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THE ZOOLOGIST:

A MONTHLY JOURNAL

OF

NATURAL HISTORY.

THIRD SERIES—VOL. XIX;

EDITED BY

Jd. H. HARTING, F.L.S., F.Z.S.,

MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ UNION.

4 DELECTANDO PARITERQUE MONENDO.

LONDON j
SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & CO., LIMITED,

S95.

a
zs 3
7 —¥

i. ak

ae
ti
wy.

HATTON GARDEN, E.C.

CONTENTS.

Tie eS ee ae

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS.

Apams, Lionet E.

The Lesser Shrew, 103; Bank Vole

in Kent, 427
Aptin, O. V., M.B.O.U.

On Birds observed in South Wales,

13
ARCHIBALD, CHARLES F.

Young Pewits and Pheasants swim-
ming, 272; Nesting habits of the
Curlew, 274; Nesting habits of
the Oystercatcher, 275

ARMISTEAD, J. J.

Wood Pigeons nesting near the

ground, 275
Barine, Hon. Ceci

An expedition to the Salvage

Islands, 401
BaRRetTtT-Hamiuton. G. EB. H.

The Irish Stoat distinct from the
British species, 124; The Irish
Hare turning white in winter,
185

BaRRinetTon, R. M., LL.D., F.L.S.

Nesting of the Goldcrest, 448

Benson, Rev. CHarites W., M.A.

Song of the Cirl Bunting, 231;
Nightingale singing in July,
232

BEnsoN, Joun, M.A.

Ornithological notes from Norway,

287
Buace, HK. W. H.

Manx Shearwater in Carnarvon-
shire, 188; Marten in Cumber-
land, 301

Boutencer, G. A., F.R.S., F.Z.S8.
On the variations of the Viper in
Denmark, 60
Bow tes, E. Aueustus, M.A., F.E.S.
Boar-fish at Teignmouth, 194
BraDsHAaw, GEORGE W.

Ornithological notes from Sussex,
25; Great Northern Diver at
Hastings, 68; Thick-knee in
Sussex in winter, 68; Richard-
son’s Skua at Hastings, 432;
Broad-billed Sandpiper in Sus-

sex, 449; Red-necked Phalarope
near St. Leonards, 449
Briaes, C. A.

Supposed breeding of the Crested

Lark in Kent, 451
Bucknitu, J. A.

The Birds of Surrey, 193; Quail in

Surrey, 448
Butter, A. G., Pu.D., F.L.S.

Paleornis rosea breeding in con-
finement, 230; Supposed hybrid
perpen Blackbird and Thrush,

3
Butter, Lt.-Col. E. A.

Early laying of Cuckoos, 229; Fear-
lessness of the Spotted Wood-
pecker, 271

BUTTERFIELD, W. C. J. Ruskin

Cuckoo’s egg in Wren’s nest, 228;
Increase of the Hawfinch in Sus-
sex, 273; The imitative faculty
in birds, 83083; The Lesser Tern
at Dungeness and Pett, 306; The
rate of flight in birds, 8377; The
autumnal movements of Swal-
lows, 379; Kestrel taking young
Pheasants, 450

CAMERON, ALLAN GORDON
2; Raven on Sheep Farms,
91
CAMBRIDGE, Rev. O. P., M.A., F.R.S.

Yellow-tailed Squirrels, 103; Black-
bird marked like Ring Ouzel,
111; Jack Snipe in Dorsetshire
in May, 231

CARTER, THOMAS
The Sanderling in Australia, 235
CHARBONNIER, H. F.
Shore Lark and Black Redstart in
Gloucestershire, 67
Curisty, Miuuer, F.L.S.
Albino Weasel, 19
CLARKE, WILLIAM J.

Dotterel at Scarborough, 307 ; Com-
mon Seal at Scarborough, 347;
re Sea Bream at Scarborough,

6

2

Ly UUIN 4 44INL De

CoBURN, FREDERICK

On the “hepatic”? plumage of the

Cuckoo, 321
Cocks, ALFRED HENEAGE, M.A., F.Z.S.

The names of the Mole, 104; Sand-
wich Terns on the Upper Thames,
190

Corsin, G. B.

Albino Weasels, 302; Cuckoo’s
eggs in Whitethroat’s nest, 305;
The Hawfinch in Hampshire,
308

CorRDEAUX, JOHN

Rare British Birds in the Humber
District, 56; On some remains
of the Urus (Bos primigenius)
recently found in Yorkshire, 121;
Insect migration, 387; Rate of
flight of birds on migration, 428

Cowakrp, T. A.

Manx Shearwater breeding’ on the
coast of Carnarvonshire, 72, 189;
The Mammalian Fauna of Che-
shire, 161, 212, 247

DAVENPORT, H. S.

Nesting of the Dunlin in Wales,
275; Alleged abnormal nesting
of the Golderest in Ireland, 481;
Honey Buzzard nesting in Here-
fordshire, 433; Escape of a caged
Eagle, 455

Davies, Sutton A.

In quest of Birds on the Munio
River, 326; Ornithological notes
from East Kent, 454

Drion, ADOLPHE, Jun.

On the races and varieties of the

Polecat, 366
Dossiz, J. B.
Cuckoo’s egg in Whitethroat’s nest,
305
Euiot, G. F. Scort, F.L.S.
Insect migration, 386
ELuiottr, J. STEELE

The Oystercatcher in Warwick-
shire, 22; Bank Vole in Bed-
fordshire, 227; Nesting materials
used by the Hawfinch, 232; Ob-
servations on the Fauna of St.
Kilda, 281; Insect migration,
396; The Field Mouse of the
Outer Hebrides, 426

FEILDEN, Col. H. W., C.M.Z.S.

Distribution of the Musk Ox in
Greenland, 41; A flying visit to
Spitsbergen, 81; Distribution of
Pomatorhine Skua in summer,
152; Larus ridibundus—assump-

tion of the hood in winter, 192;
The rate of flight in birds, 427
FLEMyNG, Rev. WiLLIAmM W., M.A.
Marten in Co. Waterford, 301
Fow.er, W. WARDE, M.A.

Date of arrival in England of the
Marsh Warbler, 304; Migrating
birds rest upon the water, 308

GODFREY, ROBERT

Arctic Tern and Common Gull

breeding in Shetland, 349
Gorpon, Rev. Prebendary, M.A.

Nuteracker near Chichester, 310;
Origin of the terms ‘‘Cob” and
“Pen,” 480 :

GRABHAM, OxLEy, M.A.

Briinnich’s Guillemot at Filey, 70;
Albino Shrew in Yorkshire, 268 ;
Nesting of the Hawfinch and
Greater Spotted Woodpecker,
273; Polygamy in the Starling,
307; Natterer’s Bat in Yorkshire,
426; The Lesser Shrew and
Water Shrew in Yorkshire, 427

GRANT, W. R. OGILVIE

An expedition to the

Islands, 401
Goueney, J. H., F.:5.; Bac:

Ornithological notes from Norfolk,
95; Shearwater in Carnarvon-
shire, 110; Alleged former nest-
ing of Golden Eagle and Gos-
hawk in Eugland, 450

Hateu, G. H. Caton

Black Guillemot in Merionethshire,
22; Stone Curlew in Lincoln-
shire in winter, 111; The Irish
Hare turning white in winter,
185; Note on the Long-tailed
Field Mouse, 187; Water Pipit
at Tetney Haven, 348

HAmMLING, J. G.

Migration of Pied Wagtails, 347
Hammonp, W. OxXENDEN

Avocet in Kent, 849
HARDBOTTLE, THOMAS

White Hedgehogs, 346
Harts Je He

A flight of ‘* Parasol Ants,” 311
Hartine, J. H., F.L.8.,; F.Z.S:

Hump-backed Whale on the Lin-
colnshire coast, 19; Swallows in
December, 23; Hybrid Swans,
24; Remarkable invasion of
Little Auks, 68; Migration of
Grouse, 69; Waxwing in Sus-
sex, 69; Briinnich’s Guillemot
on the Yorkshire coast, 70;

Salvage

CONTENTS. V

Irish Hare turning white in
winter, 104, 149; Food of the
Dolphin, 105; Local names of
Wildfowl, 106; Sea Gulls in
London, 109; T'wo-barred Cross-
bill in the West of England and
Ireland, 110; Memoir of the late
A.G. More, 144; Irish names for
British animals, 129, 148; Ruff
in Sussex in winter, 150; On
the proper specific name of the
Weasel, 177, 226; Long-tailed
Field Mouse, var. flavicollis, 187 ;
Sale of Great Auk and egg, 193;
Food of Boar-fish, 194; An-
clent custom of driving Deer in
Cheshire, 215, 216; On the
“hepatic” plumage of Cuckoo,
257; Memoir of Prof. Huxley,
263; Sale of Great Auk’s egg,
269; Redshank breeding in
Sussex, 809; Migration of But-
terflies, 335; White Hedgehogs,
347; London Rats crossing the
Thames, 347; The ornithologist
in Heligoland, 361; On the origin
of the terms ‘‘ Cob” and ‘“ Pen,”
372; American Yellow-billed Cuc-
koo in Dorsetshire, 376, 455; Rate
of flight in birds, 377-879; Im-
migration of the Solitary Snipe,
3883; The Harvest Mouse, 418;
Speed of Homing Pigeons, 441;
Rooks planting acorns, 442

HeEwerson,H. BENDELACK, F.L.S., &.

Insect migration, 387
Houmes, HENRY
Weight of Lobsters, 385

Horsprueu, C. B.

Nesting of the Lesser Spotted
Woodpecker near Bath, 22, 273;
Ringed Snake laying eggs in
captivity, 73; Hobby in Wilt-
shire, 383

Hupson, THomas Moors

Black-winged Stilt in Norfolk, 4384

Hunt, SAMUEL
A white Hare in Essex, 375
LANGDALE, Rev. H. MARMADUKE

Greenfinch appropriating Thrush’s
nest, 275; Quailsin West Sussex,
310; Tritons devouring Newits,
310; Newt killed by a Bee, 311;
Quail in the Isle of Wight, 384

LANGKAVEL, BERNARD (of Hamburg)

On the geographical distribution of
the European and Caucasian
Bison, 1

LapswortH, A. D.
The Black Rat in London, 105
LitFrorp, Right Hon. Lord, F.L.S8.
Notes on the Ornithology of North-
amptonshire and neighbourhood,
46; Briinnich’s Guillemot in
Cambridgeshire, 109; Hen Har-
rier in Sussex, 189
Loat, W. Lronarp 8.
Cuckoo’s eggs in Whitethroat’s
nest, 229
Lowe, Joun, M.D., F.L.S.
Food of the Bank Vole, 227
MacpHeErson, A. Houts, M.A., F.Z.S.
Hybrid Finches at the Crystal
Palace Bird Show, 110
MacrHerson, Rev. H. A., M.A.
Notes on Grouse, 21; Pomatorhine
Skua in mid-winter, 22; Red-
necked Grebe on the Solway
Firth, 66; Eared Grebe in the
Hebrides, 66; Food of Firecrest
and Little Bustard, 228; Crossbill
feeding on insects, 228; Albino
and pied varieties, 234; Lesser
Spotted Woodpecker in captivity,
306; White-fronted Goose in St.
Kilda, 848; Nesting of the Gold-
crest, 448
MAINWARING, C. S.
Black Tern in Wales, 381
Matuew, Rev. M. A., M.A., F.L.S.
Pembrokeshire Birds in 16038, 241
MattTHews, Rev. A., M.A.
Waxwing in Leicestershire, 111;
Crossbills in Leicestershire, 233
Mitrorp, EH. L.
Insect migration, 388
MiTcHeE.L, A. T.
Abnormal nesting of the Goldcrest
in Ireland, 885
Moss, Rev. FLETCHER
Local names of Wildfowl, 106
MurpocH, GEORGE W.
Harvest Mouse in Shropshire, 447
MustTers, P.
Grey-lag Geese breeding in Not-
tinghamshire, 111
NEILSON, Rap L.
American Yellow-billed Cuckoo in
Dorsetshire, 483
Netson, T. H.
Origin of the terms ‘‘Cob” and
‘¢ Pen,” 481
Newton, Prof. A., M.A., F.R.S.
Local names for Wildfowl, 152
OLDHAM, CHARLES
The Mammalian Fauna of Cheshire,

‘ ri
Vl CONTENTS.

161, 212, 247; Bank Vole in
Anglesea, 3802; Grasshopper
Warbler in North Wales, 805;
Whiskered Bat in Derbyshire,
3847; Provincial names of ani-
mals, 447
OtseEn, A. J.
The Beaver in Norway, 44
PATERSON, JOHN
The Little Auk in Scotland, 188
Parkin, THomas, M.A., F.Z.S.
Little Crake in Sussex, 309
PLEYDELL, J. C. MANSEL, F.L.S.
Adders swallowing their young, 436
Prior, 8.
Insect migration, 435
RAEBURN, HAROLD
The names of the Mole, 64, 149;
Period of incubation with the
Shag, 348
Ratre, P.
Winter notes from the Isle of
Man, 235
RamspotTuam, R. H.
Food of Toad, 885; Adders swal-
lowing their young, 455
REID, CLEMENT
The papetaes of acorns by Rooks,
45
Ripuey, H. N., M.A., F.L.S.
On the habits of a Snake (Macro-
pisthodon rhodomelas), 112
RoBinson, A.
Bittern in Berkshire, 67
Rope, G. T.
Polecat in Cambridgeshire, 186
Rose, B.
Waxwing in Derbyshire, 69
SALTER, J. H.
Wild Cat, Polecat, and Marten in
Cardiganshire, 18; Observations
on Birds in Mid-Wales, 129,
178, 221, 249; Curious fate of a
Cuckoo, 280; The Marten and
Polecat in Wales, 268
SapsworrTH, A. D.
Grey Shrike and Pomatorhine
Skua in Norfolk, 450; Spoonbill
in Norfolk, 450
ScuakFF, R. F.
Irish Hare turning white in winter,
149
SERVICE, ROBERT
Spread of the Roe-deer in §.W.
Scotland, 846; The Marsh Tit
in Dumfriesshire, 349; Natter-
jack Toad in Dumfriesshire, 350 ;
Hybrid Manx Cats — gradual

restoration of tail, 875; Distri-

- bution of the Alpine Hare in
S.W. Scotland, 875; Jackdaws
hawking after insects, 381; Hi-
bernation of Limax flavus, 386;
Insect migration, 389; The Shell
Slug in Scotland, 436

Sicu, ALFRED

Helix rotundata, Miiller (sinistror-

sum, Taylor), 350
SKEAT, Rev. Prof. W. W., M.A.

Origin of the terms ‘‘Cob” and

** Pen,” 4381
SLATER, Rev. Henry H., M.A.

Notes on Grouse, 20, 106, 187;
Ivory Gull and Dusky Shear-
water in Iceland, 23; Distribu-
tion of the Pomatorhine Skua in
summer, 189

SOUTHWELL, THomas, F.Z.S8.

Grampus on the Norfolk coast, 65,
Notes on the Seal and Whale
Fishery, 1894, 91

STARES, JOHN
Snipe drumming in January, 67
STOREY, WILLIAM |

Lesser Horseshoe Bat in the Wash-
burn Valley, Yorkshire, 65;
Whiskered Bat in Yorkshire, 65 ;
Grebes in Washburn Valley, 66;
Ornithological notes from York-
shire, 234; Breeding of the
Goldeneye in the Washburn
Valley, 449; Swallows returning
to their old nest, 449

Strone, Prof. H. A., M.A., LL.D.

On the names given to the Mole,
11; Origin of the terms ‘ Cob”
and ‘‘ Pen,’’ 429

SwalILyes, G. C.

Twite nesting in confinement, 881
Swainson, Capt. H. A.

Black Tern in Wales, 451
TEESDALE, JOHN H.

Nest of the Bank Vole, 184; Com-
mon and Lesser Terns in the
Outer Hebrides, 235

THEOBALD, F. V., M.A., F.E.S.

Mollusca injurious to farmers and

gardeners, 201
THomas, OLDFIELD, F'.Z.5.

On the proper specific names of the
Common Shrews of England and
the Continent, 62; ‘lhe Irish
Stoat distinct from the British
species, 124, 186; Yellow-tailed
Squirrels, 103, 156; On the pro-
per specific name of the Weasel,

CONTENTS. .

177, 225; the Irish Stoat in the |
Isle of Man, 226
TRIsTRAM, Rev. Canon, LLD., F.B.S. |
Roller in Northumberland, 433
TRUMBALL, J.

Abnormal nesting of the Goldcrest |

in Ireland, 4382
Tuck, Rev. Juuian G., M.A.
- Waxwing in Suffolk, 69
WaARRAND, Major-General W.E., R.E.

Irish Hare turning white in winter,
104

WARREN, RoBERT

Irish names for British animals,
148; Notable increase of the
Lesser Tern in Co. Mayo, 271

WHITAEER, J.

Variety of the Hawfinch, 72; Nest-
ing habits of the Common White-
throat, 310; Quails in Notting-
hamshire, 348

vill

WHITE, TAYLOR

On the habits of the Kea, or

Mountain Parrot of New Zea-
land, 293

| WINTON, W. E. DE

Seasonal changes of colour in the
fur of mammals, 65; The Long-
tailed Field Mouse of the Outer
Hebrides—a proposed new spe-
cies, 869, 426, 446; Honey Buz-
zard nesting in Herefordshire,
382

WITHERBY, Henry F.

Wood Pigeon nesting on the

ground, 232
Wou.aston, A. F. BR.

Nesting of the Marsh Warbler near

Bath, 304
Youne, Joun, F.L.S., F.Z.S.

Note on Turdus alpestris,

Rooks in London, 227

66;

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF SUBJECTS.

Acorns dispersed by Rooks, 452

Adders swallowing their young, 436,
456

AApyornis, bones of, 75

Agrotis graminis, 343

Albino Weasels, 19, 302; and pied
varieties, 234; Shrew, 268

Animals, Irish names, 148; wild,
killed in Norway in 1894, 425;
provincial names, 447

Antelopes of the Transvaal, 239

Anthus bertheloti on Salvage Islands, |
403

Ants, Indian, 157;
Natal, 280;
dad, 311

Arachnida from Arabia, 154

Asparagus on Salvage Islands, 408

Auk, Great, sale of, 193,—eggs, sale
of, 198, 269,—in St. Kilda, 285;
Little, remarkable invasion, 68, 74, |
—on coasts of Scotland, 151, 188

Avocet in Kent, 349

‘“‘Honey,” in
‘¢ Parasol,” in Trini-

Barnacle in Pembrokeshire, 246
Bat, Barbastelle, in Cheshire, 166;

Daubenton’s, in Cheshire, 167;
Lesser Horseshoe, in Yorkshire,

65,—in Cheshire, 166; Long-eared,
in Cheshire, 166; Natterer’s, in
Lancashire, 165,—in Yorkshire,
426; Noctule, in Cheshire, 167;
Pipistrelle, in Cheshire, 166; Whis-
kered, in Yorkshire, 65,—in Che-
shire, 168,—in Derbyshire, 347

Beaver in Norway, 44

Birds observed in 8. Wales, 18; rare
British, in Humber District. 56; in
Mid- Wales, 129, 178, 221, 249; in
Pembrokeshire in 1608, 241; of
Paradise, moulting, 278; of St.
Kilda, 282; imitative faculty in,
308; migrating, resting upon water,
308; on Munio River, 326; alti-
tude of flight, 366; speed on migra-
tion, 366; rate of flight, 377, 427,
428, 442

Bittern in Yorkshire, 67,—in Wales,
184; Little, in Norfolk, 98,—in
Wales, 184

| Bison, European and Caucasian, dis-

tribution, 1
Blackbird marked like Ring Ouzel,
111; and Thrush, hybrid, 233
Bluethroat in Humber District, 57,—
in Finland, 328,—migrating, 378

Vill CONTENTS.

Boar-fish at Teignmouth, 194

Boar, Wild, in Cheshire, 164,—
figured, 356

Books REVIEWED :—

The Life and Correspondence of
William Buckland, by his
daughter, Mrs. Gordon, 31

Allen’s Naturalists’ Library, edited
by R. B. Sharpe :—A Handbook
to the Marsupialia and Mono-
tremata, by Richard Lydekker,
35.—Butterflies, by W.F. Kirby,
39.—A Handbook to the Pri-
mates, by H. O. Forbes, 78.—A
Handbook to the British Mam-
malia, by R. Lydekker, 119

Sir Victor Brooke, Sportsman and
Naturalist, edited by Oscar Leslie
Stephen, 77

A Monograph of the Land and
Freshwater Mollusca of the
British Isles, by J. W. Taylor,
Part 1.,°79%--PamtaAl.,.462

The Life of Richard Owen, by his
grandson, the Rev. R. Owen, 117

Summer Studies of Birds and
Books, by W. Warde Fowler, 159

Catalogue of the Birds of Prey, with
the number of specimens in the
Norwich Museum, by J. H.
Gurney, 160

The Anatomy, Physiology, Morph-
ology, and Development of the
Blow-fly, a Study in the Com-
parative Anatomy and Morph-
ology of Insects, by B. Thompson
Lowne, 199

A Year of Sport and Natural
History, edited by Oswald Craw-
furd, 199

Horses, Asses, Zebras, Mules, and |

Mule-breeding, by W. B. Teget-
meier and C. L. Sutherland, 311

Seventeen Trips through Somali-
land, with descriptive Notes on
the Wild Fauna of the Country,
by Capt. H. G. C. Swayne, R.E.,
315

London Birds and Beasts, by J. T.
Tristram Valentine, 318

Forest Birds, their Haunts and
Habits: Short Studies from Na-
ture, by Harry I. Witherby, 319

In Grouseland, by Evan G. Mac-
kenzie, 320

The Royal Natural History, edited
by Richard Lydekker, with Pre-
face by P. L. Sclater, 851

Icebound on Kolguev: a Chapter in
the Exploration of Arctic Europe,
to which is added a Record of
the Natural History of the Island,
by Aubyn Trevor Battye, 390

The Fauna of British India, in-
cluding Ceylon and Burma, by
W. T. Blanford, 394

The New Forest, its Traditions,
Inhabitants, and Customs, by
Rose de Crespigny and Horace
Hutchinson, 895

The Pheasant, by Rev. H. A. Mac- —
pherson, A. J. Stuart Wortley,
and Alexander Innes Shand, 397

A Preliminary List of the Hem-
iptera of Colorado, 400

The Natural History of Aquatic
Insects, by Prof. L. C. Miall, 437

British Birds, by W. H. Hudson,
with a Chapter on Structure and
Classification, by I’. E. Beddard,
460

A Handbook of British Lepidoptera,
by Edward Meyrick, 464

Bos longifrons in Cheshire, 1643; pri-

migenius in Yorkshire, 121,—in
peat-beds in Cheshire, 164

Brambling in Finland, 329
Bream, Ray’s Sea, at Scarborough,

436

Breeding of Manx Shearwater in Car-

narvonshire, 72; Surinam Water-
Toad, 75; Grey-lag Goose in
Nottinghamshire, 111; Palzornis
rosea in confinement, 230; Hobby
in Norway, 292; Redshank in Sus-
sex, 309; Arctic Tern and Common
Gull in Shetland, 349; Goldeneye
in Washburn Valley, 449; supposed,
of Crested Lark in Kent, 451

Brock in Cheshire, 219
Bulweria bulweri on Salvage Islands,

414

Bunting, Cirl, in Cardiganshire, 137,

—song of, 231; Lapland, in Hum-
ber District, 59,—in Finland, 329;
Snow, in Finland, 829; White-
throated, in Humber District, 59

Bustard, Great,in Norfolk,95; Little,

food of, 228

Butterflies, new, from Tropical South

Africa, 157; migration of, 276, 535,
386, 387, 3888, 389

Buzzard in Wales, 179; Honey, nest-

ing in Herefordshire, 382, 4383;
Rough-legged, in Wales, 180,—
and eggs, in Finland, 330

6

CONTENTS. 1X

Callidryas hilariz, C. alemeone, C. py-
ranthe, 336 .
Canaries on Salvage Islands, 403, 404
Capercailzie in Finland, 382
Cat, Wild, in Cardiganshire, 18;
hybrid Manx, 375
Capra cegagrus from Asia Minor, 153
'Catophaga galena, 276, 336,—figured,
337
Cattle, Wild White, at Somerford
Park, 212,—figured, 233
Chameleons, new, from German East
Africa, 196
Chat, Black-throated,
District, 57
Chough in Wales, 138
“Cob” and ‘ Pen,” origin of terms,
372, 429, 430, 481
**Cock-shut time,”’ 244
Coleoptera, variation in size, 280
Colpodaspis pusilla on Devonshire
coast, 25
Columba schimperi on
Islands, 403
County RrEcorpDs :—
Bedfordslure.—Bank Vole, 227
Berkshire.—Bittern, 67
Cambridgeshire. — Brinnich’s
Guillemot, 109; Polecat, 186
Cheshire. — Mammalian Fauna,
161, 212, 247
Cumberland.—Pomatorhine Skua,
22; Firecrest, 228; Little Bus-
tard, 228; Crossbill, 228; albino
and pied varieties, 234; Marten,
301; Lesser Spotted Woodpecker,
306; Golderest, 448
Derbyshire.—Waxwing, 69; Jack
Snipe, 231; Whiskered Bat, 347
Devonshire. — Colpodaspis pusilla,
25; Landrail, 74; Boar-fish, 194;
Pied Wagtail, 347
Dorsetshire.—Yellow-tailed Squir-
rels, 103; Blackbird marked
like Ring Ouzel, 111; American
Cuckoo, 3876, 433, 455; Adders
swallowing their young, 436
Essex.—Albino Weasel, 19; white
Hare, 875
Gloucestershire.—Shore Lark and
Black Redstart, 67
Hampshire.—Snipe drumming in
January, 67; Greenfinch appro-
priating Thrush’s nest, 275; al-
bino Weasels, 802; Cuckoo’s
eggs in Whitethroat’s nest, 305;
Hawfinch, 308; Tritons devour-
ing Newts, 810; Newt killed by

in Humber

Salvage

Bee, 311; Quail, 384; food of
Toad, 385

Herefordshire. — Honey Buzzard,
382, 433

Kent.—Little Gull, 74; hybrid
Finches, &c., 110; Long-tailed
Field Mouse, 187; Cuckoo’s egg
in Whitethroat’s nest, 229; Pale-
ornis rosea, 230; hybrid between
Blackbird and Thrush, 233;
Lesser Tern, 806; Avocet, 349,
Bank Vole, 427; Crested Lark,
451; ornithological notes, 454

Lancashire.-—Young Peewits and
Pheasants swimming, 272; Cur-
lew, 274; Oystercatcher, 275

Leicestershire. — Waxwing, 111;
Crossbill, 233; Golden Eagle

shot, 434
Lincolnshire. — Hump- backed
Whale, 19; rare British birds,

56; Stone Curlew in winter, 111;
Water Pipit, 348
Middlesex.—Black Rat, 105; Sea
Gulls, 109; Sandwich Tern, 190;
Rooks in London, 227; London
Rats cross-ing the Thames, 347;
Helix rotundata, 850
Norfolk. — Grampus, 65; Little
Auk, 68; ornithological notes,
95; Black-headed Gull, 192;
Black-winged Stilt, 484; Grey
Shrike, 450; Pomatorhine Skua,
450; Spoonbill, 450
Northamptonshire. — Ornithologi-
cal notes, 46; Waxwing, 70
Northumberland.—Roller, 483
Nottinghamshire. —- Variety of
Hawfinch, 72; breeding of Grey-
lag Goose, 111; Whitethroat,
810; Quail, 348
Oxfordshire.-—Marsh Warbler, 304
Shropshire.—Harvest Mouse, 447
Somersetshire. — Lesser Spotted
Woodpecker, 22, 273; Ringed
Snake laying in captivity, 73;
Two-barred Crossbill, 110; Marsh
Warbler, 304; escape of a caged
Eagle, 380, 484, 455
Suffolk. Waxwing, 69; Cuckoo,
229; Spotted Woodpecker, 271
Surrey.—Birds of, 198; Quail, 448
Sussex.—Ornithological notes, 25 ;
Gt. Northern Diver, 68; Thick-
knee in winter, 68; Waxwing,
69; Ruff in winter, 150; Hen
Harrier, 189; Cuckoo’s egg in
Wren’s nest, 228; Jiawfinch,

x ) CONTENTS.

272; imitative faculty in birds,

308; Redshank, 3809; Little
Crake, 309; Quail, 310; Nut-
cracker, 810; Swallow, 379;

Richardson’s Skua, 432; Broad-
billed Sandpiper, 449; Red-
necked Phalarope, 449; Kestrel
taking young Pheasants, 450
Warwickshire. — Oystercatcher,
22; Hawfinch, 282
Wiltshire.—Hobby, 883
Yorkshire.—Siberian Warbler, 26 ;
rare British birds, 56; Lesser
Horseshoe Bat, 65; Whiskered
Bat, 65; Grebes, 66; Little Auk,
68; migration of Grouse in win-
ter, 69, 108; Briinnich’s Guille-
mot, 70; Urus, 121; ornitho-
logical notes, 284; albino Shrew,
268; Hawfinch, 273; Greater
Spotted Woodpecker, 273; Dot-
terel, 307; polygamy in Starling,
307; white Hedgehogs, 3846;
Common Seal, 847; Natterer’s
Bat, 426; Lesser Shrew, 427;
Water Shrew, 427; Ray’s Sea
Bream, 486; Goldeneye, 449;
Swallows returning to their old
nests, 449
Courser, Cream-coloured, in Cardi-
ganshire, 224
Crake, Little, in Sussex, 309
Crane in Humber District, 59,—in
Finland, 332,—from its nest to its
winter quarters, 382
Crossbill, Kuropean White-winged, in
Ireland, 195; Two-barred, in West
of England and Ireland, 110;
feeding on insects, 228
Crossbills in Leicestershire, 233
Cryptoprocta, anatomy of, 239
Cuckoo, American, in Wales, 143,—
in Dorsetshire, 376, 4383,—impor-
tant correction respecting, 455;
egg in Wren’s nest, 228; eggs in
Whitethroat’s nest, 229, 305; early
laying of, 229 ; curious fate of a, 230;
hepatic plumage of, 237, 257, 321;
moulted feathers held by barbed
seed-capsules of grass, 277
Curlew, Stone, in Lincolnshire in
winter, 111; nesting habits, 274

Deer, fondness for musical sounds,
216; Fallow, in Cheshire, 217;
Red, in Cheshire, 215,—curious
custom of driving, at Lyme, 215

Dimorphism, seasonal, 198

Dipper, Black-bellied, in Norfolk, 101

Distomum, a new, 276

Diver, Black-throated, and eggs, in
Finland, 885; Great Northern, at
Hastings, 68; Red-throated, and
eggs, in Finland, 335

Dolphin, food of, 105; Common, in
Cheshire, 248; Risso’s, figured, 357 ;
White-beaked, in Cheshire, 248

Dormouse in Cheshire, 171

Dotterel in Wales, 224,—at Scar-
borough, 3807,—in Finland, 382

Dove, Schimper’s Rock, on Salvage
Islands, 403

Dragonflies, migration of, 340, 348

Duck, hybrid between Mallard and
Teal, 55,75; hybrid, 239; Hider,
in St. Kilda, 285; Long-tailed, in
Wales, 256,—in Finland, 381;
White-eyed, in Norfolk, 101

Dunlin nesting in Wales, 275

Dytiscus marginalis, female with
elytra like male, 157

Eagle, Sea, in Norfolk, 101, 102;
Golden, in Finland, 331,—alleged
former nesting in England, 450;
White-tailed, in Wales, 181,—in
St. Kilda, 282,—in Finland, 331;
escape of a caged, 380, 484, 455

Eggs of Great Auk, 193, 269; of
Cuckoo in Wren’s nest, 228,—in
Whitethtoat’s nest, 229, 805; of
Goshawk, Peregrine, Rough-legged
Buzzard, Falco gyrfaleco, Common
Scoter, Red-necked Phalarope, Jack
Snipe, Broad-billed Sandpiper,
Temminck’s Stint, Ruff, Black-
throated Diver and Blue-throated
Diver in Finland, 3830, 332, 3338,
335; of Crested Lark in Kent,
451

Euplea, E. coras, E. prothoé, 337

Falcon, Peregrine, eggs in Finland,
330

Fauna, Mammalian, of Cheshire, 161,
212, 247; of St. Kilda, 281; of Mt.
Ruwenzorl, 154, 238

Firecrest, food of, 228

Fishes, sensory canal system of, 197 ;
Salmonoid, cranial characters of,
197

Flight in birds, rate of, 377, 427, 428,
441

Flycatcher, Pied, in Wales, 16, 135;
Red-breasted, in Humber District,
58; Spotted, fearlessness of, 271

CONTENTS.

Food of Dolphin, 105; Bank Vole,
186, 227; Boar-fish, 194;
crest, 228; Little Bustard, 228;
Woodpeckers, 228; Toad, 385

Fowl, Domestic, language and in-
stincts of, 271

Fox swimming, 217

Frogs, South American,
habits of, 156

Frost-fish of New Zealand,195

Fulmar in Wales, 254,—1in St. Kilda,
286

Gastropacha neustria, 343

Gazelle, Loder’s, in Western Egypt,
278

Gecko on Salvage Islands, 415

Godwit, Bar-tailed, in Finland, 334

Goldcrest, abnormal nesting of, 385,
431, 482, 448

Goldeneye nesting
Valley, 449

Goosander in Finland, 332

Goose, Gray-lag, breeding in Notting-
hamshire, 111; White-fronted, in
St. Kilda,. 848; Lesser White-
fronted, in Finland, 331

Goshawk, eggs, in Finland, 330;
alleged former nesting in England,
450

Grampus on Norfolk coast, 65,—in
Cheshire, 248

Grebe, Eared, in Hebrides,66; Great
Crested, in Yorkshire, 66; Red-
necked, on Solway Firth, 66; Scla-
vonian, in Yorkshire, 66

Greenfinch appropriating Thrush’s
nest, 275

Greenshank in Finland, 334

Grosbeak, Pine, in Finland, 329

Grouse, notes on, 20, 21, 106, 187;
migration in winter, 69,108; Black,
in Cardiganshire and Radnorshire,
183,—in Finland, 332; Red, scarce
in Mid- Wales, 183; Willow, in Fin-
land, 382

Guillemot, Black, in Merionethshire,
22; Briinnich’s, on Yorkshire coast,
70, 74,—at Filey, 70,—in Cam-
bridgeshire, 109

Gull, Black-headed, with hood in
winter, 192; Common, breeding in
Shetland, 849; Glaucous, in Wales,
250; Iceland, in Wales, 250; Ivory,

in Iceland, 28,—in Wales, 252;
Little, in Kent, 74; Sabine’s, in
Wales, 250; Yellow-legged Her-
ring, on Salvage Islands, 414

Gulls, Sea, in London, 109

nursing

in Washburn

x1

| Habits of Macropisthodon rhodome-

Fire- |

|

{

las, 112; and structure of Sea-
Otter, 239; Kea, or Mountain
Parrot, 293

Hare, Alpine, in Cheshire, 176,—in
S.W. Scotland, 875; Irish, turning
white in winter, 104, 149, 185;
white, in Essex, 375

Harrier, Hen, in Wales, 179,—1in
Sussex, 189; Marsh, in Wales, 179;
Montagu’s, in Wales, 179

Hartbeest, Somali, figured, 317

Hawfinch, variety, 72; nesting mate-
rials used by, 282; in Sussex, 272;
nesting, 273; in Hampshire, 308

Hebrides, Eared Grebe in, 66; Terns,
235; Long-tailed Field Mouse, 369,
426, 446

Hedgehog in Cheshire, 169; new, from
Somaliland, 239; white, in York-
shire, 346

Heligoland, the ornithologist in, 361

Helix caperata figured, 207; nemo-
ralis figured, 205; nivosa on Sal-
vage Islands, 403; paupercula on
Salvage Islands, 404; rotundata
in Middlesex, 850; truncatula,
figured, 203; ustulata on Salvage
Islands, 415

Hen, Hazel, in Finland, 382

Heronry at Reedham, 98

Hobby breeding in Norway, 292,—in
Wiltshire, 383

Hoopoe in Wales, 142,—on Salvage
Islands, 404

Humber District—Rare British birds,
56; Ruddy Sheldrake, 59

Humming-bird from Columbia, 278

Huxley, Prof. T., memoir of, 263

Hyastenus, a new Crab, 156

Hybernia defoliaria, H. aurantiaria,
341, 348

Hybrid Swans, 24; Duck, 75, 239;
Finches at Crystal Palace Bird
Show, 110; Blackbird and Thrush,
233; Manx Cats, 375

Hyperoodon rostratus, 247

Ice-plant on Salvage Islands, 408

Insect migration, 276, 835, 386, 387,
888, 889, 434, 534

Insects, aquatic, 437; from Arabia, 154

IRELAND.—Irish Hare turning white
in winter, 104; Two-barred Cross-
bill, 110; European White-winged
Crossbill, 195; Wood Pigeon, 232;
Lesser Tern, 270; Marten, 801;
Goldcrest, 885, 481, 482, 448

xil

Isopod (Ourozeuktes), structure of,
277

Jackdaw hawking after insects, 381

Kea, or Mountain Parrot, habits of,
293

Kestrel preying on snail (Helix pis-
ana), 403; taking young Pheasants,
450

Kilda, St., fauna of,'281

Killer, or Grampus, figured, 357

Kite in Wales, 17,—on Salvage
Islands, 404

oct galloti on Salvage Islands,

15

Lagenorhynchus albirostris, 248

Landrail in mid-winter, 74

Lark, Crested, supposed breeding in
Kent, 451; Shore, in Gloucester-
shire, 67,—in Finland, 829; Wood,
in Wales, 17

Larus cachinans on Salvage Islands,
414

Latax lutris, 239

Latrodectus 13-guttatus on Salvage
Islands, 404

Legg, John, memoir of, 147

Lemmings, migration of, 340

Lemurs, 353

Lepidoptera, mounting minute, 158;
West African, 195

Libellula quadripunctata, 341, 348

Limax flavus, hibernation of, 386

Limnea truncatula figured, 203

Limpets, homing instincts in, 73

Lizard, Long-tailed, on Salvage
Islands, 415

Lobsters, weight of, 385

Locusts, migration of, 340

Lorius flavo-palliatus, skeleton of, 239

Lycopersicum esculentum on Sal-
vage Islands, 408

Lycosa maderiana on Salvage Islands,
403

Macropisthodon rhodomelas, habits
of, 112

Magot, 353

Mammals, seasonal changes in fur
of, 65; Handbook of British, 119

Marten in Cardiganshire, 18, —in
Cheshire, 217,—in Wales, 268,—
in Cumberland, 301,—in Co. Water-
ford, 8301,—in New Forest, 3538

Martens of Hudson’s Bay, 155

Megaptera boops, 247

CONTENTS.

Migration, of Grouse in winter, 108 ;
Butterflies, &c., 276, 335, 886, 387,
388, 389, 434; Lemmings, 340, 435 ;
Locusts, 340; Dragonflies, 340,
343, 386, 387; Pied Wagtails, 347;
modus operandi of, 362

Molars of Microtus agrestis and M.
glareolus figured, 172, 173

Mole, names given to, 11, 64, 104,
149,—in Cheshire, 170

Mollusca injurious to farmers and
gardeners, 201

More, A. G., memoir of, 144, 446

Moth, Gamma, on Salvage Island,
415; Vapourer, pupa of, 236

Mouse, Field, of Hebrides, 369, 426,
446; Harvest, 418,—dimensions,
420,— colour, 420,—in confine-
ment, 421, 423,—period of gesta-
tion, 421,—nest, 421,—winter nest,
422,—manner of feeding, 423,—
dexterity as a fly-catcher, 424,—its
prehensile tail, 425,—in Cheshire,
175,—in Shropshire, 447; Long-
tailed Field, in Cheshire, 175,—
pale buff variety, 175,—in Kent,
187,—in St. Kilda, 281,—on Salvage
Islands, 409, 446

Mule, supposed fertile female, 314

Muonio River, birds on, 326

Mus flavicollis, 187, 8370 ; hebridensis,
369, 870; sylvaticus, 187, 369, 370 ;
sylvaticus hebridensis, 426

Musk-ox in Greenland, distribution
of, 41

Natterjack in Dumfriesshire, 350

Nautilus pompilius, anatomy of, 278

Nesting of Lesser Spotted Wood-
pecker near Bath, 22, 273; Heron,
98; Hawfinch, 232, 2738; Wood
Pigeon on ground, 232, 275 ; Spoon-
bill in Pembroke, 241; Greater
Spotted Woodpecker, 273; Curlew,
274; Oystercatcher, 275; Dunlin
in Wales, 275; Marsh Warbler
near Bath, 304; Common White-
throat, 310; Arctic Tern in Fin-
land, 884; Twite in confinement,
381; Honey Buzzard in Hereford-
shire, 882, 483 ; abnormal, of Gold-
crest, 885, 481, 482, 448; Golden
Eagle and Goshawk in England,
450

Newt killed by Bee, 311

Nightingale singing in July, 232

Norway, ornithological notes from,
287 ; wild animals killedin 1894, 425

CUNLUNIS.

Notes on Grouse, 20, 21, 106, 187,—
on Long-tailed Field Mouse, 175,
187, 281, 446; ornithological, from
Sussex, 25,—Northampton, 46,—
Yorkshire, 234,—Isle of Man, 235,
—Norway, 287,—East Kent, 454

Nutcracker near Chichester, 310

_ Nuthatch in Breconshire and Rad-

norshire, 141

Oceanodroma cryptoleucura on Sal-
vage Islands, 413, 417; leucorrhoa
on Salvage Islands, 413

Orea gladiator, 248

Oriole, Golden, in Wales, 135

Ornithological notes (see Notes)

Ornithorhynchus, embryo, 75

Osprey in Finland, 331

Osteoglossum, features in skull of,
127

Otter in Cheshire, 220

Ouzel, Alpine Ring, in Norfolk, 99;
Ring, var. alpestris, in Humber
District, 56,—in Hungary, 66

Owl, Snowy, in Humber District, 59

Oystercatcher in Warwickshire, 22,
—nesting habits, 275

Paleornis rosea breeding in confine-
ment, 230

Pardellas on Salvage Islands, 406,
410, 411, 412

Parrot, Mountain, habits of, 293;
Pigmy figured, 359

Parrots, hyoid bone in, 156

Partridge, Red-legged, in Cardigan-
shire, 183

Pelagodroma marina on Salvage Is-
lands, 409, 412, 417,—on Walney
Island, 412

Pelstart, or Pilestart, 106, 152

**Pen” and ‘‘Cob,” origin of terms,
372, 429, 480, 431

Peripatus from Antigua, 75

Petrel, Bulwer’s, on Salvage Islands,
414; Collared, in Wales, 2538;
Leach’s Fork-tailed, on Salvage
Islands, 413; Square-tailed, on Sal-
vage Islands, 413; White-breasted,
on Salvage Islands, 409, 412, 417,
—on Walney Island, 412

Phalarope, Red-necked, in Finland,
332,—in Sussex, 449

Pheasants swimming, 272; food of,
399; introduction into Ireland, 398;
St. Helena, 398; distribution in
Europe, 398

Phocena communis, 248

X11

-

Pig trained as a pointer, 396

Pigeon, Cape, in Wales, 254; Ho-
ming, speed of, 441; Passenger,
figured, 360; Wood, nesting on
ground, 232, 275

Pilestart, 106

Pilwater, 246

Pipit, Berthelot’s, on Salvage Islands,
414, 303; Richard’s, in Norfolk,
102; Rock, vinous-breasted, in Nor-
folk, 96; Tree, in Wales, 136;
Water, at Tetney Haven, 348

Plover, Kentish, in Norfolk, 100,
Little Ringed, on Salvage Islands
414

Plumage, hepatic, of Cuckoo, 237,
MDT, S21 |

Plusia gamma, 342, 343,—on Salvage
Islands, 415

Polecat in Cardiganshire, 18; inCam-
bridgeshire, 186; in Cheshire, 218,
—in Wales, 268,—races and varie-
ties of, 366

Porpoise in Cheshire, 248

Potassium hydroxide secreted by in-
sects, 158

Potto, 353

Psilura monacha, 341

Ptarmigan in Finland, 332

Puffin on the Island of St. Davids,
246

Puffinus assimilis on Salvage Islands,
403, 411; kuhli, on Salvage Is-
lands, 402, 406, 410, 411, 412, 414

Quail in West Sussex, 310; in Not-
tinghamshire, 348; in Isle of
Wight, 384; in Surrey, 448

Rabbit, black variety, in Cheshire, 176

Rabbits on Salvage Islands, 408, 409

Rat, Black, in London, 105,— in
Cheshire, 175; Brown, in Cheshire,
174; Water, in Cheshire, 172

Rats crossing Thames, 347

Raven in Wales, 1389,—on Sheep-
farms, 191

Red-deer heads, photographs of, 196

Roebuck in Cheshire, 164

Roe-deer, spread, in 8.W. Scotland,
346

Roes, hays for, 164

Redpoll, Greenland, in Humber Dis-
trict, 58; Mealy, in Finland, 329

Redshank breeding in Sussex, 809
Dusky, in Finland, 334

Redstart in Western Wales,

132;
Black, in Gloucestershire, 67

c

Xlv

Roller in Norfolk, 101; in Northum-
berland, 433 ‘

Rooks in London, 227; dispersal of
acorns by, 452

Ruff in Sussex in winter, 150,—eggs,
in Finland, 333

Ruwenzori Mt., fauna of, 154, 238

Salmon in Norfolk, 102
Salvage Islands, expedition to, 401
Sanderling i in Australia, 286
Sandpiper, Broad-billed, in Sussex,
449 —eggs, in Finland, 332; Wood,
in Norfolk, 99,—in Finland, 333
Scaup in Finland, 331
ScrENTIFIC SOCIETIES :—
Linnean, 25, 74, 118, 158, 194, 236,
276, 456
Zoological, 27, 75, 114, 155, 196,
238, 277, 458
Entomological, 29, 76, 115, 157,
197, 240, 279
Scoter, Common, in Finland, 332;
Velvet, in Wales, 256
ScoTnanp.—Little Auk on east and
west coasts, 151,188; Wood Pigeon,
275; Roe-deer in §.W., 346; hy-
brid Manx Cat, 375; Alpine Hare
in §.W., 875; Jackdaws hawking
after insects, 381; Limax flavus,
886; Marsh Tit, 349; Natterjack
Toad, 850; Shell Slug, 436
Screamer, Crested, anatomy of, 239
Seal and Whale fishery, 1894, 91
Seal, Common, in Dee and Mersey,
221,—at Scarboro’, 347,—figured,
355; Grey, in Cheshire, 221 ; Hood-
ed, on Mersey shore, 221
‘Sea-Otter, structure and habits of,
239
Shag, period of incubation, 348
Sharks, egg-cases of, 277
Shearwater, Dusky, in Iceland, 23;
Great, on Salvage Islands, 402, 406,
410, 411, 412, 414; Little, on Sal-
vage Islands, 408, 411; Manx,
breeding in Carnarvonshire, 12°
Mediterranean, on Salvage Is.
lands, 402, 406, 410, 411, 412
Shearwaters in Carnarvonshire, 110,
188
Sheep, Barbary, in Egypt, 75
Sheathbill, Black-billed, captured at
sea, 277
Sheldrake, Ruddy, in Humber Dis-
trict, 59
Shetland; Arctic Tern and Common
Gull breeding in, 349

CONTENTS.

Shoveller, 106, 245

Skua, Great, in Wales, 251; Pomato-
rhine, in BEN, winter, 22,—in sum-
mer, 152, 189,—in Wales, 251,—
in Norfolk, 450; Richardson’s, in
Wales, 251,—at Hastings, 432

Slug, Shell, in Scotland, 436 ; yellow,
hibernation of, 386

| Smeath, 106

Smew in Wales, 257, —in Finland,
332

Snake, Ringed, laying in captivity, 73

Snipe drumming in January, 67;
Jack, in May, 231,—eggs, in Fin-
land, 382; Solitary, immigration
of, 383

| Solway Firth, Red-necked Grebe on,

66

Song of Cirl Bunting, 231

Sparrow, Rock, on Salvage Islands,
408

Specific _ stability,
queries, 198

Spiders on Salvage Islands, 404

Spitzbergen, a flying visit to, 81

Shrew, Common, 63,—in Cheshire,
169,—albino, in Yorkshire, 268;
Lesser, 103,—in Cheshire, 170,—in
Yorkshire, 427 ; Oared, in Cheshire,
170% Pigmy, 63; Water, in Che-
shire, 170,—in Yorkshire, 427

Shrews, specific names of, 62

Shrike, Great Grey, in Finland, 331;
Grey, i in Norfolk, 450

Spoonbill in Norfolk, 97, 450, —in
Wales, 184,—nesting in Pembroke-
shire, 241; its copped crown, 374

Squirrel in Cheshire, 171; Flying,
from W. Africa, 75

Squirrels, yellow-tailed, 103, 150

Starling, polygamy in, 307

Stoat, in white winter pelage in
Cheshire, 219; Irish, distinct from
British species, 124, 186,—in Isle
of Man, 226

Stilt, Black-winged, in Norfolk, 434

Stint, Temminck’s, eggs, in Finland,
333

Swallows in December, 23 ; autumnal
movements, 379; returning to their
old nests, 449

Swannes, a tale of two, 374

Swans, hybrid, 24

entomological

Tantalus, African, 156

Tapir, Dow’s, 75

Tarentola delalandii
Islands, 415

on Salvage

CONTENTS.

Tern, Arctic, nesting in Finland, 334,
—breeding in Shetland, 349; Black,
in Wales, 451; Common, on Sal-
vage Islands, 416; Lesser, in Co.
Mayo, 270; Sandwich, on Upper
Thames, 190,— at Dungeness and
Pett, 306

Terns in Outer Hebrides, 235

Testacella haliotidea in Scotland, 436

Thick-knee in Sussex in winter, 68

Thyas, a new freshwater Mite, 156

Tit, Marsh, in Dumfriesshire, 349;
Northern Marsh, in Finland, 328

Toad, Natterjack, in Dumfriesshire,
350; food of, 885; Surinam Water,
breeding. 75

Tomato on Salvage Islands, 408

Tritons devouring Newts, 310

Turnstone on Salvage Islands, 414

Twite nesting in confinement, 381

Urus in Yorkshire, 121

Vanessa cardui, 338, 340,—figured,
339

Variety of Hawfinch, 72; Long-tailed
Field Mouse, 175; Rabbit, 176

Varieties, albino and pied, 284; and
races of Polecat, 366

Viper, variations, in Denmark, 60

Vole, Bank, in Cheshire, 173,—food
of, 186, 227,—in Bedfordshire, 227,
—in Anglesea, 302,—in Kent, 427 ;
Field, in Cheshire, 172; Water, in
Cheshire, 172

Wagtail, Pied, migration of, 347

Wates.—Birds observed in South, 13;
Wild Cat, 18; Marten, 18 ; Polecat,
18, 286 ; Black Guillemot, 22; hy-
brid Swan, 24; Manx Shearwater,
ia, 120; 188, 189 ; Birds of Mid
Wales, 129, 178, 2211, 249; Cuckoo,
230; Pembrokeshire Birds in 1603,

XV
241; Dunlin, 275; Grasshopper
Warbler- 305; Black Tern, 381,
451

Warbler, Barred, in Humber District,
57,—1in Norfolk, 69,— Garden, in
Wales, 134; Grasshopper, in Wales,
134, 305; Marsh, date of arrival,
304,—near Bath, 304; Siberian, in
Yorkshire, 26; Spectacled, on Sal-
vage Islands, 404, 405; Subalpine,
in St. Kilda, 282; Yellow-browed,
in Humber District, 58,—in Nor-
folk, 100

Waxwing in Sussex, 69; in Suffolk,
69; in Derbyshire, 69; in North-
amptonshire, 70; in Leicestershire,
111

Weasel, albino, 19, 8302; proper spe-
cific name of, 177, 225

Whale, Beaked, in Cheshire, 247;
Hump-backed, on Lincolnshire
coast, 19,—in Cheshire, 247

Whale and Seal fishery, 1884, 91

Whimbrel in Finland, 834,—on Sal-
vage Islands, 416

White’s Selborne,’
147, 185

Whitethroat, Common, nesting habits
of, 310

Whyniardes, 246

Wigeon in Firland, 831; American,
in Yorkshire, 196

Wildfowl, local names of, 106, 152

Wolf in Cheshire, 164

Woodpecker, Greater Spotted, in
Wales, 142; Green, in Wales, 142;
Lesser Spotted, nesting near Bath,
22, 273,—in Wales, 142,—in cap-
tivity, 306

Woodpeckers, food of, 228

Wren, Fire-crested, in Humber Dis-
trict, 58; Siberian Willow, in Hum-
ber District, 58; St. Kildian, 283

Wryneck rare in Wales, 142

manuscript of,

ILLUSTRATIONS.

‘

Monars oF MicroTus AGRESTIS AND M. GLAREOLUS
LIMNZA PEREGRA
HELIX NEMORALIS \

» CAPERATA
WILD WHITE CATTLE AT SOMERFORD Park
SomaLtI HarTEBEEST, Bubalis swaynet
CATOPHAGA GALENA, male and female .
PAINTED Lapy, Vanessa cardw, male and female
Seat, Phoca vitulina .
Witp Boar, Sus scrofa
KILLER, or GRaMpPuUS, Orca gladiator
Risso’s DoLPHin, Grampus griseus
Piamy Parrot, Nasiterna pygmea
PASSENGER Picron, Columba migratoria

PAGE
172, 173
203
205
207
213
317
337
339
355
356
357
357
359
360

THE ZOOLOGIST
No. 217.—January, 1895.

ON tae GHOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION or tose HUROPEAN
AND CAUCASIAN BISON.*

By Brrnarp Lanexaven (or Hampure).

TuE narrow limits of this article preclude any mention of the
Bison in prehistoric times. Such information concerning it as
history affords has been already collected by Brehm in his
‘Tierleben.’ In remote historic times it was to be found not
only in Central Europe, but in Spain, throughout Pannonia, and
in Thrace, where the Cossack-like Pzonian hunters were trans-
formed into centaurs by Greek travellers’ tales. +
Frequent wars, especially the devastating Thirty-Years War,
drove these animals out of Germany further north and east; their
numbers diminished, the cows being often barren for three or
four years. {

In Pomerania the last one was shot by Duke Wratislaw V.
about the middle of the 14th century, and one of its horns was
used first as a drinking-cup, and then as a reliquary in the
Cathedral of Cammin. §

When Henry IV. of England visited Prussia in 1390-91, a
Bison and two Bears were presented to him (‘ Preussisches

* Translated from the German in ‘ Der Zoologische Garten’ (Frankfurt-
a-M.), 1894, pp. 13—17, 43—49.

+ Gaudry, ‘ Verfahren der Saugetiere in Europa,’ p. 169; Keller, ‘ Tiere
des Klass. Altertums,’ pp. 53, 56.

{ ‘Neue Deutsche Jagd-Zeitung,’ v. p.307; Giinther, ‘ Der Harz,’ p. 582;
‘ Zoologische Garten,’ vol. ix. p. 64; xviii. p. 229; xxi. p. 219.

§ ‘Zoologische Garten,’ viii. p. 307; xiv. p.113; ‘ Zeitschrift der Gesell-
schaft fir Erdkunde, Berlin,’ xix. p. 402.

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL, XIX.—JAN, 1895. B

2 THE ZOOLOGIST,

Jahrbuch,’ 1892, p. 303). The breed survived for some time in
the pine forests of Johannisburg, together with Elk, Bears, and
wild Horses;* but no mention of it occurs in the hunting
literature of the 16th and 17th centuries, while in the 18th
century Fleming (‘ Der vollkommene Teutsche Jager’) and Débel
(‘Neu erdffuete Jigerpraktike’) only briefly allude to it as having
entirely disappeared from Germany by the end of the previous
century.

Lithuania, of which the ancients had some knowledge (see
Pallas, ‘Neue Nordische Beitrage, I. p. 1, and my observations on
Bonasus and Bos in the Index to Aristotle published by the
Berlin Academy in 1870), was then the only district in the north
which sheltered it, as mentioned by Baron von Herberstein in a
much-contested passage.+ Besides the authors mentioned in my
Essay, I quoted Wiegmann’s ‘ Archiv fur Naturgeschichte,’ 1839,
pp. 75—78; 1841, pp. 55, 56; 1847, p.225; Erman’s ‘ Archiv,’ 1852,
pp. 80—40; ‘Die Gartenlaube,’ 1860, p. 725; ‘Neue Deutsche
Jagd-Zeitung, v. pp. 289, 297, 306, 314; vi. p.134,k&e... .
Schiller Tietz, in his brochure ‘ Inzucht und Consanguinitat,’ has
expressed the view held by many that animals which are confined
in a comparatively small space will diminish in size. For example,
the Bison is said to have formerly weighed as much as 1000
kilos., but now only from 500 to 600 kilos.

According to the ‘ Neue Deutsche Jagd-Zeitung’ (xiii. p. 196),
Bison in the forest of Bialowicza generally weigh about 600 kilos.,
and several weighed 20 cwt (v. p. 307). Formerly they were 7 ft.
high, 10 to 12 ft. in length, and weighed from 19 to 22 cwt, One
killed in 1595 by Johann Sigismund of Prussia weighed 19 cwt.,
or 100 lbs. less than our old friend in the Berlin Zoological
Gardens. { The cows, which are not fully matured until they are

* Hagen, ‘ Geschichte des preussischen Auers,’ 1819.

+ Carus, ‘Geschichte der Zoologie,’ p. 887; ‘Zoologische Garten,’ viii.
p. 3.

| The way in which deer and other wild animals were formerly weighed
may be illustrated by the following quotation from an article by J. E. H. on
the Hunting Trophies in the German Exhibition of 1891 (‘The Field,’ July
4th and 18th, 1891) :—‘‘Here also we may note two other objects which
figure in the old paintings above referred to, and which perhaps served as
actual models to the artist—namely, the game weighing-machine and the
game-carrier. The former may be described as a cross-beam supported on

DISTRIBUTION OF THE EUROPEAN AND CAUCASIAN BISON. 3

Six or seven years old, weigh considerably less. Reports as to
the weight of these animals date from a few centuries back, but
are very scattered even at the present day.

Under these circumstances, is it right to assume that a
diminution in size has been caused by in-breeding amongst
many hundred of these animals in such an extensive area as that
of Bialowieza ?

In our Zoological Gardens the conditions for many of the
animals are quite different. Omitting all description of the
structural and osteological details, I will only allude to Baumer’s
Essay of 1824, in which he attributes to the Bison two ribs
more than are possessed by the domestic cow. See Owen, Proc.
Zool. Soc. 1848, p. 129, and Dolmatoff, ib. i. p. 48. Ludwig
(‘Neue Deutsche Jagd-Zeitung,’ v. p.325) and others have written
about its horns (‘Die Natur,’ 1888, p. 215). According to Dr.
A. Nehring, Bison europeus has a shorter and more shapely
metatarsus than Bos primigenius.* The skulls of their American
relative are said to make comfortable seats in Indian wigwams,
and those of the Urus and Bison were used by the European
pile-dwellers of old; for, as Victor von Scheffel sings in
‘ Gaudeamus’ :—

“ Tf I build my small hut in the open
The Aurochs will stamp it to pieces.”

Bison skins were used for clothing in the earliest times, and
in Hungary in the 17th century were appropriated to various
purposes.

Wild, the head forester at Pless, observed that the cows were
in heat at all seasons and were invariably covered by the oldest
bulls. The period of gestation is 274 days, and calves are born
at all times of year, doing well even when there is 20° of cold.

It has often been said that there is such antipathy between
the Bison and the domestic cow that they will not interbreed, t

high trestles, through which passes an iron bar terminated by a large hook.
From this hook the deer was suspended by all four legs lashed together, and
raised from the ground by a windlass until its weight was indicated on a
scale. The game-carrier consists of a couple of fir-poles laid horizontally
about a yard apart, with a hammock of strong netting lashed between them.
On this the stricken deer was laid and transported.”—Ep.

* ¢ Zeitschrift fiir Ethnologie,’ xx. p. 222.

+ Hichwald, ‘ Beschreibung von Littauen,’ p. 37.

B2

4 THE ZOOLOGIST.

and that the former is untamable;* but Count Walicki has
proved the contrary by crossing the Bison with his Swiss
cows.

Old Sulzer, in his ‘ Geschichte des transalpinischen Daciens,’
1781 (i. p. 71), gives an account of a bull Bison “ with a long
mane and short legs,” which followed a cow into her stall on
several evenings, an incident which Brehm rightly attributes to
‘‘ amorousness” overcoming natural dislike. Brehm also alludes
to the Bison gradually becoming tame, and following people for
food, as at Bialowicza for example; while Count Franz Lazar
reported that in 1740 (or as others say in 1770) he drove to the
Diet at Hermannstadt with a beautiful team of Bison from the
Gyergyoer Forest. t |

Whether the indomiti boves driven by Oriental princes
were Bison or wild cattle is uncertain. In Clothair’s time the
King drove with oxen to the public assemblies. The Gothic
rulers even drove stags,{ and so late as the beginning of the
present century a head forester near Stettin had a team of four of
these animals.

Bison were for a long time to be found in the Hungarian
Siebenbiirgen. ‘Der Weidmann,’ quoting from a work by
Stefan Konig (‘ Die Geschichte der Jagd in Ungarn’), which was
shortly to appear, states that the last Bison was killed by a clever
crossbow shooter in the forest of Sohl, Upper Hungary, in the
reign of King Mathias (1458—1490); according to Alex. von
Ujfalvy, the last was killed at Borgo on the Play Hohe in the
Siebenburgen in 1762; while others report that in 1775 some
still existed in the Udeanetyer Komitat.

Sulzer (op. cit. p. 54) states that Prince Kantemir in describing
Moldavia mentioned an animal called Zimbr (i.e. Zubr), which
neither he (Sulzer) nor any one else had seen, and which might
have been a Buffalo (ein Buffel). Eichwald at first supposed that
a record of the year 1582 of ‘“ Zumbro bestiz fers in Tauro-
scythia” had reference to the Crimea, but afterwards translated

* Oscar Schmidt, ‘ Die Siiugethiere,’ p. 169.
+ ‘Neue Deutsche Jagd-Zeitung,’ xiii. p. 176; and ‘Der Weidmann,’
Xxlv. p. 432.

{ See Carus, ‘Geschichte der Zoologie,’ p. 85; and Victor Hehn’s well-
known work, pp. 40, 41, 61, 109.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE EUROPEAN AND CAUCASIAN BISON. 5

Tauroscythia to mean Moldavia.* Edward von Czynk assigns a
much later period for the existence of the Bison in the forests of
Csik, Udwarhely, and Gyergyo, giving 1814 as the year of the last
one’s death in the Siebenburgen. t

Numbers were said to inhabit the Gyergyo mountains in
1534, and even a century later.

- Mecklenburg has an ox’s head on its coat of arms; the family
of Count Was in Hungary a Bison’s head; while the Lazar family
above referred to bears upon its shield a Bison pierced by an
arrow. We may add that a print published by Anton Wied of
Danzig in 1555 represents a Urus (Bison) being killed with a
long spear.

In the Russian empire the Bison is only found wild in two
districts. To deal first with the most easterly, the story of the
Argonauts and their fire-breathing bulls (reminding one strongly
of the Greek account of the African Gnu) is probably the earliest
mention of the Bison in the Caucasus, that difficult country to cross,
which entirely blocks the narrow strip of land which separates the
Black Sea from the Caspian. I imagine these ‘“fire-breathing”’
animals to be Bison, whose defiant eyes when angry become
glowing red.

The earliest reliable information about this animal dates
probably from the year 1633, when mention is made of wild
Buffaloes on the borders of Abkasia.§

The fact that so little has been heard of the animal since that
time may be accounted for in two ways. Being very alert as well
as very shy, and clever in hiding from its pursuers when once
warned, it may have gradually withdrawn into the higher parts
of the mountain range, where it would be safe. Fischer Sigwart,
in his interesting little work on mountains as a refuge for wild
animals, || enumerates the European mammalia which eventually
found there the only conditions favourable to their existence; the
Kuropean Bison, which gradually died out, is not uae of these.
The Caucasian animal, however, found a cool retreat there in

* ‘ Beitrage zur Kenntniss des russischen Reichs,’ 1883, vi. p. 16.

+ ‘Neue Deutsche Jagd-Zeitung,’ xiii. p. 196; ‘Zoologische Garten,’
1889, p. 281.

{ Keller, ‘Tiere des Klass. Altertums,’ p, 57.

§ Eichwald, ‘ Beitrage zur Kenntniss des russischen Reichs,’ vi, p, 16,

|| ‘Das Gebirge ein Riickzugsgebiet fiir die Tierwel

6 THE ZOOLOGIST.

summer, being able to climb as well as an Klephant. ‘Travelling
Russians who passed through the country left it unnoticed; nay,
even denied its existence, or considered it extinct, having found
dozens of its horns amongst those preserved in old churches of
Swanetia, which are now regarded as treasure-houses, and are
under the care of the state. Many travellers, however, have con-
fused the horns of the Bison with those of A’/goceros pallasi.*

In Caucasia, as in Kurope, the horns were used as drinking-
vessels. At a feast given by a Caucasian noble in honour of
General von Rosen, the table was graced with seventy Bison-
horns richly set in silver. Nehring, by the way, states (‘ Neue
Deutsche Jagd-Zeitung,’ vil. p. 370) that a single horn holds
barely 4 litres of liquor, much less than is contained by a horn
of Bos primigenius. From askin obtained by General von Rosen,
both Brandt (Bull. Soc. Nat. Moscow, 1866) and Von Baer have
judged the Caucasian Bison to be specifically identical withthe
Lithuanian animal. +

The theory advanced by Ussow in the ‘ Proceedings of the
Imperial Russian Acclimatisation Society,’ 1865, and by Koch
(‘ Reisen durch Russland,’ ii. p. 70), that the Bisons of Caucasia
and Lithuania are specifically distinct, is therefore no longer
tenable.

In the ‘Verhandlungen der Gesselschaft fiir Erdkunde,’
Berlin, 1881, p. 38, we find a statement to the effect that Bison
are still to be found ‘‘in some parts” of the above-mentioned
mountains. Let us examine this more closely. Von Thielmann,
in 1877 (‘ Streifziige im Kaukasus,’ p. 108), located their original
home in the watershed of the river Kuban, whence they probably
wandered into Abkasia; this accounts for their being known there
as dombai, dombe, or adompe. Gustav Radde (Zool. Garten,
1891, p. 320) does not confirm the statement that the Bison was
smaller here than in Lithuania; and that indefatigable explorer
had good BPE e tunities for serv the beast which inhabited

* «See ‘Ausland,’ 1888, p. 803, and Oliver Bieiieo, Proce. Geogr. Soc.
London, 1888, p. 807.

} ‘Neue Deutsche Jagd-Zeitung,’ xiii. pp. 55,116; ‘ Zoologische Garten,’
vii. p. 850; ix. p. 216; Von Middendorf, Reise IV. ii. p. 1048; Petzholdt,
‘Der Kaukasus,’ p.164. An amusing mistake occurs in a French translation
of Brandt’s paper, wherein his statement that the animal was found in herds
(in Ltwdeln) is rendered “ dans une localité nommé Rudeln ”

DISTRIBUTION OF THE EUROPEAN AND CAUCASIAN BISON. 7

the district, when he visited the glacier heights of the Marucha
Mountains, near the Pass of Nachar, on his way back from
Elbruz in 1865.* On his last journey through the district
surrounding the sources of the Laba and Bjellaja, north of the
Caucasus, and thence to the source of the Selentschuck, he
found Bison, but everywhere in small numbers, not more than
two or three together, and on one occasion traces of seven. ‘The
arrival of fresh colonists had caused them to forsake their settled
habits, and to take to wandering. He frequently met with them,
however, about the source of the Little Laba, and especially near
the western tributary Uruschtem, and the small lake of Alaus at
an altitude of 7-8000 feet. Some thirty or forty years previously
they had been found at a height of 5000 feet. The whole district
of about 525,000 hectares has been under imperial control since
1860, but it is very difficult to guard against poachers.¢ In the
museum at Tiflis there is a unique and beautiful group, set up
under Radde’s supervision, which represents a fight between a
Bison and a Panther. {

In earlier times Bison ewropeus was probably distributed over
the greater part of the forest zone within the present boundaries
of Kuropean Russia, as well as on the steppes; but, like its
North American relative, it has gradually disappeared, and is
now confined (so far as Europe is concerned) to a single forest
district in Lithuania. Augustus III. of Poland, Kurfiirst of
Saxony, made a reserve, some thirty square miles in extent, for
Bison at Bialowicza, in the present government of Grodno, on
the Prussian frontier, out of a forest which lay surrounded by
desert steppes.§ Franz Miiller (Mittheil. der Geogr. Gessels.
Wien, 1859, p. 155) gives an exact plan of the whole area, which
was enclosed by a strong wooden fence more than three metres
high. In one place a stand was erected for the King and his
distinguished guests, so that the sportsmen might be safely out of

ee ee :”:~*”~*~*”*”*:”:”:”:C~—* ee

* Petermann’s ‘ Mittheilungen,’ 1867, p. 13; 1868, p. 72.

4 ‘Deutsche Jiiger-Zeitung,’ xxi. p. 49,

pate ahresbericht des Vereins fiir Erdkunde,’ Dresden, xv. p. 15.

§ ‘Deutsche J iger-Zeitung,’ xxi. p. 287; Hichwald, ‘ Beitrage zur Kennt-
niss des russischen Reichs,’ vi. pp. 187, 244; ‘ Zeitschrift fur wissenschaftliche
Geographie,’ iii. p. 188 (fide Brandt) ; ‘Zoologische Garten,’ vil. p. 350;
xiv. p. 21,

8 THE ZOOLOGIST.

the way of the beasts they were to slay. Twenty paces from this
stand was an opening in the fence, through which the animals
were driven. There could be surely no great skill required in
shooting at a driven herd from so short a distance, but merely
the brutal enjoyment of killing a large number of animals—a
trait which unfortunately is not yet extinct, as the massacres of
modern times in North America and South Africa have shown. At
the period referred to, on a great hunting day, forty-two head
have been killed, of which the Queen alone killed twenty, and
found time (it is said) to read a novel whilst waiting for the
beaters to come up!

Statistics as to the number of Bison then existing are of a
doubtful character. In 1829, 711 head were reported, including
633 adult animals; in 1880, 772; in 1881, 657; in 18538, 1548;
in 1857, 1898; in 1866, according to a Government report, from
1500 to 2000, but according to the foresters, only 500; in 1882,
600; in 1886, 483; in 1889, 380; and in 1892, 491. The
noticeable diminution of numbers, notwithstanding the large
amouut expended on their preservation, is due to untrustworthy
management, the forest grant being unjustifiably appropriated,
and poachers allowed to take what they liked. The responsible
‘“‘woodwards” invented all sorts of diseases and epidemics to
account for the disappearance of the game.

This tract of forest has now for some years belonged to
the Apanage Department, and the numbers no longer decrease.
A purely military guard has superseded the foresters.* After
many experiments, mostly with negative results, any young
motherless Bison, Elk, and Red-deer that are found are now
brought up on cow’s milk. For calves of from one to two
months old this is mixed with an equal quantity of warm water,
which is gradually diminished. After four months they take to
bruised oats. As the milk easily turns sour, and is then said to
cause intestinal inflammation, eight or ten teaspoonfuls of infused
tea are added to each half-litre. The latest protégés of the super-
intendent, a fine strong bull Bison and four cows, were sent to
Pless as a present in February, 1893.

From Bialowicza, as well as from the Caucasus, living

* ‘Zoologische Garten,’ vii. p. 850; ‘Neue Deutsche Jagd-Zeitung,’ vi.
p. 184; x. p. 278; xili. p. 186; ‘Deutsche Jiger-Zeitung,’ xx. p. 123; xxi
p. 127.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE EUROPEAN AND CAUCASIAN BISON. 9

specimens have been forwarded to various Zoological Gardens,
and dead ones sent to museums. ‘The specimen in the Tiflis
Museum has been already referred to; one was sent from Bialo-
wicza to the Copenhagen museum, and a skin of another, killed
by a Berlin animal painter at Bialowicza, was presented by the
Czar to the Gottingen Museum.

In order to become acquainted with new haunts and higher
feeding-ground the Bison must have been forced to quit their
original haunts many years ago. Probably they were captured
in the manner described by Pausanias (x. 13. 2), and transported
to Rome to take part in the public spectacles of Domitian.

Voigt, in his ‘ History of Prussia’ (i. p. 544), states that at
that time both Bison and Elk were numerous in the forests of
Prussia, and that both were occasionally caught and sold into
foreign lands, including Italy. Polish nobles kept them in their
parks at Ostrolenka, Warsaw, Zamosk, &c. Frederick III.,
Kurfiirst of Saxony, sent for Elk and Bison from Lithuania, and
established them in various deer-parks, as well as at Berlin. In
1689 they were turned out into the unenclosed hunting-ground,
but did not flourish, and all attempts to make them do so proved
unsuccessful.

In 1717 two were sent to the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel, but
they also speedily succumbed.

The Prince of Pless owns the largest and most important
game-preserve in which imported Bison are now to be found.
About a century after the last Bison in Prussia had been killed
by two poachers in 1755, the Prince of Pless re-introduced the
species, sending the Czar some Red-deer in exchange for a three-
year-old bull and three cows, which he turned into the great
deer-forest of Emanuelsegen, six hundred hectares in extent.
By 1874, some twenty years later, they and their descendants had
wandered two miles southwards, into the district of Mezenzitz.*
Later on fresh blood was introduced by the importation of other
animals from Bialowicza. In 1885 the number of the herd was
twelve, of which six were bulls, four cows, and two calves under

* See the Report on this park to 1890 by the head forester Wild, in
‘Neue Deutsche Jiger-Zeitung,’ x. p. 235; also ‘Der Deutsche Jager,’ vi,
p- 119; and ‘ Der Zoologische Garten,’ vii. p. 850.

10 THE ZOOLOGIST.

a year old.* In winter each animal receives 10 kilos. of good
meadow hay with 2 kilos. of oats; now and then, instead of the
latter, bark mixed with flour and meal are given. Trials of
lupin and barley were not successful, as both digested badly.

