, in the ‘ Landwirtschaftliche Presse’ of 
Berlin (Oct. 15th, 1898), an article with illustrations made from photo- 
graphs of Zebra-Horse hybrids which I sent him. 

The ‘Journal l’Eleveur de Paris,’ No. 726 (Nov. 27th, 1898), published 
a translation of a communication on the subject which I contributed to the 
‘Societé Nationale d’Agriculture Brésilienne.’ — Baron DE Parana (Porto 
Novo do Cunha, Rio de Janeiro). 


AVES. 

Nesting of the Mistle-Thrush, — This bird (ZTurdus viscivorus) is 
much more common here than it used to be thirty years ago. On April 
26th, 1888, I found a nest with four eggs, and the bird sitting on it, ina 
hole in the stone pier of a field-gate near Clogher Head, Co. Louth. The 
gate was often used, and the bird was sitting within six inches of it as it 
swung. ‘There were plenty of high hedges and trees quite close. I con- 
sider this the most extraordinary and abnormal place I ever found a nest 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 181 


in. The year before (1887) I found a nest in the fork of a tall oak, and 
climbed up to it, as I wanted the eggs. It was ready for laying, but.empty. 
I did not see the birds, but evidently they saw me, for two days afterwards 
they had moved the nest bodily to the next tree, where the hen was sitting 
on it. I was so touched by their intelligence that I left them in peace. On 
July 24th, 1892, I saw a curious Mistle-Thrush. It was pale dove-colour 
(a very pale grey) all over, and shone like silver in the sun. It was with 
about thirty others, and they stayed about the house for several days. I 
often got within forty yards of it, and watched it through a powerful glass. 
Its eyes seemed to be red. I have often seen Mistle-Thrushes, and heard 
them sing, in Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin, a somewhat curious habitat for 


such a wild bird.—G. H. Pentianp (Black Hall, Drogheda). 


‘Male Blackbird storing Seeds at Nest.—On March 21st I found, in 
a hedgerow, the nest of a Blackbird (Turdus merula), containing three eggs. 
On March 25th I again visited the nest, when I found the female 
incubating, and the side of the nest piled with a quantity of seeds, some of 
which I enclose for identification. On the 28th of the month I watched 
the nest from behind an apple tree, and saw the male bird come and go 
repeatedly, each time depositing these seeds, which are about the size of the 
half of a very small pea. His intentions were exceedingly charitable, and I 
should very much like to know if it is a common occurrence for the male 
bird of this species to feed the female during incubation, as I have never 
before observed him in this act.—Sraniey Lewis (Wells, Somerset). 

[The seeds are those of the common ivy (Hedera Heliw).—Ep.] 


Blackbird’s mimicking Notes. — I can corroborate Mr. Davenport’s 
instance of the Blackbird (Turdus merula) imitating the Curlew. I find in 
my notes that on April 14th, 1892, I heard a Blackbird imitating a 
Curlew’s whistle so perfectly that it at first completely deceived me. — G. 
H. Pentranp (Black Hall, Drogheda). 


Green Woodpecker in Ireland (Correction).—In Swann’s ‘ Handbook 
of British Birds,’ 1896, it is stated that this species (Gecinus viridis) had 
only twice been obtained in Ireland previously to October, 1889, “ when an 
extensive immigration occurred.” Again, Aflalo’s ‘Sketch of the Natural 
History of the British Islands,’ 1898, speaks of a ‘recent immigration 
into Ireland, where, previous to the appearance of the last edition of 
Mr. Saunders’s admirable ‘ Manual,’ but two examples had been recorded.” 
The above immigration never occurred, and neither edition of Mr. 
Saunders’s ‘ Manual’ is responsible for such a statement, as regards the 
Green Woodpecker. There were, however, ten Great Spotted Woodpeckers 
shot in Ireland in October, 1889, to January, 1890, inclusive: six in Ulster, 


182 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


two in Leinster, and two in Munster. This is referred to by Mr. Saunders. 
—R. J. Ussoir (Cappagh, Co. Waterford). 


Crosshill in North Wales.—Mr. Newstead (cf. ante, p. 28) will be 
interested to hear that two or three pairs of Crossbills (Lowia curvirostra) 
nested at Penmaenmawr, North Wales, in 1890 or 1891. I have lost my 
notes of the occurrence, but it was subsequent to 1889. I did not see 
them nesting myself, but my sister used to go and watch them, and [ after- 
wards examined their nests. They were in some larch trees at a cottage 
in the lane which leads up to the Green Gorge, a well-known walk in 
Penmaenmawr. They were rather far out on the branches, and twelve or 
fourteen feet from the ground. My sister is a very good observer of birds, 
and she described them to me so minutely that there could be no doubt in 
the case. They were very tame, and she used to watch them from a dis- 
tance of twenty or thirty feet, and could see their twisted beaks quite 
plainly —G. H. Pentianp (Black Hall, Drogheda). 


The Eggs and Nest of the Moorhen.—I should like to add my mite 
of evidence to that of those who have already given theirs in favour of the 
view that the Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) does not, as a rule, cover her 
eggs when leaving the nest. I have seen very many nests of the species 
under consideration, and I have never yet seen one in which the eggs had 
been intentionally covered over, and indeed I will go farther, and say that 
I have never met any collector or ornithologist who had. That the bird 
may occasionally resort to this means of protection is of course possible, but 
it is not its regular habit to do so, a fact about which the vast majority of 
observers seem quite agreed. — K. Huruisrone Jones, H.M.S. ‘ Repulse,’ 
Channel Squadron. 


Little Tern (Sterna minuta) in Ireland.—So far as I know there are 
only two regular breeding places of this bird on the east coast of Ireland, 
but in 1897 seven or eight pairs bred at the north side of the mouth of the 
Boyne, within eighty yards of the second hole of our golf-links. The caddies 
unfortunately found them out, and took, I fear, most of their eggs, for last 
year they did not reappear. I wonder if they went on to the Isle of Man, 
and formed Mr. Ralfe’s colony (cf. ante, p. 32)? In the same year a 
Ringed Plover chose to lay her eggs near the twelfth hole of our links, and 
right in the course. Every ball from the twelfth tee whizzed over her head, 
and every player and caddy used to havea look at her four pretty eggs, but 
everyone spared them, and she hatched them out all right. There is a 
little islet in Carlingford Lough, called Green Island, where a few Arctic 
Terns breed. In 1886 I saw a couple of Lesser Terns (Sterna minuta) 
there, but could not find their eggs. In 1887 there were none to be seen. 
—G, H. Pentvanp (Black Hall, Drogheda). 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 183 


Songs of Birds affected by Weather.—I was much interested in one 
of the Rev. W. Warde Fowler’s observations in the March issue of ‘ The 
Zoologist ’ (ante, p. 135), for the somewhat quaint reason that it is irrecon- 
cilable with my own experience. I am such an admirer of Mr. Fowler’s 
books that I feel a diffidence in taking exception to any of his statements, 
especially as he is known to be such a close and diligent observer of birds; 
but I am far from concurring with him in the opinion that “ our resident 
species are not affected in any degree by the temperature in regard to 
singing.” Speaking generally, for about a month previously to March 20th, 
Blackbirds, Song-Thrushes, Mistle-Thrushes, Starlings, Redbreasts, Hedge- 
Accentors, House-Sparrows, and Wrens had combined every single morning 
to enchant my ears with a most delightful vernal concert, Not only was 
their minstrelsy resonant and prolonged from daybreak until the morning 
was well advanced, but again, as the gloaming drew on, sundry of the 
eight species mentioned above would musically assert their claims to 
notice. On the morning of March 20th sixteen degrees of frost were 
registered here, and on the three following mornings upwards of twenty 
degrees were registered, snow falling on the Thursday (March 23rd), the 
day on which I am penning these lines. During these four days, neither 
in the morning nor in the evening has there been any singing whatsoever 
on the part of any one of the species, and the contrast, after the flow of 
song that was so strenuously maintained day after day during the balmy 
weather associated with the preceding weeks, is naturally brought out into 
the very boldest relief. Nor, I must admit, is this my most recent experi- 
ence at variance with what has gone before. I still see all the species I 
have enumerated round about the house, but they appear in no mood to 
sing, nor dothey. Whereof the cause? Surely, surely, the great fall in 
the temperature.—H. S. Davenport (Melton Mowbray). 


The Covering of Eggs by Nesting Birds.—In connection with the 
discussion that has been carried on in these ** Notes and Queries” as to the 
covering up of eggs by nesting birds, I may mention that I have noticed 
this done by Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo). Inthe end of May, 1895, 
I visited a colony of these birds on an islet off the coast of Sutherland. I 
took a photograph of a group of three nests which were placed side by side 
on the cliff. When we first approached the spot the birds flew off from 
the nests, leaving the eggs exposed to view; but, on returning to the same 
spot half an hour afterwards, after exploring the rest of the island, we found 
that in two cases the eggs had been covered up with reeds and grass, 
evidently with the intention of shielding them from observation.—H. C. 
Monro (Stratfield Saye, Hants). 


Destruction of Norfolk Birds: a Rejoinder.—In ‘The Zoologist’ for 
March (ante, p. 114), I notice the following paragraph in connection with 


184 _. THE ZOOLOGIST. 


the increased scarcity of certain species of birds in the “ Broads ” district : 
—‘“ To say nothing of what has been done to compass their destruction by 
a well-known dealer in birds’ eggs in the West of England.” As Mr. 
Gurney has since stated that this refers to me, I cannot allow a statement 
calculated to bring me into contempt with the better class of naturalists to 
remain uncontradicted. Of the six or seven species tabulated as having 
decreased so much, I have never asked for or received a single egg from 
East Anglia, except of the Bearded Tit. Of this species I did obtain a 
large number in one year (about 1885), but far more were sent me than I 
asked for or desired.. I wrote to a correspondent in Norfolk for “a few sets,” 
to which he replied by sending a large consignment, and though I wrote 
him at once to stop collecting, the birds must have been so common that 
even in the time occupied by exchanging letters he got a lot more. During 
the last ten years I have had almost no eggs from this district—possibly 
thirty or forty a year—comprising usually one, two, or three (three only 
one year) sets of Bearded Tits, and the rest Water Rails or a few common 
things. I was once offered a clutch of Garganeys, which I did not buy. 
These are the facts; I think any remark of mine is needless. — H. W. 
MarspeEn (40, Triangle, Clifton). . 

|No name was mentioned in the disputed statement of Mr. Gurney, 
who, however, has since frankly owned that he referred to Mr. Marsden. 
Under these circumstances, and at the request of both Messrs. Gurney and 
Marsden, the above note appears, though it is of a more personal than 
zoological character. This discussion is now considered as closed in these 
pages. —EHp.] 

ENS CPA. 


Great Wood-boring Wasp (Sirex gigas) in Ireland.—I should be glad 
to learn if these insects are on the increase throughout the country. They 
first appeared here in 1893 or 1894, and now every fallen fir tree in my 
woods and nearly-every paling and gate-post is riddled by them. I watched 
a female boring into a larch-post last summer for fully ten minutes, a most 
curious sight. She stood up on the tips of her toes, and stuck out her ovi- 
positor at right angles to her body and into the bark of the post. Then 
she wriggled and worked very hard, but did not revolve as I expected she 
would, as the ovipositor has a regular screw like an auger at the end. I 
was foolish enough to grow impatient and catch her before she finished the 
operation.—G. H. Pentianp (Black Hall, Drogheda). 


( 185 ) 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 


In the Australian Bush and on the Coast of the Coral Sea, being 
the Experiences and Observations of a Naturalist in Australia, 
New Guinea, and the Moluccas. By Ricuarp Semon. Mac- 
millan & Co., Limited. 


| Tuts is a very welcome translation of the itinerary and 
biological observations of a naturalist in—zoologically speaking 
—some of the most interesting regions of the world. Of the 
Malay Archipelago we have now a charming literature, which, we 
might say, was begun by Wallace, and has been continued since 
the publication of his well-known eastern travels. Of Australia 
we would fain know more. Its natural history early incited 
Bennett and Gould; Lumholtz has given us a good book; Saville 
Kent’s recent work is well known; but the subject is far from 
exhausted. As Mr. Semon observes, Australia to the zoological 
explorer “ will prove Eldorado, unequalled by anything else. For 
so singular are some aspects of the flora and fauna of Australia 
as to justify one in opposing the Australian region to all the rest 
of the world, and practical reasons only have prevented men of 
science from arranging their hand-books accordingly.” 

One great advance in the study of zoology is emphasized by 
the object-lesson of the modern travelling naturalist. The 
general mise-en-scene of tropical forests and coral seas is now 
familiar to the ordinary tourist and the most cursory reader; 
while the pure and simple collector holds a subordinate place in 
the estimation of naturalists, for men now travel across the globe 
to study the life-history of one animal form. Embryological 
studies in oviparous-mammals, and marsupials, and, above all, 
the developmental history of the ‘‘ Australian lung-fish ” (Cera- 
todus forstert), which now inhabits but two small rivers of the east 
coast, were the main objects of Mr. Semon’s visit to the 
Australian continent; and of Ceratodus in these pages we learn 
much, and more will be found in the authors strictly scientific 


186 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


publication, ‘Zoologische Forschungsreisen in Australien und 
dem malayischen Archipel.’ One observation on Termites is, 
however, too interesting to pass over. Our author was molested 
by the inhabitants of a big ant-hill near his encampment, and 
** strewed a handful of naphthalin crumbs all over the hill, in the 
certain expectation that this would occasion a general emigration.” 
Conquering disgust, the Termites removed these objectionable 
deposits from their habitation. Pieces of potassic cyanide were 
now tried, and the expectation was held that by the morning the 
place would be deserted by the ants and their belongings. ‘“‘ How 
astonished was I when I found the whole surface of the heap 
strewn with dead ants like a battle-field. The pieces of cyanide, 
however, had totally disappeared! More than one-half of the 
community had met death in this desperate struggle, but still the 
death-defying courage of the heroic little creatures had succeeded 
in removing the fatal poison, the touch of which must have been 
just as disagreeable to them as it was dangerous. ... Once 
removed from the heap, the poison had been well covered with 
leaves and pieces of wood, then interred, and thus prevented 
from doing further damage.” 

We have not space to follow Mr. Semon through the islands 
of the Malay Archipelago. As regards Celebes, he prefers the 
views of Max Weber to those of Wallace, and refuses to associate 
Celebes with the Australian region, believing its fauna to be an 
impoverished Oriental one, showing a strong Australian ad- 
mixture. 

The charm of these books lies in the philosophical treatment 
of natural history narrative, which not only gives us glimpses of 
exotic nature, but points to its signification. 


Cambridge Natural History. Vol. IX. Birds. By A. H. Evans, 
M.A. Macmillan & Co., Limited. 1899. 


We recently drew attention in these pages (1898, p. 510) to 
Mr. Beddard’s ‘ Structure and Classification of Birds,’ and if a 
companion volume is sought to be found to that work, Mr. 
Evans’s book should come under that designation. One supple- 
ments the other, and most naturalists will probably place them 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 187 


side by side on their book-shelves for handy reference, in days 
when a zoologist is expected to know everything about some- 
thing, and something about everything. 

‘*TIn accordance with the scheme of the Series generally, the 
order followed runs from the lowest forms and the Ratite Birds 
upwards; the Carinate Birds being divided, after Dr. Gadow’s 
plan, into two Brigades or Main Sections, and these again into 
Legions, Orders, and so forth.” The contents of the book are 
practically an introduction to the birds of the world, and, 
although such encyclopedic completeness is impossible in a 
single volume, a distinct success has been achieved in referring 
to so many species within the confines of 587 pages. All these 
works have their strong points and their limitations. The first 
are found in the discriminative care by which a capable ornitholo- 
gist sifts and rejects recorded narratives; the second inevitably 
postulates that much is necessarily overlooked. We should have 
been glad to see under the subject ‘‘ Struthio camelus” some 
reference to Mr. Cronwright Schreiner’s communication on this 
bird which appeared in our pages in 1897, and which we have 
read elsewhere, and, have also been told, corrected some previous 
misconceptions. Nevertheless we are thankful for a book that 
tells us so much in a small space, and the evident thorough work 
of the author is supplemented by the proof-readings of Mr. 
Howard Saunders and Dr. R. B. Sharpe. 

One extract must be given ; it expresses a fundamental truth 
little regarded in current zoological philosophy :—‘“‘ It cannot be 
denied that Genera and Species are merely ‘ convenient bundles,’ 
and that divisions of either, if carried too far, defeat the object 
for which Classification is intended. Genera are only more 
distinct from Species, and Species from Races, because the inter- 
vening links have disappeared ; and, if we could have before us 
the complete series which, according to the doctrine of Evolution, 
has at some time existed, neither Genus nor Species would be 
capable of definition, any more than are Races in many cases; 
while the same remark will apply to the larger groups.” This 
might well become the esoteric faith of every describer and 
monographist ; most naturalists admit the truth of the doctrine, 
but specific and generic controversy is not yet a thing wholly of 
the past. 


188 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


The Resources of the Sea, as shown in the Scientific Experiments 
to test the effects of Trawling and of the Closure of certain 
Areas off the Scottish Shores. By W.C. McIntosu, M.D , 
LL.D., F.R.S., &e. C.J. Clay & Sons. 


Tuts excellent contribution to the natural history of the 
sea is written to sustain a thesis, which is, that, granting 
man’s unfortunate agency in the extermination of many land 
animals, his influence on the resources of the sea is infinitely 
small, almost practically nil. Last year (Zool. 1898, p. 376) we 
had the pleasure of giving extracts from a lecture by the Professor 
on that subject, and this book is a demonstration and exempli- 
fication on that theme. It is pleasant to find this bracing 
optimism in relation to at least one of Nature’s realms. The 
enmity of the fisherman to the Star-fish, by “tearing them across 
the body before returning them to the water, only helped to 
increase their numbers, for each portion of the disc was re- 
generated and became a complete five-rayed Star-fish.”” In fact, 
‘*the survey of the sea and its inhabitants, therefore, in the 
main, affords no grounds for pessimistic views, but, on the con- 
trary, conduces to reliance on the resources of nature (by which 
we mean Divine Providence) in this vast area.” ‘The deadly 
effects of the “trawl,’’ as we have read elsewhere, on adult 
Sponges, Zoophytes, Star-fishes, Crabs, and Shell-fishes on the 
sea bottom is stated to be compensated by the fact that their 
larve and young are pelagic, and quite beyond the reach of 
injury. Even the “crushing and division of Sponges is not 
followed by the death of all the fragments, and each of those 
which survives is capable of flourishing as an independent 
organism (not to allude to the liberation of ova which may 
happen to be present).’’ It seems very necessary to remember 
that there .is a surface as well as a bottom fauna, and that while 
we may bewail the action of the trawler on the latter, we must 
not overlook the action of screw-propellers, which must kill 
myriads of young, and destroy countless floating eggs. After all, 
our knowledge of even some of our common food-fishes is very 
incomplete. ‘‘ Why should we not be in a position to say, in 
this nineteenth century, that a fish, say, the Haddock, extends in 
great numbers from either hemisphere into the Atlantic, and, if 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 189 


so, whether the pigmy belt of the three-mile or even the thirteen- 
mile limit can have any more influence on this form than on the 
ever-abundant Herring?” In this able defence of the “‘ trawl,” 
we may realize what a destructive, though not altogether extermi- 
native agent it is; but beyond this the book is a welcome addition 
to a knowledge of the inhabitants of that most romantic and 
little-known region which we call the Sea. 


Des Hybrides a Vétat sauvage. Réegne Animal. (Classe des Oiseaux). 
Par ANDRE SucuEter. Lille: Bigot Fréres. 


Hysrivity is a problem which lies at the root of a philo- 
sophical conception of the much-used and much-vexed term 
“species.” We all agree that the various breeds of Fowls and 
Pigeons represent but one species, because we know their life- 
histories. But we describe new forms of animals received from 
abroad as species on the canon of what is understood as “ specific 
differences.” Hence philosophically we are wrong, and system- 
atically we are right, and the same practice and a similar rule are 
employed by naturalists throughout the animal kingdom. Even 
mankind have afforded the same problem, and from France also 
came a suggestive little book by Dr. Paul Broca, which was 
translated and published in London in 1864 under the title of 
‘On the Phenomena of Hybridity in the Genus Homo.’ 

Mons. Suchetet has undertaken a great work, and if succeeding 
volumes are allied in size to this one devoted to birds, a colossal 
publication on the subject is assured. The limitations attached 
to the term “‘species”’ are apparent when our author remarks :— 
*“Nous avons substitué les mots ‘formes animales’ aux mots 
‘especes animales,’ parce que notre embarras a été grand lorsqw il 
s’est agi de distinguer entre l’espece et la race (ou, pour mieux 
dire, entre l’espéce et la sows-espéce comme on fait emploi de ce 
mot en zoologie).”” ‘The introduction occupies no fewer than 118 
pages, and is a valuable summary of most that has been written 
on the subject. In the ‘* Liste des Musées Publics et des Collec- 
tions Particuliéres dont les Directeurs ou les Propriétaires ont 
été assez gracleuX pour nous envoyer en communication,”’ we 
notice seventy-eight entries, the cosmopolitan character of which 
prove that the material has been widely sought; while the “ Liste 


190 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Alphabétique des Personnes avec lesquelles nous avons corres- 
pondu au sujet des Hybrides” is a most representative one, 
including many of our own contributors, some under a new 
appellation, as, for example, the Curator of the Leicester Museum, 
who appears as “‘ pasteur & Rotterdam (Hollande).” 

Neither time, trouble, nor expense has evidently been with- 
held in the production of this book, which incorporates a large 
amount of scattered information in a systematic and judicial 
manner, and will for a long time prove a recognized reference to 
a most important factor in zoological philosophy. 


A Dictionary of Bird Notes, to which is appended a Glossary of 
Popular, Local, and Old-fashioned Synonyms of British 
Birds. By Cuas. Lovis Herr. Jacksons’, Market Place, 
Brigg. 

In these pages (1897, p. 535) we published an announcement 
by Mr. Hett that he was preparing a Dictionary of the Call-notes 
of British Birds, and we have now received a tasteful and in- 
expensive book—interleaved for the record of observations by the 
reader—which may well find a place in the ornithological library. 
The method pursued is as follows :—Firstly, under ‘‘ Note-Bird” | 
an alphabetical list of the notes, with the name of the avian 
vocalist attached, is given, and then, under “ Bird-Note,” the 
arrangement is reversed. lHasy reference is thus afforded, and 
the equivalents of the sounds themselves will and must be judged 
by specialists in the appreciation and interpretation of bird-notes. 
The Glossary of Popular, Local, and Old-fashioned Names of 
British Birds is a most excellent and useful compilation, which 
should prevent many errors on the part of too hasty transcribers 
of observations, and prove a boon to puzzled readers of local 
notes. A List is given of the 376 Birds accepted as British by 
the Committee of the British Ornithologists’ Union in 1683, and 
also of the “Terms applied to Wild Fowl,” as, for example, 
“ Rure. ‘a hill of, several.” 3 


¢. isl) 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 


WE have received the Annual Report and Transactions of the “ North 
Staffordshire Field Club ” for 1897-98. In Sectional Reports, and under 
Zoology, Mr. Masefield reports as follows :—* It is frequently said by our 
landowners who are Fox-hunters that Badgers kill or drive away Foxes. 
Now the Badger still survives in our county, as is shown by the frequent 
reports I receive from different localities of Badgers having been observed, 
dug out, or shot, and therefore I am glad to be able to state, on the 
authority of Mr. Heinman, of Porlock, who has had exceptional oppor- 
tunity of studying the ways of Badgers, that equally in Devonshire, 
Somersetshire, and Northamptonshire he ‘has constantly found full-grown 
Foxes and Badgers dwelling together in unity.’ This statement will, I 
trust, dispel the fears of Fox-hunters for ever, and should cause them to 
extend ‘ neutrality,’ at all events, to our local Badgers in future.” 


We are all cognisant that light attracts fishes as well as many other 
animals. We have been much interested in the accounts of the new 
French naval destroyer ‘ Gustave Zédé.’ Anything more unlikely to pro- 
duce a zoological observation than this proposed navy annihilator is difficult 
to imagine. Still, the unexpected always happens. We learn that the 
destructive powers of this new terror are limited, not alone by. naval 
science, but by natural causes, and by fish. ‘As for the telescopic 
mirror arrangement which was to enable her to direct her course from under 
water, it failed, not for one but for several reasons; while her ‘ electric 
eye, or searchlight, so far from enabling her to see anything ahead of her 
through the water, rather rendered the sea ahead more opaque, as it 
attracted shoals of fish, which hovered round the brilliant disc, like moths 
round a candle.” — Westminster Gazette. 


AT a meeting of the Zoological Society of London, held on Feb. 7th, 
Mr. G. E. H. Barrett-Hamilton read a paper on the Mice of St. Kilda, 
of which he recognized two species—Mus hirtensis, sp. nov., a repre- 
sentative of M. sylvaticus, and M. muralis, sp. nov., representing M. mus- 
culus. Both of these species showed good distinctive characters from their 
well-known prototypes. 


192 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


AT at similar meeting, on March 7th, Mr. W. E. de Winton exhibited 
and made remarks upon the tail of a Common Fox (Canis vulpes), showing 
the gland on the upper surface covered with straight coarse hair, the exist- 
ence of which appeared to be little known. 


THE Annual Meeting of the Society for the Protection of Birds was held 
on Feb. 28th, Sir Edward Grey, M.P., in the chair. The Report, which 
was presented by Mr. Sharpe, chairman of the executive committee, stated 
that the total number of members is now over 20,000, and the branches 
number 152. The Society still continued its campaign against the wearing 
of Ospreys, but without apparently much effect, as in 1898 nearly 35,000 
Birds of Paradise and 2200 packages of Osprey plumes were sold in six days 
atauction. With regard to Ospreys worn by the officers of certain regiments, 
a promise had been given by Mr. Brodrick that an effort will be made to 
find a substitute. Sir Edward Grey, in moving the adoption of the Report, 
said the Society had done much to awaken public opinion to the need of 
checking the wanton destruction of bird-life. But a wholesale destruction 
of foreign birds in the breeding season still went on, with a view to supplying 
ornaments for hats, which would necessarily lead to the extinction of certain 
species. People did not realize this. Considerable power had been given 
to county councils to protect bird-life, and they had responded very well, 
and in most cases had passed very satisfactory bye-laws. But the real 
difficulty was the enforcement of these rules. 


rs 


Ws have received from the “‘ Humanitarian League” a tractate on “ The 
Cost of a Seal-skin Cloak,” by Joseph Collinson. He who reads may 
literally sup on horrors as the callous destruction of these animals is 
detailed. Allowing, however, for all exuberant animal sympathy, and 
offending no “ philistine ” with the introduction of a new “fad,” we wust 
agree with much that is here written. The writer pithily remarks :—* It 
is a remarkable fact that during the whole of the time that the Anglo- 
American controversy raged over the Behring Straits Seal question, not 
one word should have been said on behalf of the Seals themselves. The 
flood of talk swept on; there was a great deal said about ‘ rights —every 
right, indeed, was abundantly discussed except the right of the Seals, if not 
to live their lives in their own way, at least to humane treatment when the 
time comes round to kill them. The horrible tortures inflicted on these 
helpless animals to provide mankind with Seal-skin were treated as if they 
were entirely immaterial.” . 


THE ZOOLOGIST 


No. 695.—May, 1899. 


EARLY SPRING MIGRATIONS. 
By Joun Corpeavux, F.R.G.S., M.B.O.U. 


THE spring movements, or the passing out, of birds such as 
winter in these islands, as all observers on the east coast are 
aware, is far less in evidence than are those great and continuous 
inrushes in the autumn, extending over days, weeks, and months, 
and arresting attention by their very magnitude and persistence. 
In the vernal movement, or emigration, there is rarely anything 
to attract notice, for it seldom happens that flights of birds are 
seen actually leaving the shore; all the chief phenomena probably 
occurring in the night time, or at such a height as to be invisible 
to our eyes. 

That great movements are in progress is suggested by the 
larger flights of various species which in the early spring con- 
gregate in the coast districts—here one day and gone the next— 
and having their places taken by other flocks presumably coming 
from more inland localities, all bent on leaving the country; for 
itis now a proved fact that, as a rule, birds emigrate from the 
same section of coast as witnessed their Be tbe ice only in the 
reverse direction. 

In this north-east corner of Lincolnshire, bordering the sea, 
the most obvious and perhaps the best marked spring move- 
ments are 1n connection with the Thrushes (T'urdus). By the 
end of February, excepting such as are resident and nesting, the 


Zool. 4th ser. vol. III., May, 1899. O 


194 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


immigrant Mistletoe-Thrushes (increasing numbers of which 
annually arrive every autumn) have taken their departure. Old 
cock Blackbirds begin to swarm in coast hedgerows, and in fact 
in every tall rough fence and coppice for miles inland, till we are 
amazed at their astonishing plenty and the facilities offered for 
the “four-and-twenty Blackbirds all baked in a pie.” These 
Blackbirds, also the Thrushes which move later, do not appear 
to congregate into flocks on departing, but gradually thin off and 
disappear from their temporary retreats as the spirit moves 
them. This, however, is not the case with the northern Thrushes 
—Fieldfares and Redwings. Both are gregarious, and the former 
pre-eminently so; for days before setting off, Fieldfares sit in 
great flights in the middle of pastures, or crowd the summits of 
lofty trees within sound of the surf. Wild by nature and noisy 
to a degree, their harsh “yack-chuck-chuck” is about the most 
familiar of the bird sounds in the marshes. This mild winter 
has been very favourable for them with the abundant crop of 
hips and haws, yet with all this abundance neither young nor old 
have forgot the track of the Norway wind and the path to the 
summer home. Their going out is a long and protracted busi- 
ness, often not completed, although it begins early, before the 
middle or end of May. Redwings—most plentiful during this 
winter—are in a degree less gregarious, but they have much the 
same habits as their congeners, and leave at the same period as 
do the emigrating Thrushes (7'. musicus), and they make a much 
more rapid and complete work of it than the Fieldfares, for we 
shall not find a Redwing after March, or middle of April at the 
latest, in the park-lands, paddocks, or meadows bordering the 
streams, where they have been hopping all the winter. 

It is remarkable, considering the millions of Larks which for 
weeks and months pour on to the east coast in autumn from 
early in August to Christmas, so little is known of their emigra- 
tion. Such, however, is the case; they succeed in slipping 
off quietly and unobserved, and probably, as in autumn, in 
straggling companies, and at night. Larks, however, do not 
always adopt open order on their migrations, and I have known 
them, under certain meteorological conditions, approach the 
coast in densely packed flocks like clouds, and hundreds of yards 
in extent. 


EARLY SPRING MIGRATIONS. 195 


Immigrating Lapwings, on first coming to land, sit for a time 
very closely packed where they happen to alight, as if comparing 
notes of their passage; and I have often noticed that before 
leaving their winter quarters they come together in the same way, 
covering the land like a black sheet. 

Grey Crows have for weeks (March 24th) shown signs of 
leave-taking, and now scarcely any of the many hundreds can be 
seen in their winter haunts, or on the Humber tide-slobs. Black 
Carrion Crows move about the same time, and they are very 
numerous here in winter. I know of one small wood where 
about two hundred have come in each night to roost. 

Golden-crested Wrens are always in evidence about the last 
week in March, not showing in the thousands of autumn immi- 
gration, but two and three together, and scattered all about the 
country. When delayed in departure by unfavourable weather 
conditions, I have known them accumulate in great numbers in 
the Flamborough hedgerows. 

I often wonder what becomes of the Redbreasts which in 
October come in thousands at the same time as the Gold-crests. 
Robins which we see at low water skulking amidst blackened 
timbers of ancient wrecks miles from the shore—Robins in scores 
on the bleak wind-swept fitties sheltering amongst sea-plants, or 
on the marram-grown dune—Robins again in hundreds preening 
and sunning on the lee side of storm-clipt hedgerows, so numerous 
that on dull autumn days the dark strip of fence is bright as a 
flower-bank with the gleam of so many chestnut-red spots. 
Indications of the spring migration of Redbreasts are few; 
possibly they may return to their European quarters by another 
route. At Heligoland during the first part of April they are in 
the height of the movement. 

Woodcocks and Gold-crests (Woodcock pilots) are fellow- 
travellers in autumn, and on the move at the same time in spring 
from the middle to the end of March, when the former approach 
the east coast and appear in the covers. 

Peregrines in pairs move northward along the coast in 
March. 

Greenfinches, Chaffiinches, Twites, and Yellowhammers, par- 
ticularly the latter, come in great flocks in oat-seed time, but are 


quickly gone, often remaining but a few hours. 
0 2 


196 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Many Grey-Geese were observed by the coastguard passing 
over North Cotes on Feb. 10th and 11th. About the same date 
Golden Plovers were singing their spring song, one of the most 
charming sounds in nature, always reminding me of some of the 
flute-like notes of a Blackbird. 

Resident Starlings are now (March 24th) busy at their nesting 
quarters; at least a dozen pairs in the ivy of this house. Tens 
of thousands, however, of the foreign purple-headed birds continue 
each afternoon to fly over the grounds to roost in a blackthorn 
cover in the marsh. They are late emigrants, and will probably 
not altogether disappear before April is well on. 

I saw the Gold-crest here on the 24th, and a Woodcock the 
same day. On the 25th many Golden Plovers, several black- 
breasted, and the remainder more or less in transition. In 
meadow lands and pastures extraordinary numbers of Fieldfares 
and a few Redwings. The great severity of the weather since 
March 17th has probably retarded and thrown back any migra- 
tory movements on their parts, hence this great accumulation 
in our coast district. 


Further Notes on Spring Migration. 


On the night of Feb. 7th to 8th, Larks, Thrushes, and Red- 
wings beat about the lantern of Flamborough Lighthouse, and 
again, mixed with Starlings, on the night of 14th to 15th. 

Night of April 4th to 5th a Water-Rail was killed against the 
lantern; also two Golden-crested Wrens flew against the glass— 
this was just after midnight. The same night (4th to 5th) a remark- 
ably fine heavy Woodcock flew against one of the telegraph wires 
near Filey Station, and all but decapitated itself, the head being 
only attached to the body by a loose fragment of skin. The 
-Water-Rail which I obtained at the lighthouse on the 6th was 
bruised down one side, and appeared to have struck sideways. 
These notes are interesting, as they indicate the time these birds 
were on the move and actually leaving the country. 

Between April lst and 4th many Wheatears passed north, 
apparently touching the most prominent positions along the 
coast. ‘They were, between these dates, seen in some number 
at the Spurn, Flamborough Head, Filey Brigg, and Scarborough 


EARLY SPRING MIGRATIONS. 197 


Castle Rock. In two of these places I did not see one on the 
5th and 6th. 

Wheatears appeared much earlier on the west coast. Mr. G. 
H. Caton Haigh wrote to me:—‘ On the 21st (March) we had 
the heaviest snowstorm that has occurred here for years; in 
the afternoon the snow was eight inches deep. In the midst 
of this storm the first Wheatears appeared, four or five, all 
males; they frequented the seaweed-covered rocks in company 
with scores of Meadow-Pipits.”’ 


198 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


ORIGINAL SKETCHES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 
By H. 8S. Davenport. 


Tue Rine-Ovser* (Turdus torquatus). 


My knowledge of this species has not been acquired to any 
exceeding extent in Leicestershire, though sundry authors in 
giving a list of the counties in which it has been known to breed 
do not exclude the shire which is chiefly famous for Fox-hunting. 
I have certainly met with the Ring-Ousel in the county on the 
spring and autumn migrations, but of course its true breeding 
places are the upland wastes and the wild and rocky districts in 
more mountainous parts of the country. 

Leaving the cultivated lowlands and the civilization of village 
communities behind me one April morning during the spring of 
1894, I started on a nesting tramp into the mountains between 
Festiniog and Dolgelly, my object being to spend an hour or so 
with the Ring-Ousel, and to get as far as Blaenlliw, a farm about 
five miles distant from the Llanuwchllyn end of Bala lake, 
tenanted by the kindest and most hospitable of people, and, 
what was infinitely more to my purpose, situated right in the 
heart of the mountains of North Wales—“ right away from every- 
where,” as it was succinctly described to me. It was a charming 
morning, and for the first mile my course lay by the side of the 
river Lliw, where I had occasional visions of Common Sand- 
pipers flitting to and fro, while here and there a Grey Wagtail, or 
a Pied Flycatcher, or a Dipper caught my eye. After passing 
the gold-mine, Carn Dochan by name, I began to rise the high 
ground, and a walk of another mile or so brought me nearer to 
the haunts of the Ring-Ousel, whose home in the summer is 
essentially a wild and romantic one. From the summit of the 
rock-strewn hill between Carn Dochan and Arenig a magnificent 
view of some of the surrounding country was unfolded to my 
gaze, while the Blackbird’s mellow notes, which I had listened 


* Qusel.’”’ This spelling is by request of Mr. Davenport.—Ep. 


ORIGINAL SKETCHES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 199 


to only so recently and had easily identified amidst the general 
chorus, began at length to be replaced by those of the Ring- 
Ousel, and, though I am doubtless laying myself open to the 
charge of bad taste, I cannot say that I regretted the exchange. 

A shy bird I am inclined to call the Ring-Ousel, for it will fly 
from rock to rock, generally keeping at a respectful distance; but 
when the vicinity of its nest is invaded, temerity becomes a very 
strongly marked characteristic of the species. In common with the 
Blackbird, it possesses the habit of elevating its tail on alighting, 
but in my humble judgment its song bears a stronger resemblance 
to that of the Mistle-Thrush than to that of the Blackbird. I 
have been fortunate enough to hear the Ring-Ousel and Mistle- 
Thrush sing within a short range of each other, and, though it is 
always far from my wish to appear dogmatic, I cannot agree with 
those writers who rather liken the former’s song to that of the 
commoner species. 

The Ring-Ousel also possesses three or four piping, plaintive 
notes, pee-up, pee-up, pee-up, pee-up, quickly repeated; they 
sound inexpressibly weird and sad when heard under certain 
conditions, and are, I believe, the call-notes of the male. While 
uttering them the bird will not improbably be found perched low 
down on a rock, and remaining so still that, unless the listener 
has a first-rate eye, it will be very hard to catch a glimpse of the 
performer. The alarm-note is a hurried tac, tac, tac. 

A nest I found on the morning to which allusion has been 
made was placed on the ledge of a rock, and contained four eggs; 
they were greenish blue in ground colour, richly blotched and 
flecked with purplish brown. In fact, they were typical eggs of 
the species. Hard by was a Common Buzzard’s nest containing 
two fresh eggs. 

I had never considered the Ring-Ousel from an epicurean 
point of view until the autumn of 1894, when I formed one of a 
party Grouse-driving on the Stiperstones, a well-known stretch 
of rough and rocky moorland in Shropshire, when the bird that 
is so easily recognized by its conspicuous gorget was daintily 
served up as a second course one evening for my especial benefit. 
In my opinion it beats all the other members of the family Turdine 
in flavour, but is not comparable with either the Snipe or Land- 
Rail. I should add, however, that the bird I sampled was in 


200 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


famous trim for the table, as it had been feeding on the cran- 
berries and bilberries which grow in profusion on the Stiper- 
stones range, and it was covered with fat. It had evidently pre- 
ferred the sweeter bilberry to the cranberry, as I made a note of 
on picking it up. 

I also found a nest of this species in the spring of 1894 on the 
rocky heights above Aberhirnant, Sir E. Buckley’s picturesque 
residence in Merionethshire; it contained a single much-incubated 
egg. Ring-Ousels are undoubtedly partial to rocky situations, and 
it 1s perhaps worthy of remark that just about the time when 
Fieldfares and Redwings are quitting our shores for northern 
climes the Ring-Ousels make their reappearance. The nest bears 
a striking resemblance to that of the Blackbird, as do some of 
the eggs to those of that species; but a combination of care and 
patience should always prevent any blundering in the matter of 
a correct identification of the same. 


THe WHEATEAR (Saxicola cnanthe). 


According to my observations, one of the earliest of the spring 
migrants to put in an appearance in this county (Leicestershire) 
is the Wheatear. I find on reference to notes extending over 
several years that the little Chiffchaff hunts it very closely, but in 
the matter of actual precedence, in the large majority of cases, 
the Wheatear is easily first. 

I have observed its sprightly form even before the middle of 
March in some seasons, and have been frequently struck with 
wonder at its comparative tameness on arrival in this country, 
allowing a very imminent approach as it does, and apparently 
courting close inspection. Invariably by itself when I have so 
observed it—for, like other migratory species, the males precede 
the females—it regards the intrusion of a visitor on its temporary 
halting ground with consummate indifference. I should here 
remark, however, that the grass pastures and tillage lands of 
High Leicestershire are little calculated to permanently attract 
such species as resort for breeding purposes to the downs and 
warrens and the wild, mountainous, and uncultivated districts of 
more southern counties. 

A favourite resting ground in the spring of the year with an 
odd Wheatear or so is a large rabbit-warren on the borders of my 


——— —— 


ORIGINAL SKETCHES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 201 


native village, and thither I generally betake myself in quest of 
the earliest arrival of this species. There is an old saying that 
spring has come when you can place your foot on five full-blown 
daisies in a cluster, but our feathered visitors, to my thinking, 
are the best harbingers of the glad time of the year; and whether 
it be sight of Wheatear or song of Chiffchaff, there is no doubting 
the eloquence of the reminder that the frosts and snows of 
winter are virtually a thing of the past. 

Wheatears only stay a few days on their first arrival in these 
parts, moving forward to their breeding quarters as soon as they 
have recuperated their exhausted strength. Yet they afford us 
more than a passing glimpse of them in September, and it is not 
at all uncommon when out Partridge-shooting to notice them on 
the fallows, or in fields where stones have been gathered together 
into little heaps. Where, however, in the spring time only a 
single bird had been noticed, in the autumn there would frequently 
be two of them together. 

I have only met with one instance of this species breeding in 
Leicestershire, and consider the fact of its having nested where 
it did most unusual. That Wheatears should repair to the rocky 
heights round about Bardon and Bradgate to rear their young 
does not surprise me in the least, for in such wild tracts they are 
quite in their element; but that a pair of these birds should have 
had recourse to a drain-pipe on the turnpike road in Skeffington 
parish, in which situation they built a nest in May, in the year 
1875, and laid five eggs of a pale greenish blue speckled very 
distinctly with brown, was quite a novel experience. The eggs 
were slightly incubated when I found them, and the birds must 
have employed a vast amount of cunning to have escaped de- 
tection so long, as the drain-pipe was within but a short distance 
of the village school, and there are few boys who are not in- 
defatigable nest-hunters during their play-hours. This nest was 
constructed of pretty much the same materials as are to be found 
in the general run of Wheatears’ nests, the lining being of cow- 
hair, rabbits’ fur, and a large quantity of feathers; but the 
exterior was composed of fibrous roots, dried bents, moss, and 
hay, and it was bits of the latter protruding from the drain-pipe 
that first gave me the clue to the nest. Of course my suspicions 
had been previously aroused by seeing the birds in the locality. 


202 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


It is very seldom that Wheatears perch on trees, but I have 
seen them do so, and they have not avoided the higher branches. 
The male bird sings very prettily, and it has often been my good 
fortune to hear it in the rock-strewn mountains of North Wales. 
The song consists of four or five rich, clear, mellow notes 
succeeded by an equal number of trilling ones, which might 
easily be mistaken for some of the tremulous strains of the 
Whinchat, though they are more musical and less harsh. It 
sings when stationary as well as in the air, and a pretty sight it 
is to watch it quit its perch on a rock, mount into the air after 
the manner of the Whitethroat, twist and jerk about, singing all 
the while, and then descend to its original starting point. It 
frequently runs two or three steps before taking wing, and when 
apprehensive of danger it repeats again and again what sounds in 
my ears like trz-wee, wee, trz-wee, wee. The bird is not un- 
common on the mountainous tracts of rocky moorland in North 
Wales, as I have already intimated, and a favourite place for its 
nest, according to my observations, 1s 1n a stone wall, though I 
have also met with nests in rabbit-burrows, as well as in the 
cavities beneath great boulders of rock. I found the species 
especially abundant on Lundy Island in the spring of 1897. Iam |. 
always glad to get a chauce of hearing a song which has been much 
vaunted by authors, though few birds are so speedily on the alert 
as Wheatears when they mark the approach of an intruder. The 
male bird, perched conspicuously on some rock or wall, is almost 
certain to catch the eye first, but probably, long before you have 
seen it, it has seen you, and telegraphed a warning note to its 
mate. It will fly about from boulder to boulder, out of sight one 
moment and reappearing the next; but do not be misled by an 
apparent indifference to your presence. ‘Though you may note 
it dart forth and catch an insect, it is all the while vigilant and 
suspicious to a degree, and though you may crouch in the 
bracken and keep watch for an hour, it has not forgotten, nor 
will you entrap it into overlooking, your presence; while as to 
betraying the whereabouts of the nest, depend upon it, it will be 
pure guesswork if you find it. It is a vivacious little bird to 
watch, and seems to have a high opinion of its own superior 
intelligence ; while the rapid up-and-down movements of the 
tail, which appears to be ever in motion, is a habit which we are 
more apt to associate with members of the Wagtail family. 


ORIGINAL SKETCHES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 203 


I have noticed in clutches of eggs of this species, that when 
all the eggs have rust-coloured specks on the surface, one of the 
number generally has such specks much more strongly pronounced 
than the rest. Again, that when the clutch is of a pale greenish 
unspotted blue, uniform in colour, one egg occasionally exhibits a 
few faint rust-coloured specks. Such an egg I regard as answering 
to the variety that is so frequently found in the nests of other 
Species, and in none is the difference so emphasized, in my 
opinion, as in the case of the Sparrow-Hawk and the Tree- 
Sparrow. Hight is freely spoken of as the extreme number of 
eggs in a clutch, but my belief is that six is much more frequent; 
very rarely seven. I have never found so many as eight myself, 
nor have I known anyone who has actually found this number ; 
I have never met with a dealer who had a clutch of eight for sale, 
and therefore it would be interesting to me to learn what the 
authority is, and whence it emanated, for such a statement. 

It is, of course, matter of history what immense numbers of 
Wheatears used to be taken in traps on the downs in bygone 
years when assembling previous to retiring from this country. In 
those days they were esteemed very delicious articles of food, and 
though the taste may not have died out, yet, owing to the large 
tracts of waste land which have been reclaimed since that era, 
the haunts of the Wheatear have been much encroached upon 
and virtually broken up. It is, too, common knowledge that 
the species is an adept at the art of mimicry; but it may not 
be so generally known that on fine warm nights in May it will 
sing till long after dark. 


THe Wuincuat (Pratincola rubetra). 


I have noticed that this species is to be met with more 
frequently some years than in others, and though doubtless 
numbers resort to furze-clad commons for breeding purposes in 
general with their near relatives the Stonechats, I do not agree 
that the nest is of necessity to be sought in such wild districts. 
On the contrary, I look upon the Whinchat, which is a spring 
migrant and arrives in this country about the middle of April, 
as a sociable bird, and partial to cultivated fields and roadside 
hedges, whereabouts it finds an abundance of insectivorous food 
and suitable spots for rearing its young. 


204 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Considerable stress has been laid on the fact that Whinchats 
study the art of concealment when constructing their nests, or, 
perhaps I should more correctly say, when choosing a site for 
the same ; but that such cannot be the invariable rule is, I think, 
made evident by the very open situations in which I have found 
them. On more than one occasion have I discovered a nest 
mainly owing to first having caught a passing glimpse of the 
glossy greenish-blue eggs reposing in it. I have known nests in 
various situations: in grass fields, in the banks of roadside 
ditches, in coarse grass on a hillside, on railway embankments, 
and at the bottom of gorse bushes on the upland wastes. There 
is no doubt that when built in this last-mentioned position the 
nest 1s exceedingly well hidden, and not likely to be easily dis- 
covered unless you chance to beat the bird out of her recess, or 
detect her quitting it as she hurriedly flies forth at the signal of 
danger from her mate. If the eggs are on the point of being 
hatched, the hen will sit uncommonly close; but if they have 
only been recently laid, the alarm-notes have the desired effect 
of scaring her away immediately. 

During the period of incubation the male bird keeps a vigilant 
and incessant outlook, and gives warning of the approach of an 
intruder by sharply uttering the notes utac, utac, and there is no 
more convenient eminence for observing this habit than the top 
of a railway embankment, the cock bird, as a rule, being perched, 
sentinel-like, on the telegraph wires. My wife found two nests 
of this species on a grassy slope just outside Scarborough in the 
summer of 1892, each containing six eggs, which is the usual 
number of the clutch. There was nothing remarkable in the 
mere discovery of the nests beyond the fact that both were built 
within a few yards not only of each other, but of the old nests of 
the preceding year. Yet another instance of the tendency of birds 
to return annually to their erstwhile haunts. One of the nests I 
found by first noticing the eggs, was placed in an open bank in 
the middle of a field adjoining the river Lugg, in Herefordshire ; 
it was the sort of situation a Redbreast might have chosen, but 
almost too exposed, I should have thought, for even this con- 
fidential species. Another nest was placed in a grass meadow 
that had been ‘‘laid’”’ for hay, and could be seen from the foot- 
path that bisected it, 


ORIGINAL SKETCHES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 205 


However, the most sure and effective way of discovering the 
nests of many of our spring migrants is to note the exact spot of 
a district they frequent on their arrival; there or thereabouts— 
unless the halt, as in the case of the Wheatear, is destined to be 
merely temporary—you may generally rely on meeting with them 
two or three weeks later. I took a clutch of seven beautiful eggs 
on May 18th, 1893, under circumstances which will serve by 
their narration a twofold purpose, viz. to adorn my story and 
point a moral. 

I had noticed a pair of Whinchats frequenting a broken 
straggling hedgerow on their arrival just a month previously, and 
had also remarked that an artificial cutting or trench, overgrown 
with rank herbage, ran alongside of it. The movements of the 
birds showed pretty plainly that they had come to stay, so, 
merely jotting down in my note-book a memorandum as to the 
species, locality, and date, I troubled no more about the matter 
until the morning I removed their eggs to my cabinet. I have 
merely related the above as evidence of what can be done by a 
little intelligent observation in the early days of spring. I 
would also impress upon all those who tread the paths of 
ornithology the infinite value of learning the song of each 
different bird; many and many a time has a ripple of melody 
betrayed the fact of a nest in my vicinity when I had little 
suspected it. Again, itis of untold advantage to have at your 
fingers’ ends the different haunts affected by the different species 
for nesting purposes, and the actual sites usually selected by 
them. Moreover, it is not probable that your eye will see every 
nest when you are hunting a hedge, or bank, or bushes, or the 
brushwood and undergrowth of plantations and woods—far from 
it; though the possession of a stout walking-stick, discreetly 
used, will frequently make up for any ocular shortcomings. 

The eggs of the Whinchat vary in number from five to seven, 
but, as has been already intimated, six is a favourite clutch. 
Some are inclined to rotundity, others are elongated ; while their 
ground colour is of a greenish-blue type, and occasionally exhibits 
a polished appearance, more especially when the eggs have been 
incubated for any length of time. Sometimes they are without 
the wreath of brownish frecklings round the larger end, but in 
most series this addition to their beauty is, I have reason to 


206 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


believe, fairly well established; occasionally the specks are 
faintly distributed all over the shell. The illustrious Colonel 
Montagu, who states that the eggs are entirely blue, without a 
spot, and in this connection compares them with those of the 
Stonechat, evidently had an experience very different to more 
modern observers; and it is difficult to reconcile what he so 
emphatically alleges on the point with the observations that 
annually come under my own notice, except on the plausible 
supposition that it is only of late years the brown frecklings have 
become so pronounced a feature in the appearance of the egg. 
They have little of the turquoise-blue of the Hedge-Sparrow’s 
eggs about them, and they ought never to be confused with those 
of the Redstart, and seldom with those of the Stonechat. The 
variety egg I have often noticed in nests of the Whinchat takes 
the form of a much lighter ground shade, and the frecklings are 
generally more emphasized. ‘To assert, however, that this egg 
is invariably the last one laid is contrary to the fact, for I have 
known instances when it was the first. 

Sometimes when in pursuit of food this species has a pretty 
habit of poising itself on hovering wing—after the manner of 
Swallows in hay-fields before the grass has been laid low—and 
then darting down, snatching its prey, and flitting back as quickly 
as possible to the top of the bending spray from which it had 
only a few moments previously gone through the same process. 
I do not mean that Swallows actually perform all this—only that 
their suspensory movements in mid air when hawking for insects 
at a low level over tall standing grass are very similar to the 
hoverings of the Whinchat. The analogy, however, must not be 
carried any farther, for as the former species snaps up its prey 
at about its own level, the latter often indulges in a downward, 
almost pouncing kind of movement. 

The statement that the Whinchat as a species passes the 
winter in these islands is, of course, entirely apocryphal; it may 
be that individuals have remained on occasions, but in the 
majority of cases it is warrantable to suppose that casual 
observers have mistaken the Stonechat for the bird under dis- 
cussion. Neither have I any faith in the assertion that this 
species is double-brooded, and only regret that there is no means 
of tracing the authority for some of the remarkable statements 


ORIGINAL SKETCHES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 207 


with which not a little of the popular literature of the every-day 
bird-life of our islands is overburdened. 

The song of the Whinchat is not unlikely to escape notice 
amidst the conflicting strains of various warblers, and, even if 
heard, may easily be mistaken by careless listeners for that of 
the Redstart. There is a peculiar harshness, not by any means 
unpleasing, about it; but, though I am very familiar with it, and 
never deem a few minutes’ delay in order to listen to it as time 
ill-spent, 1 have presence of mind enough to know how feeble 
most attempts are that aim at reducing the songs of birds to 
writing. Syllables suggestive of the call-notes are all very well and 
frequently instructive, as, for instance, the late Mr. Seebohm’s 
felicitous rendering of the Lesser Redpoll’s call-note by the 
French word henri; nevertheless, attempts to give the full song 
of a bird on paper must more often than not end in fiasco. That 
of the Whinchat is interspersed with some beautiful flute-like 
strains, but the harsher tones predominate in the refrain which 
is not disappointingly curtailed, and is repeated again and again 
from some elevated perch where the performer takes up a con- 
Spicuous position on the topmost twig for minutes together. The 
performance is usually accompanied by a fanning motion of 
the tail. 

My impression is that Whinchats’ nests need not be looked 
for much before the end of the second week in May; my earliest 
recorded date is on May 12th for the first egg, and some other 
dates run thus: May 2lst, May 26th, May 27th, May 28th, and 
May 29th; and it is partly on this account—late nesting—that I 
decline to accept the apparently irresponsible statement that the 
species rears two broods every year. ‘The young of the first nest 
cannot be taught to provide for themselves all in a moment, and 
though some birds undoubtedly have two or three broods in the 
course of a summer, they are chiefly those that nest in our 
gardens and orchards, and whose young are out of the first-laid 
eggs before some of the migrants have reached our shores. 
Again, if these alleged second broods were so common, the males 
would surely treat us to a second edition of their May concert in 
June, which, as a matter of fact, they do not. Towards the end 
of this latter month, to my mind, it is quite melancholy to take 
a stroll through the woods—almost every voice is hushed. 


208 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


The male bird is quickly apprehensive of danger, and in nine 
cases out of ten espies the intruder long before the latter espies 
him. It is too Jate to acquire much information about the site 
of the nest when your first intimation of the presence of this 
pretty migrant is a sight of him on some commanding perch. As 
in the case of the Wheatear, the Goldfinch, and the Golden-crested 
Wren, I have never discovered the male Whinchat actively par- 
ticipating in the building of the nest, and I am quite positive that 
not a few of the smaller nests which we come across in this country 
in the course of the summer are solely the work of the females. 

One word more. Is the Whinchat a mimic? It certainly 
possesses a note at times not unlike that of a Partridge, though, 
of course, on a modified scale. 


Tue Stonecuat (Pratincola rubicola). 

The Stonechat affects those wild uplands and barren heaths 
which are studded with a luxuriant growth of furze and other 
bushes of a corresponding height, and here it secures conceal- 
ment for its nest and young, and a supply of food, more or less, all 
the year round. I have only twice met with this bird in Leicester- 
shire, and that was during the winter of 1886, and the autumn of 
1898. I should mention, perhaps, that my home for over ten years 
was at Ashlands in that county, between two and three miles from 
my native village, and in the winter I have referred to a Stone- 
chat used to come and perch on the temporary railings which 
protected a new cricket-ground that was being made near to the 
house. None of the workmen engaged in levelling the turf had 
the least idea what the bird was, though they showed a little dis- 
cernment when sending me a message to the effect that “ a funny 
kind of Flycatcher’ was their constant companion. Certainly, 
the Stonechat’s method of taking its food on the wing very much 
resembles that of the bird above mentioned, and the fact of its 
presence near to Ashlands in mid-winter tended to confirm 
Harley’s statement to the effect that at that season ‘it left its 
ordinary habitat of the whin-covered moor and wild for the 
cultivated field and hedgerow.” What warranty he had, however, 
for saying that the nest was occasionally lodged on the horizontal 
bough of a Scotch fir, I know not. 

I am presumptuous enough to think, after careful observa- 
tion, that the nomenclature of each of the three species, viz. the 


ORIGINAL SKETCHES OF BRITISH BIRDS 209 


Wheatear, the Whinchat, and the Stonechat, is open to improve- 
ment, and that if lots were drawn as to which of the names 
should be applied to each bird, the result might not improbably 
be more in accordance with their individual haunts and habits 
than is now the case. The favourite perch of the Wheatear is 
beyond all doubt on some wall or rock, and its affection for 
stony places is notorious. The Whinchat, to my thinking, 
frequents the lowland pastures more frequently than the upland 
heaths, and is not necessarily to be sought amongst whins; while, 
on the contrary, the haunts of the Stonechat are confined almost 
exclusively to wild heaths and commons, and on the topmost sprays 
of the whin-bushes it is almost invariably to be seen stationed. 
Nevertheless, the Wheatear does not take its name from the 
haunts it particularly affects, as its congeners are supposed to do. 

Bircher Common—or, to use the vernacular of the district, 
Bircher “‘ Kimmin ”—is one of the favourite resorts in Hereford- 
shire of the Stonechat. Here itis an early breeder, and those 
who are in want of its eggs and meditate a search for the same 
on their own account, had better make a note of the fact. The 
allegation that it rears two broods in a season, however, is 
probably correct. ‘The nest, somewhat slovenly put together, is 
almost invariably placed on the ground in the recess of some 
furze-bush, and is most skilfully concealed. It is composed 
of moss and dry grass, and lined with finer grass, hair, and occa- 
sionally a few feathers, while I have one nest in my memory, taken 
on Bircher Common, that was profusely lined with sheep’s wool. 

The eggs are subject to a certain amount of variation, but the 
ground colour is generally of a pale greenish blue, typical more 
of the shade of Spotted Flycatchers’ eggs than that of those of 
its allied species, the Whinchat. They are, however, very 
prettily and distinctly mottled with specks and spots of reddish 
brown, which, when not confluent, frequently form a wreath round 
the broad end. I have never come across the unspotted variety 
in my wanderings. ‘The most perfect clutch of Stonechat’s eggs 
Il ever saw came from the common I have already alluded to; 
they were not only of unusual size, but a magnificent zone 
of bold brown markings enriched the broad end of every one of 
them. Five is as frequent a number in a clutch as six, according 
to my observations. 

4ool. 4th ser. vol. {1I., May, 1899. P 


210 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Tue Repstartr (Ruticilla phenicurus). 


Many birds pause awhile after reaching this country before 
engaging in nesting operations, but I am rather inclined to think 
that the Redstart is not one of the number. I knew of a nest in 
the hole of a tree one year that contained an egg so soon as the 
first day of May. Early on the morning of May 5th a heavy 
snowstorm raged for a couple of hours, and when, shortly after- 
wards, I inspected the nest, I found the hole, which faced due 
north, filled with snow, some of the eggs broken, the interior of 
the nest disarranged, and the locality forsaken by the birds 
themselves. 

I have found many nests of this species in the course of my 
rambles, and noticed that, in addition to being a comparatively 
early builder, an especially favourite haunt is the pollard or 
“sally” trees—as they are termed in some parts of Hereford- 
shire—that form so ornamental an appendage to the banks of 
rivers. I am not quite sure that pollard willows do not more 
correctly express the type of tree I have in my mind’s eye; 
but willow, pollard, and “‘sally,’” all, I believe, indicate its 
colloquial appellation in different parts of the country. In the 
natural holes of such trees the Redstart loves to nidificate, 
though suitable cavities in stone walls are equally resorted to. 

With regard to its eggs, I have found the clutches varying 
from five to eight, but am of opinion that six, equally with seven, 
is the more favoured number. They are smaller, and lighter in 
shade than Hedge-Sparrows’, and the shell is far more brittle. 
Touching the colouring of the same, I find myself in distinct 
opposition to the experience and opinion of Mr. C. Dixon, as 
enunciated at page 188 of his ‘Nests and Eggs of British 
Birds.’ The author writes :—‘‘It is said that the eggs of this 
species are ‘ occasionally speckled with reddish,’ but surely this 
must be a mistake.”” I have not been able to trace the statement 
to which the author referred to above takes exception, but I can 
unhesitatingly corroborate its accuracy. I have on more than 
one occasion possessed myself of Redstarts’ eggs with rufous 
brown specklings on them, though others in the clutch have been 
without any colouration, beyond, of course, that of the uniform 
pale greenish-blue ground shade. 

Nevertheless, it is only a few summers ago that I found in 
a hole in an ash-tree near to Rolleston Hall, the residence 


ORIGINAL SKETCHES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 211 


of Lord Churchill in this county, a clutch of six Redstarts’ eggs, 
all more or less boldly spotted with brown. ‘The value of my 
“find,” however, was sadly discounted by the fact of the eggs 
being on the point of hatching. In Mr. C. Dixon’s same work, 
and at the bottom of the same page, it is alleged that Hedge- 
Sparrows’ eggs are the only ones with which those of the 
Redstart can be confused in our islands. In my opinion, the 
latter bear a far more striking resemblance to Pied Flycatchers’ 
than to Hedge-Sparrows’ eggs, compare them how you will. Not 
only in grain and colour, but also in size and shape, Redstarts’ 
eggs, I contend, approximate more nearly to those of the Pied 
Flycatcher. ‘The highly polished shell to which some writers so 
pointedly invite attention as a distinguishing feature of the egg of 
the Redstart, I have never been discriminating enough to notice. 
The song of the Redstart I am inclined to characterize as 
unequal. I have frequently been astounded by the melody 
flowing from the throat of this little bird, but on such occasions 
it has almost always been perched amidst the uppermost 
branches of lofty poplars, and April has invariably been the 
month when I have heard it warbling what I deem its most 
fascinating notes. It is many years now since I was first 
attracted by its song under such circumstances; and having 
previously regarded it as merely a mediocre performer, and as 
one that usually sang from a lower level, I brought my field- 
glasses to bear on the songster, to avoid any risk of blundering ; 
and what I then observed was recorded in my note-book on the 
spot. Subsequent meetings with the Redstart in April in Ireland, 
Wales, and other wide-distant portions of these islands, have not 
led me to alter the opinion I formed of its carol as delivered from 
the upper branches of a Leicestershire poplar—long, long ago. 
In support of what I have written above, it gives me satisfaction 
to quote from Mudie’s ‘ British Birds,’ published in 1858, as fol- 
lows :—‘* When the males arrive, they sing from elevated perches ; 
but after the operations of nesting are begun, they sing lower, and 
always within a short distance of the nest.” While, somewhat 
curiously, in the same connection and evidently pursuing the same 
train of thought, Seebohm wrote exactly thirty years later :—“ It 
may also be noticed that the Redstart, directly after its arrival in 
April, seeks the tree-tops for his orchestra; but as the summer 
P2 


212 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


comes on this habit is lost, and the bird warbles from a lower 
perch, usually in the neighbourhood of his nest.” 

The Redstart has a very peculiar habit of shaking the lower 
portion of its body at intervals when stationary, quite different 
from the gentle, fanning, up and down movement of the tail that 
is associated with the Whinchat. The former seems to be 
periodically shaking out its feathers, somewhat after the manner 
of a Peacock, though, of course, on a much less obtrusive scale. 
The song in a general way, as I believe has been stated in my 
notice of the Whinchat, bears some resemblance to that of this 
latter bird. It has lkewise a peculiarly rich, liquid note, occa- 
sionally heard when in flight, sounding in my ears like tu-ee, 
tu-ee, tu-ee, tu-ee, tu-ee. 

However, to revert for one moment to its nesting site: the 
hole chosen is invariably a natural one; there is no such thing as 
artificially adapting it to its requirements, as is the case with some 
of the Woodpeckers. The nest itself is artlessly put together, and 
is formed of roots, small fibres, and dry grass, and frequently a 
little wool, and is lined with hair and occasionally a few feathers. 

I do not see that we have any means of ascertaining whether 
or not this species is life-paired. Redstarts are, beyond question, 
very conservative in their regard for old haunts, but, considering 
it is generally admitted that the sexes do not migrate in company 
—the males usually preceding the females in the spring of the 
year—it must be purely a matter of speculation. 

One other little point I would touch on before closing this 
sketch ; it refers to the marked similarity between the alarm-note 
of the Redstart and that of the Chaffinch. It may possibly take 
a very skilful ear to discriminate between the two utterances, but 
I think it will be admitted that there is a more plaintive 
character about the alarm-note of the Redstart than is noticeable 
in the case of the other species; while the former also frequently 
emits a sound, two or three times quickly repeated, which resembles 
that form of annoyance in an individual so commonly expressed 
by the tongue and the teeth without the aid of language. 

In the summer of 1896 I found a Redstart’s nest, full of young, 
in a kettle hung on a nail in an old tumble-down shed near to 
Keythorpe. I have also known the species utilize a site just pre- 
viously tenanted—with success in the matter of rearing their 
young—by a pair of Great Tits. 


( 218 ) 


THE TREK-BOKKE (GAZELLA EUCHORE) OF 
THE CAPE COLONY. 


By S. C. CRonwrigHtT-SCHREINER. 


SourH Arrica has probably never been surpassed in the variety and 
profusion of its wild animals ; it has certainly had nothing more wonderful 
than its prodigious numbers of Springbucks. These fleet and beautiful 
creatures still exist in numbers incredible to people unacquainted with the 
country, though they have lately so decreased that it is almost impossible 
now to form any conception of the hosts that infested the endless flats only 
a few years ago. Where Springbucks run wild in large numbers they are 
distinguished as ‘ Hou-bokke” and “ Trek-bokke,” the ‘‘ Hou-bokke ” being 
bucks (we term all our Antelopes “ bucks”) that live permanently on the 
same veld, the “ Trek-bokke” those that congregate in vast hosts and 
migrate from one part of the country to another in seasons of drought. 
When the country was 80 densely covered with all kinds of game, the vast 
herds of Springbucks quickly felt the effects of the frequent droughts that 
devastate the inland up-country parts, and began to “trek.” Congregating 
in millions, they moved off in search of better veld, destroying everything 
in their march over the arid flats. The ‘“ Trek-bokke” can only be com- 
pared, in regard to number, with the Bison of North America, or the 
Pigeons of the Canadas. ‘To say they migrate in millions is to employ an 
ordinary figure of speech used vaguely to convey the idea of great numbers ; 
but in the case of these bucks it is the literal truth. 

Gordon Cumming, who shot in South Africa in the early forties, and 
whose book (‘ The Lion Hunter in South Africa’), more than any book with 
which I am acquainted, gives some idea of the extraordinary variety and 
profusion of game which then existed, refers to a “ Trek-bokken or grand 
migration of Springboks ” which he saw between Cradock and Colesberg, 
and vividly describes how he stood on the forechest of his waggon, watching 
the bucks pass “like the flood of some great river,” during which time 
“these vast legions continued streaming through the nek in the hills in one 
unbroken compact phalanx”; then he saddled his horse, rode into the 
midst of them, and shot until he cried “ Knough.” But this vast and 
surprising trek was, he says, “infinitely surpassed” by one he saw some 
days later. He “ beheld the plains, and even the hillsides, which stretched 
away on every side, thickly covered, not with herds, but with one vast mass 


214 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


of Springboks ; as far as the eye could strain the landscape was alive with 
them, until they softened down into a dim mass of living creatures.” It 
would be vain, he says, to attempt to form any idea of the number of 
Antelopes he saw on that day, but he has no hesitation in saying that 
‘some hundreds of thousands were within the compass of my (his) vision.” 
A Boer with whom he was shooting acknowledged that “ it was a very fair 
Trek-bokken, but observed that it was not many when compared with what 
he had seen.” ‘“ This morning,” remarked the Boer, “ you beheld only 
one flat covered with Springboks, but I give you my word that I have 
ridden a long day’s journey over a succession of flats covered with them as 
far as I could see, and as thick as Sheep in a fold.” 

A generation back they trekked in such dense masses that they used 
sometimes to pass right through the streets of the small up-country towns. 
I liave known old people who walked among them, and actually now and 
then touched them with their hand. Men have gone in armed only with a 
heavy stick, and killed as many as they wished. Native herdsmen have 
been trampled to death by the Bucks, and droves of Afrikander Sheep 
carried away, never to be recovered, in the surging crowd. So dense is the 
mass at times, and so overpowering the pressure from the millions behind, 
that if a sluit (gully) is come to, so wide and deep that the Bucks cannot 
leap over or go through it, the front ranks are forced in until it is levelled 
up by their bodies, when the mass marches over and continues its irresistible 
way. Again, when they come to our large rivers, which run almost dry 
before the summer storms fall, the thirsty creatures stream over the steep 
banks into the bed of the river, and drink themselves heavy with water. 
They crowd into the river-bed quicker than they can get out, and the crush 
is so great at times as they climb the steep banks that men have gone in 
on foot unarmed, and secured as many as they wished simply by catching 
them with the naked hand and breaking their hind legs. There was a 
certain element of danger in doing this, for, if the Bucks turned, the hunters 
ran the risk of being trampled to death. The density of such masses may 
be imagined when one remembers how timid and wary of approach these 
Antelopes are. . 

The Cape Colony has from time to time during recent years been visited 
by the Trek-bokke, though not in such numbers as the old farmers used to 
describe, and, I have no doubt, truthfully describe. In 1895, however, the 
up-country was suffering from a long drought, which was particularly 
severe in Namaqualand ; and the Trek-bokke began to move well into the 
Colony. There were rumours of their coming, and then it was said that 
they were unusually numerous—that it was a “big trek.” This soon 
proved to be the case. It was eventually known that they had not appeared 
in such numbers for thirty or forty years. They kidded on the Kaaien 


THE TREK-BOKKE OF THE CAPE COLONY. 215 


Bult, in the district of Prieska, and then resumed their trek in search of 
better veld. Mr. J. W. Wright, a relative of mine, was then living at 
Karree Kloof, a farm about ten hours by cart (six miles to the hour) west of 
the railway in the district of Hope Town. In July, 1896, he wrote that 
the Trek-bokke were approaching Karree Kloof, and invited me to come 
and see them. Believing that such a large “trek” might never be seen 
again, I accepted his invitation. 

Starting by train from Kimberley, I alighted at Kran Kuil, a railway 
station not far south of the Orange River. Leaving Kran Kuil by post- 
cart early next morning, and passing the little village of Strydenburg, with 
its immense “ pan,” the home when full of thousands of wild-fowl, after a 
ten hours’ drive in a rickety cart, one of whose wheels was dished the wrong 
way, and threatened to fall to pieces every moment, I reached Karree 
Kloof at sundown. Our conversation that evening was of course largely 
about the Springbucks. Some hundred yards to the back of the house 
stands a kraal. Ten or fifteen years earlier Mr. Wright saw the Trek- 
bokke stream through between the house and the kraal. The present trek 
had approached within about four hours of Karree Kloof, and then turned, 
and was now some distance farther away. We started in a four-in-hand 
Cape-cart next day to see the Bucks. Passing through veld where the trek 
had recently been, and by many a dead Buck, we slept that night at 
Omdraai’s Vlev, in the district of Prieska, where two young Englishmen 
had an accommodation house and a country shop. Over a large fire that 
evening (it was mid-winter and freezing hard every night) we heard the 
latest news of the trek. The nearest Bucks were then about two hours 
farther on. A portion had passed over Omdraai’s Vley, taking their way 
through a wire-fenced Ostrich camp, breaking some of the wires. To 
clear this camp of those that remained in, about one thousand had to be shot, 
one of which was an albino. A large number had of course been wounded, 
and many kids, whose mothers had been shot, died. In that camp alone 
two thousand must have perished. The owners of the shop were buying 
Springbuck skins at 5d. and 6d. each at the rate of three thousand a week, 
and had already purchased thousands of pounds of “ biltong” (the raw flesh 
cut into narrow strips and dried), as had also Mr. Wright at Karree Kloof. 
.It was reckoned that, in the district of Prieska alone, some hundreds of 
thousands of Bucks had been shot, and nearly as many wounded, and the 
little kids were dying in thousands; yet there was no appreciable diminu- 
tion in their numbers. Among other things, we heard that various wil 
carnivora were following the trek, a Leopara taving been shot tu ihe oper 
veld, and “ Wild Dogs” (Lycaon pictus) having been seen in pursuit ; 
also that Antelopes, unknown in those parts for many years, had appeared, 
carried along in the living flood which was pouring over the country. In 


216 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


fact, at Karree Kloof, which the Bucks had not actually encroached upon, 
a Kudu and three Haartebeeste had been found in the camps, the Kudu (a 
bull) having broken off a horn in jumping over the wire fence. 

Taking an early breakfast next morning, we inspanned, and, after 
several hours’ drive, passing a pair of wild Ostriches with chicks on the way, 
saw the first of the Bucks, some ten or fifteen thousand, in several lots. 
One lot began to run, to cross the road in front of us. Whipping the 
horses up until we were close enough, we alighted with our rifles, and as 
the Bucks came bounding past shot several, and then, cutting off the hind 
legs of such as were fat at the small of the back, we slung them on the axle 
of the cart and drove on. After proceeding for a couple of hours, and 
shooting another Buck or two from the road, we outspanned at a farm 
called Weel Pan, and had an early lunch. The “pan” was dry and the 
house forsaken, except for a Hottentot servant. The farm was 12,000 
morgen (about 25,000 acres) in extent, but had been so eaten off and 
tramped out by the Bucks that the owner had had to remove all his stock. 
This was the case with many farms in the path of the Bucks; the veld 
had been destroyed, cultivated lands eaten bare, and camp fences broken 
down by the resistless mass of Antelopes. Mr. Wright mentioned that he 
had 40,000 morgen of land on the Kaaien Bult, which the Bucks had so 
destroyed that he was removing all his stock from it. Before I left Karree 
Kloof, on my way home, the cattle from the Kaaien Bult arrived there, 
having been driven twenty-six hours (156 miles) to be pastured where the 
devastating Bucks had not been. 

After lunch we changed our direction, and drove on, hoping to see a 
denser part of the trek, shooting an occasional Buck from the road. The 
Dutch farmers were out by the hundred ; all day shots could be heard, and 
occasionally a horseman could be seen scurrying along the road to head a 
lot of Bucks, and we witnessed an exciting chase after a wounded ram, 
which, when the horseman dismounted, charged him—a very rare thing for 
a Springbuck to do. The whole veld was damaged ; it was hardly possible 
to put one’s foot down in that vast extent of country without treading on 
spoor of the Springbuck ; and the Karoo bushes were torn and broken by 
their sharp feet. We passed several “ outspans’”’ where the hunters had 
encamped for days, with their waggons, and carts and horses—deserted 
camps which were marked by ash-heaps and charred bones, and the straw 
of bundles of forage; while offal and heads and the lower portions of the 
legs of the Bucks lay about to such an extent as to be quite disagreeable. 
We constantly saw dead Bucks, and there were especially large numbers of 
kids which had perished from starvation, their mothers having been shot. 
The Dutch farmers made on an average about 2s. 6d. per Buck—6d. for the 
skin, 2s. for the biltong. They enjoyed the sport, made a few sovereigns, 


THE TREK-BOKKE OF THE CAPE COLONY. 217 


and did the country a service. Every farmhouse we came to was simply 
festooned with drying biltong, the ground around being covered with 
pegged-out skins. Many Bucks were being conveyed by waggon to the 
railway, and sent to the large centres: Johannesburg, Cape Town, Kimber- 
ley, Port Elizabeth, and other towns. On our return journey we passed a 
waggon laden with two hundred and thirty Bucks going to Kran Kuil 
Station, and after our arrival at Karree Kloof another passed with eighty 
more. ‘This was going on over a large extent of country; we but saw the 
edges of the trek. Venison of the finest quality in the world was plentiful. 

In the afternoon we gradually left the noise of the hunters behind, and 
drove to quieter quarters, until at length our wish to see large numbers of 
the Bucks was gratified. On driving over a low nek of land a vast, undis- 
turbed, glittering plain lay before us. Our glance at one sweep took in the 
expanse of brown country, bounded in the distance by low kopjes, bathed in 
the wonderful glowing tints of the Karoo ; and throughout its whole extent 
the exquisite Antelopes grazed peacefully in the warm afternoon winter 
sunshine. It was as beautiful as it was wondrous. Undisturbed by the 
hunters, they were not huddled together in separate lots or running in close 
array, but were distributed in one unbroken mass over the whole expanse 
—‘‘not herds,” as Gordon Cumming said, ‘‘ but one unbroken mass of 
Springbucks ”—giving quite a whitish tint to the veld, almost as though 
there had been a very light fall of snow. 

We alighted from the cart, put our rifles aside, and sat down to watch 
them, and take in a sight we most certainly should never see again. We 
were three farmers, accustomed to estimate numbers of small stock, and we 
had an excellent pair of field-glasses. I suggested to my friends that we 
should endeavour accurately to estimate how many Bucks were before us. 
With the aid of the field-glasses we deliberately formed a careful estimate, 
taking them in sections, and checking one another’s calculations. We 
eventually computed the number to be not less than 500,000—half a 
million Springbucks in sight at one moment. I have no hesitation in 
saying that that estimate is not excessive. We were thoroughly accustomed 
to the vast South African veld and the sights it affords, but we sat in silence 
and feasted our eyes on this wonderful spectacle. Now, to obtain some 
rough idea of the prodigious number of Bucks in the whole trek, it must 
be remembered it was computed that they extended twenty-three hours in 
one direction, and from two to three in the other—that is, the whole trek 
occupied a space of country 138 by 15 miles! Of course they were not 
equally dense throughout this area; but when one says they were in 
millions, it is the literal truth. 

Having watched the scene long enough, we started on our homeward 
journey, leaving the Bucks undisturbed. We slept that night at Schilder 


218 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Pan, the farm of Mr. Jackson, who made us most welcome. Chatting about 
the Bucks, Mr. Jackson said we had not seen the densest part of the trek, 
and told us of two incidents which indicated how thick the crowd had been 
on a portion of his farm. His son on one occasion got ahead of the Bucks, 
in a narrow run between some kopjes, down which he knew they were 
coming. They did come, and he only escaped being trampled to death by 
taking shelter behind a large stone, past which they rushed like a torrent. 
He actually shot one within a yard or two of the stone before taking refuge 
behind it. ‘The other incident—it occurred on two occasions—was more 
remarkable. When Springbuck are shot at they all usually begin to run 
in one direction, up the wind as a rule; and, if they are in large numbers 
and hard pressed, they pass in two streams on each side of the object they 
wish to avoid. (When they once take their direction they will keep it. 
Hunters know this well. Shooting near Colesberg, in 1880, we used to 
start the Bucks running, and then ride to head them off. I have thus 
ridden right through a flying herd of only a few hundreds.) When the 
object is very close they pass in front of it in a kind of crescent form, giving 
a little in the centre, and thus closing back towards the original line of their 
flight. As the Karoo veld is very bare and sandy, they often raise, and run 
enveloped in, a cloud of dust. Mr. Jackson was out in his four-in-hand 
Cape-cart shooting Trek-bokke. As he drove along the dense masses began 
to cut across in front of him enveloped in a cloud of dust, which, as the 
numbers thickened and the pace increased, grew denser, and as it grew 
denser and obscured their sight the rushing mass came closer and closer to 
the cart, until at last, in a thick storm of blinding dust, some of the Bucks 
actually ran against the cart-wheels and under the horses’ bellies. A man 
on foot would probably have been knocked down and trampled to death. 
No careful study has, to my knowledge, been made of the habits of the 
Trek-bokke. It is known that they migrate in search of better veld, urged 
thereto by drought. They do not travel fast when doing this, but feed 
along. In some out-of-the-way parts they kid, and when the kids are 
strong enough they return to their own veld, if rain has fallen. If it con- 
tinues dry they do not return at once, but stay on till later in the season, 
or perhaps over another kidding. How they know when it has rained 
where they came from, when perhaps it is dry where they are, one cannot 
say; but it is generally held that, through a subtle sense of smell, they do 
know. Whether the Trek-bokke of forty or fifty years ago or earlier came 
from some particular part of the country and again returned to it, I do not 
know, but I do not think this was the case; it seems more likely that when 
the Bucks were in such countless numbers all over the country they simply 
all moved off together during droughts in search of food. Trek-bokke then 
might have come from any part of the country suffering severely from 


THE TREK-BOKKE OF THE CAPE COLONY. 219 


drought, returning in time, no doubt, each to its particular haunts. I do 
not think that there is any difference between the ‘“ Trek-bokke” and the 
‘“¢ Hou-bokke,” except in the matter of weight, the Trek-bokke averaging 
about 10 lb. to 15 1b. lighter. This difference in weight, however, is 
probably accounted for by the quieter life of the-‘‘ Hou-bokke,” for veld will 
permanently support a few Bucks in good condition where a large number 
would starve. I do not know whether there were “ Hou-bokke” in the 
earlier days. To-day the veld is never so eaten off and destroyed as when 
the Bucks and other game were in such enormous numbers, 8o there is no 
need for the few Bucks now left to migrate. But in the north-west of the 
Colony, and in Great Namaqualand, they are evidently still to be found in 
large numbers, and these, when a severe drought comes, trek into the Karoo 
of the Colony in search of food. As I have said, these Bucks, when trek- 
king down, do not travel fast; but the old Dutch farmers, who should know 
their habits well, say that when they return they travel at a great pace, even 
as fast as one hundred miles a day. How true this is I cannot say; it 
cannot seem impossible to such as know the extraordinary fleetness and 
staying power of these Antelopes. However considered, the Trek-bokken 
are one of the most wonderful occurrences in a wonderful country. Yet it 
is probable that the days of the very large treks are past, and that such a 
sight as we saw in 1896 will never be seen again. 


[Mr. Cronwright-Schreiner informs us he has also sent this communi- 
cation to the ‘ Cape Times. —Ep. ] 


220 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


MAMMALIA. 
RODENTIA. 


An Albino of the Beaver (Castor canadensis),—F rom all accounts by 
those in a position to know, the Beaver seems to be following the Buffalo 
into a precarious existence. Before long now both may have undergone 
the fate of so many other extinct species. It is therefore of importance 
that any items of information about the Beaver should be placed upon 
record. So far as I can find in the limited literature of the subject within 
my reach, no notice seems to have been taken of albinism in the Beaver, 
though doubtless the variation takes place as frequently in the species as 
in other animals. On the walls of the Mansion House of Mavisgrove 
here, there has hung for several generations past a square glazed case which 
contains a very beautiful pure white Beaver skin. Not long ago I had the 
privilege of examining it, and, although it is now one hundred and twenty- 
one years since it was made into a specimen, the skin is still in the best of 
preservation. ‘There is a printed label attached, but the record thereon is 
merely a paraphrase of a written statement, now faded greatly, which is 
gummed to the back of the case. The written document is as follows :— 
“In the year 1777 Mr. Joseph Aimse, the Indian interpreter at Michili- 
mackinac, informed Colonel de Peyster, then Major to the Kings Regt., 
and Commandant of that post, situated at the confluence of the Lakes 
Huron and Michigan, that an Indian had been seen standing for several 
days at the corner of the storehouse, who had just informed him that he 
had been directed by a spirit in the form of an Amik Waubascan (white 
Beaver),* whilst slumbering in the Great Beaver Island, to take his stand 
there, and kill the commandant as he passed; but, finding his heart fail to 
give the fatal blow, he begged to be sent out of that part of the country 
which the commandant refused, but ordered him to go to the island and 
fetch him the white Beaver, which the Indian accordingly did ; and this is 
the skin of it.—(Signed) A. S. DE Peyster.” Apparently this document 
is in the handwriting of Col. Arentz Schuyler de Peyster himself, who, as 
I find from a short biographical notice in McDowall’s ‘ Sketches from 
Nature,’ pp. 314-321, was a Dutchman by extraction, but a Briton by 


* The only white one seen in that part of the country. 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 221 


adoption. His grandfather was a magistrate in Amsterdam, and his father, 
who emigrated to America at an early age, entered the Army, and held for 
years the appointment of Lieutenant-Governor of New York. Col. de Peyster 
entered the Army before he was seventeen years of age, and the best part of 
his military career was spent in Canada. His wife was a Dumfries lady, 
and probably for that reason the last years of his life were spent here. He 
died at Dumfries Nov. 26th, 1822, at the age of ninety-seven, having held 
the Royal Commission for upwards of fourscore years.—RoBEeRT SERVICE 
(Maxwelltown, Dumfries). 

[A white Tiger is reported as having recently been shot in Assam. The 
general colouration of the skin is white, the stripes not being very clearly 
indicated. We read that the skin has been sent to Mr. Newing, a Calcutta 
taxidermist, for preservation.— Hb. | 


AVES. 


White Eggs of Redbreast (Erithacus rubecula)—On the 15th of 
April this year I found a Redbreast’s nest in a bank, containing a pure 
white egg, and at the time of writing there are five, and the bird is sitting. 
The eggs are very round in shape, and greatly resemble a small King- 
fisher’s egg in appearance. I enclose one for inspection. — WM. DELVEs, 
Jun. (Maynard’s Green, Horsham Road, Sussex). 

{Pure white eggs of the Robin are well known, though some collectors 
have never met with them under natural conditions. ‘This bird is now 
very abundant on my part of the Surrey Hills, and Mr. Service informs 
me of the same plentitude near Dumfries, where he has never previously 
seen the nests so numerous.— ED. | 


A Stray Visitor to Kent.—On Saturday morning (April 15th), whilst 
eating my breakfast opposite a window facing my garden, I observed a tiny 
Warbler doing me good service by clearing the aphides from my rose trees. 
The sun was shining, and the bird was only about eight feet distant from 
me, so that I could see it quite distinctly ; it was about the size of a Gold- 
crest, but olive-green above, pale yellow beneath, and with a well-defined 
eye-stripe. If this was not Phylloscopus superciliosus, I can give no name 
to it, for it was far too small for a Chiffchaft or a Willow Warbler, both of 
which I often see either in the spring or autumn in my garden. I watched 
the bird carefully for three or four minutes before it flew away. —A. G. 
BuTierR (Beckenham Road, Beckenham, Kent). 


The Grasshopper Warbler in Breconshire.—As might be expected 
from the nature of the country, the Grasshopper Warbler (Sylvia locustella) 
is not uncommon in Breconshire. We have here most of the conditions in 
which this little summer migrant delights, such as rushy meadows with 


222 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


grass tussocks here and there, neglected fields containing clumps of stunted 
blackthorn bushes and brambles, dingles furnished with little alder bushes, 
and dry wastes of low cover. In places of this kind it nests, and may be 
heard singing during the season, the favourite haunt being round Llangorse 
Lake, where it may be termed common. I first heard the unmistakable 
little trill of this bird when I came to live here fifteen years ago, and found 
the first nest on May 29th, 1886. It was placed in a tuft of rushes, and 
contained five fresh eggs, two of which, with the nest, are now in the 
Natural History Museum, South Kensington. I have since found five 
more nests. Eggs from three sets in my possession are mostly zoned ; 
one clutch taken on June 9th, 1893, is unusually highly coloured. Hvery 
nest is wonderfully well concealed. If it contains eggs the sitting bird 
disappears at once in the nearest cover; if there are young, both birds 
come back and commence creeping and tumbling about, wings and tails 
spread, within three or four yards of a bystander’s feet, uttering a rapid 
metallic “tick.” For some years I tried to shoot a male bird before the 
nesting season, but without success, owing to the persistent way in which it 
keeps out of sight when singing, and have been obliged to content myself 
with a pair of nestlings, which, set up in a nest, make a nice little case. 
With a bird like this, which is often heard but seldum seen, the song is all- 
importaut for identification purposes. In this case it seems to me to be 
precisely like the sound made in drawing out a line from a small Trout 
fishing-reel the check spring of which happens to have the right pitch. 
During fifteen years the earliest date on which I have heard the song is 
April 15th, and the latest July 24th. It is sometimes to be heard in July 
in fields of standing wheat.—H. A. Swainson (Woodlands, Brecon). 


Common Crossbill in Worcestershire.— Whilst rambling over Brake 
Wood, near Churchill, on April 15th last, I noticed a few Crossbills (Loava 
curvirostra) among the Scotch firs, busily employed with the cones. Upon 
making enquiries from the keeper, he stated that he had noticed them there 
for the last three years, sometimes numbering upwards of fifty, though this 
winter not so plentiful. I could not satisfy myself that they were breeding 
there. The cover is only a small one, and gave me a splendid opportunity 
of finding their nest had they been so doing. — J. StwetE-Ewiorr (Hill- 
crest, Clent). 


Cirl Bunting (Emberiza cirlus) in North Cheshire.—On April 12th, 
when walking in some meadows about six miles from Manchester, I noticed 
a bird flying about a low fence close to a railway embankment. I went 
cautiously towards it, keeping close to the fence. The bird kept flying in 
and out of the gaps in the fence, often settling in the grass, and occasionally 
making an attempt at a song. At first the yellow on the head made me 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 298 


think it was only a Yellowhammer, but presently getting a better view, I 
was surprised to see that it was a Cirl Bunting, as I understand that this 
species is very rare in this part of the country. I may add, however, that 
I was informed that another example of this species had been seen only 
about two miles from the spot where I met with the Cirl Bunting. This 
other example was seen in a little-frequented part of the district in the 
summer of 1897 or 1898, my informant distinctly recognizing the species ; 
in fact, | closely cross-examined him on the differences between the Cirl 
Bunting and the common Yellowhammer, but he remained confident that 
he had correctly diagnosed the species. In the meadows alluded to above 
the following Buntings occur regularly : Emberiza citrinella, E. scheniclus, 
and the local EL. miliaris.—Granam RensHaw (Sale Bridge House, Sale, 
Manchester). 


Cuckoos’ Eggs in Nest of Red-backed Shrike.—In Dr. Rey’s inter- 
esting article on Cuckoos’ eggs (ante, pp. 176-8) there is one observation 
which shows how different the habits of the same species may be in 
different countries. I refer to the statement that in the neighbourhood of 
Leipzig 84 per cent. of the Cuckoo’s eggs are found in the nests of the 
Red-backed Shrike, which in England seems to be one of the most 
uncommon foster-parents. During the last four years I have certainly 
seen in situ over thirty nests of the Red-backed Shrike, and have had the 
opportunity of examining the unblown eggs of perhaps twelve or fifteen 
more, not one of which contained a Cuckoo’s egg or a young Cuckoo, 
though Cuckoos and Shrikes abound in the same meadows. A Cuckoo’s 
egg was found here in 1894 in a Shrike’s nest, but there was no other egg, 
and the nest was apparently a deserted one. A friend who knows the 
Shrike well, and has found many nests, is of opinion that a pair of Red- 
backed Shrikes would give a prowling Cuckoo they found in the near neigh- 
bourhood of their nest a warm reception, in which I quite agree with him. 
—Juuian G. Tuck (Tostock Rectory, Bury St. Edmunds). 


Variation in Cuckoos’ Eggs.—After reading Dr. E. Rey’s views as 
to the reason of the great variation in Cuckoos’ eggs (ante, pp. 176-8), it 
struck me that his theory, that the variation is caused by the different 
diet supplied to the nestling Cuckoos by their foster-parents, may not 
generally be accepted by ornithologists as a satisfactory explanation. In 
the first place, it may be questioned whether there is any material differ- 
ence in the diet provided by the various species of foster-parents, for 
even hard-billed birds, e.g. Buntings and Finches, feed their young 
largely on an insectivorous diet. The young Cuckoo would in almost 
every case be reared mainly on an insectivorous diet by its foster-parents, 
and when once it was launched out into the world, and dependent on 


224 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


its own exertions for a food-supply, it would doubtless adopt similar 
habits of feeding. But if it is the difference in the food-supply that 
causes the Cuckoos to lay eggs of varied types, I would ask Dr. Rey to 
explain why the Common Guillemot lays eggs of such wonderful variety ? 
The food of one Guillemot at any rate does not differ from that of another 
Guillemot. I would ask the same question, too, with regard to the eggs of 
the Tree Pipit, a species whose eggs show a very great amount of variation. 
—KH. W. H. Buaae (Cheadle, Staffs). aa, 


Colour of the Bill of the Grey Lag-Goose.—-At a recent meeting of 
the British Ornithologists’ Club, Mr. Caton Haigh asked me what was the 
colour of the bill of a Grey Lag-Goose (Anser cinereus). I answered, as 
probably many other persons interested in ornithology would have done, 
flesh-colour. Now, this last winter I have had opportunities for examining 
twenty freshly killed Grey Lag-Geese, and in no single instance was the 
bill flesh-colour. All the ornithological works that I have been able to 
refer to give the colour as flesh-colour, with the exception of Mr. F. O. 
Morris. I have looked it up in Seebohm’s ‘ British Birds,’ Yarrell, Mr. 
Howard Saunders’s ‘ Manual,’ Prof. Newton’s ‘ Dictionary,’ Col. Irby’s 
‘ List,’ &c., with the same result. All the Geese that I examined were 
killed by me in March, and I took the trouble of catching some wing-broken 
birds alive so that the colour should have no opportunity of fading. Each 
bird had a lemon-coloured bill, almost pale orange, with a narrow flesh- 
coloured line down the centre, and a white nail. Can the explanation be 
that this is the colour only at this time of year, or that all these authors have 
taken the colour from the skins? for after the Geese had been dead some 
days the colour became more as they state. I shall be very glad to hear 
the opinion of naturalists or sportsmen, who may have had chances of 
examining freshly killed specimens, as to the colour of the bill they have 
found, and at what season of the year they have made their observations. 
The weight of the birds killed varied between 63 lb. and 9 lbs., so that it 
is probable that I examined both old and young birds.—H. LeyBorneE 
Popuam (21, Ryder Street, London, S.W.). 

[Macgillivray described the bill of this bird as “ yellowish orange, with 
the unguis white or bluish grey.”— Ep. 


Russian Partridges.—I recently saw, in the shop of a local game- 
dealer, some Russian Partridges with black horseshoes on their breasts. I 
should be glad to know whether these birds come from any particular 
district, as most of the Partridges sold as Russian that I have previously 
noticed have little to distinguish them from English birds.—R. H. Rams- 
BOTHAM (Shrewsbury). 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 225 


Heavy Death-rate of Lapwings.—The month of March, 1899, has 
been notable for having—at least here—the most severe snowstorm which 
has been experienced for well over half a century. The result is that 
considerable disturbance has been caused in the ordinary habits of our 
birds. The occasion has been conspicuously brought to notice by the 
many Lapwings (Vanellus vulgaris) which have been starved to death. 
Twenty were seen dead here within a few yards of each other. Of course 
they rushed towards marshes and water sides for food and shelter; but 
they seem to have succumbed to the severity of the frosts, as they could 
have easily obtained sufficient food to keep them alive, the ground being 
quite fresh about the damp places where they find food in cases of ordinary 
‘* Lapwing storms,” as they are locally called—z. e. storms occurring after the 
arrival of the Lapwings. Others could be seen in a very feeble condition, 
being apparently only capable of flying with great exertion. These birds 
were being threatened with extermination by the prevalence of assiduous 
egg-collecting, until measures were adopted to terminate it by a certain 
date of the year. There is no doubt that these birds have increased in 
numbers since, but this arctic visitation has clearly done much in limiting 
that increase. Lapwings seem to have little notion of impending storms, 
if we judge from the certainty by which a few bright days in early spring 
bring them to their summer resorts. But I may observe that before 
an ordinary spring snowfall they are in the habit of collecting in flocks, 
and apart from being led to any place where available food has a common 
attraction. There is no doubt that such a severe and protracted storm at 
the date mentioned must affect many birds seriously, and the question of 
the particular situation of our various migratory birds must be of value in 
comparing their instinctive powers to keep in their winter quarters until 
that season, in the strict sense, has passed away. The exact date of the 
equivalent here to the present stormy March is 1837, and before that a 
short April storm in 1813. A similar March storm occurred in 1812.— 
Wma. Witson (Alford, Aberdeen, N.B.). 


Nesting of the Common Snipe (Gallinago celestis) near London. — 
It may perhaps interest some of your readers to know that a nest of the 
above species, containing four eggs, was discovered on Expsom Common on 
the 17th of April. I have not heard of the nest of the Snipe from this 
locality for the last five years, and believed that it had deserted this spot, 
which was formerly somewhat favoured by it both in winter and occa- 
sionally in the nesting season. —Jonn A. Bucxnityi (Hylands House, 
Epsom, Surrey). 

Songs of Birds affected by Weather (vide Zool. ante, p. 183).—No 
birds have sung here since I came up on the 8th of April, except one Wren, 

Zool, 4th ser. vol. III., May, 1899. Q 


226 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


and to-day (April 19th) one Chaffinch. Why? Surely, surely the awful 
climatic conditions. The climatic conditions, I consider, may be easily 
imagined by those who live in more favoured climes by the simple state- 
ment, ‘‘ No birds singing”; to which I append the rider: Trout are not in 
condition when birds are not in song, in late seasons like this spring of 
1899.—J. A. Harvie Brown (Drachlaw, Turriff, Aberdeen). 


REPTILIA. 


Notes on the Cape Monitor (Varanus albigularis).— The Cape 
Monitor seems to be fairly plentiful in the Transvaal, judging from this 
district. I have often come upon them basking in the hot sunshine on the 
bank of a “spruit ” (rivulet). When disturbed by a human intruder-they 
will leap into the water with a “flop.” On Aug. Ist, 1898, I found in a 
female twenty-four eggs of a dull white colour, not unlike snake’s eggs, and 
oval in form, about the same thickness as a fowl’s egg, but considerably 
longer. I have seen a couple in confinement for some time now. One 
was an old one (the largest I have seen here), and was quite ugly (presumably 
with age), the skin being rough, the colour very dirty-looking and faded. It 
has been like that ever since it has been in captivity, now some nine months. 
This one measured about four feet in length. It was very sluggish in its 
movements, and, when teased or even approached, would emit a sort of 
hissing sound, and lash out with its tail. I had a younger one also, not 
more than eighteen inches long. This little reptile was very “slippery ” 
and shy. When come upon suddenly in its favourite occupation of lying 
in the hot sun, it would dart in among the stones which formed its home 
like a ‘“ flash of lightning,” figuratively speaking. These specimens lived 
on raw beef, also Crabs and Frogs. Though they had a tank of water, they 
were found more often out of, than in it. -— ALwin C. HaaGner Ona 
Factory, Modderfontein, Transvaal). 

(All the Monitors which I found around Pretoria belonged to the species 
V. niloticus. Iam glad to learn that Mr. Haagner’s experience in keeping 
V. albigularis in captivity was more satisfactory than mine in reference to 
the first named species. — ED. ] 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 


The Foundations of Zoology. By Wm. Keita Brooks, Ph.D., 
LL.D. New York and London: Macmillan & Co. Ltd. 


Tuts volume of the ‘‘ Columbia University Biological Series ” 
perhaps prompts, rather than explains, the question as to what 
are ‘‘ the foundations of Zoology.” Are they to be sought in the 
laboratory, or are they to be derived largely by purely mental pro- 
cesses? Or are physical demonstrations to be allied to, made 
altogether subservient, or treated only as secondary in position to. 
philosophical conceptions? This problem must occur to the 
reader as he studies in these pages the author’s views and com- 
mentaries on the writings of Huxley, Lamarck, Galton, Weis- 
mann, Darwin, Paley, Agassiz, and Berkeley. 

Prof. Brooks has a philosophical position of his own. He is 
clearly not Neo-Lamarckian, a term applied at present to so much 
American speculation; he may be better described as Anti- 
Lamarckian. Heis not a Pyrrhonist, though on many questions 
he gives the verdict only of “not proven.’”’ Perhaps an extract 
may give a better clue to the foundation on which he rears a 
philosophy which is more critical than affirmative, and vibrates 
between the idealistic and materialistic conceptions. ‘‘I am not 
able to answer the question whether, in ultimate analysis, the 
principles of science are physical or metaphysical. I know 
nothing about things ultimate. I do not know what the relation 
between mind and matter is. I do not know whether the 
distinction between ‘things perceived by sense’ and ‘relations 
apprehended by the mind’ is founded in nature or not; but I am 
sure that natural knowledge is useful to me, that it is pleasant, 
and profitable, and instructive; and I must ask whether all this 
does not show that nature is intended ?” 

The main issue is seemingly whether these questions are 
biological or metaphysical; or whether, appertaining to both 


Q 2 


228 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


realms, they can or should be separated? Is it a fact, as Prof. 
Brooks believes, that there is a partial failure of training in bio- 
logical laboratories to make naturalists of the students; and is 
the explanation of that failure ‘‘ the belief that our biology (the 
biology of the present day, and not that of the unknown future) 
ends with the study of the structure and functions of the physical 
basis—the belief that biology is ‘nothing but’ the discovery of 
its physical and chemical properties”? It is at least probable 
that we have also naturalists who are not philosophers, and 
philosophers who are not naturalists. 

Zoology to-day is a science of so wide and exhaustive a 
nature, that its student may indeed form philosophical conclusions, 
while having no time for the wide reading and reflection necessary 
to the acquisition of a mental competency. Aristotle’s knowledge 
of zoology was small indeed compared with what may readily be 
acquired at the present day, but the position is reversed when his 
philosophical method is compared with modern speculative gym- 
nastics. 

This book may be well commended to the perusal of those who 
love debatable matters, and who seek to tread the labyrinth of 
biological speculation. It is a good, but not altogether an easy book 
to read. It is not assertive, but rather argumentative; it often 
quotes only to question, and frequently details a proposition to 
show its weakness. Sometimes we ponder over such a conclusion 
as the following :—‘ Biology is not aclosed science, and Darwin’s 
view of the matter is not proved—possibly is not provable; but 
its great value is in the proof that there is no shadow of evidence 
for any other view.” Does not this constitute Herbert Spencer's 
canon of truth—or proof—by the inconceivableness of the con- 
trary ? The great importance of these works is that they do not 
entreat assent, but demand consideration; their mission is not so 
much to convince as to promote thought :— Scientific men who 
are not zoologists are fond of telling us science has nothing to 
do with the Why ? and is concerned only with the How? but, in 
zoology, it is often easy to discover why an action is performed, 
while we are very ignorant of the structural conditions under 
which it takes place.” 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 229 


The Penycuik Experiments. By J. C. Ewart, M.D., F.R.S., &c. 
Adam & Charles Black. 


Tue title of this book may sound a little outs to some bio- 
logists to-day, but cannot be misunderstood in the course of a 
few years, when the breeding experiments of Prof. Ewart will be 
more generally known to zoological science. Our readers will 
remember a paper “On Zebra-Horse Hybrids,” which appeared 
in these pages last year, and which in the ‘Penycuik Experi- 
ments’ is reproduced. Penycuik is the Midlothian abode of 
Prof. Ewart, who has now for some years followed the breeding 
investigations that so long occupied Darwin; and though to the 
general public these are better known as the Zebra hybrid 
experiments, much valuable work has been done with Pigeons, 
Fowls, Dogs, and Rabbits. The result, as might be expected, 
leads to another nail in the coffin of our old fetish ‘‘ species,”’ and 
the dogma as to its immutability. ‘‘ Among plants, hybrids are 
sometimes quite fertile; while some crosses are quite, or almost, 
sterile. There is no hard and fast line between species and 
varieties, and hence there can be no fundamental difference 
between a hybrid and a cross, nor yet any a@ priort reason why 
any given hybrid should be sterile, or any given cross fertile. It 
is no longer possible to contend that species were originally 
endowed with mutual sterility, by way of preventing the con- 
fusion that would result from free interbreeding.” 

Prof. Ewart recognizes three distinct types of Zebras :— 
Equus grevyi, EL. zebra, and EL. burchelli, which, ignoring the now 
generally considered extinct EH. quagga, 1s in agreement with the 
views of Mr. Pocock (cf. Zool. 1897, p. 380). He has bred nine 
Zebra hybrids by crossing mares of various sizes (from 11 to 15 
hands) and breeds with his Zebra stallion, and possesses also 
three hybrids out of Zebra mares, one sired by a donkey, the 
other two by Ponies. The importance of these experiments is 
clearly seen by the separate considerations and discussions on 
such interesting biological problems or suggestions as-——Rever- 
sion, Prepotency and Inbreeding, Telegony, Saturation, and 
Sterility; while the conclusion is reached that “there is ob- 
viously no real difference between cross-fertilization and inter- 
crossing. Whether we interbreed or intercross, engage in ‘line’ 


230 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


breeding or ‘cross’ breeding, we are making use of cross- 
fertilization. Further, I may add, the difference between inter- 
crossing and hybridizing is one of degree, not of kind.” 

This book is beautifully illustrated, characteris eat bound, 
and, unfortunately, unprovided with an index. 


Wild Animals I have Known. By Ernest SETON THompsoNn. 
New York City: C. Scribner’s Sons. 


Mr. THompson is the Carlyle of the animal world outside 
man: he sees the Zingis Khan, the Attila, the Napoleon among 
his Wolves, the Rachel among his Foxes, the bandit chief leading 
his Dogs. ‘‘ What satisfaction would be derived from a ten-page 
sketch of the habits and customs of Man? How much more 
profitable it would be to devote that space to the life of some one 
great man. This is the principle I have endeavoured to apply 
to my animals.’’ Thus we have a few vivid and brilliant sketches 
of animal life which we should unhesitantly describe as a new 
departure in fiction, were we not warned in a ‘‘ Note to the 
Reader,” “these stories are true.” We are not led to the 
sceptical position by any unreality of the narrative, but rather 
marvel at the psychological sympathy with, and apprehension of, 
ideas and conceptions which are so commonly described as 
belonging to the instincts of brutes. The story of the King-wolf 
Lobo, who remains unconquered by his many justly-incensed 
enemies, and who by his cunning, or intellect, defies all their 
stratagems, till the death of his loved bitch Blanca renders him 
reckless, and proves his undoing, is only another story of the 
rise and fall of the great and much-admired man-wolf amongst 
ourselves. The Dog Bingo that must go wolfing, but comes 
home to die; the Fox Vix, courageous to frenzy on behalf of her 
young, are amongst some of the strongest characters of this 
more than interesting book. We are often warned against. 
ascribing our own mental processes to other animals, and thus 
forming erroneous conclusions as to their cognitions and psycho- 
logy. Do we not rather greatly err on the other side? Is it 
not more reasonable to argue that we have indeed passed on, but 
that in leaving them behind we have not altogether severed our 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 231 


common cognitions? The perusal of this book, with its altogether 
charming illustrations, must tend to lead to a better under- 
standing. One remark expresses the keystone to much modern 
speculation: ‘‘ No wild animal dies of old age. Its life has soon 
or late a tragic end. It is only a question of a long it can 
hold out against its foes.” 


Report of Observations of Injurious Insects and Common Farm 
Pests during the years 1897 and 1898. By ExEeanor A. 
Ormerop, F.R.Met.Soc., &. Two Parts. Simpkin, 
Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., Limited. 


SINCE we noticed the Report for 1896, two more of these 
annual contributions to economic entomology have appeared. 
They are written with the same care and thoroughness as dis- 
tinguished their predecessors, and exhibit the same voluntary 
and enthusiastic devotion to the study which is likely, in a 
material sense, to reward readers and students rather than 
authoress. ‘I'wo welcome announcements are made. A general: 
index to the long series of reports which have now been pub- 
lished—twenty-two in all—will shortly be issued; and Miss 
Ormerod has now secured the co-operation of Mr. Robert 
Newstead, of the Grosvenor Museum, Chester, whose power of 
microscopic observation and delineation, with a special knowledge 
of the Coccide, must prove of a helpful character. 

The work of Miss Ormerod is not confined to the publication 
of these Reports, but is also engaged in the management of what 
may be called a private consulting economic bureau on insect 
pests and their depredations. In 1897, we read that the corre- 
spondence “amounted approximately to about three thousand 
letters received’’; and as these may be considered as mostly in the 
nature of enquiries, this scientific eniererise pursued privately by 
one lady is probably unique. 

The Forest Fly (Hippobosca equina), the pernicious Horse 
pest, whose presence up to 1895 was considered in this country 
to be wholly confined to the New Forest or its vicinity, has now 
been only too clearly demonstrated to have established itself in 
the south of South Wales. Hay imported from South America 
contains very frequently specimens of the Migratory Locust 


232 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


(Acridium (Schistocerca) paranense); in one case the average was 
a Locust to a pound of the Alfalfa (Lucerne) hay which was 
landed from Buenos Ayres; in another instance there were no 
fewer than two hundred specimens in one truss. Such food, it 
need scarcely be pointed out, is at least highly suspect for 
Horses. We might multiply extracts to show that these reports 
are of the first interest to agriculturists, farmers, and rearers of 
stock, whilst to the naturalist and entomologist they embody a 
series of faithful life-histories. 


A Text-Book of Agricultural Zoology. By Frrp. V. THEOBALD, 
M.A., &&. Wm. Blackwood & Sons. 


Nor only the farmer and the agriculturist, but also that 
numerous class whose urban prosperity permits rural residence 
and pursuits, frequently seek—and sometimes vainly—for some 
authentic information respecting the animal friends and foes 
with whom they are brought in contact. As a rule, farmers are 
not zoologists, nor are all country residents naturalists, conse- 
quently the few books which now exist on the subject—and we 
must not overlook Miss Ormerod’s excellent contributions—may 
be well supplemented. Mr. Theobald’s profusely illustrated 
volume is a compilation which contains much scientific matter 
over and above animal biography and narrative. It grapples 
largely with modern animal classification, detailing some anatomy, 
but more physiology. And as the book is likely to fall into 
the hands of those who have received no particular biological 
instruction, it should serve a good purpose. To such readers 
it is most opportune to show that zoology and botany are only 
divorced sections of natural history, not necessarily distinct 
sciences. When Mr. Theobald discusses animals and plants, he 
is forced to acknowledge :—‘“‘In fact, there is no hard-and-fast 
line to be drawn between these two organic groups. Such lowly 
creatures as Volvox are treated by botanists as plants, whilst. the 
zoologist includes them in the Protozoa.”’ Organic nature lends 
herself to the systematiser; or she could neither be studied nor 
understood, but she still remains one and indivisible. 

A good word is said for the usefulness of those furred and 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 238 


feathered creatures which the gamekeepers have classed under 
the section *‘ vermin,’ and have sentenced to extermination. It 
is, however, probable that those worthy and energetic men are 
not likely to read these pages, or to agree with them if they did. 

‘‘'The prevention of vermiceous diseases”’ is the subject 
matter of Appendix I. In some respects, in perusing this section, 
we seem to be again reading some of the modern injunctions for 
preventing the spread of phthisis among ourselves. Diseases, 
“such as husk, are spread by the embryos being brought up in 
the mucus from the air-passages; these germs are scattered 
about upon the ground, and thus sow the seeds for numbers of 
other lambs and sheep to obtain. When that spasmodic cough 
so characteristic of ‘hoose’ is heard, it is surely advisable to 
remove the animal, and so prevent it from contaminating the 
ground.” : 


234 THE. ZOOLOGIST. 


EDILORIAL GLEANINGS. 


Proressorn OTHNIEL CHARLES Marsu, of Yale University, died at New 
Haven, March 18th, in the sixty-eighth year of his:age. ,He was born at’ 
Lockport, New York, in 1831,-and was graduated at Yale in 1860. He> 
subsequently -studied several years under leading specialists in Europe, 
returning to New Haven in 1866, where he has since occupied the chair of 
Paleontology. He has long been recognized throughout the world as one 
of the leading authorities in vertebrate paleontology. His explorations in 
various parts of the West for fossil vertebrates began in 1868, and in sub- 
sequent years he amassed the immense collections which have been so long’ 
famous. The results of his investigations have been published in a long 
series of papers and memoirs, numbering nearly three hundred titles, 
covering a period of more than twenty-five years. His unrivalled collec- 
tions of fossils, as yet only partly worked up, he presented to Yale Uni- 
versity, with a considerable endowment for carrying on and publishing the 
results of further investigation of this great mass of material. Prof. Marsh 
is well known to ornithologists for his numerous publications on fossil 
North American birds, including his great quarto memoir ‘ Odontornithes : 
a Monograph of the Extinct Toothed Birds of North America,’ published 
in 1880. Probably five-sixths of the known extinct North American birds 
have been described by Prof. Marsh. His scientific work brought him 
many honours both at home and abroad. In 1878 he was chosen President 
of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and from 
1883 to 1896 he was President of the National Academy of Sciences 
(The * Auk’). 


WE regret to announce the death of Joseph Wolf, eulogized by Land- 
seer himself as ‘‘ without exception the best all-round animal painter that 
ever lived.” Many obituary notices have appeared in our current press, 
but a particularly full and excellent résumé of his life’s work has appeared 
in the ‘ Field,’ from which we extract the following :— 

‘Born at Moerz, near Coblenz, in 1820, the son of a farmer, his 
powers of observation and delineation of animal life were made manifest at 
an early age, and his talent as a draughtsman soon obtained employment 
for him. 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 235 


“The first work which brought the artist’s name prominently before 
the scientific world was Riippell’s ‘ Systematische Uebersicht der Vogel 
Nordost Afrikas,’ published in 1845, in which some fifty African birds are 
depicted in attitudes which contrast strongly with the stiff and unnatural 
positions in which previous artists were wont to portray their subjects. We 
look upon these illustrations as instituting the renaissance period in 
ornithological drawing. In 1850 appeared Temminck.and Schlegel’s 
quarto volumes on the fauna of Japan, which, with Wolf’s coloured plates, 
still constitute one of the best illustrated works on natural history. Quickly 
following this came Schlegel’s grand ‘ Traité de Fauconnerie,’ in folio, with 
life-size portraits by Wolf of all the Hawks employed by falconers. Each 
one of these is a study which deserves attention. 

“The late Mr. G. R. Gray’s standard work, in three volumes quarto, 
on the ‘ Genera of Birds,’ a copy of which cannot now be obtained under 
£30, was partly illustrated by Joseph Wolf, in consequence of the accept- 
ance of a foreign appointment by the late Mr. Mitchell, the former secretary 
of the Zoological Society, who had been working at it jointly with Gray, 

‘‘ Those who are familiar with the magnificent folio works of Gould.on 
the ‘ Birds of Asia’ and the ‘ Birds of Great Britain’ will recognize in 
many of the life-like coloured plates the handiwork and talent of Joseph 
Wolf; while the same remark will apply to Elliot’s grand volumes, also in. 
folio, on the Pheasants, Birds of Paradise, the Birds of North America, and 
the Felide or Cat family. 

“More than half a century ago the Zoological Society of London, 
recognizing Wolf's extraordinary talent in depicting animal life, secured 
his services to illustrate their periodical publications, and from that time 
forward the ‘ Proceedings’ and ‘ Transactions’ of the Society have teemed 
with the life-like productions of his pencil. Visitors to the picture gallery 
over the reptile house at the Zoological Gardens can scarcely fail to have 
been struck with his remarkable ‘ Zoological Sketches,’ which were produced 
under the auspices of the Society, and there adorn the walls. In the 
numerous coloured plates which have illustrated the ‘Ibis’ from the com- 
mencement of that quarterly journal of ornithology in 1859, we have 
another example of the artist’s wondrous skill in the delineation of birds. 

“‘We may pass over the many large works, both in oils and water- 
colour, which have passed from the easel to the private cabinets of those 
who know well how to appreciate them, because, although we have had the 
privilege of seeing many of them, the public have had no opportunity, as. 
with the exhibited works of other artists, to judge of their merits. We 
may remind our readers, however, that numerous works on sport and 
natural history have been entirely illustrated by Joseph Wolf. Of these 
we may name Anderson's ‘Lake Ngami,’ Livingstone’s ‘ Missionary 


236 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Travels,’ Atkinson’s ‘ Amoor-land,’ Emerson Tennent’s ‘ Ceylon,’ and the 
same author’s ‘ Wild Elephant,’ Baldwin’s ‘ African Hunting,’ Col. Walter 
Campbell’s ‘Indian Journal,’ Bates’s ‘ Naturalist on the Amazon,’ and 
Wallace’s ‘ Malay Archipelago’; while many beautiful full-page plates from 
his pencil adorn the works of Lewis Lloyd, A. E. Knox, Henry Stevenson, 
Philip Gosse, Canon Tristram, Professor Newton, and the Duke of Argyll. 
Nor should we omit to notice his ‘ Life and Habits of Wild Animals,’ 
which appeared in 1874, illustrated from his designs, engraved by Whymper, 
with descriptive letterpress by D. G. Elliot.” 


Mr. J. AntHuR THomson, Extramural Lecturer on Zoology in Edin- 
burgh, has been appointed to succeed the late Prof. Alleyne Nicholson as 
Regius Professor of Natural History in the University of Aberdeen. 


Our contributor Mr. F. Coburn has recently written, in the ‘ Birming- 
ham Daily Post,’ on the subject of the Public Natural History Collection in 
Birmingham, which included, or rather consisted of, the collection of speci- 
mens formed by the late Dr. Sands Cox. ‘ The loss the city has sustained 
through not possessing a properly appointed natural history museum, pre- 
sided over by a competent curator, at the time when this great collection 
was handed over to the custody of our authorities, is absolutely irreparable, 
and the fate which has befallen the bulk of that collection forms one of the 
strongest arguments which could be advanced for the establishment of a 
museum, for there are still a few gems left in that collection which ought 
to be saved. ‘This collection must have cost its founder almost a fabulous 
sum of money, for it was peculiarly rich in forms which were most difficult 
to procure in those days. The collection of British birds was “a very fair 
one, but its greatest .value lay in the African, Indian, Australian, New 
Zealand, and New Guinea forms, some of which are now totally extinct, 
while others are on the verge of extermination.” 

Amongst its present treasures is the Nestor productus, or Phillip Island 
Parrot. This “is one of the greatest treasures which any museum in the 
world can hope to possess, as it is now generally admitted to be totally 
extinct ; and, according to Professor Newton (‘ Dictionary of Birds,’ p. 224), 
only about twelve skins, exclusive of the Birmingham specimen, are known 
to exist in the world. Thus it becomes a far greater rarity than even the 
Great Auk, a specimen of which was recently purchased by the Edinburgh 
Museum for, I think, 350 guineas, this being considered a very low figure. 
There are over sixty skins of the Great Auk known to exist, against about 
a dozen of Nestor productus. Its great value, therefore, is apparent at 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 237 


once. I should say that at a very modest estimate the skin is worth at 
least 600 guineas. There are a good many who, I have no doubt, would 
put it down at 1000 guineas. Here then is a veritable gem, the possession 
of which alone ought to act as a powerful lever in inducing the Council to 
provide a proper museum in which to house it. It is, I believe, now locked 
up in an iron safe in the possession of Mr. Whitworth Wallis.” In this 
collection there appears to have been a most formidable weeding-out process. 


In the ‘Zambesi Mission Record,’ a Catholic publication, we notice an 
interesting article by Father O’Neil, S.J., on “ Some interesting Beetles,”’ 
as observed in South Africa. ‘‘ Tockies’ are large heteromerous beetles, 
generally black or brown in colour. They have been called ‘ Tockies’ in 
consequence of a habit they have of knocking loudly on the ground to 
attract their mates. Let us watch one of these insects walking about in 
search of a partner. It advances a few paces, then stops, and, raising a 
rather unwieldly body on its long legs, gives four or five rapid knocks in 
succession. ‘Then there is a pause, a further advance, and the knocking 
is repeated. After a bit answering knocks are heard, and our Tocky sets 
to work knocking most vigorously to aid in the determination of his where- 
abouts. As might be expected, the Tockies have given rise to many a 
ghost story. Though they walk about a good deal during the daytime, they 
are especially active at night; and, when doors are left open after dark, 
will frequently enter the bedrooms. Then in the dead of the night some 
unfortunate individual is awakened by a loud knock, knock, knock. If he 
be cf a nervous. disposition, and unfamiliar with our rapping friends, the 
result can be imagined. I know a pious gentleman who one night was 
firmly persuaded that one of the holy souls had come knocking for prayers. 
Here in Dunbrody the Tockies are often very troublesome, owing to the 
fact that our ceilings consist of thin laths, which make glorious sounding 
boards. One particular kind of Tocky will insist upon climbing up the 
walls of the house, and hammering away overhead at night time. More 
than one member of the community, myself among the number, have been 
kept awake during the greater part of the night by an almost uninterrupted 
tattoo. The noise the beetle makes when exercising itself on these laths 
is just like a loud knocking at a door. Not long ago one of them started 
rapping overhead about supper time. ‘Come in,’ cried the reverend 
father, whose room adjoins mine. ‘ Knock, knock, knock,’ replied the 
Tocky. ‘Come in,’ shouted his reverence this time. My laughter un- 
fortunately put a stop to the fun. I must not dismiss the Tockies with- 
out alluding to their omnivorous quality. Though it generally feeds on 
plants of one kind or another, the beetle seems to be capable of devouring 


238 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


almost anything. It is quite common to see one of them dining off a 
departed brother.”*) | | 


eee 


_ We have received the Annual Report of the Millport Marine Biological 
Station for 1898:—‘‘ The Committee are now in a position to give an account 
of the first year of the actual working of the Station. Under these 
circumstances they consider the Report of 1898 to be of great importance, 
seeing that it is the first which provides data from actual experience by 
means of which a forecast of the future success of the Station may. with 
some degree of certainty be.drawn. They feel that they have every reason 
to be satisfied with the results of this crucial year. They can report good 
progress, not only, in regard to the numbers who visited the Robertson 
Museum, and to the degree in which the facilities afforded by the Laboratory 
were utilized by scientific workers, but also in regard to the measure of 
public support accorded to the scheme. From the Curator’s Report it will 
be seen that there were over eight thousand visitors to the Nobertson 
Museum during the past year, and that tables in the Laboratory were 
utilized for terms varying from a week to a month on thirty-eight different 
occasions. During the past year many additions have been made to the 
Station, especially in the Laboratory Department, where good sets of 
reagents, dissecting-troughs, and vessels have been provided. <A dark room 
for photographic purposes has been constructed. A system of heating the ~ 
Laboratory and Museum by hot-water pipes has been carried out. Out- 
buildings for work and store-rooms have been built, and the laying down of 
a jetty near the Station will be carried out as soon as possible. An apparatus 
for keeping up continuous motion in a number of vessels has been fitted up, 
&c.. The carrying out of an efficient.system of heating was a work of very great 
importance. _ During the previous winter, partly owing to the newness. of 
the building and to its situation near the shore, and partly also to the 
method of heating then in. use, a portion of the Robertson Collection, in 
particular the Foraminifera and Ostracoda, suffered from damp. Mrs. 
Robertson set herself to the arduous task of cleaning and remounting the 
whole of these specimens. It is matter for congratulation that no such 
injury can now happen to the collection, as it was matter for regret that it 
ever did occur.” 


CoLcHESTER has its Oyster feast, Greenwich its Whitebait dinner, and 
now Great Yarmouth, on the 10th of last December, held its inaugural 
** Sprat Banquet.” From a“ Souvenir” which has been published detailing 
this function we find some facts relating to Clupea sprattus which are at 


* Beetle” is evidently here alluded to.—ED. 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 239 


least interesting. According to Mr. Edward T. Ayers, ‘‘ Sprat fishing is 
not followed in Yarmouth, though the fish is found in large shoals off the 
coasts of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and Kent. In summer it is said to 
inhabit the deep water, and then in roe, and to be in highest: perfection as 
food when the season for fresh Herrings has closed, and it does not visit us 
until November approaches. Southwold on the Suffolk coast and its 
neighbourhood have long been celebrated for Sprat catching and curing: 
Some fine and delicious Sprats were a few years ago taken in: the South 
Ham at the entrance of Yarmouth Harbour, and the Yarmouth Herring 
curers are also good hands at curing Sprats.” 

Our contributor, Mr. A. Patterson, has of course some information ‘to 
afford. ‘* Clupea sprattus runs to ebout 5} in. in length. . Three are 
recorded ‘in January, 1882, off Aldeburgh, over 64 in. long. It spawns 
locally in the eatly spring, the time varying a little in different localities. 
On Feb. 29th, 1896, an unusual catch of Sprats occurred; some were 
found full of roe. In Scotland it is known as the Garvie ; by the Geiman 
as die Sprott; Duteh, Sprot ; Swedish, Skarpsil ; French, le Melet and 
l’Esprot ; and Welsh, Coog Bennog. In habits it is gregarious; generally 
in big shoals; in cold weather it nears the shore—differing from the 
Herring and Pilchard, which retire to deeper waters. It may be located 
by the hosts of Gulls and other sea-birds which follow it eagerly, devouring 
myriads. In turn the Sprat preys on minute crustaceans, the transparent 
Opossum Shrimp (Mysis chameleon) iu particular, which teems in certain 
localities. A small parasitic entomostracean (Lerneonema ‘monilaris) 1s 
often found attached to its eye. ‘lhis creature, which so anchors itself 
with its long trailing thread-like ovaries, is of a beautiful green colour, 
and more interesting to the naturalist than to its unfortunate possessor. 
Fishermen call them ‘ Lantern Jacks,’ and believe that the bearers of the 
‘ Lantern Jacks’ are the pilots of the shoal.” 

A speaker at the banquet gave a very dispiriting account of last year’s 
Herring fishing. ‘‘ Unfortunately 1898 had proved one of the worst of 
seasons for the Herring fishing. The catch was 4000 lasts less than last 
year, which meant a loss of some £30,000 to.the catchers and boat-owners, 
and of from £8000 to £10,000 to the workpeople,. all of which would have 
been spent in Yarmouth and the district. Moreover, this year ‘the 
Herrings had been of.very poor description,.the worst for many. years in 
point of size and quality. Yarrnouth had. never failed of. its Herring 
fishing except in bad weather. The Herrings were always here. Some 
people thought trawlers did the Herring harm. He did not think it, 
because smacks trawled up not only flat fish, but Haddock and Dog-fish, 
which were the iiniaod enemies of the Herring, consuming immense 
quantities of spawn.’ 


240 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Tue London School Board have now the subject of Natural History ~ 
Collections before them. The following extracts are from the ‘ Daily 
Mail’:—‘‘ Tempting as may seem the offer of the entire contents of a 
museum for £51, some members of the London School Board (March 2nd) 
seemed disinclined to purchase on the principle that it was too cheap to be 
good. |We are entirely of that opinion.—Ep. Zool.] The collection in 
question is at present in the possession of the Shoreditch Public Libraries 
Committee, and consists inter alia of :—Twenty-four cases of birds intact ; 
9 cases of birds broken, the whole being somewhat dirty ; 228 birds un- 
mounted, badly preserved, and probably not worth the trouble of mounting ; 
15 Emu and 20 Guillemot eggs; 291 eggs and 14 nests; 14 boxes of 
egos; 68 jars of reptiles; 57 boxes of shells; cabinet of Lepidoptera 
(cabinet in bad condition, and the specimens attacked by mites); 43 boxes of 
Lepidoptera, 32 of Coleoptera, 8 of Hymenoptera, and other Lepidopteral 
rubbish ; 26-drawer cabinet of minerals, fossils, and shells (cabinet very 
bad); 28 boxes of minerals, very dirty and unclassified; 2 cases and 2 
cabinets of minerals; a collection of polished pebbles, garnets, &c., about 
11 tons in weight ; groups of coral, coins in cases, cases of medals, bones, 
tiles, glass jars, boxes, &c. One member was very sceptical as to the worth 
of the museum. He asked if the word ‘mite’ was not a misprint for 
‘ mice,’ but was informed, amid laughter, that ‘ mite is right.’ In the end 
the Board resolved to purchase mites and all, provided one and a half tons 
of loose fossils were thrown in. The whole collection, it was stated, cost 
about £1000.” | 


TueE Rev. J. Conway Walter has contributed some interesting notes on 
« Fox and Dog Hybrids near Horncastle,” to the April issue of ‘ The 
Naturalist.’ Mr. Walter exhibited, at the meeting of the Lincolnshire 
Naturalists’ Union in 1897, a case containing two stuffed specimens of a 
cross between a Fox and a Dog, the sire being a male Fox (Vulpes vulpes), 
and the mother a half-bred bitch between Shepherd Dog and Whippet. The 
mother was bought by M. Suchetet with a view to further experiments. 
Since then several similar hybrids have been produced in the same neigh- 
bourhood. In one case, at Ashby Puerorum, a farm-bailiff, named Cross, 
tied his Shepherd bitch near a Fox-earth, and the one pup reared is now in 
the possession of Mr. Frank Dymoke, of Scrivelsby Park. In another case 
a gamekeeper near Louth tied a bitch in a wood, in the nutting season, to 
give warning of trespassers, and subsequently the bitch had pups, evidently 
a cross with a Fox. One of these is now in the possession of Mr. Waltham, 
dealer in china, High Street, Horncastle. Another is in the possession of 
Mr. E. Walter, farmer, of Hatton, a cousin of Mr. Stafford Walter, who bred 
the original hybrids, which were exhibited in 1897. 


THE ZOOLOGIST 


No. 696.—June, 1899. 


THE NESTING OF THE BLACK KITE (MILVUS 
MIGRANS) IN THE TERRITORY OF VERONA. 


By Count Errore ARRIGONI DEGLI ODDI, 
Member of the Royal Venetian Institute of Sciences. 


Tue Black Kite (Milvus migrans, Boddaert)* has, until now, 
been considered a bird rarely seen in any part of Italy, occurring 
in some places as a rare straggler, and almost unknown; in 
others as a breeding species, but without becoming permanently 
established. 


* Mr. Seebohm (‘ British Birds,’ vol. 1. p. 80), after having criticised 
Messrs. Newton and Dresser, who call this species by the name of M. 
migrans, Boddaert (1783), and Dr. Sharpe, who called it M. korschun, 
Gmelin (1771), adds that some future ornithologist, evincing more zeal than 
discretion, may adopt the name of M. milano, Gerini (1767), in homage to 
the law of priority. Mr. Seebohm has here fallen into a singular error ; the 
bird drawn by Gerini on plate i. No. 38, of vol. i. of his remarkable work, 
‘La Storia degli Uccelli,’ is not our M. migrans, but simply a variety of 
Buteo vulgaris, and the identical bird which Savi elevated to the rank of 
specific rank under the title of Falco pojana. Italian ornithologists all agree 
in referring Gerini’s milano to Buteo vulgaris, and they place the same 
name under the synonyms of this species. Gerini speaks of M. migrans in 
the course of his work, but under the title of ‘‘ Falco detto Nibbio nero.” 
These are his words (l.c. p. 71) :—‘‘ Falco detto Nibbio nero, Falx = Falco 
Milvus niger Schwenk et Sibbald, &. Asturis magnitudine, remigibus 
majoribus nigris, cauda supra fusca, collo et uropygio albicantibus; cera 
lutea, rostro nigro, pedibus gracilioribus luteis.”” He does not mention it as 


Zool, 4th ser. vol. III., June, 1899. R 


242 THE ZOOGOGTST. 


The following are the principal opinions of our ornithologists 
as to the appearance of the Black Kite in Italy :— 

ITALY GENERALLY. — Salvadori, T.*: This Kite is rare in 
Italy; still there is scarcely a province in which it has not been 
found, and it has even bred in several places. Savi, P.t: “It is 
very rare in almost every part of Italy,” &c. He says that it 
lives constantly along the Riviera di Levante on the mountains. 
Gigliolif: A rare species in Italy, but it has been found in 
small numbers everywhere in the central and southern regions, 
in which it has also bred, &c. Idem§: It is not a common 
species, but perhaps resident in Italy, in all parts of which a — 
few individuals have been taken. Salvadori, T.||: A summer 
bird, but raré; it has nested in some localities. Martorelli, 
G.4{[: ‘* The Black Kite cannot be said to be common in any part 
of Italy, though it breeds in some localities. . .. It is much 
more easily found in our country in the fine than in the bad 
season, and it is therefore a summer bird, and one of passage.” 
Continuing, the author says that Giglioli had five examples of 
the Black Kite, caught at one and the same time at Lanzo. I 
cannot tell how Martorelli could have made such a blunder, for 
the renowed Professor of Florence says:— ‘‘In the Central 
Italian collection I have eight specimens, caught at Lanzo 
(October), Nice (December), Genoa (July), Florence (autumn), 
Terracina (April, May); so that the eight specimens were taken 
in the five above-mentioned localities. This species is not cited 
as Italian in the ‘ Storia Naturale degli Uccelli.’ 

PiemMontTE.—It is omitted by Bonelli; considered rather rarer 
than Milvus ictinus by Camusso. Giglioli speaks of an adult 
male which he had from the neighbourhood of Turin, May 15th, 
1886. 

LomparpiA.— Monti states that the Black Kite is rare at 
Como; he notes a specimen from Lugano. Messrs. Prada, 
Mazza, and Pavesi record this species from the Province of 


an Italian species; he only adds, like Brisson, ‘‘ Mures et Locustas in agris 
inquirit ; Pullos tamen Avium adhuc volandi impotentes avidissime rapit.” 
* Faun. d’Italia, 1. Uccelli, p. 13 (1872). ; 
+ Orn. Toscana, vol. i. p. 88 (1827), | Elenco, p. 40 (1881). 
§ Avif. Ital. n. 245, p. 248 (1886). || Elenco Uce. Ital. p. 47 (1887). 
§{] Monogr. Uce. Rap. d’Ital. p. 116 (1895). 


NESTING OF THE BLACK KITE IN VERONA. 245 


Pavia; Zanni and Bettoni record it for Brescia ; Paglia records it 
for Mantovano; Ferragni for Cremona; Carlini does not record it 
for Valtellina ; Pavesi excludes it from the region of Tessin, but 
Riva* had previously recorded a single specimen. Authors 
agree in saying that itis rare in these places, except Ferragni, } 
who says that in the Province of Cremona it is scarce, but passes 
regularly in May. 

VENETIAN TreRRITORY.—Count Ninnif says :—‘‘ It lives in the 
wood of Cansiglio, but it is not certain that it nests there. It 
has nested in the wood of the Marquis of Canossa at Grezzan 
(Perini).” Naccari does not record the Black Kite from Venetian 
territory, and Contarini refers to it as a rare bird. Nuinni had a 
nestling, but he calls it an accidental visitor, and very rare. A 
specimen from the Province of Treviso, caught at the mouth of 
the Sile, is preserved in Scarpa’s collection. I have mentioned a 
specimen killed at Vigodarzere on May 25th, 1885. We do not 
find it mentioned among the birds of the Province of Belluno 
(Doglioni), nor among those of Friuli (Vallon, Pirona); but 
recently my friend Professor Tellini has included this species 
among those which are probably caught in the aforesaid region, 
but which cannot yet be declared as such for certain. It is not 
noticed among the birds of Bassano (Baseggio), nor among those 
of the Province of Rodigino (Dal Fiume). We have no precise 
information for the Province of Vicenza. As for Verona, Perini,§ 
an author who cannot always be relied upon, wrote, in 1858, that, 
during a period of fifteen years, he had only succeeded in 
observing two examples of the Black Kite. ‘‘ We are assured, 
however,” he adds, ‘‘by the Marquis Bonaventura, of Canossa, 
that this Kite breeds in his wood at Grezzan, where it lays from 
three to four eggs of a yellowish white colour, with obscure spots 
very close to one another.” In his edition of 1874 the same 
author remarks: ‘‘ It is rare in our Province ; its nest has, how- 
ever, been found sometimes,” without naming a locality. De 
Betta says it is rare, and, relying simply on Perini, states that it 
has bred in Canossa’s wood. I do not find the Black Kite 

* Orn. Ticinese, p. 63 (1865). 
+ In Gigholi, Avif. Ital. vol. i. p. 400 (1889). 
} Cat. Ucc. del Veneto, in Comment. ecc. 1. p. 9 (1868). 
§ Uccelli Veronesi, p. 15 (1858). 
R 2 


244 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


mentioned in Garbini’s works, but this author has applied him- 
self only to water-animals (aquatic animals). Lastly, Dal Nero, 
in an article contributed to the ‘ Bollettino Agrario Veronese’ of 
1892, mentions the appearance of A. migrans in the Province of 
Verona; he says that itis rare and appears casually, that it is 
seen in very irregular numbers, and that it breeds at Grezzano. 
All these authors therefore agree in admitting the appearance 
and breeding of this Kite at Grezzano as an exceptional circum- 
stance. Kolombatovich, Schiavuzzi, and Bonomi call the Black 
Kite a rare species in Dalmatia and in the Tyrol. 

Emin1a. — Bonizzi, Doderlein, Carruccio, and Picaglia say 
that the Black Kite is rare in this region. 

Marcue.—It is not mentioned either by Paolucci, Carpegna, 
or Gasparini. On the contrary, Professor Paolucci, of Ancona, 
a well-known and eminent ornithologist, has recently favoured 
me with the following information :—‘“ I have never seen (in the 
Marche) Milvus migrans, which is, of course, unrepresented in 
our collections; nor have I ever heard of this species being 
caught in our district, though, from the obvious character of its 
forked tail, it might have been reported by sportsmen. So far 
as my information goes, it is quite unknown in the Marche 
(an lit. June 21st, 1897). 

Tuscany.—Dei does not mention the Black Kite in 1862, in 
treating of the Province of Siena; but at a later date* he had a 
specimen. It is noted by Griffoli for the Val di Chiana; by 
Savi for the Province of Pisa; by Professor Giglioli for the 
Florentine region; by the Marchese Paolucci for the Province of 
Siena ; by Bianchi as a bird of passage in the Isola del Giglio. 

Liaur1a.—Durazzo says that it breeds, but that it is rarer 
than Milvus ictinus. Savi and Carazzi say that it is rare at 
Spezia; a straggler at Nice. Milvus migrans is said to con- 
stantly inhabit the mountains of the Riviera di Levante, and 
Giglioli had one from Nice in December. I have spent many 
months in winter in the Riviera, but I do not remember ever 
having seen the Black Kite flying among the mountains, and I 
have little faith in its being a stationary species in that country. 

Romaena; Roman Provinces.—Prince Bonaparte states that 
the Black Kite breeds in the mountains, which does not seem 


* Gigloli, Avif. Ital. i. p. 401 (1889). 


NESTING OF (THE BLACK KITE IN VERONA. 245 


very probable. Salvadori, Giglioli, and Martorelli had speci- 
mens from these regions. The Marquis Lepri writes to me as 
follows :—‘‘ This Kite is with us a summer visitor, and fairly 
abundant without being positively common. It appears between 
the end of March and the beginning of April. It continues to 
pass until the latter end of May. It is then easily met with, 
being less shy than M. ictinus. I have this year seen more than 
one about the country-side. Several specimens are brought 
every year to the shop of the taxidermist De Dominicis, generally 
birds that have been caught in the Royal Domain of Castel 
Porziano, situated on the coast between Ostia and Anzio. So far 
as I have been able to observe, the Black Kite frequents running 
water, especially streams bordered by large trees. In the case of 
a specimen which I procured a few days ago, the stomach was 
full of fish. As for the breeding of the Black Kite, at least as 
far as concerns our province, I do not think that it occurs on the 
mountains, as Bonaparte states. I have never seen it on the 
mountain, neither is it known there. WM. ictinus is also very rare 
on these heights; it does not breed here, though so abundant on 
the plain. M. ictinus breeds on large trees in woods on the plain, 
or beside running water; I have observed its nest several times. 
Referring to the extensive information which I have gathered on 
the subject, I think that the same holds good of M. migrans, and 
this is confirmed by the fact that at the beginning of July last 
year I saw in the shop of a bird-dealer a M. migrans scarcely 
covered with feathers that had been taken from its nest on one 
of those gigantic elm trees that border the Tiber near Castel 
Giubileo, a few chilometres from Rome.”’ 

SouTHERN ItTaty.—It is rare, according to the eminent 
De Romita, in the Puglie. De Fiore excludes it from Catanzaro, 
and Moschella mentions it doubtfully in his Catalogue of the 
Birds of Reggio, Calabria. He writes to me, however, in a letter 
of June 8rd, 1897 :—‘“‘ I have frequently observed the Black Kite 
this year; about twenty specimens have been caught. I have 
only been able to procure one specimen for myself—a male—and 
certainly not cheap.’ I also secured two specimens caught in 
that district on the 7th and 18th of May, kindly sent to me by 
Dr. Angelo Pertile. Our ornithological information from this 
vast region is, unluckily, very incomplete, 


246 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Sictry.—Very rare, according to Benoit, who adds :— “I am 
told, however, that it often appears in the interior of the island.” 
Doderlein says that it is very rare, confuting the assertion of 
Schembri, who mentions it as very common. Giglioli also says 
that it is rare; it is very rare in the Province of Messina (Rug- 
geri, Pistone); rare but resident upon the mountains in the 
district of Modica (Dellafonte, Garofalo); finally, Leonardi 
excludes the Black Kite from his list of the birds of Girgenti. 
At Malta it is rare, according to Schembri, Wright, and Blasius. 

SARDINIA.—Cara notices the Black Kite as being less common 
than Milvus ictinus. It has been mentioned by Salvadori and 
Lepori on the strength of this assertion; Giglioli found a young 
specimen in the Cagliari Museum, labelled Falco barbarus. 

It is evident from the facts just stated that the Black Kite is 
seen almost all over Italy, but nowhere with any degree of 
certainty; that it has been found breeding in some places, but 
always as a rare and isolated circumstance, except perhaps in the 
Roman Campagna Romagna, where it appears to occur with a 
certain regularity. In the present paper I shall make known a 
locality where the important phenomenon occurs of a real and 
constant breeding station of the Black Kite, which is resorted to 
every year by a number of pairs—quite a novel event in the 
history of our avifauna. This happens on an estate belonging 
to the noble and historical family of the Marquis of Canossa, 
i.e. in the wood of Grezzano, near Villafranca, in the Province of 
Verona. Vittorio dal Nero, a modest but conscientious and 
diligent observer, was the first to speak to me of this fact; and 
it is indeed strange that this has until now been unknown to the 
ornithologists of Italy—and particularly to those of Verona, 
Perini and De Betta—who have mentioned the breeding of the 
Black Kite at Grezzano as quite a casual fact. Here I desire to 
acknowledge my indebtedness to the Marquis of Canossa, of 
Verona, for his kindness in allowing me to go to Grezzano, for 
sending me some specimens, and for supplying me with informa- 
tion; | must likewise return thanks to the Rev. Don Pietro 
Carcereri. He is very fond of sport, and an intelligent observer 
and has diligently studied the habits and life-history of the Black 
Kite; he has sent me several notes, which I have found most 
useful. Grezzano wood is about an hour and a half’s drive from 


NESTING OF THE BLACK KITE IN VERONA. 247 


Verona, beyond Villafranca. It is very near the magnificent 
Villa Canossa, from which it 1s separated by an iron gate; it is 
surrounded by a wide ditch, and marshes on one side, with a field 
partly laid out as a garden; on the other two with the country, 
which is covered with rice fields, meadows, and corn fields. The 
ground is intersected by numerous narrow channels. ‘he wood 
is composed of plane trees, elms, oaks, poplars, chestnuts, &c., 
the greatest height of which may be about forty metres; it has 
a flourishing appearance, and the vegetation is splendid, but 
there are no firs. Ardea cinerea and A. purpurea, Corvus cornx, 
Nycticorax ardeola, Ardeola ralloides, and Corvus corax breed 
here; there are also quantities of T'urtle-Doves, Golden Orioles, 
Blackbirds, Woodpeckers, and other smaller birds. In winter 
Buteo vulgaris is also found here, but, according to the inhabi- 
tants of the Castle, disappears as soon as Milvus migrans arrives. 

In the Province of Verona, Milvus migrans is only to be 
found at Grezzano, “perhaps,” says the Rev. Carcereri, ‘‘ be- 
cause it is attracted by the high trees; perhaps, because in that 
region and the neighbourhood it procures the food which it prefers, 
which consists of young chickens, when it can find them. Only 
two specimens are believed to have been killed at Chiesanuova, 
a mountainous spot to the north of Verona. One of these has 
been cited by Dal Nero. With these exceptions none have been 
seen except at Grezzano. It is simply a summer bird, since it 
arrives in spring, and leaves at the end of summer after having 
bred. | 

The following dates represent our information as to the arrival 
and departure of the Black Kite at and from Grezzano :— 


Year. Arrival. Departure. 

1883 ...... March 18th—May 12th ...... July 25th—August 18th. 
1884...... April 5th—May 10th ......... August 1lst—September 3rd. 
9S00)...05. March 25th—May 6th......... July 18th—August 29th. 
1650...... March 16th—April 24th ...... August 2nd—August 380th. 
£S87.:.... March 12th—May 5th......... August 5th—Aueust 28th. 
15e8...... March 16th—May Ist......... July 28th—September Ist. 
WeOd...... March 10th—May 8th......... August 6th—August 29th. 
$690. :..... March 18th—May 5dth......... August 8rd—September 2nd. 
Woot... March 20th—May 9th......... August 4th—August 29th. 
eo2...... March 11th—May 2nd ...... August 5th—August 19th. 
#598:.:... March 16th—May Ist......... August 1st—September 2nd. 
1S04...... March 10th—May 6th......... August 4th—August 31st. 
TS90...... March 12th—May 8th......... August 9th—September Ist. 
1B9G.. 5... March 15th—May Sth......... August 6th—September 9th. 


BOT sees. March 18th—May 11th ...... July 20th—August 12th, | 


248 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


The birds, however, that arrive in March may be considered 
as the vanguard, and they come singly, while the main body 
arrive in April. The arrivals and departures are said to coincide 
with those of the Martin; the dates of which, for the Province 
of Verona, would run from April 12th to May 1st, and from 
July 25th to September 10th. Some Martins are, however, 
found also in October, while Black Kites have never been ob- 
served at Grezzano at that epoch. They arrive separately, and 
not in flocks, a fact which has already been stated by Ferragni in 
treating of the Province of Cremona, and by Ruggeri and Pistone 
in writing of that of Messina. Irby in Spain, Favier in Morocco, 
and Count Alléon at Constantinople have observed that Black 
Kites migrate in numerous troops. As scon as they arrive, they 
set about constructing their nests, which they build new every 
year. ‘They have never been known to take possession of those 
of Herons or Crows, which are so abundant in those regions, and 
with these birds they seem to live in peace. Their nest is ready 
about the 10th of May, and they take twenty days to build it. 
They generally breed only in the wood; but nests have also been 
found in old and lofty trees in the country round about. They 
prefer the poplar, and build more rarely in the oak. They 
choose tall trees that reach a height of from thirty to forty 
metres, and build their nests on the fork of the thickest branches, 
perhaps for safety, so that the wind may not blow them down 
from such a height. They are large and easily noticed from the 
sround, and the bird hatches without being seen; but sometimes 
the nests are smaller, and then the head and tail of the sitting 
bird peep out. But this only occurs when they are young; in 
the second year of their age they make it larger. Goebel also 
says that the nest is very small, and that very often the head and 
tail of the sitting bird can be seen on every side of the nest. The 
height of the nest from the ground varies from about twenty-five to 
thirty metres; it is seldom lower. It consists of stout twigs 
strongly interlaced, ill-connected, but intertwined, and secured to 
the branch, from which the nest stands out hkea bundle of wood. 
In the interior you see a hard layer formed with pieces of paper, 
linen rags which the Kite gathers here and there about the houses 
and dunghills; mud, and the dry dung of oxen, horses, &c., are 
added to unite the rags strongly together. ‘This nest-bottom 


NESTING OF THE BLACK KITE IN VERONA. 249 


resists the penetration of a fowling-piece. The Rev. Carcereri, 
desiring to kill some nestling Black Kites, was compelled to 
employ the Weterli carabine with a bullet to pierce the hardened 
layer. The nest is generally shallow, and sometimes lined with 
dead moss. Mr. Seebohm* observes that the fact of rags being 
found in the nest of the Black Kite has been declared to be an 
error; but he adds that the circumstance has been verified by 
Salvin in the Eastern Atlas. ‘‘He also states,’ adds Seebohm, 
“that its nest is usually built amongst the roots of a tree growing 
out of the rocks.’ In Italy, it has only been observed on lofty 
trees. When the nest is built, the female Black Kite lays her 
eggs, usually three, but sometimes even four in number, in the 
space of four or five days. Seebohm says that in Pomerania the 
eggs are usually two in number, and so does Irby of Spain; while 
Goebel, referring to the South of Russia, says that the eggs are 
three in number, though he adds they may accidentally be two, 
or even four in number; once only he observed five in a clutch. 
The eggs of the Black Kite are about the size of a medium hen’s 
egg, usually but not invariably of a dirty white, with larger or 
smaller spots or brown spots of various tints. I here supply 
some information about four eggs of the Black Kite which form 
part of my collection. 

Egg found on May 25th, 1891, at Grezzano.—This specimen 
is almost entirely of a dirty white, with a few spots of light brown, 
most numerous at the larger end; the smaller end is colourless. 
Another egg found on the same day.—It is almost entirely of a 
dirty white, with fine brownish spots widely dispersed as if 
sprinkled over all the surface, and so delicate that the egg, viewed 
at a little distance, appears to be colourless. 

Egg found in June, 1892, at the same place.—This specimen 
is pure white, with large dots of a lively brown tint, darker round 
the edge of the dots, which are most numerous at the larger end ; 
there are also many little spots of the same colour spread here 
and there. ‘This egg approaches the one figured by Seebohm on 
piate v., fig. 1, of his above-mentioned work. 

Eigg found in June, 1893, at the same place.——The ground 
tint is of a less pure white, spread with little brown spots of dull 
brown, and there are some larger spots of the same colour, 


* ¢ British Birds,’ vol. i. p. 83 (1888). 


250 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


forming a kind of zone in the middle part of the same egg. It 
bears some resemblance to the egg figured as No. 2 on the 
plate v. of Seebohm’s work, but would resemble still more that 
of the Common Bunting, and appears to be a rare variety. 
Colonel Irby mentions the great variety of colour noticed in the 
eggs of the Black Kite, and Seebohm has described several of 
them. 

The following are the dimensions of the eggs which I have 
preserved :— 

Egg of May, 1891. Length, 5°68 cm.; breadth, 4°30 cm. 

Egg of June, 1892. Length, 5°54 cm.; breadth, 4°15 cm. 

Kgg of June, 1898. Length, 5°18 cm.; breadth, 3°79 cm. 

The females only incubate, and that for a period of from 
eighteen to twenty days. ‘The male does not share the duty of 
incubation, but flies continually round his mate at a very great 
pace, and, unless disturbed, he continues to wheel gently around 
the eyrie. If he is aware of anyone’s presence, he rises high in 
the air, flying round in wide circles, as though desirous of 
touching the tops of the highest trees, but always keeps out of 
shot, and, if shot at, he rises still higher; if he is left alone, he 
slowly descends again. ‘The inhabitants of the castle say that if 
they gently strike the tree in which a female Black Kite is 
sitting, the bird at once flies away. I could never observe this 
fact, and the birds which I killed were males. 

It is difficult to reach the nest, which is always situated at a 
great height, involving a perilous climb. The Black Kite 
exhibits great affection for its young, which are fed by both the 
male and female parents. Young chickens are their favourite 
food, being plentiful in the country. Like other birds of prey 
(Circus eruginosus, C. cyaneus, Buteo vulgaris, &c.), the Black 
Kite feeds its young at more or less regular hours; that is, 
according to what the Rev. Carcereri says, in the morning from 
about 9 to 11 a.m., and in the evening one or two hours before 
sunset. I have commonly observed this fact with C’. eruginosus, 
which also feeds its young ones with chickens, and which breeds 
regularly in the marshes of Monselice. Its hours for feeding 
were about eight in the morning, and three in the afternoon. 
This may be explained by the fact that it cannot always get hold 
of chickens without being exposed to danger, and it must generally 


NESTING OF THE BLACK KITE IN VERONA. 251 


lie in wait for them in the open country, and far from human 
habitations. The housewife usually lets out the young chickens 
at hours most convenient to her; that is, either when she returns 
from market or after dinner; at her leisure time, that is, when 
it is most suitable for her to look after them, and keep them out 
of danger. 

The Black Kite is decidedly a pest to chickens. It pursues 
them everywhere, even in the midst of people, and when it is 
sure of its aim, it pounces among them with a flight swift as 
lightning, snatches one, and carries it to its nest. M. migrans 
does not confine its chase for chickens to Grezzano, but it haunts 
the country round about, sometimes even at the distance of from 
seven to ten kilometres, to find its favourite prey, and then it 
goes back to its wood. The poor little chickens are often heard 
crying from the Kite’s nest in which they are about to be 
devoured. This Kite also victimises the nestlings of other birds. 
It has on several occasions been seen to hover above Canossa’s 
Palace where Starlings breed, and then to pounce upon the young 
birds which were hopping about the tiles. Besides this, remains 
of the following fishes have been found in the stomachs of Black 
Kites :—EH sox lucws, Tinca vulgaris, Scardinus erythrophthalmus, 
Cottus gobio, and Gooio fluviatilis. A Black Kite, killed on 
June 15th, 1894, by the Rev. Carcereri, contained the bones of 
Rana esculenta. That gentleman tells me also that a Kite caught 
in May, 1893, and stuffed by Dal Nero, contained the remains of 
numerous aquatic insects. In two birds which I killed on the 
8rd of June last year I found entire remains of Rana esculenta 
and Grillotalpa vulgaris. 

The following is a list of substances found in the stomachs of 
about twenty Black Kites. These results have been procured by 
Dal Nero, the Rev. Carcereri, and myself, and they show how 
varied the diet of this greedy bird really is. I return thanks to 
Prof. Adriano Garbini, of Verona, for his kind assistance in 
classifying the worms and insects :— 

Vermes (A) Nematoda.—Gen. Lumbricus (the species could 
not be identified). 

Arruropopa (A) Crustacea.—Cypris pubera, O. F. Miller ; 
Cyclops sp.?; Asellus vulgaris, Latr.; Palemonetes varians, Leach. 
{B) Insecta.—Smynthurus aquaticus, Bourlet; Libellula depressa, 


252 THK ZOOLOGIST. 


L.; L. rubiconda, L.; Phryganea reticulata, L.; Hydroporus 
marginatus, Dft.; Hydrophilus piceus, L.; Stratiomis chameleon, 
Deg.; Grillotalpa vulgaris, Latr.; gen. Acridium; Cicada 
plebeja, Scop. 

Mo.tuusca.—Limneus ampullaceus, L. 

Pisces.—Cottus gobio, L.; EHsox lucius, L.; Gobio fluviatilis, 
Cuv.; Leuciscus erythrophthalmus, Linn.; Tinca vulgaris, Cuv. 

AmpuipiA.—fana esculenta, Linn.; Bufo vulgaris, Laur. ; 
Triton cristatus, Laur. | 

Reprinia.—Lacerta viridis, Daudin; T'ropidonotus natrix, 
Linn.; TZ’. tessellatus, Linn. 

Aves.—Sturnus vulgaris, Linn.; Gallus gallinorum (chiefly 
small chickens). 

Mammauia.—Gen. Talpa; Crossopus fodiens, Pallas; gen. 
Mus; gen. Arvicola. 

The Black Kite is almost always in pursuit of prey during 
the day, but is most frequently seen flying about the wood at 
mid-day and towards evening. It soars so high that it is some- 
times scarcely visible, but seems to be a Swallow, and continues 
wheeling about in circles, or resting suspended upon the expanded 
wings for some minutes; or, as Alléon says, describing great 
spiral lines, making various evolutions, rising and descending. 
Now and then, suddenly closing its wings, 1t drops down with an 
extraordinary swiftness and almost touches the highest tops of 
the trees, and then it recommences its slow spiral flight; if it is 
left alone, it comes down about the wood, flying among the lofty 
trees, probably in search of insects. I have several times seen 
them fly close to the surface of rice fields when over-flooded, and 
to running water, intent, as Bailly says, on fishing. That author 
has seen them plunge into the water and take small fishes. I 
have also noticed them flying over fields where they find Acridiwm 
and Grillotalpa, as has also been observed in Spain by Werner. 

The number of Black Kites that every year arrive at 
Grezzano, breeding in companies in the wood, varies from forty 
to fifty birds. I think that the number given me by the inhabi- 
tants of that country must be exaggerated when they say that it 
amounts to two hundred birds. In 1892 the Rev. Carcereri shot 
as many as twenty-five Black Kites; but in the following years, 
1893-96, only three or four fell to his gun. From what I have 


NESTING OF THE BLACK KITE IN VERONA. 253 


been able to observe, it is not easy to kill successive individuals, 
for the birds are very wary, and after the first few shots they soar 
very high; but, if the gunner hide himself carefully, the Kites fly 
down again, and can be killed with a good gun, especially when 
they enter or leave their nests. On the 3rd of June last year, 
without using all those precautions that the occasion would re- 
quire, I was able in the space of a few hours to shoot down three 
fine Kites. They can be caught more easily when they have 
young ones. This species is commonly called Poja negra or P. 
mora by the inhabitants of Grezzano, and those who kill any 
Black Kites are blessed by the country people, for they see that 
the risk of their chickens being carried off is thus reduced. The 
following is a list of those collections that include Black Kites 
killed at Grezzano :— 

(a) Collection Perini, of Verona, two specimens. 

(b) Count Brasavola, of Verona, two specimens. 

(c) Count Reali, of Treviso, two specimens. 

(d) Collection Cipolla, of Verona, three specimens. 

(e) Collection De Betta, of Verona, one specimen. 

(f) Collection Bennati, of Verona, two specimens. 

(9) My own collection, eight specimens. 

Besides these twenty specimens, the Rev. Carcereri had 
several birds, which he killed himself, stuffed by Dal Nero, which 
he then gave to his friends. 

The Black Kite is a species which varies very little in its 
dress. When young, the colours are darker and brighter than 
when at full maturity. The Rev. Carcereri informs me that 
almost all those he killed resembled one another. As for size, 
the female is always larger than the male. 


254 THE Z400L0GiST. 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM MALTA. 


By Sergeant Huan Mackay 
(Highland Light Infantry). 


Durine my stay in Malta I visited Mr. Micallef’s interesting 
establishment at Birchircara, with a view of obtaining informa- 
tion regarding the numerous migratory birds which at times 
pass over the island. In a large show case of beautifully 
mounted specimens, I was prepared to find a number of birds 
which, although not altogether unknown in the British Islands, 
are nevertheless rare, and even here in Malta may be considered 
scarce, being only obtainable on migration. Altogether I saw no 
birds entirely foreign to the British Islands, yet for the benefit 
of the ornithological student the undermentioned species are 
well worth attention, if only for comparison with the numerous 
works on this interesting subject. I have not specified the 
scientific names of these birds, for the sake of space, ‘while they 
are perhaps better generally known under their commoner names. 

Ducxs.—Garganey, Teal, Pochard, Pintail, Tufted, Scaup, 
Shoveller. These birds are obtained here during the winter 
months. 

Hrrons.—Common, Purple, Squacco, and Night Herons; 
fairly common on migration. 

GreBEs.— Little Grebe, Sclavonian, and Black-necked. Of 
the three mentioned the Sclavonian is the most common, several 
specimens annually frequenting the Sliema and Quarantine 
harbours and other suitable localities between the months of 
October and January. 

Ow1s.—Barn Owl, Long-eared, Short-eared, and Scops. All 
obtainable on migration; while the Short-eared species is known 
to breed sparingly on the island, and is therefore classed as a 
resident species. 

I have enumerated under different headings the species which 
predominate; but as the remainder are isolated more or less 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM MALTA. 255 


from their families, it would occupy too much space to in- 
dividualise each species under separate headings, therefore I 
will only comment upon those deserving note at the conclusion 
of the following list. 

Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Turnstone, Starling, Glossy 
Ibis, Common Cuckoo, Bee-eater, Golden Oriole, Kingfisher, 
Black Redstart, Common Redstart, Pratincole, Great Grey 
Shrike (Lanius excubitor: I mention the scientific name of this 
bird to distinguish it from others of the same family), Common 
Bittern, Crane, Storm Petrel, Nightjar, Razorbill, Blue-headed 
Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Turtle Dove, and Quail. All these 
birds have been obtained by Mr. Micallef, principally during the 
spring and autumn migrations. He pointed out to me several 
immature specimens of the Razorbill; adding that in one winter 
he secured thirty-four of these birds, all being young birds of 
the year. 

At home I have had occasion to note and comment upon the 
irregular visits of the Razorbill, particularly along the shores of 
the Solway, where in some winters immature birds are extremely 
abundant, adult specimens being rarely found among them ; while 
other winters pass without the appearance of a single specimen. 

Three specimens of the Quail were also shown to me, one 
being plentifully suffused with bright yellow, the remaining two 
being of a dark reddish-brown colour, similar to that of the Red 
Grouse. In Malta, where Quails are so abundant on migration, 
it is not surprising to find some slight variation in size or 
colouring of plumage occurring. 

Mr. Micallef has in his possession two specimens of the 
Nightjar, which at once attract the attention of an ornitho- 
logist. This is the species known as the Red-necked Night- 
jar, a species distinct from the common or Kgyptian forms, and 
very rare. 

The Whooper Swan is unquestionably of rare occurrence in 
Malta, being essentially an inhabitant of the far north; yet 
four specimens were shot on the Marsa during the month of 
March, 1898. 

The Common Starling is known to almost everyone; but 
Mr. Micallef pointed out a specimen totally devoid of those 
markings so conspicuous on the British bird. This is the 


256 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


variety known as Sturnus unicolor, and only wanders to the 
Mediterranean in very cold seasons. 

The Bittern and Golden Oriole pass the island on migration, 
the last named being a very rare wanderer to the British 
Islands; while it breeds in Greece, Sicily, the Balearic Islands, 
Spain, and France. 

ScLavonran and HArED GREBES.—Both species frequent the 
different harbours around Malta between the months of October 
and January. 

KersTREL.—T hese ‘inde are common in the winter months, 
but the majority leave the island in the spring months for their 
breeding grounds, probably Spain, where they are abundant. 

RepBREAST.—During my stay in Malta (two years and a 
half) I saw only three of this species. 

Waataits.— White and Grey Wagtails common ane the 
winter months. 

Fincues.—The Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, and Haw- 
finch. The first three named species are common on migration ; 
the Hawfinch is much scarcer, and is obtained generally in the 
autumn. ‘The whole of these birds are much prized by the 
Maltese as cage pets. 

Siskin.—I have only seen two Siskins personally in the open, 
and these were obtained by a birdcatcher; but I am informed 
they visit the island from time to time in large numbers. 

Linnet.—I have observed several Linnets in the vicinity of 
Citta Vecchia, but, as yet, nowhere else upon the island, except 
at Manoel, where four were caught in a field near the camp. 

Nicgutsar.—Upon two occasions only have I seen and handled 
a pair of Nightjars, although the bird is said to be plentiful on 
migration. J examined one at Manoel on November 7th, 1896. 
Its appearance is unusual on the island at this period of the year. 

SxyLtarK.— The Skylark is somewhat plentiful on the island. 

Quaiu.—Quails are extremely abundant all over the island 
during the migratory seasons, but particularly in April and May. 
One single specimen was shot on the shore at Manoel, November 
7th, 1896; while as late as December 8th, 1896, six specimens 
were shot near the same place. 

GOLDEN ORIvLE.—Saw several specimens near Pembroke 
camp between May 10th and 31st, 1896. 


a ee eee eT eee 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM MALTA. 257 


STONECHAT.—Fairly common all over the island. 

PureLteE Hrron.—Observed a specimen of the Purple Heron 
on the ranges at Pembroke, April 16th, 1896; and subsequently 
handled the same bird in the flesh an hour later. I am informed 
it is of frequent occurrence on the island, principally during the 
winter months. 

JACKDAW.—So far as my observations have gone this is the 
only representative of the Crow family existing on the island, 
and it appears to be confined to the localities of Citta Vecchia 
and Musta. 

Montaau’s Harrier. — Have seen a good many specimens 
at Pembroke camp during the months of April and May. They 
are common on migration. 

Buack Repsrart.—Observed a single specimen on April 
30th, 1897; and handled a bird in the flesh the following day 
which was shot near the shore at Manoel. 

Turusu.—Observed a Thrush in the moat at Port Reale, 
November Ist, 1897. ‘This is the first I have seen in Malta. 

BrEE-EATER.—On April 18th, 1898, Capt. Murray shot a male 
specimen of the Bee-eater, which he kindly gave me. It is not 
uncommon during the migratory season. 

LirrLe Grespe.—Handled one of these birds which was shot 
near the shore at Manoel, April 20th, 1898. 

Turtte Dove.—Abundant during April and May. 

Hoopor.—Saw a specimen of the Hoopoe in the moat at Fort 
Manoel. I was within twenty yards of it, and had an excellent 
view of the bird. J am informed that it is not uncommon on the 
island, although it is the only specimen I have seen. (September 
6th, 1897.) 

BuackBirnD.—There is only one place to my knowledge which 
these birds frequent in Malta, and that is at Musta, where they 
nest on the bushes which grow out of the rocky sides of a deep 
ravine. 

KINGFISHER.—I have only seen one solitary specimen of 
the Kingfisher here, and that in the early morning, near the 
Quarantine Bridge at Manoel, November 10th, 1897. 

Suac or GREEN Cormoranr.— Handled one of these birds 
which was shot on the shore at Manoel, November 12th, 1897. 


Zool. 4th Ser. vol. III., Jwne, 1899. Ss 


258 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Witp Grxrsre.—A flock of Geese flew over Camp Manoel on 
November 19th, in a south-easterly direction, about 4.30 p.m. 

Ruppy SHetpuck.—A male example of the Ruddy Shelduck 
was shot in Sliema harbour, December 10th, 1897. I consider 
the occurrence of this species most unusual, and can only 
account for its appearance as a straggler. I am very sorry I did 
not secure the specimen. 

WHITETHROAT.—These little birds are plentiful during the 
spring months. I have frequently found their nests around 
Manoel. 

Lapwine. — On December 13th, 1897, I saw six Lapwings 
which had been shot in a field close to the Quarantine harbour. 
I am told they are of uncommon occurrence on the island. 

ComMon SANDPIPER.— Have seen several flocks in various 
localities in the months of April and May, but at no other time 
during the year. 

RepsHank.—Handled a fine specimen in full breeding 
plumage, April 16th, 1897. It was shot on the shore near 
Manoel; another bird was fired at, but got away. This is the 
first specimen I have seen in Malta. 

GREAT SnipE.—A gunner along the shore at Manoel showed 
me four specimens of the Great Snipe which he had shot. These 
are the first I have seen. 

Squacco Hrron.—During the four days (April 29th to May 
2nd) four specimens of the Squacco Heron frequented the shore at 
Manoel. They appear to be very lazy and inactive, allowing one 
to approach within twenty or thirty yards before taking wing. 
On the morning of May 1st I watched them for over half an hour, 
and during that time they remained almost motionless, except 
for an occasional turn of the head; the head and neck were 
drawn back upon the shoulders. I subsequently handled two of 
these birds in the flesh, which were shot by a native. 

SHorT-roED Larx.—This is a resident species in Malta, and 
is fairly common. I found a nest with young as late as July 
d ith, 1897. 


NOTES ON SOME BIRDS FROM NORTH 
WORCESTERSHIRE. 


By H. E. Howarp. 


Tue following notes were made between the hours of 2.30 
and 6, in the morning of May 14th, in those extensive woods 
which once formed part of the Forest of Feckenham. A short 
account of these woods would perhaps be useful. They are 
very undulating, the highest point being about 400 ft. The trees 
are chiefly oaks, and in places where a year or two before the 
older ones have been cut down the ground is covered with low 
bushes of hazel and birch, with plants of various kinds; and here 
Warblers abound. 

It was quite dark when I started on this morning. The first 
bird to begin singing was a Lark; this was about twenty minutes 
to three. They nearly always are the first to start, and, even 
though quite dark, they are high up in the air. A Redstart was 
next, followed closely by a Cuckoo. 

It took me about twenty minutes to reach the wood, and by 
that time it was beginning to get light. ‘The noise of the 
different birds singing was almost deafening; there seemed to be 
a Blackbird, Thrush, or Nightingale in every bush. Going some 
distance on, I sat down and listened. At first I heard nothing 
more than Thrushes, Blackbirds, and Nightingales, except a 
Nightjar, which was some distance in the woods, and a Fox 
which passed about fifty yards away, filling the wood with his 
unearthly howling. Now and then a Whitethroat would begin 
its song, but stop as if it was not quite awake. By 4 o'clock 
every bird was uttering a note of some sort or other. 

Going farther in among the nut-bushes, I found Garden 
Warblers plentiful, and Blackcaps, of course, for a more jealous 
couple it would be impossible to find. The Blackcap is generally. 
the aggressor; he flies at the Garden Warbler, and then starts to 
sing, his tail spread out and his wings drooping; and now is the 

$2 


260 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


time when they sing most beautifully, more so even than when 
the females arrive. At times they positively seem to curse one 
another, the Blackcap always being the more excitable of the 
two. A Wood-Warbler was singing among the oaks. You 
nearly always find them in oaks or birches, and generally on the 
side of a hill. I always look on the Wood-Warbler as one of 
the most beautiful birds we have, both in colour and form. 

Coming out into a little lane, which passed through the 
middle of these woods, I saw a pair of Lesser Whitethroats 
mating. The male Warblers are always worth watching when 
the females arrive; they have such curious ways of flirting. The 
Wood-Warbler seems to select two trees, and flies backwards and 
forwards between them, singing as he gets to each one. The 
Chiffchaff wanders about in the air like a big moth, flapping his 
wings very slowly. ‘The Blackcap makes vain attempts to touch 
the top of his head with his tail. But most curious of all is the 
Grasshopper- Warbler; for some reason he runs about on the 
ground with a leaf in his bill—what the object of it was I could 
never quite tell—the female running about hke a mouse, hardly 
ever uttering a note, though I have heard it once, very much like 
the young birds when fully fledged. Whitethroats abound in 
this lane, some in bright plumage, and others so dull you would 
hardly know them to be the same bird. They arrive in this 
state; two birds arrive at the same time, one in beautiful 
plumage, the other quite dull. Why this is I do not know, 
never having followed them to their winter quarters. The 
plumage of all Warblers very soon becomes dull, especially that 
of Whitethroats; I have shot a Wood-Warbler at the end of June 
in the most lovely plumage, and, when skinned, found it was 
covered with fat. The same with Yellow Wagtails, and these 
could only have lately arrived, for their brilliant yellow lasts 
but a week or two after they come to this country. 

Turning into the wood again, among the oaks, I saw a pair of 
Greater Spotted Woodpeckers playing about, chasing one another 
from tree to tree; interesting birds to watch, especially when 
they have young. I have sometimes heard them rattling on a 
tree nearly a mile away; this particular pair evidently had a |, 
nest close by. Farther on in the woods a Green Woodpecker 
was laughing away to himself. The Greater Spotted is the 


BIRDS FROM NORTH WORCESTERSHIRE. 261 


most common of all the three Woodpeckers we get here. No 
Pheasants are reared in these woods, so Jays and Magpies are 
allowed to flourish. The Jayis the worst mimic there is, though 
at times he warbles to himself very quietly. 

Coming to the outskirts of the wood, I saw a Cirl Bunting 
singing in a little orchard close by. ‘These birds have increased 
very much the last few years, and breed annually in one or two 
spots. On the top of an elm a Wryneck was sitting, all huddled 
up except when he threw his head back and stretched out his 
neck to utter his curious note. Farther on in the meadows you 
could hear the Redpolls calling. At this time of year they are 
very fond of osier-beds to roost in, especially those where a few 
years ago the trees have been cut down. 

The woods are full of Stock-Doves, Turtle-Doves, and Ring- 
Doves. In a hedge a Grasshopper Warbler was singing; they 
are fairly common in this part of the county, but do not often 
sing here after the middle of May till the end of June—that is, 
during incubation. This one was sitting on the top of a thick 
bush, like a round ball of feathers. I got close to him, but he 
saw me, and at once every feather was drawn tight to his body, 
and he became an ordinary bird as the world knows him ; then, 
climbing down, he hid among the bushes. Waiting for about ten 
minutes, he presently appeared climbing up the middle of the 
bush again till he got to the top; there he sat sunning himself, 
his feathers swollen out, and his form perfect, as beautiful a 
creature as you could see. 

To see them in all their beauty birds must be unconscious of 
your presence ; there is a vast difference between a bird as he is 
usually seen with his feathers lying flat on his body, and a bird 
that is really at rest, unconscious of the presence of any human 
being ; then it is the feathers rise and fall in beautiful order, and 
form the most perfect outline. At the end of five years, if you 
live amongst them, you will begin to see their beauty; at the end 
of another five you will have learnt how little you knew at the 
end of the first five. There are some who seem to think there 
is no more to be learned about British birds as regards their 
form and habits. This can never be—the subject is endless. 


262 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


NEW BRITISH ANNELIDS. 
By Rev. Hiuperic FRIEND. 


Tue following records serve to show that as yet we are far 
from having gained a complete knowledge of the Annelid fauna 
of our own country. Nearly every time I go out to collect, some 
species new to Britain or to science is discovered; and, as each 
species has its place in the economy of nature, it is clear that 
we have much yet to learn respecting the part which the lesser 
worms play as friends or foes of the farmer and the gardener. 
My present records will be limited to one family, the Enchytreids. 
For the rest, suffice it to place on record the fact that Limno- 
drilus hoffmeisteri, Claperéde, was found by me at Easter near the 
lake in Sutton Park, Birmingham—this being, so far as I know, 
the first record for this country. 


1. FRIDERICIA MAGNA, N.S. 


During Easter week, while on a visit to the Lake District, I 
went one day to the meeting of the waters where the Cocker 
joins the Derwent under the shadow of the Castle, and in view 
of Wordsworth House at Cockermouth. Among my other 
gleanings I here took two specimens of a worm which I at once 
found to be new to me, and, as it proved, new to science also. Its 
large size at first threw me off the track, and it was some time 
before I could bring myself to believe that it was a veritable 
Enchytreid, and a F'ridericia, despite its well-marked charac- 
teristics. It was the largest species of the genus I have ever 
found, as it somewhat exceeded in size the seaside worm known 
as Enchytreus humicultor, which I once found on the banks of 
the Solway. 

Fridericia magna is 385-40 mm. in length, and consists of about 


ninety segments. There are two sete in each bundle behind the 
girdle, and three usually in each bundle on all the preclitellian 


NEW BRITISH ANNELIDS. 263 


segments. I found as many as four sete in two of the bundles, and, 
according to the accepted theory respecting this genus, the sete 
should always be in even numbers (2, 4, 6,8); but the rule is by no 
means invariable. In one specimen the four posterior segments 
were without sete, and the penultimate set of four had only one 
seta in each sac. A marked peculiarity of this species is to be 
found in the colour of the blood, which is decidedly disposed to be 
red, as may be seen when the worm has been kept for a day or two 
in clean water. The body segments are striate, with about half a 
dozen rows of striate cells per segment. The girdle extends over 
segment xii and the hinder half of segment xi, the usual gland- 
pores being found on the former segment. TI traced the dorsal 
blood-vessel to segment xviil, so vt 1s post-clitellian in origin. The 
- egg-sac extended back to the siateenth segment. The blood-vessels 
m segments i-iv did not differ greatly in arrangements from that 
which usually prevails, the dorsal vessel giwing off two branches on 
each side in the third segment, which formed loops and joined the 
returning vessels caused by the dorsal vessel dividing into two at 
the head. I found heart-like swellings in segments vii, viii, 1x. 
The brain is nearly as broad as long, convex behind, and very 
slightly concave in front, the outline being slightly oval rather than 
circular. The coiled tube of segment xi is very long and fine; but 
the most obvious characteristic is found in the spermathece. There 
is a pair of sacs at the base of the pouch which is attached to the 
intestine, and at the outer extremity, between segments iv and v, the 
aperture of the spermathecal tube has a pair of large brown glands. 
These are so conspicuous that when first seen they have all the 
appearance of eye-spots. The length of the tube is about three 
tumes the width of the sacs. 


I have named the species magna, because it is by far the 
largest yet described. I have not studied the nephridia, nor 
have I as yet determined the salivary glands, for want of material. 
The worm, which is sluggish in its habits, is found in moist 
places by slowly moving water. I found the same worm, or a 
close ally, at Hastings last summer, but, as only one specimen 
was taken, and one’s holiday equipment does not render identi- 
cations easy, the exact species was not determined, 


264 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


2. FRIDERICIA AGRICOLA, Moore. 


Mr. C. Whitehead, of Maidstone, has recently submitted 
specimens of this worm for examination, on account of their 
having been found associated with meadow-grass which showed 
symptoms of disease. First found by Mr. Moore in America, it 
was some time ago discovered by me in two localities in Cum- 
berland. Its distribution is therefore wide, and it is important 
that, in connection with future records, an attempt be made to 
show whether or not it is worthy of suspicion as an injurious 
annelid. I have discussed the question in the ‘ Gardeners’ 
Chronicle’ for the present month. 


8. ENCHYTREUS PELLUCIDUS, N.S. 


I give this name to a species taken by me among old stable- 
manure at Heaton Moor, Stockport, on March 4th, 1899. 


It is a white, pellucid worm, with colourless blood, about three- 
quarters of an inch in length, and containing some sixty segments. 
There are usually four sete in front of the girdle and three behind, 
equal in length, slender, and with a curve at right angles on the 
inner extremity, giving the sete the appearance of a golf-stick. 
The curve, not as is usual, is very decided, the curved portion being 
nearly one-third the length of the shaft. The brain, which is about 
twice as long as broad, is oval, and rounded (not concave or 
notched) behind. There are no swellings or offgrowths on the 
nerve-ganghon, which rs of practically equal size throughout. The 
salivary glands are unbranched and club-shaped, being swollen or 
knob-like at the free extremity. The spermathece open wm the 
usual place between segments iv—v, without glands, while the in- 
ternal extremity 1s somewhat pear-shaped, and without diverticula 
or sac-like appendages. The girdle is minutely papillose, or pre- 
sents a fine granular appearance. Very long coiled tube extending 
back to segment xx, or even as far as xxiv. The first nephridium 
seemed to he in segment vii. Perhaps here the most distinctive 
feature is to be found im the spermathece, which differ from 
any I have seen elsewhere. These organs are divided into three 
parts, each of which is about equal in length to the other. 
These are (1) a slender tube connected with the gut, (2) the 


NEW BRITISH ANNELIDS. 265 
enlarged pear-shaped body, (3) the tube opening intersegmentally 
between iv—v. 


4, ENCHYTREUS ARGENTEUS has just reached me from Kew. 
It is new to Britain. 


I have many other notes on species which are new or little 
known, and only require time for their fuller study. 


266 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


MAMMALIA. 


CHIROPTERA. 


Leisler’s Bat in Cheshire.—When waiting for Bats in Dunham Park, 
near Bowdon, on May 8th, I noticed a large one with a flight that was 
different to that of the Noctule. I watched it until too late to get a safe 
shot, and missed. A few minutes later I saw a second Bat, which I 
succeeded in shooting, and was surprised to find that it was Leisler’s Bat, 
Vesperugo leisleri(Kuhl). I killed it at 7.45 p.m., a short time after I had 
observed the first Noctules on the wing. The flight was slower and more 
erratic than that of the Noctule, whose movements early in the evening 
are usually dashing and rapid. On one or two evenings since I have 
noticed Bats with similar flight to the Leisler’s Bat I shot, and believe 
that they were also of that species. It is not safe, however, to dogmatise 
on the difference, for on the 29th I saw a Bat flying slowly, which, when I 
shot it, turned out to be a female Noctule. Upon picking up the Leisler’s 
Bat which I had shot, I was at once struck by the small size, the dark 
brown fur, and the absence of the peculiar smell of V. noctula ; and, upon 
carefully measuring the animal and examining the teeth, I felt sure that it 
was V. leisleri. Dr. N. H. Alcock and Mr. W. de Winton have kindly 
confirmed my identification of the species. All the Bats I noticed with 
this slow erratic flight were flying in one direction along an avenue of 
beeches. When they had passed I never saw them return, although 
undoubted Noctules which flew down the same avenue came back again 
several times. Both the Leisler’s Bats and Noctules appeared to come 
from the same clump of old beeches, though I have not been able to 
discover from which tree they actually emerged. Noctules are exceedingly 
plentiful in Dunham Park, passing the day in holes high up in the 
beeches, and in the evening repairing to one of the glades or open spaces, 
where they course backwards and forwards high overhead. As a rule, on 
emerging, they fly higher than the tops of the trees; the Leisler’s Bat 
I shot was a little below the level of the tree-tops. ‘This species has not 
been previously recorded from Cheshire. —T. A. Cowarp (Bowdon, Cheshire). 


The Serotine (Vespertilio serotinus) near Hastings.— Upon showing 
the note with this heading (Zool. 1897, p. 141) to my friend the Rev. E, 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 267 


N. Bloomfield some months ago he informed me that a number of these 
Bats have established themse)ves under the eaves of his residence (Guest- 
ling Rectory, near Hastings). Since then I have had two opportunities of 
satisfying myself that the species is rightly identified. I am happy to add 
that Mr. Bloomfield and his sisters take great interest in the little animals, 
and will not have them disturbed.— W. Rusxin-BuTTERFIELD. 


RODENTIA. 


Albino of the Beaver.—With reference to the communication of Mr. 
Service in ‘The Zoologist’ (ante, p. 220) concerning a white Beaver 
(Castor canadensis), I should like to record a specimen of a skin exhibiting 
this abnormality which came under my own notice. In 1893 or 1894 
a taxidermist and dealer in Manchester showed me a beautiful albinic 
skin of this animal. This taxidermist, who was a Canadian, had been a 
trapper, and himself obtained the animal the pelt of which he showed 
me.—K. Huristons Jonss (H.M.S. ‘ Repulse,’ Channel Squadron). 


AVES. 


Blackbird and Ivy-seeds. — With regard to the note on a male 
Blackbird (Turdus merula) storing seeds at the nest (ante, p. 181), I do not 
think it is at all likely that a male Blackbird would try to feed his mate on 
the seeds of the ivy. The berries of the ivy are eaten by Blackbirds and 
Thrushes in considerable quantities at the end of winter and in early 
spring. But the seeds are not digested by the birds; they are voided 
whole, and may be seen at that season piled up in small heaps all about my 
shrubbery and elsewhere. May I suggest the possibility of the seeds seen 
by Mr. Lewis piled on the side of the nest having been sii ma in this 
manner ?—O. V. Apxin (Bloxham, Oxon). 


Is the Whinchat a Mimic ?—To this question, propounded by Mr. H. 
S. Davenport in ‘The Zoologist’ (ante, p. 208) as to whether Pratincola 
rubetra is a mimic, I unhesitatingly answer, Yes. On May 20th, 1897, I 
was attracted by two Whinchats singing very diverse songs in a thin wood 
on the Pentlands ; one of them was perched on the yery summit of a Scotch 
fir, and began its song with the alarm-cry of the Redshank twice repeated, 
whilst the other had no such note in its song. I have also noted the 
Whinchat imitating the Sand Martin, the Sandpiper, and the Yellow- 
hammer ; and I believe that the great variations noticeable in the songs of 
individual birds of this species are the direct result of imitation — RoBerr 
Goprrey (46, Cumberland Street, Edinburgh). 


Blue-headed Wagtail in Cumberland. — After waiting upwards of 
seventeen years, I have at last detected Motacilla flava in Lakeland, On 


268 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


the 1st of May I found a single specimen of this Wagtail running over the 
sea-bank in front of our house, in company with a flock of Meadow Pipits, 
with which the rarer visitor was probably migrating. The Wild Birds Act 
prevented my shooting it for the Carlisle Museum, but I watched it closely 
with my glasses for two hours in pouring rain, and had the pleasure of 
pointing out its white eye-stripe and other distinguishing characters to a 
young but promising ornithologist. On the 10th of May I found a singie 
Ray’s Wagtail on the same ground, also with some Meadow Pipits. The 
common Yellow Wagtail was much wilder than the Blue-headed species. I 
have seen plenty of Blue-headed Wagtails on the Continent, of course, but 
I never met with Motacilla flava in Britain before—H. A. MacpPHERson 
(Allonby Vicarage, Maryport, Cumberland). 


Abnormal Oecurrence of the Pied Wagtail (Motacilla lugubris) 
through the Winter in Aberdeenshire.—I was surprised to see one of the 
above (a male bird) flying in search of food about my houses on the 29th 
November, 1898. In fact, it appeared to be so strange to me to see one of 
these beautiful birds pouncing readily into byres among cattle, or into a 
stable among horses, in search of food, that I could scarcely realize its 
identity, the plumage being somewhat rough, there being a pretty sharp 
snowstorm at the time; but there was no want of vivacity, and the bird 
contrived to get a good meal before disappearing for the day. It made an 
appearance again on Dec. Ist, being then engaged searching for suitable 
sustenance in the mill-dam when the latter was emptied of water by being 
used for threshing fodder. With a return of fine weather it was not noticed 
near the houses, but with a recurrence of snow it appeared on the 19th and 
again on the 25th of December. During January and February it was a 
very common visitor to the turnip-fields, especially where the turnips were 
being lifted. There is no doubt that this bird remained here the whole 
winter. I have seen the bird in this county, but nearer the sea-coast, or 
at lower levels in mild weather, in January and February, but never so far 
inland, and withstanding the whole winter. — W. Wuirson (Alford, Aber- 
deen, N.B.). 


The Delinquencies of Starlings.—When first I came to live in Derby- 
shire—ten years ago—lI placed boxes on my house to encourage Starlings 
(Sturnus vulgaris). After two or three years’ experience I came to the con- 
elusion that these birds were rather too plentiful, and year by year, in May 
and June, I wish that their numbers were greatly diminished. In the Peak 
district we often have late frosts and cold easterly winds during spring, and 
the plants in our gardens are late in flowering. But as soon as a bright 
blossom appears on our borders the Starlings mark it as suitable building 
material for their nests; and later, when young plants are bedded out, 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 269 


they are often very destructive. I have seen them pull up young broad- 
bean plants ; I have known them take, in a few hours, three dozen seedling 
French marigolds which had just been bedded out. Apparently all this 
mischief is very useless, as numbers of flowers and plants are scattered on 
the verandah, or may be found in the gutters between the gables of my 
house. But this is not their worst fault. At this time of the year itisa 
great pleasure to see the Swifts racing through the air, and to hear their 
shrill cries as they chase one another. Several pairs of Swifts nest every 
year in my house; but before they arrive the Starlings have taken posses- 
sion of their nesting-holes. ‘This leads to a fierce war being waged between 
the two species. It is true that now and again a Swift succeeds in throwing 
one or two unfledged Starlings out of the nest, but more often a battle takes 
place between the adult birds, and the Swift is very roughly treated. Some- 
times he manages to escape, and flies far away hotly pursued by the Starling. 
But often they both fall to the ground together, and the Swift is left in a 
state too feeble to rise, and becomes an easy prey to any prowling cat. 
Several times the Swift’s piteous squealing has brought me to the window, 
and I have seen the Starling hammering him with its beak. Last year I 
ran out and picked up a Starling and Swift clinging to one another so 
tightly that at first I could not disentangle them. The Swift was very 
weak indeed. However, I kept him indoors through the night, and next 
morning he was able to fly. This year Swifts did not come to us till the 
7th of May, and already there were fights on the 15th, 16th, and 17th. 
Starlings are delightful birds, their varied songs and mimicry are so 
amusing, and in the winter they are among the few species which come to 
enliven us; consequently I do not like to shoot them, especially as shooting 
is apt to frighten the birds in my aviary. And yet they are a terrible 
nuisance, injuring plants, harrying the Swifts, and filling up ventilators and 
gutters. I should like to know whether others have observed the same 
feud existing between Swifts and Starlings. I have known Starlings to 
oust Sand-Martins, and have read of their taking possession of the holes 
made by Woodpeckers ; but Ido not remember ever seeing any note on 
their interference with Swifts—W. Storrs Fox (St. Anselm’s, Bakewell). 
[In 1836 the Rev. T. Salway recorded a discovery of the skeletons of 
Swifts and Starlings in the tower of the church at Oswestry, Shropshire. 
As many as fifty-seven were discovered together in a small chamber rather 
more in size than “half a square foot” (Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. ix. p. 350). 
Swifts are seemingly pugnacious birds. Bree, writing in 1832, says :— 
“Swifts, 1 am told (though I never witnessed the fact), will sometimes 
fight with each other, and in such cases the contending parties are occa- 
sionally brought to the ground, and have been found so circumstanced, and 
with the claws of each mutually clasped into those of the other.”—Ec. ] 


270 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Spoonbills near Great Yarmouth. — On May 10th I saw six Spoon- 
bills (Platalea leucorodia) on Breydon. They were standing in line by the 
edge of a “drain” on one of the “flats.” They were evidently “ taking a 
nap,” but on the near approach of my boat they all assumed a very 
picturesque attitude, as if listening and watching my progress. Hach one’s 
head was thrown at half a right angle, the neck craned into an S-shaped 
posture, one leg being drawn up out of the water,—whether the left or right 
I could not distinguish, as the evening was closing in. Presently they took 
to flight in a long line, and in single file, with bills out forward ana legs 
nearly straight behind. They looked very much like Swans as they sailed 
silently away towards another “flat.” They made no sound whatever, nor 
are they capable, I think, of doing so. I have seen several of these birds, 
and kept a tame one many months, but never heard them utter the slightest 
cry. The six Spoonbills kept avout the neighbourhood several days. They 
are very sociable birds, and an odd one is sure to associate with Gulls, as do 
any small flocks that visit us; while they appear to trust greatly to the 
vigilance of the Gulls (mostly the “ grey” or immature of the Greater Black- 
backed species, which are virtually resident on Breydon all spring and sum- 
mer) for intimation of any intrusion. The Gulls noisily take to flight, the 
Spoonbills taking the hint after a preliminary look round, and making off 
to a distance on their own account.—A. Parrerson (Great Yarmouth). 


‘Black-breasted Partridges.—The Partridges with black horseshoes on 
their breasts, seen in a local game-dealer’s shop by Mr. R. H. Ramsbotham 
(ante, p. 224), were doubtless examples of the Bearded Partridge (Perdia 
daurica), which has now been offered for sale (sometimes as the Manchurian 
Partridge) in the London markets for several years. The range of this bird 
is described in Mr. Ogilvie-Grant’s ‘ Handbook to the Game Birds’ (vol. 1. 
p. 150), as ‘‘ North-eastern and Central Asia, extending north to Dauria ; 
east to Amoorland, Manchuria, and the mountains near Pekin; west to 
Dzungaria and the Tian-shan Mountains: and south to the sources of the 
Yangtze-kiang.” Further particulars about this bird may be gathered from 
a correspondence in the ‘ Field’ newspaper for March and April, 1898. 
The Russian Partridges sold in the shops after the close season have the 
horseshoe usually of a darker brown than it is in English birds, and the 
plumage of the upper parts is perhaps of a colder, greyer tint. But the 
unfortunate liberty to sell ‘“ Russian” Partridges in spring, at present 
enjoyed by game-dealers, undoubtedly would enable an unscrupulous person 
to sell English birds under that name long after the close season begins.— 
O. V. Artin (Bloxham, Oxon). 

[Quite recently in these pages (1898, p. 215), Mr. Dresser, under the 
heading “ Rare Partridges in Leadenhall Market,” also gave a full account 
of Perdia daurica and its range.—Ep. | 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 271 


Ornithological Notes from Aberdeen.—APPEARANCE OF MIGRANTS 
DURING 1899.—The Lapwings (Vanellus vulgaris) appeared here in flocks on 
Feb. 9th; the Curlew (Numenius arquata) on Feb. 26th, but only solitary 
birds. It was a week later before they were generally seen about this part, 
and they continued to arrive even considerably later. A green-billed Gull 
(Larus canus) appeared inland here on March 8rd; a pair of Pied Wagtails 
(Motacila lugubris) on March 8th. On March 23rd two Grey and Yellow 
Wagtails (M. melanope) reached us during the severest snowstorm of the 
season. A Ring Ouzel (Turdus torquatus) I observed on April 20th. A 
Dunlin Sandpiper (Tringa alpina) was noticed on April 30th. The Cuckoo 
(Cuculus canorus) was first heard on May Ist. A flock of Wild Geese 
crossed over on May 11th, and on the 12th a few House Swallows (Hirundo 
rustica) were flying about; and a few Sand Martins (Cottle riparia) on the 
15th. About the last two dates some of the migratory small birds, as 
Warblers, were noticed. But at the date of writing (May 20th) neither 
Wheatears nor Whinchats, both fairly common here under ordinary circum- 
stances, have been noticed by me. ‘The unparalleled cold spring evidently 
kept them away at the dates when they usually appear. 

SoME PECULIARITIES OF THE SEASON IN BrirD-LIre.—With such very 
mild weather in mid-winter, and severe when we usually expect genial 
weather, it is only reasonable to suppose that something unusual could be 
observed in ornithological circles. I noticed pairing going on among Red 
Grouse (Lagopus scoticus), and energetic pairing among Partridges (Perdia 
cinerea). I found an egg of the latter in an occasionally utilized water- 
course on March 17th; it had been recently laid, and the upper part of the 
shell was quite complete, though brittle with the severe frost prevailing at 
the time, the part immersed having been much affected by the action of 
the water, leaving nothing but the skin to cover the contents. I have 
referred to the Lapwings in a previous communication ; they, of course, 
appeared in flocks early, being beguiled by the warm weather to suffer 
severely by late snowstorms, and a stray bird or two appeared through the 
season. We heard the Sky-Lark (Alauda arvensis) singing on Feb. 9th, 
and remaining mute at the usual date at which it sings most. It was 
noticeable that the wary Curlew did not fall under the spell which misled 
the Lapwings. It was well into March before they had generally arrived, 
instead of appearing about the same time as the Lapwings do in normal 
seasons. Probably also the increase in numbers of the latter, owing to 
recent legislation, may induce them to extend their haunts with the mild 
weather. The Curlews are little affected by the Protection Acts, as they 
are adepts in their breeding grounds at keeping out of harm’s way. The 
Robins (Hrithacus rubecula) were the tamest on record here about March 
22nd. Pied Wagtails have been about in their usual numbers, while the 


272 THK ZOOLOGIST. 


Grey and Yellow species appeared earlier than usual, and during the height 
of the snowstorm. The Ring Ouzel seems to vary, over a series of seasons, 
in its date of appearance, being evidently guided by the nature of each year. 
These birds certainly came earlier during recent years than formerly; — 
but they were certainly not welcomed, owing to their habit of plundering 
gardens, but they have probably increased since protection has been 
resorted to. Sandpipers seem to appear fairly near one date, viz. about 
the end of April. The Cuckoo was evidently early, especially when 
there was so little genial weather. Local circumstances govern their 
appearance in our immediate locality, where young wood, with abundance 
of insects, attracts them earlier than before. But it must be remembered 
that on moors here Cuckoos choose Mountain Linnets (Linota flavirostris) 
for foster-parents, and the offspring may be hardier and calculated to appear 
earlier, and remain longer than those brought up by less hardy birds. 
There were twos and threes flying together a few days after their first 
appearance, and apparently more notice was taken of them by the Twites 
than by other birds. It is an open question whether any recognition 
would occur either between the last season’s young or adult Cuckoos, and 
those Linnets which had been foster-birds. The Wild Geese were evidently 
later than usual by one month to even six weeks, while the Swallows were 
pretty early considering the cold season.—W. Witson (Alford, Aberdeen). 


REPEL DA; 

The Cape Monitor.—In Mr. C. Haagner’s remarks upon Varanus 
albigularis (ante, p. 226), I think he must be confusing that reptile with 
V. niloticus, as I have killed several of each species in the north-east of the 
Transvaal, and never found V. albigularis near water, but always far away 
from it, and invariably taking refuge in clefts of adjacent rocks. Moreover, 
I have never met with one four feet in length. V. niloticus I have found 
existing in quite large colonies on sunny banks near rivers, into which they 
invariably plunge on being disturbed; and I have never seen them, when 
near water, take refuge in rocks. I have noticed them dive headlong from 
banks quite twenty feet above the level of the water. I have by me several 
skins of both species, some of V. niloticus measuring five feet in length ; 
but those of V. albigularis, although when killed apparently covering bodies 
of full-grown specimens, none of more than three feet in length. I may 
say that I have carefully compared my skins with the Zoological Society's 
living specimens of these two species. —Cuas. H. J. Tanner (2, Cardigan . 
Mansions, Richmond, Surrey). 

PISCES. 

Notes from Great Yarmouth.—On Jan. 5th I saw a stunted Codling 

(Gadus morrhua). Length, 14 in.; of this the head measured 5 in. Depth of 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 273 


fish, 44 in. An equally remarkable Herring (Clupea harengus) was sent 
me on Feb. 28th. It was 2 in. deep up to the dorsal and anal fins, but was 
nearly normal in shape, and then singularly shortened behind. Length, 
6% in.; it should, if perfect for its size, have been 10 in. long. I hada 
Codling sent me on Jan. 20th, in which the mouth was strangely placed under 
the head, the snout protruding considerably, the lower lip being singularly 
like that of a Shark. The tongue formed a kind of ball or stopper which 
effectually closed the mouth when necessary. Length, 133 in. On Jan. 
16th I met with a Lemon Sole (Solea lascaris), which was brought to the 
fish-wharf. I saw a Brill (Rhombus levis), on March 2nd, which was pure 
white on the upper surface, with the exception of the extreme margin of 
the fins; the latter half of the tail was coloured, as was a small ring 
encircling each eye normally. I was shown a large Turbot (R. maximus), 
on May 29th, which was also white all over the upper surface, save here 
and there a small spot of grey. Both fish, as in all cases of albino Turbots, 
were minus the spiny processes which dot the back or upper surface. A 
small example of the Greenland Bullhead (Cottus scorpius var. grenlandicus) 
reached me on April 29th. On May 21st a local shrimper brought me a fish 
which was quite new to him. It measured 4 in.in length. On comparing it 
with Day’s plate, I found it to be an example of Blennius gattorugine. It was 
not at all highly coloured, as depicted by Couch, but was of a dull tawny or 
yellow-brown, the edges of the fins being of a ruddy hue. Day speaks of 
it being subject to variation according to locality, and no doubt on our 
sandy coast such a stray fish would assume more sober tints than in its 
native rocky habitat. Mr. T. Southwell, to whom I sent it for confirmation 
ot my finding, noticed it was not so deep as in Day’s figure, and the “slight 
notch ” mentioned between the spinous and soft portions of the dorsal fins 
did not seem to him to exist in my specimen. This is the first record of 
B. gattorugine occurring in. Kast Anglian waters. The specimen has been 
spirited, and will be presented to Yarmouth Museum at the Old Tolhouse 
Hall.—A. Patterson (Great Yarmouth). 

[The Gattorugine, known to fishermen of the West of England by the 
homely appellation of Tompot (Couch), has been recorded from the north- 
east coast. ‘‘ Included in Sir Cuthbert Sharp’s List of Hartlepool Fishes,” 
cf. R. Howse, ‘ Cat. Fishes of the Rivers and Coast of Northumberland and 
Durham,’ p. 25. It is reported as lying concealed in pools among long 
seaweeds, where it is probably often overlooked.— ED. | 


AVICULTURAL NOTES. 


Aviculture and its Scientific Status.—Although for many years the 
increase in the number of zoological gardens has shown that scientists have 
desired to become familiar with the living representatives of their cabinet 

Zool. 4th ser. vol. I1I., June, 1899. T 


274 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


specimens, there has been, and still is, a tendency amongst the more 
conservative even of trustworthy cabinet naturalists to look with pity 
upon records of the lives of animals as observed in captivity. Hvery 
scientific man should bear in mind that the records of new facts in the life- 
history of an animal, whether observed in captivity or freedom, are a positive 
gain to science, and of more importance (when not easily discoverable) than 
the description of a skin, inasmuch as anyone with average ability can 
describe that upon which he can always lay his hand; but many difficulties 
may obtrude themselves when an observation has to be made from living 
subjects. 

Aviculture, or the study of birds in captivity, ought to be as scientific as 
the study of dead birds, and when pursued in a proper spirit it undoubtedly 
is so. The true aviculturist always has his faculties awake; he must 
never overlook any detail in the nidification of a species, any change in its 
plumage, or the colouring of its soft parts ; he must observe when and how 
the change takes place—whether by moult, gradual growth of colour in the 
feathers, or abrasion of the brittle fringes of overlapping feathers revealing 
the underlying colour; every courting posture and note must be carefully 
recorded, and the meaning of the notes studied. Although but little use has 
been made, by scientific workers, of the valuable facts got together in Dr. 
Russ’s ‘ Handbuch fiir Vogelliebhaber,’ there is not the least doubt that they 
are of considerable importance. A bird can never be said to have been per- 
fectly described until the true colouring of the soft parts is included in the 
description. Very many species have been fully described by Russ, the 
colouring of the soft parts being carefully noted in nearly every instance; 
yet how seldom do we see any use made of these records by cabinet workers ! 
Surely this is a mistake. 

It has been asserted that birds cannot be properly studied, even in large 
aviaries, because they are under unnatural conditions. This is not only 
untrue, but in many instances it is practically impossible to study their 
habits under any other conditions. Probably the only reason why the 
nidification of many of the commonest small birds has never been noted by 
collectors is because they have only come across them on the edges of 
morasses, or the outskirts of dense jungle and thicket, into which the birds 
could penetrate with ease, but the observer could not follow. When 
impenetrable scrub is represented by half a dozen bushes, the conditions 
(if not the same as when the bird is wild) can hardly be called unnatural, 
and observation ot the nesting habits becomes easy. The fact that 
unnatural birds (¢.e. what are known as fanciers’ birds), when turned out 
into a large aviary, frequently construct the typical nests of their remote 
ancestors, is an argument (I think) against the assumption that aviary life 
is unnatural, and therefore untrustworthy. ‘The young plumages of many 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 275 


common foreign birds are still unknown to recognized ornithologists, and 
unrepresented in our museums. The aviculturist who describes these 
young plumages, or supplies the gaps in collections, is undoubtedly doing 
good ornithological work, and has as much claim to the title of scientist as 
any other man who adds to the sum of general knowledge. 

For the reasons adduced above, I think it would be an excellent thing if 
the Editor of ‘ The Zoologist ’’ would open a column in its pages for new 
scientific facts observed by aviculturists. I feel sure that, from time to 
time, Messrs. Meade Waldo, St. Quintin, the Rev. H. A. Macpherson, and 
other well-known reliable students of birds in captivity, would be able to add 
to the general store of ornithological knowledge.—A. G. Burter. 