The shooting of Bison by the Czar and by royal visitors is
always duly reported in the sporting papers. The technical names
for Bison in use at Pless are probably very ancient: zeber for
bull, zubszica for cow, czelen for calf. In old German hunting
terminology, the cow was tier, the calf auer-kalb or tier-kalb, the
bull hérner, gehorn, waffen, and at Pless aufsatz (nead-piece). None —
of these terms are included in Dombrowski’s ‘Deutsche Waid-
manns-sprache.’

The animals in the park at Schénbrunn, presented by the
Czar from Bialowicza, are said to have flourished and increased.

For a notice of the Bison in the Berlin Zoological Gardens,
see Bodinus, ‘ Die Tierwelt des Zvol. Gartens,’ ed. 1871, p. 95, and
‘Die Gartenlaube,’ 1864, p.710, with an illustration. The Bison
in the Dresden Zoological Gardens did not come direct from Bialo-
wicza, but from Schonbrunn, the Emperor Franz Joseph having
presented a three-year-old bull and a two-year-old cow. ‘The
cow had a calf in 1860, but it was badly treated and finally
trampled upon by its parents. A second calf survived. Only one
cow is now to be found there, which was born in the seventies.

Bison were sent to London to George IV., and also in 1848 and
1860 to Queen Victoria, though the pair last sent did not come
straight from Bialowicza, but had been kept at Grodno for a time.

In November, 1868, according to the latest ‘List of the
Vertebrate Animals,’ a living European Bison was received at the
Zoological Gardens of London, which was born in the Amsterdam
Gardens on July 14th, 1865.

The Empress Katharine had long before received some in
1738, and a pair went to St. Petersburg in 1860, which had also
been kept at Grodno for a time.

The Zoological Gardens at Moscow even possessed a Caucasian
Bison, which was captured by Adjeff, near Ateikhar, and safely
conveyed to Moscow with great difficulty on Dec. 19th, 1866.
In the same year there was also one of northern origin there,
received from the Zoological Garden of Gatschina.
~ * #Neue Deutsche Jagd- Zeitung,’ v. p. 314. It is erroneously stated in
the ‘Landwirth, Zeitung des Hamb. Korrespondenten,’ 1884 (p. 54), that
in this year the number rose to 80—40.

ee

ON THE NAMES GIVEN TO THE MOLE.
By Pror. Hersert A. Strone, M.A., LL.D.

THE Latin talpa for stalpa, and the Greek a@craraé or sraarcé,
both come from the root ‘‘ scalp”’ and signify the ‘‘ digger.” ‘The
Latin shows st as against the Greek sp, cp. studium with omevdo ;
and for the disappearance of the s. cp. cutis with scutum.

The Italians received the word talpa and employed it to
signify ‘‘a mole,” but altered the word into topo to signify
equally a rat or a mouse—an instance, as it seems to me, of
their lack of observation of animal nature. ‘They seem to have
given the name of topo to the mysterious animals which came to
them from the East in the third or fourth centuries, which
received the name of hratte, our rat, from the Slavish name for
mole, krot. It seems likely, from the fact that the Low German
form ratte is more commonly used in German than the H. German
form ratze, that the incursion of rodents may have skirted the
Baltic and passed through Low German countries. The Russians,
however, evolved another word for rat, krysa, and retained the
old Aryan word for mouse under the form muish. The French
discarded this root, and employed souris, from soricem. The
Romansch of Dissentis retains the form mur.

Reverting to the Mole, the old Germans called it “ earth-
thrower,” mold-wurf, Icelandic mold-varpa, which popular ety-
mology soon turned into ‘‘maul-wurf,” or ‘‘ mouth-thrower.”
The Scoten form ‘‘ moudie-wort” is well known. Palmer quotes
Topsell’s ‘ Historie of Foure-footed Beasts’ (1608), p.500, “* With
her feete she diggeth, and with her nose casteth awaye the earth,
and therefore such earth is called in Germany mal-werff and in
England molehill.” In the west of England the word for mole
is “want,” which comes apparently from the same root as the
modern German wenden, to turn, from the tortuous passages it
makes beneath the earth.

Dr. Meyer, the Celtic scholar (my colleague), informs me that
in the Celtic languages we find a variety of words for mole, but
there is no one common Celtic term. The Brythonic branch has
indeed one word common to all the languages which it embraces,
viz. gwadd in Welsh, géz in Breton, gwdd (or ddaor) in Cornish,
But Edward Lloyd (1707) gives besides for Welsh, twrch daear,

12 THE ZCOLOGIST.

literally “ earth hog” or “earth-burrower,” and he adds as obsolete
terms orddodyn and ylltyr.

In Irish we have caochan (the blind creature), criadh-luch
(the earth mouse), luch dall (the blind mouse). In Scotch Gaelic
we find famh or famh thalmasnn, wir-fhamh.

In Manx the mole is called kyaghan-caochaén, roddan-ooirey,
the earth rat, or lugh-ghoal, Welsh rat.

Palladius, who probably wrote about the reign of Theodosius
in the 4th century 4.D., gives directions for getting rid of the Mole
as one of the banes of the agriculturist. An unknown translator,
whose work is published by the Early English Text Society, gives
the following quaint version of Palladius’s injunctions :—

“ Tur MoLpEWARP THE GREKES THUS PURSUE !:—

Thai thurle a nutte, and stuffe it so withinne
With brymstoon, chaf, and cedria, thees three.
Then alle her hooles the molde is ynne

Save oon, the moste, uppe stopped must thai be.
The fyred nuttes smolder shall thorowe fle

This grettest hoole, as wol the wynde him serve
And either shall thees talpes voide or sterve.”

From another passage in this translation we see that the
Mole was actually called the Mold, hence our word is evidently
a corruption of that form.

Our friend Pliny does not tell us much about the Mole that
is worthy of record. He affirms that these animals hear better
when underground; that the magicians of Persia hold them in
especial reverence; that they are killed by pouring ‘ amurca”’
(wine-lees) into their holes; that mats were made of mole-skins ;
that they have no eyes; and that a town had been undermined by
them. Virgil also believed them to be blind, and regarded them
as one of the pests of the farmer.

In the ‘ Philosopher’s Banquet’ (1633), we are told that water
in which Moles were boiled had the property of turning what
was black to white!

( 13 )

ON BIRDS OBSERVED IN SOUTH WALES.
By O. V. Apuin.

Tue recent appearance in ‘The Zoologist’ of a review
of Mr. Mathew’s ‘ Birds of Pembrokeshire,’ and two very
interesting lists of Welsh birds, viz., Mr. Rawlings’ list of the
birds of the Barmouth district (p. 828), and Mr. Harold
Raeburn’s list of birds seen in Mid- Wales. (including parts
of Montgomery, Radnor, and Cardigan) in May, 1894 (p. 406),
has suggested that perhaps a list of the species seen by me
during a brief visit to Carmarthenshire in June last might be of
interest for comparison with those above mentioned.

The scene of my observations was a valley, with its tribu-
taries, and the low but steep mountains rising therefrom. The
tops of these hills were not more than from 1100 to 1300 feet
(about 1500 in some cases) above the sea-level. The sides
of them were often very steep; the upper portions were rocky in
places; the tops consisted of moorland, chiefly covered with ©
grass, but here and there clothed with a little ling. A con-
siderable portion of the hillside is covered with wood, consisting
almost entirely of spruce and oak. In the lower parts, and
along the stream and torrent banks, you find alder, birch, wych-
elm, rowan, hazel, &c. The district therefore is suitable for
woodland birds.

A few species were conspicuous by their rarity or absence.
Foremost amongst these was the Spotted Flycatcher, although I
had seen it just before on the banks of the Wye in Breconshire.
Mr. Raeburn does not mention meeting with it in his tour in
Mid-Wales. It is however reported as common at Barmouth
(p. 330). ‘The Grey Wagtail I did not happen to see, probably
because the adult individuals of this species had betaken them-
selves to the smaller streams, which wind away among the moun-
tains, to breed, and the young had not yet come down. But it
was curious that I did not-see a single Stonechat, though the
ground was suitable for it. I find that Mr. Raeburn did not
meet with it either. Yet it seems to be common in Pembroke-
shire, as well as in North Wales. I have seen it on Penmaen-
mawr, in Carnarvonshire, in July, and noticed a good many in
Merionethshire in October, 1884. Mr. Rawlings says that,
although resident and common in the Barmouth district, it is only

14 : THE ZOOLOGIST.

just recovering from the effects of the winter of 1889, when dozens
of Stonechats were picked up dead. Possibly it suffered also in
parts of Mid and South Wales. I did not hear a single Chiff-
chaff, and Mr. Raeburn does not appear to have noticed it (in
May). But my companion observed one, and tells me he heard
some in April. Yet it could hardly have been present and have
become silent in June, for here in Oxon it sings on into the
latter part of July. Perhaps the April birds moved on, though I
cannot imagine why they should do so. I found the Chiffchaff
common in North-west Shropshire, on the Welsh borders, in May, —
1888, and have heard it on the Anglesea side of the Menai Straits
in July. Mr. Rawlings notes it as common. I did not see the
Nuthatch, a pair of which Mr. Raeburn found nesting; nor does
Mr. Rawlings include it in his list. In Shropshire, near the
Welsh borders, I have found it common in a well-planted park.
The distribution of many of our small birds in Wales and the
border counties is evidently very local, and it would be an
interesting study to work it out. The Lesser Whitethroat must
be arare bird in Wales. Neither Mr. Raeburn nor I observed
it, and it is either not found or extremely rare in Pembrokeshire,
according to Mr. Mathew. But, curiously enough, Mr. Rawlings
is able to include it in his list, as ‘‘ much rarer” than the
Common Whitethroat. Perhaps it is spreading from Salop to
North Wales. I observed it at Ellesmere in May, 1888, and the
late Mr. Beckwith wrote of it as common in that county, it
having increased greatly of late years. The Green Woodpecker
was not noticed by me, and Mr. Raeburn only heard it once in
Radnorshire. This, again, is curious, when we consider what a
noisy bird it is, and that I made the following note about it in
Merionethshire, in October, 1884:—‘‘ Quite common in the
woods, and I observed it even in the hotel garden.” In
Mr. Rawlings’ list it is entered as ‘‘common.” I did not expect
to find many House Sparrows when I saw what the country was
like, and I was not disappointed. We saw none until we
approached a town again. But our landlord said a few came in
harvest; I suppose to help him get in his little patch of corn!
Mr. Rawlings omits the name from his list altogether. This is,
possibly, an oversight. I found very few in Merionethshire in
October, 1884, and those only about farms. There was no
ground suitable for river warblers in the part of Carmarthen-

ON BIRDS OBSERVED IN SOUTH WALES. 15

shire explored. But as Mr. Rawlings has an interesting note
about the Grasshopper Warbler, to the effect that he first
observed it six years ago, and that it is increasing annually, I
may mention here that I observed it in May, 1888, on Whixhall
Moss, a detached portion of Flintshire.

Here is my list; it includes fifty-four species, while Mr. Rae-
burn’s includes sixty-one :—

Turdus viscivorus; T’. musicus; T’. merula.

T’. torquatus.— A male, which strung together a few wild notes,
and a pair, on rocky slopes. Bill of male dusky yellow.

Sazxicola enanthe.—Very numerous.

Pratincola rubetra.— Only one.

Ruticilla phenicurus.—Quite common. Seen up the wooded
heights to some distance; also on rocky faces to quite 1000 feet,
if only there was a scrubby thorn or other bush, and reminding
one of the Black Redstart in the Alps. The Redstart is unknown,
or extremely rare, in Pembrokeshire (Mr. Mathew). From what
little I have seen of that county I should expect many woodland
species to be absent, as my remembrance is of a dreary, rather
treeless country. But the Redstart is increasing so in some places
that it may push its way into any suitable spots there may be in
Pembrokeshire. In Shropshire Mr. Beckwith noted it as very
locally distributed. -I saw it at Shrewsbury and near the Black
Mere in May, 1888, but my host considered it quite uncommon
then. Ido not knowif it is more numerous now, but Mr. Rae-
burn found it abundant in most of the localities in Mid-Wales he
visited, and Mr. Rawlings records it as very common in Merioneth-
shire. Mr. Raeburn must have overlooked this when he stated
(p. 406) that the authorities were silent as regards this bird in
North Wales.

Erithacus rubecula.

Sylvia cinerea.—F airly common.

S. atricapilla.—Two or three.

S. hortensis.—Several observed; in song. Extremely rare
in Pembroke (Mr. Mathew). Fairly distributed (Mr. Raeburn).
Rarer than the Blackcap (Mr. Rawlings).

[S. curruca.—Capt. Swainson writes that it is “ pretty evenly
distributed in suitable places in the neighbourhood of Brecon,”
and that he could point to at least a dozen different localities
where it can be heard, and perhaps seen, near Brecon (Zool. 1891,

16 THE ZOOLOGIST.

p. 856). There is a record of its breeding in one instance in
Carnarvonshire (loc. cit. 1893, p. 895)].

Phylloscopus rufus.—Vide supra.

P. trochilus.— Abundant, and singing all day the full song.
In Oxon they were singing chiefly in the early morning when
I left. I found it very abundant in north-west Salop in May,
1888, and saw many in the birches and alders on the edge of
Whixhall Moss.

P. sibilatrix.—Abundant, especially in the oak-woods. Mr.
Rawlings records it as plentiful. Not in Pembrokeshire, or
extremely rare there (Mr. Mathew).

Accentor modularis.—Only once seen by my companion.

Cinclus aquaticus.—On a tributary stream.

Acredula rosea.—A family party.

Parus major; P. palustris.

P. ater britannicus.—The commonest Titmouse.

Troglodytes parvulus.—Seen in the wildest places.

Motacilla lugubris.

Anthus pratensis—Common. Found high up on the face of
the hills and among the ling and rough grass at the top.

A. trivialis.—Common; extended some way up the sides of
the hills.

Muscicapa atricapilla.—Apparently common. I saw two males,
a pair, and two females. Here, as elsewhere, they take most of
their food on the ground. But they occasionally take a fly on
the wing, and sometimes among the branches of the tree they are
perched upon. The song to me has generally a resemblance to that
of the Whinchat, but is rather clearer and more sprightly; this
is sometimes preceded by several notes, about four of them, some-
what like a Coal Tit’s “‘if-he.” Sometimes the song contains two
or three notes a little like those in the first part of the Reed
Bunting’s chant; but these also are more sprightly and clear.
The alarm-note of the female is a loud, full, and hard “ chip,”
repeated continuously at a moderate pace. Captain Swainson
remarks upon the similarity of some notes in the song to the
spring note of the Coal Tit (Zool. 1892, p. 428).

Hirundo rustica. — Not very many. Seen some way up the
hillsides.

Chelidon urbica.—A few seen about the rocky parts.

Cotile riparia.—Fairly common. Apparently breeds on the

Cea oN

ON BIRDS OBSERVED IN SOUTH WALES. 17

hill-sides, as I saw some flying in that direction after picking up
feathers in a farm-yard.

Carduelis elegans.—One pair in the lower valley.

Passer domesticus.—Vide supra.

Fringilla celebs.—Very common, and sang the Wood-Wre
prelude almost entirely or exclusively.

Pyrrhula ewropea.—Once, in the lower valley.

Emberiza citrinella.—Some.

Sutrnus vulgaris.—Only two or three seen.

Garrulus glandarius.—A few in the woods.

Pica rustica.—Three or four seen.

Corvus monedula.—Some about a small solitary church.

C. corone.—Common, especially on the hills.

C. frugilegus.—Some.

C. corax.—Twice saw a pair, and once a single bird; always
on the hills.

Alauda arvensis.—Not uncommon on the moorland at the top
of the hills.

A. arborea.—Apparently not uncommon in the lower valley.
Observed two males singing in two low oaks, one on each side of
a narrow lane. Two others seen. To my mind the song of this
bird yields to none for beauty. For softness, sweetness, and
restfulness it takes the palm. In delivery it is gentle and
leisurely. Mr. Raeburn did not meet with the Wood Lark, and
at Barmouth it has only occurred in winter (Zool. 1894, p. 831).

Cypselus apus.—F airly common. Often overhead when I was
on the highest ground. :

Caprimulgus europeus.—Heard “ churring” loudly on one wet
evening. |

Cuculus canorus.—Heard frequently.

Syrnium aluco.—One seen in a wood; heard hooting at night
also.

Buteo vulgaris.—Several seen.

Milvus ictinus.— One seen.

Falco tinnunculus.—Several seen. :

Ardea cinerea.—A magnificent old bird passed over my head,
low down, as I was searching for a Sandpiper’s nest one day.
I never (except at the nest) had one fly so close to me before.
I fancy he did not see me; but I was inthe open—merely ona
Shallow underbank of the river, and I am sure no Oxfordshire

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—JAN. 1895. C

18 THE ZOGLOGIST.

Heron would have failed to see me. Perhaps these Welsh birds
are unsophisticated. I saw one more.

Columba palumbus.—-Fairly common.

C. wenas.—Seen about the rocks, high up.

Crex pratensis.—One heard in the lower valley.

Totanus hypoleucus.—Several pairs. Very tame. They had
probably hatched their young. I had seen tiny young following
the old birds on the banks of the Wye in Brecon just before.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

MAMMALIA.

Wild Cat, Polecat, and Marten in Cardiganshire.—In November,
1893, a large cat was sent to Mr. Hutchings, of Aberystwith, to be preserved.
It was shot upon the estate of Mr. f. M. Davies, of Pen-y-bont-pren, Taly-
bont, and is now in his possession. I examined it in the full expectation of
finding it to be a house-cat which had taken to the woods, or the descendant
of one; but after careful comparison with books of reference, now I believe
it to be a genuine example of Felis catus, as it appears to me to possess all
the characteristics of that animal. It has the heavy, muscular figure, short
limbs, and broad flat head of the wild species. Length, as stuffed, 30 in.,
of which the tail is only 83 in. It is yrey in colour, whitish beneath, with
an irregular dark line, or perhaps two, extending along the back, and with
regular transverse bands of black on the sides; yellowish about the face,
tawny on the inner side of the legs, and feet black underneath. The tail
is bushy and does not taper, ringed, and tipped with black. The keeper
who shot it sent it to be preserved, as being quite unlike any cat that he
had ever killed previously. I do not know the present status of the Wild
Cat in Wales, and can only hope that the example referred to may be seen —
by some one better acquainted with that species than J am. But it is only
comparatively recently that game-preserving has become at all general in
the district in question, and it is not at all impossible that an animal,
even of this size, might remain undetected. The Polecat, Mustela putorius,
is still so frequently met with that its remains are to be seen upon every
keeper’s wall, and those sent into Aberystwith to be preserved would
probably average one a week throughout the year. The Marten, Martes
sylvatica, on the other hand, is all but extirpated. The only recent
occurrence that I know is that of one in the possession of Capt. Geo. Weir
Cosens, of Llanbadarn, which was sent to him about 1882, from a grouse-

NOTES AND QUERIES. 19

moor on the slopes of Cader Idris, where it had lived for some years and
caused much damage.—J. H. Satrer (University College, Aberystwyth).

Albino Weasel.— Referring to the enumeration of albino specimens of
the Common Weasel which have been hitherto recorded (Zool. 1894,
p. 449), I may mention that some time since Mr. J. Pettitt, taxidermist, of
- Colchester, showed me a specimen which had been killed near that place
about Dec. 20th, 1892. It was pure white, with pink eyes, and the flesh
was of the usual pale colour.—Mituer Curisry (Pryors, Broomfield, near
Chelmsford).

CETACEA.

Hump-backed Whale on the Lincolnshire Coast.—_The members
of the family Balanopterida, of which there are two well-marked genera,
comprising the thick-bodied, large-finned Humpbacks (Megaptera), and the
long, slender, small-finned Rorquals or Finner Whales (Bal@noptera), are
distinguished by the longitudinal pleats or folds in the skin of the throat
and belly, and by the possession of a dorsal fin. The head is relatively
smaller than in the Right Whales, and the jaws are less crched; the
baleen is short and twisted, the vertebre of the neck are usually separate,
that is, not ankvlosed, and the flipper has only four fingers. The Rorquals,
or some of them, are not very uncommon off our northern coasts, but the
Hump-backed Whale ( Megaptera longimana) is of such rare occurrence that,
until the present year, four examples only have been recorded to have been
met with in British waters since 1829, when the first was cast ashore near
Newcastle-on-Tyne, in September of that year (Johnston, Trans. Newcastle
Nat. Hist. Soc. vol. i.). No other example was met with until 1863,
when a second was captured in the estuary of the Dee, and its skeleton
having been prepared, is preserved in the Liverpool Museum. Again
twenty years elapsed before a third was recognized, this time at the mouth
of the Tay, in the winter of 1883—84 (Struthers, Journ. Anat. & Phys.,
1887 ; and Flower, ‘ Mammals, Living and Extinct,’ 1891, p. 242). After
another interval of ten years, a fourth came ashore on the Enniscrone
Sands, Co. Sligo, on the 21st March, 1893 (Warren, Zool. 1893, p. 188).
We have now to chronicle the capture of a fifth example of this whale,
which was stranded at Chapel, on the coast of Lincolnshire, about seven miles
_ north of Skegness, during the first week of September last. Its identity was
established by Mr. G. H. Caton Haigh, who on hearing of its capture went
to see it, and found it in process of being cut up. He reported it to be a small
specimen of its kind, about twenty-five feet in length, with a flipper seven
or eight feet long and perfectly white; the rest of the body black,
excepting a few white marks on the under side. Mr. Cordeaux, who
reported the occurrence (‘ Naturalist,’ 1894, p. 286), has referred to only
three previous instances of its capture in the British Islands, and has

2C

20 THE ZOOLOGIST.

consequently overlooked one of the four above mentioned. Considering
that it is a common species in the North Atlantic, between Norway and
Greenland, it is curious that it has not been more frequently detected in
British waters. It is of course possible, and indeed probable, that other
examples have been captured or stranded, and cut up before any competent
zoologist could see and identify the species. As regards the dimensions
of the Hump-backed Whale, an adult specimen is said to attain a length
of 45 to 50 feet. If so, the individuals which have come under the notice
of naturalists in this country seem to have been all more or less immature.
The Newcastle specimen was 26 feet in length, the Lincolnshire specimen
25 feet, the Sligo specimen 29 feet, and the Dee specimen 31 feet 4 inches.
To judge from the dimensions given by those who have recorded these
examples, the figure in Bell’s ‘ British Quadrupeds’ (which is copied from
Rudolphi’s original figure in the Memoirs of the Berlin Academy) conveys
an erroneous impression of the proportions of the animal. In nature the
body is very clumsy, and so thick as to look quite out of proportion to its
length, being probably between 20 and 30 feet in circumference, according
to Mr. Warren, who examined the Irish specimen. Again, the tail is
represented as much too small in proportion to the length. The late
Mr. T, Moore, of the Liverpool Museum, who measured the Dee specimen,
found the extreme width of the tail to equal the distance from snout to
flipper, namely, 11 feet; whereas in Bell’s figure (copied from Rudolphi)
the extreme width of the tail is not 4 feet. We want new outlines of this
species, drawn from the latest statistics.—J. E. Harrine.

BIRDS.

Notes on Grouse.—On reading the recently published volume on the
Grouse in Longman’s ‘ Fur and Feather’ Series, I was struck with the
reference to a bird in my uncle’s possession which Mr. Macpherson has
decided to be a hybrid between Red Grouse and Black-game (tom. cit. pp.
62, 63). Iam naturally familiar with the specimen in question, which I
had always regarded as a barren grey-hen assuming male plumage. I
refrained, however, from any expression of opinion, until I had had
another opportunity of examining the bird. I am now writing this in the
same house with it, and, after a careful examination, I must say I cannot
find any grounds for altering my former opinion. The size of the bird, the
appearance of its feet and head, exactly correspond with those of a normal
grey-hen purposely put in the same case with it. The claws, and the
serrations on the side of the toes, do not show the least tendency to
resemble the same parts in a Red Grouse; neither is there a trace
of Grouse-like feathering on the toes themselves. Nor can I detect any
distinctive characteristics of Red Grouse plumage on the body. I have
seen a good many examples of this abnormal female plumage in the

NOTES AND QUERIES. 21

Capercaillie, Black Grouse, and Pheasant (all polygamous birds), at
_ Christiania and elsewhere, and remain firmly of opinion that this present
instance must be classed amongst them. I may add that there are no
grounds (based on dissection) for calling it “a fine male,” else I could only
urge my point with extreme hesitation. It came from somewhere near
_Longtown, close to the border, and was bought at a game-dealer’s shop in
Carlisle by my uncle; and the sex, I regret to say, was not ascertained. I
will send a description (as close as the case it is in will permit), if the
Editor thinks it would be of interest. J feel compelled to take exception,
also, to the suggestion that Grouse have not been known to undertake
regular periodical migrations (tom. cit. p.40). Grouse from different moors
vary quite sufficiently in plumage and size to make it hardly worth while
to wait for “‘ marked birds.” May I call Mr. Macpherson’s attention to an
undoubted case in his own county of Cumberland, mentioned in Clarke and
Roebuck’s ‘ Handbook of Yorkshire Vertebrates’ sub voce ‘‘Grouse.” I
have examples in my collection of Cleveland Grouse shot (by myself) on a
Cumberland moor, where they make their appearance regularly every year.
Mr. Macpherson would do well to study the extent of this phenomenon on
other moors as well; it would be likely to lead to results of great interest.
Lastly, will Mr. Macpherson pardon me if I venture to suggest that it
would have been well not to allow such expressions as “ using his spurs ”
(p. 28), “with his spurs” (p. 29), to pass without some sort of protest.—
Henry H. Scarer.
[To this communication Mr. Macpherson sends the following ex-
planation. |

“Perhaps I may venture to supplement Mr. Slater’s note with the
necessary reminder that I had no opportunity myself of forming an
independent opinion on the bird, which I do not remember exactly. The
owner of the bird, Mr, Horrocks, is a good sportsman and naturalist, who
had the bird in the flesh, and I accepted his ipse diwit for whatever it might
be, considering at that time that he knew far more than I did about game-
birds, which I had not then studied at all. Mr. Slater took no exception to
the original record, so that I assumed that he concurred in his uncle’s opinion,
and I therefore copied the original record on two subsequent occasions. I
was, of course, anxious to see the bird, but ill-health preveuted my availing
myself of its owner's kind invitations to his house. I am often asked to
investigate the local migrations of Grouse in the North of England. It is
useless, however, to attempt any enquiry of the kind, unless several
owners or lessees of moors can be prevailed on to attach metal labels to a
number of small Grouse. Even if such a course were seriously under-
taken for a single season, we should learn a good deal. In the meantime,
it seems to me that the mere theories of keepers on the subject are
valueless. Nothing short of a system of marking birds, carried out on a

22 THE ZOOLOGIST.

sufficiently large scale, can clear the matter up..—H. A. MacpHerson
( Victoria Place, Carlisle). |

Black Guillemot in Merionethshire.—Amongst the sea-birds which
fall victims to rough weather on the Welsh coast 1 found, on Nov. 11th,
the much-damaged remains of a Black Guillemot, Uria grylle, washed
ashore on the ‘Traeth Bach, near Towyn-y-Penrhyn. Though, no doubt,
frequently met with in former years, 1 know of no recent record of this
species in Merionethshire.—J. H. Caton Haicu.

Pomatorhine Skua in Mid-winter.—'The great gale of December 22nd
drove a fine Pomatorhine Skua up the river Eden, and it was shot from the
Carlisle race-course. I have never before met with this Skua so late in the
season.—H. A. Macrsmrson (Carlisle).

The Oystercatcher in Warwickshire.—The Oystercatcher, Hema-
topus ostralegus, is by no means a common visitor to the Midland Counties,
nevertheless it occurs irregularly from time to time. In an old list in my
possession of the birds recorded for Sutton Coldfield Park (a park of some
2800 acres, about 180 of which is water, distributed over six pools), the
Oystercatcher is mentioned with doubt. On August 24th, 1890, I heard the
whistle of these birds at dusk, from off the muddy flats of Longmore Pool.
The next day they were still there, and tive in number. On November
25th last, a single bird I found haunting the gravelly sides of Powell’s
Pool, both of which pools are within the boundary of the Park. Some
other waders, such as the Green and Common Sandpipers, Ring Plovers,
and Dunlins, constantly occur, but the Oystercatcher is, 1 think, of
sufficiently rare occurrence so far inland as to be worth recording.—
J. STEELE EXvxiott (Dixon’s Green, Dudley).

Nesting of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker near Bath.—A few —
mouths ago a friend showed me his collection of eggs in which he had some
eggs of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, P. minor. Being naturally —
curious to see the nest (or what remained of it) from which the eggs had
been taken, my friend took me lately to see it. After walking out of Bath
for about two miles, we came toa long avenue of beech-trees. In one of
these, a very decayed tree, the nest was bored about nine iuches into the.
trunk. ‘The entrance was, so far as 1 could judge, between seven and
eight feet from the ground. ‘The birds had commenced another boring
higher up the tree, but they left it unfinished. I think the wood was
softer lower down the trunk. rom this nest four eggs were taken, about
the end of June. ‘The tree was close to the roadside, aud on being struck
with a stick the hen bird flew off the nest, and both birds were seen about
the adjoining trees. Isawa female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in the flesh,
which had been shot about a week ago in one of the suburbs of Bath, but I

have never observed one alive in the wild state.—C. B. HorssprucH |

4, Richmond Hill, Bath).

NOTES AND QUERIES. 23

Swallows in December.—In ‘The Zoologist’ for Feb., 1881, details
were given of the occurrence of Swallows and Martins in the South
of England on the 7th, 11th and 18th of December, 1880. In December,
1885 (about the third of the month), a Swallow was seen on Clifton Down,
close to the river, as reported by Mr. E. Clutterbuck (Zool. 1887, p. 269).
- In December, 1891, Swallows were seen at Retford on the 8rd, Norwich on
the 10th, and Findhorn Bay, N.B., on the 12th, while House Martins were
observed at Norwich on Dee. 8rd. (See an article on “ Belated Swallows” in
‘The Field’ of Jan. 80, 1892.) And now once more, in December, 1894, we
have to record the appearance of a few loiterers, or individuals of late broods,
which were unable apparently to join the majority on their autumnal migra-
tion. On Dec. Ist, as reported by the Rev. Prebendary Gordon, of Harting
Vicarage, Sussex, a Swallow was seen at Fishbourne. In Gloucestershire
on the same day, Mr. C. H. Witchell saw a young Swallow flying about at
Stroud, although in the shade the ground was white with frost. In Lincoln-
shire, on the same day, as well as on Dec. 2nd, a Swallow was seen by
Mr. 8S. E. Harrison, of Roughton, “ flying to and fro over his farmyard, and
about the pond and buildings, as in summer.” On the 8rd and 3th two or
three were observed at Bognor. On Dec. 4th Mr. A. B. Percival reported
that he had just examined, “in the flesh,” a young House Martin, which
had been obtained near Derby. On Dec. 5th a House Martin was shot by
Mr. H. Butler, of Bournemouth, at Whitecliff Farm, Swanage. On Dec. 6th
Mr. T. Lewis, of Brook Villa, Falmouth, saw eight or ten Swallows skimming
about, and watched them for an hour or more. ‘The circumstance was con.
sidered the more remarkable because the weather for some time had been
cold and the wind north-east. On the 7th three Swallows were noticed at
Chichester, and one at Bognor. On the 8th and 10th a few House Martins
appeared at Fishbourne, and on the 11th one was seen at Arundel, where on
the 15th a solitary Swallow was noted. At Sittingbourne, Kent, on the
afternoon of Dec. 12th, one of these birds was observed flying to and fro
over some fields, actively engaged, apparently, in hawking for insects. ‘Lhe
day was very mild, though there was not much sunshine, and the air seemed
full of insects. At Fishbourne, in Sussex, a solitary Martin was seen on
the 17th, and three more on the 22nd. Finally, on the 23rd of the month,
the latest report of a December Swallow reaches us, also from Sussex, a
single bird having been seen on that date at Chichester. With these and
other instances before us, reported by independent witnesses in different
parts of the country, it is clear that in future it will not do to write about
the late stay of Swallows in November, although it is of course true that
the majority of these birds quit our shores even before November has
set in.—-J. EK. Harrina.

Ivory Gull and Dusky Shearwater in Iceland.—I have the pleasure
of adding two more birds to the Iceland list, not hitherto (so far as I am

94 THE ZOOLOGIST.

aware) recorded in it. I heard some years ago that a small white gull
came occasionally with the Greenland ice to the north coasts of Iceland, at
the same time as the Polar Bears do. My collector procured one for me
after a good deal of trouble, and it is, as I suspected, an Ivory Gull,
Pagophila eburnea, a fine adult bird. On July 25th last, about sixty miles
S.E. from Eskifjordr, a black petrel flew close to me (within ten yards,
certainly) as I was standing on the deck of the Danish mail steamer
‘Thyra,’ and continued to circle round the ship for some time. I had no
hesitation in putting it down as the Dusky Shearwater, Puffinus griseus.
I described it in my notes at the time as something short of a foot in
length; expanse of wing nearly two feet; colour sooty black; bill slenderer
than a Fulmar’s and much hooked. I saw another in the Axarfjordr (N.E.
coast of Iceland) two days later ; and an observant fellow-passenger, to whom
I had pointed out these two on the wing, assured me afterwards that he had
seen another on the west coast. There is nothing improbable in the
occurrence of the Dusky Shearwater in Iceland, and I expect that further
investigation will show that it breeds there in small numbers. I may add
that I have been (for some eight years) collecting materials for an annotated
list of Iceland birds, with the recent additions, and that any information on
the subject from brother ornithologists will be most welcome. But I shall -
have to make yet another personal visit at least to the island before I shall
be in a position to finish it—Hrnry H. Suater (Thornhaugh Rectory,
near Wansford).

Hybrid Swans.—Some three years ago, Mr. Assheton Smith, of Vaynol
Park, Bangor, received in exchange from the Zoological Society’s Gardens,
Regent’s Park, a female American Trumpeter Swan, Cygnus buccinator.
This bird was placed upon a pool with other water-fowl, amongst which was
a male Mute Swan, C. olor, with which in course of time it paired. Since
then three broods of hybrid cygnets have been reared, and during a visit to
Vaynol in October I had daily opportunities, for a fortnight, of inspecting
them. The cygnets of 1894 were, of course, still in the grey immature
plumage, but the young birds of the previous brood were then almost as
white as their parents. In the carriage of the head and neck they resemble
the female parent, C. buccinator, and the bill (which in the latter is wholly
black) is black from the base to within an inch or so of the extremity,
where it then becomes flesh-colour. There is, moreover, no prominent
tubercle at the base of the bill, which is so conspicuous in the Mute Swan.
The period of incubation was not precisely noted, but it was believed to be
rather less than six weeks, the number of the brood being five in 1893, and
six in 1894. As the American Trumpeter Swan has long been introduced
into this country, and is even said to have been met with in a wild state on
the Suffolk coast (‘ Handbook of British Birds,’ p. 155), it is not surprising
that, under favourable conditions, it should sometimes breed here; but I

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 25

have not found any instance on record of its interbreeding with C. olor.—
J. KE. Harrina.

Ornithological Notes from Sussex.—In the first week of October two
adult Red-throated Divers, with red throats, were shot off the Fish-market,
Hastings. About October 18th an adult female Long-tailed Duck was
shot from a pond at Ashburnham, near Battle, about seven or eight miles
from the sea. On Oct. 22nd I had offered to me three young Sheldrakes,
shot out of a flock of five on the previous day at Pett Level, near Winchelsea.
On the same day a young male Shag, Phalacrocoraz cristatus, was shot at
the bottom of Ecclesborne Glen. On Nov. 8th I had brought to me a Fork-
tailed Petrel, washed up dead opposite the Marina at St. Leonard’s; its
gizzard contained a small seed only.—G. W. Brapsuaw (Hastings).

MOLLUSCA.

Colpodaspis pusilla on the Devonshire Coast.— At a meeting of
the Zoological Society, held on Nov. 20th, Mr. W. Garstang read a paper
on this rare Gastropod mollusc, a specimen of which had been found by
him near Plymouth. ‘The anterior part of the foot was not really bifid, as
stated by Sars, but possessed a pair of the large prolongations of its antero-
lateral angles, analogous to the anterior pedal cornua of many AXdolids.
In this case, however, they were probably to be regarded as homologous
with the pleuropodial expansions of the Tectibranchia. The bulloid
shell, the radula, and the posterior appendage of the mantle pointed to
the close affinity of Colpodaspis with the Cephalaspidea; but the great
extent of the mantle, the small head, and the grooved tentacles were
important and primitive characters which it shared with the Notaspidea.
Whether Colpodaspis was an immature stage of some Philine-like genus or
not, it furnished an indubitable connecting link between these two great
subdivisions of the Tectibranchia.

SCIENTIER® .:SOCIETIES,

Linnean Socipty or Lonpon.

December 6th, 1894.—Mr. C. B. Crarxu, F.R.S., President, in the

chair.
Mr. Walter Tothill was elected a Fellow.

Mr. E. M. Holmes exhibited and made remarks upon a small collection
of Japanese Marine Alge, some of which were of considerable rarity in
European collections.

Prof. D. Campbell brought forward some illustrations of the relations of
Vascular Cryptogams as deduced from their development. His remarks,
which were listened to with great attention, gave rise to an interesting

26 THE ZOOLOGIST.

discussion, in which Prof. Bower, Dr. D. H. Scott, Mr. Carruthers, and
Prof. Marshall Ward took part.

«A new revision of the Dipterocarpee,” was the title of a paper by
Sir Dietrich Brandis, K.C.1I.E., who gave an excellent account of this order
of forest trees, and their structure and mode of growth, together with a
survey of the literature relating to them, anda clear exposition of his views
concerning classification. He pointed out that the order Dipterocarpee
consists almost entirely of large trees which do not flower till they have
attained a great size, with a spreading crown on a branchless stem often
more than 100 feet high. Hence it is difficult to obtain complete specimens
in flower and fruit; and this explains why a large proportion of the genera
and species have only of late years become accurately known. Notable
species are the Sal tree of India, Shorea robusta, great forests of which
extend along the foot of the Himalayas and in Central India; the Eng
tree, Dipterocarpus tuberculatus, of similar growth, in Burma; and others
found in Cochin China and Borneo.

Dec. 20th.— Mr. C. B. Cuarxe, F.R.S., President, in the chair.

Mr. Peter Ewing, of Glasgow, was elected a Fellow.

Mr. W. B. Hemsley exhibited a series of specimens and figures
illustrating the parasitism of Loranthus aphyllus and other plants from the
Herbarium, Kew.

Mr. J. E. Harting exhibited a specimen of a small Siberian Warbler,
Phylloscopus superciliosus, which had been obtained near Beverley, York-
shire, in October last, and made some remarks on its haunts, habits, and
migrations, and upon the previous instances which had been noted of its
accidental occurrence in the British Islands.

Mr. H. M. Bernard gave the substance of a paper on the spinning
glands in Phrynus, not previously known, and described their position and
their morphological importance in Arachnidan phylogeny. ‘The penis was
described as a pair of rudimentary filamentous appendages of the genital seg-
ment, and consequently of importance as bearing further testimony to the view
that the limbs on the abdomen of the ancestral form were not plates as in
Timulus, but appendages like those on the thorax. The presence of these
limbs explains the curious genital operculum of the Pedipalpi, which is not
a primitive feature derived from Eurypterine ancestors, as some would
maintain, but a purely secondary specialization acquired within the Arachnid
phylum.

A paper was then read by Mr. Percy Groom, entitled ‘ Contributions
to the Knowledge of Monocotyledonous Saprophytes,” or plants which are
dependent for their existence on the presence in the substratum of decaying
organic matter. He observed that, like parasites, they may be divided into
those which possess chlorophyll (hemisaprophytes) and those which have none

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. oF

(holosaprophytes). Hitherto very few experiments, he said, had been made
on hemisaprophytes, and hence onr acquaintance with them was largely
speculative. The remarks which he had now to offer referred almost entirely
to holosaprophytes, or at least to plants with very little trace of chlorophyll.
After an interesting discussion, in which Sir D. Brandis, Mr. H. N. Ridley,
and others took part, the meeting adjourned to Jan. 17th.

ZooLtocicaL Society oF Lonpon.

November 20th, 1894.—Sir W. H. Frowrr, K.C.B., LL.D., F.R.S.,
President, in the chair.

The Secretary read a report on the additions that had been made to the
Society's Menagerie during the month of October, and called special
attention to a pair of Somali QOstriches, Struthio molybdophanes, from
Somaliland, purchased Oct. 26th. ‘This was the first pair of the blue-
skinned form of Ostrich, which inhabits Eastern Africa, that had reached
the Society’s Gardens.

On behalf of Dr. OC. Kerbert, Director of the Zoological Gardens,
Amsterdam, a photograph was exhibited of a Sumatran Goat-Antelope,
Nemorhedus sumatrensis, living in those Gardens.

Mr. R. Lydekker exhibited and made remarks on a model and a
photograph of a bird’s egg from Patagonia, supposed to be the egg of an
undescribed species of Ratite bird.

Mr. W. B. Tegetmeier exhibited and made remarks on the felted covering
of a long-haired Angora Rabbit, which had shed its entire coat in one piece.

The President exhibited a specimen of a Hairy Armadillo, Tatusia
pilosa, obtained by J. Kalinowski in the Maraynioc district of Central Peru.

Mr. I’. G. Parsons read a paper on the anatomy of Atherura africana,
compared with that of other Porcupines. In addition to the points mentioned
by Drs. Gray and Gunther as differences between the skulls of A. africana
and A.macrura, the arrangement of the fronto-nasal suture, the position of
the maxillomalar suture, and the frequent presence of an 0s antti-epilepticum
were noticed. The presence of intercentra was also drawn attention to.
The muscles in the main bore out the remarks already published by the
author in his paper on “ The Myology of the Sciuromorphine and Hystri-
comorphine Rodents.” The liver agreed with that of Hystria# cristata and
H. javanica in having the left central lobe divided into two. There was no
gall-bladder. ‘The lungs were specially remarkable for being divided up into
a large number of lobes, there being 34 lobes on the left side and over
40 on the right.

A communication from Mr. J. T. Cunningham treated of the significance
of diagnostic characters in the Pleuronectide. In this paper the specific
and generic characters of the so-called Top-knot (Zeugopterus) were first

28 THE ZOOLOGIST.

considered. ‘The principal generic characters were the perforation of the
gill-septum, found also in Arnoglossus megastoma, and the prolongation of
the dorsal and ventral fins on to the right side at the base of the tail. The
marked peculiarity of habit was that of adhering to vertical surfaces. It
was shown that this was independent of either of the characters mentioned,
and was due to the pumping-action of the longitudinal fins and their muscles
posteriorly, the enlargement of those parts being also a generic character.
No evidence of the utility of the specific characters could be discovered.
The characters of other Pleuronectide were similarly examined, and the

conclusion reached was that there are two kinds of characters, the adaptive

and the morphological.

Mr. A. Smith Woodward read a description of the so-called Salmonoid
fishes of the English Chalk, dealing with the osteology of Osmeroides
lewesiensis, Hlopopsis crassus, and Aulolepis typus. He directed special
attention to three features in the head of the genera to which these species
are referred, namely: (1) the exclusion of the supraoccipital from the cranial
roof by the union of the parietal bones in the median line; (2) the over-
lapping of the arched maxilla by two large supramaxillary bones; and
(3) the presence of a large gular plate. All these characters separated the
fishes in question from the typical Salmonida@, while the first and third
distinguished them from typical Clupeide. All three genera should be
associated with the existing Hlops, Megalops, and their allies.

Mr. W. Garstang read a paper on the Gastropod Colpodaspis pusilla of
Michael Sars, describing a specimen of this rare mollusc found by him at
Plymouth in the early part of the year. (See p. 25.)

A communication from Mr. A. D. Bartlett gave an account of the recent
occurrence in the Society's Menagerie of a case of one Boa swallowing
another of nearly equal size.

A communication from Prof. R. Collett contained a description of a new
Agonoid fish from Kamtschatka proposed to be called Agonus gilbertt.

Dec. 4th.—Hunry SrEepouy, F.L.S., F.Z.S., Vice-President, in the

chair.
The Secretary read a report on the additions made to the Society’s

Menagerie during the month of November, and called attention to the
Surinam Water-Toads, Pipa americana, presented by Mr. F. EH. Blaauw;
to a fine example of Pels’ Owl, Scotopelia peli, from Sierra Leone, presented
by the Hon. ©. B. Mitford, Deputy-Governor of the Culony; and to two
Tree-Kangaroos from Queensland, received in exchange,

A communication was read from Mr. T. Manners Smith on some points
in the anatomy of the Water-Mole, Ornithorhynchus paradoaus, relating
chiefly to the muscular anatomy and the trunk-arterial system.

Mr. F’. E. Beddard read a paper on certain points in the visceral anatomy
of the same animal.

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 29

Mr. Boulenger read a ‘‘Second Report on Additions to the Lizard
Collection in the Natural History Museum.” It contained a long list of
species previously unrepresented in the collection, specimens of which had
been acquired since the appearance of the first Report, published in the
‘Proceedings’ of the Society for 1890. This list was supplemented with
the descriptions of several new species.

Prof. F'. Jeffrey Bell called attention to the acquisition by the Natural
History Museum of some specimens of remarkable Corals of great size
from North-west Australia, of which he showed some photographs.—P. L.
ScLaTER, Secretary.

ENTOMOLOGICAL SoctETy oF LonDoN.

December 5th, 1894.—H. J. Kxwes,‘ F.L.S., F.Z.S., President, in the
chair.

Messrs. EK. A. Bowles, M.A., of Myddelton House, Waltham Cross;
E. ©. Cotes, of the Indian Museum, Calcutta; Wolley-Dod, of Calgary,
Alberta, Canada; Joseph W. Green, of West Lodge, Blackheath; Henry
Keeble, of 10, Coleman Street, E.C.; and Thomas Turner, of Collumpton,
Devon, were elected Fellows of the Society.

Mr. F. Merrifield exhibited hybrids belonging to the genus Saturnia,
obtained by Dr. Standfuss, of Zurich, viz., a male and female hybrid from
a male of S. pavonia and a female of S. pyri, to which he had given the
name of S. emilig; also hybrids from what Dr. Standfuss described as
“a male of Callimorpha dominula var. persona” (received from Tuscany)
and a typical form female of C. dominula, to which he had given the name
of C. romanovi. Mr. Merrifield remarked that the so-called var. persona
differed entirely from the type of C. dominula.

Mr. J. W. Tutt exhibited and read notes on specimens of a very small
form of Euchloé, taken in Shropshire by the Rev. F. B. Newnham, who was
of opinion that it was distinct from EH. cardamines. He pointed out that it
was much smaller than the latter species, and that the discoidal spot was
placed, as in EL. turritis and E. gruneri, at the juncture of the orange and
white spaces, and not, as in EH. cardamines, well within the orange tip.
Mr. Tutt also exhibited and read notes on specimens of Noctua dahlit, from
Cheshire, Essex, Yorkshire, Aberdeenshire, and other counties. The
variation in the specimens was said to be partly due to sexual dimorphism,
and partly to their geographical distribution.

Herr Jacoby read a letter received from Mr. Buxton Forman, one of the
Assistant Secretaries of the Post Office, to the effect that the Postal Union
had decided to make a rule not to allow natural-history specimens to be sent
by sample post, which was intended for the transmission of bona /ide trade-
patterns or samples of merchandise, and consequently that the forwarding

30 THE ZOOLOGIST.

of such specimens at the sample rate would in future be irregular. Lord
Walsingham stated that he had had a long correspondence with the Post
Office authorities on the subject, and that the late Mr. Raikes, when
Postmaster-General, promised him in 1891 that such specimens should, ‘so
far as the British Post Office was concerned, be transmitted at the sample
rates; and a letter to the same effect, from the late Sir Arthur Blackwood,
when Secretary of the Post Office, was published in the ‘ Proceedings’ of
the Society for 1891.

Mr. C. G. Barrett exhibited, for Mr. A. J. Hodges, a specimen of
Hydrilla palustris, from Wicken Fen; also specimens of Caradrina.
ambigua, from the Isle of Wight. He remarked that of the latter one
specimen has the hind margin of the right fore wing indented, and the
wing broadened as though from an injury to the pupa. In this wing the
margins of the large orbicular and reniform stigmata had become so joined
that the dividing lines had disappeared, and the stigmata were fused into
one irregularly.formed blotch.

Mr. McLachlan exhibited, for Mr. G. F. Wilson, F.R.S., of Weybridge,
a “orease-band” which had been tied round trees to prevent the females of
Cheimatobia brumata from ascending the trunks for the purpose of oviposi-
tion ; the band was thickly covered with the bodies of the females, together
with a few males.

Surgeon-Captain Manders exhibited a pair of Chelont bifasciata, from
the Shan States, and called attention to the “assembling” habits of the
male, some hundreds of which were attracted by the numerous females
which emerged from the cocoons at sunset.

Mr. B. A. Bower exhibited a beautiful variety of Zyga@na lonicera, Ksp.,
having the epots confluent, taken at Chattenden Wood, North Kent, in June
last; also a specimen of Jncurvaria tenuicornis, Stn., taken at Chislehurst,
in May, 1893.

Mr. H. Goss exhibited, for Mr. F. W. Urich, of Trinidad, a series of
males, females, and workers of Sericomyrmex opacus, Mayr, a species of
fungus-growing and fungus-eating ant.

Colonel Swinhoe read a paper entitled ‘A List of the Lepidoptera of
the Khasia Hills,” Part III.

Mr. C. J. Gahan read a paper entitled ‘ On the Mongieara Coleoptera
of the West Indian Islands.”

Mr. F. W. Urich communicated a paper entitled ‘‘ Notes on the fungus-
growing and eating habits of Sericomyrmex opacus, Mayr.”

Prof. E. B. Poulton read a paper, by Prof. EK. B. Titchener, entitled
‘An apparent case of Sexual Preference in a male Insect.”

The Rev. H. 8S. Gorham communicated a paper entitled “Notes on
Herr A. Kuwert’s ‘ Revision der Cleriden-gattung Omadius, Lap.’”—
H. Goss & W. W. Fow.ter, Hon. Secretaries.

( 31 )

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.

The Life and Correspondence of Wiwu1am Bucxuanp, D.D.,
F.R.S., sometime Dean of Westminster, twice President
of the Geological Society, and First President of the
British Association. By his Daughter, Mrs. Gorpon.
8vo., pp. i—xvi; ]—288. London: John Murray. 1894.

Dean Bucxxanpd died in August, 1856, and shortly afterwards
appeared a new edition of his ‘ Bridgewater Treatise’ (on Geology
considered in relation to Theology), edited by Professor Phillips.
Prefixed to this edition is a Memoir of him by his son, the
late Frank Buckland, and there is of course a notice in the
‘Dictionary of National Biography;’ but these articles do not
convey more than an outline of the career of this distinguished
man of science, and it has remained for his daughter, Mrs.
Gordon, to give us a much fuller account of his life and work in
a volume of nearly 300 pages, which is now before us.

Dean Buckland was a very remarkable man, whose influence
was felt far beyond the University whose professorial chair of
geology he occupied; far even beyond the limits of the British
Islands, as shown (in the appendix to this volume) by the long
list of foreign scientific societies of which he had been elected a
member. So many years, however, have elapsed since his death
that probably few persons beyond those who were personal friends
and acquaintances have any adequate notion of the nature of the
services rendered by him to posterity.

He was an eminently practical geologist, always turning to
good account the scientific knowledge which he acquired. He
lost no opportunity of pointing out the importance of applying
a knowledge of Geology to the improvement of agriculture, and
time has shown not only that his suggestions were valuable, as
being founded on scientific grounds, but that many persons have
made fortunes by adopting them. ‘To take the case of phosphates,
now so largely employed as manure: Dr. Buckland had shown
that the so-called coprolites found in various rocks could not be
anything but the fossil dung of extinct animals, as the intestinal
marks were still visible. It was argued from this that they ought

32 THE ZOOLOGIST.

to contain abundance of phosphate of lime, the most useful manure
for exhausted soil. This proved to be true, and was the origin
of the great industry of superphosphates which has done so much
for agriculture. Dr. Daubeny thereupon suggested that when
coprolites failed, mineral phosphates, such as he had seen in
Estramadura, might be utilized, and from this source an enormous
trade has since been developed.

Drainage was another matter to which Dr. Buckland paid
special attention, and with remarkable results. By judicious
draining he arrested the spread of ague in the villages on Otmoor,
and materially improved the health of the inhabitants, in whom
he was originally led to take an interest by reason of many of
them being tenants of lands belonging to the Dean and Chapter.
On coming into residence as Dean of Westminster, he at once
had a great task before him in the cleansing of the old sewers
(from which something like 400 cubic yards of foul matter was
removed), and in the introduction of pipe drainage, which was the
first of its kind ever laid down in London.

Other sanitary reforms followed, particularly in regard to the
dwellings of the poor in Westminster, and the improvement of
the water-supply of the metropolis. In 1848, on the outbreak of
cholera, he rendered important aid by the information which he
afforded on its prevention by care in sanitary arrangements,
as well as on the properties of disinfectants, and the best modes
of applying them.

His knowledge of the relative value of different building
stones caused him to be often consulted by architects and
surveyors, who were guided by his opinion, and this not only in
London, but in the provinces. At Weymouth, for example,
when the new breakwater was about to be constructed, the old
one having suffered much damage by the Pholas boring into
the limestone, Dr. Buckland recommended that Portland stone
should be used, for the Pholas, he said, would not bore into it so
readily, on account of the amount of silica, or flinty matter,
which it contained. Thus did he practically turn to account the
teachings of science.

The reference to stone reminds us of the many stories which
have been circulated respecting the discovery of living toads in
cavities of solid rock, in which, it is alleged, they must have been
entombed forages. Dr, Buckland made a number of experiments

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 33

to test the truth of these stories, and we may give the result in
his own words :—

«“ Twelve circular cells were prepared in a block of sandstone, to each
of which a plate-glass was fitted. Toads were then placed in these cells
and buried beneath three feet of earth, where they were left for over a year.
_ Every toad shut up in sandstone died; but the greater number of those
in the porous limestone were still alive, though greatly emaciated; these
were again shut up, and by the end of the second year every toad had
died. TI also enclosed four toads in holes cut in the trunk of an apple-
tree, and closed the holes with a plug of wood; all these toads were
found dead at the end of a year. It seems from these experiments to
follow that toads cannot live a year totally excluded from atmospheric air,
or two years entirely excluded from food. Admitting that toads are found
in cavities of stone and wood, we may account for it by supposing that the
toad seeks a cavity while in the tadpole state, and feeds on insects which,
like itself, seek shelter within such cavities. It then becomes too large to
leave the hole; but there is always some small crack by which air and food
can come in to support life. This tiny aperture is very likely to be over-
looked by workmen, who are the only people whose work on stone or wood
leads them to disclose cavities in these substances. No examination is
made until the toad is discovered by breaking the mass in which it was
contained, and then it is too late to ascertain, without carefully replacing
every fragment (and in no case that I have seen reported has this been
done), whether or not there was any crevice or hole by which the animal
may have entered the cavity.”

These experiments are not the only ones placed on record by
the biographer. We must not forget the original steps which
were taken by Dr. Buckland, in his attempt to discover the
species of wild animal by which the prehistoric cattle of York-
shire were killed and their remains dragged into the great cave at
Kirkdale.* They might have been Bears, or Wolves, or Hyenas.
The professor of geology thought the evidence pointed to
Hyenas, and he set to work to prove his theory in a most in-
genious way.

In the Kirkdale cave he had found a portion of a skull which
he believed to be that of a young Hyena, but not having an un-
doubted skull of this species with which to compare it, he applied
to Dr. Burchell, the African traveller (after whom the so-called

* The bone cave of Kirkdale was discovered in 1821, in the Vale of
Pickering, about twenty-five miles from York, and was the first fossil cave
known in England.

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX,— JAN, 1895. D

34 - THE ZOOLOGIST.

‘“ Burchell’s Zebra’? was named out of compliment), to procure
for him a living animal; and after some difficulty and delay, this
was done. ‘The beast was sent to England, and was kept first at
Exeter Change, and subsequently at the Surrey Zoological
Gardens. On offering him bones of oxen, similar to those found
at Kirkdale but taken from recently-killed animals, Dr. Buckland
found that they were gnawed and cracked by him precisely in the
same way. He cracked the marrow-bones, and refused the bones
which contained no marrow, exactly as did his ancestors ages
before him in the wilds of Yorkshire. So wonderfully alike were
these bones in their fracture that, judging from this point alone,
it was impossible to say which bone had been cracked by the
living Hyena and which by the aboriginal of Kirkdale.

This Hysna would have been killed in the cause of Science
for the purpose of examining his skull, but the skull of a young
Hyena having been procured from another source, it was found
on comparison that Dr. Buckland’s views were correct.

Another ingenious experiment was that which he made with a
view to determine the species of an unknown animal whose foot-
prints only were visible on a slab of sandstone which had been
sent to him from Scotland for examination. After some reflec-
tion, it occurred to him that these footprints resembled in some
respects the impressions which might be made by the feet of a
Tortoise. Acting at once on the impulse of the moment, he
called his wife to come down and make some paste, while he went
out to search for and bring in a living Tortoise from the garden.
On his return he found the kitchen table covered with paste, upon
which the Tortoise was placed, when to his great delight he found
his suspicions confirmed. In its attempts to escape, the animal
made tracks which were comparable to those which were im- —
bedded by some remote ancestor on the block of sandstone.

Facts like these, expounded in his own peculiar manner,
always earnest and enthusiastic, carried conviction with them,
and made his lectures extremely popular. His auditors caught
his enthusiasm, and the study of geology became the fashion.

The popularity of the British Association for the Advance-
ment of Science, of which after its formal inauguration at
Oxford he was elected President, is said to have been due in a
great measure to his untiring industry and the spirit which he
infused into the undertaking. As observed by Prof. Boyd

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 35

Dawkins, who has written a Preface to the volume before us,
whatever estimate may be formed of his life and works, it cannot
be denied that he was one of the makers of modern Oxford, and
one of the founders of geology. Further on (pp. 55-56), writing
of the traditions of his teaching which he found on going up to
Oxford in 1857, and on the value and influence of his works,
particularly his ‘Bridgewater Treatise, and his ‘ Reliquie
Diluviane,’ he observes :—‘‘ In my own person, therefore, I can
speak of the great influence which Dr. Buckland’s work has had
on me. I shall never cease to venerate his name. His books
still, in my opinion, belong to the classics of geology, although,
of course, during the last seventy years, the theories as to the
Deluge, and the doctrine of Final Causes, have changed. ‘The
facts, however, have not changed; and for the Reptiles, the
Stonesfield Mammalia, and the Pentacrinoids, I still use as a
class-book the last edition of the ‘ Bridgewater Treatise,’ edited
by Prof. Phillips.”

With this authoritative expression of opinion we may close a
volume which no young naturalist of the present day should
neglect to read. It is not only very entertaining, but also highly
instructive, reminding us, more forcibly than any book which we
have read for some time past, of the well-known lines of

Longfellow :—
« Lives of great men all remind us

We can make our lives sublime;

And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,

A forlorn and shipwreck’d brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.”

9

The allusion in these lines to the “footprints”? makes them

singularly applicable to the subject of this memoir.

Allen’s Naturalists’ Library. Edited by R. B. SuHarre. A Hand-
book to the Marsupialia and Monotremata. By Ricuarp
LYDEKKER. Crown 8vo, pp. i.—xvi; 1—3802. With 38
coloured plates. London: W.H. Allen & Co. 1894.

In a well-written Introduction to this volume, Mr. Lydekker
points out the chief features which characterize the Marsupial

36 THE ZOOLOGIST.

or pouched animals and distinguish them from the higher orders
of the placental mammals; laying particular stress, of course,
upon the absence of a placenta; upon the form and function
of the pouch as a receptacle for the young; upon the imperfectly
developed condition of the young at birth; upon the peculiar
modification of the breathing organs to prevent the danger
of choking by the forced injection of milk from the teat to which
it adheres; and upon the relatively small size of the brain in
proportion to that of the head and body, with comparatively few
convolutions, indicating a low order of intelligence in these
animals. ‘lhe marked peculiarity in regard to the succession
of the teeth is also referred to as characteristic of the Order.

The Marsupials have adapted themselves to almost all modes
of life; some, like the Thylacine (or so-called ‘‘ Tasmanian
Wolf”) running in the ordinary manner; some, lke the
Kangaroos, progressing on the ground by long leaps; others,
like the tree Kangaroos, arboreal; others, again, like Phalangers,
volant, after the manner of Flying Squirrels; while a single
species (Notoryctes) pursues a subterranean, Mole-like mode
of life. It is remarkable that, so far as is known at present,
there is no Australian Marsupial which is aquatic in its habits.
The reason for this, no doubt, is the fact that such a habit in a
pouched animal would be fatal to its existence, for unless it
periodically resided altogether on land, the young in the pouch
would be drowned by its immersion. The present state of
development in the Australian Marsupials, according to Mr.
Lydekker, is nothing to what it was during the Pleistocene or
latest geological epoch, for we find at that period evidence of the
existence of giant Kangaroos and Wombats (to say nothing
of extinct forms which have no living representatives), by the
side of which the largest existing species would appear almost
dwarfs! The cause of this universal extinction of the most
gigantic mammals throughout the world soon after man had
made his appearance, is one of those problems which have not yet
received a satisfactory answer, for, as Mr. Lydekker remarks, not
even a glacial period could have made a clean sweep of the whole
globe.

In regard to the present distribution of the Marsupials we
are disappointed at the paucity of information given in this
volume. We have searched in vain for statistics on several

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. o7

points upon which a few details would be interesting to the
uninformed reader. To begin with, we are not told what con-
stitutes the difference between a Kangaroo and a Wallaby, nor
what is the derivation and meaning of the latter name. Pre-
sumably, like the former, it is of native origin; but if there are
any tangible characters by which a Wallaby may be always
distinguished from a Kangaroo, it might have been well to point
them out. A table of classification would have been a useful
addendum to the Introduction. Then we should like to know
what is the number of species of Macropodidé at present known
to exist, and how many of them have been made known and
described since the publication of that epoch-making work,
Gould’s ‘Mammals of Australia,’ which was completed in 1863. .
Their respective distribution in Australia and New Guinea is
another point upon which some information would be acceptable,
as well as on the question whether there is any species common
to the two countries. Probably not; though there may be some
which are very closely allied. Again, looking to the physical
aspect of Australia, and to the existence of great central deserts—
which seem (in the case of man at all events) to create an almost
insuperable barrier to overland communication, say between East
and West, or between South and West—one would like to know
whether any of the Macropodide find their way across Central
Australia, or what are the limits of distribution so far as has
been ascertained.

In regard to the habits and mode of life of the Australian and
New Guinea mammals there is a woful lack of information; and
it is little less than a reproach to those who write about them,
that they have not collected more facts from colonists who,
dwelling amongst or within measurable distance of these, to us,
unfamiliar creatures, could tell us, if they would, a great deal
more than we now know about them. We already hear of the
threatened extinction of certain species whose skins are exported
by the thousand to the London market; and it would seem as
if some of them were to pass away, leaving us with little more
knowledge concerning them than we possess in regard to forms
already extinct. This surely ought not to be. The members of
such scientific societies as have been long formed in Australia and
Tasmania, and more particularly the staff of the Australian
Museum, Sydney, should find opportunities for supplying this

38 THE ZOOLOGIST.

needed information. Indeed, unless we are much mistaken, they
have long been engaged in that direction, yet we do not find any
quotation of the results, or extracts from their published ‘ Pro-
ceedings’ or ‘ Transactions.’ Even in the case of an animal like
Ornithorhynchus, on which so much has been written during the
past ten years, the reader is expected to be satisfied with a
reprint of the observations made by Dr. George Bennett, so long
ago as 1829-32, while the later researches of Ray Lankester,
Flower, P. H. Macgillivray, Turner, Caldwell, Poulton, Pritchard,
Stewart, Gill, Cope, Thomas, and others, are altogether passed
over in silence.

A few pages of bibliography would have formed a most useful
appendix to the volume, and, indeed, in a work supposed to be
“up to date,’ should have been supplied. Mr. Lydekker has
contented himself too much with classification, synonymy, and
technical descriptions, while the coloured figures which are given
are those of species which (with few exceptions) were known forty
years ago, when these old plates were first published. It would
have been far more satisfactory to have given new plates of
species which have come to light since Gould’s time. To be
progressive, what we need is good figures of new species, or
better figures of old ones than at present exist. Both, indeed,
would be desirable, if publishers were only more enterprising,
and authors more firm in their advice.

In the preparation of the letterpress Mr. Lydekker’s labours
have no doubt been lightened by his adoption of the classification
and nomenclature given by Mr. Oldfield Thomas, in his excellent
‘Catalogue of the Marsupials in the Collection of the British
Museum,’ published in 1888; but he has brought his work up to
date by including in their proper places the species which have
since then been described. Amongst these, perhaps the most
noticeable is the curious Mole-like Marsupial Notoryctes typhlops,
which was originally described by Dr. Stirling, in the ‘ Trans-
actions of the Royal Society of South Australia in 1891.’ As Dr.
Stirling’s account of its habits has been already printed in ‘ The
Zoologist’ (1891, p. 393), it will be unnecessary to repeat what is
there stated, though we may observe that Mr. Lydekker gives
some additional details of interest which have recently come to
light. ‘he coloured plate which he gives of this animal is a
useful addition, although it has been unfortunately misplaced,

— a e——_”

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 839

having been inserted amongst the Echidnas, opposite page 240,
instead of where it should be, opposite page 188. This is not
the only instance in which we have noticed the faulty arrange-
ment of the plates. At page 240 we should find the plate
of Echidna, but this, for no apparent reason, is relegated to page
280; the Wombat faces page 160 instead of page 124; the Kola
should face page 78 instead of page 88; and the Thylacine
should figure amongst the Dasyurine at page 150, instead of
being inserted amongst the Opossums at page 200. These,
and other cases which might be mentioned, are, to say the least
of it, embarrassing to the reader, though they may be remedied,
of course, by re-arrangement in subsequent issues, or by re-
binding.

Allen’s Naturalists’ Library. Edited by R. BowptEeR SHarps.
Butterflies: by W. F. Krrpy. Vol. I., crown 8vo, pp. i-lxxiv,
1-262, with 37 plates. London: W.H. Allen & Co. 1894.

In treating of a subject so large as the present, the author is
naturally under considerable difficulty in compressing his matter
into two volumes of this size, and at the same time doing justice
to the many species of which he writes. He has therefore taken
in their order each subfamily, with its genera, and described the
type butterfly only of each genus, omitting the various species;
this reduces the work to reasonable proportions. In some
instances, for special reasons, he describes more than one
species; and in the case of British species describes all, in
order, to use his own words, “to make the British butterflies
illustrate and lead up to a study of the butterflies of the world.”
With each species he gives a copious synonymy.

In an Introduction of 74 pages the external structure and
characters of the eggs, larve, pups, and perfect insects are
described, with many interesting details, special attention being
paid to neuration. The author adopts Sclater’s scheme of
geographical distribution, and in connection with this makes
the following interesting statement :—

“Tt is a mistake to suppose that the Tropics are always rich in
butterflies, or that all tropical butterflies are beautiful. In proportion
to the productiveness of a country in a state of nature, is often its unpro-
ductiveness when cleared and cultivated. Not only are thousands of

40 THE ZOOLOGIST.

tropical butterflies as small and dull-coloured as the most inconspicuous
of our own, but the Indian representatives of European or Japanese
Species are often much inferior to the latter in both size and beauty.”

Mr. Kirby makes a special feature in this book of Classifica-
tion: he discusses and compares in detail the various methods
and systems, giving his reasons for his own particular view in
each instance. It makes one wish for the day when one permanent
nomenclature shall be universally adopted.

One cannot help a feeling of regret that a more detailed
description of the habits of the insects is impossible, owing
to want of space; but the author has succeeded in getting a
considerable amount of information into the book. A note-
worthy feature of the work is that the author gives the origin of
names and terms when of any interest; thus the Glanville
Fritillary is said to have been named after Lady Glanville of
Glanvilles Wootton, in Dorsetshire, where the insect was first
taken.

The Plates, which are copious, are also a feature of the
book, and as a whole answer their purpose, and are fairly true
to nature. Some are not up to the standard of the majority—
z.€e. Plates XXXIIT. and XXXIV. are not to be compared with
that of Apatura iris, which is excellent. The numbering of
Plate I. is obviously not in keeping with the text. All the English
species so far treated of, including the Nymphaline (Argynnis,
Vanessa, Melitea, &c.), Apatura, and Satyrine, are figured, and
in addition to the types of genera there are a few plates of
recently described and hitherto unfigured foreign butterflies. We
cannot help regretting that room is not found for a plate of that
important and extremely interesting butterfly Araschnia levana
in its various stages, which surely deserves a place.

Many woodcuts of varieties, under-sides, pups, &ec., are also
given.

We cannot take leave of this book without expressing our
admiration of the clear and concise method of arrangement
throughout. The book is printed in an attractive style, and
should find many readers both amongst beginners and also
amongst more advanced students of Entomology.

THE ZOOLOGIST

No. 218.— February, 18968.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE MUSK-OX IN GREENLAND.
By Cotonet H. W. Ferpen, C.M.Z.S.

_ Tue writer of the article on the Musk-ox in the volumes of
the ‘Badminton Library,’* devoted to “ Big Game Shooting,”
remarks :—‘‘ The present range of the Musk-ox is limited to the
North American continent and the outlying islands in the Arctic
Ocean ; it is perhaps best defined as lying to the north and east
of a line drawn from the mouth of the Mackenzie River to Fort
Churchill on Hudson Bay. Latitude 60° is generally accepted as
its southern boundary, whilst the Musk-ox seems capable of
existing very far north, as some are recorded to have been killed
on Grinnell Land, latitude 82° 27’, within a mile of the winter
quarters of H.M.S. ‘Alert’ in July, 1876, but I can find no record
of any having been seen in Greenland.” _

Mr. Warburton Pike, the writer of the above citation, is a
hardy sportsman and intrepid traveller, and in his book on the
‘Barren Ground of Northern Canada’+ gives most interesting
information in regard to the habits of the Musk-ox, and its chase
and capture by the Indians and half-breeds of Canada. In that
debatable portion of the Hudson Bay Territory beyond the Great
Slave Lake, which marks the limits of the hunting excursions of
the Indians and the southern range of the Eskimo of the Arctic
coast-line, the Musk-ox seems to be abundant, and Mr. Warburton

* ‘Badminton Library: Big Game Shooting,’ vol. i. (1894), pp. 428—435.
+ ‘Barren Ground of Northern Canada.’ London, 1892.

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—FEB. 1895. E

42 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Pike mentions a herd of at least a hundred being seen together,
more than half of which were slaughtered by his Indian com-
panions. It is singular that one whose experience in pursuit of
the Musk-ox in Canada is unrivalled amongst white men, and
who has written so well about the animal, should have been
unaware that its range extends along two-thirds of the coast-line
of the island continent of Greenland.

So long ago as 1780, Fabricius made mention of the Musk-ox
in his ‘Fauna Greenlandica,’ under the name of Bos grunniens,
Linn., having found on an ice-floe, presumably on the shores of
the Danish settlements, the skull and horns of a bovine animal,
with its feet, and some of its long black hair, underlaid with wool.
He was satisfied that no such animal then inhabited that part of
West Greenland known to the Danes, and though he suggests
that it might have come from the distant and then unknown east
coast of Greenland, he seemed to consider it more probable that

it had drifted on an ice-raft from Northern Asia. This reasoning

induced him to misapply the specific name of the Asiatic Yak
to this specimen—a mistake which he himself subsequently
acknowledged (Bid. Selsk. Skr. 3 N., vi). No doubt the remains
of the Musk-ox found by Fabricius had drifted from the east coast
of Greenland, where it is now known the animal abounds. It is
interesting, however, to note, that more than a hundred years
ago, the Greenlanders or Eskimos of the Danish settlements on
the west coast had no knowledge nor tradition connected with

the Musk-ox; for otherwise Fabricius would not have selected -

the far-off regions of Asia as the probable original home of his
specimen.

Nearly twenty years ago I discussed in the pages of this
journal* the known range of the Musk-ox, including its dis-
tribution in Greenland, and I see no reason to recede from the

opinions which I then expressed, that the advent of the animal —

on the shores of Greenland had been from the westward, and
that the progenitors of the Musk-oxen now living on the east
coast rounded the north of Greenland, and spread southward
until they met with some physical obstruction, such as the
glaciers around Cape Farewell, which barred their further pro-
gress. ‘I'he same, in all probability, has been the case on the

* Zool. 1877, pp. 3855 et seq.

C—O ee

:
:

DISTRIBUTION OF THE MUSK-OX IN GREENLAND. 43

western coast of Greenland, where the great glaciers that debouch
into Melville Bay, seem to have set a limit to their southern
wanderings on that side. In the above-quoted article I referred
to all the information then available regarding the distribution of
the Musk-ox in Greenland, but since then considerable additions
to our knowledge of the subject have been made. In the year

1892, Lieutenant Peary made his marvellous journey with the

Norwegian, Astrup, from their winter quarters in Murchison
Sound, on the west side of Greenland, across the inland ice,
to what may prove to be the north-eastern point of Greenland
proper. It was on July 4th, 1892, that Peary and Astrup
reached the limit of their adventurous journey, and, in honour
of the day, Peary gave the name of Independence Bay to the
spot. He tells us that the day was delightfully warm and
calm. The position of Observation Point on Navy Cliff, over-
looking Independence Bay, was fixed as 81° 37’ N. lat., and
34° 5’ W. long. ‘They found flowers of various kinds blooming
in abundance, conspicuous among them being the ever-present
Arctic poppy. Snow Buntings, two or three Sandpipers, a single
Gerfalcon, and a pair of Ravens were observed. Two Humble-
bees, several butterflies, and innumerable flies were also noted.
As for Musk-oxen, their traces were to be found on every moun-
tain and in every valley; without making any particular search
they saw twenty and killed two, but all of them might have been
obtained without the least difficulty.

The position thus determined by Peary on the north-east
coast of Greenland is about two hundred and seventy geographical
miles north of the extreme point attained by the German Expedi-
tion of 1869-70, under Koldewey. There is no reason to sup-
pose that there is any interruption in the range of the Musk-ox
along the east coast line between these two points. Lieutenant
Ryder, of the Danish Royal Navy, in his exploration of East
Greenland in 1891-92, met with Musk-oxen in Jameson’s
Land, thus establishing the range of this animal on the east
coast of Greenland to midway between the parallels of 70° and
waco N..