[We have great pleasure in opening a column for the communications 
of aviculturists. The aviary, like the aquarium, should afford some much 
desired zoological information, where observations may be made on the 
habits of animals which are practically unattainable elsewhere. Zoological 
gardens in all civilized countries sufficiently attest the scientific importance 
of the study of animals in captivity. Those who keep birds purely for 
pastime are equivalent to those who shoot them only for sport, and do not 
affect the argument.—Ep. |] 


Longevity of Red-headed Cardinal.—It may interest some of your 
readers to know that I have just lost by death a Red-headed Cardinal 
(Paroaria cucullata), which I bought in February, 1874, and which had 
therefore lived for twenty-five years and four months in captivity, always in 
a cage.— WALTER CHAMBERLAIN (Bromesberrow Place, Ledbury). 


T 2 


276 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 


The Geography of Mammals. By Wi.u1aM LuTLEY ScCLATER, 
M.A., F.Z.S., and Paine LUTLEy ScnraterR, M.A., Ph.D., 
F.R.S. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd. 


Dr. P. L. Scuater has made the problem of the geographical 
distribution of animals peculiarly his own. By a circumstance 
which seldom occurs to most specialists, his son has inherited his 
tastes, and shares his studies on the subject. Most zoologists 
will have read, or at all events be cognizant of, the latter’s 
papers on the Geography of Mammals published in ‘The Geo- 
graphical Journal’ (1894-97), while Dr. Sclater’s communication 
“On the Distribution of Marine Mammalia” appeared in these 
pages (1897, pp. 217-28). These together are now republished, 
with many illustrations and some additional matter. 

This branch of zoological science in its present conception 
is inseparable with this country and the present century. Dr. 
Prichard, in his memorable ‘ Researches into the Physical History 
of Mankind,’ was one of the first to give a reasonable working 
hypothesis. This was followed by Swainson in his ‘Geography 
and Classification.” In 1857 Dr. Sclater proposed his divisions 
as applied to Birds before the Linnean Society, which was further 
elaborated and upheld at the Bristol Meeting of the British 
Association in 1875. Wallace in the main adopted these views, 
and they are now generally accepted, subject, of course, to some 
criticism in detail incidental to all widely accepted generalizations. 

The main divisions or regions are mostly maintained in the 
sense originally proposed, though some qualification is to be 
found in the sub-regions. This is to be particularly noticed in 
the Ethiopian region, in which the Cape sub-region now includes 
“the whole country as far north as Angola on the west, and up 
to the T'ana river on the east,” and may probably in time be made 
to include Somaliland as well. Many zoologists have advocated 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 277 


the union of the Palearctic and Nearctic regions from the 
similarity, or rather the many similarities, to be found in their 
faunas, but the Sclaters argue that these affinities are only of 
recent origin, and that “ paleontological evidence seems to 
show that, out of all the four regions embraced under the 
term ‘Arctogcea, * the North American or Nearctic Region 
was the first to be separated from the main mass, and that the 
similarity is a comparatively modern element in the character of 
the two faunas.” 

It is unnecessary to refer to the most original contribution to 
this volume, in the chapter on the Distribution of Marine Mam- 
mals, for, as before mentioned, this article has already appeared 
in these pages. Now that the Terrestrial and Marine Mammals 
have been treated on the Sclaterian method, we may hope that 
the other orders may be studied and published in the same 
manner. Of the fifty illustrations contained in the text, no fewer 
than forty have been designed by T. Smit for this work; there 
are also eight coloured maps; and the volume may be well 
accepted, so far as Mammals are concerned, and for a long time 
to come, as the last authoritative statement on the subject. 


Outlines of Vertebrate Paleontology for Students of Zoology. By 
ARTHUR SmitH WoopwarRpD. Cambridge: at the University 
Press. 


THE study of Prehistoric Man was once completely relegated 
to the domain of Archeology: it is now no longer neglected by 
the historian. It is one of the greatest benefits arising from the 
evolutionary method in the proper study of Zoology, that both 
Embryology and Paleontology are now considered of primary 1m- 
portance if we wish to understand the problem of present animal 
existence. Science to-day is more interested in the past than in 
the future of animal life, and when we really know the first we 
may perhaps be able in some sense to predicate the second. It 
is the hither that will guide us to the whither. As we read these 
pages, commencing with the speculative Paleozoic Conodonts, 


* Hurope, Asia, Africa, Asiatic islands down to Wallace’s line, and North 
America down to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, 


278 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


and arrive at the Pliocene Pithecanthropus erectus, we feel that 
we are contemplating an era of which as yet so little is known, 
and of which so much more must yet be told. The chances 
against finding organic remains are innumerable; “‘ every item of 
knowledge acquired may indeed be literally described as owing to 
a chapter of accidents’’; to the paleontologist the knowledge of 
the past must often seem to be as carefully guarded as the portals 
of the future. And yet, with all the “imperfection of the geo- 
logical record,” paleontological interpreters—among whom will 
always be mentioned Owen and Marsh—have given a knowledge 
which may without offence be designated as a revelation. 

With the fascination incidental to the study of a past era 
and an unseen fauna, caution is a first and last word, in fact, the 
alpha and omega of paleontological speculation. Mr. Woodward 
is careful to explain that, “‘ owing to the imperfection of the geo- 
logical record and the incomplete exploration of most formations, 
any statement now formulated may eventually prove to be quite 
a partial account of the facts, and every conclusion must be more 
or less provisional and tentative”; while “the known facts of 
geology are still too few to restore the life-provinces of the globe 
at the various stages of its past history.” This is a good book 
for the zoological library; it may be, as the author modestly 
suggests, “an elementary handbook,” but at the same time it 
conveys an indispensable information which by many zoologists 
is necessarily possessed in a more than elementary manner. 


New Zealand Moths and Butterflies (Macro-Lepidoptera). By 
G. V. Hupson, F.E.S. London: West, Newman & Co. 


Tue Butterflies and larger Moths of New Zealand have now 
procured a satisfactory treatment, and by the aid of this fully 
illustrated work it is possible to form a conception of the 
interesting but modest lepidopteral fauna of “Te Ika a Maui.” 
In 1855 the missionary Richard Taylor, in his account of the 
islands, gave us a few coloured figures of the butterflies and 
moths found there; Butler subsequently figured the Rhopalocera, 
whilst Meyrick has described and enumerated very many of the 
Heterocera, so that the time was ripe for a fully illustrated 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 279 


monograph. Mr. Hudson is a conscientious follower of Meyrick’s 
views in classification, and this is the first time we have seen that 
proposed arrangement followed of the butterflies being included 
between the Notodontina and the Psychina—in other words, 
immersed in the moths. 

In the introduction Mr. Hudson discusses most of the modern 
theories connected with the Lepidoptera, though of ‘“‘ warning 
colours” he can only suggest one example of a moth in New 
Zealand, while he states that not a single instance of “ mimicry ” 
can yet be adduced in the Lepidoptera of the islands. In con- 
nection with the butterfly Anosia crippus—formerly generally 
known as Danais archippus, and which in quite recent times has 
spread over a large surface of the earth—it is interesting to note 
that it was observed in New Zealand as early as 1840. The 
cosmopolitan Pyrameis cardui, our ‘ painted lady,” is found in 
New Zealand, and so is Protoparce convolvuli, the Convolvulus 
Hawk-Moth, known so well at home and seen so generally 
abroad. 

The plates are chromo-lithographed by West, Newman & Co. 
and in colour leave nothing to be desired. We have seen even 
more artistic work from this firm when they have had the insects 
themselves to portray ; but in this case coloured drawings were 
sent home to be reproduced, which have been most faithfully 
copied. We trust that the author may fulfil his half-implied 
promise of publishing a similar work on the Micro-Lepidoptera 
of New Zealand. 


280 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 


THE death is announced, at Melbourne, of Prof. Sir F. McCoy, who 
had for the last five-and-forty years made his home in Australia. Prof. 
McCoy was an able geologist and paleontologist; he was Professor of 
Natural Science in the University of Melbourne, and to him was due the 
formation of the Melbourne National Museum, which. he directed. The 
well-known publication, ‘ Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria, or Figures 
and Descriptions of the living Species of all Classes of the Victorian 
Indigenous Animals,’ he commenced in 1878. Twenty decades were pub. 
lished up to 1890, when the work ceased. 


Pror. Lupwiac Btcuner died on April 30th last. Bichner’s name 
was once somewhat freely anathematized as that of the author of ‘ Kraft 
und Stoff’ and ‘ Natur und Geist,’ but he will be best remembered by 
zoologists in connection with a volume which appeared in an English 
translation in 1880 under the title of ‘ Mind in Animals.’ He also trans- 
lated into German Lyell’s ‘ Antiquity of Man,’ and published ‘ Die Dar- 
winsche Theorie.’ 


Tue death has been announced, at Hull, of Mr. Henry Bendelack 
Hewetson, surgeon, of Leeds. In the science of natural history he was 
quite an enthusiast. In 1885 he was elected President of the Leeds 
Naturalists’ Club and Scientific Association, and during that year he 
obtained from the Corporation the grant of a room in the Municipal 
Buildings for the housing of the collections and library and holding of 
meetings of that body. At the close of the year the rules were altered to 
permit of the re-election of a President for a second year, and he was 
accordingly made President for the following year. In 1896 he was again 
elected President, a position which he once more filledin 1897. As Presi« 
dent he constantly advocated the foundation of a Scientific Institute by the 
joint action of the several scientific societies of Leeds, and in 1896 a decided 
step was taken in this direction, but unfortunately without success. As 
an ornithologist, Mr. Hewetson recorded several new visitors to our shores, 
and, in conjunction with other observers, did much good work, especially 
in regard to the study of migration, He also assisted in the exploration 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 281 


of the famous “ kitchen middens” in the Holderness district of East York- 
shire. On his visits to the North Coast of Africa he made valuable collec- 
tions of the birds and insects of that region. In this department of his 
recreations his artistic abilities were of great service, for he could depict 
natural history objects in colours with wonderful fidelity. His incursions 
into the realm of photography were limited to the use of a hand camera, 
with which he was fairly successful. ‘Thoughts on Ornithology’ and 
‘ Nature Cared for and Uncared for’ were subjects upon which he wrote 
with knowledge. He was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, a 
Fellow of the Linnean Society, a Fellow of the Zoological Society, and a 
member of the British Ornithological Union. 


THE greatest of animal painters has passed away. Mlle. Rosa Bonheur 
died at Fontainebleau on May 26th. Although the deceased artist did not 
rank as a zoologist, still the painter of the ‘ Horse Fair” studied and knew 
her subjects, and in art reflected nature beyond the capacity, as a rule, of 
those who paint or those who observe. 


At the meeting of the Royal Microscopical Society on May 7th, the 
Fellows, assisted by many friends of the Quekett Microscopical Club, gave 
an exhibition of Pond-life. The exhibition was highly successful, the many 
beautiful objects exciting much admiration. Among them may be men- 
tioned Lophopus crystallinus ; Daphnia pulex (this entomostracan was 
stained with a solution of fuchsin, which a depraved taste had induced it to 
imbibe, apparently without harm, but which caused its internal economy to 
be very conspicuous); HHydatina senta was exhibited; and specimens of 
Melicerta ringens, a tube-dwelling rotifer which is its own brickmaker and 
bricklayer. Hydra viridis was on view, showing ovary and testes, the ovary 
in the amoeboid stage. From Dundee came bursaria t., Conochilus, 
Mastigocerca bicarinata, Notommata collaris of Khrenberg, Stephanoceros, 
&c. There were also exhibited Rivularia and Draparnaldia, a highly 
attractive exhibition of hundreds of brilliantly iluminated rotifers of 
various species, careering in all directions on a dark background, and 
S. serrulatus, an entomostracan hitherto unrecorded in Britain; the 
water-mite (Hydryphantes dispar), another mite (Limnesia hystrionica), 
and Notops brachionus, which is one of the most beautiful of the free- 
swimming rotifers. 


At the meeting of the Linnean Society of April 20th the Rev. O. 
Pickard-Cambridge communicated a new list of British and Irish spiders, 
After reviewing the existing literature on the subject, and the materials 


282 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


which had come to hand since 1881 for a new and revised list of species, 
the author pointed out that the present paper was not intended merely for 
the use of authors or collectors interested in local faunas, but to give (with 
references to primary authorities) the spiders at present known to belong 
to Great Britain and Ireland, leaving the question of their distribution, 
abundance, or scarcity to be dealt with at some future time, when the 
present scanty number of spider-collectors might have increased. At 
present large areas of varied natural characters, in some cases whole coun- 
ties, and many maritime districts, were entirely unexplored, so far as their 
arachnology was concerned. With respect to nomenclature and systematic 
arrangement, the author had mainly followed the plan of ‘ The Spiders of 
Dorset’ (1881); but in dealing with the large groups represented by Mr. 
Blackwell’s Neriene, Linyphia, and Walckenera, he had to a great extent 
followed M. Simon’s lead in breaking up these genera in order to bring a 
large heterogeneous mass of material into a fairly workable form. | 


THe Report of the Council and Auditors of the Zoological Society for 
1898 is now before us. A continual increase in the number of members is 
again shown, which has now been going on for the past six years, and the 
number of Fellows is now in excess of what it has been in any year since 
1885. A new Llama-house has been constructed. The reconstruction in 
an improved form of the Llama-house, one of the oldest buildings in the 
Gardens, has long been a matter of urgency. It is believed that the new 
house, which has been built upon the same site from plans drawn up by 
Mr. C. B. Trollope, is well adapted for the purpose for which it is intended. 
It is a well-lighted and airy building, and gives excellent accommodation to 
the Society’s stock of these animals. ‘The new Llama-house was built by 
Messrs. Smith & Co., at a cost of £767 7s. 2d., which has been charged to 
the extraordinary expenditure of the year 1898. More space being 
required for the proper accommodation of the Society’s fine series of Zebras 
and Wild Asses, it was determined by the Council, in 1898, to erect a new 
Zebra-house immediately adjoining the existing Zebra-house, in the further 
corner of the Middle Garden, upon the site then occupied by the old 
Ostrich-house, which had become available on the transfer of the Ostriches 
and Cassowaries into the new Ostrich-house in the South Garden. The 
new Zebra-house, which was designed by Mr. Charles B. Trollope, and built 
by Messrs. Smith & Co., will, it is believed, be found to give excellent 
accommodation to these favourite animals, and at the same time replace an 
old and ruinous building by an elegant and ornamental structure. The 
total number of deaths of animals in the gardens during the year 1898 was 
1654, showing a decrease of 142 as compared with the previous year. Of 
these deaths the more important were:—The young Gireffe which was 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 283 


purchased on July 6th. This animal only lived for one month in the 
Gardens; the principal post-mortem appearance was the cedematous con- 
dition of many of the internal viscera. Three Chimpanzees and three 
Orangs have died during the year, and no fewer than twenty-six Kangaroos 
of various species. Of the latter some five or six appear to have suffered 
from a contagious fever. Two Ostriches, a Tiger, two Three-toed Sloths, 
and four Leopards were the principal remaining losses of importance. 

The following is a list of the more noticeable additions made to the 
Menagerie during the year 1898 :— 

A fine young female Mountain Zebra (Hquus zebra), bred in the garden 
of the Zoological Society of Amsterdam; a young male Leucoryx 
Antelope from Senegal; a young male Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), 
from Newfoundland; two examples of FTorster’s Lung-fish (Ceratodus 
forsteri), from Queensland, purchased of Mr. D. O’Connor, who has 
successfully conveyed from Australia to England four fine living speci- 
mens of this remarkable Dipnoan Fish, believed to be the first ever 
brought to Europe alive; a young pair of White-tailed Gnus (Conno- 
chetes gnu), presented by Mr. C. D. Rudd, F.Z.S., who kindly brought 
them from his park at Fernwood, Newlands, near Cape Town, in order 
to make a change of blood in the small herd of these Gnus in the 
Society’s Gardens; a young male Lesser Koodoo (Strepsiceros imberbis), 
from Somaliland, being the third example of this rare Antelope received by 
the Society ; an example of an apparently new African Monkey of the genus 
Cercopithecus (proposed to be called C. lhoestt), received from Congoland 
by the Zoological Society of Antwerp, and obtained in exchange from 
that Society ; a gigantic Centipede (Scolopendra gigas), from Trinidad; a 
series of fifty-two large Tortoises from the Galapagos Islands, deposited 
by the Hon. Walter Rothschild on July 20th. Nineteen of these, from 
Duncan Island, appear to be referable to Testudo ephippium, and thirty- 
four, from Albemarle Island, to Testudo vicina; a very fine and large 
specimen of the Reticulated Python (Python reticulatus), which exceeds in 
size the specimen which lived for twenty years in the Society’s Gardens ; 
twelve African Walking-fish (Periophthalmus koelreuteri); an adult male 
example of the Duke of Bedford’s Deer (Cervus xanthopygius), from 
Northern China; and a young male Siamang (Hylobates syndactylus) from 
the native state of Negri Sembilan, Malay Peninsula, being the first 
individual of this extremely interesting Anthropoid Ape that has reached 
the Society in a living state. 


Tue Year Book of the United States Department of Agriculture for 
1898 has just reached our hands. As usual, this volume is not one alone 
for the agriculturist or horticulturist. In a large sense it is distinctly 


284 THK ZOOLOGIST. 


zoological. The communication by Mr. T. L. Palmer on “‘ The Danger of 
introducing Noxious Animals and Birds ” is well worth the most careful 
perusal. Some facts relating to accidental or involuntary migration may be 
repeated. ‘In November, 1895, a Central American Mouse of the genus 
Oryzomys, concealed in a bunch of bananas shipped from Puerto Limon, 
Costa Rica, was captured alive in a commission house in Washington, D.C. 
A young murine Opossum from Tropical America was discovered in a bunch 
of bananas at Ames, Iowa, during the summer of 1882, and was kept alive 
for some time. If such cases were frequent, it can be readily seen how a 
species might gain a foothold in new regions, provided the conditions were 
favourable for its increase.” Members of the Sparrow cult will not find 
agreeable reading in the account of ‘ the true character of the bird” as 
detailed in these pages. The expenditure for its destruction in Illinois 
_ (1891-95) and Michigan (1887-95) amounted to about 117,500 dols. The 
introduction of the Sky-Lark (Alauda arvensis) and the Blackbird (Turdus 
merula) into New Zealand, where the first has become the scourge of the 
turnip field, eating the seeds soon after planting, and the second is well 
known as a champion fruit destroyer, induces the remark that both these 
birds “are noted singers; but the charms of their song hardly compensate 


for damage to crops.” 


Mr. J. W. Wiis Bunp has republished a paper read at the Victoria 
Institute, Worcester, on ‘“‘ The Life of a Severn Salmon.” Much has still 
to be learned respecting this fish, as we read that no one can give a really 
satisfactory statement as to the length of time a Salmon will live if it 
escapes death by the hands of its numerous enemies, nor can tell with 
accuracy the time it takes to produce a twenty-pound Salmon. We cannot 
say we know even the outlines of the life-history of a Salmon in fresh water. 
«A question of some interest arises as to the age to which a Salmon will 
live. Here again more évidence is wanted; atwenty-pound fish cannot be 
less than four years old, and is probably older. He would be hatched out, 
say, in 1890, would descend as a Smolt in 1891 at the earliest, and perhaps 
not till 1892. If he went down in 1891, he would probably return as a 
Grilse in 1892, as a Gilling in 1893, as a Salmon in 1894; but he might 
not go down till 1892, and his return in any of the stages might be pro- 
longed, so that it will be safe to say that a twenty-pound fish is probably 
seven years old, and very possibly older. One fact seems clear, that the 
male Salmon grows larger, and so presumably lives longer than the female ; 
it is the exception to get a female Salmon over thirty pounds, while it is 
common to get males over that weight. Why this is, I cannot explain ; I only 
state the fact. Against this must be set the assertion that at spawning-time 
the mortality of males is said to be greater than the mortality of females,” 


HDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 285 


In the ‘Annals of Scottish Natural History’ for April, Mr. J. A. 
Harvie-Brown has published ‘‘ Notes on some Scottish Salmonide.” In 
the well-known anglirg county of Sutherland, with its innumerable lochs 
and streams, there are many interesting varieties of Salmonide. All of 
these, however, rank, as the writer believes with Dr. Day, only as varieties 
of the principal species or types recognized in that author’s ‘ History of 
British Fishes,’ and still more recently accentuated in his ‘ British and 
Irish Salmonide.’ ‘These species are:— The Salmon, Salmo salar, L. 
(‘ British and Irish Salmonide,’ p. 51); the Sea-Trout, Salmo trutta, L. 
(op. cit. p. 149); the Fresh-water Trout, Salmo fario, L. (op. cit. p. 182); 
the Char, Salmo alpinus, L. (op. cit. p. 112); and all other so-called species 
must, Mr. Harvie-Brown considers, have their names sunk to the value of 
mere varieties—such as the Great Lake Trout (Salmo ferox), and many 
others, not speaking, of course, of aberrant forms of the Salmonida@, such as 
the Sperling (Osmerus eperlanus). The notes refer mainly to certain 
varieties of the Salmonide belonging to the above species which are found 
in different lakes and rivers in Scotland, such as the Loch Maidaidh and 
Smoo Burn-Trout; Crasspuil Trout ; Loch Sean Trout; the Tidal Trout 
of the rivers Inver and Kirkaig, known to the natives as “ Fossacks ” ; 
Parr-marked Trout of Loch na Sgeirach; and Hump-backed Trout of 
Fheoir Lochan. 


eee 


A WRITER in the ‘ Westminster Gazette’ has called attention to the 
decrease of Salmon in the Welsh Dee :—“ This river is peculiarly fitted by 
nature for the abode of Salmon. Deep, swirling pools alternate with rapid 
runs and long sluggish reaches. It possesses a noble estuary, and numerous 
tributary streams, admirably adapted for breeding purposes, flow into it. 
From various causes the supply of Salmon has declined of late years, 
and at the present time the Fishery Board finds its operations seriously 
hampered. Its income is derived entirely from the licences taken out by 
rod and net fishers, and so marked is the scarcity of Salmon this year that 
there has been a great falling-off in the number of net licences, with a 
corresponding decline in the revenue. It is, of course, possible that an 
improvement may take place ere the close of the season, but present con- 
ditions do not favour the supposition, and there is reason to fear that, in 
common with many other rivers, the Dee is steadily deteriorating as 
regards the stock of Salmon. It is evident that as the income of the 
conservators falls off so does their ability to preserve the river. In the 
absence of funds they cannot pay watchers to guard it, and nowhere in 
the kingdom is poaching more rife during the close season than in North 
Wales. The state of affairs is serious, for when once a certain limit of 
scarcity is reached on Salmon rivers, matters are likely to go from bad to 


seg THE ZOOLOGIST. 


worse unless prompt and energetic action be taken. On various English 
rivers scarcity has led by gradual degrees to the extinction of the Salmonide; 
the Thames is a notable instance in point, and there are streams on the east 
coast of Kngland, where Salmon once were numerous, in which nowadays 
the king of fresh-water fishes is never seen. I am far from suggesting that 
such misfortune is in store for the Welsh Dee, but the river is in an 
unsatisfactory condition, and has been for some years. Among the causes 
which are contributing to its decline the presence of Pike in large numbers, 
both in the main river and its tributaries, is not the least injurious; these 
predatory fish destroy enormous quantities of Salmon fry, and are equally 
harmful to the Trout-fishing. During the spawning season gangs of men 
raid the tributary streams by night, and it is manifestly impossible for one 
or two watchers to cope with these lawless intruders. Apart from these 
causes it is difficult to account for the deterioration of the Dee. It is not 
seriously polluted. The Fishery Board has been at considerable pains to 
improve it by putting up fish passes and a Salmon hatchery, and one can 
only conjecture that over-netting in past years is responsible for the present 
scarcity. The conservators would perhaps be well-advised to raise the charge 
for net licences; by seeking the co-operation of the riparian owners they 
might still make adequate provision for watching the river.” 


In the ‘Transactions’ of the South African Philosophical Society 
(vol. x. part 2) appears a very welcome “ Bibliography of Books, Pamphlets, 
Maps, Magazine Articles, &c., relating to South Africa, with special reference 
to Geography. [rom the time of Vasco da Gama to the formation of the 
British South Africa Company in 1888.” The compilation is by Mr. 
H. C. Schunke Hollway, and comprises 2099 separate entries. Although 
zoological publications have not been made a specialty in the compilation, 
the zoologist who wishes to read the observations of early travellers will find 
this bibliography a guide to much neglected and little-known literature on 
the subject. The zoologist will, however, find in the same publication 
vol. x. part 3) a “ Resumé of recent scientific publications bearing on 
South Africa from January 1st, 1897, to June 30th, 1898,” which we hope 
will be continued. 


Tue Tres Marias Islands are situated off the west coast of Mexico, 
about sixty-five miles west from the port of San Blas. Their natural 
history had been very moderately detailed. Grayson, a naturalist, made 
three trips to the islands in 1865, 1866, and 1867, and, in conjunction 
with Laurence and Bryant, published several papers thereon. Forrer 
collected there for the British Museum in 1881, but no detailed account of 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 287 


his work has been published. In the spring of 1897 E. W. Nelson and 
EK. A. Goldman made an expedition to the Tres Marias, and the results are 
embodied in No. 14 of the Memoirs devoted to the North American Fauna 
published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture at Washington. Mam- 
mals, Birds, Reptiles, Crustacea, and Plants are described by Nelson, 
Steineger, Rathburn, and Rose. The number of species of animals and 
plants now known for the Tres Marias are 11 Land Mammals, 83 Birds, 
18 Reptiles, 2 Fresh-water Fish, 1 Fresh-water Shrimp, and 6 Land 
Molluscs. The plants enumerated are 136. The surprising result is in 
the number of species peculiar to these islands, which are clearly continental 
islands from the absence of a deep separating channel. ‘Thus in species 
and subspecies, 7 Mammals, 23 Birds, and 1 Reptile appear to be peculiar 
to the islands. Mr. Nelson also adds a bibliography of the Tres Marias 
Islands. 


AmeERIca is still the head-quarters for Economic Entomology. We 
have just received a lengthy and well-illustrated memoir published by the 
University of Kansas, and forming the sixty-fifth contribution from the 
Entomological Laboratory. It is entitled ‘“ Alfalfa, Grasshoppers, Bees ; 
their relationships,” by S. J. Hunter. Melanoplus differentialis is the 
destructive locust which is particularly referred to, and its anatomy is well 
illustrated. ‘In alfalfa culture,if the Grasshopper proves an incentive to 
proper cultivation, the insect is a blessing in disguise. Disking alfalfa 
fields in the early spring, after the frost has left the ground, and before 
vegetation has well started, increases the yield of the first crop one-third ; 
matures the second crop earlier, and brings from it an equally increased 
yield ; destroys the native Grasshopper eggs placed therein, and kills the 
native grasses which frequently threaten to reclaim the field.” 


THE Royal Mail steamer ‘ Stola,’ according to the ‘ Aberdeen Journal,’ 
has just had the not unique experience of running down a Whale. The 
steamer was on her passage on Wednesday, April 26th, between Stromness 
and Scapa, in the Orkney Isles, when a violent shock was felt abreast of 
Swanbister. Immediately afterwards a large Whale rose under her quarter 
with a fearful gash in its body, and throwing up blood and water from its 
blowhole to a height of fifteen feet. The ‘Stola’ was steaming twelve knots, 
and must have nearly cut the Whale intwo. As the captain had the mails 
on board he could not stop, but as long as the Whale was visible it was seen 
to be lashing the water furiously. 


THE ‘ Daily Chronicle’s’ Liverpool Correspondent says:— ‘A gem 
of French colonial protectionist policy reaches me from Loango. The 


288 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


authorities of the French Congo, being rather short of money, have issued 
a decree placing a tax of fifty centimes on every Parrot exported from that 
colony to Europe.” 


We are glad to notice the growing recognition of ‘“‘ Zoology ” as an 


applied science. In the ‘ Pharmaceutical Journal’ a course of “ Zoological 
Notes for Pharmacists’ is now in course of publication. 


On Thursday afternoon, Oct. 6th, 1898, Mr. J. Passmore Edwards laid 
the first stone of the Essex Local and Educational Museum of Natural 
History. The Museum, designed by Messrs. Gibson and Russell, will 
ultimately be a very handsome structure, adjoining, but distinct from, the 
Technical Institute of the West Ham Corporation in the (Main) Romford 
Road, Stratford. The cost of the building and ground will be about 
£6000, towards which Mr. Passmore Edwards munificently contributes 
£2500, on condition that the Museum shall contain the Essex Field Club’s 
County Collections of Natural History. The balance of the cost, and the 
up-keep of the building, will be defrayed by the Corporation of West Ham, 
acting through their Technical Instruction Committee. In accordance with 
the scheme of the Agreement made between the Corporation of West Ham 
and the Essex Field Club, dated 25th July, 1898, the Museum will be 
carried on as a Permanent Institution under that Agreement as follows :— 

(a) The Corporation agree to dedicate the main portion of the building © 
to the purposes of a Museum of Local (Essex) Natural History, Prehistoric 
Archeology and Anthropology, and of educational series relating to the 
- same; to warm, light, and provide for the caretaking of the building ; that 
the Club shall have the sole scientific control of the collections, and the 
appointment of the Curator, and be allowed to keep its Library in the 
building ; the Corporation also agreeing to make a grant of not less than 
£100 per annum towards the curatorial expenses. 

(b) The Club agree to place their county collections, cases, and cabinets 
in the Museum (excepting the Epping Forest collections, which are to be 
retained in the Forest Museum at Chingford); to do their best to increase 
and improve the same; to undertake the selection and scientific control of 
the collections ; to raise a certain capital sum for the further equipment of 
the Museum ; to appoint a Curator, and to devote a sum of £50 per annum 
towards the curatorial expenses. 

As at least £1000 will be required for the wall-cases, table-cases, 
cabinets, and other equipments necessary to a Natural History Museum, 
donations are invited, which may be paid to Lloyds’ Bank (Essex Field 
Club Account—Town Side), 72, Lombard Street, E.C.; or to the Treasurer, 
W. C. Waller, Esq., Loughton, Essex. 


HE “ZLO0OLOGIST 


No. 697.—July, 1899. 


BIOLOGICAL. SUGGES TIONS. 
MIMICRY. 


By W. L. Disrant. 
Part I. 


‘‘Hvidence has three degrees of force: demonstration, probability, 


plausibility.” —MattHew ARNOLD. 
“The essence of originality is not that it be new.’’—CARLYLE. 
‘Nature suffers nothing to remain in her kingdoms which cannot help 


itself.”—EMERSON. 


Iv, as we have before suggested, our only clue to the original, 
or even primitive, colouration of animals is lost and buried in the 
records of the geological past, in which we find structure—scantily 
and often confined to typical portions—but of colour nothing,* a 
much larger field is open to the paleontologist who seeks for the 
origin of that animal structure which is so often alike described 
under the terms of ‘ protective resemblance’. and “ mimicry.” 
Friends and foes of those theories too frequently—both for 
attack and defence—conceive the wonderful protective disguises 
in nature as having been evolved during the time of present 


* In the years to come, when we shall be estimated only as advanced 
teleologists, science may probably have solved the problem of animal coloura- 
tion. When that is effected, who dare say that the inductive process will be 
unable to exhibit the long past in varied and tinted landscape on the walls of 
the museum, where now osteology only holds her cold and partial sway ? 


Zool. 4th ser. vol. III., July, 1899. U 


290 . THE ZOOLOGIST. 


natural conditions ;* whereas we should think not of years but of 
geological epochs, for time is only an imaginary quantity, alike 
useful to the mathematician and historian, a result of expressing 
the term of our short lives. Thus we may seek to multiply the 
years of our fugitive existence into a product which shall repre- 
sent the limits of an unknown past, whilst we can only imagine 
space by the equivalent of time. 

We have already ventured some suggestions on the subject 
of assimilative colouration, and we now approach a different 
class of phenomena, where the resemblance is not of colour alone, 
but also frequently of structure. by which animals exhibit a close 
resemblance to some inanimate object, and to which the term 
‘** Protective Imitation of Particular Objects”’ has been aptly pro- 
posed by Mr. Wallace.t One of the most striking examples is 
found in the Orthopterous family Phasmide,{ and in what are 
generally known as the “‘ Walking-stick insects.” To use the 
graphic and accurate description of Mr. Wallace :—‘‘ Some of 
these are a foot long, and as thick as one’s finger, and their whole 
colouring, form, rugosity, and the arrangement of the head, legs, 
and antenne, are such as to render them absolutely identical 
in appearance with dead sticks. They hang loosely about shrubs 
in the forest, and have the extraordinary habit of stretching out 
their legs unsymmetrically, so as to render the deception more 


* Mr. Sedgwick is of opinion that there is much to be said for the view 
that the greater part of evolutionary change had already taken place in pre- 
Cambrian times before the fossiliferous period. ‘‘ If this view was correct— 
and the probability of it should be borne in mind—the main part of the 
evolution of organisms must have taken place under totally different con- 
ditions to those now existing, and must remain for ever unknown to us.” 
(Proc Fourth Internat. Congr. Zoology, Cambridge, 1898, p. 75.) 

+ ‘Darwinism,’ p. 202.—Mr. Skertchley distinguishes ‘‘ protective re- 
semblance” as copying stationary objects, and ‘‘mimicry”’ as simulating 
moving ones (Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. vi. vol. iii. p. 478). 

| Some Phasmas vary in colour in the same species, as noticed in 
Mauritius. Cuvier was not unobservant of these peculiarities, as, referring 
to the Phasma rossia, from the South of France, he describes it as either of 
a yellow-green or greyish brown. (Quoted by Nicholas Pike, ‘ Sub-Tropical 
Rambles,’ p. 164.) It is interesting to note a superficial parallelism in 
structure in the Skeleton-Shrimps (Caprellide) with the Phasmida, and in 
Mantis-Shrimps (Stomatopoda) with the Mantide, of which a good example 
may be found in the Squilla mantis, Rondel. 


MIMICRY. 291 


complete.”* Mr. Wallace travelled both in the western and eastern 
tropics. The late Prof. Drummond records similar impressions 
in Africa :—‘‘ On finding one of these insects, I have often cut a 
small branch from an adjoining tree, and laid the two side by side 
for comparison ; and when both are partly concealed by the hands 
so as to show only the part of the insect’s body which is free from 
limbs, it is impossible to tell the one from the other. The very 
joints of the legs in these forms are knobbed to represent nodes, 
and the characteristic attitudes of the insects are all such as to 
sustain the deception.” + Every writer, in fact, who approaches 
the subject of animal disguises, whether evolutionist or not, quotes 
these insects as one of the strongest illustrations he can find, and 
with ample warrant, for we may take these ‘‘ Stick-insects””’ as 
affording a typical instance of what is understood as protective 
resemblance. The protection, however, cannot be complete, for 
Wallace found the stomachs of certain Cuckoos full of them. 
Now, it is a general postulate that this highly imitative and 
protected form is due to the action of ‘‘natural selection,” acting 
on some incipient and original element of variation. As Mr. 
Bates observed :—‘‘ Natural selection having, from the first, 
favoured the species which offered variation in these parts, the 
tendency to variability has become perpetuated by inheritance.’’§ 
Or, as Mr. Darwin put it:—‘‘ Assuming that an insect originally 
happened to resemble in some degree a dead twig or a decayed 
leaf, and that it varied slightly in many ways, then all the varia- 
tions which rendered the insect at all more like any such object, 
and thus favoured its escape, would be preserved, whilst other 
variations would be neglected and ultimately lost; or, if they 
rendered the insect at all less like the imitated object, they would 
be eliminated.” || We should therefore expect, if a perfect 
geological record could unfold the ancestry of these insects, to 
trace a gradual evolution of form for protective purposes under 


* ‘Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selection,’ p. 64. 

+ ‘Tropical Africa,’ 4th edit. p. 178. 

t ‘Tropical Nature,’ p. 93.—In North America ‘‘ Walking-sticks (Dia- 
pheromera) are eaten by the Crow-Blackbird and two species of Cuckoos.”— 
S. D. Judd (American ‘ Naturalist,’ vol. xxxiil. p. 462). 

§ “ Descriptions of Fifty-two New Species of Phasmide ” (‘Trans. Linn. 
Soc. vol. xxv. p. 328). 


|| ‘ Origin of Species,’ 6th ed. p. 182. 
u2 


292 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


the influence of natural selection. Such an investigation has 
been attempted, and such a result apparently obtained by Mr. 
Cameron, in his search for “‘the origin and purpose of the horns 
and antlers of ruminants.” He concludes “that the horns and 
antlers of ruminants are the result of a defensive adjustment in 
biological answer to carnivorous teeth and claws, and consequent 
upon the relations of destroyer and destroyed which obtained 
between carnivores and ungulates throughout Tertiary time. .. . 
Their historical appearance in the Miocene age of the Tertiary 
period is contemporaneous with a vast extinction of hornless 
ungulate families, and their subsequent development in an 
ascending scale corresponds with the gradual thinning out of 
unarmed ungulate genera, and the gradually increasing destructive 
pressure upon those, whether armed or unarmed, that survived. 
Their evident loss of calibre since paleolithic times may be 
traced chiefly to the coming of man with missile weapons, which, 
in altering the character of the destroying agency, discounted 
the value of cranial armature in the struggle for life.’’* 

It is a remarkable fact with these Phasmide that giant forms 
are said to have existed even in the Carboniferous fauna. Among 
other Orthoptera belonging to that era were ‘‘ the giant Walking- 
sticks recently brought to light from the coal-measures of France, 
the Tvtanophasma fayolt, which measure in length (in one speci- 
men) upwards of twelve inches, and are therefore, by linear 
measure, very nearly the largest of recent as well as fossil 
insects.” + It is necessary, however, to observe that much 
caution must be exercised in the identification of these fossil 
remains. Dr. Sharp is at least sceptical, for he writes :—‘ In 
the Carboniferous layers of the Paleozoic epoch there are found 
remains of gigantic insects that may possibly be connected with 
our living Phasmide.’{ The same writer, however, has sub- 
_ sequently given a less undecided opinion: ‘‘ Phasmide are insects 
of extreme interest ; they appear to be the nearest living repre- 


* * Zoologist,’ 3rd ser. vol. xvili. pp. 291-2. 

+ Heilprin, ‘Geograph. and Geol. Distr. of Animals,’ p. 150.—Phar- 
nacia serratipes, from Borneo, the largest known species, is stated by Mr. 
Kirby to measure nearly thirteen inches from the front of the head to the 
extremity of the abdomen (Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. vi. (2nd ser.) p. 448). 

t ‘Cambridge Nat. Hist.’ vol. v. p. 276. 


MIMICRY. 293 


sentatives of an insect fauna that was predominant in the 
Carboniferous epoch.”* Brongniart and Scudder have proposed 
a distinct family—Protophasmide—for these fossil remains, 
though Scudder’s “restoration” of 7’. fayoli is perhaps, and 
necessarily, somewhat imaginary. Mr. Comstock maintains that 
“we must turn to the Carboniferous as the earliest epoch from 
which we have data to base our conclusions regarding the struc- 
ture of the primitive insect wings’’;+ whilst Huxley believed 
that “the Carboniferous Insecta and Arachnida are neither less 
specialized, nor more embryonic, than those that now live.’ } 

If, however, we suppose, as we may reasonably do, that these 
Carboniferous Phasmide must have been protected forms of 
insect life at that period—for it is by their peculiar structure 
that the fossil remains are recognized—the imitative resemblance 
would also have a different meaning and a diverse reference to 
what now obtains. Respecting fossil Cockroaches, Mr. Scudder 
states :—‘‘ The first Cockroach wing ever described was first 
described as a fern leaf, and in all, or nearly all, the localities 
where their remains have been found they are associated with 
fern leaves in immense abundance. While searching for their 
remains in the Permian deposits at Carsville, J was much struck 
by this resemblance, and was repeatedly obliged to use the glass 
to determine whether it was the wing of a Cockroach or the 
frond of a fern I had uncovered, and the instances are not rare 
where they agree completely in size. ‘The general distribution of 
the nervures is to cursory view the same in each, and the form is 
often nearly identical.”’§ The flora of the Carboniferous era was 
very different to that of the present epoch. The mighty forests 
of gigantic horse-tails, club-mosses, and tree-ferns replaced or 
anticipated the jungles and woods of to-day; and, as Haeckel truly 
observes :—“ It is difficult for us to form any idea of the very 
peculiar nature of those gloomy paleolithic fern-forests, in which 
the whole of the gay abundance of flowers of our present flora 
was entirely wanting, and which were not enlivened by any bird 


* In ‘ Zool. Results of Arthur Willey Exped.’ pt. i. p. 78. 

+ ‘Evolution and Taxonomy.’— ‘The Wilder Quarter-Century Book, 
p- 56. 

+ ‘Collected Essays,’ vol. viil. p. 297. 

§ ‘Bull. U.S, Geol. Surv.’ No, 124, pp. 30-1 (1895). 


294 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


or mammal,.”’* Prof. Geikie describes it as ‘‘ marked by a 
singular monotony of character all over the world from the 
Equator into the Arctic Circle, the same genera, and sometimes 
even the same species, appearing to have ranged over the whole 
surface of the globe. It consisted almost entirely of vascular 
cryptogams, and pre-eminently of Hquisetacee, Lycopodiacee, and 
Ferns. Though referable to existing groups, the plants pre- 
sented many remarkable differences from their living representa- 
tives. In particular, save in the case of the ferns, they much 
exceeded in size any forms of the present vegetable world to 
which they can be assimilated. Our modern horse-tails had 
their allies in huge trees among the Carboniferous jungles, and 
the familiar club-moss of our hills, now a low-creeping plant, 
was represented by tall-stemmed Lepidodendra that rose fifty 
feet or more into the air. The ferns, however, present no such 
contrast to forms still living. On the contrary, they often recall 
modern genera, which they resemble not merely in general 
aspect, but even in their circinnate vernation and fructification. 
With the exception of a few tree-ferns, they seem to have been 
all low-growing plants, and perhaps were to some extent epi- 
phytic upon the larger vegetation of the lagoons.” + Now, if we 
keep in mind this description of the very different flora that then 
existed, we cannot help recognizing the fact that these Stick- 
insects would either have a totally different relation to the trunks 
of those tree-ferns to what they bear to the branches and twigs of 
trees as known to ourselves, or that they then—as is more 
probable—by a difference of form to their present descendants, 
assimilated to their then environment. 

Again, the more ancient existence of the Phasmide, prior to 
the Carboniferous epoch, is implied, for it is impossible to 
imagine on any evolutionary principle that these giant insects 
came suddenly into existence at that era, especially if, as we 
believe, their imitative structure is due to the action of natural 
selection. In that case there must have been antecedently less 
specialized forms, less imitative structure. ‘‘ Considering the 
abundance of Walking-sticks in Paleozoic rocks, the absence of 


* ¢ History of Creation,’ 4th ed. vol. ii. p. 128. 
+ ‘Text-Book of Geology,’ pp. 724-5. 


MIMICRY. 295 


their remains from Mesozoic strata is rather remarkable.”* But 
the difficulties in the clear conception of this question do not end 
here. As early as this Carboniferous epoch, these insects appear 
to have possessed what we naturally consider as a protected or 
imitative structure, and this view is inconceivable without the 
antecedent proposition that their enemies then existed, and that 
the imitative guise was that of the oft-devoured against the 
would-be-devourer. But it is affirmed that Lizards do not 
appear before the Permian epoch,} birds as certainly not before 
the Jurassic{ or perhaps the Triassic formation. ‘‘It is quite 
possible that birds existed during the Triassic period, but at 
present there is no proof of it.’§ Andif these facts were taken 
as final, then an insuperable difficulty would exist as to the 
structure of these Phasmidé being due to a gradually acquired 
protective character. But the same argument applies to these 
ancient Lizards as to our Carboniferous Stick-insects. As 
Huxley remarks, “These Permian Lizards differ astonishingly 
little from the Lizards which exist at the present day”; and 
again, “It is perfectly clear that if our paleontological collections 
are to be taken, even approximately, as an adequate representa- 
tion of all the forms of animals that have ever lived, and if the 
record furnished by the known series of beds of stratified rocks 
covers the whole series of events which constitute the history of 
life on the globe, such a fact as this directly contravenes the 
hypothesis of evolution ; because this hypothesis postulates that 
the existence of every form must have been preceded by that of 
some other form different from it.’ || If we study the records of 


* Scudder, ‘‘ Syst. Rev. Pres. Knowl. Foss. Ins.” (Bull. U.S. Geol. Surv. 
No. 31, p. 49 (1886) ). 

+ This seems to be the current statement based on present knowledge ; 
but, as Huxley has observed, analogy seems to be rather in favour of, 
than against, the supposition that Amphibia and Reptilia, or even higher 
forms, may have existed, though we have not yet found them in the Devonian 
epoch (‘Collected Essays,’ vol. viii. p. 385). 

{ The oldest known bird—Archeopteryx—comes from the Solenhofen 
Limestone in the Upper Jurassic series—a rock which has been especially 
prolific in the fauna of the Jurassic period (A. Geikie, ‘ Text-Book of Geology, 
2nd edit. p. 783). 

§ O. C. Marsh, ‘ Sixteenth Ann. Rept. U.S. Geol. Survey,’ p. 147 (1896). 

|| ‘Collected Essays,’ vol. iv. p. 85. 


296 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


animals that have lived at a former period of the world’s history, 
but have at present no representatives, we shall find,—to again 
quote our previous authority, ‘‘ Among the Mammalia and birds 
there are none (orders) extinct; but when we come to the reptiles 
there is a most wonderful thing: out of the eight orders or there- 
abouts which you can make among reptiles one-half are extinct.’’* 
Amphibia, however, certainly existed, and were apparently abun- 
dant in the Carboniferous age; and, as Mr. Thomson remarks, 
“the food of adult amphibians usually consists of insects, slugs, 
and worms.”’+ We may surmise that many were arboreal in 
their habits, and these, before the advent of the true reptiles and 
birds, must have constituted the principal insect enemies. We 
must also recollect that the Pterodactyles, or Flying Dragons, 
during the long reptilian period, ‘‘ played the réle of the bats and 
birds of the present day.’’{ The imperfection of the geological 
record is, however, no argument against evolution, though it 
seems strange it has not even been made of much more use by 
Some opponents. The struggle for life is an ancient one, but the 
combatants have not always been the same. In Pliocene times, 
as Prof. Owen has stated, ‘‘ Bats, Moles, and Shrews were then, 
as now, the forms that preyed upon the insect world in this 
island.Ӥ The number of mammals which devour insects seem 
sometimes overlooked, and this fact can be easily realized by 
looking through the pages of any good treatise on the Mammalia, 
and tabulating the nature of the food used by the different 
animals. For the purpose of the present discussion it should be 
remembered, as remarked by Mr. W. L. Sclater, that the con- 
clusion is more than probable ‘“‘ that before the commencement of 
the Tertiary epoch the whole world was, so far as is at present 
known, inhabited by small insignificant mammals distinctly allied 
to the marsupials.’ || 

Perhaps one of the inevitable faiths is that of the man of science 
who neither disguises the necessity of the halt, nor disbelieves in 
the certainty of the forward march, and these Carboniferous 


* * Collected Essays,’ vol. ii. p. 354. 

+ ‘The Study of Animal Life,’ 2nd edit. p. 258. 
t ‘Roy. Nat. Hist.’ vol. v. p. 8. 

§ ‘Hist. of British Fossil Mammals,’ p. xxv. 

|| ‘Geographical Journal,’ vol, vii. p. 295, 


MIMICRY. 297 


Phasmide almost prove the pre-existence of the Permian reptiles 
and the Jurassic birds.* If these stick-insects really possessed, 
and did not derive their imitative structure for protective pur- 
poses, then the whole theory of ‘ Protective Resemblance ”’ 
among insects may go to the wall. The need of protection 
must undoubtedly have existed in Carboniferous times, if this 
hypothesis is to stand, and such a view helps to prove, as 
Huxley has already urged, a pre-Permian existence for reptiles, t 
and, we may add, a greater antiquity also for birds, both of 
which, we may presume, were, as now, great enemies to 
insect-life. 

The only other explanation—known to the writer—which has 
been offered to account for the peculiar structure of these Stick- 
insects, is one proposed by the late Prof. Karl Semper, which 
would have received additional emphasis had that naturalist been 
aware (he at least does not allude to the fact) of the Phasma 
being found as a Carboniferous fossil. Prof. Semper’s pro- 
position is that the structure denotes what has been styled 
“** Larva-forms,’ a name given to all animals which possess the 
characters of the larve of other species, and are nevertheless 
capable of sexual reproduction.”’ ‘The opinion is amplified by 
the following explanatory illustration :—‘‘ Thus species of the 
same genera, perhaps even the very same species, in our damp 
and cold climate, do not produce a new generation till they are 
fully grown; while in the dry warm region of the Mediterranean 
they have produced two generations before they are fully grown.’’f 
This would be somewhat on a line with the suggestion we have 
made that most unicolorous animals are survivals from an original 
assimilative colouration, and have thus survived by being in 


* These birds were, however, probably most divergent from present 
avian types. Such an example is the Archeopteryx of the Jurassic or 
Oolitic epoch, which was not only furnished with teeth, but had a long 
tapering tail, with other indications of reptilian affinity. 

+ T. G. B., reviewing in ‘ Nature’ (vol. xlix. p. 196), ‘Some salient 
Points in the Science of the Earth,’ by Sir J. W. Dawson, speaks of the 
larger reptiles crawling over the soft mud, and leaving tracks in the coal- 
fields of Nova Scotia, and remarks: ‘‘ These discoveries came as a complete 
surprise to the scientific world in days when few or no reptiles were known 
of earlier date than the Permian.” 

} ‘Nat. Condit. of Existence as they affect Animal Life,’ p. 126. 


298 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


harmony with their surroundings, and thus coming under the 
sanction and perpetuating influence of natural selection. On this 
theory the Stick-insect would be merely the survival of an ancient 
“‘Larva-form” which fulfilled the same purpose, and thus also 
came down to us unchanged under the fostering care of the same 
selective influence. But Prof. Semper, further speculating on 
the fact of these insects comprising winged and wingless forms, 
is inclined to account for the same by the “ optimum tempera- 
ture’ * under which the eggs have been matured. A fuller know- 
ledge of these Phasmide will scarcely support this proposition. 
What we find isa most graduated and complicated connection 
between the winged and wingless forms. The late Prof. West- 
wood, a most determined opponent to evolution in any shape or 
form, contributed—as so many other opponents have done before 
and since—unconscious testimony to the same, in an artificial 
classification which he proposed for the family.t As summarized 
by Mr. Bates :—‘‘ The groundwork of this classification is the 
gradation or development of the wings from genus to genus. 
Thus it begins with those genera which are wingless in both 
sexes, these forming one Division, and passes through those in | 
which the males are winged and the females wingless, or in which 
the wings are rudimentary, to the genera which have well-formed 
wings in both sexes—the whole of the latter forming the second 
Division. The wingless series commences with those forms 
which have much abbreviated antenne and very attenuated 
bodies, and progresses to those having long setiform antenne, or 
bodies of much more compact structure. The winged series 
progresses gradualiy from those genera in which the upper and 
lower wings are either rudimentary, or developed in one sex 
only, to those in which they exist in both sexes (but the upper 
wings of extreme shortness), ending at length with genera in 


* Prof. Semper’s definition of the ‘‘ optimum temperature’’ seems to be 
contained in the following sentence:— ‘‘ The interval between the daily 
extremes may be great or small without any alteration in the daily meteor- 
ological mean; moreover, the favourable temperature—the optimum of 
temperature for the animal—may either coincide with the meteorological 
mean, or lie nearer to one of the extremes—the maximum or minimnum— 
than the other.” 

+ ‘ Catalogue of Orthoptera in the Brit. Museum’s Coll.’ Pt. i. Phasnude 
(1859). 


MIMICRY. 299 


which both upper and lower wings have become elongated in an 
approach to due proportion.’* This complicated classification, 
which expresses the difficulties and intricacies of evolution in 
every sentence, naturally sometimes fails in the details of its own 
arrangement, but is sufficient to throw more than grave doubts 
on the explanation offered by Prof. Semper. The consideration 
of the present knowledge applicable to these Phasmide appears 
to warrant the following conclusions :— 

1. The Walking-stick insects are usually considered by natur- 
alists to be undoubted examples of ‘‘ Protective Resemblance,”’ 
due to a process of ‘‘ Natural Selection.” 

2. If they are found with a somewhat similar structure in 
the Carboniferous fauna, they must therefore be the result of a 
previous course of evolution. 

8. Reptiles and birds, well-known insect enemies, are gener- 
ally considered as posterior to the Carboniferous epoch. 

4. But as the Permian reptiles were fully developed as we 
know them now, they must have had an earlier and less differ- 
entiated structure ; the same suggestion being applicable to the 
Jurassic birds. 

5. The presence of the imitative Phasmide in the Carboni- 
ferous epoch implies the existence of enemies, probably reptiles, 
and possibly a transitional form of bird-life. 

Good cause is shown why we should seek in past geological 
epochs for the earliest traces of protective resemblances and 
mimicry, for the absence of observed attack in the present time 
does not disprove a great danger and want of protection in the 
dim eras of the past. ‘‘ In studying protective resemblance and 
mimicry among living animals, the exceedingly common occur- 
rence of these phenomena has often forced upon me the con- 

* “ Descriptions of Fifty-two New Species of Phasmide”’ (Trans. Linn. 
Soc. vol. xxv. p. 323). 

+ Our knowledge of pre-Carboniferous insects is limited, but present 
knowledge goes to prove that a considerable insect-fauna existed in more 
ancient times. Thus, as Mr. Comstock has observed :— ‘‘ Of Devonian 
insects we know several. ... These differ among themselves to such an 
extent that we are forced to conclude, without taking into account the two 
known Silurian insects, that already at that early time there was a large and 
varied insect-fauna, of which the more primitive forms have not been dis- 


covered” (‘Evolution and Taxonomy—The Wilder Quarter-Century Book,’ 
p. 55). 


300 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


clusion that they have not been limited in their scope to recent 
times, but must have existed in past epochs, and even, to some 
extent at least, in very remote epochs.” * When gadflies are 
about, the Ox ‘‘ seems to be seized with an unreasoning paroxysm 
of fear.” “In modern times the gadfly merely causes some fear 
and a little discomfort to an animal, and some loss of money and 
temper to its owner when he finds that the hide has been per- 
forated, and is therefore held cheap by the tanner. But there 
must have been occasions when the war between gadflies and 
cattle was a much more serious affair. So strongly marked a 
protective instinct can only have been produced at a time when 
the very existence of the species was threatened by parasites of 
this order.’t Sir Charles Lyell, as early as 1836, and before 
much had been thought or expressed on the subject—for Darwin 
had not then returned from his epoch-making voyage—appears 
to have had clear conception of the phenomena, though based on 
very different philosophical views to those he embraced and 
enunciated later on. In a letter to Sir John Herschel, he ad- 
vances probable causes that may aid a species’ duration in time. 
“‘ Now, if it be an insect, it may be made in one of its trans- 
formations to resemble a dead stick, or a lichen, or a stone, so as 
to be less easily found by its enemies; or, if this would make it 
too strong, an occasional variety of the species may have this 
advantage conferred upon it; or, if this would be still too much, 
one sex of a certain variety. Probably there is scarcely a dash 
of colour on the wing or body of which the choice would be quite 
arbitrary, or what might not affect its duration for thousands of 
years. I have been told that the leaf-like expansions of the 
abdomen and thighs of a certain Brazilian Mantis turn from 
green to yellow as autumn advances, together with the leaves of 
the plants among which it seeks for its prey. Now, if species 
come in succession, such contrivances must sometimes be made, 
and such relations predetermined between species, as the Mantis, 
for example, and plants not then existing, but which it was fore- 
seen would exist together with some particular climate at a given 


time. 


* §. H. Scudder, ‘ Bull. U.S. Geol. Surv.’ No. 124, p. 30 (1895). 
+ Louis Robinson, ‘ Wild Traits in Tame Animals,’ p, 150. 
{ ‘Life, Letters, and Journals of Chas. Lyell,’ vol. i. p. 468. 


MIMICRY. 301 


If we were referring to insects in general, and not to these 
Phasmide in particular, we should not lay such stress on the 
probability of their enemies in the past being largely reptiles * 
and birds. No one who has collected insects beneath an electric 
light, as I have frequently done at Pretoria, attended in the 
same pursuit with the shadowy rushes of Bats above, and a host 
of patient Batrachians beneath, can doubt what wholesale insect 
destroyers are found in the ranks of the Chiroptera and Amphibia. 
But although I have found all orders of insects attracted by 
these lights, including Orthoptera—comprising Mantide, Achetide, 
Forficulide, Blattide, Grylide, and Locusttide—I personally 
never met with any representatives of the Phasmide, though of 
course these insects may also prove to be nocturnal in their 
habits, and to be also attacked by Bats. But as these animals 
have not been traced further back than Eocene times, we can 
scarcely regard them as having proved enemies to the Carboni- 
ferous Stick-insects. With the Amphibia the case is different, 
and, according to the late Prof. Martin Duncan, “the most 
ancient Amphibia appear to have first lived during the Carboni- 
ferous age, and all were tailed, had pleurodent teeth, simple in 
their construction. . . . Some were Lizard-like and others were 
serpentiform. . . . They are the Microsauria (Dawson), and 
the genera Hylerpeton (Owen), Hylonomus (Dawson), Brachydices 
(Cope), and Ophiderpeton (Huxley) are typical.” + Here we have 
a host of contemporary Carboniferous enemies who may indeed 
have proved a great trial to the existence of unprotected Phas- 
mid@, and who may synchronously with the evolution of them- 
selves have indirectly caused or induced a protective evolution 
in the structural form of these insects, by the mutual inter- 
dependence in those relations of cause and effect which can be 
expressed by the well-known appellation ‘natural selection.” 
And so, for the sake of the argument, dismissing even the agency 
of either reptiles or birds, we still have abundant reason for 
believing that, though the protective resemblance of these Phas- 
mide was already acquired in Carboniferous times, the presence 


* “Tn the earlier periods of the earth’s history, reptiles were no doubt 
the principal enemies with which butterflies had to deal ’’ (Beddard, ‘ Animal 
Coloration,’ 2nd edit., p. 211). 

+ ‘Cassell’s Nat. History,’ vol. iv. pp. 379-80. 


302 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


of Amphibia in an evolutionary sense is quite sufficient to account 
for it. This prompts two reflections: one that we ought to look 
a long way back for the origins of these protective and mimetic 
guises; and the other, that we may reasonably hope to find them. 
The present attitude of many champions of the cause, who seek 
to find, or to invent, present factors for producing these pheno- 
mena, seems fraught with peril for the whole theory; and with 
the same weariness and perseverance with which the original 
promulgators thought out the doctrine, we must go on searching 
for further proofs, which will necessitate our appealing to the 
Cesar of the past—the ever-growing science of paleontology.* 
In this domain many similar problems still remain unsolved. In 
the old red sandstone of Scotland are abundant remains of fishes, 
such as Osteolepis, but the reason why these and so many other 
ancient creatures were enveloped or armed in coats of mail, or 
rather the antecedent factors provocative of the evolution, has 
not yet been discovered. 

In taking leave of these protected Phasmide we will record 
two—and only two—testimonies to their imitative deception, one 
old and the other modern. | 

When Pigafetta visited the island of Palawan, he saw many 
wonders, and described one as follows. There ‘‘are found certain 
trees, the leaves of which when they fall are animated and walk. 
They are like the leaves of the mulberry tree, but not so long; 
they have the leaf-stalk short and pointed, and near the leaf-stalk 
they have on each side two feet. If they are touched they escape, 
but if crushed they do not give out blood. I kept one for nine 
days in a box. When I opened it, the leaf went round the 
box.’ + ‘This may be taken as a strong, and, what is more, then 
unsolicitated, testimony to the efficacy of protective resemblance 
among insects. Linneus, doubtless with the true inwardness in 
his mind, wrote :—‘‘ Anyone who happens to see, in the Indian 


** Among the slow Lemurs or Galagos we find enemies of the Phasmdea. 
Mr. Lydekker, though not giving his authority, writes: ‘‘Some of the 
smaller species will readily devour Locusts, and the peculiar leaf-like 
Mantides, or praying insects’’ (‘Royal Nat. Hist.,’ vol. 1. p. 223); but as no 
fossil lemuroid forms are at present known anterior to tertiary times, these 
records do not affect our enquiry. 

+ ‘“ The First Voyage round the World by Magellan” (Hakluyt Society). 


MIMICRY. 303 


woods, the falling leaves of trees apparently become alive, and 
creep upon the ground.” * 

Our second illustration is from the pen of that keen and 
excellent observer, Mr. Belt :—‘‘I was much surprised with the 
behaviour of a green leaf-like Locust. This insect stood im- 
movably among a host of Ants, many of which ran over its legs 
without ever discovering there was food within their reach. So 
fixed was its instinctive knowledge that its safety depended on 
its immovability, that it allowed me to pick it up and replace it 
among the Ants without making a single effort to escape. This 
species closely resembles a green leaf.” + 


If we consider it unsafe to predicate the colours of animals 
in past geological eras on the basis of their present hues and 
markings, it is as equally unwarranted to conclude that the 
nature of their food was the same then as now. And therefore 
we must be prepared to admit that probably insects had enemies 
in the past which are now only known as non-insectivorous, 
and the same suggestion will apply to other animals. This line 
of argument is prompted by the many recorded examples of wild 
and domesticated animals who have taken to a food totally 
different to that of other members of their family and even 
genus. It is necessary to give some examples, for, if not over- 
looked, such facts seem little taken into consideration. At the 
same time only some among many instances can be quoted. 

Mammauts.—Macacus cynomolgus, a well-known Monkey of 
Malasia, according to Sir Arthur Phayre, frequents salt water 
creeks and devours shell-fish, thus being known among naturalists 
as “the Crab-eating Macaque.” ‘‘A légard des jeunes oiseaux, 
le gorille et le chimpanzé font preuve d’une telle voracité qu ils 
avalent leur proie sans la déplumer.”’{ Bonvealot narrates that 
small Thibetan Horses ‘“‘ feed on raw flesh, as we have seen with 
our own eyes.’ § Sandeman, writing of South Africa, observes 
that, though many of the Horses never get over their dislike to 


* Preface to the ‘Museum Regis Adolphi Friderici,’ transl. by Jas. Ewd. 
Smith (1798). 

+ ‘The Naturalist in Nicaragua,’ p. 19. 

t L. F. de Pauw, ‘ Bull. Soc. Anthrop. Bruxelles,’ 1894, p. 140. 

§ ‘Across Thibet,’ vol. ii. p. 64. 


304 _ THE ZOOLOGIST. 


the smell of blood, he possessed one that rather liked it, and 
found him one day “licking the bleeding carcass of a newly- 
skinned Bok.”* It has been stated that ‘‘ African Horses very 
commonly eat their own dung; and numbers have been destroyed 
in consequence of taking into the stomach vast quantities of 
flinty sand.” + Dr. Stockwell, writing from Ontario, Canada, 
states :—‘‘ At certain points on the shores of Lake Huron the 
soil is quite sterile,—that is, very sandy,—and those who attempt 
to cultivate frequently use as compost fish caught in seines from 
the lake. These fish are chiefly Suckers (Catastomide), Dog-fish 
(Amude), Herrings and Lesser Mackinaw Trout (Coregonus 
artedi, Le Sueur, and Salvelinus, both of the Salmonide). Fre- 
quently the maize which is planted in hills along with fish fails 
to exhibit a vigorous growth when cattle are turned in to graze 
them.” But not only the cattle are attracted by the fish. ‘‘ Some 
twenty years since a gentleman in the States imported a herd of 
a hundred and eighty Horses from the Shetlands, and was obliged 
to keep them for some time close to tide water, where they could 
get salt sedge grass and a diet of fish, such as they had been 
accustomed to. Gradually they were weaned to feed upon hay 
and grain. I have repeatedly seen Horses from this herd, or 
their descendants, if offered a piece of raw fish devour it with the 
greatest gusto.’ { Other animals embrace a fish diet with avidity. 
In Kamschatka durmg the long winters, when it is difficult to 
procure food of any kind, there is a consequent necessity of fish 
as an article of diet for almost every living creature in the settle- 
ments—‘‘ the Cows and Horses even not excepted.”§ In the 
same country when the streams are surcharged with fish, the 
Bears ‘“‘live entirely upon Salmon. Later, when this diet fails 
them, they take to berries, upon which they live until the time of 
hybernation.”’|| ‘‘ There are indeed but few animals, apparently, 
which do not live on Salmon in Kamschatka.” {| Gilbert White 
has remarked ‘‘ on the violent fondness for fish”? possessed by 
common house Cats, when, ‘‘ of all quadrupeds, Cats are the 


* ‘Wight Months in an Ox Waggon,’ p. 174. 

+ J. Barrow, ‘ Travels in the Interior of Southern Africa,’ vol. i. p. 53. 
{ ‘Badminton Magazine,’ vol. ii. pp. 840-1. 

§ Guillemard, ‘ Cruise of the Marchesa,’ 2nd edit. p. 68. 

|| Ibed. p. 76. {i Ibid. p. 88. 


MIMICRKY. 305 


least disposed towards water, and will not, when they can avoid 
it, deign to wet a foot, much less to plunge into that element.” * 
To this Mr. Harting adds a note:—‘“It is generally supposed 
that Otters live exclusively on fish, but such is not invariably the 
case. They are carnivorous as well as piscivorous, and have 
been known to eat Ducks and Teal, and, while in confinement, 
young Pigeons. Frogs form part of their bill of fare, and even 
Mussels at times furnish food to these animals.’ + The Common 
Armadillo (Dasypus villosus) is an adroit capturer of Mice, and 
Mr. Hudson “frequently found their stomachs stuffed with 
clover, and, stranger still, with the large hard grains of the maize 
swallowed entire.” { ‘* The Zoo Otters have conformed to the 
universal tendency to extend the range of diet by eating ship- 
biscuit as well as fish.”’§ According to Mr. Lydekker, Otters 
have been known when hard pressed during winter to make 
occasional raids on the farmyard, where they have been asserted 
not only to kill poultry, but also young Lambs and Pigs. || As 
stated by Mr. Dimmock, “ Adolph Miller mentions that his Cat 
regularly hunted at twilight the moths, chiefly Noctuide, in 
his garden” (‘Zool. Garten,’ Aug. 1880, jahr. 21, pp. 253-4). 
He also states, from his own experience: “ About 1870 I had a 
Cat that nearly every hot afternoon in summer and autumn 
caught Grasshoppers (Caloptenus and Cidipoda), and brought 
me her insect captures alive before eating them, with as much 
pride as if she had taken Mice or birds.” He also noticed 
* several Cats capture and eat beetles of the genera Lachnosterna 
and Prionus ; the odour of the beetles of the latter genus seems 
sufficiently pungent and repulsive to drive away Cats, since they 
dislike most pungent odours; but I have seen two Cats that 
apparently regarded Prionus as a delicacy, for they would eat dead, 
mutilated, sometimes half-decayed beetles of this genus which they 
found about the yard.’4]| Of the North American Mustela vison 
Darwin relates, “‘ During the summer this animal dives for and 

* ‘Nat. Hist. Selborne,’ Harting’s edition, p. 96. 

+ Ibid. p. 97, note. 

} ‘The Naturalist in La Plata,’ pp. 60 and 71. 

§ C. J. Cornish, ‘ Animals of To-day,’ p. 235. For other instances of 
changed diet, cf. cbid. p. 185. 

ll ‘Royal Nat. Hist,’ vol. ii. p. 98. 


‘i ‘American Naturalist,’ Sept. 1884. 
Zool. 4th ser. vol. III., July, 1899. X 


306 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


preys on fish, but during the long winter it leaves the frozen 
waters, and preys, like other Polecats, on Mice and land 
animals.” * The Bactrian Camel (Camelus bactrianus), instead 
of confining itself to a strictly vegetable diet, will, according to 
Prejevalski, when pressed by hunger, readily devour almost 
anything that it may come across, including felt blankets, bones 
and skins of animals, flesh, and fish.t That prolific pest in 
Australia—the Rabbit—is now said to have learned to live and 
thrive on bark and the twigs of bushes, and even to have deve- 
loped the power of getting up trees{ in search of food, going up 
as high as eight feet, using their teeth to climb with.§ When 
the Hamsters (Cricetus frumentarius) issue in the spring from the 
burrows in which they have have passed their winter hybernation, 
‘‘they devour ravenously almost anything that comes before 
them, not refusing an occasional young bird, a mouse, or a 
beetle.’’|| As is generally known, the usual food of these animals 
is of a vegetable nature. ‘‘ Reindeer devour hundreds and 
thousands of Lemmings.” {| Mr. J. A. Thomson states that he 
had a report on creditable authority that in the hard winter 
1894-95, Stags in Aberdeenshire were known to have eaten 
Rabbits.” ** The Chacma Baboon in some parts of the Cape 
Colony ‘‘has largely taken to killing Lambs for the purpose 
chiefly of sucking the milk with which they have filled their 
stomachs.”{+ In Egypt, Hyzenas are ‘said to feed on Indian 
corn, and be destructive to the crops.” {{ In the Scottish High- 
lands, near the head of Loch Garry, Foxes were strictly pre- 
served and plentiful. A year or two ago, when their cubs were 
ravenous, these Foxes took to killing Lambs in the fields around, 
and the unusual spectacle in Britain “was seen of large fires 
kept burning all night to scare them away, while slumber was 


* ‘Origin of Species,’ 6th edit. p. 188. 

+ Lydekker, ‘ Roy. Nat. Hist.,’ vol. ii. p. 411. 

t “In California it has forgotten how to burrow” (C. J. Cornish, ‘ Wild 
England of To-day,’ p. 189). 

§ Writer in the ‘Times’; quoted in ‘Spectator,’ January 4th, 1896. 

|| Lydekker, loc. cvt. vol. ili. p. 125. 

{| Brehm, ‘From North Pole to Equator,’ p. 75. 

*«— [bid. editor. note, p. 567. 

++ 5S. Schonland, ‘ Zoologist,’ 4th ser. vol. i. p. 155. 

tt A. Leith Adams, ‘ Naturalist in Nile Valley and Malta,’ p. 47. 


MIMICRY. 307 


driven away from the eyelids of those who lived near by the 
incessant blowing of tin trumpets and firing of guns charged with 
powder only.” * 

Birps.—Ostriches, according to Mr. Cronwright Schreiner, 
have been known to swallow oranges, peaches, small Tortoises, 
Fowl and Turkey chickens, and kittens.}| The Spreo (Spreo 
bicolor) ‘‘ was formerly never known to touch fruit, its food con- 
sisting entirely of insects; but during recent years it has, at all 
events on some farms with which I am acquainted, become very 
destructive to fruit.” { Dr. A. G. Butler, who has much experi- 
ence in aviculture, states that he has ‘‘ seen the American Blue- 
bird, the English Starling, the Robin, Redstart, and many other 
insectivorous birds swallow quantities of seed, and benefit greatly 
in consequence.’ § “It is within the memory of some still living 
that the Rooks first commenced to eat turnips about fifty years 
ago.” || Perhaps the most remarkable case is found in the New 
Zealand Kea or Parrot (Nestor notabilis), which has recently 
developed a taste for a carnivorous diet. As described by Mr. 
Wallace: “It began by picking the sheep-skins hung out to dry 
or the meat in process of being cured. About 1868 it was first 
observed to attack living sheep, which had frequently been found 
with raw and bleeding wounds on their backs. Since then it is 
stated that the bird actually burrows into the living Sheep, 
eating its way down to the kidneys, which form its special 
delicacy.” {| The absolute accuracy of this explanation of the 
bird’s intentions, has been denied by Messrs. Taylor White and 
Huddelston, both New Zealand authorities. According to these 
writers, ‘‘the bird settles on the sheep above the kidneys because 
it is the broadest part, and it can there obtain the best grip of 
the wool; and Mr. White considers that blood rather than flesh 
is what the bird desires.** On the island of Porto Santo, near 


* Rev. M. G. Watkins, ‘Longman’s Magazine,’ February, 1886. 

+ ‘ Zoologist,’ 4th ser. vol. i. p. 106. 

| 8S. Schonland, loc. cit. vol. i. p. 155. 

§ Loe. cit. vol. i. p. 253. 

|| Wm. Wilson, Jun., ‘ Investigations into Applied Nature,’ p. 44. 

q ‘ Darwinism,’ p. 75. 

* € Zoologist,’ 3rd ser. vol. xix. p. 293; also cf. Godfrey (‘ Zoologist,’ 
1898, pp. 216-17). Another New Zealand Parrot (Strigops habrobtilus) has 
lost its power of flight, and lives in burrows or other natural cavities when 


not abroad. 
xz 


308 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Madeira, the stomach of a Kestrel was found to contain “ nothing 
but seven Snail shells (Helix pisana), which had been swallowed 
whole.” * As Darwin enquires, ‘‘ Can a more striking instance 
of adaptation be given than that of a Woodpecker for climbing 
trees and seizing insects in the chinks of the bark? Yet in 
North America there are Woodpeckers which feed largely on 
fruit, and others with elongated wings which chase insects on the 
wing.’ + The Great Titmouse (Parus major), by its larger size 
and stronger bill, is adapted to feed on larger insects, and is even 
said sometimes to kill small and weak birds. The smaller and 
weaker Coal Titmouse (Parus ater) has adopted a more vegetarian 
diet, eating seeds as well as insects, and feeding on the ground 
as well as among trees.} It has been stated that ‘‘on Cocos — 
Islands, when the Boobies are not nesting and have consequently 
left, the Frigate birds (T'achypetes aquila) are unable to procure 
their ordinary food, which consists of fish taken from the Boobies, 
and that they then swallow seeds of Guilandina and beans, which 
they find floating in the sea, and on flying to the land vomit them 
up again, apparently merely using them to fill up temporarily the 
empty crops.” § Mr. Watson, in describing the effects of illegiti- 
mate fishing in our own country, writes, ‘‘ In one outlying village 
during last close season poached Salmon was so common that the 
cottagers fed their poultry upon it right through the winter.” || 
‘“‘ After Hunter had fed a Sea Gull on grain for a year, he found 
that the inner coat of its stomach had grown hard, and its muscles 
had thickened, thus forming a true gizzard, although the Sea 
Gull normally has a soft stomach, as it lives upon the soft flesh 
of fishes.” 7] | 

Dr. Vosseler, in making some experiments on young Sala- 
manders (Salamandra maculata), inadvertently left some in 
an aquarium for over a year unfed. ‘Investigations showed 
that these creatures, which usually fed on worms, all kinds 
of larve, &c., had nourished themselves with Alg@ together 

* Hon. Cecil Baring and W. R. Ogilvie Grant (‘ Zoologist,’ 3rd ser. 
vol. xix. p. 403). 

+ ‘ Origin of Species,’ 6th edit. p. 141. 

| A. R. Wallace, ‘ Darwinism,’ p. 108. 

§ G. Clunies Ross, ‘ Natural Science,’ vol. viii. p. 190. 


|| ‘Sketches of British Sporting Fishes,’ p. 127. 
‘| Cf. Brooks, ‘The Foundations of Zoology,’ p. 57. 


MIMICRY. 309 


with Infusoria. They had thus become almost complete vege- 
tarians.”’ * 

Insects.—Numerous instances will occur to most entomo- 
logists, and are to be found scattered in entomological literature. 
We will again quote from other writers: ‘‘ Many caterpillars, 
though plants are their proper food, will occasionally exhibit 
depravity of taste, and if kept with their own kind or with the 
larve of other moths, may turn cannibal, and make away 
with the company. Similarly the large green Grasshopper will 
eat insects smaller than itself, as well as its ordinary vegetable 
diet.” + The household beetle pest Dermestes, whose larve not 
only prey on flitches of bacon, meat in larders, bladders covering 
jam-pots, and even books and papers, ‘‘ have sometimes actually 
imitated the example of Anobiwm, and bored into wood, feeding 
on the timber as they advanced.” { In various places, such as 
parts of India, for example, Mosquitos are found in swarms in 
spots never visited by human beings, and in which there are no 
large mammals. It has been suggested that, failing to obtain 
blood, Mosquitos support themselves on the juices of plants, but 
no observations in support of this have been recorded.§ Even 
the sexes in some insects are totally diverse in the nature of 
their food. In the Diptera, of the families Culicide and Tabanide, 
according to Prof. Westwood, “it is only the females of these 
insects which are blood-suckers, the males being found on flowers; 
and Meigen discovered that the mouth of the latter sex is desti- 
tute of mandibles.’ || 

Manxinp.—Even man can acquire a partiality for salt or 
brackish water. Barrow relates that an old man in the Bokke- 
veld of South Africa, “‘ who from his infancy till a few years past 
had lived in Zwartiand, never missed an opportunity of sending 
thither a few bottles to be filled with the briny water for his own 
particular use; the pure stream of the mountain, as he asserted, 
not being able to quench his thirst.” {1 The South Australians 


* HKimer, ‘Organic Evolution,’ Eng. transl., p. 108. 

+ Badenoch, ‘Romance of the Insect World,’ p. 45. 

| A. EK. Butler, ‘Our Household Insects,’ p. 25. 

§ R. J. Pocock, ‘ Roy. Nat. Hist.,’ vol. vi. p. 52. 

|| ‘ Modern Classification of Insects,’ vol. 11. p. 541. 

‘| ‘ Travels in the Interior of Southern Africa,’ vol. 1. p. 360, 


310 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


first learnt from Europeans to eat Oysters.* The Australians do 
not, however, eat everything indiscriminately, but reject several 
things eaten by Europeans, as certain fish, crustaceans, or fungi; 
yet they feel no disgust at such things as maggots or rotten 
eggs, or even the contents of the intestines of animals taken in 
hunting.t+ 

Puants can also vary the nutrient salts they absorb according 
to the supply of the same. In the yew (Taxus baccata) there is 
frequently a replacement of calclum by magnesium. On com- 
paring the quantities of calcium and magnesium in the ash of 
yews grown on lime and on gneiss, respectively, with those 
yielded in the case of serpentine formation, we find that magnesia 
preponderates considerably in weight over lime in a yew from 
serpentine rocks (which are in the main a compound of magnesia 
and silicic acid), whilst the proportion between these two salts is 
reversed in a yew grown upon limestone. The obvious inference 
from the table is that, in plants from a serpentine ground, lime 
is to a great extent replaced by magnesia.} 

Among other vagaries in animal diet may be mentioned that 
of Snails, who also devour insects, particularly Coleoptera.§ On 
the other hand, the operation is sometimes reversed. M. Flaminio 
Baudi found Cychrus cyclindricollis feeding on the body of Helix 
frigida; || and Mr. Trovey Blackmore had observed Carabus 
stenocephalus to feed on the abundant Snails in Morocco. 

Such facts as these tend to prove that a fauna is not happy 
by having no history, as is so often and so easily imagined; but 
rather that its history is like that of a continental humanity—one 
series of wars, attack not on all sides at once, but ever recurring 
from one quarter or another. The friend of to-day may have 
been the enemy of a longago. Environmental changes may have 
produced, by a scarcity of usual food, a change of diet, and then 
a race of animals hitherto enjoying a comparative immunity from 
attack may suddenly become almost annihilated by unexpected 
foes. Thus we may now find an inherited mimetic resemblance 


* Ratzel, ‘ History of Mankind,’ vol. i. p. 337. + Ibid. p. 361. 

+ Kerner and Oliver, ‘ Nat. Hist. of Plants,’ vol. 1. p. 70. 

§ Cf. Wollaston and other observers, ‘ Zoologist,’ vol. i. p. 201; vol. iii. 
pp. 943, 1035, 1038. 

|| ‘Petites Nouvelles Entomologiques.’ 


MIMICRY. dll 


among insects and other living creatures which we seek in vain 
to explain by observed attack, and consequently cannot prove 
the present need of protection. These disguises are often like 
remains of old earthworks which we find on our peaceful downs; 
reminiscences of past struggles, records that such did once exist. 
And thus the suggestion is forced upon us that much present 
mimicry in nature is obsolete, more to be studied and explained 
by a zoological archeologist than by an outdoor observer, and 
accounts for the frequent remarks made from time to time to the 
writer by candid and competent naturalists abroad, that so much 
convincing theory at home receives little support when nature is 
cross-examined in her tropical and sub-tropical fastnesses. 


In a book written by a popular writer, the late Prof. Henry 
Drummond, and which must have been read largely by the general 
public, for before us is the fourth edition of ‘ Tropical Africa,’ 
which is described as ‘‘ completing twenty-fifth thousand,” there 
is a chapter devoted to ‘‘ Mimicry; the ways of African insects.” * 
‘“* Protective resemblance’? would perhaps have been a more ap- 
plicable title to the phenomena considered than “ mimicry,” + 
which the author defines as “‘imposture in nature.” But the 
peculiarity in this chapter is that the author, after agreeing in the 
fullest manner with the usual conception of the term “ mimicry,” 
as held by most biologists, and stating that “‘ mimicry depends on 
resemblances between an animal and some other object in its en- 
vironment of which it is a practical gain to the creature to be a more 
or less accurate copy,’ { appears to altogether explain away that 
conclusion by the subsequent remark that, ‘‘ while in some animals 
the disguises tend to become more and more perfect, the faculties 
for penetrating them in other animals must continually increase 


* Gordon Cumming as early as 1850 drew attention to ‘‘ mimicry” or 
‘‘ protective resemblance’ among insects. He did not use the terms, but 
clearly described the facts. ‘Five Years’ Hunting Adventures in South 
Africa’ (Compl. Pop. Edit.), p. 182. 

+ This word is now becoming not uncommon in general literature, and 
its original meaning—at least as used in biology—will tend to become 
obscured. Thus Max Nordau writes of ‘‘ the religious mimicry of the French 
bourgeoisie, which was to make them resemble the old nobility” (‘ Degenera- 
tion,’ p. 113). 

t ‘Tropical Africa,’ 4th edit. p. 162. 


312 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


in subtlety and power.” * This argument, if it could be sub- 
stantiated, appears to be, and has always impressed the writer, 
as one of the most complete answers to the whole theory of the 
protective meaning of these disguises. For if by the slow pro- 
cess of adaptation all variations tending to these disguises were 
increased and perpetuated by the process we express as “natural 
selection,” thus ever helping the “survival of the fittest,” and 
at the same time these changes or devevopments were equally 
studied and more keenly detected by the attentive and hungry 
host of insect enemies, the relations between the attackers and 
the attacked, the eaters and the eaten, would remain much the 
same at the commencement and end of the process. And there- 
fore what becomes of Prof. Drummond’s conception of mimicry, 
with its “‘ practical gain,” if the enemies sought, or supposed to 
be deceived thereby have their penetrating faculties continually 
increasing in subtlety and power? A moth, Agrotis cursoria, 
not uncommon to the sand-hills on the coast of our own country, 
‘hides in the daytime in dense tufts of Ammophila arundinacea 
(Marram grass) close to the surface of the sand, and among other 
plants on the sea sand-hills.”’ But “‘its partiality for this shelter 
is apparently well known to the birds, as is testified by the 
numbers of detached wings to be seen lying about.”+ Mr. 
Rodway gives a similar experience in the Guiana Forest :— 
‘Invisibility is a striking characteristic of every living thing in 
the forest. At first a stranger observes nothing but a scene of 
desolate confusion. Later, however, he begins to distinguish 
one tree from another, and learns where to look for a particular 
animal. ‘Then he wonders how he could have missed the signs 
which now impress themselves upon his eyes.’ { It is similar to 
the extra thickness in the armour of the ironclad, which is always 
influencing the construction of guns possessing greater pene- 
trating power. It is like the acquired aptitude of the village 


** ‘Tropical Africa,’ 4th edit. p. 180. A similar opinion was expressed 
by the late Fras. Pascoe: ‘‘It is not likely that animals whose lives depend 
on their sight should be easily deceived; though with our mostly unobservant 
eyes agreen caterpillar on agreen leaf may easily escape notice” (‘A Summary 
of the Darwinian Theory of the Origin of Species,’ p. 18). 

+ C. G. Barrett, ‘The Lepidoptera of the British Islands,’ vol. ili. p. 3380. 

{ ‘In the Guiana Forest,’ p. 48, 


MIMICRY. 313 


bird-nesting boy, who with difficulty succeeds in making the 
4own lad see the concealed nest he is about to take; or the 
experienced eye of the angler which recognizes the Trout, un- 
detected by the ordinary walker on the bank. Or again, watch 
the rambles of the out-door collector and the closet-naturalist ; 
or the entomologist who discovers and captures, and the other 
entomologist who only classifies and describes. It is the old 
remark of “ Kyes” and ‘‘No Eyes.’* If then we can for the 
purpose of sport or science pit our discerning faculties against 
the extreme power of animal disguises,t how much more must 
that detective discrimination have been acquired by those crea- 
tures whose very lives are so largely passed in the search, and 
depend on the capture of these mimicking fugitives. Even the 
obscure Coccids are preyed upon by birds. Mr. Newstead found 
specimens in the stomach of the Blue Tit (Parus ceruleus), and 
remarks :—‘‘ These birds must have keen eyes to distinguish 
this species, for it is well protected both in colour and texture. 
The central red-brown speck in the scale is the only indication 
of its presence, and altogether it may be considered the best 
protected of any of our British Coccide.” { Again, birds learn 
to recognise hurtful as well as advantageous objects as exemplified 
by telegraph wires. When these were first elevated they caused 
great mortality among birds which flew against them, but after a 
time the wires were avoided, and that loss in avian life was 
vastly reduced. Birds certainly acquire experience and avoid 
dangerous food. Frank Buckland relates that a keeper at Castle 
Forbes poisoned dead Rabbits, and “picked up as many as 
twenty-one Magpies and Crows to one Rabbit at one time.” But 
“the cunning birds found out that it was dangerous to peck at 
dead Rabbits, in vain therefore were they laid down; the Crows 
and Magpies were fora season triumphant. But the keeper 


* Tennyson was an acute observer of nature. He once asked Miss 
Thackeray to notice whether the Sky-Lark did not come down sideways on 
the wing. (W. J. Dawson, ‘The Makers of Modern English,’ 3rd edit. p. 182.) 

+ My friend Dr. Percy Rendall, then at Barberton in the Transvaal, a 
most enthusiastic and successful collector, in reply to my expressed wish 
that he would still keep a sharp look-out for Phasmida, replied: ‘‘I am 
keenly on the look-out for them, and will in most cases back my eyes against 
almost any kind of insect protective resemblance dodges.”’ 

{ ‘Entomol. Month. Mag.,’ ser. 2, vol. vi. p. 85, 


314 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


substituted Wood Pigeons for Rabbits, and the ‘vermin birds’ 
once more fell victims.” * It is not related how long this bait 
sufficed. Himer relates that, requiring Sparrows for the zooto- 
mical studies of his students, he procured a new and ingeniously 
constructed trap. ‘‘The result of the use of my trap was 
surprising; almost immediately quite a dozen Sparrows were 
caught in it. These were brought away as carefully as possible, 
so that none were taken out in sight of their companions. The 
trap was again set, and this time nine Sparrows were caught 
equally quickly. I was very pleased with the invention, for it 
seemed likely to put an end for the future to all my difficulties. 
But it was to be otherwise. I noticed already that all the 
Sparrows caught were young birds, hatched the same spring, and 
therefore of little experience. Not a single old Sparrow had 
entered the trap. And when I set it for the third time, not one 
Sparrow went into it—it stood for week after week; the yard was 
full of Sparrows, but I caught no more. However, I looked 
forward confidently to the next year—then I thought, young 
Sparrows will get caught again; and about two dozen would have 
been enough material for my purpose. But I had reckoned 
without the intelligence of the Sparrows. When I got out the 
trap again next year, and had it set, not a Sparrow went into it. 
But a curious spectacle was observed: apparently several Spar- 
rows had the desire and the intention to go into the trap, and 
these were obviously the young inexperienced birds which had 
been hatched since the trap was last set; but others, of course 
the older birds who had learnt the danger of the wire-basket 
from the loss of their families, kept them back by constant 
earnest warnings, for the males, as soon as one of the yellow 
beaks approached the cage, uttered their warning cry most loudly, 
the cry which they always make when danger is present, and 
which consists in a long shrill rattling ‘r-r-r-r-r.’”’*+ It is well 
known to poachers that when once a Hare has been netted, there 
is no chance of its being taken again in like manner. Rather 
than go through a second time, even though a “lurcher” be 
but a yard behind, it will either “buck” the gate, or take the 


* ‘Curiosities of Nat. Hist.,’ pop. edit., 2nd ser. pp. 97-8. 
+ Eimer, ‘ Organic Evolution,’ Eng. Transl., pp. 235-6. 


MIMICRY. d15 


fence.* Grazing cattle will not touch plants that would be deadly 
or hurtful to them; but if taken to a distant land, to another 
continent where unknown herbs grow they are unable to distin- 
guish, they sicken or die of the poison they have eaten.t 

But perhaps it is only by recognizing the full force of the ob- 
jections that we can hope to fairly realize the strength of the theory 
thus called in question. If these mimicking or protective disguises 
have not been incidental to a phase of evolution, they must have 
been created as they are, and even the advocates of this view—if 
any competent are left—would surely not enunciate the idea of a 
purposeless creation, or the fanciful freaks of a Demiurgos, for such 
must be the case if no purpose is served by these extraordinary 
imitations. On the other hand, what can the evolutionist reply 
when he is confronted with the only other postulate of astonished 
ignorance expressed in the terms of ‘a freak of nature’’? ft 

The solution of the difficulty may—we repeat—probably be 
found in ceasing altogether to explain some biological features of 
the past by causes operating in the present, and perhaps only in 
the present epoch. In fact, many animals affording undoubted 
instances of protective resemblance and mimicry now show in the 
observed dangers of their lives, so little raison d’étre for these 
wonderfully evolved assimilations in colour and structure, that it 
seems more philosophical to conceive them as survivals of a past 
when there was a greater danger and a larger need. 

* John Watson, ‘Poachers and Poaching,’ p. 270. ‘‘A new trap catches 
more than a better old one until the animals have learned to understand it, 
and young animals are trapped more easily than old” (Prof. Tyler, ‘ The 
Whence and the Whither of Man,’ p. 119). | 

+ Heyn and Stallybrass, ‘The Wanderings of Plants and Animals,’ p. 402. 

{ How different are the theological or teleological views of the Middle 
Ages to the scientific conception of the struggle for existence as held to-day. 
We can no longer apostrophize the order Aves in the delightful utterances of 
the good and saintly Francis of Assisi :—‘‘ Brother birds, you ought to praise 
and love your Creator very much. He has given you feathers for clothing, 
wings for flying, and all that is needful for you. He has made you the 
noblest of His creatures ; He permits you to live in the pure air; you have 
neither to sow nor to reap, and yet He takes care of you, watches over you 
and guides you” (‘ Life of St. Francis of Assisi,’ by Paul Sabatier, Eng 
Transl., pp. 176-7). Rather now we see 


‘‘ The grub eats up the pine, 
The finch the grub, the hawk the silly finch.” 


(To be continued.) 


316 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


NOTES ON THE ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS OF 
AMSTERDAM, ROTTERDAM, AND ANTWERP. 


By GRAHAM RENSHAW. 


Havine recently had the opportunity of visiting these magnificent 
collections, perhaps the following notes which I have made may be of 
interest to readers of ‘ The Zoologist.’ | 

The entrance to the Amsterdam Gardens, the property of the Society 
“Natura Artis Magistra,” is in the Kerk Laan. The visitor, on entering, 
is provided with a guide-plan of the Gardens, and photographs of the 
various animals, including the rare Mountain Zebra (Equus zebra), may 
also be purchased. ‘The series of animals in the Monkey-house included a 
full-grown Chimpanzee (Anthropopithecus niger), the largest I have ever 
seen, in the best of health and spirits, protected from draughts by glass. 
In the same house was an Echidna (Hchidna aculeata) buried under a heap 
of straw. The keeper obligingly removed the straw for me, but all efforts 
to move the Echidna, even by leverage with a stout pole, were quite 
ineffectual. ‘The Lion-house was roomy and well lighted, but presented 
no special features. The small Cats’-house contained two Geoffroy’s Cats 
(Felis guigna), and a pair of the now rare Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus 
ursinus). The series of Bears included an interesting albino of the Hima- 
layan Black Bear (Ursus torquatus), kept in the same cage with a normal 
specimen. Amongst the Ungulates, the most interesting animal was a 
European Bison (bos bonassus), placed in a pen adjoining that of the 
American Bisons (B. americanus), so that the two species could be readily 
compared. The Anoa (Bos depressicornis), which unites the Oxen to the 
Antelopes, was also represented. The Antelopes included a fine Water- 
buck (Cobus ellipsiprymnus), and a brindled Gnu (Connochetes taurina). 
The coat of the Gnu was of a beautiful and distinct blue-grey colour. 
A specimen of the Mountain Zebra (Hquus zebra) was placed next to the 
Burchell’s Zebra (H. burchelli); the Burchell’s Zebra belonged to the 
typical form with very thick dark stripes on the body and none whatever 
on the legs. By the kind help of the keepers I was enabled to photograph 
the animal as it stood in its yard. In the same building with the Zebras 
was an extensive ornithological museum. 

There were several aviaries in the Gardens, and the Bird Gallery was 


NOTES ON ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS. 317 


well stocked. Two beautiful Boat-billed Herons (Canchroma cochlearia) sat 
‘on their respective perches, one bird having the feathers at the base of the 
bill a delicate lemon-yellow, the other bird having the same feathers white. 
Photodilus badius sat sleepily on its perch, gazing on the spectator with all 
the dignity expected of an Owl which unites in the anatomy of its skull 
the characters of the Strigide and Bubonide. The glossy Starlings were 
well represented by the West African Juida enea, with its long tail; 
Lamprotornis chalybea, metallic green ; L. nitens, a lovely bird with bright 
bluish reflections on side of breast; and the yet more lovely L. aurata, 
metallic greenish blue all over head and breast, with metallic purple 
reflections under chin, and green wings and tail. The smaller birds 
included the Hstrelata cerulescens, of an exquisitely delicate bluish grey, 
with crimson lores and under tail-coverts. ‘The collection of Parrots was 
very comprehensive, and contained the rare Hawk-billed Parrot (Deroptynus 
accipttrinus). ‘The Cockatoos were lively and in fine voice, screeching 
furiously and unitedly to form a most unmelodious concert. The Parrot- 
lets were represented by the pretty little Psvttacula galgula, with green 
plumage, varied by the yellow on the nape of the neck and the crimson of 
the throat and upper tail-coverts. The Kiwis (Apteryx mantellt and A. 
owent) slept snugly under their straw, till 1 was able to induce the keeper 
to dislodge them for me to photograph. Cranes were represented in great 
variety, and amongst other allied birds I noted were the Goliath Heron 
(Ardea goliath), the Straw-necked Ibis (bis spinicollis), and the White 
Egret, so shamefully persecuted for its plumes, which now everywhere 
(including, I am sorry to say, Holland and Belgium) adorn women’s hats 
under the name of “aigrettes.”” In an adjoining aviary was a beautiful 
Rose-coloured Pastor (Pastor roseus), and several Bower-birds. 1 was much 
interested to hear the vocal performance of the Parson-bird (Prosthemadera 
nove-zealandié), consisting of a few musical notes followed by a harsh 
clanking sound. The extensive list of birds of prey included the American 
Black Vulture (Catharista atrata) and the Fishing Owl (Ketupa ceylonensis). 

The Aquarium was a splendid building, the interior being very fine. 
Perhaps the prettiest tank was one full of large Gold-fish of a fiery red, 
contrasting well with the sanded floor and the delicate green Vallisneria 
plants. The tanks faced each other; on one side of the hall were the 
marine tanks, on the other fresh-water fish were exhibited. In the marine 
series I may mention the viviparous Blennies (Zoarces viviparus), crowded 
together at the bottom of their tank in dozens; Herrings(Clupea harengus) 
in multitudes; a huge grey Wolf-fish (Anarrhichas lupus), its great jaws 
almost touching the glass; and some small Sturgeons (Acipenser sturio) of 
different sizes. ‘Three Silurus (Saurus glanis), each about five feet long, 
were shown in a tank of fresh water. The room at the end of the Aquarium- 


318 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


hall contained Paradise-fish (Macropodus viridi auratus), colours very vivid ; 
Peacock-fish (T'richogaster fasciatus), in dazzling iridescence of green and 
orange. The following amphibians were also shown :—Bombinator pachy- 
pus, Rana esculenta, R. temporaria, Bufo calamita, Triton teniatus, T. 
alpestris, Salamandra maculosa ; also seven large Axolotls in a tank, 
greyish green, marbled and mottled with darker green. 

A good Museum, the cases all painted white, was attached to the 
Aquarium building, and contained a collection of Snakes and Tortoises, 
well mounted in spirits, and also several other zoological collections. 

The Insect-house, close to the Bird-gallery, contained living insects, 
such as Papilio machaon and large silk moths, in great variety, and in 
various stages of metamorphosis. 


At Rotterdam, the Gardens, which are close to the Delftsche Poort 
Station, possessed two examples of the Thibetan Black Wolf (Canis niger) ; 
a very interesting Siberian Tiger, the fur of which was remarkably delicate, 
the stripes being long and thin, and the whole animal presenting a pale 
washed-out appearance, contrasting markedly with the darker coat of the 
Malaccan ‘Tiger in the next cage. 

The Eagle aviaries were fine and spacious, and the Heron-pond of very 
ample dimensions. It was curious to note that just outside the wires a 
colony of free Herons had taken up their abode. 


The Antwerp Zoological Gardens, which are very fine, are close to the 
principal railway-station ; admission one franc. ‘The Monkey-house, a 
handsome building, contained amongst its inmates a very rare and little 
known Cercocebus from the Belgian Congo; an example of Cercopithecus 
brazze (Brazza’s Monkey), smaller apparently than the specimen in 
London ; and many other animals. Perhaps the most curious building is 
the Elephant-house, the front of which is decorated, in Egyptian fashion, 
with figures of the Mountain Zebra and other animals painted on the out- 
side. The Ungulates are well represented at Antwerp, the most note- 
worthy being two Mountain Zebras (Hquus zebra) ; a Giraffe (North African 
form), protected from draughts by a huge sheet of plate-glass in front of its 
cage; a Kuropean Bison (Bos bonassus); two short-horned African Buffa- 
loes, darker perhaps than normal (Bubalus pumiius); several American 
Bison (Bos americanus); Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus), in the very best 
health, as a glance at its beautiful coat testified ; Sable Antelope (Hippo- 
tragus niger); Roan Antelope (H. equinus); Brindled Gnu (Connochates 
taurina); Dama Gazelle (Gazella dama); Addax (Addax nasomaculatus) ; 
and a Sumatran Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sumatrensis). The Lions, Tigers, 
and other large Carnivora were provided, as in London, with outdoor cages. 


NOTES ON ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS. 319 


Birds, as at Amsterdam, are well represented : Hornbills, Barbets, 
Finches, and hosts of other tropical forms are displayed in the aviaries. 
One aviary compartment, I noticed, was provided with rows and rows of 
perches, on which nestled a crowd (probably hundreds) of tiny Finches—a 
pretty sight. 


All the three Gardens are well timbered, and the grounds themselves 
elegantly laid out. The buildings are very imposing and beautiful. I 
must here express my thanks to the Director of the Amsterdam Gardens 
for his kind permission to photograph some of the animals; and to the 
keepers for their kind and willing assistance to me, a stranger in a 
strange land. 


320 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


NOTES AND QUERBRLES: 


MAMMALIA. 
CARNIVORA. 


The Grey Seal on the Coast of Sussex.— Hearing, on June 5th, that 
a Seal had been shot at Littlehampton, I proceeded to make enquiries, and, 
if possible, identify the species. I was informed that it had been skinned, 
that it was between five and six feet in length, and weighed ninety-five 
pounds. The large size pointed to the conclusion that it might be the 
Grey Seal (Halicherus gryphus), a very rare visitor to the south coast, and, 
so far as I am aware, the first instance of its occurrence in these parts. 
Being, therefore, desirous of obtaining the skull as a means of identification, 
I asked what had become of it, and was informed that it had been “ thrown 
into the river.” Offering a reward, I left word that in the event of its being 
recovered, as I suggested it possibly might be at low tide, it should be 
brought to me. This was done, and I find that it corresponds in all 
essential particulars, as regards dentition, flattened head, &c., with the 
illustrations of the skull of the Grey Seal in the second edition of Prof. 
Bell’s ‘ British Quadrupeds’; also teeth in the upper jaw, plain, smooth, 
and slightly curved, and not serrated, or placed obliquely and close together, 
as is the case in the Common Seal. I would also observe that in the speci- 
men I have imperfectly endeavoured to describe, the two oblique orifices in 
the palate are placed near the canine teeth (see Bell, p. 268); whereas in 
the Common Seal (Phoca vitulina) they occur much farther back, and are 
longer in form (see Bell, p. 246). In ‘ The Zoologist’ for 1897, I reported 
the appearance of the Common Seal in the Arun for the first time ; I have 
now the pleasure of recording the capture in this district of the much rarer 
animal.—Prrcy HK. CoomBs (Surrey House, Arundel). 


AVES. 