The distribution of the Musk-ox along the shores of Green-
land covers an immense coast-line; we have traced it from
Polaris Bay, on the north-west side of Greenland, from about
81° N., to Independence Bay on the north-east coast in about the

E 2

44 ; THE ZOOLOGIST.

same latitude, and from there as far south as the seventieth
parallel. On the east coast of Greenland the range of the Musk-
ox in a line drawn over the map from north to south embraces at
least seven hundred geographical miles.

THE BEAVER IN NORWAY.* -
By A. J. Ousen, Inspector of Schools.

On July 14th, 1892, I looked into the laboratory of the
Museum to take leave of the taxidermist and to give him some
instructions, as I was about to start on a mountain excursion.
Lying on his table was an entire Beaver, very big and exceedingly
fat. In reply to my question where it came from he handed. me a
telegram from the bailiff Kolbenstvedt, to the effect that the animal
in question had been confiscated by him as having been killed in
Suldal during the close-season. As luck would have it, my journey
lay through Suldal, and would thus afford me an opportunity of
determining whether the species could be included in the Fauna
of the Stavanger Amt—as actually born and bred at Suldal in the
circle of its family—or whether it only belonged to the category of
those rari nantes from Telemarken that may have strayed across
the mountains to Suldal. For I had not previously heard of the
Beaver in this Amt.

The captain of a Suldal steamer, Mr. Kolbenstvedt, promised
to collect for me all possible information on this point during
my absence, and on my return he communicated to me the
following :— i apg

“In the beginning of this century there was a Beaver colony
near the farm Sandvig, on the south side of the Suldal lake. The.
colony emigrated from here in the thirties, but was discovered |
later on the Forlands islands in the Suldal river. These flat:
islands, covered with abundant deciduous timber, and situated!
in the middle of the stream (which here, in point of breadth,,
compares favourably with the biggest rivers of the east country —:
e.g., the Glommen), must have afforded an admirable retreat for:

* Translated from the ‘Stavanger Museums Aars-beretning’ (Stavanger,
1893), and communicated by Mr. G. N. Douglass, |

THE BEAVER IN NORWAY. 45

these retired and circumspect animals. Still they may not have
subsisted here in any great numbers, as it was only complete
ignorance of their existence which led to the present speci-
men being killed, in a ditch along the main road through
Suldal, near the farm Kvalstad. But in this manner, having
once ascertained their existence, one has been able to find
undoubted traces of them, not only at Suldalslaagen, but at
several other places in Suldal. Near a mountain cottage called
Gaaringsmoen, Beaver-huts, in course of construction, have been
discovered.”

Besides these data furnished by Captain Kolbenstvedt, I am
informed by the merchant K. Bertelsen that during a shooting trip
in the autumn (1892) he had observed, near the farm Naerheien in
Suldal, and at a height of about 600-800 feet above the sea,
a considerable number of trees which had, without doubt, been
felled by Beavers. He had taken away some chips of wood that
were, incontestably, the work of this the largest Norwegian
rodent. He found no Beaver dwellings, but some cut-off stocks
of wood had been brought (by Beavers) to the bank of a little
river and there arranged in order, so that this might be supposed
to be the beginning of a hut. Along the bank he also saw a big
hole which, he presumed, had been dug by them.

It is thus proved that the Beaver is an inhabitant of the
Stavanger Amt, but whether it occurs in more localities than at
Suldal is still an open question. Now that our sportsmen and
anglers have had their attention drawn to this fact, this species
may be discovered in other parts of Ryfylke, where the natural
conditions seem adapted to its mode of life.

Inasmuch as the Beaver may only be shot during the months
of August, September, and October, and since for killing it out of
season there is a fine of 80 crowns, applicable to all who participate
in this infraction—so that the three men who killed the specimen
referred to had to pay 240 crowns between them—it is possible
that this species may spread in the fjord districts of the govern-
ment; but it is doubtful whether an animal, which was so
exceedingly valuable in former times, will ever again be shot with
profit. The Beaver is not so prolific as other rodents; added
to this, neither the skin nor the castorewm—at one time so highly
esteemed—is in such demand as formerly.

As every animal killed in contravention of the law belongs

46 THE ZOOLOGIST.

to the proprietor of the soil, the Museum authorities have had
the skin of the present specimen valued by a furrier, who
estimated it at 15 crowns; the castorewm, submitted to an
‘apothecary, was judged, according to its weight, to be worth
about 14 crowns. The skin might have fetched a slightly higher
price at another season of the year, but can hardly be worth
more. We thus find that a full-grown Beaver cannot be valued
at much more than about 380 crowns. Still this is such a large
sum that one should advise the landowners to protect these
animals, as one of the resources of their farms, and by means of
which a fair revenue can be made in bad times.

The Beaver is not really a noxious animal, except where it
lives in large numbers. Then it is that the trees suffer; but, as
it is of sedentary habits, it will not be difficult to restrict it
within reasonable limits.

NOTES on toe ORNITHOLOGY or NORTHAMPTONSHIRE
AND NEIGHBOURHOOD.

By tae Ricut Hon. Lorp Litrorp, F.L.S.

I contTinvE my notes from the end of 18938 (Zool. 1894,

Dp. 221) 2—
JANUARY, 1894.

2nd. I received a Mealy Redpoll, ‘in the flesh,” from Mr. W.
Tomalin, of Northampton, who informed me that it had been
taken by a birdcatcher near Roade a few days previously. Very
few occurrences of this species in Northamptonshire have hitherto
come to my knowledge.

6th. Mr. Walter Stopford informed me that he noticed nine
Dabchicks diving in a small ‘‘ wake” in the ice on our river near
Islip—25 degrees of frost.

10th. A fine old male Pochard was brought to me, killed to-day
near Tichmarsh Mill.

11th. Our schoolmaster reported to me that a pair of Green
Woodpeckers had for some days been actively engaged in pulling
out the reeds with which the school-house is thatched over,

13th. I was informed of the passage over Pilton, on 9th inst,
of forty-two Wild Geese.

24th. I received from Mr. F. B. Simpson a stuffed specimen

ORNITHOLOGY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 47

of Grey Plover, Squatarola helvetica, with the information that it
had been shot near Barrowden, in Rutland, about Dec. 6th ult.
This is the first bird of this species, killed in our neighbourhood,
that has come into my hands.

31st. A beautiful adult Kittiwake was picked up dying on the

_ road near Aldwincle, and brought to me dead.

FEBRUARY.

11th. Under this date the Rev. Henry H. Slater, of Thorn-
haugh (to whom I am indebted for many interesting notes),
writes, “‘ Rook carrying stick to the rookery.” For brevity’s sake,
I shall refer for the future to Mr. Slater’s communications with
the initials H. H.S.

14th. A great many Hawfinches about the pleasure-grounds
at Lilford.

15th. A large flock of small Gulls observed near Thorpe
Waterville by W. Edwards.

18th. Stock Doves paired. Green Woodpeckers still busy at
thatch of school-house, Lilford (see Jan. 11).

19th. “A curious season: some Partridges were paired before
ist inst.; most are now, but some coveys show no signs yet. A
lot of nineteen together.’”—H. H. S.

22nd. A small string of Wigeon on our decoy; one of them
taken to-day, and sixteen yesterday, with eleven Mallard and
three Teal, in the two “ drives.”

28. My two tame Ravens busy at making a nest in a large
beech-tree close to the house. These birds, of which the male is
Dutch and the female from Andalucia, have each one wing cut,
not pinioned, but are otherwise in complete liberty.

MARCH.

lst. My falconer tells me that some Long-eared Owls (of which
species I have turned out several during the last few years) have
taken up their quarters in a plantation near his house, and are to
be heard thereabouts every night.

3rd. ‘* Rooks lining their nests with moss and grass; a pair in
coitu, but some only beginning to think of repairing their nests.” —
a HS.

llth. Pied Wagtails re-appearing about Lilford in force.
“Pied Wagtails back, and inspecting their last year’s nest at
Thornhaugh.”—H. H, 8.

48 THE ZOOLOGIST.

12th. Two Canada Geese seen near Wadenhoe by my son.
These birds are wanderers from Mr. H. 8. O’Brien’s lake at
Blatherwyche; a few visit us annually, but this is the first report
of them that has reached me for this year. Mr. John Crisp
informs me of an unusual number of Wigeon on our river near
Elton.

14th. Twenty-five Wigeon on our decoy-pool.

17th. ‘Green Sandpiper on Lowick brook.”—H.H.8S. This
is rather an unusual time, in my experience, for the appearance
of this erratic species in our neighbourhood, although I have
records of its occurrence therein for every month of the year.

18th. The decoy-man reports six Swans, apparently Whoopers, |
near the decoy. ;

19th. ‘At dusk a Woodcock flew near me in the Bedford
Purleus, uttering the curious half-grunt, half-squeak, that they
use only during the breeding season. Rooks have eggs. Sawa
Cuckoo. Viper out basking. "—H.H.8. A Stock Dove sitting
on two eggs near the house at Lilford.

21st. The falconer assures me that he has known of Song
Thrushes’ nests with eggs for more than a fortnight past. I
received a letter from Mr. G. Charlton, informing me that on the
18th inst. he observed hundreds of Starlings hawking for insects,
as is their common habit in summer, near Boughton, Kettering.
Tawny Owl sits with three eggs near Lilford.

24th. First eggs of Peewit brought in. 3

25th. Under this date Mr. Thos. W. Fitzwilliam informed me
that several pairs of Rooks were nesting in the Heronry at
Milton. ;

29th. A Green Sandpiper was taken at the decoy and brought
to me alive. ‘This bird is still alive and thriving in our aviary
(Jan. 7th, 1895). The falconer tells me that he noticed three
Pied Woodpeckers this morning on the same tree—no doubt love-
making; this species, though not very rare, can hardly be
considered as common in our immediate neighbourhood.

APRIL. i
2nd. The falconer, who climbed to the Raven’s nest to-day
(see Feb. 28th), told me that it contained three eggs, and
that both parent birds attacked him savagely. This nest is
situated at about 18 ft. from the ground, and although it can be

ORNITHOLOGY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 49

seen from several windows on the western side of the house, is so
artfully placed between thick branches at their junction with the
main trunk that it is impossible to see what it contains without
climbing.

8rd. The Rey. S. Baker, of Hargrave, informs me that a white

‘Hedgesparrow is constantly frequenting that neighbourhood.

4th. “ Fieldfares still about this morning. I think that I saw
them start northwards. They were feeding about in a grass field
at 10 a.m., and all (about fifty) shortly mustered on an oak-tree
in the middle of the field. Ina quarter of an hour or so, after
chattering a good deal, they set off in a compact body, rising
high in the air, towards N.W.’—H. H. S.

21st. A nest of the Little Owl in stump of elm in the deer-
park at Lilford contained four eggs.

27th. ‘‘Grasshopper Warblers in full song in Bedford Purlieus.
I timed one to-day—twenty-one continuous minutes with only the
minute momentary breaks when breath was hastily taken.”—
fe. 1.8.

28th. A Kestrel’s egg found in Stock Dove’s nest in hollow
elm in the deer-park at Lilford, with one egg of rightful possessor.

30th. The tame Ravens have now four young and an egg un-
hatched in their nest.

May. |

2nd. Mr. G. Nevile reported that he had seen a Redshank two
or three days ago near Aldwincle.

4th. One of our keepers found another nest of the Little Owl
containing six eggs in the deer-park at Lilford.

]9th. I received a nest and two eggs of Grasshopper Warbler
from the Rev. H. H. Slater, who wrote as foliows, under date of
17th inst.:—‘‘ I found a nest of Grasshopper Warbler to-day near
Twywell, with six eggs. We had to cut more than a square yard
of grass down with a pocket-knife before we could find the nest.
These were the most handsomely marked eggs of this bird
that I ever saw, and this is, so far as I remember, the ninth
nest that I have found. ‘The nest was situated on the side of a
grassy bank (the grass two feet high), interspersed with small
thorn and other bushes, by the side of ‘'wywell Brook.’—H.H.S.
I have stated these details at length as although, from many
reports sent to me, it is evident that the Grasshopper Warbler
has of late years become a regular and not uncommon summer

50 THE ZOOLOGIST.

visitor to our county, it is not, and never was, common in the
immediate neighbourhood of Lilford, and the nest and eggs here

referred to are the only Northamptonshire specimens that I
have seen.

20th. Seven degrees of frost. The falconer reports a female
Peregrine seen this morning close to the house at Lilford.

23rd. Hundreds of House Martins flocking about the lee-
sides of the house at Lilford seeking protection from the bitter
N.E. wind.

25th. I watched a pair of Coal Tits feeding their young in the
wall of a sunk fence close to the house for several minutes: the
only food that was brought to the brood during my observation
consisted of small green larve, all taken from a neighbouring
beech-tree. Our Cuckoos, which were apparently in about their
average numbers at Lilford, and very clamorous till about the
11th inst., have become entirely silent, possibly absent, since the
present spell of wintry weather commenced.

JUNE.

3rd. We found a nest of Spotted Flycatcher in the flower-
garden, with eggs, in a somewhat unusual situation—the centre of
a thick bush of variegated holly at about four feet from the ground.

9th. I noticed more Swifts at Lilford than I ever remember
to have seen there before, except at the end of July. I must
mention that many summers pass without my observing more
than three or four of this species near our house till the period of
southward migration. On this day I must have seen fifty or
more over the river. The House Martins are still swarming
about the house (where they never build), although the wind has
veered to 8.E., and the weather is warm.

19th. Some fifty House Martins, all old birds, still about the —

house at Lilford, though I cannot hear of a nest within a mile.
Flycatchers are comparatively scarce with us this year.

21st. A pinioned Gadwall brought off a brood of eight young
at our park-pond.

24th. One of our gamekeepers assured me that he had seen a
Kestrel stoop at and knock over a young rabbit that managed to
escape by struggling into a thick fence. The same keeper tells
me that there are more Nightjars about our woods than he ever
saw there during the last twenty-five years.

ORNITHOLOGY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 51

JULY.

11th. I was assured by a lady who lives at Stoke Doyle that
there is a brood of Little Owls in an old wall in that village.

20th. My son reports swarms of Starlings devouring the
“fly” on pea-fields near Achurch.

26th. To-day, and for several days past, I have remarked that
Woodpeckers of our three species have been unusually clamorous
in the elm-trees close to the house. Sultry heat after heavy rain.

27th. The falconer, who went to search for young Hobbies in
their favourite wood, only saw one old bird of this species, and
could not discover a nest.

29th. Many young Swallows and House Martins about the
house; of the latter species I had hardly seen one here since
June 20th ult.

30th. Little Owls very noisy close to the house between
8 and 9 p.m.

AUGUST.

2nd. A pair of Swallows have a nest, full of young birds,
under a rustic bridge near our boat-house, about three feet above
the water.

6th. An immature Shag was brought to me alive, taken at
Stanground, Peterborough, on 3rd inst.

18th. Two Curlews going westward over Wigsthorpe Wolds;
first report of season. Mr. Walter Stopford tells of a few Swifts
still lingering at Tichmarsh.

16th. First report for the season of Whimbrel; a solitary
bird seen at Little Houghton, Northampton.

17th. I noticed a very large gathering of Swallows, chiefly
young birds, on the willows by the river, just below Lilford.

20th. I had two very near views of a young male Goldeneye
from my boat on the river, about half a mile below Lilford. This
is a remarkably early date for the appearance of this species in
our neighbourhood.

21st. Total disappearance of all Hirundines from Lilford.

26th. Green Sandpiper at park-pond; first of this autumn.
Green Woodpecker very busy after ants in the interstices of our
garden-balustrades.

27th. Teal on the decoy; first report of this season, First
report of Snipe for this season.

52 THE ZOOLOGIST.

SEPTEMBER.

Ist. A young female Montagu’s Harrier, found alive, but
desperately wounded, in a field of barley near Thorpe Waterville,
and brought to me. Upon enquiry, I found that this bird, that
had been haunting the neighbourhood, and was reported to me
under various designations, during the last fortnight, was shot. by
a lout in standing barley on 81st ult.; he did not take the trouble
to look for it, but it was found this morning by a man at work
with a mowing-machine, who picked it up, dashed it against the
machine, and threw it away. This man told his employer, who
found the unhappy bird still alive, put it out of its misery,
collected a good many of its scattered feathers, and sent the bird
with them to me. This is the first Northamptonshire specimen
of this Harrier that I have ever heard of. With reference to the.
reports to which I have above referred, I may mention that I had
been told of a Kite, an Osprey, and a Buzzard, as seen at various
times, and by various people, in the neighbourhood of Thorpe,
Aldwincle, and Wadenhoe; and I have not the slightest doubt
that all these reports were founded upon the appearance of this.
Harrier. |

2nd. Mr. W. Edwards told me of having on several recent
occasions noticed a Greenfinch near Thorpe, with many white
feathers in wing and tail.

3rd. I observed some half-dozen Herring Gulls circling about
high in air, and very clamorous, over Lilford.

6th. My son shot a young female Sparrowhawk that dashed
at one of his dummy Wood Pigeons on a pea-field near Ald-
wincle.

10th. First Wigeon of the season, taken on the decoy. First
report of Grey Wagtail at Wadenhoe Locks. ‘Tern, in all pro-
bability S. fluviatilis, reported by the decoy-man and others as"
seen about the river about a mile below Thrapston.

llth. Whilst following the Bucks Otter Hounds this morning,
I noticed that a young Coot, flushed by the hounds from a river-
side-spinney near Tichmarsh, was furiously mobbed and pursued
by many House and Sand Martins, who kept stooping at it after
it settled on the river, at perhaps 100 O yenes from the spot whence
it was first started.

15th and 16th. I received reports from one of the game«

ORNITHOLOGY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 53

keepers, and from my daughter-in-law, of a very large raptorial
bird seen near Aldwincle. The former informant stated that it
was ‘“‘many sizes larger than the Kite,” lege Harrier; and the
latter, that it seemed to be fully as large in spread of wings as a
Heron. 16th. Four Wigeon on the decoy.

19th. First report of Redwings; four seen on Pilton.

21st. I noticed a few Reed Warblers still lingering amongst
the osiers just below Lilford.

24th. Mr. W. Tomalin reported a bird, that can hardly have
been other than Great Crested Grebe, as observed on the river
between Lilford and Oundle.

26th. First report for the season of Golden Plover, seen by
my son near Aldwincle.

30th. The only Corncrake killed on our shootings this year
was shot to-day on Achurch.

OcTOBER.

Ist. First Jack Snipe of season, killed in a piece of seed-
clover on Aldwincle. ‘‘ Small flock of Fieldfares (first report) on
Sutton Heath.’”—H. H. 8S.

8rd. First reports for the season of Merlin and Common Red-
polls, at Lilford. |

4th. First report of Bramblings near Lilford.

13th. First report of Siskins, between Achurch and Thorpe.

15th. One of our gamekeepers, a Highlander from Inverness-
shire, assured me that he this morning saw a large dark-coloured
Eagle fly over within 100 yards of him near Sudborough. Wood-
cocks (first reports of season) from Burghley and Glapthorn.

18th. A Little Auk, picked up yesterday at Luddington, was
brought to me alive, but dying. Another specimen of this
species was picked up near Stamford within a day or two of this
date. ‘

19th. An Eagle was seen flying over Oundle Wood by two
gamekeepers, and reported to me by the Rev. Ed. Moore, of
Benefield Rectory.

22nd. Asmall flock of Wild Geese seen by my son on Achurch.

27th. I received a stuffed specimen of Crossbill, in the green
plumage, from Mr. G. Bazeley, of Northampton, who informed
me that it was one of several that had been sent to him, killed
out of a large flock that had been haunting Harlestone Firs for

54 THE ZOOLOGIST.

some time past. My son told me of seeing a Short-eared Owl on
Wigsthorpe Wolds to-day. My trained Goshawk, “Jessica,”
received from France as a nestling in the summer of 1893, and a
really good rabbit-hawk, took her first hare to-day.

30th. Young Rooks crying loudly from a nest in tall elm-tree
near Thorpe Station.

NOVEMBER.

5th. My son, who was shooting on Pilton to-day, tells me
that they put a Little Owl and a Barn Owl together out of some
old bushy stone-pits.

éth. Mr. G. Bazeley (cf. 27th ult., supra) tells me that Harle-
stone Firs have suddenly been invaded by large numbers of Jays,
of which species hardly any had been seen there for several
months. He adds that the Crossbills have entirely quitted that
locality, and attributes their disappearance to the advent and
persecution of the Jays. A beautiful old female Peregrine was
shot whilst carrying off a Pigeon near Peakirk, and sent to me in
the flesh by her destroyer, who informed me that he had been
told that his victim was a “ Humming Buzzard” (sic). He also
told me that he had killed an Osprey during barley-harvest, in
the same district, some years ago.

7th. Wood Pigeons coming in swarms to feed on the fallen
beech-mast about Lilford.

Sth. I received, from Mr. G. Bazeley, a stuffed specimen |
(immature) of Common Tern, killed at Ravensthorpe Reservoir —

on 81st ult., a very late date for this species in our county.

10th. The falconer tells me of having recently noticed a very |

unusual abundance of Kestrels and Sparrowhawks, and two Pere-
grines, close to the house at Lilford; and to-day a great passage
of Peewits towards the south.

11th. I heard, from Mr. William Bazeley, of many Kittiwakes |

about the meadows near Northampton, and that he had received
a Great Northern Diver for preservation that was killed at
Ravensthorpe Reservoir on 6th inst. I may add that this bird,
a female in immature plumage, was subsequently most courteously

presented to me by Mr. John Ewnson, C.E., and is the first ©

Northamptonshire specimen of which I have personal know-
ledge. Mr. W. Tomalin, however, informs me that a Great

Northern Diver was killed at Kingsthorpe about 1855, by a |

ORNITHOLOGY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 55

cousin of his, Mr. Richard Dunkley, after a severe storm in the
month of November.

16tn. The decoy-man reports a single Whimbrel near the
decoy; he is well acquainted with the differences between this

bird and the Curlew, and I have no reason to doubt his accuracy ;
but this is a most unusual time of year for the appearance of
-Whimbrel in this neighbourhood, although many travel up our
valley in August and September, and we generally see a few
during the return passage in May. A Common Guillemot was
caught alive by a shepherd at Kislingbury, and taken alive by

him to Mr. Chas. Watts, of Kislingbury House, who was good
enough to make me a present of the bird, stuffed by Mr. G.

Bazeley. This is the first Northamptonshire Guillemot that
I have hitherto seen, or, to the best of my recollection, ever

heard of.

18th. About thirty Golden Plovers feeding on the meadows
near the decoy.

19th. Two Swans on the flood-water near Achurch.

23rd. A female Pintail dropped into the decoy with a bunch
of Teal at morning flight time.

26th. Mr. G. Nevile assured me that there are three broods
of young Rooks just out of their nests in high elms at Pilton.

DECEMBER.

3rd—s1st. A good many Mallard, and a few other fowl, on
the decoy ; but they were all what the decoy-man calls “ stiff,”
and would not work to the dog. Our total catch since the last
week of November inclusive only amounted to sixty head, con-
sisting of thirty-nine Mallard, fifteen Teal, one Gadwall, one
Pochard, three Wigeon, and last, not least, a very beautiful
hybrid male of Teal and Mallard. This is without doubt of the
race originally described by Pennant under the name of “ Bi-
maculated Duck,” and subsequently wrongly identified as Anas
and Querquedula glocitans, to which species it has a certain
resemblance in colour ; but this specimen is considerably larger
than the latter bird, and is, in fact, well described and figured
in ‘Yarrell,’ 2nd ed. vol. iii. p. 260, under the heading of “ Bi-
maculated Duck, A. glocitans.” I may mention that this is the
first specimen of this hybrid that I ever saw. Amongst the “fowl”
that appeared on our decoy during this month were several

56 ee _.THE ZCOLOGIST.

Pochards and a male Shoveller. With regard to the only one of
the former species taken, pinioned, and put upon our park-pond, —
it is perhaps worthy of mention that she was soon joined there by |
a wild male of her kind, who still remains Jan. 16th, 1895) in |
her close vicinity.

I append reports of first appearances of spring and summer
migrants in our county. In instances where no special locality
is mentioned, Lilford is to be understood :—March 9th, Chiff-
chaff, Warmington; 14th, Woodcocks, Thornhaugh (H. H.S.);_
19th, Cuckoo, Thornhaugh (H.H.8.) ; 22nd, Wheatear. April —
8rd, Swallow, Barton Segrave; 4th, Sand Martin, Lowick; 5th, |
Wryneck, Blackcap, Barton Segrave; 7th, Willow Wren, Red-—
start; 9th, Tree Pipit, Grasshopper Warbler, Thornhaugh >
(H.H.S.); Nightingale; 12th, Sedge Warbler, Whinchat; 13th,
Ray’s Wagtail; 16th, House Martin; 18th, Whitethroat, Red-
shank; 21st, Garden Warbler; 28th, Lesser Whitethroat; 29th, —
Corncrake. May Ist, Reed Warbler; 5th, Swift, Hobby; 8th,
Turtle Dove; 10th, Spotted Flycatcher; 11th, Common Sand-
piper; 18th, Wood Warbler.

RARE BRITISH BIRDS IN THE HUMBER DISTRICT.

By Joun CorpEAvx.

In ‘The Zoologist’ for 1891, pp. 361-367, I have given a list
of some of the rarer birds which have occurred in the Humber
District during the ten years preceding that date; since this
there have been several occurrences of rare wanderers, the records |
of which are now collected and brought together for the first time.

Rina Ovze., Turdus torquata (L.), var. alpestris (C. L.
Brehm).—On February 25th, 18938, Mr. Hewetson, of Leeds,
and I saw two apparently adult males near the coastguard-
station of Kilnsea; these, both on the ground and when in flight,
showed much more white on the wings and flank than the ordinary
and common type which occurs on the east cuast of Yorkshire so |
regularly on migration in the autumn (‘ The Naturalist,’ 1893,
p. 105). Subsequently one was obtained in the same neighbour-
hood, which I saw; this was unquestionably referable to the |

RARE BRITISH BIRDS IN THE HUMBER DISTRICT. 57

form distinguished as Turdus alpestris by C. L. Brehm, which
inhabits the alpine regions of Central and Southern Europe. I
am inclined to think this race, or rather species, as recently
_ revised by Dr. Stejneger and Mr. Seebohm, occurs on migration
more commonly on our east coast than we are aware of. [See
_ the remarks by Mr. John Young on Turdus alpestris in Hungary
_ further on (pp. 66, 67).—Ep.]
BLACK-THROATED CuHa'r, Sazicola stapazina, Vieillot. — A
_ russet-coloured Wheatear, with the sides of the head and throat
black, apparently an adult male, was seen by Mr. Hewetson and
_ his sons on Sept. 18th, 1892, near the chalk embankment of the
Spurn. Mr. Hewetson wrote, “I was quite close to it for some
time.” Ifthe sketch of the bird, which he obligingly sent me, is
_ quite correct as to the extension of the black to the lower part of
the throat, it is more probable that this was S. melanoleuca
_ (Giild.), the eastern form of S. stapazina (Zool. 1892, p. 424;
Nat. 1893, p. 7).

BuvetHroat, Cyanecula suecica (L.). — On Sept. 20th, 1892,
Mr. G. H. Caton Haigh saw an immature Bluethroat in a hedge
at North Cotes. It came out on a twig within three feet of his
face. Subsequently he shot it, but, being only winged, it suc-
ceeded in escaping in the dense covert. One was also seen and
recognised at the Spurn on Sept. 22nd in the same year (Zool.
1892, p. 417; Nat. 1893, p. 9).

BarrReED WARBLER, Sylvia nisoria (Bechstein). — Besides the
one already recorded from Spurn in 1884, another, an immature
_ bird, was shot by Mr. G. W. Jalland, of Hull, at Hasington, in
_ Holderness, close to the coast, on Oct. 19th, 1892. This is now
in the Science and Art Museum, Edinburgh (Zool. 1892, p. 424;
| Nat. 1893, p. 14). <A third, an immature male, was shot at
_ Kilnsea by Mr. G. E. Clubley, on Nov. 13th, 1893, and is now in
_ Mr. J. H. Gurney’s collection (Nat. 1894, p. 15). Inthe autumn
of 1894 Mr. Jalland saw a bird, presumably of this species, in a
hedge close to the village of Easington, but failed to get it; and
in the same season Mr. F. Boyes, of Beverley, wrote, in ‘The
Field’ of Dec. 29th, that an immature Barred Warbler was shot
near Skirlaugh by Mr. Darley, a birdstuffer in Hull, on Sept.
3rd. This makes five examples seen and four obtained in Holder-
ness in ten years.

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL, XIX.—FEB, 1895, F

58 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Srperran Wittow Wren, Phylloscopus borealis. —On Nov.
21st, 1894, after some very heavy gales from N. and N.E., when
out walking on the headland, Mr. Bailey, of Flamborough, and
I, saw, on the lee-side of a plantation near the old lighthouse,
a Willow Wren with a very distinct wing-bar; we watched it for
some minutes, and, with the occasional aid of a giass, at the
distance of a few feet. Subsequently I was able to establish the
identity of the bird, from notes taken at the time, with P. borealis,
and also from skins in Mr. Dresser’s collection (Nat. 1894, p. 40;
Zool. 1894, p. 125, footnote). Is also recorded in Mr. Bailey’s
list of birds in ‘Flamborough Village and Headland,’ 1894,
p. 156; but the year was 1893, not 1894, as printed in this
excellent guide-book.

YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER, Phylloscopus superciliosus (J. F.
Gmelin).—One was shot on Oct. 13th, 1892, from a hedge at
North Cotes, by Mr. G. H. Caton Haigh, of Grainsby Hall.
This is now in Mr. Haigh’s collection (Zool. 1892, p. 413; Nat.
1893, p. 10). Mr. F. Boyes, of Beverley, recorded three shot by
Mr. Swailes, the nurseryman at Beverley, from the gardens, on
Oct. 8th and following days (‘The Field,’ Oct. 27th, 1894), and
one of these was secured by Mr. W. Eagle Clarke for the Science
and Art Museum, Edinburgh; see Zool. 1894, p. 459.

FiRE-CRESTED Wren, Regulus ignicapillus (C. L. Brehm).—
One, a fine adult male, Easington, in Holderness, on Oct. 15th,
1892. Came in with an extraordinary immigration of Gold-
crested Wrens at that date (Zool. 1892, p.418; Nat. 1893, p. 11).

RED-BREASTED FriycatcH: Rr, Muscicapa parva, Bechstein.—
This example, shot at Scarborough on Oct. 23rd, 1889, 18,41
am informed, not in the possession of Mr. J. H. Gurney of ©
Keswick Hall, as stated by me (Zool. 1891, p. 362), but in the ©
collection of Sir V. H. Harpur Crewe, Calke Abbey, Derbyshire. |

GREENLAND ReEppouu, Acanthis hornemanni, Holboéll; the —
Lnnaria canescens of Gould.—On Feb. 25th, 1892, Mr. Hewetson
and I saw a most beautiful example, presumably of this large
arctic Redpoll, clinging to the dead stalk of a thistle on Kiln-
sea Common. It was with Snow Buntings, remaining after
these had flown, and fortunately allowed us a very close in-
spection (Nat. 1893, p. 104). In 1894 Mr. Hewetson obtained a
Redpoll, shot in the winter of 1892, and which had been kept
since that time by Mr. P, Loten, the birdstuffer at Easington, in —

a1 =

RARE BRITISH BIRDS IN THE HUMBER DISTRICT. 59

a closet in his room. This also is a most beautiful bird, and is
probably referable to the Linota exilipes of Coues, which appears
to differ from the Greenland bird only in its somewhat smaller
size and proportions. It was sent by Mr. Hewetson to Lord

Lilford, and I understand will shortly be figured in the ‘ Illus-
trations of British Birds.’ Mr. Loten remembers that two

others of the same sort were brought to him last winter, but

were unfortunately eaten by a cat. Fringilla linaria, Linn.,

is a common visitor on migration in the Spurn district, the
larger races of the northern Redpolls being also occasionally
met with.

_WHITE-THROATED Buntine, Zonotrichia albicollis, Bonap.—
One was shot on Feb. 13th, 18938, bv Mr. G. W. Jalland, of
Holderness House, in his garden. This bird, now in Mr.

_ Jalland’s collection, is an adult male in winter plumage (Zool.

1893, pp. 149-50; Nat. 1893, pp. 113-14). This very beautiful

_ specimen of the American White-throated Sparrow or Bunting
_ was preserved and set up by Mr. Philip Loten. of Easington.

LapnanD Buntina, Calcarius lapponicus (L.).—On May 11th,

1893, Mr. M. Bailey and I saw a fine adult male in summer
plumage on Bempton Cliffs (Zool. 1893, p. 225; Nat. 1893,

p. 203). In the winter of the same year very considerable flocks
occurred at Flamborough and on the Lincolnshire coast (Zool.
1894, p. 19; Nat. 1894, p. 39).

Snowy Own, Nyctea scandiaca (L.).—One, fully adult, was
seen in a field close to the coast at Easington, on Sept. 27th,
1891, by myself, Mr. Hewetson, and Mr. H. Marsh of Leeds, and
others (‘The Field,’ Oct. 3rd, 1891; Nat. 1891, p. 359).

Ruppy S#eiprake, Tadorna casarca (L.).—A female bird of
this species, now in Mr. G. H. Caton Haigh’s collection, was
shot on Humberstone fitties on Sept. Ist, 1892 (Zool. 1892,
p. 334; Nat. 1893, p.8). See also Zool. 1892, p. 392.

CRANE, Grus communis, Bechstein.—One, an immature bird,
was shot on the South Cliff Farm, Flamborough, in February,
1892 (Nat. 1893, p. 203). [Since then an adult Crane in abraded
plumage, but apparently a wild bird, was shot at Benacre, near
Lowestoft, in June, 1893, as recorded by Lieut.-Col. Butler
(Zool. 1898, p. 813).—Ep.]

F 2

60 THE ZOOLOGIST.

ON THE VARIATIONS OF THE VIPER (VIPERA BERUS)
IN DENMARK.

By G. A. Bouutencer, F.R.S.

Mr. G. F. L. Sarauw, of Copenhagen, has most kindly fur-
nished me with an extensive series of Vipers collected in various
parts of Denmark, mostly during the past year. Owing to the
interest attached to individual variations in this difficult group of
Snakes, and to the importance of establishing the characters by
which Vipera berus is to be distinguished from its nearest allies,
V. ursinii, V. renardi, and V. aspis,it may be useful to record
the results of my examination, and to compare the range of
variation in this limited area with that ascertained in Great
Britain, as reported in this Journal three years ago (1892,
pp. 87—93).

The specimens sent me by Mr. Sarauw are from the following
localities :—

1. Near Copenhagen, N. Seeland (1 spec.).

2. Knudskov, W. of Vordingbor, 8. Seeland (18 specs.).

38. Skaarup, E. of Svendborg, S. Fyen (1 spec.).

4. Glamsbjerg, E. of Assens, S.W. Fyen (7 specs.).

5. Bonnelykke, Longelsi Sogn, Langeland (1 spec.).

6. Near Aalborg, N. Jutland (1 spec.).

7. Hogholt, E. of Hjérring, N. Jutland (1 spec.).

8. Near Viborg, C. Jutland (14 specs.).

9. Trust, near Rodkersbro, C. Jutland (1 spec.).

10. Arsing, S.W. of Herving, C. Jutland (1 spec.).
11. Skarrild, S.W. of Herving, C. Jutland (2 specs.).

To these I am able to add four more, from Seeland, pre-
viously received from Prof. Lutken. My notes are therefore.
based on 52 specimens. |

1. Suave or Snout.—The snout is perfectly flat above in all
specimens but one. In this (from Glamsbjerg, a ?) the canthus
rostralis is somewhat raised, the snout consequently concave
above.

2. ScaLine or Heap.—In 48 specimens the frontal and parietal
shields are well developed; in 4 (Seeland, 9, Knudskov, 3 2,
Viborg, 3) the parietals are very small, or broken up into scales.
The frontal is as long as broad, or a little (not more than one-

VARIATIONS OF THE VIPER IN DENMARK. 6§1

third) longer than broad, and usually a little shorter than its
distance from the end of the snout, as long as or very slightly
longer or shorter than the parietals. In one specimen (Viborg,
3 ) the frontal is in contact on both sides with the supraocular,
in two (Knudskov, 3) on one side only; in all the others one
series of small shields separates the frontal from the supra-
ocular. The rostral is as broad as deep, or slightly (7: 6 or 8: 7)
broader than deep, or slightly (9: 8 to 6:5) deeper than broad ;
it is in contact above with two apical shields, except in 4 speci-
mens (Knudskov, ¢, Glamsbjerg, g¢, Viborg, ¢ 2), in which
the apical is single. Two specimens (Viborg, 2, Knudskov, ¢)
have a single canthal on one side; all the others have two. A
single series of scales separates the eye from the labials, except
in one specimen (Knudskov, 3), which has two complete series
on the left side, whilst on the right side the two series are
separated by a single scale between the eye and the fourth labial.
The latter arrangement is also shown on both sides in one speci-
men (Skarrild, 2), and on one side in two others (Knudskov, 3,
Glamsbjerg, 2). 6 to 12 scales (exclusive of the supraocular)
surround the eye, 8 or 9 being the usual number. The upper
labials vary from 7 to 10, the two extreme numbers occurring but
once; in 42 cases there are 9 labials, in 60 there are 8 (the
number not being always the same on both sides of the animal) ;
in 73 cases the fourth and fifth labials are below the eye, in 31
cases the fourth only.

Scatine oF Bopy anp Taru.—The scales on the body are in
21 rows, except in four specimens: one with 19 (Viborg, #), one
with 20 (Knudskov, ¢), and two with 23 (Glamsbjerg, ?, Trust,
3d). The ventral shields vary between 135 and 147 in 3, 140
and 154 in 2; the subcaudal shields between 84 and 42 in g,
28 and 38 in 2.

SizE.—The largest male specimen measures 590 millim., the
largest female 650. The length of the tail is 64 to 8 times in the
total in males, 8 to 92 times in females.

CoLoraTion.—The same amount of variation is shown as in
the British specimens, on which I have previously reported,
and the sexual differences are as a rule well marked, males
being characterized by the intensity of their black markings;
among the latter we likewise find silvery-grey, almost white, speci-
mens, with pitch-black markings, the so-called white Vipers, on

62 THE ZOOLOGIST.

which so much has been written in popular papers of late. The
red specimens, of which there are also several in the collection,
are females. Of special interest are a number (15) of black
specimens, all from the island of Seeland, where they appear to
be of common occurrence. Most of them are males, and I have
satisfied myself that the melanism is usually obtained, in that
sex, by the expansion of the black markings, as is proved beyond
a doubt by some intermediate specimens, among which is one
having the black of the back, formed by the expansion of the
vertebral band, separated from that of the sides, formed by the
coalescence of the lateral spots, by a narrow light brown undulous
stripe. In females, on the other hand, as well as occasionally in
males, the black is produced by gradual darkening of the ground
colour; so that in most cases, under certain lights, the typical
markings may still be detected. So far as we know at present,
the former type of melanism is not found in Great Britain; all
the specimens hitherto examined are of the latter type, and
females.

These observations confirm those previously made by Geithe
in Germany. Fatio had also observed among the Vipera aspis of
Switzerland that some are black through darkening of the ground
colour, and others through enlargement and confluence of the
markings.

In all the black specimens at least a few dots of whitish are
visible on the lips, and of yellow under the end of the tail. The
belly is black or dark bluish grey, uniform or with small whitish
or reddish spots ; specimens about to cast their skin may have
the ventrals almost white, with the outer ends blackish brown.
With tew exceptions the end of the tail is bright yellow or orange
beneath.

ON THE PROPER SPECIFIC NAMES OF THE COMMON
SHREWS OF ENGLAND AND THE CONTINENT.

By Ouprizritp Tuomas, F.Z.S§.

Tue extraordinary laxity which prevails in the nomenclature
of Mammals is nowhere better illustrated than in the cases of the
Common, Pigmy, and White-toothed Shrews, all three of which
have constantly been referred to by names which have over and
over again been shown to be untenable, and the present note may

SPECIFIC NAMES OF COMMON SHREWS. 63

be looked upon in the light of an appeal to zoologists in general
to use the names that are technically correct. For to go on using
names which, however familiar, are known to be wrong is the
one certain method of continuing the present confusion, to the
annoyance of our successors ; while boldly to adopt whatever names
are clearly shown to be correct will put a stop to the trouble once
for all, even if at the cost of a little temporary inconvenience to
ourselves.

The present cases are all quite straightforward, and do not
involve any rules for zoological nomenclature about which dispute
is possible; and when I recall the fact that Mr. Alston, in his
later papers, himself rejected two and clearly knew of the propriety
of changing the third of the names now objected to, few will be
found to resist the alterations proposed, except those who frankly
say they will stick to their familiar names right or wrong, and
with such persons there is no arguing.

Tue Piemy Surew (properly Sorex minutus).

This animal has been commonly called Sorex pygmeus, Pall.
(1811), but was named Sorex minutus by Linneus in 1766, and
should consequently be known by the latter name. The identity
of the two has been universally admitted, and the late Mr. Alston,
who wrote of ‘‘ Sorex minutus, Linn.,” in his ‘Fauna of Scotland,’*

was clearly right in so doing, and his example ought to be followed
by all.

THe Common Surew (properly Sorex araneus) and Tur Con-
TINENTAL WHITE-TOOTHED SHREW (Crocidura russula).

A similar mistake to the well-known one by which our Common
Hare (Lepus europeus) became christened with a name (L. tumidus)
properly appertaining to the Varying Hare, has arisen in regard
to these two Shrews, and ought to be corrected.

As in England, so in Scandinavia, the Shrews (apart from
Crossopus) are only represented by brown-toothed forms (Sorex as
restricted), and Linneus gave, in both the 10th and 12th editions
of his ‘Systema Nature,’ the name of Sorex araneus to the com:
monest species, the one we know as the Common Shrew. But in
France and Germany, where the commonest Shrew is a white-
toothed one (Crocidura), the name araneus got misapplied to that,

* Mamm. p. 10, 188

64 THE ZOOLOGIST,

and then, in default of araneus, some naturalists took Sorex
vulgaris from a technically untenable work,* while others, amongst
whom was Alston, knowing vulgaris to be unavailable, and not
venturing to try and change the name of the White-toothed Shrew,
took the next name having priority for the Brown-toothed Shrew,
Sorex tetragonurus, Herm. tf

But I venture to think that it was a mistake for these
naturalists to be so half-hearted in the matter, and that had they
then said, as I do now, that we ought to go back to Linneus’s
name Sorex araneus for the Brown-toothed Shrew, and to take
the next pertinent name, Sorex russulus, Herm., for the White-
toothed Shrew, the world would soon have followed their example,
and all further confusion and misunderstanding would have been
avoided.

I would therefore suggest, as it is never too late to mend, that
all British zoologists should now make a point of using the name
‘‘ Sorex araneus”’ for our Common Shrew, especially when writing
in such publications as ‘ The Zoologist,’ through the medium of
which this correct term will soon gain general currency. And in
the same way Crocidura russula should be used for the common
continental White-toothed Shrew.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

MAMMALIA.

The Names of the Mole.—lIn the interesting communication on this
subject by Prof. Strong (p. 11), the Scottish name is given (probably through
a Misprint) as ‘‘moudie-wort.”’ This should be of course “ warp,” being
the same as the early English given on the following page, the Lowland
Scots being an Anglo-Scandinavian dialect showing a close similarity with ©
the Icelandic. The modern Dano-Norwegian is muldvarpe ; but there is
another synonym in Danish, which may be compared with Lloyd’s Welsh
name twrch daevr, “‘earth-hog”; it is marsvin, “pig of the elves,” both
names, no doubt, arising from the elongated snout of the Mole somewhat
resembling that of a pig. The last part, ‘ warp,” seems to be the same as
‘‘ warp,” to twist or throw aside, and may arise either from the position of

* Linneus, Mus. Ad. Frid. p. 10, 1754.
+ Faun. Scotl., Mamm. p. 9, 1880; see also Proc. Zool. Soc., 1877,
, 272, footnote 1.

NOTES AND QUERIES. 65

_ the fore legs of the animal, or more probably from its twisting or throwing
aside the earth in its rapid burrowing, as seen from the surface.—HaroLpD
RaEBuRN (31, Clare Road, Halifax).

Lesser Horseshoe Bat in the Washburn Valley, Yorkshire.—On

_ Dec. 8th I was fortunate enough to meet with a good specimen of the

Lesser Horseshoe Bat, Rhinolophus hipposideros, hybernating in an old
_ coal-mine near to the head of the Washburn. I have the satisfaction of
adding this Bat to the fauna of the Washburn Valley, as I had in Nidder-
dale some years ago.—Wm. Story (Fewston Lodge, near Ouley).

Whiskered Bat in Yorkshire.—I have taken the Whiskered Bat,
Vespertilio mystacinus, several times in the Washburn Valley, as high as
900 ft, above sea-level —Ww. Storey (Fewston Lodge, near Otley).

Seasonal Changes of Colour in the Fur of Mammals: how brought
about. —I have given attention to this question for some time, and
from my observations I find I must differ from the opinion held by most
recent writers, viz., “that there are two moults in the year; so that,
in the case of animals which turn white in winter, the change is brought
about by moult.” I maintain that there is but one moult in the year,
and that takes place in the spring, and during the warm months this
moult is complete, every hair being shed; so that before the time for
taking on the winter dress arrives, the animal has an entirely new coat,
which is not shed till the following year. The period over which the
moult extends varies according to the necessities and condition of the
animal. In some animals part of the old fur remains during the greater
part of the summer, and being then old and faded, gives the animal a
peculiar summer dress, there being some lapse of time between the main
moult and the coming of the new hairs; the new coat growing beneath
these old hairs, they gradually fall out. In most instances the new coat is
darker or richer in colour than before the moult, being also much shorter
and thinner ; as autumn comes on gradually lengthening and thickening,
and by degrees changing in colour, not by moult, but by change of pigment
in the existing hairs to that of the full winter dress, which in northern
latitudes is frequently pure white.—W. EK. pe Winton (Graftonbury).

CETACEA.

Grampus on the Norfolk Coast.—'The occurrence of two very juvenile
examples of Orca gladiator on the coast of Norfolk, on Nov. 13th and 19th,
1894, is a matter of some interest, if only as indicating the season of repro-
duction of this species, of which I have seen no certain information. These
two specimens (one of which I had the opportunity of examining) were
evidently very young, and probably had not taken solid food. They
measured about 7 ft. 5 in. and 7 ft. 6 in. respectively in total length, and

66 THE ZOOLOGIST.

the one I saw was very beautifully marked, all the dorsal portion being
glossy black and the ventral surface yellowish cream-colour, which during
life was probably pure white. There was also a patch of the latter colour
commencing over the eye, and continued some distance backward. The
line of demarcation between the two colours was sharply defined, and when
nearly under the dorsal fin was directed upwards and backwards, and recurved
upon itself in a way difficult to describe in words, but very pretty in effect.
The saddle-shaped patch frequently noticed in this species was absent in
these two individuals. Possibly the two may have been the offspring of
one female, but of that I have no further evidence than that they were
apparently of the same age.—T. SourHwE Lt (Norwich).

BIRDS.

Grebes in the Washburn Valley, Yorkshire.—I have a specimen of
the Great-crested Grebe, which was picked up dead on the margin of
Swinsty Reservoir, Nov. 14th, 1894. It is a young bird, and, as far as I
can ascertain, this is the only instance of the occurrence of this species in
this valley. I have on several occasions observed the Sclavonian Grebe on
these reservoirs.— Wm. Storey (Fewston Lodge, near Otley).

Red-necked Grebe on the Solway Firth.—The Red-necked Grebe is
an irregular visitant to the north-west of England, but it generally appears
on our rivers during the prevalence of hard weather. I never happened to

come across a specimen in the pretty first plumage until last September, —

when a Red-necked Grebe arrived near Silloth on the 22nd of the month. —
It was a solitary bird, and proved to be in very perfect feather, but rather
wanting in condition.—H. A. Macpuerson (Carlisle).

Eared Grebe in the Hebrides.—The Hebrides appear to lie to the
north-west of the usual migrations of the Eared Grebe; hence we rarely
meet with this species upon our Highland lochs. The Little Grebe is, in
my experience, the commonest Grebe to be found on the north-west coast
of Scotland. The Sclavonian Grebe is also to be met with sparingly every
winter. On the other hind, the Eared Grebe so seldom wanders to the ~
Hebrides that sometimes years elapse between its known visits. In —

January, 1895, an Eared Grebe, in winter plumage, was shot in Skye by —

my keeper. We compared it with a second specimen, killed on Ulleswater
Lake about the same time. ‘There was already a fairly good series of
Sclavonian Grebes in the Carlisle Museum, but specimens of the Kared
Grebe were wanting, so that these two specimens proved very acceptable.—
H. A. Macpuerson (Carlisle).

Note on Turdus alpestris.— Whilst on a visit to some friends in Huns
gary last spring, we made an excursion up the mountains, and encamped
at an altitude of 6000 ft. We amused ourselves by birdsnesting. We

NOTES AND QUERIES, 67

were just on the higher limit of the fir-growth, where it mingles with the
creeping pine. Patches of snow lay here and there. Ring Ouzels were
abundant; we found half a dozen nests in the course of a morning’s
ramble, all containing young birds. I caught two young ones which had
left the nest; they were as wild as hawks at first, and I was obliged to
cram them, but they soon became tame and fed themselves. We conveyed
them down to the valley in a creel in company with three young Nut-
erackers which we took en route, the nest being in a young spruce not more
than twenty feet from the ground. The sexes of 7’. alpestris are dis-
tinguishable from the time they leave the nest. I brought these Ouzels
safely to England, and kept themin my sitting-room, under daily observa-
tion, where they changed, apparently without shedding a feather, into the
adult mottled plumages. I never saw a single feather either in the cage or
in the room during the whole time they were changing. ‘This strikes me
as very remarkable. ‘They are now deposited in the Zoological Gardens,
together with a specimen of JT’. torquatus. The difference between the
birds is very striking. The female of the mountain bird is much larger
than the male of the British bird; they retain their mottled plumage all
the year. They invariably breed in trees from ten to thirty feet high, and
the song approaches that of the Song Thrush. I think there can be no
doubt that 7’. alpestris is entitled to specific rank.—J. Youna (64, Hereford
Road, Bayswater, W.).

Bittern in Berkshire.—On Jan. 10th a Bittern (Botaurus stellaris) was
shot by Mr. T. Dewe, of Longworth, on land in the occupation of Mr.
Chandler, at Duxford, about six miles north-east of Faringdon, Berks.—
A. Ropinson (University Museum, Oxford).

Snipe drumming in January.—On Jan. 16th I was told by a man that
he had heard a Snipe drumming the day before, and that same evening,
whilst standing for flight-shooting, I heard a Snipe drumming close to me.
The following evening, while at the same place, I heard one again. Is this
not unusual so early in the season? Perhaps it may be accounted for by the
mildness of the weather at that time. Many Partridges have been paired
since the beginning of December.—Joun Starzs (Portchester, Hants).

Shore Lark and Black Redstart in Gloucestershire.—A male speci-
men of the Shore Lark (Otocorys alpestris) was shot at Avonmouth, October
19th, 1894, by Mr.J. R. Burge. I know of no record of this species
occurring in our district for the last thirty years. On Jan. 8th I observed
a Black Redstart (Ruticilla titys) flying about the banks of the Avon, at
Sea Mills; the bird kept very close under the bank, and, on being dis-
turbed, would fly a little way, and again alight close under the bank.
Sometimes it would fly a little way out on the mud, and, alighting on a
piece of wood or any projection, would vibrate its tail in the same way as

68 THE ZOOLOGIST.

our Common Redstart. It was shot by Mr. J. R. Burge on the 10th, and
proved to be a young male, in very poor condition; indeed, from the state of

its lungs, I have no doubt it would soon have died.—H. J. CHARBONNIER
(Clifton).

Great Northern Diver at Hastings.—On Dec. 31st I saw an imma-
ture Great Northern Diver, Colymbus glacialis, shot off Hastings Pier. Its
weight was 6 lbs. only, and it was in poor condition.—G. W. BrapsHaw.

Thick-knee in Sussex in Winter.—On Jan. 7th I had brought to me
an adult female Thick-knee or Norfolk Plover, Gidicnemus crepitans, shot
at a small stream near St. Leonards Green, which is within the boundaries —
of the towns of Hastings and St. Leonards. Weight, 1 lb. 54 oz.—
G. W. BrapsHaw (Hastings).

[The occurrence of this bird in England in winter is noteworthy, for,
except in the south-western counties of Devon and Cornwall, which seem
to come just within the northern limit of its range in winter, its stay with
us as a rule is only from April to September inclusive.—ED.]

Remarkable Invasion of Little Auks.—From all parts of the north
and north-east coast reports have reached us of the extraordinary abundance
during the month of January of the Little Auk, Mergulus alle. On the
21st of that month great numbers were observed passing south, both at
sea and along the coast, and many were cast ashore in a helpless con-
dition, exhausted in their attempts to withstand the stormy weather which
has recently prevailed. Several also have been shot by coast gunners,
while others have been picked up in a moribund state many miles from the
sea. In the neighbourhood of Redcar, Mr. Nelson reports the occurrence
of not less than two hundred and fifty, the energies of the local birdstuffers
having been taxed to the utmost to preserve the numerous specimens which

have been sent to them by persons desirous of keeping mementoes of so

curious an occurrence. Similarly at Scarborough the taxidermists have
had a busy time of it; and on the Norfolk coast Mr. J. H. Gurney has
collected records of the capture or finding of more than one hundred and
twenty of these little birds. They have indeed had a rough time of it, not
only buffeted to death by wind and wave, or shot by the coast gunners, —
but seized upon in their helpless condition by the larger Gulls, and
promptly devoured. In the stomach of a Great Black-backed Gulla Little —
Auk was found crushed but entire, and the same thing occurred in the
case of a Glaucous Gull. ‘These great birds with their powerful beaks find
no difficulty in crunching their victims till all their larger bones are
broken (just as the Heron treats a Water Rat) and then swallowing them
whole. This perhaps is not a very wonderful feat, since a Little Auk
which I received was found to weigh only 43 oz., or the average weght of
a Suipe.—J. HK. Harrine,

NOTES AND QUERIES. 69

Migration of Grouse in Winter.— We learn from several cor-
respondents that the severe weather and snow during the third week in
January caused the Grouse in Yorkshire to leave the moors in packs, and
come down to the lower grounds in search of food. Mr. R. Fortune writes
that on Jan. 21st a number of these birds made their appearance on the
‘Harrogate Corporation Farm, and in the fields along the Skipton road.
‘On the 22nd several lots were seen on the Harlow Moor and Birk Crag.
In Nidderdale also they appeared in numbers on the low ground, and about
Dacre Banks, the deep snow frozen hard on the top preventing them from
getting food in their usual haunts. On the morning of Jan. 22nd, according
to the ‘ Newcastle Daily Journal’ of the 24th, a large flock of Grouse were
seen flying over the lower part of the village of Slaley, in the direction of
Tyneside, leaving their native hills owing to the severity of the winter.
Snow for the previous three weeks covered the heather to a great depth;
whilst alternate frosts and freshets bound up the surface beyond penetration,
depriving the birds of their natural food and shelter, and causing their
departure to more genial haunts. An exodus of this kind is of extremely
rare occurrence; the last one, it is remembered, was during the ever-
memorable winter of 1886. On the same day, Mr. Wm. Storey, of Fewston,
near Otley, wrote:—‘“‘ The severe weather is having a very telling effect on
bird-life in the Washburn Valley. I observed to-day hundreds of Grouse
coming down from the high moorlands into the valley. Several were
observed feeding on the haws; while large flocks of Snow Buntings are to
be seen on the margins of the reservoirs.” See ‘ Zoologist,’ 1886, p. 107.

Waxwing in Sussex.—The appearance of this winter visitor to our
islands is most erratic. In some years it arrives in numerous small
flocks, which disperse about the country and find food in our hedgerows
and hawthorns until they are either shot or driven away; in other winters
not one of the species is to be found, or at all events their appearance is
not reported. The recent N.E. winds and cold weather appear to have
driven some hither across the North Sea, and already we hear of a few
being met with in the eastern and south-eastern counties. On Jan. 31st a
little flock of six appeared in the Allotment Gardens at Rye, and two of
them were—almost as a matter of course—shot. Doubtless we shall hear
of more in other localities —J. EK. Harrine.

Waxwing in Suffolk—A hen Waxwing was shot on a tree at
Aldeburgh on Jan. 27th, and sent to me, in the flesh, a few days
afterwards. Its crop was crammed with hawthorn berries, which had
been swallowed whole. This is the third January in succession in which
this very uncertain winter visitant has been obtained in Suffolk.—Juian G.
Tuck (Tostock Rectory, Bury St. Edmunds).

Waxwing in Derbyshire,—An example of this rare winter visitor has

70 THE ZOOLOGIST.

lately come into my possession. It was shot on January 22nd, at Smalley,
near Ilkeston.—B. Rose (Nottingham).

Waxwing in Northamptonshire.—Just as this page is going to press
we learn from an esteemed correspondent, resident in the county, that a
few Waxwings have lately been met with in Northamptonshire.

Briinnich’s Guillemot on the Yorkshire Coast.— On Dec. 7th last
a specimen of this rare Arctic visitor was shot in North Bay, Scarborough,
and taken to Mr. W. J. Clarke, taxidermist, of that town, who very kindly
forwarded it to me for inspection, and I had the pleasure of exhibiting it at
a meeting of the Linnean Society. The occurrence of this species in the
British Islands has been so rarely proved that it is of interest to place
on record some details respecting the specimen now referred to. The
measurements, taken while the bird was still unskinned, were as follows :—
Total length, 18 in.; length of wing from carpal joint to end of longest
primary, 8} in.; total expanse of wings, 244 in. On comparing it with a
Common Guillemot the beak was found to be decidedly shorter and thicker ;
and the white line on the edge of the upper mandible, running from the
gape to the nostrils, very distinct; head, nape, and back pure black, without
any brownish tinge; the white of the under parts running up to a point on
the front of the neck, not to a rounded arch as in the Common Guillemot;
tarsi and toes dirty orange, interdigital webs dirty brown. It proved to be
a male by dissection. Since this specimen was obtained, Mr. O. Grabham,
of Scarborough, has reported that on Jan. 30th he picked up another on
the sands at Filey, and saw a third in the possession of a man who had
secured it, together with a specimen of the Ringed Guillemot, in the same
neighbourhood. The Rev. Julian Tuck also has written to announce the
capture of another in Cambridgeshire; but as to this specimen there appears
to be, at present, a little uncertainty, inasmuch as he describes it as having
some faint transverse ridges on the upper mandible, a peculiarity which
suggests the possibility of its being an immature Razorbill, in which the
bill might be less developed than in the adult bird. I am not aware that
any such markings, faint or otherwise, are to be found on the mandibles of

Brinnich’s Guillemot at any age. Mr. Tuck, however, appears to have —

no doubt that he has correctly identified the species, and states that the
white line on the edge of the upper mandible is very plain, and that the colour
of the legs and feet is pale brown with darker webs.—J. E. Hartine.

Briinnich’s Guillemot at Filey —On Jan. 30th, when shore-shooting
at Filey, I picked up on the sands a remarkably large Guillemot, being
attracted by its size, the very distinct white line along the edge of the upper
mandible, and the colour of the legs. Total length, 193 in.; from carpus
to end of longest primary, 8} in.; total expanse of wings, 28} in. On
calling upon Mr. Clarke, of Scarborough, to compare my bird with his

ay

NOTES AND QUERIES. 7}

specimen of Britnnich’s Guillemot, which was. shot in North Bay, Scar-
borough, on Dec. 7th, and which I had the pleasure of examining in the
flesh, I found, on taking measurements, that the beak of his bird is shorter,
but mine is more angular and of greater depth. Mine is as black as his
on the back and neck, and very much blacker than a Common Guillemot

in summer plumage which I have, but it shows on the top of the head a
few brownish feathers. My bird is much larger, and the tarsi and toes are

yellowish olive, whereas those of Mr. Clarke’s bird I had noted as dirty

orange. The white on the neck in both birds runs up to a point under the
chin, instead of a rounded arch as in Uria troile. On searching for a
Common Guillemot, I found a man with two birds which he got the same
day (Jan. 30th), one a Ringed Guillemot (of which more anon), and the
other a Guillemot, very like, but not so large as, my Filey specimen. Its
dimensions were as follows:—Total length, 183 in.; carpus to end of
longest primary, 73 in. ; total expanse of wings, 26in. Black on the head,
neck, and back; the white on the front of the neck running up into a
point, and a very distinct white line on the edge of the upper mandible ;
but whereas in the Filey specimen this white line begins in front of the
nostrils and runs back to the gape, in the second bird it begins behind the
nostrils. ‘The tarsi and toes were yellowish olive ; webs dirty brown, as in
the Filey bird. Iam going to preserve them both, as I do all my birds
myself, and if they are not Briinnich’s, I confess I am very much puzzled,
for the only difference I can detect is that Mr. Clarke’s bird is shorter in the
bill, and the tarsi and toes are a little different in colour, both my birds
being larger than his. Of course there is nothing improbable in other
specimens of Briinnich’s Guillemot turning up after such severe weather
and heavy gales as we have had recently ; in fact, it would be curious if a
gregarious bird like the Guillemot (if it sought our shores at all) should not
come in small flocks, and not merely a stray specimen. As bearing on this
point, I do not know whether Mr. Clarke has told you (he informed me he
was going to do so) that he heard from a friend of his in Canada (Toronto,
I think) that the three rarest birds he had received this season were three
Brinnich’s Guillemots, accounted very rare out there. — OXLEY GRABHAM
(Scarborough).

P.S., Feb. 5th.—Since last writing to you, I have seen a Ringed Guille-
mot got here, the ordinary chocolate-brown colour—mine, as I told you,
was pure black—with a very distinct white line on the edge of the upper
mandible. Is there a ringed variety of the Briinnich’s Guillemot? It was
very far gone, and sadly knocked about, but I have managed to preserve
the head and neck. The large Filey Guillemot, with the white line on the
upper mandible, and light legs, I have also preserved. It was an enormous
bird, a male.-—O. G.

72 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Manx Shearwater breeding on the Coast of Carnarvonshire.—It is a
well-known fact that the Manx Shearwater, Puffinus anglorum, breeds on
some of the small islands off the Welsh coast, but it is perhaps not so well
known that it breeds in certainly one locality on the mainland. When visiting
the Carnarvonshire coast between Pwllheli and Aberdaron, in June, 1887,
Mr. C. Oldham and I saw a string of these birds flying across the bay
towards two small islands; and the following year we made several
enquiries about the birds from the lighthouse-keepers on the islands, and
from the natives. They all spoke of ‘“‘ Mackerel-cocks” being occasionally
seen in the bay, but affirmed that they did not breed. The keepers, however,
said that they heard them at night making a noise “like a child sobbing in
trouble.” Visiting the same locality in May, 1893, we found a great number
of dead Shearwaters along the cliffs and on the beach. All the birds had
apparently died violent deaths, for their necks were broken, and many of
them had their heads twisted off. In one spot on the steep grassy cliffs of
the mainland we found over a score of bodies lying near some rabbit-holes, —
some quite recently dead, others very much older. All the older bodies
had the skin torn from the breast and belly, and the skeletons were picked
clean, probably by the Carrion Crows, several pairs of which birds nest
along these cliffs. One of the rabbit-burrows had been dug out with a
spade, and contained a dead Shearwater and a broken egg. At the mouth
of two holes at the base of a turf-wall there were recent droppings, in one
case hardly dry, and in digging in we found, at a depth of eight or nine
feet, a few feathers and a little grass and other nesting material. Next day
we found a dead Shearwater on one of the islands, and the lighthouse-keepers
told us that some weeks before some men had been catching rabbits on the
islands, and had bolted several Shearwaters and killed them. Probably
this also explained the massacre on the cliffs, although the natives either
knew, or professed to know, nothing about it. The keepers again spoke of |
the bird calling at night, and described the call as sounding like a deep, ~
drawn-out repetition of the words “It’s your fault;” the emphasis on the
word “your.” We found odd corpses along the cliffs for some distance,
though they were only numerous in one spot, where the cliffs were very
steep and covered with heather, bracken, and furze.—T. A. Cowarp —
(Bowdon).

Variety of the Hawfinch.—A beautiful variety of the Hawfinch,
Cocerthraustes vulgaris, was shot by a keeper on Oct. 5th, 1894, at Berry
Hill, near here, and kindly sent me by Mr. W. Hollins. The head, neck,
breast and tail are pure white, except on rump, where there are a few grey
feathers; the shoulders are white, the rest of wings of the normal colour—
a blue-black, the bar across them being very white and large, a pleasing
contrast which adds to the beauty of this bird. The legs are flesh-colour.
This is one of the most striking varieties of the Hawfinch J have ever seen,

NOTES AND QUERIES. 73

and also a very rare one, only two other varieties of this species being on
record, one of which is in my collection.—J, Waitaxer (Rainworth,
_ Mansfield, Notts).

REPTILIA.

_ Ringed Snake laying Eggs in Captivity.—Some months ago a country
lad caught two fine specimens of the Ringed Snake (C. natrix). These I
requested him to keep for me until I returned from my holiday. During
| that time the Snakes laid (between them) seventy-one eggs in the box in
| which they were kept. ‘The shape of the eggs was oval, and the skin was
something similar to limp parchment, and they were from three-quarters to
/ one inch long. Some of these eggs were deposited in heaps, while others
| lay about the box in twos and threes, closely agglutinated. The Snakes
themselves did not seem the least solicitous about the welfare of their eggs,
and moved them about as they pleased. I wrote to this boy, telling him to
| put all the eggs in a warm manure-heap in his garden. That was the only
| plan I could think of for hatching them. Great was my vexation to find,
' when I next saw him, that he had thrown them all away. If he had done
}as I told him they would in all probability have been successfully hatched.
| Kach Snake measured three feet six inches in length. Another one he
| gave me later on was slightly less.—C, B. Horssrucu (Bath).

MOLLUSCA.

Homing Instinct in Limpets.—At a meeting of the Bristol Natu-
ralists’ Society, held on Dec. 27th, Prof. Lloyd Morgan referred to the
) results of experimental observations he had recently made on the homing
| habits of Limpets. His plan of operations was to watch for the times
when the Limpets were just beginning to start on a journey from their bed
/on the rock—commonly as the tide left them exposed—and then to lift
| them bodily up and place them on the rock at distances varying from six
|to twenty-four inches from their home. A certain proportion of those
| experimented upon returned accurately to the place whence they were
| taken—this proportion lessening directly as the distance increased, the time
| occupied i in the return journey also increasing with the distance. Some
| never returned, and were either lost sight of, or attached themselves to
/a fresh bit of rock. ‘These observatious, Prof. Lloyd Morgan thought,
Pi ctived the hypothesis that had been advanced by Prof. Davies, of
iberyatwyth, that Limpets found their way back by means of scent. He
was inclined to attribute the phenomenon to touch, as he had noticed that
while moving, the Limpet always touched the rock with its feelers at each
step. Their range of peregrination does not seem to exceed three feet, and
the rate of movement in one case observed was an inch in two minutes,
including stoppages.

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.— FEB. 1899. G

74: THE ZOOLOGIST,

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.

Linnean Society or Lonpon.

Jan. 17th, 1895.— Mr. C. B. Crarxeg, F'.R.S., President, in the chair.

Surgeon-Captain J. H. Walsh and Messrs. S. Dunn, J. P. Hill, D.
Hooper, V. O'Rell, W. B. Stonham, and J. Wilshire were elected Fellows.

Mr. George Murray exhibited lantern-slides representing a new part of
Pachytheca, consisting of a cup-shaped receptacle in which Pachytheca
was found by Mr. John Storrie, of Cardiff. The walls of the cup are
composed of radiating chambers like those of Acetabularia, and in the
centre there are traces of an axile structure. Mr. Murray considered that.
this discovery only made the interpretation of the nature of Pachytheca
more difficult than ever. |

Mr. Arthur Lister exhibited and made remarks upon a Landrail, Crea
pratensis, which had been found a few days previously near Axminster in
Devonshire, where it had been killed by coming in contact with telegraph-
wires. The occurrence in mid-winter of a bird which is a summer visitor —
to this country seemed to him to be worth notice.

Mr. J. E. Harting exhibited specimens of northern sea-birds which had
been driven upon the east coast of England during recent gales; amongst
others the Little Auk, Mergulus alle, of which great numbers had come |
ashore dead or in an exhausted condition; the Little Gull, Larus minutus, :
obtained at Whitstable on Jan. 5th; and an example of Briinnich’s Guille-
mot, Uria briinnichit, Sabine (Trans. Linn. Soc. xii. p. 535), a species which,
though abundant in Greenland, N.E. Iceland, and Spitzbergen, is of such
extremely rare occurrence on our coasts that not more than two or three
authenticated instances of its appearance here have been recorded. The
specimen exhibited had been forwarded by Mr. W. J. Clarke, of Scar-—
borough, near which seaport it was shot on Dec. 7th last. (See p. 70).

A paper was then read by Mr. I. H. Burkill on “ Variations in the
number of stamens and carpels.” Of Stellaria media about 5700 flowers
were examined, showing that, towards the end of the life of the plant, the
number of stamens becomes reduced. Ranunculus ficaria (nearly 800
flowers) showed that towards the end of the flowering period both stamens
and carpels become reduced in number without their proportion being
changed. Smaller numbers were examined of Caltha palustris, Ranunculus
arvensis, R. bulbosus, Thalictrum flavum, Bocconia cordata, Prunus padus,
P. lauro-cerasus, Crategus oxycantha, Rosa canina, Quercus tlex, and
Sagittaria montevidensis, all of which showed, either in carpels or in
stamens, a reduction in number towards the end of the flowering period.
Of other influences besides age which affect the number of parts, tempera- —
ture might be one, but nothing could be safely assumed. bi

Of a kindred nature was a paper by Mr. A. G. Tansley and Miss E, - |

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 75

Dale, on “ Variation in the floral symmetry of Potentilla tormentilla,
Necker.” ‘This paper, of which Mr. Tansley gave an abstract, was mainly
a record of variations tending to alter the normal tetramerous actinomorphic
| symmetry of this flower.

ZoouocicaL Society oF Lonpon.

Jan. 15th, 1895.—Dr. Sr. Grorce Mivart, F.R.S., Vice-President,
in the chair.

The Secretary read a report on the additions that had been made to the
Society's Menagerie during December, 1894, and called attention to two
Tapirs recently deposited in the Society’s Gardens, which he believed to be
referable to Dow’s Tapir, Tapirus dowi, of Central America.

Mr. P. Chalmers Mitchell exhibited and gave an account of a tibia and
| other bones of an extinct bird of the genus A/pyornis from Central Mada-
k gascar, which had been lent to him for exhibition by Mr. J oseph H. Fenn.
_ With these bones was associated a skull of a species of Hippopotamus.
Prof. G. B. Howes exhibited and made remarks on the photograph of an

embryo Ornithorhynchus.
| The Secretary exhibited, on behalf of Mr. R. Lydekker, a life-sized
drawing of Idiurus zenkeri, a new and remarkably small form of Flying
Squirrel from West Africa, recently described at Berlin.

Lord Lilford sent for exhibition the skin of a Duck, believed to be a
hybrid between the Mallard, Anas boschas, and the Teal, Querquedula
erecca, that had been caught in his decoy in Northamptonshire. (See p. 55).

The Rev. T. R. R. Stebbing exhibited a specimen of a species of
Peripatus from Antigua.

Mr. Frederick Chapman gave an account of some Foraminifera obtained
by the Royal Indian Marine Survey’s SS. ‘ Investigator’ from the Arabian
Sea near the Laccadive Islands. The author described the forms found
in the samples sent him. As many as 277 species and varieties were
enumerated, some of which were new to science. Several of the species,
which were here recorded for the first time from recent soundings, had
been previously known from the Pliocene deposits of Kar Nicobar.

A communication was read from Mr. P. lt. Uhler, containing an enume-
ration of the Hemiptera-Homoptera of the island of St. Vincent, W. Indies.

A communication from Mr. T. D. A. Cockerell contained a description
of a new species of the family Coccide belonging to Lichtensia, a genus new
to the fauna of the Nearctic Region. The species was named L. lycii.
| Mr. Sclater read some notes on the recent occurrence of the Barbary
| Sheep in Egypt. A flock had visited the eastern bank of the Nile above
_ Wady Halfa in the summer of 1890. A second paper by Mr. Sclater
_ contained some notes on the recent breeding of the Surinam Water-Toad,
Pipa americana, in the Society’s Reptile Hottse.—P. L. Sciatsr, Sec,

76 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Entomouocica Socrety oF Lonpon.

January 16th, 1895.—Siwty-second Annual Meeting.—HeEnry Joun
Ewes, F.L.S., F.Z.8., President, in the chair. An abstract of the
Treasurer's accounts, showing a good balance in the Society’s favour,
having been read by Mr. W. F. H. Blandford, one of the Auditors,
Mr. H. Goss read the Report of the Council. It was then announced
that the following gentlemen had been elected as Officers and Council
for 1895 :—President, Professor Raphael Meldola, F.R.S.; Treasurer,
Mr. Robert McLachlan, F.R.S.; Secretaries, Mr. Herbert Goss,
F.L.S., and the Rev. Canon Fowler, M.A., F.L.8.; Librarian, —
Mr. George C. Champion, F.Z.S.; and as other Members of the
Council, Mr. George T. Bethune-Baker, Mr. Walter F. H. Blandford,
Dr. Frederick A. Dixey, Mr. Henry J. Elwes, Mr. Charles J. Gahan, ©
Professor Poulton, Dr. David Sharp, and the Right Hon. Lord
Walsingham. It was also announced that Professor Meldola, the
new President, would appoint Lord Walsingham, Mr. Henry J.
Elwes, and Professor Edward B. Poulton, Vice-Presidents for the
Session 1895-6. The outgoing President then delivered an interesting
address ‘‘ On the Geographical Distribution of Insects.’”’ He remarked
that though a great deal had been written of late years on the
geographical distribution of plants, mammals, birds, fishes, and
reptiles, comparatively little had yet been done by entomologists to
show how far the natural divisions of the earth’s surface which
have been established for other classes were applicable to insects.
Perhaps the proportion of known as compared with unknown insects
was still too small, and the classification of the known species still
too uncertain, to allow anything like the same methods to be applied _
to insects that had been used for mammals by Dr. Wallace, for
birds by Dr. Sclater and Dr. Bowdler-Sharpe, and for plants by ©
Sir Joseph Hooker, Mr. Thiselton Dyer, and Mr. W. B. Hemsley. He ©
then enumerated the genera of the Rhopalocera, and pointed out
which of them were characteristic of the various regions and sub-
regions into which the world had been divided by the zoologists and
botanists above-mentioned. He also exhibited specimens typical of —
these regions and sub-regions. After alluding to the promeroial
condition of the Society, and to the increase in its numbers and
income, reference was made to various entomologists who had died
during the year, and a vote of thanks to the President and other |
Officers of the Society having been passed, the proceedings terminated.
—H. Goss & W. W. Fowumr, Hon. Secretaries.