Thrush’s Nest piled up with Ivy-berries.—By some accident the 
April number of ‘ The Zoologist ’ never reached me, and I have only lately 
seen Mr. Stanley Lewis’s note in that issue (ante, p. 181). In May I 
received from Pembrokeshire a nest of the Song-Thrush, the sides of which 
were thickly piled up with berries which had originally (¢.e. at the end of 
February) been of a beautiful ruddy colour; some of them still show faint 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 321 


traces of pink. The nest is described by the lady who sent it to me as 
having been a very beautiful object, and it was difficult to believe that the 
berries had not been stuffed into the structure of the nest for purposes of 
ornamentation. They turned out to be ivy-berries which had been passed 
through the body of the bird, the seeds, as Mr. Aplin has pointed out, being 
voided with the membrane containing them, while the soft parts of the 
berries were absorbed. It seems to be the membrane which takes the pink 
hue after extrusion. Mr. Aplin, who has seen the nest, thinks that the 
seeds were dropped upon it without definite purpose ; Mr. Lewis, who does 
not mention the red colour, seems to be clear that the male bird brought 
them as food for the female. I should like to ask him whether the female 
consumed the berries, and whether he noticed any seeds of a red or pink 
hue. Ihave given up the idea of ornamentation, which was tempting at 
first sight ; if the incubating female was fed by the male, and then extruded 
the seeds in a gelatinous state, they would easily have got fixed into the 
structure of the nest in such a way as to hold there firmly even after they 
had dried up.—W. WarbeE Fow er (Kingham, Chipping Norton). 

{Many of the seeds forwarded by Mr. Stanley Lewis were of a red or 
pink hue.—Eb.] 


Large Clutch of Wheatear’s Eggs. — Mr. Davenport states (ante, 
p. 208) that he has never known of a clutch of eggs of the Wheatear 
(Saxicola enanthe) to number eight. It may interest him to learn that a 
nest containing that number was found in a hole in the walls of an old 
ruined castle in North Lancashire on May 11th, 1888. I saw the eggs 
immediately after they were discovered, and seven of them are now in my 
collection ; the eighth was unfortunately broken by the finder to ascertain 
‘if it was fresh.” Excepting in this instance, six is the largest number I 
have taken ; but I believe a seven or eight clutch is in the possession of 
my friend Mr. R. W. Calvertt.—T. H. Nutson (The Cliffe, Redcar). 


Hawfinches near Bradford.—On the 20th May last, whilst watching 
from behind a tree a Goldcrest feeding in a larch in Bingley Wood, a 
Hawfinch (Coccothraustes vulgaris) flew just past, alighting at some distance 
on an oak tree, but flew off again, immediately on my attempt to approach, 
along with another bird which I took to be of the same species. Formerly 
the Hawfinch was quite unknown in this district, but scarcely a year 
now passes but it is to be seen, or its nest found, and is undoubtedly 
extending its range in a northward direction. Recently a friend of mine, 
who had had his pea-crop attacked, was for some time quite ignorant of 
the cause of destruction; but early one morning he accidentally dis- 
covered that this species was the culprit—H. P. Burrerriecv (Wilsden, 
near Bradford). 


Zool. 4th Ser. vol. III., July, 1899. Y 


322 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Cirl Bunting in Carnarvonshire.—As an interesting fact bearing upon 
the apparent extension of the range of the Cirl Bunting (Lmberiza cirlus) 
in North Wales (if, indeed, it really is extending its range, and has not 
merely escaped notice until recently in some localities it is now known 
to inhabit), I should like to record that on thé 29th June I watched, 
and listened for some time to the song of, a niale of this species at Llanbe- 
drog, about four miles west of Pwllheli. I could hear another bird singing 
at a little distance. The particular spot was the beautiful sheltered garden 
of Glyn-y-Weddw, which is heavily planted with conifers and other trees, 
and partly surrounded with plantations. Here, in the soft air, myrtles, 
escallonias, bays, fuchsias, and even camellias and other tender plants 
flourish in the open. The fact of the Cirl Bunting singing on and off from 
noon to two o’clock on that particular day, when the leaden sky, growling 
thunder, and warm heavy air were enough to depress all living creatures, 
shows that this species, like the Corn and Yellow Buntings, is a persistent 
singer after the early freshness of the day and the summer is past.—O. V. 
APLIN (Bloxham, Oxon). 


Appearance of the Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopus major) 
in Yorkshire.— While I was sittingin a small wood some three miles from 
Beverley, my attention was attracted by the violent actions of two birds 
which seemed to be mobbing something. In a short time they came 
closer, and I saw that the object of their ire was a Great Spotted Wood- 
pecker. ‘The smaller birds were Greenfinches, and they were making 
furious dashes at the Woodpecker as he hung on to the trunk of a tree. 
The reason for their attack was obvious, as, when the Woodpecker had gone, 
I found a Greenfinch’s nest, with the bird sitting on it, quite close to the 
spot. This was on May 27th.—A. H. Merxiesonn (104, Gilda Brook 
Road, Eccles, Lancashire). 


Economy of the Cuckoo.—Referring to the notes of Mr. Tuck (Zool. 
1898, p. 477) on the economy of the Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), it is not an 
exceptionally rare occurrence to find two eggs deposited in one nest in this 
district ; but the Cuckoo scarcely or ever selects the nest of the Hedge- 
Sparrow. oughly speaking, 80 per cent. are laid in the nest of the 
Titlark, 5 per cent. in that of the Whinchat, and the rest in nests of 
various species. My sons once brought me an egg which had been laid 
in the nest of a Ring-Ouzel. Whilst at Marley some time ago, with 
Mr. Carter, of Bradford, we found a Titlark’s nest containing two Cuckoo’s 
eggs, which were remarkable on account of the fact that both the Titlark’s 
and Cuckoo’s eggs deviated in a marked degree from the normal type, 
the former being scarcely distinguishable from the Pied Wagtail, with 
which, in colour and markings, the eggs of the Cuckoo very closely 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 323 


assimilated. In the course of a recent conversation with a friend, he in- 
formed me that some time ago he shot at a Cuckoo, flying over a disused 
quarry, in the very act of singing, wounding it in its wing, thus rendering 
it unable to continue its flight, though otherwise apparently uninjured. To 
his astonishment, whilst killing it, an egg was deposited in his hand. If 
this statement be true—and I have no reason to dispute it, as I have 
in the past ever found his statements unimpeachable—then the position 
of those who assert that it is the male bird only that sings is untenable. 
I pointed out to him that perhaps after all the song might have proceeded 
from a male bird in the immediate neighbourhood. He, however, denied 
that he could possibly be mistaken under the circumstances. — E. P. 
BurttERFIELD (Wilsden, near Bradford). 


Cuckoo’s Egg in Nest of Red-backed Shrike.—As I called attention 
to the extreme rarity of the Cuckoo’s egg in the Shrike’s nest (ante, p. 223), 
I ought to mention that on June 15th I had one brought to me in Hast 
Suffolk with three eggs of the Red-backed Shrike. A few days previously I 
saw a Nightingale’s nest in situ, with three eggs of the foster-parent and 
one Cuckoo's egg, which, by the kindness of the owner of the property, I 
was allowed to acquire. A neighbour was recently watching a Hedge- 
Sparrow’s nest which he thought might produce an egg of the Cuckoo, and 
visited it one day, when it contained four eggs of the owner; next day one 
of the eggs was gone, and a Cuckoo’s egg was left in its place. This 
Cuckoo’s egg, to my friend’s utter astonishment, was well advanced in in- 
cubation, while the eggs of the foster-parent were almost fresh. Where and 
how had the incubation of the Cuckoo’s egg taken place ?—Juttian G. Tuck 
(Tostock Rectory, Bury St. Edmunds). 


Arrival of Spring Migrants in Yorkshire.—I herewith send a list of 
spring migrants, as observed by myself and son, with dates of first appear- 
ance for the current year :— 


Wheatear, April 2nd ...........04 Wilsden. 
eluiehatl, April 3rd) _ <....3....+.+9 Bingley. 
Ring-Ouzel, April 6th ............ Wilsden. 
Willow- Warbler, April 16th ...... Bingley. 
Meee-Pipit, April 18th... ..0.<..0000 Bingley. 
Dwallow, April 19th ..:.......00++ Bingley. 
House-Martin, April 19th (one), 

MRUVAP SS Sad Saniss toe ddehnectiavnctaneed Bingley. 
Puekoo, April 20th. .....0.c000e000e Shipley. 
Redstart, April 21st ............... Bingley. 
Sand-Martin, April 21st (late)... Bingley. 

Ray’s Wagtail, April 23rd......... Bingley. 
Blackeap and Garden Warbler, 

PRB EUOOU cose din caccnns<teddennee Cartmel, near Grange-over-Sands. 
Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler, and 

*Corncrake, May Ist............ Walney Island. 


yY2 


324 THK ZOOLOGIST. 


Whinchat, May 2nd ............... Morecambe Bay. 
Wood-Wren, May 4th ............ Bingley. 
*“Reed- Warbler, May 8th ......... Keighley. 
*Spotted and *Pied Flycatcher, 
Mary Stl etin uti deesscsnteteada ots Bolton Wood. 

wit,’ May OGY: ory. sc teeceerer Barden Tower, Wharfedale. 
Fieldfare, May 10th (last seen)... Bingley. 

Nightjar, ‘May 18th... .77.2.s0c-s +. Goit Stock Valley, Bingley. 


As to those species against which an asterisk is placed it cannot be taken as 
absolutely certain whether the dates of first appearance as observed by us 
were coincident with their arrival ; but as to the remainder, the dates as 
specified we have every reason to believe indicate their actual arrival. 
Neither the Chiffchaff nor Stonechat breeds in this neighbourhood, or, if so, 
but rarely (although both occur occasionally on migration), which is a 
curious feature in their economy, especially when taken in connection with 
their habits as stated in most manuals on ornithology. We should be 
extremely obliged to any of your readers who would forward notes to 
supply material for the better working out of the distribution of these two 
species, stating particulars under the following heads, viz. :—Altitudinal 
range, whether well wooded, and, if so, what species of tree predominates, 
and whether of young or old growth; relative abundance or otherwise of 
allied species, such as Wheatear, Whinchat, Wood-Wren, and Willow- 
Warbler ; or do they occur on migration only, as in this district, or breed ? 
It may be said in passing that this district is well wooded, the trees chiefly 
oak, birch, and beech, the former predominating; it has an extensive 
altitudinal range (400-1300 ft.), most of which, over 1600 ft., consists of 
moorland.—K. P. Burrerrievp (Wilsden, near Bradford). 


Songs of Birds affected by Temperature. —In the April number, 
Mr. H. S. Davenport takes me to task for my conclusions on this point. 
No doubt the sentence he quotes is too strongly expressed ; in fact, a modi- 
fying word had slipped out of my type-written copy in that particular 
sentence. But the experience of years makes me feel sure that tempera- 
ture as such does not seriously affect the singing of most birds. This 
morning, for example, in a very cold wind from W.N.W., there was far 
more singing going on in the osier-bed, where I watch the Marsh-Warbler, 
than there was in the warm weather of a fortnight ago. So, too, birds will 
sing in severe cold, if the air is clear, as it usually is in the hardest frosts. 
But they will cease singing in cold rain, in snow, or in depressing chilly 
fogs; this at least is my experience. A low temperature often invigorates 
the human frame, if not continued too long; and so long as the birds can 
find food and get some amount of sun, they seem brisk aud lively, and will 
sing up to noon in great cold. In the later hours of a winter day I hardly 
ever hear any but the Robin and Wren. ‘The following is one of many 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 325 


entries in my diary on which I based my conclusion :—‘“ Feb. 7th, 1895 
(Oxford). Observatory thermometer went down to 9° last night; on ground, 
0-3°. Birds singing: Chaffinch, Dunnock, Robin, Wren, Great Tit, Blue 
Tit; Starlings very lively. Snow Buntings near Cumnor Hurst.”—W. 
WarDE Fow er (Kingham, Chipping Norton). 


AVIECULTURAL NOUS. 


On Sexual Differences in the Superb Tanager (Calliste fastuosa).— 
In scientific descriptions of this bird we read, ‘‘ Female similar to the male, 
but rather less brilliant in colour.” Dr. Russ, in the second volume of his 
‘Fremdlandischen Stubenvégel ’(p. 444), says, ‘‘ Das Weibchen soll wber- 
einstimmend und nur matter gefarbt sein,’ which is the same statement 
over again ; but then he proceeds to stultify his own remark by continuing, 
“Ich glaube jedoch, dass es nicht den gelben Unterriicken hat, den ich 
besass einst solchen Vogel, der bei kaum bemerkbar matteren Farben das 
lebhafte Gelb garnicht und anstatt dessen eiven fahlbraunlichschwarzen 
Unterriicken zeigte.” His duller bird with brownish rump was probably 
an immature plumage, and he evidently guessed its sex from the fact that 
its colouring throughout was not perfected. In the spring of 1897 I pur- 
chased my first Superb Tanager, which in the late summer moulted into 
the most brilliantly coloured and most perfect example of the species that I 
have even seen. The damp cold weather of December, 1898, brought on 
a sort of weakness which I could only regard as a form of influenza, and 
this bird was one of the first of sixty victims which succumbed to the 
disease during December and January. When opened it proved, to my great 
surprise, to be ahen. In March, 1899, I purchased four examples of the 
species, and in April two more (all freshly imported); one of these died 
soon afterwards, being ragged and in poor condition ; one died in good 
condition from apoplexy at the beginning of June, and athird a week later 
from inflammation of the vent. ‘These last two were examined, and proved 
to be both cocks. The differences in the sexes are as follows :—The male, 
as with many Finches, has the crown broader, the base of the beak much 
broader, distinctly more triangular, when viewed from above, than the hen. 
In the latter sex, the beak being much narrowed, is more gradually tapered ; 
viewed from the side, the culmen of the male beak is a little more arched. 
In colouring the sexes show distinctly different shades of colour; the male 
has the head and mantle of a distinctly more golden green than the female 
(this sex, though equally brilliant, is bluer than the male). The lower 
back and rump in the male are of a fiery orange colour; in the female the 
same parts are golden orange, distinctly yellower at the junction of the 
orange with the blue-black of the back. In selecting a pair for breeding in 


326 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


an open-air aviary, I believe that if birds showing deep orange and golden 
orange were purchased they would prove to be sexes; and I am certain that. 
examples having the two distinctive forms of beak would prove to be so.— 
A. G. Butter (Beckenham Road, Beckenham, Kent). 


Pie C is. 

Gattoruginous Blenny in Essex.—With reference to Mr. Patterson’s 
note (ante, p. 273) that his Great Yarmouth specimen of this little fish ‘is 
the first record of B. gattorugine occurring in Kast Anglian waters,” I 
should like to record that I have one caught in the Essex Blackwater, off 
Stansgate, on Aug. 19th, 1898, by Sampson Wright. It is typical with 
Day’s figure and description, and measures 5% in. long. I have it preserved 
in 4 per cent. formalin, and it looks as fresh as when I had it alive.— 
Epwarp A. Fircn (Maldon, Essex). 


(327) 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 


Proceedings of the Fourth International Congress of Zoology. 
Cambridge, 22nd—27th August, 1898. C.J. Clay & Sons. 


THE meeting of the fourth International Congress of Zoology 
in England was the most important scientific event in the zoo- 
logical annals of last year. It is possible that the published 
proceedings of a Congress do not altogether represent the work 
achieved, for if in the multitude of counsellors there is wisdom, 
there is also the creative impulse that potentially exists wherever 
real workers and students are gathered together. It is thus 
frequently that the most important results of a Congress are not 
incorporated in published Proceedings. It still remains, however, 
that this volume is zoologically a most valuable one, and that 
perhaps not by the record of any new discovery, but by the 
detailed discussions on many knotty points. We may instance 
that on the position of Sponges in the animal kingdom opened 
by Prof. Yves Delage. Up to the end of the first half of the 
nineteenth century it was still an open question whether Sponges 
were plants or animals. In the discussion on the origin of 
mammals, Prof. Seeley inclined to a reptilian derivation. ‘‘ The 
remains thus far discovered in Permian rocks show so near an 
approach of the higher reptiles to the lower mammals, that it is 
reasonable to believe that the interval between them is now so 
small that it may be obliterated by future discoveries.” Prof. 
Osborn, of New York, referring to the Permian records and the 
temptation to connect the herbivorous section of Anomodonts 
with the Monotremes, considered the many striking points of 
resemblance between these reptiles and mammals as due to 
parallelism, similar characters having been independently ac- 
quired. Prof. Marsh—who is, alas! no longer with us—held to 
the opinion that in the amphibians, especially in the oldest 
forms, there are hints of a true relationship with both reptiles 


328 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


and mammals. ‘It seems to me, therefore, that in some of the 
minute primitive forms, as old as the Devonian, if not still more 
ancient, we may yet find the key to the great mystery of the 
origin of mammals.” Mr. Sedgwick pointed out the necessity of 
remembering the decided imperfection of the geological record, 
and the doubt as to whether we shall ever find the past evidences 
of early organic evolution. Prof. Hubrecht predicted that one 
great battlefield in the future of this controversy would be over 
the question whether mammals other than Monotremes had de- 
scended from oviparous ancestors. Such authoritative opinions 
more truly canonize a Congress than the ancient practice of 
formulating dogmas. 

Prof. Haeckel’s paper on ‘‘ Our Present Knowledge of the 
Descent of Man” has already been noticed in these pages (ante, 
p. 82), and this referred more or less to the ‘‘ Remarks upon the 
Brain-cast of Pithecanthropus erectus,” by Dr. Kug. Dubois. It 
is, however, impossible here to give a digest of the various con- 
tents of the volume, which embraces “ Recent Legislation on the 
Protection of Wild Birds in Great Britain,’ and so technical a 
subject as a long correspondence on the ‘‘ Nomenclature of 
Lepidoptera.”’ It is a publication which may indeed be called 
‘advanced zoology,” which sufficiently repays the long journeys 
made by some of the delegates to Cambridge; and, further, is a 
more than creditable testimony to the unusual secretarial energy 
which marked this Congress. 


An Illustrated Manual of British Birds. By Howarp SAUNDERS, 
F.L.S., F.Z.S., &e. Second edition, revised. Gurney 
& Jackson. 


THE second edition of this indispensable vade-mecum will be 
hailed with delight by all who take an interest in British birds. 
The number of books published on this subject cannot be con- 
sidered few, but many are sketchy, some of an anecdotal character, 
others containing unverified records, or not including occasional 
visitors. None of these remarks can be alleged against a volume 
that gives the experience of a life-long attachment to ornitho- 
logy, combined with the critical faculty of sifting evidence. This 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 329 


of course can be sifted too finely sometimes, but perhaps a large 
mesh seems the best net for enclosing ornithological narratives. 

The first edition was completed in November, 1889, and then 
enumerated 367 species considered as British. In this edition 
the total is raised to 384, and some of the new additions will be 
familiar to the readers of this magazine. Of the 384 species 
described, ‘‘ those which have bred within the United Kingdom 
during the present century may be taken as 199 (if the extinct 
Great Auk is included) ; about 74 non-breeding wanderers have 
occurred fewer than six times, and 66 others are more or less 
infrequent visitors; while 45 species annually make their appear- 
ance on migration or during the colder months, in some portion 
of our long narrow group of islands or upon the surrounding 
waters.” A too insular standpoint for studying our British avine 
fauna 1s negatived by the inclusion of three coloured maps. ‘The 
first and second are bathy-orographical of the British Isles and 
Europe respectively, showing the comparative elevation of the 
land in the United Kingdom, and the depth of the surrounding 
seas ; the third is a North Polar Chart to facilitate the enquiry 
into the range of the birds which breed in the Arctic regions. 

We need say nothing further of a book of which a first edition 
of three thousand copies was exhaused in eight years. Apart 
from the ornithological bookshelf, it is a volume that should also 
be in every school and village library in these islands. 


Bird-life wm a Southern County, being Hight Years’ Gleanings 
among the Birds of Devonshire. By Cuaruxs Dixon. 
Walter Scott, Limited. 


WE seem to hear too little now of the natural history of such 
a glorious county as Devonshire, and certainly so in the pages of 
the ‘ Zoologist.. For years it was the home of Montagu. It is, 
as Mr. Dixon remarks, rich in species so far as sedentary birds 
are concerned. ‘‘ But the same can scarcely be said of migratory 
species, the county being very unfavourably situated for them. 
Indeed, next to Cornwall, I should feel inclined to class Devon- 
shire as the poorest littoral county in England for normal migra- 
tory birds, lying, as it does, too far to the south-west.” But, as 


330 . THE ZOOLOGIST. 


we all know, “so far as abnormal migrants are concerned, 
Devonshire can compare favourably with any other county.” 

This book is not a monograph of the birds of Devonshire, it 
does not describe the contents of cabinet drawers, but details the 
observations of a field ornithologist; it is an avian handbook for 
the county, and, as such, should be procured and read. We are 
glad to find that the Peregrine Falcon is still indigenous to 
Devonshire. ‘‘ Notwithstanding almost ceaseless persecution, the 
bird somehow manages to hold its ground, and eyries are situated 
here and there along the coast.” Mr. Dixon is very optimistic 
as to the little destructive effect on some main features of our 
avian fauna made by the construction of railway lines. He 
instances the many birds to be seen close to the line as the train 
rushes through Devonshire, an observation we have made our- 
selves both in that county and abroad. He concludes: “ there 
can be little doubt that railways would never have exterminated 
the Great Bustard from the open wolds and plains, and its 
absence must be ascribed to far more direct causes.” Alas! for 
two of our old Devonshire friends, the Chough and the Jackdaw. 
The first is not now known by the author to have any breeding 
station on the south coast, and “ whether the species will ever 
again recover itself in the county seems doubtful.” The decrease 
of the Jackdaw may possibly be attributed to the numbers shot 
by the owners of Pigeons, which are attacked by the Daws. 

The volume is full of interesting ornithological facts and 
observations; but how can either author or publisher imagine that 
such a publication unprovided with an index can ever serve a 
referential purpose ? 


Sport in Hast Central Africa, being an Account of Hunting Trips 
in Portuguese and other Districts of Hast Central Africa. 
By F. Vauenan Kirpy. Rowland Ward, Limited. 


Mr. VaueHan Kirgy is well known as an experienced and 
successful hunter of South African animals, and, although the 
sportsman appears in the pages of the above work in rather an 
inverse ratio to that of the naturalist, we still obtain much of 
that zoological information which can only be procured by those 
who have the health, inclination, and opportunity to wander, rifle 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 301 


in hand, in quest of wild beasts in a wild country. To the 
zoological reader the crack of the rifle and the details of the 
death of the victim are perhaps rather too much in evidence; we 
would rather have more particulars of the animal’s life than 
description of the method of his quitting it. However, all learn- 
ing is by much travail, zoology not being an exception to the 
rule; and the careful reader will find very many natural history 
records not obtainable elsewhere, many corroborations of tra- 
ditional statements, and some corrections of hearsay information. 
Thus we read of the Crocodiles as found near Chinde :—‘‘ They 
may often be seen lying fast asleep on the sand-banks with their 
jaws open; and the disputed fact can be verified by any observer 
with a pair of field-glasses, that the Spur-winged Plovers not 
only warn the Crocodiles of the approach of danger by their 
plaintive cries, but act as tooth-picks for the saurians, picking 
out what are evidently considered dainty bits from between the 
great teeth.” 

An Appendix of Zoological Field Notes concludes the volume. 
Mr. Kirby is as a rule unable to detect any difference between 
the Lion of Central and that of South Africa, though he thinks 
“male Lions with dark skins (dark grey or brown shaded) and 
full black or blackish brown manes occur less frequently north 
than south of the Zambesi.”’ Seasonal colouration appears to 
obtain in the Eland (T'aurotragus oryx). ‘The colour of Elands 
in Central Africa varies much in individuals, especially in the 
winter time, when many shades of yellow, dun, and tawny may 
be observed, as well as darker shades inclining to deep slate- 
colour amongst the old bulls. During the rains, when their 
hides are sleeker, a tawny dun predominates among the cows 
and young animals, while the bulls become darker.” This is a 
book in which much interesting information will be never used, 
as it lacks an index. 


332 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 


THE Presidential Address to the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union by Sir 
Michael Foster, Secretary of the Royal Society, &., is a very important 
and welcome deliverance in the cabal of modern biological scholasticism. 
The Tower of Babel finds its equivalent in the current methods of building 
the city of Natural Knowledge, and raising the “‘ tower of Science.” Amidst 
the plethora of much scientific jargon, Sir Michael well remarks, “the 
old example of the plain of Shinar bids every thoughtful man to ask him- 
self the question, Is not this confusion of languages hindering and spoiling 
the work, even if it will not, as it did of old, stop it altogether ?” We have 
specialized ourselves to the point of ignorance. ‘Take the Royal Society 
and its purview of ascertainable knowledge. Our authority cites as an 
example the papers read before a single meeting, that of June 16th, 1897. 
He observes :—‘‘I make bold to say that neither the President of the 
Society, nor any other of the officers, nor any one of the Fellows, could of 
his own knowledge state what was the exact meaning of each of all those 
titles. If you asked such a one to do it, he would tell you that he did not 
understand the speech of most of them. ... The tower has risen to a 
considerable height since the Royal Society was founded, and its Fellows 
are no longer able to understand one another’s speech.” We wish we 
could print the whole of this address; no extracts do it justice. ‘ There 
is a good old word ‘ Naturalist, which, though it originally had to do with 
the nature of all things which exist, has in course of time been narrowed to 
the things which are alive. In this sense the naturalist was a man who 
busied himself with ‘ Nature’ as manifested in living creatures, who sought 
to solve all the problems which life presents. Form, structure, function, 
habits, history, all and each of these supplied him with facts from which 
he wrested his conclusions. Observation was his chief tool; and the field 
hig main workshop. To him invidious distinctions between different parts 
of biologic learning were unknown. He had not learnt to exalt either 
form or structure or function to the neglect of the rest. Everything he 
could learn came to him as a help towards answering the questions which 
pressed on him for an answer. A naturalist of this kind, however—a 
whole-minded inquirer into the nature of living beings—is for the most 
part a thing of the past. He has well-nigh disappeared through the process 
of differentiation of which I have spoken.” | 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 333 


At the Annual Meeting, on the 25th of June, of the Société Nationale 
d’Acclimatation de France, M. le Myre de Vilers, President, in the chair, 
the large silver medal of the Society, bearing the portrait of Geoffroy Saint- 
Hilaire, was decreed to Miss Kleanor A. Ormerod, of St. Albans, England, 
for her work in Economic, or Applied, Entomology. Miss Ormerod will 
be heartily congratulated by her numerous agricultural and other friends 
on the receipt of this distinguished mark of appreciation of her dis- 
interested labours. 


WE read in ‘ The Shooting Times and British Sportsman’ that at the 
end of May the Tyneside Naturalists’ Field Club held their first meeting at 
Beal, and inspected, with the permission of Mr. C. J. Leyland, of Hagger- 
ston Castle, the large collection of animals and birds which he has collected 
from all parts of the world. Perhaps the most important feature of Mr. 
Leyland’s collection is the herd of American Bison. In this connection 
the owner of Haggerston Castle is conducting the experiment of attempting 
to perpetuate, by breeding from animals kept in confinement, the American 
Buffalo, which is rapidly disappearing from the North American prairies. 
The herd exceeds thirty in number, and the results so far attained promise 
that the experiment will be attended with a fair measure of success. Mr. 
Leyland, who began his Bison experiment on a small scale about eight or 
nine years ago, has added considerably to his herd, and there are several 
additions as the result of cross-breeding with Highland Cows. The 
little humped cattle of India and Afghanistan form another interesting 
feature of the collection, as well as the Gnus, Antelopes, and Deer, not 
omitting the Wapiti, or North American Deer, besides the Kangaroos 
and Ostriches. An inspection was next made of a number of Nylghaus, a 
species of Antelope from the Neilgherry Hills, several of which have been 
bred on the Haggerston estate. ‘The Indian cattle also were a fairly 
numerous company. Among birds were Crowned Cranes from Africa, 
Screamers from South America, Emus, Ostriches, and Black Swans from 
Australia. An Ostrich was disturbed sitting on nine huge eggs, and beat 
what some of the company termed a ‘“‘cowardly” retreat, leaving the eggs 
exposed. 


In these pages (ante, p. 41) we referred to a paper on “ White Cattle: 
an Inquiry into their Origin and History,” in which the conclusion was 
reached that these White Cattle “are simply the descendants of Roman 
cattle imported into the country during the Roman occupation.” We have 
just received the Annual Report and Transactions of the North Stafford- 
shire Field Club for 1898-99, which contain an illustrated paper by Prof. 


334 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Boyd Dawkins on ‘ The Chartley White Cattle.” The Professor’s opinion 
as to the origin of these cattle is not in unison with the writer of the 
previously mentioned memoir, who discarded the conclusions of Riitimeyer, 
and accepted those of Prof. McKenny Hughes. Prof. Dawkins considers 
that the breed of these large White Cattle was ‘‘ domesticated on the Con- 
tinent, as Riitimeyer has shown, in the Neolithic age, and occurs in the 
refuse-heaps accumulated round the pile-dwellings in Switzerland. It is 
descended from the great wild Urus, which abounded in the forests of the 
Continent in pre-historic times, and lingered in Europe as far down as the 
time of Charles the Great. It has nothing to do with the large fawn- 
coloured cattle of Italy, as suggested by Prof. McKenna Hughes. These 
are derived from the east, and probably from Egypt. This larger breed 
spread over the Continent of Europe through the Pre-historic and Karly 
Historic period, and became defined from all others by its white colour and 
red or black ears, not merely in the British Isles, but also in Spain.” 

The ultimate conclusions are :— 

“1. That the beautiful Chartley breed was originally introduced into 
this country along with the closely allied breeds of Chillingham and other 
places, in a domesticated condition, from the Continent, where they had 
been carefully selected by man during long ages. 

“2. That they were introduced about the time of the English or 
Danish conquests. 

“3. And, lastly, that the shyness and wildness of the breed is due to 
the fact of their never having been confined in small enclosures, where 
they would come into close contact with man.” 


Tue Linnean Society’s Journal—Zoology—contains a paper, read last 
December, by Mr. H. J. Elwes, “On the Zoology and Botany of the Altai 
Mountains,” the results of a journey made in that region last summer. 
Mr. Elwes remarks that the Altai Mountains are almost unknown to 
English naturalists, and practically less known to naturalists as a whole 
than many parts of Central Africa. So far as he was aware, “the only 
travellers who have written on the natural history of the country are 
Pallas, whose great work is well known, though now rather out of date ; 
Ledebour and Bunge, who sixty years ago compiled an excellent account of 
the botany of the Altai; Helmersen, who has described the geology of the 
country ; and Tchihatcheff, a well-known Russian traveller, who published 
an account of his travels, in French, in 1852.” 

As regards the Mammalia, we learn that the Ibex of the Altai (Capra 
sibirica, Pallas), the head and horns of which were exhibited, is nearly 
allied to the Himalayan Ibex, and is common in some parts of the moun- 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 3380 


tains, though very difficult to get at in summer. The Elk was formerly 
more numerous in the northern districts, but has now become extremely 
rare; and the single head which Mr. Elwes brought back resembles those 
which he had seen from European Russia, differing somewhat in the set of 
the horns from the Elk of Norway. The Roe (Capreolus pygargus, Pallas) 
is very common in some parts of the Altai and Sayansk Mountains, and is 
a very much larger and finer animal than the European Roe. The wide 
spread of the horns is not a peculiarity of this species, as it would appear 
from the nine heads which were exhibited—six from the Upper Yenesei 
Valley and three from the Altai—that this peculiarity is by no means 
constant, and that there is nothing but their size to distinguish them from 
the European race. The Musk-Deer is also very abundant near the upper 
limit of forest growth, and is snared in quantities by the natives. As many 
as two hundred skins were seen in one merchant’s store. Reindeer are 
said by Radde to occur in some parts of the Eastern Sayansk range, where 
they are also kept in a domesticated state; but, so far as could be ascer- 
tained, they do not exist in any part of the Altai. 

Birds were not so numerous as expected, although Cranes and Ducks 
were plentiful in the marshes of the Kurai and Tchuja Steppes. Mr. 
Elwes was astonished to find a Scoter breeding here, which proves to be 
the species described as Oidemia stejnegert, and which is an inhabitant of 
the N.W. American coast and North Pacific. It has never been hitherto 
procured, as he was informed by M. Alpheraky (who is at present engaged 
on a monograph of the Anatide of the Russian Empire), farther west than 
the Upper Amur. | 

Game-birds were very scarce, though Capercaillie, Ptarmigan, and Quail 
were observed ; and in the highest and barest parts of the mountains the 
magnificent Tetragallus altaicus was not uncommon, though very hard 
to approach. 

The fauna and flora are materially influenced by the very peculiar 
climate of the Altai, which has great extremes of heat and cold, and is 
subject to heavy thunderstorms, which fall as snow and hail in the higher 
regions, almost daily throughout the summer. During the whole of the 
two months the party were in the mountains they only had seven or eight 
days quite free from rain or snow. These heavy storms seem mostly to 
come from the eastward, and from the high mountains at the source of the 
Kemchik River, which is the westernmost tributary of the Yenesei. To 
show what sort of climate it is, it was mentioned that there were large beds 
of unmelted snow close to the camp, at about 7000 ft., all through July. 


Last year the Hon. Cecil Rhodes had five hundred young Rooks sent 
out to South Africa in order to establish a colony in his country place, and 


336 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


the experiment has been so successful that a similar lot has been sent 
this spring, the last consignment leaving by the ‘ Dunvegan Castle’ on 
June 10th. 


WITHOUT expressing any opinion on the subject of vivisection, in con- 
nection with the death of Mr. Lawson Tait, the well-known surgeon of the 
Midlands, it is interesting to recall some words written by him in a letter 
addressed to the ‘ Medical Press and Circular ’:—‘‘ Some day I shall have 
a tombstone put over me, and an inscription upon it. I want only one 
thing recorded on it, and that to the effect that he laboured to divert his 
profession from the blundering which has resulted from the performance of 
experiments on the sub-human groups of animal life, in the hope that they 
would shed light on the aberrant physiology of the human groups.” 


At the meeting of the Zoological Society, on June 20th, Dr. Woods 
Hutchinson read a paper on Zoological Distribution of Tuberculosis from 
Observations made mainly in the Society’s Gardens. Of 215 autopsies 
made in the Prosector’s Room during the past six months, forty-nine pre- 
sented the lesions of tuberculosis, 7.¢e. 25°3 per cent. of the mammals and 
birds. This mortality fell most heavily upon the Ruminants and Gallina, 
and least so upon the Carnivores and Raptores. Race or family appeared 
to exert little influence upon susceptibility, mode of housing only a small 
amount, and food and food-habits much more. A close correspondence 
appeared to exist between immunity and the relative size of the heart in 
both birds and mammals. 


Ir is estimated that the loss to farmers from the “ warbled ” condition 
of the hides of their cattle by the well-known Ox Warble Fly, or Bot Fly 
(Hypoderma bovis), averages £16,000 for every 100,000 hides. Mr. Child, 
the Managing Secretary of the Leeds and District Hide, Skin, and Tallow 
Co., Ltd., we are informed, calculates that on 30,000 hides that passed their 
hands in one year, the net loss to the farmers was no less than £1500 from 
this cause alone. 


WE greatly regret to announce the death, on the Ist inst., of Sir William 
Henry Flower, President of the Zoological Society, and late Director of the 
Natural History Department of the British Museum. An obituary notice 
by Dr. P. L. Sclater will appear in our next issue. 


alee, ini Ne : ! 


7 “ EA al ta : ’ any ‘ a 
ae el nce a Se a ES aie a ae te i ae pa) ee a ee Oe eee 


Zoologist, 1899. 


SIR WILLIAM HENRY FLOWER, K.C.B., F.B.S. 


Set ZOOL GPS? 


No. 698.—August, 1899. 


THE LATE SIR WILLIAM HENRY FLOWER, 
KCB. ERs: 


(PuatE IT.) 


Our Science of Zoology has suffered a most severe loss by 
the death, at his residence, 26, Stanhope Gardens, on the Ist of 
July last, of Sir William Flower, until lately Director of the 
Natural History Departments of the British Museum, and for the 
last twenty years President of the Zoological Society of London. 

Sir William had been, as is well known, in failing health for 
the past two years, and was compelled in 1898, under medical 
advice, to resign his important office at South Kensington. He 
passed the last winter with his family at San Remo, where it was 
hoped that perfect rest in a favourable climate might tend to 
restore him. But this was not to be the case, and he came back 
to England in May last with but little prospect of an ultimate 
recovery, as was painfully evident to the few friends who saw him 
after his return. 

‘William Henry Flower, the son of Mr. Edward F’.. Flower, 
and member of a well-known family at Stratford-on-Avon, was 
born on Nov. 30th, 1831, and was educated for the medical pro- 
fession at University College, London. When the Crimean War 
took place he entered the army as Assistant Surgeon, and served 
in the hospitals throughout the campaign, receiving the Crimean 
Medal with four clasps, as well as that given by ‘the Turkish 
Government. On his return to this country young Flower, who 

Zool. 4th ser. vol. {11., August, 1899. Z 


338 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


had always shown « strong inclination for natural history and 
scientific work, and had become a Fellow of the Zoological 
Society of London in 1851, was appointed Assistant Surgeon 
and Demonstrator of Anatomy at Middlesex Hospital. He 
soon became a regular attendant at the scientific meetings of 
the Zoological Society, and in June, 1860, read an excellent 
paper on the structure of the gizzard in the Nicobar Pigeon 
and other granivorous birds. Flower’s thorough and accurate 
style of investigation soon attracted attention, and led to his 
appointment, in 1861, as Conservator of the Museum of the 
Royal College of Surgeons. Here for twenty-three years he did 
excellent work in arranging and cataloguing the specimens, and 
in making large additions to the magnificent series of anatomical 
preparations belonging to that institution. Throughout this 
period Flower was also a frequent contributor to the publications 
of the Zoological Society, as will be seen by his numerous 
papers published in their ‘ Proceedings’ and ‘ Transactions.’ 
The difficult group of Cetaceans was one of Flower’s favourite 
subjects, and six well-illustrated memoirs upon various members 
of this group in the Zoological Society’s quarto ‘ Transactions ’ 
were the results of his labours. In 1869 Flower was chosen 
Hunterian Professor of Comparative Anatomy, and in 1870 pub- 
lished an important volume of introductory lectures. In the 
same year was also issued his ‘ Introduction to the Osteology of 
Mammals,’ which went through two subsequent editions. During 
this period of his career his Catalogue of the specimens iilus- 
trating the Osteology and Dentition of Man and Mammals was 
prepared, besides numerous other papers and memoirs. 

On the retirement of Professor Owen in 1884, Flower was 
appointed Director of the Natural History Museum at South 
Kensington, and during the fourteen years for which he held 
that post continued to exhibit the same admirable qualities in 
the discharge of his official duties which had signalized his 
career in Lincoln’s Inn Fields. Every branch of the Institution 
under his government was carefully tended and improved, and 
the deficiencies existing in various parts of that vast establishment 
were one after another searched out and remedied. During this 
period the Director’s time was, as might well be supposed, much 
taken up by his official duties; notwithstanding this, however, as 


THE LATE SIR WILLIAM HENRY FLOWER. 309 


will be seen by reference to the Zoological Society’s publications, 
constant communications were made to that Society (of which he 
had become President in 1879, on the death of the late Marquess 
of Tweeddale) on various zoological subjects to which he had 
_ devoted attention. Until this last two years, in fact, when 
failing health kept him at home, Flower was most constant in 
his attendance at all the meetings of the Society, both those for 
scientific purposes and those for ordinary business, and always 
manifested the greatest interest in every branch of the Society’s 
affairs. 

Flower was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society at the early 
age of thirty-three, and received one of its Royal Medals in 1882. 
In 1878 he was President of the Biological Section of the British 
Association, and in 1881 Chairman of the Department of Anthro- 
pology. In 1889 he became President of the whole Association 
for the meeting at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and delivered the 
excellent address on Museums and their construction and 
management which was published in the Report of the Associa- 
tion for that year. From 1883 to 1885 Flower was also 
President of the Anthropological Institute. He was nominated 
President of the International Zoological Congress which met 
at Cambridge last year, but failing health compelled him at the 
last moment to transfer this office to Sir John Lubbock. He 
had likewise received honorary degrees from Oxford, Cambridge, 
and other Universities, and was a corresponding member of the 
Institute of France. He received the honour of the Commander- 
ship of the Bath in 1887, and was made K.C.B. in 1892. 
Finally, we may truly say that in private life no one was ever 
more deservedly esteemed and beloved than the late Sir William 
Flower. Most kind and affable to all classes, he was friends alike 
with all—high and low, rich and poor. No one ever heard him 
utter a rough word; no one met with otherwise than a most 
courteous reception when a question was to be asked or his advice 
was sought. During a very long and intimate acquaintance 
with the late Sir William Flower, the writer of this article never 
heard him utter an unkind expression towards anyone, or knew 
him swerve in the slightest degree from the most inflexible 
rectitude of purpose. 

The published works and memoirs of the late Sir William 

Zz 2 


340 THK ZOOLOGIST. 


Flower are very numerous, but of these we may select his 
admirable ‘Introduction to the Study of Mammals’ (in which 
he was assisted by Mr. Lydekker) as being perhaps the most 
useful and generally known of any of them. 

We add the titles of fifteen others of his more important 
publications. 


P.. aie: 


1. Introductory Lectures to the Course of Comparative Anatomy, 
delivered at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, 1870.  8vo, 
London, 1870. 

2. An Introduction to the Osteology of the Mammalia. S8vo, 1870. 
2nd ed., 1876. 
3rd ed. Revised with the assistance of Hans Gadow. 8vo, 

1885. 

3. Catalogue of the Specimens illustrating the Osteology and Dentition 
of Vertebrated Animals, Recent and Extinct. Part I. Man; Part II. 
Mammalia. 8vo, London, 1879-84. 

4. Fashion in Deformity (Nature Series). 8vo, London, 1881. 

5. List of the Specimens of Cetacea in the Zoological Department of 
the British Museum. 8vo, London, 1885. 

6. Recent Memoirs on the Cetacea by Professors Eschricht, Reinhardt, 
and Lilljeborg. Edited by W. H. Flower. (Ray Society.) Folio, London, 
1866. 

7. The Horse: a Study in Natural History. S8vo, London, 1891. 

8. Essays on Museums, and other subjects connected with Natural 
History. 8vo, London, 1898. 

9. Description of the Skeleton of Inia geoffrensis, and of the Skull of 
Pontoporia blainvillii, with Remarks on the Systematic Position of these 
Animals in the Order Cetacea. Trans. Zool. Soc. vi. p. 87. -(1866.) 

10. On the Osteology of the Cachalot, or Sperm-Whale (Physeter 
macrocephalus). Ibid. vi. p. 809. (1868.) 

11. Description of the Skeleton of the Chinese White Dolphin (Del- 
phinus sinensts, Osbeck). Ibid. vii. p. 151. (1870.) 

12. On Risso’s Dolphin, Grampus griseus (Cuv.). Ibid. viii. p. 1. (1872.) 

13. On the Recent Ziphioid Whales, with a description of the Skeleton 
of Berardius arnouat. Ibid. vill. p. 208. (1872.) 

14. A further Contribution to the Knowledge of the existing Ziphioid 
Whales: genus Mesoplodon. Ibid. x. p. 415. (1878.) 

15. On the Exxternal Characters of two Species of British Dolphins 
(Delphinus delphis, Linn., and D. tursio, Fabr.). Ibid. xi. p. 1. (1880.) 


( 341 ) 


BIOLOGICAL SUGGESTIONS. 
MIMICRY. 


By W. L. Distant. 


(Continued from p. 315.) 


In all reflections on the wonderful adaptations in nature by 
which living creatures obtain a protection from their enemies by 
assimilative colour or structure, we must remember that in the 
struggle for existence fecundity plays no small part in producing 
survival. As De Quincey spoke of man in China as being but a 
weed, so throughout nature we often find excessive reproduction 
alone preventing extermination, and quite replacing the aid of 
protective or mimetic disguise in the “ survival of the fittest.” It 
is no longer the protection of the few, but the superfluous number 
of the attacked that militates against annihilation. As Mr. 
Harting has observed :—‘‘ The enormous rate of increase in fish, 
as compared with the rate of increase in their natural enemies, 
will always result in there being enough to spare for man and 
Otter—ay, for Kingfisher and Heron too.”* Weismann recog- 
nizes the same truth in the remark:—‘‘ No better arrangement 
for the maintenance of the species under such circumstances can 
be imagined than that supplied by diminishing the duration of 
life, and simultaneously increasing the rapidity of reproduction.” + 
Take the Orthoptera as found on the Transvaal veld—where most 
of these pages were written—which not only during the summer 
season literally supply the almost sole avian banquet, but are doubt- 
less the prey of other enemies as well; and, although the usual 
colouration of these insects is more or less approximate to the 
short grasses among which they live, no apparent protection is 
afforded thereby, and their great reproductive powers seem their 
only protection against extinction. The American Lobster is 
another casein point. Mr. F.H. Herrick, of the United States Fish 
Commission, who suggests that its habits are the same as that of 
the European representative, states that out of the 10,000 eggs 
produced at one time, not more than two arrive at maturity, and 
that even that estimate is probably too high, as the fisheries are 

* € Zoologist,’ 3rd ser. vol. xviii. pp. 44-5 

+ ‘ Lectures on Heredity,’ &. Eng. Transl. 2nd edit. vol. i. p. 17 


342 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


now declining.* This diminution may well take place, for, accord- 
ing to Prof. Henry Woodward, of the common species Homarus 
vulgaris, as many as 25,000 live specimens ‘“‘ are often delivered 
at Billingsgate in one day. If only as many are eaten in the whole 
of England as in London, this would be at the rate of 50,000 per 
day, or 18,250,000 annually. ... From Norway as many as 
600,000 are received annually.”t Marine animals commonly 
produce far more eggs than insects. The dangers of the shallow 
Seas are so great that a small proportion only of the young 
animals come to maturity. Hence the enormous fertility of 
common marine animals, except such as are able to nourish or 
defend their young. Vast numbers of Zocea are swept into mid- 
ocean or into tidal rivers, or are devoured. It is only a chance 
remnant that survives.{ Prof. Mobius says that out of a million 
oyster embryos only one individual grows up, a mortality due to 
untoward currents and surroundings, as well as to hungry 
mouths.§ Leuckart calculates that a tapeworm embryo has only 
about one chance in 83,000,000 of becoming a tapeworm.|| 

The fecundity of fish is shown by the following table of the 
number of ova in different species, as found by Frank Buckland’s 
observations :— 


Name of Fish. Weight of Fish. No. of Eggs. 

Salmon. (The average num- lb. OZ. 

ber of eggs in a Salmon is 

850 to each pound weight) .. 12 0 10,000 
EPROM ot sleerpote = ke siers aeaiete ere 1 0 1,008 4] 
GANT bose ietaisisyeia tate ta eis etenaiey ats 14 8 633,350 
Perel tise t a shade cama ets 3 2 155,620 

a) guteas ele (apne Mw levein release 0 8 20,592** 


* ¢ Zoologischer Anzeiger,’ xvii. no. 454; summarized in ‘Nature,’ 
vol. L. p. 553. 7 

+ *Cassell’s Nat. Hist.’ vol. vi. p. 205; also cf. W. B. Lord, ‘Crab, 
Shrimp, and Lobster Lore,’ p. 95.—According to Bertram, ‘ As a general rule, 
the great bulk of Lobsters are not much more than half the size they used to 
be’ (‘The Harvest of the Sea,’ p. 274). 

+ L.C. Miall, ‘ Nature,’ vol. liu. p. 154. 

§ Cf. Thomson, ‘ The Study of Animal Life,’ 2nd edit. p. 43. 

|| Ibid. p. 48. 

{ ‘There is not a living creature,” said Mr. Francis Francis, ‘‘ which 
inhabits the waters which does not prey more or less on Trout ova” (‘“ The 
Trout” (Fur, Feather, and Fin Series), p. 171. 

‘*k The number of eggs produced by this fish has been given as much 
greater by more recent writers. ‘Upwards of two hundred and eighty 


MIMICRY. 343 


Name of Fish. Weight of Fish. No. of Eggs. 
lb. OZ. 
UO i Pak BAY oe ee ar 28 0 292,320 
WORN eee trod Meas ep nd chatty acre 32 0 595,200 
eee Saino sles yN NEE Rages ororNons 4 8 42,840 
BterpeIns oF, Sans, 2 ane ees ees 0 12 480,480 
Pomser Wels ois. <.ecsies ea, Hevesi 28 0 15,191,040 
BSCE Phe 2. occ os tee eee 0 2 36,652 
PATENT yng sheceyotars a eee Bhede:s 2 0 116,640* 


The Codfish (Gadus morrhua) is a good example of survival 
through fecundity. In a specimen weighing thirty pounds, with 
a roe of only four pounds and a quarter, it has been calculated 
that there were as many as 7,000,000 eggs, and in some cases 
the number may be 9,000,000.t Here, besides other natural 
enemies, man again is a great destroyer. Describing the Cod- 
fishing off the coast of Labrador during the time of his visit 
(1833), Audubon writes :—‘‘ As there may not be less than one 
hundred schooners or ‘ pickaxes’ in the harbour, three hundred 
boats resort to the bank each day; and, as each boat may procure 
two thousand Cods per diem, when Saturday night comes about 
six hundred thousand fishes have been brought to the harbour.” f 
According to Prof. Seeley :—‘‘ The banks of Newfoundland and 
adjacent coasts have been fished since the year 1500. Here one 
man may take upwards of five hundred fish in a day, and in a 
year he is reckoned to capture ten thousand, though sometimes 
fifteen thousand may be caught in a single voyage.” § As regards 
the wholesale destruction of the spawn of this fish, a single 
instance will suffice. In one bird colony alone on the wild coast 
of Norsk Finmarksen—that of Svaerholt-Klubben—are ‘“ millions 
upon millions” of the small Gull (Rissa tridactyla). The food of 
these multitudes of birds during the summer months consists for 


thousand have been taken from a fish of half a pound in weight”’ (‘ Royal 
Nat. Hist.’ vol. v. p. 336). 

* ¢Tife of Frank Buckland,’ by G. C. Bompas, 2nd edit. p. 252.— ‘A 
Turbot of 8 lb. carries 800,000 eggs; a Sole of 11b.130,000 eggs” (Ibid.p. 263). 

+ It has been suggested that the greatest loss to the succeeding genera- 
tion takes place at the very earliest stage of the egg, in that a large proportion 
of the ripe eggs discharged in the water are not fertilized by the spermatozoa, 
and hence perish (McIntosh and Masterman, ‘The Life-Hist. Brit. Marine 
Food Fishes,’ p. 236). 

t ¢* Aububon and his Journals,’ vol. ii. p. 422, 

§ ‘Cassell’s Nat. Hist.’ vol. v. p. 59, 


344 THE ZO0O0LOGIST. 


the most part of fish-spawn, more particularly that of the Cod- 
fish, which is abundant in these northern waters.* The annual 
take of Herring is prodigious. It has been computed that a million 
of barrels, representing 800,000,000 fish, are taken in Scotland ; 
the Norwegian Herring fishery is as productive as the Scotch 
fishery; the English, the Irish, the French, and the Dutch fisheries 
are also very productive. Estimating the gross produce of these 
four fisheries at only the same amount as the Scotch fishery, 
2,400,000,000 Herring must be annually taken by these four 
nations—the British, the French, the Dutch, and the Norwegian. 
Yet the destruction of Herring by man is probably insignificant 
compared with that wrought by other natural agencies. Mr. 
James Wilson, in his ‘ Tour round Scotland and the Isles,’ 
vol. 11. p. 106, says, when describing St. Kilda :—‘‘ Let us sup- 
pose that there are 200,000 Solan-Geese in the colony of St. 
Kilda (we believe, from what we saw, the computation moderate), 
feeding there or thereabouts for seven months in the year. Let 
us also suppose that each devours (by itself or young) only five 
Herrings a day—this amounts to one million; seven months 
(March to September) contain 214 days, by which, if we multiply 
the above, the product is 214,000,000 of fish for the summer 
sustenance of a single species near the island of St. Kilda.” + 
Cod and Ling, of which three and half millions were taken in 
Scotland in 1876, feed largely on Herring, six or seven being 
often found in the stomach of a Cod. These, it is thought, may 
consume twelve times as many Herring as the four nations 
together. Gannets, of which 10,000 dwell on Ailsa Craig, must 
catch more Herring than all the fishermen of Scotland ; Whales, 
Porpoises, Seals, Codfish, Dogfish, predaceous fish of every 

* G. Lindesay, ‘ Fortnightly Review,’ November, 1894.—Codfish are also 
infested with parasitic Copepoda. According to Surgeon Bassett-Smith, it is 
rare to find a fairly grown Cod without being able to take many specimens of 
the small semitranslucent Anchorella uncinata attached to the folds about the 
lips and in the gill-cavity. In its mouth and on the palate will be seen 
frequently half a dozen specimens of Caligus curtus; on the gills, deeply em- 
bedded, a Lernea branchialis, and on the body sore places where a number 
of Caligus miillert have been fixed. And, although this investigator con- 
siders that in the great majority of cases these parasites are not prejudicial 
to the life of the fish, he describes Lernea branchialis as a certain exception 
to the harmless rule (Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 6th ser. vol. xviii. pp. 9 and 10. 


+ Cf. J. M. Mitchell, ‘The Herring, its Nat. Hist. and National Im- 
portance,’ p. 37, 


MIMICRY. 345 


description, are constantly feeding on them from the moment of 
their birth. The shoals of Herring in the ocean are always 
accompanied by flocks of Gulls and other sea-birds, which are 
continuously preying upon them, and it seems therefore no 
exaggeration to conclude that man does not destroy one Herring 
for every fifty destroyed by other enemies. The destructive 
power of man therefore is insignificant when it is compared with 
the destructive agencies which nature has created; and nothing 
that man has done, or is likely to do, has produced, or will 
probably produce, any appreciable effect on the number of 
Herring in the open sea.* In 1781 the town of Gottenburg 
alone exported 136,649 barrels, each containing 1200 Herrings, 
making a total of about 164,000,000; but so rapid was the 
exhaustion of the fish from this keen pursuit, that in 1799 it was 
found necessary to prohibit the exportation of them altogether. } 
This is a conclusion somewhat opposed to the opinion of Frank 
Buckland, as related above; but our aim here is only to show 
what multifarious dangers the Herring survives. } 

The Salmon deposits nearly a thousand eggs for every pound 
of its live weight. But nature is prolific in her waste, and a 
whole army of her poachers have to be satisfied. ‘‘ So true is 
this, that the yearly yield of the largest Salmon-producing river 
in the kingdom is computed at about the produce of one female 
jish of from fifteen pounds to twenty pounds in weight.Ӥ Mr. 
J. W. Willis Bund, the Chairman of the Severn Fishery Board, 
estimates that of Salmon eggs only 10 per cent., or 100,000 per 
million, hatch out. ‘‘ Nothing Trout like better than Salmon 
ova; Eels regard it as a delicacy; while Water-hens, Water- 
Ouzels, Crows, and other birds, as soon as any part of the bed of 
the stream is either uncovered, or has only a few inches of water 
in it, go over it again and again, picking out the tit-bits the ova 
are to them.’’|| As to the mortality at the subsequent stages, 
estimating the number of ova hatched as 1,000,000 out of 


* 6 Life of Frank Buckland,’ by G. C. Bompas, 2nd edit. pp. 818-14. 

+ ‘Das Leben des Meeres,’ p. 182. — Cf. Marsh, ‘Man and Nature,’ 
p. 120, note. 

‘t The excessive spermatozoa of the Herring sometimes whitens the water 
for scores of square miles (Matthias Dunn, ‘Contemp. Rev.’ Ixxvi. p, 200). 

§ Thomas Watson, ‘ Poachers and Poaching,’ p. 165, 

|| ‘The Life of a Severn Salmon,’ p. 7. 


346 THK ZOOLOGIST. 


10,000,000 in the Severn, it is estimated that between 50 and 
75 per cent. of the Alevins pass into the Fry stage, thus bringing 
the quantity to about 700,000. ‘In the Fry and Samlet stage 
the mortality increases to what degree is mere guess, as there is 
little, if any, evidence ; but the mortality must be 50 per cent., 
so that there would be 350,000 Smolts. Among the Smolts 
there is also a very high rate of mortality, say, at least 75 per 
cent., so that the fish that reach the Grilse stage would be some- 
thing like 40,000 out of 10,000,000 ova, or 4000 per million, 
about 4 per cent.”* In Kamschatka the Salmon have probably 
fewer enemies, as the rivers literally swarm with them; and 
Guillemard refers to one “‘little village” where, during the 
season, ‘‘ 20,000 fish would be no uncommon catch for a single 
day.”t The same author describes his impressions when standing 
on the banks of a little branch of the Avatcha River, not more 
than eighteen inches deep. ‘‘ Hundreds were in sight, absolutely 
touching one another, and, as we crossed the river, our horses 
nearly stepped upon them. Their back-fins were visible as far 
as we could see the stream, and aground and gasping in the 
shallows, and lying dead or dying upon the banks, were hundreds 
more. ... The millions of fish that are caught, and form the 
food throughout the year of almost every living creature in the 
country, are, however, as nothing compared with the countless 
myriads that perish naturally.”{ Krashenniker, writing more 
than one hundred years ago, says:—‘“ The fish come from the 
sea in such numbers that they stop the course of the rivers, and 
cause them to overflow the banks, and when the waters fall there 
remains a surprising quantity of dead fish upon the shore, which 
produces an intolerable stink.”” Guillemard considers that the 
vast majority—practically all, in fact—ascend the streams to 
spawn, and, having once done so, die. In the case of some 
species every fish appears to perish; in others a few get back to 
the sea.§ Besides other enemies, when Salmon are abundant 
and lie close a dreaded disease makes its appearance. This 
shows as a white fungus about the head and shoulders, and 
gradually spreads until the fish sickens and dies.|| The female 


* ¢The Life of a Severn Salmon,’ p. 11. 

+ ‘Cruise of the Marchesa,’ 2nd edit. p. 68. t Ibid. p. 73. 
§ Ibid. p. 92. 

|| John Watson, ‘Sketches of British Sporting Fishes,’ pp. 3-4. 


MIMICRY. 347 


Sturgeon (Acipenseride) deposits enormous numbers of extremely 
minute eggs, the product of a single individual having been 
estimated at upwards of three millions during a season. This 
fecundity is necessary to preserve the species, when, apart from 
other enemies, we read that upwards of fifteen thousand have 
been taken by fishermen in a single day at one of the fishing 
stations on the Russian rivers.* Many other instances of great 
fecundity among fishes might be given, but at least reference may 
be made to the testimony of Mr. Henry Lee, that a large Octopus 
produces in one laying, usually extending over three days, a 
progeny of from 40,000 to 50,000 ; and the same authority, con- 
firming the observations of Johann Bodasch, found that in the 
mop-like mass of spawn belonging to a Squid (Loligo vulgaris) 
there were probably 42,000 perfect young Squids.t 

Among mammals, the Rat is very prolific. Frank Buckland 
was told by a trustworthy Westminster ratcatcher that the Rat 
will breed every seven weeks, and that the female will begin to 
have young as early as fourteen weeks old.{ The same author, 
referring to a little book on the Rat written by a Mr. Shaw, “ of 
ratcatching notoriety,’ states that ‘“‘his little dog Tiny, under 
six pounds weight, has destroyed two thousand five hundred and 
twenty-five Rats, which, had they been permitted to live, would, 
at the end of three years, have produced one thousand six hun- 
dred and thirty-three millions, one hundred and ninety thousand, 
two hundred living Rats.’§ ‘‘ Every wild Rabbit who lives to 
old age has probably been concerned during its life as one of two 
partners in the production of not less than three hundred young 
Rabbits.”’ Yet in England no perceptible increase is visible, 
and we must conclude ‘‘ that out of three hundred Rabbits born, 
only two survive to middle age, on the average; the rest being 
either killed and eaten by carnivorous animals, or (more rarely) 
dying through inability, for some reason or another, to obtain 
food.’’|| The Hamster (Cricetus frwmentarius) possesses mar- 
vellous powers of reproduction, and frequently appears in count- 


* ¢ Royal Nat. Hist.’ vol. v. p. 514. 

+ Of. H. Woodward, ‘Cassell’s Nat. Hist.’ vol. v. pp. 161 and 166. 
t ‘Curiosities of Nat. Hist.’ Pop. edit. vol. i. p. 69. 

§ Ibid. p. 70. 

|| Wells and Davies, ‘ Text-Book of Zoology,’ p. 128. 


348 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


less swarms. They have a host of enemies, and Buzzards, Owls, 
Ravens, and other predaceous birds thin their ranks by hundreds ; 
while among four-footed foes, Polecats and Stoats follow the 
track of the advancing legions, and kill them where and when 
they can. The Polecat and Stoat are, moreover, able to follow 
the Hamster into the recesses of their burrows, where they 
probably destroy them by hundreds. * 

Innumerable illustrations might be chosen from the life- 
histories of insects. Prof. Miall observes :—‘‘ Winter, of course, 
brings many hardships upon aquatic insects, as the great reduc- 
tion in their number proves. The enormous number of eggs 
laid by so many of them is doubtless connected with the heavy 
risks to which they are exposed during half the year.” + Of one 
of the May-flies (Polymitarcys virgo) Réaumur states :—‘' The 
short life of the winged female compels her to deposit her 700 or 
800 eggs at once, without much discrimination of likely and 
unlikely places.” Of the Pine Sawfly (Lophyrus pint), whose 
larvee are frequently found in such numbers in pine-woods, it has 
been said:—‘‘ When young, and also just before turning into 
pupe, the grubs are very susceptible to sudden cold or heavy 
rain, which kill off thousands. In addition to these destructive 
agencies, nearly forty different kinds of parasites infest the grubs, ' 
while mice devour numbers of the pupe.’’{ Among the Thread- 
worms (Nemathelminthes) parasitic Nematodes produce enormous 
numbers of eggs. Van Beneden states that 60,000,000 have 
been computed in a single Nematode, and this multiplication of 
ova is absolutely necessary, for the chance of the embryo reaching 
the right host, in which alone it can develop, is always a 
small one. § 

This excessive fecundity in some animal life finds its parallel 
in plants. Thus it has been computed that a plant of Sisymbriwm 
sophia yields 730,000, one of Nicotiana tabacum 360,000, one of | 
Erigeron canadense 120,000, and one of Capsella bursa-pastoris 
64,000 seeds yearly.|| Probably in this case, and in a state of 


** Lydekker, ‘ Roy. Nat. Hist.’ vol. iii. p. 126. 

+ ‘Nat. Hist. Aquatic Insects,’ p. 18. 

t F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, ‘ Roy. Nat. Hist.’ vol. vi. p. 17. 
§ Cf. A. E. Shipley, ‘ Cambridge Nat. Hist.’ vol. ii. p. 162. 
|| Kerner and Oliver, ‘ Nat, Hist. Plants,’ vol. ii. p. 878. 


MIMICRY. 349 


nature, a great check to increase is to be found in the difficulty 
the seeds experience in finding a proper soil in which to germi- 
nate, as well asin other sources of destruction. 

The advantages of, or the part played by fecundity in the 
preservation of many species is evidently of the most complete 
and far-reaching character. This seems particularly and more 
frequently the case with fishes, * the reasons for which are not 
difficult to comprehend. It has been urged that the pale colour 
of the under side of fishes makes it more difficult for enemies to 
detect them from beneath ; but this is probably a truism without 
denoting any evolved protection, and may be due to other causes. 
The survival is probably owing to fecundity alone, which prevents 
extermination from the many foes and adverse conditions which 
environ their lives. One may stand before the tank in a large 
aquarium, and be impressed with the assimilative colouration of 
the upper sides of flat-fishes to the sandy or pebbly bottom on 
which they rest, but still no difficulty is experienced in dis- 
tinguishing the living creatures; and if this be so, and with our 
untrained perceptions, how much stronger must be the detective 
powers of those natural enemies whose prey is their necessity ! 
The 130,000 eggs said to be carried by a Sole of one pound weight 
is probably the factor which prevents annihilation, and not a 
moderate disguise which, without deceiving ourselves, is still less — 
likely to mislead enemies whose lives depend on its destruction. 
Nature is here quite ‘‘ careless of the single life,” but, by fecundity, 
“so careful of the type.’ In our oceans and rivers the course 
of evolution has decided that the most prolific shall survive, and 
this is probably with fish the great factor of protection. Here 
individuality is lost, and Providence is with the big battalions. 


** Of course it is not suggested that all fish survive through fecundity 
alone. The European Goby (Latrunculus pelluwcidus) and the Sea-Stickle- 
back (Gastrosteus spinachia) have apparently been proved to die within a 
year of their birth. In these cases other protection seems to be afforded. 
According to Dr. Giinther, the fish spawns in June and July. In April the 
males lose the small teeth, which are replaced by very long and strong teeth, 
the jaws themselves being stronger. The teeth of the females remain un- 
changed. In July and August all the adults die off (‘ Introd. Study Fishes,’ 
p. 487). In this case the male may defend the progeny. G. spinachia is, 
on the same authority, a ‘‘ nest builder, choosing for its operations especially 
the shallows of brackish water which are covered with Zostera”’ (ibid. p. 507). 


350 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


If there is truth in this view, it should be emphasized by the fact 
that animals of great fecundity, as a rule, possess little protective 
disguise in colouration or markings, and this, in a great measure, 
appears to be the case, despite the somewhat contrary evidence 
which tends to be deducible from the colours of many flat-fishes. 
Even in this case we must remember that other senses besides 
those of sight may be used to discover a semi-concealed prey. 
The extreme hardihood of certain animals after injury is also an 
agency in ‘‘survival.”’ Prof. McIntosh relates that ‘‘a full-grown 
female Picked-Dogfish was captured in the stake-nets for Salmon 
some years ago with its stomach distended with food. In dis- 
secting the apparently dead animal in the laboratory the heart 
pulsated actively, though it and the pericardium were covered 
with old and recent lymph, caused by the irritation of a large 
Cod-hook, the point of which projected into the pericardium, and 
against which the heart seemed to impinge during contraction. 
An Eel will live for a year or two with a hook projecting through 
the gut into the abdomen, and the glutinous Hag (Myzine) is 
also hardy under similar circumstances.”* In so often seeking 
for the explanation of animal survival by mimetic or assimilative 
disguises, we are probably endeavouring to open too many locks 
with one key. 


Colour alone may prove a false analogy to protection. Mr. 
Beddard has well observed :—‘‘ The bluish and white colour of 
many Gulls is generally allowed to be of protective value ; in any 
case, they are not unlike their usual surroundings. For three 
years several of the common species of Gulls have a brownish 
speckled plumage, which is totally unlike that of the old bird; if 
one colour is advantageous, the other must be the reverse; and 
three years is either a considerable period, or not long enough.’’t 
Another illustration is from a writer who, recording his views as 
to protective resemblances in South America, describes the well- 
known butterfly, Ageronia feronica, which rests with its wings 
expanded horizontally. When seen on the “grey lichens or 
bark of the tree-trunk,” it is ‘then so like in colour and mark- 
ings to the surface on which it rests that it 1s practically invisible 


* € Journal of Mental Science,’ April, 1898. 
+ ‘Animal Coloration,’ 2nd edit. p. 29. 


MIMICRY. 351 


_at the distance of even a few yards.”* This observer, however, 
at the same time refers to the statement of Bigg Wither, that 
this very insect is called the Whip-butterfly, owing to the sharp 
whip-cracking sound made by its wings when battling with its 
fellows in the air, and that this sound makes it the easy prey of a 
forest-bird, locally known as the “ Suruqua,” who thus detects 
and secures it. Here the apparent protection, by “ protective 
resemblance,” is invalidated by a peculiar and unusual sound- 
producing quality, which is as equally dangerous as its colour is 
reported protective. A similar remark may be made as to the 
musical Cicadide. How often have the usual green and brown 
colours of these insects been adduced as an example of protective 
resemblance, and not without reason if we regard only the diffi- 
culty of distinguishing them on the branches or leaves on which 
they rest. But when we desire to capture them, their shrill 
noise proclaims their retreat, and their assimilative colouration 
avails them little. This has frequently been the experience of the 
writer when in South Africa.t| Mr. Burr writes :—‘‘ I have often 
stalked down our large Locusta viridissima, L., and have usually 
found it on a bed of nettles or thistles, in the middle of a corn-field, 
or in stubble, invariably much farther away than I at first expected. 
The sound appears to come from almost beneath one’s feet, but, 
on walking straight towards it, seems to recede into the distance, 
until it suddenly strikes the ear, very harshly and shrilly at close 
quarters. As soon as the would-be capturer approaches the 
sound ceases, and the insect remains invisible. The assimilation 
of the green colour of the insect and the green surroundings, 
which it always chooses as a band-stand, is so close, that it is 
almost impossible to detect the creature until it recommences to 
chirp, when the rapid movement of the elvtra betrays its where- 
abouts.” { Frank Buckland wrote similarly of the Green Tree- 
Frogs of Germany :—‘‘I have frequently heard one singing in a 


* C. W. Tait, ‘Entomologist,’ vol. xxvii. p. 52. (The author’s name by 
a misprint appears as W. C. Mit.) 

+ That birds do destroy Cicadas is a fact well known. Mr. Blantord 
found the Accipiter Nisws sphenwrus, in Abyssinia, “living on Cicade”’ 
(‘Obs. Geol. and Zool. of Abyssinia,’ p. 295). Cf. also Swinton (‘ Insect 
Variety,’ p. 21); Belt (‘ Naturalist in Nicaragua,’ p. 230); Hudson (Trans. 
N. Zeal. Instit. vol. xxiii. p. 20); Riley (‘ Science,’ v. p. 521). 

| ‘ Zoologist,’ 4th ser. vol. i. p. 516. 


By THE ZOOLOGIST. 


small bush, and, though I have searched carefully, have not been 
able to find him; the only way is to remain quite quiet till he 
again begins his song.” * 

The aquatic larve known as the Small “ Bloodworm” (T'ubifex 
rivulorum) is another instance of an animal whose colouration is 
a lure to its destruction, and whose fecundity can alone enable it 
to survive. The angler knows how readily a dish of Gudgeon 
can be procured with this bait; whilst other well-known ground 
fishes, such as the Loach (Cobitis barbatula), and the Mailler’s- 
thumb (Cottus gobio) also greedily attack it. These small worms 
live in great numbers in the mud at the bottom of streams, and, 
as Mr. Beddard has observed, as ‘‘ the head-end is fixed in the 
mud, while the tail waves about freely in the water, these worms 
form exceedingly conspicuous red patches, which must attract 
ground-feeding fish.” t 

It is often urged that few observers have seen butterflies 
attacked by birds, and that therefore their protective and warning 
colours are little needed against these as foes. Similar remarks 
have been made with reference to other animals. Thus Mr. 
Andrew Lang writes:—‘‘ On the Dee, Salmon sometimes rise to 
March Browns, and take the artificial March Brown tied rather 
large on these occasions. I have never seen a Salmon take a 
natural fly, any more than I have seen a phantasm of the dead ”’ ; 
yet he adds he “‘can believe on good evidence that Salmon do 
take natural flies.”’} Undoubted trustworthy accounts do exist 
also as to avian attacks on Lepidoptera, and the writer has wit- 
nessed not a few, though the occurrence is somewhat uncommon. 
Eimer once came across a large concourse of white and blue 
butterflies on a high plateau of the Swabian Alp: ‘On my 
approach a number of birds (Stonechats) flew from the spot, and 
when I came up I found a number of maimed butterflies lying 
fluttering on the ground; pieces had been bitten from the wings 
of most of them—indeed the wings were often torn to pieces 

* ¢ Life of Frank Buckland,’ by G. C. Bompas, 2nd ed. pp. 56-7. 

+ ‘Animal Coloration,’ 2nd edit. p. 6.—— According to Prof. Miall, the 
colour of the larva of Chironomus is due to a blood-red pigment, which is 
identical with the hemoglobin of vertebrate animals, and ‘‘ only such Chiro- 
nomus larve as live at the bottom and burrow in the mud possess the red 
hemoglobin ” (‘ Nat. Hist. Aquatic Insects,’ p. 180). 

{ ‘Illustrated London News,’ February 10th, 1894. 


MIMICRY. 


sh) 
Or 
(ds) 


before the birds succeeded in getting the bodies of the butterflies, 
although these were sitting quietly on the ground.”* Mr. Riley 
Fortune states that he has often seen Starlings chasing butter- 
flies.t| The Stonechat greedily devours butterflies, as I have 
seen in the aviaries of Dr. Butler. Zehntner on different 
occasions found seven Painted Lady butterflies in the mouths of 
Alpine Swifts (Cypselus melba), as recorded in the ‘ Catalogue 
des Oiseaux de la Suisse.’ Such an observation did not miss 
the lynx eyes of Jefferies: ‘‘ I once saw a Flycatcher rush after 
a buff-coloured moth, which fluttered aimlessly out of a shady 
recess; he snapped it, held it a second or two while hovering in 
the air, and then let it go. Instantly a Swallow swooped down, 
caught the moth, and bore it thirty or forty feet high, then 
dropped it, when, as the moth came slowly down, another Swallow 
seized it and carried it some yards and then left hold, and the 
poor creature after all went free. I have seen other instances of 
Swallows catching good-sized moths to let them go again.’ § 
These moths were probably inedible species, and were thus pro- 
tected, at least at this stage of their existence. Mr. Furneaux, 
referring to the common and well-known white butterflies of the 
British Pieride, observes: ‘‘It is remarkable that we are so 
plagued with ‘whites’ seeing that they have so many enemies. 
Many of the insect-feeding birds commit fearful havoc among 
their larve, and often chase the perfect insect on the wing.’’|| 
Another writer states: ‘‘At no stage in their lives are lepi- 
dopterous insects free from the attacks of enemies. In the egg 
state they fall a prey to beetles and small birds, and as larve 
they are extremely liable to receive a deadly thrust with the 
ovipositor (or sting) of anichneumon. . . . The enemies of 
the imago, whether butterflies or moths, are numerous. Birds, 
Bats, dragonflies, &c., pursue and harass them whenever they 
happen to meet with them.’{/ Fungi are also parasitic on 
butterflies.** But the discrepancy in experience as found among 

* *Oreanic Evolution,’ Eng. Transl., p. 118. 

+ ‘ Ornithology in relation to Agriculture and Horticulture’ (1898), p. 139. 

| Cf. Gurney, ‘Trans. Norf. and Norw. Nat. Soce.,’ vol. vi. p. 259. 

§ ‘ Wild Life in a Southern Country,’ p. 147. 


|| ‘ Butterflies and Moths’ (British), p. 144. 
si F. O. Pickard-Cambridge, ‘ Roy. Nat. Hist.,’ vol.vi. p. 80. 


stents 


Zool. 4th ser. vol. ILI., August, 1899. 2A 


304 THE Z00LOGIST. 


field naturalists on these points tends to prove how partial or 
moderate must be the danger in the present day, and how con- 
siderably more intense it must have been in some former time 
to have prompted the evolution of the wonderfully simulating 
guises, which we can only conceive as evolved for protective 
purposes. 

A repetition of observations will frequently qualify tne pre- 
mises on which many conclusions are based. Many recorded facts 
are of course utterly erroneous. Thus in 1666 Schefferus records 
in the ‘Philosophical Transactions’ that Swallows sink into lakes 
in autumn, and hibernate in a manner precisely similar to Frogs. 
In 1741 Fermier-Général Witkowski made legal testimony to the 
effect that two Swallows had been taken from a pond at Didlacken © 
in his presence in a torpid state; that they eventually regained 
animation, and after fluttering about, died some three hours after 
their capture. In 1748 the great Swedish chemist Wallerius 
wrote that he had on several occasions seen Swallows clustering 
on a reed until they all disappeared beneath the surface.* Thus 
a traveller in a tropical forest might from paucity of observation 
form a wrong impression as to the relation of the liane and the 
stem or tree to which it is attached. He would frequently find 
‘* the hard basal parts of a lane stem twisted and coiled appar- 
ently around nothing. This is due to the fact that the original 
support had been killed, and then, slowly rotting into dust, has 
been denuded away by the wind and rain.” Our traveller might 
then record the murderous action of lanes as of a somewhat 
universal character. But further observations would show the 
action quite reversed. As Kerner describes the process: “If 
the erect young stem is stronger and more vigorous than the 
twiner which encircles it, which has been used as a prop, it does 
not allow itself to be strangled; the twiner is destroyed when 
they both increase in thickness. ‘The coils of the climber are 
gradually stretched tighter and tighter, and many are the contri- 
vances which exist for preventing the tension from immediately 
acting injuriously on the movement of the sap in the interior of 
the twining liane stem. As this thickening continues, the pull 
on the coils becomes so great that the death of the liane results.” t 


* Of. Dixon, ‘The Migration of Birds,’ 2nd edit. p. 54. 
+ Kerner and Oliver, ‘Nat. Hist. Plants,’ vol. i. p. 682. 


MIMICRY. 300 


Similarly an explanation may be long deferred till one branch of 
science is sufficiently advanced to illuminate another. Discoveries 
in botany and entomology have often reacted on, and supple- 
mented each other. Prof. Drummond has quoted an in- 
stance which will serve our purpose here:—‘‘More than two 
thousand years ago Herodotus observed a remarkable custom in 
Egypt. Ata certain season of the year the Egyptians went into 
the desert, cut off branches from the wild palms, and, bringing 
them back to their gardens, waved them over the flowers of the 
date palm. Why they performed this ceremony they did not 
know; but they knew that if they neglected it the date crop 
would be poor or wholly lost. Herodotus offers the quaint 
explanation that along with these branches came certain flies 
possessed of a ‘ vivific virtue,’ which somehow lent an exuberant 
fertility to the dates. But the true rationale of the incantation 
is now explained. Palm trees, hke human beings, are male and 
female. The garden plants, the date bearers, were females; the 
desert plants were males; and the waving of the branches over 
the females meant the transference of the fertilizing pollen dust 
from the one to the other.” * 


The time has arrived when the whole theory of “ protective 
resemblance ” and (or) ‘“‘mimicry” + requires to be expressed and 
understood in two senses, viz. Demonstrated, and Suggested or 
Probable. I propose also to give instances of what may be 
considered as Disputed or Mistaken Mimicry, and likewise 
Purposeless Mimicry. In considering these questions one is re- 
minded of the three kinds of Phantasms as understood by the 
Stoics. ‘'’hose that were probable, those that were improbable» 
and those that were neither one nor the other. Or perhaps still 
better, the three categories of Renan. ‘‘ The first, which is 
unfortunately very limited, is the category of certainties; the 


* ‘The Ascent of Man,’ pp. 310-11. 

+ The term ‘‘mimicry” is often considered as first applied in nature by its 
great enunciator, H. W. Bates. Some years ago I pointed out (‘ Rhopalocera 
Malayana,’ p. 33, note) that Henfrey in 1852 had already used the term in 
connection with botany. Mr. Scudder subsequently (‘ Butterflies EK. U. States 
and Canada,’ vol. i. p. 710) showed that Kirby and Spence had anticipated 
Henfrey in 1815. Boisduval also, in 1886, drew attention to the phenomena 
(ef. Coe, ‘ Nature versus Natural Selection,’ p. 161). 

2A 2 


356 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


second, that of probabilities; and the third, that of dreams,’ * 
By the term ‘“‘Demonstrable” is implied all those instances 
where protection, absolute or partial, has been or can be demon- 
strated by experiment or actual observation. ‘“ Suggested or 
Probable ” should, however, be applied to those examples where, 
because we see similarity of structure, markings, or colour, we 
assume—and probably often correctly—that protection is involved, 
though no direct knowledge of the same is obtainable. As an 
illustration, we know that certain Diptera, Hristalis spp., resemble 
Bees, and we conclude that this simulation has arisen by evolu- 
tionary means for protective purposes. It must nevertheless be 
remembered that the Bee itself is not absolutely protected by its 
sting, and does not possess a corresponding immunity from the 
attacks of all its enemies. Mr. Woodford, on Peel Island, Moreton 
Bay, observed Bees of the genus Bombus caught and devoured by 
Spiders.t Prof. Lloyd Morgan’s experiments, however, demon- 
strate protection at least from birds:—‘‘To another group of 
chicks I just gave Hive Bees, which were seized, but soon let 
alone, and then the Droneflies (Hristalis), which so closely mimic 
the Hive Bee. They were left untouched. Their resemblance 
to the Bees was protective.’ { Frank Buckland relates :—‘‘ A 
gentleman in Oxfordshire had a hive of Bees in the cavity of a 
wall. A common Toad which had taken up its residence in a 
hole close by was observed to walk forth and place himself at the 
mouth of the hive, and so catch the Bees in their coming from 
and returning to the hive with much dexterity and activity. After 
witnessing the Toad at work for some time, and feeling convinced 
that, if his depredations were suffered, he would eventually destroy 
the whole hive, the owner of the Bees killed the robber, and on 
inspecting his stomach it was found full to repletion of dead 
Bees.” § 


** ¢ Philosophical Dialogues and Fragments,’ Eng. Transl., p. 5. 

}+ ‘A Naturalist among the Head-hunters,’ p. 70, note. 

| ‘Habit and Instinct,’ p. 52. 

§ ‘Curiosities Nat. Hist.,’ pop. edit., vol. i. pp. 42-8.—According to Mr. 
Pocock, and as a result of an experiment, a Spider treats both Bee and 
Eristalis with the same caution when found in its web (‘ Roy. Nat. Hist.,’ 
vol. vi. p. 62). That the Bee has no special immunity is attested by Mr. 
Pickard-Cambridge, who states that another hymenopterous insect, Philan- 
thus triangulum, in its larval condition feeds upon the Honey Bee. ‘Since 


MIMICRY. 357 


No specialist who works long at any large group of animal 
forms, especially at insects, can escape meeting with these pro- 
blems. This is particularly discovered when, in monographing a 
family, species are found resembling insects belonging to another 
order. Thus, in recently working out some Hemiptera for the 
* Biologia Centrali-Americana,’ I found in the family Lygeide 
a species with all the superficial form and colour of an Harwig 
(Forficula) belonging to the order Orthoptera; while among the 
Lygeide and Capside were many species which mimicked Ants 
(Hymenoptera). To add to the problem, Lygzide and Capside 
were found mimicking one another. Dr. Thorell made a similar 
observation in monographing Burmese Spiders. Ligdus chelifer 
“is a small flat Spider belonging to the family Salticoide, and 
resembles very much a Cheloneth (Pseudoscorpion) ; Prolochus 
longiceps has some resemblance.to an Orbitelarian Spider of the 
genus Meta (M. seqgmentata, f. inst.).”* Now, in the first case, and, 
alluding to the writer’s own experience, it appears we have ‘‘ Sug- 
gested or Probable Mimicry,” because we possess no knowledge 
whether these Hemiptera are found with the Earwigs and Ants 
they mimic, nor whether they are avoided or neglected by enemies 
because of this mimicry. We can only report that these insects 
are mimics one of another as seen in our cabinets, and that as 
nothing is, or can be, predicated as purposeless in nature, neither 
can these assimilative forms be meaningless; and, further, arguing 
from demonstrated knowledge in other cases of mimicry being 
protective, the presumptive evidence is that the theory of protec- 
tion affords the clue to the origin of the mimetic guise of these 
insects. But this is only circumstantial evidence of the weakest 
description, and, though we may believe as a matter of biological 
faith, based on analogous cases in nature, that this is the ex- 
planation, it is probable, or more than probable, that the progress 
of science is retarded by confounding scientific suggestion with 


at least five Bees are provided for each larva, the havoc caused in hives 
where these insects abound must be considerable” (cbid. p. 86). The Horse 
Bot Fly (Gastrophilus equ) also resembles the Honey Bee in size, colour, 
and form, but protective mimicry here seems an altogether unwarranted 
assumption, as the larval fly is parasitic in the alimentary canal of the 
Horse. 

* * Descrip. Catalogue Spiders of Burma,’ Introd. p. xii, 


358 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


scientific demonstration.* It is simply teleology come back to 
the house newly swept and garnished. ‘lo the teleologist every- 
thing in nature proclaimed design, and a precisely similar view— 
only differing in terminology—is held by an extreme wing of our 
own Darwinian army ; the only distinction is, that the design in 
one case was attributed to a supernatural providence, in the other, 
to an all-sufficing power represented by the term Natural Selection. 
That the teleologist was in no way inferior, but in many in- 
stances—so far as power of observation was concerned—surpassed 
the knowledge of many of our contemporary entomological evo- 
lutionists, is a fact that can be easily realized by perusing the 
exhaustive Letter XXI. in Kirby and Spence’s ‘ Introduction to 
Entomology,’ on ‘The means by which insects defend them- 
selves.” In this letter may be found a wealth of illustration on 
what we understand as “ protective resemblance,” &c., not avail- 
abie in any special work written on that theory. How near to 
modern thought the writer of that letter was, is proved by its last 
paragraph :—‘“‘ Another idea that upon this occasion must force 


itself into our mind is, that nothing is made in vain. When we 


find that so many seemingly trivial variations im the colour, 
clothing, form, structure, motions, habits, and economy of insects 
are of very great importance to them, we may safely conclude 
that the peculiarities in all these respects, of which we do not yet 
know the use, are equally necessary; and we may almost say, 
reversing the words of our Saviour, that not a hair is given to 
them without our Heavenly Father.” HEven when teleological 
views and the conception of a special creation dominated the 
minds of naturalists, the knowledge of the existence of inter- 
mediate forms—a postulate of modern evolution—was more or 
less enunciated. Thus, in the first part of the ‘ Zoological 
Transactions,’ Mr. Ogilby, in describing the Cynictis Steedmania, 
a mammal just then discovered in South Africa, remarks: ‘‘ That 
the work of creation was originally complete and perfect in all its 

* According to Prof. Miall, when writing on “‘ Flies with Aquatic Larve,’ 
‘The attitude, the mode of breathing, and the mode of feeding observed in 
the larva of Dixa are curiously like those of a certain Gnat larva, Anopheles. 
So close is the resemblance, that an experienced entomologist has, in a 
published paper, mistaken one for the other. There are few better examples 


of adaptive resemblance’’ (‘ Nat. Hist. Aquatic Insects,’ p. 163). But the 
reasons why this should be considered as adaptive resemblance are not stated, 


MIMICRY. 359 


parts ; that no hiatus existed among natural bodies, or, in other 
words, that no individual stood completely apart from surrounding 
groups, but that all were connected by a uniform gradation of 
intermediate forms and characters, is a law of natural history 
which every day’s experience tends more strongly to confirm.” * 
We sometimes find teleological views in what are presumably put 
forward as evolutionary suggestions. Thus Mr. Harting, in 
discussing the migrations of Ceylonese butterflies, is inclined 
to concur with Col. Swinhoe, in considering the explanation 
““as a sudden exodus from the birthplace, leading to a com- 
pensating reduction of the species, after a season exceptionally 
favourable to its increase.” + This ‘‘ compensating reduction,” 
_ or rather the method of the same, as thus expressed, seems more 
logically to denote design or chance, neither of which will explain 
the phenomena, but may. reasonably be adduced to account for 
the theory. Perhaps one of the most orthodox and thorough- 
going teleologists was the late Frank Buckland, to whom the 
poisonous fangs of deadly Snakes were “‘ the apparatus which the 
omniscient Creator has given to the class of Snakes to enable 
them to procure their food”; though, he might have added, these 
divinely-constructed creatures are on that very account gladly 
destroyed by the orthodox and heretical alike. The real differ- 
ence between the teleologist and the evolutionist appears to be 
this. Both search for the phenomenal facts in animal life, but, 
when found, the teleologist goes no further than enunciating the 
magical word ‘“‘ Design.” The evolutionist, on the contrary, 
seeks to find how the structure or property has been, and from 
whence, derived. With the first it is ‘ Fall down and worship ”’; 
with the second, ‘‘ Prove all things.” Agassiz considered that 
the only classification of the animal kingdom was to be found in 
the plan of creation; “the free conception of the Almighty 
Intellect matured in His thought before it was manifested in 
tangible external forms.’ And again: “I would as soon cease 
to believe in the existence of one God because men worship Him 
in so many different ways, or because they even worship gods of 


* Cf. Steedman, ‘Wanderings and Adventures in the Interior of 
Southern Africa,’ vol. ii. p. 97. 

+ ‘Zoologist,’ 3rd ser. vol. xix. pp. 340-1. 

} «An Kssay on Classification,’ p. 10, 


360 THE ZOOLOGIST, 


their own making, as to distrust the evidence of my own senses 
respecting the existence of a pre-established and duly-considered 
system in nature, the arrangement of which preceded the creation 
of all things that exist.’’* 

What we seem to require is a healthy Agnosticism in theo- 
retical science; neither affirmation nor negation, per se, but 
proof. Thus, grant to all a free use of the imagination in 
scientific theory, but in no case. allow it to be confounded 
with fact, or crystallized into dogma. ‘‘ What is called 
‘mimicry’ is apparently, in many cases, nothing more than the 
influence of similar surroundings, acting in a similar manner 
upon different insects inhabiting the same district.” {+ Or, as 
Mr. F. T. Mott most enigmatically puts the objection, ‘“ The 
very curious appearances of mimicry, which are often supposed 
to be protective, but of which a large proportion seem to have no 
such function, may probably be attributed to sympathetic com- 
munication of the vibratory motions which must be passing 
through the ether in all directions in the neighbourhood of 
organic life.’{ Animal depredators may, however, be not 
altogether defeated by ‘‘ mimicry,” which of course predicates 
the sense of sight only. As Mr. Cornish has well observed, 
predaceous animals watch for movement to guide them to their 
prey. ‘‘ Most of the larger birds, notably Wood Pigeons, remain 
perfectly motionless for many seconds after alighting in a new 
place, in order to identify any moving object. On the other 
hand, the power of scent is a great corrective to animal miscon- 
ceptions about objects.” § How little is the cause of Darwinism 
advanced by many exhibitions made at scientific societies! The 
advocate exhibits—say, insects—which, belonging to different 
orders, closely resemble each other in colour, markings, or 
structure, and which he reasonably adduces as an example of 
‘‘mimicry,’ but misuses a suggestion as a demonstration. The 
Darwinian sceptic at once denies the strength of the whole 
argument, because it cannot be demonstrated as a fact, and has 
not been put forward as a suggestion only. It is quite possible 


* An Essay on Classification,’ p. 228. 

}+ W. F. Karby, ‘ A Handbook to the Order Lepidoptera,’ vol. iv. p. xxiv. 
+ “Organic Colour,” ‘ Science,’ June 16th, 1893, 

§ ‘Animals of To-day,’ p. 165. 


MIMICRY. 361 


that truth may exist between the two antagonists, for it seems 
certain we have not yet all the explanations of these mimetic 
disguises, and discussion may well precede a universal dogma of 
its causation. Because a phenomenon is frequent in nature, it is 
not necessarily universal. For instance, the metamorphosis in 
the early lives of Frogs is an observation of so general a nature 
as to indicate a constant law; but a land Frog in the Solomon 
Islands (Rana opisthodon) lays very large eggs in the crevices of 
rocks, and from these emerge fully-developed Frogs.* We join 
issue with Prof. Tyler when he states, ‘“‘ Natural science does 
not deal in demonstrations, it rests upon the doctrine of pro- 
babilities; just as we have to order our whole lives according to 
this doctrine.”’+ This is a cardinal doctrine in natural and 
apologetic theology, but is the very antithesis of science, natural 
or otherwise. The man who orders his whole life on probabilities 
will probably arrive at the conclusion that hope is a very good 
breakfast, but a most indifferent dinner. A ‘‘science” based 
on probabilities may turn out to be a new system founded on 
contradictions. 

Prof. Herdman, in speaking of the colours of Nudibranchs 
and their probably protective character, forcibly observes that we 
cannot gauge the problem by observing the animals in a museum- 
jar, or as illustrated in a book, or on the wall. ‘In order to 
interpret correctly the effect of their form and colours, we must 
see them alive and at home, and we must experiment upon their 
edibility or otherwise in the tanks of our biological stations.”’ t 
Such a course would doubtless give many positive and many 
negative results, confirming in many cases the theory—if it is 
still to called but a theory—of mimicry, and preventing many 
hasty and erroneous conclusions in other cases, where mimicry 
is only a suggestion, and much discredit is brought to the argu- 
ment. The “law of evidence”’ might with advantage be studied 

* Guppy, ‘The Solomon Islands,’ p. 816.—Hylodes martinicensis affords 
another instance (cf. Mon. Berl. Ac. 1876, p. 714). 

+ ‘The Whence and the Whither of Man,’ p. 164.—It is only fair to add 
that this is a book written by an American Professor of Biology, consisting 
of a series of Morse Lectures delivered at a ‘‘ Union Theological Seminary,” 
on the agreement that the subject of the lectures was to have to do with 
‘** The relation of the Bible to any of the Sciences.” 

| Opening Address, Sect. Zoology, Brit. Assoc. Ipswich, 1895, 


362 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


by many enthusiastic students in bionomics. Solitary instances, 
or that of a single species without reference to its congeneric 
allies, afford but a doubtful testimony to mimetic resemblances. 
This was clearly seen and enunciated by Darwin himself :—‘ If 
Green Woodpeckers alone had existed, and we did not know that 
there were many black and pied kinds, I dare say that we should 
have thought that the green colour was a beautiful adaptation to 
conceal this tree-frequenting bird from its enemies; and con- 
sequently that it was a character of importance, and had been 
acquired through natural selection; asit is, the colour is probably 
in chief part due to sexual selection.’’* In fact, much evolutionary 
controversy is simply intellectual fencing, and what Schopenhauer 
has defined as ‘‘ controversial Dialectic, Dialectica eristica.”’ 
Mimicry, again, is often much obscured by plates in illustrated 
books which are intended to support the theory. As an example, 
in the excellent ‘Royal Natural History’+ appears a coloured 
plate, entitled ‘‘ Mimicry in Insects.’’ Here a number of various 
insects of different orders and diverse habits are brought together 
in the midst of inappropriate—or inartistic—foliage, with the 
result that there is no apparent or sufficient mimicry to deceive 
the most careless enemy, or the most inexperienced entomologist. 
In fact, as a support to the theory, one can only conclude that 
either nature, or the artist, is at fault. Again, a comparative 
immunity from attack is often ultimately proved to be alone the 
case. A recent writer has observed :—“ It is well known, and I 
have myself observed, that all our ‘Cabbage’ Butterflies are 
immune from attacks of birds,{ presumably because of some 
unpleasant taste or smell. Wasps, however, have twice been 
observed by me in the act of devouring these butterflies. Har- 
wigs, too, which undoubtedly possess an unpleasant smell when 
irritated, fall victims to Wasps, in spite of their malodorous 
attributes.” § 

To conclude a discursus, which in itself appears some- 
what controversial, it may be better to give some instances of 

* ‘Origin of Species,’ 6th edit. p. 158. 

+ Vol. vi. 

+ This is a direct contradiction to the testimony of Mr. Furneaux 


(cf. ante, p. 328). 
§ O. H. Latter, ‘ Natural Science,’ vol. vi. p. 151, 


MIMICRY. 363 


what are considered as “‘ demonstrated,” * and others classed as . 
* suggested or probable,” illustrations of the theory of mimicry ; 
and it will be noticed that those in the second category are much 
more numerous than those included in the first; inference 
necessarily having so often to be relied upon in the absence of 


observed facts. 
(To be continued.) 


** Of course by this term is meant what has been or can be demonstrated, 
and hence a careful observation made by a competent traveller must be 
accepted as decisive, for we can neither all visit the scene of the occurrence 
nor, if we could, is it certain we might meet with the instance. A remark by 
Lecky is apposite :—‘‘ If anyone in a company of ordinarily educated persons 
were to deny the motion of the earth, or the circulation of the blood, his 
statement would be received with derision, though it is probable that some 
of his audience would be unable to demonstrate the first truth, and that very 
few of them could give sufficient reasons for the second”’ (‘ Rationalism in 
Europe,’ vol. i. p. 9). 


364 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORTH- 
WESTERN IRELAND. 


By Roperr WARREN. 


Ir may interest some of the readers of ‘The Zoologist’ to 
learn that the White Wagtails (Motacilla alba) have again visited 
the island of Bartragh (Killala Bay) this season on their northern 
migration. Mr. A. C. Kirkwood, on April 27th, met a solitary 
bird in the stable-yard at Bartragh, and secured the specimen 
for a friend’s collection. A few days after he met another bird 
at the same place, which remained only for a few days, and then 
disappeared. This bird was succeeded by a pair that were seen on 
May 4th picking up insects on a manure-heap in the farmyard, 
but they stayed only for a couple of days, disappearing, like 
the other bird, after they fed and rested. From the fact of these 
Wagtails having been observed during the spring migration on 
the island of Bartragh in 1851, 1893, 1897, 1898, and in April 
and May of the present year, it is more than probable that they 
pass over Bartragh every spring on their way to Iceland, but are 
not seen by observers unless northerly winds are blowing at the 
time of their passage, which cause some birds, from fatigue, to 
drop down on Bartragh, and feed and rest before continuing their 
northern journey. 

The Bar-tailed Godwits (Lumosa lapponica) are still remaining 
about the sands of the bay and estuary. OnJune 138thI observed 
several flocks which altogether might number one hundred and 
fifty birds, and in the midst of a small group, near Moyne Abbey, 
was a bird exhibiting the red plumage of summer, a very unusual 
sight in this locality, for out of the many hundreds of birds seen 
here in summer I have observed only two or three birds in a 
similar stage of plumage. The birds frequenting this western 
coast are apparently all immature, too young to assume the 
red breeding plumage. When at Bartragh on the 5th inst. I 
saw fully one hundred Godwits on the shores of Bannros Island, 
and all appeared in the light grey plumage. 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM IRELAND. 365 


When I was returning from Bartragh on the 5th inst. I 
observed a dark-coloured Duck diving in the channel near Goose 
Island, and, not being able to identify it satisfactorily with my 
glass, I let the boat drift up with the tide until within range, 
when I fired, the bird diving at the shot; but on coming up it 
rose, when, with my second barrel, I secured a beautiful speci- 
men of an adult male Black Scoter, in perfect plumage. It 
was the first I met in summer, and, although numbers frequent 
the open bay in winter, none ever came into the channels of 
the estuary, so I felt very fortunate in obtaining such a fine 
specimen so very unexpectedly. 

For some days past* both Curlews and Redshanks have begun 
to return from their breeding grounds to the estuary, and on the 
28th June I was surprised to see three or four Greenshanks on 
the shore here, the earliest date on which I have ever known them 
to return from their breeding haunts. 

The Sandwich Terns, as usual, were the earliest of our 
visitors. I saw one on March 26th, but the main body of the 
flight did not appear in the estuary until the first week of April. 
Although the Lesser Terns arrived on May 4th, the Common 
Terns were some days laterin arriving. When visiting the Terns’ 
breeding haunts near Killala on June 13th, I found, as usual, the 
Common Terns confining themselves to the gravelly “ Inch,” 
about thirty pairs having nests on it, and perhaps eight or ten 
pairs of the Lesser Tern; while the Arctic Terns were scattered 
all over the Ross sands for over half a mile along with the majority 
of the Lesser, laying their eggs on the bare sand and gravel. 
The numbers of the Common Terns have diminished, while there 
has been a great increase in those of the Arctic Tern. 


* This communication is dated July 8th. 


366 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


NOTES FROM THE HADDISCOEK MARSHES 
(NORFOLK). 


By Lasr C. Farman. 


Ow1ne to the fine and open winter of 1898 few rare birds 
paid us a visit. A friend obtained a very beautiful specimen of the 
Common Bittern, the only one I heard of during the winter, and 
which was killed by the side of the river Waveney. Wildfowl 
were exceedingly scarce, and Snipe visited us in very limited 
numbers, while the Woodcock record was not up to the usual 
standard. 

Redshanks arrived early in March, about twenty-five couples 
having nested on the Herringfleet and Fritton Marshes, with 
about the same number of Lapwings. 

During the first week in May a Spoonbill took a few days’ 


rest on our marshes before proceeding on its journey, and © 


altogether about seven specimens of this species have been seen 
in the vicinity of Breydon mud-flats. 

The brothers Richard and Cherry Kearton came down from 
Surrey for the express purpose of photographing a Redshank’s 
and a Dabchick’s nest, each containing four eggs, and laid by the 
side of the Waveney. I have also seen two Snipes’ nests, each 
containing four eggs. 

Moorhens have been nesting in numbers, and numerous 
Terns of the Common Arctic and Black species have, during the 
month of May, been daily hawking the marsh ditches. I have 
found several nests of the Yellow Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Sky- 
Lark, and Willow Warbler; and in the garden adjoining my 
house the following birds have successfully reared broods—viz. 
Goldfinch (two pairs), Common Whitethroat (two pairs), Wren 
(three pairs), Chaffinch (two pairs), Bullfinch, Robin (two 
pairs), Red-backed Shrike, Hedge Sparrow (three pairs), Blue 
Tit, Great Tit, Song Thrushes (two pairs), and Tree Creeper. 


NOTES FROM THE HADDISCOE MARSHES. 367 


In a wood near my home I found a Sparrowhawk’s nest 
containing six eggs, which have now been successfully hatched. 
And I know of three pairs of Redback Shrikes and two pairs of 
Redstarts in the village; but I note that Whinchats and Stone- 
chats are very scarce with us this season. Nightingales have 
bred in quantity. Cuckoos, Swallows, and Martins are plentiful. 
I have only heard the Wryneck’s note once this season, this 
species having locally decreased very much of late years. 

In the early spring I shot a specimen of the Green Wood- 
pecker, and the Great Spotted and Little Spotted species were 
also in the locality. 