Ginthe)

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.

_ Sir Victor Brooke, Sportsman and Naturalist: a Memoir of his

Life and Extracts from his Letters and Journals. Edited
by Oscar Lrstiz SrepHEN. With a Chapter on his Re-

_ searches in Natural History by Sir Wiriram H. Friower,
K.C.B. Portraits and Illustrations. 8vo, pp. 266. London:
John Murray. 1894.

THe name of the late Sir Victor Brooke is known to most
people as that of an enthusiastic lover of field sports, a good shot
with both gun and rifle, a hunter of big game, and for some years
Master of the Pau Foxhounds. To the readers of this journal
his name will be familiar as that of an observant field naturalist
who made a special study of the horned ruminants, and published
some excellent papers on Wild Sheep, Wild Oxen, Deer, and Ante-
lopes, in the ‘ Proceedings of the Zoological Society.’ From the
time he began his mountaineering, at the age of nineteen, with the
ascent of Sneehdtten, followed by his ascent of Vaugacullen, the
highest peak of the Lofodens, his love of travel and exploration
knewnorest. Tothe pursuit of Elk and Reindeer in Scandinavia
succeeded the more exciting pleasure of stalking Moufifion in
Sardinia, shooting Bears and Bouquetin in the Pyrenees, riding
down a Grey Wolf in the deserts of Cairo, and finally killing
Elephants and Tigers in India. The biggest ‘“‘tusker” on record
fell to his rifle, and he was fortunate enough to bag that rara
felis in terris, a black Panther, which constituted one of his most
cherished trophies. In the Neilgherry Hills he stalked Ibex, and
not content with the pursuit of these wild animals in the Old
World, he proceeded in 1890 to America, where his experience
amongst the game of that country, if less exciting because less
dangerous, was almost as delightful. In the journals which he has
left behind him, and in his letters home which have. been pre-
served, he has left a most interesting yet unaffected record of his
prowess as a sportsman, and his keen powers of observation as a
naturalist. His friend Mr. Leslie Stephen, as editor of the volume
before us, has given us a delightful memoir of one whom it was
our pleasure and privilege to know well, and we have seldom read
a brighter book. Sir William Flower has contributed a chapter
on the nature and value of Brooke’s scientific work, including a

78 THE ZOOLOGIST.

list of his published papers, more than twenty in number, in every
one of which we find some new and important observations on the
zoology, anatomy, or paleontology of the group of mammals of
which he had made a special study.

He had long contemplated the publication of an exhaustive
monograph on Deer and Antelopes, and with that object had
accumulated a large amount of material, not only in the shape
of a fine collection of heads and horns, but voluminous notes
illustrated with admirable coloured drawings by that unrivalled
zoological artist Joseph Wolf. Although, unfortunately, he did
not live to perfect this most desirable work, it is satisfactory
to know that his labours in this direction will not have been
altogether in vain, for his manuscripts and drawings have
been placed in the hands of Messrs. P. L. Sclater and Oldfield
Thomas, who have already commenced to utilize them by the
publication in parts of a quarto monograph of the Antelopes, of
which two parts are now before us. Of this work we shall have
something to say on a future occasion. Meantime we must be
satisfied in recommending to the perusal of every naturalist the
charming memoir which Mr. Leslie Stephen has just edited. It
shows very clearly how the pleasures and pursuits of a sportsman
may be made subservient to the ends of science; and how in turn
a little scientific training may add largely to the enjoyment to be
derived from sport. Sir Victor Brooke was a fine exponent
of both, and while his loss will always be mourned by those who
had the privilege to know him, his memory will be kept green by ©
the graceful tribute to his worth which is embodied in the
volume before us.

Allen’s Naturalists Library. Edited by R. B. Saarpe.—A Hand-
book to the Primates. By H. O. Forses. Cr. 8vo, 2 vols.
With coloured plates and maps. London: Allen & Co. 1894.

Tue publication of this series proceeds apace, and these two
volumes on the Lemurs, Monkeys, and Apes, from the pen
of Dr. H. O. Forbes, form an important addition to the set.

We confess to some surprise at finding the Hominide
included in the same category as the Anthropoid Apes, with the
observation (vol. ii. p. 203) that “‘ with this family we reach the
culminating point of the zoological tree,” because we have always

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 79

considered that between the highest form of Ape and the very
lowest type of man there are too many structural differences to
warrant the assumption that there is any real relationship. Dr.
Forbes, however, has evidently thought it convenient to introduce
_ the genus Homo, for the purpose of pointing out the respects in
_which man resembles and yet differs from the man-like Apes, and
these points, in the words of Prof. Huxley, are made clear towards
the close of his second volume.

His monograph, which seems to be a very complete one, gives
us in a handy form a summary of the most recent views on the
classification and geographical distribution of a very important
group of mammals, to which the author has added much reliable
information concerning their haunts and habits. His own ex-
_ perience as a traveller in countries where Monkeys are found has
served him in good stead; and the very useful coloured maps
which he has appended, showing the distribution of both living
and fossil forms, are much to be commended.

The coloured plates, twenty-nine in number, are certainly im-
provements upon those originally issued in ‘Jardine’s Naturalists’
Library,’ having been expressly drawn for these new volumes by
Mr. J. G. Keulemans; but it is to be regretted that more pains
have not been taken with the colouring, which has been very
carelessly executed.

It would have been a useful addition if Dr. Forbes had
indicated under the head of each species whether any living
example is to be seen in the Zoological Society’s Gardens.

A Monograph of the Land and Freshwater Mollusca of the British
Isles. By J. W. Taytor. With the assistance of W. D.
Rorsuck, C. AsHForD, and others. Part I. 8vo, pp. 64.
With coloured frontispiece and numerous illustrations.
Taylor Brothers, Sovereign Street, Leeds. 1894.

THis is the first part of a new work on British Mollusca
which, from the thorough mode of treatment adopted by the
author, and the excellent and numerous illustrations given,
promises to eclipse all previous text-books on the subject, so far
as Great Britain is concerned.

The introductory matter deals with Classification, Nomen-

80 THE ZOOLOGIST.

clature, and Synonymy, and is followed by remarks on the
structure of the shell both in univalves and bivalves, and on
variation generally, with observations on species, subspecies, and
varieties; all these sections being admirably illustrated with
explanatory figures. A noteworthy feature is the addition, at the
end of each section, of the bibliography relating to each division
of the subject, and this will be found extremely useful. To the
list of papers on ‘ Zoological Nomenclature” given on page 18,
considerable additions might be made which would add to its
completeness, but the author has probably not aimed so much at
giving an exhaustive bibliography, as at supplying a few good
references to authoritative memoirs. The difficulties which must
always beset the writer of a comprehensive work like that which
has been undertaken by Mr. Taylor, in regard to the rectification
of synonymy, are no doubt very great, but on this point the
author’s views, as set forth in his introductory remarks, seem to
aus sound and practical; and the thoroughness which he has
displayed in the treatment of his subject, so far as indicated by
the first instalment of sixty-four pages, leads us to expect that the
continuation of the work will proceed on equally satisfactory
lines. The typography is excellent, and the illustrations, which
are numerous, are far superior to any figures of mollusca and
their shells which we have seen for a long time. Indeed, so far
as it is possible to represent form and markings without the aid
of colour, we do not think the shells could be more correctly
represented. A ‘coloured plate, by way of frontispiece to the
first volume, is issued wtth Part I., and seems to us to want
nothing but a little more shading on the figures to give them
greater rotundity.

The first volume is announced to be completed in four parts,
and the specific portion of the work will then be commenced. .
The distribution of species, we are informed, will be illustrated
by means of coloured maps, and in this respect, therefore, there
will be a further distinct advance upon previously published
works on British Mollusca. It is to be hoped that subscribers -
will give that support which is necessary to ensure the com-
pletion of what must obviously be a very costly undertaking.

THE ZOOLOGIST
No. 219.—March, 1895.

A FLYING VISIT TO SPITSBERGEN.
By Cotonen H. W. Fetnven, C.M.Z.S.

THE record of a run across from Norway, and a visit of

a few days to Spitsbergen last summer, hardly deserves to occupy
space in the pages of this journal, inasmuch as the trip was made
chiefly with the object of communicating with the depot of the
American Polar Expedition on Danes Island, and with little regard
to zoological observation. The ‘Saide,’ R.Y.S., on board of
which I was a guest of the late Captain Townley Parker, is an
auxiliary steam yacht of 388 tons, 50 horse-power, iron frame-
planked, but was in no way prepared for contact with ice. Four
days’ steaming from Bergen through the Norwegian fidrds, with
their glorious scenery, brought us to Tromsoe, where we anchored
on June 27th, in splendid weather. In the inner waters of the
Norwegian coast we saw considerable numbers of Red-throated
_ Divers, in full breeding plumage, sometimes in pairs, more
frequently single birds. I noted between Bergen and Tromsoe
Larus marinus, L. fuscus, L. argentatus, L. canus, Rissa tridactyla,
Sterna macrura, Mormon fratercula, Uria grylle, and a few pairs
of Stercorarius crepidatus. Eider Ducks were numerous at some
stations. I once saw a solitary Eagle, and the impression left was

_ the general poverty of bird-life in the fidrds. About sixty miles
south of Tromsoe, the fidrd, which is very narrow, winds through
a lovely, and, near the shore, well-cultivated country. Between

_ latitudes 68° and 69° N. the shores are laid out in hay-fields; we
_ Saw neat farm-houses, churches, and pretty dwellings. The hill-
sides in the back-ground are clad with foliage, chietly birch. At

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—MARCH, 1895. H

828 THE ZOGLOGIST.

this date patches of snow lay here and there on the slopes,
reminding us of what might otherwise have easily been forgotten,
that we were in the same parallel as treeless Disco on the west
coast of Greenland, and the frozen area of the Parry Archipelago.
Here the surface temperature of the sea-water of the fidrd was
58°, that of the air 53°.* As soon as the anchor dropped, at
2 a.m., I went ashore, and made for the birch-woods that cover
the small island on which the town of Tromsoe is built. It was
a delightful morning, the sky clear and unclouded, with a breeze
just sufficient to render walking in the woods not oppressive.
The birch, the “lady of the woods,” was then decked in tenderest
green, and her million leaves trembled with gentle murmur to the
breath of the south wind. The wild flowers grew in rich pro-
fusion in the meadows adjoining the sea-shore and in the dank
vales that ran up to the birch-clad hills. Now and again the
musical tinkle of a cattle-bell sounded, answered by the croak of
the Ravens or the merry chatter of Magpies. I walked for several
miles through the birch-woods before I fell in with a colony of
nesting Fieldfares. I saw the birds at intervals flying over the
trees with food in their bills. At length the harsh cries of these
birds, darting about amongst the branches, showed me I was close
to a colony, and I stood in a grove where some twenty nests were
visible. Many of them contained young, which the parent birds
were feeding, though they showed by their harsh screams that
they did not approve of my being there; one nest had five fresh
egos init. During my ramble I did not find a Redwing’s nest.
I several times almost trod on males of the Willow Grouse,
Lagopus albus; they arose at my feet with a loud cry, flew a short _
distance, and then settled with outspread wings, and commenced —
running about; this to allure me from the hen bird and young, |
which in one case I nearly stepped on. The anxiety of the mothe
was intense: scattering her young in the first place with her feet
she then ran round and round to gather them together; at times
she crouched, with every feather upstanding, within a few paces
of me, then dashed here and there and everywhere collecting her’

* Temperatures recorded in Fahrenheit,

|
|

A FLYING VISIT TO SPITSBERGEN, 83

one nest from which most of the eggs had been hatched, but there
were a couple left. I came across the nest of a Willow Wren
with seven eggs much incubated; the inside lining was entirely

composed of the white feathers of the Willow Grouse.

The Tromsoe Museum is well deserving of a visit. It contains

"most interesting collections from northern Norway, Finmark,

Spitsbergen, Novaya Zemlya, and other parts of the Polar area.
~The Museum authorities have exercised a most wise discretion in
limiting the collections to illustrate the Natural History, Zoology,

and Geology of the far north.

The coaling of the yacht being completed by 4 a.m. of June
28th, we left Tromsoe under steam. The temperature of the

water was 53°, and that of the air the same. Our course was
through Grét Sund, Kaag Sund, and to the open sea between the

islands of Loppen and Arnoe; the latter, which I estimated at
about 1200 feet, has stunted ee woods growing half way up its
sides. By mid-day we were well outside of the islands, meeting

with a heavy, confused sea, which continued throughout the day ;

the temperature of the water was 47°. The weather, which had
looked threatening for some hours past, now turned into a north-
west gale with rain and fog, and the wind increased in strength till
mid-day of June 29th, when the ship was hove to for a couple of
hours. By 4 p.m., the sea having moderated, we proceeded under
steam, the air temperature being 39°, that of the sea 40°. At 6 p.m.

| we got a good observation, which put our position to the eastward

of Bear Island. The gale and current had drifted us sixty to

_ seventy miles out of our course, which had been laid for the west-
_ ward of Bear Island. We bore up to pass, if the ice we expected
_to meet with permitted, between Bear Island and the south cape
| of Spitsbergen. To our surprise we found the sea to the eastward

_of Bear Island entirely free from ice, I should think an unusual

condition of affairs; indeed the only piece of ice we sighted was

a small berg floating some sixty feet above water. At 3 am.,

June 30th, we sighted Bear Island, bearing west, and we sounded in

86fathoms. Drizzling rain set in; the temperature of the air was

34°, that of the sea 40°. Towards mid-day the weather improved,
| and we passed through alternate areas of fog and bright sunshine ;
the sea had decreased to a long undulating swell. I noted during
the day a single Pomatorhine Skua, many Kittiwakes, plenty

of Briinnich’s Guillemots, Black Guillemots, Glaucous Gulls,
H 2

84 THE ZOOLOGIST,

Fulmars, and Little Auks. I noticed a pure white Brinnich’s
Guillemot* within twenty yards of the ship’s side. At 4 p.m. the ©
south cape of Spitsbergen came into view, bearing N.W. by N.,
some twenty miles off; the temperature of the air was 34°, of the
sea 38°. The weather being very fine we hauled in nearer the
land, and steamed northward with the bold mountainous coast of
Spitsbergen on our starboard.

By mid-day of July 1st every cloud and wreath of mist had
disappeared from sea and land, and the peaked mountains and
ice-fields and glaciers stood forth in all their grandeur and glory.
In the finest of Arctic summer weather we steered into the estuary
of Ice Fiord. The temperature in the shade was 47°, in the sun
61°, of the sea 89°; except for our surroundings of snow-clad
peaks and vast glaciers descending to the sea on the north side
of the fidrd, we could scarce believe that we were in Polar regions.
As we proceeded up the fidrd we could see from the foreyard
that the pack-ice stretched continuously from Cape Boheman to
Hyperite Hat, but the entrance to Advent Bay was clear. I was
surprised to see what a long extent of the foreground on the
south side of the fidrd was bare of snow, and even up to a height
of a thousand feet the mountain slopes were mostly clear.

Animal life was fairly abundant in the fidrd. Thousands of
Little Auks and Guillemots floated on the waters, or might be
seen high overhead winging their way in flocks to their breeding
haunts; the northern Dovekie and Puffin were far less numerous.
Now and then a Seal popped its head above water, and one small
Whale showed itself close to the bows of the ship. When we
reached the entrance of Advent Bay, an inlet on the south side
of the great Ice Fidrd, the scene was enchanting. The bay,
full of fragments of floe and berg, glistening under the bright
sunshine, the sea without a ripple, and the ship gliding to her
anchorage between the loose pieces of ice formed a delightful
picture. The position we anchored in was that surveyed and
charted by Mr. Lamont,t and is by far the best anchorage in
Advent Bay. A ship of large size can find ample depth and ©
security close to the abruptly sloping shingly beach. Immediately

* IT procured a similar albino example of this species from West Green-
land, which is now in the British Museum.

} ‘ Yachting in the Arctic Seas,’ 1876. Appendix I.

A FLYING VISIT TO SPITSBERGEN. 85

after the anchor was let go, at 6 p.m., several of us went on shore.
Some of the party proceeded along the south side of Advent Bay ;
I and a sailor to the south-west along the shore of Ice Fidrd. I
searched the slopes of the hills for Ptarmigan, but only found

| their feathers, droppings, and dusting places. Seeing a Reindeer
' moving below us to the westward and following the shore-line,

we went in pursuit. As we walked along an endless procession
of Fulmars accompanied us. ‘They were heading the same way
as ourselves, evidently bound for a roosting place, but avoiding
the sea they passed along the foreshore between the slope of the
hills and the water. Hundreds of these birds passed close over-
head and on each side. ‘They showed no fear, many sailing past
within ten feet of us. Raising a rifle or shouting only made them

| sheer off a little, with a slight shudder of the wings and a blink of

the eyelid over their lustrous black eyes. I had never before seen
a vast body of Fulmars deliberately leave the water and take to a
passage overland. In the most northern latitudes, and when the
sun is at its highest altitude, in June and July, I have noticed
some slight appreciation by birds of the hour which in lower
latitudes would be midnight. ‘They are silent for a short time,
they seek their resting places or cover their eggs; but the period
of repose is brief, and long before the sun has passed from the
northern to the eastern quarter of the sky they are again in
activity. Nevertheless there is an indefinable something in the
surroundings which tells the traveller, without reference to his
watch, that the hour which should be midnight is at hand.

We found the Reindeer about Advent Bay so tame, that
I presumed we were the first who had invaded their haunts that
season, and recollections of previous onslaughts had faded.
Following the track of the Reindeer which we had seen, led us to
a valley that opens on to the shore of the fiord some six miles
from our anchorage. Seeing a Reindeer feeding on the slopes of
the glen we stalked it. This involved crossing a rushing torrent
of icy cold water up to our waists. Crawling and creeping, I got
within eighty yards of where I supposed the animal to be, and,
cautiously peeping over the knoll, saw the deer feeding. As
its stern was towards me, I gave a low whistle, in the hope that
the animal would turn and give a side shot. It turned, and to
my surprise, instead of making off, walked up to me with head
elevated sniffing the air. I shot the poor creature within a few

86 THE ZOOLOGIST.

yards of me. The death of the Reindeer was the signal for all
the Glaucous Gulls in the valley to congregate around us. Like
Vultures in the tropics, they assembled from each side of the
glen, and the gralloch was hardly removed from the quarry before
fifty of these great white gulls were tearing and fighting over it,
On running up from where I fired to where the deer fell, I nearly
put my foct on a Purple Sandpiper, which bustled off her nest
and four eggs. Putting my cap over them, I returned shortly to
pick them up, and the Sandpiper was running round and round ~
within a few feet of my cap, but on seeing me crouched and made
off, like a mouse, amidst the short herbage. The nest was a
slight depression lined with moss and a few dried leaves. Three |
more Reindeer were seen further up the glen, and they allowed
me to approach so near that I shot another with hardly the
pretence of a stalk. It seemed so cruel to shoot these confiding
animals that I made up my mind not to do it again, and I kept to
this resolution. My companion and I had hard work dragging
the carcases of the two deer to the sea-shore; our strength would
not allow of carrying them another six miles to the ship. On
sending for them the next day only ‘their skeletons and hides
were found; the Glaucous Gulls had picked them to the bone.
The experience of my shipmate, Colonel Bond, who went out
after Reindeer in another direction at the same time as I did,
was very similar to my own. Meeting with a buck and two does,
he shot the former; the latter, instead of making off, came within ~
three yards and smelt at him. Like a good sportsman, his rifle”
was likewise returned to its case, and the animals required for
the ship’s larder were shot by the sailors.

During July 2nd, Bond and I went in the steam-launch
towards the head of Advent Bay. ‘The water there is so shallow
we could not get within half a mile of the muddy shore in the
launch, but we landed from a light skiff we had in tow. Our
object was to visit the small lake mentioned by Mr. Lamont as
the place where he met with both Brent and Bernacle Geese.
It seems to me very unlikely that so experienced a sportsman
and good field-naturalist could by any possibility be mistaken in
his identification of these two species. I quote his words:*— |
‘There is a pond a little in-shore at the end of Advent Bay, and—

* Op. cit. pp. 284, 285.

A FLYING VISIT TO SPITSBERGEN. 87

about it were large flocks of Brent and Bernacle Geese. The
latter were moulting, and therefore not able to fly, but they were

/ able to run like hares. I however got a hundred by concealing

myself in one direction while I sent round a man to drive them
from another. The flesh of the latter is coarse and ill-flavoured
compared with the more delicate meat of the Brent Goose.” On
getting within sight of this piece of water I scanned it very carefully
with my glasses: there were some fifty Brents on it, and some
Eiders, but no Bernacle. Bond hid up on the sand-spit which
separates the lake from the bay, and I went round and drove the
geese over him. He killed three Brents out of the flock, and as ©
they passed close to him he was able to corroborate my view that
all were Bernicla brenta. Our experience in no way shakes my
‘confidence in the correctness of Mr. Lamont’s identification. It
was two weeks later in July when he met with the Bernacle Geese
at this place, and it was July 22nd when Mr. Katon obtained
them on a small lake inland from Wiide Bay. Probably it will
be found that the Bernacle Geese in Spitsbergen, like the Pink-

footed, nest inland, and bring down their goslings to the sea-side

lakes in the summer. Ascending to some little height, I noticed

that a broad and level valley, at this time of the year much bared

of snow, with a series of lakelets in it, extends for several miles
from the head of Advent Bay. It looked a likely stretch of
country to investigate, and much did I regret that there was not
time to explore it. I hope it may receive attention at some future
period. Near the lake a pair of King Hiders, the male in adult

plumage, passed me; I secured the female, and on our return by

water to the yacht, we shot two more Somateria spectabilis, and
several common Hiders and Dovekies. We also noticed the first
Ivory Gull.

On July 3rd we left Advent Bay, and anchored on the west
side of Green Harbour. About a mile and a half north of this
anchorage the land near the shore is low, and there are two
‘shallow pools of water not far from the beach. There we came
across two pairs of Grey Phalarope. This bird has a very pretty
habit—which I have noticed as well in other parts of the far north—

_ of standing in shallow water, and with its wings raised and meeting

above the back, skipping and flickering when taking its bath.
The Grey Phalarope in breeding plumage is a lovely bird, and

its bright garb seems quite out of place with the surroundings

88 THE ZCOLOGIST.

of snow. No other bird in the Polar Regions can compare with

it in richness of colour. We were fortunate enough to find a
nest, a mere depression in the turf containing two eggs. The
male bird was on the nest. We proceeded after this in the steam-

launch to the extreme head of Green Harbour, a distance of some

seven miles, and landing, visited a most interesting glacier. A
single Buffon’s Skua was seen and shot there. Hundreds of
Kittiwakes and Glaucous Gulls were gathered together on the

sands and blocks of ice at the head of this bay, and a few Arctic

Terns and Ivory Gulls with them.

The next day I was ashore early. The temperature on the
fell marked 50°; it felt very warm. I came across eight Pink-
footed Geese feeding near the shore; I was within eighty yards
of them. When they arose six flew away to the other side of
Green Harbour, and one pair took to the fell. Following them
up, I again disturbed them, but instead of leaving, they sailed
round in a great circle, now and again alighting on a hillock or
spot of rising ground. From their actions it was easy to
judge their nest or young were not far off. I had not time to
continue the search. Near a morass I picked up the withered
wings of a wading bird, which I afterwards submitted to Professor
Newton, who gave me the following opinion :—‘ The withered
wings which you found in Green Harbour seem, after comparison,
to be those of Tringa alpina, of medium size, it.¢., neither
T’. schingt (vera) nor JT’. americana; but I would not swear to
their identity.” I think, however, we may, without much scruple,
include the Dunlin, Tinga alpina, as a straggler to Spitsbergen.

We left Ice Fiord, on our way north to Danes Island, on
July 5th. At 3 p.m. of that day we were about the approximate
position of Goshawk Rock, which is charted as twenty feet above
water. No such rock appears above the surface in fine weather, —
and it is probably a hidden danger, to be carefully avoided. As
the sea was quite smooth and the weather fine, we got into the
dingey and took a series of soundings. About two or three miles
from where the yacht lay was a low island close inshore of Prince
Charles Foreland, and bearing south-east of Goshawk Rock of
the chart. We pulled to this skerry, which is a low island of ©
schistose rock about 50 acres in extent. We landed after some
little trouble, for even in this calm weather the swell broke heavily _
on the rocks, On scrambling up we found the centre of the islet _

A FLYING VISIT TO SPITSBERGEN. 89

| ‘more depressed than its edges, and covered by a saturated moss,
in which lies a small tarn of fresh water. Being some distance
from land and surrounded by open water, this islet offers a safe
asylum to the Eider Ducks and Brent Geese. I never saw a
| limited area more thronged with Hider fowl than this was.
| I calculated that on our first landing the skerry must have been
occupied by more than five hundred pairs of Eiders and some
| twenty pairs of Brent Geese. The Eiders (all Somateria mol-
lissima) were nesting in colonies, and so tame that we had almost
to push the ducks off their nests. Overhead floated several
pairs of Skuas (S. crepidatus), and these insolent marauders flew
to the nests, when uncovered by the owner, and scrambled for
| possession of her eggs with us. We had to poke at them with
| the barrels of our guns to drive them off, but they secured several
| and sucked them at our feet. A pair of Red-throated Divers had
| their nest, with one egg in it, by the side of the tarn. We only
| found two nests of Bernicla brenta; each contained three eggs,
| and the owners were very unwilling to leave them. These eggs
| were embedded in a soft mass of grey down. Arctic Terns
' screamed overhead, and we found one or two of their nests and
eggs. A few pairs of Purple Sandpipers seemed to be breeding.
As fresh meat was required on the yacht, several of the Hider
Ducks were shot, but we had to be careful in gathering them up
at once, for if left on the ground, and we moved on fifty yards,
; they were immediately torn to pieces and devoured by the
_ Glaucous Gulls. In the midst of the confusion arising from
the attack on the ducks, a fine Snowy Owl rose from the highest
:
:

spot of the skerry and sailed over our heads. The two men from
the dingey joined us, and helped us to carry our burdens to the
boat. We returned to the ship with thirty Eiders and one
hundred and sixty of their eggs, which were nearly all quite
fresh. These birds and eggs were highly appreciated. The
northern Puffin, Mormon glacialis, was swimming in numbers
near the skerry; it struck me as looking decidedly larger when
on the wing than M. fratercula. These birds carry away a great
quantity of lead, and are somewhat difficuit to secure in the sea,
for even when shot through the head they are well able to dive.
The Snowy Owl has hitherto been recorded as a very rare
species from Spitsbergen. Professor Newton and Dr. Malmgren
mention one being shot on a piece of floating ice between Verlegen

90 THE ZOOLOGIST.

- Hook and Shoal Point in July, 1861. Dr. Theel records a second

example from Mossel Bay. In the neighbourhood of Advent Bay, —

on July 2nd, I came across a low mound, which was undoubtedly
used as a resting-place by this species. Many of its unmistake-
able feathers lay about, and numerous castings, which proved to
consist entirely of the remains of the Little Auk.

The same day Colonel Bond, on the shore of Advent Bay, 2

saw a Snowy Owl, which rose from the ground close to him. He
was after Reindeer at the time, and having only a rifle could not
secure it. On July 5th, as already mentioned, we observed a fine
Snowy Owl on the small island that lies off the west side of
Prince Charles Foreland, approximately in lat. 78° 22’ N.
Skipper Olsen, of the ‘ Familien,’ whom we met in Smeerenburg
Bay, gave me the skin of one, which he had shot at Welcome
Point, lat. 79° 50’ N., on July Ist. Capt. H. C. Johannesen
brought to the yacht, on July 8th, another, which had been shot
afew hours previously on Amsterdam Island. This was a
female, and one of the fattest birds I ever dissected. This bird
had evidently been sitting, for its breast was quite bare, and
showed signs of incubation. The stomach contained remains of
Mergulus alle. In our brief visit to Spitsbergen we obtained two
specimens, saw two more, and found traces of them. I had,

prior to my visit, accounted for the rarity of the Snowy Owl by —
the entire absence of the Lemming from Spitsbergen, for in ~

Grinnell Land and Novaya Zemlya, where the Snowy Owl is

abundant in summer, so also is the Lemming. As, however, —

the bird appears to be able to live well in Spitsbergen on the —
Little Auks, which doubtless it can procure at their breeding ©

haunts in any number, this line of reasoning does not hold
good. Is it possible that the Snowy Owl has only of late years
discovered the capabilities of the Auk-fells of Spitsbergen ? If.
such be the case, we may expect to find this bird increasing
yearly in numbers in Spitsbergen, and this will be an interesting
point for future observers to determine.

I do not find in my journal of the cruise any further notes of
zoological interest connected with Spitsbergen. After communi-

cating with the depot of the American Polar Expedition on
Danes Island, where we found Professor A. Oyen, of Christiania, —
in charge, and taking a mail for Europe on board, we returned to — :

Tromsoe, which we reached on July 12th.

91

| NOTES ON THE SEAL AND WHALE FISHERY, 1894.

By Tuomas Souruwetu, F.Z.S.

I MENTIONED last year some of the vicissitudes of Newfound-

| land Sealing, showing how much depends upon a right judgment
as to the position of the drifting pack on which the Seals would

be found, and that not all the long experience of those who year

‘after year have studied the uncertain movements of the ice,

carrying with it the breeding Seals, can do more than form an
approximate estimate of their whereabouts; and even then
unlooked-for changes in the force or direction of the wind, or in
the intensity of the frost, may frustrate all their wisely-laid plans.
This was fully exemplified in the past season.

The reports state that the spring of 1894 was a very stormy

one, and that the ice was in consequence in constant motion, and
difficult to navigate, thus often rendering the breeding Seals

unapproachable.
When the steamers sailed on March 10th the ice was some-
what off the land, and all of them, with the exception of the

* Hope,’ kept outside; as the Seals whelped on the inside of the

ice, the ‘Hope’ struck them at once just to the N.E. of Cape St.
John; but two days afterwards, a N.E. gale coming on, they all
drifted into Green Bay, where they remained until the beginning
of April, when the ‘ Hope’ returned with 16,499 Seals, the largest
number obtained by any one vessel of the 22 steamers. The other
steamers could not get amongst the Seals; two or three of them,
however, contrived to do fairly well, but the rest did very little on
that part of the coast, and no old Seals to speak of were got later
in the season. The ‘ Algerine’ killed 10,719 young Harp Seals
in the Straits of Belleisle, and the ‘ Labrador’ took some 2400
young Hooded Seals off Cape Anguille, and the remainder of her
cargo further to the westward. Whilst butting through the ice
she had the misfortune to lose two men; one poor fellow fell
through the ice under her bows, and a companion, coming to his
assistance, also lost his footing; the vessel, at the same time
steaming ahead, crushed both of them; one sank, but the body
of the other was recovered. ‘The shore-fishery by landsmen and
Schooners was very successful, and probably 160,000 Seals were
thus taken.

Of the 22 steamers, one, the ‘Newfoundland,’ landed about

92 THE ZOOLOGIST.

6012 Seals at Halifax. We have therefore to deal with only 21;

these captured a total of 152,82] Seals old and young, the |

‘Hope’ heading the list with 16,499, followed by the ‘ Diana’

with 15,122; only two other vessels had over 10,000, the

average of the 21 being 7277, an improvement upon the previous
season, which averaged only 5866; but still far from a paying
cargo.

The Greenland sealing was again very unimportant, only
4712 being brought home by three vessels. In addition to this a

vessel called the ‘Alert,’ which acts as a carrier sailing from —
Peterhead to Cumberland Gulf with stores for Mr. Noble’s station —
there, and returning with produce, brought home 7000 skins, —
making a total import of 11,712 from the northern fishery ; added —

to these, 13,458 from Newfoundland gives a total of 25,170 Seals

taken by six Scotch vessels (including the ‘ Active’), producing ~
269 tons of oil, which at £17 per ton, and skins at, say, 4s. each, ©
represents a sum of £9607, as compared with a like valuation of

£9915 in the previous season.
The year 1894 marks a new era in the declining history of the

British Whale fishery. For the first time since the year 1788, —
Peterhead, which port has in its palmy days. sent as many as 29 ~

ships to the Arctic Seas, has been totally unrepresented in either

the Greenland or Davis Straits fishery, except by the small —
carrier already mentioned, in the employ of the station in Cum- |

berland Gulf. The last Peterhead vessel, the ‘ Windward,’ which

Capt. David Gray commanded in 1893, has been sold to the —
Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition, and, should her commander ~
have been successful so far in his arduous undertaking, is now
wintering somewhere in the neighbourhood of Franz Josef Land. —
Dundee sent out only eight vessels, and, should report prove true, —
it is probable that three or even four of these will be laid up next
season. Present prices are so low, and the produce, even when 3
obtained, so difficult to dispose of, that there is little inducement —

to continue the fishing. It seems not unlikely also that the
present financial crisis in Newfoundland may have the effect of

materially reducing the number of the sealing fleet which will —

leave the ports of that colony in the spring.

The three vessels which sailed from Dundee last season for |

the Greenland fishery were the ‘Active,’ the ‘Diana,’ and the
‘Polar Star.’ The first captured two small Right Whales,

‘J

NOTES ON THE SEAL AND WHALE FISHERY, 1894. 93

yielding only 20 tons of oil and 153 cwt. of bone; the second,
one Whale, with 8 tons of oil and 4 cwt. of bone; and the third,
one Whale, of 10 tons of oil and 73 cwt. of bone ;—a miserable
return compared with the captures at the Straits fishery, which
averaged over 16 cwt. of bone each; and this deficiency was

not made up by the sealing, which was equally bad. Most of

the Whales taken of late years in the Greenland Seas have been
very young animals. [Experts are therefore of opinion that there
must be breeding Whales there, although they cannot succeed in
finding them. It may be that the older Whales have become
extremely wary, and that it is only the young and inexperienced
which expose themselves to capture.

Five vessels fished in Davis Straits, killing 15 Whales and

1261 White Whales. Of these the most successful was the

‘Eclipse,’ which returned with five fair-sized Whales, yielding
95 ewt. of bone; the ‘Terra Nova’ had also five Whales, producing
70 ewt. of bone; the ‘Nova Zembla’ four; the ‘Balena’ one
Whale and 820 White Whales ; the ‘ Esquimaux’ had to be con-
tent with 432 White Whales only. All the vessels experienced
very bad weather early in the season, which so delayed them that
the majority of the fleet missed the ‘‘ spring fishing,” and there
was much weary waiting before they were rewarded by a capture.
At the end of 30 days the ‘Nova Zembla’ was only 500 miles

from home.
Capt. Guy describes the summer as one of the worst he had

ever experienced, extremely cold, foggy, and gales of wind of
almost daily occurrence. On July 8th, being beset in the “ fast”
ice, the vessel had a very narrow escape of being crushed ; a huge
iceberg was observed approaching, from which there appeared to
be no way of escape, and all prepared to leave the ship. Down
came the iceberg, the lower edge of which caught the ship’s
quarter; such, however, was her strength that, instead of the
vessel being crushed as was expected, she heeled over on her
broadside, and, after being in that position for about four hours,
the iceberg sheared off, and she righted, to the relief of her officers
and crew, whose anxiety was intense. It was not till Aug. 23rd
that Capt. Guy killed his first Whale, and three others were
secured at short intervals during the next few weeks. On Oct.
Ist the ‘Nova Zembla’ bore up for home, and had a splendid run
of 14 days.

94 THE ZOOLOGIST.

The ‘Terra Nova’ had a curious experience. About 45 miles”
off Martin’s Mountains, the southern point of Lancaster Sound,
Capt. M‘Kay killed his first Whale, a very large animal with —
12 ft. bone. When cutting it up an old harpoon was found

embedded in its blubber, which bore the name of the whaler

‘Jean,’ of Bo’ness, and was dated 40 years back. This vessel

was lost in the ice 87 years ago, and the finding of the relic

excited a considerable amount of interest. The steel is said to
have been as bright as the day it was made, and the Whale seemed —

to have sustained no injury from it.
The ‘Balena’ killed her only Whale on Sept. 23rd; a fair

number had been seen, but it was not until that date that they

were enabled to effect a capture. In Elwin Bay, Prince Regent’s
Inlet, they killed 820 White Whales in the month of August.

Capt. Fairweather reports a ghastly discovery in this locality. —

Three vessels were cruising in concert, looking for White Whales,

when Mr. Fairweather, jun., being on shore with a seaman, ~

observed three corpses lying together not far from the shore,

and “‘a slight scrutiny revealed the fact that a party had died of ©
starvation. It was evident that the group, two men and a woman, ~

had resorted to cannibalism before death intervened to end their

sufferings. .. Lying scattered about in the vicinity were a num-
ber of human bones, skulls, &c. . . It is supposed the dead
Esquimaux were natives of Lancaster Sound, who had travelled —

across the ice in search of depots of stores left by old navigators.”

A large number of relics, the property of these poor people, were —
brought away, amongst which was a telescope engraved “‘ Feathers, —
Dundee.” Capt. Fairweather states that a number of years ago,
when in command of the ‘ Thetis,’ he presented a similar tele- —
scope to an Esquimaux, and he is of opinion that the instrument _

discovered by his crew is the same.

The total produce of the Whale fishery was 20 Right Whalesal
1261 White Whales, and 49 Walrus; these yielded 412 tons of

oil and 14 tons 7 ewt. of bone. The former may be valued at
£17 per ton, or £7004; and the latter, allowing for under-size

bone (£1500 per ton for the former, and £750 for the latter, ,
about 10 per cent. of the whole), at a sum of £20,448, or a total ©

of £27,452, as against a like valuation of £41,449 in the previous i

season.

The British vessels have not repeated the experiment of a —

‘

- Ley pt

ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORFOLK. 95

visit to the Antarctic Seas, but the Norwegians were more per-
sistent, prosecuting the sealing there with vigour, laying up their

yessels at the Falkland Islands, and employing a carrier to bring
F home their produce. This vessel, on her return after last season’s
- fishing, was wrecked on the Goodwin Sands, the salvage realising
very little; and the Norwegian ships, I am informed, do not

intend to continue the enterprise iu that direction,—fortunately

for the southern Seals, which would otherwise have been quickly
exterminated.

I have, as on former occasions, to express my indebtedness to

‘Mr. David Bruce and Mr. R. Kinnes, of Dundee ; to Capt. David

Gray, of Peterhead; and Mr. Michael Thorburn, of St. John’s,
Newfoundland, for their kindness in supplying me with informa-
tion.

ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORFOLK.
By J. H. Gurney, F.L.S.

Tue following notes for 1894, as will be seen, have been
chiefly collected from the observations of others, and I have been

careful in every case to specify the source of the information.

We have so many good naturalists in Norfolk, that there is

seldom any need to personally verify the reported occurrence of
rare species.
J ANUARY.
8th. A Black Guillemot and a female Eider at Hunstanton
(J. G. Tuck, Zool. p. 64).
13th. About this date a Scaup was shot on the river at
Dunston, four miles south of Norwich. This is some way

inland, but at the beginning of the month a good many of these

birds appeared at Blakeney and other places on the coast, and I
received one alive, but it soon died. Others were shot, being

tamed by the very severe weather. ‘The 4th was the coldest day

experienced in Norfolk for twenty-seven years, but on the 10th
the frost broke up.
FEBRUARY.

Ist. A female Great Bustard was shot at Costessey, near
Norwich, by a man named Paul, of which a full account has been
given by Mr. T. KE. Gunn (Trans. Norfolk Nat. Soc. v. p. 656). Its
gizzard contained an angular flake of flint (which must have been

96 TID THE ZOOLOGIST.

an awkward morsel to swallow) and three small pieces of pottery,
one of a blue colour, recalling to mind New Zealand Moa stones ©
(see the coloured figure in ‘The Ornithological Miscellany,’ —
vol, iii. p. 240), which were sometimes of a bluish hue. The last
occurrence of the Great Bustard was on Jan. 19th, 1891, when ©
six others were killed in different parts of England, and, like this
one, were all females, +

4th. Signs of spring. My Eagle Owls both received their
master with many loud snaps, which always indicates the nesting —
impulse, and both sexes scrape holes the first fine spell of weather
which comes after January. This snapping noise is caused byl
the withdrawal, not the meeting, of the mandibles, but the action
is so rapid that it is very difficult for the eye to followit. The
24th of March is about the time these Owls usually lay their
first egg, and incubation lasts about thirty-six days, the old bird
beginning to sit directly the first egg is laid. Ona fine day she
will leave her young ones, when about a week old, to the warmth
of the sun, but will run along the ground to them if anybody goes
into the cage. She is so savage at this time that the intruder will
stand a very good chance of getting a blow on the head or neck
from those sharp talons. My father reared a good many Eagle —
Owls, but his success was as nothing compared with that of Mrq Ms
Meade Waldo, who reared ninety from one female bird.

10th. The White-shouldered Eagles, Aquila adalberiti, Brehm, _
brought from Spain in 1872 by Lord Lilford, and given by him
to my father, being supplied with boughs, for the first time made
a nest, but no eggs were laid. They are fond of eating those off {
other birds when given to them. .

eng hs

Marcu.
This month was fine, warm, and dry. On the 4th two
vinous-breasted Rock Pipits, of Scandinavian origin (Anthus—
rupestris, Nils.), both males, were shot at Cley by Mr. E. Ramm. |
This well-marked race never occurs on our coast in any month —
except March, at which time, like the Black Redstart to be next —
mentioned, it migrates eastwards, towards Denmark. |
23rd. A Black Redstart at Framingham ; during this month
Black Redstarts were also seen at Yarmouth, and others were
reported in South Yorkshire and in Kent, |

ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORFOLK. 97

APRIL.

11th. A Spoonbill, Platalea leucorodia, was seen at Hickling.
_ 18th. The Rev. M. Bird saw three Garganey (two ducks and
a good drake) in the Broad district; and on the 17th he saw a
Jack Snipe and found two Shovellers’ nests; and a few days
afterwards Mr. Southwell saw several Shovellers at Hoveton
| “broad.”

25th. A White Wagtail, Motacilla alba, caught at Lound and
| taken alive to Mr. W. Lowne, had the pearl-grey colour of the
| back continued to the rump, as in the three previous Yarmouth
| specimens. It was in very good health when I saw it alive in

July.

May.

At Scoulton Mere I found that the gathering of eggs of the
Black-headed Gull had ceased on the 9th, the take having been
about 7200 eggs, a much larger number than was obtained in
the dry spring of 1893, or in 1892, but less than half what
used to be collected when I first remember these Gulls nearly
thirty-five years ago. The price is now a shilling a dozen eggs,
_and they are eagerly snapped up in small quantities at that figure,
none coming to Norwich market from Scoulton in 1894, though
there were some there on April 25th from another quarter.

_ 12th. Ten Shelducks were seen at Horsey by Mr. Bird, who
on the same day found nine Kestrel’s eggs in one nest, which was
on the ground at Ruston. Both the number and the situation
are unusual. A Spoonbill appeared on Breydon (A. Patterson),
and eight Dotterel, Eudromius morinellus, at Winterton (Bird).
14th. Four more Dotterel at Fakenham (G. Davey).
15th. Chiffchaff’s nest at Keswick.
| 17th. A pair of Black Terns were seen by my son over
Keswick mill-pond.
21st. My son puta Blackbird off her nest of five eggs, two
of which were spotless, and two almost spotless, the fifth being
very pale but otherwise typical.
| 25th. Received a Short-eared Owl from near Bury, a pale-
coloured one, which is generally the case with those obtained in
summer.
29th. Three Crossbills at Blakeney (H. Pashley).

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL, XIX,—MARCH, 1895. I

98 THE ZOOLOGIST.

JUNE.

19th. Received a Hawfinch from Bury, which Mr. W. H.
Tuck thinks had been hatched about the middle of April, the
time they begin to pair according to Yarrell. I protect Haw-
finches, and am rewarded by their eating my white-heart cherries,
to which I object, and yew berries, to which they are welcome.
At Wiveton Mr. Pashley tells me they stripped three large rows
of peas in one night, throwing many of them on the ground in
mere wantonness. When recording the two Little Bitterns at
Rollesby Broad last year (Zool. 1894, p. 88), I was not then
aware that there was also another on a small lake near Watton,
thirty-two miles west. More fortunate than its relatives, it was
carefully protected, and the owner was rewarded by the same or
another returning, about May 21st, to spend the summer on his
water. Invited to come and hear its curious note, I acquiesced
in its resemblance to the sound made by a paviour ramming
stones, or the distant barking of a dog. Nothing would induce
it to rise. On coming home and contemplating a young one in a
cage at Keswick, and noticing the extraordinary drawn-up thin-
ness of it (exactly like Mr. Griffith’s picture (Zool. 1894), except
that its neck was often even more contracted in breadth, while in
length elongated to its utmost), and its immovability, and
resemblance to faded rushes, I can well understand that it might
be within a few feet and yet be invisible. Mr. Griffith’s photo-
graph, though very good, does not show the peculiarity of the
legs. The tarsi are sometimes at different angles, and the feet
point in different directions, without incommoding the Bittern in
the least. By the end of June it was clear to the owner of the
lake that there were two Little Bitterns, unless they are mar-
vellous ventriloquists, for one “ barked” on one side of the mere,
and one on the other. On the morning of July 25th Mr. P.
reported that after a heavy rain one of them sat on the top of
the Ducks’ enclosure, sunning himself and ‘“ barking”’ for ten
minutes. I did my best to stimulate search, and a nest of some
kind was found, but its ownership was not proved, and no eggs
were laid. By the 22nd of August the birds had gone.

28th. A new colony of about thirty Herons’ nests was noted
at Reedham (W. H. Hudson). A fully-fledged Hawfinch was
caught at Beeston Regis (T. W. Cremer), and a male Crossbill

ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORFOLK. 99

was shot at Cromer, where a pair of these birds appeared in a
large garden in the town, with four young ones able to fly, but
probably bred in the woods near. I soon afterwards heard from
Mr. R. Clarke that several flocks of Crossbills had been seen in
the neighbourhood of Sandringham, and Mr. Cordeaux noted
some in the Humber district (‘ Naturalist,’ 1895, p. 2). In the
autumn they again appeared near Swaffham, and I think they are
becoming much commoner than formerly.

) JULY.

13th. A Short-eared Owl was caught alive at Framingham
Pigot, near Norwich, and was afterwards sent me by Myr. S. Bligh.
From its rich colour and the down between the ear-tufts it was
apparently a young bird.

18th. A Homing Pigeon of my son’s, liberated at Lowestoft,
flew to Keswick in fifty minutes; a good record.

19th. A Curlew at Keswick.

81st. Seven Grey Crows were seen at Yarmouth by Mr.
Patterson. They are not often met with at this time of the

year.
AUGUST.

- 2nd. Two Wood Sandpipers seen at Hickling (Bird).

20th. T'wo Wigeon seen at Hickling (Bird).

22nd. A Garganey was shot near Lynn by Mr. Cresswell.

25th. A pale variety of the Redshank was shot at Cley by
Mr. Gunn, who also saw a very pale-coloured Curlew, at first
reported to be a white one; and later on a white Woodcock was
seen by the keepers at Horsford.

SEPTEMBER.

10th. An immature female Barred Warbler, Sylvia nisoria,
was shot at Cley by Mr. W. H. Connop. It had the under tail
coverts a good deal barred, and the wing coverts edged a little
with white. Six years ago one of these birds was shot, on the
Same date, at the same place; and on this occasion one had been
shot only seven days before, in Yorkshire.

18th. A female Alpine Ring Ouzel was shot on the beach at
Cley by Mr. T. E. Gunn, answering to the description of Turdus
alpestris in Dresser’s ‘ Birds of Europe,’ where there are four
figures given of this southern variety (vol. ii. p. 113; supp. p. 653).

21st. Mr. Patterson noticed and for some time watched a
I2

100 . THE ZOOLOGIST.

bird which from his description must have been an Alpine
Accentor, near Yarmouth. ,

25th. Mr. Patterson found floating upon the river Bure a
three-bushel sack which proved to be crammed full of dead
Black-headed Gulls, in fact nearly 100 of them, and most of them
minus their wings. Many a visitor to our “ Broads” is deprived
of pleasure by such thoughtless and selfish destruction as this.

27th. The first Lapland Bunting was seen at Yarmouth
(G. Smith), four days later than the first seen last year.

28th. A Fulmar Petrel at Cley (Pashley).

OcTOBER.

Ist. A Kentish Plover at Yarmouth (Patterson), and a Yellow-
browed Warbler at Cley. The latter was shot by a labouring
man who only wished to empty his gun, and little thought he was
firing at the first Norfolk example of Phylloscopus superciliosus.
It has the stripe on the crown very faint, and is probably a young
bird. Three were shot on the 8th, 13th, and 15th, in South
Yorkshire, probably a part of the same migratory flock, which
indeed reached to Italy, where, as I learn from the Rev. H. A.
Macpherson, one was killed between Nice and Genoa about the
third week in October. The head stripe is scarcely perceptible
in one of the Beverley trio, which, through the intervention
of Mr. F. Boyes, I obtained from Mr. George Swailes.- Eleven
examples of the Yellow-browed Warbler have now been met with
in the British Isles, two of which have not been recorded, though
obtained twenty-seven years ago. ‘These were shot by Mr. J. H.
Jenkinson and Mr. Pechell on the Scilly Islands, October, 1867,
the same month which produced one at Cheltenham, and were
thought to be only young Firecrests (cf. ‘ Birds of Cornwall,’
p. 249). One of Mr. Swaile’s birds was exhibited by Mr.
Harting to the British Ornithologists’ Club, and he has com-
mented on this, and on its recent occurrence in Norfolk (Zool.
1894, p. 459). With the Yellow-browed Warbler the Norfolk
register is brought up to 298, to which Dr. Sharpe now tells us we
may add Holbdll’s Redpoll (‘ British Birds,’ i. p. 47). Three
days afterwards another bird, nearly as rare, namely, a young
Red-breasted Flycatcher, Muscicapa parva, was shot at Cley by
Mr. G. EK. Power. Perhaps the next novelty to be found at this
favoured seaside spot will be the Crested Titmouse. No Blues

ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORFOLK. 101

throats were seen there, and, so far as I know, none were
announced on any part of the east coast of England during 1894.

9th. A young male White-eyed Duck, Fuligula nyroca, was
shot at Yarmouth (G. Smith).

13th. Received a pair of Gadwalls from a mere in West
Norfolk, and later on another pair, but I find these Ducks shy,
and much more difficult to keep alive than Pintails. In Hunt’s
time (1815), the Gadwall was called “a Rodge,” probably signi-
fying an eater of aquatic roots (cf. Harting, Zool. 1882, p. 296).

15th. A Great Snipe was shot at Reedham (G. Smith), and a
Little Gull at Cley (Pashley) ; two other Little Gulls were seen
at Cley, and a Shag killed (G. E. Power).

16th. Lapland Bunting at Cley (Power). Others seen after-
wards by Mr. W. H. Dobie.

17th. Little Auk at Cley (Power).

19th. Fulmar Petrel washed up at Yarmouth (Patterson), and
another about the same time at Cley (W. H. Dobie).

On the 24th I noticed the barometer very low, and the 25th
was as cold a day as I ever experienced, when standing shivering
outside a covert; in spite of which, Mr. Pashley informs me, a
dull-plumaged female Roller was shot, either on this day or a
few days before, at Barton; but the Roller, though tropical in
appearance, has a high northern range. A walk with my gun
convinced me that birds were on the move. Mr. Patterson, from
his station at Yarmouth, observed Rooks, Jackdaws, and Starlings
flying south in continuous flocks; and a Sea Hagle was seen by
several people at Northrepps, mobbed by about forty Rooks,
which gradually drove it out to sea. ‘Two large flocks of Long-
‘tailed Ducks were viewed at sea by Mr. Dobie swimming west-
wards; anda Black-bellied Dipper, Cinclus melanogaster, a bird
which the late Mr. Stevenson associated with severe weather,
was shot at the back of Aylsham watermill, as I learn from
Mr. Southwell, who adds that its gizzard contained elytra of
the Whirleygig Beetle (Gyrinus). It was afterwards presented
to the museum, when I had an opportunity of noting that the
whole of the white breast was suffused with specks of brown,
‘doubtless the last indication of immaturity. There was not a
tint of chestnut on the under parts. This interesting species is
now reckoned almost an annual visitant to Norfolk, whereas the
typical British C. aquaticus has occurred but twice in the county,

102 THE ZOOLOGIST.

27th. Redwings and Fieldfares were observed coming in
flocks straight over the sea (Dobie).

NovVEMBER.
5th. A Fulmar Petrel at Yarmouth (G. Smith).
19th. A Peregrine seen near Wells (Col. Feilden).
20th. A Spotted Redshank was shot at Barton.
26th. A Black Redstart at Cley (Ramm).
28th. A Green Sandpiper, T'otanus ochropus, at Surlingham.
29th. Two Sclavonian Grebes shot on the Bure (G. Smith).

DECEMBER.

Ath. A Sea Eagle was killed at Shottesham (J. A. Cole),
possibly the same which had been seen at Northrepps and after-
wards at Hemsby.

llth. A Richard’s Pipit was caught at Caistor, as I am
informed by Mr. G. Smith, at whose house it was at the time of
writing, thriving on mealworms. It, however, soon died, and was
presented by Lord Lilford to the Norwich Museum.

14th. A male Salmon 386 in. long and weighing 133 lbs. was
taken in an eel-trap at Keswick mill, where no one ever
recollected a fish of this species having been seen before; indeed,
its appearance in any Norfolk rivers is very rare, and this one
must have passed through three mills—Trowse, Lakenham, and
Keswick—which seems extraordinary.

On bringing these Norfolk Notes to a conclusion, I should
like to make an apology. If I was the person who gave Mr.
Howard Saunders the information that as recently as 1840 there
were Guillemots on Cromer cliffs (vide Yarrell, Brit. Birds, iv.
p-. 70), though my name is not mentioned, I can only say that I
am sorry I was so incautious. ‘There is no reason for supposing
that Guillemots ever bred at Cromer, and assuredly not so lately
as 1840. The cliffs, as Mr. Southwell has pointed out, are too
friable and sandy, with hard clay in places, but quite devoid of
rocky ledges such as Guillemots love to haunt. ‘The excuse for
the mistake lies in the misapprehension of the meaning of the
name ‘‘ Foulness,” applied in maps to this headland of our coast.
In the opinion of Mr. W. Rye, the well-known antiquary, it does
not mean “ Birds’ headland,’ as I incorrectly supposed, but a
foul or dangerous place where good ships may come to grief,

ones}

NOTES, AND QUERIES.

MAMMALIA.

The Lesser Shrew.—The Lesser Shrew, Sorea minutus, is perhaps
the least known of the smaller British quadrupeds. Its wide distribution
throughout the British Isles was known to Bell; and Mr. de Winton
informs me that he has specimens from England, Scotland, Ireland, and the
Hebrides. Dr. Sharff, of Dublin, tells me that S. minutus is common in
Ireland, while araneus is entirely absent. This is an interesting fact, and
the perusal of a very interesting paper by him on “ The Origin of the Irish
Land and Freshwater Fauna,” leads one to infer that Sorea minutus was an
earlier inhabitant of Britain than araneus, and penetrated into Lreland before
the severance of that island from Britain, and before araneus had arrived
here. ‘The comparative scarcity of minutus in Britain is also interesting in
this connection. Did the larger araneus come over and wage war with its
smaller relative, and so diminish its numbers in the same way that Mus
decumanus has done with Mus rattus? So far as my limited experience
goes, both Shrews make use of the same runs.—LioneL HK. ApDams
(Northampton).

Yellow-tailed Squirrels.—I understand that some investigations on the
subject of Squirrels’ tails becoming yellow or straw-coloured are on foot.
Perhaps it may interest those curious in the matter to hear that early in
January of this year I observed six Squirrels busily engaged hunting for
beech-mast under some beeches near my windows, and that four of them
had tails of a more or less yellow hue, the other two being of the ordinary
colour. Later on in the spring the tails of most if not all our Squirrels
here become yellow or yellowish white.x—O. P. Camsripex (Bloxworth
Rectory, Dorset).

The Editor having shown me this letter of Mr. Cambridge, I may
state that, thanks to the kindness of Mr. J. C. Mansel-Pleydell, the British
Museum has received a fine series of Squirrels, killed at intervals of a few
weeks all through the year, from Whatcombe, near Blandford, Dorset, the
same district from which Mr. Cambridge writes. ‘These clearly show that
about November the tail grows a new and rich coat of brown or even nearly
black hairs, and that these begin to bleach almost at once, passing through
all the shades of colour from dark brown, by dull brown, yellowish brown,
yellow to yellowish white, or even clear white, so that August and
September specimens have normally white tails. Butas the bleaching of the
hairs goes on most irregularly in different individuals, the four out of six
Jauuary specimens mentioned by Mr. Cambridge with tails of a “ more or
less yellow hue” are perfectly natural and in accordance with what is shown
by Mr. Mansel-Pleydell’s series, Any specimens presenting a condition

104 THE ZOOLOGIST.

inconsistent with the rule, such as white-tailed individuals killed in Novem-
ber or December, or dark brown or black-tailed ones procured in August,
or, again, any red-tailed ones, would be acceptable additions to the series in
the British Museum. This series, it is hoped, will be worked out shortly,
not only as regards the variation in the colour of the tails, but also as to the
growth and colour-change in the fur generally, and as to the development,
bleaching, and shedding of the ear-tufts. — OLprizLpD THomas (Natural
History Museum). :

The Names of the Mole.—With reference to Mr. H. Raeburn’s note,
on p. 64, on this subject, it would be interesting to learn in what part (or
parts) of Denmark the name Marsvin is applied to this animal, as it
usually means a Porpoise; though I see by both the Dano-Norwegian and
Swedish dictionaries that it is also used for a Guinea-pig. Again, is it
certain that the first syllable is derived from the word signifying Elf or
“ Nightmare”? is it not rather from the word which is, I believe, both Old
Norse and modern Icelandic, meaning sea? Compare the French Marsuin,
which Rolland (‘ Faune populaire de la France ’) derives from Old High
German Mérisuin ; modern German Meerschwein; Russian Morskaja
swinja (pronounce j as English y), all meaning Sea-pig; while the same
idea appears in the Spanish Puerco marino. The Mole does not occur in
Norway, nor (according to Lilljeborg, ‘Sveriges och Norges Ryggradsdjur ’)
further north in Sweden than Sédermanland. The Danish name for a
Mole is Muldvarp ; Muldvarpe, as quoted by Mr. Raeburn, is the plural.
The Swedish word is Mullvad, which agrees as to its last syllable with the
Scotch form; and it should be remembered that the Swedish language, as
now used, is much nearer Old Norse than the Dano-Norwegian.—ALFRED
HENEAGE Cocks (Great Marlow, Bucks).

Irish Hare turning White in Winter.—At p. 266 of ‘Science Gossip’
for February last, in Dr. Scharff’s interesting sketch of the fauna and flora
of Ireland, it is stated that “in Ireland the Arctic or Mountain Hare does
not change its dress to white as it does in cold countries, but remains in its
brown summer hue throughout the winter.” I do uot know on what
grounds Dr. Scharff has been led to make this statemeut, for, so far as my
experience goes in County Down, it is quite incorrect. At Finnebrogue,
near Downpatrick, a very large number of Hares are taken or killed every
year, and it is found that a considerable number of these turn very white
in the winter, while nearly all assume a much lighter shade of fur when
the cold weather sets in. The Irish Hare is considered to be exceptionally
strong and suited for coursing purposes, and a large number are exported
annually to England and Scotland for various coursing meetings. — W. H.
WarkrAND, Major-General R.E. (Harold Road, Margate).

[In the recently published volume by Mr. Lydekker on ‘ British
Mammalia,’ in Allen's Naturalists’ Library, the same mistake is made. It

NOTES AND QUERIES. 105

is there stated (pp. 226, 227) that ‘in Ireland, doubtless owing to the
mild climate, the Mountain Hare does not turn white in winter.” This
error was doubtless copied from Bell’s ‘ British Quadrupeds,’ notwith-
standing that we pointed out the fallacy of it twenty years ago, on the
appearance of the second edition of that work. Since then we have
not only received the assurance of several sportsmen and good observers
in Ireland that Bell was mistaken in his assertion, but we have had
ocular demonstration of the fact by shooting several Irish Hares, and
seeing others shot by friends, in all stages of change from brown to white.
—Ep.]

The Black Rat in London.—As the occurrence of the old English
Black Rat, Mus rattus, is becoming less frequent every year, it may be of
interest to note that a young one, a female, was caught on the business
premises of Messrs. S. E. Norris and Co., at Shadwell, East London, in
February last. During the same week that this specimen was trapped,
several Brown Rats, Mus decumanus, were caught in the same part of the
building.—A. D. Lapswortx (Woodford Green).

CETACEA.

Food of the Dolphin.—In Sept. 1893, the men on board the Prince
of Monaco’s yacht lying off Corsica captured a Dolphin, which on being
hauled on board was opened and the contents of the stomach immediately
placed in alcohol. Subsequent examination by Prof. L. Joubin, of Rennes,
showed that at the time of its capture this Dolphin had just made a large
meal of cephalopods. Many of them were so little injured that there was
no difficulty in determining the species, and the following were recog-
nised :—Enoploteuthis maryaritifera, Riippell (four specimens), Chiro-
teuthis veranyi, d’Orbigny (three specimens), Loligo vulgaris, Lamarck,
Todarodes sagittatus, Steenstrup, Onychoteuthis lichtenstein, Férussac,
Heteroteuthis dispar, Gray (?), and three examples of a new species which
Prof. Joubin has described and figured (Bull. Soc. Zool. France, tome xix.
1894, p. 64) under the name of Ctenopteryx cyprinoides, and which appears
to be allied to Ctenopteryx fimbriatus, described by the Norwegian zoologist
Appelof. The particular species of Dolphin is not mentioned, but we may
assume from the name Dauphin applied to it that it was the common
Delphinus delphis, Linn., which is not only plentiful in the Mediterranean,
but comes into our own waters. On the Cornish coast especially it some-
times appears in considerable numbers, and is frequently taken in the
fishermen’s nets. An examination of some of these, according to Couch,
has proved that the food of this cetacean is not confined to cuttle-fish and
crustacea, but that Pilchards, Mackerel, and other fish are also habitually

taken.—J. E. Harrine.

106 YHE ZOOLOGIST.

BIRDS.

Local Names of Wildfowl.—-Can any correspondent say what are the
modern names of the wildfowl formerly termed pellstarts and smeathes?
I have lately been writing the history of Cheadle, in Cheshire, and in the
diary of Sir Wm. Brereton, the Parliamentary General, there are particulars
given of his ’coy (or decoy) at Handford Hall, his home, and the “ shovelars,
teal, wigeon, pellstarts, and smeathes” that were taken there. The names
probably refer to Pintails and Smews; but would they ever be common birds
inland in Cheshire? Handford or Handforth Hall is ten miles south of
Manchester, a beautiful old black and white house, with good staircase, and
a wonderfully inscribed porch of black oak dated 1562, erected by Wigan
Brereton, who married the heiress of the last of the Handfords (who fell at
Flodden), and who had been married and divorced from Sir John Stanley,
who also fought at Flodden. ‘The site of the “decoy” is now a reservoir
for a calico-printing works, and ducks are accordingly scarce.—FLETCHER
Moss (The Old Parsonage, Didsbury).

[The word pell, diminutive of pool, means a broad shallow piece of water,
larger than a pond and smaller than a lake, A.S. pol, British pwl. In
Dutch it is poel, in German pfahl, Latin palus. Pell is in use in Sussex,
and signifies just such a place as wildfowl love to haunt. In Herefordshire
a pill is a small creek, which in Wales is called pil. This word is used on
the Severn, but occurs elsewhere in Celtic districts as a proper name. For
example, in Cornwall, on the Falmouth river, there is a village named Pdll.
In Ireland also there is Pilltown in Co. Kilkenny, situate on a creek of the
Suir called the Pill, and Pilltown on the Blackwater, Co. Waterford. But
however suggestive this may be of wildfowl and their haunts, can this word
after all have anything to do with pell in pellstart? Start, of course, is the
A.5S. steort, tail, seen in ‘ Redstart,” and ‘‘Clubster,” a local name for
the Stoat; but pellstart, if from A.S. pol steort, can have no intelligible
signification. It is more likely that the word is a corruption of ‘ pile-
start,” pile signifying an arrow, dart, or javelin. In this sense it would be
applicable enough to the Pintail, Dajfila acuta. It would be interesting to
know whether pellstart or pilestart is still in use in any part of the country.
We have vot found it in any of the Glossaries, ten or a dozen, to which we
have referred. Smeath, on the other hand, is given in several for the
Smew, Mergus albellus, which, from its piscivorous habits, is not at all likely
to be decoyed, though it might be taken in a decoy by accident.—Ep.]

Notes on Grouse.—I have to thank Mr. Macpherson for his “ explana-
tion,” though it hardly seems to explain much. As I never saw my uncle’s
bird described in print as a hybrid uutil I read the allusion to it in the
volume on the Grouse in Longman’s “ Fur and Feather ” Series, 1 can
hardly have concurred in any ‘‘original records.” I am informed by

NOTES AND QUERIES. 107

Mr. Suchetet, of Rouen, that he knows of ten or eleven more or less
authenticated cases of hybridism between the Red Grouse and Black-
game (but this is not one of them), one an undoubted example, bred
in captivity. As to the migrations of the Red Grouse, if Mr. Macpherson
has been “ often asked to investigate”? such phenomena, but has not done
so, by what process did he arrive at the opinion which he has expressed in
the volume on ‘The Grouse,’ that this bird does not migrate at all?
Almost every one in Alston knows of the regular appearance of the ‘ York-
shire birds,” as most people know of the arrival of the Swallows. And if
Mr. Macpherson would either pass a few days in Alston twice or thrice
during the season, and examine the birds sent in to the dealers, or would
go up with the owners or lessees of a few of the moors about there twice or
thrice in the season, and examine and weigh the birds killed at different
periods, he would certainly be in a position to give us some exact infor-
mation of the highest interest, without having recourse to tin labels, to
which there is likely to be considerable objection. I am tempted to adda
brief account of the movements of the birds on my uncle’s moor at Alston.
There are two types of birds which breed there. The low-ground cocks are
a little over average size, and weigh about 26 oz.; are very red-coloured,
with but little black ground colour on the under parts, and that chiefly
confined to the lower belly; have hardly any white tips; the white
moustache hardly visible. The hens are very handsome, dark, boldly
marked, with large golden spots (tips) on the back; weight about 28 oz.
On higher ground the larger ‘fell-top birds” are met with, weighing
(cocks) 28-80 oz.; much blacker in ground colour, and with a great deal of
white on the throat, wings, and under parts generally; the hens about
24 oz., dark, and a good deal ticked with white. In the earlier part of the
season these are the two types met with, the former on the low ground, the
latter on the hill-tops and rockier ground. But after the end of October—
or a little later according to the season—the first or low-ground type seems
to vanish mostly, probably to fells lower down (but as to this I know
nothing for certain), while the fell-top birds descend to take their place. In
addition a very large number of smaller Grouse appear, in big packs, all, or
nearly all, females. I cannot say that 1 have ever handled a male. These
are well known in the neighbourhood as ‘ Yorkshire birds,” and are
believed to come from the Duke of Cleveland’s Yorkshire moors, some
twenty miles off. They are much lighter in colour than the native hens,
so much so that they are readily recognised on the wing. They are very
yellow in tint, very “‘speckly ”—that is, the markings are, by comparison,
much less bold, and the contrast of colours much less striking than in the
other two types. The two which I have as skins weighed, when freshly
shot, 19 oz. aud 20% oz. respectively. I should say that the former, or a
trifle more, is about the average weight—that is to say, some three ounces

108 THE ZOOLOGIST.

less than the hens scale which are shot earlier in the season, a very sub-
stantial difference. These last stay till towards the pairing season, and
then are seen no more till late autumn. Apart from the weights, which
speak for themselves, the three types are distinguishable at a glance by
their plumage.—Henry H. Suater.

Migration of Grouse in Winter.—In our last number (p. 69) we
printed the reports of several correspondents, showing the severe straits to
which the Red Grouse have been reduced upon the north country moors
by reason of the severe cold and heavy snow, which have prevented them
from getting their usual food, and driven them down to the valleys in search
of sustenance. A correspondent of ‘The Field,’ writing from North York-
shire on Feb. 12th, observes :—* In the North Riding the storm continues
with unabated severity, and both winged and ground game are suffering.
On the moor the snow lies very deep, many of the smaller ‘ ghylls’ being
completely overblown. ‘The Grouse have forsaken the higher moors, where
it is impossible for them to be artificially fed, and have congregated on the
lower ground, where, by means of snow harrows, and holes dug through the
snow, they are enabled to reach the heather. On most moors, where
practicable, they have been and are daily fed with unthrashed corn.
Numbers of Grouse, however, are scattered all over the lower valleys, and
may be seen literally in hundreds perched in the hedgerows, feeding on the
hawthorn berries and haws of the brier, and other wild seeds. It is a
pitiable sight to see the straits to which these—our gamest of game-birds—
are reduced; they are so tamed by want of food as to be heedless of the
approach of man, and could easily be knocked down with a stick. Scores
have succumbed, but in many cases these have been ‘ pricked’ birds, and in
some instances birds suffering from tapeworm. All the weakly birds
must be killed by the intense cold and lack of food, and numbers will
doubtless fall victims to unscrupulous persons. ‘The partial thaw, suc-
ceeded by a severe frost, rendered it impossible for the birds to get through
the frozen surface to reach their natural food, and this frost was followed
by another thick covering of snow. Undoubtedly, good will ensue to a
limited extent by the change of blood, and on the overstocked moors disease
may be averted. Not within the memory of man have so many Grouse
been seen feeding in hedgerows or amongst the sheep and in farmyards as
at present. Partridges also have suffered, and whole coveys have been
found frozen stiff where jugging. In most cases Partridges are able to eke
out a subsistence by feeding in the hedge bottoms, roads, and farm or stack-
yards, but the bitter cold of the present storm has caused great destruction.
Rooks and Carrion Crows have been seen feeding on emaciated, starved
birds and rabbits. Pheasants are, as a rule, well looked after and hand-fed,
but in distant and unpreserved coverts the wild birds are being exterminated,
Foxes are plentiful, and their pad-marks can be seen in all directions in the

—— SS ————EE

NOTES AND QUERIES. 109

snow, and doubtless they also have proved destructive to game. Snipe
have apparently deserted us, and comparatively few wildfowl have been
seen inland. Hares and rabbits are perishing in scores, dead bodies,
frozen stiff, being frequently seen. In the hedgerows and plantations most
of the lower branches and stems of the trees have been peeled by the
rabbits, which seem especially partial to holly, ash, and hazel, the black-
thorn escaping to a great extent. The hill farmers are put to great straits
for want of hay, and the difficulty of transporting it, many of the roads
being snow-blocked.”

Briinnich’s Guillemot in Cambridgeshire.—With reference to the
Guillemot alluded to in your editorial note (p. 70) as announced by the
Rev. Julian Tuck, I beg to inform you that this gentleman has been kind
enough to send me the specimen in question, stuffed, for inspection. I had
little doubt at first sight as to its species, but as I have a very slight
acquaintance with this family of birds, I obtained Mr. Tuck’s permission
to send his bird for the opinion of Professor Alfred Newton, who, after
comparing it with specimens in the Cambridge University Museum, wrote
to me that (in his opinion) there could be no doubt that the bird is
Briinnich’s Guillemot. I may add that through the courtesy of Mr. W. J.
Clarke and Mr. Oxley Grabham, I have also seen the Scarborough and
Filey specimens, recorded Joc. supra cit. and that an examination of these
confirms (were any confirmation needed) Professor Newton’s opinion with
regard to the subject of this note-—Litrorp (Lilford Hall, Oundle).

_ [It is satisfactory to have all doubt removed by this communication, for
which we are much obliged, and it only remains to add that the Cambridge-
shire specimen of Briinnich’s Guillemot here referred to was obtained at
Guyhirne, on the Nene, Cambridgeshire, about the 12th January last. It
was received in the flesh by Mr. Travis, taxidermist, of Bury, from whom
it was subsequently purchased by Mr. Tuck.—Ep.]

Sea Gulls in London:— During the continuance of the severe frost in
January and February hundreds of Sea Gulls frequented the Thames in
the very heart of London, attracted apparently by the open water which
was kept from freezing by the tide. Here they remained for many weeks,
hovering round the bridges, from which the bystanders threw them pieces
of bread, biscuit, and other food, or resting on the moored barges and blocks
of floating ice. At Blackfriars Bridge they were especially numerous, and
between that and Westminster Bridge they were daily to be seen in hundreds.
From Westminster some of them made daily excursions to the water in
St. James’s Park, where they would alight to share the food thrown to the
Ducks and semi-domesticated pinioned Gulls, which perhaps served as
decoys. Amongst the flocks which visited the metropolis, by far the
greater number were Black-headed Gulls in the ordinary winter plumage,

110 THE ZOOLOGIST,.

that is without black heads, and many of them immature, as might be
seen by their mottled backs and the broad dark bar across the extremity
of the tail. But in addition to these were many Kittiwakes, a few Common
Gulls, Herring Gulls, and now and then an immature Black-backed Gull.
On one occasion (Feb. 15th) I had a close view of a Little Gull, Larus
minutus, as it passed along the Thames Embankment at Charing Cross,
within a yard or two of where I stood feeding some of the Black-headed
species. Londoners are accustomed to see a few Gulls on the river from
time to time, as well as on the water in the parks during the period of
migration in spring and autumn, but the unusual numbers of these birds
which made their appearance in the middle of January was so extraordinary
as to attract universal attention.—J. EH. Harrine.

Hybrid Finches at the Crystal Palace Bird Show.—The most
interesting hybrid exhibited at the late Crystal Palace Bird Show was a
cross between the Greenfinch and Bullfinch—a large handsome bird with a
greyish back and dull reddish yellow breast and upper tail coverts. In the
same class was a Siskin and Redpoll hybrid, and several examples of the
commoner crosses between the Goldfinch and Linnet and the Bullfinch and
Goldfinch; one variety with a white head, which was undescribed in the
catalogue, was evidently an example of the latter. Altogether eleven birds
were exhibited in this class, exclusive of a Reed Bunting, which for some
unknown reason was allowed a place in it. Two very nice Redstarts and
some beautiful Bearded Tits were on view, and the variety class included a
Goldfinch with a black instead of a crimson face.—A. HottE MacPHERSON.

Two-barred Crossbill in the West of England and Ireland.—A letter
from Mr. Maxwell, of Keynsham, Somerset, announces the fact of his having
shot a red Crossbill with two white bars across the wing, one of a little
flock that visited a wood in his neighbourhood during the last week of
February. Another is reported from the Co. Fermanagh, by Mr. Charles
Langham, of Tempo Manor, Enniskillen, who writes on Feb. 23rd :—* I
have had a stroke of luck since I last wrote to you. Wishing to obtain
some Crossbills for my collection, I shot a few, one of which is Loaia
bifasciata. My bird-stuffer, who has had over sixty years’ experience, is
positive that it is the European Two-barred Crossbill, and not the American
white-winged species.” We have no reason to doubt the correctness of the
identification, and those of our correspondents who are being visited by
Crossbills this winter would do well to keep a look-out for the rarer two-
barred species that may be in their company.—Ep.

Shearwaters in Carnarvonshire.—It is not at all unlikely that the dead
Shearwaters found in Carnarvonshire by Mr. 'T. A. Coward (p. 72) may
have been dashed by the force of the wind against the cliffs, on misty
nights, and killed. When at the Scilly Islands, I found a good many of

NOTES AND QUERIES. lil

these birds which had evidently met their death in this way, and I think
most of them had broken necks like those found by Mr. Coward.—J. H.
Gurney (Keswick, Norwich).

Stone Curlew in Lincolnshire in Winter.—A specimen of the Stone
Curlew (Gidicnemus) was shot by a labourer in the parish of Marsh
Chapel, on the 30th January last. It was in good condition, in spite of
the extreme severity of the weather.—G. H. Caton Harau (Grainsby Hall,
Great Grimsby, Lincolnshire).

Waxwing in Leicestershire.—A specimen of this bird was shot near
the village of Laughton, in this county, on Feb. 13th. I did not hear of
its occurrence before the bird had been sent for preservation to a bird-
stuffer in Leicester, and am therefore unable to state any particulars as to
its sex, or food—A. MatrueEws (Gumley, Market Harborough).

Blackbird marked like Ring Ouzel.—In ‘The Zoologist’ for 1898,
p. 189, is a notice of an old male Blackbird marked with a well-defined
crescent-shaped patch at the upper part of the breast near the throat. I
have seen this bird constantly here ever since, until the beginning of the
present year 1895, and the pale marking had increased in distinctness. I
fear that some mischauce has happened to this bird, as it has not been
visible among the numerous birds of many kinds coming daily to be fed
on my lawn during the long severe past frost; there is, however, in its
place, a hen Blackbird marked exactly in the same way. She has been
about here since last summer.—O. P. CamBripcr (Bloxworth Rectory,
Dorset).

Gray-lag Geese breeding in Nottinghamshire. — The Grey-lag
Geese, Anser ferus, come to our shooting-quarters in Norway on or about
April Ist, and generally speaking have laid and are sitting by May 1st.
The eggs from which my geese at Annesley were reared were taken during
the last week in April, 1889, and I myself set them under hens. They
took twenty-eight days hatching, and the young were very easily reared. In
March, 1894, they all took their departure, and when I returned from Scot-
land I discovered two of them sitting on the island in the pond, about half-a-
mile away. They each in due time hatched four young ones, and they are
all now well and strong. I have never got them to cross with the tame
geese, although they are always together. I have seen them crossed in
Scotland, but mine never do so, although they have every opportunity, as
for some years I had a wild gander alone with tame geese, and I also had
a wild goose for several years alone with my tame geese. I consider that
the Scotch wild Gray-lag differs somewhat from the Norwegian bird, though
not to any great extent. ‘Two facts strike me as curious, namely, that they
laid their eggs and were sitting a month earlier than they would have done

i338 _ THE ZOOLOGIST.

in Norway, and also that one gander paired with two geese, which is quite
opposed to what happens in a wild state, for they then pair and the gander
keeps with the goose the whole time she is sitting, and guards the brood
until they all take their departure at the end of September. Another fact
I should like to mention, and thatis, Grey-lag Geese do not lay the number
of eggs that is commonly supposed. Six is the largest number that I have
ever seen; four and five the usual number. Ihave heard of seven, but
have never seen so many, and I have had considerable experience in this
respect.—P. Musrirs (Annesley Park, Notts).

REPTILIA.

On the Habits of Macropisthodon rhodomelas.—The little harmless
Macropisthodon rhodomelas, Boulenger, is one of the commonest Snakes
in Singapore, and may often be seen creeping about in the grass in the
Botanic Gardens, in the early morning and evening. It is very con-
spicuous with its brick-red head and body and slaty-blue belly. On the
nape is a black V-shaped mark, edged with blue, and a black line runs down
the back. When attacked, and unable to escape, it sits up like a Cobra,
spreading out the skin on either side of its neck, and arching forwards its
head. This imitation of a Cobra might of itself deter enemies from
approaching it, but the reptile has a further protection, which I think has
not been hitherto recorded. When sitting up, Cobra-wise, it exudes from
a point on its neck just above the black mark, a number of drops of a thick
white liquid, in the position of the skull-like markings of the Cobra. A
Terrier attacking this Snake naturally bit and shook it by the most
prominent portion, namely, the arched neck; and though he killed it, the
glandular exudation made him foam at the mouth for a considerable time,
and he was evidently very uncomfortable. The action on the mucous
membrane of the mouth was exactly like that produced by the acrid
secretion of a common Toad here, Bufo melanostictus, which no dog will
touch twice. I captured one of these Snakes and tasted the milky
exudation, but though it was bitter and unpleasant, it did not produce the
action on my salivary glands that it does on those of the dog. I do not
remember to have heard of any other Snake which repels its enemies by
its distastefulness ; and the boldness with which this Snake moves about in
open, exposed spots, is probably due to the possession of this form of
defence. I should add, that as all the Cobras in the south of the Malay
Peninsula are entirely black, and the only other hooded Snake, Ophio-
phagus, does not much resemble Macropisthodon in colouring, so that though
the latter may be taken for a poisonous hooded Snake under some circum-
stances, the resemblance is probably hardly sufficiently close to deceive the
sharp-eyed Serpent-Eagles which are always on the watch for prey.—
H. N. Ripuey (Singapore).

Oe ee

113 )

SoleNtiIC. SOCIETIES.

Linnean Society oF Lonpon.

Feb. 7th.— Mr. C. B. Crarke, F.R.S., President, in the chair.
Messrs. G. H. Adcock and J. R. Bovell were elected Fellows.
Mr. Thomas Christy exhibited a dried specimen of Aplopappus Llarete,
and samples of the so-called Gum Kino, Pterocarpus erinaceus, of which

some account was given by Mr. E. M. Holmes.

Mr. George Murray exhibited a number of lantern-slides of floating
Alge, of which he gave brief descriptions, referring to the localities in which
they had been found, and the literature relating to them.

By permission of the Director of the Royal Gardens, Kew, Mr. W. B.
Hemsley exhibited dried specimens of a number of new plants from
Kastern Asia.

Mr. Thomas Hanbury exhibited a beautiful collection of fresh fruits of

‘the Aurantiacee, grown in his own garden at ha Mortola, Mentone, and

gave an account of some of the more remarkable varieties, their mode of
growth, and the conditions under which they had been grown.

A paper was then read by Mr. H. M. Bernard “ On the Comparative
Morphology of the Galeodide.” Waving described a possible origin for the
Crustacea from a chetopod annelid by an adaptation of the anterior
segments to a method of feeding, whereby the parapodia could function as
jaws, the author attempted the same for the Arachnida, with a view to
solve the question of their relationship with the Merostomata. The
Galeodide were chosen for special study because, unlike other Arachnids,

they have retained some segments of the cephalothorax as free movable

segments, and hence might be expected to throw light on the subject.
The author believed that he had solved the question of the primitive
specialization of the Arachnid phylum from their annelidan ancestors, and
expressed the opinion that as Arthropods they are not related either to the
Crustacea (including Limulus) or to the Hexapoda; but that all these are
distinct derivations of the Annelide. In an interesting discussion which

followed, the paper was criticised at some length by Mr. A. D. Michael,

Prof. Howes, and Mr. R. I. Pocock.

Feb, 21st—Mr. C. B. Crarxe, F.RB.S., President, in the chair.

Mr. Robert Okell was admitted a Fellow.

Mr. J. H. Vanstone exhibited specimens of some nearly allied Hydrozoa,
namely, Bougainvillea ramosa and B. musca, and after demonstrating their
structure, gave reasons for concluding that although the latter had been

described as distinct by Prof. Allman, the characters relied upon were not

of specific value, but simply varietal.

' ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—MARCH, 1895. K

114 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Mr. George Brebner exhibited some lantern-slides of Glocosiphonia
capillaris and other Alge, with accompanying descriptions, and gave an
interesting account of his method of preparing slides in colours.

On behalf of Mr. J. Boerlage, the President demonstrated the chief.
points in a paper communicated by him on the identification of Chionanthus
Ghaeri, an obscure species figured by Gaertner at the end of the last century,
in his famous work ‘ De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum,’ but hitherto
undetermined. - From the researches of Mr. Boerlage it now appeared that
it was evidently referable to Scirpodendron costatum, Kurz. This was made
clear by the excellent drawings which accompanied the paper as well as
by the specimens which were exhibited.

A paper was then read by Mr. E. M. Holmes on new marine Algs from
Japan. The author pointed out that up to the present time the known
species of Alge from that country did not exceed 800, or about half the
number found in Great Britain; but that the districts around three centres
only had been explored, namely, Hakodadi, Tokio, and Nagasaki, notwith-
standing the fact that sea-weeds are largely used as food by the Japanese,
and form an important article of commerce. The paper included descriptions
of twenty-three new species, the structure of which was shown by means
of the oxyhydrogen lantern.

ZooLtocicaL Society oF Lonpon.

Feb. 5th—Sir W. H. Frower, K.C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., President, in
the chair.

The Secretary read a report on the additions that had been made to the
Society’s Menagerie during the month of January, 1895.

Mr. Holding exhibited and made remarks on the skull of a Three-
horned Stag, the head of a Four-horned Ram, and the gnawed horn of a
Red Deer.

A communication was read from Dr. E. A. Goeldi, in which he described
the breeding habits of some Tree-Frogs observed by him in the Province
Rio Janeiro:—Hyla faber, Wied, constructs nests of mud on the shallow
borders of ponds, wherein the young are protected from enemies whilst in
the larval state. Hyla goeldii, Boulenger, dispenses with the metamor-
phoses, which are hurried through within the eggs, these being carried by
the female on her back. Hyla nebulosa, Spix, deposits its eggs in a slimy
mass attached to withered banana-leaves, the young remaining in this sort
of nest until in the perfect, air-breathing condition.

Mr. Edgar A. Smith gave an account of a collection of Land-Shells
made principally by Mr. A. Everett at Sarawak, ‘British North Borneo,
Palawan, and other neighbouring islands.

Mr. Oldfield Thomas read a paper upon the long-lost mammal, Putorius
africanus, Desm., and its occurrence in Malta,

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 115

Mr. F. E. Beddard read a paper on the visceral anatomy of the Tree-
Kangaroo, Dendrolagus bennettii, and pointed out the structure of the brain
and other organs.

Feb. 19th.—Sir W. H. Fiower, K.C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., President, in

- the chair.

A report was read, drawn up by Mr. A. Thomson, the Society’s Head-
Keeper, on the insects bred in the Insect House during the past season.

Mr. F. E. Beddard read a paper in which he gave a description of the
brain of the Glutton, Gulo luscus. A second paper by Mr. Beddard con-
tained a description of the brain of different species of Lemurs that have
died in the Society’s Gardens, pointing out the range of variation to be
observed in the cerebral convolutions of this order.

A communication was read from Mr. C. Davies Sherborn and Dr. F. A.

_ Jentink, in which were given the dates of the publication of the parts of

Siebold’s ‘ Fauna Japonica’ and Giebel’s ‘ Allgemeine Zoologie’ (first ed.).

A communication was read, from Dr. J. de Bedriaga, “ On the Pyrenean
Newt, Molge aspera, Dugés,” dealing with the external, osteological, and
larval characters of this imperfectly-known Batrachian, and giving an account
of its habits —P. L. Sctatzr, Secretary.

ENntomotocicaL Society or Lonpon.

February 6th, 1895.—Professor RapHaeL Mepota, F.R.S., President,
in the chair. :

The President announced that he had nominated the Right Hon. Lord
Walsingham, F.R.S., Mr. Henry John Elwes, F.L.S., and_Prof. Edward B.
Poulton, F'.R.S., Vice-Presidents of the Society for the Session 1895-96.

Mr. Charles Nicholson was elected a Fellow.

Mr. W.F. H. Blandford made some remarks regarding M. Brongniart’s
donation to the library of his monograph entitled ‘“‘ Recherches pour servir
a |’Histoire des Insectes Fossiles des Temps Primaires.” Mr. Blandfora
also called attention to figures of pupze of species of Spalgis (Lyceenide) in

the ‘ Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society.’

Canon Fowler exhibited, on behalf of Mr. C. A. Myers, an unusually
fine specimen of Spheria robertsi, growing from the prothorax of an under-
larva of an Hepialus, supposed to be H. virescens, from New Zealand.
Mr. McLachlan said that there was a doubt whether the caterpillar should
be referred to this species. Mr. Blandford stated that the French Govern-
ment had set aside a section of the Pasteur Institute at Paris for the study
of entomophagous fungi.

Prof. L. C. Miall and Mr. N. Walker communicated a paper “On
the life-history of Pericoma canescens (Psychodide),” with an Appendix
by Baron Osten-Sacken.

116 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Herr Jacoby read a paper entitled “ Contributions to our knowledge of
African Phytophagous Coleoptera.” Dr. D. Sharp remarked that Hrichsen
began the ‘ Insekten Deutschlands’ some sixteen years ago, and as he was
engaged on a classification of the Coleoptera of the world, he included a
eae number of these exotic species in his work. |

Mr. G. F. Hampson read a paper entitled ‘“ Descriptions of new
ee from India.”—-W. W. Fowrer, Hon. Secretary.

Feb. 20th.— Professor RapHaeL Metpona, F.B.S., President, in the
chair.

Mr. W. M. Christy exhibited specimens of Lycena agestis, caught in
Sussex last summer, which had a white edging round the black discoidal
spot. He said the specimens might perhaps be identical with the northern
form of the species known as the variety salmacis.

Mr. H. Goss exhibited a small collection of Lepidoptera from the South
of France made by Mr. Frank Bromilow.

Professor Meldola invited discussion upon the address delivered by.
Mr. Elwes, as retiring President, on the Geographical Distribution of
Butterflies, at the last Annual Meeting. He thought that the discussion
might lead to a useful expression of opinion if the speakers would deal
with the question as to how far the scheme of distribution advocated by
Mr. Elwes was borne out by a comparison with other orders of insects.
He was of opinion that in considering schemes of geographical distribution
the results arrived at were likely to be of greater value the wider the basis
on which they rested; and he therefore suggested a consideration of the
question how far it was justifiable to draw conclusions from one division or
one order only.

Dr. Sharp remarked that geographical distribution consisted of two
divisions—-firstly, the facts; secondly, the generalisations and deductions
to be drawn from them. He thought that, as regards insects generally,
our knowledge of the facts was vot yet sufficient to warrant many gene-
ralisations. Still the impressions of those who have paid attention to
particular groups of insects are even now of some importance, though at
present based on invomplete knowledge. He thought the Khopalocera would
prove to be a somewhat exceptional group in their distribution. Notwith-
standing that Australia and New Zealand are so poor in them, this was by
no means the case with their Coleoptera, Australia being very rich, and its
fauna of Coleoptera being very distunct. He thought that if Lepidoptera
geuerally were well collected in Australia and New Zealand, it would be
found that this order was uot so poor in species as was supposed. He
instanced the case of the Sandwich Islands, where it was supposed that
there were very few species of Lepidoptera, and yet some five hundred
Species, or perhaps more, had been recently found there by Mr. R. C. L,

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 117

Perkins, who had been sent to investigate the islands by a committee
appointed by the Royal Society and the British Association.

Mr. McLachlan was of opinion that no definite demarcation of regions
existed, but that all the regions overlapped; in any case, the retention
of Palearctic and Nearctic as separate provinces was not warranted on
entomological data. He thought that at the close of the glacial period some
insects, instead of going north, were dispersed southwards, and that the
present geographical distribution of some forms might thus be accounted
for. The discussion was continued by Mr. Osbert Salvin, Mr. J.J. Walker,
Herr Jacoby, Mr. Champion, Mr. Elwes, and Professor Meldola.

The Rey. T. A. Marshall communicated “A Monograph of British
Braconidz,” Part VI.

Mr. J. W. Tutt read a paper entitled ‘‘ An attempt to correlate the
various Systems of Classification of the Lepidoptera recently proposed by
various authors.”—H. Goss, Hon. Secretary.

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS,

The Life of Richard Owen. By his Grandson, the Rey. Ricuarp
Owen, M.A. With the scientific portions revised by
C. Davirs SHERBORN. Also an Essay on Owen’s position
in Anatomical Science by the Right Hon. T. H. Huxtey,
F.R.S. With Portraits and Illustrations. 2 vols. 8vo.
London: John Murray. 1894. a

In ‘The Zoologist’ for January, 18938, we gave a brief
memoir of the distinguished naturalist who had then lately
passed away, and whose ‘Life’ is now before us. In view of
this notice there will be no need now either to repeat or amplify
the biographical details already given, or to state facts which
must be well known to the majority of our readers. Those of
them who may take up the two volumes lately published by a
grandson of the deceased will be well repaid by their perusal.
In them they will find narrated the story of the early life and
struggles of a young man aspiring to fame in the medical pro-
fession; his trials and troubles, overcome by sheer energy and
fixity of purpose, and his gradual ascent of the ladder of. fame
culminating in his attainment of the highest position as an
anatomist and paleontologist. Incidentally we see him at his
daily work in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, and

lls THE ZOOLOGIST.

afterwards at the British Museum, and are introduced to his
friends and fellow-workers, many of them distinguished men of
science. Consulted by royalty and by the government of the day
on various questions of reform, such as the supply of water to
large towns, the improvement of slaughter-houses and meat-
markets, &c., we find him sitting on various commissions and
giving valuable and practical advice. ‘The important services
which he rendered as a Commissioner of the first International
Exhibition in 1851 were duly appreciated by the late Prince
Consort, and the public are now beginning to recognise the
advantage which has resulted from the removal, which he
advocated, of the Natural History collections in the British
Museum from Bloomsbury to South Kensington.

The laborious task of cataloguing, in five volumes, the
collections of John Hunter, and the large number of scientific
memoirs which he published during fifty years of unremitting
study and research, have resulted in a bequest to posterity of the
most valuable and instructive kind.

By way of appendix to the second volume of this ‘ Life,’
Prof. Huxley has written a very able criticism of Owen’s position
in the history of anatomical science, and we cannot do better
than quote from it a few sentences in which he has given an
opinion which no one is better qualified than himself to express.
He says:—

« During more than half a century Owen’s industry remained unabated ;
and whether we consider the quantity or the quality of the work done, or
the wide range of his labours, I doubt if, in the long annals of anatomy,
more is to be placed to the credit of any single worker.”

After enumerating some of his most important memoirs, and
showing in what particular respects they contributed to know-
ledge, he proceeds :—

“Tt is a splendid record; enough, and more than enough, to justify the
high place in the scientific world which Owen so long occupied. If I
mistake not, the historian of comparative anatomy and of paleontology will
always assign to Owen a place next to, and hardly lower than, that of
Cuvier, who was practically the creator of these sciences in their modern
shape; and whose works must always remain models of excellence in their
kind. It was not uncommon to hear our countryman called ‘the British
Cuvier,’ and so far, in my judgment, the collocation was justified, high as
the praise it implies,”

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 119

As paving the way for this expression of opinion, Prof.
-Huxley has given us in these pages a most instructive sketch
of the scope and course of modern biological science; of the
condition of its several great divisions when Sir R. Owen com-
menced his career; and of the influence of his work upon the
extraordinarily rapid advance of biology in the course of that
time. |

For this we are extremely grateful. It forms a fitting con-
clusion to a most interesting biography of one of mom all
English naturalists may well be proud.

Allen’s Naturalists’ Library. Edited by R. B. SHarpr.—A Hand-
book to the British Mammalia. By R. LypExkrer. Crown
8vo, pp. i-xiii; 1-340. London: W.H. Allen & Co. 1895.

In his Preface to this volume Dr. Sharpe remarks upon the
significant fact that at the present day no author pretends to
write a complete account of his subject who does not take some
notice of its paleontological aspect, and he considers himself
fortunate in having secured the assistance of Mr. Lydekker in
the preparation of this record of our British Mammalia past and
present. As regards the “past,” we may echo Dr. Sharpe’s
sentiment, but not as regards the ‘“‘present”’; for on the very next
page we read, in the author’s own words, the curious statement
that he “makes no claim to being an observer of the habits
of British mammals,” though he undertakes to write about them,
a remark which he subsequently justifies by the many mistakes
into which he unwittingly falls.

We also learn from the Preface that Mr. Lydekker is not an
advocate for the adoption of the Scomber scomber principle in
zoological nomenclature. Dr. Sharpe “ feels convinced, however,
that the absolute justice of retaining every specific name given by
Linnezus will some day be recognised.’’ We venture to say that
it is recognised now; but then, as we have already pointed ont in
‘The Zoologist’ for December last, Linnzus did not bestow the
specific name Scomber on the Mackerel, as alleged. A reference
to the 10th edition of the ‘Systema Nature’ will show that what
he did write was Scomber scombrus, and that by a typographical
error in the 12th edition this was printed Scomber scomber, and

120 - THE ZOOLOGIST.

escaped detection until publication, when Linneus, in his own
handwriting, corrected it in his own copy of the work.

We are therefore quite unable to agree with Dr. Sharpe that
“the correct title of the Badger should be Meles meles, of the
Otter Lutra lutra, of the Roe Deer Capreolus capreolus,” and so
forth. At the same time we do not find that Mr. Lydekker has
always hit upon the correct scientific appellation of some of the
species. To take one example, Mr. Oldfield Thomas has lately
shown reason for designating our Common Shrew Sorex araneus,
Linn. (Zool. 1895, p. 62). With Mr. Lydekker. it is Sorex
vulgaris (p. 75).

But the chief fault we have to find with this new book on
British Mammals is that it shows so little advance on the know-
ledge conveyed by the older text-books, except, we must admit,
in regard to paleontology, which is Mr. Lydekker’s strong point.
Not only do we find a great deal borrowed from Macgillivray’s
little volume written fifty-seven years ago (much of which was
doubtless correct enough at the time it was written), but statements
are copied from Bell’s work which have long since been shown to
be erroneous. We are told that the Whiskered Bat appears to
be unknown in Scotland, although at least three instances of its
occurrence there are on record; that young Otters are born in
March and April; that the Squirrel produces three or four young
ones “about midsummer”; that the Irish Hare does not turn
white in winter, and so on. We have noted numerous inaccurate
statements with regard to the Chiroptera, and could fill a great
many pages with corrections and criticisms of statements made
regarding species belonging to other orders. We have no desire,
however, to find fault, and we will therefore only express our
disappointment at the contents of a book which, coming twenty
years after Bell’s second edition, might have been so much better
than Mr. Lydekker has made it. ,

As for the plates, perhaps the less said the better. They not
only possess no artistic merit, but many of them are quite in-
accurate. Itis to be regretted that Mr. Lydekker, as an instructor
of the public in Zoology, did not prevail upon the publishers either
to substitute better ones, or to dispense with plates altogether.

THE ZOOLOGIST
No. 220.—April, 1895.

ON SOME REMAINS OF THE URUS, BOS PRIMIGENIUS,
RECENTLY FOUND IN YORKSHIRE.

By Jonn CorpDEAvx.

AN interesting discovery in connection with this most
ancient and noble beast was recently made in the submarine
forest at low water on the Yorkshire coast a few miles north
of the Spurn. The forest-bed is a thin seam of peat, resting
on a sandy gravel, full of the roots of trees and stumps in situ;
occasionally under the action of the waves the entire trunk of
a tree is exposed, and bones of various mammalia are of
frequent occurrence.*

In the present instance an entire and almost perfect head
with horn-cores of the Urus was dug up. Unfortunately, in
removal, the two men who carried the head to Easington village
left the lower jaws on the sands, and the tide returning either
washed them to some distance, or covered them with silt. The
head came into possession of Dr. Hewetson, of Leeds, who has a
residence at Easington, where, shortly after it had been found,
T had the pleasure of inspecting it.

Four ribs were found in the same place, and some other bones,
but no vertebre or large bones of the limbs. ‘The position of the
bull at the time of his death had evidently been on his back, the
head and horns buried in mud and silt; it is probable that the
larger bones of the limbs and those of the body had been dragged

* Since this was written other bones have been found; a bluestone celt
and a sandstone celt, flint-flakes, portions of ribs and a jaw pierced and
splintered by powerful canine-teeth, also portions of pointed wooden stakes,
one being five feet in length.

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—APRIL, 1895. L

132 THE ZOOLOGIST.

away by Carnivora. The ribs were gnawed along their edges,
and also the bones of the nose, but these latter slightly, as if by
some small rodent. The skull was to some extent encrusted with
iron pyrites.

The following are the measurements :—

Extreme sweep of horns, measuring behind

Widest sweep of horns, or extreme breadth from curve
to curve

From tip to tip of horn-cores

Girth of horn-cores at base

Outside sweep left horn-core

Outside sweep right horn-core

Across forehead

Length of skull

lwoleretrw ee
©
oe

Distance between orbits 9
From top of occipital ridge to centre of line drawn between

the orbits . : : : : : : : ~ 9
Diameter of orbits : : : ; ‘ - 8
Sweep or curve of ribs . : ‘ ' ’ : a) ak
Breadth of ribs : ‘ : : ; : 5 — tory

Three molars and two premolars on each side in skull; the
first premolar on each side is wanting, having dropped from the
socket.

The turbinated bones, which were subsequently detached, show
the intricate convolutions; they are delicate bony structures, as
thin as note-paper, with an enormous development of surface
for the termination of the olfactory nerves.

The great size of the eye-cavity and the construction of the
turbinal bones are suggestive of extraordinary powers of sight
and smell. The ribs, compared with a modern short-horn, have
very little spring; Bos primigenius was flat-sided and gaunt.

With this grand framework of bone before us it is easy, with
a little imagination, to make the dry bones live, and build up a
form sufficiently vivid to recall the grandeur and majesty of |
this beast—the mighty monarch of a primeval forest, where once
he roamed in great herds in undisputed possession, through the
length and breadth of a great lone land, and across wastes and
moors now lost under salt water; but in those distant times
there was no North Sea separating Britain from the Continent ;
all was land from the hundred-fathom line west of Ireland to
the furthest bounds of Asia.

Cesar himself (‘De Bello Gallico,’ vi. 21), in describing these
wild oxen, remarks, with pardonable exaggeration, ‘‘ Hi sunt mag-

ON REMAINS OF THE URUS FOUND IN YORKSHIRE. 123

nitudine paulo infra elephantos.” In colour white, or yellowish
white; a broad, square, and slightly concave forehead matted with
shaggy hair; intense black muzzle; sweeping dark-tipped horns,
curved inward, and measuring one-third longer than the cores; ears
filled with red or black hair; eyes large; fierce and untamable.

From a study of the peat-seam in this particular locality we
may learn something of the bull’s forest companions and of his
special surroundings; bones of Wild Boar, Red-deer, and Rein-
deer; red-oak, beech, silver-birch—the stake-like stumps of the
latter so closely set that, if each represents a separate tree, there
would scarce be room for a Fox to creep between; hazel, too, in
abundance as undergrowth, and many another tree which only a
specialist can name. There are hazel-nuts in plenty, both entire
and split, as if by Squirrels; the bole of an oak has a Wood-
pecker’s hole init. All these tell the same story ; it is the story
of a forest-land in character very much resembling an English
wood. Possibly our great white Bull trampled under his hoof
blue hyacinth, anemone, and primrose, and watched the gambols
of Squirrels and the prowlings of Badger, Wild Cat, Otter,* and
Fox. The strong and mighty have succumbed to the force of
circumstances; the shy, the unobtrusive, and the cunning have
survived to the present time.

Within a few hundred yards of the forest-bed are the graves
of the bull’s contemporaries—the Nimrods of that younger world,
whose burial mounds the ever-encroaching sea is slowly excavating
and exposing the contents to modern eyes. Here the neolithic
savage has lain for ages, doubled knee to chin within a rough cist
of stone-hewn logs, dove-tailed at the angles, or in the scooped-out
trunk of atree; anda great mound of red soil, laboriously heaped
above by slaves of the sorrowing tribe, is sown throughout with
flints of various design, perfect and imperfect, but all bearing un-
mistakable traces of man’s own handiwork. I have frequently come
across bones split longitudinally near these mounds, and in the
kitchen-middens on the coast—relics of feasts, and cleft to extract
the marrow: these are both animal and human. Neolithic man
was sometimes a cannibal. The end of a Deer’s bone found
embedded within a few feet of the Bull's skull had been perforated
through the fosse, probably by human agency.

* The perfect skull of an Otter has been recently found in the same locality.
L2

124 THE ZOOLOGIST.

The question has often been raised, When did the Urus
become extinct in the British Islands? The chief supply of
animal food in Roman Britain appears to have come from the
Red-deer, the little Celtic Ox, Bos longifrons, and the Pig. I
have, however, seen in the north of the island, in excavations
thrown out from camps along the wall, fragments of the upper
portions of skulls and horn-cores of a great Ox, which, if not
Bos primigenius, must have been a very near relative. Far into
the historic period, in Denmark and the north land, the horns of
the Urus, rimmed with silver, formed the drinking cups of the
Vikings.*

THE IRISH STOAT DISTINCT FROM THE BRITISH
SPECIES.

By Oxuprietp Tomas & G. EH. H. Barrert-Haminton.

At the request of the American naturalist, Mr. Outram
Bangs, we have made an examination of all the specimens of
Stoats in the collection of the British Museum, in order to see
whether certain markings pointed out by him as distinguishing
the Old World Stoat from that found in the Eastern United
States were quite constant throughout a series. As the pecu-
liarity referred to was simply the relative distribution of the
brown and white of the summer coat in an animal which changes
to pure white in winter, we were prepared to meet with a con-
siderable amount of variability among the specimens examined,
and have therefore been much interested to find that, on
the contrary, there is a remarkable uniformity in coloration
throughout the series, in so far at least as Scotch and English
specimens are concerned. Of these we have seen a sufficient
number to be able to speak with some degree of certainty. In
all of them the white or yellowish-white colour of the under
surface commences at the side of the naked nose-pad, passes
more or less broadly along the upper lip, extends on the throat,
chest, and belly to their extreme outer edges, the line of demarca-
tion being straight and well defined. On the fore limbs it passes
down to the wrists, and on the hind limbs to the ankles, while

* As to the use of Bison-horns set in silver as drinking-cups, see ‘The
Zoologist’ for January last, p. 6.

THE IRISH STOAT DISTINCT FROM THE BRITISH. 125

both the anterior and posterior digits are also whitish, often
continuously so with the ground-colour of the belly. It should
be added also that the white of the under side has always more
or less a yellow hue, at least in the adult.

With this description agrees not only every Scotch and
English specimen we have examined, but also all we have been
able to see from the northern parts of the Continent, including
some from such widely remote countries as Norway, Hungary,
and West Siberia, while even those from North-West America
have a precisely similar arrangement of colour on the dorsal and
ventral surfaces.

But, as pointed out to us by Mr. Bangs, specimens from the
Eastern United States are characterized by a reduced extension
of the light-coloured portion of the body and limbs, and it has
therefore been somewhat surprising to find that such examples
from Ireland as we have examined agree in these respects, not
with the British, but with the American Stoat. This resemblance,
however interesting, is clearly not a sign of specific identity with
the American Stoat, for in other respects (such as its greater
size, longer tail, and the details of coloration) the latter is so
distinct from the Irish form that no further reference to it is
here necessary.

But in its relation to the British Stoat, viewed in connection
with the remarkable uniformity in colour of the latter, we cannot
consider the Irish form as referable to the same species, and
would propose to distinguish it as follows :—

PUTORIUS HIBERNICUS, Sp. 1.

Smaller than P. ermineus, the male scarcely exceeding in size
the female of that species. Tail rather shorter. Ventral surface
white or with a faint tinge of yellow,* and the distribution of the
colours very much as in the Weasel, and not as in the Stoat.
The white limited beneath the head to the chin and throat, not
extending to the upper lip, contracted on the chest to a narrow
median line (or even interrupted altogether), and similarly nar-
rowed on the belly, but keeping its full breadth across the axillary
and inguinal regions. On the fore limbs the white ends about

* In old male specimens it is as yellow as in the female or immatur
Stoats, but, comparing like sexes and ages, P. hibernicus is decidedly less
yellow below than P. ermineus.

126 THE ZOOLOGIST.

the middle of the fore arm, and on the hind limbs at the middle

of the tibia; the feet, above and below, are usually entirely.

brown, except for a few scattered hairs on the toes.

Skull of male about equal in size to that of a female P.
ermineus, and just intermediate between those of the male
P. ermineus and the Weasel.

Dimensions, measured in the flesh, of the specimen we pro-
pose to select as the type—-an adult male, killed at Enniskillen,
Co. Fermanagh, on Jan. 7th, 1895, and presented to the British
Museum by Mr. J. E. Harting. Head and body, 228 mm.; tail,
88; hind foot, 40; ear, 21. Basal length of skull, 41°2.

- The first Irish specimen received by the Museum was obtained
by Col. Yerbury at Carna, Co. Galway, in Jan. 1893, and besides
the type, Mr. Harting has recently placed a second skin from
Co. Fermanagh at our disposal. ‘l’o Sir Douglas Brooke we also
owe three specimens from Colebrook, Co. Fermanagh, and male
examples have been sent to us from Armagh and Wexford; so
that different parts of Ireland are well represented.

As it thus proves that we have in the British Isles three
animals of this group, it seems convenient to have three English
names for them, and we would suggest the use of the Irish word
for the animal, modified to suit English pronunciation. Thanks
to the kindness of Messrs. Pocock and McSwiney, who are
authorities on Irish Gaelic, we are informed that the name is
Easég, pronounced Assogue, and the latter form we propose to
use as the English name of Putorius hibernicus.

With regard to the relationship of P. hibernicus, it should be
borne in mind that the Weasel itself only differs from the Stoat
by the following four characters—(1) smaller size, (2) shorter
tail, not tufted, (38) white instead of yellow or yellowish white
belly, and (4) less extent of light colour below; and that as to
(1) P. hibernicus is intermediate, and approaches the Weasel in (8)
and agrees with it in (4), and therefore that the only character
which is decisively Stoat-like is (2), the fairly long and broadly
black-tipped tail, and even this is shorter.

In the ground colour of the upper surface, however, the
Assogue is even darker than the Stoat, our specimens, all killed
in winter, being as dark as the darkest summer Stoats.

It would therefore seem as though the popular name Weasel
instead of Stoat for this animal in Ireland were almost justified by

._) foe

THE IRISH STOAT DISTINCT FROM THE BRITISH. 127

its zoological characters; but for a proper knowledge of this and
many other points about Putorius hibernicus we must be content to
wait until more specimens have become available for examination.
Another point in which Putorius hibernicus resembles the
Weasel rather than the Stoat is in the normal absence of a
winter change of colour in similar latitudes. The Stoat turns
white in winter, except in the more southern districts of England,
whereas in ordinary circumstances the Weasel does not do so.
The Assogue agrees in this respect with the latter in that it
hardly ever turns white in winter, and the few cases in which
it has been known to do so must be regarded as exceptional.*
At all events Thompson states that he had never seen or
heard of a white Stoat in Ireland, although he had examined
specimens in the winter garb, even in mild winters, which had
been killed in the nearest parts of Scotland—Ayrshire and
Wigtownshire.+ The result of Mr. A. G. More’s experience, after
many years of close observation, agrees entirely with that of
Thompson, and he informed us that he had never met with even
a record, much less a specimen, of a white Irish Stoat. This
seems the more remarkable when we find that the Irish (or
Alpine) Hare assumes the winter coat (though seldom com-
pletely) in many parts of Ireland, and we might expect that, in
the same way, the Stoat in Ireland might also occasionally be
found in the transition stage, with a pied coat, such as it so
commonly assumes in the Midland counties of England. Be
that as it may, we have never come across more than two speci-
mens of the Irish Stoat showing the winter change of colour.
One of these is a mounted specimen in the Museum of Science
and Art at Dublin, labelled ‘“‘ Co. Wexford,” and lent by Mr. L,
Grattan Esmonde: it is entirely white, with the exception of a

* Mr. G. H. Kinahan, writing in ‘Land and Water,’ June 11th, 1892,
remarks :—‘‘ Piebald Stoats are not very uncommon. Years ago my brother
had a remarkably large piebald buck Stoat that was killed in a rat-trap in
our house in the Co. Dublin. About the same time a smaller one was caught —
in a trap set in arabbit-run. I shot a piebald Stoat at Portraine, Co. Dublin,
and I saw a very white one chasing a Rabbit in Coole Park, Co. Galway.
Others I have seen were in the Burren, Co. Clare, and in the crags of
Galway, Mayo, &c.”” Presumably Mr. Kinahan refers to Stoats which had
whitened in winter, and not to complete or partial albinos, though he does
not make this quite clear,

+ ‘Natural History of Ireland,’ vol. iv. p. 7.

128 THE ZOOLOGIS7.

large black tip to the tail, and the upper parts of the head and
neck, which are of the normal colour.* ‘The second is in the
collection of Mr. R. M. Barrington, at Fassaroe, Bray, Co. Wick-
low. It was killed near Ashbourne, Co. Meath, and is pure white,
with the exception of the tip of the tail, the forehead, and two
small spots on the back of the neck. t

Possibly the explanation of the fact that whereas many Irish
Hares turn white every winter, the Irish Stoats do not do so, is
to be found in the different nature of the country inhabited by
the two animals. In Ireland it is chiefly, though by no means
entirely, the Hares which inhabit the bare and exposed mountains
that turn white, while the lowland Hares often keep much of their
summer colour all through the winter. The Stoat, however, being
a carnivorous animal, naturally keeps in winter to the more
sheltered and lower-lying districts, especially in the neighbour-
hood of farmyards, where its prey is more abundant, and hence
avoids the extreme rigour of the climate. In England and
Scotland, however, the winters are usually more severe than in
Ireland; hence the Stoat more frequently turns white there,
especially in the northern districts.

We do not think it is necessary to give references to the
numerous occasions on which the Weasel has been reported from
Ireland, since the more important have been recently collected by
Mr. J. EK. Harting.t Many of these are certainly due to the fact
that, as now shown, the Irish Stoat does actually closely resemble
the Weasel, and is not inappropriately called by that name,§
ever since Giraldus Cambrensis, in his ‘ Topographia Hibernica,’

* *Tand and Water,’ May 28th, 1892. + IZd., June 4th, 1892.

} ‘The Zoologist,’ December, 1894, pp. 450—453.

§ The words of the late Col. J.J. Whyte, of Sligo, may be quoted to show
how perplexed good out-of-doors observers could be over Putorwus hibernicus,
and what a large foundation in fact underlaid the frequent reports of the
occurrence of the Weasel in Ireland. Col. Whyte wrote (‘ Field,’ July 11th,
1874) :—‘“‘I am aware that it is the right thing to say that we have no
Weasels in Ireland; certes, I never saw an animal of the sort without the
black tip to the tail, Many of them,—I may say most of them,—however,
are so small that a man who does not profess to be a naturalist vs left in
doubt whether he is not looking at a Weasel with a black tip.” (The
italics are ours.) ‘I have one before me now, an old bitch, giving suck,—
whose size is exactly that given by Bewick as that of the Weasel,—73 in.
from nose to tail; tail,2in., brush, #in. I do not remember ever seeing any
so small in England, though common enough here, as well as the larger size.’’

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS IN MID-WALES. 129

showed what a good observer he was by his statement of Ireland,
that “‘ mustele hic multe sed minute plurimum et subrufe.” *

In conclusion, we should like to mention that there is in the
County Cork a pack of hounds called the Cork Weasel Hounds,
which, as a sporting institution, we believe to be unique. These
hounds are hunted on foot from April Ist to the end of October,
and appear to give good sport at a time of year when there

is no fox-hunting; but their best month is May, and after that

September and October. Some idea of the sport obtained may
be gathered from the accounts which have been published from
time to time in the columns of ‘ The Irish Sportsman.’

[We are not, of course, responsible for the views expressed by our
correspondents ; but lest it should be supposed that “ silence gives consent,”
we must here take occasion to protest against the adoption of the barbarous
name Assogue proposed for the Stoat of Ireland. Whether the animal be
or be not specifically distinct from the English Stoat, a point upon which
we are at present by no means satisfied, we see no reason why it should not
be referred to as the Irish Stoat, just as we speak of the Irish Hare. We
cannot admit that the spelling of an Irish name as it is pronounced makes
it English.—Eb.]

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS IN MID-WALES.
By J. H. Sarrer.
(University College, Aberystwyth.)

Durine the past year three valuable local lists of Welsh birds
have been contributed to ‘ The Zoologist’ by Messrs. F. C. Raw-
lings, Harold Raeburn, and O. VY. Aplin respectively. Taken in
conjunction with the appearance of the Rev. Murray A. Mathew’s
‘Birds of Pembrokeshire,’ they have thrown much light upon the
distribution of birds in the Principality, hitherto perhaps, ornitho-
logically, the most neglected part of the British Islands. Upon
the same subject the following observations may be acceptable as
confirming, and in some cases supplementing, what has been
already published. My notes are derived from observations
made at Aberystwyth during a residence there of rather more
than three years, and the remarks about each species apply
primarily to that neighbourhood. At the same time I have

* Harting, ‘‘ Annals of Irish Zoology,” ‘ Zoologist,’ Nov. 1881, p. 38,

130 THE ZCOLOGIST.

included the results of many excursions on foot in quest of birds
throughout a wider district, which may be roughly described as
embracing the northern half of Cardiganshire, Merionethshire
as far as Barmouth and Dolgelley, Radnorshire west of the Wye,
and those parts of the counties of Brecknock and Carmarthen
which border on Cardiganshire. I have but little information as
to the southern half of the last-named county.

In compiling the following list, I have received much assist-
ance and information from Capt. G. W. Cosens, of Llanbadarn ;
Mr. F. T. Fielden, of Borth; Mr. W. B. Powell, of Nanteos; and
Sir Pryse Pryse, Bart., of Gogerddan; and I have in addition to
thank these gentlemen for permission to inspect their collections
of local birds.

By inserting the mere names of species which do not call for
remark, I have aimed at presenting a preliminary list of the
birds of Cardiganshire. Other names will doubtless be added.
The Twite will no doubt be found upon the moors as the result of
more careful search, and the White Wagtail will probably be de-
tected amongst the spring arrivals of the pied species. ‘Thus the
present list is merely tentative.

As has been already pointed out, the available information as
to the distribution of several of the summer migrants in Wales
has hitherto been of the most meagre description. ‘The Redstart
and the Garden Warbler may be quoted as examples. Of the
former, Mr. Howard Saunders says, in his invaluable ‘ Manual,’
‘‘In Wales it is common as far as Breconshire”; and of the
Garden Warbler, ‘‘ Not known to breed in Wales beyond Pem-
brokeshire and Breconshire.” As a matter of fact the range of
the Redstart extends much further west than is here stated, while
the Garden Warbler, as Mr. Mathew has shown, is extremely rare
in Pembrokeshire, being, like the Redstart, excluded from the
greater part of that county by the barrier of the Precelly Hills.
Both are common in Cardiganshire in suitable localities, but
this condition is always necessary. In a country which is in
general so bare, it is impossible that Warblers of any kind
should be so numerous as in Southern and Hastern England. In
North Cardiganshire dykes of earth largely take the place of
hedges. Wood occurs chiefly in the form of larch-plantations or
oak-scrub, which on shallow soil and exposed to westerly winds
never grows into timber. Sheets of fresh water, with the ex-

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS IN MID-WALES. 181

ception of the “Jlyns” or tarns upon the hills, are almost
entirely wanting. The rivers are swift mountain streams with
no margin of reeds or sedge. A rock-bound coast holds out no
attraction to wildfowl or wading-birds, and many of those which
figure upon the list occur only, so far as this county is concerned,

in the estuary of the Dovey. Cardiganshire lies far back in the

bay, contrasting in this respect with Pembrokeshire, whose

islands and far-stretching headlands naturally intercept many

birds as they pass up and down St. George’s Channel. Inland
the county is everywhere cut off from the rest of Wales by a wide
stretch of bleak uplands, except on the north, where the Cader
Idris range forms a still higher barrier. The Plynlimmon range
and its southern extension, forming the backbone of Wales, might
be expected to exclude some of the more delicate Warblers from
entering Cardiganshire. This appears to be the case as regards
the Lesser Whitethroat ; while some resident birds, as the Nut-
hatch, Hawfinch, and Tree Sparrow, only occur very exceptionally
on the western side of the mountains. ‘The way in which our
summer migrants avoid, as far as possible, crossing exposed and
treeless moors is well known; and, as shown in ‘ The Birds of
Devon, is exemplified by the case of Dartmoor. Hence it
becomes a problem to ascertain in what way the summer migrants
reach this county. A few species may come from the south,
making a westerly deviation to round the hill-district of North
Pembrokeshire. The Wheatear and Swallow, upon their north-
ward passage, seem to some extent to follow the coast. But
there is no evidence that the bulk of the summer birds enter the
county in this way. The Wye valley seems to furnish a possible
highway, leading up, by means of its highest tributary, to a
narrow col in the Plynlimmon range at a height of 1860 ft.
From this point there is a rapid descent at once into Cardigan-
shire. If this route were made use of, any given migrant should
appear at Aberystwyth very shortly after its arrival on the Upper
Wye. On March 29th, 1893, the Redstart was singing at a point
six miles above Rhayader, and two days later had arrived in
force ; but I did not hear one in Cardiganshire till April 5th, and
then not at Aberystwyth, but at Glandovey, in the extreme north
of the county. The Willow Wren had reached Rhayader on
March 31st, 1894, but I did not hear it at Aberystwyth, only
thirty miles away, till April 7th.

132 THE ZOOLOGIST.

The only other route which it appears that migrants might
take, if wishing to avoid crossing the mountains, is that made
use of by the Cambrian Railway. Leaving the Severn, it follows
up a tributary stream to its source, crosses the “divide” at no
great height, and runs down into Cardiganshire beside an affluent
of the Dovey. I think, perhaps on slender evidence, that the
migrants find their way into the county through this break in the
hills, and thus approach Aberystwyth from the north. This
appears likely from the fact that the Redstart and Tree Pipit are
usually to be heard at Glandovey two or three days before they
are noted at Aberystwyth. Ihave given the dates of arrival of
most of the summer migrants for the past three seasons, in the
hope that comparison with others noted elsewhere may throw
some light on migration routes.

If space permits, I hope on a later occasion to call attention
to several particulars in which the avifauna of Pembrokeshire
offers interesting points of comparison with that of Cardigan-
shire. At present I can only acknowledge my indebtedness to
‘ The Birds of Pembrokeshire ’ and its author.

PASSERES.

Repstart, Ruticilla phoenicurus. Usually said to be of un-
common occurrence in Western Wales, but visits many localities
about Aberystwyth, and in those which are suited to its habits.
In Llyfnant Valley, for example, it is abundant.

Buack Repsrart, R. titys. A female or immature male was
seen by Mr. F. T. Fielden, of Borth, in the winter of 1886-87,
sitting upon some railings beside the railway-line.

ReDBREAST, Hrithacus rubecula.

StronecHat, Pratincola rubicola. A few pairs about furze-
grown hill-sides near the sea, frequenting the same spots year
after year, and never increasing in number. They do not leave
us in time of snow or frost, but, in company with Pipits, find
insect-food about the seaweed-heaps on the beach. The males
begin to sing on quiet evenings about March Ist. Laying some-
times begins by the end of that month. The usual date of
hatching is April 20th, and the young leave the nest by May 2nd.
Three days later I have seen the hen-bird carrying materials for
a second nest. The young birds do not appear upon the tops of
the furze-bushes till some days after they have left the nest,

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS IN MID-WALES. 1338

Occasionally the birds will scold vigorously in mid-winter. Inland
I have only seen the Stonechat on the sides of the Wye Valley
about Rhayader.

Waurncuat, P. rubetra. Not numerous. First seen in 1892,
April 30th; 1893, April 22nd; 1894, April 25th.

WuHeatear, Saxicola enanthe. First seen, 1892, March 20th;
1893, March 12th; 1894, March 18th. Last seen, 1891, October
18th. The female is said to be later by at least a fortnight, but
in 1893 I noted one on March 22nd. By the end of the month
Wheatears are found in all parts of the hill-district, up to the
tops of Cader Idris and Plynlimmon. The first birds to arrive
at Aberystwyth are those which stay the summer, but migration
continues for six or eight weeks. Thus in 1892 the chief passage
took place about March 30th, and was nearly over by April 3rd;
but fresh arrivals were still to be seen in May of that year as late
as the 20th of the month. I imagine that these later birds go very
far north. The Wheatear’s absence from this district scarcely
exceeds five months. On April 19th, 1893, at Borth, I watched
a male bird whose breast was of as rich a buff colour as that of
the Whinchat.

Sone Turusu, Turdus musicus.

Repwine, 7’. iliacus. Only numerous after a fall of snow,
when many pass down the coast with Starlings and Skylarks.

Misset Turusu, ZT’. visciworus.

FIELDFARE, I’. pilaris. Scarcely seen at Aberystwyth, except
in time of snow or frost. None this winter up to the present
date (Dec. 21st). Late in March I have found small parties in
the upland districts near Plynlimmon and on the slopes of the

Brecon Beacons.
BuackBirpD, J’. merula.

Rine Ovuzet, TJ. torquatus. Finds few localities to suit it
upon the Cardiganshire side of the mountains, but is numerous
in the more rocky valleys of the Upper Wye, Towy, and Yrfon.
May be seen in summer up to the top of Cader Idris and Aran
Mawddy. First seen, 1892, March 28th; 1893, March 29th ,
1894, March 25th.

Dreper, Cinclus aquaticus. Absent from the Ystwyth, and
from other streams which are fouled by lead-washings, but is
numerous upon the upper waters of the Wye and Towy. It
follows up the streams as far as the Teifi pools (1700 ft.), and to
within a short distance of the top of Cader Idris,

134 _.. . . THE ZOOLOGIST.

Wren, Troglodytes parvulus.

GoutpcrEst, Regulus cristatus. Common. On March 26th,
1894, I noted one near the head of the Towy Valley, far from
trees,

CuirrcHaFr, Phylloscopus rufus. Less numerous than the
Willow Warbler, though Rev. Murray A. Mathew finds the con-
trary to be the casein Pembrokeshire. First heard, 1892, April
3rd; 18938, March 21st; 1894, March 26th.

Wittow Warster, P. trochilus. First heard, 1892, April
9th; 1893, April 4th; 1894, April 7th.

Woop Wars.eER, P. sibilatrix. Numerous in all suitable
localities, its range extending to the highest beech and oak planta-
tions in the valleys. On the Upper Towy decidedly more nume-
rous than either Chiffchaff or Willow Wren. First heard, 1892,
May lst; 1898, April 19th; 1894, April 22nd.

WuitetTHRoaT, Sylvia cinerea. Abundant. In the warm
spring of 1893 the Whitethroats had nests full of eggs a fortnight
or three weeks before the usual time. First heard, 1892, May
6th; 1893, April 19th; 1894, April 18th.

LesserR WHITETHROAT, S. curruca. Occurs very rarely in
Cardiganshire, if at all. There is one at Gogerddan, in a case of
small birds, all of which are believed to be local. Included by
Mr. F. C. Rawlings in his Barmouth list.

GARDEN WARBLER, S. hortensis. Regularly visits a few
sheltered woods and thickets, but is less numerous than the
Blackcap.

BuackeaP, S. atricapilla. Occurs wherever there is suitable
shelter, and in wooded valleys, lke those of the Llyfnant and
Mawddach, is numerous. Breeds as high up the Towy Valley
as Fanog. First heard, 1892, May 4th; 1893, April 19th; 1894,
April 21st.

S~epDGE WarBLER, Acrocephalus phragmitis. Only numerous
upon Borth and Tregaron bogs; elsewhere suitable cover is
scarce. First heard, 1892, May 6th; 1893, April 22nd; 1894,
April 27th. The Reed Warbler is entirely absent.

GRASSHOPPER WaRBLER, Locustella nevia. ‘There is some
reason to think that this bird may only have reached this part of
Wales of late years, as Mr. Rawlings suggests in his Barmouth
list. Mr. F. ‘IT’. Fielden did not hear it at Borth till 1893. It is
local and not numerous about Aberystwyth. First heard, 1892,

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS IN MID-WALES. 185

May 5th; 1898, April 18th; 1894, April 28th. On May 18th of
this year I heard it near Aberaeron.

Great Tir, Parus major.

Marsu Tir, P. palustris. Not at all plentiful, by far the
least numerous of the Tits, though Rev. Murray A. Mathew
finds it.abundant in Pembrokeshire. Met with more frequently
in the valleys of the Wye and Towy, where there is decayed
timber in which it can peck out nest-holes.

Coat Tir, P. britannicus.

Buve Tir, P. ceruleus.

Lone-TAILED Tit, Acredula rosea. |

Great Grey Surike, Lanius excubitor. Mr. Hutchings has
had two or three for preservation, one of which I have seen.

RED-BACKED SHRIKE, L. collurio. A few pairs visit us, and
are the last of the summer migrants to arrive, not appearing
before May 23rd. More plentiful at Barmouth, where I saw a
brood, which had just left the nest, on the hill behind the
town, July Ist, 1892. One at Llechryd, near Cardigan, June
29th, 1894.

GoLpEN OrRI0LE, Oriolus galbula. Mr. Hutchings has never
had a Cardiganshire specimen, but a pair of birds reported some
years since as having been seen at Llidiardau, Llanilar, must
have been of this species.

Prep FuiycatcHer, Muscicapa atricapilla. Probably occurs
in Central Wales, wherever there is suitable timber. Many
newly-arrived males amongst old oaks beside the Elan, near
Rhayader, on May 8th, 1892. It swarms amongst decayed oaks,
birches, and alders on the sides of some of the upland dales in
North Carmarthenshire. In this locality the nests were ready
for eggs on May 6th, 1894, though the birds can only have
arrived a few days previously. In Cardiganshire it occurs at
Hafod, and about 1882 Capt. G. W. Cosens obtained one at
Cwm, near Aberystwyth. On May 2nd, 1894, I saw one at
Llyfnant Valley, singing in some oaks on the Montgomeryshire
side of the stream. In Merionethshire I hear of it at Peniarth
Uchaf, and in woods by the Artro and Nantcol above Llanbedr.
Besides its song it has several notes, one of them suggestive of
the Goldfinch.

SpotreD FrycatcHer, M. grisola. Fairly numerous. Rather
late to arrive: 1892, May 14th; 1893, May 9th; 1894, May 15th.

136 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Prev Waeratt, Motacilla lugubris. The few individuals
which stay the winter are not easily driven southward by frost.
The first arrival of any note is always about March 12th, and
fresh comers swarm upon the seaweed-heaps all through April.

Grey WaeraiL, M. melanope. Specially numerous upon the
upper waters of the Wye and Towy, but a few, in place of retiring
to the hills, breed within a mile or two of Aberystwyth. I found
it already in its summer haunts on March 26th, 1894.

Yettow Waerait, M. raw. Curiously local in Western
Wales. Mr. Mathew doubts whether it breeds in Pembrokeshire.
Rarely seen at Aberystwyth, and then always upon the same
marshy fields, but is common at Borth in wet meadows near the
Dovey, and very plentiful upon the Teifi Bog, near Tregaron.

Meapvow Pirtr, Anthus pratensis. Reinforced by flocks which
arrive at the same time as the Pied Wagtails, as on March 18th,
1892; March 21st, 1894. A flock working up the Wye Valley,
above Rhayader, March 28th, 1892. Parties are seen moving
southward in September.

Tree Prert, A. trivialis. As numerous as can be expected in
a sparsely wooded district. First heard, 1892, April 15th; 1898,
April 5th; 1894, April 9th.

Rock Pirit, A. obscurus. Occurs all along the coast, but is
not very numerous.

HepceEsParRow, Accentor modularis.

Buuirincy, Pyrrhula europea.

GREENFINCH, Ligurinus chloris. For three years has com-
menced its drawling note within a day of March 12th.

GoupFiIncH, Carduelis elegans. More plentiful than I have
found it anywhere in England, and does not seem less numerous
in winter. The large amount of waste and semi-cultivated land
is in its favour.

Siskin, Chrysomitris spinus. Rare, and irregular in its visits. |
There is one at Gogerddan; another shown to me by Mr.
Hutchings. I have many times scanned the alders and birches
for this and the next species, but fruitiessly.

Lesser Reppouu, Linota rufescens. A few pairs may nest
with us, an instance, as we suppose from the description given,
having occurred at Gogerddan last year. At Peniarth, above
Towyn, Mr. F. Abel found two nests in 1890, lined with the down
of the cotton-grass,

OBSERVATIONS OF BIRDS IN MID-WALES. 137

Linyet, Linota cannabina. The brambles and furze of the
slopes near the sea exactly suit this species. Few are to be seen
from September to March, so that there is probably a partial
migration.

HawrFincu, Coccothraustes vulgaris. Very rare in Cardigan-

shire, but may possibly have bred, for Capt. G. W. Cosens has two
which were shot at Ynyshir, Glandovey, about 1868, after they had
destroyed a row of peas by biting across nearly every pod. There
are two at Gogerddan from the same neighbourhood, in which
Sir Pryse Pryse considers that thirty years ago it was not un-
common.

CuaFrFincu, Fringilla celebs. In 1892 still flocking on March
26th; but in 1893, a much earlier season, the nests were nearly
built, and one quite ready for eggs, on March 30th.

: BRAMBLING, F’. montifringilla. Occurs when the first heavy

snowfall of the winter brings a rush of migrants along the coast,
as on January 9th, 1892; January 6th, 1893; January 13th, 1895.
Bramblings were to be seen in every stack-yard on January 7th,
1893, male birds being more numerous. A female, with Chaffinches,
in the Wye Valley above Rhayader, March 28th, 1892.

TREE Sparrow, Passer montanus. I have never detected this
bird in Western Wales, and am doubtful of its occurrence. Mr.
Mathew knows of no instance in Pembrokeshire. There are two
at Gogerddan in a case of small birds, all of which are believed to
have been obtained there; and Mr. Hutchings tells me that he
has received specimens.

House Sparrow, P. domesticus. Scarce in the hill districts.
I have not seen it about the scattered farms on the upper Towy.

CrossBiuL, Loxia curvirostra. Myr. Hutchings remembers a
flock of about fifty at Tan-y-bwlch; this was probably in 1868.
About 1879, ‘‘ greenish birds, with some red about them, in the
fir trees,” were reported to Capt. G. W. Cosens. One, a red bird,
was sent from Machynlleth to be stuffed last winter.

Buntine, Emberiza miliaria. Local, but in general common
near the coast. Hxtends up the Rheidol Valley as far as patches
of arable land are to be found, for on March 29th, 18938, I heard it
singing beyond Pont Erwyd. Chiefly absent in winter, returning
in February, :

Cirt Buytine, EL. cirlus. The recent extension of range by
which this species has reached Cardiganshire has been already

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—APRIL, 1895. M

138 ; THE ZOOLOGIST.

noticed in ‘The Zoologist.* It is not at all numerous as yet at
Aberystwyth, but probably extends along the whole coast of this
county, as in June of the present year I met with it at New Quay,
Aberporth, &c., showing a partiality for ferny “‘cwms,” with brier
-and bramble thickets.

Reep Bonrtine, E. scheniclus. Local; Borth, Tregaron, and
Clarach bogs, and after a snowfall in stack-yards.

Svow Bunrine, Plectrophenax nivalis. Numerous after the
snowfalls of January 9th, 1892, and January 6th, 1893. ‘Two on
Constitution Hill, Aberystwyth, March 12th, 1898. One, a very
tame bird, on Borth golf-links, April 9th, 1894. .

Sraryine, Sturnus vulgaris. Still flocking, May Ist, 1892.
Absent as a breeding species from many of the hill districts. I
have not seen it in the upper part of the Towy Valley.

Cuovaxu, Pyrrhocorax graculus. This decreasing species has
probably ceased to breed within twenty miles of Aberystwyth.
Nesting commonly some years since, both to the north and south
of the town, persecution had left but five members of the colony
in the summer of 1892, and these were reduced to three by the
autumn. On April 4th, 1893, I saw a pair which were doubtless
nesting in the usual spot—the roof of a cave, the only one upon this
piece of coast which is not left dry at low tide, never containing
less than five feet of water, and not to be approached by boat
owing to hidden rocks. Here they might have been thought
safe, but I failed to see anything of them in 1894. Mr. Hutchings
tells me that he has been offered 7s. each for the eggs. Somewhat
further afield, however, the Chough still survives, and cannot fail
to be met with in every cliff-walk. At the end of June, 1894, I
met with single birds, pairs, and parties of from three to six at
frequent intervals along some twenty miles of coast. One family
of eight walked tamely about the grass, faintly cawing, the.
young birds allowing me to come within forty yards. I could
note their restless manner upon the ground, much more like
the Starling than the Jackdaw. Few parts of the Merionethshire
coast are suited to the Chough, but inland three or four pairs
frequented the Bird Rock, where, however, as Mr. Abel tells me,
none have been seen since 1887. ‘The Chough does not seem to
wander, and seldom revisits haunts from which it has disappeared.
Mr. I’. T. Fielden has only met with it once at Borth.

* ¢ Zoologist,’ 1892, p. 180,

OBSERVATIONS OF BIRDS IN MID-WALES. 139

Maepre, Pica rustica. Very abundant, especially in the hill
country, breeding in the few trees to be found round the sheep-
farms. I have seen thirteen at a dead sheep, and one attempting
to killa Starling in snow-time, January 11th, 1892. A pair began
to put their nest in order, January 12th, 1894.

Jay, Garrulus glandarius. Numerous wherever game-preserving
is not strict or general. Breeds as high up the valleys as stunted
oak woods extend.

Raven, Corvus corax. Still numerous, and probably not
decreasing. Mr. F. T. Fielden tells me that he has seen nine
together near Plynlimmon. The shepherds, often enlisting the
aid of a gamekeeper, lose no opportunity of shooting the hen bird
from the nest, or of burning the latter by throwing down some
litter which has been set on fire. I hear of the young birds being
found under the nest with their heads cut off, and a party of men
visit the more accessible breeding-places every year in April to
take the nestlings for sale. There is a general impression
amongst the farmers that the Raven will tamper with a sheep
when in difficulties, and that its misdeeds at lambing time are of
the blackest description. I have found one of its castings to be
composed of wool, and to contain a lamb’s hoof. Ravens visit
Borth warren in quest of rabbits. The smooth sides of the
Cardiganshire dales offer few available nesting sites, but the
bolder cliffs of the upper Wye, Yrfon, Towy, &c., are tenanted
by many pairs. Within the last three seasons I have visited or
known of a score of nesting sites. Two of these could be reached
without a rope; another by means of a short ladder. The nest is
usually built of large and crooked heather stems, and as lining I
have found wool, cow’s-hair, and a tuft torn from the mane or tail
of a dead horse. There is usually an old or partially-built nest
close to the one which is occupied, and often an alternative site,
which may be a mile distant. There are always two nests upon
the coast near Aberystwyth, and here the eggs are laid about
February 28th, the inland birds being some ten days later. One
nest upon the cliff may be easily seen into from above. On April
4th, 1893, it was occupied by five young birds in black down, with
pen-feathers showing in their wings. They scrambled about,
jostling one another, stretched out skinny necks, and showed
huge gapes, which, as five red spots, were visible even without

M 2

140 ; THE ZOOLOGIST.

the telescope. This year the nest contained three young birds
and three addled eggs. The former, as usual, remained a long
time upon the nesting ledge. I did not see them upon the wing
till May 14th, while a week later the second pair showed every
indication of still having young in the nest. At the nest Ravens
spend much of their time in harmless skirmishing with Buzzards,
Carrion Crows, Jackdaws, and Kestrels. If the eggs are fresh,
the birds are often perfectly quiet when disturbed, and will go off,
allowing the nest to be reached without the slightest protest ;
but if there are young birds, the male dashes past with puffed-out
throat and hoarse note of “ pruck, pruck,” or, folding one wing,
will drop as if shot, turning almost over before he recovers him-
self; while the hen bird hurries to and fro, with quickly-beating
wings, and note of “croc, croc.” One bird has a note of his own,
as deep as the tolling of a church-bell. At the end of March,
1894, a few days’ walking in a new district introduced us to
five additional pairs of Ravens. Three of the nests could be
inspected from above: the first contained six eggs upon March
23rd; the second, two young ones and four eggs upon the 25th;
the third, five eggs upon the 26th. Upon April 5th I looked
across the ravine at Devil’s Bridge into a safely-placed nest,
which contained about five well-fledged young. Mr. T. J.
Waddingham, of Hafod, tells me that two sets of eggs were
brought to him by his shepherd, taken from the rocks near
Cwm Ystwyth. At Rhayader, the carrying out of the Birmingham
Water Works scheme has interfered with several nesting sites,
notably the one at Caban Coch, an ideal stronghold, upon the
rock marked upon the Ordnance map Craig Gigfran, imme-
diately above the great dam of the lower reservoir. Near at
hand, travellers by the Wye Valley Railway pass within a stone’s-
throw of a nest which overlooks the line. The Raven is always —
to be seen upon Cader Idris, its cliffs being tenanted by at least
three pairs. It visits the Bird Rock regularly, and would breed
there if allowed to do so; the last attempt having been made four
years since. The bold “Cigfran” is well able to hold its own,
and is in no danger at present cf being exterminated, or even of
becoming scarce, in Mid-Wales,

Carrion Crow, Corvus corone. In the hill districts to a large
extent replaces the Rook, Flocks may be seen feeding in ploughed

OBSERVATIONS OF BIRDS IN MID-WALES. 141

fields, and scores resort to the same plantation to roost. Where
wood is scarce the nest is in stunted birch and mountain-ash
which overhang the streams, and on the bogs in willows, some-
times not more than five feet from the ground. A few pairs nest
_ upon the cliffs in company with Herring Gulls.

Hoopep Crow, C. corniz. Of rare occurrence at the present
day, and appears to have been equally scarce thirty or forty years
ago. I have only heard of four occurrences.

Roox, C. frugilegus. ‘Though rookeries are rare in the hill
districts, this bird ranges over most of the upland country. I
have not seen it, however, in the dale of the upper Towy, the
nearest outpost in this direction being a small colony of some
fifteen nests about a mile from Abergwessin.

JackDaw, C. monedula. To the great abundance of this
species at Aberystwyth, the disappearance of the Chough may
possibly in part be due.

_ Tree Creerer, Certhia familiaris. A common resident in
the wooded districts.

Nouruatcu, Sitta cesia. Common in wooded parts of Brecon-
shire and Radnorshire, extending up the valleys as far as oak
timber is to be found. In the Wye Valley it is common as far up
as Rhayader. Of rare occurrence upon the western or Cardigan -
shire side of the hills. A specimen now at Gogerddan is believed
to have been obtained there. Mr. Hutchings has one which was
shot at Llanbadarn, and remembers seeing one tapping amongst
some old filbert-trees at Tan-y-bwlch.

Swatiow, Hirundo rustica. 1892, April 10th; 18938, April
4th; 1894, April 7th. During the spring passage, which lasts
about three weeks, small parties are constantly to be seen
following the coast northwards. All have left by the end of
September.

Martin, Chelidon urbica. Much less numerous than the last.
The few pairs which visit us arrive late, and none are seen passing
with the Swallows. 1892, May 14th; 18938, May 7th; 1894,
May 8th.

Sanp Martin, Cotile riparia—the prevalent blue slates and
grits being unsuitable—finds breeding sites only in the banks of
the rivers and in the boulder clay of the cliffs, 1892, April 5th;
1893, April 23rd; 1894, April 7th.

142 ark THE ZOGLOGIST.

Sxy Lark, Alauda arvensis. Following on the first snowfall
of the winter there is a rush of migrants down the coast, as on
January 9th, 1892, and January 6th, 1893. Thousands of Sky
Larks then pass in company with Thrushes, Starlings, and
Finches. As Mr.- Mathew has not met with these flocks in
Pembrokeshire, they may perhaps cross to Ireland.

Woop Lark, A. arborea. Resident about Aberystwyth,
locally and in small numbers. I first detected it amongst Sky
Larks during time of snow. Seems to prefer the Hafod estate,
where I have heard three singing in one morning. One singing
near Llandyssil in North Carmarthenshire, June 29th, 1894.

PIcCARIA.

Hoopor, Upupa epops. Mr. Hutchings has preserved two or
three, the last obtained at Abermade five or six years ago. )

GREATER SpoTrED WoopPrecKkEeR, Dendrocopus major. A
scarce resident in the few localities where there is suitable timber,
as at Rhayader in the Wye Valley. In Cardiganshire it occurs at
Cwm and Gogerddan near Aberystwyth, Lodge Park, and Glan-
dovey; in Merionethshire at Peniarth Uchaf. Breeds in some of
the upland dales in North Carmarthenshire, where I have never
met with the Green Woodpecker. A nest in this locality con-
tained four half-grown young ones and an addled egg on May
22nd, 1893.

Lesser Sporrep WooprPEcKER, D. minor. Scarcer than the
last. An adult and a nest of young are preserved at Gogerddan,
and Sir Pryse Pryse tells me that it is frequently seen there.
Mr. T. J. Waddingham states that it occurs at Hafod. Mr. F.
Abel meets with it at Peniarth Uchaf.

GREEN WOODPECKER, Gecinus viridis. Not numerous in Car-
diganshire, owing to the county being but sparsely wooded, but it is
not uncommon in the Ystwyth Valley. Parts of Merionethshire
are better suited to its habits, and it is abundant about Arthog
and Dolgelley. A nest at Peniarth, June 6th, 1894, contained
five addled eggs, upon which the bird was sitting.

Wryneck, Jynx torquilla. A rare occasional visitor. Capt.
G. W. Cosens has a specimen, which he obtained at Cwm,
Aberystwyth, about 1879. ‘There are two at Gogerddan, where
the bird is said to be heard almost every year.

OBSERVATIONS OF BIRDS IN MID-WALEs. 143

Cuckoo, Cuculus canorus. More numerous in some years

than in others: 1892, April 28th; 1893, April 19th; 1894, April
18th. In 1893 I heard the broken note, “‘ cuc-cuc-koo,” as early
as May 13th. A young bird at Llanbadarn, September 10th, 1894.
One found dead by Capt. Cosens had hanged itself while forcing
its way into a thick syringa bush.
_ YELLOW-BILLED Cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus. The example
figured by Messrs. Sharpe and Dresser in the ‘ Birds of Europe,’
which was picked up dead on the Cribyn beach, a mile and a half
north of Aberystwyth, Oct. 26th, 1870, is still in the possession
of Capt. G. W. Cosens, of Llanbadarn.

NieuTsaR, Caprimulgus europeus. Common about oak woods
and fern-covered slopes, as at the foot of the Bird Rock. One
killed itself at Bronpadarn by flying against-a window. Frequently
caught in pole-traps.

Swirt, Cypselus apus. Common. Breeding was hindered in
1894 by cold weather at the end of May. 1892, May 3rd; 1898,
May 2nd; 1894, May 5th.

KinerisHur, Alcedo ispida. Absent from many streams
which are fouled by lead-washing, but frequents the Teifi,
the Dysynni above Towyn, and the ditches which intersect the
Gors Fochno. .
) CoLUMB.

~Rineé Dove, Columba palumbus. Numerous. A flock seen on
May 19th, 1894, would probably consist of the young of the first
brood.
— Srocx Dove, C. enas. Numerous about inland cliffs, e.9.,
those which occur in the rocky dales of the upper Wye and
Towy. The pigeons which haunt the Bird Rock, and the few
pairs which frequent the sea-cliffs, are probably all of this
species. Parts of the Cardiganshire coast are well suited to the
Rock Dove, but I have not been able to detect it.

Tortie Dove, Turtur communis. A summer visitor in very
small numbers. Breeds annually at Gogerddan and at Llan-

badarn.
(To be continued.)

144 THE ZOOLOGIST.

MEMOIR OF THE LATE A. G. MORE, F.L.8. M.R.1LA.

WitTH very great regret we have to announce the death of
Mr. Alexander Goodman More, which took place in Dublin on
March 22nd, at the age of sixty-four. It could hardly be said
to be unexpected, for so long ago as 1887 he was compelled from
ill-health to resign his appointment as Curator of the Natural
History Department of the Science and Art Museum, Dublin
(Zool. 1887, p. 355), and since that time his strength had been
gradually failing. Although not an Irishman, Mr. More had
resided so long in Ireland that he had well-nigh come to be
regarded as one, and for nearly thirty years he exercised an
influence of a special kind amongst naturalists as an authority on
Irish birds and plants. Asa matter of fact he was of Scottish
extraction, being the son of Alexander More, of Malvern, grand-
son of Alexander More, Collector of Customs, Aberdeen, and
great-grandson of Gilbert More, of Rezaden, Aberdeen; while
on his mother’s side he was descended from Alexander Innes, of
Breda and Cowie.

Educated at Rugby and Cambridge, where he was elected an
Associate of the Ray Club in 1851, he went, on leaving the Uni-
versity, to reside for a time at Bembridge, in the Isle of Wight. At
first birds, insects, and flowering plants especially attracted him,
but by degrees he came to extend his observations to the small
Mammalia, especially the Chiroptera, and subsequently to the
Fishes. In his outdoor observations and collections he was much
encouraged by the Rev. C. A. Bury, of Bonchurch, who had himself
published some years previously an account of the mammals and
birds of the Isle of Wight;* by the late Frederick Bond, who
spent a good deal of time in the island while More was there
(cf. Zool. 1889, p. 412); and by H. Rogers, the observant taxi-
dermist at Freshwater, through whose instrumentality many an
interesting fact in connection with the ornithology of the island
was brought to the notice of naturalists. The outcome of this
sojourn in the South of England was an important addition to
Venables’ ‘ Guide to the Isle of Wight,’ in the shape of chapters
upon the Zoology and Botany of the island, with systematic

* Mammals, Zool. 1844, pp. 776—790; Birds, Zool. 1844, pp. 516—524;
634—644 ; 1845, pp. 915—933, 970—978.