During the month of March several Pike were taken from 
a narrow marsh dyke, ranging in weight from 7 lb. to 25 lb. 
The latter fish was caught by net with another Pike of 16 lb. 
weight. 


368 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


MAMMALIA. 
MARSUPIALIA. 


How does the new-born Kangaroo get into the Mother’s Pouch ?— 
From an exceedingly interesting book recently published, ‘ Wild Animals 
in Captivity,’ by A. D. Bartlett, the late superintendent at the London 
Zoological Gardens, I extract the following :—‘ The excitement and 
curiosity evinced by most persons when they witness the young Kangaroo 
protruding from the mother’s pouch naturally leads to the question, ‘ How 
it got there?’ a question not yet satisfactorily answered. Long have we 
been trying to uaravel the mystery, aud some of the ablest naturalists have 
bestowed considerable attention upon it, and spent much valuable time 
with a view to solve it.” In the Rev. R. Owen’s ‘ Life of Professor Owen,’ 
however, I find a curiously contradictory statement. Itis that of a note in 
Mrs. Owen’s diary at so early a date as Nov. 14th, 1844, which appears to 
definitely settle the above question. She says :—‘ Also interesting letter 
from Lord Derby. A Kangaroo at Knowsley has been watched till the 
matter so long in doubt is cleared up. She has been seen taking the new- 
born tiny Kangaroo in her fore-paws and putting it in the pouch.” It 
seems almost inconceivable that Bartlett, so intimate as he was with Prof. 
Owen, should have remained unaware of this fact—W. Barrutrr Rous 
(Clifton, Bristol). 

In reference to the above communication of Dr. Roué, the interesting 
question of “How does the new-born Kangaroo get into the mother’s 
pouch ?” mentioned in ‘ Wild Animals in Captivity,’ remains unsolved, I 
believe, just as my father stated. I remember many long conversations on 
that point with my father, who had the greatest opportunity of knowing all 
about the breeding of these animals, and we came to the conclusion that 
the worm-like young passed through a duct or canal in the mammary 
glands from the womb to the pouch, which would only be perceptible at the 
time of birth. Had Prof. Owen believed that the mother would pick up a 
miserable naked worm-like creature with her paws and place it in the pouch, 
I fancy that he would have made that statement long ago. Waterhouse, in 
his ‘ Mammalia,’ vol. i. Pouched Animals, published in 1846, does not even 
mention how the young gets into the pouch; he had access to Prof. Owen 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 369 


and all his papers. Cassell’s Nat. Hist., quoting some other authority, says, 
“The mother places it in her pouch,” without giving any idea of how that is 
performed. It is easy to make a statement, but it is not so easily confirmed. 
One can understand a Cat or a Dog picking up its young in its mouth and 
carrying it away, but it is too human-like for a Kangaroo to pick up that 
wretched worm and put it in her pouch. What would happen if it was 
born in the jungle in the dark ?—Hpwarp BartLetr. 

[Lumholtz writes :—** The large Kangaroo bears a young ‘no larger 
than the little finger of a human baby, and not unlike it in form.’** This 
helpless, naked, blind, and deaf being the mother puts in an almost 
inexplicable manner into the pouch with her mouth ” (‘ Among Cannibals,’ 
p. 379). Aflalo states that the actual fact of the Kangaroo’s birth was 
observed at the ‘‘ London Zoo. . . . It was there proved that the little 
‘joey ’’ is brought into the world in the usual way, and forthwith conveyed 
to the comfortable receptacle, and affixed to a teat by the dam, which held 
the lifeless-looking little thing tenderly in her cloven lips” (‘ A Sketch of 
the Nat. Hist. of Australia,’ p. 29). There is evidently much confusion on 
this interesting question.— ED. | 


AVES. 


Is the Whinchat a Mimic ?—Referring to Mr. Godfrey’s note (ante, 
p. 267) anent this question, my brother and I had indubitable evidence of 
the imitative powers of Pratincola rubetra (¢f. Zool. 1877, p. 384). Again, 
I heard one when crossing a meadow in May or June, 1897, near this 
village, which allowed me to approach within a very few yards whilst 
singing on the top of a wall; and, although perhaps not gifted with such 
a yrange of mimetic powers as the bird heard in 1877, yet it so closely 
imitated the song of the Blackcap, in addition to the reproduction of call- 
notes of various birds, as to fairly astonish me. It may be said in passing 
that whilst executing its imitative performance its attitude indicated intense 
passion, and altogether different to its movements and habits when it 
resumed its ordinary song, at which time it was more active and much 
wilder, and would not suffer a near approach.—E. P. Burrerriucp (Wils- 
den, near Bradford). 


Arrivals of Spotted Flycatcher and Nightjar.—The question whether 
the Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa grisola) is the last to arrive of our 
summer migrants must, as far as this district 1s concerned, be answered in 
the negative, the Nightjar (Caprimulgus europeus) arriving on an average 
more than a week later. I should like to ascertain from your readers whether 


* This quotation appears to be from Gould’s ‘ Introduction to the Mam- 
mals of Australia,’ p. 10. 
Zool. 4th Ser. vol. III., August, 1899. 2B 


370 THH ZOOLOGIST. 


their experience 1s the same in other parts of Britain. Nightjars here seem 
to have a partiality for feeding upon Hepialide, arriving about the time when 
H, velleda appears, and not leaving the heaths for any considerable distance 
until the end of June or beginning of July, when it is to be seen in the 
fields near the village feeding upon H. humuli.— KE. P. BurrerFiete 
(Wilsden, near Bradford). 


The Delinquencies of Starlings.—Mr. Fox (ante, p. 269) asks whether 
others have observed feuds to exist between Swifts and Starlings. Such 
quarrels are not at all of uncommon occurrence, and in one haunt at least 
Sturnus vulgaris, is frequently ejected on the arrival of Cypselus apus not- 
withstanding that possession is nine points of the law, being apparently 
overpowered by mere numbers as I should think, for it is hardly conceivable 
that Swifts could single-handed be a match for Starlings.—E. P. Burrsr- 
FIELD (Wilsden, near Bradford). 


Starlings nesting in Fir Trees.—During May last I found small 
colonies of Sturnus vulgaris nesting in the fir trees in Burnt Wood, 
EHimborough, near Wells; every lateral branch at an elevation above eight 
or nine feet was piled two or three inches deep with dead grass, hay, 
shavings, &c., and on this were deposited the eggs. I climbed up and 
examined a clutch of four eggs. The gamekeeper informed me that they 
nested there annually, which perhaps accounted for such a collection of 
rubbish.—SranuLey Lewis (Wells, Somerset). 


Rooks in the West-End of London.—Some time since (Zool. 1897, 
p. 87) I wrote that I feared Corvus frugilegus had ceased to breed in 
the West-End of London; but I now have the pleasure to record that 
this year there have been three nests in a plane tree close to Park Lane, 
not in the park, but opposite to it. It seems somewhat strange that they 
should choose such a site when the park was so near.—J. Youne (64, 
Hereford Road, Bayswater). 


Peculiar Conduct of the Woodcock (Scolopax rusticula).—It has 
been stated that the female of this species carries her young between her 
legs. I saw a female rise on a moor in this locality on the evening of June 
8th, having her legs hanging down, and the hind part of her body being 
also in a drooping position. Three other birds—all smaller—soon rose 
from the same point, and flew in quite the opposite direction, their bodies 
being in the ordinary flying position. All the birds flew about sixty yards, 
and the female carried on a continual chirping, evidently feigning great 
pain. I followed up to where she alighted, when she rose and went away 
in the direction of the others, flying in the same position as at first. I 
have no doubt but that all this is a peculiar habit for protecting the young 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 371 


of this species. J am not prepared to say whether the three were all young, 
or an old bird and two full-grown youngwas the male, being smaller than 
the female, might have constituted one of the number. The three all 
remained quiet, and rose singly when the female ceased chirping and joined 
them, having apparently accomplished her supposed purpose of removing 
danger by her ruse.—Wwa. Witson (Alford, Aberdeen). 


Corrections to Notes from North-West Australia. —I shall feel 
obliged if you will kindly allow me to correct one or two mistakes that I 
made in my notes (ante, p. 139) :—The Collared Parrakeet I mentioned as 
occurring here proves to be the Yellow-banded (Platycercus zonarius) ; also 
somewhat unaccountably I have (p. 142) written Roller (Hurystomus 
pacificus), whereas it should be Bee-Hater (Merops ornatus). The Sand- 
piper I mentioned, Mr. A. G. Campbell has since identified as the Grey- 
rumped (Hecteractitis brevipes). He also informs me the Emu-Wren I 
secured (p. 140) is undoubtedly a new species, and now named Stipiturus 
ruficeps.— THomas CARTER (Point Cloates, N.W. Australia). 


AN ECO Ta Uh A ty NOW iS: 


Aiding a Young Cuckoo.—A young Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) was 
found here on the 20th June, and was so numbed with the cold and wet 
that it was quite unable to fly, or even move about. It had evidently flown 
from the nest a day or two before when the weather was very dry and 
exceedingly warm. It was taken indoors and put into a cage. Next 
morning it revived, and was fairly docile to handle. It seemed intermediate 
in the colour of the feathers between blue and rufous, the white mark being 
conspicuous on the head. It perched on the uppermost bars of the cage, 
and seemed to endure confinement with remarkable tranquillity, showing 
none of the pugnacity incidental to its kind when in a nest, and partaking 
of the refreshments placed beside it. I released the bird when it had 
thoroughly recovered near the spot where it was found, and observed that 
its powers of flight were decidedly superior to other specimens of the same 
bird which I had seen ata similar age. I did not notice any particular 
birds approach as it flew out of sight among the dense cover of broom, but 
a pair of Twites were very demonstrative in the vicinity, and might per- 
haps have been the foster-birds. Although the tail was short and not fully 
developed, this bird was well-grown. ‘The behaviour of the young Cuckoo 
was remarkable for a wild bird just newly confined, showing none of those 
points of temerity or agitation which act so detrimentally upon more wild 
animals in early captivity. We may possibly assume that the young 
Cuckoo can obtain support from various sources when deprived of the 
foster-birds, and will live apart from them by taking up with other birds, 

2B2 


372 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


or in confinement relying upon man himself. — Wm. Witson (Alford, 
Aberdeen). 
Bip TiO GRA PEeyY: 

A Proposed Correction.—Ought we not all to verify our references ? 
On page 803 the Editor observes that Bonvalot, in his work (‘ Across 
Thibet,’ vol. ii. p. 64), narrates that Thibetan Horses ‘ feed on raw flesh, 
as we have seen with our own eyes.” There is no such statement in Bon- 
valot’s work, 1889, vol. ii. p.64. (The work is now before me.) He gives 
us some statements certainly that remind one of the stories of the famous 
Baron, as when he tells us, vol. ii. p. 73, “‘ In places there were over six feet 
of snow, and nowhere have the horses less than up to their necks!” —H. L. 
J. RipspaLE (Rottingdean, Sussex). 

[We print this note as it was sent for publication. We quite agree with 
the writer that we should all verify our references. Always thankful to be 
corrected, we again verified our quotation and reference which Mr. Ridsdale 
disputes, and, to our astonishment, found them perfectly correct. We followed 
a clue to our critic’s communication as to the date of publication and 
quotation from “vol. ii. p. 73,” and then discovered that Mr. Ridsdale had 
confounded two distinct books, and mixed up two different localities. He 
has disputed our reference to Bonvalot’s ‘ Across Thibet,’ published in 1891, 
by checking it with the same author's totally different work, ‘ Through the 
Heart of Asia,’ published in 1889 !—Ep.] 


( 373 ) 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 


Darwinism and Lamarckism, Old and New. By FRepeERicK 
Wouuaston Hutton, F.R.S., &&. Duckworth & Co. 


Darwinism no longer flows an undivided stream into the 
evolutionary ocean; its banks are submerged and offshoots 
abound, all ultimately reaching the same goal, but by different 
channels. These reproduced lectures must be read by all who 
try to keep in touch with the ever-increasing literature of this 
engrossing subject. Mr. Hutton states that, ‘‘in 1887, when the 
first of these lectures was given, Darwinism was a compact 
body of doctrine, obscured only by the writings of certain 
philosophers who imagined that natural selection was a cause of 
variation.” ... “In 1899 things are different. The confusion 
alluded to has much increased. Conceptions totally irrelevant 
to Darwinism have been fastened on it, and all kinds of miscon- 
ceptions have grown up. Indeed, things have fared so badly 
since Darwin’s death, that I have seen it stated that his flock has 
scattered, and that the great theory he so successfully reared is 
in danger of falling to pieces.” 

Mr. Hutton does not belong to the school of Wallace, which 
enunciates the all-sufficiency of natural selection, but is a ‘‘ Neo- 
Darwinian,” accepting Darwin’s teaching, and supplementing 
“the theory of natural selection with methods of isolation, which 
had been either overlooked or had not been brought into suffi- 
cient prominence by Mr. Darwin,” thus more or less embracing 
the views of Moritz, Wagner, and Romanes. He joins forces 
with the pure Darwinians in his position as an opponent of the 
teaching of the ‘“‘ Neo-Lamarckians.” 

The reader will notice without surprise the recrudescence 
of much pure teleology, which is now far from uncommon. Thus 
we are told, ‘‘ there are a number of elementary substances in the 
world which appear to be of no use except to man; for example, 


374 THE ZO00OLOGIST. 


gold, silver, lead, zinc, &. These must have been intended for 
his use, for they were useless in the economy of nature until a 
sufficient amount of intelligence had been reached. Not only 
were these made for man, but they appear to have been made as 
rewards for the exercise of his intellect.” Again, Mr. Hutton, 
in discussing ‘‘non-utilitarian ” characters in animals, has pro- — 
posed a motive in the evolution of man, whereby the ‘‘ contem- 
plation of the beauty seen in nature has stimulated his sluggish 
soul, and has developed his esthetic and religious faculties.” 
Hence it is a logical sequence to our author that the goal of 
psychical evolution—for physical evolution in man may be con- 
sidered as finished—‘“‘ does not seem to lie in this world.” We 
have attempted to give an outline of the main thesis of these 
lectures, and, however much we may withhold our assent to many 
of the propositions, the volume is worth the study of all 
zoologists who interest themselves in the problems and para- 
doxes of animal life. 


Insects, their Structure and LInfe: a Primer of Entomology. By 
Gro. H. CarpENTER, B.Sc.Lond. J. M. Dent & Co. 


Amone the very many works of this description which now 
appear with a certain regularity, the above will hold its place as 
a compilation conducted with discrimination and written with 
care. All such works are necessarily more or less compilations ; 
no entomologist of the present day has a complete grasp of the 
whole subject, and must open an account with the writings of 
other workers. The high-water mark was reached by Westwood 
in his ‘ Modern Classification of Insects,’ which, presumably by 
an oversight, is not included in Mr. Carpenter’s reference to 
‘General Works on Insects.’ But since the date of that publi- 
cation the field of study has been enormously enlarged, not only 
by the vast accumulation of new facts, but also by what may be 
now clearly recognized as the evolutionary method. To bridge 
the chasm that now divides us from Westwood, and to bring his 
book in line with the knowledge of the day, should be the motive 
and action of a book we are all awaiting. 

For those who wish to possess a handy volume of reference © 
on entomology, which if not alogether encyclopedic shall be at 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. B70 


least trustworthy, and in touch with the knowledge of the day, 
we can heartily recommend this inexpensive publication ; and its 
writer clearly has the potentiality of producing a yet larger and 
more exhaustive work on the same subject. 


Se 


The House Sparrow (The Avian Rat) in relation to Agriculture 
and Gardening. with Practical Suggestions for lessening its 
Numbers. By W.B. Tecermetrr, F.Z.8., &c. Vinton & Co. 


Passer domesticus is now fully convicted as a_pestilent 
marauder to the crops of our fields and gardens. The verdict is 
almost unanimous by a competent jury that includes many orni- 
thological authorities once inclined to the non-proven theory. 
For an absolute acquittal one might appeal in vain to any expe- 
rienced farmer or horticulturist. It is a purely human parasite. 
**No Sparrow’s nest is ever to be found a quarter of a mile from 
a human habitation.” Its enemies are actual sufferers by its 
depredations; it is defended by sentiment combined with an 
utter ignorance of its life-history. This small volume is an 
excellent review and summary of the reasons that are procurable, 
and can be multiplied, for an authorized diminution of its 
numbers by justly incensed agriculturists and gardeners. An 
appendix by Miss EK. A. Ormerod supplies the particulars of the 
monthly toll it levies on our fields and gardens. In America it 
is reported by the United States Department of Agriculture ‘“ as 
one of the greatest pests which could have been introduced ”’ into 
that country. 


A List of British Birds belonging to the Humber District (having 
a special reference to their Migrations). revised to April, 
1899. By Jonn Corpeavx, F.R.G.S., ke. KR. H. Porter. 


WE are surprised to find, from a perusal of this “ pamphlet” 
—to follow the designation of the author—that no fewer than 
$22 species are recorded as inhabiting this district, of which an 
excellent definition is given in the preface. ‘‘ This is altogether 
a very clearly marked and well-defined faunal area, and particu- 
larly rich in its avi-fauna, from the fact that off the mouth of the 


376 | THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Humber the two main lines of the autumn immigratory flights 
converge and overlap.” This publication is, however, much 
more than a “‘List’’; as regards the time of specific appear- 
ances it is a veritable manual. The information is concise, and, 
we need scarcely say, thoroughly authenticated. We will quote 
the note appended to the Great Bustard (Otis tarda): ‘‘ The 
last Lincolnshire Bustard was shot in 1818, in Thoresby Field, 
near Louth, by Mr. Elmhirst, and sent as a present to Sir Joseph 
Banks. ... The last two eggs of the Bustard, as the late Sir 
Charles Anderson, of Lea, told me, were taken in 1835 or 1886, 
on his father’s property at Haywold, near Driffield, on the York- 
shire wolds. On November 11th, in 1864, a dead female Bustard, 
still warm, was picked up at sea, in Bridlington Bay.” A note is 
attached to every species, and each note will probably afford a 
subsequent quotation. 


Faune de France, contenant la description de toutes les especes 
indigenes disposées en tableaux analytiques et illustrée de 
jigures représentant les types caractéristiques des genres et 
des sous-genres. Par A. Actoqur. Préface de Ep. PERRIER, 
professeur au Muséum. Paris: J. B. Balliére et Fils. 


In our last volume (1898, p. 514) we noticed the third part 
of this very useful publication. The fourth, devoted to the 
‘‘Mammiféres,” has just reached us, in which 209 figures are 
distributed in a space of 84 pages. 

The synoptical method is again pursued, and we know of no 
other work of a similar size where structural characters can be so 
easily appreciated and used for differential purposes. The illus- 
trations are somewhat coarse, but their help will be appreciated 
by the young zoologist, and the information afforded is not 
exclusively for one side only of the English Channel. 


Cries and Call-Notes of Wild Birds. By C. A. WrrcHEtu. 
L. Upcott Gill. 


WE all hear and, as a rule, enjoy the cries of wild birds; but 
how few recognize them; how seldom are they analyzed; how 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 377 


much more infrequently are they understood! Mr. Witchell 
endeavours to act the part of interpreter, to give us the reason for 
these avian cries and call-notes. Now and then a Capt. Burton 
appears, who can quickly master any human dialect and make it 
his own, but how little we still know of the languages used by 
the other living creatures who are our contemporaries! Pro- 
bably sound is not alone their method of communication, but that 
the gesture-language common to primitive man and mutes may be 
very largely used by non-human creatures. This little book is 
worth the study of all lovers of natural life; it is an insight into 
the loves, hates, and fears of the birds around us. Whether 
their cries can be rendered by musical symbols is at least open to 
doubt, but we are very thankful for the attempt. We are glad to 
be interested in our friendly nuisance the Sparrow. ‘‘ The male 
Sparrow, when perched comfortably in sunshine, often rehearses 
his vocabulary, in a way which indicates an attempt at song. If 
reared under birds of another species in a cage, the Sparrow has 
their notes and not Sparrow-notes, though he retains the Sparrow 
tone of voice, and he may then become quite a pleasant singer.” 


All about Birds. By W. Perctvau-Westetu. ‘“ Feathers” 
Publishing Co. Limited. 


Tue title of this little book is not quite a happy one, though 
its contents are a series of clippings from various sources which 
may be said to be “all about birds.”’ Unfortunately, many 
of these bear no reference to their authority, and hence possess 
little value. They likewise appear to be somewhat undigested 
and ill-arranged, the same heading appearing in different parts of 
the book with contrary information. Thus: “ The rarest exist- 
ing Bird” appears on pp. 67 and 158; on the first we are told it 
is the “‘ Horned Screamer’’; on the second it is described as “a 
certain kind of Pheasant from Annam.” ‘The information as to 
“the Great Auk” on pp. 108 and 155 does not agree in details. 
The remarks as to the Sparrow on p. 52 seem a “ little previous,”’ 
and a perusal of Mr. 'Tegetmeier’s book (ante, p. 375) might 
possibly produce some qualification of assertion. 


378 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 


TuE ‘South Devon Gazette and Kingsbridge Times’ of July 7th pub- 
lished a supplement devoted to the memory of Col. George Montagu, from 
which we reproduce the following extracts :— 

** So much interest has been evinced by the finding of Montagu’s breast- 
plate under the flooring over the vaults near the chancel door of our Parish 
Church (Kingsbridge), that an account of his life and work, and the subse- 
quent uncertainty of his place of sepulture, may not be amiss, for some 
even solemnly asserted he was buried in the grounds at Knowle. For the 
reproduction of the following memoir by William Cunnington, F.G.S., 
written many years ago, we are under obligation to the Hon. Sec. of the 
Wiltshire Natural History Society :— 

“George Montagu was born in the year 1755, at Lackham House, the 
ancient seat of his family in North Wiltshire. He was the son of James 
Montagu, Esq., of Lackham, and Elinor, sole surviving daughter of William 
Hedges, Eisq., of Alderton; and was descended from the Honourable James 
Montagu, third son of Henry, first Karl of Manchester, who, in the reign 
of Charles the First, by marriage with Mary, daughter and heir of Sir 
Robert Baynard, of Lackham, obtained the estate. At the age of sixteen 
George Montagu entered the army as a lieutenant in the 15th Regiment of 
Foot, and when he had completed his eighteenth year he married Anne, the 
eldest daughter of William Courtenay, Esq., and Lady Jane his wife, who 
was one of the sisters of the Karl of Bute, Prime Minister to George the 
Third. After a few months spent in visiting friends of the bride in Scot- 
land and in Ireland, Lieutenant Montagu’s regiment was ordered to embark 
for America, and the youthful pair had to experience the pain of a long 
separation. 

‘¢¢Tt was at this early period,’ says his daughter, Mrs. Crawford, ‘ that 
my father first began to turn his attention, whenever opportunity offered, 
to those pursuits of natural science for which he had so strong a pre- 
dilection, and for which he was afterwards so much distinguished. He first 
commenced by shooting any of the more curious American birds, a few of 
which he preserved with his own hands, though with no further intention 
at the time than that of presenting them to my mother. The interest 
which my father had felt from his boyhood in the works of nature, animate 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 379 


and inanimate, was much increased by the wild grandeur of the scenes 
which he traversed, and by the novelty of many of the feathered and four- 
footed tribes that inhabit them. He ultimately determined, however, to 
limit his researches and his specimens to British Birds and British Zoology 
generally, thinking that every collection ought to be as complete as possible 
of its kind, and being desirous that his own should be the result of his 
practical studies in the wide field of nature. It was thus that he formed 
that very extensive and beautiful collection of birds for which he was 
celebrated, and which after his death was disposed of to the Trustees of the 
British Museum for, I believe, £3000.’ At the same time he was gradually 
collecting materials for two most valuable works, the ‘ Ornithological 
Dictionary,’ 2 vols. 8vo, published in 1802, and the ‘ Testacea Britannica,’ 
Ato, in 18038. 

*‘ After Colonel Montagu had resided for some time with his family at 
Alderton House, in the parish of Hullavington, he was induced, by the 
additional income which he derived from the death of his brother James 
(who died unmarried), to resign his commission in the Wiltshire Militia, 
that he might be enabled to devote himself entirely to his favourite pursuits. 
He then took up his abode at Knowle, near Kingsbridge, in the county of 
Devon, which, being at no great distance from the sea, gave him ample 
opportunities for following out his researches in the natural history of the 
marine molluscs. Here he continued to reside (with occasional visits to 
the family seat at Lackham) up to the time of his death. 

« After many other trials, in June, 1815, the Colonel had the misfortune 
to tread upon a rusty nail, which pierced his foot and produced a wound ; 
lock-jaw was the result, and this terminated his life at Knowle on the 20th 
of the same month, in the sixty-first year of his age. He bore his suffer- 
ings (which, though of short duration, were extremely severe) not only with 
the equanimity of a philosopher, but with the fortitude and resignation of 
a real Christian. His old and attached friend, the Rev. K. Vaughan, of 
Modbury [Aveton Gifford.—H. H..1, who was at his bedside during his last 
illness, having asked him where he would wish to be buried, his character- 
istic reply was, ‘ Where the tree falls there let it lie.’ He had always a 
great aversion to anything like pomp and parade in the ordinary routine 
of life, and especially in the performance of the last solemn rites. His 
remairs were therefore interred in an unostentatious manner, agreeably 
to his own request, in the churchyard of the parish in which he breathed 
his last.” 

The following are his principal works :—‘ The Sportsman’s Dictionary ; 
or, a Treatise on Gunpowder and Fire Arms, &c.’ London, 1792; reprinted 
in 1803, 8vo. ‘An Ornithological Dictionary ; or, Alphabetical Synopsis 
of British Birds,’ 1 vol. 8vo, 1802, ‘ Testacea Britannica; or, Natural 


380 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


History of British Shells, Marine, Land, and Freshwater, including the 
most minute, systematically arranged and embellished with figures,’ 4to, 
London, 1803. Supplement to the preceding, 1809, with plates and 
descriptions of new species. In the ‘ Transactions’ of the Linnean Society 
he published the following papers :—‘ Description of three rare species of 
British Birds,” vol. iv. 1796. ‘ Description of several Marine Animals 
found on the coast of Devonshire,” vol. vii. 1802. ‘‘ On some species of 
British Quadrupeds, Birds, and Fishes,” vol. vii. 1803. ‘On the larger 
and lesser species of Horseshoe Bats, proving them to be distinct, with a 
description of Vespertilio barbastellus taken in the south of Devonshire,” 
vol. ix. 1805. ‘On the Natural History of the Falco cyaneus and pygargus,” 
vol. ix. 1807. ‘‘ Of several new or rare Animals, principally Marine, dis- 
covered on the south coast of Devonshire,” vol. xi. 1809. ‘Of some new 
and rare British Marine Shells and Animals,” ib. He also furnished six 
papers to the Wernerian Natural History Society, which were published 
between March, 1809, and March, 1815. 


Tue following very interesting communication has recently appeared in 
the ‘ Westminster Gazette ’ :— 

«I'he appetite of the zoological world has been very much whetted of 
late by the news of the discovery in South Patagonia of a portion of mam- 
malian skin which, it is conjectured, may once have formed part of a 
genuine Mylodon, or Ground Sloth. ‘This interesting animal has long 
been supposed to be extinct, and its reappearance in the wilds of South 
America would create a sensation as pronounced almost as if a Great 
Bustard had again swooped down upon Cavenham Heath, or a Large 
Copper been brought to the net in the neighbourhood of Whittlesea Mere. 
To use a departmental expression, some further tidings of the Mylodon— 
whether in flesh or fossil—are just now very much ‘ wanted,’ and besides 
Mr. H. S. H. Cavendish, the well-known traveller, who has gone forth with 
confidence to shoot one for the authorities at South Kensington, Mr. George 
Davis and Mr. Scott, of Aberystwyth, are making tracks for the monster in 
the Patagonian forests at the instance of the Hon. ‘Walter Rothschild, 
M.P., the owner of the famous museum at Tring. 

‘The details of this important, and possibly sensational, discovery come 
from two different sources, and are somewhat conflicting. Dr. F. P. 
Moreno, who recently arrived in Kngland, brought with him a portion of 
the skin (described as being as dry as leather, hairy, and thickly encrusted 
with some bony substance), which was found hanging in a tree, it being 
part of a much larger piece which some Argentine officers had dug up in a 
cavern several years previously. In close proximity were discovered some 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 381 


half-gnawed stumps of trees, an important clue to the identity of an animal 
which, unlike others of its species, did not climb the branches, but simply 
razed them to the ground by means of its prodigious strength. Professor 
Moreno believes that this fragment of skin belongs to the real Mylodon, 

and that it owes its present state of preservation to certain contributory 
circumstances which on other occasions have destroyed the potency of the 
effacing hand of time and weather! ‘The skin has been exhibited before 
the’ Royal and Zoological Societies, where it had to pass under the review 
of some of the leading zoological and geological experts of the day. 

“¢On the other hand, Dr. Ameghino claims to have procured some of 
the skin from natives, who assured him that they shot the animal, and that 
owing to the bony lumps it had to be literally hacked from off the carcase. 
He regards it as a living representative of the Gravigrades of Argentina, 
and has given it the name of Neo-Mylodon listai. Be that, however, as it 
may, the animal in question is—or should be—about the size of a Bear, 
and in many quarters the possibility that it may yet be found alive is hope- 
fully regarded. If it is alive, it is scarcely possible that it will elude for 
long the vigilance of so keen and practised a big-game hunter as young 
Mr. Cavendish, whose name has been given to a new species of Antelope 
which he recently discovered on his travels in Africa. Up to the present 
the Mylodon has only been found in a fossilized state, its remains having 
been brought to light in a pleistocene fluviatile deposit not far from the 
city of Buenos Ayres nearly sixty years ago. There is a complete skeleton, 
but nothing more substantial, in the Natural History Museum at South 
Kensington, and there is an almost entire one in the Hunterian Museum of 
the Royal College of Surgeons. As a consequence, the efforts of those 
gentlemen who are endeavouring to establish its reality in the flesh are 
being watched with the closest interest. 

** As to the ordinary Sloth, it has been thought by many that owing to 
the imperfect nature of its formation its existence must be a positive 
burden to itself; but this is far from being the case, as those know who 
_ have seen the agility which it displays in its native state in the forests of 
America, despite the unequal length of its arms and legs. True, it is 
absolutely helpless on terra firma—in fact, it can neither walk nor stand— 
but even that is excusable in the case of an animal that not only moves but 
also rests, and even sleeps, in a state of suspension ! 

*‘ Since the above was written news has reached England from Pata- 
gonia that several huge bones, entire skulls, powerful claws, and a complete 
hide of the animal have been discovered deep down in a cave by Dr. R. 
Hauthal, of the La Plata Museum, who had also joined the ranks of the 
pursuers. ’—I’. P. S. 


382 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


On July 19th a specimen of the egg of the Great Auk (Alea impennis) 
was sold by Mr. J. C. Stevens, the well-known natural history auctioneer, 
of King Street, Covent Garden. The history of this specimen is well 
known. It was formerly in the collection of Comte Raoul de Berace, 
having been bequeathed to him in 1834 by the owner of a fishing vessel at 
St. Malo. It afterwards passed into the possession of Baron d’Hamonville, 
who was the possessor of four eggs of the Great Auk, which were figured 
and described in the Mémoires of the Societé Zoologique de France for 
1888 and 1891. Of the four eggs belonging to the Baron, three have been 
sold by Mr. Stevens. The exact sum realized by the specimen sold on 
July 19th was 300 guineas. The egg was slightly cracked, and the dark 
markings were chiefly at the larger end, where the egg was slightly stained. 
The bidding commenced at £100. There was a brisk competition between 
two bidders, the egg being knocked down to Mr. Middlebrook, of the 
‘ Kdinburgh Castle,’ Hampstead Road, the purchaser of Baron d’Hamon- 
ville’s previous specimen, that was sold in June, 1895, at Stevens's, to 
Messrs. Jays, Regent Street, for sixty-five guineas, and afterwards resold at 
Stevens's, in July, 1897, to Mr. Middlebrook for 160 guineas. 


Tue Fortieth Annual Report of the Chicago Academy of Sciences for 
the year 1897, and dated Jan. 11th, 1898, has just reached us (July, 1899). 
We notice in the Curator’s Report of the Museum that, “ through the con- 
tinued generosity of Mr. George H. Laflin, the Academy has acquired the 
valuable collection of birds lately owned by Mr. FE. M. Woodruff. This 
collection is particularly rich in the birds of the Mississippi Valley, and 
also includes nearly every species recorded from the Chicago area.” 


Tue Duke of Bedford has been elected by the Council President of the 
Zoological Society of London, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of 
Sir William Flower. 


WE recently (ante, p. 96) recorded the death of Mr. A. H. Everett, the 
travelling naturalist and collector. We now with equal regret record the 
decease of Mr. John Whitehead from pestilential fever while on a scientific 
mission in the island of Hainan. Mr. Whitehead’s zoological enterprise 
in the Philippines is well known to zoologists, and, as our contemporary, 
‘Natural Science,’ truly observes, ‘‘as a collector, Mr. Whitehead was 
highly esteemed, and his death, at the early age of forty-three, will be 
especially felt in the Natural History Museum at South Kensington, the 
zoological collections in which have been enriched through his industry 
and skill.” 


HDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 383 


In the ‘Transactions and Annual Report of the Manchester Micro- 
scopical Society ’ for 1898 is a paper by Mr. A. T. Gillanders on “Scale 
Insects,” from which we extract as follows :—“ In many parts of the country 
the trunks and larger branches of beech trees will be found coated with a 
white covering, presenting the appearance of a shower of snow having 
frozen. This pest has been graphically termed the ‘Felt Scale’ by Miss 
Ormerod, and the coccid itself is named Cryptococcus fagi. Where the 
pest is but sparsely distributed on the stem little damage accrues ; but it is 
sometimes found. about a quarter to half an inch in thickness, and when 
such is the case the bark separates from the stem, and the tree ultimately 
dies in consequence. A most interesting and successful remedial measure 
has been brought under the writer’s notice at Blagdon, in Northumberland. 
With an #-in. auger bore three holes at about equal distance right into the 
centre of the trunk, about three feet from the ground, and sloping slightly 
towards the root of the tree. Into these holes place as much flower of 
sulphur as can be conveniently got in, and then cork them firmly up with 
a plug of soft wood. This should be done in the autumn, and will be found 
successful. It was first adopted about thirty years ago, and the trees which 
were then operated on are now in comparatively good condition. Prior to 
the experiment they were covered with the scale, were very sickly-looking, 
and shed their leaves prematurely.” 


Mr. Martuias Dunn has contributed to the August number of the 
‘Contemporary Review’ a very interesting article on ‘ The Seven Senses 
of Fishes.” ‘These senses are considered and described as sight, touch, 
taste, hearing, smell, electric dermal sense, and magnetic dermal sense. 
The “ electric dermal sense ” affords fishes premonitory warnings of coming 
storms, and they then—Herrings have been observed—leave the shores 
‘sometimes ten or twelve hours before the coming storm.” The “ mag- 
netic dermal sense” is a guiding principle. Mackerel, Herring, and 
Pilchards ‘‘swim without error to their desired spawning-beds, sheltered 
homes, and pleasant feeding grounds. Now, these fishes cannot, like man, 
have objects to guide them to their desired haven, in the shape of high 
lands, lights, and sea-marks; nor can they be aided by telescopic sight in 
going these long distances, for in the obscure sea, as before shown, this is 
impossible ; hence we conclude that some magnetic principle must assist 
in guiding them.” 

THe ‘ Wombat,’ just received (May, 1899), gives ‘ Ornithological 
Results during 1898,” which reports that during the season just closed 
“steady progress has been made in Australian ornithology and oology.” 


584 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


We read that “the Garganey or Blue-winged Teal (Querquedula circia) 
of Europe has been added to the list of Australian avifauna, as a pair 
have been identified that were shot at Lake Connewarre, near Geelong 
( Victoria). 

THE important and well-known ornithological collection of Mr. H. E. 
Dresser has been acquired by the Manchester Museum (Owens College), 
through the munificence of a wealthy resident, who elects to be anonymous. 
This collection is essentially a student’s collection, Mr. Dresser having 
collected a series of all but the very rarest species to show changes of 
plumage, variation arising from geographical distribution, &c.; and there 
are no real duplicates, as these have been most carefully weeded out, and 
all the skins are first-class ones. ‘The Palearctic collection is the most 
complete, for of the 748 species (according to the last calculation) found in 
the Western Palearctic Area, about 725 are fully represented; and besides 
these there are about 260 strictly Hastern Palearctic and allied species. All 
those figured and described in the ‘ Birds of Kurope’ are marked, and most 
of the labels bear notes by the leading ornithologists who have worked at 
the collection from time to time. Besides the Palearctic collection, there 
is a collection of Bee-Haters, comprising about thirty species, used by Mr. 
Dresser in writing his ‘ Monograph of the Bee-EKaters,’ and one of Rollers 
(about twenty-six species), used in writing the monograph of those birds. 
Altogether the collection comprises about 1040 species and fully 16,000 
specimens, and contains a fair number of types. 


Ir is with the greatest regret that we have to announce the death of 
our very old and esteemed contributor, Mr. John Cordeaux, of Great 


Cotes House, Lincoln. We hope to publish a full obituary notice in our 


next issae. 


Wy 


{ 


Plate III. 


Zoologist, 1899. 


(SONTINVHd ATH 


SQONIHYOUOVN) 


« UNVHdWIe- VHS » 


HAL 


THE ZOOLOGIST 


No. 699.—Sepiember, 1899. 


THE “SEA-ELEPHANT” (VACRORAINUS 
HLEPHANTINUS). 


(PuatTE ITT.) 


Some few months ago Mr. Robert Service, of Dumfries, kindly 
forwarded to us a photograph of a specimen of this animal 
which had been killed on the Falkland Islands. This photo- 
graph, however, was too faint for reproduction, and, at our 
request, he asked his correspondent, Mr. Wm. Grierson, of 
Stanley, F.1., to send us, if possible, a better impression. This 
has now been received, and is reproduced in the accompanying 
Plate. With the photograph, Mr. Service received the following 
letter from the capturer of this interesting beast :— 


‘«Sranzey, F.1., June 21st, 1899. 


Dear Sir,—Mr. Grierson gave me your letter of Aprtl 20th, 
enquiring about the ‘Sea-Hlephant.’ I beg for your information to 
say that the animal is now very scarce, this being, I believe, the only 
erown one killed on these islands for the past twenty-five years. One 
was seen on the north coast about a year ago, but I have not heard of 
it since I killed the one, of which you saw the photograph, about this 
time last year, while I was killing a few Sea-Lions on a small island 
about fourteen miles to the southward of Stanley. I killed two Seals 
about 7 ft. long, and not until I saw the grown Elephant could I find 
out what they were. I then saw that they had been young Elephants. 

“Tt was on February 6th last that the large one in question was 
found hauled up to high-water mark on the south shore of Stanley 
Harbour, and about one hundred yards to the east of the Settlements. 


Zool. 4th ser. vol. {1I., September, 1899. 2¢ 


386 LAE ZOOLOGIST: 


He made no attempt to leave the beach until he had been disturbed 
several times by my tapping him on the trunk. At first he only 
opened his mouth to the full extent; latterly he raised himself on his 
fore flippers and swung his after-part round, thus turning his head 
towards the water; after this, by placing his fore flippers a little for- 
ward and drawing his body forward, somewhat like a snail, he was 
making for the water. A rope was then passed over his head, and 
fastened to a rock to prevent his getting away. On being lanced 
behind the fore flipper the blood ran freely, but the animal pressed 
his flipper several times on the wound and stopped the bleeding, until 
the flipper was forced from his side; at a low estimate there was three 
hundred gallons of blood. The length from the tip of the trunk to the 
end of the hinder flippers was 17 ft. 18 in.; the skin, when spread, 
measured 18 ft. by 12 ft. He was in low condition as regards blubber, 
there only being forty gallons. The hide resembles that of the Land- 
Elephant in colour, and is covered with deep scars from the head to 
one-half of his length. The skin and skeleton are still here. I think 
to give the Smithsonian Institute the first refusal, as Mr. Grierson is 
sending photographs. I will send one of the skeletons, minus the head, 
which has not been taken.—(Signed) Jas. Surry.” 


This appears to refer to some lantern-slides of a specimen 
which were exhibited, on behalf of Mr. Rupert Vallentin, at a 
meeting of the Linnean Society on June Ist last. According to 
the official report of that meeting,—‘“‘ The distribution of this huge 
Seal on various antarctic and subtropical islands having been 
traced, Mr. Vallentin’s notes on a specimen killed in Stanley Har- 
bour were read. It measured 18 ft. 11 in. from the end of the trunk 
to a straight line between the two hinder extremities; the trunk, 
produced by the inflation of a loose tubular sac of skin above the 
nostrils, is present only in the male, and measures, when fully 
extended, 12 in. from the gape. No fresh facts were made known 
concerning the nature of the food of this animal: described by 
some writers as herbivorous, like the Manatee; by others, as 
feeding on Mollusca and Crustacea, like the Walrus. In this 
case the stomach was empty, with the exception of a large 
number of Nematode worms, specimens of which were exhibited.” 

In the late Prof. Moseley’s ‘Notes by a Naturalist on the 
‘Challenger’”’ will be found considerable information regarding 
this animal. It has almost entirely deserted the island of Tristan 
da Cunha. Four specimens were found on landing at Kerguelen’s 
Land, where the species is probably common. On Heard Island 
there were strewn thousands of skeletons of the ‘‘Sea-Hlephant.” 
“The bones lay in curved lines, looking like tide lines, on either 


THE “SHA-ELEPHANT.” 387 


side of the plain above the beaches, marking the rookeries of old 
times and tracks of slaughter of the sealers.’ Specimens which 
were preserved on board the ‘ Challenger’ were found to have 
“only a greenish slime in their stomachs’’; and Moseley states 
that “neither the Otariade nor the ‘ Sea-Elephants’ feed during 
the breeding season, but live upon their fat, becoming gradually 
thinner and thinner.”” They seem very plentiful on Heard Island, 
where on one beach thousands can be seen in the breeding season. 
The Californian “Sea-Elephant” (Macrorhinus angustirostris) is 
well described in Allen’s ‘North American Pinnipeds,’ and is there 
stated to ‘‘differ very little in size, colour, or other external 
features”’ from the southern species. Capt. Scammon has 
described the animal and its habits most fully; and is by Allen 
freely quoted. 

Under the name of Macrorhinus leoninus,* Trimen reports it 
as having been met with on the Cape Coast (cf. Noble’s ‘ Official 
Handbook of the Cape and South Africa,’ pp. 60-1). The Rev. 
A. K. Eaton, during his visit to Kerguelen Island, frequently 
saw young Sea-Hlephants in Swains Bay. ‘‘ Some examples are 
uniformly reddish brown, others are pale, blotched and spotted 
with darker grey. ‘They usually lie just above the beach, sepa- 
rately, in hollows among the Acena and Azorella where they are 
sheltered from the wind.” (Proc. Roy. Soc. xxii. 1875, p. 502.) 
According to the information obtained by Robert Hamilton, 
“They take particular delight in covering themselves with great 
quantities of sand, moistened by the sea-water, which they throw 
over them with their paws till they are entirely enveloped in it. 
It is under these circumstances especially, that with Forster, we 
might mistake them for so many enormous rocks.” (‘ Amphibious 
Carnivora,’ &c., p. 219.)—(Ep.). 


* The late Sir W. H. Flower advocated the use of this name. He 
wrote :—‘‘ There is much confusion as to the synonymy of the species. It is 
the Phoca leonina of the ‘Systema Nature,’ ed. xi1., founded upon the ‘sea 
lion and lioness’ of Juan Fernandez, described and figured in Anson’s 
Voyage, 1748; the P. elephantina of Molina, 1782, and the P. proboscidea 
of Perron, 1815, and of many late authors. Leonina therefore is the earliest 
specific appellation” (‘ Philosoph. Trans.’ elxviii. 1879, p. 96). 


ia vy 


388 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


AN OBSERVATIONAL DIARY OF THE HABITS 
OF NIGHTJARS (CAPRIMULGUS EHUROPAUS), 
MOSTLY OF A SITTING PAIR. NOTES TAKEN 
AT TIME) AND cON») SPOT: 


By Epmunp SEtouwus. 


June 22nd, 1898.—Crawled up behind a small elder bush 
some three paces from where a Nightjar had laid her eggs. When 
nearly there the bird flew down, not on to nest, but close to it. 
Shortly afterwards the other bird flew down beside it, and im- 
mediately I heard a very low and subdued “ churr,”’ expressive of 
quiet contentment, I think, and very different from the ordinary 
loud note of the bird. After I had got up under cover of the 
bush the following occurred :—One of the birds came on to the 
eggs, and began to “churr” softly. The other bird then flew down 
and sat close beside it, also churring (I think, but cannot be 
certain if both churred together). The bird last arrived then 
flew away, leaving the other on the eggs. This one, after ten 
minutes or so, also flew away, uttering the “‘ quaw-ee” note. In 
a little while one of the birds returned, and settled near the eggs. 
Its mate very shortly joined it; and I now heard another note, a 
low croon, quite distinct from the “churr”’ uttered by one or 
both of them. One bird then flew away, and the other came and 
sat on the eggs, and began to “‘churr”’ softly at first, then loudly, 
the ordinary churring note. In some ten or fifteen minutes’ time 
it flew off. In a little while one of the birds returned, and was 
followed almost at once by the other. Both flew down near the 
eggs, and soon one settled itself on to them, the other flying 
away. I had now got my watch out, and this bird sat for fifty- 
five minutes silently (no “ churr,”’ no sound at all), at the end of 
which time its partner flew near by clapping its wings, and then 
sat on a:bush close behind me (as I judged, for I could not turn), 
and ‘‘ quaw-eed.”’* Upon this, as in answer to a summons, the 


* As it flew off no doubt, for this note ‘‘ quaw-ee quaw-ce”’ is, according 
to my observation, only made in the air. 


DIARY OF THE HABITS OF NIGHTJARS. 389 


sitting bird left the eggs, uttering the same note, and both flew 
away together. They were away for nearly twenty minutes, when 
one of them returned (this time flying right down on to the eggs 
in silence), and continued to sit silently for an hour or the best 
part of an hour (it being now too dark to see the time), during all 
which time I was digging out the sand behind the bush so as to 
have a better place to sit and watch in. I then went out and 
brought some branches to make more cover, but in placing these 
I startled the bird away. Having made a good shelter I left. I 
imagine that the bird which sat twice for a short time only and 
churred on the eggs whilst alone was the male, whilst the silent 
and long-sitting bird was the female. 

June 23rd.—Found bird sitting at 3.15 pm. The Nightjar 
seems almost as good an example of protective colouring as any 
insect. It harmonizes to absolute perfection with the sandy 
ground, dry sticks, and pieces of fir-tree bark, amongst which it 
so often laysits eggs. My shelter was at some three paces of the 
bird as it sat, and I could distinctly see the outline of the latter 
part of its body, and one wing with the tail. Yet, scrutinizing it 
with the utmost attention for ten minutes or a quarter of an hour 
at a time, it was only at twenty minutes past four that I finally 
became convinced it was the bird and not a piece of fir-bark at 
which I was looking; and this though I knew the eggs to be 
there, yet could not see them. Stayed till five, during all which 
time the bird sat in silence. 

Returned at 6.10 p.m., and found bird (presumably the same 
one)* still sitting in the same position. 

6.25.—A bird in clump of fir-trees near churred slightly. 

§.15.—First flying note of the Nightjar heard as well as the 
“chutr.’’ 

8.40.—Sitting bird relieved by her mate. He settled down 
facing her, and then, as it were, snoozled up to her, churring 
softly. Whilst doing so he waggled his tail from side to side, as 
did the other one also in exactly the same way. I believe there- 
fore that both birds churred together, though I could not be quite 
certain that I heard the two separate notes. ‘The bird I had 
been watching then flew away with a ‘“‘quaw-ee,” the other one 


* One bird—no doubt the hen—sits on the eggs all day, and does by far 
the greater part of the night-sitting also, 


390 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


having insinuated itself into her place on the eggs, but with the 
head turned the other way (to where the tail of the other bird 
had been). Ina minute or two only the first bird returned, when 
both immediately flew away together (at 8.40) quaw-eeing. I 
could then see the eggs plainly. They had not till then been un- 
covered, one bird having, as it were, squeezed itself on and the 
other off them. (My tame Doves used to act in the same way, 
the one snoozling itself up to the other, and thus taking its 
place.) 

8.55.—One bird certainly (I think two) flew near, clapping 
their wings loudly and repeatedly. I took them to be the pair. 

8.55.—Two birds (probably the pair) flying about near, clap- 
ping their wings and quaw-eeing. 

9 (nearly).—Bird tlew down direct on to eggs and sat on them 
(in the accustomed position) for a second on two only, then again 
flew off quaw-eeing. 

9.5.—A bird settled down somewhere not very far from the 
egos, and kept churring. Another bird flew by quaw-eeing. 

9.25.—A bird flew silently down near the eggs, then rose, 
hovered a few seconds over the tops of the nettles, thistles, &c., 
and again went down near them. It-then again rose, and 
hovered over the eggs with its wings aloft over its back (charac- 
teristic), and once more flew down a little way off. Finally, at 
9.27 or 9.28, it rose and came down on to the eggs with a 
clattering noise, made no doubt with the wings. It took some 
time to settle itself comfortably on to the eggs (which it did in 
the accustomed position), and then sat silently, not churring. 

9.35.—A bird (the mate, I make no doubt) flew quite near 
(settled once, I think), clapping its wings and “ quaw-eeing.” 
From the sound I thought it clapped its wings whilst settled on 
the ground, as well as whilst flying, but cannot be sure either of 
this or that it did settle. During this time, and till 9.45, when I 
went away, the sitting bird was quite silent. 

June 24th.—At 8.10 p.m. found bird sitting, but in a different 
position, the head being turned the other way. It was a wet 
night, and came on to rain a little worse as I arrived. At 8.25 
an Owl flew by (flying fast and high) in exactly the same direction, 
and about the same time (for I had not looked at my watch) as 
the night before. 


DIARY OF THE HABITS. OF NIGATIARS. 391 


8.28.—Churring commences. 

8.33.—A Nightjar flew by, uttering a single note like ‘‘ queek 
queek,”’ not the more usual ‘‘ quaw-ee.”’ 

8.42.—Sitting bird relieved. The arriving bird hovered for 
some time above its mate, waving its wings rapidly, but uttering 
no sound. Whilst it was acting thus the sitting bird churred 
quietly and contentedly, wagging its tail from side to side as 
before. The whole body waggles as well as the tail, but the tail 
is the most noticeable. In a second or two the hovering bird 
settled on the ground beside the other, which then flew off 
quaw-eeing. Its partner continued to sit where it was—not on 
the eggs, but close by them—for two or three seconds, when it 
also flew off. 

8.49.—Two birds (probably the pair) flew by pursuing each 
other, one of tnem clapping its wings loudly and repeatedly. 

The birds being now gone, I went round the bush, and picked 
some of the nettles and grasses from about the eggs so as to have 
a better view of them from my shelter ; then went back. 

8.55.—Two birds flew near quaw-eeing and clapping their 
wings, and one settled not very far off—in a small fir tree, I think 
—and churred. After a little it rose, clapping its wings. At 
this time some other Nightjar, after churring, uttered a note 
like ‘“‘chu-oo chu-oo chu-oo,” quite different from the usual 
“‘quaw-ee”’ as the bird takes flight. Whether this note is uttered 
whilst the bird is still sitting, or only as it flies off, I do not yet 
know.* 

No bird returned to the eggs for over an hour, and I grew 
more and more uneasy. At last, at 10 o’clock, one returned, and 
hovered for some time above them. Instead of settling on them, 
however, it made a dart off to one side, and came down on the 
ground a little way off. Shortly afterwards it flew away. At 
10.30 the eggs were still uncovered, though one of the birds had 
again hovered in the neighbourhood, though not very near them. 
I now went away. The eggs had therefore been uncovered from 
8.42 to 10.30 as a minimum. 

June 25th (10.15 a.m.).—F ound bird sitting in the accustomed 
position (head towards me, that is, and tail overlapping dried 
stalk). Could see it even better than before, owing to having 


* Only as it flies off, I believe, 


392 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


removed what thin and scattered herbage had become interposed. 
It sat quite motionless, the large eye shut, but occasionally 
Opening to a very limited extent so as to show a long black slit. 

10.30.—The low sleepy “churr” of a Nightjar from neigh- 
bouring fir-clump. Left a little after 10.80. 

At about 11 a.m. crept up behind a bush, near which sat 
another Nightjar with young birds (I had disturbed this family 
three or four days before, when the old bird spun along the ground 
as if hurt), From here I could see the bird sitting just as the 
other one did on her eggs with a young one on each side of her. 
This I did not remark till one of the young birds moved and then 
shuffled itself more under its mother’s breast, causing her to sit 
with the head held higher. I then saw both this and the other 
young one for the first time. Just then (11.25) the old bird 
either saw me or suspected my presence, and went off the nest, 
spinning over the ground in various directions. She then flew 
to a small bush near by, and sat there, uttering a note like 
“chook chook chook.” Shortly after she flew off and out of 
sight. 

11.80.—Bird returned to a bush close to the one she had left, 
and again uttered the note “ chook chook”; then sat silent. 

11.55.—Bird left the bush and flew around evidently dis- 
quieted. At 12 I came out, but before leaving walked to where 
the young birds had been, and where I had seen them after the 
mother had flown away. To my surprise they were gone, and, 
though I looked carefully all about, I could not find them any- 
where. The “ chook chook chook ”’ therefore of the mother may 
have been the danger signal. 

12.30.—Came back to the first bird, and found it faseamenale 
it was the same) still sitting, but in a changed position, the head 
being now turned the other way. This time I was entirely 
deceived by the bird’s resemblance to an inanimate object 
(though the bird I had just left had not deceived me). Not 
catching the outline of the tip of the wings and tail across the 
dry stalk (to which I had become accustomed) my eye rested full 
upon it, and I thought I was looking at a piece of fir-bark, one 
of those amongst which it sat. I, in fact, looked for the eggs 
upon the bird, for I knew the exact spot where they should be. 
But as I should have seen them at once, owing to their light 


DIARY OF THE HABITS OF NIGHTJARS. 393 


colour, I felt sure that they must be covered, and, gazing still 
more attentively, all at once, by an optical delusion as it seemed, 
rather than by the passing away of one, the piece of fir-bark 
became the bird. The broad flat head, from which the short beak 
hardly projects noticeably, presents no special outline for the eye 
- to seize on, but is all in one line with the body. It looks just 
like the blunt rounded end of a stump or piece of fir-bark, whilst 
the dark brown lines and mottlings of the feathers not only 
blend with and fade into the surroundings, but have in them- 
selves, at a little distance, a great resemblance to the flaked 
surface of the bark, the lighter feathers exactly mimicking those 
patches where some of the layers have been more newly flaked 
off. This would only be of special advantage to the bird when, 
as in the present instance, it had laid its eggs amidst pieces of 
fir-bark, and, did it invariably do so, a special protective 
resemblance might perhaps be admitted. This, however, is not 
the case. It lays them also under beeches or elsewhere where 
no fir-bark is to be found. Unless therefore it could be shown 
that a large majority of Nightjars lay their eggs in the neighbour- 
hood of fir-trees, the theory of a special resemblance due to the 
action of natural selection must be given up, as I believe it 
ought to be in other apparent instances. No doubt when the 
objects adjacent are different the sitting bird may often appear 
to have a special resemblance to one or other of them; but 
as, owing to its habits, such objects would be mostly of the 
same general description, the bird’s colouring may have been 
made generally protective in relation to its incubatory habits. 
The Nightjar lays on the ground, and one of the birds sits on 
the eggs without leaving them the entire day. Day, however, is 
night to the Nightjar, which not only sits on its eggs, bnt sleeps, 
or a least dozes, on them as well. It is therefore much exposed 
during this period, and would be liable to be taken unawares 
without some protection, and such protection it has by virtue of 
its plumage and its habit of sitting very close. Drowziness may 
in this case have meant security both to bird and eggs, for the 
most sleepy birds would, by keeping still, least endanger their 
young at ali stages. 

Lhe two birds that I am watching have laid their eggs in the 
midst of pieces of fir-bark of various sizes lying on a sandy soil. 


394 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


from which spring nettles, thistles, &c., with alder bushes scat- 
tered about singly or in clumps. 

Left at 1.30, the bird not having moved perceptibly.* During 
most of the time the eyes were closed. 

June 25th.— Found bird sitting at 8.15 p.m. Position a little 
varied from the usual one. The eye shut, the bird seeming to be 
asleep or dozing. 

8.21.—A bird churred sleepily, but soon ceased. 

8.30.—The first prolonged churring. I shall refert to the 
occasional modification of the ‘‘churr’’ when it becomes less 
instrumental, and more voice, as it were, enters into it (for the 
ordinary “churr” sounds more instrumental than vocal). I shall 
also allude to the ‘‘chu-oo chu-oo chu-oo” uttered just after the 
“churr.” But besides these the “churr” (as heard by me at 
this moment) sometimes ends in a sort of akan of gurgly notes 
impossible to describe. 

8.35.—First bird seen flying slowly and clapping its wings in 
a very leisurely manner. Upon the sound of a gun fired near 
the noisy “‘churr” sinks into a low bubbling note. 

8.387.—The Owl flies high in the air in same direction as 
night before. 

8.49.—Sitting bird relieved. Her mate came, I think, from 
neighbouring plantation, uttering the ‘‘ quaw-ee” note, which 
she acknowledged with a soft churring. The newly-come bird 
then seated itself beside the other in exactly the same attitude 
(like a Swift on the ground) at a distance of about six inches, and 
both birds churred together,{ wagging (it is the best word) their 
whole bodies, as well as their tails, from side to side, especially 
the one on the eggs. In a second or so this latter rose from the 
eggs, and flew away to the plantation from which the other had 
come. ‘This one did not move on to the eggs, but continued to 


** Except blinking the eyes. 

+ In concluding ‘‘ General Observations.” 

t “This churring note . . . is said to be confined to the male bird, and 
only uttered when it is perched” (cf. Seebohm, ‘ History of British Birds’). 
‘‘The well-known vibrating ‘churr’ is believed to be uttered by the male 
only” (cf. Howard Saunders, ‘Illustrated Manual of British Birds’). ‘As 
the season advances the song of the cock,” &c. (cf. Prof. Newton in ‘ Ency. 
Brit.’ (last edition), and also in ‘ Dictionary of Birds’). 


DIARY OF THEVHABITS\OR NIGHTIARS. 395 


sit where it was, and in a few seconds (before I had finished 
making the note) flew off after the other. 

A little before nine a bird passed near quaw-eeing. Another 
flew by a little after, also quaw-eeing, and clapping its wings ina 
rather peculiar manner. No doubt they were the pair. Ata 
few minutes past nine one of the birds came back, hovered a 
little over the eggs, then darted to one side, and settled on the 
ground a little way from them. Soon it walked up to them (or 
rather waddled,* the legs being quite invisible); and now I wit- 
nessed a curious action. I must say that just previously, when 
both birds were away, I had left my shelter in order to pick 
another nettle or two, and thus give myself a still clearer view, 
and I had then noticed that the two eggs were rather wide apart. 
As the bird now got on to them (which it did by pushing itself 
along the ground), it must, I think, have moved them still farther 
from each other. At any rate, it became necessary, in the bird’s 
opinion, to alter their position, and in order to do this it went 
into a very peculiar attitude. It, as it were, stood up on its 
breast, with its tail raised almost perpendicularly in the air, so 
that it looked somewhat like a peg-top placed peg upwards on 
the broad end, the legs being at no time visible. Thus poised, 
the bird pressed with the under part of its broad beak, or, as one 
may say, with its chin, first one egg and then the other against 
and under its breast,t and, so holding it, moved backwards 
and forwards over the ground, presenting a strange and unbird- | 
like appearance. ‘The ground, however, was not even, and, 
despite the bird’s efforts to get the eggs together, one of them (as 
I saw) rolled down a little declivity. At the bottom some good- 
sized pieces of fir-bark lay partly buried in the sand, and under 
one of these the egg became wedged. ‘The bird was unable to 
get it out so as to bring it up the hill again to where the other 
egg lay, for the bark, by presenting an edge, prevented it from 
getting its chin against the further side of the wedged egg so as 

* This word, though I could think of no better one at the time, does not 
properly express the bird’s motion. As will appear later on, the Nightjar is 
quite at home on the ground. 

+ In such a position the bristles fringing the gape would help to keep the 
ege secure, whilst the toothed claw would help the bird to get a grip on the 


ground in its strained attitude; but I do not estimate this as any special 
adaptation in relation to these odd and probably infrequent proceedings. 


396 ' THE ZOOLOGIST. 


to press it against its breast as before, though making the most 
desperate efforts to do so. Wedging its head between the bark 
and the ground, the bird now stood still more perpendicularly 
upright on its breast (or rather, in this case, on its head) than it 
had done before, and in this position shoved and shouldered away 
most desperately. After each effort it would lie a little, as if 
exhausted, then waddle to the other egg, and settle itself upon it; 
but in a minute or two it would return to the one it had seem- 
ingly abandoned, and repeat its efforts to extricate it. I must 
have watched the bird make at least half a dozen of these 
attempts ; but at last, after nearly half an hour, an idea occurred 
to it (or rather it altered its tactics then, as the idea may have 
come sooner). Again going to the properly placed egg, the bird, 
instead of covering it as before, began to move it to the other one 
in the way that I have described. “If the mountain will not go 
to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain.” That was 
clearly the process of reasoning, and, seeing how set the bird’s 
mind had been on one course of action, how it had toiled and 
struggled and returned to its efforts again and again, its sudden 
adoption of another plan shows, I think, both intelligence and 
versatility. It, in fact, acted just as an intelligent man would 
have acted. It tried to do the best thing till convinced it was 
impossible, and then did the second best. Still, we cannot any 
more, than in the case of the man, assume that the alternative 
course of action was not in the bird’s mind from the beginning. 
Having got the two eggs together again, the bird appeared to me 
(for it was now too dark to observe accurately) to be trying to 
push the piece of bark away backwards with its wings, feet, and 
tail. It certainly propelled itself backwards against the edge, 
after the manner—observed by Jenner, and now, I believe, 
authenticated by photography—the young Cuckoo ejects its 
foster brothers and sisters from the nest. Finally, at 9.40, 
it flew away. I then went out to look, and saw that the bird 
had been successful in its efforts to a certain extent. The 
two eggs lay together, and though not quite on the same 
level, and though the piece of bark was still in the way of one 
of them, it might still, though not with ease, have sat on them 
both. However, had I left them as they were, I have no doubt 
that the birds would have worked away till matters were quite 


DIARY OF THE HABITS OF NIGHTJARS. 397 


satisfactory. But having watched what had been taking place for 
a full half-hour at only three paces distance, and as, on the bird’s 
return, it would have been too dark to see anything more, I 
thought I would assist them, and so smoothed down the declivity, 
and laid the eggs side by side on a flat surface. I must add that 
while the bird was thus struggling to extricate its egg it uttered 
from time to time a low querulous note. 

At about ten one of the birds settled on a bush just in front 
of me, and sat there silently for some ten minutes, then flew and 
settled on the ground near eggs for a minute or two, and whilst 
there uttered a low guttural note. Finally, at 10.13, it came and 
settled itself quietly on to the eggs as I had placed them. This 
and my subsequent observations make me think that it was not the 
bird that had got into difficulties, but the other and more skilful 
one—the hen, no doubt—the cock bird being less perfect in the 
art of incubating. 

June 26th.—Reached bush at 8.22 p.m., and found the bird 
sitting in the same position as night before. It seemed to be 
asleep, the eye being fast shut. The eggs appeared to have been 
moved slightly to one side, judging by where the bird sat. 

8.384.—Sitting bird relieved. Process exactly the same as on 
night before. The relieving bird came from neighbouring planta- 
tion quaw-eeing, and when near was answered by a gentle “‘churr”’ 
from the brooding bird. This latter’s head was turned the other 
way, so that she could not have seen her mate as he flew up. 
Moreover, she opened her eyes for the first time at his ‘‘ quaw-ee.” 
The new-come bird settled himself beside the brooding one as on 
previous night (same distance apart), and both of them churred, 
gently wagging their bodies from side to side. ‘Then in a few 
seconds the relieved bird flew away (I think silently), and was 
followed a few seconds afterwards by the other one, which had 
not moved on to the eggs, or from where it had alighted. Upon 
going round the bush and looking at the eggs, I could not feel 
certain that they had been moved from where I placed them the 
previous night. ‘The distance, I find, from where I sit to the 
eggs is just three paces. | 

§.53.—Bird flew near, and would have perched on the same 
little bush (just in front of me) as last night, but it saw me, 
I think, and, very little startled, settled on ground close by. 


398 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Soon it flew up again, and came right down on to the eggs, 
settling itself in a different position to that at 8.22, the head 
being turned the other way. The eye, as far as I could see in 
the waning light, was again shut. 

Y.3.—The other bird flew up quaw-eeing as before, and, when 
near, the sitting one churred softly. He settled beside her 
silently whilst she continued to “churr,”’ lifting up her tail and 
wagging it from side to side. I had not noticed the tail lifted so 
high before ; it was raised considerably from the ground. Ina 
few seconds the sitting bird flew off, and the other at once 
moved on to the eggs, but did not get on them properly, and 
began to pull them about with its beak (always the under part or 
chin), though not going into the curious attitude of the night 
before. The bird did not seem able to manage the eggs, and, 
after sitting hardly a minute on one only, flew off again, leaving 
them a couple of inches apart instead of side by side, as they had 
been left by the other. 

9.22.—Bird settled on ground in neighbourhood of eggs, 
churred a little, and then flew away. 

9.33.—Bird settled on ground near eggs, and in a second or 
two flew on to them, and got them together again, I think by 
stretching out a wing to one of them, and pulling it up to itself, 
but too dark now to see properly. At any rate, there was no 
clumsiness or uncouth attitude this time. This bird seemed 
master of the art of sitting; believe it to be the hen, and that it 
was the other (the cock bird) that got into difficulties with the 
eggs last night, and again this, though not to the same extent. 
If this be so, then the cock Nightjar is only a ‘‘ ’prentice han”’ at 
incubation. Had to leave now. 

Note.-—This same night (at 9.15) had several fine oppor- 
tunities of watching pairs of birds chasing and playing about 
with each other high in the air (a beautiful sight), both of them 
clapping the wings above the back as an essential part of the 
performance. The clapping of the wings is as characteristic of 
this bird, as is the churring itself, and as much an expression of 
feeling between the male and female during the breeding season.* 

* At least in relation with the bird’s nuptial activities. Compare aerial 
antics of Peewits in the spring. This most salient peculiarity of the Nightjar 
appears to have been most inadequately noticed. Ihave not met with an 
interesting remark in regard to it. 


DIARY OF THE HABITS OF NIGHTJARS. 599 


(I shall subsequently allude to this point under ‘‘ General Ob- 
servations.’’) 


June 27th.—(Bad weather all day; rainy and cloudy evening.) 
Arrived at 8.15. Heard birds churring already. Bird sitting. 


Head turned towards stalk, eyes closed, and seemingly asleep. 
When sitting the tips of the wings cross each other over the tail, 
which projects an inch or so beyond them. 

8.50.—At the loud bang of a gun not far off (‘ making night 
hideous’) the bird just opened its eyes (the one next to me at 
least) to the smallest possible extent, hardly noticeable at all, and 
then shut them again. They had been closed until then, but for 
one little blink. 

8.40.—The eyes still fast closed. A bird flew by quite near 
quaw-eeing, but the sitting bird took no notice. Again the bird 
(or another one) flew by, still closer, calling as before—no notice. 
But a little farther on he was answered by a soft ‘‘churr ” 
from the ground, his mate, as I concluded, sitting on the 
eggs. _ He did not settle, but circled round several times, 
quaw-eeing and clapping his wings, the other bird answering 
with “churrs,” and also a soft croodling note, very expressive 
of satisfaction. Note that my sitting bird paid no attention to 
the greeting of a bird, not her mate, which greeting was not 
addressed to her, though uttered quite close—in fact, just over 
her head. 

8.55.—A bird flew near by quaw-eeing, and the sitting one 
answered with a very subdued and low “churr” (the lowest I 
have yet heard). The bird flew on without settling. The sitting 
bird had not opened its eyes properly till then. I seemed to 
recognize the note made by the flying bird, but wondered at the 
*‘churr” being so low and so quickly ended. 

Query.—Was it a mistake on the sitting bird’s part? It 
sounded like, ‘‘ Was that ? No. I thought I recognized 
his voice.” 

Five or six birds now flew near about, seeming to chase and 
Sport with each other. Some flew quite close, but to their cries 
the sitting bird made no response. 

9.10.—Partner still not come. Sitting bird now became 
wakeful, moving her head round first one way and then another ; 
then flew off so suddenly that I thought she must have caught 


400 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
sight of me through the screen. In all probability, however, this 
was not the case. 

Walked about a little, and returned to screen at 9.30. 

About 9.40 a bird came and sat on the same alder-stump as 
night before (some four feet high, and only a few feet from where 
I sat, with very little cover between—last night hardly any). It 
sat there about ten minutes, uttering during a good part of the 
time a low guttural note, perhaps something like “ ho-oo ho-oo 
ho-oo,”’ but impossible to write it. No doubt whatever as to 
this; heard it as plainly at that distance as if the bird had 
churred. At 9.50 bird flew from its stump round my bush and 
on to its eggs, which suddenly disappeared, but it was too dark 
to see the bird.on them. 

June 28th.—Arrived at 11.20 a.m., and found bird sitting, the 
head this time turned straight towards me, which had not been 
the case before. Evidently dozing. One eye, however, was a 
little more open than the other, showing just a black slit. A 
Blow-fly was walking over its head and beak, and the bird took 
no notice. Flies afterwards settled on it from time to time, and 
walked about over it. When they went over its eyes the bird 
blinked the one or the other of them, or just twitched without 
opening it. A large green fly flew right at one of her eyes, when, 
without opening it, she gave her head a jerk. 

Three times, whilst sitting here, I observed the feathers just 
under the bird’s throat to be quivering, whilst the beak was very 
slightly (as slightly as possible) open. I satisfied myself that 
this motion of the feathers was produced by the bird itself, and 
not by the wind, for it was only occasional, whereas the wind was 
continuous. They were often still during a sudden gust of wind, 
and, moreover, why should the wind have moved just those 
feathers and no others? I could hear no sound, though I believe 
there was one. The bird perhaps was dreaming and churring in 
its dreams. | 

Left at 1.10 p.m. 

7.25 p.m.—(No rain during day and sunny, but now cloudy 
and almost raining.) Bird sitting in nearly same position as in 
the morning. Hyes shut. 

8.25.—Sitting bird relieved. Its partner flew up quaw-eeing, 
and when near was answered with a slight ‘“churr.” It settled 


DIARY OF THE HABITS OF NIGHTJARS. 401 


down a few inches off, and then both birds churred, wagging their 
tails from side to side in the usual manner. In a second or two 
the sitting bird flew off, silently at first, but when she had gone 
a little way gave a ‘‘quaw-ee.” The other one sat where he 
was for a second or so (not going on to the eggs), and then flew 
after her. 

9.28.—Bird began to “‘ churr” on eggs, * and did so at short 
intervals in little bursts for a few minutes, as if it heard the voice 
of its mate, which I believe it did, though I could not. 

9.50.—Other bird settled on elder-stump near, and kept 
uttering a peculiar single note like “quo quo,” which was answered 
(but only occasionally) by a “‘churr”’ from the sitting bird. 

9.53.—The bird on the stump flew near to the one sitting, 
which rose and joined it, and then both flew off quaw-eeing. 

9.55.—Bird flew on to stump, and kept uttering low single 
note. In less than a minute it flew to eggs and sat on them. 
Was still sitting at 10.35, when I came away. 

June 29th.— (Fine day, sunny.) 

12.7 p.m.—F ound bird sitting in same position as yesterday, 
head towards me, affording a very good front view. The bird 
kept constantly quivering the feathers of the throat. Just those 
particular feathers which make a sort of lappet dividing the 
throat and breast, were in a continual state of trembling, or 
vibration. The beak was very slightly open. I could catch no 
sound, except just once, for a single moment, the faintest possible 
“‘churr.” There was a considerable wind, and the nettles all 
around the bird were swayed backwards and forwards (though 
the low plants were not to nearly the same extent). Yet no other 
feather of the bird’s body was stirred, and I particularly noticed 
that one which projected a little from the side of the throat 
rather lower down was quite steady. Moreover, with the nettles 
still swaying in the wind, the tremulous motion I speak of would 
stop for a instant or two, and then recommence. During this 
time that eye of the bird which I could see was either shut or 
very slightly opened. Splendid view of the bird brooding to-day. 
The feathers of the breast are pressed outwards over the eggs, 
so that the bird seems sitting on a square pedestal of its own 


* T have omitted to note bird’s return. 


Zool. 4th ser. vol. III., September, 1899. 2D 


402 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


feathers. Could see one of the eggs projecting from under the 
feathers. Left at 12.44. 

8.48 p.m.—Bird sitting. Position changed since morning. 
Wings and tail crossing dried stalk, as at first. Hyes closed. 
Other bird settled nine or ten paces from eggs on ground. 
Churred a little, and sat still. Sitting bird did not answer, seeming 
to be asleep. About nine the partner flew up and sat beside the 
sitting bird, who then just churred a little. The other did not 
“¢hurr,” and almost immediately flew away quaw-eeing. The 
other still sat on, and seemed to go to sleep again. 

9.15.—The partner again settled on ground near an 1 churred 
a little, the sitting bird taking no notice. The latter now moved, 
and two little white fluffy things (as at that distance and in the 
waning light they seemed to me to be) scrambled from beneath 
her. They were the chicks. 


(To be continued.) 


( 408) 


THE HAUNT OF THE RING-OUZEL 
(TURDUS TORQUATUS). 


By C. TROLLOPE. 


Some birds seem to belong to all scenery alike; others love 
only the waste common land, the stream, or the sea-shore; 
while a third division, of exasto:, are only to be found in one or 
two favoured counties in the whole of England. Of these last 
are the Ring-Ouzels. Dartmoor, the hills of Derbyshire, the 
Yorkshire Moors, are perhaps the best known of their summer 
haunts, but there is a little-known nook of Western Herefordshire 
to which they come with unfailing regularity. There they have 
entrenched themselves among the wild hills known in the Ordnance 
map as the Black Mountains; and there, in the May of this year, 
I journeyed with a friend whose love of birds at least equals, if I 
will not allow that it surpasses, my own, to see them at home. 

The way to the dingle which the Ring-Ouzels love, took us 
first through a country—the country around the foot of these hills 
—which was curiously like some out-of-the-way corner of Brittany. 
The small rough fields, where gorse takes up much space from 
the poor grass; the small fields of hand-sown wheat; the tall 
hedges, sweet with bird-cherry, with pink crab trees, with yet 
sweeter may blossom; the brown babbling trout-stream running 
down the valley; the white rough homesteads ; the small farms of 
so few acres, farmed by the holders with slow toil and antiquated 
methods, and not by hired labourers who must needs bring their 
work up to the perfection which he who pays for labour naturally 
requires :—all this had some unique foreign charm, and recalled 
another country, dwelt in, as this, by dark-haired Celts, who 
cling with a like dogged faith to their own inherited thoughts, 
methods of work, superstitions not a few. 

The way to the hills leads through such a country as this, 
but when the mountains are reached civilization disappears, and 
spring too, although it is the latter end of May. In the sheltered 

2D2 


404 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


dampness, indeed, under slabs of rock, the Cystopteris fragilis and 
the gleaming white flowers of the familiar wood sorrel are seen, 
and always inseparable; and on the lower edges of the hill, where 
the little streams soak out, we found the butterwort in abundance, 
its parchment-like leaves with their curled edges shining out star- 
like in the still wintry grass. But on the mountain-top, where other 
and stranger plants grow among the dark bog-pools, there was as 
yet no sign of summer life. Only the diminutive Luzula spicata 
did what it could to make colour, with its golden anthers gleaming 
from brown flowers amidst the waste of heather, which had as yet 
put out no spring shoots. We only saw one butterfly, a Pieris napt, 
and that seemed half asleep, perhaps wholly disappointed in a 
world too wet for its fresh wings. The only links with the spring, 
the almost summer indeed, of the valley were the numbers of 
Common Heath moths which were fluttering among the heather, 
undismayed by the showery day. 

We had to cross two wild heather-clad hills before we reached 
the Ring-Ouzels’ haunt, but when we reached it we owned that 
they were birds of taste. At the head of their dingle two hills 
join, and there a waterfall runs down, its course marked among 
the rocks by brightest green of soft, cushiony moss, by tufts of 
Nephrodium dilatatum. The scene was desolate wildness, bounded 
on the west by the steep rocks and the waterfall, on the north 
and south by the two bare mountain sides, while on the east 
stretched the at first narrow valley, with its brawling stream. 
The mountains were patterned over by great stones, by larger 
slabs of fallen rock, by patches of heather, black, tragic, in colour 
as if burnt, and showing yet no tinge of spring green, by patches 
of bilberry covered by pinky green leaves and a few pink flowers, 
but which in the distance and in the mass seem only a dull sullen 
yellow. Only one tree broke the straight sky-line of the solemn 
mountains, a rowan tree growing high up amid the rocks, and as 
yet destitute of leaves. 

It was a land of waters. I tried, as I sat and waited for the 
coy Ring-Ouzels, to think of “the silence which is among the 
hills,” but the thought did not do. The air was full of the noise 
of the water-pipes: water leaping down the head of the dingle, 
water murmuring on down the valley, water springing out of the 
mountain sides and sliding over the grass in narrow streams 


THE HAUNT OF THE RING-OUZEL. 405 


which had not had time to make a channel for themselves, water 
spreading out into spongy places or disappearing suddenly under 
ground, whence we still heard it trickling mysterious, like water 
in a dream, and reappearing many feet lower down the mountain 
slope. 

At first we seem to see no bird, except a little lonely Wren 
who sings persistently, its voice rising shrill above the water-pipes. 
And, crossing the mountain, Meadow Pipits had been our constant 
companions; but here, in the dingle, there seemed to be no bird 
in the universe save that solitary Wren. 

Yes. After that patient waiting which all bird lovers know 
so well, a Rock Dove, blue, smaller by many inches than our 
familiar Wood Pigeon and of less swift flight, flew out from the 
rocks by the waterfall and crossed the ravine. They build here 
in community, and once a wanderer, who often rambles lonely 
through these untrodden ways, caught one in his hand on its rude 
nest on a ledge or rock—such was its ignorance, its sweet trustful- 
ness. And as he let it go into the sunlight he saw the sheen of 
iridescent green on its lustrous breast, and remembered that 
centuries ago the Dove’s feathers of ‘‘ pale-green gold’”’ had been 
noticed, and perhaps loved, under far-away skies. 

Then the Wheatears appeared from we knew not where, flitting 
restlessly from rock to rock, and uttering a soft and sweet call- 
note. Their song, sung so often to the listening waste alone, we 
did not hear; but we found a nest. For as we went up a little 
sheep track a bird slipped out from under a great slab of rock 
and flew up the dingle, showing no further anxiety for its treasures. 
And there, far under the stone as arm could reach, in darkness 
and in damp, was the warm nest and four eggs of faded blue. 

Soon the Ring-Ouzels began to show themselves, but the eye 
so loses itself on these wide still wastes, amid the spacious sim- 
plicity of great sky and great mountain, that it is difficult at first 
to follow these little specks of flitting life or to mark them with 
our field glasses. And, if the truth must be told, in the hours 
spent among them we added little or nothing to the information 
with which our books provided us. The birds would not come 
anear or suffer us to come near them. ‘They kept indeed a 
suspicious eye upon us, flitting in the direction in which we 
walked, perching on heather or slab of rock to watch our move- 


406 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


ments, but always far away. Their loud bravura song we never 
heard; nor did they utter that harsh alarm cry for which we 
listened. But we had had, at least, the joy of penetrating to the 
heart of their mountain fastnesses, their sanctuary among the 
hills; and henceforth we knew the Ring-Ouzels as we should 


never have known them had we not seen them on their native 
heath. 


A RAMBLES NEAR. SY DNE.Y, 
By Davin G. STeap. 


Pernars few cities are so admirably situated as Sydney, 
placed as it is upon the shores of that much-talked-of, much 
admired, but never adequately described harbour, Port Jackson. 

To the ordinary resident in Sydney nothing is more welcome 
than the advent of a holiday, for then full advantage is taken of 
the wondrous plenitude of resorts lying in the many arms and 
indentations of the harbour; these, from their number alone, 
making the ever arising question, ‘‘ Where shall we go?” quite a 
knotty problem, which at times is not easily decided. 

The naturalist—especially the marine zoologist—who, of 
course, looks at things in quite a different light, is still at times 
considerably puzzled, on account of the multiplicity of places of 
interest to be reached comfortably by coach, rail, or boat within 
the scope of one day’s wanderings. 

What is undoubtedly the most popular resort of Port Jackson 
is Manly, “the Brighton of the South,” which on one side faces 
the harbour, and on the other the Pacific Ocean. The harbour 
side forms a veritable “happy hunting ground ”’ for the zoologist, 
as around the rocks and amongst the dense seaweed with which 
they are clothed a great variety of animal forms—chiefly Crustacea 
and many-hued fishes—is to be found. 

My reason for giving this short preamble, is, that I wish 
to introduce to our readers a realm that is overflowing with 
interest to the zoologist, and one that has been the scene of 
many of my wanderings, including the one now described. But 
as very few will be familiar with the locality, and as most naturally 
wish to know a little about any place under consideration, I feel 
some justification in thus introducing it. 

I may add, that, as the following observations have been 
quoted almost verbatim from my note-book, they are necessarily 
of a somewhat general nature, though chiefly—as in this case 
they should be—zoological, 


408 THE ZO0LO0GIST. 


April 28rd, 1899.—To-day I wended my way to Manly, and 
from thence journeyed by coach to Rockliy, some miles along 
the coast. It was a most enjoyable and perfect day. As we 
drove along through the balmy bracing atmosphere, with the 
occasional buzz of insects coming to our ears, ever and anon 
could be heard the extremely melodious cry of the Collared 
Crow-Shrike (Cracticus torquatus), one of the so-called ‘“‘ Butcher 
Birds,” rising above the more feeble twitterings and chirpings of 
the smaller birds. Hn route also I was much impressed and 
interested by the gradual change in the physical aspect of the 
land as we began to come out upon the “ Narrabeen Shales ” 
(which here crop out from under the ‘‘ Hawkesbury Sandstone’). 
Amongst the objects of interest which were passed I must not 
omit to mention several beautiful cabbage-tree palms, which 
reared their stately crowns high in air. 

After a pleasant drive in the genial sunshine we arrived at 
Rocklily, where I alighted, and whence I began to walk on 
my return journey to Manly vid the coast. Whilst making my 
way from there to the coast (a distance of about half a mile) I was 
greatly amused by the actions of a small insectivorous bird, 
which, by feigning to be wounded, did its best to attract me away 
from where I knew its nest must be situated; however, as I had 
experienced that before, I took no notice of it. On Rocklily beach 
I found indisputable evidence that the sand-dunes were resting 
upon shales, as at intervals portions of these shales cropped out, 
and here and there were little streamlets of salt water oozing out 
of the sand (all at the one level), the sole visible occupants of 
which were a few small Amphipoda. On the drier parts of this 
and the succeeding beaches the tiny burrows of minute grey 
Isopoda, as well as the animals themselves, were much in 
evidence. Here also were to be seen the burrows of the beautiful 
swift-footed Crab (Ocypoda cordimana), which penetrate obliquely 
into the sand for some distance. 

After traversing these beaches, and while rounding a head- 
land, I disturbed several Ravens, Corvus australis (the ‘‘ Wah- 
gun” of the Bourke district aborigines), which were walking 
about at the water’s edge ; also a Cormorant (Phalacrocorax nove- 
hollandié), which was perched sentinel-like upon the adjacent 
rocks. (Incidentally, I might mention that there is a price set 


A RAMBLE NEAR SYDNEY. 409 


upon the heads of Cormorants, on account of their depre- 
dations amongst the piscine tribes, and the supposed injury 
caused thereby to our fisheries; but personally, I am of opinion 
that it is rather misplaced, as they also dispose of a large 
quantity of floating offal, thereby rendering us a great service.) 
At this point my attention was attracted by a large mass of rock 
which had fallen from the top of the cliff, and which displayed in 
a very interesting manner the junction of the Narrabeen Shales 
and Hawkesbury Sandstone. It consisted mainly of sandstone, 
but on the under surface there was a layer of shale about three 
inches in thickness. This layer possessed all the appearance of 
mud, of which the surface had been formed into small undula- 
tions by the action of water, then sun-dried, thereby cracking in 
all directions. It was evidently thus upon the day that the sand 
was swept over it, filling up the cracks, and thus preserving their 
contours admirably. 

Whilst traversing the huge beach which here intervened, it 
was very pleasing to observe the evolutions of a number of 
Porpoises (Phocena) which were here disporting themselves. 
The sun was shining full upon them (from behind me), so that I 
was enabled to see them distinctly as they often sprang com- 
pletely out of the water. I was here also interested by the per- 
formance of a “ Little Black-and- White Cormorant” (Phalacrocorax 
melanoleucus), which at one time would be flying lightly over the 
water, at another making a terrific vertical plunge for some fish 
which happened to be near the surface. A little farther along this 
beach I came across a flock of Sea-Gulls (Larus nove-hollandie). 
At my approach they all, with the exception of one, flew away, 
which remaining bird, I perceived, was wounded. After a little 
manipulation I managed to “ round it off”? away from the water, 
and succeeded in making it cross the road (which here skirts the 
beach) into the bush, whereupon I secured it. It turned out to 
be a most beautiful specimen. Before finishing this beach (which 
was the largest travelled over during the day), I turned my atten- 
tion to numbers of the Physalia, or ‘“‘ Portuguese Man-o’-war,”’ 
which were being washed up. Nothing can excel in point of 
beauty the exquisite iridescent tints of these little creatures as 
they sail or float in on the tide by means of the pnewmatophore or 
“float’’ with which they are provided, and nothing could appear 


410 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


more peaceful or less likely to do harm; but woe betide the 
unlucky and unsuspecting wader or bather who becomes entangled 
in their tentacles, for, by means of the stinging capsules with 
which they are studded, they are capable of inflicting the most 
acute pain and inflammation. These tentacles, which may be 
drawn close up to the pneumatophore, are capable of being let 
out to a length of thirty feet or more. 

After collecting a few of these Physalie, I once more resumed 
my journey, and at last finished this seemingly almost intermin- 
able beach, and rested myself for awhile at the foot of the 
landward slope of the headland (‘‘ Long Reef’’), which here 
juts out into the sea. I say ‘‘rested’’; rather should I say I 
would have, but for the attacks of a relentless little band of 
mosquitoes which gave me their undivided attention, and 
seemed bent upon making as close an acquaintance with me as 
possible. 

I now crossed this neck of land to the next beach (also a great 
length), and in the distance on the waters of the bay espied what 
I at first took to be the heads of a great number of the fronds of 
the large brown seaweed protruding above water (although it 
struck me as being rather strange that, supposing it to be sea- 
weed, there was no broken water around, it being in the middle 
of the bay); but, upon drawing closer, I found, to my delight, 
that it was a large flock—consisting of from eighty to ninety *— 
of Black Swans (Cygnus atratus), which were resting and pluming 
their feathers upon the then placid waters of the bay. After 
watching their movements for some time I marched onward, and, 
upon reaching the southern extremity of the beach, looked back, 
and found that they had all betaken themselves to the neigh- 
bouring ‘“‘ Deewhy” lagoon, which is separated from the ocean— 
as are most of the lagoons along the coast—by the sand-dunes 
only. Here it was that I could not help contrasting the head- 
land (Deewhy Head), near which I was standing, with the one 
(Long Reef) on the other side of the bay. The former is com- 
posed solely of the ‘‘ Hawkesbury Sandstone,” and, as a con- 
sequence, is high, rugged, and precipitous; while, on the other 
hand, the latter consists entirely of ‘‘ Narrabeen Shales,” is 


* This was a very large flock, the average consisting of from thirty to 
forty individuals, 


A RAMBLE NHAR SYDNEY. 411 


comparatively low, has a gentle slope inland, and has a rapidly 
disintegrating sea-face composed in great part of fairly soft clays. 
The hardest part of my walk now began, as I had left the easy 
slopes of the shales behind. Here amongst the rocks, as would 
be expected, animal life in the way of birds, reptiles, and insects 
became more abundant, and I began to keep a sharp look-out, 
especially for the smaller Reptilia; nor was I disappointed, for, 
after turning over a few loose flat stones on the southern slope, 
I found one under which was concealed an almost typical collec- 
tion of the ‘‘small fry’’ usually found in these localities. This 
assortment consisted of—1l, a large flat side-walking Spider; 2, 
several specimens of the large black Wood-bug (which, after the 
manner of its kind, emits at times a most disagreeable odour) ; 
3, some small prettily marked Cockroaches; 4, two species of 
Ant; 5, a collection of Termites, or ‘‘ White Ants”; 6, a small 
Centipede ;—all these in the way of Arthropoda. Then of Reptilia 
there were three species, comprising two specimens of a small 
* Rock-Gecko” (Gehyra variegata), one of a fine mottled Lizard 
(Hgernia whiter), which grows to a length of twelve or thirteen 
inches (including tail), and, lastly, the exquisitely beautiful and 
agile little Lizard (Lygosoma teniolatum). The last mentioned 
is very beautifully marked, having on its dorsal aspect brown 
yellow, and white longitudinal stripes running the whole length 
of the body ; these,—with the exception of one brown stripe on 
each side which forms a line of demarcation between the dorsal 
and ventral surfaces,—upon reaching the tail gradually fade into 
a light yellowish colour. But it is when the sun is shining on it 
that this little creature is seen at its best, for then the whole of the 
many-striped body shines again; and the tail possesses a semi- 
transparent roseate hue. The little ‘“‘ Rock-Gecko” (Gehyra 
variegata) also deserves a word in passing. When one is picked 
up it begins to squirm its subcylindrical truncate tail about in a 
most ridiculous manner, doubling it up in a somewhat similar 
fashion to the Scorpion, and seemingly doing all it can to give 
the impression that the tail is a stinging organ. In man—at any 
rate, in most cases—it has the desired effect,* and has thereby 
earned for itself the title of ‘‘ Rock-Scorpion,” this title being 


** T am of opinion that the same effect would be produced upon many of 
the marsupials or birds that have come into contact with Scorpions, 


412 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


also held by a neighbouring species (Gymnodactylus platurus), in 
which the tail is even more like that of the Scorpion. This 
latter species, especially in some parts of the country, is held in 
great abhorrence on account of its supposed stinging powers, 
but nothing could be more fallacious, as it is perfectly harmless, 
and its appearance is its only defence. Both species have 
also the power of voluntarily throwing off the squirming tail, 
thus distracting attention while the animal is making its escape. 
These Geckos are at times covered apparently with bright red or 
pink tubercles. I say ‘‘apparently,’’ because on examination 
with an ordinary hand-lens these “tubercles” are resolved into 
minute ticks, which by contrast with the brown body are 
extremely noticeable. 

Of course, it is not usual to find all the foregoing animals 
upon such a small area (about a foot square), and at least one of 
the reptiles crept under as I approached. 

After proceeding a little farther, I came upon a specimen of 
Cunningham’s Lizard (Hgernia cunninghamt), the most salient 
feature of which is its extremely rough tail. In disposition it is 
inclined to be sluggish, but when pursued it can manage to pro- 
gress at a fair rate of speed. 

Whilst crossing this headland I observed a ‘* White-bellied 
Sea-Eagle”’ (Haliaétus leucogaster) soaring around at a consider- 
able altitude, and standing out in bold relief against the azure sky. 

As the afternoon was wearing on, and [I still had a consider- 
able distance to traverse, I decided to halt nowhere else; so, 
as soon as I had passed this headland, I hastened over the 
beautiful sandy beach (about halfa mile in extent) which stretches 
away from its base; though not so fast but that I had time to 
observe a number of the burrows of that interesting little bright- 
coloured ‘“ Soldier-Crab”’ (Mycteris longicarpus). ‘These burrows 
are surrounded by numberless little round pellets of sand, which 
the busy little crustaceans bring up to the surface during the 
course of their excavations. 

Departing from this beach, I began to walk across country 
through the scrub, as I was drawing near to Port Jackson, 
and wished to strike the road (along which I had passed in © 
the coach during the early part of the day) as soon as possible. 
On the way through the bush I noticed a great many of 


A RAMBLE NEHAR SYDNEY. 413 


the short burrows (averaging about six inches in depth) made 
by the Bandicoots (Perameles obesula and P. nasuta) while in 
search of their food, this consisting mainly of insect-larve, 
worms, and roots. On either side were also to be seen the 
miniature white sandy tracks ‘“‘ winding their tortuous ways 
along,” made by those little “‘Macadams,” the Ants. 

Here the bushes were almost alive with Common Sparrows 
and Honey-Katers (Meliornis nove-hollandig), and the united 
chirruping of their thousands made quite a tumult. While 
speaking of this locality, I think I may presume sufficiently upon 
the forbearance of the reader to relate a little incident which 
occurred hereabout. I find, on referring to my note-book, that 
it was on Sept. 27th, 1896. I had come down to Manly, and 
walked from thence to “ Curl Curl” Bay. When returning, and 
on the look-out for birds and reptiles, I came suddenly upon a 
small brown-coloured* Snake, which darted from me, and started 
twisting and turning, a short distance away, in a most curious 
and remarkable manner. Although I walked up and stood right 
over it, so rapid were its movements, and so nearly did its colour 
resemble the dead leaves with which it was surrounded, that haa 
it not been for an occasional glimpse of the ventral aspect (which 
was of a dirty white hue) it would have been utterly impossible 
for me to distinguish it. Now, all the time the Snake was 
squirming about, doubtless trying to hide itself under the leaves 
(and this is to me the most interesting part), it uttered a peculiar 
little chirping sound, somewhat similar to the call of a young 
bird. As I did not wish to kill it, I got a small pronged stick, 
intending to catch it alive; but the moment I touched it with the 
stick it disappeared like a flash—whither, I know not—leaving me 
blankly staring at the ground. I was quite dumfounded, as, 
although watching the animal intently, I did not see it go. I 
scraped the leaves off the ground for some distance around, but 
did not discover any holes, and, though I hunted ‘“‘ high and 
low,’ could not find any trace of the Snake; I therefore came 
to the conclusion that it had escaped altogether, the protective 
coloration being greatly in its favour. I have only heard of one 


* T purposely say “brown-coloured,” so as not to mislead the reader 
into thinking that I mean what is commonly known here as the Brown 
Snake (Diemenia superciliosa). 


414 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


other instance in this city of a Snake making this chirping sound, 
but perhaps some of our readers may have had a somewhat 
similar experience ; if so, I would be pleased to hear of it. 

To resume my narrative. After leaving this locality I 
continued my journey along a cart-track through the scrub, 
nothing of special importance being noticed excepting an occa- 
sional specimen of a large and beautiful Spider (Nephila), which 
here and there stretches its beautiful yellow silken web right 
across the track. These webs are exceedingly strong, as well 
they might be, the prey of the Spider including such large insects 
as the Cicadas, Phasmids, &c.; also at times a small bird—the 
‘*Silver-Hye’’ (Zosterops)—has been found entangled in the 
meshes. 

Leaving this track, and after trudging along rather wearily for 
about two miles, I reached Manly just as twilight was setting in, 
and the Bats were coming out in search of their evening meal. 
In due course I arrived home, thoroughly tired out, but more 
than ever impressed with a sense of the immensity of Nature, and 
imbued with a feeling of extreme gratification and thankfulness 
at being one of the comparative few to whom has been given the 
desire to know her secrets. 


Gres 


OBITUARY. 


JOHN CORDEAUX. 


By the death of Mr. John Cordeaux this magazine has lost 
one of its oldest and most esteemed contributors. From April, 
1864, to May of the present year there has appeared in our pages, 
from his pen alone, a series of zoological notes and observations 
that collected would be sufficient material for a fair-sized volume, 
and one that would, apart from its valuable contribution to avian 
migration, be a handbook to the natural history of Lincolnshire. 

Mr. Cordeaux, who died at Great Cotes House, in Lincoln- 
shire, on August Ist, at the age of sixty-nine, was one of the 
recognized field naturalists of the day, and was especially an 
ornithologist, and an authority on the birds of the county in 
which he lived. His ‘ Birds of the Humber District’ was first 
published in 1873, and a new and revised edition to April, 1899, 
was noticed in our last issue. Formerly engaged in farming a 
portion of the Sutton estate, he had relinquished his agricultural 
pursuits and devoted the later years of his life to sport and 
natural history. It was to the phenomena of avian migration 
that he devoted much time, and he mainly helped to achieve the 
very considerable results that have already obtained to that 
branch of natural science. As early as 1874 he journeyed to 
Heligoland, and visited Gatke to compare notes on the subject 
which so interested both of them, and with which their names 
are so identified. In 1875 he published in the ‘Ibis’ a critical 
and descriptive notice of Gatke’s wonderful collection of birds 
taken on what might well be called Gatke’s Island. In 1879 a 
fresh impetus was given to the study when he joined Mr. Harvie 
Brown in’a successful endeavour to enlist the services of the 
keepers of lightships and lighthouses along our coasts in making 
and recording observations as to the movements of our migratory 
birds. ‘The Committee appointed by the British Association to 
further this undertaking, of which he was the hard-working 


416 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


secretary, and the publication nine years afterwards of Mr. Kagle 
Clarke’s ‘‘ Digest of the Observations,” sufficiently appraise the 
value of this work. The Acts for the protection of sea- and wild- 
fowl gave him much occupation, and he was one of the expert 
witnesses before a Select Committee of the House of Commons 
which was formed to take evidence and advice on the subject, the 
particulars of which are to be found in a Blue Book published 
in 1873. 

Besides being a frequent and most valued contributor to our 
pages, as well as to the ‘Naturalist,’ ‘Ibis,’ Meteorological 
Society’s ‘Journal,’ and other publications in sympathy with his 
favourite studies, he was a member of the British Ornithologists’ 
Union; F.R.G.S.; and President, in 1894, of the Lincolnshire 
Naturalists’ Union. His last publication was apparently in the 
August number of the ‘ Naturalist,’ and, strangely, was an 
obituary notice of his late friend and brother naturalist Dr. 
Bendelack Hewetson, the last paragraph of which contains such 
prophetic sentences—when read to-day—as ‘‘ when all present 
voices have become silent,” and a reference to the *‘ valley of 
shadows.” 

John Cordeaux was that type of English country gentleman 
who was not only esquire among the inhabitants of his neigh- 
bourhood, but also over the fauna of his county. 


G AVG) 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


MAMMALIA. 
CARNIVORA. 


Seals in the Wash.—It may be worth recording that there still exists 
a colony of Seals in the Wash. On Aug. 18th, when sailing in a small 
yacht from Hunstanton to Lynn, we had a good view of a party of seven 
lying on a sand-bank a few miles from Wolferton ; and, returning in the 
evening, we saw the same, or another lot, near the same place. The day 
was rather misty, but there seemed to be considerable variation both in size 
and colour among the party. Our boatman assured us that they breed in 
the locality, and that he had seen much larger parties on the sand-banks. 
It is much to be hoped that these most interesting animals will not 
be wantonly destroyed, or in any way molested.—Jutian G. Tuck (Tostock 
Rectory, Bury St. Edmunds). 


AVES. 


Variety of Song-Thrush in the New Forest.—In July a somewhat 
peculiar variety of T'urdus musicus was killed, and at the same time 
another almost similar specimen was seen—possibly both of one brood—in 
one of the woods of the forest. It is not mature, being about three parts 
grown, and its tail is rather short. On dissection it proved to be a male, 
and the following description indicates its unusual appearance :—Crown, 
back, and tail almost white; throat, cheeks, and breast pale buff, the usual 
crescentic black spots occupying the central portion of the tips of each 
feather being white, conspicuously so when closely examined; wings 
rather darker, more dirty looking than the back, but the reddish tawny 
outer edges of the primaries and wing-coverts are very marked, forming a 
double bar across the wing; legs and feet pale brown; eyes normal. On 
several previous occasions I have seen white, or nearly white, Thrushes, 
but they invariably had pink eyes, being albinos, as I supposed ; but none 
were 80 near maturity as the one I have attempted to describe. A few 
years ago I recollect a man finding a nest containing four young ones, two 
of which were white. He touk the whole brood with the intention of rearing 
all, but both white individuals died within a week of their capture, indicating 
perhaps that they were not so strong as their darker and more normally 
hued brothers. The latter grew to maturity, and, being both males, 

4ool, 4th ser. vol. III., September, 1899. 25h 


418 THE Z00LOGIST. 


rewarded their protector with abundance of song. — G. B. Corsrn (Ring- 
wood, Hants). 


White Wagtails in County Cork.—Sceeing in your last issue (ante, 
p- 864) Mr. Robert Warren’s note on the occurrence of Motacilla alba in 
North-western Ireland, I think it may be interesting to state that I 
observed one bird of that species on the river Lee, Co. Cork, on April 20th 
of this year. The wind on 15th, 16th, and 17th was N. and N.E.; on 
18th, 19th, and 20th, S. and S.W.— Wm. T. Crawsuay (Chesthill, Perth- 
shire). 


Cirl Bunting probably often overlooked.—In reference to the note on 
Emberiza cirlus (ante, p. 8322), I think that the bird is still probably over- 
looked in many parts of its range. Some time ago, when I reported the 
occurrence of a bird I believed to be E. cirlus in North Cheshire, I was 
promptly reminded that the species had never before been known in the 
district. With due care I therefore examined the specimens of E. cirlus 
and FE. citrinella exhibited in the Natural History Museum, fully expecting 
to find I had been in error. However, the true E. ciwrlus at any rate 
resembled the bird I had seen quite as closely as did the common E£. citri- 
nella, and I returned unconvinced, after repeated examinations. On June 
16th, whilst cycling through Dunham Massey, Cheshire, I saw a bird 
exactly resembling the first I had seen with a dark mark on the throat. I 
at once dismounted, but the bird settled in some growing crops, and did not 
reappear. As neither of the birds I saw were shot, it will, I think, be 
better to suspend judgment, and I am willing to admit after all they may 
only have been varieties of E. citrinella; but I hope these two suspicious 
occurrences, together with the recent discovery of the species in Wales, will 
stimulate ornithologists to keep a sharp look out for the true Z. cirlus.— 
GRAHAM RunsHaw (Sale Bridge House, Sale, Manchester). 


Swifts Fighting. — According to an editorial note (ante, p. 269), Bree 
stated he had been told that Swifts had been found grappled together 
on the ground by their claws. It may interest readers of ‘ The Zoologist’ 
to know that some time ago I caught two specimens of the common Indian 
Swift (Cypselus affinis) in this predicament in the Indian Museum buildings. 
When taken up and separated they proved weli enough to rise and fly when 
placed on the floor. This species, I find, can almost invariably rise from a 
flat surface; I once found one which could not, but flew away on being 
thrown into the air. Does the power of rising from the ground vary in 
different individuals in Swifts? It would almost seem so, for Dr. P. Ren- 
dall, writing (‘ Ibis,’ 1892, p. 222) of this same species (Cypselus affinis) in 
Africa, says, ‘“‘ This bird is unable to rise from the ground.” ‘The gait of | 
C’. ajjinis on the flat is a plantigrade crawl, the feet resting on the ground 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 419 


to the hock, and being moved alternately. This I ascertained by catching 
and tying the wings of an adult specimen the other day. I thought the 
point worthy of investigation, as so few adult birds are plantigrade, though 
I have found the young of Rollers (Coracias indica), Woodpeckers (Brachy- 
pternus aurantius), and Barbets (Cyanops asiatica and Xantholema hemato- 
cephala) to be so in the course of my investigations out here. Seebohm, I 
believe, stated that the Guillemot and Razorbill walked on the tarsus, but 
this is not, in my experience, invariably the case with the former, at all 
events.—F’, Finn (Indian Museum, Calcutta). 


Curious Variety of the Green Woodpecker.—My brother and I have 
just seen, in the local birdstuffer’s shop, what we consider a most curious 
and handsome specimen of the Green Woodpecker (Gecinus viridis). The 
bird was a pale greenish yellow colour all over the body. There was 
a scanty amount of red over the head, and the ‘“ moustache” was hardly 
noticeable. It was a female, and was shot this year near Bath. Knowing 
that Woodpeckers are not generally subject to great variation, I hope this 
note may prove interesting. — CHarLes B. Horssrucu (4, Richmond 
Hill, Bath). 


Demoiselle Crane on the Norfolk Coast.— A female specimen of 
Grus virgo was shot at Brancaster, on the Norfolk coast, on July 31st, and 
sent to Mr. Clarke, of Snettisham, for preservation, by whose courtesy 1 
had the pleasure of examining it. It had been feeding on the growing 
corn, and was shot in a corn-tield. Whether it was an escaped bird, or 
whether it may be allowed to rank as an addition to the Norfolk list, I am 
content to leave to those of your contributors who have for so many years 
worked at the avifauna of the county to determine.—JuLian G. Tuck 
(Tostock Rectory, Bury St. Edmunds). 


Grey Plover in Summer Plumage in Yorks.—We have just received 
(Aug. 19th) a female Grey Plover (Squatarola helvetica) for preservation, 
which was shot by Mr. J. J. A. Riley on Midgley Moor, Yorks. We think 
the appearance of this bird in summer plumage in this locality a somewhat 
rare occurrence.— RowLand Warp (166, Piccadilly). 


Curlew (Numenius arquata) at Sea.—At 9 a.m. on Aug. 5th, at a 
distance of about twenty miles from the scuth-west coast of Ireland, I 
observed three Curlews flying at a height of about a hundred and fifty feet 
above the sea. The birds held a south-westerly course, and came close to 
the ship, which was not moving at the time; they then altered the 
direction of their flight, and disappeared to the south-east. The morning 
was very bright and fine. I do not recollect to have seen these birds so 
far out at sea before —K. Hurusronz Jones (H.M.S. ‘ Repulse,’ Channel 
Squadron). 

2H2 


420 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Distribution of a private Collection. — The museum of the late 
J. R. Wallace, of Distington, was sold by auction on August Ist and 
following days. Mr. Wallace lived for many years in the Isle of Man, and 
several of his British birds were procured on that island. Lot 1146 
included an immature Black-tailed Godwit, procured on the Isle of Man, 
aud presented to Mr. Wallace by Dr. Hulme. Lot 1160 included a Grey 
Phalarope, in autumn dress, from Man. Lot 1188 included a Richardson’s 
Skua from Langness Point. Lots 1210 and 1227 included female Smews 
from the Isle of Man. Lots 1229 and 1230 consisted of two pairs of 
Shovellers from the Isle of Man. Lot 1241 was a Whooper from the Isle 
of Man. Lot 1211 consisted of a Brent and a Bernacle Goose from the 
same. I also bought a Cornish Chough from the island. The rarest 
Cumbrian specimen was a well authenticated example (immature) of the 
Spoonbill. Another bird which I secured was a hybrid between the 
Hooded and Carrion Crows, killed at St. Bees. The three last named go 
to the Carlisle Museum. There was also a local Hoopoe, but it was much 
faded, and we have already two local specimens in the Carlisle Museum ; 
so I did not bid ‘for it. A fair specimen of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker 
and some other good birds were bought for the Tring Museum.—H. A. 
Macpuerrson (Allonby Vicarage, Maryport). 


AVICULTURAL NOTES. 


Cape Scops Owl (Scops capensis) in Captivity. —I had the rare 
pleasure of observing one of these queer little Owls in captivity. It lived 
in a small cage for about a month. Its food consisted mainly of Rats, which 
were trapped, killed, and given him. It was astonishing what sized Rats the 
little Owl could devour. He would seize them with one foot, and tear off 
the flesh, leaving nothing but the head. Small mice were swallowed whole. 
He also ate small birds and raw beef occasionally. When approached he 
would erect his ears, blink and roll his eyes, half-spread the wings, and rock 
from side to side with a sort of circular motion, thus presenting a very 
comical appearance. If I stuck my finger into his cage, he would peck at 
it violently. He had still another method of showing his displeasure, or 
expressing his rage, by snapping his jaws together with a loud clacking 
noise. This little Owl only measured 64 in. in length. Iris light golden 
yellow ; feet and bill greyish black.—A.win C. HaacGner (Modderfontein, 
Transvaal). 

[I kept a specimen of the Spotted Eagle-Owl (Bubo maculosus) for some 
years in captivity. I used at first to feed this bird largely on live Rats, which 
it attacked most courageously, and would sit on the body of its victim all day, 
though it always kept the Rat’s head outside its feet both before and after 
death. After some months in captivity it lost its courage, and would not 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 421 


approach these rodents. Mice it would swallow at once, and at any time of 
the day. This specimen was captured one evening in the heart of Pretoria, 
where it had flown against the telegraph-wires, and had fallen to the 
ground. When disturbed it uttered the clacking noise well described above 
by Mr. Haagner. I shot many specimens by daylight. They are artful, 
cowardly birds, running, or rather slinking, among the herbage before taking 
fliglit, and have to be followed down. In the pursuit of this bird, I felt like 
running down a thief who always tried to hide.—-Ep.] 


hie TEE EA 


The Cape Monitor: Correction.—With reference to the remarks of 
the Editor of this magazine at the foot of my note on this animal (ante, 
p. 226), and to those of Mr. Charles Tanner (ante, p. 272), I find I was 
guilty of an error. The fact is, I wrote albigularis by mistake, and only 
after perusing the first mentioned remarks did I become aware of my error. 
Carefully examining the reptiles, I found that they belonged to the species 
V. niloticus. This is a certainty, as, in addition to the other points of dis- 
_ tinction, the nostril is situated midway between the tip of the snout and 
eye, rather nearer the eye. With reference to my other remarks concerning 
the creature’s habits in captivity, I can only repeat what I have said, 
having carefully verified my statements. — ALwin C. Haacner (Modder- 
fontein, Transvaal). 

PES CRs: 


Pelamid in Cornwall.—On Aug. 17th I captured, in Helford River, a 
Pelamid, or Belted Bonito, Pelamys sarda (Day). This specimen (a male) 
measures 19+ in. long, and weighed 34 lb. It has only five broad vertical 
bars on the back, not thirteen, as figured by Day. The narrow oblique 
stripes, however, correspond with Day’s figure, and are ten in number. The 
stomach was empty, except for a few pieces of vertebral column of some 
small fish, apparently Pilchard. My specimen is being preserved by the 
Marine Biological Society at Plymouth. Day says of this fish that “it is 
abundantly spread throvghout the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, and 
also through the Atlantic Ocean”; so it seems curious that it should not 
occur more frequently on our coasts. —H. LeyBorne Popuam (R. Western 


Yacht Club, Plymouth). 


INSECTA. 


Great Wood-boring Wasp (Sirex gigas) in Ireland.—It may interest 
Mr. Pentland (cf. ante, p. 184) and others to know that a gamekeeper 
obtained two Great Wood-boring Wasps (Sirex yigas) last summer in 
Co. Down, and that I was given another specimen from the same county. 


422, THE ZOOLOGIST. 


I once saw a Spider catch a Sirex gigas by the antenna, and hold it till it 
succumbed.—Cuar.rs B. Horssrues (4, Richmond Hill, Bath). 

[In the ‘Irish Naturalist’ for this year (p. 26), Mr. W. F. Johnson 
writes :— “ Sirex gigas has made its appearance in widely separated 
localities. I received three specimens, all females; the first was captured 
at Acton House, the next came from Loughgall, and the third from Down- 
patrick. Evidently this undesirable addition to our insect fauna is making 
every effort to establish itself in Ireland.”—Ep.] 


Vanessa atalanta Twenty Miles from Land.—A specimen of this 
butterfly flew on board the ship when we were some twenty miles from the 
Trish coast, on Aug. 5th. It was in perfect condition, and very lively. I 
observed it still about, and still very lively, thirty-six hours later, whilst 
coming up the English Channel. As we had not been in port for six days, 
it almost certainly came from the coast. A small moth—some species of 
Pyralis—came on board at the same time.—K. Hurustonz Jones (H.M.S. 
‘ Repulse,’ Channel Squadron). 


( 423 ) 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 


The Fauna of Shropshire. By H. Epwarp Forrest. Shrews- 
bury: L. Wilding. London: Terry & Company. 


Tuts is a very welcome addition to our county faunistic hand- 
books. ‘“ The whole area of Shropshire is only about 1340 square 
miles, yet within this compass we have plateaus and plains, hills 
and vales, boggy flats and heathery moors, cornlands and pastures, 
wooded slopes and barren crags, meres and ponds, streams big 
and little, and—most important of all—the river Severn.” Sea- 
and shore-birds are attracted by the meres, and the still reaches 
of the Severn, which river again is followed in its course by many 
birds—as Sandpipers—and fishes. Among the mammals enume- 
rated, “the Wolf, the Roebuck, and the Wild Boar have been 
long extinct, and the Pine Marten disappeared this century ; 
while the Polecat is on the verge of extinction”; the Wild Ox is 
also included, though this animal is now of antiquarian interest. 
Of birds 250 species are enumerated, of which 87 are classed as 
residents, 34 as summer migrants, 17 birds of passage, 40 winter 
migrants, and 72 as waifs or accidental visitors. Six reptiles 
(one of which, the Smooth Snake (Colonella levis) is included, at 
present, on very slight authority); seven Amphibians, twenty- 
nine Fishes,—of which the Sea Trout (Salmo trutta) is now 
added by courtesy,—and three Lampreys (Lowest Vertebrates) 
complete the subject-matter of the volume. 

One of the most interesting features of this book is to be 
found in the lives and portraits of Shropshire naturalists, which 
include such well-known names as Eyton, Rocke, and Houghton. 
Charles Darwin was also a Salopian, but his work was confined 
to no county and limited to no country. Another excellent idea 
is the printing of the names of resident birds in capitals, and 
of visitors and casual wanderers in ordinary type. ‘To show the 
contrast, however, different coloured printing would greatly facili- 


424 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


tate the aim. Other assistance is rendered by the letter B 
attached to a name, denoting ‘‘ bred in Shropshire,’ while with 
migrants the average dates of arrival and departure are also 
given below the names. Many photographic plates of groups of 
excellently “set-up ’’ mammals and birds give a distinctive charm 
to one of those volumes which are generally procured with avidity 
by students and lovers of our British fauna. 


The Birds of Breconshire. By E. Campripcr Purures, F.L.S., &e. 
Brecon: Kdwin Davies. 


In the pages of this magazine there has appeared, from time 
to time, a series of papers by Mr. Phillips on the Birds of Brecon- 
shire. These were reprinted in 1882 for private circulation, and 
the same re-written and considerably enlarged it is now our 
pleasure to peruse and notice. ‘‘ Breconshire is not a large county, 
and is so well known that it needs but a slight description. It 
embraces among its general features, in a marked degree, moun- 
tain and moor, valley and hill; it has one large lake, Llangorse, 
with numerous mountain tarns, and is drained by the Usk and 
partly by the Wye and their tributaries. Yet with all these 
advantages of nature the ornithology of the county is not so 
varied as might be supposed.” 

The Kite (Milvus regalis) up to the year 1889 had increased 
considerably, but in that spring many were killed, three or four 
close to the town. Even now, however (1899), a few pairs still 
breed, and are protected as far as possible in the county. The 
Marsh Harrier (Circus eruginosus), which was formerly common 
on the hills between the ‘Storey Arms’ and Merthyr, is now, 
unfortunately, supposed to be extinct. The Raven is generally 
considered to live to an old age, but it is well to obtain actual 
facts, and Mr. Phillips is able to refer to a bird which must have 
been fifty years old when it was killed by adog. Severe cold 
causes strange messmates, and here we read of a Sparrowhawk 
roosting close by some Bantams in a thick holly-tree in the dead 
of winter; in similar weather a Jay was found feeding with the 
poultry in an aviary, where it must have pushed itself between 
the wires to get to the food. The varieties of food that birds 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 425 


and all animals sometimes indulge in is here represented by an 
interesting fact. A Heron was killed in a field close by a stream, 
and its crop was found to be filled with Field Mice. This volume 
is full of ‘natural history ” facts and observations, and is one of 
the few enumerations of a fauna which, apart from its scientific 
value, can be read with absolute pleasure. It refers to 198 
species of birds. 


Cambridge Natural History. Vol. VI. Insects: Part II. By 
Davip SHARP, M.A., M.B., &c. Macmillan & Co. Limited. 


Turis is the second instalment and completion of an important 
contribution to a knowledge of entomology, by Dr. Sharp. The 
present volume includes the continuation of the Hymenoptera, 
Coleoptera, Strepsiptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, Aphaniptera, 
Thysanoptera, Hemiptera, and Anoplura. The most distinctive 
contribution is that relating to the Coleoptera, an order to which 
the author has mostly devoted his time, and on which he is 
recognized as a considerable authority. The Coleoptera have 
long been classified in a somewhat archaic, if convenient, manner, 
and we are glad to see here a break from old tradition and a new 
arrangement proposed, commencing with the Lamellicornia, 
though these are separated from the Clavicornia by the Adephaga, 
a proposition which will probably be a more disturbing factor 
with many Coleopterists. These pages, however, are not the 
place for so purely a technical discussion, though the careful 
consideration of all proposed systems is generally pregnant to a 
further knowledge of the creatures on which such propositions 
are founded. 

With the other orders much useful information abounds, 
though of course these lack the essential imprimatur which the 
special knowledge of the author gives to his treatment of the 
Coleoptera. The authorities quoted are naturally more selective 
than comprehensive, and although many references will be gladly 
appreciated by workers at these groups, the absence of other 
references is sometimes very accentuated. 

We read that the number of described species of butterflies 
is probably about 13,000. Forty years ago the number known 
was not more than one-third or one-fourth of what it is at 


426 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


present, and hence Dr. Sharp does not consider it too much to 
anticipate that 30,000 or even 40,000 forms may yet be acquired. 
We quite agree with him, however, in the opinion that “ the 
species of Rhopalocera seem to be peculiarly liable to dimorphic, 
to seasonal, and to local variation; so that it is possible that 
ultimately the number of true species—that is, forms that do not 
breed together actually or by means of intermediates, morpho- 
logical or chronological— may have to be considerably reduced.” 

In the almost congested entomological literature of the 
present day, this work will long maintain a distinctly acknow- 
ledged individuality. 


Lancashire Sea Fisheries. By Cuarues L. Jackson. 
Manchester: Abel Heywood & Son. 


Tus is a polemic, but a valuable one. It is almost precisely 
on the lines and argument of Prof. McIntosh’s ‘ Resources of the 
Sea,’ which was noticed recently in these pages (ante, p. 188), 
being a protest against the State’s interference with man’s liveli- 
hood by means of the fishing industry. Of course this is a very 
wide question. Is our supply of marine fishes seriously jeopar- 
dized by the action of the free use of the trawl and net? Many 
hold that it is, as, for instance, Prof. Herdman, who is treated 
in this reprinted lecture very frankly by Mr. Jackson, who, on 
the contrary, holds that the enormous fecundity of most marine 
animals is an all-sufficient protection against the destructive 
influence of man. We have described this publication as a 
polemic, but a valuable one. Its very strenuous advocacy makes 
it the first; its many excellent recorded facts and observations 
redeem it, and constitute it a welcome addition to the literature of 
the subject. Perhaps, however, the author was more concerned 
with the controversial element; still the natural history reader 
will probably forget the sorrows of the fishermen, and revel in 
the anecdotal details of the life-histories of his prey. 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 427 


A Handy Book of Fishery Management. By J. W. Wits 
Bunp, F.L.S. Lawrence & Bullen, Limited. 


THE main teaching of this book, and which will attract our 
readers, is how to observe the life-histories of fishes. We have 
excellent field-ornithologists who have acquired their knowledge 
direct from nature, but how few have directed the same attention 
to freshwater fishes. In a moderately deep stream it is not so 
easy to decide always whether a fish is a Trout or a Grayling. 
But here a knowledge of habits will decide the question. A 
Trout can keep still, a Grayling cannot. ‘‘ The rough tests are 
size for Salmon, immobility for Trout, mobility for Grayling.” 
If any one wants to know if there are Tench in a pool, “let him 
go and sit beside it some warm evening in June, just before it is 
dark, and then, if he hears a splashing among the water-plants, 
and sees the leaves disturbed, he can rest quite certain that there 
are Tench in the pool, and that they are spawning.” And many 
other hints to the observer in a little-worked study is afforded, 
which should render a stream as full of interest as a wood, and 
prove that a knowledge of the habits of our fishes is not confined 
alone to acapacity for hooking them. We all know how an 
overhanging or adjacent tree or bush affords an insect banquet 
to a crowd of fishes in the stream. Mr. Bund gives a very 
practical example. ‘‘A stream comes down from the Welsh 
hills, which are open, bare, and uncultivated. A large larch 
plantation has been made. Above the plantation the Trout 
average seven to the pound; below they average five, and the 
difference in my opinion is entirely due to the quantity of food 
the plantation turns out into the river.” 

No one who wishes to successfully manage a fishery can afford 
to be without a precise knowledge of the habits and lfe-histories 
of fishes. This knowledge is seldom cultivated by angling pre- 
servationists. The writer of this notice, who in earlier days mixed 
much with anglers and pursued the craft, always found that he 
belonged to a brotherhood that knew how to catch, but was no 
match in real natural history of the subject with the village 
poacher, a worthy whose detested success is based on practical 
observation. Mr. Bund’s book, besides detailing the secrets of 
Fishery Management, gives much information on a subject which 
is strikingly absent from ‘ The Zoologist’ ‘‘ Notes and Queries.” 


428 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Bird Infe in an Arctic Spring. The Diaries of Dan Mernertz- 
HAGEN and R. P. Hornpy. R. H. Porter. 


Tuts small but beautifully illustrated book is the verbatim 
diary of a three months’ sojourn in the Arctic regions in 1897. 
It does not add much to the knowledge of scientific ornithology, 
but it will be read with pleasure by all lovers of birds. It is no 
small advantage to now and again meet with a naturalist who 
really loves his subject, and is not merely a describer of species, 
a critical nomenclator, or a resurrectionist in archaic techni- 
calities. Dan Meinertzhagen was none of these things; his 
birds were evidently to him living realities, and subjects for a 
very considerable artistic capacity, as plates in this volume bear 
witness. One of the most original observations we have met in 
these pages does not refer to birds at all. ‘‘It is a curious fact 
that pine and fir trees, when they rot while standing, warp from 
right to left, and birch from left to right. This is almost inva- 
riably the case.” | 

An Appendix on the “ Mottisfont Birds” relates to one of 
the largest collections of living Eagles and raptorial birds in this 
country, formed by Meinertzhagen, and located at Mottisfont 
Abbey, on the Test, near Romsey, the residence of his father. 
This young ornithologist died last year, at the early age of 
twenty-three. 


( 429 ) 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 


It appears that a new fish may be added to our faunistic catalogues, if 
carefully sought. Mr. G. A. Boulenger, in this (September) number of the 
‘ Annals and Magazine of Natural History,’ gives the following particulars. 
* Last year in the Bay of Concarneau, and this year in the Gulf of St. Malo, 
my attention was attracted to a large Goby, growing to 10 inches, and most 
excellent eating, which appears to have been overlooked by all authors who 
have written on the fishes of the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay. 
This Goby I have ascertained to be Gobius capito, C. & V., a species 
believed to be restricted to the Mediterranean.” 

As it is highly probable that this species will be added to our British 
fauna, Mr. Boulenger has given the following diagnosis to assist our 
British ichthyologists :—‘‘ Habit particularly stout and heavy; depth of 
body 5 times in total length; length of head 32 times. Head a little 
broader than deep; snout 13 diameter of eve, which is 54 times in length 
of head, and a little exceeds interorbital width; strongly enlarged outer 
teeth in the jaws; maxillary extending to below posterior third of eye; 
head scaly only on the occipital and upper opercular regions. The 
distance between the eye and the dorsal equals the distance between the 
end of the snout and the preopercle. Dorsal VI, 15, the two portions very 
narrowly separated; the longest soft rays 4 length of head, a little longer 
than the rays of the first fin, the base of which measures 3 its distance from 
end of snout. Anal with 12 rays. Pectoral $ length of head, with silk-like 
upper rays. Ventral not reaching vent, with well-developed anterior flap 
forming an obtusely pointed process on each side. Caudal rounded. 
Caudal peduncle as long as deep. 61 scales in a longitudinal series, 
22 between dorsal and anal. Greenish to blackish olive, more or less 
spotted and marbled with black; dorsal and caudal fins spotted with black ; 
ventral whitish ; yellowish white beneath. Total length 19 centimetres. 

‘Of the two British species with which this Gobius may have been con- 
founded, G. paganellus and G. niger differ in the larger scales, there not 
- being more than 17 between the dorsal and the anterior rays of the anal 
and 55 in a lateral series, and in the absence of the antero-lateral lobe of 
the ventral disk.” 

We trust that we may soon receive an account of the capture of Gobius 
apito along our southern coasts. 


430 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


«Our Obligations to Wild Animals” is the subject of a communication, 
by Sir Herbert Maxwell, to the August number of ‘ Blackwood’s Magazine.’ 
This article prompts much consideration, and is well worthy of the most 
careful perusal. Sir Herbert early starts with the postulate, “that animals, 
whatever we may feel to be our obligations towards them, have no rights, 
except such as human legislation has conferred upon them.” All our anxiety 
for animal welfare is on this argument utilitarian. ‘“ It has been recognised 
that without song-birds this world would be a far less desirable place of 
abode; without insectivorous birds, a far less profitable place for farmers 
and gardeners ; without birds of brilliant plumage or graceful form and flight, 
a much less interesting place to spend a holiday. Therefore the legislature 
has undertaken to protect Nightingales, as long as they do not forget their 
melody, and do not exchange a diet of caterpillars for one of wheat and 
strawberries; and Swallows, as long as they skim about in their own 
enchanting way, and confine their voracity to insect life.” .... ‘The 
doctrine of Aristotle that ‘animals have no rights,’ has been reaffirmed 
lately under authority of the Church of Rome, and applied in a manner 
which makes every humane heart burn with indignation. The Pope, if he 
is correctly interpreted, has lent his official sanction to the abominable 
maxim that it is contrary to the principles of true religion to legislate for 
the well-being of animals, and an infringement of the rights of Christians.”’ 
The writer, however, though no anti-vivisectionist, is a good sportsman, a 
class we thoroughly believe is ‘‘ hardly ever indifferent to the welfare and 
comfort of the animals which serve him”; and, again, the contention 
seems thoroughly sound, that, “to deal rightly and considerately with 
animals, wild and domestic, the emotions must have their due influence; 
the heart must be tender, but it must not rule the head.” 


“ On the Affinities of the Enterochromes ” is the subject of a commu- 
nication, by Marion J. Newbigin, in the ‘ Zoologischer Anzeiger ’ (No. 593). 
The authoress had previously suggested the name of Enterochrome for 
green pigments in Invertebrates, and had pointed out the difficulties in 
the way of the supposition that these pigments are identical with plant 
chlorophyll. Recently Dr. McNunn has also been re-investigating these 
pigments, and has come to the conclusion that they are derivatives of 
chlorophyll, and are produced by the action of the digestive ferments on 
the chlorophyll of the food. ‘This prompted Miss Newbigin to renewed 
experiments, the results of which, taken in conjunction with the recent 
observations and conclusions of Dr. McNunn in the case of entero- 
chlorophyll, and with the fact that that pigment occurs in the feces of 
Patella, seem ‘‘to justify the conclusion that enterochlorophyll at least 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 431 


is an acid derivative of chlorophyll, produced by the action of the digestive 
juices on the chlorophyll of the food.” This may seem dry reading, but it 
is highly important to grasp some of these technical facts before launching 
one’s boat on the pleasant waters of theoretical speculation on the problem 
of animal colouration. 


peat See! % 


Invirations have been sent to the leading ornithologists of this country 
to attend a meeting at Serajevo in Bosnia at the end of September. ‘This 
reunion of bird-lovers will take place under the auspices of the Austro- 
Hungarian Government, and is promoted by Dr. Herman, of Budapest, 
and Dr. Lorenz, the Custos of the ornithological collections in the Vienna 
Museum. ‘The Hungarian Central Bureau,” of which Dr. Herman is 
president, occupies itself greatly with the study of the migration of birds, 
and every year it publishes a detailed account of the observations from a smal] 
army of ornithologists, who record the migration in the various districts of 
the Austrian Empire. The excursions arranged in connection with the 
congress are likely to be full of interest. The Second International Orni- 
thological Congress, which was held in Budapest in 1891, was perhaps the 
most successful gathering of naturalists that has yet taken place. 


AT a meeting in Calcutta, of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, in June last, 
Mr. F’. Finn exhibited a living soft-shelled Tortoise (Hmyda sp. ?), and read 
the following remarks by Mr. W. K. Dods :— 

“T got the Turtle, exhibited, on the evening of April Ist, when out 
after Hild’s Deer, on one of the grassy plains near.the mouth of the Sittang 
River. Though dry and burnt up at the time of my visit, this ground is a 
swamp during at least seven months of the year, after which, when the 
water, even in the Buffalo-wallows, begins to disappear, the Turtles and 
Water-snakes bury themselves in the mud, and lie off, till the first monsoon 
rains soften the soil and release them for another season. This particular 
individual was under about two inches of soil, so dry and heated by the sun 
as to be most disagreeable to walk on even with the protection to one’s feet 
afforded by a heavy pair of shooting-boots. Originally the ground had been 
covered by a thick growth of grass, but that had all been burnt off before 
by a jungle fire, exposing the cracked soil to the full rays of the sun, and 
the small round breathing hole to the sharp eyes of my Burman guide. It 
was quite lively when dug out, and has never to my knowledge eaten any- 
thing since. It seems equally indifferent whether its residence is in a bag, 
a basket, an empty cartridge-box, or a pail of water. I saw the shells of 
several others lying about, but whether they had met their end by jungle 
fires or other causes I could uot find out.” 


432 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


In a recent issue of ‘ Ornis,’ Count Ettore Arrigoni degli Oddi has 
published a Catalogue of his Collection of Italian Birds, which com- 
prises many rare species. We are informed that the Couut wishes his 
collection to be known to English ornithologists who may visit Italy from 
time to time. 


In the ‘ Proc. Linn. Soc. of New South Wales ’ (November, 1898), Mr. 
D. G. Stead has contributed some observations on the Crustacean genus 
Neptunus, founded upon specimens of N. pelagicus, “ the principal edible 
Crab of the Sydney fish markets.” 

In this species the writer states ‘that up to a fairly large size, viewed 
dorsally, it is impossible to discriminate between males, females and 
sterile females. After this stage is passed, the chelipeds of the male 
become comparatively much larger, attaining considerable proportions. 
The sterile females do not become any larger, and, in comparative size of 
chele and a few other general characters, resemble the female, excepting 
that the female’s body may reach as great a size as that of the largest 
male.” 

De Haan (‘Fauna Japonica’) figures several species which possess 
three types of pleon. He styles them—‘ Males, females, and ‘ spurious 
females.’ ” 

Mr. Stead has only referred to the genus Neptunus, but he feels sure 
that others amongst Australian genera will be found to possess these sterile 
females. At present there are two species which he has good reason to 
believe agree in this manner with Neptunus, viz., Ozius truncatus and 
Platyonychus bipustulatus. ‘‘ The former lives among loose stones in rocky 
situations, whilst the latter, though really pelagic, spends most of its time 
helf-buried in the sand in shallow water.” 


THE ZOOLOGIST 
No. 700.—October, 1899. 


NOTES on rue ORNITHOLOGY or OXFORDSHIRE, 
1896-1898. 


By O. V. Apuin, F.L.S. 


WueEkRE no other locality is mentioned, the notes refer to the 
parish of Bloxham. 
1896. 


January 1lst.—The Rev. J. Goodwin, of Milcomb, told me that 
he had recently seen a Hawfinch in his garden. 

25th.— Large numbers of Bramblings have frequented a 
stubble-field dotted with manure-heaps for a week or more; I saw 
a small flock to-day, but they were gone two days later. The 
Rev. J. Goodwin told me he saw some between here and Milton 
last week. 

26th.— Blackbird singing; early. Nuthatch has the rapid 
rattling or trilling cry. Rooks at their nesting trees most of 
the day. 

27th.—Chaffinch sang the first part of its song, and a portion 
of the second part. 

February 8rd.—News from Mr. Fowler of a Peregrine Falcon 
shot at Sarsden last month while in pursuit of a Ring-Dove. 

5th.—Only one Chaffinch singing; these birds are strangely 
scarce, although common a few days ago. Possibly the winter 
birds have just left. One of my nephews has stuffed a Kittiwake 
(immature), shot at Bodicote a fortnight ago. 

Zool. 4th ser. vol. III., October, 1899. QE 


434 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


6th.—News from Mr. W. W. Fowler that he saw a Hawfinch 
in Christ Church meadow on the 4th. He remarks, ‘‘ Not a 
Chaffinch to be seen or heard.” 

15th.—Yellow Bunting singing. 

17th.—Rooks very noisy at their trees. 

26th.—News from Mr. W.C. Darbey that he had received a 
black Skylark from the neighbourhood of Stanton Harcourt. 

March 6th.—Rooks began building. 

7th.—A young Song-Thrush, fully fledged, brought to me. 

10th.— A Grey Wagtail in the village brook. The body of a 
Peregrine Falcon (a Fox having bitten off the head), which had 
died of shot wounds, was picked up near Horton Spinney, Water- 
perry (H. G. T. in litt.). 

16th.—Strong wind; one Rook’s nest here blown out. 

18th.—Rooks have built four more nests. There are now 
eight. 

19th.—Saw ae Chiffchaffs in the warm spot by the brook, 
where I always look for, and generally find, the first; one was 
in song. 

24th.—Saw three Bramblings settle in a tree in the ‘ Ridg- 
way. ‘Thisis a late date for them to remain here. 

25th.—The Rev. J. Goodwin told me of a pair of Hawfinches 
seen at South Newington, and a pair of Spotted Woodpeckers in 
an orchard at Hook Norton, recently. 

26th.—News from Mr. Fowler that he heard six Chifichaffs 
at Kingham on the 22nd; that the Rev. 8. D. Lockwood saw the 
Wheatear there on the 20th; and that Mr. Foster-Melliar saw it 
the same day on Shipton downs. News from the last named 
that young Blackbirds flew on the 16th, and that he heard the 
Wryneck on the 22nd at North Aston. 

April.—I had news this month from Mr. R. W. Calvert of a 
female Buzzard shot at Ascott-under-Wychwood, while flying 
away with a wounded Wood-Pigeon on the 30th December, 1881 ; 
and of another seen by him there in September, 1893 (tn litt.). 

2nd.—Went to Kingham to examine the Rookery destroyed 
by Crows (vide Zool. 1896, p. 144). 

3rd.—A flock of about fifty Meadow Pipits in a grass field on 
Bloxham Grove. 

7th.—Examined a Mealy Redpole (Linota linaria) which was 


ORNITHOLOGY OF OXFORDSHIRE. 435 


shot from a flock of about fifteen Redpoles at Wickham Mill in 
March. 

10th.—A Swallow seen by Mr. D’Oyly Aplin over the Sor- 
brook at Bodicote. 

13th.—A Swallow seen at Barford. 

15th.—I saw a Wren’s nest built in the fork of a young tree 
on the bank of the Swere. As an object the nest was very con- 
Spicuous ; not so asa nest. It was built of flood-rubbish, and 
looked exactly like a bunch of this caught and left in the fork, as 
a bunch often is when a flood goes down. The hole in the nest 
faced the stream. 

With regard to the date at which the Carrion Crow breeds, 
the following information, acquired while destroying the nests of 
this (with us too numerous) bird this spring, may be of interest: 
—April 15th, two birds shot from the nests, one of which sat 
until a stone was thrown at her; apparently both were incubating. 
April 17th, four birds sitting on nests. April 18th, bird sat on 
nest, about 25 ft. up in a young willow, until I came close under 
it. May 7th, bird sat on nest in tall elm until thrown at. May 
8th, nest containing partly fledged noisy young. May iith, nest 
with squab young, the pen-feathers just sprouting. 

18th.—Willow Wren, Wheatear, and Ray’s Wagtail appeared. 

19th.—Several Tree Pipits singing; none the day before. 

20th.—I think the resident race of Goldfinches must have 
been nearly exterminated by the frost of the early part of 1895. 
I couid see none about here until a week ago; now I see a fair 
number. When in the garden to-day I heard loud alarm cries of 
Starlings, and, looking up, saw eight in a confused mass high in 
the air. They reformed, and went on in aN.E. direction, and 
what I believe was a Peregrine was flying away rather heavily ; 
but I could not tell for certain whether it was carrying anything 
or not. I believe that a good many of the Starlings we see here 
in April, and even in May, are not going to breed, here at least. 
Even as late as mid May one sees little parties, up to a dozen or 
a score in number, flying overhead rather high up. They may 
be birds which are going to breed in the far north. 

2lst.—Redstarts appeared. My wife saw half adozen “ Black- 
birds, one light coloured underneath,” fly out of an ivied tree at 
the edge of Milcomb gorse. This is about the date at which the 

2F2 


436 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Ring-Ouzel has visited us, and it has occurred in this gorse 
before. I have no doubt these birds were Ring-Ouzels. 

22nd.—Swallows appeared about the village. There is always 
an interval between the appearance of a few early birds and the 
arrival of the birds about this date in numbers. 

23rd.—A Turtle-Dove seen at Woodperry by Mr. H. G. 
Thomson. 

24th.— Cuckoo appeared. 

We spent a week at a village in the Chiltern hills about this 
date, and were delighted to find that the Stone Curlew still 
inhabited the downs. We located three pairs, and examined a 
specimen shot at Assendon in September, 1894, and another in 
an old collection of birds at an inn. A portion of the ‘ Weekly 
‘Dispatch,’ 1860, was pasted on the back of the latter case. 
Grasshopper Warblers were frequently heard on the gorse- 
covered commons, and Nightingales were not uncommon; at 
Henley they seemed to be more numerous, and we heard three 
Singing at once there, and not more than fifteen yards apart. 
Although there is much beech-wood on the hills, we could find 
no Wood Wrens; in my experience this bird chiefly frequents 
oak-wood. We saw one day a large hawk which I believe was a 
Honey Buzzard (darker than a Buzzard, with more pointed wings 
and. a longer tail) flapping slowly overhead. It passed over 
D’Oyly Wood towards the big woods at Stonor. 

The Red-legged Partridge was seen at Stonor and Henley. A 
great many Peewits still breed on the slopes of the downs and 
the open stony fields at the foot. We saw hundreds of pairs. On 
April 30th we watched four young ones in down, perhaps a week 
old, near some penned sheep. ‘There is a raised ridge of down 
to be seen at the back of the occiput, making them crested even 
at that early age. A Sparrowhawk took a bird from the hedge 
close to us, and, popping over our heads, flew, heavily cumbered, 
against the wind, low over a big ploughing. Time after time a 
Peewit rose under him, and he was mobbed all aiong his course, 
one bird handing him on to another, until he reached the 
shelter of the spruce and larch belt, which doubtless held his 
nest. Some Wheatears apparently breed on the downs; we saw 
two pairs. Stonechats, which I remembered very common about 
the juniper bushes on the hills sixteen years earlier, were very 


ORNITHOLOGY OF OXFORDSHIRE. 437 


scarce. I think these birds must suffer greatly from hard 
winters. JI examined, at Henley, a Little Owl shot at Turville 
Heath at the end of 1894. The birdstuffer told us he preserved 
three local Little Auks during the visitation in January, 1895. I 
may mention that one obtained on Port Meadow at that date is 
preserved in the University Museum; the Chipping Norton 
example has come into my possession. In an old collection of 
birds at an inn I found a specimen of White’s Thrush ; unfortu- 
nately no particulars respecting the collection are forthcoming. 
During our stay we noticed the arrival or presence of Grasshopper 
Warbler, April 25th ; House Martin, 26th; Whitethroat, 26th ; 
Lesser Whitethroat, 27th; Common Sandpiper, 29th; Sedge 
Warbler, 29th; Swift, May Ist; Turtle Dove, Ist. We heard 
the Wryneck twice; this bird is not common now in Oxon. 
In Oxfordshire the Stone Curlew is known as the Curlew or 
Curloo. Barren open stretches on the undulating downs, as 
open and exposed as possible, are the haunts the Curloos chose ; 
for there the bird’s long legs and watchful eye enable him to 
guard against a surprise. The spot they select on our hills may 
be a vast field, partly under plough and partly derelict arable 
land, fallen back to poor condition, or ‘‘ tumbled down,” as they 
say, sweeping smoothly down to the foot of the hills in gentle 
basin-like slopes. Here on the short bare grey-green herbage, 
strewn with grey-and-white flints, the great down Hares sit out 
in perfect safety. As I examined the field with the glasses I 
counted five of them. Many pairs of Peewits were scattered over 
the field, and now and then one or two would get up and tumble 
about in the air, and their sweet calls came softly up. Rooks 
and Starlings were dotted about, the former probably up to no 
good. Again, the haunt may be a turfy down, with a great white 
blaze on its side, and on its lower slopes big juniper bushes, some 
old yew trees, and a belt of spruce and larch. ‘The scrubby her- 
bage is strewn with flints and white chalk-stones raked out of the 
rabbit-burrows, where a pair of Wheatears flit and run. From 
its most barren slope, thickly strewn with flints and chalk-stones, 
and sparsely clothed with short wiry grass and stonecrop, and 
dotted with dead plant-stems a foot high, I heard the ‘“‘ clamour” 
of the Curloo; and from it a pair rose and settled again, in view, _ 
but where the dead stems stood thickly. On being raised once 


438 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


more they went over a swell in the down, where, with the glass, 
I could just see against the sky the head of one bird peeping at 
me over the ridge. When I followed, one sounded the alarm 
before I could see more of them, and they flew back to the old 
spot. A great undulating arable field, on a slope, its surface one 
mass of flints, held another pair. The cry of the Stone Curlew 
sounds to me cur-lwee or curl-wee, sometimes currr-lwee. A shrill 
sound, the second syllable drawn out and very sweet. Sometimes 
the cry is repeated several times quickly; this seems to be the 
“clamour.” From the slight opportunity I have had of making 
observations, it seemed to me that the ‘‘ clamour”’ was uttered 
when the bird was on the ground. Once, after a pair settled, one 
further on than the other, the former called, and the other bird 
ran up. When taking one of their quick runs (they go very fast) 
with sudden stops, they exchange an upright position for a 
stooping one, with the body nearly horizontal. I have seen 
Bustards run in just the same way. One bird was mobbed after 
settling, and after taking short runs, by Peewits, which stooped 
down and buffeted him ; but he only ducked his head each time. 
I once (but not in England) came suddenly on a pair of Stone 
Curlews not ten yards from me. One struck a curious attitude, 
facing me (while the other ran up to it), and staring fixedly at 
me with its large beautiful yellow-irised eye. 
May 2nd.—Reed Warbler at Oxford. 
9th.— A Nightingale at Milcomb gorse. Swifts numerous 
here ; not seen earlier. 
12th.—Among the Rooks shot here were two with part of the 
‘lower mandible light-coloured, in one white, the other buffy 
white; another with a black bill had the whole of the chin- 
feathers white. Turtle Dove appeared. 
14th.—Spotted Flycatcher appeared. These birds arrived at 
Bodicote on the 13th. The old nest over the drawing-room 
window there has been taken down, as it was in a very foul con- 
dition. The birds used it for four years, and reared two broods 
each year. 
16th.—Spotted Flycatcher singing. The song was con- 
tinuous, but low in tone; there was no attempt at a fixed strain, 
and the notes were just jerked out (but there were sweet notes here 
and there), and the song was distinctly Shrike-like in character, 


ORNITHOLOGY OF OXFORDSHIRE. 439 


20th.—News from Mr. Fowler that Mr. Pycraft saw a Cor- 
morant at King’s Weir, Oxford, on the 17th, and a Black Tern. 

22nd. — Mr. Fowler saw a Blue-headed Wagtail on Port 
Meadow; “‘ white eye-stripe, and a very dark head even for that 
species, I should say” (in litt.). 

24th.—A Song Thrush sang from the ridge of the house-roof. 
It uttered its rattling alarm-note once in the song, and the quiet 
alarm-note two or three times. But this might have been 
accounted for by the fact that it was uneasy. 

28th.—A Spotted Flycatcher in the garden is an unusually 
frequent singer. The song is low, but shrill; weak, yet remark- 
able when heard at a short distance. It comes tinkling out like 
the sound of a tiny streamlet, but the notes are thin and shrill. 

The Rev. J. Goodwin tells me of a Hawk, which, I think, must 
be a pale grey Harrier, seen at Broughton lately. 

29th to July 8th.— Away in Norway. 

June 5th.—The Marsh Warbler arrived at its favourite osier- 
bed at Kingham for the fifth year, and was heard by Mr. Fowler 
to-day, the same day as in 1892. It was only heard in song 
occasionally after the 13th. Nest found on the 27th. 

July 10th.—Brancher Spotted Flycatchers. 

19th.—Covey of Partridges, thirteen in all, the young nearly 
as large as the old. Hot dry weather for some weeks. 

20th.—Another covey with young quite as big. 

August 4th.—Saw a Hobby at Rignell Spinney, near Barford 
St. Michael. 

10th.—Many Swifts ; very noisy. 

11th.—Not many Swifts to be seen, though some still nesting. 
Saw a Nightingale in the paddock-walk. How little we know of 
this bird in the late summer. Also saw a Wren’s nest, which I 
had never noticed before. It was against the trunk of a slightly 
ivied tree, and built of moss with a thick outside covering of 
some plant. The latter is now withered and brown, and the 
nest is very conspicuous (a great drought had prevailed during 
summer), but I have no doubt the plant was green when the 
nest was built. 

13th.—Still some Swifts. 

14th.— About this date I saw a flock of ieuttean Missel 
Thrushes. 


440 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


26th.—One of my nephews at Bodicote reported that early 
in the night of the 24th Wild Geese (cackling like tame Geese) 
passed over low enough down for the swish of their wings to be 
heard. I believe these early grey Geese are Grey-Lags. The 
late Lord Lilford wrote:—“I can speak positively as to the 
occasional passage of flocks of Grey-Lags over the neighbourhood 
of Lilford in September and October from my intimate know- 
ledge of their cries, which exactly resemble those of our farm- 
yard and stubble Geese, who are no doubt lineally descended 
from this species. These cries differ greatly from those of the 
three other species of ‘ grey’ Geese that occasionally visit us late 
in the season. . .. Many reports of their passage near home 
annually reach me, and although I am well aware that the 
present species is considered to be rare in our part of England, 
I am nevertheless inclined to think that such reports in August, 
September, and ‘the first half of October are generally refer- 
able to the Grey-Lag.” (‘ Birds of Northamptonshire,’ vol. 11. 
p. 140.) 

September 16th.—Many Meadow Pipits in standing mustard. 

18th.—Many Pied Wagtails on the fresh ploughings. 

28th.—Many Meadow Pipits in slightly flooded meadow. Saw 
two T'urtle Doves; a rather late date. 

30th.—Big flock of migratory Peewits. 

October 1st.—Close and warm. A Missel Thrush singing 
fairly well. A rare occurrence in autumn. Blackbirds, abundant 
for some weeks, are now extraordinarily numerous. 

10th.— A Grey Wagtail in the brook below the village. 

17th.—Meadow Pipits roosting on a high-lying barley-stubble, 
with a great deal of sprouted shed corn; they were not there early 
in the afternoon. 

19th.—Grey Wagtail in the brook. 

20th.—A few Fieldfares. An immature Golden Plover shot 
at Ascott-under- Wychwood by Mr. Calvert (in litt.). 

21st.—Mr. Darbey, of Oxford, informed me he had received 
a good many locally-killed Gulls recently, and showed me 
examples of the Herring Gull, Common Gull, and Kittiwake. 

29th.—Vast flock of Starlings on barley-stubble ; a little flock 
of Meadow Pipits in roots late in the afternoon. A good many 
Redwings. It was reported in the ‘ Banbury Guardian’ that 


ORNITHOLOGY OF OXFORDSHIRE. 441 


Mr. Valance Elam, of Little Tew Lodge, Enstone, flushed eight 
Woodcocks in one cover on the 24th. 

November 2nd. — Near Heythrop, where these birds are 
numerous about the stone-wall country, as the sun came out 
to-day, the Common Bunting was singing gaily. 

6th.—A Sand Martin was seen at Milcomb by two friends of 
mine who know the bird well. 

16th.—This afternoon, at 3.40 p.m., I noticed a great noise 
and excitement proceeding from eight or ten Hedge-Sparrows 
which were scattered about in a laburnum and some orchard 
trees. ‘They became silent when I went out to look at them, but 
soon began again, answering one another with their thin tseek. 
No cat or other vermin was to be found, and the birds were in 
some cases some distance apart. ‘The excitement lasted about a 
quarter of an hour. It was near roosting-time. I have once or 
twice since noticed a similar occurrence. 

22nd.—A very mild but dull day. A Blackbird sang for 
some time just before sunset. ‘The notes were rather poor, but 
numerous. Perhaps the bird was a young one of the year, early 
hatched, as many were last spring. In my experience the Black- 
bird is very rarely heard to sing in autumn. 

30th.—A Water Rail shot close to the village. In two swede- 
fields I found a good many Meadow Pipits: a late date for a 
flock to be here. 

December 6th.—Missel Thrush singing well. 

9th.—Wind strong from the south. A flock of about two 
hundred Ring Doves passed over at a fair height, going due 
south, and battling with the wind. 

11th.—Song Thrushes sing very well now. 

18th. — Severe frost for the last few days. ‘Two Jack Snipe 
shot. 

19th.—Vast flock of Chaffinches on clover and stubble; as 
far as I could see they were all females. 

24th.—Another Jack-Snipe shot here. 

3lst.—A Sclavonian Grebe shot at Chimney-on-Thames. It 
is now in the Oxford Museum. In the course of correspondence 
about this bird with Mr. Darbey, he gave me information of the 
following Oxfordshire examples of this bird, not previously 
recorded :—One picked up at Pink Hill (or Pinkle) Lock, near 


442 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Eynsham, in the winter of 1893; in the possession of Mr. Curtis. 
One killed in the same winter on Port Meadow; in the possession 
of Mr. Greenwood, of St. Giles Street. Another in the same 
winter on Port Meadow; preserved for an undergraduate of 
Keble College. One killed in the winter of 1895-96 on the Isis, 
at Oxford. One killed at Newbridge in January, 1896; in the 
possession of Mr. George Kent, of Newbridge. 

Mr. A. H. Cocks reported in ‘The Zoologist’ that eight 
adult Sandwich Terns passed the greater part of the 10th April, 
1895, at Great Marlow, going in the afternoon about three- 
quarters of a mile up the river (vide 1895, p. 190). These birds 
were not far from our borders. 


(To be continued.) 


( 448 ) 


BIOLOGICAL SUGGESTIONS: 
MIMICRY. 


By W. L. Distant. 


(Continued from p. 363.) 


In the following discussion on “ Demonstrated,” “ Suggested 
or Probable,’ and other categories of views and suggestions 
relating to this more than interesting question, recourse has 
been somewhat plentifully made to original quotations, giving 
full references to the authors and publication of the same. This 
course may be probably commended for several reasons. In the 
present day much biology is written on the historical method,* 
in which conclusions and facts are worked together in one 
harmonious whole, and treated as canonical information, to which 
reference to the original sources of information is unnecessary. 
But in Biology, surely we should bear in mind—(1) Justice to 
the original author—A. Reference to the work in which the 
quotation appears, and which may be unknown or neglected by 
the reader, who may thus—(a) find other facts besides those 
quoted ; (b) find that such quotations should be qualified by other 
information in the same work; (c) be led to consult the same 
authorities with reference to other investigations he may have in 
hand. Besides which, the evidence for or against this theory 
must be cumulative, and we must not be misled by successful 
advocacy either one way or the other. 


* This method is not to be despised, as Lord Acton has well observed : 
—‘‘ Method is only the reduplication of common sense, and is best acquired 
by observing its use by the ablest men in every variety of intellectual 
employment. Bentham acknowledged that he learnt less from his own pro- 
fession than from writers like Linneus and Cullen; and Brougham advised 
the student of Law to begin with Dante. Liebig described his ‘ Organic 
Chemistry’ as an application of ideas found in Mill’s ‘Logiec,’” &. (‘A 
Lecture on the Study of History,’ p. 53.) 


444 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Illustrations of Demonstrated Mimicry. 


Butterflies of other families are found as mimics of the 
Danaideé and Heliconiide, which have been shown to be generally 
uneatable, and avoided by Birds, Dragonflies, Lizards, and other 
enemies. The fact that the writer found a Danais chrystppus 
being devoured by an orthopterous insect (Hemisaga predatoria)* 
is only another illustration of the much used motto—the excep- 
tion proves the rule. The glands near the anus of some Heli- 
coniidé have also been proved to emit a pungent odour. These 
facts have been recorded by Bates, Belt, Trimen, Wallace, and 
others. But Mr. Frank Finn, who has made some careful ex- 
periments to test the ‘ Theory of Warning Colours and Mimiery,” 
certainly found that his birds in captivity not only ate, but some- 
times seemed to prefer, specimens of Danais and Huplea. Never- 
theless, when he experimented with birds at liberty, he had not 
the slightest doubt ‘‘as to the unpalatability of Danais, and the 
other ‘warningly-coloured’ forms. Birds would often look at 
them, and soon left them when picked up.”’ But when he further 
experimented with the common garden Lizard of India (Calotes 
versicolor), he came to the conclusion that ‘‘ the behaviour of 
these reptiles certainly does not appear to afford support to the 
belief that the butterflies at any rate, usually considered nauseous, 
are distasteful to them.” } 

Miss Newbigin is also a sceptic on this point, based on her 
physiological study of animal colouration. She remarks :— 
‘Instead therefore of supposing that the Heliconiude have, in 
Mr. Wallace’s words, ‘acquired lazy habits’ and a slow flight 
because they are uneatable, and the Pieride because they resemble 
the Heliconiude, may we not rather suppose that the slow flight and 
‘warning’ colours in both cases are due to the same cause, the rela- 
tively low organisation which renders pigmentation by waste pro- 
ducts possible, which makes brilliant optical colours impossible ?”’} 
As appertaining to this subject, Mr. Hopkins has demonstrated 
the presence of uric acid in the wing-pigments of the Preride, 
and observes :—‘‘ The described uric acid derivatives, though 


* “ A Naturalist in the Transvaal,’ p. 65. 

+ Cf. J. A.8. Bengal (Nat. Hist.), vol. lxiv. pp. 344-56; and vol. Ixv. 
pp. 42-8. 

{ ‘Colour in Nature,’ pp. 161-2. 


MIMICRY. 445 


universal in the Pieride, are apparently confined to this group 
among the Rhopalocera. This fact enables the interesting 
observation to be made, that where a Pierid mimics an insect 
belonging to another family, the pigments in the two cases are 
chemically quite distinct. This is well seen in the genera 
Leptalis and Mechanitis respectively.”* The experiments and 
conclusions of Dr. McNunn and Miss Newbigin in relation to the 
green pigments in Invertebrates have already been referred to in 
these pages (ante, p. 430). 

The leaf-like Phasmid (cf. ante, p. 303) observed by Mr. Belt 
standing immovable among a host of foraging ants, many of which 
ran over its legs without discovery that food was within their 
reach.t (This may also be taken as an illustration of “ Active 
Mimicry,” referred to subsequently.) 

The larve of Geometrid Moths, which so resemble the twigs 
on which they rest as to deceive their enemies. MRosel’s gardener, 
mistaking one of these caterpillars for a dead twig, started back 
in great alarm when, upon attempting to break it off, he found it 
was a living animal.{ Burmeister was similarly deceived by the 
larva of Ph. quercinaria, Borkh. (Hunomus erosaria, Tr.), ‘ mis- 
taking it for a small dry twig upon wishing to break off a small 
twig of oak.” Mr. Jenner Weir writes :—“ After being thirty 
years an entomologist, I was deceived myself, and took out my 
pruning-scissors to cut from a plum-tree a spur which I thought 
I had overlooked. This turned out to be the larva of a Geometer 
two inches long. I showed it to several members of my family, 
and defined a space of four inches in which it was to be seen, but 
none of them could perceive that it was a caterpillar.” || 

In plants, Matricaria chamomuilla is considered a mimic of the 
true Chamomile, which from its bitterness is not eaten by quadru- 


* © Proc. Roy. Soe.’ lvii. pp. 5 and 6 (1894). 

+ ‘The Naturalist in Nicaragua,’ p. 19.—Prof. 8. D. Judd, who has made 
a special study of the subject, records an observation to be remembered :— 
‘*T am surprised to find that Grasshoppers (Acridid@ and Locustide), in 
spite of their protective coloration, are eaten by over three hundred species 
of birds in the United States.” (‘Amer. Nat.’ vol. xxxiii. p. 468.) 

| Ros. i. v. 27. Quoted by Kirby and Spence. ‘Introd. Entomol.’ 7th 
edit. p. 413. 

§ ‘Manual of Entomology,’ Shuckard’s transl. p. 505. 

|| ‘ Nature,’ vol. ii. p. 166. 


446 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


peds. Ajuga chamepitys is a mimic of Euphorbia cyparissias, with 
which it often grows, and which is protected by its acrid juice. 
The most familiar case, however, is that of the Stinging and the 
Dead Nettles. They very generally grow together, and, though 
belonging to quite different families, are so similar that they are 
constantly mistaken for one another.* But even here caution is 
necessary 1n many cases before giving a verdict for mimicry as 
generally understood. Zopf (1892), in studying the colouring- 
matter of the fungus Pilobolus, found that a parasite growing on 
the fungus took up not only the drops of oil, but also the pigment 
associated with the oil, the result being that parasite and host 
were similarly coloured.+ Poulton has also shown that the green 
pigment of some caterpillars is derived from the green leaves 
upon which they live. 

It is to be remembered, however, as Mr. Ridley has remarked, 
that it is not essential that fruits should be flavoured to our taste 
in order to induce birds or animals to swallow them. In the 
Malay Peninsula ‘“‘ the Macaranga capsules, covered with a viscid 
gum most unpleasant to the mouth, the hot Capsicums, the 
drupes of the palms (Kentia macarthurt), the berries of the wild 
grapes (Cissus spp.), which have a most irritating effect on the 
mouth, and the poisonous fruits of Sapiwm, are all highly popular 
with birds, and even the fruit of Strychnos tieute, Bl., with its in- 
tensely bitter pulp, is eaten by Civet Cats. A large number of 
the wild fruits, too, though very astringent, are sometimes eaten 
by birds or animals.”{ In the North-West Provinces of India, 
Mr. Silberrard has known Goats to ‘ frequently eat, without any 
ill-effect, the leaves and green stems of the ‘ Akatia’ or ‘ Madar’ 
(Asclepias or Calotropis gigantea), the milky juice of which is an 
acrid poison for human beings, and is frequently used as such in 
infanticide cases.’’§ 


Illustrations of Suggested or Probable Mimicry. 


We do not suggest, or in any sense imply, that the few and 
scanty instances we have given of ‘‘ Demonstrated Mimicry” are 
at all commensurate with the much larger number that could be 

* Sir John Lubbock, ‘ The Beauties of Nature,’ p. 156. 
+ Cf. Miss Newbigin, ‘ Colour in Nature,’ p. 41. 


} ‘Natural Science,’ vol. viii. p. 190. 
§ ‘Nature,’ vol. lix. p. 177. 


MIMICRY. 447 


adduced. But an illustration was alone intended. In the present 
category the records are, however, much more numerous, and 
considerably more familiar, to all who take an interest in the 
subject. We are now in the realm of suggestion, and among 
naturalists who incline to theory there is often much faith. As 
Lecky has observed, referring to another subject, ‘‘ Their measure 
of probability ultimately determines the details of their creed.” * 

Recently a new suggestion has been made as to “ Nocturnal 
Protective Colouration in Mammalia, Birds, Fishes, Insects, &c., 
as developed by Natural Selection.” The author, Mr. A. E. 
Verrill, truly remarks that much has been written in respect to 
the imitative and protective colours of these groups, as seen by 
daylight, and the bearing of these facts on natural selection is 
well known. Very little attention has been paid to their colours, 
as seen by twilight, moonlight, and starlight. Yet it is evident 
that protection is more needed during the night than in the day- 
time by a very large number of species. This is the case with 
those that move about in search of their food at night, as is the 
habit of numerous forms of small mammals, such as rodents 
(Rats, Mice, Arvicole, &c.), insectivores (Moles, Shrews, &c.), 
many herbivores, various marsupials, and members of other 
orders. Many carnivorous species, which seek their prey at 
night, will also find advantages in such protective colours, for. 
thus they will more easily escape the notice of their prey. Hence 
many nocturnal carnivores are black or nearly so, as the Mink, 
Fishes, some Bears, &c. ‘The same principles will apply to 
birds, reptiles, fishes, and to insects, both in their larval and 
adult states, for many members of all these groups are very 
active at night, and hide away in holes or beneath dense herbage 
by day. . . . Many nocturnal insects that live on the ground are 
black or dark brown, which are colours that are protective only 

* Charles Kingsley complained :— ‘‘ Weak and wayward, staggering 
and slow, are the steps of our fallen race (rapid and triumphant enough in 
that broad road of theories which leads to intellectual destruction). (‘ Glau- 
cus,’ p. 80.) Perhaps Kingsley would have approved of an old and summary 
method, as described by Gibbon :—‘‘ A Locrian who proposed any new law 
stood forth in the assembly of the people with a cord round his neck, and, if 
the law was rejected, the innovator was instantly strangled.” (‘ Decline 
and Fall.’) Dr. A. B. Meyer has recently remarked :—‘‘ It must be admitted 


that it is not very difficult to invent pleasing and clever hypotheses, specially 
convincing to the laity.” (‘ Distribution of the Negritos,’ pp. 81-2.) 


448 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


at night. This is true of most ground-beetles, many Crickets, 
Cockroaches, Ants, &c. Many of these insects hide away in the 
daytime, so that no protective colours are then needed. But 
many insects that are exposed both during the day and at night 
have acquired green or yellowish colours that are protective at all 
times, when living among foliage. Green-grasshoppers, Katydids, 
&c., are examples.” * 

Sometimes we find varied or almost contradictory suggestions, 
as has been applied to the resemblance of Tree-Shrews to Squir- 
rels. Liydekker considers this may have been originally due to 
the extreme agility of the latter animals insuring them from pur- 
suit by other creatures, as being a useless task. Hence it would 
clearly be an advantage for a slower animal to be mistaken for a 
Squirrel.t Wallace suggests that the resemblance is probably 
due to the Squirrels being harmless creatures which cannot 
alarm the insects around them by their movements, so that the 
Insectivora which resemble them easily capture their food.t 
Another protective quality possessed by Squirrels has been con- 
jectured by Poulton as existing in its large bushy tail: “An 
enemy in pursuit would be liable to get only a mouthful of fur.” § 
Ridley, in commenting on this proposed mimicry, is much more 
cautious: ‘‘If this resemblance is to be reckoned an example of 
mimicry, it is not easy to decide whether it is the ‘l'upaia which 
mimics the Squirrel, or the Squirrel the Tupaia. Possibly the 
resemblance is accidental, both animals having taken on the most 
inconspicuous colouring, and the most suitable form for their 
environment.’’|| Mr. Oldfield Thomas considers that the resem- 
blance between the Bassaricyon, a Raccoon-like type of animal 
(known at present only by a single skull from Costa Rica and a 
skin from Ecuador){ to the Kinkajou (Cercoleptes caudivolvulus), a 
well-known Raccoon inhabiting Central America and Northern 
Brazil, is a case of true mimicry, although he is unable to 


* Abstract of a paper read before Morphol. Soc. ‘ Amer. Journ. Sci.’ Feb. 
1897 (‘ Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. Sixth Series, vol. xix. 354-6). 

+ * Royal Nat. Hist.’ vol. i. p. 814. 

t “Nat. Select. and Trop. Nature,’ p. 76. 

§ ‘Colours of Animals,’ p. 209. 

|| ‘ Natural Science,’ vol. vi. p. 28. 

{1 Mr. Thomas informs me that the Brit. Mus. has very recently received 
a second specimen. 


MIMICEKY. 449 


imagine of what advantage it can be for the Bassaricyon to be 
mistaken for a Kinkajou.* The Cape Hunting-Dog (Lycaon 
pictus) has a superficial resemblance to the Spotted Hyzna of the 
Same country, which has been suggested as a case of mimicry. 
As Mr. Lydekker has observed :—‘‘ It is, however, very difficult 
to see what advantage a strong animal hunting in packs, like the 
present species, can gain in being mistaken for a Hyena, as it is 
in every respect fully qualified to take care of itself. If, how- 
ever, we could suppose that the Hunting-Dog was originally a 
solitary animal, which had subsequently become gregarious, then 
perhaps the resemblance to the Hyena might have been an 
advantage to it.’t The same authority believes that in the 
resemblance of the South African Weasel (Pecilogale albinucha) 
to the Cape Polecat (Ictonyx zorilla) we may have “ another 
instance of true mimicry among mammals.’ { The African 
Monkey (Colobus occidentalis) is covered with a long silky fur 
arranged in alternate stripes of black and white, so handsome 
that the skin is much prized by the Masai for making head 
ornaments. ‘The contrast of black and white is so marked that 
at first sight, as Dr. Gregory remarks, “it would seem to pre- 
clude concealment, but its value is at once evident when the 
animal is seen at home. ‘This Monkey lives in the high forests 
of Abyssinia, Kenya, Kilima Njaro, and Settima, where the trees 
have black trunks and branches, draped with long grey masses of 
beard-moss or lichen. As the Monkeys hang from the branches 
they so closely resemble the lichen that I found it impossible to 
recognize them when but a short distance away.’’§ 

The tabby Cat, the original progenitor of which may have 
been ‘‘a distinct natural variety which no longer exists as a wild 
animal,’ has been thus described :—When ‘curled up asleep, the 
dark bands arranged themselves in concentric circles, or rather 
in a closely set spiral, strongly suggesting the appearance of a 
_ coiled serpent.’ This is considered as a probable remarkable 
instance of ‘‘ protective mimicry.’’|| 

Mr.S. E. Peal, writing from Assam, has launched the following 


* € Proc. Zool. Soc.’ 1880, pp. 397-99. 

+ ‘Royal Nat. Hist.’ vol. i. p. 571. i *f00d, yols upp. 10; 
§ ‘The Great Rift Valley,’ p. 272. 

|| Louis Robinson, ‘ Wild Traits in Tame Animals,’ pp. 240-1. 


Zool. 4th ser. vol. III., October, 1899. 26 


450 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


suggestion: Certain tan-spots occur over the eyes of semi- 
domesticated Dogs. They do not exist in wild animals allied to 
the Dog, or in the modern breeds of fully-domesticated Dogs. 
The spots are most conspicuous when the eyes are closed, 
appearing then like opened eyes. They “‘ may have been pro- 
tective to the animals during sleep, causing them to look as if 
wide awake.” This speculation has been supported by no less 
an authority than Mr. A. R. Wallace.* Waterton, in describing 
the South American Sloth, writes: ‘‘ His fur has so much the hue 
of the moss which grows on the branches of the trees that it is 
very difficult to make him out when he is at rest.”+ The 
Philippine Koel, or Phow (Hudynamis mindanensis), one of the 
Cuckoos, is an example of a bird in which the young does not 
follow the general rule of having the plumage of the female, or 
one distinct from that of both parents. Mr. Whitehead accounts 
for this by the fact of the Phow laying its eggs in the nest of the 
Yeliow-wattled Myna. ‘‘ The young Cuckoo, being black, does 
not differ from the young Myna, and so the deception is carried 
on until the young bird can take care of itself. If the young 
followed the general rule, and resembled their mother in being of 
a brown colour, the Mynas might not feed them.”{ Of the 
Matamata Tortoise (Chelys fimbriata), a South American species, 
it has been observed :—‘‘ When in its native element the warty 
appendages on the neck float in the water like some vegetable 
growth, while the rugged and bossed shell strongly resembles a 
stone ; it is thus probable that the whole appearance of the 
creature is advantageous either in deluding its enemies or in 
attracting to it the animals on which it feeds, the latter being the 
most likely hypothesis. Although it appears that the Matamata 
will occasionally eat vegetable substances, its chief food consists 

* Nature,’ vol. li. p. 538. 

+ ‘Wanderings,’ Wood’s edit. p. 219.—We may here refer to “the law 
which underlies Protective Coloration” as propounded by Mr. Abbott H. | 
Thayer, the law of gradation in the colouring of animals, which ‘‘is respon- © 
sible for most of the phenomena of protective coloration except those properly 
called mimicry. . . . Mimicry makes an animal appear to be some other 
thing, whereas this newly-discovered law makes him cease to appear at alJ.” 
Thus ‘‘animals are painted by nature darkest on those parts which tend to 
be most lighted by the sky’s light, and vice versd.” (Cf. ‘ The Auk,’ vol. xiii. 


1896; and reprint ‘ Ann. Rept. Smith. Instit.’ for 1897, p. 477). 
} Cf. ‘Royal Nat. Hist.’ vol. iv. p. 7. 


MIMICRY. 451 


of fish, frogs, and tadpoles, some of which may probably be 
attracted within reach by mistaking the appendages on the neck 
for plants or animals on which they feed.”* “There occurs at 
the Cape of Good Hope a harmless egg-eating Snake (Dasypeltis 
scabra), which flattens its head, coils as if for a spring, hisses, 
and darts forward as though about to strike in a way that closely 
resembles the characteristic mode of the Berg-Adder (Vipera 
atropos), of which it is mimetic. It is really quite harmless, 
subsisting on eggs, the shells of which are broken in the throat 
by the enamel-tipped processes of the vertebre, which project 
into the gullet, and form the so-called gular teeth; but its re- 
semblance both in form and behaviour to a venomous Snake pre- 
sumably affords it protection from enemies.” t 

When we approach the annals of entomology,{ we find this 
explanatory idea permeating the whole subject. To suggest a 
new instance of mimicry is considered more desirable by many 
than to describe a new species ; while the advocates or followers 
of both procedures do not always seem to practise mutual 
admiration. ‘The observations are not all modern. The old 
Swedish traveller in South Africa, Dr. Sparrmann, who first dis- 
covered (1775) the curious hemipteron, Phyllomorpha paradoxa, 
was impressed by its mimetic resemblance to a leaf. ‘‘ At noon- 
tide I sought for shelter among the branches of a shrub from the 
intolerable heat of the sun. Though the air was now extremely 
still and calm, so as hardly to have shaken an aspen leaf, yet I 
thought I saw a little withered, pale, crumpled leaf, eaten as it 
were by caterpillars, flittering from the tree. This appeared to 
me so very extraordinary that I thought it worth my while sud- 
denly to quit my verdant bower in order to contemplate it; and 
I could scarcely believe my eyes when I saw a live insect, in 
shape and colour resembling the fragment of a withered leaf, with 
the edges turned up and eaten away, as it were by caterpillars, 
and at the same time all beset with prickles. Nature, by this 
peculiar form, has certainly extremely well defended and con- 
cealed, as it were in a mask, this insect from birds and its other 

* “Royal Nat. Hist.’ vol. v. p. 91. 

+ C. Lloyd Morgan, ‘ Habit and Instinct,’ p. 12. 

| Poulton has focussed many observations respecting instances in the 
Insecta, largely augmented by information received from the well-known 


coleopterist, C. J. Gahan. (Cf. ‘ Journ. Linn. Soc.’ xxvi. pp. 558-612 (1898) ). 
2G@2 


452 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


diminutive foes.”* Canon Fowler, who has been recently 
writing on the Membracide (Homoptera), referring to the genus 
Sphongophorus, opines that, in some cases at all events, these 
forms are protective, for, when at rest, many of the insects mustf 
resemble pieces of dry twigs.”{ One of the most interesting, 
but, to the writer, inexplicable, instances is given and figured by 
Dr. Gregory, as observed in Kastern Central Africa. In this case 
numbers of a species,—or of more than one,— of the homopterous 
sub-familv Platine ([tyraea nigrocincta) adhere to a stem, and 
closely resemble a flowering Transvaal plant (Sesamopteris penta- 
phylla). The observer adds :—‘‘ It may be that the insects were 
only rendered sluggish by the cold and rain, but it appears not 
unlikely that the members of this species have very limited 
powers of flight, and secured protection from birds by this 
ingenious mimicry of a cluster of flowers.” § I have frequently 
seen other insects after heavy rain in the Transvaal follow the 
same habit without any protective resemblance being obtained.|| 
A common orthopteron in La Plata (Rhomalea speciosa), when at 
rest, is “only a pretty Grasshopper ; but the instant it takes wing 
it becomes the fac-simile of a very common Wasp of the genus 
Pepris.’' 4 

Prof. C. Emery has published, in the ‘ Bull. del Soc. Ent. 
Ital.’ 1886, a short but interesting note on the habits of an Ant 
(Camponotus lateralis). Of this species there are two varieties— 
one black, like its nearest allies, the other red, with the abdomen 
and part of the thorax black. They live in small colonies, and 
make expeditions up trees to collect honeydew from the aphides. 
The black type (C. foveolatus, Mayr; C. ebeninus, Kmery) some- 
times go in troops, but generally a few join the troops of other 

* ‘Voyage to Cape of Good Hope,’ Engl. transl. 2nd edit. vol. ii. p. 16. 

+ ‘*Must”’ is an unfortunate expression, and in most arguments is equiva- 
lent to ‘‘it is evident,’’ which the late Prof. Clifford described as meaning ‘‘ I 
do not know how to prove.” (‘Lectures and Essays,’ 2nd edit. p. 176.) 

} ‘Biologia Centrali-Americana,’ Rhynch. Homopt. vol. i. p. 26.— 
Whatever we may think of this suggestion, it is at least not more improbable 
than some banter which lately appeared in an American entomological work 
by Dr. Comstock, where we read that as regards the Membracida, ‘‘ Nature 
must have been in a joking mood when Tree-hoppers were developed.” 

§ ‘The Great Rift Valley,’ pp. 273-5, and figured on coloured frontis- 
piece. || Cf. ‘ Zoologist,’ 1898, p. 256. 

4] W. H. Hudson, ‘ The Naturalist in La Plata,’ p. 127. 


MIMICRY. 453 


black Ants, such as Formica gagates and Componotus ethiops. 
Prof. Emery suggests that, their numbers being small and their 
sight not very good, they find it convenient to accompany other 
Ants which live in larger communities, and they perhaps escape 
detection from the similarity of colour.’’* 

Mr. Skuse considers that the Australian Hepialid moth (Leto 
stacyi, Scott) resembles in situ an approach to the head of a 
reptile of the genus Varanus. ‘‘The moth is one which passes 
its larval state in the butts of Eucalyptus trees for the period of 
five or six years, but on emergence the perfect insect is not prone 
to fly, and would therefore be very liable to be attacked by birds. 
Hence the probability that my surmise of the striking resemblance 
to the head of a Lizard being an instance of genuine protective 
imitation is correct.” + Of the larve of the Hawk-Moth (Chero- 
campa porcellus), it has been stated that should it ‘‘ be discovered 
among the dead leaves, where it usually lies concealed, the first 
four segments are suddenly retracted, and, as in the case of 
C. celerio, the animal appears to have a very large head, with two 
glaring and dangerous-looking eyes. ‘This transformation is no 
doubt of use for defensive purposes.’ t A similar observation is 
made on the larva of C. elpenor. -‘‘In this position its appear- 
ance is very striking, and gives a formidable look to the creature 
in the eyes of those animals that might have been thinking to 
prey upon it.Ӥ Poulton has proposed that these caterpillars 
‘terrify their enemies by the suggestion of a Cobra-like ser- 
pent”’; || an hypothesis not so improbable as would appear if 
C. elpenor is considered a purely European species, whereas it is 
distributed over ‘‘ Kurope, Japan, Sind, Himalayas, Shillong, 
Nagas, Manipur’’;{] and thus is found in the area inhabited by 
the Cobra. Dr. Gregory, in East Central Africa, relates having 
been ‘‘ startled by a hissing noise like that of a Snake coming 
from a clump of grass.” On closer inspection he “could just 
detect a small green head among the stalks, and behind this 
appeared, whenever the noise was repeated, an expansion like 

* Cf. Lubbock, ‘ Ants, Bees, and Wasps,’ pp. 402-3. 

;+ ‘Records Australian Museum,’ vol. i. p. 91. 

{ W. J. Lucas, ‘Book of British Hawk-Moths,’ p. 109. 
§ Ibid. p. 113. 

|| ‘The Colours of Animals,’ p. 259. 

{| Hampson, ‘ Fauna Brit. Jndia,’ Moths, vol. i. p. 85, 


454 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


the hood of a Cobra.” He subsequently found that he “ had 
been frightened by a big Grasshopper, which, by puffing out its 
wings, assumed a resemblance to the shape of the head of a 
Hooded Snake; while its noise was a good imitation of the dull 
jerky hiss of some species of Snakes.” * 

But it must be remembered, as Mr. Kirby has truly remarked, 
that though these brightly-coloured caterpillars are probably 
rejected by insectivorous animals as inedible, they are not pro- 
tected ‘‘ against the attacks of parasites, but rather the reverse.” 
He once bred some Tachinide (parasitic Diptera) from the larve 
of the Spurge Hawk-Moth.+ Mr. Pickard Cambridge states that 
‘upwards of a thousand parasitic grubs of the genus Microgaster 
have been taken from a single caterpillar.” { The many enemies 
of caterpillars have been described by an Indian observer, who 
writes :—‘‘ Upon the whole I think birds are the least important 
of a caterpillar’s enemies. At first, when it is so minute that a 
bird would not be at the trouble to pick it up, it is exposed to the 
cruelty and rapacity of hordes of Ants of many tribes, which 
scour every tree and shrub, sipping the nectar in the flowers, 
licking the glands at the bases of the leaves, milking the aphides, 
and looting and ravaging wherever they go. Besides Ants, every 
tree swarms with Spiders—not web-Spiders, but wolf-Spiders— 
which run about in quest of their prey. Then come Wasps and 
Ichneumons, and these, from a caterpillar point of view, are of 
two sorts—those which will carry him to their own quarters for 
the food of their children, and those which will quarter their 
children on him, or, I should say, in him. Finally, the few that - 
have survived all these dangers have to run the gauntlet of the 
birds.’’§ 

Poulton refers to the two Hawk-Moths (Sesia fuciformis and 
S. bombyliformis), ‘‘ which in some degree suggest the appearance 
of Humble-Bees,”’ as instances of ‘‘ mimicry of Hymenoptera by 
Lepidoptera.” But when he offered a living specimen to a Lizard 
(Lacerta muralis), the animal was “not imposed upon in the 
least, but devoured the insect without hesitation or caution. 
Although Humble-Bees are eaten by Lizards, they are always 

* ‘The Great Rift Valley,’ p. 273. 

+ “ Hanb. Order Lepidoptera,” ‘ Allen’s Natr. Libr.’ vol. i. p. xxx. note. 


t ‘Royal Nat. Hist.’ vol. vi. p. 26. 
§ Eha, ‘A Naturalist on the Prowl,’ pp. 122-3. 


MIMICRY. 455 


seized cautiously, and disabled before being swallowed.’* This 
certainly seems to be very negative evidence. The well-known 
British Moth, Lasiocampa quercifolia, affects a resting position 
which “ makes it appear exactly like a dead leaf. One is walking 
along, maybe, when his attention is attracted to a dead brown leaf 
hanging on a blackthorn bush, suspended by a slender stalk, and 
Swaying to and fro in the air with every passing breeze. You 
feel satisfied it can be nothing but a rich purplish-brown leaf, and 
yet your trained eye is hardly satisfied; and as you slowly take 
in the outline, and put your finger beneath the supposed stalk of 
the leaf, another slender stalk is gradually pushed up, and a 
Lappet Moth dangles from your finger.” + Here the expression 
“trained eye”’ of the entomologist would suggest a more de- 
veloped ‘‘ trained eye” of the moth’s natural enemies, and hence 
any theory of protectwwe mimicry is much discounted. Should 
such a theory be advanced, the instance would probably be more 
applicable to conscious or active mimicry, to be discussed later 
on. The same author gives a subsequent illustration which 
seems capable of the same comment. Another of our moths 
(Orgyia antiqua) has an apterous female, and in this condition, 
‘seated on her cocoon after emergence, she looks so exactly like 
a Spider that only practical entomologists recognize her; she lays 
her eggs on the web, and never stirs.” { Dr. Sharp has remarked 
on the eggs of Phasmide that nearly everyone who mentions 
them speaks of their extreme resemblance to seeds. ‘‘ Goldie 
has suggested that this is for the purpose of deceiving Ichneu- 
mons; it is, however, on record that the eggs are actually 
destroyed by Ichneumons.” Not only do the eggs have a history 
like that of seeds, and resemble them in appearance, but their 
capsule, in minute structure, greatly resembles vegetable tissue.§ 
Again he states :—‘‘ The egg of a Phasmid has not only a general 
resemblance in size, shape, colour, and external texture to a seed, 
but the anatomical characters of certain seeds are reproduced on 


* “The Colours of Animals,’ p. 246. 

+ J. W. Tutt, ‘British Moths,’ pp. 61-2. 

{ Ibid. p. 91.—The italics are our own. ‘“ Practical entomologists,” in 
the struggle for existence, and in the sense here meant, naturally includes 
the insect’s enemies, whose sustenance depends upon their practical know- 
ledge. 

§ ‘Cambridge Nat. Hist.’ vol, v. p. 265, 


456 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


the external surface, there being a hilar area, a hilar scar, and a 
capitulum corresponding to the micropylar caruncle of such 
seeds as those of the castor-oil plant (Ricinus communis).”* The 
eggs of Phylltum crurifolum are a case in point. Henneguy 
states “that a prominent lozenge on the egg represents the 
surface by which the achene of an umbelliferous plant is united 
to the column, and that the micropyles are placed on this lozenge. 
As regards the egg-capsule, the same writer observes :—“ Almost 
every botanist, on examining for the first time a section of this 
capsule, would declare that he is looking at a vegetable pre- 
paration.”’ t 
In Plant-life the same suggestions occur. The bladderworts 
(Utricularié) are carnivorous, and capture small crustaceans, 
larve of gnats, &c., by the aid of small bladders with orifices 
closed in each case by a valve, which permits objects to penetrate 
into the cavity of the bladder, but not to issue out of it. ‘“ The 
bladders of Utricularia, living in still water, look delusively like 
certain Ostracoda, especially species of the genus Daphnia. The 
bladder itself resembles the shell-covered body in size and form, 
and the bristles the antenne and swimmerets of one of these 
crustaceans.’ { Small crustaceans are probably thus allured to 
their own destruction, and the bladderworts exhibit ‘‘ aggressive 
mimicry.’ In the ‘ Botanical Gazette’ for April, 1896, an in- 
teresting case ascribed to mimicry is described. The seeds of 
the ‘“‘Philippine Island bean, from the coast near Manila, so 
closely resemble the quartz pebbles among which they fall, in 
shape, size, colour, lustre, hardness, and stratification, as to be in- 
distinguishable from them except by a very close examination.” § 
Sometimes we read accounts of assimilative colouration, where 

it is difficult to see the raison d’étre, if mimicry is propounded. 
Such an instance is given by Mr. Nicholas Pike :—“ On my first 
visit to Round Island ” (near Mauritius), “I captured a Scorpion 
of a bright green, just the colour of the leaves of the Jubea palm 
it was disporting on. The creature was very active and defiant, 
and it was with difficulty I caught him.”|| 

* In ‘Zool. Results of Arthur Willey Exped.’ pt. i. p. 78. 

+ ‘Cambridge Nat. Hist.’ vol. v. p. 271. 

} Kerner and Oliver, ‘Nat. Hist. Plants,’ vol. i. p. 122. 


§ ‘ Nature,’ vol. liv. p. 106. 
|| ‘ Sub-Tropical Rambles,’ p. 162, 


MIMICRY. 457 


As proving the great caution which is necessary before dog- 
matically asserting anything more than “ suggested or probable 
mimicry” with reference to the preceding instances of simulative 
resemblances in animals and plants, it may be well to record 
some cases of what may be considered as 


Suggestive but Disputed or Mistaken Mimicry. 


Prof. Semper, when staying in the Balearic Islands, found 
among the polypes of a coral (Cladocora cespitosa) Annelids be- 
longing to the genus Myzicola, which lived in long mucilaginous 
tubes which they had formed in the rifts of the coral. ‘As long 
as no light was thrown upon them they protruded themselves just 
so far as that the top rim of the corona of tentacles was on a level 
with the tentacles of the polyps, so that the worm and the polyps 
were both extended ; the coral itself presented a perfectly level 
surface of cups. Moreover, the funnels of Myzxicola were of 
precisely the same chocolate-brown colour as the polyps; and, 
when fully extended, the interior of the funnel formed by the 
tentacles looked exactly like the oval disc of one-of the neigh- 
bouring polyps, for the radial pinnules were in the same position 
as those lines which, on the oval disc of the polyp, radiate towards 
the narrow centra! oval slit; in the Myxicola a small central slit 
was observable, and all the parts which corresponded so exactly 
in size and position also displayed exactly the same colouring of 
greenish grey, with radial lines of a lighter hue and a narrow. 
white streak in the middle. In short, the resemblance in size, 
position, and colour of every part of the two creatures was so 
perfect that for a long time I took the corona of the Annelid for 
a polyp, until, by an accidental blow, I caused all the Myzicole 
of a large coral-stock to shrink suddenly into their tubes, though 
it was not severe enough to induce an equally rapid movement in 
the polyps of the apathetic Cladocora.” At the time the Professor 
“felt an almost childish delight at having detected so flagrant an 
instance of protective mimicry,’ but soon found reason to doubt 
this interpretation of the facts. He subsequently found a marine 
Sponge in which hundreds of this same Myzicola were living, 
but the Sponge was coloured very differently from the Annelida, 
so that no protection was offered. Seeking it in other spots, he 
found the Myxicola almost everywhere, ‘‘on the rifts of rocks 


458 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


and in the sand, between marine plants, or the tubes of other 
worms”; and, whenever he examined it closely, ‘‘ it was exactly 
of the size and colour of the polyps of Cladocora cespitosa.” As 
Prof. Semper concludes, “‘Mimicry, it is plain, is out of the 
question ; the resemblance between the two creatures is simply 
and wholly accidental.”’* The second illustration is from the pen 
of Mr. Trimen, so well known for his entomological advocacy of 
the claims of mimicry, and who describes a most remarkable 
instance which came to his notice in connection with the pupa of 
Papilio lyeus. He received from a correspondent a small box 
containing what he took at the first glance for three ordinary 
green chrysalids of that butterfly. Only one of these objects, 
however, was a veritable chrysalis, the two others being the seed- 
capsules of a plant stated to be a species of Hakea. ‘‘ The tint 
of green, the general lateral outline (especially the bulging ventral 
convexity of the wing-covers), the projections of the bifid head, 
the attenuated form of the posterior abdomen and anal extremity, 
and even the slight ferruginous tips of the projections of the head, 
are all reproduced in the seed-capsules to a very deceptive extent.” 
The chrysalis was found ‘“‘in the neighbourhood of a hedge of 
the Hakea, and if this plant had been a native of South Africa it 
can scarcely be questioned that a strong case of mimicry would 
readily have been admitted by observers. As a recent intro- 
duction from Australia, however, it is clear that Hakea cannot 
have been the model for the pupa of a Papilio of a specially 
African group.’+ Mr. Belt, so well known for his excellent 
observations in support of mimicry, gives us another warning 
against guessing conclusions. ‘‘Ant-like Spiders have been 
noticed throughout Tropical America, and also in Africa. The 
use that the deceptive resemblance is to them has been explained 
to be the facility it affords them for approaching Ants, on which 
they prey. I am convinced that this explanation is incorrect so 
far as the Central American species are concerned. Ants, and 
especially the stinging species, are, so far as my experience goes, 
not preyed upon by any other insects. No disguise need be 
adopted to approach them, as they are so bold that they are more 
likely to attack the Spider than a Spider them. Neither have 
* ¢ Animal Life,’ pp. 402-3. 
+ ‘South African Butterflies,’ vol. iii. p. 241, note. 


MIMICRY. 459 


they wings to escape by flying, and generally go in large bodies 
easily found and approached.” Mr. Belt, however, concludes 
that the Spider is thus protected against the attacks of small 
insectivorous birds.* Subsequently, however, Mr. Herbert H. 
Smith has reaffirmed what Mr. Belt denied—“ the Spiders eat 
the Ants,” and ‘‘they eat the particular Ants which they mimic. 
At all events, we verify this fact in a great number of cases, and 
we never find the Spiders eating any but the mimicked species.” + 
Dr. Scharff thinks ‘‘ that the colours of Slugs in Ireland are at 
all ages, as a rule, protective’’;{ while Mr. Adams is inclined to 
think “that climate may be a factor in the matter.” He has 
“taken more brilliant forms, and those more abundantly in the 
South of England (where the climate is warmer), than in the 
North.” Again, ‘“‘all along the south coasts of England and 
Wales, Cardigan Bay, and the west coast of the Isle of Man, and 
the north coast of Ireland (all of which are noted for a mild 
climate), I have taken coloured forms abundantly ; while on the 
coasts of Lancashire and North Wales, and the east coast of 
England from the Thames to the Tees (where the climate is 
more bracing), I have no personal records for anything but the 
type. § 

In plant-life such resemblances are not uncommon. In para- 
-sitic fungi “the fructification of Polyporus betulinus strongly 
resembles the whitish bark of the birch, and that of P. fomen- 
tarius, parasitic on old beech trees, exhibits the same pale grey 
as does the trunk of a beech.’ || There is a butterfly common in 
certain parts of the Argentine which Dr. Seitz at first mistook for 
the European Vanessa (Araschnia) levana, so closely does it 
resemble that butterfly in colour, in the notching of the wings, 


* ‘The Naturalist in Nicaragua,’ pp. 314-5. 

+ ‘Brazil, the Amazons, and the Coast,’ p. 228. 

t ‘Slugs of Ireland,’ p. 554. 

§ ‘Coll. Man. Brit. Land and Freshwater Shells,’ 2nd edit. p. 23. 

|| Kerner and Oliver, ‘ Nat. Hist Plants,’ vol. i. p. 166. 

The genus Volucella comprise large flies which mimic Humble-Bees in 
colour and form. As observed by Mr. Pocock: ‘‘It was long supposed that 
the females were thus enabled with impunity to enter the nests of Humble- 
Bees, and lay their eggs amongst those of the proper owners.’ But these 
mimics of Humble-Bees also “‘ visit for the same purpose the nests of Wasps, 
to which the flies bear no particular resemblance.” 


460 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


and in other ways. Moreover, there is a variety of this form 
which is in the same way exceedingly like the form prorsa. A 
closer examination of the insect showed that it did not belong to 
this species at all, or even to the same genus; it is a member of 
another genus, Phyciodes. “If,” says Dr. Seitz, ‘these were 
found in our country, no one would doubt that this was a case of 
mimicry as perfect as any which exists.” It might be suggested 
that it is a case of mimicry, but the mimicking and mimicked 
forms have each gone their own way, one migrating to one 
country, and one to another; they might possibly at one time 
have both lived in North America, and later on separated, one 
going south and the other east, crossing over into Asia by way of 
Behring’s Strait. Such an explanation would be, as Dr. Seitz 
points out, entirely contrary to what is known of the distribution 
of these insects; for the genus Araschnia is absolutely confined 
to the Old World, and Phyciodes to the New World.* Of course 
it may be contended that the case does not apply, as it 1s an 
integral axiom in the theory of mimicry that the mimicker and 
the mimicked must, and are, always found together in the same 
part of the world, or that one of them may have become extinct. 
But here we see the phenomenon can be observed in widely sepa- 
rated habitats, and in birds one cannot help being amazed at the 
great superficial resemblance between the Secretary Vulture 
(Serpentarius secretarius) of South Africa, and the Brazilian 
Seriema (Cariama cristata). 

Mr. J. H. Gurney has given twenty cases, ‘‘ On the tendency 
in Birds to resemble other Species’’:—‘‘On three occasions 
adult males of our British Sparrow-Hawk (Accipiter nisus) have 
been shot in this country, which so far resembled the South 
African (A. rufiventris, Smith) as to have the breast and under 
parts a clear rufous without any transverse bands (cf. ‘ Ibis,’ 
1893, p. 846). Buzzards which were indistinguishable from the 
rufous North African Buzzard (Buteo desertorum) have been killed 
in England three or four times (cf. ‘ Ibis,’ 1889, p. 574). . . . In 
1861 an example of Picus major, our Greater Spotted Wood- 
pecker, obtained in Shetland, varied so as a little to resemble 
P. leuconotus, the White-backed Woodpecker, and was even 
figured as such in Gould’s ‘ Birds of Great Britain.’ . . . Snipes 


* Cf, Beddard, ‘ Animal Coloration,’ 2nd edit. p. 47. 


MIMICRY. 461 


have twice been shot which presented some of the characters of 
the American Gallinago wilsoni.’’* 

In Southern Africa the Anhinga (Plotus levaillanti, Licht.) 
affords a mimicry which is apparently purposeless. Le Vaillant 
himself, its discoverer, states:—‘‘ Indeed, there is no person 
who, upon seeing the head and neck only of an Anhinga, while 
the rest of the body is hid among the foliage of the tree on which 
it is perched, would not take it for one of those serpents accus- 
tomed to climb and reside in trees, and the mistake is so much 
the easier, as all its tortuous motions singularly favour the 
illusion.” t This bird swims so low in the water that only its 
neck is to be seen; and, from observations in Natal, Mr. Ayres 
says that ‘“‘in this position the bird might easily be taken, by 
those unacquainted with it, for a Water-snake.”’ t 

According to Dr. Bowdler Sharpe, one of the most interesting 
of all birds is the Common Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus), not the 
least remarkable feature in its conformation being its great 
similarity to a Hawk, as not only shown by its colour and form, 
but also by its mode of flight, and which is so marked that the 
bird is always mobbed by smaller birds, as if it was really a 
Hawk.§ Jefferies, who excelled as an observer, was clearly not 
of this opinion, and he thus writes on the subject :—‘* The Cuckoo 
flies so much like the Hawk, and so resembles it, as at the first 
glance to be barely distinguishable; but on watching more 
closely it will be seen that the Cuckoo flies straight and level, 
with a gentle fluttering of the wings, which never seem to come 
forward ; so that in outline he resembles a crescent, the convex 
side in front. His tail appears longer in proportion, and more 
pointed; his flight is like that of a very large Swallow flying 
straight.’’|| Again he remarks that birds “ will pursue a Cuckoo 
exactly as they will a Hawk,” but adds:—‘“I will not say that 

* Trans. Norf. and Norw. Nat. Soe.’ vol. vi. pp. 241-243. 

+ ‘New Trav. Int. Parts Africa,’ Engl. transl. vol. i. pp. 181-2. 

t Cf. Layard’s ‘ Birds of S. Africa,’ Sharpe’s edit. p. 783. 

§ ‘Royal Nat. Hist.’ vol. iv. p. 8.—It was a saying of Goethe that ‘there 
was a time when the study of natural history was so much behindhand that 
the opinion was universally spread that the Cuckoo was a Cuckoo only in 
summer, but in winter a bird of prey.” (‘ Conversations of Goethe,’ Engl. 


transl. new edit. p. 295.) 
| ‘ Wild Life in a Southern County,’ p. 252. 


462 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


that is because they mistake it for a Hawk, for the longer I 
observe the more I am convinced that birds and animals often 
act from causes quite distinct from those which at first sight 
appears sufficient to account for their motions.’* The dread 
experienced by small birds for their larger brethren of prey is 
probably open to qualification, for Gilbert White tells us of a 
Swallow who “built its nest on the wings and body of an Owl 
that happened by accident to hang dead and dry from the rafters 
of a barn.” t 

As with ‘‘ mimicry,” so the theory of ‘‘ warning colours” may 
be hastily predicated. Among Flatworms in the terricolous 
Triclads or Land Planarians, some species “‘are frequently banded 
or striped with brilliant colours. Geoplana cerulea, Mos., has a 
blue ventral surface, and is olive-green or dark Prussian blue 
above. G. splendens, Dendy, is marked dorsally by three stripes 
of emerald-green alternating with four dark brown longitudinal 
bands. The mode of colouration, though somewhat variable, is 
an important specific character. Its significance, however, is not 
clearly understood. ‘The colours may be a warning signal, as 
some Geoplana at least are disagreeable to the taste of man and 
some birds; but since Land Planarians are largely nocturnal 
animals, living by day under logs, banana-leaves, and in other 
moist and dark situations, this explanation is clearly insufficient.”’} 
Among the Polychaete Worms the same caution is necessary. 
“Carnivorous forms like Amphinomids and Syllids present as 
wide a range of tint as the limnivorous forms, like Cirratulus, 
Sabella, or Maldanids. Shore-lovers and deep-sea dwellers and 
surface-swimmers all exhibit equally bright or equally sombre 
tints ; it is therefore difficult and rash to dogmatise on the ‘ use’ 
of these colourings to these animals, or to point to this worm 
as being protectively, to the other as being warningly, coloured ; 
for we are too ignorant as to the habits of the worms.’’§ 

As we record instances of what appear only capable of being 
ascribed to ‘‘suggestive but mistaken mimicry,” we meet with 
natural resemblances which seem to fall under a category of 


’ 


* € Wild Life in a Southern County,’ p. 265. 

+ ‘Nat. Hist. Selborne’ (Harting’s edit.), p. 194. 

| IF. W. Gamble, ‘Cambridge Nat. Hist.’ vol. i. p. 33. 
§ W. Blaxland Benham, zbed. p. 293. 


MIMICRY. 463 


Purposeless Mimicry. 


Some orchids have a curious resemblance to insects, after 
which they have accordingly been named the Bee-orchis, Fly- 
orchis, Butterfly-orchis, &c., but it has not yet been satisfactorily 
shown what advantage the resemblance is to the plant.* The 
fungi, known by the name of club-tops, much-branched, flesh- 
coloured, yellow or white Clavarie, which often adorn whole 
tracts of ground in a wood, imitate the structure of corals; 
Hydnee are like Sea-urchins, and Geaster like a Starfish, whilst 
the various species of T'remella, Exidia, and Guepinia, which are 
flesh-pink, orange, or brownish in colour, and the white trans- 
lucent Tremellodon gelatinosum, resemble gelatinous Sponges. 
The small stiff Toadstools (Marasmius) which raise their slender 
stalks on fallen pine-needles, remind one of the rigid Acetabu- 
larie. Other Toadstools, with flat or convex caps exhibiting 
concentric bands and stripes, such as the different species of 
Craterellus, have an appearance similar to the salt-water alga 
known by the name of Padina. Dark species of Geoglossum 
imitate the brown Fucoidee; and one may fancy the red warts 
of Lycogala epidendron, a plasmoid fungus inhabiting the rotten 
wood of dead weather-beaten trees, to be red Sea-anemones with 


their tentacles drawn in, clinging to grey rocks. However far- 
e 

* Sir John Lubbock. ‘The Beauties of Nature,’ p. 156.—On this point it 
may be mentioned that Father Kircher, in his Mundus Subterraneus, pub- 
lished in Amsterdam in 1678, ‘‘ depicted the genesis of birds, apes, and men 
by means of the transformation of some orchids. He had been struck with 
the resemblance of these strange flowers to many animals, and therefore 
concluded that the latter were derived from the former.” (Cf. Varigny, 
‘Experimental Evolution,’ p. 14.)—Per contra, examples abound of men, 
who, undoubtedly authorities on their own subject, needlessly give them- 
selves away by ludicrous comments on matters of which they are absolutely 
ignorant. An amusing instance of this may be found in W. Day’s well-known 
book ‘The Racehorse in Training.’ The author of this book, thoroughly 
versed in his own business, having passed through the stages of an accom- 
plished jockey, a successful trainer, and an astute owner, in discussing the 
evils of ‘‘ sweating”’ horses, which he ascribes to ‘‘ theory,” points the moral 
of his tale by alluding to other theories, not excluding that of Mr. Darwin. 
We are treated to the following effusion :—‘‘ We have Mr. Darwin’s theory, 
arising out of Lord Monboddo’s idea. His lordship said over a century ago, 
‘that in some countries the human species have tails like other beasts, and 
traces Monkeys up to men.’” (‘The Racehorse in Training,’ 5th edit. p. 90.) 


464 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


fetched this comparision between the two localities may seem at 
first sight, everyone who has had an opportunity of thoroughly 
observing the characteristic forms of vegetable and animal life in 
woods, and at the bottom of the sea, will inevitably be convinced 
of its accuracy.* Again, in primitive plant life (Thallophyta), in 
the family Caulerpacee, ‘‘the genus Caulerpa contains nearly one 
hundred species, which present the most varied external forms, 
simulating those of many of the higher plants, such as Mosses, 
Ferns, Mare’s-tails, Cactuses, Conifers, &c.”’ + It has been sug- 
gested that some of the seeds of Huphorbiacce, notably those of 
the Castor-oil plant (Ricinus), resemble beetles, and, as such, 
inay be mistaken by birds and carried a small distance before 
being dropped. This seems very doubtful. Ricinus seeds and 
those of Para Rubber (Hevea braziliensis), which resemble them 
on a large scale, are ejected explosively from their capsules to a 
distance quite sufficient for their dispersal, and falling, as they 
constantly do, among the herbage, would certainly escape most 
insect-eating birds.{ 

Fishes of the family Pomacentride, belonging to the spiny- 
finned division, which frequent the neighbourhood of coral reefs 
and islands, and thus closely resemble the scaly-finned fishes, 
Chetodonts, in their mode of life, also are very similarly and 
beautifully coloured. But in the opinion of Dr. Gunther this is 
one of many instances showing that the colouration is due to a 
great extent to “‘the agencies of climate, of the surroundings, 
and of the habits of animals.’ § 


Actwe Mimicry. 

Another and very important distinction to be drawn when 
dealing with instances of mimicry and protective resemblance is 
one long since pointed out by Kirby and Spence, and one that 
demands the utmost. consideration. To use the words of the 
teleological authors of the immortal ‘Introduction to Entomology,’ 
there are Passive means of defence, such as are independent of 
any efforts of the insect; and Active means of defence, such as 


** Kerner and Oliver, ‘ Nat. Hist. Plants,’ vol. i. p. 112. 
+ Ibid. vol. ii. p. 645. 

; H. M. Ridley, ‘ Nat. Science,’ vol. viii. p. 196. 

§ ‘Introd. Study Fishes,’ p. 524. 