MEMOIR OF THE LATE A. G MORE. 145

lists. These chapters (extending to more than a hundred small
octavo pages) were issued separately, with a fresh pagination and
a new title, as ‘Outlines of the Natural History of the Isle of
Wight.’ Edited by A. G. More, F.L.S. London: Spottiswoode
& Co., 1860.

| In this publication there were not unnaturally errors, which
subsequently-gained experience caused him to modify or correct,
and this he did some years later in Jenkinson’s ‘ Practica! Guide
to the Isle of Wight,’ first printed in 1876. ‘The lists of plants
and animals given by him in this later work are different from
those in Venables’ ‘ Guide,’ though founded apparently upon the
Same information. An important correction was that which had
reference to the previously alleged occurrence of Vespertilio
murinus in the island, the species in question having proved to
be V. noctula. Another Bat, catalogued as Daubenton’s Bat
in Venables’ ‘ Guide,’ proved to be V. mystacinus. Both these
errors were explained and corrected by himself in Jenkinson’s
‘ Guide,’ as well as in ‘ The Zoologist’ (1894, p. 148).

Before either of these ‘ Guides’ was published he had com-
menced to write in ‘ The Zoologist,’ and in the volume for 1858
(pp. 6018—6027) we find an original communication (which must
have given considerable trouble to prepare), ‘‘ On the Distribu-
tion of Butterflies in Great Britain.” This paper has probably
been forgotten, and is even perhaps unknown to the younger
generation of entomologists. It would be interesting to review
it now by the light of present knowledge.

From the year 1860, when his observations on the fauna and
flora of the Isle of Wight were published, we find him con-
tributing at intervals not only to ‘The Zoologist,’ but also to
the ‘ Phytologist,’ and the ‘ Proceedings ’ of the Botanical Society
of Edinburgh; and a little later we find papers, chiefly botanical,
in the ‘Journal’ and ‘Transactions’ of the Linnean Society
(of which he was elected a Fellow in 1856), the ‘Annals and
Magazine of Natural History,’ the ‘Journal of Botany,’ the
Dublin Society’s * Journal,’ and the British Association ‘ Re-
ports. To ‘The Ibis’ for 1865 he contributed an important
paper “On the Distribution of Birds in Great Britain during
the Nesting Season,” which proved extremely useful in paving
the way for extended observations on this subject by other
naturalists. Although a good zoologist, Mr. More appears to

146 THE ZOOLOGIST.

have always found a greater attraction in Botany, and on going
to reside in Ireland he at once began to pay serious attention to
the flowering plants of that country, and ultimately became the
highest authority on that subject. In 1866, in conjunction with
Dr. David Moore, he published an excellent volume on the dis-
tribution of Irish plants, with the title, ‘ Contributions towards a
Cybele Hibernica,’ and for many years before his death he had
in preparation a second edition of this work, which it is to be
hoped may yet be completed by other hands.

In January, 1867, he was appointed assistant naturalist in
the Museum of Natural History of the Royal Dublin Society,
and when, in 1878, that museum was purchased by the Govern-
ment, and became designated “The Science and Art Museum,”
his appointment in the Natural History department was con-
firmed. A few years later, namely, in 1881, on the death of the
Director, Dr. Carte, the title of Curator was substituted for the
post to which Mr. More was then appointed, and this position he
accepted until 1887, when failing health compelled him to retire
on a pension after twenty years’ service. ‘Two years prior to his
resignation he issued a ‘ List of Irish Birds,’ in connection with
the collection in the Museum of Science and Art, and a second
edition of this appeared in 1889. In the year in which his term
of office expired he brought out a useful Guide to the Natural
History Department of the Museum, a fitting termination to his
public career. It is to be regretted that with his active mind
and enforced leisure he had not sufficient energy remaining to
utilise the materials he had collected for a new fauna and flora of
Ireland. Some years ago, during an excursion to one of the
islands on the West Coast of Ireland, he received a blow with a.
stone on the hip, which eventually resulted in disease of the hip-
joint. From the time of his retirement he had to walk with
crutches, and during the last year or two of his life he could only
get about ina bath-chair. ‘This did not deprive him, however,
of the pleasure of receiving the friends who lived near him, and
of corresponding with those who resided at a distance; and in
this he found some alleviation of physical suffering. His last
attack of bronchitis was brief, and in a few days the end came.
His loss will be deplored not only by the friends in his adopted
country, by whom he was regarded as a most trustworthy referee
on all questions touching the Zoology and Botany of Ireland, but

NOTES AND QUERIES. 147

by a large circle of readers personally unknown to him, who had
learned to value his opinion, and regard him with an esteem
which he well deserved.

NOTES ‘AND CGUERTES:

The Manuscript of White’s ‘Selborne.’—Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson
and Hodge announce for sale by auction, on Friday, April 26th :—

“Lot 1069. Wuite (Rev. GILBert) or SeLBorne.— The Natural
History and Antiquities of Selborne in the County of Southampton. _

~&x The Author’s Autograph Manuscript of this famous and popular
work in the form of letters to Thomas Pennant and Daines Barrington,
first printed in 1789, and continually reprinted since. It comprises all the
letters to Thos. Penuant (44); the first 62 (out of 66) of those written to
the Hon. Daines Barrington; 12 pages of the ‘ Antiquities;’ 1 leaf of
Index; 1 leaf of ‘More rare Plants observed in the parish of Selborne’
(published in Bell’s edition); a Poem entitled ‘ Selborne Hanger,’ a wiuter-
piece to the Miss Batties (1 leaf); and another, ‘The Invitation: To
Samuel Barker, By the Rev. G. White’ (2 leaves in a different hand) ;
‘On the sense of Hearing in Fishes,’ 2 leaves headed ‘ Hints but not
finished’ (published only in Bell’s edition); and a leaf intitled ‘ More
Particulars of the old family Tortoise,’ omitted in the Natural History.
The manuscript contains many passages not printed in the several editions,
and has never been out of the possession of the lineal descendauts of the
author. At the death of Gilbert White it passed into the possession of his
brother Benjamin, who printed the first edition; from him to his son
Benjamin; from the latter to his son the Rev. Glyd White, who bequeathed
it to the father of the present owner. A few sheets of the MS. are written
by an amanuensis, one of the author’s family.”

Messrs. Sotheby & Co. will also sell in separate lots, on the same day
and immediately following the “ Lot” just described, eighteen autograph
Sermons by the Rev. Gilbert White (Lots 1070—1087), written between
the years 1747 and 1793 (the year of his death), and preached at Selborne
and other places.

John Legg, of Market Lavington, Wilts, 1755-1802. — We are
indebted to the Rev. A. C. Smith, of Old Park, Devizes, for a separate
copy of a memoir, lately published by him in the ‘ Wiltshire Archeol. and
Nat. Hist. Magazine,’ of John Legg, whom he styles an advanced ornitholo-
gist of the 18th century, and whose memory until now has lain in oblivion,
For this neglect, it must be said, he himself was chiefly to blame; for had
he placed his name upon the title-page of his book instead of writing under

148 THE ZOOLOGIST.

the pseudonymn “A Naturalist,” he would have received long before his
death due acknowledgment of its merits. The book to which we refer is
‘A Discourse on the Emigration of British Birds; or, this question at last
solv’d: whence come the Stork and the Turtle, the Crane and the Swallow,
when they know and observe the appointed time of their coming? Con-
taining a curious, particular, and circumstantial account of the respective
retreats of all those Birds of Passage which visit our Island at the com-
mencement of spring and depart at the approach of winter, &c., &c.’ This
book, first printed in 1780, went into a second edition the same year, and
was reprinted in 1795, and again in 1814 with a new title-page, when for
the first time the name “George Edwards” was substituted for “A
Naturalist.” This, as Mr. A. C. Smith has shown, was only a rash guess
on the part of the publisher, and a very mistaken guess. The real author’s
address, ‘‘ Market Lavington, Wilts,” being printed at the end of the Intro-
duction, gave a clue to his identity, and, following this up, Mr. A. C. Smith
has established the fact that the writer was John Legg, who (as appears by
a marble tablet erected to his memory in the chancel of Market Lavington
Church) was “the son of Richard and Jane Legg of this town,” and “ de-
parted this life April 5th, 1802, aged 47.” Further biographical details are
given in the memoir now before us. ‘Those of our readers who possess
editions of the ‘ Discourse,’ either with or without the name of George
Edwards on the title, will be interested in this discovery of its real
authorship.
MAMMALIA.

Irish Names for British Animals.—In the list of names for the
Mole given by Prof. H. A. Strong (p. 11), I was surprised to find Irish names
for an animal not known to exist in Ireland, namely, caochan (the blind
creature), criadh-luch (the earth mouse), and duch dall (the blind mouse). It
seems to me that to whatever animal these may refer they cannot be applied
to one which is not a native of Ireland. I would suggest that they may
have been given to the Long-tailed Field Mouse, and to the Lesser Shrew,
with its diminutive eyes; the first and third named to the Shrew, the second
to the Field Mouse.—Roperr Warren (Moyview, Ballina, Co. Mayo).

[This argument is fallacious, as may be seen if we consider the number
of species to which English names have been applied in various parts of the
world, and yet none of which are indigenous to England. Moreover, the
Mole is by no means an isolated instance as regards Ireland; for example,
there is no evidence, historical or geological, that the Roebuck was ever a
native of Ireland, and yet there is an Irish name for it, Harbog, which
it may be observed closely resembles the modern Gaelic Harb, Earba,
and Larb-boc (‘Essays on Sport and Natural History,’ pp. 52—55).
The pheasant, pheasan, is mentioned in an Jrish MS. poem of the ninth
century as having been brought from the neighbourhood of Loch Melvine,

NOTES AND QUERIES. 149

Co. Fermanagh, and offered with other birds and beasts by way of ransom
for an Irish chieftain who had been taken prisoner (Wilde, Proc. Roy. Irish
Acad,, vol, vii. p. 187); and yet this bird, of course, was not indigenous to
Treland, and the date of its introduction there was probably much later.
(‘ Essays,’ pp. 305 —307, 309).—Ep.]

The Names of the Mole.—I cannot find that Marsvin (p. 104) is
actually used as a name for the Mole in any part of Denmark, and must
therefore regard its being given as a synonym in the dictionary as a mistake,
and the “mar,” as Mr. Cocks rightly argues, must refer to the sea alone.
There is another small mammal, however, which is called a “* Moor-pig ” in
Denmark, that is the Water-vole, Mose-yris, and one would suppose that
the Mole has a better title to be called a Pig than the Vole. The latter
half of this name for the Vole is also the Lowland Scots for a Pig—grice.
[Compare also the Old English name for the Badger, viz. Gray—French,
gris—Ep.| The Swedish for the Mole is, as Mr. Cocks points out,
Mullvad, but its last syllable bears very little resemblance to the Scottish
Moudie-(warp). Swedish is no doubt closer to Old Norse than is the
Dano-Norwegian, but Lowland Scots is much nearer Dano-Norwegian than
Swedish, and is nearest of all to the Jutland dialect.—Harotp Rarpurn.

Irish Hare turning White in Winter.—I acknowledge that the state-
meut made by me, and referred to in Major-General Warrand’s note (p. 104),
is not quite correct. I should have added—‘‘ The Mountain Hare remains
generally in its brown summer fur throughout the winter.” In making the
statement I was guided chiefly by the experience of my friend Mr. Williams,
of Dublin, who tells me that he has received as many as forty Hares in a
winter from all parts of Ireland. His experience extends over a period of
about twenty years, and he remarks to me :—“ So far as I have seen, there
is no change in the colour of the Hare in most winters, except in the event
of the cold setting in very early.” He received no white Hares during the
late very severe winter, when the cold only set in after Christmas. The
whitest Hare he has ever seen is a specimen in the Dublin Museum from
Co. Wicklow. This, however, is by no means white all over, the whole back
and head retaining the brown summer fur. If both he and I should prove
to be mistaken, and the Mountain Hare really does turn as white in Ireland
as it does in Scotland, the best way to settle the question once for all would
be to send a white specimen to the Dublin Museum for future record.—-
R. F. Scuarrr (Science and Art Museum, Dublin).

[The authorities at the British Museum (Natural History) would,
doubtless, also be glad to receive specimens of white Hares from Ireland for
the National Collection. The evidence of Mr. Williams is good enough, so
far as his experience goes, but so also is that of Major-Gen. Warrand, who
states that ‘near Downpatrick, Co. Down, a very large number of Hares
are taken or killed every year, and a considerable number of these turn very

150 THE ZOOLOGIST. |

white in winter, while nearly all assume a much lighter shade of fur when
the cold weather sets in.” This view is supported by the observations of
Mr. T. E. Davies in Co. Donegal, by Col. J. Whyte in Sligo, by the late Lord
Clermont in the counties of Armagh and Louth (Zool. 1882, p. 107), and by
other correspondents in other parts of Ireland. Mr. Harvie Brown has an
interestiug and confirmatory note on this subject in his ‘ Vertebrate Fauna
of Argyll,’ p. 43, footnote.—ED. ]

Yellow-tailed Squirrels.—In my note under this heading in the last
number of ‘ The Zoologist’ (p. 103), by a slip of the pen, “‘ November” was
given as the date when the new blackish hairs grow up and supersede
the bleached white ones of the summer pelage. This should have been
“September,” by the middle of which month the majority of specimens
have grown their winter tail hairs and dropped their summer ones.—
OxtprirLtp Tuomas (Natural History Museum, South Kensington).

BIRDS.

The Ruff in Sussex in Winter.—The appearance of a Ruff, Machetes
pugnax, in Chichester Harbour during the first week of February last,
seems to me sufficiently unusual to deserve mention. As a rule, this bird
is a spring and autumn migrant in Sussex, appearing in the tidal harbours
and estuaries about the end of April and beginning of May (when Knots,
Whimbrel, and Grey Plover also arrive), but passing on northwards in
about a week or ten days, not to reappear until the autumn, when, on the
return journey south, they once more appear in larger flocks, no doubt
because young and old are then associated. Years ago (in the sixties and
seventies), before Pagham Harbour, that paradise for wildfowl and waders,
was reclaimed, I was often quartered on that part of the coast for a week or
two at a time in spring and autumn, taking note of all the birds that made
a temporary stay there, as well asin the harbours of Bosham and Chichester.
Lying out in a gunning-punt all day, walking round the harbour under the
sea-wall, exploring the marshes between Sidlesham and Selsea, or tramping
along the great pebble beach between Selsea Bill and the coast-guard station
at Pagham, I became in this way familiar with all the ordinary wading and
swimming birds, and some of the rarer ones too, learning to distinguish them
by their notes, flight, and actions at a distance, stalking and shooting those
about which any uncertainty existed, or by imitating their calls from an
ambush, luring them round within shot, and securing those I wanted. In
this way I got to know a good deal about the movements of the migratory
species, the dates of their arrival and departure, and their relative abundance
or scarcity. The Ruff I never found to be a common bird in Sussex, that
is, by comparison with the Knot, Redshank, Bar-tailed Godwit, Curlew
Sandpiper, Curlew, Whimbrel, and Grey Plover, which often appeared in
great flocks at the period of their migration, together with Ringed Plovers

NOTES AND QUERIES. 151

and Dunlins, the last-named sometimes in hundreds, it might almost be
said in thousands, for their number was incalculable. On the spring
migration the male Ruffs passed before they had completely assumed the
curious frill and striking plumage which characterize them in the breeding
season. ‘There was then merely an indication of the colour which the frill
would ultimately assume ; black or yellow or reddish brown feathers, as the
ease might be, cropping out here and there about the sides of the neck
and breast. In autumn, on their return journey, all traces of this had
disappeared; the male birds, but for their larger size, were scarcely
distinguishable from the females, or Reeves, and they arrived in what might
be termed little family parties rather than in flocks like other waders. By
the end of September they were gone, and it was very unusual to meet
with any of these birds in winter, though occasionally a solitary Ruff might
be detected with the field-glass feeding amongst Knots or Redshanks. But,
as a rule, they consorted only with those of their own species. In February
last, however, as I learn from my old friend the Rev. Prebendary Gordon,
Vicar of Harting, a Ruff was shot in Chichester Harbour, by Mr. Edward
Johnson, of Chichester, and was identified for him at the Natural History
Museum at South Kensington.—J. EK. Harrine.

The Little Auk on the West and Kast Coasts of Scotland.—At a

meeting of the Natural History Society of Glasgow, held on March 26th,
Mr. John Paterson read a paper entitled ‘“ Notes on the irruption of Little
Auks, Mergulus alle, L., in the winter of 1894-5, on the West of Scotland,
Oban to Ayr,” in which he had carefully gathered up all the known facts in
connection with the recent presence of these birds on this side of Scotland.
The circumstances specially drawn attention to were (1) that none of the
birds had been reported as seen in the Outer Hebrides or on the north-west
coast of Scotland; (2) that, so far as known, there had been none seen in
Ayrshire; (3) that the occurrence throughout the Clyde faunal area had
been of a very scattered character; and (4) that the birds had been in
greatest abundance between Oban and Islay—that is in line of the great
glen from Inverness south-westwards, by which route, in Mr. Paterson’s
opinion, the birds had arrived from the east coast.
_ It would seem from a more elaborate paper by Mr. W. Eagle Clarke,
* On the Recent Visitation of the Little Auk to Scotland,” published in
the ‘Annals of Scottish Natural History’ for April (pp. 97-108), with a
map, that these conclusions require some modification. Thus (J) in the
Outer Hebrides this bird was observed in Lewis and Barra; (2) several
were noted in Ayrshire; and (3) many on the east side of the Firth of
Clyde. On the other hand, Mr. Clarke’s map does not illustrate Mr.
Paterson’s statement (4) that the birds were found in greatest abundance
between Oban and Islay.

133 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Local Names for Wildfow].—“ Pijlstaart” (p. 106) is common Dutch
for Pintail, just as its diminutive “ Pijlstaartje” is for the Long-tailed
Titmouse; but I believe the former is also applied by Dutch sailors to
birds of the genus Phaethon, and hence the Pylstaart Island, or Islands,
of our maps. “ Pellstart” would of course be an English rendering of the
word in its first signification, though perhaps it would be more appropriately
written “ Pilestart.” Pilet, which M. Rolland explains to be petit javelot,
petite fléeche, is the form it takes in French, while Pfeilschwanz is the
German equivalent. JI have included Pylstaart in my ‘Dictionary of
Birds,’ as apparently applied originally to the long-tailed Skuas, but
without referring to it as a name for the Pintail, which I ought to have
done, as its application in that sense is probably the oldest. I may add
that “ Pilestart” is given by Giraud (‘ Birds of Long Island,’ Index, p. 396),
with a reference to ‘“ Pintail.” The Dutchmen who settled what is now
New York may have taken it over, or it may have been a good English
name, only one that did not happen to find its way into print until after its
arrival in America, as seems to have been the case with ‘ Oystercatcher.”—
A¥FRED Newron (Magdalene College, Cambridge).

Distribution of Pomatorhine Skua in Summer.—The following obser-
vations on the summer distribution of the Pomatorhine Skua in parts of the
North Atlantic and Greenland Seas refer to a voyage made by me last year.
On June 30th, between Bear Island and the South Cape of Spitsbergen, in
about lat. 75° 10’, an adult Stercorarius pomatorhinus came within thirty
yards of the yacht. During the following ten days, passed on the shores
and waters of Western Spitsbergen, I did not observe this species. Its
rarity on the western side of Spitsbergen has been referred to by Professor
Newton and others, though the Rev. A. EK. Katon found them in numbers
during August in Hinlopen Straits, and off Low Island, on the north of
Spitsbergen. During the return to Norway, I saw nothing of this species,
though Professor Newton remarks that he saw them in numbers between
Bear Island and Tromso in the latter part of the month of August. Still
later in the year it was found equally plentiful by Dr. Malmgren in much
the same latitude. On July 15th we were steering a course from Roost
Lighthouse, on the south-western islet of the Loffodens, for Fuglo in
Ferée. In long. 11° E., and in about lat. 66° 40’ N., Fulmars, which do
not seem to frequent the inland waters of the Norwegian fidrds, appeared in
some numbers, and with them Pomatorhine Skuas. The weather was
lovely, and we were running under steam and with all square sail set.
During July 16th and 17th we kept our course, and my log for these two
days reads :—‘ Only Fulmars and a few Pomatorhine Skuas accompanying
us, several of the latter in full adult plumage, showing conspicuous twisted
tail-feathers.” Early in the morning of July 18th, Fuglo was sighted
through the gloom, Fulmars and the usual rock-birds and Gulls of the

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES, 158

Ferdes became numerous, but we had parted with the Pomatorhines, and
none followed us beyond sight of those islands. Leaving Thorshavn on the
morning of July 19th, our course was laid to pass a little to the westward of
Foula. When we had left the Ferdes some forty miles behind us, numbers
of Pomatorhine Skuas constantly came close to the ship, as many as eight
- or ten being around us at the same time. The majority were birds in
_ immature plumage, but several were fine old adults. About 11 p.m. we
had a glimpse of Foula through the haze and gloom, but some hours before
that the Fulmars, which had been our companions for twenty degrees of
latitude, bade us farewell; nor did we see any more of the Pomatorhines.
It seems to me that this oceanic distribution of S. pomatorhinus during
summer is an interesting fact in the life-history of the bird. I do not
suppose that the Pomatorhines we met with in the North Atlantic, between
the Loffodens and the Feerées, in the middle of July, were birds returning
south on migration. The majority of these birds were immature, and it
may be that, having no breeding instincts to fulfil, the young of this species
pass the summer months in scouring the ocean. Why adult birds should
accompany them when we might expect these to be at their breeding-
quarters is not so easy to account for. Why does this species absolutely
avoid the Ferées in summer, for I never heard of an example being pro-
cured there except in autumn or winter? and why should it be abundant
in July between the Ferées and the Shetlands, and only known from the
latter islands by a few examples procured in winter? We know that this
species obtains its food partly by robbing Gulls and Terns, but in that
great spread of water between the Loffodens and the Ferdes I did not see
a single Gull or Tern for the Pomatorhine Skua to rob. Under such
circumstances on what does it subsist ?—H. W. Ferupen,

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES,

Linnean Society oF Lonpon.

March 7th, 1895.—Mr. C. B. Cuarke, F.R.S., President, in the chair.

Mr. A. Henry was admitted a Fellow.

On behalf of Sir Joseph Hooker, the Secretary exhibited a bronze medal
struck in honour of the late Alphonse de Candolle.-

Mr. J. E. Harting exhibited a remarkable head and horns of Capra
agagrus, recently obtained by Mr. F. C. Selous in Asia Minor, and made
remarks on the geographical distribution of this and other allied species.

Mr. G. F. Scott Elliot, who had been absent from England since Sept.
1893, on a botanical exploration of Mount Ruwenzori and the country to

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—APRIL, 1895. N

154 _ .. THE ZOOLOGIST. _

the north of the Albert Edward Nyanza, gave an account of his journey
and of the results, geographical, botanical, and zoological, obtained by
him. The country lying north-east of the Victoria Nyanza was described
as a large rolling grassy plain, some 6000 feet above sea-level, and well
adapted for colonization. He went west from the Victoria Nyanza to Mount
Ruwenzori, which is said to have an altitude of 18,000 feet, and spent four
months in exploring that district, under the great disadvantage of a dense
cloud hanging over the mountain the greater part of the day, which often
prevented the party from seeing more than fifty feet ahead. The sides of the
mountain were clothed at the base with a thick growth of trees resembling
the laurel of the Canary Islands; above that bamboos to the 10,000-feet
level ; and above that again what the explorer could only liken to a Scotch
peat-moss, in which the traveller sank at every step a foot or more. Large
trunks, like those of Hrica arborea of the Canary Islands, but indicating
trees eighty feet high, were noticed. Amongst other plants found were a
Viola, a Cardamine, a gigantic Lobelia attaining a height of five or six feet,
and a species of Hypericum resembling that found in the Canaries ; indeed
the similarity of the flora to that of the Canary Islands was remarkable.
Mr. Scott Elliot ascended Mount Ruwenzori to the height of 13,000 feet,
finding evidence of animal life and numerous insects to a height of 7000 feet.
Above 10,000 feet his Swahili porters could not sleep without injury to
their health, and it was only with a reduced number of men that he was
able to ascend another 3000 feet. Amongst the animals specially mentioned
was a species of Water-buck (Cobus), a Baboon, two species of Monkey, one
black and white, the other with short slate-coloured fur, a new Chameleon,
a new snake, and several new insects. The commonest birds were Sun-birds
(Cinnyrid@), one species of which—green, yellow, and crimson—was found
at an altitude of more than 10,000 feet. ‘The paper was criticised by Mr.
Carruthers and others.

The Secretary then read an abstract of a paper by Dr. Maxwell T.
Masters on the genus Cupressus, illustrated by a number of plants and
cuttings which had been forwarded by Messrs. Veitch, Mr. Moore, of
Glasnevin, and Dr. Acton, of Kilmacurragh.

Dealing with the zoological collections made during the recent expedition ©
of Mr. Theodore Bent to Southern Arabia, Messrs. Kirby, Gahan, and
Pocock communicated papers on the Insects and Arachnida which had been
obtained, and some of which were described as new.

March 21st.—Mr. C. B. Cuarxe, F.R.S., President, in the chair.
Messrs. Rudolf Beer and W. H. Heathcote were elected Fellows.
Professor Stewart exhibited and made remarks upon a series of

Corals, dwelling upon certain characteristic features which illustrated their
structure,

—

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 155

‘Mr. 8. Pace brought forward a collection of shells belonging to the genus
Columbella, and made some observations concerning the peculiarities and
geographical distribution of some of the species exhibited.

A paper was read by the President ‘‘ On the terminal flower in the
Cyperacee.” After remarking that this order had been newly arranged
by Dr. Pax in Engler’s ‘Jahrbuch’ (1886), and in Engler and Prantl’s
‘Pflanzenfamilien,’ the character taken for primary division of the order
being the inflorescence, he considered that the classification advocated
proved either that the modern method pursued by Dr. Pax was of limited
systematic value, or that he had erred considerably in his ascertainment of
the fact whether in each genus the flower is terminal or not. Mr. Clarke
exhibited his own analysis of the spikelet in the larger genera in dispute.
He held that in Carex, Scleria, and their allies, the flower, male and female,
was strictly axillary; that in Rhyncospora it was axillary—exactly as in
Dichromena and Psilocarya—while in Hypolytrum the flower is terminal,
exactly as in Mapania. He further maintained that these facts could be
sufficiently shown by the aid of a penknife and pocket-lens, and that no
results which might be hereafter obtained by studies in development could
affect the weight to be attributed either to the character of the ‘ terminal
flower” or to the real affinities of the genera. The paper was illustrated by
lantern-slides showing dissections, and a discussion followed in which Sir D.
Brandis, Mr. A. B. Rendle, Dr. Prain, and Dr. D. H. Scott took part.

Dr. H. Field, of New York, then made some remarks on the proposed
establishment of a central international bureau for zoological bibliography,
and the annual publication of an international Zoological Record.

ZooLoGicaAL Society oF Lonpon.

March 5th.—Sir W. H. Frower, K.C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., President, in
the chair.

The Secretary read a report on the additions that had been made to the
Society's Menagerie during the month of February, and called special
attention to a fine Giraffe recently arrived from South Africa. This was
believed to be the first example of the large, dark-blotched race ever seen
alive in Kurope, the Giraffes previously exhibited having belonged to the
smaller and paler form found in Northern Tropical Africa. The Society
had also purchased a pair of Sable Antelopes, Hippotrayus niger, and a pair
of Brindled Gnus, Connochetes taurina, all in excellent condition.

The Secretary exhibited, on behalf of Mr. Walsey, of the Hudson's Bay
Company, two Martens’ skins which had been received from two districts
widely apart. ‘The peculiarity in these skins consisted in the fact that one
of the fore legs in each skin was wanting, and there was nothing to indicate
that a limb had ever existed at that part.

156 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Dr. St. George Mivart read a paper on some distinctive structural
characters in the hyoid bone in certain Parrots. He represented two lateral
processes of the basihyal (for which he proposed the name “ parahyal
processes’) as probably distinctive of the whole of the Psittact. He found
that in the genera Lorius, Hos, and T'richoglossus these processes were
developed into a remarkably delicate parahyal arch. He also described the
hyoid of Stringops, showing that it was completely Psittacine, but with
some special characters probably peculiar to it.

Mr. A. D. Michael read a paper on a new freshwater Mite found in
Cornwall, and belonging to the genus Thyas, of which only two species
were previously known. It is a very handsome species, flattened in form,
scarlet and orange in colour, and with remarkable whorls of large lanceolate
spines tipped with scarlet on the legs. It was found near the Land’s End
in a small stream close to where the rapid water falls into the; sea. He
proposed to name it T’hyas petrophilus.

Mr. G. A. Boulenger read a paper ‘‘On the Nursing-habits of two
South-American Frogs,” and exhibited a specimen of Hyla goeldiw with the
eggs on the back. He also made remarks on a male specimen of Phyllobates
trinitatis from Venezuela, carrying its tadpoles on its back, in the same way
as had previously been observed in frogs of the genus Dendrobates from
Surinam and Brazil.

March 19th.—Sir W. H. Frowgr, K.C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., President,
in the chair.

Lieut.-Col. Godwin-Austen and Mr. W. E. Collinge communicated a
paper on some new species of Mollusca from Borneo. Three new species
were described, and details were given of their structure and affinities.

Mr. F. E. Beddard read a preliminary account of some new Earthworms
in the Hamburg Museum, collected in South America.

Prof. Alphonse Milne-Kdwards communicated the description of a new
species of Crab of the genus Hyastenus, obtained near the Straits of Magellan
during the ‘Challenger’ Hixpedition, and proposed to be named H.conso-
brinus.

Dr. A. G. Butler gave an account of two collections of Lepidoptera
received by the British Museum; one from Zomba, made by Mr. J.
McClounie, remarkable for the number of butterflies of the genus Charawes
it contained; the other made at F'wambo, Lake Tanganyika, by Mr.
Alexander Carson, including not only rare species previously received only
from Zomba and Lake Mweru, but several novelties, the finest of which
was Junonia pavonina, a new form allied to J. artaaia.

Mr. F. Chalmers Mitchell read a paper in which he described the
proventricular crypts he had found in a specimen of the African Tantalus,
Pseudotantalus ibis, recently living in the Society’s Gardens. — P. L.
SCLATER, Secretary.

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 157

EntomotocicaL Soctety or Lonpon.

March 6th.—Professor RAPHAEL Me porta, F.R.S., President, in the
chair.

| The following were elected Fellows of the Society :—Messrs. H. T.

- Dobson, Herbert Massey, Thomas M. McGregor, Sidney Crompton, B. H.

- Crabtree, and G. A. K. Marshall.

Mr. B. G. Nevinson exhibited a series of Heliothis peltigera, bred
from larve found on the Dorsetshire coast during July, 1894, feeding on
the flowers of Ononis arvensis ; a few also were taken on Hyoscyamus niger.
All the larvee went down by the end of July. The first emergence took
place on August 20th, and they continued coming out at the rate of abont
five a day through the rest of that month and September ; only five emerged
in October, and the last on Nov. 11th.

_ Mr. Bower exhibited a variable species of Scoparia basistrigalis, Kuaggs,
showing light, intermediate, and dark forms, taken at Bexley, Kent, from
June 12th to July 7th, 1891-94.

Lord Walsingham exhibited larve of Pronuba yuccasella, which he
received more than four years ago from Colorado, and which were still
living. One specimen of the moth had emerged two years ago.

Mr. Goss exhibited, for Mr. G. C. Bignell, a pupa of a Tortrix with the
larval legs, and also a specimen of a sawfly, Hmphytus cinctus, L., with
eight legs.

Professor Meldola exhibited a wooden bowl from West Africa, from
which, after arrival in this country, a number of beetles (Dermestes vulpinus)
had emerged. Specimens of the latter were also exhibited. It was gene-
rally considered that the larvee excavated the lids for the purposes of pupa-
tion, and not for food.

Mr. Champion read a paper “ On the Heteromerous Coleoptera collected
in Australia and Tasmania by Mr. J.J. Walker, R.N., during the voyage of
Hi.M.S. ‘ Penguin,’ with descriptions of new genera and species,” Part II.

Mr. Roland Trimen contributed a paper “On some new Species of
Butterflies from Tropical and extra-Tropical South Africa.”

Mr G. A. James Rothney contributed “ Notes on Indian Ants,” and
sent for exhibition a number of specimens in illustration of the paper,
together with nests of certain species.

March 20th.—Professor RapoareL Metpota, F.R.S., President, in the
chair.

Messrs. Claude Morley, Herbert E. Page, W. W. Smith, and Henry
Tunaley were elected Fellows of the Society.

Mr. H. 8t. John Donisthorpe exhibited a living female of Dytiscus
marginalis with elytra resembling those of the male insect. Dr. Sharp said

158 > THE ZOOLOGISTy

he had seen this form before, but that it was very rare in this country,
though abundant in some other parts of the palaarctic region.

Dr. Sharp exhibited specimens of Brenthus anchorago, from Mexico,
showing extreme variation in size.

Mr. Blandford commented on the difficulty of mounting minute Lepi-
doptera, Diptera, Neuroptera, &c., and exhibited samples of strips of material
which he had found most suitable for the purpose of staging minute
insects. His attention had been called to this method of mounting by the
receipt of specimens from Dr. Fric, of Prague. On examination of the
material he found it to be a fungus, Polyporus betulinus. Lord Walsingham
had expressed his satisfaction with this material, and had sent him speci-
mens, similarly mounted, from Zeller’s collection. Mr. McLachlan thought
the material exhibited preferable to artichoke-pith, which had been used
for a similar purpose.

Mr. Goss exhibited a species of Mantid, Pseudocreobotra wahibergt, Stal,
received from Captain Montgomery, of Mid-Ilovu, Natal.

Mr. Frederick A. A. Skuse communicated a paper “On a Colour Variety
of Heteronympha merope, Fab., from New South Wales,” and sent coloured
drawings of the typical form and the variety for exhibition.

Mr. Oswald H. Latter read a paper, illustrated by the oxy-hydrogen
lantern, entitled ‘‘ Further Notes on the Secretion of Potassium Hydroxide
by Dicranura vinula (imago) and similar Phenomena in other Lepidoptera.”
Professor Meldola congratulated Mr. Latter on the thorough way in which
he had worked out his experiments, and for the first time proved the
secretion of free potassium hydroxide in the animal kingdom.

Mr. Merrifield read a paper entitled “ ‘The Results of Experiments made
last season on Vanessa c-album and Limenitis sibylla.” This was illustrated
by an exhibition of specimens of L. stbylla, and a long series of V. c-album,
to show the effect of temperature in producing variation. In connection

with Mr. Merrifield’s paper, Mr. F. W. Frohawk exhibited a series of |

200 specimens of V. c-album bred from one female taken in Hereford-
shire in April, 1894. The series consisted of 105 males and 95 females,
and included 41 specimens of the light form and 159 of the dark form.
Professor Meldola was glad to think that the subject of seasonal dimor-
phism, which had been first investigated systematically by Weismann,
was receiving so much attention in this country. He was of opinion that
the results hitherto arrived at were quite in harmony with Weismann’s
theory of reversion to the glacial form, and all the evidence recently accumu:
lated by the excellent observations of Mr. Merrifield and others went to
confirm this view as opposed to that of the direct action of temperature a as
a chee: ae ~—H. Goss, Hon. Secretary.

efecL69: -jirt

= NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. ~~

Summer Studies of Birds and Books. By W. Warvr Fow ter,

8vo, pp. 288... London: Macmillan & Co. 1895.
~~ Mr. Fowrer’s ‘Year with the Birds,’ reviewed in this
Journal some years ago (Zool. 1887, p. 316), will be familiar to
most of our readers, and we are not surprised to find that a third
edition of it has lately appeared. In the present volume we have
a fresh series of similar essays, breathing of that love of Nature
and appreciation of the labours of other naturalists which charac-
terised his former book. In that we remember an essay on Virgil’s
natural history lore; in this we find an essay on Aristotle’s know-
ledge of birds, and, for those who have never been at the pains to
study the original, a very instructive essay itis. Mr. Fowler, of
course, is not the first modern writer who has published remarks
on this subject. Thirty years or more ago Prof. Sundevall, well
versed in Greek, and with an extensive knowledge of zoology,
gave to the world an admirable treatise in his ‘ Thierarten des
Aristotles’ (Stockholm, 1863), and, naturally, Mr. Fowler has not
omitted to consult it. The result of his research is full of
interest. Aristotle’s acquaintance with the general facts of bird-
life, though in some respects curiously accurate, was-on the
whole very imperfect. He no doubt had many opportunities of
procuring specimens, both alive and dead, in the bird-market at
Athens, and also of obtaining information on various points from
the bird-catchers who brought them thither for sale. But, as
Mr. Fowler puts it, his book-was “a collection of odd bits of
unsifted information, so far as it relates to living birds; his real
interest lay rather in investigating the organs of animals by
dissection.” There is, as the late George Henry Lewes long ago
remarked, a want of “ out-of-doorness”’ about his book, which
breathes not of the fields and streams. He was neither a sportsman
nor a field-naturalist. Hence it is not surprising that his work
does not bear many traces of careful observation, although, as Mr.
Fowler points out, there are here and there passages which are
of interest to naturalists even now. His remarks, for example,
on migration, on the supposed hybernation of certain species, on
seasonal change of colour, and on the classification of birds
according te the nature of their food, are very striking for the
age in which they were made,

160 THE ZOOLOGIST,

Mr. Fowler’s chapter on Gilbert White of Selborne appears
to us less opportune at the present moment than when written to
remind his readers of the approaching centenary anniversary of
that author’s death. It falls just a little flat, because we have
so recently been reminded, in other words, of much which he has
now reprinted.

In his chapter ‘‘ On the Songs of Birds” we have something
fresher, and his appendix ‘‘ On the Vocal Organs of Singing Birds”
(with a plate) embodies the most scientific portion of the book.
The quality which Aristotle did not possess—out-of-door obser-
vation—is Mr. Fowler’s forte ; and whether we accompany him
to the Engstlen Alp, wander with him through the wilder parts
of Wales, or be seated upon the grassy slope of Bindon Hill, where
the air is sweet with thyme, to view below us the grey and misty
sea washing the base of the Dorset downs, we enjoy the com-
panionship of an intellectual guide who has always something of
interest to impart.

Catalogue of the Birds of Prey (Accipitres and Striges) ; with the
number of Specimens in the Norwich Museum. By J. H.
GURNEY. 8vo, pp. 56. London: R. H. Porter. 1894.

SincE the death of the author’s father in April, 1890, a good

many additions have been made to his ‘ List of the Diurnal Birds
of Prey. From Mr. Reeve’s MS. Catalogue of the species in the
Norwich Museum, and from notes in the late Mr. Gurney’s
interleaved copy of his own work, as well as from ‘ The Ibis’ and
other sources of information, Mr. J. H. Gurney has now com-
pleted and issued a volume with the title given above, which we
have no doubt will be found extremely useful. In addition to the
revised lists of Accipitres and Striges, there is also a list of Mr.
Gurney’s principal papers on Raptorial Birds in order of date,
one of which, for convenience in regard to size and consequent

accessibility, is reprinted from the quarto pages of the ‘ Trans-

actions of the Zoological Society,’ 1865.

As a frontispiece we find an admirable likeness of the late
Mr. Gurney, and the volume is further illustrated with two
double-page charts, showing the respective distribution of the
Vulturide and of the genus Scops, the largest and most uni-
versally distributed genus of any in the order Striges.

a

THE ZOOLOGIST

No. 221.—May, 1895.

THE MAMMALIAN FAUNA OF CHESHIRE.

By T. A. Cowarp anp CHARLES OLDHAM.

Tue following paper makes no claim to be an exhaustive
treatise on the existing Mammalia of Cheshire, but is merely a
summary of our present knowledge of the subject. It has been
written mainly in the hope that the facts therein recorded may
induce other observers to co-operate with the writers in the com-
pilation of such a list of the vertebrates of the county as shall
be of practical utility to resident naturalists, and not without
interest to all students of this section of the British fauna.

Cheshire is a maritime county in the West of England,
separated from Lancashire on the north by the river Mersey
and its tributary the Tame; from Yorkshire in the extreme
north-east by the ridge of hills which forms the watershed of the
Mersey and Yorkshire Ouse; from Derbyshire and Staffordshire
in the east by the rivers Ktherow, Goyt, and Dane, tributaries of
the Mersey ; and from Flintshire and Denbighshire on the south-
east by the Dee. The county is bounded on the south by Shrop-
shire and parts of Staffordshire and Flintshire, but the border-
line is not a natural one.

The greater part of the county, which has a total area of
1102 square miles, is an extensive and nearly level plain which
rests upon the New Red Sandstone, and is seldom more than from

two to three hundred feet above the sea-level. Here and there,
however, the older Triassic rocks rise abruptly from the sur-
rounding red marl, and attain an altitude of over 500 ft. at
Beeston Castle, Eddisbury, and Harrol Edge, near Frodsham,

| ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—MAY, 1895. fe)
!

|

162 THE ZOOLOGIST.

and 604 ft. at Alderley Edge. Except in the neighbourhood of
the few. manufacturing towns, the Cheshire plain now presents a
peaceful pastoral aspect, extensive grazing and dairy tracts, which
are among the most important in England, being interspersed
with numerous game-coverts and large well-timbered parks; the
heaths and peat-mosses have been almost entirely reclaimed,
and the Royal Forest of Delamere, between Northwich and
Chester, alone remains of the extensive natural woodlands which
once covered the greater part of its surface. The whole country
is well watered by the Bollin, Dane, Weaver, and Gowy, which
flow into the Mersey, and is studded with numerous small lakes
or meres, of which Rostherne, Tatton, Doddington, Budworth,
and Combermere may be cited as examples; whilst nearly every
field contains one or more marl-pits, which formerly constituted
the sole source of the manure-supply for the permanent pastures.

In the north-western part of the county, between the estuaries of |

the Dee and Mersey, is a hammer-headed peninsula, called

Wirral, whose natural features do not differ materially from those |

of the central plain. |

In the east and north-east the character of the counter is
entirely different. ‘The scenery in many places is very wild and
romantic, and the hills of millstone grit, rising to 1833 ft. at

Shining Tor, near Macclesfield, and to 1908 ft. at the head of

Heyden Brook in Longdendale, with their long lines of terraced
or steeply-scarped edges and broad stretches of breezy grouse-
moor, form a striking contrast to the fertile and well-wooded
plain of the Trias.

Of the literature of our subject there is but little to be said.
The earliest work which contains more than a casual reference
to any of the Mammalia is ‘A Discription Historicall and Geo-
graphicall of the Countie Palatine of Chester,’ published at
Chester in 1656. In speaking of Delamere and Maxfield Forests
the author, Daniel King, says:—‘‘ Besides the great store of
Deer both Red and Fallow, in the two Forests before named ;
there is also great plenty of Hares: In hunting whereof the
gentlemen do pass much of their time, especially in Winter ; also
great store of Conies, both black and gray; namely in the places

where it is Sandy ground ; neither doth it lack Foxes, Foulmards,

Otters, Basons,* and such like.” Dr. Charles Leigh’s ‘ Natural

* Bason, Rance cud ficteen 7, é., the Badger.

THE MAMMALIAN FAUNA OF CHESHIRE. 163°

History of Lancashire, Cheshire, and the Peak of Derbyshire,’
published in 1700, contains nothing of interest beyond a descrip-
tion of the Red Deer at Lyme, and a brief notice of the Fallow
Deer in Dunham Park. In 1854 “ The Fauna of Liverpool,” by
Isaac Byerley, was published as an appendix to the ‘ Proceedings’
of the Liverpool Literary and Philosophical Society. The writer
enumerates thirty-one species of mammals for Cheshire, exclusive
of domesticated forms; and, although the records of two species
—the Lesser Horseshoe Bat and the Harvest Mouse—can only
be accepted with hesitation, the list contains much valuable
information, and is interesting as the first attempt to give a
detailed account of the mammals of even a portion of the county.
Dr. J. D. Sainter’s ‘Scientific Rambles round Macclesfield’
appeared twenty-four years later, and included a list of the birds,
mammals, and reptiles of the neighbourhood. This list, how-
ever, contains many obvious inaccuracies, and is consequently of
little practical value. An excellent list of the Seals and Whales
of the Dee and Mersey estuaries, by the late T. J. Moore, is
given in ‘The Second Report on the Fauna of Liverpool Bay,’
published in 1889 by the Liverpool Marine Biology Committee.
The most recent list, and the only one which embraces the whole
county, was contributed by Mr. R. Newstead to the ‘ Proceedings’
of the Chester Society of Literature and Natural Science (No. iv.
1894) under the title of ‘‘A Preliminary List of the Mammals of
Cheshire and North Wales.” Mr. Newstead enumerates twenty-
eight terrestrial species for Cheshire, but does not include the
Seals and Cetaceans.

_ In addition to these lists there are many scattered records in
‘The Zoologist,’ ‘The Naturalist,’ ‘ The Field,’ and the columns
of ‘The Manchester City News.’ We have also consulted Bell’s
‘ British Quadrupeds,’ various works on local topography, and the
‘Proceedings’ of local scientific societies.

It remains to say that we have received valued help in the
shape of notes and specimens from several correspondents, and
we take this opportunity of tendering to them collectively our
warmest thanks.

Before proceeding to consider the existing fauna we may
briefly review what evidence we have of species which have dis-
appeared during, or immediately prior to, the historic period.
Owing to the absence of the limestone caverns, which have
02

164 THE ZOOLOGIST.

yielded such a rich harvest of mammalian remains in the neigh-
bouring counties of Derby and York, our knowledge of the

ancient fauna is comparatively scanty, though it would probably

be considerably extended by the investigation of old MSS.
relating to the county—a field of research pertaining to the pro-
vince of the antiquary rather than the naturalist,

There can be little doubt that the Wolf (Canis lupus) formerly
abounded in the Cheshire forests, and its remains are of frequent

occurrence in the superficial deposits of Wirral (A. Hume, ‘ Anti-

quities of the Cheshire Coast,’ p. 350).
Skulls of Bos primigenius have been found in the peat-beds at
Leasowe and Wallasey, and at various places in the bed of the

_Manchester Ship Canal. The smaller domesticated Ox (B. longi-

jrons) was probably abundant. We have seen skulls from the
peat-beds at Leasowe, the bed of the Mersey near Warrington,
Chester, and several places on the line of the Ship Canal.

The forest recesses and the reed-beds fringing the meres
afforded suitable covert for the Wild Boar (Sus scrofa), whose
memory is preserved in the place-name Wild Boar Clough, near
Macclesfield. Its tusks are of frequent occurrence near Roman
stations (Hume, op. cit. p. 350), and some years ago a skeleton
was dug up from a peat-bog at Mobberley (Wm. Norbury, ‘ Proc.
Lance. and Chesh. Antiquarian Society,’ vol. ii. p. 65).

We have etymological evidence of the existence of the Roe-—

buck (Capreolus caprea) in Roelau,:one of the hundreds into
which the county was formerly divided; and in Domesday Book
we read that at Wivreham (Weaverham) and Chingeslie (Kingsley),
both in the hundred of Roelau, there were respectively one and
four* hays for roes. ~ . } . :

* The word hava is frequently mentioned in Domesday Book under thé

heading of Audlem, Wrenbury, Bredbury, Adlington, Worleston, &c.;- but
haia capreolorwm occurs only in connection with Weaverham and Kingsley.
The following explanation of the word is given by Beamont (‘A Literal
Extension and Translation of the portion of Domesday Book relating to
Cheshire and Lancashire,’ Introduction, p. xxxi):—‘‘ The word hay, in its
original, is Saxon, and signifies a hedge, whence the quickset, its most frequent

material, is a hawthorn, or, in our Lancashire vernacular, a haythorn. The

transition was easy from that which enclosed to that which it enclosed,

and so the latter naturally became a hay. The hays were chiefiy made

in the woods and forests, and, except such as were intended for the roe,

were forbidden to be made of any great height; and they were so contrived —

THE MAMMALIAN FAUNA OF CHESHIRE. 165

_ The forty-four species which now inhabit Cheshire, or visit its
estuaries as stragglers, are divided into the following Orders :—

Chiroptera bor ... 7 species.
Insectivora AM 53 Uy Bien,
Rodentia ... cu an ye hd ofse0
Ungulata ... - we she nies Oth oes
Carnivora ... Cea, oS ae eee, ee
Cetacea... ae 2 ny oe a

The Bats as a group have been greatly neglected, and further
research will doubtless result in the addition of other species.
Natterer’s Bat (Vespertilio nattereri) has escaped attention
hitherto. It has been recorded from South Lancashire (C. Old-
ham, Zool. 1893, p. 457), and its addition to the Cheshire fauna
is probably only a question of time. :

All the Insectivora and Rodentia included by Bell in his...
‘ British Quadrupeds’ occur in the county, but, owing to their
small size and retiring habits, several of the species are often
overlooked, and are probably more plentiful than is generally
supposed. F

Incessant war is waged by gamekeepers against the terrestrial
Carnivora, while the Polecat and Marten are practically extinct.
In the ‘Manchester City News’ for Nov. 8rd, 1883, the late
J. F’. Robinson described a cat which had been trapped some
years previously in Delamere Forest, and which he considered to
be a genuine Wild Cat; the evidence he adduces, however,
hardly appears to warrant the inclusion of Felis catus among the
Cheshire mammals. There is reliable evidence of the occurrence
of three Seals, but we do not think that Dr. C. Collingwood was
justified (Proc. Liv. Lit. Pil. Soc. vol. xviii. p. 162) in assuming
that the pied Seal mentioned by Pennant (‘British Zoology,’
vol. 1. p. 177), as having been taken near Chester in May, 1766,
was an example of the Mediterranean Monachus albiventer. Pen-
nant’s description of the creature is too vague to admit of a
satisfactory determination of the species.

that, at certain seasons, the deer could be driven into them to be taken or
inspected, which was called a stabilitio, as the stand where the owner or
sportsman stood was called a stabilitura. We never meet with these hays
in places which are said to be waste. The haia capreolorum was a hay for
roes, and a dimidia haia was half a hay, or a hay unfinished.” For further
notes on ‘ Roe-deer hays,” see Harting, ‘Essays on Sport and Nat. Hist,’
1883, p. 41.

166 THE ZCOLOGIST.

The Fallow Deer is included among the Ungulata, though it
is known only as a park animal, and there is no evidence to show
that it was ever really wild in this county.

Cetaceans entering the estuaries are frequently left stranded
on the vast sand-banks which are exposed at low-water, but it is
comparatively seldom that they come under the notice of com-
petent naturalists; and other species than those recorded have
probably occurred.

Order CurropTERA.—F amily RHINOLOPHIDZ.
Rhinolophus hipposideros (Bechst.) ; Lesser Horseshoe Bat.—

Byerley has recorded the occurrence of a Lesser Horseshoe Bat

at Storeton quarry, near Birkenhead, about the year 1834, but the
record rests on the sole authority of a taxidermist named Mather,
and requires verification.

Family VESPERTILIONIDE.

Plecotus auritus (L); Long-eared Bat.—This species is pro-
bably fairly plentiful throughout the county. Byerley describes
it as “very common in the district”; Mr. R. Newstead says,
“widely distributed throughout the district, but not so common
as V. noctula,” and adds that he has frequently seen it hawking
for flies in broad daylight during the warm days of early spring.
It is common in the Mid-Cheshire district, and we have obtained
specimens at Bowdon, Sale, Northen Etchells, Wythenshawe,
and several times in the copper mines at Alderley Edge. Mr. T. D.
Sykes informs us that he has frequently shot it on the Cheshire
bank of the Mersey, near Cadishead, and the Rev. H. G. Barnacle

states that it is not uncommon at Holmes Chapel. The choice
of a diurnal resting-place by this bat is very varied. We have

found it between the ceiling and roof of a cottage, in a timber-
stack, in a crevice in the bark of a birch-tree, and Mr. A. Salmon,
of Bowdon, has taken numbers from holes in beeches in Dunham
Park.

Synotus barbastellus (Schreb.); Barbastelle.-—There is a female
specimen in alcohol in the British Museum labelled ‘‘ Cheshire,”
but no further data are given (G. EK. Dobson, ‘ Cat. Chiroptera in
Coll. Brit. Mus.’ 1878, p. 177).

Vesperugo pipistrellus (Schreb.); Pipistrelle-——Probably gene-

rally distributed and common. Byerley describes it as the ‘‘ most

THE MAMMALIAN FAUNA OF CHESHIRE. 167

common bat in the district,” and Mr. Newstead also states that
itis the commonest species. Personally we have only obtained
the Pipistrelle in Dunham Park, where itis abundant. It appears
about the same time in the evening as the Noctule, and generally
flies low under the trees, although Coward has shot it flying
_ round the tops of high beeches.

V. noctula (Schreb.); Noctule; Great Bat; Fox Bat.—Pro-
bably common wherever there is old timber. Byerley states that
“Mr. Mather remembers having stuffed specimens taken from
Birkenhead Abbey many years ago, before the additional building.
Once or twice from other localities. If now in the neighbour-
hood it is very scarce”; but Mr. Newstead says it is ‘‘ common
and generally distributed.” ‘There is a specimen in the Grosvenor
Museum, Chester, from Manley, dated 1889. We have seen
Noctules on the wing at Lymm, Hatchmere, Mouldsworth, Higher
Peover, and Capesthorne, and have obtained specimens from
Timperley, Knutsford, and Dunham Park. In this last locality,
where it is exceedingly plentiful, it spends the day in the cavities
of the old oaks, which abound in the park, and usually leaves
these resting-places about forty minutes after sunset. At first
these bats fly very high, squeaking and chasing one another
around and above the tree-tops. During summer they frequent
the open glades, generally flying high; but towards the middle of
September they resort in great numbers to the water-meadows by
the river Bollin, flying up and down alongside the park-wall,
often not more than ten or twelve feet from the ground. When
shooting at them they will often suddenly dart down and almost
touch the muzzle of the gun. On dissecting two Noctules which
Mr. G. O. Day sent us, taken from a house-roof in Knutsford on
March 19th, 1894, we found a mass of half-digested beetles and
flies in their stomachs, from which it was inferred that they
had been recently on the wing. In Cheshire we have not seen
this species later than Sept. 18th, though Coward has observed
it in Derbyshire on the 22nd of that month, and in Surrey on
Oct. 1st.

Vespertilio daubentonit, Leisler ; Daubenton’s Bat.—Occurs in
several localities, and is probably generally distributed. Byerley
states that nine out of two or three dozen were taken by Mr,
Nicholas Cooke, of Warrington, from their lurking-place in a
hollow tree in Delamere Forest, and one of them was identified by

168 THE ZOOLOGIST.

the British Museum authorities. Two unlabelled specimens in the
Warrington Museum were possibly obtained on this occasion. This
species has been taken in winter in the copper-mines at Alderley
Edge. One was taken on Dec. 26th, 1892 (C. Oldham, Zool. 1893,
p. 108), and another captured on Dec. 15th, 1894. Coward has
obtained several specimens from one of the pools in Dunham
Park. We have observed it flying over a large horse-pond near
Mouldsworth, at the pool in Higher Peover Park, and on the
Ellesmere Canal at the point where it is crossed by the Whit-
church and Tarporley road. The bats in the last locality were
restricted to a small area where the towing-path is overhung by
trees, and although search was made, no others were seen on the
canal for a mile in either direction. -Daubenton’s Bat comes
abroad about seventy minutes after sunset, and it is difficult to
distinguish the bats from their shadows as they skim over the
surface of the water. We have not seen this species on the wing
later than August 17th, although we paid several visits to the
pool in Dunham Park during the latter half of that month and
September, 1894, in the hope of finding it.

V. mystacinus, Leisler; Whiskered Bat.—Widely distributed.
One was found asleep on the top of a stone wall at Fernilee, near
Whaley Bridge, on May 30th, 1885 (W. D. Roebuck, ‘ Naturalist,’
1886, p. 118), and another was knocked down near the same place
at mid-day on April 26th, 1886 (T. A. Coward, Zool. 1888, p. 222).
We obtained a specimen which was hawking. up and down a
hedge-side at dusk, at Northen Etchells, on Sept. L5th, 1888,
and another in a similar spot at Mouldsworth, in June, 1894.
One which we took from beneath the bark of a dead fir in Dela-
mere Forest on August 7th, 1893, is now in the Grosvenor
Museum, Chester. We have examined a specimen in the
collection of Mr. J. Chappell, of Openshaw, which was caught at
Holmes Chapel, and another from Dunham Park, in the posses-
sion of Mr. A. Salmon, of Bowdon.. From December to March
we have repeatedly taken this species in the old mines at Alderley
Kdge (T. A. Coward, Zool. 1888, p. 222; C. Oldham, Zool. 1893,
p. 103). Copper was worked at Alderley in pre-Roman days,
but the low galleries running horizontally into the sandstone
rock, where we have found the bats, are of much more recent
date. A dipterous insect and two moths (Scotosia dubitata and
Gonoptera libatrix) are frequently found on the walls, and possibly

THE MAMMALIAN FAUNA OF CHESHIRE. 169

afford food for the bats. The Whiskered and Long-eared Bats,
- which are found in about equal. numbers, do not crowd together
for warmth like hybernating Noctules, but are scattered singly
_ about the roof and walls, from which they generally hang head
downwards, sometimes as much as 100 yards from the mouth of
the tunnel. A Whiskered Bat taken on Dec. 26th, 1892, was
not in the usual position, but wedged horizontally into a small
-erevice. When found, the bats are covered with moisture and are
very cold and lethargic; but on being handled their temperature
rises rapidly, and they become lively enough in the course of
a few minutes. Whiskered Bats which we have taken home
from Alderley have flown energetically about a room, but we have
never been able to induce them to feed, and they have invariably
died in a few days.

Order InsEcTIvorA.—F amily ERINACEIDE.

Erinaceus europeus, L.; Hedgehog.—Common and generally
distributed. This species is accused by gamekeepers of destroying
eggs and young birds, and is often caught in traps baited with
flesh. The Hedgehog is perhaps more indifferent to the presence
of man than most wild animals. Coward once came upon one in
a dry ditch in Dunham Park, which smelt at his boots and looked
up into his face for some minutes, but did not show any sign of
fear until he handled it, when it rolled up and remained in that
position for some time. .

Family Sortcipz&.

Sorex araneus, L.; Common Shrew; Nurserow; Nostral.—
Common. We have had specimens from many widely separated
localities. There is an albino from Picton in the Grosvenor
Museum, Chester. The late J. F. Robinson, of Frodsham (‘ Man-
chester City News,’ June 30th, 1883), thus describes the old
superstition regarding the Shrew:—“I remember well a large
ash-tree, which was known as the ‘Rock of Ages.’ It always
puzzled me to know why the small ash twigs and young boughs
were gathered and hung upon the shippon roof over the cows
about calving time, to ensure freedom from disease, and it was
some time before I found out the reason. It was a shrew-ash,
and for several generations it was regarded by the villagers as a
tree possessing remarkable virtues, because a wretched shrew:

170 ) THE ZOOLOGIST.

mouse had been fastened in alive in an auger-hole made in the
stem as a living tomb. . . . . When the tree was sawn up
several spots were revealed, marked by a brownish mass of
decaying wood, where the harmless little animal had been thrust
in by the superstitious farmers.”

Sorex minutus, L.; Lesser Shrew.—Not so plentiful as
S. araneus, but has probably been greatly overlooked. The first
Lesser Shrew recorded from Cheshire was sent to us, in the
flesh, on Jan. 24th, 1894, by Mr. Newman Neave, of Rainow, near
Macclesfield, whose cat had brought it into the house a day or two
previously. This specimen is now in the Owens College Museum,
Manchester (N. Neave, Zool. 1894, p. 110; C. Oldham, ‘ Naturalist,’
1894, p. 130). A pellet of the Barn Owl, obtained at Great Bud-
worth in May, 1894, contained one skull of this species and six
of S.araneus. A second skull was obtained from an Owl’s pellet
found in Dunham Park in September, 1894. Mr. Oldfield Thomas,
of the British Museum, has kindly confirmed our identification
of these two skulls.

Crossopus fodiens (Pall.); Water Shrew. —In the district
drained by the rivers Mersey and Bollin this species is decidedly
common. Ashley, Baguley, Bowdon, Brooklands, Dunham, Gat-
ley, Northenden, and Wythenshawe may be cited as localities.
We have also seen it at Chelford, and found its skull in a Barn
Owl’s pellet from Great Budworth. Byerley gives one record
only, “ Taken at Egremont by Mr. R. Abbott.” Mr. Newstead
names Ince, Elton, and Hatchmere as localities where he has
seen it.

An example described as an Oared Shrew (S. remifer, Geoff.),

was taken many years ago at Birkenhead by Mr. Wm. Webster, —

jun., of Upton (Zool. 1848, p. 2009).

Family Taurine.

Talpa europea, L.; Mole; Moudywarp.—Common and widely
distributed. Occurs on the high ground in the east of the
county, as well as throughout the Cheshire plain. Mr. Newstead
mentions having seen “several specimens of a cream-colour with
the under parts golden yellow,” and there is an example of this
variety from Saltney in the Grosvenor Museum, Chester.

|

THE MAMMALIAN FAUNA OF CHESHIRE. 171

Order Ropent1A.—F amily ScruripH.

Scirus vulgaris, L.; Squirrel.— This species is very plentiful
in Delamere Forest, and is common in the parks, woods, and
coverts throughout the county. It is persecuted by gamekeepers,
and may often be seen in their “‘museums.” Oldham once
watched a Squirrel for some time in a beech at Capesthorne. The
road beneath the tree was covered with the half-ripened fruit
which the little creature had dropped, and it was seen that where
the involucre had been gnawed through so as to expose only one
shrivelled and barren mast, the remaining masts were also barren ;
whereas fruits which, judging from the size of the cells, had con-
tained well-developed masts, had been gnawed through inde-
pendently on either side. The Squirrel is partial to mushrooms,
and will also, occasionally at any rate, eat poisonous fungi
(C. Wolley-Dod, ‘ Field,’ Sept. 29th, 1893, p. 491).

Family Myox1p2.

Muscardinus avellanarius (L.) ; Dormouse.— The Dormouse
has been recorded from several localities in Cheshire, and is
probably more common than is generally supposed; but, owing
to its nocturnal and retiring habits, and the secluded nature of
its haunts, it is doubtless often overlooked. Byerley says, ‘‘ Mr.
Brockholes has seen it in Prenton Wood.’ Mr. Newstead, in
his list, mentions one found by his father “in the hollow of an
old apple-tree at Thornton-le-Moors in the autumn of 1885.”
Mr. Thomas Worthington informs us that he frequently met
with this species at Peover from forty to fifty years ago, and we
have reliable evidence that it is still to be found there. Mr. H.
H. Corbett says (in lit.) that Dormice were common in the woods
at Alderley about thirty years ago. Mr. J. Kenyon, Lord Kger-
ton’s head-keeper, states that he has occasionally found Dormice
in the woods on the Tatton Estate. In the ‘ Manchester City
News’ for March 8rd, 1888, a short account of this species is
given by J. F. Robinson, who says :—‘“‘ It can be met with in the
summer season at the foot of the Woodhouse Hills [near Frod-
sham] in sheltered sunny nooks, where I have found four nests,
_ each containing young, all ina radius of three or four yards.”

172 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Hall, on May 26th, 1890 :—‘‘ The nest was suspended from the
bough of a fallen tree, and was perhaps eighteen inches or two
feet from the ground”’ (N. Neave, in lit.). » .

Family Mure

Microtus amphibius (L.); Water Vole; Water Rat. — This
species is common and generally distributed. In the winter of
1881-1882 Mr. E. Comber shot an example of the black variety
at Parkgate, in Wirral (Zool. 1890, p. 884). Another was
observed in the same neighbourhood in May, 1890, and Mr.
King, of Carlisle, has met with this form on the banks of the

Fic. 1.—Right upper molars of (a) agrestis, (b) glareolus, x 103.

Dee (Macpherson and Aplin, Zool. 1892, p. 287). The Water
Vole does not invariably bring forth its young in a burrow in the
bank of some stream or pond. On June 25th, 1887, we found
three spherical nests made of gnawed reeds and flags, placed on
platforms of the same materials, which raised them above the
water, in a reed-bed at Pickmere Mere. One of the nests con-
tained four blind young ones, one of which was much darker
in colour than the other three (C. Oldham, ‘ Naturalist,’
1892, p. 4). .
M. agrestis (De Selys); Field Vole; Field Mouse.—Abun-
dant and generally distributed. In the Grosvenor Museum,
Chester, there are two pied examples from Cotton Edmunds, and
an albino from Nantwich (Newstead). We have trapped this
species in plantations, gardens, and hedgerows, but its usual
habitat is the open fields, where, in some places, the turf is go
honeycombed by its burrows as to resemble a miniature rabbits
warren. In Dunham Park, Field Voles form the staple food of

THE MAMMALIAN FAUNA OF CHESHIRE. 173

| the Barn Owl. We-have examined a great number of pellets
~ from this locality, and have found only a few skulls of glareolus ;
whereas the skulls of agrestis exceed those of all the other mam-
mals together. In old meadows this species is often so numerous
as tobe a perfect plague, not only on account of the amount it
_ actually eats, but because its nests clog the knives of the mowing-
machines when the grass is cut. In winter, holly-bushes may be
_ seen in the hedgerows with the smaller twigs stripped of bark,
and though in some cases the damage may be done by Bank
Voles, in others the present species is certainly the culprit

Fie. 2.—Lower molars of (a) agrestis, (b) glareolus, x 5h.

(ef. Zool. 1890, p. 98). The abundance of this and-the next
‘species is doubtless to some extent due to the constant persecution
of their natural enemies, Kestrels, Barn Owls, and Weasels.

M. glareolus (Schreb.) ; Bank Vole. — This species is com-
mon and generally distributed, but has been much overlooked
in Cheshire, as is doubtless the case in other parts of the country.
In the neighbourhood of Sale, Northenden, and Gatley, the Bank
Vole is extremely numerous in hedge-banks where there is a
sufficient amount of undergrowth to afford it the covert it delights
in, and we have trapped as many as_ six in one hedgerow in a
single night. The Rev. C. Wolley-Dod states (in lit.) that it is
abundant at Edge, near Malpas. Mr. R. Newstead has sent us
teeth taken from the stomach of a Kestrel from Eaton, and from

174 THE ZOOLOGIST.

pellets of the same species from Aldford. We have received
many specimens from Mr. N. Neave, taken at Rainow, near
Macclesfield, and have trapped it in the same district at Higher
Sutton, as well as at Brooklands, Bowdon, Ashley, Ringway,
Lymm, Siddington, Chelford, Mouldsworth, and Parkgate. Its
favourite haunts are hedge-banks and copses, but we have
obtained specimens in gardens, and, at Gatley and Lymm, in
osier-beds. By frequenting such situations it is less liable than
agrestis to fall a prey to the Barn Owl, though we have found
several skulls in pellets from Great Budworth, Dunham Park,
and Wythenshawe. In traps baited with bread sprinkled with
powdered aniseed this species is taken much more freely than
agrestis, a result possibly due to its more omnivorous habits,
The Bank Vole may be readily distinguished from the Field Vole
by its slighter build, longer tail, and redder fur, The difference
in the teeth is very marked (figs. 1,2). In fully mature glareolus
the grinders in both jaws are furnished with double roots, the teeth
in the upper assuming this form at an earlier age than those in
the lower jaw; whereas in agrestis the teeth retain their simple
form throughout life. In the 2nd edition of Bell’s ‘ British
Quadrupeds’ the number of cemental spaces in the second upper
grinder is given as six, but, as a reference to the accompanying
figures will show, there are four spaces in glareolus and five in
agrestis. 'The angles of all the teeth in a glareolus are much more
rounded than im agrestisg a te eee eee
Mus decumanus, Pall.; Brown Rat. eeering common and
destructive species doulas everywhere, and is detested alike by
‘the gamekeeper and farmer. Many are killed by Barn Owls,
which should be encouraged, if only for this reason. Stoats and
Weasels might keep them in check to some extent, but they are
under the gamekeeper’s ban themselves. In many places the
‘hedge-banks are honeycombed by rat-holes, and the creatures
“may be met with in nearly every pond and ditch, as well as in
game-coverts and about farm-buildings and houses. In Dunham
Park they are exceedingly numerous, making their holes beneath
the rhododendron-bushes. The large Pond-mussel (Anodonta
cygnea) is eaten by this species, and-we have often found shells
with the margins of the valves-bitten away; but itis not clear
how the rats force open the shells, which are held together by
very strong muscles,

THE MAMMALIAN FAUNA OF CHESHIRE. 175

|
M. ratius, L.; Black Rat. — Possibly lingers in a few
places, but is very rare. Is still caught on shipboard in the
Birkenhead Docks (F. H. Mills, Zool. 1894, p. 186). There
is an old specimen without date in the Grosvenor Museum,
Chester, from Aldersey. Mr. Newstead states :—‘ It is about
five years since I heard of the species at Aldersey; at that time a
resident told me it was then fairly common.” In the ‘ Man-
chester City News’ of Nov. 24th, 1883, J. F. Robinson describes
the finding of skeletons of the Black Rat when some repairs
were being made at Castle Park, Frodsham. He states that
*“‘the skins were reversed and drawn over the skulls,” and adds,
** This was a proof that they had been murdered by the Brown
Rat”; but, as we have known a Barn Owl to treat a Brown
Rat in exactly the same way, it is possible that owls were the
destroyers.

M. musculus, L.; Common Mouse. — A common pest. We
have trapped it in pndside- -hedges at a considerable distance
from houses or farm-buildings.

M. sylvaticus, L.; Long-tailed Field Mouse. — Generally
distributed and eaneae There is a specimen of a pale buff
variety in the Grosvenor Museum, Chester (Newstead), This
mouse is very easily trapped. We caught one in Dunham Park
only a few minutes after having removed a dead one from
the trap.

M, minutus, Pall.; Harvest Mouse. — We can say nothing of
this species from porate observation, and the evidence of its
occurrence in Cheshire is of a meagre and unsatisfactory nature,
Byerley says that it is found “ not unfrequently in wheat-stacks,
barns, and fields,’ but he gives no actual records, and we have
been unable to obtain any evidence in support of his statement.
The finding of nests in the reeds on Frodsham Marsh has been

_ recorded in the columns of the ‘ Manchester City News’ by J. F.
Robinson. Mr. Sam Radcliffe, of Ashton-under-Lyne, informs
us that some years ago he caught several examples on the pre-
mises of a hay and straw dealer in that town, who observed the
mice in some straw which he had purchased on a farm near
Wilmslow. Mr. Radcliffe kept some of the mice for several weeks
in a large fern-case, where a female gave birth to a litter of
young ones,

176 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Family Leporm2.

Lepus europeus, Pall.; Common Hare-—Common and gene-
rally distributed. Hares have become scarcer in some districts
since the passing of the Ground Game Act.

L. timidus, L., variabilis, Pall. ; Alpine Hare.—Restricted to
the moors of the north-east, where it is abundant. Colonel J.
Crompton Lees, of Oidham, has kindly furnished us with the
following particulars of this species, which was introduced
originally on his shooting at Greenfield, Yorkshire. He writes,
under date June 29th, 1894 :—‘“‘I believe fifty Blue Hares were
turned out altogether in or about the years 1880, 1881, or 1882,
and that they came from Perthshire. My keeper tells me that
last March, when, of course, they were white, he counted about
fifty as he sat in one spot. He used a pair of field-glasses.
Some time in the sixties we turned out some Blue Hares, but
they gradually decreased in number till they became quite extinct.
I am happy to say the second attempt has proved successful.”
From Greenfield the hares have crossed the Cheshire border, and
are now thoroughly established, and very plentiful on the higher
parts of the moors in Longdendale, from Swineshaw, near Staly-
bridge, to Woodhead. In winter they sometimes come down
on to the lower ground, and, after a thaw, are very conspicuous
objects, looking like sheets of white paper scattered about the
bare hill-sides. A specimen in the Grosvenor Museum, Chester,
was shot on Featherbed Moss, about two miles above Crowden,
on November 17th, 1894. It scaled 4 lbs. 10 oz., and had only
partialy assumed the winter dress, although on the same day
that it was obtained one was seen almost entirely white.

L. cuniculus, L.; Rabbit.— Common. The black variety
occurs sporadically, and is abundant in the large warrens at
Lyme Park.

(To be continued.)

}
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( T7773

ON THE PROPER SPECIFIC NAME OF THE WEASEL.

By Ouprietp Tuomas, F.Z.S.

Many years ago the late Mr. HE. R. Alston told me he saw no
escape from the necessity for using the specific name nivalis,
Linn., for the Common Weasel; and though, so far as I know,
he never carried this view into effect, nor, with the common laxity

of authors in this respect, has any one else done so, with the

exception of Scandinavian zoologists, the case seems to be so
clear that, on the principle enunciated in my note on the Shrews
(p. 62), I feel compelled to adopt the name Linneus gave to the
species.

Its synonymy would then stand as follows :—

PuTorius nivauis (Linn.).

Mustela nivalis, Linn. Syst. Nat. (12), 1. 69, 1766; Hellenius,
Retzius, Holmgren, Lilljeborg, &c.
Mustela vulgaris, Erxl. Syst. Regn. An. Mamm. p. 471, 1777;
et auctorum plurvmorum.

The name was given to a specimen found running about
on the snow, and had no reference to the colour of the animal.

[The proposal to change a name which has been in use for nearly
120 years is one which probably most of our readers will agree ought
not to be too hastily accepted; and before adopting the view above

_ expressed it will be well to look into the matter a little more closely.
_ Mr. Thomas says the case ‘‘ seems to be so clear that he feels compelled
to adopt the name Linnzus gave to the species.” But the question

arises, ‘‘Did Linnzeus give the name to the species?” His ‘common
Weasel” (the Mustela vulgaris of older authors) was evidently the Stoat,
which he named Mustela erminea, and described as Mustela pedibus /fissis,
caud@e apice atro, with the tip of the tail black, an expression sufficiently
diagnostic of the animal. What is his description of M. nivalis, which
Mr. Thomas identifies with our Weasel? It is as follows:—‘‘ Mustela
pedibus fissis, corpore albo, caude apice vix pilis ullis nigris;” in other
words, an animal with a white body and with scarcely any black hairs
(implying that it had some) in the tip of the tail. He refers to his
previously published ‘ Fauna Suecica’ (1761), and turning to the species

Dumbered 18 in that work we find the same animal described as above,
with the additional remark :—‘ Precedenti simillima (i.e. M. erminea)

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—MAY, 1895. P

178 THE ZOOLOGIST

nivea, cauda etiam alba sed pilis tantum paucissimis extimis nigricantibus,
nec toto caude apice nigris; corpus dimidio minus est H7minea.”

In this country the expression corpore albo would not apply to our
Weasel, which does not turn white in winter, though albino specimens
are sometimes met with; but assuming that it does turn white occa-
sionally in Scandinavia, there is still the difficulty of the black hairs
in the tip of the tail, which would not be found in this animal at any
season of the year, but are at all seasons characteristic of the Stoat. As
regards the question of size, it is well known that with Weasels and Stoats

ee

the female is invariably smaller than the male. The conclusion then at —

which we arrive is that the Mustela nivalis of Linnzus is not our common

Weasel, but a female Stoat in winter garb. We are not told on what

evidence it appears that the name nivalis “‘ was given to a specimen found
running about on the snow.” We find no mention of this either in the
‘Systema Nature’ (/.c.) or in the ‘ Fauna Suecica.’ From what is there
stated we infer that the term nivalis means ‘snowy white,’ and was
deemed by Linnzus to be a good specific name for an animal which he
described as nivea.

Whether the Common Weasel should be transferred from the genus
Mustela, in which Linneus placed it, to the genus Putorius, is a doubtful
question, the discussion of which must be reserved for some future —
occasion.— ED. |

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS IN MID-WALES.

By J. H. Saurer.
(University College, Aberystwyth.)

(Continued from p. 143.)
ACCIPITRES.

Barn Ow ., Strix flammea. Not at all numerous.
LonG-EARED OwL, Asio otus. Fairly common, especially in
the Nanteos woods.

SHORT-EARED Ow1, A. accipitrinus. Occurs most commonly —
on Borth and Tregaron peat-bogs. About 1874 Capt. G. W. .
Cosens found several pairs breeding near Sir Pryse Pryse’s —
lakes, and recorded the fact at the time in a letter to the ‘ Field.’

Tawny Own, Syrnium aluco. The most common and gene-

rally distributed of the Owls. While a friend of ours was

examining a nest of young near Rhayader, one of the old birds

flew against his back “as if a cricket-ball had struck him.” Capt. |

Cosens disturbed one from a rabbit-burrow on putting in a ferret, |

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS IN MID-WALES. 179

Sparrow Hawk, Accipiter nisus. Common. Seems when
undisturbed to resort to the same nest year after year.
i MarsxH Harrier, Circus eruginosus. Many years ago nume-
Yous about Borth and Tregaron bogs. Mr. Chas. Jeffreys, of
_ Glandyfi Castle, remembers when the Moor Buzzard, “the dark
_ brown Hawk with the light-coloured head,” as well as the blue-
_ grey Hen Harrier, were to be seen daily working over the salt-
_ marsh below his house. Capt. G. W. Cosens has a young male
bird, which was obtained on Borth Bog about 1870. Another
_ was shot upon Tregaron Bog about 1882.
‘ Hen Harrier, C. cyaneus. Well known to those who
have shot over Borth and Tregaron bogs, or the marshy flats of
, the Dysynni above Towyn, for Snipe and Ducks in winter. Mr.
_ F. Abel speaks of it as “the only Hawk which hunts the ground
j regularly like a pointer.”” He has seen it strike at a Snipe, but
without success. On Tregaron Bog the Ducks have been seen to
make for the river and dive as the Harrier strikes at them.
j Capt. Cosens tells me that as he was watching some Teal upon
_ the water a male bird came suddenly down upon them and
carried one off. I saw a Ring-tail quartering the bog on June
7 8th, 1892. An adult male and dark-coloured young bird are
_ preserved at Nanteos.
_ Mownracvu’s Harrier, C. cineraceus. Mr. F. T. Fielden, of
f Borth, has an adult female, which he obtained November 5th,
1888. It weighed 94 oz.; length, 18% in. The irides were
_ bright straw-yellow.
_ Buzzarv, Buteo vulgaris. Does not breed within a dozen
miles of Aberystwyth, but in the wilder hill districts is still to be
found in all suitable localities. A dozen pairs probably nest
within a three-mile radius of a remote sheep farm which we
have occasionally made our head-quarters. We have seen three
_ pairs in the course of a morning upon the upper Wye, working
in a slow, business-like way along the rocky slopes, probably in
search of beetles and earth-worms. One in the Brecon Beacons,
March 29th, 1894. The Buzzard is always to be seen on Cader
Idris. It does not now breed upon the Bird Rock, owing to
_ persecution; was very numerous in that neighbourhood till
about 1876, when, strict game-preserving coming into vogue at
Peniarth Uchaf, many were destroyed, “up to nine in one week.”
Three eggs were taken in 1894 from a nest within sight of the
P2

180 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Bird Rock; one of them, now in my possession, is exceptionally
well-marked. The Buzzard allows itself to be shot or trapped at
all times with the greatest ease. The hen bird will sit till one is
within a few yards of the nest. I have sometimes seen a Buzzard
cross the valley with half-folded wings, and it occasionally hovers,
looking for the moment like a giant Kestrel. On fine evenings at
sunset the Buzzards soar as if to enjoy the last rays of the light.
They are constantly harassed and beset by Crows. The farmers
do not view them with favour on account of the occasional loss of
a newly-hatched chicken. Nest-building begins at the end of
March, rocks being generally chosen in this district, but
exceptionally a tree. The site can usually be reached without
the least difficulty. A nest containing two eggs on May 2Ist,
1893, was garnished with fresh-pulled leafy twigs of birch and

mountain ash. Another nest, on the 28rd, contained three young © |

ones about a week old; and provision in the shape of a shrew, a ~
mouse, and a piece of sheep intestine. Later, the nest contained |
pellets and the remains of a crow. A nesting-ledge, which I
inspected on May 6th, 1894, was about a yard across, littered
with bits of stick and sedge, with a slight grass-lined hollow in
the middle for the two eggs. The old birds hovered overhead,
mewing piercingly and persistently. A pair near Plynlimmon on
May 30th, 1894, showed no signs of having a nest. hy

Rovueu-LEGGED Buzzarp, B. lagopus. Only one, or possibly —
two, occurrences.

PEREGRINE F'atcon, Falco peregrinus. Appears to be banished ;
from most of its former breeding-places, as on the cliff between —
Aberystwyth and Borth, in the colony of Herring Gulls between
Aberaeron and New Quay, and on the Bird Rock. At the latter ©
locality, where it was long tolerated, Mr. Hutchings has seen it
strike down Jackdaws, and, on picking them up, has found the ©
back torn by the claw of the hind toe, with which alone the stroke
seemed to be given. Mr. EF’. Abel tells me that one caught up a ©
Teal which he had wounded. Their existence here was at last
considered incompatible with the rearing of Pheasants at Peniarth
Uchaf, so in 1888 the male bird was shot. The female went —
away, and shortly returned with another mate; both were shot, |
and the three eggs taken. Since this date the Bird Rock has —
been falconless. There was a nest upon the cliff some six miles ©
south of Aberystwyth till 1893, when I believe the young birds

ht 2g eee ie

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS IN MID-WALES. 181

were destroyed; and this year I could see nothing of Falcons
here or elsewhere. In June I did not meet with any in walking
along the whole of the Cardiganshire coast. Inland there was
formerly a nest upon a crag in one of the tributary dales of the

upper Towy; and in March, 1894, a Falcon revisited this locality.

>

_ In autumn and winter the species is less local, and there have

C
_ been numerous occurrences.

a
‘

Meru, Ff’. esalon. Not uncommon in autumn and winter,

especially about the salt-marshes of the Dovey. Doubtless breeds

on Borth and Tregaron bogs.

Hossy, F’. subbuteo. One seen by Capt. G. W. Cosens flying
over his house at Llanbadarn in September, 1891.

KestTrREL, fF’. tinnunculus. Breeds commonly in the cliffs,
both on the coast and in the rocky dales of the Wye and Towy.

_ Some eggs found in 1892 were compared with others taken from
_ the same hole in 1882, and were evidently the produce of the same
bird. I have seen the eggs in a hole in a quarry laid on the bare

stone without a trace of nesting material. Kestrels killed many

- small birds during frost, January 9th to 12th, 1892. At Hafod,

on April 5th, 1894, one rose hastily from the ground, leaving the
tail of a lizard, which continued to wriggle for about an hour.

WHITE-TAILED EAGue, Halizetus albicilla. An Eagle, no doubt
of this species, was seen by Mr. F. Abel at the Bird Rock on two
consecutive days between the 15th and 20th of November, 1881
or 1882. ‘I'he weather was very bad and rough at the time. On
the second occasion, when it was also seen by several members of
a shooting party, it left the rock, and flew in the direction of
Barmouth.

Kirt, Milvus ictinus. Well known to all whose recollection
of Mid-Wales extends back forty or fifty years. At the present
day it is doubtful if more than seven or eight pairs are left in the

_ Principality. I know of no recent instance of the Kite having

nested in Cardiganshire. At Devil’s Bridge, which was formerly
a favourite haunt, I hear of thirteen having been seen upon the
wing at once. The last nest in this locality was about 1860. The
female was shot from the nest, and the eggs taken. ‘Two young
birds from the same neighbourhood were brought to Nanteos.
Lhe female, after killing her companion, lived there for about
twenty years in captivity, and laid one egg. The Kite wanders to

182 THE ZOOLOGIST.

some extent, and occasionally revisits its old haunts. Mr. F.
Abel tells me that old people remember that the Kite used to
breed on the Bird Rock, and informs me that one haunted the
woods at Peniarth Uchaf from November, 18938, to March, 1894.

Mr. F. T. Fielden obtained a fine male bird at Glandovey on ©

August 15th, 1889. When first seen it was mobbed by Crows.
He also observed one at the Teifi Pools in April, 1894. A Kite
is preserved at Falcondale, and another has been seen over
Tregaron Bog. Other localities had better be withheld in the
interest of the birds; but I may add some details to those
already given in ‘ The Zoologist’ as to the nesting of this fast-
disappearing species. On March 26th, 1894, a pair were reported
to be building in a small wood of thin oaks, where for some years
they have persisted in attempting to nest in full view of a neigh-
bouring farm. I was not able to visit this locality till May 6th.
The nest was soon found, but was empty, the eggs having
evidently been taken. A specimen of the lining included a piece
of coarse sacking, old newspaper, and tobacco-paper. Near at
hand was last year’s nest, and at no great distance a third older

nest. In the latter were two or three pen-feathers, showing that |

it had held young Kites, probably in 1892. While this investi-

gation was in progress, a Kite passed over the wood. Passing ©

a bold wooded bluff at the junction of three valleys,—a great
meeting-place for Kites, Buzzards, Ravens, and Carrion Crows,
and the scene of constant aérial skirmishing,—we mounted to a
wooded gulley, above which a pair of Kites soon appeared. They
were silent, but their animated flight, which I had never seen to
such advantage, showed their interest in our approach. As they
rose or dipped behind the sky-line, the forked tail was now closed,
now spread, and inclined to one side or the other with each easy
and graceful turn. The nest proved to be one in which we had

found young Carrion Crows last year. It had been enlarged and —

repaired, and by climbing the slope I could look into it, thus
ascertaining that it contained one egg. This was no doubt the
second attempt at breeding of the pair whose nest we had seen
previously. Report spoke of a second pair in a neighbouring
valley. A farmer told me that he remembered an instance of the
Kite, in general a tree-builder, having nested upon the rocks.

le ee

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS IN MID*WALES. 183

GALLINZE.
Rep Grouse, Lagopus scoticus. Grouse are in general very
scarce upon the grass-grown uplands of Mid-Wales. If met with
at all, it is generally where the crowberry (Empetrum nigrum)

7 grows. Ina few spots where heather flourishes, as on the Klan

q Moors near Rhayader, and the low-lying Teifi Bog, grouse are

correspondingly plentiful.

Buiack Grouse, Tetrao tetrix. Probate extinct as a resident
in Cardiganshire. Said to have been formerly found on Borth
Bog, and may revisit that locality, as about 1886 Mr. F. T.
Fielden saw a solitary Grey Hen. I am told that Black Game
were introduced at Crosswood by the grandfather of the present
Lord Lisburne. All wandered or were shot off, with the exception
of a single Grey Hen, which was supposed to have bred with a
Red Grouse, as a bird which was taken to be a hybrid between the

- two was obtained. On the Gogerddan property one or two are

still obtained almost every shooting season. They are supposed
to cross the hills from Radnorshire, where there are some about
Cwm Elan.

PuEAsANnt, Phasianus colchicus. Owing to the nature of the
country, Pheasant-preserving is not general. A few wild-bred
birds, without the white ring, are still met with.

ReED-LEGGED Parrriper, Caccabis rufa. Eggs have been
hatched out in Cardiganshire from time to time, but the species
has never established itself.

Par tRIDGE, Perdix cinerea. Fairly plentiful, considering the
small amount of arable land. |

QualL, Coturnix communis. Met with almost every season,
and in some years exceptionally numerous. I heard of two
coveys near Borth in 1893. Years ago a shooting season
seldom passed without ten or twelve couples being obtained on
the Gogerddan estates.

HERODIONES.

Heron, Ardea cinerea. <A few always on the Dovey, while
others fish the small streams in the hills. There are no large
heronries, but about eight pairs of birds, carefully protected by
the owner, Mr. J. Parry, breed at Llidiardau, Llanilar. About
the same number nest at Peniarth, above Towyn, in very tall
larches. A few pairs have bred in the rookery at Talgarth near
Machynlleth, sharing some Scotch firs with the Rooks; but last

184 THE ZOOLOGIST.

spring the nests appeared to be unoccupied. A fine old Heron,
preserved at Gogerddan, has the greater part of the back and
wings white.

Litrte Birrern, Ardetta minuta. An example, shot about
forty years ago near Lodge Park by the late Mr. Jeffreys, of
Glandyfi Castle, is now in the possession of the Viscountess
Parker.

Birtern, Botaurus stellaris. The two large bogs, which form
the most interesting feature of the county from an ornithological
point of view,—the Gors Fochno, stretching inland from Borth,
and the Gors Teifi near Tregaron,—must formerly have been
favourite haunts of this bird. They are revisited almost annually,
as Mr. Hutchings receives Bitterns for preservation whenever a
few days of hard frost occur. During frost in the first week of
January, 1894, five or six were received, chiefly from these two
localities; and one occurred about the same time at Peniarth,
near Towyn. I was shown a spring upon the margin of the
Teifi Bog, which had been frequented by an ‘“‘ Aderyn y Bwn”’
for some days. The only one received during the present winter
was sent from Borth on December !0th. There are stuffed
Bitterns at Bronpadarn, Lodge Park, Pen-y-bont-pren, &c. ‘The
shooting parties used to meet with about half a dozen in the
neighbourhood of Borth Bog every winter.

SpoonBitL, Platalea leucorodia. A not infrequent visitor,
generally to the Dovey. One was shot near Aberystwyth about
1838. About 1879 one frequented the Dovey for three months,
and, though often tried for, was never shot. In the autumn of
1891 Mr. F. T. Fielden had a perfect view of a Spoonbill, which
he stalked to within thirty yards. A Herring Gull swooped at
it screaming, and put it up, and to this it owed its escape. Mr.
Hutchings believes that he has received four at long intervals. A
specimen, shot by the late Mr. Jeffreys, of Glandyfi Castle,
about 1855, is still preserved there. It was seen to alight in the
river in company with seven Sheldrakes. Mr. Chas. Jeffreys tells
me that on May 16th, 1893, a flock of fourteen Spoonbills settled
in the river nearly opposite the castle. He watched them through
a glass running about restlessly on a sandy spit, and wading off to
a mud-bank, shovelling up the ooze with their bills. ‘They spent
most of the day here, and were not shot at, but were seen to go off

towards evening,
(To be continued.

ee ee

( 185 )

NOTES AND QUERIES.

The Manuscript of White’s ‘Selborne.’—The sale by auction of this
manuscript, announced in our last number (p. 147), took place in London,

_ at the rooms of Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge, on the 26th April
last. It was put up at £100, and the bidding having advanced gradually
_ to £294 (or two hundred and eighty guineas), it was knocked down for

that sum to Mr. J. Pearson, who, it was understood, purchased it on
commission for Mr. S. M. Samuel, of No. 6, Palace Court, W.

MAMMALIA.

Irish Hare turning white in Winter.——I was surprised to see the
discussion of this subject in the pages of ‘The Zoologist,’ as I imagined
that most people had now learnt that the often-repeated statements in
Natural Histories, such as that “in Ireland, doubtless owing to the mild
climate, the Mountain Hare does not turn white in winter” (vide Lydekker,
Brit. Mammals, pp. 226-7), are not true. Ever since the time of William
Thompson (Nat. Hist. of Ireland, p. 28) it has been known to Irish naturalists
that the Irish Hare can and often does undergo a considerable change in
winter; the amount of the change, no doubt, depending on weather and
other conditions ; and the late Mr. A. E. Knox has stated that Irish Hares
introduced into Petworth Park, Sussex (as I am informed by Prof. Newton),
kept up their former habit of turning white in winter for several seasons—
a fact which I have also noticed myself in the case of Mountain Hares from
Wicklow when turned down on the lowlands of Wexford. I have for years
been collecting information on this and other matters relative to the Irish
Hare, and have even taken the trouble to collect facts by means of a circular
sent round to many game-preservers, or their keepers, in Ireland, and I have
not the slightest doubt that some Hares which have turned nearly quite
white are to be found every season in Ireland. Pure white Hares are no
doubt rarer, but have certainly been recorded (vide Thompson loc. cit. and
G. H. Kinahan in ‘ Land and Water,’ March 8rd, 1891), but it seems to
me that the really important point to notice is not whether any Hare has

_ ever turned quite white in Ireland in winter, but that in Ireland it is the

exception for a Hare to do so, or even to turn nearly white, whereas in
Scotland it appears to be the rule. 1 may add that in mountainous parts
of Ireland even leverets can partially undergo the winter change, as
evidenced by a leveret in my own collection which was sent me by
Mr. John Hunter, of Wooden Bridge, Co. Wicklow.—G. E. H. Barretr-
Hamitton (Trinity Coliege, Cambridge).

In addition to the evidence already adduced on this subject (pp. 104,
149), 1 may state that in February, 1894, I saw a perfectly white Hare

186 THE ZOOLOGIST.

near the top of Derryclare, one of the mountains known as the Twelve
Pins, in Connemara, where I was told at the time that this was not un-
common, and that afew years previously two entirely white Hares had
been seen on Cashel Hill.—-G. H. Caton Hate (Grainsby Hall, Great
Grimsby).

The Irish Stoat.— What is a barbarous name? It is surely somewhat
late in the day for the Editor of ‘ The Zoologist’ to protest against the use
of native names for animals. According to the arguments put forth against
Assogue, &c., in the editorial note to the description of the Irish Stoat in last
month’s ‘ Zoologist’ (p. 129), we should not use ‘‘ Wapiti” nor “ Kudu,”
and soon. In fact, about one half of the names in general use for animals
are not real original English words, but engrafted native names, adopted from
every language under the sun, and none the worse on that account. Indeed
native names are the best colloquial terms possible when properly applied,
and English compounds the most clumsy and unsuitable, besides being
generally uncertain in their application, and nearly always involving a false
or doubtful assumption about affinity. The mode of spelling is of course
a different question, on which opinions may be very naturally divided.
To me it seemed that Haség is too strange-looking and unpronounceable a
word for any Englishman to adopt, while Assogue would perhaps have a
chance of surviving, and we should then have the convenience of three
names for three species. I may add that I am personally entirely
responsible for the name proposed, as my colleague, Mr. Barrett-Hamilton,
was at the time of writing the paragraph beyond the reach of consultation.
Like the Editor, I should certainly not “ admit that the spelling of an Irish
name as it is pronounced makes it English.” What makes it English, as
in the case of Wapiti, Kudu, Antelope, and others, is its use by English
people in English books.—OxprizLpD THomas.

[Mr. Thomas seems to have misunderstood the drift of our remarks
(p. 129). Our objection was not to the use of the native name Hasog,
which is on a par with Wapiti and Kudu as above quoted, but to assogue,
which is neither Irish nor English, and hence in our opinion “ barbarous.”
—ED.]

Polecat in Cambridgeshire. — The following is from the ‘ Ipswich
Journal’ of Feb. 23rd, 1895, and may perhaps be worth publication in
‘The Zoologist,’ if only to show that the Polecat is not yet exterminated
on the Cambridgeshire and Suffolk borders:—‘ At Isleham, in the Cam-
bridgeshire Fens, a Polecat was found by the lock-keeper with its feet
frozen to the top of the lock-gate. It had evidently stopped on the gate to
watch some object of prey.”—G. T. Ror (Blaxhall, Wickham Market).

Food of the Bank Vole.—When staying at Chollerton, on the North
Tyne, for a few days after Christmas, I noticed under a hawthorn hedge a

Ee ee ee

NOTES AND QUERIES. 187

number of little heaps (in some places an inch in depth) of haw-pips and
haw-rind, in many cases at the mouths of small holes in the bank, in other
cases in the grass close to a network of runs which extended all over the
hedge-bank. The pips were gnawed in on one side and the kernels extracted.
Being anxious to ascertain what species of Mouse was responsible for this,
I set a few small traps at the mouths of these holes and captured four

q specimens of the Bank Vole, Arvicola glareolus. Bell states that the food

consists of fruit and roots, carrion, insects, worms, and snails; and in

confinement some Bank Voles he possessed showed a partiality for goose-

berries. It seems to me that, from the nature of its haunts, the fruit of
the hawthorn (both kernel and mesocarp) forms a very much larger portion of
its diet than has been hitherto suspected. In his description of the Bank
Vole, Bell mentions that it is a good climber. It would be interesting to
ascertain whether this little rodent climbs the hawthorn for the haws, and
whether its tail is prehensile. No doubt afew berries which had fallen
would be scattered about under the hedge, but in the case which came
under my immediate notice the quantity of fragments of those eaten was
so considerable as to suggest that the little fellows had had many a climb
to obtain their fooa.—Joun H. TExspaxe (St. Margaret’s, W. Dulwich).

[The Bank Vole is an expert climber, but the tail is not prehensile in
this or any other species of Vole.—Ep.]

Note on the Long-tailed Field Mouse.— It may be well to place
on record the occurrence, at Ashford, Kent, of the Mouse described by
Mr. de Winton (Zool. 1894, p. 441) as Mus flavicollis. I caught a specimen
answering to his description in a hollow hazel-stump in which I had pre-
viously taken the typical Mus sylvaticus. In the flesh this animal appeared
strikingly different from the common form.—G. H. Caron Haieu (Grainsby
Hall, Great Grimsby).

[The fact of this specimen having been found in a hole from which a
typical Mus sylvaticus had been taken somewhat conflicts with Mr. de
Winton’s view that the two forms do not associate, and we must confess
that we are not yet assured of their specific distinctness. We may add that
on March 12th last we received a specimen of the so-called flavicollis from
the neighbourhood of Malvern. ‘The head and body measured 4 in., the
tail 34 in.—Ep.]

BIRDS.

Notes on the Grouse.—Mr. Macpherson assures me that I am mis-
taken in attributing to him (p. 107) an opinion that Red Grouse do not
migrate seasonally. Looking again at the passage to which I referred (in
“The Grouse,” Fur and Feather Series) it seems a natural interpretation
to put upon his words, but I of course express my regret that I have mis-
understood him.— Henry H. Starter (Thornhaugh Rectory, Wansford).

188 THE ZOOLOGIST.

The Little Auk in Scotland.—I see in the April number of ‘ The
Zoologist ’( p. 151) a notice of the paper I read last month to the Natural
History Society of Glasgow. Most unfortunately the report in the press
on which your notice is based was very inaccurate, but I did not think it
necessary to correct it, as I trusted to the circulation of the paper as a
reprint among those interested to set it right. I send a copy herewith.
You will see from it (1) that through Mr. Eagle Clarke I knew of the
occurrences in the Outer Hebrides; (2) that the Ayrshire occurrences were
well known to me, as I had collected the information, and in turn had
passed it on to Mr. Clarke; (3) that while agreeing that some of the speci-
mens found in Hast Clyde came vid Forth, I cannot believe that those
occurring so commonly in the immediate vicjtiity of Oban and Islay reached
there from such a source. As regards their frequency in the line of the
Great Glen, Mr. Bisshopp, of Oban, had twenty-six birds, chiefly brought
to him by boys who had found them near that town; while in Islay they
became common all at once “everywhere on the coast, and even far inland.”
To this there was no parallel in the Clyde faunal area, and the vastly greater
population and the general interest which the press notices of the Little
Auk excited would doubtless have led to their being observed. It is not
unusual for a few birds of this species to be met with in ordinary winters in
Argyllshire or Ayrshire. It would be idle on the part of any one to insist
that they come via Forth.—J oan Paterson (83, Cumming Drive, Glasgow).

[Having received by post a long and detailed printed report of the
meeting at which the paper in question was read, we naturally concluded
that it was duly authorised.—Eb. ]

Manx Shearwater in Carnarvonshire:—In the early part of June,
1893, I visited the locality in Carnarvonshire where Mr. Coward found
the dead bodies of the Manx Shearwaters, as described (p. 72). As the
greater number of the bodies were lying at the mouths of rabbit-burrows
on the top of a grass-covered sandy cliff, I fail to see how the birds could
have met their death by being driven by strong winds against the cliff, as
suggested by Mr. J. H. Gurney (p. 110). ‘The conclusion I came to was
similar to that arrived at independently by Mr. Coward, viz., that men,
ferreting for rabbits, had come across the Manx Shearwaters in the burrows,
and slaughtered them. I am satisfied that the natives of that part of
Wales who collect sea-birds’ eggs had not up to that time found out how
and where to obtain the eggs of the Manx Shearwater, for I used to join
them in their egg-collecting expeditions, and they allowed me to act as one
of themselves, sometimes at one end of the rope, sometimes at the other,
this leading to awkward situations sometimes, as only one of their number
could speak English, and I am ignorant of Welsh. I questioned them
closely, through the interpreter, as to the ‘ Mackerel Cocks,” but they
appeared to be quite ignorant of their nesting-habits. Moreover there is in

NOTES AND QUERIES. 189

those parts a local dealer in eggs, to whom the collectors bring their spoils.
He had never received any Manx Shearwaters’ eggs. When in the shop of
Mr. Rawlings, chemist, of Barmouth, I saw some eggs of the Manx Shear-
water, which he informed me had been taken in 1893 at Bardsey Island.
From what I saw for myself, I quite agree with Mr. Coward that the Manx

_ Shearwater does breed on that part of the mainland of the coast of Car-

narvonshire, and before seeing Mr. Coward’s article I had intended to
re-visit the spot, and endeavour to discover a living Manx Shearwater
and its egg in one of those rabbit-burrows, and then communicate the fact
to ‘ The Zoologist.— E. W. H. Buiaae (Cheadle, Staffordshire).

In the March number of ‘ The Zoologist ’ (p. 110), Mr. Gurney suggests
that the Shearwaters which we found dead on the cliffs of Carnarvonshire
had been killed by being dashed against the cliffs. This I feel certain
was not the case, for the birds were lying on the soft turf-slope close to the
holes in which they evidently had been breeding, and not only were their
necks broken, but in many cases the heads were torn off, and lay some dis-
tance from the bodies; and in other cases the heads were twisted completely
round, and loose feathers from the neeks lay beside them. Several birds
killed in the same manner lay in a field on the landward side of a turf-wall,
and, as I mentioned, one bird was dead ina hole that had been dug out
with a spade. The interest of the occurrence, of course, lay in the fact of
their breeding on the mainland, not in the fact that they had been killed
there by some person or persons unknown.—T. A. Cowarp (Higher Down,
Bowdon).

Hen Harrier in Sussex.—It may interest some of your Sussex readers
to know that on March 21st I received a good male Hen Harrier in the
flesh from Balcombe, Sussex, with the information that the bird was killed
there on March 19th by the sender, who had never seen one like it before,
and did not know what it was. I have hardly any personal acquaintance
with Sussex, but the Hen Harrier has become s0 rare over the greater part
of England that I consider this occurrence as worthy of record.—Lintrorp
(Lilford Hall, Oundle).

Distribution of the Pomatorhine Skua in Summer.—Referring to
Col. Feilden’s note on this subject (p. 172), I may state that on the 25th
July last I was midway between the Faroes and Iceland in the Danish mail-
boat ‘ Thyra,’ and my log contains the following entry :—“ A surprising
number of Richardson’s Skuas round the ship, mixed with a larger species
(probably Pomatorhines, but none of these came quite close enough to me for
identification) in the proportion of about six to one. Sometimes a flock of
some seventy individuals together. This lasted till the afternoon.” The
Pomatorhine Skua has never been known to breed in Iceland, where
Richardson’s Skua is abundant and everywhere distributed. I should be

190 THE ZOOLOGIST.

inclined to think that these large flocks were very leisurely moving south-
wards for the winter, influenced a good deal by the winds and the plentiful-
ness of food. In southward migrations it is by no means uncommon for a
certain proportion of old birds to accompany the first flights. In fact, the
experience of a good many autumns on the Yorkshire coast has shown me
that the first Grey Plovers, for example, to appear are old birds in small
parties, still more or less in summer plumage. And the same with Sander-
lings and Curlew Sandpipers.—Herwnry H. Siater (Wansford).

Sandwich Terns on the Upper Thames.—A visit from eight adult
Sandwich Terns, on April 10th, was quite a novelty to this neighbourhood.
They arrived before 9 a.m., and the greater part of the day was spent
exactly opposite this house, sitting on the hand-rail of the bucks and the
piles on the weir. The day was warm and bright, with a fresh westerly
breeze, and the Terns were careful always to sit facing accurately to wind-
ward. At frequent intervals one or more would take short flights, in beats

of perhaps 100 yards, in quest of fish, for which they plunged down from a

fair height, with the wings about two-thirds expanded, and always side to
wind. arly in the afternoon they moved half to three-quarters of a mile
further up the river, where, there being no convenient perches, they spent,
I believe, their whole time on the wing. About 4.45 p.m. six of them
returned to the rail and piles on Marlow Weir; whether the other pair had
separated voluntarily, or whether powder and shot had put an end to their
wanderings, I do not know. During the morning any attempt by a second
bird to share a pile already occupied by one had been successfully resented
by the tenant, but now a pair shared a pile more than once, and they com-
bined to prevent the intrusion of a third individual. I did not see them
leave, but I satisfied myself, with the help of a good night-glass, before
going to bed, that they were not roosting on the piles or elsewhere there-
abouts, and have not seen or heard of them since. The Common Tern is
entitled, I think, to be classed as an annual visitor to the Upper Thames,
and the Little and Black Terns are also frequent visitors. The Arctic
Tern, which is recorded in Clark-Kennedy’s ‘ Birds of Berks and Bucks’
as ‘‘ occasionally obtained” in these counties, I have never myself seen on
the river, or at least distinguished from Sterna fluviatilis ; while the Sand-
wich Tern is not mentioned by him. Mr. Aplin, in his ‘ Birds of Oxford-
shire,’ mentions it as “a rare visitor,” and enumerates about six examples
obtained in the neighbourhood of Oxford between 1847 and 1879- These
may all have come from the West, and did not necessarily pass this neigh-
bourhood ; while it seems natural to suppose that those which lately visited
Marlow flew up wind from the mouth of the river. Another point notice-
able about this visitation is the number of birds which appeared, forming
the largest party of sea-birds that I have ever seen up the river, where such
stragglers usually appear singly. — ALFRED HrneacEe Cocks (Great Mar-
low, Bucks).

|

NOTES AND QUERIES. 191

[We have little doubt that these birds came up the Thames from the
mouth of the river, for about that date we had reports of several large
“Sea Swallows ” being observed between Chertsey and Laleham. The
species not being identified, we supposed them to be Common Terns.—Eb. |

The Raven on Sheep Farms.—Mr. Salter, writing of the Raven in

_ Mid-Wales, remarks (p. 189):—‘‘ There is a general impression amongst

the farmers that the Raven will tamper with a sheep when in difficulties,
and that its misdeeds at lambing-time are of the blackest description.”

‘This impression seems to be shared by ornithologists, for Mr. Howard

Saunders refers to the Raven’s ‘“‘ depredations among lambs, weakly ewes,
and game,” as an established fact (‘Manual of Brit. Birds,’ p. 232); and
Prof. Newton, though lending the weight of his own personal experience to
the coutrary opinion, nevertheless endorses the view that in the wilder and
mountainous parts of Britain ‘considerable loss is inflicted by the Raven
on the owners of sheep ” (‘ Yarrell’s Brit. Birds,’ ed. 4, vol. ii. p. 260; and
‘Dict. Birds,’ p. 737, note). Without prejudice to the result of observa-
tions in other parts of Britain, I venture to express my firm belief that on
hill-farms in the Highlands of Scotland our Raven is simply a scavenger,
inflicting on sheep-owners no loss of any kind whatever. Practical work in
a pastoral district, where Ravens have bred from immemorial time, has con-
vinced me (1) that neither Crow nor Raven will approach a living sheep or
lamb unless the animal be in articulo mortis ; (2) that neither Crow nor
Raven, albeit they pick out the eyes, will commence to tear a carcase till
the animal has been dead for hours, sometimes for days; (3) that neither
Crow nor Raven will meddle with a lambing ewe, even in the rare event of
difficult parturition, it being their constant habit to wait on death. I class
the birds together here because in practice one cannot distinguish their work,
and I put the Crow first because, in comparison with the larger bird, I have
found it bold, bloodthirsty, and persistent. For nine years past a pair of
Ravens have made their head-quarters, and reared an annual brood, in the
rocky escarpment of a green hill-face which rises abruptly above my house,
and is heavily stocked with black-faced ewes. Other pairs breed in the
wilder country to the north. Much of my own ground can be “spied ”
from the windows of the house, but I have traversed the whole of it at all
times and seasons, and especially at lambing-time, when the Raven’s alleged
misdeeds are said to reach a climax of iniquity. Of such misdeeds I have
found no trace. I have never seen a living sheep or lamb with a vacant
orbit, except in a single case when the dying animal just breathed ; I have
never detected a sign of visceral disruption on a warm carcase, nor surprised
the birds at work on anything but carrion; and I have known a lambing
ewe labour heavily for a couple of hours quite unmolested, though the
expectant Crows were tearing at the placental membrane a moment after
the passing shepherd had relieved and removed the ewe. In the spring of

192 THE ZOOLOGIST.

1892 the immediate neighbourhood of two pairs of Ravens was found com-
patible with eighteen pairs of twin lambs safely delivered and all surviving.
The circumstance that an incoming tenant and a stock valuation made
every living lamb at that particular time worth a possible 15s. should stand
as a fairly practical test of my faith in the innocence of Ravens. Three
facts in this connection are not, I think, sufficiently considered. (1) The
rough-and-ready pathology of hill-sheep recognises no half-way house of
sickness, with possible convalescence, between health and death ; it must
be one thing or the other. A sick sheep on the hill is to all intents and
purposes a dead sheep, worth nothing but the fleece, at most the “ braxy,”
and a careful shepherd should always anticipate the scavengers to this
extent. The loss of an eye may add to the pangs of a dying animal, but it
takes nothing from the owner of the flock. (2) Hill-ewes lamb easily,
rapidly, and without assistance. Still-born lambs are rare, and ewes that
die in labour quite exceptional. The lamb is on its legs at once, and the
ewe’s awakened instinct of maternity constitutes a safeguard which must be
seen to be believed. The stoop of the Golden Eagle at an unsuspected
moment I should conceive to be irresistible, though I have never seen it;
but mother ewes are much too quick for the more deliberate Crows, which,
on all occasions when I have observed them, approach their quarry with
considerable circumspection. (8) The natural death-rate of a hill-flock
provides carrion enough and to spare for many scavengers. Taking the
distribution of sheep-ground in the Highlands at from three to eight acres
per sheep, and the normal death-rate of adult sheep—not counting hoggs
that die at winterings—at from 5 to 15 per cent. per annum, we get an
average carrion output of a dozen carcases per square mile per annum,
thirty square miles giving a carcase for every day in the year, and this
without reckoning the death-rate of lambs from birth (April) to weaning
(August), which is understated at 10 per cent. for those four months alone.
The numbers actually exceed this calculation on many west-coast farms,
where a heavy death-rate follows in the wake of a heavy stock; but in any
case Ravens need uot kill their own meat, for nature keeps them constantly
supplied. Sometimes a rotting carcase prompts one to believe that the

supply is in excess of the demand.—ALLAn Gorpon CAMERON (Barcaldine ©

Castle, Ledaig, N.B.)
Larus ridibundus: Assumption of the Hood in Winter.—On Jan.

23rd last, a wild and boisterous day, with strong north-west wind and —

driving showers of sleet and hail, large flights of Gulls were blown inland,
and were following the ploughs at work in the fields. Driving in the
neighbourhood of Wells, Norfolk, I noticed, amongst a flock largely composed

of Black-headed Gulls, one with an entirely black hood, which showed very ~
plainly against the falling snow. I am aware that this early assumption —

of the breeding plumage has been observed at quite as early a date, but it
is by no means of common occurrence.—H. W. FrEiLpen,

; NOTES AND QUERIES. 193
_ The Birds of Surrey.—As I hope to publish a book on this subject as
f soon as the material collected is as complete as possible, I should be much
obliged if any of your readers would draw my attention to any rare local
occurrences; notes in local newspapers; local lists; old books or MSS.
relating to Surrey birds ; public or private local collections; names of any
correspondents likely to assist ; local names of species; personal observa-
_ tions, or any matters of local ornithological interest. I should also be glad
_ to know whether the late Messrs. James Leweock and Mansell, of Farnham,
left any manuscripts or published lists of birds. Communications on any of
these points will be gratefully accepted.—J. A. Bucknite (Hylands House,
Epsom).

Sale of Great Auk and Egg.—The collection of birds’ eggs and nests
formed by Mr. Leopold Field was disposed of by auction at the well-known
rooms of Mr. Stevens, in King Street, Covent Garden, on the 22nd and

28rd April last. The feature of the second day’s sale was the inclusion of
a very well-preserved specimen of Alca impennis (lot 260), with an egg
(lot 261), both the property of Sir Frederick Milner, Bart., M.P., who
inherited them with the collection of the late Sir William Milner. The
history of lot 260, as printed in the sale catalogue, is altogether misleading,
and the statement by Graham of York, to the effect that the bird was taken
in the Orkneys, was (like other statements made by that dealer in regard to
rare birds) wholly unreliable, although very likely credited by the late Sir
William Milner. The specimen in question is in all probability the bird
which Mr. A. D. Bartlett bought from a stranger for a ‘ Northern Diver,”
and sold in September, 1844, to Shaw of Shrewsbury, who in turn disposed
of it to Mr. Buddicom of Smethcote, Shrewsbury, from whom it passed,
through Gardner, to Graham of York, who sold it to Sir William Milner as
having been killed in Orkney! Having been recently re-stuffed by Culling-
ford of Durham, who certified to its being ‘‘a genuine specimen throughout,
with not a single false feather in it,” it was offered for sale as announced,
on April 23rd. The bidding commenced at £100, and proceeded gradually
to £350; at this point, no further bid being obtainable, the auctioneer
declared it to have been bought in by the owner at £360, the reserved
price not having been reached. We have since learnt that it has been sold
for the Museum of Science and Art, Edinburgh, for £350. With regard
to the egg (lot 261) above mentioned, the sale catalogue gives no indi-
cation of its history; but we are enabled to state, on the authority of the
late Mr. Robert Champley of Scarborough, that on the 10th August, 1860,
he met Sir William Milner by appointment ; that Sir William then showed
him this egg, and allowed him to make a water-colour sketch of it (which
we have seen), and at the same time informed him that while staying at
Heidelberg (qu. Dusseldorf), in the autumn of 1847, he heard that M.

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—MAY, 1895. Q

194 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Perrot, a dealer in Paris, had this egg for sale; whereupon, on his way
home through Paris, he purchased it for 200 francs (£8). This statement
is confirmed by a letter from Sir William Milner himself, written before
1860 (presumably in 1859), and printed by Mr. Grieve in his quarto
volume on the Great Auk (p. 105), with the not very material variation that
the writer was in Dusseldorf when he first heard of this egg, not at Heidel-
berg, as Mr. Champley misunderstood him to state. It has now once
more changed hands, having been sold on April 23rd for 180 guineas to the
proprietor of ‘The Edinburgh Castle’ in the Mornington Road, London,
not the most fitting shrine that could be desired for such an ornithological
treasure.
FISHES.

Boar-fish at Teignmouth.—On April 9th a specimen of the Boar-fish,
Capros apor, was sent to me for identification from Teignmouth, S. Devon,
where this fish had suddenly appeared in large numbers. . It was prior to
1844 considered a great rarity in British waters, but a Penzance trawler, in
July of that year, found them plentifully near the Runnel Stone, close to
Land’s End, and they are usually to be obtained just there. The specimen
before me measures about 64 in. in length, and the curiously-hinged snout
is capable of extension to the extent of an inch and a half—K. Avueustus
Bow.ss (Myddelton House, Waltham Cross, Herts).

[Attains a length of seven inches, and is called ‘‘ Boar-fish” from the
shape of the snout, which is capable of being greatly protruded. Small
mollusca and crustacea have been found in the stomachs of those examined.
First noticed as a British fish in 1825, when a specimen was captured in
Mount’s Bay. In 1833 some were taken at Bridgewater; in 1836, one at
Teignmouth; and in March, 1842, one caught at Brighton was considered
of sufficient rarity to be forwarded to Her Majesty the Queen. Since
July, 1844, when about 200 were taken in a trawl off the Runnel Stone, it
has been met with on various parts of the coast of Devon and Cornwall, and
is now reported to be locally common between March and October.—Ep.]

SCIENTIFIC *SOCIETIES;

Linnean Socrety or Lonpon,

April 4th, 1895.—Mr. C. B. Criarke, F.R.S., President, in the chair,

Graf zu Solms Laubach, and Messrs. C. A. Barber, S. T. Dunn, J. D.
Haviland, and A. P. Young were admitted, and the Rev. A. Thornley,
J. W. Carr, and W. H. Wilson Elliott were elected Fellows. |

On behalf of Mr. W. B. Hemsley, Dr. O. Stapf exhibited some new _
plants from the Solomon Islands, collected by the Rev, R, B, Comins,

BAe eet, Sy

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. . 195

Mr. 8. W. Silver exhibited a specimen of the New Zealand Frost-fish,
Lepidopus caudatus, Giiuther, and commented upon the causes which had
_ been assigned for the mortality to which this fish was periodically subject.
Prof. Stewart, in reviewing published opinions on the subject, suggested
the possibility of these fish (which in winter were often thrown up on the
beach in hundreds) being attracted by the silvery brightness of the frosted
_ banks, in the same way that birds perished from contact with the lanterns
in lighthouses to which they were attracted during their migrations. Prof.
Howes thought, from the published remarks of those who had written on
the subject, that in some instances at least the fish supposed to be Frost-fish
belonged to another species, and some confusion had been thereby created.

Mr. 8. W. Silver also exhibited a large specimen of polished Totara-wood
from New Zealand as illustrating the ornamental nature of a remarkable
native tree which might be turned to good account, but which was being
generally destroyed by burning, to clear the ground and save trouble, as
was said, to agriculturists.

Mr. George Murray exhibited some calcareous pebbles formed by fresh-
_ water Alge, and, with the aid of the oxy-hydrogen lantern, showed the
minute details of structure in specimens from different localities.

Dr. J. D. Haviland exhibited a curious collection of Termites, including
living specimens of the White Ant of Borneo, and gave a brief account of
their habits. His remarks were criticised by Mr. A. Constable, who offered
some observations upon Indian species of Termites.

A paper was then read by Mr. H. N. Ridley on the Cyrtandracee of the
Malay Peninsula, illustrated by selected specimens of some of the more
remarkable species.

April 18th.—Mr. C. B. Cuarxe, F.R.S., President, in the chair.

Surgeon-Capt. W. H. Elliot was admitted and Mr. W. Will was elected
a Fellow.

In view of the approaching Anniversary Meeting, the election of
auditors was proceeded with, when Mr. A. D. Michael and Prof. J. R.
Green were nominated on behalf of the Council, and Messrs. E. M. Holmes
and H. Groves on behalf of the Fellows.

Mr. T. B. Blow exhibited specimens of the river-weed Mourera fluviatilis,
Aublet, from the River Essequibo, with observations on its life-history, and
lantern-slides illustrating the natural haunts of the plant.

Mr. J. E. Harting exhibited and made remarks upon a collection of
West African Lepidoptera which had been forwarded by Mr. J. T. Studley
from Old Calabar, and was to be presented to the Natural History Museum,
South Kensington.

Mr. Howard Saunders exhibited a specimen of the Kuropean White-
winged Crossbill, Lowia bifasciata, which had been shot near Enniskillen,

196 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Co. Fermanagh, in February last (Zool. p. 110), and was lent for exhibition
by Mr. C. Langham.

Some photographs of English Red-deer heads, showing successive
growths of antlers in the same stag, by comparison of the shed horns, were
exhibited by Mr. Harting, on behalf of Mr. Lucas, of Warnham Court,
Horsham.

Mr. A. Trevor Battye exhibited and made remarks upon a collection
of plants obtained during his sojourn last summer upon the island of
Kolguey.

A paper was then read by Mr. I’. W. Keeble entitled “ Observations on
the Loranthacee of Ceylon,” in which island the author had made a
short sojourn in 1894. After remarking that in Ceylon many species of
Loranthus have large and conspicuous flowers, with the corolla-tube
brightly coloured, more or less tubular, and lobed, he pointed out that
certain deviations from the typical regularity of the corolla-tube were corre-
lated with the mode of fertilization of the flower by Sun-birds (Nectarineg),
and this was made clear by diagrams and some excellent coloured drawings.
Discussing the mode of distribution of the seeds, Mr. Keeble first quoted
the views of Engler and Prantl, and the remarks in Kerner’s ‘ Pflanzen-
leben’ (English edition), on the dissemination of the European Mistletoe,
and then detailed his own observations in the case of tropical Loranthacee.
The modes of germination of various species of Loranthus and Viscum were
then described, as well as the curvature and growth of the hypocatyl, and
the effect of contact on the latter, and on its suctorial disc; the paper
concluding with some remarks on the forms of fruit and seed of Ceylonese
- species of Loranthacee.

ZooLoGicAL Society oF Lonpon.

April 2nd, 1895.—Mr. W.'T. Buanrorp, F.R.S., Vice-President, in the
chair.

The Assistant-Secretary read a report on the additions that had been
made to the Society’s Menagerie during the month of March, 1895.

The Acting Secretary, Mr. Howard Saunders, exhibited, on behalf of ©

Lord Lilford, a specimen of the American Wigeon, lately obtained in York-
shire by Sir R. Payne-Gallwey, Bart., as reported in ‘The Field’ of the
9th March last.

Mr. H. E. Dresser exhibited and made remarks on Dr. Radde’s types
of Picus quadrifasciatus and Lanius obscurior from the Caucasus.

Mr. Holding exhibited and remarked on some horns of cattle which .

showed a singular variation in colour.

Mr. Boulenger exhibited the type specimens of two new Chameleons from ~ |
Usambara, German Hast Africa. Special interest attached to them from the

— ee ee eee ee So

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 197

fact that they appeared to be more nearly related to the Madagascar species
than to any of the numerous forms now known from continental Africa.

Mr. Walter E. Collinge read a paper on ‘ The Sensory Canal System
of Fishes,” treating of the morphology and innervation of the system in

‘the Physostomous Teleostei. Descriptions were given of eight species
_ referable to seven genera in the families Siluride, Esocide, Salmonide,
, and Murenide.

Dr. St. George Mivart read a paper descriptive of the skeleton in Lortus
flavopalliatus, comparing it with that of Psittacus orn aEN and pointed out
a number of differences in detail.

Mr. G. A. Boulenger made remarks on some cranial characters of the
- Salmonoid Fishes, and expressed the opinion that there was no justification

for separating Coregonus and Thymallus from the Salmonid@ as had been

proposed by Messrs. Cope and Gill.
, Prof. T. W. Bridge read a paper in which he pointed out certain features
in the skull of Osteoglossum, and directed special attention to the existence
: of a peculiar oral masticatory mechanism in Osteoglossum formosum, distinct
from that furnished by the upper and lower jaws and their teeth. The
existence of an essentially similar mechanism in the Ganoid Lepidosteus
osseus was also described, and the conclusion was suggested that the two

genera offer in this respect an interesting example of parallelism in
evolution.

ENTOMOLOGICAL SoctEty or Lonpon.

April 3rd.—Professor RapHart Metxpora, F.R.S., President, in the
chair.

Mr. C.J. Gahan exhibited two examples, male and female, of a rare
Prioned beetle, Chariea cyanea, Serville, which had been kindly sent to
him for examination by Mons. René Oberthir, and stated that Lacordaire
was mistaken with regard to the sex of the specimen which he described in
the ‘ Genera des Coléoptéres.’ He pointed out that the elytra of the male
were relatively much shorter than those of the female, and that the joints
of the antenne from the third to the tenth were biramose. Mr. Gahan
also exhibited two species of the genus Decarthria, Hope, and said he
believed these were the two smallest species of Longicorns known.

Dr. Sharp exhibited the soldiers and workers of a species of Termites
found by Dr. Haviland in South Africa. He stated that these insects
possessed eyes and worked in daylight like hymenopterous ants, and that
in habits they resembled harvesting ants by cutting grass and carrying it
into holes in the ground. Dr. Sharp said that although these holes were
probably the entrance to the nests, Dr. Haviland was unable to find the
actual nest, even by prolonged digging; so that the winged forms were
still unknown. He thought this species was probably allied to Termes

198 THE ZOOLOGIST.

viarum of Smeathman, in which the soldiers and workers possessed eyes,
and had been observed by Smeathman to issue from holes in the ground,
and whose nest could not be discovered. Mr. McLachlan observed that it
was possible there might be species of ‘Termites without any winged form
whatever.

Mr. Rye called attention to the action of one of the conservators of
Wimbledon Common, who, he stated, had been destroying all the aspens on
the Common. He enquired whether it was possible for the Entomological
Society to protest against the destruction of the trees. Mr. Goss said he
would mention the matter to the Commons Preservation Society.

Mr. Francis Galton read a paper entitled ‘“ Entomological Queries
bearing on the question of Specific Stability.” The author said that the
information desired referred to:—(1) Instances of such strongly marked
peculiarities, whether in form, in colour, or in habit, as had occasionally
appeared in a single individual in a brood; but no record was wanted of
moustrosities, or of such other characteristics as were clearly inconsistent
with health and vigour. (2) Instances in which any one of the above
peculiarities had appeared in the broods of different parents. In replying
to this question, he said it would be hardly worth while to record the sudden
appearance of either albinism or melanism, as both were well known to be
of frequent occurrence. (8) Instances in which any of these peculiarly
characterised individuals had transmitted their peculiarities, hereditarily, to
one or more generations.

Mr. Merrifield stated that he received some years ago, from Sheffield,

ova of Selenia illustraria, the brood from which produced, in addition to

typical specimens, four of a dark bronze colour, and from these he bred a
number of specimens of a similar colour. Dr. F. A. Dixey referred to a
variety of the larva of Saturnia carpini with pink tubercles. He said the
imago bred from this larva produced larve of which ten per cent. had pink
tubercles. Professor Poulton said he had found larve of Smerinthus
ocellatus with red spots, and that this peculiarity had been perpetuated in
their descendants.

Mr. G. F, Hampson read a paper by Mr. C. W. Barker entitled

‘Notes on Seasonal Dimorphism in certain Species of Rhopalocera in ~

Natal.” Mr. Merrifield said he was of opinion that a record of the
temperature at different seasons would be a very desirable addition to
observations of seasonable dimorphism. Mr. Hampson said he believed
that temperature had very little to do with the alteration of forms. At any
rate, according to his experience, in India the wet-season form succeeded the
dry-season form without any apparent difference in the temperature. Pro-
fessor Poulton remarked that the apparent temperature as felt must not be
relied upon without observations taken by the thermometer.

—H. Goss and W. W. Fowzur, Hon. Secretaries.

—— | a = “ye sl ta A a 4 en

=

( 199 )

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS,

The Anatomy, Physiology, Morphology, and Development of the
Blow Fly (Calliphora erythrocephala) : a Study in the Com-
parative Anatomy and Morphology of Insects ; with illustra-
tions from original drawings by the Author. By B. THomp-
Son Lowne. 2vols.8vo. London: R.H. Porter. 1890-95,

Tnis work is the result of a series of investigations com-
menced by Prof. Lowne in 1868, and continued with brief inter-
ruptions to the present time. The two volumes, which have been
_ appearing in parts since 1890, are now completed, and contain
776 pages, illustrated with more than 500 original drawings, and
full references to 876 memoirs, which, with three or four excep-
tions, have been carefully studied by the author. There is a
copious index containing more than 3000 references, and as the
comparative anatomy of the various parts is given, the work will
be found a most useful aid to the study of the anatomy of insects
generally, on which subject we know of no book of similar extent.

The preparation of such a large number of illustrations as it
contains has naturally made it somewhat costly (the published
price being three guineas net), but the possessor of a copy will
have at command a veritable multwm in parvo, the cream of a
small library on insect anatomy, elucidated and supplemented by
the author’s remarks, the outcome of years of laborious research,

A Year of Sport and Natural History: Shooting, Hunting,
Coursing, Falconry, and Fishing ; with Chapters on Birds
of Prey, the Nidification of Birds, and the Habits of British
Wild Birds and Animals. Edited by Oswatp CRAwFuRD,
With numerous illustrations. 4to, pp, 1-xil, 1-331, Lon-
don: Chapman & Hall. 1895,

Unver this title Mr. Oswald Crawfurd, the late editor of
‘Black and White,’ has brought together in most attractive form
a series of articles which were contributed by different writers to
that journal under the heading “ Field Sports and Field Studies.”
Seasonal phases of sport and natural history for every month of
the year are presented in no less than forty-five chapters, all of
which are appropriately illustrated, though in some cases the
drawing is not alwaysaccurate, The sketch of a Short-eared Owl

200 THE ZOOLOGIST.

on the point of seizing a rabbit as it escapes in a burrow (p. 70)
must have been suggested by a plate in Wolf’s ‘ Wild Animals,’
wherein an Eagle Owl is depicted in a somewhat similar attitude.
But the suggestion of a habit which is true of the Hagle Owl is
not so in the case of the Short-eared species, which usually preys
upon much smaller quarry. The Sparrowhawk on p.73 displays
a superfluity of tail-feathers, making the tail look too broad and
at the same time too short in proportion to the wings. In the
figures of the Marsh Harrier (p. 79), the Osprey (p. 85), and the
Peregrine (p. 87) the wings are incorrectly drawn, being neither
of the right shape, nor held in the right position. No Falcon —
ever holds its wings as depicted on the last-mentioned page, nor —
as shown in the case of the Hobby (p. 89). a:

But for these defects we are compensated in other chapters by
some good figures of the human subject. A pleasing example of
this is to be found in the plate entitled ‘‘ Chantrey’s famous shot.”
In this the artist has depicted a gentleman of the old school, with
the tall hat of the period and long fowling-piece to match, firing
through a wood at two Woodcocks crossing, both of which, as
history relates, were killed at the one shot, and subsequently
immortalised by being carved in white marble by the hand that
slew them. Mr. Crawfurd has, of course, referred to some of the
witty epigrams on the subject which were composed by eminent
scholars of the day (1829), though he might have found some
better than those selected in Muirhead’s ‘Winged Words on
Chantrey’s Woodcocks’ (1857).

Strange to say, amongst all the field-sports dealt with, there is |
no account of Grouse-shooting; and although the habits of the
Red-deer are described, as well as the mode of hunting it in
Devon and Somerset, no chapter has been provided for the
votaries of ‘‘ Deer-stalking.” In any subsequent edition this —
should be remedied, and yet another chapter added on “ punt-
gunning,’ by which we do not of course mean shooting wildfowl
from a square-ended fishing-punt on a Norfolk broad (as depicted
in the illustration facing p. 284), but the much more difficult art
of approaching Wigeon, Wild Geese, and Swans in an estuary or
tidal harbour by propelling a very differently shaped gunning: —
punt, decked fore and aft, while lying at full length amidships. _
This is a phase of sport which has many enthusiastic votaries;
and should be adequately represented. 4

:

THE ZOOLOGIST

No. 222.—June, 1895.

MOLLUSCA INJURIOUS TO FARMERS AND GARDENERS.

By ‘Ff V. Tarosatp, M.A., F.E.S.,

Lecturer in Agricultural Zoology to the South-Eastern Agricultural
College, Wye.

Mouuuvscs have received but little attention from an economic
point of view, yet they cause a great deal of loss amongst our

field and garden crops, as well as being indirectly the agents of

Serious diseases in sheep, which are often fatal. Curtis, in his
‘Farm Insects,’ refers briefly to Slugs and Snails. Miss Ormerod,
in her valuable Reports, also gives a few useful notes regarding
Water Snails; but there seems to be no complete account pub-
lished of the injurious species. 7

The Mollusca that are injurious to our crops all belong to
the two groups, the Helicide and the Limacide, both terrestrial
in habits. The group which aids in the production of the
Sheep disease (liver-fluke) is the Limacide (or Water Snails),
molluscs which, although abundant in water, are often found
wandering upon land. It is through these Limacide that the
sheep in all parts of the world become afflicted with that wasting
disease produced by the liver-fluke. Although they are generally
considered aquatic Mollusca, it must be remembered that most
of them pass some time upon land, and may therefore be con-
sidered amphibious, whilst others scarcely go near the water.

The Limacide are found at all elevations. In our own

country they are found in and around the mountain tarns of
Scotland ; in the Pyrenees, according to Moquin-Tandon, they are

found at a height of 1200 metres. Most of the species are slow
crawling creatures. Like all Mollusca, they are hermaphrodite,

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—JUNE, 1895. R

202 THE ZOOLOGIST.

and it is not unusual to see several together during the season
of reproduction. All the members of the genus Limneus
frequent shallow and still waters or damp fields, and are most
prolific and gregarious. They may be found at nearly all times
of the year. The shells of these water-snails are elongated or —
conically oval, the spire usually produced, dextral, or turning
from left to right. The body of the snail is twisted in the spiral
and long; the head is very prominent; tentacles short, triangular,
and depressed; the foot oblong, notched in front and rounded
behind. Some species have the shell enveloped by folds of the —
mantle. Like many Mollusca, the Limneide are extremely
variable, one common English species, Limnea peregra, having at
least fourteen well-marked varieties.

In this country, and in Europe generally, the two species of ©
economic importance are L. truncatula (= minuta of Draparnaud) ©
and L. peregra. Both these species, which are cosmopolitan, j
are the hosts of the fukes (Distomide), especially the all-important
liver-fluke (Distomum hepaticum), which causes the “ liver-rot” in ~
sheep. ‘The eggs of the fluke are voided in the sheep’s excreta —
on to the grass and around the ditches and ponds. The little
infuseriform embryos coming from them pass, if they can, into the ©
water, and are very active; if they meet with one of these two —
water-snails within twenty-four hours they pass into it, and there ~
they remain, giving rise to other stages of their life-history (redia
and sporocysts). These give rise to another stage, the so-called —
Cercarie, which leave the mollusc and become free-swimming. —
They then encyst on the grass near the water, and, being eaten _
by the sheep, turn into the fluke. If these embryos did not —
meet with a Limne@a they would die, and the fluke would dis-—
appear from our sheep. Thus the importance of these a
snails can be readily seen. By far the greater number of these
embryos enter L. truncatula of Miiller, the LZ. minuta of Drapar-
naud) which is described below. |

L. truncatula.— Shell oblong-conic, turreted, shiny, Pind
horny, ashy grey, five to six whorls, which are rounded and
convex, but slightly compressed in the middle, last whorl large
and expanded, occupying about three-fifths of shell; spire of shell
tapers to a very fine point; mouth oval; outer lip sharp, inner
lip continuous with it and reflected on the columella; height

about 8 mm., diameter 8 to 5 mm. This species is found over
|

ee

j
Wy

4

| MOLLUSCA INJURIOUS TO FARMERS AND GARDENERS, 203

;
A
4
t
{

it lives. The eggs are laid in batches of 30 to 100, each

the whole of England and France, and in nearly all Kuropean
countries. It is also met with in Siberia, Afghanistan, Thibet,
Amoor, Morocco, Algeria, Abyssinia, Tunisia, Canary Islands,
and Feroe Islands. I do not know of its record in the Shetland
Islands; the fluke, however, I think exists there. It has also
been found in a semi-fossil state in various recent formations,
and in the Upper Tertiary beds. It deposits its eggs or spawn
upon the mud around ponds, ditches, and streams, where

snail laying as many as 1500 eggs during its life. The
eggs are united in strips of a gelatinous consistency. In
about two weeks these give rise to the young shells.
Occasionally embryo flukes have been found in LZ. peregra of
Muller, but they have always been in the young stage; I believe,
however, that they use this species as a host in the same way that

_ they do truncatula.

I. peregra. — Length about 0°75, breadth 0°425. Shell
obliquely ovate, thin, and moderately glossy, almost transparent
pale yellowish brown, spirally striate; striae minute; also a few
indistinct spiral ridges and marks; whorls five, last occupying
three-fourths of shell; spire of shell pointed. Body pale yellowish
grey, with an olive-green tinge mottled with black and covered
with small yellow and white specks. Extremely abundant and
variable. Found in lakes, ponds, canals, &c., wherever there is
water. Like truncatula it may be found in Afghanistan, and
abundantly in all Europe. It is a slow-moving creature, but often
wanders far from any water into damp meadows, and is sometimes
found crawling up willow trees. It is extremely prolific, the eggs
being laid in strings of 12 to 180, and as many as 1300 in one
season, according to Jeffreys. They are often carnivorous, living
one upon another if kept in an aquarium. In North America

iL. humilis (Say) plays the part of intermediate host of this

Trematode worm, and in Argentina ZL. viator, Orb., takes the
place of our two species.

DzstRuUcTION OF WATER-SnalIts.—-It is of course extremely
difficult to see how we can get rid of these water-snails; there is
no doubt, however, that the suggestion made by Miss Ormerod,
of “clearing the shallow pools of weeds and removing the broad
band of weed-growth or stagnant mud from the entrance end of
the pool,” would greatly lessen the quantity of water-snails. The

R2

204 THE ZOOLOGIST.

constant clearing out of all ditches and dykes and pools would, of
course, be most beneficial, especially if the weeds and mud are
burnt, so that the eggs of the snails are destroyed, or lime and
salt sprinkled over the mud, so as to kill those of truncatulus as
well as the snails themselves, and any escaped embryos of the
flukes. Beyond this little else seems practicable.

Stues (Limacide) anp Swatus (Helicide).—Snails and slugs
are great pests to the gardener, and every now and then a
plague of one or the other makes its appearance and attacks
our field crops. Both snails and slugs possess a head which
bears tentacles, and also a pair of eyes which may be borne at the
tip of these tentacles. The foot is flattened. Snails possess lips,
but the organ they use for destroying plant-tissues is the curious
swollen rasping tongue, the “‘radula,” the surface of which is
covered by rows of variously arranged teeth. They breathe by
means of the highly vascular inner walls of the mantle-cavity.
Snails and slugs are hermaphrodite. The eggs are laid in batches
in the ground and under stones. The injurious snails belong
chiefly to the genus Helix. Almost every wood and hedge, field
and garden yields some kind of Helix; others are partial to the
sands near the sea, water-courses, and damp places. Their habits
are nocturnal and crepuscular, and are seldom seen crawling in —
the daytime, unless after heavy rains. This latter habit has given
rise to the popular idea that the occasional snail-plagues come in
the rain-clouds. As soon as the sun shines they crawl to some
shelter—under stones, moss, or beneath the leaves of the plants
they attack. When the breeding season is on, the male organs of
each snail are supplemented by one or more curious crystalline
darts, which they thrust out at one another: these curious
structures are found in special sacs (the so-called ‘‘ dart-sacs”’),
and are peculiar to the genus Helix. The eggs are generally
round, white, semi-transparent bodies, and are always laid in
batches in slanting galleries under ground formed by the
“mother” snail. The slugs (Limacide), unlike the snails, have
only a rudimentary shell, or an indefinitely formed one placed
under the mantle. They mostly frequent damp and shady places,
and during daytime they bury themselves in tunnels under the
earth. Unlike the snails, they generally deposit their eggs singly
under the ground, and the eggs are very numerous. ‘The two
chief genera are Arion and Limaa, the former being distinguished

.

j MOLLUSCA INJURIOUS TO FARMERS AND GARDENERS. 205

by having a slime-gland in the posterior extremity, and by having
the respiratory orifice in front instead of behind the shield. They
both feed at night, selecting the tenderest and choicest plants,
but they will devour almost anything. The Limaces are very
fond of indoor habitations, being found in cellars and outhouses.
They destroy the corks in wine-cellars, and do much damage in
that way; but, on the other hand, it is said they live upon the
destructive ‘‘dry-rot” fungus. They all exude a glutinous kind
of slime.

The following species of snails have been brought to my notice
every now and then as doing much damage to farm crops and
vegetables :—

The Garden Snail, Helix aspersa, Miiller, is a large and
abundant species, often doing much harm in the garden, not only
to vegetables, but even to wall-fruit. Several instances of the
total destruction of peach- and apricot-leaves by this snail have
been brought to my notice. ‘The years 1884 and 1889 were
remarkable for the number of this snail seen about. ‘The eggs
are laid-in sinall batches in the earth, about sixty or seventy in
each heap. ‘I'he ova are white, shining, globular bodies; they
hatch in about fifteen days, if kept in damp places. The young
snails are almost colourless, and the shell is thin and transparent ;
they growrapidly. Drought and cold are erroneously considered
prejudicial to all snails: at the approach’ of winter they collect
together aud exude a slimy matter, which hardens on exposure
and closes the aperture of the shell. ‘hey may then be found
hibernating together in crevices in walls, in old trees, and under
rubbish, united together by the agglutinated slime. I have notes
of the damage caused by this snail in most counties of the south
of England.

H. nemoralis, Linn., is an extremely abundant snail in
hedgerows and upland pastures, and especially in clover, where
it often does much damage. It has a handsome
shell, subject to much variety in regard to colour,
and is very hardy. It is one of the first to make
its appearance in the spring, and often does
much damage to young turnips and lettuce as
well as clover. Inthe typical nemoralis the lip is black. ‘The
colour of shell is extremely variable, being white, grey, pale
yellow, pink, or brown, with 1 to 5 spiral brown bands, occas

206 THE ZOOLOGIST.

sionally confluent or interrupted; whorls 53, convex, last 2 of —
shell. The body of the mollusc is dark brown, tinged with
yellow, and covered with small tubercles; mantle greenish, with
yellow specks; tentacles long and slender.

A well-marked variety, at one time regarded as specifically —
distinct, is H. hortensis, which has the mouth white-lipped and
the rib of the same colour. A variety known as hybrida has the —
mouth and rib of a pink colour. The arrangement of the bands —
and markings of the shell are extremely variable, as is also the ©
colour of the animal itself. I have seen clover and lucerne
literally stripped by this snail in Wiltshire and in Wales. :

FH. rufescens, Pennant, is a constant source of annoyance to
strawberry-growers, preferring those plants and violets to all —
other plants. I have seen beds of strawberries in Surrey and —
Cambridgeshire quite spoilt by this snail, and the fruit is attacked —
as weil as the young leaves. These snails are seldom seen in —
the daytime, unless after a shower of rain, when they at once —
become active. They may often be seen in summer under the ©
straw which is sometimes placed between the plants. They ~
deposit their eggs from September to November, each snail ~
depositing about sixty eggs. In my breeding-case the eggs were
on the ground in heaps, but I think naturally they place them
below the surface of the ground. ‘The ova hatch in about three
weeks, but a few remain undeveloped until the spring. ‘The
small snails do not grow very rapidly, as is the case with Helix —
aspersa. The shell is compressed above and angularly rounded —
below, opaque pale dirty grey, often with a reddish-brown hue, —
sometimes transversely streaked with brown and marked with a
white spiral band which passes round the last whorl; whorls
6—7; last whorl= 4-shell; mouth obliquely semilunar, furnished —
inside with a broad white rib. The body of the snail is yellowish —
brown with dark brown stripes running along the neck and on ©
the tentacles; foot pale, narrow and slender.

H. virgata, Da Costa, often does much harm to root crops —
and grass lands. During the past year it appeared in large ©
numbers in parts of Kent, where it is well known on account ©
of its destructive habits. At Wye, on the farm belonging to —
the S.E. Agricultural College, this and another snail caused
much loss amongst mustard plants, coming down whenever —
there was any moisture from the chalk downs above the farm,

MOLLUSCA INJURIOUS TO FARMERS AND GARDENERS. O07

Hi. virgata is one of the species that has given rise to the popular

notion that snails come down in the rain. It is an extremely

- abundant and gregarious species, and may be seen in damp

weather in vast numbers clinging to the plants. Directly the air

becomes dry it retires into the ground amongst the herbage, and

there remains hidden until fresh rain comes, when it suddenly
reappears. In dry weather it becomes dispersed by the wind,

_ particularly on the downs and sandy heaths, and especially along

the sea-coast. Although, as above shown, it sometimes does much
harm it is said to have the redeeming quality of imparting a fine
flavour to our south-country mutton, being taken up by the sheep
when grazing, and considered to be very nutritious. There is no

doubt of that, though I very much doubt if they flavour the meat.
_ H. virgata is active in the coldest weather and does not hibernate.

During the past cold winter I found, on the down at Wye,

_ several of this species quite active. Eggs are laid in clusters of

three or four from September to November and even in December.

The shell is conical, with a broad and convex base, white or

creamy, with a single purplish-brown band above the periphery,
and sometimes as many as six or seven below it, more often two
or three: the colour is very variable, sometimes plain white,
brown, or grey, with white bands; occasionally the dark bands
are broken, so as to make the shell appear spotted; whorls 6, last
=-shell; mouth purplish inside, with a strong rib, sometimes
purple, sometimes white. Several varieties are known. The body
of this snail is dusky grey, and coarsely tubercled; mantle dark
violet, speckled with white and brown.

Hl. caperata is a sluggish species which seldom moves
except after rain. It is found generally under stones and wood,
and.on grass stalks in dry places. It is very abundant often in
corn-fields. At Wye last year it was observed in large numbers
with H. virgata. The ova, round, white, and opaque,
are laid in September and October, each snail de-
positing about forty, which hatch in three weeks. The
young are quite transparent. I have seen it doing
much harm in France. 4H. caperata differs from H. virgata in
its much smaller size, its flattened spire, its larger umbilicus, and
the rib-like striae which encircle each whorl. . There are other
snails which now and then become superabundant to do harm, but
so far as my experience goes they are of exceptional occurrence,

208 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Of Slugs the three most destructive species are Arion ater,
Limax agrestis, and L. maximus.

Arion ater (Linn.), or the Black Slug, is found in damp
woods, gardens, and hedges; and during the day under stones,
logs of wood, and even tunnelling under ground; it reappears,
however, directly after rain, and attacks all kinds of soft
succulent leaves. It is a great pest in gardens and fields. At
the same time it acts as a scavenger. This species has a variety
of names on account of its variable colour. Férussac named it
A. empiricorum, on account of the calcareous matter found under
the shield having been used in medicines... It is also now
identified with A. flavus, though at one time considered to be
a distinct species. The shell of A. ater consists of small separate
calcareous grains of unequal size. The colour of the body varies
from black to red, yellow, green, brown, and occasionally a dirty
yellowish white, covered with large prominent tubercles, often
much contracted and rounded in front and somewhat pointed
behind; the mantle is paler than the rest of body; the tentacles
much swollen distally ; foot with yellowish border; slime of a
yellowish colour. The eggs, which are oval, white, opaque bodies,
take about a month to develope. The young grow slowly, and appa-
rently do not attain the adult condition until they are a year old.

Iimax agrestis, Linn., the Grey Field Slug, is by far
the most injurious to vegetation of all the land Mollusca. It
may be found in almost every garden and field throughout this
country and most parts of Europe, as well as in Siberia,
Madeira, and Algeria. Like all slugs, its life is dependent on
moisture. In dry weather we find it rolled up under a stone,
coming out to feed by night and during wet weather. According
to one authority, this mollusc feeds upon earthworms.* ‘The
body is spindle-shaped, ashy grey, with reddish or yellowish
tinge, and sometimes mottled; early in the year it is of a much
paler colour; the shield is large; the foot has pale sides; and it
exudes an abundant viscous slime. ‘lhe shell is oval and con-
cave on under side, very thin, marked with indistinct lines of
growth, with a broad membranous margin, obliquely striated.

This species is most prolific; as a rule seven or eight distinct
batches are annually produced of fifty ova each. ‘The breeding.
season is from May to November. ‘he ova are deposited in

*TIn this case it has been probably mistaken for T'estacella haliotidea,
which preys almost exclusively on earthworms.

ee ee a Ps ey, ne

MOLLUSCA INJURIOUS TO FARMERS AND GARDENERS. 209

heaps of six to fifteen, in the ground and amongst moss.
August, September, and October are the chief breeding months.
A single snail will lay as many as 500 ova in the season. The
eggs take three or four weeks to develope, the young being about
one-twelfth of an inch long. Some that I kept reached the adult
state in about two months, but they more often take much longer
to reach maturity. These slugs live many years. The ova have
great resistive powers as regards temperature and drought.

‘Directly cold dry weather comes, they shrivel up and appear

spoilt; but with moisture they are again distended. In this way
they may be dried time after time in a stove and yet the ova will
retain their vitality. Spring and autumn are the seasons when
they appear most numerous. ‘They attack cabbage, rape, wheat,
clover, lettuce, turnips, in fact most vegetation. ‘They eat the
young turnips off just above the ground. In the winter months
this slug may be found in large numbers under stones, decaying
logs, and rubbish, in a semi-torpid condition. During the past
spring they attacked the wheat in Kent, and did much harm.