» 


MIMICRY. 465 


result from certain efforts of the insect, in the employment of 
those instincts and instruments with which Providence has fur- 
nished it for this purpose.* Thus, in a little book on British 
Hawk Moths, the writer states that some of these insects ‘‘ seem 
to put all their trust in a resemblance they may bear to some 
natural object, which by a wonderful and unerring instinct they 
seldom fail to find.” + Many of the illustrations given by authors 
of protective resemblances and mimicry are “ passive,” and con- 
sidered as the result of natural selection, slowly accentuating and 
perpetuating the current of variation that makes for protection, 
and of which, on every philosophical consideration, the animal 
thus evolved can have no consciousness, beyond a more or less 
habit of adaptation to its environment; in fact, a Cartesian would 
say the whole phenomenon was indicative of animal automatism. 
But it is open to strong suggestion that this is only one, and a 
subordinate phase of the phenomenon, and that animals of their 
own volition, and in their efforts to avoid their enemies, place 
themselves where possible in such adaptation to their surround- 
ings, that protective resemblance and some forms of mimicry are 
due to animal intelligence, and not so entirely to what is generally 
understood as the unconscious process of natural selection. 
Mr. Coe has also affirmed that ‘‘there is an enormous amount 
of evidence, which shows that animals are conscious of the pro- 
tection afforded by colour, and that they assist the ‘ disguises’ 
which arise from their likeness to inanimate objects by their own 
intelligence and contrivance.’§ Thus Mr. Wakefield Richardson 
has recently recorded an observation he made by which a Wren 

* © Introd. Entomology,’ 2nd edit. p. 404.—Prof. Henslow has also quite 
recently remarked ‘‘ that there appears to be two distinct kinds of mimicry: 
(1) automatic and unconscious; (2) brought about by conscious action of the 
creature.” (‘Journ. Roy. Horticultural Soe.’ xxiii. p. 28 (1899).) 

+ W. J. Lueas, ‘ Book of Brit. Hawk Moths,’ p. 13. 

{ Col. Pollok has suggested an excellent example of limited intelligence 
in the Tiger :—‘‘ All Deer possess an acute sense of smell, and against it a 
Tiger has to contend before he can provide his larder with game; but how 
does he manage it? We cannot give him the credit of the intellect of man, 
who, in pursuit of game, is well aware nothing can be done down wind. 
Were it.so, not a Sambur or Deer would be left alive. The Tiger would bag 
them all just as he pleased,—in fact, he would then be able to kill any Deer 
when he wanted it.” (‘ Zoologist,’ 1898, p. 155.) 

§ ‘Nature versws Natural Selection,’ p. 171. 


Zool. 4th ser. vol. III., October, 1899. 2H 


466 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


supplied the insect food required for her young by carrying the 
excrements of the nestlings, as is the habit of some birds, and 
placing them with great care on different parts of a thorn bush. 
‘‘ Apparently she had placed them thus to attract the flies, for 
each time she alighted on the bush she visited several, picking 
off the flies until she had enough to take back to her young.” * 
This may surely be taken as an instance of aggressive mimicry, 
consciously or actively pursued. According to Mr. Matthias 
Dunn, “‘ Some fishes have such power. over their own appearance 
that when they like they can change the colour of their skin in 
keeping with their surroundings. I have seen Surmullets, when 
going from the brown sand to the dark rocks, quickly change 
from one colour to the other, and I know of about forty other 
fishes which can do the like in more or less time.”’+ On this 
statement a writer has recorded that, in 1898 in the Aquarium at 
Concarneau, in Brittany, Turbot were seen “that gradually 
assumed the colour of the sand in which they were placed; so 
much so that it required a very keen eye to detect them lying at 
the bottom of the tank.” = Another writer has more recently 
remarked, in discussing “‘the beautiful and protective resem- 
biance”’ which: some insects ‘‘ bear to their surroundings,” that 
there can be no doubt that such species “ possess an inherited 
and instinctive knowledge of this assimilation, and select such 
places as a protection against their natural enemies.” § Of course 
the suggestion of active mimicry must not be made too absolute. 
Thus Mr. Storrs Fox has proposed a very reasonable hypo- 


* ¢ Wield,’ July 29th, 1899, p. 227. Cf. also Dr. John Lowe, ‘ Zoologist,’ 
1896, pp. 1-10, as to habits of both Blackcap and Garden Warbler at 
Teneriffe. 

+ ‘Contemporary Review,’ vol. lxxvi. pp. 202-3. This observation has 
a distinct reference to what we previously discussed as ‘‘ Assimilative 
Colouration,” which cannot be divorced from the consideration of the theory 
of ‘* Mimicry.” 

{ J. G. in ‘Westminster Gazette,’ Aug. 10th, 1899.—A blind fish, accor- 
ding to the observation of Pouchet, is unable to respond to the colour of its 
surroundings.” (Cf. Blake, ‘Journ. Roy. Horticultural Soe.’ xxi. p. 24, 
1899.) Prof. Henslow has given an analogous case in which the eyes of 
Shrimps had been covered, and the result was that ‘‘these Shrimps were not 
coloured like the normal ones, in imitation of their surroundings.” (bid. 
p. 28.) 

§ T. B. Jefferys, ‘ Entomologist,’ vol. xxxi. p. 241. 


MIMICRY. 467 


thesis that supposing certain caterpillars not very particular as 
to their food, either Elm, Lime, Birch, &c., and further assuming 
that such caterpillars were more easily overlooked on Birch by 
resembling the catkins of that tree, then those broods which fed 
on trees other than Birch would be most likely to be devoured 
by enemies, and so gradually a race would grow up which 
invariably fed on Birch.* 

The active mimicry here discussed does not deal with the 
mimicking by birds of the songs of their fellows. This imitative 
faculty had been recorded of birds in captivity by Aristotle. But 
in a state of nature the same thing occurs. Mr. Butterfield has 
narrated his having heard a Whinchat, a bird of no extensive 
vocal capacity, imitate ‘“‘in quick succession the song of the Wren, 
Song Thrush, Chaffinch, Corn Bunting, Tree Pipit, Greenfinch, 
and Starling.” + Mr. Riley Fortune has known the Starling to 
give perfect imitation of the cries of the Sparrow, Lapwing, 
Golden Plover, Chaffinch, Blackbird, Yellowhammer, Thrush, 
Jackdaw, Swallow, and many other birds.{ Prof. Lloyd Morgan 
is of opinion that ‘‘ mimetic activities are due to a mimetic im- 
pulse. Some of them are probably involuntary and due to connate 
impulse; but others are certainly due to intelligent imitation.’’§ 
Thus Lumholtz, in Queensland, observed the mental process in 
the Lotus-bird (Parra gallinacea): ‘‘ The grown bird is not shy, 
but the young are extremely timid. I had once or twice seen the 
old birds with young, but as soon as I approached them the 
young always disappeared, while the old birds walked about 
fearlessly, as if there was no danger. It long remained a mystery 
to me how they could conceal themselves so well and so long, but 
one day the problem was solved. An old bird came walking with 
two young ones near shore. I hid behind a tree and let them 
come close to me. As I suddenly made my appearance, the 
small ones dived under the water and held themselves fast to the 
bottom, while I watched them for a quarter of an hour before 


* Hxtr. MS. Lecture to the Bakewell U. E. Students’ Association. 

+ ‘ Zoologist,’ 1877, p. 384.—Mr. Godfrey in these pages (ante, p. 267) 
has also corroborated this bird’s power of mimicry. 

t ‘Ornithology in relation to Agriculture and Horticulture’ (1898), 
p- 142. 

§ ‘ Natural Science,’ vol. vi. p. 328. 


2H2 


468 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


taking them up.” * The difficulty in cognizing the phenomenon 
of active mimicry is no greater than that experienced in endea- 
vouring to explain the derivation, or evolution, of active means 
of defence, in fact it is much less formidable; for it is easy to 
comprehend even from our own experience that concealment is 
frequently a need, and is an art capable of cultivation and im- 
provement. But many of the means of animal defence are in 
themselves almost inscrutable; we see the weapon used, but 
cannot account for its present existence. Natural selection may 
explain the improvement and survival of such useful organs, but 
their origin is still obscure. We will briefly allude to a few in 
order to make our comparison clear. ‘The Horned Lizard 
(Phrynosoma sp.), commonly known as the ‘ Californian Toad,” 
possesses the power of ejecting jets of blood from the eyes, 
apparently as a means of defence. The Sand Shrimp (Crangon 
vulgaris) can suddenly raise a perfect cloud of fine sand round 
itself—‘‘ firing, so to speak, a ‘broadside for the sake of the 
smoke,’ and literally throwing dust in the eyes of his enemies.” Tt 
The well-known instance of the ‘‘ Cuttle-fish,”’ which is able to 
discharge its inky secretion, and escape, ike a diplomatist, in 
the darkness thus effected, is another illustration, as is also the 
Bombardier Beetle (Pheropsophus sp.), which when caught ex- 
plodes its abdominal artillery, producing sound, smoke, and pain 
alike. The larva of the Puss Moth (Cerura vinula) can squirt a 
fluid—formic acid—when handled.{ The common Partridge will 
‘feign itself wounded and run along the ground fluttering and 
crying before either dog or man, to draw them away from its 
helpless unfledged young ones.’’§ Sometimes the indications of 
intelligent action may be almost inappreciable to our untrained 
cognitions in animal psychology, but even then the loosely used, 
and still more vaguely understood term, instinct, would have to 
be apphed. At other times volition seems to be influenced by 
environment. Humboldt relates that “in the Missions of the 
Orinoco, and on the banks of the river Amazon, the Indians who 


* Among Cannibals,’ p. 23. 

+ W. B. Lord, ‘ Crab, Shrimp, and Lobster Lore,’ p. 74. 

J, W. Tutt, ‘ British Moths,’ p. 101. 

Gilbert White and Markwick, ‘ Nat. Hist. Selborne,’ Harting’s edition, 


LS cor ++ 


p.3 


MIMICRY. 469 


catch Monkeys to sell them, know very well that they can easily 
succeed in taming those which inhabit certain islands; while 
Monkeys of the same species, caught on the neighbouring con- 
tinent, die of terror or rage when they find themselves in the 
power of man. The Crocodiles of one lake in the llanos are 
cowardly, and flee even when in the water; whilst those of 
another lake will attack with extreme intrepidity. It would be 
difficult to explain this difference of disposition and habits by the 
mere aspect of the respective localities. The Sharks of the port 
of La Guayra seem to furnish an analogous example. They are 
dangerous and bloodthirsty at the island opposite the coast of 
Caracas, at the Roques, at Bonayre, and at Curassao; while they 
forbear to attack persons swimming in the ports of La Guayra and 
Santa Martha.”’* According to Hudson, the Puma possesses ‘‘ a 
unique instinct of friendliness for man,” though it violently 
attacks other large Carnivora, and is, within the tropics, “a 
great hunter and eater of Monkeys, which of all animals most 
resemble men.’ + Another instance is the “ dying-places” of the 
Guanaco (Lama guanacus) at the southern extremity of Pata- 
gonia, as recorded by Darwin, Fitzroy, and Hudson. That 
young Haddock should frequent deep water, and the young Cod 
seek the inshore water, ‘(is one of those mysteries it is difficult 
to unravel.” { The Apron (Aspro vulgaris), a freshwater fish 
belonging to the family Percide, according to Prof. Seeley, “lives 
at the bottom, and comes to the surface only in bad weather 
with a north or west wind, when other fishes take refuge at the 
bottom.” § 

Many actions of animals of a peculiar, constant, and distinc- 
tive character seem quite purposeless. This is particularly 
striking in the account given of the habits of the two species of 
African Rhinoceros (R. simus and R. bicornis). The calf of 
R. simus “always runs in front of the cow, while the calf of 
R. bicornis invariably follows its mother; this habit never 
varies.” Again, R. bicornis, after dropping its dung, “ proceeds 


* ‘Personal Narrative,’ Bohn’s edit. vol. i. p. 377. 
+ ‘The Naturalist in La Plata,’ pp. 48-9. 
t Cf. McIntosh, ‘Fifteenth Annual Report of the Fishery Board of 


Scotland,’ p. 207. 
§ ‘The Freshwater Fishes of Europe,’ p. 48, 


470 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


to stamp upon the dung and to tear and dig up the ground in 
the immediate vicinity, so that there is absolutely no chance of 
anyone missing the place where a R. bicornis has spent the day. 
R. simus, however, leaves his dung alone, and does not trample 
and scatter it about; moreover, he is conservative in these 
matters; he always drops his dung in one place until he has 
raised a huge heap, then he starts the same operation in another 
place, and so on.”’* In Patagonia, the Guanaco has somewhat 
similar habits. Cunningham writes :—‘‘ Darwin has commented 
on the singular habit which they possess of depositing their drop- 
pings on successive days in the same defined heap, and this I have 
likewise frequently observed.”+ According to Romanes, “ The 
dusting over of their excrements by certain freely roaming carni- 
vora; the choice by certain herbivora of particular places on which 
to void their urine, or in which to die; the howling of Wolves at 
the moon; purring of Cats, &c., under pleasurable emotions ; 
and sundry other hereditary actions of the same apparently un- 
meaning kind, all admit of being readily accounted for as useless 
habits originally acquired in various ways, and afterwards per- 
petuated by heredity, because not sufficiently deleterious to have 
been stamped out by natural selection.” { 


** Coryndon, ‘Proc. Zool. Soc.’ 1894, pp. 881-2.—Col. Pollok relates a 
similar practice of the Indian Rhinoceros (R. wnicornis) :—* Whilst it re- 
mains in a locality it will deposit its ordure only on one spot, and visits it 
for that purpose once when it commences feeding at night, and again before 
leaving off soon after daybreak.” (‘ Zoologist,’ 1898, p. 173.) 

+ ‘Nat. Hist. Straits Magellan,’ p. 109. 

{ ‘Darwin and after Darwin,’ vol. ii. p. 89. For further treatment on 
this topic, cf. same author’s ‘Mental Evolution in Animals,’ pp. 274-285, 
378-9, 381-3. 


(To be continued.) 


C471) 


THE MODE IN WHICH BATS SECURE 
LHEIR PBEY. 


By CHARLES OLDHAM. 


OBSERVATIONS made during the past few months have to a 
great extent confirmed my suggestion (ante, p. 51) that the 
method adopted by the Whiskered Bat (Myotis mystacinus) and 
the Long-eared Bat (Plecotus auritus) to secure their prey was 
common to other species. ‘This curious habit seems to be little 
known, or, if noticed at all, to have been misunderstood,* and is 
so remarkable that a further description of it, even at the expense 
of repetition, will, I trust, be forgiven. 

When walking, most of our British Bats carry the tail curved 
downward and forward beneath the body, the interfemoral mem- 
brane forming a pouch or bag. If a moth or other large insect 
be encountered, the Bat seizes it with a rapid snatch, slightly 
spreading its fore limbs with the wings still folded, and, pressing 
them firmly on the ground at the carpus in order to steady itself, 
brings its feet forward in order to increase the capacity of the 
pouch, into which, by bending its neck and thrusting its head 
beneath its body, it pushes its prey. If the moth be a large one 
the Bat often struggles convulsively for a few seconds before it 
can adjust its grip to its satisfaction ; but once in the pouch the 
insect rarely escapes, and, when effectually secured, is brought 
out and eaten openly. If the Bat can be induced to feed whilst 
hanging head downwards, suspended by its toes, its actions can be 
observed much more easily. Its tactics are then more efficacious, 
as the tail is not pressed close to the belly, and the pouch is in 
consequence held open, as it would be, of course, during flight. 

This habit, practised readily and frequently in captivity, is so 
perfect an adaptation of means to an end that it must obtain with 
equal frequency among Bats in a free state. These creatures, 

* In Bell’s ‘British Quadrupeds,’ 2nd edit. p. 64, Daubenton’s Bat is 
described as thrusting its nose more or less downwards under its breast in 


feeding; and in ‘ The Zoologist,’ 1890, p. 99, a captive Pipistrelle is said to 
have beaten moths against its breast to stun them, 


472, THE ZOOLOGIST. 


when at large, capture most, if not all, of their food during flight 
—I have known a captive Long-eared Bat to remain on the wing 
for over an hour at one time—and it seems in the highest degree 
probable that they habitually use this method to secure insects 
which are large and vigorous, and therefore difficult to manage, 
without being compelled to alight. 

One species at any rate has actually been observed to use the 
interfemoral membrane as a pouch when on the wing. My friend 
Mr. J. R. B. Masefield writes, under date March Ist; 1899 :-— 
“T have no doubt whatever that the Long-eared Bat makes use 
of the interfemoral pouch in the way you mention. I have been 
close to them when picking moths off sallows, and the Bat always 
hovers when taking off the moth, and bends up the tail so as to 
form a receptacle for the insect as it drops. As you know, the 
sallow-feeding Noctue (Teniocampa gothica, stabilis, instabilis, 
cruda, &c.) all drop immediately the flower or bush is touched or 
shaken, and thus the head of the Bat and the interfemoral pouch 
form a trap from which the moth cannot escape. When feeding 
in captivity I have often seen this Bat, as soon as it had seized a 
moth, sit, as it were, on its tail and double up its head in the way 
you describe. The Long-eared Bat does not always succeed in 
holding a large moth at the first snap, and this is an additional 
argument in favour of your theory.” A Long-eared Bat which I 
found in the old copper-mines on Alderley Edge, and kept for 
some days in February last, used always to thrust moths 
(Scotosia dubitata and Gonoptera libatrix) into its pouch, but 
only treated mealworms in this manner when they struggled 
violently, seizing and eating them at other times quite openiy. 

In July and August I caught several examples of Daubenton’s 
Bat (Myotis daubentoni) as they emerged from a hole beneath the 
eaves of a house near Redes Mere, Cheshire. They seized and 
ate mealworms quite openly, but always thrust moths into the 
interfemoral pouch. Small thin-bodied moths (Cidaria populata) 
were thrust in and withdrawn again almost immediately ; a larger 
species (Urapteryx sambucata) was obviously more difficult to 
manage, whilst vigorous thick-bodied species (Xylophasia polyodon, 
Triphena pronuba, and Mamestra brassice) occasioned many strug- 
gles, and were not firmly secured until they had been held in the 
pouch for some seconds. Once, one of the Bats, having seized a 


MODE IN WHICH BATS SHCURE THEIR PREY. 473 


large and powerful 7’. pronuba, brought its feet so far forward 
that it fell over on to its back, but pluckily held the moth in its 
pouch until it was secured. Owing to the late hour at which it 
appears in the evening, it is not easy to distinguish the actions of 
this Bat as it skims over the shady pools which are its favourite 
haunts. It probably subsists to a large extent on gnats and 
other insects which fly just above the surface of the water and . 
are too small to necessitate the use of the interfemoral pouch. 
Its behaviour in captivity shows, however, that, when occasion 
requires, this method of securing its prey is readily and effectually 
adopted. Daubenton’s Bat has the tail only slightly curved 
during flight, to about the same extent as the Pipistrelle, less 
than the Whiskered and Long-eared Bats, and more than the 
Noctule, which holds its tail almost straight behind it. In his 
account of Daubenton’s Bat, ‘lomes says (Bell, ‘ British Quadru- 
peds,’ 2nd edit. p. 64) :—‘‘ When a fly or other food was taken 
which was rather large, the carpus was always brought into use 
to do the office of a hand, and the food was pushed into the 
mouth with it.” This is entirely opposed to my experience, for 
neither this Bat nor any of the other species I have kept has 
ever made use of either carpus or foot in feeding. 

The Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) is abundant in the 
neighbourhood of Alderley Edge, and I have kept several for a 
few days at different times during the past summer. The habit 
under consideration is much less pronounced in this species than 
in those already mentioned. My captives used to seize and eat 
mealworms quite openly, but on one occasion a particularly large 
and vigorous worm was thrust into the pouch. ‘Thin-bodied 
moths (Larentia fluctuata and Cidaria populata) were also seized 
and eaten openly, as was a male Hepialus sylvinus ; but larger 
moths (7Z’. pronuba, Polia chi, and other Noctug@) were pouched 
before being eaten. 

The Noctule (Pipistrellus noctula) occurs commonly at Alder- 
ley Edge, but my efforts to obtain one alive have so far been 
unsuccessful. This Bat comes abroad early, and during the long 
midsummer evenings is silhouetted so clearly against the sky 
that the contour of its ears may be seen distinctly. Under such 
favourable conditions I have spent hours watching Noctules, both 
with the naked eye and with a strong glass, but have never seen 


474 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


them use the interfemoral membrane as a pouch, nor have I been 
able to detect them using the thumb to rend asunder their prey, 
as Mr. O. Grabham (ante, p. 131) states they do. It is certain 
that the oblique downward plunge, so noticeable in the flight of 
the Noctule, is not always due to the loss of balance which would 
be involved in bringing the thumb to the mouth, for I have often 
seen Noctules plunge when the light was sufficiently good to show 
that both wings were fully extended. Mr. T. A. Coward, who 
has constantly watched Noctules in Dunham Park, suggests that 
a loss of balance would involve a vertical fall such as occurs 
when one wing is broken by shot, and not an oblique dive with 
extended wings. It must be remembered, however, that the diet 
of the Noctule is not restricted to large beetles (Melolontha and 
Geotrupes), and neither the pouch nor the thumb would be 
required to secure or dismember small insects; but whether this 
species uses the interfemoral membrane as a pouch, as its con- 
gener the Pipistrelle undoubtedly does, could be definitely settled 
by observing individuals in captivity. 

A number of Lesser Horseshoe Bats (Rhinolophus hippo- 
siderus), obtained at Cefn, Denbighshire, on March 4th, died 
before the end of the third day of their captivity. I could not 
induce them to feed, and they were so loath to take wing that I 
was unable to ascertain definitely the position of the tail during 
flight. In repose this organ is reflexed over the back (cf. R. 
Newstead, Zool. 1897, p. 538), and when on the ground the Bat 
carries it erect, 7.¢. at right angles to the long axis of its body. 
The legs showed very distinctly against a white ceiling when 
viewed from below, but this was possibly due to the shortness of 
the tail, and not to its being erect or recurved. ven if the tail 
were curved beneath the body during flight, its shortness and the 
small extent of the interfemoral membrane would constitute only 
an inefficient pouch, and it seems improbable that in the genus 
Rhinolophus these parts subserve the same purpose as in Plecotus, 
Myotis, and Pupistrellus. 

I have put together these notes in the hope. that others 
interested in the British Bats, who may be able to obtain the 
Barbastelle, Natterer’s Bat, the Noctule, and more especially the 
Horseshoe Bats, will make observations on the methods adopted 
by them to secure their prey. 


( 475 ) 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


MAMMALIA. 
CHIROPTERA. 


Death of a Whiskered Bat by Misadventure.—In spite of the adroit- 
ness with which Bats avoid obstacles encountered in their rapid flight, and 
the precision with which they thread their way among the branches and 
foliage of trees, they are not exempt from occasional accidents. At the end 
of last April, when walking along the margin of the mere at Siddington, I 
saw a Whiskered Bat (Myotis mystacinus), as I thought, asleep and hanging 
by its feet to a brier overhanging the water. A closer examination showed 
that the wings were half open, and not folded closely to its sides as in sleep, 
and that the Bat was not supported by its feet, but by a thorn which had 
pierced the interfemoral membrane on the right side close to the extremity 
of the tail. In its struggles to free itself, the Bat had lapped its tail tirmly 
round the twig from which the thorn projected, and was thus held a fast 
prisoner. When found it was alive but moribund, and a large portion of 
the wing-membrane was already dry and shrivelled. It made a feeble but 
unsuccessful attempt to drink some milk which I offered it, but died within 
two hours of its release.—Cuas. OLDHAM (Alderley Edge). 


AVES. 

Is the Whinchat a Mimic ?—In confirmation of Mr. Robert Godfrey’s 
affirmative answer to this question respecting Pratincola rubetra in ‘ The 
Zoologist ’ (ante, p. 267), I venture to quote the following from St. John’s 
‘Natural History and Sport in Moray’ (p. 147):—‘* May 28th (1850). 
The loch (Spynie) is full of Sedge Warblers now. I heard a most extra- 
ordinary singing in some alders to-day ; at one time it was like a person 
whistling, at another like a very sweet and full-toned Blackbird, but always 
ending in a song like a Sedge Warbler. After watching it for some time, 
we shot the bird, which turned out to be a Whinchat. I cannot under- 
stand its note, quite unlike any bird that I ever heard.”—F’. Finn (Indian 
Museum, Calcutta). 


Icterine Warbler and Buff-breasted Sandpiper in Norfolk.—It may 
interest readers to know that on September 5th I secured an Icterine 
Warbler (Hypolais icterina) im some scrub between Wells and Cromer, 


476 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


The light margins of the tertiaries were very conspicuous as it flew, giving 
it somewhat the appearance of an immature Pied Flycatcher. There was 
nothing in' the stomach. It arrived when the wind was south-west. On 
Sept. 7th I shot an immature Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Tryngites rufe- 
scens) near the same spot. It appeared a dull sandy colour as it rose, and 
the flight was slow. It was a fine day, with north-west wind following 
forty-eight hours of a wet south-easter. It proved to be a male, and there 
were some green-coated beetles in the stomach. Both birds were after- 
wards examined by Mr. J. H. Gurney at Norwich. I believe this Sand- 
piper has not occurred in Norfolk for fifty-six years. Curiously enough, I 
was not far off when the last Icterine was killed by Mr. R. Gurney in 1896, 
and I saw his bird in the flesh. We compared the two in Norwich Museum, 
and they were very similar, but some skins then produced were of a 
decidedly yellower colour.— HE. C. Arnoup (The Close, Winchester). 


Swallows and Hobbies.—Last year, on Sept. 8th, while watching the 
vast gatherings of Swallows and Martins which at this time assemble to 
roost in a large withy-bed near here, I observed a small long-winged Hawk 
darting about among them, but was unable to determine the species owing 
to the growing darkness. During the last few days, however, I have 
repeatedly seen one or more Hobbies (falco subbuteo) performing wonderful 
evolutions among the dense clouds of Swallows at sunset, and looking them- 
selves very much like Swallows magnified two or three times. Last night 
(Sept. L1th)a Hobby arrived rather too soon, and made off again when he 
found no Swallows iu the usual place. I have not as yet been able to see 
these beautiful little Falcons secure a victim, nor did the Swallows appear 
to be much disconcerted by their presence. Except at this time of year, I 
have never seen a Hobby here, and I suppose it is possible that these birds 
are following the Swallows on their autumnal migration. I find that in his 
‘ Birds of Wilts,’ p. 73, the Rev. A.C. Smith noted a similar occurrence in 
that county, when several Hobbies waited upon vast flocks of Sand Martins 
which assembled nightly to roost in withy-beds. — W. WarpEe FowLerR 
(Kingham, Chipping Norton). 

Breeding of the Tufted Duck in South-west Derbyshire.—As the 
records of the breeding of this Duck (f'uligula cristata) in Derbyshire are 
somewhat scanty, and in the new edition of Howard Saunders’s ‘ Manual ’ 
it is not mentioned in the list of counties in which this bird is known to 
breed, the following notes with regard to the Ashbourne district are worth 
recording :—F. B. Whitlock (‘ Birds of Derbyshire,’ p. 172) mentions, on 
the authority of Mr. F. B. Wright, that ‘‘a pair bred at Osmaston Manor 
Lake in 1854.” No doubt they bred occasionally after that date, but it was 
not until about 1886 that they began regularly to resort to the ponds for 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 477 


breeding purposes. Since then a brood or two has beeu reared almost every 
year, and during the present summer (1899) at least two broods have been 
successfully hatched off. From Osmaston they seem to have spread to 
neighbouring ponds, and at a private sheet of water not far off they were 
first noticed about 1889, and have now bred regularly for some years past. 
Two nests were found only a few yards apart on May 28th and June Ist of 
the present year, with fifteen and nine eggs respectively. Both these nests 
were taken, but they began to lay again very soon afterwards, and fresh 
nests were found on June 6th (eight eggs) and June 16th (eleven eggs). 
Unfortunately both these nests were destroyed, and it is doubtful whether 
any birds were reared here this year. Attempts have been made to colonize 
other likely spots in the district, for they were observed on the Ashbourne 
Hall pond in the spring of 1892, and one couple certainly bred at Sturston 
Mill in 1895, and probably also in the following year.—Francis C. R. 
JOURDAIN (Clifton Vicarage, Ashbourne). 


Grey Phalarope in Co. Armagh, Ireland.—On Sept. 30th I received, 
from Mr. W. Keatley, a male Grey Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius), 
young of the year, shot by him on Sept. 28th on the Logan, near Lurgan. 
It was too damaged to set up, but the back, wings, head, and tail are pre- 
served as a flat skin.—H. W. MarspEn (Clifton, Bristol). 


AVI CULTURAL NODES, 


The Colour of the Iris in the Jay.—In all books that I have consulted 
which deal with British Birds, the iris of the adult Jay is said to be pale 
blue ; and Howard Saunders, in his ‘ Manual of British Birds,’ states that 
the young bird differs in having brown eyes. Towards the end of May, 
1898, I had a young Jay given to me; it had been taken from the nest 
about a fortnight previously (with three others). When it came into my 
possession its irides were silver-grey, and this colour they retained until the 
second moult (in August of the present year), when they gradually changed 
to vinous brown. The bird is an exceptionally handsome and vigorous 
male, in every respect so well developed that when its crest is depressed the 
corners form distinctly perceptible ear-like terminations on each side at the 
back of the head. Is the colouring of the irides abnormal in my specimen, 
or has the colouring in young and adult birds been inadvertently reversed 
by describers ?—A. G. ButrLer (Beckenham, Kent). 


478 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


HDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 


Mr. W. L. Scrater, the Director of the South African Museum at 
Cape Town, has prepared, for the use of his friends and correspondents, a 
‘ List of the Birds of South Africa’ (Cape Town, 1899). This list com- 
prises the species of birds found within the area over which his proposed 
‘Fauna of South Africa’ will extend. This area is thus defined :—‘‘ The 
northern limits of South Africa, as treated of in this work, will be a line 
drawn from the Cunéné River on the West to the Zambesi at the Victoria 
Falls, and thence along that river to its mouth. Within it will therefore 
be enclosed the British Colonies of the Cape and Natal, the two Republics - 
of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State, the southern half of the 
Chartered Company’s territory, German South-west Africa, and that portion 
of Portuguese East Africa which lies south of the Zambesi.” The number 
of species enumerated in this list is 775, to which, however, considerable 
additions will doubtless have to be made. The first volume, by Arthur C. 
Stark, M.B., containing Part I. of the Birds, will shortly appear, and it is 
hoped that that relating to the Mammals, by Mr. Sclater, will be ready for 
publication during the course of the present year. This work will be a 
worthy companion to ‘ The Fauna of British India,’ edited by W. T. Blan- 
furd. The London publisher is Mr. R. H. Porter. 


Tue Natural History Department of the British Museum have issued 
a small pamphlet, ‘ How to collect Mosquitoes’ (Culicide), and doubtless 
any traveller or resident abroad who is willing to assist the Museum by 
sending specimens can freely obtain this useful guide for collecting, pre- 
serving, and transmitting. It contains much accurate zoological teaching. 
Mosquitoes or Gnats (strictly speaking the terms are synouymous) are the 
names popularly applied to the family Culicide (Diptera). Culicide are 
by no means the only blood-sucking Diptera, for the order also comprises 
the blood-sucking Midges (genus Ceratopogon, belonging to the family 
Chironomide), the Simulide, Tabanide, and blood-sucking Muscide (Glos- 
sina, Stomoxys, Hematobia). 'The females of all of these suck blood in the 
perfect state, while the males are usually harmless, though in the Tsetse- 
fly the blood-sucking habit is stated to be common to both sexes,* as has 


* Surgeon-Major David Bruce, A.M.S., ‘ Further Report on the Tsetse 
Fly Disease, or Nagana, in Zululand,’ p. 3. London: Harrison & Sons. 1897. 


HDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 479 


been asserted to be the case in certain species of Mosquitoes. The other 
blood-sucking Diptera, with the possible exception of Ceratopogun, are 
sufficiently distinct from Culictde in outward form to obviate any risk of 
confusion. In countries in which Mosquitoes abound they are recognized 
without difficulty. In England, however, where some seventeen species of 
the family occur, though not, as a rule, in any great abundance, or causing 
much annoyance by their bites, a large amount of confusion apparently 
exists as to the characteristics of a Mosquito, or, as it is more commonly 
called, a Gnat. This confusion is mainly due to the fact that the Midges 
(Chironomide), which, with the exception of the genus Ceratopogon, are 
perfectly harmless, often attract attention from the habit of the males of 
dancing in the air in swarms on fine evenings in spring and early summer, 
and, owing to their similarity in shape, size, and general appearance, are 
commonly mistaken for Gnats (Culicide). A good plate well exhibits the 
differences between the wing of a Mosquito or Gnat (Culex sp.) and of a 
Midge (Chironomus plumosus). 


We have received from Messrs. Friedlander and Sohn, of Berlin, a 
complete set of their ‘ Nature Novitates’’ for 1898, bound in one volume. 
This well-known publication, which not only records current biological 
literature, but is also a priced catalogue by which very many separata may 
be obtained, is much enhanced in value and convenience by being issued in 
a yearly volume. A good index is appended, and one ‘‘ made in Germany ” 
is seldom to be despised. 


By the death of Samuel Stevens, F'.L.S., F.1.S., who died on August 
29th, after a few days’ illness, in his eighty-third year, many readers of this 
magazine will regret the loss of a friend, and of a very familiar figure at 
meetings of naturalists, especially at those of the Kntomological Society 
and Entomological Club. At the first—with one exception—he was the 
oldest member; of the second he was practically at one time a preserver. 
As an entomologist, he was a collector and lover of the study rather than a 
scientific worker, and probably acquired more happiness from the pursuit 
than is obtained by many of the better known and more technical workers. 
At one time he conducted a Natural History Agency, and was broker in the 
sales of the enormous collections made by Bates and Wallace. As to the 
way he conducted this business, the late H. W. Bates has often spoken to 
the writer of the gratitude he felt for the exhaustive maaner in which his 
interests were safeguarded by Stevens. As these old familiar faces pass 
away, we realize how the old order changeth, and how practically we are 
meeting new men and an almost new science. Many present naturalists 
will long cherish the remembrance of kindly Samuel Stevens. 


480 | THE ZOOLOGIST. 


In the ‘ Scientific American ’ there has recently appeared a memoir on 
“The Pearl-Button Industry of the Mississippi River,” by Mr. Hugh M. 
Smith, of the U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries. 'The manufacture 
of buttons from the shells of native fresh-water Mussels began in the 
United States in 1891. Button-making has now become one of the prin- 
cipal businesses along a section of the Mississippi nearly two hundred miles 
in length. There are about four hundred species of Mussels found in the 
Mississippi River and its tributaries, but comparatively few are now 
utilized in or are adapted to button-making. We naturally find complaints 
as to the treatment of the ‘golden goose.”’ ‘“ Not the least injurious 
feature of the fishery is the gathering of small Mussels for market, and the 
incidental destruction of small shells that are not utilized, but left on the 
banks or the ice to die.” Mussels have many perils tosurmount. “ Animals 
which are known to prey on the Mussels are Muskrats, Minks, Raccoons, 
and Hogs, the first and last being especially destructive. The freshets to 
which the Mississippi is periodically subject undoubtedly do great damage 
to the Mussel-beds, burying them under sand and mud. Shifting sand-bars 
are also known to cover up beds. The fishermen sometimes find extensive 
beds of dead shells which appear to have been recently uncovered by the 
current. During freshets, when the stream finds new channels, many 
Mussels are carried from their beds, and left dry when the water subsides. 
Droughts are also liable to expose Mussel-beds, and cause much destruction. 
However, pollution of the water by refuse from cities and manufacturing 
establishments is perhaps the most serious menace to the Mussel-beds, next 
to the operations of the fishermen.” 


THE ZOOLOGIST 
No. 701.—November, 1899. 


ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM THE NORTH- 
WEST OF IRELAND. 


By H. EK. Howarp. 


Berne on the north-west coast of Ireland during August, a 
few remarks about the bird-life there may be of interest to some 
of the readers of ‘The Zoologist.’ Not that they will find any 
new facts among them, but, by comparing them with notes from 
other districts, some conclusion may be arrived at as to the move- 
ment of birds at this time of year. 

The district that I was in was perhaps as wild as any in 
Ireland, and the cliffs some of the finest in the British Islands. 
Only those who have seen the sea-birds on these cliffs during 
May, June, and July have any idea of the swarms that breed 
there. Of course, in August very few were left, those that were 
consisting chiefly of Kittiwakes, and the faces of the cliffs were 
lined in many places by the young birds, nearly all of which were 
ready to fly; some I did see with a good deal of down, but by far 
the majority were already commencing to take short flights. The 
old birds were very fearless, and would almost let you touch them 
before they would leave the rocks. Puffins I did not find with young 
on this occasion, although last year about the same time I saw the 
old birds entering burrows in inaccessible places with their bills 
full of fry. There were also plenty of young Shags sitting about 
the rocks, but all able to follow the parent birds. Razorbills and 

Zool. 4th ser. vol. {11., November, 1899. Py 


482 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Guillemots had practically all left, though a few Black Guille- 
mots were round one particular spot where they always breed. 

About the 12th of the month very large flocks of Gulls were 
hovering over the sea, most probably after Mackerel-fry or Sand- 
eels. The fishermen here call these flocks ‘ Gribbers,” and 
are delighted to see them, as they generally denote the coming 
of Herrings; they know by the different way in which they fly 
whether they are after Herring-fry, the flock being then more 
scattered. 

On some islands off the coast I found Stormy Petrels breeding 
in fair numbers; they were difficult to approach, being on,a 
grassy slope at the top of a precipice. It is easy to find the 
holes they are in by the smell, which is very strong. The 
young were hatched about the beginning of the month, and — 
looked like fluffy balls of down, their eyes not being open ; they 
grow very slowly, but I cannot say the date at which they leave 
the nest. The old birds never attempted to fly away when taken 
off the nest, but uttered a little squeak, and ran straight back 
down the burrow. ‘The slope I found them on faced due east. 
They are called “oil birds” by the natives, as most probably 
they are in other places. On the same island a few Great Black- 
backed Gulls breed, but for some reason they do not do so on 
the mainland. 

A certain number of Choughs are always to be found; their 
numbers seem to vary very little year by year. In one or two 
places round the cliffs a pair always build, generally in a hole in 
an overhanging cliff at about fifty feet or so from the sea. There 

is one typical hole they build in, and from all accounts they have 
- done so for years; it is almost impossible to get at, which is just 
as well, though the eggs are not often taken, except in one place, 
where the nest is occasionally robbed. As I said, they do not 
seem either to much increase or decrease. Why, I do not know. 
It cannot be because there are not enough suitable places for 
them to breed in, for the cliffs are at least six miles round, and 
vary in height up to six hundred feet. Some people seem to 
think it is on account of the great numbers of Jackdaws, which, 
they say, drive the Choughs away; but I do not think that 
accounts for it here. I have never seen more than four together, 
and when I saw those they were more inland among the moun- 


NOTHS FROM NORTH-WEST IRELAND. 483 


tains, about fifteen hundred feet up, feeding with a few Rooks on 
a grassy slope. 

The Raven is another bird which never seems to increase 
much here, but I expect in this case the young birds are driven 
away by the old ones. A good many Ravens are trapped yearly 
by the farmers, as they seem to think they do considerable harm ; 
they will also tell you that if they trap a Raven the surviving one 
will get another mate in a few days. It is impossible here, even 
with a rope, to get at the nest, which is always built in an over- 
hanging part of the cliff; the young birds leave this nest about 
the end of March. I only saw three pairs during August, but 
they seem to wander a good deal at this time of year. 

There are always a good number of Peregrines to be seen, 
and Kestrels are plentiful enough; they were by far the most 
common of the Hawks; there were often four or five together, 
and they seemed to annoy the Choughs very much, as they were 
continually chasing them. I only saw two or three Sparrow- 
hawks, and there was one Brown Owl round the house ; one pair 
of the latter generally nest here. I could not find out where the 
Eagles bred this year; as a rule a pair breed anuually among the 
mountains. For the last two years I have known where the nest 
was, and am glad to say they are well looked after. 

In the middle of a little fresh-water lake there is a small 
island, upon which numbers of Terns breed annually. The island 
is round, and not more than ten yards in diameter; it is com- 
pletely overgrown with nettles, except round the edge, where 
there is nothing but loose stones. I am sorry to say I was too 
late to see much of the Terns; there were a few Common Terns 
about, and I feel sure I saw some Arctic Terns flying round. I 
was also told on fairly good authority that a very little Tern bred 
there ; also that eggs which were supposed to have been those of 
the Roseate Tern were taken there this year. I give these state- 
ments for what they are worth, not being able to corroborate 
them from my own observation. I intend to visit the island 
earlier another year. A few Black-headed Gulls also build on 
the same island; they are quite the most common of all the 
Gulls I saw during August. 

Coming to the smaller birds, Wheatears could be seen every- 

where, the highest point I found them at being two thousand feet. 
212 


484 THH ZOOLOGIST. 


The majority of them were in very good plumage, but there were 
a few not long out of the nest. They would allow you to get quite 
close to them without showing any sign of fear; as a rule, my 
experience is rather the opposite in England. The earliest date I 
have seen them in these parts is March 27th. Icould not find any 
Meadow Pipits’ nests, although I have watched old birds with 
their bills full of insects, evidently waiting to feed their young. 
There were a few young about ; and these, as well as the old birds, 
seem to me to be darker than they are in other places. In a few 
cases they had begun to flock, but not more than a dozen were 
together, and always on the grassy slopes at the edge of the cliffs. 
Stonechats were common enough, and the young, though fully 
fledged, were still being fed by the old birds. Some of the old 
males were in very fine plumage, but the majority were not. A 
few Ring-Ouzels were to be seen, generally on the face of the 
cliffs covered with vegetation, the only other inhabitants of which 
were Wrens; and they always seem plentiful in the wildest and 
most inaccessible parts of the cliffs. 

Of Wagtails, Pied were common, but Grey not very. I only 
saw a few solitary ones, and the fact of these being single is 
curious, as I have almost invariably found them in pairs in 
autumn and winter. 

Twites were generally in flocks of from five to twenty, feeding 
on seeds of various plants. I saw one Cuckoo, evidently a young 
bird. Swallows were beginning to flock, but Sand Martins were 
still breeding; in most cases the young were fully fledged, but I 
found one nest with eggs hard-set—this was on the 17th of the 
month. A few Swifts were flying about the top of one of the 
mountains, two thousand feet high—that was the only place I 
saw them; it was on the ilth of the month. 

On the 23rd Flycatchers and Whitethroats were still about, 
and on the 29th I heard a Chiffchaff; these were the only two 
Warblers that I noticed. Curlews were more plentiful than they 
have been for some years, and were in fairly big flocks. Oyster- 
catchers were also flocking ; I counted one hundred and fifty in 
one flock. A few Sanderlings and Dunlins were about towards 
the end of the month, but only in very small flocks of four or five. 

There is a point in connection with the song of birds which I 
have not seen mentioned, although it must have been noticed by | 


NOTES FROM NORTH-WEST IRELAND. 485 


many who are interested in ornithology; it is the differences in 
the note, or rather in the tone of the note, of a bird, in different 
parts of the United Kingdom. I have observed a great difference 
in this way in the North of Scotland as compared with Worcester- 
shire, and again between the birds here and in Worcestershire. 
The difference seems to exist more among the birds that are 
resident during the year, but of this I cannot be quite sure, as I 
have not been in the district during the time of year when the 
Warblers were singing. The difference is most noticeable in 
the note of the Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Hedge-Sparrow, and 
Wren. I say note, because it is more in the call-note than in 
the song, and, I think, more in the Chaffinch than in any of the 
others; but in all of them the note seemed to be pitched lower. 
Probably it is the climate that has some effect, the same way as it 
does on the human voice; but it is a point that will take a great 
deal of clearing up, and I shall be glad to learn the opinion of 
more observant naturalists than myself. 

Before concluding this article I should lke to mention the 
wholesale destruction of sea-birds that goes on round the north 
coast of Ireland. 

There is a certain class of people, who come chiefly from the 
large towns in the north, and who call themselves sportsmen, and 
whose only idea of sport is to shoot as many sea-birds as possible, 
and leave the bodies lying with their legs cut off; the legs, I 
presume, are kept as trophies. The slaughter is indiscriminate ; 
even bodies of Black Guillemots have been picked up floating 
about minus their legs. 

I was told by a native that the destruction of Cormorants had 
done him a great deal of damage, by the number of sheep he lost 
over the cliffs. His farm is situated close by a breeding haunt of 
the Cormorants, and while they breed there the smell is so strong 
that the sheep will not go down the cliffs. Now this breeding 
place is destroyed, and, there being no longer any odour, the 
sheep wander down after food, and are often lost. 

I mention this slaughter in the hope that it may catch the eye 
of some one who may be able to exert his influence on behalf of 
the sea-birds. 


486 THK ZOOLOGIST. 


AN OBSERVATIONAL DIARY OF THE HABITS 
OF NIGHTJARS (CAPRIMULGUS EUROPAUS), 
MOSTLY OF A SITTING PAIR. NOTES TAKEN 
AT TIME AND ON SPOT. 


By Epmunp SEtovus. 
(Concluded from p. 402.) 


June 29th.—9.15. I suppose the eggs to have been hatched 
since 12.45 to-day, as I saw no sign of the young birds during 
the nearly three-quarters of an hour I was there, and saw at least 
one of the eggs projecting a little beyond the sitting bird’s body. 
It might possibly, however, have been the empty shell projecting 
beyond the young bird as it lay under the mother’s breast. 
Shortly afterwards one of the chicks made two or three quick 
little jumps upwards towards the parent bird’s head, reaching its 
beak to hers. She bent down her head, and taking, as it 
appeared to me, the chick’s bill in her own, she made two or 
three times that particular motion with the head so well known 
to those who have watched Doves or Pigeons feeding their 
young by regurgitation from the crop.* The chick then crept 
back under the mother bird’s breast. Very shortly the other 
chick came out and jumped up to the mother’s bill in the same 
way, and this took place two or three times. If it is not feeding 
by regurgitation which takes place, Iam ata loss to account for 
the actions of both the parent and the young birds so strongly 
resembling those of Doves and Pigeons under similar circum- 
stances. During all this time the parent bird kept uttering a 


* T take this opportunity of stating from my own observation that the 
parent Dove (that foreign species, at least, usually kept in confinement here) 
reeurgitates the food from her crop into the beaks of both her young ones 
placed within hers at the same time. Not always, however; they are fre- 
quently fed separately. Neither in Seebohm, Morris, Lydekker, Howard 
Saunders, Prof. Newton, or the British or Chambers’s Encyclopedias, can I 
find anything as to the Nightjar’s feeding of its young, it being evidently 
assumed that it does so in the usual manner. 


DIARY. OF THE HABITS (OF? NIGHTIARS. 487 


low croodling sound expressive of pleasure and tenderness, and 
making one more distinctive note. Failure of light a great 
annoyance. 

9.25.—Bird suddenly flew away, leaving the chicks. 

9.30.—Bird (I believe the same one) settled on stump near 
young ones, and in a second or two flew down and covered them. 
The chicks then again jumped up to her, and again she appeared 
to me to feed them by regurgitation, this taking place two or 
three times. But again, and still more, I must regret the failing 
light. Whilst the bird sat quite near me on the stump, I noticed 
nothing in her bill, which, I believe, I should have done against 
the sky had she been holding anything not very small. On the 
first occasion the bird, of course, had nothing, and had (I make 
no doubt from my previous observations) been there all day. 

9.40.—Bird relieved, and at once flew away; the partner 
covered the young birds. I do not think any more feeding took 
place, but it was now too dark to do more than guess. 

9.45.—The first bird back, and took charge of the young, 
the other flying away. No further change up to 10.15, when 
I left. 

June 80th.—(Cloudy, beginning to rain). Must have been 
about 5.30 a.m. when I got there, but had forgotten my watch. 
Bird brooding on its young. Another position, head turned 
away. Hye about a quarter open. Chicks quite covered. Bird 
shifted right round so as to face me. Young one struggled quite 
out, looking then, I thought, rather reddish and naked. The 
old bird kept shifting about, and slightly altering her position in 
consequence of the movements of the young ones under her. 
Cannot be sure now if both the eggs are hatched, or only one. 
At any rate, the eggs, whether both are empty or not, seem to be 
still under the bird. Both are hatched, I think (though one is 
much more en évidence). What I saw was a piece of the empty 
egg-shell. A piece of the shell of one egg at least—the bulk of 
it—seems to have been moved away some six inches, but cannot 
make sure of this for fear of disturbing the bird. It now coming 
on to rain, and having no waterproof, I had to go. It must have 
been 6 a.m. or a little later. 

3.20 p.m.—Bird sitting, position changed. The greater part 
at least of the shell of each egg has been moved. The nearest 


488 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


lies some three or four inches from the bird, the farthest more 
than twice that distance. Eyes closed, opening very slightly at 
any noise of rustling, &c., which I could not avoid making. 
This time the wings cross each other over the tail, which pro- 
jects about an inch beyond them; sometimes they lie (probably 
crossed) under the tail. Till about 4.30 bird sat quite motionless, 
with the chicks entirely hidden under it. Then one of the 
chicks began to grow restless, and several times crawled out 
beyond the parent bird’s breast. It seemed to want food, and 
on one occasion in particular stretched itself up and touched its 
mother’s beak (for I assume that the bird which sits all day on 
the eggs and young is the mother) with its own, as if seeking to 
be fed. But the mother, much to my disappointment, did not 
respond. The feathers of the old bird’s throat were to-day 
more still; once only, whilst I was there, she twitched them, 
but not in quite the same way. The band or gorget of feathers 
just under the bird’s throat is evidently very responsive to the 
slightest movement of the throatal muscles. 

At 5 p.m. came away, disappointed in not having seen the 
chicks fed, which I thought might perhaps take place occasionally 
in the daytime. 

8.5 p.m.—Returned and found bird in much the same position, 
but either it had moved a little back or pushed out another piece 
of shell, which now iay just beside it. Hyes closed. Chicks 
not visible. 

8.40.—Chicks came out from under the mother’s breast, 
jumped up to her beak, and were fed by her in the plainest 
manner—sparingly, however. ‘The chicks were importunate, but 
the parent bird by no means bountiful, doubtless for good reasons 
of her own. 

8.45.—Partner flew up, and the other one flew off silently 
whilst he was still in the air. He settled close by the chicks, 
and walked on to them. They immediately sprang up at his bill 
(as just before with the mother), and he fed one of them by 
regurgitation. This time the process was still more unmis- 
takable than before, for, as the old bird fed the chick more 
thoroughly, his motions were more emphatic, and exactly like a 
Dove’s. 

8.50.—Bird flew off. In another two minutes a bird (probably 


DIARY OF THE HABITS OF NIGHTJARS. 489 


the other, the hen) returned, and both chicks were fed by the 
regurgitatory process. The light, I am glad to say, was amply 
sufficient, and there could not be the smallest doubt. The 
chicks were thus fed several times—four or five times. A minute 
or two after feeding the chicks, and before flying away, the old 
bird opened, twice in succession, its enormous beak, or rather 
mouth. Quite a revelation; it looked as if it opened its head. 
The other bird had also done this, but neither of them before 
to-night whilst under my observation. They also moved their 
bills in much the same way as we do our lips after having 
swallowed something, and still having the taste of it in the 
mouth. The old birds could not have fed the chicks two or 
three times in succession, as they did, with anything they 
brought in their beaks; nor did I ever observe them to have 
anything in the beak, which I am sure I should have done had 
this been the case. Moreover, I observed the swelling and sub- 
siding of the throat, suggesting the pumping of something 
through it. 

9.5.— Bird flew off. In about a minute both birds flew up, 
and, I think, settled near on ground; then flew off again. The two 
birds now sported close by in the air, one of them uttering a note 
like “‘ quick quick, quick quick ”—a kind of loud modified twitter. 

9.10.—Bird flew up and perched on same elder stump as 
night before, then almost at once flew to chicks and fed them as 
before. ‘he light was now fast fading, but it seemed to me as if 
both the chicks had their beaks in the old bird’s mouth at the 
same time, as with Doves. This, of course, may be a mistake, 
or it may have been due merely to the eagerness of the chicks. 
(This would explain the origin of the habit.) 

9.25.—Bird rose suddenly, and flew away in silence. About 
a second afterwards bird flew down on to young, and churred 
slightly for a moment, then uttered the little croodling note of 
content. I could just see the lighter coloured bodies of the 
chicks in motion, and have no doubt they were being fed as 
before, but too dark to see it or anything. 

9.35.—Bird perched on same elder stump, upon which the 
other bird left the chicks, this time quaw-eeing when it got 
a little way off. A second or two afterwards bird on stump flew 
down to young, 


490 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


9.50.—No further change. I now left, it being too dark to 
observe anything beyond the coming and going of the birds. 

July 1st.—(Raining, but had been fine day.) Came without 
watch. Must have been about 8.25 p.m. when I got there. Found 
bird sitting some six inches nearer to me than day before—the 
first time it has left its original position. Sat facing me. Eye 
closed or just blinking. Chicks quite covered. Wings of bird 
not crossed, but some inch and a half between the tips. Chicks 
came out from under old bird’s breast, and jumped up importu- 
nately to be fed, but, she not complying, went back. A second 
time méme jeu. Andathird; and a fourth; and a fifth; anda 
sixth. This time the chick pulled at the mother’s beak, but she 
refused to feed it. The other bird settled near, and the one with 
the chicks flew off. Chicks left uncovered for some minutes 
before bird came (cannot say which), and fed one of them by 
regurgitation in the plainest possible way. Could see the throat 
of the old bird swelling and subsiding. Afterwards it opened its 
mouth as on night before. Bird relieved and flew off before the 
other had taken its place. Feeding renewed. Always the same 
process, but am not quite clear whether the chick put its beak in 
the parent bird’s or vice versa. Bird flew away. Had stayed 
much less time than the other. After some five or six minutes 
one of the birds flew back, and settled on elder stump ; then flew 
down to chicks, which were fed as before. ‘Too dark now to see 
properly, and also had to go on account of rain. 

July 2nd.—(Fine all day.) At 8.30 found bird sitting in the 
old place, with tail crossing the dried stalk. Eyes closed. Chicks 
quite covered. 

8.35.—Bird, which, J think, was the partner, flew near quaw- 
eeing. The sitting bird took no notice—that is to say, she did 
not “ churr.” | 

8.37.—Young ones out to be fed, but old bird declined. 

8.40.—Partner flew up and settled on ground near, where he 
churred softly. Sitting bird did not answer. 

8.40.—Other bird flew up, and settled beside the one on 
chicks, who immediately flew off. The other, after churring 
slightly for a second or so, followed. One is much lighter 
coloured than the other; both are covered with down. When 
handled they opened their enormous mouths (which seemed as 


DIARY OF THE HAABITS OF NIGHTJALRS. 491 


large in proportion to their size as in the old birds), and one 
jumped up at my finger from the ground as at the old bird’s beak. 
Though dependent on the parents for food, the chicks seem 
almost as active and well able to get about as young Fowls or 
Pheasants; but, their food being in the air, and they being unable 
to fly, there is no inducement for them to run about. 

8.50.—Bird settled on ground near by, and churred slightly ; 
then almost immediately flew to chicks, but seemed unwilling to 
feed them. 

8.53.—Bird relieved and flew off. Chick fed by the other 
four times, the parent bird making a low clucking or crooning 
noise during the feeding. 

9.2.—Partner flew near, and bird left the chicks. Both birds 
now circled round about in the air, hawking as it seemed for 
insects, and often clapping their wings. They would sink grace- 
fully down, and then rise up, somewhat perpendicularly,* with a 
curious fluttering action of the wings. I take this to be an 
antic, and nothing to do with securing prey. I notice now, or 
rather I now pay attention to, the fact that one of these pair of 
birds is lighter than the other in the colouring of its plumage. 
The lighter bird is the one that sits all day, and which I take to 
be the female. 

9.8.—Lighter coloured bird back. Chicks fed once or twice. 

9.12.—Bird flew off silently. 

9.17.—Bird hovered above chicks, who uttered a note. 

9.17.—Lighter bird back, and fed both chicks twice; other 
bird flew near. 

9.20.—Bird left chicks. 

9.20.—Darker bird flew down and fed chicks, I think twice. 

9.28.—Bird flew off. 

9.28.—Lighter bird settled on elder-stump near, and then 
flew to chicks and fed them. Too dark now to see properly. 

9.32.—Bird flew off clapping its wings. It is the bill of the 
young bird which receives that of the parent during the process 
of feeding. To-night heard a bird making a peculiarly shrill 
Onur. 

9.50.—Bird flew away. 


* T mean straight up, whilst retaining the horizontal attitude as one 
might draw up a toy bird dangling from a string. 


492, THE ZOOLOGIST. 


9.55.—One of the birds back. Too dark, of course, to 
observe. Both the chicks were fed once at least by the arriving 
bird, and in a manner which suggested regurgitation and nothing 
else—jerking of the parent bird’s head, muscular action of the 
throat, &&. Whatever they got was disgorged in some manner 
from the crop or gullet. It was not carried in the beak and 
dropped into their mouths. But to-night I could not feel so 
sure that the chicks were fed a second, third, or fourth time. If 
fed at all after the first time, it was in a very inferior degree. The 
bill of the old bird, indeed, was placed within that of the chick 
(or rather the chicks so placed it by grasping it with theirs), and 
jerks of the head were made by the parent bird, but with much 
less emphasis than the first time. 

At 10.10 came away, leaving bird still with the chicks. 

July 3rd.—(Fine all day.) Arrived at 8.30 p.m. Bird had 
moved again, and was sitting where I found her on July Ist. 
Note here that “ Bird” at beginning of entry means throughout 
the lighter coloured bird that sits all day, and which I take to be 
the hen. Henceforth I shall call the dark bird the male, and the 
light one the female. This, however, is only assumption, how- 
ever probable. 

8.45.—Chicks came out and jumped up to be fed, but, as far 
as I could see, were refused. Thistwice. The third time they 
may have got something, but I do not think they did. Nor the 
fourth. During this, one of the little chicks ran with perfect ease 
some four or five inches from the old bird, and then returned. 
Afterwards the other did the same. Find it difficult to be quite 
sure if the parent bird gives the chicks anything before she flies 
away for the first time. One of the chicks running all about.* 
Again, they may have got something, but cannot be certain. Old 
bird gave a great gape with her enormous Jaws—and just now 
again; quite a wonderful sight. This makes me think that the 
chicks did get something, as I have not seen the birds gape 
except in connection with the process of feeding, either at the 
time or afterwards, that is to say. 


* «The young of this bird, when able to crawl about,” &c. (Seebohm, 
‘A History of British Birds’). ‘The nestlings... have been known to dis- 
play a precocious activity approaching to that of the young of gallinaceous,” 
&c. (Howard Saunders, ‘Manual of British Birds’). I do not suppose my 
chicks were two infant prodigies. [My own italics. | 


DIARY OF THE HABITS OF NIGHTJARS. 498 


8.58.—Hen bird flew off, uttering a note which was not the 
““quaw-ee.”’ An indefinite note, as of impatience. Chicks still; 
they do not move when left by the parent bird. 

9.4.—Hen bird settles on stump close by. In a minute flies 
to chicks, and feeds them—both of them—more than once. Then 
a pause whilst the chicks are covered. It must be by some 
process of disgorging—regurgitation, that is, After pause chicks 
fed again, more gently, less violent motions ; but feel sure they 
got something. Could make out nothing in the bird’s bill. 
Chicks out again. May have gota little. They seize the parent’s 
bill. Another chick fed. Feel sure he was fed, though gently. 
Feeding attended with little crooning noise on part of parent 
bird (not, of course, while she is actually regurgitating the 
food). 

9.13.—Female bird flew off suddenly and im silence. Chicks 
quiet. 

9.15.—Same bird back. Both chicks fed more than once. 
Regurgitation it must be. 

9.18.—Chicks out again to be fed. Only gentle motions of 
beak on part of old bird. 

9.19.—Old bird flies off. Nocry. Chicks quiet. 

9.24.—Bird (same one—I think, female) on elder-stump. 

9.25.—F lew down and fed chicks as before, but not so much 
it seemed. As bird sat on stump (four paces off) I could see 
head and beak pretty plainly against the sky, and she seemed to 
have nothing in the beak. Chicks (I believe) fed again, making 
third time. ‘Too dark to see well, but judge from movements of 
old bird’s head and croodling noise. Believe chicks fed again. 
Much croodling. It does not seem likely that the bird would 
croodle if she merely refused to feed the chicks, and she croodles 
when she certainly does feed them. ‘l'o go by the croodling the 
chicks were fed four or five times. 

9.40.—Bird off, silently. 

9.40.—Bird on stump. Almost immediately down to chicks, 
and fed them with much croodling. Croodling repeated twice, 
at intervals, up to 9.50, when bird flew off, and I left. The two 
birds were never together this night; I mean, of course, near 
nest. Atleast, I did not see them. I think it was the hen bird 
‘that was down the last time before I left, but could not see if it 


494 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


was. ‘T'o-night, as I walked away, I heard two Nightjars uttering 
a new note—a sort of “jig jig jig jig jig jig”? to each other— - 
varied with the usual “ quaw-ee”’ and ‘“‘ queek.’”’ One of these 
birds clapped its wings quite thirty times, for I did not begin to 
count till after the first bout, and then counted to twenty. There 
was a short pause between the two bursts of clapping, as a pause 
in music. 

July 4th.—(Fine most of the day.) At 8.48 p.m. found bird 
covering young. Place changed; more than a pace nearer to me 
than originally. Hye quite shut. 

8.50.—Chicks came out from under breast, jumped up and 
tugged vigorously at old bird’s bill; but, as far as I could see, 
she refused to feed them. Also the croodling noise made by 
the chicks, not the old bird. 

8.55.—Chicks again tried, both tugging together with all their 
might, at old bird’s beak; but no good. Think the croodling is 
made by the chicks, but difficult to be quite sure. 

8.57.—Tried again, but to no purpose; bothering the old bird 
very much—so much that at last she went away to the place she 
was in last night. The chicks ran after her and tried again, but 
gave it up, and then ran under her breast. The croodling sound 
seems too full for the chicks, and has too much expression in it. 
Yet it ceases after they get under the hen. This, however, is 
not decisive. 

9.2.—Chicks tried again, and again, I thought, got nothing. 

9.8.—Tried again importunately. No result. I think it is 
the old bird that makes the croodling. 

9.5.—Old bird begins to turn her head and look about with 
eyes open; then gives tremendous gape. 

9.10.—Another gape; and at 9.11 flies off. Ran out to clear 
away some nettles slightly obstructing view. Chicks lay quiet 
at first, then all at once scuttled away into surroanding herbage. 
I had not seen old bird about, or heard any note uttered. 

9.18.—Same bird back, and settles in the empty place. One 
little chick runs out of grass from one side, and is fed twice with 
empressement. The other one comes afterwards from the other 
side farther off. The hen bird walks to it, and feeds it twice also. 
Process always the same. <A minute afterwards one of the chicks 
tries for some more, but do not think he gets any. 


DIARY OF THE HABITS OF NIGHTJARS. 495 


9.23.—Both chicks try again. Doubtful if they get anything. 

9.27.—Chicks out again, and it looks as if they are fed just a 
little. 

9.28.—Bird flies off uttering a low and yet sharp sound—an 
unquiet sound. She circles around and about in the air, hawking, 
I imagine, for insects. Yet no cockchafers, moths, or other large 
insects are visible to my eyes where she is in the (to-night) cloud- 
less sky. I believe she engulphs in her great cavernous jaws a 
vast quantity of minute insects, gnats, flies, &c., and that these 
are disgorged on her return down the chicks’ throats. 

9.33.—Same bird (hen) settles on elder-stump. Seems to 
have nothing in beak; nothing breaks its outline against the sky. 
Almost immediately she flies to chicks and feeds them, but not 
so fully as before. 

9.42.—Chicks try again. Probably get nothing. Too dark 
now to see properly. 

9.45.—Bird off. Circles about a little, and back at 9.48. 

9.48.—Feeds chicks, but, so far as I can make out, very little. 
There is now a little piping note, no doubt from the chicks. The 
croodle is, I think, the old bird. It is, I feel sure, the same bird 
as before that has just fed the chicks, but cannot see that it is. 
Moon now rising. 

9.52.—Leave, meaning to return when the moon, now full, is 
risen. Bird still with chicks. The sky, however, shortly clouded 
over, and I did not come back. 

July d5th—(Fine day.) 8.83 p.m. Found bird sitting in 
place where I left her last night. Eyes closed. Lighter coloured 
chick ran suddenly from mother to the egg-shells, some six or 
eight inches off, sat there a minute or two, then ran back, tugged 
at her bill, got nothing, and went under breast again. 

8.41.—Chicks come out and try to get fed, tugging long and 
vigorously at the old bird’s beak ; but, as far I could see, she 
simply pulled back again, and they got nothing. 

8.45.—Chick runs out from under old bird’s tail, then round 
to her breast, and tries hard to get fed; but in vain. 

8.46.—Bird flies off with the impatient or unquiet note. Came 
out and touched chicks with my finger. They sat quiet. Old 
bird has disappeared. Coming on to rain. 

§.50.—Lighter bird flies up and settles on elder-stump ; other 


496 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


bird flies after her, passes her, settles somewhere near, and 
‘‘churrs.” Bird on stump flies down almost directly to chicks, 
and feeds them as usual. She is careful, as it seems to me, to 
feed both, and not one only. The light-coloured chick is very 
greedy, but she dodged his importunate bill some half a dozen 
times and fed the other. During feeding the other bird flew by. 

9 o’clock.—Lighter bird flies off. The two birds (as I think 
them to be) now together circle near about in the air. A bird 
settles somewhere close by on the ground, then rises and flies off 
with the ‘‘ choo-00-00-00”’ note, and clapping the wings repeat- 
edly. Then settles (probably the same) somewhere near, and 
continues to ‘* churr.”’ 

9.6. — The lighter bird circles round, making the most 
astonishing twists and zigzags in the air, and certainly seeming 
to pursue insects. I can see no insects, though I should certainly 
see anything like a cockchafer or fair-sized moth. Again she 
flies by, near, doing the same. My theory is that the bird 
engulphs numerous minute insects (much as a Whale does In- 
fusoria), and disgorges them into the chick’s mouth as a pulp.* 
Several times during this the male bird (as I take it to be) has 
sat near churring, then rising with ‘‘ choo-00-00-00,” and clapping 
of wings. 

9.15.—Hen bird flies up, uttering a note like “‘ chug chug 
chug,” and settles on stump. Has nothing in beak that I can 
see. If she had anything, perhaps she would be less likely to 
utter a note; but this must go for nothing, as I have observed 
that small birds (Redstarts) bring food in their bills, yet make a 
plaintive cry in neighbourhood of the nest. In a minute she 
flies down and feeds the chicks. One (the lighter one probably) 


* It is true that I never observed the bird flying with its mouth open, 
but neither did I ever observe it open its mouth during those astonishing 
twists and twirls (presumably after insects). The beak need not be widely 
opened for many minute insects to be swallowed whilst sailing through a 
strata of such, nor need it be continuously opened. The Nightjar, it must 
be remembered, flies and feeds by night, when it is both dark and people are 
in bed. Still, I find in Seebohm’s ‘ History of British Birds’ the following: 
‘‘The bird has been said to hunt for its food with its large mouth wide 
open, but this is certainly an error.” The first part of the sentence impresses 
me more than the last. Why has the bird its tremendous bristle-fringed 
gape? Other birds catch individual insects 2s cleverly without it. 


DIARY OF THE, SHABITS (OF, NIGHTIARS. 497 


is very greedy, and seems to get more than the other ; but getting 
dark now. A bird (I think the partner) flies near quaw-eeing. 
9.20.—Bird leaves chicks. 

9.25.—Bird back on stump. Too dark now to see which one, 
though I believe it to be the hen. However, I get outline of 
beak against the sky, and it is not broken by anything projecting 
from it. In a minute bird flies down and feeds chicks in the 
usual way, her actions being almost exactly those of a Dove. 
Both chicks, I think, are fed, but too dark to be sure. It is the 
old bird, I feel sure, that makes the croodling noise. The chicks 
have a plaintive, piping note, and the two notes are often being 
made at the same time. The croodling is always made by the 
old bird when the chicks want to be fed, but she has nothing for 
them. Equally therefore when she feeds and does not feed them, 
so that my inference to the contrary was wrong. 

9.35.—Croodling again, meaning that chicks are trying to be 
fed. The chicks begin now to hold up their wings, and wave or 
flap them more than at first. 

9.40.—A bird (doubtless the partner) flies close by quaw- 
eeing, and the other bird flies from chicks. The partner then 
settles near and ‘“‘churrs”’ softly for a moment, then flies to 
chicks, feeds them, and instantly flies away. I thought I recog- 
nized the dark bird’s voice—the male’s, as I take it to be. It is 
not likely that the hen, after flying off, would have returned 
almost instantly and fed the chicks again. Moreover, since the 
eggs have hatched out I have not heard her “ churr.’’* 

Left at 9.45. Both birds.away. 

July 6th.—Arrived at 8.40 p.m., and found chicks alone quite 
three feet nearer to me than the original place where the eggs were. 

8.44.—Hen bird perched on elder-stump. Held nothing in 
beak. The light good. She opened and shut her beak once, and 
I saw the light between the mandibles. Wings, when thus 
perched, reached very nearly to end of tail; would do quite, I 
think, were they straight instead of the tips curved towards— 
sometimes crossing—each other. 

8.47.—Bird flies to chicks and feeds them in the usual way. 


** After the hatching of the eggs the hen bird never greeted the male 
with a soft ‘‘churr’”’ as he came up, or, indeed, paid any attention to him. 
This is human ! 

Zool. 4th ser. vol. III., November, 1899. 2K 


498 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


One at least certainly, but cannot feel sure about the other. It 
tugs at her beak, but whether her movements were not only 
to pull it away, as they certainly were at the end, I cannot say. 

8.50.—Chicks out again, and the lighter and greedier one 
pulls long and vehemently at the hen’s beak, but whether with 
success I cannot certainly say. Begin to think they must get 
something, after all—I mean after the first time they are fed by 
the old bird on each return. 

8.54. — Other chick tries to get something, but old bird 
immediately flles away. The feeding went on in the original 
place—as night before—for the old bird walked away to it, and 
the chicks had to follow her. During above, a bird (I think the 
male) flew close by quaw-eeing. I notice that of the two chicks 
the light-coloured one is the most vigorous and greedy, which 
might suggest its being the male ; but if so, the old bird, who sits 
all day and does most (if not now all) of the feeding, is probably 
the male too. This I can hardly think. 

9.3.—Bird flies round with twists and evolutions in the air. 
Imagine it to be hawking for insects, but see none in the light 
clear air. I should certainly see insects of any size, even that 
of a bluebottle—I mean, of course, where the bird hawks— 
near me. 

9.5.—Hen bird back on stump. Ina moment flies to chicks. 
Feeds light one (who insists on it) first, then the darker one, 
both unmistakably (always in same way), and again flies away. 
Could see nothing again in bird’s bill whilst she sat on stump. 
At a rustling which I make in my shelter, the light-coloured 
chick scurries away into nettles; the dark one sits still. 

9.11.—Bird flies by hawking. 

9.12.—Hen bird perches on stump. Can detect nothing held 
in bill. 

9.13.—Bird on stump flies to chicks, and feeds the darker one 
well. The lighter chick comes running from nettles, and is fed 
much less, if at all. Bird then flies to stump, and for a moment 
I think I notice a swollen appearance of the beak, as if something 
was held or sticking within it. Then there are motions of bill 
and throat, as if the bird was swallowing something down, and, 
this done, she flies off. It looks asif she had retained something 
of what she had brought up into her mouth to feed the chicks. 


DIARY OF THE HABITS OF NIGHTJARS. 499 


Thus the only time I have seen, or thought I have seen, anything 
_in the parent bird’s bill was not just before but just after she fed 
her young. 

9.21.—Same bird back. No appearance of anything in beak. 

9.22.—Bird flies to chicks and feeds them, I think more than 
once, but I cannot say for certain, nor if both chicks are fed or 
only one. 

9.24.—Chicks try to get fed again, on which parent bird flies 
away with the impatient note. The chicks have now a well- 
defined piping cry, which they utter when the parent bird is with 
them ; when alone they are silent. The croodling, I now know, 
is made by the old bird. 

9.30.— Three birds fly by close together, one or more of them 
clapping their wings. 

9.31.—Bird (I think the lighter one) back on stump. Nothing 
in beak, I think. Another bird, churring close by, rises and 
flies near (but cannot see it) with loud double claps of the wings. 

9.35.—Bird on stump. Flies to chicks, and (as I think) 
either feeds them both or one of them twice. 

9.33.—Bird churring on ground somewhere near, and rises 
choo-o0-o0o-ing and clapping wings. 

9.40.—Bird leaves chicks, and I come away. 

July 7th.—Arrive at 2.40 a.m.—Cycling down, I put up a 
Nightjar sitting in the road. This bird kept flying in front of 
me all the way down the road (some two hundred or three 
hundred yards), and when I turned into the footpath amongst 
the trees leading to plantations still followed or rather headed, 
me nearly as far again. It seemed as if my appearance at such 
an hour piqued the bird’s curiosity. 

2.40.— Hen bird settles on elder-stump, and then keeps 
uttering a note like “ tchug tchug,’’ a low somewhat parrot-like 
sound. Soon the other bird flies to her as she sits on the stump, 
flutters about her without alighting, and flies off. In a minute 
or two again flies close by her. 

2.50.—Bird flies twice quite near, clapping wings, and then 
twice again in as many minutes. 

2.54.—Bird leaves stump. 

8 o’clock.—Same bird back on stump. In a minute or two 
flies to chicks and feeds both well. She darted at them in a 

2kK2 


500 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


somewhat impetuous way, and fluttered over and about them 
several seconds before alighting with much whirring of wings. 
Both whilst thus fluttering, and afterwards whilst feeding the 
chicks, the male bird made a dash at her in the air, and then flew 
and settled a little way off. The instant the hen bird had fed the 
second chick she flew a few paces off amongst the nettles, where 
evidently the other had been waiting for her. I could see the 
two running about excitedly, pursuing each other as in court- 
ship.* They soon, however, got out of sight amongst the nettles, 
so that I could not establish this farther. 

3.10.—Churring of Nightjars all about. Quite liight—almost 
broad daylight—though moon still bright. 

3.15.—The two birds disport themselves in the air near, in 
narrower or wider circles, pursuing each other with animated 
cries (“ quaw-ee ”’ or “‘quee’’), and clapping their wings loudly. 
The two chicks sit tightly pressed against each other. 

3.22.—Turtle-Doves begin to call. 

3.25.—Wood-Pigeons ditto. 

3.30.—Broad daylight. Number of Bats flying about. Both 
birds away. Can hear one Nightjar churring, but not loudly. 

3.40.—See no Bats now, but Swallows. May have mistaken 
the Swallows for Bats just before, the distance being considerable, 
but do not think so. Wood-Pigeons begin to fly about. The 
clapping of their wings above the back is now quite a marked 
feature, much more so than later in the day. Hear no more 
churring now. ‘Turtle-Doves turring everywhere. Chicks still 
left alone. 

3.45.—Chicks all at once begin to utter a note J] have not 
heard before—‘“ quirr quirr”—quite different to the piping note ; 
more like a rudimentary ‘‘ churr,’” but having no continuance. 
They seem excited about something, and begin to move from 
where they were. Soon I hear the old bird croodling, uttering 
various low sounds—call-notes evidently. Chicks get more and 
more excited, and run towards the sounds, running a little, then 
stopping, running again, and so on, always ‘‘ quirr, quirring.” 
They soon got right away from the nest. The old bird does 

* And pretty fast. This from memory twenty hours afterwards. ‘‘ Its 


helplessness on the ground, where it can only walk with difficulty.” See- 
bohm, ‘A History of British Birds.’ 


DIARY OF THE HABITS OF NIGHTJARS. 501 


not call continuously. There is an interval, and the chicks sit 
still. She again calls, and they run on. Same again. Old bird 
keeps calling them at intervals, and each time they get farther 
away from the old place, stopping between the calls. I walk 
after them. When I get to them—some seven or eight paces off 
—both the old birds start up from the ground. One (the lighter- 
coloured one) spins along the ground as though injured, with her 
wings extended (as a Partridge in same case), but when I walk 
away flies to the old elder-stump, where she sits clucking—per- 
haps to call the chicks back again. I then walk some distance 
off, keeping the bird in view, and sit down on tree-stump watching 
her. It must now be 4 o’clock or past (have left watch at bush). 
Thinking it better to let the bird get easy in her mind, I walk 
away altogether, and when I return to the bush (at 4.25) neither 
old birds nor chicks are to be seen. It would seem that the 
birds had divined my presence early in the morning, and called 
off their chicks to a safer spot. This, however, is merely con- 
jecture. No action on the part of either of the old birds 
previous to the calling off of the chicks suggested that they were 
suspicious of my presence, and the more I think of it the less I 
believe that they were. Following the chicks was a great mis- 
take. Leave at a little past 5 a.m., neither old birds nor chicks 
having come back. 

July 12th.—(Fine.) 8.25 p.m. Found the birds again.* 
They were some fifty yards from the original place. Put up both 
the old birds. One (the hen, I have no doubt) first spun along 
the ground, then flew about much disturbed, then settled on 
ground some little way off, and kept up a loud continuous clucking. 
One chick had already run out of the way. The other—the 
darker one—lay there, apparently not at all disturbed. After a 
time hen bird rose from ground, and flew about in great state of 
excitement, coming quite near me as I sat on the ground, and 
hovering about; then darting off again, then sitting on thistle- 
tuft, then again on the ground, always making the distressed 
kind of clucking note, which at times became shriller, rising, as 
it were, to an agony. The other bird—the male—also flew about 
near, behaving in the same way, but not so violently—a little less 


* They had not returned to the old place, nor had I been able to find 
them during the interval, 


502 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


moved. Sometimes he came quite near, and often clapped his 
wings. Also settled on elder-stump near. 

8.45.—Took one of the young ones up, and put it down in 
the old place, then sat behind screen as before. The birds con- 
tinued to fly about both near the place where I was and that from 
which I had taken the chick. Once the latter gave a loud harsh 
ery, which was not repeated. As one of the birds hovered for 
some time near the ground where I had put the chick, I think 
she must have seen it. 

9.—Hen bird settled on the elder-stump near my shelter. . 

9.1.—Rose and flew off with impatient note, and in unquiet 
manner. 

9.9.—Bird again on stump. In less than minute flies off 
suddenly and violently with short cry. Put chick back from 
where I had taken it with the other, which I found near. This 
one (the lighter one) was so much the larger of the two that I 
could hardly think they were of the same hatching. Yet it must 
have been so, for, having walked all about there before the time 
at which the Nightjar takes wing, I had disturbed no other grown 
birds than this one pair. They sit very close, however, so the 
possibility is not excluded. 


Nightjars. (General Observations.) 


June 17th and 18th, 1898.— Commence their churring about 
8.30 p.m. Sit on the very extreme top of young fir trees in 
plantation. ‘‘Churr’”’ for a very long time in succession (I 
believe sometimes for upwards of a quarter of an hour, but have 
not yet succeeded in timing a very long one, as it 1s never known 
at the beginning whether it will be long or short). Then rise 
into the air, giving very often several loud claps with the wings 
above the back, and uttering another note—‘“ quaw-ee quaw-ee ” 
—which I have not heard them make whilst sitting on tree. 

I have heard—though only once, I think—a curious modifi- 
cation of the “churr” at its ending. It became less mechanical, 
less instrumental as it were, more voice entered into it, and it 
seemed to express joy. I did not see the bird at this time. It 
was possibly joined by its mate. Often when the bird has 
finished churring on the tree it settles, after a few circles, on the 
ground on which it crouches. Sometimes whilst here it will give 


DIARY OF THH HABITS OF NIGHTJARS. 503 


a sort of hop into the air with wings extended, and then crouch 
down again. Ina very short time it rises from the ground, and 
flies either to the same tree or another not far away, “churrs”’ 
again, and again settles on the ground either in exactly the same 
spot or close by. . Last night (17th) I watched it do this four or 
five times in succession. Could not make out that this had any- 
thing to do with feeding, and think it probable the bird’s mate is 
somewhere near on her eggs, though have looked all about for 
them without success. At this time (from 8.30 to 9.30 or 10 p.m.) 
they do not seem to be much occupied in catching insects—very 
different from Bats or Swallows. The short flights between 
“‘churr’” and ‘‘ churr”’ on the trees did not seem to be made for 
this purpose, though they may have been. I have never seen them 
settle on any part of these young firs except the extreme tip. 

June 22nd.—(Fine.) A bird would be circling about in the 
open when another would dart from aclump of fir trees close by 
and pursue it. Instantly the first bird would clap its wings 
loudly and excitedly above its back a dozen, sixteen, or twenty- 
five times in succession. ‘These numbers must be taken as the 
minimum in each case. Very probably there were more claps. 
It is difficult to count them all, and one is always behind. Again, 
a bird circling about over grass and low sparsely scattered 
bushes has stayed hovering in the air a few feet above the grass, 
clapping its wings loudly and continuously, then sunk like a 
shadow on to the ground. My impression is that its mate was 
crouched there. Again, one has sprung from the branch of a 
fir tree in a swift downward flight to the ground, with a continual 
clapping of the wings, poising a moment just above the earth 
with the wings raised high above the back (most graceful), and 
then sinking down. Immediately afterwards the bird would rise 
again, still clapping its wings, whilst in front of it, also from the 
ground, rose another, which it pursued.* They by no means 

* “Tn general its flight is silent, but at times, when disturbed from its 
repose, its wings may be heard to smite together’ (Professor Newton, ‘A 
Dictionary of Birds’). It is in joy, not in fear, that the wings are smitten, 
and when the bird is least troubled by man’s ‘‘ gaucheries.” Disturbance 
may produce the sound, but is no key to its real nature. Its ordinary cause 
is social, and especially (as I believe) sexual pleasurable excitement, of which 
it is the true expression, though so implanted that most excitations will 
produce it, 


504 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


always, however, clap the wings when taking flight after churring. 
Often they do so with absolute silence, as silently as an Owl. No 
words can give an idea of the extreme beauty of the flight of 
these birds. In their soft moods they seem to swoon on the air, 
and again they flout, coquette, and play all manner of tricks with 
it. Grace and jerkiness are qualities quite opposite to each 
other. The Nightjar, when ‘i’ the vein,’ combines them with 
easy mastery, and to see this is almost to have a new sensation. 
Tt is as though Shakespeare’s Ariel were to dance in a pantomime, 
yet still be Shakespeare’s Ariel. As one watches such beings in 
the deepening gloom they seem not to be real but parts of the 
night’s pageant only—dusky imaginings, shadows in the shapes 
of birds. What glorious powers of motion! One cannot see 
them without wishing to be one of them. 

The following are the different notes which I have heard 
uttered by the Nightjar, and have been able more or less to 
catch. ‘There are many others which I could not set down :— 

1. The ordinary “churr”’ uttered whilst sitting, either length- 
ways along a branch, or perched on the extreme tip of a young 
fir tree, or on the ground,* &c. I have never heard the bird 
make it whilst flying. | 

2. The ‘‘choo-00 choo-o00 choo-oo,” or “choo-ey choo-ey 
choo-ey,” at the end of the churring uttered as the bird takes 
flight, and generally (perhaps always) accompanied with clapping 
of the wings. 

3. The jubilee of gurgling notes, impossible to describe; also 
at end of the ‘‘churr.” Whether uttered sitting or on taking 
flight, or indifferently, I do not know. Not so often heard. 

4, The “ quir quir quir ” at end of the ‘‘churr,” as above. 

5. The beatification, as it were, of the ‘“ churr” itself towards 
the end, the sound becoming more vocal and expressive, and 
losing the hard woodeny insect-like character which it usually 
has. I have only heard this peculiar modification once, but the 
bird was quite near, and it was very noticeable. 

6. The “quaw-ee”’ note uttered at and during flight, often 
immediately after the churring as t: e bird takes flight. 

7. The “ queek-queek ” or ‘‘ quee quee,”’ uttered as above. 


* On or near eggs or young, according to my own observations. Whether 
otherwise I do not know, 


DIARY OF “THE HABITS OF. NIGHTJARS. 505 


8. The “chook chook chook,” being, I think, the danger- 
signal to the young, to hide themselves; whilst sitting, and, I 
think, whilst flying also. 

9. The low crooning note (one syllable) of content, which the 
two birds utter when together in neighbourhood of eggs (as 
heard by me), and probably whilst caressing. 

10. The little querulous note uttered when the bird is in 
trouble or perplexity ; also one-syllabled. 

11. A low guttural note (I think of two syllables) which I 
heard the bird make whilst sitting on the ground in near 
neighbourhood of eggs. 

12. A note like ‘‘jig jig jig,” which I have heard whilst two 
or more birds were sporting together in the air. 

13. A note very much resembling one made by Blackbirds, so 
that I at first mistook it for this, but cannot now remember the 
note itself so as to write it down. The resemblance, however, 
was remarked on to me independently* by a good ornithologist. 

14. A low croodling sound, expressive of pleasure and tender- 
ness. With chicks. 

15. A low guttural note, something like “‘ ho-oo ho-oo ho-oo,” 
but impossible to write it. 

16. Peculiar single note, like ‘‘ quo quo.” 

17. The “ quick quick—quick quick,” like a sort of loud 
twitter, uttered whilst birds sport in the air together. 

i8. A note expressive of disquiet and impatience, short and 
of indefinite sound, often uttered at the point when the bird, 
unable to sit still longer, flies hurriedly off. 

19. A low somewhat Parrot-like noise, like ‘“‘tchug tchug 
tchug.” Ido not now remember why I thought it Parrot-like, 
but something in the sound must have caught my ear at the time. 


* In conversation afterwards, and as a general fact. I was alone at 
the time. 


506 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


ORIGINAL SKETCHES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 


By H. §S. Davenport. 


Tue ReEepsreast (Hrithacus rubecula). 


A FEW years ago a lady whom I knew very well, and who 
resided at Halstead Grange in this county, Mrs. Chester by 
name, published a small brochure detailing some extraordinary 
incidents in connection with two Redbreasts that had lost their 
bills in traps set to catch mice, and subsequently sought her 
protection and kindly favour. One bird, so far as I remember, 
lived in the house, chiefly in her bedroom, and would come 
almost at any time to her call, while the other passed its time 
out of doors, but was equally tame; and if any of the readers of 
these notes meet with the pamphlet in question, they will find 
recorded that the latter of the two birds was in the habit of 
accompanying the carriage when Mrs. Chester went out to pay 
calls, and that, on one occasion, when her carriage was announced 
for her departure, the Robin was announced at the same time. 
Mr. Knox’s reference to apocryphal anecdotes is still ringing in 
my ears, but I merely relate the gist of what I have read with my 
own eyes and seen attested by the signature of the lady who 
published the story. 

The nesting-sites chosen by the Redbreast are many and 
varied. In ‘The Vertebrate Animals of Leicestershire and Rut- 
land’ instances are recorded of this species having bred in an 
old tea-kettle tossed aside into a hedge, also in a flower-pot and 
in a meat-tin; but illustrations of the kind might be multiplied 
indefinitely. 

The average clutch in my experience is six eggs; I have 
taken seven, and regard eight as quite unusual. Sometimes 
perfectly white eggs, without spot or speck, are met with, and 
this beautiful variety was not uncommon in my schoolboy days 
in Herefordshire. I took a clutch of this character near to 
Ashlands in May, 1880. 


ORIGINAL SKETCHES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 507 


Tue NIGHTINGALE (Daulias luscinia). 


I never once met with this bird in Herefordshire, and it is 
certainly not in the habit of singing at my doors in Leicester- 
shire, though in most years it turns up in comparative abundance 
in a district with which I am very familiar—I refer to Maidwell, 
in Northamptonshire, only about fifteen miles distant from my late 
home. The best Nightingale year, so to designate it, | remember 
in Leicestershire was in 1893. I knew of four pairs of birds 
that were nesting in the course of that summer in and about the 
plantations which tend so materially to enhance the beauty of 
the landscape in the immediate neighbourhood of Keythorpe. 

One of the greatest treats I ever enjoyed in connection with 
the Nightingale occurred in the year above mentioned, when a 
Nightingale condescended to pay my grounds a visit and remain ‘i 
the best part of the spring months cheering us with its liquid 
notes by day and night. It was said at the time that fifteen 
years had elapsed since one had been heard in the village of 
Skeffington. 

I am glad to add it found shelter and protection in my garden 
for its nest, and, though the young stayed about in the bushes for 
a short time after they could fly, the visit was not repeated in 
1894, so the assertion that Nightingales always return to the 
same haunts to nidificate, if unmolested, seems to require con- 
siderable qualification, for, though my experience of the species 
is, I fully confess, limited, I never knew a single instance of a 
particular haunt in Leicestershire being frequented two years in 
succession. Curiously enough, in connection with my Nightin- 
gale, I had only a short time previously seen hounds pull a Fox 
down in positively the very bushes where I had heard it on its 
first appearance, and where subsequently it seemed to spend the 
greater part of its time. It never sang on cold wet nights, and 
its aversion to exhibit itself in public was palpable and pro- 
nounced. 

One has only to watch a Nightingale for a few moments to 
become impressed with the marked resemblance its movements 
and actions bear to those of the Redbreast. On the other hand, 
I have found it—unlike its allied species—none too willing to 
admit of a close inspection, and have frequently been amused at 
the mental struggle that has obviously gone on between its desire 


508 THE ZO0OLOGIST. 


to avoid being observed and its curiosity to learn all about the 
observer. Its croaking note I have especially remarked after the 
young have left the nest; it is undoubtedly a signal of danger. 

I have seen few nests, comparatively speaking, in situ; 
one, however, that now lies before me, and was taken in this 
county after the young had left it, is constructed externally of 
flags, a little dry grass, and a profusion of oak leaves; while the 
interior, which is of some depth, is lined with very fine dry 
grasses and a few small oak leaves. The nest itself was placed 
in some old exposed roots amidst some brushwood in the centre 
of a small plantation, and was close to that of a bird I have only 
once met with breeding in Leicestershire—I mean the Red-backed 
Shrike. A second nest of a similar character, though ragged in 
appearance, was placed in a hedgerow-bottom, and contained four 
eggs of the usual olive-brown colour. 


Tae WarretHRoat (Sylvia cinerea). 


Many are the nests I have found of this species—hundreds, I 
may say—but I do not recollect having noticed any in abnormal 
situations. Sometimes it is placed very low down, but more 
often it is built two or three feet above the ground, and it may 
be noticed amongst nettles and coarse vegetation generally, in 
brambles, shrubs, whitethorn, gooseberry-bushes—indeed, in a 
variety of kindred situations; but when I said just now that I 
did not remember having discovered a nest abnormally placed, I 
had for the moment forgotten the fact that in the summer of 1894 
I came upon one containing five eggs of a beautiful type all but on 
the ground. It was ina tuft of rushes in the middle of a grass 
field near to Bala Lake. Perhaps I am not justified in deeming 
the actual site quite so uncommon as the fact that the nest itself 
was located right away from the haunts the Whitethroat usually 
affects for shelter as well as for breeding purposes. 

A few summers ago I was indebted for the discovery of not a 
few of the commoner nests usually to be found low down in 
hedges and bushes to a couple of Clumber Spaniels. That 
Clumber Spaniels should have taken to this form of pastime— 
hunting for little birds’ nests—may seem singular, and I can 
only account for it in this way:—They were in the habit of 
frequently accompanying me in my roadside rambles, and herein 


ORIGINAL SKETCHES OF BRITISH BIRDS. 509 


I make a distinction advisedly, as had I taken them into the 
coverts, not only would they have proved an eyesore to game- 
keepers, but, inasmuch as the entire absence of all noise should 
be the watchword of those who study the habits of birds in their 
woodland haunts, the mere presence of dogs would have tended 
to defeat the very object I had in view. However, what I was 
about to say was this:—I noticed one day they were taking un- 
usual interest in the way I was poking and peering into the 
roadside bushes, and they certainly saw me find and remove some 
nests. Shortly afterwards they themselves took to what I can 
only describe as “setting’’ bushes in which any nests might be 
placed, and not only would they intelligently look round to see 
if I was coming, and as much as to say, “‘ Here you are!” but 
when I reached the spot they would display manifest signs of 
delight, and get quite excited if a bird fluttered out in front of 
them. Iam afraid I cannot add I ever saw one ‘‘ backing”’ the 
other! JI am aware that some dogs have been trained to hunt 
for eggs—viz. for those of Lapwings, but here was an instance of 
a habit acquired solely from seeing me interesting myself in such 
matters ; and in connection with the same I particularly made 
note of two things—viz. they never once ‘‘set” an old nest, and 
the bird was invariably on those they found. I presume it was 
the scent of the latter that accounted for no false points, but it 
was strange that they should have voluntarily taken upon them- 
selves to lend me such serviceable aid. 

A characteristic feature of a large series of the nests of the 
Whitethroat is the profusion of dark horse-hair which is used 
for the lining, though, on occasions, I have noticed hair only 
sparingly employed—much less seldom none at all. The 
exterior of the structure is chiefly composed of the withered 
stems of goose-grass and the cocoons of caterpillars, its com- 
ponent parts being so dexterously and beautifully interwoven as 
to render the nest quite firm and compact. It is perhaps worthy 
of remark that Whitethroats are not in the habit of utilising thin 
roots and fibrous rootlets, as some writers assert; though, as in 
the case of other species, it is obvious that varieties of construc- 
tion may occur. The nest is more substantially built than those 
of its smaller relative, and less so than those of the Garden 
Warbler—it hits, in fact, the happy medium. 


510 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


The eggs are not very variable, five being a favourite number 
for a clutch ; very rarely have I known so many laid as six. Mr. 
W.J. Horn is lucky in the possession of some nice specimens, 
while his cabinet also contains eggs of both the Lesser White- 
throat and Tree Pipit, which for beauty of colouring I have never 
seen equalled. Though I have remarked that Whitethroats’ eggs 
are not very variable, as, for instance, in comparison with those 
of the Tree Pipit, it is notorious that their ground-colour runs 
through different shades of bluish white and pale green, and that 
some specimens are more boldly and elaborately marked with the 
typical wreath of light brown, violet grey, or olive green spots as 
the case may be, some of them underlying the shell, than others. 
One of the most peculiar-looking eggs I ever found was in a nest 
in a gooseberry-bush at Fronfeuno, near to Bala, in the spring of 
1894. It was a single specimen, without shape or comeliness, 
and approximated more in colouring to the eggs of the Orphean 
Warbler than to those of the Whitethroat. The bird incubated 
it for a day or so, and then finally deserted its malformed abor- 
tion which proved to be yolkless. 

Whitethroats have a great partiality for currants and rasp- 
berries, and in July and August they raid the bushes of my 
kitchen garden in considerable numbers, and, though I am always 
hearing that “the birds take the fruit so,” I do not grudge it them. 
‘Live and let live” is a good old-fashioned principle, and though 
Finches pilfer the newly-sown seeds, and, later in the year, Tits 
filch the peas, I deem myself amply repaid by the facilities they 
afford me for observing—amidst several other characteristic 
habits—their thievish propensities. 


(S1L)") 


ORNITHOLOGICAL MEETING AT SERAJEVO, 
BOSNIA.* 


From the 25th to 28th September last there was held in 
Serajevo, the capital of Bosnia, under the auspices of the Local 
Government of Bosnia, an Ornithological Meeting, which has 
especially discussed questions of Phenology.t The Meeting 
was attended by sixty-four members, of whom there were thirty 
from Hungary, eighteen from Bosnia, nine from Austria, six 
from Germany, and one from Italy. 

During the meeting, which was presided over by Professor 
R. Blasius, of Brunswick, the following communications were 
made :— 


O. Reiser (Serajevo) : On the Ornithological Researches of the Serajevo 
Museum in the Balkan Peninsula. 

O. Herman (Budapest): Report on the present status of Phenology, 
and on the activity of the Hungarian Ornithological Central Office. 

Rev. T. Hegyfoky (Turkeve, Hungary): On the relations between 
Phenology and Meteorology. 

Dr. L. Lorenz von Liburnau (Vienna): Report on the organization 
and activity of the Austrian Commission for Ornithological Observations, 
and on the results obtained by the observations of Migratory Birds in the 
years 1897-98 in Austria. 

Gaston Gaal (Csaszta, Hungary): The great abundance of the Swallow 
(Hirundo rustica) during the year 1898 in Hungary. 

Steph. Chernel (Koszeg, Hungary): On the utility and injuriousness 
of Birds judged upon positive basis. 

Prof. H. Nitsche (Tharandt, Germany): The distribution of the Com- 
mon Heron in Saxony. 


* For this report we are indebted to the good offices of Dr. G. Horvath, 
the Natural History Director of the ‘‘ Museum National Hongrois”’ at 
Budapest. 

+ This word is seldom used, and we have been informed by a very high 
authority that it may be defined as ‘‘ Observational Biology,” and as applied 
to birds, as it is here, may be taken to mean the study or science of observa- 
tions on the appearance of birds.—(ED.) 


512 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Prof. T. Knotek (Serajevo): On the dates of the migration of Birds 
as hitherto known from Bosnia and Herzegovina. 


Very interesting and instructive for the members of this 
meeting were the collections in the Museum of Serajevo, by 
which the fauna of the Balkan Peninsula is richly represented, 
and which comprise about eight thousand skins of birds from 
all parts of the peninsula. These skins have been collected since 
1887, and mostly by the indefatigable O. Reiser, Custos of the 
Museum. 


qsenae 


ON THE SPAWNING OF BOMBINATOR PACHYPUS 
SErER . TWO>- YEARS, OF CAPTIVITY... EN 


ENGLAND. 
By J. L. Monk. 


Tue difficulty with which Batrachians are brought to breed 
in confinement, whether kept indoors or in the open, is well 
known to all who have attempted to study the habits of this 
interesting class of animals. It is also generally believed that 
when once the annual discharge of the genital products has been 
interrupted by captivity, the individuals are for ever barren. 
For example, the Xenopus levis in the reptile-house at the 
Zoological Gardens bred in the year of their arrival, but in no 
subsequent year could they be induced to do so. 

The case I have the pleasure of putting on record is therefore 
a most interesting one. Some specimens of Bombinator pachypus, 
captured by my friend Mr. Boulenger in Belgium in the early 
spring of 1897, before the breeding season had set in, have been 
kept in an aquarium for two years, when it was ascertained that, 
although pairing repeatedly took place, no spawn was _ ever 
deposited. Having placed them this spring in a small pond in 
my garden at Forest Gate, they have, to my surprise and satis- 
faction, paired and spawned under my eyes; and I append some 
notes on the observations I was able to make on this occasion, 
which may be acceptable to the readers of this Journal, since, 
apart from the late naturalist, Héron-Royer, no one has yet been 
able to ascertain with anything approaching precision the number 
of eggs that are laid by one female in the course of the breeding 
season. 

There were two pairs of this species, the females both in 
breeding condition; but only one of the males appeared animated 
with genesic ardour, showing himself most constant in his atten- 
tions, not only to his legitimate mates, but even to a small Rana 
temporaria sharing the same pond. 

Zool. 4th ser. vol. III., November, 1899. 24 


514 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


The first spawn was deposited on July 3rd, one hundred and 
nine ova, in small bunches of two to ten, adhering to the weeds. 
There was an imperfect albino amongst the embryos that 
hatched, but it never appeared at all healthy, and did not reach 
maturity. 

On the 6th a second brood of seventy-seven appeared ; six 
days later another of sixty-nine. On the 15th forty-seven more ; 
and a fifth brood of only seven appeared to exhaust the capacities 
of one female. After an interval of five days (on the 21st) 
there was a fresh oviposition of one hundred and twenty-seven 
eggs, the first effort of the other female; forty more on the 
23rd completed the spawning, making a total of four hundred 
and seventy-s1x eggs. 

There can be no doubt that three hundred and nine of these 
eggs can be ascribed to one female, and the balance to the other. 
These numbers will be seen to be in accordance with the com- 
putations of Héron-Royer. 

The rapidity with which the embryo develops and breaks 
through its capsule is striking, two or three of the broods taking 
only four days to-hatch into wriggling larve with small four- 
branched external gills, which disappeared after a few hours. 

The gelatinous capsule measured from between 5 and 7 mm.; 
the vitellus’2°3 mm., dark brown, with large white pale. Length 
of larva when first hatched, 9 mm.; colour light greyish ; tail, 
well-developed, 5 mm. Length after fifteen days, 15 mm.; tail, 
7°5 mm.; light brownish, speckled with darker brown; a darker 
streak along the vertebral line remaining throughout the larval 
stage. 

After twenty-six days there was only an increase of 2 mm. in 
the length; the hind legs had just begun to appear as small 
white stumps. 

In thirty-five days they had rapidly reached the length of 
25 mm.; and in fifty-four days, after some hot weather, they 
were 34 mm. long. 

Length of body, 16 mm. 
Width of body, 10°5 mm. 
From tip of snout to eye, 5 mm. 
Width between eyes, 4 mm. 
Front limbs just visible under the skin; hind limbs with digits 


SPAWNING OF BOMBINATOR PACHYPUS. 515 


well-developed, and transverse lines across femur and tibia. In 
sixty-nine days the metamorphosis was completed. 

This development took place in the garden without any 
covering or artificial warmth, the tadpoles feeding most vora- 
ciously on raw meat. 

The first two broods will metamorphose this year, but at the 
time I write there are many whose development has practically 
ceased, and will probably not be resumed until the return 
of spring. 


Oia 2 


516 THE ZO00LOGIST. 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


MAMMALIA. 
CARNIVORA. 


The Suricate in the Transvaal.-—- With reference to my note on 
Cynictis penicillata (ante, p. 179), I have a similar observation to make 
respecting the true Meer-Kat or Suricate (Surtcata tetradactyla). The 
‘ Royal Natural History’ positively asserts that it does not inhabit the 
country north of the Orange River.* I have myself seen the animals-on 
the Free State Flats several years ago, and now have come across them in 
the Transvaal. On the 27th July a Boer brought in a Suricate, which was 
perfectly full-grown and apparently old. What is more, it was as savage as 
could be; and all who know the habits of this interesting littl mammal 
must also be aware that it is very easily tamed. In addition, the Boer 
roared ‘with laughter when I asked him whether the animal had really been 
caught in the Transvaal. ‘‘ Waar anders?” (Where else?) he answered. 
* Do you think I brought or had this little beast sent from the Free State 
or Cape Colony?” For a long time past I had the idea that the Suricate 
inhabited the Transvaal, for the following reasons. Several acquaintances 
had tame ones, and they all, without exception, assured me that the animals 
had been caught in the Heidelberg and Pretoria districts. My suspicions 
were confirmed by the bringing in, straight from the veld, so to say, of a 
snapping, snarling creature. Ihave also long noticed their burrows. The 
ground is always in a way ploughed up within a certain radius of a “ Meer- 
Kat’s location.” There can be no doubt as to the creature’s identity. The 
‘ Royal Natural History ’ itself says that there is no other Mungoose which 
has ears of another tint than its general body colour. The other charac- 
teristics of a Suricate need not be enumerated here. It is, however, certain 
that the animal is not in any way plentiful here in the Transvaal—ALwin 
C. Haacner (P. O. Modderfontein, 8. A. K.) 

(This animal is not unknown in the Transvaal. I not only kept a pair 
alive when in Pretoria, but brought them home with me a few years ago. 
When coaching between Potchefstroom and Vryburg, I have seen quantities 
about their holes.—ED. | 

* The statement in the work referred to is: ‘‘ Meerkats appear to be 


confined to the Cape Colony, extending at least as far north as Algoa Bay.” 
—(ED.) 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 517 


AVES. 

Chiffchaff building on the top of small Yew and Box Trees.— My 
friend Mr. George Alcock, who is much interested in British birds, sends 
me the following note, which, I think, is worth publishing :—‘‘ A Chiffchaff 
(Phylloscopus rufus) built in my garden at the top of a yew ten feet above 
ground. It built a second time on the top of a box-bush four feet above 
ground. I have found scores, but have never before seen one in these 
positions. In each case the young came to maturity ; there were four eggs 
each time.” Mr. Alcock well knows what he is talking about, or I should 
have been inclined to think that he had mistaken the nest of the Willow 
Warbler for that of the Chiffchaff; but the late Lord Lilford was of 
Opinion that the latter bird more frequently built at some height from the 
ground than the former, an experience opposed to my own, but (without 
any doubt) based upon considerably greater knowledge of the two species.— 
A. G. Burier (Beckenham, Kent). 


Swallows and Hobbies (ante, p. 476).—It may perhaps be remembered 
that in ‘ The Zoologist’ for 1892, p. 26, I called attention to the fact which 
Mr. Warde Fowler, in his interesting note, has corroborated. Strange to 
say, one evening about the middle of September, as I sat at a window in the 
dusk of evening watching the Swallows as they with hurried and erratic 
flight dashed over the houses towards the river, I observed a much larger 
and darker bird accompanying them, and at the time suspected it was a 
Hawk; but it had gone out of sight too quickly for me to determine what 
it was. It no doubt has been observed that the flight of the Swallows at 
such a time is very low—only just over the housetops—and silent, as if 
they feared to get benighted ere they reached their roosting place; or that 
something had frightened them, and they wished to get out of sight 
as quickly and quietly as possible; so different to the gliding, twittering, 
happy, and, I always think, friendly and fearless flight of the birds at other 
times. It is gratifying to be able to say that the handsome little Hobby 
still visits this locality, and I have every reason to suppose it bred near here 
during the past summer, as I saw a pair near a certain wood in July, a male 
was killed in another direction in August, and I have no doubt the bird I 
saw in September following the Swallows was of the same species, for it is 
well known that this little Falcon is often on the wing very late in the day ; 
and I have seen the stomach of more than one specimen where the remains 
of the dusk-loving Dor-beetle (Geotrupes stercorarius) indicated that the 
coleopteron named was a particular article of diet. — G. B. Corsin (Ring- 
wood, Hants). 


Sky-Lark (Alauda arvensis) singing in October.—On the morning of 
October 16th I heard a Lark singing, which was repeated on the 17th, 


518 | THE ZOOLOGIST. 


about the same hour, viz. 6 a.m. I again heard the song on the 18th, but 
in this case it was about 8 a.m., and I also heard it some seven miles from 
my home on the 20th, also about 8a.m.; so that this occurrence has not 
been confined to one bird or to one place. The weather was very mild, and 
this may have occasioned the song. I do not recollect hearing the Lark 
sing at the same time of year before. In the last instance there were 
several Larks in a flock, but only one was singing. In the other cases 
there were also several in the vicinity, but one only sang. The songs were 
of fair duration; but I have not again heard more up to the time of 
writing (Oct. 27th).—Wa. Witson (Alford, Aberdeen, N.B.) 


Green Woodpecker near London.—I have had brought to me a male 
Green Woodpecker (Gecinus viridis), which had been shot here on the 19th 
October. It was only about half through its moult, and had been seen 
about for some time, evidently coming from Dulwich Wood. I am sorry 
it could not have been spared, as this bird is rarely seen so near London. 
—F RANK SLADE (Horniman Museum, Forest Hill, $.E.) 


Birds of Cheshire.—We have for some years been engaged in pre- 
paring a book on the ‘ Birds of Cheshire,’ which will be published early in 
the ensuing year; and we shall be grateful for assistance in the shape of 
notes of the occurrence or capture of rare species, lists of local bird names, 
or other matters relating to the avifauna of the county.—T. A. CowarpD 
(Tryfan, Peel Causeway, Bowdon); Cuas. OLpHam (Alderley Edge). 


REPTLOTA, 


A Viper feeding in Confinement.—During a holiday spent in the 
Land’s End district of Cornwall, in August of last year, I obtained several 
Vipers (Vipera verus), two of which I kept alive in a large case—a fine 
male and small female—the latter giving birth to seven young about 
a fortnight later. Up to this period she had refused to eat (I might men- 
tion that the male refused all food during the three months it lived), but, 
on putting a live Mouse into the case, I was fortunate enough to observe 
the perfectly natural action of both animals. The Viper, on seeing the 
Mouse, followed it cautiously, striking a hind limb, which appeared to 
cause very little inconvenience to the Mouse; the Viper, however, still 
following up, struck again, this time fairly across the loins, and then 
retired to the further part of the case, seemingly to await results. In less 
than two minutes the Mouse was dead. Soon the Viper came slowly 
towards the body, with head lowered, prodding the earth as if smelling the 
track of its prey, and, although the body was completely hidden by grassy 
turf, went straight to it. After several unsuccessful attempts to swallow it 
by means of the legs, the head was seized, and the body disappeared in 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 519 


about ten minutes. Strangely enough, after this it refused to feed, and 
died of starvation the following November. The young were totally 
ignored by the mother, although when at rest they generally kept near her 
(avoiding the male), invariably lying upon or around her, and at the 
slightest alarm slipping under and along the coils of her body, thus dis- 
appearing from view. This habit has no doubt given origin to the numerous 
reports of female Vipers temporarily swallowing their families till danger 
was past.—F’. W. Terry (102, Kingston Road, Wimbledon, Surrey). 


Viper killed by a Mouse.—I was in the same district last July, and 
captured, amongst others, a very fine gravid female, with which I hoped to 
be more successful than in the previous year; but the result was still 
more disastrous. Although particularly vicious at first, after a few weeks’ 
confinement it became sufficiently docile to allow free handling. Some 
time previous to giving birth it became sickly, and the young, when born, 
soon died. Guided by my previous experience, I tried it with a Mouse, 
but this was ignored, and for over a week both lived on perfectly happy 
terms. One evening, on going to feed the Mouse, I was amazed to find it 
hanging on to the Viper’s head, like a miniature Bull-dog, the unfortunate 
reptile vainly endeavouring to shake it off. I promptly killed the aggressor, 
and found also that it was necessary to treat the Snake likewise, for, on 
examination, I found that both eyes had been eaten out, and the maxillary 
bearing the poison-fang bitten through. How the Mouse passed unscathed 
is a mystery, for the Snake, although weak, was quite capable of striking, 
the uninjured fang being erected freely after the attack. Was it instinct 
that taught this (a house Mouse) that a dangerous enemy deprived of sight 
became practically harmless? Certainly, it was not hunger, for plenty of 
fresh food remained untouched. — I’. W. Terry (102, Kingston Road, 
Wimbledon, Surrey). 

(I had a somewhat similar experience with a large Python (P. sebae), 
which I kept for some months, and never induced to feed. Among other 
proffered viands was a live Rat, which I positively had to remove after 
about thirty-six hours, as it had attacked the body of the lethargic serpent. 
In this case I presume that hunger had overcome fear.—ED. | 


( 520 ) 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 


A Dictionary of Birds. By Atrrep Nrewron, assisted by Hans 
GapDow, with contributions from R. Lyprexxer, C. 8. Roy, 
& R. W. Suurentpr. Cheap issue, unabridged. Adam & 
Charles Black. 


WE may indeed welcome a cheaper edition—and unabridged— 
of this great work on Ornithology, of which Parts I. and II. were 
reviewed in these pages by another pen in 1893. Since then 
the work has been completed, and now, in a single volume of 
1232 pages, is within the reach of most naturalists, for its circula- 
tion will not be confined to ornithologists alone. 

It is seldom that an Introduction forms such an important 
feature in a book as does the one which accompanies the volume 
under notice. It is a history of ornithology from the time of 
Aristotle, written by an expert both in the science and its litera- 
ture. It is essentially a criticism throughout, and though the 
author alludes to the charm in Gilbert White by the apparent 
absence of conscious personality in those classical pages, his 
own individuality is, and happily is, stamped on every para- 
graph. When criticism is really intended it should not be in- 
vertebrate ; a freedom of expression avoids the sting of innuendo, 
and even hostility is disarmed when anonymity is absent. 
These reflections are prompted by the weird appearance of 
Seebohm in the review of British ornithologists. He is linked 
with Morris! Whether this course unduly extols Morris, or 
underestimates Seebohm, is a question for the qualified reader, 
and is probably the crux criticorum of this encyclopedic sum- 
mary. Few will disagree with the fair and judicial estimate of 
other writers: Le Vaillant is honestly treated, and the verdict 
on the late George Robert Gray is both kindly in spirit and 
brilliant in pungency. Macgillivray is classed with Willughby, 
and ornithological genius receives its recognition. Of Buffon— 
‘Tt is certain that he despised any kind of scientific phraseology, 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 521 


a crime in the eyes of those who consider precise nomenclature 
to be the end of science; but those who deem it merely a means 
whereby knowledge can be securely stored will take a different 
view—and have done so.” We need quote no more from this 
part of the work, the pages of which have quite a literary charm 
of their own, stimulating perusal, and with much original criticism 
compelling either acquiescence or dissent. 

As regards the main body of the work, it has been, as already 
stated, previously noticed in these pages. A dictionary of birds 
is a fair trial of strength for any ornithologist. It indispensably 
requires three possessions: scientific capacity, knowledge of the 
literature, and the critical faculty; and if the great lexicographer 
shared the illusion that a language might be “ fixed” by making 
a catalogue of its words, the present dictionary has very largely 
focussed ornithology to date. But, apart from special ornitho- 
logy, Professor Newton, his assistant, and three contributors, 
have probably produced one of the best books on natural history 
that has appeared in the English language. 


Man, Past and Present. By A. H. Keane, F.R.G.S. &e. 
Cambridge: University Press. 1899. 


SomE two years ago a notice appeared in these pages of a 
precursor to this book,— we allude to Mr. Keane’s ‘ Ethnology.’ 
That book discussed the fundamental problems of the science; 
the present work is of a more descriptive ethnological character, 
and deals with the various races of mankind. ‘The four primary 
divisions of the Hominid, as proposed in his ‘ Ethnology,’ are 
in the main followed here, due weight being given “to all 
available data—physical and mental characters, usages, religion, 
speech, cultural features, history, and geographical range.” 
Whenever two or more groups are found agreeing in all, or at 
least in the more essential, of such elements, they are treated as 
branches of one stock. ‘‘So far, and no farther, is a strictly 
zoological or genetic classification possible in the present state 
of the multifarious inhabitants of the globe.” 

There was a time in Anthropology, and probably that period 
is not closed, when the non-acceptors of the evolutionary view 


522 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


of the origin of man triumphantly asked for the production of 
the missing link. There seems now to be a little extra reliance 
placed by some anthropologists on the discovery of Pithec- 
anthropus erectus. Mr. Keane boldly states, “ This pliocene 
inhabitant of Java may thus, in a sense, be taken as the long- 
sought-for “ First Man”; and as it is not very probable that he 
can have had any undoubtedly human precursors, the Indo- 
Malaysian inter-tropical lands may also, with some confidence, 
be regarded as the cradle of the human family.” Reference of 
approval is also made to the views of the Danish anthropologist, 
Herluf Winge, who considers that Man is more closely allied to 
the Gibbon than to the other Simians,—‘‘a conclusion also 
pointed at by the Java skull.” 

The wide reading of the author is perceptible on every page, 
and this is the most necessary equipment for the ethnologist. 
Very much information must and can only be obtained from 
travellers, who are frequently men without ethnological insight, 
or, in other words, possessed of local prejudice. Hence travellers’ 
tales do not always agree, and the key to the reconciliation of 
their narratives is not the invocation of fiction, but often the 
clear understanding of psychological variation and racial warps. 
Thus, how much is still to be learned as to the disgusting practice 
of cannibalism, of which Herrera is quoted as saying of the Colom- 
bian aborigines, “ the living are the grave of the dead; for the 
husband has been seen to eat his wife, the brother his brother or 
sister, the son his father.”’ And yet we are astonished to read 
that this savage brutalism is condoned by the Cocomas of the 
Marajfion, who said “‘it was better to be inside a friend than to be 
swallowed up by the cold earth,” while a baptized member of the 
Mayorunas of the Upper Amazons ‘“‘complained on his death- 
bed that he would not now provide a meal for his Christian 
friends, but must be devoured by worms.” 

We cannot quote further from this mine of information 
relating to our own species; it describes many of the early errors 
which still cling to our onward march, and is a sound guide to 
events in our history of which the most ancient written records 
are but of yesterday. 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 523 


The Distribution of the Negritos in the Philippine Islands and 
Elsewhere. By A. B. Meyer, M.D., &c. Dresden: 
Stengel & Co. 


Tuts small book is an English translation of two chapters 
from Dr. Meyer’s great work on the Negritos of the Philippines, 
and relates to the distribution of this peculiar and ancient race, 
the real affinities and derivation of which have long puzzled 
ethnologists and promoted more than one conclusion. The 
Negritos have been proved to inhabit many of the Philippines, 
and may possibly be eventually found on the whole of the islands 
when they are better known and more scientifically visited. The 
Philippines are, however, certainly the present headquarters 
of the Negritos. They are also well represented in the Malay 
Peninsula and the Andaman Islands, but as regards the Malayan 
Archipelago outside the Philippines, the accounts of their 
occurrence are considered by Dr. Meyer as ‘‘ based on very poor 
evidence (properly speaking on none at all), or are the result of 
errors in consequence of insufficient criticism of the sources, or 
misunderstanding of the original statements, which in their turn 
are frequently unreliable and perverted.” 

The results of an exhaustive and critical reading of all that 
has been written on the subject are given in a very condensed 
form, in which process such generally considered authorities as 
De Quatrefages and Hamy are very freely handled. More than 
two hundred other authors are referred to, and the publication 
is in the best sense a monograph on the subject. 


The Natural History of Selborne. By GitBert Wurtz. Edited 
with Notes by Grant ALLEN. Illustrated by Epmunp H. 
New. John Lane. 


THE recent death of Mr. Grant Allen gives a melancholy 
interest to the last edition of our old classic. Hach edition has 
its specialty; sometimes the editorial notes on the natural 
history topics treated of by White are almost a host in them- 
selves; at other times the illustrations or general ‘ get-up”’ is 
the inducement to procure another copy of the book we all 


524 THE ZO00LOGIST. 


possess and know so well. The feature of this edition is that it 
is edited by one who was a literary man first and a naturalist 
afterwards, though this was the irony of Mr. Grant Allen’s life, 
and, could he have lived up to his tastes, the arrangement would 
probably have been reversed. Gilbert White's masterpiece, how- 
ever, appeals to the literary taste as much as it belongs to the 
science of natural! history, and it is very questionable whether it 
would have obtained its immortality had its pure and charming 
style not have recorded its wealth of observation. This editor 
has a sympathetic touch with his author, and he is not far from 
his subject when he writes of ‘‘the life of a quiet, well-to-do, 
comparatively unoccupied, gentleman of cultivated manners and 
scientific tastes, studying nature at his ease in his own domain, 
untroubled by trains, by telegrams, by duns, by domestic worries; 
amply satisfied to give up ten years of his life to settling some 
question of ornithological detail, and well pleased if in the end 
his conclusions are fortunate enough to meet the approval of the 
learned Mr. Pennant, or the ingenious Mr. Barrington.” 

This book is well printed on good paper, and with wide 
margins ; the illustrations are profuse, and enable us to almost 
master the present aspects of Selborne and its vicinity, but these 
are far superior to those given of zoological subjects. It isa 
good copy to possess, and those who care to make marginal notes 
will appreciate the appendix of the ‘‘ Marginalia” from Samuel 
Taylor Coleridge’s copy here printed for the first time. Of course 
we expect something original from Coleridge, and we are ‘not dis- 
appointed. ‘Instinct is the wisdom of the species, not of the 
individual,” is an anticipation of modern thought; while the keen 
but delightful criticism of the lines at the end of Letter XLL., 
commencing, ‘‘ Say, what impels, amidst surrounding snow,” is 
simply ‘a noble paraphrase of ‘I don’t know.’”’ 


The North American Slime-Moulds. By Tuomas H. Macpripeg, 
A.M., Ph.D. New York: The Macmillan Company. 


To many, if not to most, readers the above title will denote a 
purely botanical book foreign to our scope and pages. But much 
may be said, and has been said, as to the zoological affinities of 
the Myxomycetes, or Slime-Moulds, which “ include certain very 


NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 525 


delicate and extremely beautiful fungus-like organisms common 
in all the moist and wooded regions of the earth.” They were 
formerly classed with the “ puff-balls,” but their physiological 
characters have prompted the question, “‘ Are they not animals ?”’ 
This is the position suggested by De Bary in 1858, and adopted 
since by, amongst others, Mr. Saviile Kent and Dr. William Zopf. 
The first was inclined to join them to the Sponges, whilst the 
second associated both Slime-Moulds and Monads. Prof. Mac- 
bride strikes a distinctly middle course. He asks :—‘“‘ But why 
call them either animals or plants? Was nature then so poor 
that forsooth only two lines of differentiation were at the begin- 
ning open for her effort? May we not rather believe that Life’s 
tree may have risen at first in hundreds of tentative trunks, of 
which two have become in the progress of ages so far dominant 
as to entirely obscure less progressive types? ‘he Myxomycetes 
are independent; all that we may attempt is to assert their 
nearer kinship with one or other of Life’s great branches.” 

This is an excellently illustrated technical book, with a 
purely biological and philosophical introduction. 


Bird Stuffing and Mounting. By the author of ‘ Hints on Egg 
Collecting and Nesting.’ Dartford: J. & W. Davis. 


A SMALL and inexpensive book on a very difficult subject. 
There is an old proverb that he who is his own lawyer has a fool 
for a client, and the young ornithologist might be advised, if he 
has the funds, to no more attempt to set up his birds in cases 
than to try to make his own gun. A few succeed, the many do 
not. The setting-up of birds is distinctly a profession, as the 
hideous work of the ordinary tradesman sufficiently testifies. T'o 
make one’s own skins is, however, quite another matter; while a 
baronial hall and a respectable rent-roll are both necessary if 
even the British ornithologist is to possess a cased collection. 
But to fill one’s cabinet drawers with good skins, and in sufficient 
variety, is not beyond the power of any real student or collector. 
Hence this small volume may be found useful for those who wish 
to learn how to skin and preserve, though “stuffing and mount- 
ing” are its main instructions. 


526 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 


Dr. A. Atcock, the Superintendent of the Indian Museum, Calcutta, 
has just published, in the ‘Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal,’ a very interesting 
account of a new Hermit-Crab (Chlenopagurus andersont) exhibiting adaptive 
commensalism with a Sea-Anemone.* The Hermit-Crab is noteworthy (1) 
in having for its refuge, not the usual mollusc-shell, but a sheet or blanket 
formed by the ccenosare of a colony of Sea-Anemones ; (2) in being—as far 
as the male is concerned—symmetrical ; and (3) in having the appendages 
of the 3rd—5th somites of the male, and of the 2nd—5th segments of the 
female, present on the right or left side indifferently. 

“ There is nothing unusual in the fact that the protective covering of 
the abdomen is not a moliusc-shell, for in these seas} alone there are 
several well-known instances of Hermit-Crabs making use of other convenient 
receptacles. For instance, Pylocheles mierst is found impacted in hollow 
twigs of sunken drift-wood; T’roglopagurus, according to Messrs. Thurston 
and Henderson, lives in small cavities in coral; and I have myself seen a 
large Cenobita, on the island of Minnikoy, holding the empty shell of a 
small coco-nut over its abdomen. Again, in other parts of the world, 
Gryllopagurus lives in burrows of its own construction ; Pylocheles Agassizit 
was found concealed in a cavity in a piece of sandstone, and another specimen 
was taken from the gastrai chamber of a siliceous sponge; Xylopagurus rectus, 
like our Pylocheles mierst, was discovered in a lodging in drift-wood; Os- 
traconotus and Tylaspis are both believed to have some special protective 
shield, other than a shell; and Porcellanopagurus lives free among sea- 
weed. 

** Again, the association of our new form of Hermit-Crab with a Sea. 
Anemone is nothing strange: indeed, commensalism between Crustacea 
and Sea-Anemones is one of the most familiar facts of zoology, and a large 
number of instances of it have been described. In most cases, however, 
the facts seem to be that an individual of a definite species of Crab and an 
individual of a definite species of Sea-Anemone have both at once taken 
possession of the same mollusc-shell, which they continue to inhabit for 
their mutual advantage,—the Crab acting as locomotive to the Sea-Anemone, 


* Belonging to the family Zoanthide, but apparently not referable to 
any known genus. 
+ The species was dredged by the ‘ Investigator’ off Cape Comorin. 


a = 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 527 


and the Sea-Anemone in return acting as a defence and warning-post, and 
possibly also as a decoy, for the benefit of the Crab. But, though the 
mutual advantage of the association is plain enough, the absolute and 
essential necessity of it is not so plainly seen, and it is reasonable to 
imagine that when in the course of growth the Hermit-Crab has to seek 
a new and larger shell, the partnership with the Sea-Anemone can be 
dissolved by simple withdrawal, without dangerously affecting the life of 
either individual—at any rate until such time as each can find a new 
partner of suitable size. In other words, there is no adaptation of either 
animal to the other, and each seems capable of existing apart from the 
other. In the present case there is no shell to act as introduction to and 
bond between the two animals; and the Sea-Anemone, which is a colonial 
form with a spreading ccenosarc, merely forms a sheet, which the Crab 
simply tucks under its telson by one end and pulls over its back by the 
other end—the polyps seeming to have no power of adhesion, and to depend 
on the Crab for a fast hold. 

“The nearest approach to this state of affairs is found in Parapagurus 
pilosimanus, which, when full-grown, lives in a cavity hollowed out of the 
coenosare of a colony of a large species of Hpizoanthus. But in this case 
the individual Hermit-Crab and Sea-Anemone start their partnership with 
an empty mollusc-shell, which in course of time, as the occupants increase 
in size, becomes absorbed, so that at last the Crab is entirely dependent 
on the polyp-colony for the protection of its soft abdomen. But even here, 
though the association seems to have become much more intimate and 
permanent, there seems to be no essential adaptation of either animal to 
the other, nor does it appear to be beyond the bounds of possibility that 
each might exist—though its existence might not be so complete and 
secure—apart from the other. 

*‘In the case of the new form of Hermit-Crab, now described, there is 
no evidence of the intervention of a shell, or other adventitious support, 
at any stage. Captain Anderson dredged 205 specimens, of both sexes 
and all ages, and in every observable instance the parent polyp of the 
protective colony appears to have settled on the hinder end of the abdomen 
of the Crab, and to have gradually spread by budding as the latter increased 
in size; so that the intimate and immediate connection between the two 
animals appears to be, from the first, a necessary one. In other words, 
the peculiar interest of the case is that the two animals seem to have become 
directly adapted to one another, and to be incapable of a separate and 
independent existence.” 


In August last there was published at St. Petersburg the first number 
of the ‘ International Review of Fisheries and Fishculture,’ of which the 


528 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


contents are printed either in the English, German, or French languages. 
Among much that is both interesting and valuable may be found an article 
by Dr. Einar Lonnberg, of Sweden, on “‘ A short comparison between the 
Capsian and the Baltic Seas.” In the first, animal life is much richer than 
in the second, and we are given a summary of the principal features of 
the faunas of these seas. 

«‘ Passing on to draw an incomplete sketch of the fauna of these seas, I 
think, we can omit the Seals, three species in the Baltic and one (of northern 
origin) in the Caspian Sea, although they are destructive to the fish. The 
fish-fauna has many characteristics in common. Firstly we see a whole 
lot of freshwater fishes being common to both seas. Nearly all the Baltic 
freshwater fishes are also found in the Caspian Sea, but the latter is 
inhabited by a great number of very important foodfishes which are entirely 
wanting in the Baltic. Among those I think the Belorybitza (Luciotrutta), 
the different species of Sturgeons and the Caspian Pikeperch (Stizostedium 
caspium) must be ranked first, not forgetting the Caspian Herrings and 
others. The Baltic has, in addition to its freshwater fishes, some marine 
fishes which may have entered through the Sound and the Belts, but of 
these the Plaice and Turbot are of commercial value only in the southern 
parts, the Flounder up to the neighbourhood of Stockholm, but the Cod 
still further north to the islands Ulfoarne near Hernésand, although of less 
importance north of Aaland. The Baltic Herring yields the largest quantities 
and the anadromous Salmon and katadromous Eel are the best paid fishes 
in the market. Among the fishes which belong to the Baltic relict fauna, 
only Cottus quadricornis is used for food, but of course being a small fish 
it is of little value. The fishes of the Caspian Sea seem mostly to belong 
to the freshwater fauna or to that of brackish water; true marine types 
are scarce. The Belorybitza being closely related to the ‘“« White Salmon ” 
of the Arctic Sea, seems to point to a northern origin, as do the Caspian 
Seal and some of the lower animals. The Sturgeons are also, at least partly, 
inhabitants of the Black Sea. But the Mediterranean fauna, which has 
taken possession of the Black Sea, does not seem to have been able to 
enter the Caspian Sea.” Comparisons of the lower animals are of “ great 
interest, because they show (as is also done by many species of fish) that 
hardy forms can endure to live and thrive well both in the Caspian 
and the Baltic Sea, in spite of all differences between these seas. But it 
must not be forgotten that the greatest part of the Caspian fauna is 
endemic and characteristic, for that region and the lower fauna of the 
Baltic is partly hardy marine forms which mostly have entered through the 
sounds in the south-west, although some are relict forms, and partly fresh- 
water species.” 


EEE AZQGOhOGIST 


No. 702.—December, 1899. 


pLOnOGLCA LoS U-G:G-E'S:T LON. 
MIMICRY. 


By W. L. Disranrt. 
(Continued from p. 470.) 


To revert to ‘‘ active mimicry,” * and to render our signification 
of the term as clear as possible, we will first adduce an instance 
given by that competent lepidopterist, Georg Semper :—‘‘ During 
the last ten years the well-known white-leaved variety of Acer 
negundo has been largely planted in gardens in Hamburg, and since 
this the common White Cabbage Butterfly has accustomed itself to 
settle by preference on this shrub. It is then extremely difficult 
to distinguish the butterflies as they sit on the leaves, their 
yellowish colour being lost in that of the leaves.” t Had Ham- 
burg been a locality in some terra incognita, and visited by a 
travelling naturalist of observing faculties, who can doubt—and 
why should surprise be felt under the circumstances—that this 
observation would have appeared, and been recorded, as an 


* This term receives no support in the best work on Birds yet written. 
Prof. Newton maintains that mimicry must have the prefix ‘‘ unconscious,” 
“which in every department of Zoology should be always expressed or 
understood’’; and, again, wherever mimicry is not only possible, but even 
probable, ‘‘ we must always remember that however produced it is wncon- 
scious.” (‘ Dictionary of Birds,’ edit. 1899, pp. 572 and 575.) 

+ Cf. Karl Semper’s ‘ Animal Life,’ p. 466. 

Zool. 4th ser. vol. III., December, 1899. 2M 


530 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


instance of passive mimicry? A similar observation was com- 
municated to Mr. Trimen by Mrs. Barber. She was impressed 
by the behaviour of a male of the conspicuous butterfly, Papilio 
cenea, which twice deliberately selected in her garden, as a resting 
place during a shower of rain, a shrub whose pale yellow and brown 
seeds and flowers entirely agreed with the colouring of the 
under side of its wings.* Of butterflies belonging to the Tropical 
American genus Siderone, Mr. Dent states :—‘ They always rest 
with wings folded over their bodies on branchlets, the markings 
and colouring of the under side of the wings resembling exactly 
dry brown or yellow leaves.”+ Mr. Cornish has written :— 
‘** Many of the small blue British butterflies have greyish spotted 
backs to their wings. At night they fly regularly to sheltered 
corners on the chalk downs where they live, alight head down- 
wards on the tops of the grasses which there flourish, and, 
closing and lowering their wings as far as possible, look exactly 
like a seed-head on the grasses.” { Mr. Carrington noticed 
for several evenings that a large White Cabbage Butterfly (Pieris 
brassice) searched out a few ‘“‘sportive’”’ whitish or cream- 
coloured leaves of a variety of ivy, and roosted upon one for the 
night.§ Mr. Trimen has observed the Satyrid butterfly Melanitis 
leda, which ‘‘rests among dead leaves on the ground in shady 
places, and is then indistinguishable from them’”’; and a parallel 
case, and a similar effect, is produced by the female EHronia leda, 
which settles on the faded bright yellow leaves of the Hrythrina 
tree.” || Our well-known Orange-tip Butterfly (EHuchloé carda- 
mines), as observed by Mr. T. W. Wood towards evening or in 
cloudy weather, may be found at rest on the tops of grass or 
flowers, but more particularly on Anthriscus sylvestris, and almost 
always near that plant; the chequered white and green alone 
visible wien the insect is at rest assimilates with the white 
flowers of the Anthriscus. as seen against the green back- 
ground.{] Attention has recently been called to what appears to 
* *§, African Butterflies,’ vol. i. p. 34. {+ ‘A Year in Brazil,’ p. 384. 
} ‘Animals of To-day,’ p. 197. § ‘Sci. Gossip,’ new ser. vol. i. p. 10. 
|| Pres. Addr. to 8. Afr. Philosoph. Soc. 1884, p. Ixxiv. 
{| ‘ Proc. Ent. Soc. Lond.’ 8rd ser. vol. i. p. 147 (1863).—Mr. Wood states 
that ‘‘it was remarkable also that the butterfly did not appear to be partial 


to the Anthriscus, except as a secure resting place, but prefered to hover over 
and suck the juices of the wild geranium and other flowers.” 


MIMICRY. | 531 


be more or less active mimicry in two small British moths. 
Penthina gentianana, in its larval condition, feeds on the pith of 
the receptacle in teasel-heads, seed-heads of Dipsacus sylvestris ; 
while another moth (Hupecilia roseana) feeds on the seeds them- 
selves. ‘“‘'The habit of P. gentianana on its emergence is to sit 
with head buried between the spinous scales of the receptacle, 
and with the posterior portion of its wings projecting a little 
beyond them. Roughly divided (as the insect is into a light 
upper and a dark lower part), its resemblance when in this 
position to a bird’s excrement is very noticeable. If a number of 
teasel-heads be examined, it will be found that in some instances 
the inner part of the seeds—i.e. that part which is in contact with 
adjacent seeds—assumes a bright pink colour. Now, E. roseana 
has a very frequent habit of sitting lengthways along the spines 
of the scales above referred to, and here again the resemblance 
of the insect, with its colouring of rosy pink shading into yellow, 
to a partly displaced seed is worthy of notice.”* One of the 
strongest illustrations of protective mimicry by a butterfly, and 
one of the most widely known—for who has not read Wallace’s 
‘Malay Archipelago’ ?—is afforded by leaf-butterflies of the genus 
Kallima. But, as Mr. Badenoch has well enquired, ‘* Of what 
avail would be the disguise were the insect prone to settle upona 
flower, or green leaf, or other inappropriate surface?” + The 
partiality of this insect for settling on dry and withered leaves 
appears a true instance of active mimicry. ‘The idea of some 
conscious volition in the protective habits of this butterfly is sup- 
ported by remarks made by the Indian naturalist who writes under 
the name of *“* Eha” :—‘ They see a little better in front of them, 
and I have noticed that the leaf-butterfly alwavs alights head 
downwards, so as to face anything coming up the tree, which is 
much the most likely direction of assault from a Lizard. (In 
pictures generally, and in the show-case at the British Museum 
(Nat. Hist.), the butterfly is turned the opposite way, facing 
upwards, which is no doubt more appropriate to its character as 
a leaf; but that is a detail rather above the intelligence of a 
Lizard: at any rate, I never saw a Kallima sit in that position.) ’’{ 


* A. F. Fryer, ‘Ent. Month. Mag.’ 2nd ser. vol. x. p. 6. 
+ ‘Romance of the Insect World,’ p. 217. 
t ‘Natural Science,’ vol. ix. p. 299.—This is in direct contradiction to 


2um2 


532 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


The well-known Tropical American butterflies belonging to the 
genus Ageronia, which flatten their similarly coloured wings on 
the lichen-covered trunks, are also described as to “ invariably 
rest head downwards.”* Mr. Geo. Windsor Earl relates that at 
Sourabaya he saw Lizards attack large moths, but they were not 
always successful, ‘‘ unless they could manage to seize the head, 
when, after a struggle of a few minutes, the little reptile would 
bear away his prey to devour at his leisure.” + Weismann seems 
more or less of this opinion also, for he observes :—‘‘ These 
markings are composed of two parts, the upper of which is on 
the fore wings, while the lower one is on the hind wings. The 
butterfly when at rest must therefore keep the wings in such a 
position that the two parts of each marking exactly correspond, 
for otherwise the character would be valueless; and, as a matter 
of fact, the wings are held in the approximate position, although 
the butterfly is, of course, unconscious of what it is doing. 
Hence a mechanism must exist in the insect’s brain which com- 
pels it to assume this attitude, and it is clear that the mechanism 
cannot have been developed before the peculiar manner of holding 
the wings became advantageous to the butterfly, viz. before the 
similarity to a leaf had made its first appearance.” { We should 
opine, however, that the Kallima is exercising some volition 
in seeking the environment of the withered leaves with which 
the under surface of its wings approximate, an action we have 
seen pursued by other butterflies with reference to different 
surroundings, and that the exact corresponding position of the 
wings is hereditary, and perhaps now describable as unconscious 
cerebration, or reflex action. Animals do not all use the same 
means for protection; the method may be different, but the 


the description of the habits of another species of the genus as given by 
Wallace in his ‘ Malay Archipelago.’ 

* H.C. Dent, ‘A Year in Brazil,’ p. 384. 

+ ‘ The Eastern Seas,’ p. 53. 

| © Essays upon Heredity,’ &c., Hng. transl., vol. i. p. 287. — Weismann 
adds that ‘‘ even this protective resemblance to or mimicry of a leaf is not 
perfect, for out of sixteen specimens in the collections at Amsterdam and 
Leyden which he examined, he could not find a single one which had more 
than two lateral veins on one side of the midrib of the supposed leaf, or 
more than three upon the other side ; while about six or seven veins should 
have been present on each side ”’ (zbid. p. 315). 


MIMICRY. 538 


purpose is similar. Thus Partridges “ roost close to the ground, 
and sleep with their heads tucked close together. A covey in 
this position represents little more than a mass of feathers. 
They always spend their nights in the open, for protective 
reasons. Birds which do not perch would soon be extinct as a 
species were they to seek the protection of woods and hedge- 
bottoms by night. Such ground generally affords cover to 
vermin—Weasels, Polecats, and Stoats.” * 

An active or aggressive mimicry is probably the explanation 
of the observation recorded by Mr. Woodford, made on Peel 
Island, Moreton Bay, where in the yellow-and-white blooms of 
different shrubs he found Spiders which were practically con- 
cealed by their assimilative colouration to these flowers. They 
were seen to attack the Bees which visited the bloom.t M. E. 
Heckel, of Marseilles, has described an interesting case, which 
may be frequently seen in the South of France. The Spider, 
Thomisus onustus, is often found in the flowers of Convolvulus 
arvensis, where it hides itself for the purpose of snaring two 
Diptera, Nomiotdes minutissimus and Melithreptus origani, on 
which it feeds. Convolvulus is abundant, and three principal 
colour variations are met with—there is a white form, a pink one 
with deep pink spots, and a light pink form with a slight 
greenishness on the external wall of the corolla. Hach of these 
forms is particularly visited by one of three varieties of Thomisus. 
The variety which visits the greenish form has a green hue, and 
keeps on the greener part of the corolla; that which lives in the 
white form is white, with a faint blue cross on the abdomen, and 
some blue at the end of the legs; the variety which lives in the 
pink form is pink itself on the prominent parts of the abdomen 
and legs. The colour, however, is of an assimilative nature, as 
M. Heckel found that when the pink, white, green, and yellow 
varieties of the Spider are confined together in a box they all 
become nearly white. { 

That undoubted examples of active mimicry are to be found 
among the Arthropoda will occur to the mind of every naturalist 
at the mention of ‘‘Trap-door Spiders.” It is unnecessary to 

* J. Watson, ‘ Poachers and Poaching,’ p. 9. 


+ ‘A Naturalist among the Head-Hunters,’ p. 70, note, 
; ‘Nature,’ vol. xliv. p. 451, 


584 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


quote here all the observations made by competent and veracious 
authorities as to the beautiful adaptations effected by these 
Spiders, by which the lid or door of their burrows is made to 
perfectly assimilate with the surrounding surface. Grullies, de- 
scribing the habits of a New Zealand species, writes :—‘* The 
evidences of thought, ingenuity, and reason are displayed in the 
selection of the particular materials used in special places; in 
the calculation of the probabilities of certain contingencies hap- 
pening ; and in the apparently careless arrangement of both living 
and dead matter, so as to make what is in reality the highest art 
appear to be the result of natural and ordinary circumstances.” 
In some cases there is “a plant of green grass ... planted 
artificially, and growing on the lid.” In other cases ‘ you will 
find clay on the outside of the lid, plastered and smooth, or 
possibly with an «mitation crack, introduced apparently at ran- 
dom.” In others, again, “the skilful artist brings to his aid all 
the taste and knowledge of the practical gardener—selects plants 
suited for his purpose, brings them from a distance, and actually 
transplants them to the top of his trap-door with astonishingly 
natural variety and arrangement ’’; or ‘‘ you will find mosses of 
various hues and colours growing green, and sometimes brown 
and dead, upon the lid”; or sometimes ‘“‘this tiny pasture is 
brilliantly ornamented with parti-coloured patches of lichens,” 
or “sprigs of lycopods, ferns or heaths, veronicas, and white- 
berry plants are introduced to correspond with the bolder herbage 
around’’; or, ‘‘if the common white tussock is the prevailing 
vegetation in the locality, . . . the dead bits (of that kind) of 
grass are woven adroitly into the trap-door or round its mouth, 
so as to deceive the most practised eve,’ &c.* Moggridge found 
a nest in a plant which had been brought to him which was quite 
covered on the surface with moss, and the moss grew on the 
surface of the door itself, and looked exactly like that growing all 
round.+ Livingstone describes a nest of which ‘‘the outside 
looks exactly like the surrounding surface of the ground, so that 
when the door is shut it is impossible to find the nest. The hole 
can therefore only be seen when the inhabitant has gone out and 


* Quoted by W. Lauder Lindsay, ‘ Mind in the Lower Animals,’ vol. i, 
p. 528. | 
+ ‘Harvesting Ants and Trap-door Spiders,’ p. 97, 


MIMICRY. 530 


has left the door open behind it.’’** It may be contended that 
this shows only mimicry in the habitation, and not in the appear- 
ance of the animal itself; or, again, that ‘‘aggressive”’ rather 
than “active” should be the qualitative term applied to this 
mimicry ; but we can refer to instances where animals disguise 
their own bodies in a similar manner, and with a like intelligence, 
to these Spiders. The little Aisop’s Prawns (Hippolyte (virbius) 
varians. Leach, and H. fascigera, Gosse) may perhaps be cited as 
practisers of active mimicry. Prof. Herdman, in 1893, described 
four variations of H. varians, each agreeing in hue with the 
colour of its special habitat,t and was inclined to accept the 
fourth possibility of explanation which he suggested, viz. ‘‘ The 
young may be very variable in tint, and then, by the action of 
natural selection, such as do not agree in hue with the surround- 
ings will be eliminated.” Mr. James Hornell, at the Jersey 
Biological Station, has made a further series of experiments with 
these species, and has accepted the third postulate of Prof. Herd- 
man, viz. the ‘‘ adaptability may be retained throughout the rest 
of their lives, and the adults may change hue upon change of 
environment.” Mr. Hornell found that a pale olive-brown 
H. varians taken from amid similarly coloured seaweed became 
of a vivid green within an hour when placed with Enteromorpha, 
and the same specimen changed to a pinkish red within three 
hours when placed amid Delesseria. Ayain, red-coloured speci- 
mens of the same species from amongst tufts of red weeds 
changed to green during a single night when placed with Entero- 
morpha, or with Cladophora, and back again to red within four 
hours when placed once more amid red weed. This change of 
hue took place as rapidly in the dark as in the light. The weeds 
affected by the smootii-skinned H. varians, in the great majority 
of cases, are smooth in surface, and not overgrown with foreign 
matter. ‘‘ In marked contrast, the body of H. fascigera is orna- - 
mented with tufts of brush-like hairs, aud if a spray of the coarse 
Corallina, where this species makes its home, is examined, the 
stems are found covered with a multitude of abodes of tiny 
‘‘ messmates,”’ porcelain-like coils of the little tube-worm Spirobis, 
dull-looking cylinders tenanted by that lovely miniature Sabeliid, 


* ¢ Pop. Account Travels in 8. Africa,’ p. 221. 
+ ‘Sixth Annual Report of the Liverpool Marine Biology Committee,’ 


536 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


Othonia gracilis, and crusting colonies of Bryozoa protruding 
ever and anon circlets of hair-like tentacles.”’” Hence, when the 
hairy H. fascigerais at rest on such a weed, the mimetic adaptation 
is greatly accentuated.* Thus also the connection of the small 
Short-tailed Crab (Nautilograpsus minutus), which swarms on the 
Gulf-weed, and assimilates in colour thereto. Sir John Murray, 
during the voyage of the ‘ Challenger,’ studied the habits of these 
Crabs. He observed ‘‘ that, although every floating thing upon 
the surface is covered with them, they are rarely met with swim- 
ming free, and that whenever they are dislodged and removed a 
little wav from their resting place they immediately make the 
most vigorous efforts to regain it.”’+ The Common Shrimp 
(Crangon vulgaris), when suspecting danger, ‘‘ sinks upon the 
sand, and, setting his swimming-feet rapidly to work, they ‘ kick 
up such a dust’ in the water that he is hidden in a cloud of fine 
sand, which as quickly settles down and partially buries him— 
sufficiently so with his sandy hue to effectually hide him.” Mr, 
W. A. Lloyd has described a somewhat similar habit of the Echinus 
or Sea-urchin. ‘Its chief delight, when in an aquarium, appears 
to be to cover itself with pebbles, which it picks up with its spines. 
At first I imagined that the little stones had fallen by mistake, 
and, wishing to do all in my power to render my captive happy, I 
removed the pebbles with a brush; but the Sea-urchin evidently 
did not appreciate my would-be kindness, for in a short space of 
time he had again covered himself with pebbles; and so com- 
pletely was he hidden beneath them, that if he had not crawled 
up the side of the aquarium with his load I should have had 
some difficulty in discovering his whereabouts.’§ Some species 
of Crabs, such as Maa verrucosa, Pisa tetradon and P. armata, 
Inachus scorpioides, and Stenorrhynchus longirostris, cut off bits 
of Wracks, Florideea, Ulve, &c., with their claws, and place them 
on the top of their carapaces, securing them on peculiar spiky or 
hooked hairs. The fragments grow firmly to the Crabs’ chitinous 
coats, and, far from being harmful to the animals, are, on the 


* ¢The Journal of Marine Zoology and Microscopy,’ vol. ii. pp. 101-108. 

+ Cf. Sir C. Wyville Thomson, ‘The Voy. of the Challenger.’ — ‘‘ The 
Atlantic,”’ vol. ii. p. 11. 

} Edw. Step, ‘By the Deep Sea,’ p. 168. 

§ ‘Life beneath the Waves,’ pp. 83-4. 


MIMICRY. 5387 


contrary, an important means of protection. The Crabs in 
question escape pursuit in consequence of this disguise, and it 1s 
to be observed that each species chooses the very material which 
makes it most unrecognizable to plant upon the exterior of its 
body; those species which live chiefly in regions where Cystosiras 
are indigenous deck themselves in Cystesiras, whilst those which 
inhabit the same places as Ulve carry Ulve on their backs.* 
This also serves as aggressive mimicry; for, as Mr. Woodward 
writes, “thus disguised like Indians stalking game, they can 
readily approach their more active prey.’ + Mr. Bateson observed 
this active mimicry at Plymouth, and describes how a Crab 
seizes a piece of weed, tears off a fragment, chews the end in its 
mouth, and then rubs it firmly on its head and legs until it is 
caught by the curved hairs and fixed. ‘‘ The whole proceeding 
is most human and purposeful. Many substances, as Hydroids, 
Sponges, Polyzoa, and weeds of many kinds and colours, are 
thus used ; but these various substances are nearly always sym- 
metrically placed in corresponding parts of the body, and par- 
ticularly long plume-like pieces are fixed on the head.’ { Dr. 
Willey records a similar observation which he made on the faces 
of rocks near Tjibodas (Java). “I found a quantity of small 
caterpillars living on the powdery Alga which makes greenish- 
white patches on the rocks. The caterpillars had so completely 
covered themselves with the Alga as to be only discernible by 
their movements on close inspection, and their disguise must 
effectually protect them from foes.”§ ‘‘ Equally marvellous, too, 
is the case of many kinds of caterpillars which spin their cocoons 
on the bark of trees, and cover the structures wherein they are 
subsequently to undergo transformation into the chrysalis state 
with lichens and fragments of bark, that their temporary resting 
place may not be noticed by insectivorous birds.’ || When the 
caterpillar of the Indian butterfly, Limenitis procris, “‘ comes out 
of the egg, it betakes itself at once to the very point of a tender 
leaf, and eats down steadily on both sides of the midrib, which 


* Kerner and Oliver, ‘ Nat. Hist. Plants,’ vol. i. p. 77. 

+ ‘Cassell’s Nat. Hist.’ vol. vi. p. 197. 

j Cf. J. A. Thomson, ‘ Study of Animal Life,’ 2nd edit. p. 62. 
§ ‘Natural Science,’ vol. vi. p. 407. 

|| Kerner and Oliver, ‘ Nat. Hist. Plants,’ vol, ii. p. 159, 


538 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


stands out bare and dry. As the little thing advances it cuts up 
much more of the leaf than it eats, and these crumbs, with other 
refuse, are gradually accumulated, and loosely bound together 
with silk till they form a breastwork across the whole breadth of 
the leaf. Behind this rampart of refuse, of which its brown and 
ragged form seems to be a portion, the little architect lives, pushing 
the work back from day to day as it eats on.”* Kirby and Spence 
pointed out many instances of the same active and intelligent 
mimicry. ‘* Of this description is a little water-beetle (Hlophorus 
aquaticus), which is always found covered with mud, and so when 
feeding at the bottom of a pool or pond can scarcely be dis- 
tinguished by the predaceous aquatic insects from the soil on 
which it rests. Another very minute insect of the same order 
(Limnius @neus), that is found in rivulets under stones and the 
like, sometimes conceals its elytra with a thick coating of sand 
that becomes nearly as hard as stone.”’ ‘A species of a minute 
coleopterous genus (Georyssus areniferus), which lives in wet 
spots where tbe Toad-rush (Juncus bufonius) grows, covers itself 
with sand; and another nearly related to it (Chetophorus creti- 
ferus, K.), which frequents chalk, whitens itself all over with that 
substance. As this animal when clean is very black, were it 
not for this manceuvre it would be too conspicuous upon its 
white territory to have any chance of escape from the birds and 
its other assailants.’’+ 

Many examples of active mimicry are exhibited by our British 
moths, as may be learned by consulting the pages of Mr. Barrett’s 
excellent work on the ‘ Lepidoptera of the British Islands.’ Thus 
Eriogaster lanestris is an instance, for “‘ even when sitting on a 
hawthorn spray it so accurately mimics a dead leaf twisted round 
the twig that it becomes almost impossible of recognition.’’} 
Cerura furcula sits in the daytime “on the trunk, or more usually 
on a branch, of one of its food-trees, its outstretched downy legs 
and grey markings giving it a most deceptive likeness to an 
entangled downy feather, or even a more close resemblance to a 
ripe sallow catkin from which the downy seeds are bursting.’§ 


* Wha, ‘A Naturalist on the Prowl,’ pp. 127-8. 

+ ‘Introd. Entomology,’ 7th edit. pp. 424-5. 

} ‘The Lepidoptera of the British Islands,’ vol. iii. p. 12. 
§ Ibid. p. 89, 


MIMICRY. 539 


Its larva feeds on sallow and willow. Petasta cassinea is said in 
the daytime “to sit upon old posts and railings, and is very hard 
to see, from its close resemblance to a bit of decayed wood, or to 
the greyish-brown lichens. Its extended and tufted feet, and 
rough scales at the edge of the fore wings, all help to complete 
the deception.”* Cymatophora duplaris exhibits a purpose in 
active mimicry of the highest description, both as a caterpillar 
and a nerfect moth. The larva during the day “conceals itself 
in a habitation formed of green leaves united bv silken threads 
upon the tree. At night it comes forth to feed.’+ The moth 
sits in the daytime on the branches of trees. ‘* When shaken 
out it falls straight to the ground, and lies among the dead 
leaves.”’t Arsilonche venosa, in colour and markings, like those of 
so many other fen-frequenting species, 1s accurately suited to its 
habit of hiding in the daytime among the dead leaves of reed, 
sedge, and marsh-grasses.§ Agrotis ashworthii “sits in the 
daytime on limestone rocks, or hides among loose stones. In 
appearance it closely resembles the blue limestone, and it has 
the sagacity to hide itself in chinks and crevices, where this 
resemblance greatly assists in its concealment.’’|| All these 
examples scarcely bear out an automatic or semi-automatic 
action; we seem to see among these lowly organised insects— 
referring, of course, to sense organs—a capacity and endeavour 
to use their environmental resemblances to the best advantage. 
There may be much heredity in such an aptitude, but the intelli- 
gent concealment would not be questioned if practised by the 
higher animals. 

The instances of active mimicry just given almost appertain 
to decorative art, and in fact represent the impostor who with 
borrowed plumes flaunts in the open. We now resume the 
series of more modest simulation, in which advantage is taken of 
similarly coloured objects by which concealment may be effected. 
These may nearly be said to reflect the methods of the impostors 
who attach themselves to majorities, winning causes, and crowds, 
where they are submerged in resemblances, and, undetected, reap 
the corresponding advantage. The Australian genus of Sea- 

** «The Lepidoptera of the British Islands,’ vol. i. p. 157. 
} Ibid. p. 195. + Ibid. p. 196. § Ibid. p. 277. 
|| Ibed. p. 383, 


540 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


horses (Phyllopteryx sp.) ‘‘ closely resemble the colour of. sea- 
weeds to which they attach themselves, while the filamentous 
appendages of their spines appear as if they were actually a part 
of the vegetable growth.” * The Dragonfly larva ‘trusts chiefly 
to its sombre colouration and its motionless attitude. The larva 
clinging to a stem in the shady recesses of water-weeds is not 
easily distinguished, and the absence of movement removes the 
chief risk of discovery.” + Many caterpillars resort to the bark 
of trees, with which their colour and often notched, knotted, or 
spotted bodies closely assimilate. That this is a form of active 
mimicry may be gleaned from the remarks of a British entomo- 
logist:—‘* A number of these mimics of the insect world never 
venture to feed by day, but take in their quantum of provision 
during the dark hours, and practise their deceptions during the 
day.” { Active mimicry may also explain resemblances which 
Weismann is very emphatic in denying as due to ‘external 
influences.” ‘‘ If a caterpillar, which hides itself by day in the 
crevices of the bark, possesses the same colour as the latter, 
whilst other caterpillars which rest on leaves are of a green 
colour, these facts cannot be explained as the result of the direct 
influence of the bark and leaves. And it would be even less 
possible to explain upon the same principle all the details of 
marking and colour by which these animals gain still further 
protection. If the upper side of the upper wings of certain 
moths is grey like the stone on which they rest by day, while in 
butterflies the under side of both wings which are exposed during 
rest exhibits analogous protective colours, these facts cannot be 
due to the direct influence of the surroundings which are 
resembled; but, if they have arisen in any natural manner, they 
must have been indirectly produced by the surroundings.” § 
These last remarks appear to be obscure. Surely, to make the 
proposition clear, some explanation should have been given as to 
what is meant to be differentiated between ‘‘ cannot be due to 
the direct influence of the surroundings,” and ‘‘ must have been 
indirectly produced by the surroundings.’’ And therefore, per- 


* ¢Royal Nat. Hist.’ vol. v. p. 426. 

} L. C. Miall, ‘ Nat. Hist. Aquatic Insects,’ p. 332. 

* W. Furneaux, ‘ Butterflies and Moths (British),’ pp. 31-2. 

§ ‘Lectures on Heredity,’ &., 2nd edit., Eng. transl., vol. i. p. 409. 


MIMICRY. 541 


haps Prof. Weismann is scarcely justified in observing, ‘“‘ one 
may reasonably complain when compelled to repeat again and 
again these elements of knowledge and of thought upon the 
causes of transformation.’* A recent writer would apparently 
regard the Phasmidé as examples of active mimicry. He is 
reported as saying :—‘‘ Amongst true instincts he would class 
such acts of protective mimicry as those performed by the 
Phasmide, although their alleged practice of shamming death 
might possibly be constitutional lethargy, which had misled 
observers.” | We have already recorded Mr. Belt’s observation 
in Nicaragua as to the behaviour of a leaf-like Locust when 
surrounded by a host of predaceous Ants. A somewhat similar 
fact has been narrated by ‘‘ Kha” :—“I was sitting high up in a 
tree, rifle in hand, waiting for a Tiger, when my attention was 
caught by one of these Crickets (exactly resembling a small patch 
of grey lichen) scurrying round the trunk of a neighbouring tree, 
with a Lizard in full pursuit. Just as the Lizard came up with 
it the Cricket, falling in with a slight depression in the bark, 
stopped dead, and flattened itself out, and the Lizard was utterly 
confounded. There it stood, looking ludicrously puzzled at the 
mysterious disappearance of its prey, which was just under its 

* ¢ Lectures on Heredity,’ &c., 2nd edit., Eng. transl., vol. i. p. 410. 

+ C. W. Purnell, ‘ Phil. Instit. Canterbury, New Zealand.’—Cf. abstract 
in ‘Nature,’ vol. li. p. 384.—The “ feigning of death” among some animals, 
especially reptiles, may be taken as a psychological parallel to active mimi- 
cry. Nevertheless, it has been argued that with insects this process is a 
‘“‘ purely reflex phenomenon,” rather than an act of volition. Mr. Latter 
experimented with the Currant Moth (Abraxas grossulariata), whose powers 
of ‘“‘shamming”’ are so familiar. When seized by one wing it at once 
feigned death, but so it also did after being decapitated, and this action was 
continued in response to the same stimulus during the two days that elapsed 
before its death (‘ Nature,’ vol. lii. p. 543). Like Toads, Tree-frogs do not 
appear to touch the insects on which they prey until these begin to move 
(‘ Roy. Nat. Hist.’ vol. v. p. 281). The feigning of death apparently has a 
protective purpose among the inferior animals. Prince Kropotkin, on the 
authority of Nagel, states :—‘‘ The water-beetle (Dytiscus) does not perceive 
the presence of animals which it preys upon within a distance of a few 
millimetres, so long as they remain motionless”’ (‘ Nineteenth Century,’ 
vol. xl. p. 263). Mr. Oxley Grabham records an instance of a Grasshopper 
Warbler (Locustella nevia) feigning death when touched on the nest, 
allowing herself to be handled as if dead—‘‘a quivering of the eyelid was 
all that showed she was shamming”’ (‘ Zoologist,’ 4th ser. vol. ii. p. 351). 


542 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


nose.’ * The Horned Frog (Ceratobatrachus guentheri) of the 
Solomon Islands is described by Mr. Guppy to so closely 
imitate its surroundings, both in colour and pattern, that on 
one occasion he captured a specimen by accidentally placing his 
hand upon it when clasping a tree.t This species is so variable 
in colouration and in the integuments, that Mr. Boulenger has 
remarked, “‘ Out of the twenty specimens before me no two are 
perfectly alike.”{ This is probably a case of what is here con- 
sidered active mimicry. 

Birds exhibit many illustrations of active mimicry. A recent 
writer in ‘The Zoologist’ called attention to some peculiar 
“attitudes of a Little Bittern observed in captivity.” The real 
meaning of the attitudes of this bird (Botaurus minutus) seem 
only to have been understood by the then editor, Mr. Harting, 
who thus comments on the same :—*‘ The inference to be drawn 
from these remarks is that the curious attitudes adopted by this 
bird, on finding itself observed, are assumed in the exercise of 
what may be termed the instinct of self-preservation, and in a 
State of nature must tend materially to favour its concealment. 
Whether it be standing in or near a reed-bed, erect, with neck 
preternaturally elongated and beak pointed upwards, or crouching 
against a riverside tree-stump, the attitude is calculated to deceive 
the eyes of all but the keenest observers, especially since the 
colour of the bird’s plumage harmonizes in a remarkable degree 
with that of the natural surroundings.’§ Mr. Hudson has made 
a similar remark concerning the Common Bittern (Botaurus 
stellaris). ‘‘ His buff and yellow and chestnut colour, mottled 
and barred and pencilled with black and brown, gives him a 
strange tigrine or cat-like appearance; it is a colouring well 
suited to his surroundings, where yellow and brown dead vegeta- 
tion is mixed with the green, and the stems and loose leaves of 
the reeds throw numberless spots and bars of shade beneath. 
Secure in its imitative colouring, the Bittern remains motionless 
in its place until almost trodden upon.’’|| A very similar pro- 

* ‘Natural Science,’ vol. ix. p. 299. + ‘The Solomon Islands,’ p. 817. 

| Ibid. p. 316. § ‘ Zoologist,’ 3rd ser. vol. xvill. p. 456. 

|| ‘British Birds,’ p.225.—The same writer has given a vivid description 
of a similar habit of an Argentine Heron (Ardetta involucris), and refers to 
‘¢a marvellous instinct that makes its peculiar conformation and imitative 


colour far more advantageous than they could be of themselves” (P. Z. 8. 
1875, p. 629-31), 


@> 


MIMICRY. 54 


ceeding, as far as intention is exhibited, though appertaining 
more to what is understood by ‘‘ aggressive mimicry,” 1s to be 
found in the account of the habits of the Cassowary (Casuarius 
bennetti), given by Mr. Wilfred Powell as observed in the island 
of New Britain :—‘‘I saw a Morroop (Cassowary) come down to 
the water’s edge, and stand for some minutes, apparently watching 
the water carefully; it then stepped into the river, where the 
water was about three feet deep, and, partially squatting down, 
spread its wings out, submerging them, the feathers being spread 
and ruffled. The bird remained perfectly motionless; I also 
noticed that the eyes were closed, as if asleep. It remained in 
this position for fully a quarter of an hour, when, suddenly 
closing its wings and straightening its feathers, it stepped out on 
the bank, where, shaking itself several times, a quantity of small 
fishes fell from under the wings and from amidst the feathers, 
which were immediately picked up and swallowed. The fishes 
had evidently mistaken the feathers for a description of weed 
that grows in the water along the banks of the rivers in this 
island, and very much resembles the feathers of the Cassowary, 
and in which the smaller fish hide to avoid the larger ones that 
prey on them.” * ‘The Ruffed or Birch Partridge in Canada has 
been described by Dr. Leith Adams as flying to a tree to escape 
danger, where ‘their statue-like posture, with neck outstretched, 
and their motionless position on the moss-clad spruce-bough, 
render it extremely difficult to recognize them.” So close is this 
active mimicry carried out that it is sometimes only by the 
barking of Dogs that the sportsman is aware of the close 
proximity of the birds. In the words of Dr. Adams, describing 
an actual experience, “ In vain we looked, for no Partridge was 
to be seen ; still the Dog barked, and began to bite and tear off 
the bark, when at length three birds were discovered standing 
motionless on the moss-covered boughs, and within a few yards 
of us.’+ Even more forcibly Mr. Anthony, of San Diego, Cali- 
fornia, describes the active mimicry of the ‘‘ Long-eared Owls,” 
who can assume a “ rigid, stick-like position”’ to the surrounding 
shrubs and branches. ‘lo escape notice—so great is their faith 


* * Wanderings in a Wild Country,’ pp. 271-2; and ‘ Proc. Zool. Soc.’ 
June 15th, 1880. 
+ ‘Field and Forest Rambles,’ pp. 175 and 176. 


544 THK ZOOLOGIST. 


in the protection afforded them by this resemblance, when several 
are together, as is often the case in winter—one or more may be 
shot without the rest showing so much as by the movement of a 
feather that they are disturbed.”’ On one occasion a friend with 
whom he was hunting came upon five of these Owls sitting in a 
row on a limb of a giant cottonwood. ‘‘ Beginning at one end of 
the line, he shot them all, one after another, his last shot starting 
a sixth, which he had not seen, from a perch in the same tree.” 
When Mr. Anthony arrived upon the scene they began looking 
for the escaped Owl, but failed to discover it. ‘*‘ As we were 
leaving, however, my eyes chanced to fall upon what at first 
appeared to be an abnormal growth on the trunk of a small sap- 
ling near us, but which, upon a second glance, proved to be a 
little Screech-Owl. With its back against the trunk of a tree it 
was drawn up to its fullest height, all its feathers drawn tight 
against its body, its ear-tufts erect. It looked to be twice its 
normal length, and so closely did it resemble the grey bark and 
branches that, unprotected as it was by leaves or twigs in the 
strong glare of a bright winter’s day, its discovery was purely 
accidental. Our tracks in the snow proved that we had several 
times passed within ten feet of the bird, and it was quite evident 
that it was aware of our presence; for, while it made not the 
slightest movement, it watched us constantly through its half- 
closed lids, trusting no doubt to escape detection, but ready to 
fly if the occasion required.” * 

Geese and Ducks seem to mimic snakes. In the opinion of 
Mr. Louis Robinson :—‘‘ It seems very probable that the hiss of 
the Goose, when it desires to show hostility, is founded upon the 
hiss of the serpent. Many Ducks also, when nesting, will thrust 
out their necks and hiss when an intruder approaches, and a 
Muscovy drake is almost as ready to adopt this method of 
intimidation as a gander. © It is found that nearly all long-necked 
birds which nest among reeds and bushes show a similar habit. 
One can easily understand that among thick grass or reeds, where 
only the head and neck of a nesting Duck are visible, the forward 
dart and hiss might often be sufficient to deter a cautious enemy 
from making an attack.’’t 

* Science,’ vol. xxiii. p. 64.—Capt. Bendire has made a similar observa- 


tion on this species (Asio americanus). 
+ ‘Wild Traits in Tame Animals,’ pp. 281-2. 


MIMICRY. 545 


I have related my own experience in the Transvaal with 
Francolinus levaillantit, a single member of which from a covey I 
had disturbed squatted in a small hole in the path about eighty 
yards in front of me, and, depressing its back level with the earth, 
exhibited a good instance of the protection obtained by assimila- 
tive colouration.* A young Merganser deceived the Duke of 
Argyll and a party of his visitors at Inverary by simply remaining 
perfectly still on ground on which it was inconspicuous by reason 
of the protective resemblance or mimicry of its colour.+ Mr. R. 
Kearton states :—‘‘ I have on more than one occasion seen a baby 
Peewit wandering about with half of its prison-house still attached 
to its downy rump, and if a Hawk or other bird of prey should 
happen to appear overhead they instinctively clap flat upon the 
ground, and remain motionless as stones until the danger has 
passed.”{ The Dabchick, on quitting the nest, according to Mr. 
Hudson, “ invariably draws a coverlet of wet weeds over the eggs ; 
the nest in appearance is then nothing but a bunch of dead 
vegetable rubbish floating in the water.Ӥ Young Emus are very 
different in colour from the old birds, and bear a delicate design 
of a pretty dark grey with numerous stripes on their back and 
sides. Mr. Semon relates:—‘‘ Young Emus are often pursued 
by HKagles and Hawks so frequent in Australia. When (so my 
blacks told me) the young Emus see a bird of prey soaring above 
them they quickly lie down flat upon the ground. A body as big 
as theirs would surely be much more conspicuous, set off as it is 
by grass, if it were evenly though ever so modesty coloured, than 
if its colouring be varied by stripes and spots. I myself have 
had occasion to notice how difficult it is to discover an Kmu in 
the grass li it nestles to the ground.”’|| Gilbert White remarks 
on the Stone Curlew (Gidicnemus crepitans) :—‘‘' The young run 


* * A Naturalist in the Transvaal,’ p. 75.—Subsequently I observed how 
this action could become habitual without a suitable environment. I flushed 
a pair of Francolinus subtorquatus, one of which squatted in the same 
manner, but, by force of circumstances, among the short, black, and charred 
remains of a grass fire. Here its colour stood out in bold relief, and I easil y 
bagged it. 

+ Cf. W. Lauder-Lindsay, ‘ Mind in the Lower Animals,’ vol. 1. p. 526. 

t * With Nature and a Camera,’ p. 210. 

§ ‘ Birds in London,’ pp. 99-100. 

|| ‘In the Australian Bush,’ pp. 145-6. 


4ool. 4th ser. vol. I1I., December, 1899. 2N 


546 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


immediately from the egg like Partridges, &c., and are withdrawn 
to some flinty field by the dam, where they skulk among the 
stones, which are their best security, for their feathers are so 
exactly of the colour of our grey-spotted flints, that the most 
exact observer, unless he catches the eye of the young bird, may 
be eluded.”* Thesame observer records an illustration of active 
mimicry in a Willow- Wren :—“ This bird a friend and myself had 
observed as she sat in her nest, but were particularly careful not 
to disturb her, though we saw she eyed us with some degree of 
jealousy. Some days after, as we passed that way, we were 
desirous of remarking how this brood went on; but no nest 
could be found, till I happened to take up a large bundle of long 
green moss, as 1t were carelessly thrown over the nest, in order 
to dodge the eye of any impertinent intruder.” + 

Active mimicry, rather than natural selection per se, appears 
very largely to account for the assimilative colouration of birds’ 
eggs to their nests or environment. Without recapitulating 
all the evidence which can be readily obtained from so many 
sources—either by observation, or reference to much illustrated 
literature—we may safely conclude, with Mr. Wallace, that on 
the whole, ‘“‘ while white eggs are conspicuous, and therefore 
especially liable to attack by egg-eating animals, they are con- 
cealed from observation in many and various ways.” { This is a 
very important consideration before we proceed farther. We find 
a great number of white or prominent eggs, apparently unaffected 
by ‘‘ natural selection,” but preserved by intelligent concealment, 
which is only a form or phase of what we have noted before, and 
to what will be referred to again on this very matter of birds’ 
eggs, as active mimicry. If the process of natural selection was 
to be applied, according to a very frequent method, as universal, 
then birds arising from these white and prominent eggs would 
seem in course of time to be doomed to destruction. But we find 
nothing of the kind. Natural selection is here replaced by the 
evolution of intelligence or active mimicry. True, it may be 

* ‘Nat. Hist. Selborne,’ Harting’s edit. p. 55.—Grant Ailen, in the 
introduction to his own edition of White, refers to this observation as “‘ the 
germ of the theory of Protective Mimicry.”’ 


+ Ibid. p. 175. 
t ‘Darwinism,’ p. 214. 


MIMICRY. 547 


argued that birds laying white eggs would become extinct without 
they had gradually acquired the intelligent or automatic powers 
of concealment through a process of natural selection. But this 
is only begging the question. The colour of the egg has not 
altered under this severe stress, and we can see that many eggs 
are completely either adapted to their environment, or are so 
marked and coloured that the birds by choosing a proper environ- 
ment, or, again, exercising active mimicry, can leave such in 
practical exposure. ‘“‘ Primarily the eggs of birds must have been 
white, from the inherent colour of the salts of lime and magnesia 
of the shell.” * ‘As a rule, Sandwich Terns’ eggs harmonize 
closely with their surroundings, and even the experienced field 
naturalist has to exercise a great deal of care to avoid treading 
upon a clutch when visiting a breeding station. A friend of mine 
told me a few years back that he had once visited a colony of 
these birds on an island where the natural breeding accommoda- 
tion was so limited that many of them had conveyed patches of 
pebbles on to the grass, and laid their eggs thereon.” + Take, 
for instance, our Nightjar or Goat-sucker. As Mr. Watson has 
remarked, ‘this night-flying bird, half-Owl, half-Swallow, 
rests during the day on bare bits of limestone on the fells. Its 
mottled plumage exactly corresponds with the grey of the stones, 
and its eggs, in colour like its plumage, are laid upon the bare 
ground without the slightest vestige of a nest, and again entirely 
resemble the stone.’{ Now take another good example from 
Mr. Wallace. The common Black Coot (Fulica atra) “ only 
breeds in certain localities where a large water-weed (Phragmites 
arundinacea) abounds. The eggs of the Coot are stained and 
spotted with black on a yellowish-grey ground, and the dead 
leaves of the reed are of the same colour, and are stained black 
by small parasitic fungi of the Uredo family; and these leaves 
form the bed on which the eggs are laid. The eggs and the 
leaves agree so closely in colour and markings that it is a difficult 
thing to distinguish the eggs at any distance. It is to be noted 
that the Coot never covers up its eggs as its ally, the Moor-hen, 


* James Newton Baskett, ‘ Papers presented to World’s Congress on 
Ornithology,’ Chicago, p. 95. 
t Richard Kearton, ‘ With Nature and a Camera,’ p. 254. 
| ‘Poachers and Poaching,’ p. 136. 
2n2 


548 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


usually does.’’* Mr. Wallace considers that these eggs ‘‘ are 
coloured in a specially protective manner,” but it is equally open 
to argument, that as white eggs are concealed, and the mottled- 
grey egg of the Nightjar laid on the similarly coloured ground, so 
the concealing, or active mimicking, powers of the Coot suggest 
its placing its eggs among the leaves that so successfully hides 
them. 

That birds may use a reasoning or cunning attribute in the 
deposition of their eggs where the colouration may prove of an 
assimilative character to the surrounding environment may be 
argued from the evidence which exists of their pursuing an 
equivalent mental process in the placing of their nests. Thus 
recently a writer has described ‘‘some curious experiences in 
birds’ nesting.” He found a Blackbird’s nest “ situated in a de- 
pression in the ground, in just such a position as a Sky Lark’s 
might occupy.”’. A keeper who accompanied him had found 
several other Blackbirds’ nests in similar positions. Within a 
few hundred yards two Thrushes’ nests were also found on the 
ground, ‘‘ the edge of the nests being level with the surface.” On 
enquiry it was stated ‘that the proprietor, having found that 
this wood was a nesting stronghold of these species, had made 
systematic raids on their nests in consequence of the havoc made 
by the birds on his fruit. I think this fact suggests why these 
birds had departed from their usual habit in their choice of 
nesting sites. Profiting from experience, they had selected safer 
positions.” The same writer records facts to prove that the 
Common Sandpiper “profits by experience, and occasionally 
varies its choice of nesting sites.” In 1886 these birds had their 
nests twice swept away from the river-banks by heavy floods. In 
the following year nests were found fully a hundred yards from 
the river. ‘‘ From May, 1886 (the date of these floods), until 
1889, the Sandpipers continued to nest at some distance from the 
river.”’+ The Samoan Tooth-billed Pigeon (Didunculus strigi- 
rostris), which formerly bred on or near the ground, and was so 
greatly reduced in numbers by Cats as to be threatened with 
extermination, eventually took to nesting and roosting in trees, 


and has since been gradually on the increase.” | We have not 


* © Darwinism,’ p. 215. 
+} Dr. R. Williams, ‘The Zoologist,’ 3rd ser. vol. xx. pp. 872-3. 
| F. A. Lucas, ‘ Rept. Nation. Mus.’ Washington, 1891, p. 612. 


MIMICRY. 549 


yet reached the explanation of the colours of eggs; we have only 
by observation seen—under “natural selection,” if you will, or 
active mimicry—how avian subterfuge has in so many cases 
combated the pertinacious search of the persistent enemies to 
bird existence. 

Sometimes this mimicry appears only as a survival, and when 
its character is no longer protective. ‘The bird which in the 
arctics long ago lined its nest with green moss or grey lichens 
may now floor it with flax in Dakota, or pad it with cotton in 
Texas ; and yet in either deposit a solid green or mottled greyish 
egg in keeping with the colours of ‘the old house at home.’’’* 
Thus the eggs of the Wild Duck are placed among the green 
reeds, while those of the Lapwing are with equal confidence con- 
signed to the ploughed field or upland. The Red Grouse can 
safely leave its speckled eggs among the heather; the Lesser 
Tern has little fear that its spotted egg will be noticed on the 
shingle, or the Ringed Plover that its egg will be readily dis- 
tinguished from the sand on which itis laid. Take Mr. Seebohm’s 
‘History of British Birds,’ with its beautiful illustrations of eggs, 
often so decisive in colour and markings, and then find the eggs 
in their natural surroundings, and one will then experience how 
** the whole creation groaneth,” or rather the intense beauties and 
harmonies that have arisen in Nature because she ‘ 
tooth and claw.” 

Mammals contribute the same evidence, and the narratives of 
sportsmen and travellers afford many instances. According to 
Mr. Buxton, the Sardinian Mouflon (Ovis musimon) was one of the 
most difficult animals to approach with which he was acquainted. 
He observes, that ‘‘ when they are alarmed, or ‘at gaze,’ they have 
a habit, or at least the rams have, of placing themselves in the 
middle of a bush of Macquia, or in the shadow which it casts. 
The ewes, who are naturally less conspicuous, do this in a less 
degree.”+ The same authority describes a similar habit in the 
Barbary Sheep (Ovis tragelaphus), known by the name of “ Aroui’’: 
*‘ They are constantly within sight and hearing of the Arabs and 
their Goats, and, having no means of escaping from their 
neighbourhood, have developed the art of hiding themselves to 


is red in 


* James Newton Baskett, ‘ Papers, World’s Congress on Ornithology,’ 
Chicago, p. 100. 
+ ‘Short Stalks,’ 2nd edit. (1893), p. 22, 


550 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


an extraordinary degree, and their confidence in their own in- 
visibility is unlimited. A practical illustration of this occurred 
to me one evening when I had sat.in one place for twenty minutes 
carefully spying the surrounding country. My coign of vantage 
was a knoll which commanded a small shallow hollow, in which 
there was not a vestige of cover, except the few thin thuja bushes 
which looked as if they could not hide a Rat. It was not till I rose 
to shift my position that a female Aroui and two yearlings started 
from these bushes. They had been lying within sixty yards of 
me, and must have been fully conscious of my presence.’ * Le 
Vaillant writes: ‘‘ If the Giraffe stands still, and you view it in 
front, the effect is very different. As the fore part of its body is 
much larger than the hind part, it completely conceals the latter ; 
so that the animal resembles the standing trunk of a dead tree.’ + 
Mr. Baines, the African traveller, related to Frank Buckland 
that ‘‘the Giraffe seems to know that if he keeps perfectly quiet 
he will be mistaken for a tree; if he moves, his presence will 
become apparent to his enemy—man.”{ Baines himself has 
recorded that a Giraffe he watched passing through the bush 
looked ‘‘for all the world, as he stopped to gaze, like the white 
stump of a dead tree, which anyone might have passed by without 
suspecting it of the power of motion.” § Sir Samuel Baker bears 
the same witness: ‘‘It may be readily imagined that, owing to 
the great height of this animal, it can be distinguished from a 
distance, and does not require an elaborate search; nevertheless, 
it is exceedingly deceptive in appearance when found among its 
native forests. The red-barked mimosa, which is its favourite 
food, seldom grows higher than fourteen or fifteen feet. Many 
woods are almost entirely composed of these trees, upon the flat 
heads of which the Giraffe can feed when looking downwards. 
I have frequently been mistaken when remarking some particular 
dead tree-stem at a distance, that appeared like a decayed relic 
of the forest, until, upon nearer approach, I have been struck by 
the peculiar inclination of the trunk: suddenly it has started 
into movement and disappeared.”|| Gordon Cumming narrates 

* Short Stalks,’ 2nd edit. (1893), p. 136. 

+ ‘New Travels into Int. Parts of Africa,’ Eng. transl. vol. ii. pp. 278-9. 

{ ‘Curiosities of Natural History,’ pop. edit. 3rd ser. p. 232. 


§ ‘Explorations in 8.W. Africa,’ p. 387. 
|| ‘ Wild Beasts and their Ways,’ vol. ii. p. 151. 


. 
: 


MIMICRY. 551 


a similar experience:—‘ In the case of the Giraffe which is in- 
variably met with among venerable forests, where innumerable 
blasted and weather-beaten trunks and stems occur, I have 
repeatedly been in doubt as to the presence of a troop, until 
I had recourse to my spyglass, and on referring to my savage 
attendants I have known even their optics to fail, at one time 
mistaking these dilapidated trunks for camelopards, and again 
confounding real camelopards with these aged veterans of the 
forest.”* Mr. Vaughan Kirby says: “‘ They stand perfectly still, not 
even swishing their tails like wildebeeste, and thus bringing about 
instant recognition; their mottled or dark colour, great height, 
and comparatively narrow bodies give them a striking resemblance 
to the many old vari-coloured relics of the forest, blasted by 
lightning or by bush-fires.” + Col. Pollok attributes the same 
habits to the Indian Elephant (Hlephas indicus) :—“If nature 
has not given intellect to these animals, it has given them an 
instinct next thing to it. One has only to hunt them in their 
wilds to learn how wonderfully Providence has taught them to 
choose the most favourable ground, whether for feeding or 
encamping, and to resort to jungles where their ponderous 
bodies so resemble rocks or the dark foliage that it is most 
difficult for the sportsman to distinguish them from surrounding 
objects.” } Gordon Cumming relates a similar experience in 
South Africa with regard to Hlephas africanus :—‘‘ The ashy 
colour of his hide so corresponds with the general appearance of 
the grey thorny jungles which he frequents throughout the day, 
that a person unaccustomed to hunting Elephants, standing on a 
commanding situation, might look down upon a herd and fail 
to detect their presence.’§ An even stronger case, or more 
pronounced opinion, as to active mimicry is given by the American 
naturalist E.S. Thompson, and a Fox is the animal referred to:— 
‘A fire had swept the middle of the pasture, leaving a broad belt 
of black; over this he skurried till he came to the unburnt 
yellow grass again, when he squatted down and was lost to view. 

* * Rive Years’ Hunting Adventures in 8. Africa’ (compl. pop. edit.), 
p. 132. 

{+ ‘In Haunts of Wild Game,’ p. 337. 

t * Zoologist,’ ser. iv. vol. i. p. 167. 


§ ‘Five Years’ Hunting Adventures in 8. Africa’ (compl. pop. edit.), 
p. 132. 


552 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


He had been watching us all the time, and would not have moved 
had we kept to the road. The wonderful part of this is, not that 
he resembled the round stones and dry grass, but that he knew 
he did, and was ready to profit by it.”* According to Living- 
stone’s observations on a small Antelope named ‘‘ Tianyane ” :— 
‘‘ When the young one is too tender to run about without the 
dam, she puts one foot on the prominence about the seventh 
cervical vertebra, or withers; the instinct of the young enables 
it to understand that it is now required to kneel down, and to 
remain quite still till it hears the bleating of its dam, If you see 
an otherwise gregarious she-Antelope separated from the herd, 
and going along anywhere, you may be sure she has laid her 
little one to sleep in some cosy spot. The colour of the hair in 
the young is better adapted for assimilating it with the ground 
than that of the older animals, which do not need to be screened 
from the observation of birds of prey.” + ‘‘ Rabbits open their 
nesting burrows and suckle their young by night, closing them 
lightly with earth again when they leave them. I had a nest 
under close observation last spring, and was much interested to 
find that its owner scattered some old hay from a Sheep foddering- 
station close by, over the mould with which she filled the 
entrance to the burrow every time she left it, a procedure which 
materially lessened its chances of being discovered.” { We can 
find another example in the East. In the South Mahratta 
country, according to Sir W. Elliot, it is a common belief of 
the peasants that in the open plains, where there is no cover or 
concealment, the Indian Wolves (Canis pallipes) scrape a hole in 
the earth, in which one of the pack lies down and remains hidden 
while the others drive the herd of Antelopes over him.§ The 
usual colour of these animals is a greyish fulvous, generally with 
a brownish tinge, so that active or aggressive mimicry is thus 
obtained. A similar explanation may be applied to the fact 
described by Capt. Scannon respecting the Californian Sea-lion 
(Otaria gillespit). This animal, when in pursuit of a Gull, 
‘“‘dives deeply under water, and swims some distance from where 


* € Wild Animals I have Known,’ p. 193. 

+ ‘Mission. Travels and Researches in 8. Africa,’ p. 209. 
{ Richd. Kearton, ‘ With Nature and a Camera,’ p. 180, 
§ Cf. Lydekker, ‘Roy. Nat, Hist.’ vol, i. p. 500. 


MIMICRY. | 558 


it disappeared, then, rising cautiously, it exposes the tip of its 
nose above the surface, at the same time giving it a rotary motion 
like that of a water-bug at play. The unwary bird on the wing, 
seeing the object near by, alights to catch it, while the Sea-lion 
at the same moment settles beneath the waves. and at one bound, 
With extended jaws, seizes its screaming prey, and instantly 
devours it.* Waterton has given a very similar suggestion. 
Beneath some agitated birds, and in the long grass, he saw 
what was apparently ‘‘a pale green Grasshopper,” fluttering 
as though entangled in it. ‘‘ Nothing more remained to be 
done but to wait in patience till it had settled, in order that 
you might run no risk of breaking its legs in attempting to lay 
hold of it while it was fluttering—it still kept fluttering, and, 
having quietly approached it, intending to make sure of it— 
behold, the head of a large Rattlesnake appeared in the grass 
close by. . . . What had been taken for a Grasshopper was, in 
fact, the elevated rattle of the snake.” + Aflalo has remarked :— 
‘**'The snake’s power of fascinating birds is another moot point, 
on which Dr. Stradling has offered about the best suggestion, fully 
endorsed in Miss Hopley’s charming book. His opinion is that 
the birds mistake the quivering tongue for a worm or insect, and 
that organ, considered by the ignorant to be endowed with ‘ stinging 
powers,’ may consequently act as a bait to lure the incautious food 
within reach of the fatal jaws.” t The Tree-Frog (Hyla) is of a 
light green colour when seated upon a light green leaf, but becomes 
dark brown when transferred to dark surroundings. ‘ Hence 
this animal adapts itself to the colour of its environment, and — 
thus gains protection from its enemies.’’§ 


* Cf. J. A. Allen, ‘ Hist. N. Amer. Pinnipeds,* pp. 801-2. 

+ ‘ Wanderings,’ Wood’s edit., pp. 166-7. 

{ ‘Sketch of the Nat. Hist. Australia,’ p. 161. 

§ Weismann, ‘ Lectures on Heredity,’ &c., Eng. transl., 2nd edit. vol. i. 
p- 309.—Weismann adds:—‘‘That the chromatophores do not themselves 
react upon the direct stimulus of light was proved by Lister (‘ Phil. Trans.’ 
vol. exlviil. 1858, pp. 627-644), who showed that blind Frogs do not possess 
the power of altering their colour in correspondence with that of their 


environment.”’ 
(To be continued.) 


554 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 


AVES. 


Abundance of the Song-Thrush near Bradford.—The chief ornitho- 
logical feature of the year in this district has been the immense number of 
Song-Thrushes (Turdus musteus) which have bred, in marked contrast to 
the years 1880 and 1881. Asarule, even in mild winters and late autumn, 
not many are to be seen here; but on the approach of spring, mostly in 
February, immigrants arrive, many of which withdraw sooner or later, 
according to the state of the weather, to breed probably in higher 
latitudes. This year, at the beginning of February, a larger number 
arrived than usual ; most of the fields in the neiglbourhood of woods were 
literally covered, and, contrary to what usually occurs, a large majority 
remained to breed. Having visited the woods almost daily during the 
breeding season, one could not fail to be struck with their abundance; 
indeed, it was a matter of common knowledge even to casual observers, and 
we hardly ever came into contact with any gamekeeper who did not repeat- 
edly mention this fact. Another peculiarity was that a greater proportion 
of nests were built on the ground, and had larger clutches of eggs than in 
average years. If boisterous winds prevail in early spring a greater pro- 
portion of nests are built on or nearer the ground, or on more shielded 
places than would otherwise be the case; but, taking this factor alone 
into consideration, will not account for the exceptional phenomena of the 
present year. It is hardly conceivable that this large addition in num- 
bers was bred here last year, and we cannot account for it except on the 
supposition that for some reason or other these birds remained here to breed, 
but under more favourable conditions would have bred in more northern 
latitudes. It would appear that some species of birds are more prolific in 
the north, and it is not at all unreasonable to suppose that many species of 
birds would be less strictly arboreal in their habits; but, be this as it may, 
the fact recorded requires explanation. It would be interesting to ascertain 
what are the habits of this species in more northern latitudes. Five eggs 
is the usual clutch in this district, but frequently four is the complement. 
Six is an exceptional number (one instance only this year has come to our 
knowledge), but even this latter number is sometimes exceeded. Whilst 
on this subject it may be said en passant how very different are the habits 


— EE ———— 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 555 


of some species of birds even within a very limited area. An immense 
number of Missel-Thrushes’ nests have come under our observation, but 
never one, in this district, has been built in any other situation than either 
in trees or bushes, very seldom comparatively in the latter. On the other 
hand, this species breeds not uncommonly in walls on the moors a little to 
the north of Bolton Woods, in Wharfedale, which are also well wooded 
—chiefly pine and larch with little or no underwood—and only some twenty 
miles in a bee-line north of this place. Both the Song- and Missel-Thrush 
are met with in much more varying numbers during the breeding season 
than the Blackbird, and in winter—even the severest winters—a much 
greater number of the latter remain compared with the number which 
obtains during the breeding season. — E.. P. Burrerrietp (Wilsden, near 
Bradford). 


Abnormal Nesting Sites of the Willow-Wren.—With reference to 
Dr. A. G. Butler’s note on highly-piaced nests of the Chiffchaff, I may 
mention that I have frequently found them situated as much as four feet 
from the ground, but never higher; a pair built for several years in 
succession in the top of a box-tree, a little over four feet, in the garden of 
a friend of mine. During the last spring and summer I have seen three 
nests of the Willow-Wren (Phylloscopus trochilus) in situations which, in 
the case of two of them, are unique in my experience. One was placed 
five feet from the ground in a spruce-fir, surrounded by a wild rose bush, 
built on a flat bough of the spruce, and entwined in the twigs of the rose. 
Of the other two, which were within a mile of each other, one was placed 
in an old Marsh-Titmouse’s nesting-hole in the top of an old gate-post, 
A ft. 6 in. from the ground; and with regard to the other, a Robin built 
early in the year in a large hole in a wall five feet from the ground, and 
safely reared its young. Shortly after the nest was appropriated by a 
Willow-Wren, which domed over the old nest, and plentifully lined it with 
feathers. This bird also safely reared her young. I saw all nests, eggs, 
and old birds, and a friend took excellent photographs of the bird that built 
in the Robin’s nest, feeding her young, in various positions. — OxLEy 
GraBHam {Heworth, York). 


“ Chiffchaff building on the top of small Yew and Box Trees,”— 
In this district Chiffchaffs rarely, if ever, build on the ground; I have 
found upwards of thirty nests in a season, but have never seen one quite 
on the ground, although sometimes it is only raised a few inches in 
brambles or other low-growing plants. I have many times seen nests in 
box trees from three to six feet high, but have only once found a Willow- 
Wren’s nest that was not on the ground; in this case I caught the female, 
and sent it to Mr. Dresser to be quite sure of my identification. It hag 


556 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


always struck me as very curious how the nesting habits of birds change 
in different localities. With us the Willow-Wren almost always builds its 
nest on the ground; in fact, in twenty years I have only once known an 
exception, whereas on the Spey side last year I found as many nests 
in bushes, &c., off the ground as I found on it. The highest nest I saw 
was quite twelve feet from the ground in the ivy on a house. The Chiff- 
chaff with us always breeds on the ground (at least, I kuow of no excep- 
tion). Dr. Butler’s experience is different. — HEatLy Nopie (Temple 
Combe, Henley-on-Thames). 


Tree-Creeper nesting in Roof.— During the winter we have often seen 
a pair of ‘Tree-Creepers (Certhia familiaris) on the big trees on the lawn 
here, and once or twice they were seen running up the side of the house, 
which is sand-dashed. On May 17th, when on the lawn, I saw one settle 
on side of house, and run up the wall; there is a greenhouse standing 
from the house, the top of the wall being covered with sheet lead, and the 
bird went in under this. I procured a ladder, and found a nest built on top 
of bricks against the wall of house. It is within four feet of a bedroom 
window, and close to the top of one of the drawing-room windows: a snug, 
dry, and warm place, but an unusual one for a Tree-Creeper.—J. WHITAKER 
(Rainworth, Notts). 


Abnormal Nesting Place of Spotted Flycatcher.— Last year (Zool. 
1898, p. 429) 1 recorded the finding of a nest of the Spotted Flycatcher 
(Muscicapa grisola), built inside that of a Swallow’s. It may be interesting 
to readers to know that on May 11th last, in an old cowshed three hundred 
yards from the gruff-hole, I again found a nest of the Swallow tenanted by 
Flycatchers; a frail nest was built inside containing three eggs. The 
sitting bird flying from the nest led to the discovery. It seems remarkable 
to me that in the same small area, on two occasions, a pair of these birds 
should occupy a nest of the Swallow for the rearing of their offspring. Of 
course, I do not know whether they were the same pair of birds. Would 
this habit be inherited by the offspring ? — StanLtey Lewis (Wells, 
Somerset). 


Hobby in Westmoreland.—I am sorry to say that a poor little Hobby 
(Falco subbuteo), au immature bird, was shot by a keeper in Melkiuthorpe 
Wood, Westmoreland, about the 24th of August. The Hobby is of rare 
occurrence in Lakeland; I do not recall any other specimen as having been 
killed in Westmoreland, though a few Cumbrian Hobbies exist in local 
collections. It is possible, nevertheless, that the recent specimen (which I 
have added to the Carlisle Museum) may have been bred in the district in 
which it came to its untimely end. Our excellent taxidermist, Mr. Hope, 
of Penrith, informs me that his father once killed a pair of Hobbies at their 


NOTES AND QUERIES. 557 


nest in Penrith Beacon, and took the eggs from the nest. The eggs were 
to be seen in a local collection until quite recently. 

May I venture to remind distant friends that after Dec. 31st my 
address will be the Rectory, Pidochry, Perthshire? I mention it to 
obviate the necessity of letters being redirected. I shall continue to work 
for the Carlisle Museum, and to record notes of Lakeland animals; but I 
shall no longer be an actual resident in Lakeland. — H. A. MacpHrrson 
(Allonby, near Maryport). 


Black-game in Suffolk. — I have been informed by Sir Cuthbert 
Quilter that a Blackcock (Tetrac tetrix), in immature plumage, was killed 
by his son, Mr. Eley Quilter, during a Partridge drive on the Cliff Farm, 
near Woodbridge, about two miles south-east of the town, at the end of 
last October, It would be interesting to know the history of this juvenile 
wanderer.—K. A. Butter (Plumton House, Bury St. Edmunds). 


The Moor-hen (Gallinula chloropus) nesting in Trees.—During the 
past breeding season I found three nests of this species in pollard trees 
from six to ten feet above the water, all containing eggs. Mr. Summer’s 
gamekeeper in this neighbourhood has lately informed me that on Lord 
Ilchester’s estate he has taken the eggs of the Moor-hen from an old Ring- 
Dove’s nest twenty feet high, in a spruce-fir tree.—Stantey Lewis (Wells, 


Somerset). 


The Storm-Petrel (Procellaria pelagica) flying at Light.—On the 
night of Nov. 24th, whilst exercising search-liguts im Gibraltar Harbour, 
two Storm-Petrels flew into an officer’s cabin through the port. The cabin 
was situated just beside a search-light, ard by it the birds were probably 
half-blinded, which accounts for their action. The night was dark and 
stormy. I have never heard of this species behaving in this manner 
previously, nor have I ever seen it about Gibraltar before.—K. HuRLSToNE 
Jones (H.M.S. ‘ Repulse,’ Channel Squadron). 

[I captured a specimen of this species on board the U.S. ‘ Norman,’ 
when returning from the Cape in 1896, at the commencement of the month 
of October, near the Cape Verde Islands. It was also probably attracted 
by the many lights, and was easily caught.—Ep. | 


Notes from Rainworth.—Late Stay of Fieldfares: We had Fieldfares 
(Turdus pilaris) here at Rainworth ull May 15th. Common Scoter: A 
mule of this species (Qdemia nigra) was shot on the large piece of water at 
Lamb Close, near here, in September, by Mr. Barber. Rough-legged 
Buzzard: One of these fine birds (buteo lagopus) was about here in 
March for six weeks. I saw it several times near the house over the lake, 
and admired its beautiful flight. One time two Herons were on the 


558 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


wing near it, and looked about the same size. — J. WHITAKER (Rain- 
worth, Notts). 


PISCHS. 


Anchovy at Yarmouth.— A very fine example of the Anchovy 
(E'ngraulis encrasicholus) was taken in a drift-net amongst Herrings, and 
brought in on Oct. 2nd; length, 74 in. Dr. Day says it rarely exceeds 
6}in. Another about the same length was brought to me salted on the 31st. 
Although the numbers of. Herrings taken off Yarmouth this season have 
beaten the record, fewer stranger fishes, e.g. Shads, Pilchards, and even 
Sharks, have been caught or seen than in other years; and a similar 
remark applies to the Cetacea.— A. Parrerson (Ibis House, Great 
Yarmouth). 


Food of the Kel.—An excellent observer, Richard Holme, of Rusland, 
informs me that he has seen an Kel swallow a fresh-water Lamprey, tail 
first. He has also more than once watched an Hel attempting to catch 
small Trout (or other young Salmonid@) by snatching at them as they 
passed by. Once he saw an Eel actually catch one. These notes refer to 
the stream known as the Rusland Pool.—Cuarues F. ARcHIBALD (Rusland 
Fall, Ulverston). 

[According to Capt. Williamson, an old well-known angling author, 
‘* Hels swallow fishes head-foremost."—ED. | 


( 559 ) 


EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 


WE recently (ante, p. 478) drew attention to the forthcoming publication 
of a series of volumes on the Fauna of South Africa, and mentioned that 
the first volume would be on the Birds, and written by Dr. Stark. News has 
unfortunately just been received of the violent death of Dr. Stark, caused by 
a shell at Ladysmith during the Boer bombardment of that British town. 
Dr. Stark was the eldest son of the late Mr. John Cowell Stark, of Torquay. 
He was educated at Blundell’s School, Tiverton, and at Clifton College, 
with a view to becoming a civil engineer. Comparatively late in life, how- 
ever, he determined to become a doctor, and he matriculated at Edinburgh 
University. For ten or a dozen years he had been prominently identified 
with life in South Africa. He had a practice at Capetown, and he was well 
known and respected at the Cape and in Natal. The deceased gentleman 
had travelled extensively, not only in South Africa, but in Spain, Morocco, 
Turkey, and other countries. He was an ardent naturalist and,accom- 
plished ornithologist, and possessed a splendid collection of birds of prey. 
Dr. Stark was recently in England, and only returned to South Africa last 
September. Whilst he was at Durban war was declared, when he volun- 
teered for service in assisting the wounded, and was placed in charge of an 
ambulance. 


A WELL-KNOWN and highly respected officer will be missed from the 
entomological library of the British Museum in the person of Mr. John 
Saunders, who has been connected with that establishment for nearly sixty 
years. In 1840, Dr. J. EK. Gray applied to the schoolmaster at Hounslow 
for a boy who could “write a good plain hand,” and young Saunders, 
though barely thirteen years of age, was nominated for the post, and entered 
on his duties in September of that year. The British Museum—then Old 
Montagu House—much impressed the young assistant by the fine old 
entrance-gate with its massive iron knocker, and on each side of the gate 
a sentry-box and a grenadier with fixed bayonet. There was also a gate- 
porter to open and shut the gate during the day, and three watchmen on 
duty during the night, who alternately every hour from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. 
walked round with club and lantern, and called the hour, “ All’s well.” His 
first occupation was in assisting Dr. Gray in soaking off the Mollusca from 
old tablets of a very miscellaneous size, and placing them on new ones, 
previously to their being properly named. In 1847 he was appointed to 


560 THE ZOOLOGIST. 


overhaul the osteological collection, registering, &c., till 1857, when he 
was transferred to the insect room, and took charge of the library, at that 
time very small compared with its present dimensions. Thus Mr. Saunders 
has largely witnessed the evolution of our Zoological Museum, and retires 
on a moderate pension incidental to a never highly paid position. He 
has always been greatly esteemed, and the Museum staff presented him with 
a testimonial on his leaving, which was handed over to him in appreciative 
terms by another veteran of the establishment—Dr. A. Giinther. 


On the occasion of the unveiling of the monument dedicated to 
Johannes Miller, which took place on Oct. 7th at Coblentz, the daughter 
of the celebrated zoologist presented to the Stadtbibliothek fourteen 
volumes of drawings, containing upwards of nine hundred zoological 
sketches made by her father in the years 1850-1854 in various countries. 


Mr. Henry O. Forsss, the Director of the Liverpool Museums, has 
issued his Report upon the Scientific Expedition to the Island of Sokotra 
during 1898-1899, which, under the generous auspices of the Royal and 
Royal Geographical Societies of London, aud of the British Association, in 
conjunction with Mr. Ogilvie-Grant, representing the British Museum, 
he undertook at the direction of the Committee for investigating and 
making collections of the natural history of that island. The Director truly 
observes, ‘that among scientific circles, especially among geographers and 
biologists, there has everywhere been expressed the warmest appreciation 
of the liberality and public-spirited action of the Liverpool Museum Com- 
mittee and the Council in taking part in the exploration of Sokotra.” 

The share of the results of the expedition which comes to Liverpool 
may be summarized as follows :—Of mammals, there are examples of one 
or two species of Rat, of one species of Civet Cat, of one species of Bat, 
and of the Wild Ass. Of birds, there are some three hundred specimens, 
out of which seven species have been diagnosed as new to science; a 
large series of reptiles has been acquired, which contains one genus and 
eight species new to Herpetology. Numerous Scorpions, Millepedes, and 
Spiders have been obtained, among which there turn out to be at least 
one new genus and seven new species; the land-shells number several 
thousands, of which Mr. Edgar Smith, of the British Museum, has already 
described eight species as new to his department of Zoology. Of insects— 
almost the whole of which were collected by Mr. Ogilvie-Grant—there are 
several thousands, which in butterflies have included a new species of a 
very beautiful and large Charames. 


SOLD BY THE 


BRONSON LIBRARY 


} x a \ 
| Me 
BY. ” \ 


\ 


AAA ainia'c 
a ah ‘ Ale An CIENCES L BRARY 


aaa gil ill i 


% real Se 
He Gea | 
\ 
. 
\ \ ‘ \ 1 853 
y 4 aie 
| oD \ a ; A 
{ \ : eo 
* Y i A ' ; 
/ PA Oe Ss . an an 


i-y 


nA ae Re 


Rann 


* 


en ee 
ota ge S 


PEGs 


ee 


‘nia annnnnann Am ak Ale 

vArpoanare an non wi ae 
AO Rane Bias 
eagia A a A x te 


matatannnnarnsia 


/ aa 
pre 
Sg ATR ey bie as 


7 +e 


ny Ann Aon ecm 


EE EE® ‘ 


RRR Pag ee ett 


Wal | A 


fy A >. 
AAAS 
FA Fd