Another very destructive species is L. maximus, Linn., the
Black-striped Slug, the largest of its kind and sometimes reaches
a length of seven inches. Although not very prolific it does
much harm. It is very inactive, and exudes a thick gummy
iridescent slime. ‘he ova are deposited in little clusters, agglu-
tinated by mucus, during the autumn, and in about four weeks are
hatched. The young at once commence to devour the nearest
vegetation. ‘lhis species will live for some years; one I kept
for five years continued to grow all the time. Its shell is some-
what rectangular, elongated and convex above, crystalline and
glossy, with distinct lines of growth; boss small near one end;
margin very thin. ‘he body is slender, variable in colour.
Some are black; others yellowish grey and spotted with black
and white ; numerous tubercles cover the skin ; tentacles, long and
yellowish-brown; back very much rounded; foot edged with
white. Slime iridescent when dry, white when fresh.

There are other slugs less destructive in their habits, but the
above-mentioned are the most noteworthy pests to the farmer
and gardener.

MeruHopds OF DESTROYiNa SLuGS AND SNarts.—LEconomically,
the most important points in the natural history of slugs and
snails are, first, that they chiefly live and flourish in damp
places; drainage, therefore, must have a good effect in lessening

210 THE ZOOLOGIST.

their numbers. In cases where this has been properly carried
out, success has attended the experiments. Secondly, it should
be noted that slugs have the power of expelling a great quantity
of slime, which would naturally take up any poison in the form
of powder that may be laid down in their way; and although
they have the power to crawl as it were out of this slimy
covering, and so leave the poison behind them, they cannot long
continue to supply this mucous matter, so that if two or more
dressings are applied soon after each other, the cuticle of the
slug may be reached. Dressings of salt and lime are by far the
most successful for destroying these pests, two or three dress-
ings being given, the second one some ten to fifteen minutes after
the first. Salt applied at the rate of four or five bushels per
acre, and lime at the rate of ten to twelve bushels per acre, will
clear any field of these noxious creatures, if done over twice in
succession, salt especially having an injurious effect on the
mucous membrane. It is uscless, of course, to dress a field in
the hot part of the day, or in very dry weather. The dressings
should be applied when the slugs and snails are active, that is
after heavy rains, and in the evening and early morning, before
the sun is up; for as the sun rises the slugs, &c., disappear.
Slacked lime has no effect upon them. Snails are more difficult
to destroy, owing to their retracting their bodies into the shell
and closing the aperture; and as they can live for several years
without food, they offer many difficulties in the methods of
destruction. Dressings of soot seem to be the most beneficial;
the soot making the plant and ground obnoxious to the snails,
drives them from the land. Nitrate of soda is likewise a very
good dressing, both for slugs and snails, as well as for stimu-
lating plant-growth. Snails have many natural enemies in birds.
Thrushes and Blackbirds especially do much good in keeping them
in check. Ducks, Starlings, Rooks, and Pigeons also eat them
greedily ; as do also Moles, Shrews, and Toads. Several species
of mites are parasitic on slugs, but do not seem to affect them
injuriously. In gardens slugs and snails may be destroyed by
various traps: pieces of turnip and cabbage-leaves, spread upon
the ground, collected at night, will be found to have attracted
numbers from the surrounding soil; they can then be easily
put into a pail of lime and so destroyed. But in the fields
the only practicable way of destroying them is by dressings, as

MOLLUSCA INJURIOUS TO FARMERS AND GARDENERS. ot

j
above stated, of lime and salt, applied especially in damp weather,
_ when these pests are most active. Several gardeners have told
' me they have experienced very successful results by using
ordinary wood-ash, dusted over the infected plant when the dew is
on the leaf. In places where the snails come from neighbouring
. downs or woods a small trench may be dug along the border of
- the field and filled with soot and lime, or better still, with salt
and lime, a precaution which will prevent them reaching the
_ crop; and if the trench be about a foot wide many of the snails
and most of the slugs will be killed init. Much good may also
be done by destroying rubbish heaps, and removing stones which
protect them from the heat and dryness of the air. Many ova
are deposited in heaps of leaf-mould. If these heaps are dressed
with quicklime, all the ova will be destroyed, as well as many
other vermin certain to be present. Rockeries and ferneries in
and near gardens are often centres from which numberless snails
proceed. All rough herbage should be cleared off these in
the winter, and in the spring a good dressing of soot put over
them to kill the vermin that have hybernated there. As a means
of attracting these pests there is no better plan than that of.
putting brewers’ grains near the plants that are being attacked ;
both snails and slugs readily go to this and remain there. ‘These
heaps may then be removed and burnt; or quicklime and
sulphur mixed together with water may be put over them, and
will kill the pests which are feeding there. In this way a garden
may soon be cleared of them. During the past spring the South
of England has been visited by large numbers of snails and slugs.
In many districts it was found almost impossible to keep the
hordes of L. agrestis off the early peas and other early garden
produce. A certain amount of success attended watering with a
small quantity of paraffin in water, and with sprinkling ash soaked
in paraffin. Barley-awns soaked in the same I found kept off the
slugs to a great extent, the sharp points making progress difficult
for them. ‘The abundance of both snails and slugs this spring
after the severe winter ought surely to dispel the popular notion
that cold weather destroys molluscs and insects. ‘The worst slug
attacks have nearly always come after hard winters. No doubt this
is largely due to their natural enemies, the Blackbirds and other
birds, being killed, and to these ‘‘ farmers’ friends” being unable
to attack them when the ground is hard and covered with snow.

213 THE ZOGCLOGIST.

THE MAMMALIAN FAUNA OF CHESHIRE.
By T. A. Cowarp anp CHARLES OLDHAM.

(Continued from p. 176.)

Order Unautara.—Family Bovip2.

Bos taurus, L ; Wild White Cattle-—A domesticated herd of
the old British Wild White Cattle is still kept at Somerford Park,
near Congleton, the seat of Sir Charles W. Shakerley, Bart.
Accounts of this herd are given in Storer’s ‘ Wild White Cattle,’
in Harting’s ‘ Extinct British Animals,’ 1880, and in the Report
of the Manchester Meeting of the British Association in 1887
(pp. 135-145), from which sources much of our information has
been derived. ‘The cattle cannot be traced here for more than
two hundred years, and were probably brought in the seventeenth
century from Middleton Park, Lancashire, though it is possible
that they may have been at Somerford since the park was
originally enclosed. In June, 1887, the herd consisted of thirty
animals, which had increased to forty on July 28th, 1894, the date
of our last visit, when the numbers were made up as follows :—
1 bull, calved in June, 1891; 14 cows; 15 head of young stock,
including: 3 bulls; J0 calves. ‘The bull is a short-legged, mas-
sively built animal, with a very broad, thick-set head and heavy
fore quarters. ‘The hind quarters, as in the other herds of park
cattle, are lighter than in the ordinary domestic breeds. He has
hardly as much black as is usual in this herd. The poll is white,
and there are no black hairs in the tail-tassel nor on the fetlocks.
‘here are a few underlying blue spots on the shoulders and flanks,
and some scattered black hairs on the sides of the face. The ears
ave black inside, aud for about half their length from the distal
end outside; the muzzle, hoofs, and eye-rims are also black.
‘The roof of the mouth and upper surface of the tongue are black ;
the under-surface of the tongue flesh-coloured. A calf of the
Chillingham herd, which Oldham examined in May, 189i, had the
tongue similarly coloured. In December, 1887, the two oldest
bulls at Somerford had black polls, and a good deal of black about
the fore legs and shoulders. ‘The cows vary much. Some are
quite white, even to the ears, while others are flecked and spotted
with black in varying degrees. In December, 1887, there was
one old cow, a blue roan in colour; and others were so profusely

en a hy Ta >,

THE MAMMALIAN FAUNA OF CHESHIRE. 213

marked with black that at least one-third of their hides was
of that colour. One of the young beasts has square-tipped ears,
a character which originated from a cross with a bull from
the Marchioness of Lothian’s herd at Blickling, about the year
1876 or 1877. None of the cattle have red points, and any which
are not correctly marked at birth are killed as calves. In
December, 1887, one of the calves had chocolate-coloured ears,
which were probably inherited from a bull from Mr. A. Cator’s

herd at Woodbastwick, received in exchange about the year 1879,

Prior to that date red and brown ears were unknown. Black
calves are rare. In winter the cattle, especially the bulls, develop
long hair on the poll and neck, which divides along the central
line, and covers them like a mane. The udders are as large as
ordinary domestic cows’ and present a striking contrast to those
of the Chillingham, Chartley, and Cadzow animals, which, of
course, are never milked. The teats are black in some cases,
white in others. The herd is a polled one, but one heifer has
a pair of well-developed horns, which are black-tipped and up-
standing like the Chillingham type. This animal was noticeably

wilder and more difficult to approach than the others. ‘The cows
are regularly milked, and we can testify to the excellence of the

214 THE ZOOLOGIST.

milk and butter, which have the reputation of being second to
none in the county. A yield of twenty-four quarts per diem is
not unusual; and one cow is stated, on the authority of Mr. J. —
Hill, to have yielded the extraordinary quantity of thirty-three |
quarts per diem, but the drain on her constitution proved fatal
in about four months, in spite of everything that could be done in
the way of feeding. No steers are raised, all surplus bull-calves
being fed for veal. The cattle when fattened for beef weigh up
to fifteen scores to the quarter, and the meat is said to be
excellent both in quality and flavour. The calves, as we have
also observed as Chillingham, Chartley, and Cadzow, are even of
a more snowy white than the adults. Though wild at first they
soon become tractable, but, if allowed to run in the park soon
after birth, they are not easily reclaimed. During winter the
cows are housed at night, and supplied with hay, meal, and
potatoes; no turnips are given on account of the flavour they
impart to the milk. The cattle have the run of about 180 acres
of the park, which consists of fine upland turf sloping down
to the river Dane. In dry summers, when the river is low,
cattle have crossed both ways, but calves of the park cows are
kept, if correctly marked, even when the presumptive sire is an
ordinary bull. The whole herd will sometimes gallop to a pond
in their enclosure, and enter the water till little but their heads ©
remains visible. In concluding our notice of this herd we wish
to acknowledge our indebtedness to Sir Charles Shakerley and
his agent, Mr. J. Hill, through whose kindness and courtesy we
were afforded every facility for examining the cattle, and obtaining —
the photograph here reproduced.

The cattle which had been kept for centuries in Lord
Newton’s park at Lyme ceased to exist in 1885. When Coward
saw them, in 1884, there were only three animals left, and owing
to too close breeding and other causes the herd had been in a_
declining state for some years prior to that date. An un-—
successful attempt was made to perpetuate the herd by the
infusion of new blood in the shape of a bull which was obtained
from Chartley about the year 1871. The Lyme cattle, which were
larger than those of any of the existing park herds, were white with
black muzzles and hoofs, and frequently had some black on the
fore legs; the ears were black or red, and occasionally white ;
the horns yellow tipped with black, In the ferocity of their

i il ee

THE MAMMALIAN FAUNA OF CHESHIRE, 215

disposition and their untamable nature, as well as in many of

. their habits, these cattle resembled those of the more widely

known Chillingham herd. Further and more detailed accounts of
the Lyme cattle have been given by Storer (op. cit. pp. 245-253),
Mr. A. H. Cocks (Zool. 1878, pp. 277-279), and Chas. Oldham
(Zool. 1891, pp. 81-87). The following account is given by
Storer (op. cit. p. 111) of a herd which formerly existed at Vale
Royal, near Northwich :—“‘ Here was an ancient domesticated

herd of white cattle with red ears, which, though now crossed out

and extinct, was kept up, partially pure only, in the time of the
late Lord [Delamere]. They are supposed to have belonged to
the Abbey; and a singular tradition, the truth of which the late
Lady Delamere believed she had verified, was prevalent, to the
effect that some of Cromwell’s troopers drove off most of them,
but that one cow, after having been driven with the rest seven or
eight miles, escaped from them and returned home. They were
white with red ears, and were in all probability derived from North
Wales, as from thence the original monks of Vale Royal came.”

Family Crervip&.

Cervus elaphus, L.; Red Deer.—Remains of this species have
been found in the bed of the Manchester Ship Canal at Wallasey,
Rostherne Mere, and elsewhere, and there is abundant docu-
mentary evidence to show that it was formerly common in the
Cheshire forests. At the present time herds of Red-deer exist
in three parks in the county. In Lord Newton’s park at Lyme
there are about 170 head of rather small but stoutly-built deer,
and there is little doubt that they are the descendants of those
originally emparked. ‘The average weight of the stags in this
park is 220 lbs., and the hinds 120lbs. From 80 to 90 head are
kept in Lord Egerton’s park at Tatton; and about 30 head at
Doddington, the seat of Sir Henry Delves Broughton, Bart. (see
Whitaker, ‘ Descriptive List of the Deer Parks and Paddocks of
England,’ 1892, pp. 28—32). Mr. J. E. Harting writes :—

“In your account of the Red-deer which are maintained at
the present time in Cheshire parks, I think it would be of interest
to refer to a curious custom which was observed in the last century
at Lyme. In this park, 1700 acres in extent, the deer in summer
time used to be collected in a herd and driven across a pool before
the house, in order that while swimming they might be the more

216 THE ZOOLOGIST.

easily counted. A scarce print of this, of which I am fortunate
enough to possess a copy, was published in 1745. It is engraved
by F. Vivares from a painting by T. Smith, and measures,
without the margin, 203 in. by 15 in. The inscription is, ‘A
view in Lyme Park (with that extraordinary custom of driving
the stags), the property of Peter Legh, Esq., to whom this plate
is inscribed by his most humble servant, JT’. Smith.’ In the
middle distance the deer are seen swimming the pool, their heads
only above water; in the foreground three have landed, two of
which, rearing upon their hind legs, are playfully striking at one
another with their fore feet; on the further side of the pool
Mr. Legh and his lady, mounted on horseback and accompanied
by the park-keeper, Joseph Watson, also mounted, are contem-
plating the scene, while beyond them we get a glimpse of the great
vale of Cheshire and Lancashire extending to the Rivington Hills
in the far distance.

‘* How long this custom continued to be observed I know not,
though the present owner of the park might be able to say; but
we may assume that it survived, at all events, until the death of
the park-keeper, Joseph Watson above named. It is recorded on
a monument at Disley that the art of driving the deer was first
perfected by him, and that he died in 1753, at the age of 104,
having been park-keeper at Lyme more than sixty-four years.
Shirley, who mentions this circumstance in his ‘ Account of
English Deer Parks’ (1867, p. 207), adds that Watson once
undertook, at the bidding of his master, to drive twelve brace of
stags to Windsor Forest for a wager of 500 guineas, which he
performed accordingly.

“This custom, however, of driving the deer was not confined
to Lyme Park, as may be gathered from Dr. Whitaker’s remarks
concerning Townley, the seat of a collateral line of the Legh family
in the adjoining county of Lancaster. See Ormerod’s ‘ Cheshire,’
vol. il. p. 339.

‘Playford also, in his ‘Introduction to the Skill of Music,’
1655, referring to the fondness of deer for musical sounds, relates
that, travelling some years previously in Cambridgeshire, he met
on the road near Royston a herd of about twenty bucks, which
were following a bagpipe and violin, and in this manner, he says,
they were brought out of Yorkshire to Hampton Court. Long
before that date, however, Edmund Bert, in his ‘ Treatise of

q
t THE MAMMALIAN FAUNA OF CHESHIRE. 217

Hawks,’ 1614, had written :—‘ Have not wilde stags by watching
and manning been driven like cattel upon the way? What is it
that man cannot effect if he will thereunto apply himself.’ ”
Cervus dama, L.; Fallow Deer.—Such works as Ormerod’s
‘History of Cheshire’ contain many references to this species,
_ which was abundant in medieval times. Mr.J. Whitaker (op. cit.)
- mentions ten parks in which herds of semi-domesticated Fallow
_ Deer are now kept, viz.:—Tatton (Lord Egerton), 500 to 600
head; Eaton (the Duke of Westminster), 8300; Oulton (Sir Philip
| Egerton), 250; Cholmondeley (the Marquis of Cholmondeley), 200;
Carden (Mr.J.H. Leche), 160; Doddington (Sir Henry Broughton),
150; Adlington (Mrs. Legh), 70; Dunham (the Countess of Stam-
ford), 70; Lyme (Lord Newton), 35; Beeston (Lord Tolle-
mache), 20.

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“
:
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5

;

Order CaRrnivorA.—F amily Canipz&.

| Canis vulpes, L.; Fox.— Strictly preserved throughout the
greater part of the county, and consequently a great pest to the

| game-preserver and farmer. On the Longdendale moors Foxes
are very destructive to the brooding Grouse, and, as the country
is not suitable for hunting, great numbers are killed by the game-

keepers. Between thirty and forty were destroyed on these moors

in the winter of 1893-94.

In 1890 avixen reared her litter on an island in Chapel Mere,

' Cholmondeley Park, Malpas, and was obliged to cross more
than twenty yards of water each time she fed her family. When
the cubs were old enough to leave their dam she was seen to swim
to the shore, carrying them one by one in her mouth (C. Macdona,
‘Field,’ July 26th, 1890, p. 160). Mr. R. Newstead (in lit.)
refers to the Fox’s partiality for eggs, and states that he has
known eggs to be carried away and buried in the earth without
being broken. In the accounts of the Chapel-wardens of Holmes
Chapel we find that in 1717 and 1722 one shilling was paid for a
Fox’s head to Joseph Allen (T. Worthington Barlow, ‘ A Sketch

of the History of the Church at Holmes Chapel, Cheshire,’ 1853),

Family Mustevips.

Martes sylvatica, Nilsson; Marten. — Practically extinct in
Cheshire. Byerley records two. The first was killed early in the
forties, in the township of Whitby, by a gamekeeper (Robinson), in
the service of the Marquis of Westminster. The second, trapped
at Hooton in Wirral a few years later, was sent to Mather, the

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—JUNE, 1895. Ss

918 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Liverpool taxidermist, for preservation, by Sir Thomas Stanley.
The late J. F. Robinson recollected, as a boy, seeing one which
was trapped in the Royalties, near Frodsham; and saw another
treed by the foxhounds at Eddisbury Hill, in Delamere Forest
(‘Manchester City News,’ Feb. 9th, 1884, quoted in Zool. 1891,
p. 452). Mr. R. Newstead (in lit.) states that a Marten was —
killed in 1876 in some farm-buildings at Hassal, near Sandbach,
but was not preserved. He has been informed, on what he con-
siders to be trustworthy evidence, that another was seen in the
spring of 1882, on a farm at Thornton-le-Moors. Our latest and |
most interesting record is in Mr. Newstead’s list, and refers to a
Marten which was shot in the pheasant-field at Eaton Park on
July 7th, 1891, and is now in the Grosvenor Museum, Chester.
Mustela putoris, L.; Polecat; Foumart; Fitchet. —~
Though the Weasel and Stoat still hold their ground, in spite of
incessant persecution, the Polecat is practically extinct in
Cheshire. To the present generation of gamekeepers and farmers
the animal is almost unknown, and the older men remember it
only as having occurred in their youth. The Rev. C. Wolley-
Dod, of Edge Hall, Malpas, states (in lit.) that during a twenty-
five years’ residence in the county he has never heard of a Pole-
cat. Colonel Dixon, writing from Astle Hall, Chelford, says he
has heard of none during recent years. Captain W. Congreve,
of Burton Hall (Wirral), states (in lit.), “Some fifty years ago we
often caught Fitchets in steel-traps, but none exist here now.”
Byerley speaks of the Polecat as “ occasionally found in Wirral ;
formerly common.” Mr. Newstead’s list contains no Cheshire
records. In the ‘ Manchester City News’ for June LOth and 17th, -
1882, the late J. F. Robinson gave an account of a hunt in-
Delamere Forest, in which he took part, about twenty years”
before that date; but the Polecat appears to be quite extinct in
that district now. Mr. H. H. Corbett, of Doncaster, states
(in lit.) that he saw a Polecat in a ‘*‘ keeper’s museum ” at Bram-
hall some time between 1866 and 1870, and that he found a half--
grown example in a trap at the same place about the same time.
Mr. H. P. Greg, of Handforth, writes, under date May 24th, —
1894 :—“ Our old keeper, Brown (who died ten or twelve years
ago), killed a Polecat within half a mile of this house, in the
Ringway direction, thirteen or fourteen years ago; and our
present keeper, Joshua Pearson, killed one just on the Mobberley :

THE MAMMALIAN FAUNA OF CHESHIRE. 219

side of Burley Hurst four years ago.’ ‘The Rev. J. E. Kelsall’s
note (Zool. 1893, p. 102) appears to refer to one of these two, but
there is a discrepancy in the dates. We have examined a speci-
‘men in the possession of Mr. Alfred Salmon, which was killed in
the Bollin Valley, near Bowdon, about five years ago. In the
_ early part of the present century the Polecat was hunted regularly
at night by a scratch pack of dogs in the neighbourhood of North-
% enden and Baguley, and Mr. Thomas Worthington, of Wythen-
b shawe, informs us that an old farmer at Gatley once showed him
K small bell, which was hung round the neck of the leading dog,
“and which he treasured in memory of many nights’ sport in which
he had participated. Mr. Worthington states that no Polecats
have been seen on the Wythenshawe Estate, near Northenden,
_ since the year 1856, when one was caught in a rabbit-trap.
_ M. vulgaris, Erxl.; Weasel.—Common and generally dis-
tributed. This species is usually reported by gamekeepers to be
less common than the Stoat, but this is probably owing to the
fact that it seeks its food principally in the runs of Voles and
Field-mice and the galleries of the Mole, whereas its larger con-
gener preys upon rabbits and game, and is therefore more fre-
quently taken in the keepers’ traps. Mr. Newstead, however,
_ says (in lit.) that in the neighbourhood of Chester the Stoat is
_ certainly the commoner species.
| M. erminea, L.; Stoat.—Common and generally distributed.
The Stoat is often called ‘ Foumart” in Cheshire. Examples
in the white winter pelage are frequently taken on the hills of
the eastern border, and are by no means rare on the Cheshire
plain. All that we have seen, however, retained a few patches of
brown hair on the face and shoulders.

Meles taxus (Schreb.); Badger; Brock.—The Badger is by
no means extinct in Cheshire, and is even common in certain
districts. In Wirral it appears to be rare. Byerley mentions
one that was killed near Hooton about the year 1848, and states
that many years prior to the date of his list examples had been
obtained at Oxton Hill, Caldy, and Moston Hall, near Chester.
| Captain W. Congreve informs us (in lit.) that one was shot near
| Burton in June, 1893. Mr. Newstead says:—“ Thirty years ago
this fine animal was common in Delamere Forest, on the Manley
side of which there must have been a large colony of them, as
traces of their burrows still remain, and the place is called
S2

pe

220 THE ZOOLOGIST.

‘ Boger Bonk’ (Badger Bank) by the natives to this day. About
the year 1885 a very old specimen was taken in the above locality
by some poachers.” He also records examples from Broxton —
(1885 and 1892), Eaton Park (1887), and Oulton Park (1888) ;
and informs us (in lit.) that Lord Arthur Grosvenor obtained one —
at Broxton in March, 1894; and that one, which was sent alive
to the Grosvenor Museum, Chester, was dug out by the Hon.
Cecil Parker at Cotton, near Waverton, in May, 1894. Another
example was seen at the same time, but not obtained. The Rev. —
C. Wolley-Dod, of Edge Hall, Malpas, states (in lit., Aug. 28th,
1893), “‘ Badgers are common in the woods in this part of the
county”; and we are informed that they may still be seen occa- —
sionally at Tushingham-cum-Grindley, in the same district.
Colonel Dixon, of Astle Hall, Chelford, writes on March 16th,
1894 :—‘“‘ Within the last few years Badgers have become very
plentiful about here. Three or four years back my keepers shot —
one, and I have seen two that have been killed within the last few
years by trains on the railroad; they and the Foxes seem to live
amicably together, often in the same holes, but they make a
great mess in the coverts where they have their earths, as the -
soil here is so sandy.” At Lower Peover one was dug out in the —
autumn of 1891 or 1892, and was kept alive for some weeks by a
fishmonger in Knutsford. In the ‘Manchester City News’ for
Oct. 28th, 1893, an anonymous writer states that several Badgers
have been taken during recent years at Minshull Vernon, near
Middlewich. Badger Clough, near Disley, and Badger Bank
Farm, near Peover, may be cited as place-names connected with”
the present species. Dr. H. Colley March, of Rochdale, informs
us that Brock is known to have been a personal name in Cheshire
as far back as 1577, and suggests that Broxton was the stead or
enclosure of the man Brock rather than of the animal from
which his name was derived. :
Lutra vulgaris, Erxl.; Otter.—The Otter is still fairly plenti-

ful in the Cheshire streams and meres, and is even taken some-

times in the polluted waters of the manufacturing districts. One,

killed in the river Tame at Reddish Vale on Sept. 14th, 1890, is”

preserved in the Vernon Park Museum, Stockport. At the present

day it is rare in Wirral, and the increased traffic will account for

its disappearance from the tidal waters of the Mersey; but it —

still holds its own, in spite of persecution by fishermen, in such |

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS IN MID-WALES. ALE J

streams as the Dee, Weaver, Gowy, Bollin, and Dane, and in
many of the meres. An adult female was killed by an express
train near Balderston, Chester, on Feb. 24th, 1894 (R. Newstead,
im lit.). In February, 1886, an unusually large Otter, weighing

30 lbs. and measuring 48} in., was killed in the Weaver at Wren-
bury (F. V. Starkey, ‘Field,’ Feb. 20th, 1886).

Family PHocip”.

Halicherus gryphus (Fab.); Grey Seal.—There is a specimen
of this Seal in the Brown Museum, Liverpool, which was
captured in the Canada Dock in the winter of 1860-61 (T. J.
Moore, ‘ Report ii., Liverpool Marine Biology Committee,’ p. 186).
Phoca vitulina, L.; Common Seal.—Byerley states that the
- Common Seal has occasionally been captured in the Dee and
_ Mersey. Moore never had an opportunity of examining a local
| specimen, and does not include it in his list of the Seals and
Whales of Liverpool Bay; but the majority of the Seals which
have been observed in the district from time to time, probably
_ belong to this species. There is a specimen in the Warrington
- Museum that was shot by William Mather at the mouth of the
Gowy (Charles Madeley, in lit.). The stuffed skin of another
specimen, which frequented one of the sandbanks near Hilbre
Island for some time during the winter of 1893-94, is preserved .
in a fishmonger’s shop in Liverpool (Dr. Herdman, in lit.).
Cystophora cristata (Eirxl.); Hooded Seal. —A Hooded Seal
was captured on the Mersey shore, at Frodsham, on Feb. 38rd,
_ 1873, and was exhibited alive in Widnes. It is now preserved in
_the Brown Museum, Liverpool (T. J. Moore, loc. cit., p. 137).

a. ee SO tae ge MER

* oats

~

(To be continued.)

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS IN MID-WALES.
By J. H. Satter.
(Continued from p. 184.)
LimIcoLa.

CurLew, Numenius arquata. A few upon the coast and many
in the Dovey through the winter. Often noisy after dark in
March, when they are probably passing inland to the hills. By
the end of that month they have reached their breeding quarters,
and are scattered rather locally over the hills, preferring bog:

222 THE ZOOLOGIST.

land. Numbers also nest upon the low-lying Borth and Teifi
bogs, whilst those nesting in the hills fly to the Dovey to feed at
low tide. Upon the bogs they may be seen to mob Carrion Crows
with much spirit, mounting above them and stooping almost in
the style of a Hawk. Though most of the eggs are hatched by
May 20th, a young one which I caught could barely fly on
June 80th.

WuimMBREL, N. phe@opus. The spring passage begins with
great regularity within a day of the 3rd of May, and lasts through
the greater part of that month; while in 1894 I heard the note as
late as June 21st. Tew or none are seen on their return passage
in August.

Bar-TAILED Gopwit, Limosa laponnica. Used to be plentiful
in the Dovey, but its numbers, like those of all the migratory
waders, have fallen off. Still seen at times in good large flocks in
August and September. Mr. F. T. Fielden only saw two in 1894.

BLACK-TAILED Gopwir, LZ. egocephala. One only, an imma-
ture bird,°in the possession of Mr. F. T. Fielden.

GREENSHANK, Totanus canescens. Small parties of not more
than four are seen fairly frequently on the Dovey in August. Mr.
F. T. Fielden has seen a Greenshank at one of the lakes in the
hills in April or May.

Woop Sanppiper, TZ’. glareola. Capt. G. W. Cosens has
a specimen which he obtained at Glandovey.

RepsHank, 7’. calidris. A few in the Dovey and Barmouth
river, but more numerous about the muddy inlet at Mochras
Island, near Harlech. It may breed there, as I saw a flock of
twenty-five on July 2nd, 1893.

GREEN SanppiPeR, Helodromas ochropus. Mr. F. T. Fielden
has seen one at the same spot for several years upon the Dovey.
One shot at Clarach is preserved at Gogerddan.

Rurr, Machetes pugnax. Only two occurrences. One was
shot by Mr. Hooton near Borth; the other preserved by Mr.
Hutchings.

Common SanpPIPpER, Totanus hypoleucus. Breeds upon all
the hill-streams and beside the llyns. Arrives with great punctu-
ality, generally on April 22nd. On May 81st, 1893, sitting had
not begun, as the birds were still in pairs, the males trilling and
tripping about with both wings raised vertically, or with one
held up flag-wise. Young birds frequent the Ystwyth in August.

i
j

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS IN MID-WALES. 223

SANDERLING, Calidris arenaria. Large flocks visit the Dovey
in August, and are seen again, often with Ringed Plover and
Dunlin, in April and May. A few may stay the winter, as I saw
one on Jan. 9th, 1893. |

Littie Stint, Tringa minuta. Occurs now and then upon
the Dovey about the end of September. Mr. F. T. Fielden, who
has specimens, saw two in 1894.

PuRPLE SANDPIPER, I’. striata. Met with every winter, singly
or in pairs, but is far from numerous.

Dunutn, T. alpina. Common on the Dovey through the
autumn and winter, remaining till April or May. A very large
flock, with Ringed Plover, seen on May 26th, 1893, may have
consisted of non-breeding birds. Nests in some numbers on the
Teifi Bog, where, as already recorded, I found eggs on May
13th, 1893. Others seen during May and June about the mar-
gins of some of the lakes in the hills were evidently nesting in
the vicinity.

CuRLEW SANDPIPER, J’. subarquata. Occurs on the Dovey,
usually in September, its numbers varying from year to year. In
1891, or the previous year, Mr. F. T’. Fielden obtained a number,
and saw one flock of from twenty-five to thirty.

Knot, 7’. canutus. Large flocks sometimes come to the
Dovey for a short time during the first three weeks of September,
but its visits are very uncertain. There is one in summer
plumage at Gogerddan. |

Woopcock, Scolopax rusticula. Common, but I have failed
to hear of any instance of its breeding. At Peniarth Mr. I’. Abel
flushed four from under a single bush.

GREAT SNIPE, Gallinago major. Not very uncommon. Mr.
Hutchings has preserved at least three. Capt. G. W. Cosens
has an example which was obtained in September, 1891. A
specimen at Gogerddan is mounted so as to show the large
amount of white in the tail.

Common Snipe, G. celestis. Breeds sparingly in the hills,
but plentifully upon the Teifi Bog. Here at dusk the air seems
full of its bleating and buzzing.

Jack Sniee, Limnocryptes gallinula. Fairly numerous.

Grey Poavaropg, Phalaropus fulicarius. Occurs in autumn
when driven out of its course while on passage. Mr. Hutchings
received seventeen after rough weather between Oct. 15th and
24th, 1891. Mr. F. T. Fielden has met with it twice at Borth,

224 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Turnstone, Strepsilas interpres. About the first of the
waders to arrive from the North, coming during the first week in
August. They pass on almost at once. A few have been obtained
in full summer dress.

Larwine, Vanellus cristatus. Breeds very sparsely in the
hill-districts, seeming to prefer fallows and the sand-links of the
coast.

GreY Puover, Squatarola helvetica. Visits the Dovey in de-
creasing numbers, generally at the end of August or beginning of
September.

GoLDEN PuioverR, Charadrius pluvialis. Breeds very sparsely
on the slopes of Plynlimmon, and in other parts of the hill-
district ; more plentifully upon the Elan Moors, near Rhayader.
Occurs at Aberystwyth during rough winter weather. Visits the
Dovey from September to May, large flocks usually arriving there
with the first snow; but if frost continues they soon leave. They
are generally very wild.

DotTerEL, Hudromias morinellus. Mr. Hutchings informs
me that a Dotterel was shot by the late Mr. Richards, of Penglais,
Aberystwyth, upon the Bryn-y-mor fields.

RineeD Puiover, Aigialitis hiaticula. Very numerous as a
breeding species along the greater part of the Merionethshire
coast, and about the warren at Borth, south of which point the
coast is unsuitable, and only an occasional pair is to be found.
Last year but few had arrived on April 9th; the majority were
still in flocks on the 30th, laying not being general till the middle
of May.

OysTERcATCHER, Hematopus ostralegus. Breeds commonly
on the beaches and warrens of the Merionethshire coast, and to
within about a mile of Borth. Scattered pairs nest at intervals
along the Cardiganshire coast upon rocky points, islets, and
stacks. Non-breeding birds are seen in flocks all through the
nesting season.

CREAM-COLOURED CouRsER, Cursorius gallicus. ‘The example
obtained at Ynyslas, near Borth, in Cardiganshire, by Mr. Horton,
in October, 1886, has been sufficiently recorded (see ‘ Zoologist,’

1887, p. 269).
(To be continued.)

i ee ee

C225. )

NOTES AND QUERIES.

MAMMALIA.

The proper Specific Name of the Weasel.—The editorial note
appended to my remarks on this subject obviously demands an immediate
reply, for the question at issue is particularly one which should be settled
as soon as possible. Every one will agree that the proposed change
of name “ought not to be too hastily accepted,” and feeling this I have
pondered on the subject, off and on, for about a dozen years, in the vague
hope that the obvious suggestion as to Linneus’s “ Mustela nivalis” being
a small female Stoat might turn out to be correct. Such drifting on,
however, is one of the main causes of the present confusion in zoological
nomenclature, and the sooner such a question is cleared up the better. In
deference to those who may think that long usage of a name has a bearing
on the question whether it be the correct name to use, it may first be
pointed out that such “use” should be sole use, which is not the case in
the present instance. On the contrary, nearly every Scandinavian natu-
ralist of repute has actually used nivalis for the Weasel, while (which is
vital) those who have not, have all without exception put nivalis (or at least
“‘sndmus ”) among its synonyms. And this is equally the case with other
continental naturalists, not excepting Blasius, whose volume on European
mammals remains the standard work on the subject. In fact, with the
exception of the Hditor, I have failed to find one single writer who
seriously considers nivalis to be a synonym of ermineus. But the real
question is not that of the name vulgaris having been “120 years in use,”
but whether the characters given by Linneus best fit the female Stoat, as
suggested by the Editor, or the Weasel in its winter dress. As the
Swedish Weasel must of course be mainly considered, I extract the
following from Prof. Lilljeborg’s ‘Sveriges och Norges Ryggradsdjur,’ the
latest and best work on the subject (vol. i. p. 508) ;— Aldre individer
hafva i denna dragt icke sdllan nagra pa svartaktiga har i yttersta svans-
spitsen”: that is to say, ‘ Old individuals [of “ Mustela nivalis”] have in
this [winter] dress not infrequently some few blackish hairs at the extreme
tip of the tail”; and words to the same effect occur in other diagnoses of
the species. Can anything better correspond to Linnus’s account, quoted
by the Hditor, “caude apice vix pilis ullis nigris”? Even in Britain
occasional specimens of the Weasel occur with black tips to their tails, a
fact which such a student of British mammals as the Editor might have
been aware of. As to changing white, the Weasel throughout the northern
portions of its continental range habitually turns to white every winter.
The name nivalis I have always supposed to have been a latinization of the
Swedish Sndmus, a colloquial term quoted by every Scandinavian writer ;

226 THE ZOOLOGIST

but Mr. Harting is no doubt right in saying that Linneus may also have
been influenced by the colour. No one can lament the necessity for
changing familiar names more than I do; but I feel perfectly convinced
that the sooner we boldly make such changes as are demanded by the laws
of priority, the sooner we shall attain stability in nomenclature. I do not
quite understand the meaning of the last paragraph of the editorial note
about the transference of the Weasel from the genus Mustela, in which
Linneus placed it, to the genus Putorius. M. martes was the type of the
genus Mustela, of which the first division was made by Cuvier, who gave
the name Putorius to the Stoats and Weasels; but I do not know whether
we are to infer from the editorial that Mr. Harting considers the Martens
and Weasels to be congeneric. If not, I cannot understand his objection,
as presumably he would sanction the transference of the Otter from the
genus Mustela, in which Linneus placed it, to the genus Lutra, and the
same with the Badger and the rest.—OLDFIELD THomas.

[If it be the fact, as stated, that the Weasel occasionally has a black tip
to the tail, or at least black hairs in the tip of the tail, and also habitually
turns white in wiuter throughout the northern portion of its continental
range, it is, of course, possible that Linneeus’s description of Mustela
nivalis may apply to the Weasel, instead of to the Stoat as most people
would naturally infer on reading the diagnosis; but the point being in
doubt, we should prefer to leave the specific name of the Weasel, vulgaris,
unchanged. In the course of thirty years’ experience (1865—1895), after
shooting in almost every part of the British Islands, and examining
the vermin killed and hung up by gamekeepers, we have never recognized
a Weasel with any conspicuous black hairs in the tail; and the very few
white ones we have seen were albinos, not necessarily killed in winter. As
_to the removal of the Weasel from the genus Mustela, naturally, we now-a-
days regard the Martens as generically distinct from the Weasels and Stoats ;
but as the late Mr. Alston, whom Mr. Thomas professes to follow (p. 177),
placed the Martens as Nilsson did, in the genus Martes, as other writers
have done before and since he wrote (P. Z.S., 1879, p. 468), we should
have been content to leave them there.— Ep.] .

The Irish Stoat in the Isle of Man.—It will interest all students of
British Zoology to hear that a specimen corresponding in every respect
with typical examples of Putorius hibernicus has been presented to the
British Museum by Mr. P. M. C. Kermode, of Ramsey, who had received
it from Lewaigue, near that town. This fact confirms Mr. Kermode’s
view (Zool. 1898, p. 61), that the Manx fauna is more nearly related to that
of Ireland than that of Britain, although it should be confessed that the
‘Hare found there (also sent by Mr. Kermode) is the Brown and not the
Alpine Hare. It now becomes more important than ever that Stoats from the
‘parts of Britain nearest to Ireland should be properly examiuved; and

7
1
‘
x
’

NOTES AND QUERIES. 297-

specimens from the south-western parts of Scotland, Galloway, the Lake
region of Cumberland, Anglesey, Cornwall, and the Scilly Islands, will be
most gratefully accepted. Should Stoats from any of these localities show
an approach to the Irish form, it will render it probable that the latter
should be looked upon as a geographical subspecies, well marked in its own
locality, but grading elsewhere into another form. No British specimens
as yet seen, however, have shown the smallest tendency to such approach.—
OuLpFrieLD THomas (Natural History Museum),

Bank Vole in Bedfordshire.—I have often noticed Voles frequenting
hedgerows in Bedfordshire that I suspected were of this species, and in
April last, whilst spending a few days in that county, I was able to confirm
my views by trapping several specimens in different localities. —J. 58.
Exxiort (Dixon’s Green, Dudley).

Food of the Bank Vole.—A propos of the remarks on this subject by
Mr. Teesdale (p. 186) I may mention that, in the autumn of 1869, during a
short visit to Hampshire, I noticed in the cornfields near Alresford a
number of heaps of the carpels of Ranunculus repens, many of which con-
tained a good handful. All the carpels had a minute semicircular piece
bitten out of the margin. In every instance of the many I examined the
seed had been extracted, and although the sides of the carpel had obviously
been opened, they were not separated from each other, but had firmly come
together again. I had no doubt that the seeds had been eaten by mice,
but could not determine to what species they belonged. The exceeding
delicacy of this operation seemed to indicate that it was one of the smaller
kind, ¢. g., the Field Mouse, but there were no holes of these in the imme-
diate vicinity of the heaps, which were most numerous near the outside of
the field. It is possible that they were brought together by the Bank Vole,
but it seems unlikely that it would eat such small seeds, or that it would
deal so cleverly with them. It would be interesting if some resident in
that district could solve the question. —Joun Lowe (4, Gldagester Place,
Portman Square).

BIRDS.

Rooks in London,—Some time ago I had to report (Zool. 1889, p. 27)
the almost total disappearance of Rooks from the West End of London.
I think I may now state that they have not quite deserted that part
of London, although their behaviour has been somewhat erratic. The birds
left Kensington Gardens for the simple reason that their nesting trees were
cut down. ‘They resented the insult, and though there were plenty of
available trees close by, they forsook the locality until 1892, when a solitary
nest was builtin the south-western corner of Kensington Gardens. In the
following year, however, a strong colony took up their quarters in the trees
bordering the Bayswater end of the Broad Walk, that is, the north-western

928 THE ZOOLOGIST.

corner of Kensington Gardens. There were some fifteen or sixteen nests; -

at the same time some eight or ten nests were built in Connaught Square ;
five in Stanhope Place; and two in a plane-tree in Albion Street. When
I saw this I quite thought that the re-establishment of the Rook at the
West End was a fait accompli; but, alas, it was not so. In 1894 the birds
returned to their breeding-place in Kensington Gardens, but when they had
partially built their nests they suddenly disappeared, and the site was
absolutely deserted and has not since been re-occupied. At the same time
(1894) Albion Street and Connaught Square were deserted. I can,
however, state that the little colony at Stanhope Place this year consists of
three nests, and there are five nests in Connaught Square.—Joun Youne
(64, Hereford Road, Bayswater).

Food of the Firecrest and Little Bustard.— A female Firecrest,
Regulus ignicapillus, which I dissected last October, had been feeding on
minute beetles. A little Bustard, Otis tetraw, contained a great quantity of
larger beetles and grasshoppers, in addition to what appeared to be the
tops of turnips.— Hues A. MacrHerson (Carlisle).

The Food of Woodpeckers.—The nature of the food of American
Woodpeckers has been investigated by Mr. F. EK. L. Beal from an exami-
nation of more than 600 stomachs. He has found that the Hairy and
Downy Woodpeckers (Dryobates villosus and pubescens) feed chiefly on
harmful insects, eating also wild fruits and seeds. The Flicker (Colaptes
auratus) subsists largely on ants, of which insects more than 8000 were
contained in each of two stomachs. This species also eats other noxious
insects and some wild fruit. The food of the Red-headed Woodpecker
(Melanerpes erythrocephalus) is largely insects, nearly all harmful, with wild
fruit and some corn and cultivated fruit. The Yellow-bellied Woodpecker,
or Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius), feeds largely on the inner bark and sap
of trees, eating also ants and other insects, and is the only species taking
more vegetable than animal food.

Crossbill feeding on Insects.—In ‘'The Zoologist’ for 1890 (p. 414),
a reference will be found to the common Crossbill feeding on aphides. In
May of the present year four adult Crossbills were brought to me, which
had been shot out of a large flock. On dissecting these birds I found
that they had been feeding upon small flies and minute beetles, in addition
to the seeds of a conifer. The insects in question were numerously repre-
sented.—H. A. Macpuerson (Carlisle).

Cuckoo’s Egg in Wren’s Nest.—In the early part of May I found a
Cuckoo’s egg ina Wren’s nest. The nest was placed in the usual position—
beneath the matted and exposed roots of a tree in the channel of a water-
course. The egg did not sufficiently assimilate those of the Wren to be
remarkable; but there was a curious zone of a lighter colour than the rest

IT Ae ME AS WE WE SET. >

J
P

i.

NOTHS AND QUERIES. 229

of the egg round the middle, and a darkening of the smaller end, which
were noticeable. Strangely enough, when passing the spot some three
weeks later, I found another Wren’s nest within a few yards of the former
one, in which was another Cuckoo's egg in addition to three of the rightful
owner. Being somewhat curious to ascertain whether there was any
peculiarity in the two Cuckoo’s eggs which would indicate their common
parentage, I took the second specimen home and compared it with the
other, with the result that I found an almost perfect uniformiy both in size
and colour. Now, however doubtful be the significance of the former fact,
it must be admitted that the latter is at least suggestive; as, although the
eggs of different individuals of the same species may be so variable as to
render the circumstance of two being found of the same size but a slender
basis for identifying them with the same bird, yet the manner in which the
colouring matters and markings are disposed furnishes an almost sure test,
aud I found in each egg the same indefinite zone and somewhat darkened
smaller end. Assuming—and there certainly seems no reason to regard
the assumption as insecure—that the two eggs were the produce of the
same individual, the instance would seem to lend credence to the likelihood
expressed in Prof. Newton’s ‘ Dictionary of Birds’ (article “ Cuckoo,” pt.1.,
pp. 122-124) of individual female Cuckoos only introducing their eggs into
the nests of one particular species, and not indiscriminately into those of
any of the birds usually selected as foster-parents. In the two cases in
point, it is certain that the nests chosen for the introduction of the alien
eggs were not selected as being the only available or most convenient.
Indeed, the insertion of the egg in the former could not have been un-
attended with considerable difficulty, for it must have been deposited
with either the bird’s bill or feet without alighting; and the vicinity is one
abounding in hedgerows and banks which afford suitable nesting-places for
Hedgesparrows and Robins and other dupes of the Cuckoo.— W. C. J.
Ruskin ButtERFIELD (Stanhope Place, St. Leonards-on-Sea).

Cuckoo’s Eggs in Whitethroat’s Nest.— On May 28th I found a
Greater Whitethroat’s nest containing two eggs and one of a Cuckoo’s.
I took the Cuckoo's egg. Going again on the 31st, I found the Whitethroat
had laid one more egg, and had then commenced to sit. This is rather
unusual, as the normal number of eggs is generally five. The nest was
situated in a hedge at the top of a high bank, bordering a road which was
little frequented. J mentioned the fact to Prof. Howes, and he suggested
that it might be of some interest to your readers, as a Cuckoo laying in a
Greater Whitethroat’s nest is of somewhat rare occurrence.—W. Lreonarp
S. Loar (Southborough, Tunbridge Wells).

Early Laying of Cuckoos.— Cuckoos seem to me to have laid
unusually early this season, and the following dates may therefore be

230 THE ZOOLOGIST.

worth recording. I have, as a rule, commenced to search for the eggs of
this species about May 20th, continuing up to about June 10th, and most
of the eggs I possess—about eighteen or twenty in all—were taken during
the first week in June. To my surprise, however, this year I received a
letter from a reliable correspondent residing in Surrey, dated May 14th,
saying that he had already taken seventeen Cuckoos’ eggs in the neigh-
bourhood of Byfleet, the first having been found on April 30th. On May
25th I found in the ivy over a potting-shed in my garden here a Robin’s
nest containing a young Cuckoo about a week old, so that the egg from
which it was hatched must have been laid quite at the beginning of May;
and I also heard of another young bird in this neighbourhood rather older,
so that the egg in that instance must have been laid earlier still. The
young bird in my garden was discovered by my noticing four young
Robins—only just hatched; in fact, one was still in the broken shell—
lying on the ground below the nest, and on looking into the nest to
ascertain the cause, I found a young Cuckoo in possession: he must have
turned his companions out, therefore, almost as soon as he was hatched.
From the actions of the birds, I have no doubt that they are still laying as
usual, and I am inclined to think that the early eggs were the result of the
exceptionally warm weather we experienced this year at the beginning of
May.—E. A. Butter, Lt.-Col. (Brettenham Park, Suffolk).

Curious fate of a Cuckoo.—I was recently shown the remains of a
Cuckoo preserved in such a way as to show the manner in which it met
with its death. It is a hen bird, and seems to have been pushing its way
into a bush in search of a small bird’s nest. It must have used some
degree of force, and had thrust its head into the fork of a fairly stout branch,
when a more slender twig which had “ given’’ a little, springing back into
place, ‘‘ clenched” the head behind, so that the bird could not withdraw it.
When found the bird was dead, and had been hanging for some days.—
J. H. Satrer (University College, Aberystwyth).

Paleornis rosea breeding in Confinement.—Late in the summer of
1893 I purchased two pairs of the Burmese Blossom-headed Parrakeet,
Palaornis rosea, in nestling plumage. They were newly imported, rough
in feathering, and their wings had been clipped ; consequently I obtained
them at a very reasonable figure. In this early stage the young birds
are much alike, but the hens are somewhat stouter in build, and their
plumage is rather duller than that of the cocks; both sexes, however, unlike
P. cyanocephalus, have the purplish brown patch on the wing-coverts.
Towards spring both males came into colour, but both sexes of one pair
which I kept in a heated aviary failed to reproduce the primaries which had
been cut off, and died soon after their moult: I then discovered that the
bone had been injured by the knife of the native, who had maimed them,

a

Se = Fr

NOTES AND QUERIES. 231

The other pair, which -I had turned out into a cold aviary, developed
perfectly ; and in May the male began to make advances to the hen, which
she at first resented; eventually she permitted him to feed her, and he
finally succeeded in enticing her into a log-nest suspended ir one corner of
the aviary. From this time the female bird seldom left the log-nest; the
male bird entered from time to time to feed her, and I hoped she had laid
eggs and was sitting; but in this I was mistaken, for it was late in June
when, weary of waiting for results, I looked into the nest, and discovered
two freshly-laid eggs. arly in July, watching my opportunity when the
hen was taking a constitutional, I again looked into the nest and discovered
a plump naked youngster, which uttered harsh hissing sounds until I covered
it up. It left the nest, fully feathered, but with a short tail, on June 26th,
able to fly short distances, but extremely nervous about trusting to its
wings ; the efforts of the parents to induce it to fly were very interesting.
By September this young bird was larger than either parent, and called
as loudly (the note is not unlike that sometimes produced by a heavy
iron gate when very rusty and slowly opened widely); I therefore concluded
that I had reared a male; but, as it still retains the greenish grey head of
its mother, it seems likely that I was mistaken in this surmise. It is much
wilder than its parents, which one would hardly have expected in a bird
bred in confinement; but I have noticed in the case of some of our British
birds that when reared from the nest by hand they become not only more
wild than those caught in traps or nets, but remain permanently so.—
A. G. Butter (Beckenham).

Jack Snipe in Dorsetshire in May.—On the evening of May 25th I
flushed a Jack Snipe close to my feet, in a swamp on Bloxworth Heath. It
pitched down again about twenty yards off, but I could not get it to rise a
second time. ‘This is the latest occurrence I have ever recorded. In my
note-book on ‘ Birds’ I see that on May 6th, 1851, I flushed a pair of these
birds in a bog about a quarter of a mile distant from the spot where the
one now recorded was found. I had no time on the last occasion to make
any effectual search for a nest; in fact the spot where it rose was evidently
only one where the bird was just then feeding; but it can hardly be
supposed that these birds should be here in May and not breed with us.
Some lucky accident will, I suspect, one day prove this to be the case.—
O. P. CamBripeGE (Bloxworth Rectory).

Song of the Cirl Bunting.—Have any of the readers of ‘The
Zoologist ’ noticed that the Cirl Banting has, in addition to its well-known
ditty, which resembles that of the Yellowhammer without the long con-
cluding note, a short and pleasant song sounding like “say, say, see,” or
“‘ sayo, sayo, see”; the last note a third higher than the preceding? On
one occasion, some years ago, I heard a bird which I believed to be a

932 THE ZOOLOGIST,

bunting, on the wild grounds near Portsmouth. Its song, frequently
repeated, sounded like “ Tic, tic, tic, wirra, wirra.” I could not get very
near it, and have never since heard a song like it. It was not a Corn
Bunting.—Cuartes W. Benson (Rathmines School, Dublin).

Nesting Materials used by the Hawfinch.—Whilst examining the
materials used in a nest I found situated in the topmost branches of an old
crab-tree in Sutton Coldfield Park, I was particularly interested in finding,
in addition to the usual dead twigs, fibrous root, and hair, that the nest had
been built with a platform of the green leaves of the mountain ash,
which could not have been obtained within some 250 yards of the spot.
I cannot help thinking that these were used as a protection in screening
the nest from observation from below.—J. StEELE Exxuiort (Dixon's Green,
Dudley).

Wood Pigeon nesting on the Ground.— Whilst exploring one of the
many little islands on Lough Cong, Co. Galway, I came across a most
unusual sight. The island to which I refer is thickly wooded with small
firs, oaks, willows, and other trees and shrubs. Round the edges of the
wood there was a line of high heather. Wood Pigeons, Columba palumbus,
were breeding in considerable numbers in the wood; but as I was going
round the edge of the island I almost stamped on a Wood Pigeon which rose
from out of some high heather. Thinking that this was a curious place for
the bird to be feeding, I looked down amongst the heather. In the midst
of a thick clump of tall heather was a Pigeon’s nest, composed of a few
sticks placed literally on the ground. This nest contained one egg, which
Ihave. This seemed very strange, but I thought it must be an accident.
On the other side of the island, however, I flushed another Pigeon in the
same way, and found another nest in exactly the same sort of position, but
this nest contained quite a big young one. There seems no accounting for
this curious fact. The birds must have nested in this position by deliberate
intent. Yet there were plenty of good trees for their purpose, where other
Pigeons were breeding.—Henry F. Wirnersy (Blackheath).

Nightingale singing in July.—For the first time in my continental
experiences, extending over twelve years, I heard the Nightingale sing in
July last year, at Royat. We arrived there on June 29th, and at half-past
ten p.m. heard its song very plainly from our hotel. The birds were
plentiful in the neighbourhood, and continued to sing up to July 15th,
when I heard one for the last time, as it sang close to the English church.
Royat is an excellent station for ornithologists.—CHAarLes W. BEnson
(Rathmines School, Dublin).

[When the young are hatched the males leave off singing, and busy
themselves in bringing food to the nest. This is generally before the end
of the first week in June.—Ep. |

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NOTES AND QUERIES. 233

Supposed hybrid between Blackbird and Thrush. — During the
severe frost last winter a bird was caught in my garden which I at first
took by gaslight to be an old hen Blackbird; but a more careful examination
by daylight convinced me that there was something odd about it. It had
the peculiar flattened crown which, together with a slight frontal depression,
gives a frog-like aspect to the Song Thrush and Redwing when viewed from the
front ; the throat also had an ashy-white appearance suggestive of the Ring
Ouzel. The bird, however, probably through inability to wash for several
weeks, was so grimy that it was not easy to come to any definite conclusion
as to its true colouring. On March 7th I showed the bird to my friend
Mr. Frohawk, who agreed with me that there was something very odd about
its appearance; we therefore decided to give it a good wash, and thereby
ascertain its true colouring: this we did, and when thoroughly dry again we
found it in all respects intermediate between Blackbird and Song Thrush.
The following is a description, so far as it could be taken from a caged
bird :— Upper parts, including wings, tail, cheeks, ear-coverts, and neck,
deep smoky-brown; a narrow pale brown superciliary streak from the base
of the upper mandible to behind the orbit, and a short moustachial streak
from the lower mandible; circle round eye yellow; chin and throat ashy-
white, forming a large triangle with its apex on the chin; sides of this
triangle washed with brownish buff, and the whole surface traversed longi-
tudinally by parallel irregular mottled dull black streaks, which pass into
indistinct spots on the fore-chest; chest and breast rufous-brown, more
smoky at the sides; abdomen and vent slightly greyish in the centre,
shading into smoky brown at the sides and gradually passing into the more
rufous tint of the breast. Bill orange, somewhat paler towards the tip ;
culmen blackish; feet yellowish horn-brown; iris hazel. Size about that
of a Blackbird. I have once or twice found eggs of the Song Thrush
deposited in the nest of the Blackbird; but at the time I thought this
might have been done designedly by some naturalist trying an experiment
(for I have tried such an experiment myself); but Mr. Frohawk on one
occasion discovered a nest of this character which was undoubtedly visited
by both Blackbird and Thrush. The existence of hybrid Blackbird and
Song Thrush is tolerably well established; but I believe most of the birds
supposed to represent this cross have been shot, not caught. It will be
interesting to discover whether the song of such a bird will partake of the
character of that of both parents. The alarm-note is a sharp ‘“ chuck,” very
like that of the Blackbird.—Arruur G. Butter (Beckenham).

Crossbills in Leicestershire.—On March 15th Mr. Turner, of Market
Harborough, received three specimens of the Common Crossbill, Lowia
curvirostra,.a male and two females, which had been killed near that town.
The Crossbill occasionally remains in this country during the winter. In

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—JUNE, 1895. Tr

234 THE ZCOLOGIST.

the first week in January, 1852, while I lived in Oxfordshire, I shot two,
a male and female, from a small flock which visited our garden. The
plumage of the male differed very much from the bright tints of its
summer dress; it was of an almost uniform pale red, with darker
markings on the side of the head and on the wings; the plumage of the

female did not show any marked change. — A. Marrurws (Gumley»
Leicestershire).

Albino and Pied Varieties.—In February last I had a lovely white —
Wood Pigeon brought to me, I think the prettiest I have ever seen. There
are a few dark feathers in its plumage, but they are hardly visible, and so
far as they are noticeable they only serve to accentuate the general appear-
ance of the bird, which is set off to great advantage by its purplish-red feet.
It is a welcome addition to our local museum. In the spring of 1894 an
albino of the common Whitethroat was brought in, a nestling and a dainty
little bird, with pink irides. Mr. Whitaker’s note on the pied Hawfinch
(p. 72) reminds me that the Italian collection of birds at Florence contains
a white Hawfinch, If I remember right, it is of a uniform dull white, with
a pale grey chin-spot. Several pied Hawfinches are mentioned in the
‘Avifauna Italica’ of Professor Giglioli, who has procured many pretty
varieties of birds for the Italian collection, The most noteworthy variety
that I have seen of late is an example of the common Crossbill, Loxia
curvirostra, preserved in the public museum at Bergamo. This bird has
the head, neck, and breast of a pure yellowish white; the remainder of the
plumage is brown and green. I never before heard of a pied Crossbill.—
H. A. Macpuerson (11, Victoria Place, Carlisle).

Ornithological Notes from Yorkshire.—On Feb. 1st several Whooper
Swans were observed in this locality. On Feb. 2nd, when driving between
Fewston and Darley, I observed three large birds on the moors near to a
plantation. Getting within a short distance of them, they proved to be
Black Grouse, a male and two females. I was shown, on Feb. 11th, a dead
female specimen of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker which had been found
in Dob Park wood. ‘This species is rare in the Washburn Valley. I have
only known one instance of its nesting here—viz. in Lindley Wood in
1888. On Feb. 25th an old male Great Spotted Woodpecker was caught
in Folly Hall wood. It breeds sparingly in this valley. Mr. J. Yorke, of
Bewerley Hall, Pateley Bridge, informed me that, on Feb. 14th, he saw a
Waxwing, Ampelis garrulus, in a thorn bush on the bank of the Nidd, about
a mile above Pateley. It seemed to be in good plumage, and was eating
berries greedily; it took no notice of him, though he watched it from a
distance of only a few feet. I have never seen or heard of one here in
recent years, though we have two in our collection which were killed here
many years ago.— Ww. Srorry (Fewston Lodge, near Otley).

; NOTES AND QUERIES. 235

Winter Notes from the Isle of Man.—On Feb. 23rd last I saw in the
hands of Mr. G. Adams, of Douglas, a Red-necked Grebe \ Podictpes grisei-
gena), which a few days before had been killed at the south of the island,
and sent to him for preservation. It had the chestnut colour on the neck
well developed, and the cheeks whitish grey. I observed no trace at all of
the slight crest of the species. In the Isle of Man, as elsewhere, birds

_ suffered severely at the time of the great snowfall (Feb. 6th), and during
_ the prolonged hard weather before and afterwards. On the day following
this fall, flocks of birds of various kinds—Rooks, Starlings, and Chaffinches
_ —sat, as if in a stupefied state, on the trees bordering the main road at
Laxey, motionless, and regardless of passers-by and the stir of the village.
There has been a perceptible thinning of Blackbirds and other song-birds,
but Magpies and Jackdaws, which are very numerous and familiar about
this place and its immediate neighbourhood, do not seem to be materially
reduced in numbers. On Feb. 18th a male Red-breasted Merganser (Mer-
gus serrator), in full plumage, and an adult Sheldrake (Tadorna cornuta)
were found dead on the shores of Douglas Bay. The former was dis-
covered “sitting upon a stone with the head folded upon the back.” A
Heron was caught alive by some boys, who ran it down with a dog, and
another, which was brought to Mr. Adams dead, was said to have fallen
lifeless from the air while flying. Flocks of Gulls, chiefly of the Black-
headed species, Larus ridibundus, though a good many Herring Gulls were
also present, spent weeks among the houses of Douglas, being fed by the
residents in the roadways and gardens. On Dec. 23rd, and on several
subsequent dates, 1 saw, in Douglas Bay, a Black-headed Gull with a com-
plete dark hood.—P. Ratrs (Laxey, Isle of Man).

Common and Lesser Terns in the Outer Hebrides.—Mr. Howard
Saunders, in his ‘ Manual of British Birds,’ p. 631, states that he has no
conclusive evidence of the occurrence of Sterna fluviatilis in the Outer
Hebrides. When staying at Stornoway with a friend last August we were
both somewhat anxious to obtain a specimen of the Arctic Tern (S. macrura),
and accordingly rowed out one day to some low islands to the east of the
harbour, where Terns were swarming ; but the proportion of the Common
to the Arctic species was roughly 15 to 1. I was fortunate enough to
obtain a specimen of the latter, and my friend shot one of the Common
species in mistake for an Arctic Tern; so we had ample opportunity for
identification. Not being aware of its hitherto unrecorded existence in
these parts, we unfortunately did not preserve the bird. Later in the
month, when at Barra, there was a small rock in Vatersay Sound which
was almost always covered with old and young Common Terns. The
reason for this bird having been overlooked in the Outer Hebrides may no
doubt be accounted for by the fact (as stated by Mr. Howard Saunders) that
when the Common and Arctic Terns inhabit the same area they frequently

236 THE ZOOLOGIST.

shift their quarters from year to year. On Aug. 8rd we both observed an
adult Lesser Tern (S. minuta) rise from a cockle-bed in Broad Bay, Storno-
way.—JouN H. TrxEspaue (St. Margaret’s, West Dulwich).

The Sanderling in Australia.—In the middle of July, 1894, when
out for a stroll along the beach, I had a family shot among a party of
waders a mile or two south of Point Cloates (which is situated at the base of
the North-West Cape peninsula). I picked up eight Turnstones, Strepsilas
interpres, two Little Sandpipers, and two other waders, which lacking the
hind toe at once caught my attention. None of my books here containing
any reference to the Sanderling, Calidris arenaria, I made a skin of one of
my specimens, and forwarded it to Mr. A. J. Campbell, of Melbourne, who
in turn sent it to Colonel Legge. He replies :—‘ Calidris arenaria in
abraded plumage, with new winter feathers coming on back and wings.”
From Mr. Campbell’s note in the ‘ Transactions of the Royal Society of
Victoria,’ it seems that only one other occurrence of the species has
been noted here, namely, in New South Wales. Probably the bird visits
these shores more often than is suspected.—THomas CaRTER (Point Cloates,
via, Carnarvon, West Australia).

[This occurrence is noteworthy, for Mr. Seebohm, in his fine quarto
work on the Geographical Distribution of the Charadrid@ and Scolopacide,
makes no mention of the occurrence of the Sanderling in Australia. But
so long ago as April, 1844, two examples of this bird were obtained by John
Macgillivray in Sandy Cove, N. S. Wales, and are preserved in the Derby
Museum, Liverpool (cf. Newton in ‘ Records of Australian Museum,’ vol. ii.
p. 22; and ‘ Nature,’ 23rd June and 7th July, 1892.—Ep.]

SCIENT#HFIC’ SOCIETIES;

Linnean Society or Lonpon.

May 2nd, 1895.—Mr. C. B. Cranks, F.R.S., President, in the chair.

Prof. J. W. Carr and Mr. W. Will were admitted Fellows, and Drs. C.
Nordstedt, of Lund, Rudolph Philippi, of Santiago, and M. Woronin, of
St. Petersburg, were elected Foreign Members.

Mr. H. M. Bernard showed under the microscope the circumscribed
patches of sete above and below the stigmata on the pupa of the Vapourer
Moth, Orgyia antiqua. The arrangement suggested a vanished notopodium
just where in the Hexapods a dorsal branch of a parapodium ought to have
vanished, according to the exhibitor’s method of deducing the different
groups of the Arthropoda from their Annelidan ancestors, as sketched in his
recent paper on the Galeodida.

Mr. K. M. Holmes exhibited some new British Alge from Dorsetshire
and Sussex; amongst others Ulvella confluens and Ectocarpus Reinboldt,

SGIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 237

both discovered last month at Weymouth, and the latter previously known
only from the Baltic.

Mr. J. E. Harting exhibited and made remarks on a specimen of
Cuculus canorus in the rare hepatic plumage (Cuculus hepaticus, Sparmann),
recently obtained at Bishop’s Waltham, Essex.

Mr. W. T. Thiselton Dyer, C.M.G., then gave an abstract of a paper
by the late Mr. John Ball, F.R.S., ‘On the distribution of Plants on the
southern side of the Alps,” prefaced by some account of the author’s life
and special work in relation to the alpine Flora.

May 24th: Anniversary Meeting. — Mr. C. B. Cuarxe, F.RS.,
President, in the chair.

The Rey. A. Thornley and Mr. Rudolf Beer were admitted Fellows of
the Society.

The Treasurer presented his Annual Report, duly audited, and the
Secretary having announced the elections and deaths during the past
twelve months, the usual ballot took place for new members of Council.
The following were elected:—Prof. J. B. Farmer, Mr. A. Gepp, Prof.
Howes, Dr. St. G. Mivart, and Mr. A. S. Woodward.

On a ballot taking place for the election of President and Officers,
Mr. Charles Baron Clarke was re-elected President; Mr. Frank Crisp,
Treasurer; Mr. B. D. Jackson, Botanical Secretary; and Prof. G. B.
Howes, Zoological Secretary.

The Librarian’s Report having been read, and certain formal business
disposed of, the President delivered his Annual Address, prefaced by some
remarks on the present position of the Society. On the motion of Sir
Joseph Hooker, seconded by Dr. John Anderson, a vote of thanks was
accorded to the President, with a request that he would allow his Address
to be printed.

The Society’s Gold Medal was then formally awarded to Prof. Ferdinand
Cohn, of Breslau, and was received on his behalf by Mr. B. D. Jackson for
transmission through the German Embassy.

The President having called attention to the retirement of the Zoological
Secretary, Mr. W. Percy Sladen, after holding office for ten years, an
announcement which he felt sure would be received with universal regret,
it was proposed by Mr. Carruthers, seconded by Mr. Crisp, and supported
by Mr. Charles Breeze, “That the Fellows of this Society, regretting
the retirement of Mr. Walter Percy Sladen from the post of Zoological
Secretary, which he has occupied for the past ten years, desire to record
upon the Minutes of the Society’s Proceedings an expression of their high
appreciation of the services which he has rendered to the Society, and of
the very able manner in which he has at all times discharged the duties of
his office.”

238 THE ZOOLOGIST.

This resolution, having been put, was carried unanimously, and after a
sympathetic reply from Mr. Sladen, the meeting adjourned to June 6th.

In the evening a number of Fellows of the Society dined together at
the Grand Hotel, Charing Cross, the President occupying the chair, and
being supported by several distinguished visitors.

ZooutocicaL Society oF Lonpon.
May 7th, 1895.—Sir W. H. Fiower, K.C.B., F.R.S., President, in the

chair.

The Secretary read a report on the additions to the Society’s Menagerie
during the month of April, and called attention to two specimens of the
Irish Stoat, presented by Viscount Powerscourt; also to two Polar Hares
from Norway, presented by Mr. O. Gude; and to specimens of the peculiar
Parrakeet of Antipodes Island, Cyanorhamphus unicolor, presented by the
Countess of Glasgow, Sir Walter E. Buller, and Mr. W. EK. Collins.

A letter was read from Dr. F. A. Jentink concerning a Monkey lately
described as Cercocebus aterrimus, of which the type had been acquired by
the Leyden Museum. Dr. Jentink considered this Monkey to be the same
as Cercocebus albigena, Gray.

Mr. J. H. Gurney exhibited and made remarks on a rare Kingfisher,
Alcedo beavani, obtained in Ceylon by Mr. A. L. Butler.

Mr. G. F. Scott Elliot made some remarks on the fauna of Mount
Ruwenzori, in British Central Africa. He stated that Elephants occur in
great numbers on the east side of the mountain. There were also many
still living, and vast stores of ivory, in the Congo F'ree-State, just beyond
the south-west corner of the English sphere of influence. He pointed out
the presence of the Hippopotamus in the Albert-Kdward Nyanza, and its
abundance in the Kagera River. It was found frequently in the country of
Karagwe, usually near the marshy lakes leading to the Kagera. On the
alluvial plains about the east of Ruwenzori Jackson’s Hartebeest, Bubalis
jacksont, the Kob, Cobus kob, and another Waterbuck (perhaps of a new
species) werecommon. No Buffaloes were seen. A Bushbuck also occurred
on Ruwenzori, from 7000 to 8000 feet. Of Monkeys he had noticed the
presence of a black and white Colobus, which he could not identify, and of
at least two other species, probably a Cercopithecus and a Baboon. Some
small Mice brought home had not yet been identified. Leopards were
numerous, and Lions were also common on the lower grounds. Two species
of Sunbird were brought back, one of which ascends to 11,000 feet on
Ruwenzori. Mr. Scott Elliot concluded by remarking that the general
idea of distribution gathered from the flora seemed to confirm such data as
he could gather from the fauna of the country which he traversed during
his journey,

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 239

Messrs. F’. K. Beddard and P. Chalmers Mitchell made a communication
on the structure of the heart in the Alligator, as observed in specimens that
had died in the Society’s Menagerie,

Mr, Chalmers Mitchell described the anatomy of the Crested Screamer,
Chauna chavaria, pointing out some resemblances between the alimentary
canal of that bird and the Ostrich, and giving a detailed comparison of the
structures of Chauna chavaria and Palamedea cornuta,

A communication was read from Dr. Percy Rendall containing field-
notes on the Antelopes of the Transvaal.

Dr. St. George Mivart read a paper on the skeleton of Lorius flavo-
palliatus as compared with that of Psittacus erithacus.

May 21st.—Lt.-Col. Gopwin-Austen, F'.R.S., V.-P., in the chair.

Mr. Sclater made some remarks on the Zoological Institutions he had
recently visited in Egypt, namely, the new Zoological Garden at Gizeh, the
Zoological Museum in the Government Medical School at Cairo, and the
Ostrich-farm at Matarieh.

Mr. Howard Saunders exhibited and made some remarks on a Duck,
believed to be a hybrid between the Wigeon and some other species
undetermined, which was shot on the Moy Estuary, Co. Mayo, last winter.

Dr. R. Bowdler Sharpe gave an account of the ornithological collection
made by Dr. Donaldson Smith, during his recent expedition into Somali-
land and Gallaland, containing about 500 specimens, referable to 182
species, of which twelve were new to science.

Mr. G. A. Boulenger read a synopsis of the genera and species of
Apodal Batrachians, and gave a description of a new genus and species
proposed to be called Bdellophis vittatus.

Lt.-Col. H. H. Godwin-Austen read a list of the Land-Molluscs of the

Andaman and Nicobar groups of islands in the Bay of Bengal, and gave

descriptions of some new species, together with a complete account of the
distribution of all the species in the various islands of these two groups.

A communication was read from Dr. J. Anderson, containing the
description of a new species of Hedgehog from Somaliland, which he
proposed to name Hrinaceus sclatert.

A communication from Mr. R. Lydekker contained notes on the structure
and habits of the Sea-Otter, Lata lutris.

A communication was read from Dr. B. C. A. Windle containing remarks
on some double malformations observed amongst fishes.

Mr. F’. KE. Beddard read a paper on the visceral and muscular anatomy
of Cryptoprocta, dealing chiefly with the brain, alimentary canal, and
muscles of this Carnivore.—P. L. Scuarsr, Secretary.

240 THE ZOOLOGIST.

EntomoLocicaL Soctety oF Lonpon.

May 1st.—Prof. RapHart Mewpona, F.R.S., President, in the chair.

Mr. Oswald H. Latter was elected a Fellow; and Dr. C. G. Thomson,
of the University, Lund, Sweden, was elected an Honorary Fellow, to fill
the vacancy caused by the death of Pastor Wallengren.

Mr. H. St. J. Donisthorpe exhibited a variety of Rhagium bifasciatum,
a longicorn beetle, taken in the New Forest, in which the ee were of a
light testaceous colour.

Mr. Waterhouse exhibited a living larva of a longicorn beetle found in
a boot-tree which had been in constant use by the owner for fourteen years,
the last seven of which were spent in India. The specimen was brought to
the British Museum on May 6th, 1890, and was put into a block of beech
wood, in which it had lived ever since; it did not appear to have altered in
any way during these five years. It had burrowed about eight inches, and —
probably made its exit accidentally. Mr. Blandford referred to a similar
case which had come under his notice.

Mr. C. G. Barrett exhibited a long series of the dark and strongly-
marked varieties of Agrotis cursoria and A. tritict, taken on the sandhills of
the north-east coast of Scotland by Mr. Arthur Horne, of Aberdeen.

Mr. Dale exhibited a specimen of a Sesia, supposed to be a new species,
from the New Forest.

Mr. O. E. Janson exhibited a remarkable species of Curculionide from
the island of Gilolo, having exceedingly long and slender rostrum, antenne,
and legs; it was apparently an undescribed species of the genus T'alanthia,
Pascoe.

Mr. Nelson Richardson called attention to a paper by himself, in the
‘Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club,’ on
the subject of Dorset Lepidoptera in 1892 and 1893.

Mr. W. L. Distant communicated a paper “ On a probable explanation
of an unverified observation relative to the family Fulgoride.” In this
paper the author cited the expressed opinions of certain naturalists as to the
luminous properties of some species of this family. In the discussion which
ensued Mr. Blandford said he thought further evidence was required on the
subject of the alleged luminosity in the Mulgoride@ before the statements
contained in Mr. Distant’s paper could be accepted.

Mr. J.J. Walker, R.N., contributed “ A Preliminary List of the Butter-
flies of Hong-Kong, based on observations and captures made during the
winter and spring of 1892—1893.” Prof. Meldola commented on the
interesting character of the paper from an entomological point of view, and
the value of the observations therein on the geology, botany, and climate of
Hong-Kong.—H. Goss, Hon. Secretary.

~~?
oe ey A pe,

THE ZOOLOGIST
No. 223.—July, 1895.

PEMBROKESHIRE BIRDS IN 1608.
By Rev. Murray A. Maruew, M.A., F.L.S.

SrnceE the publication of my ‘ Birds of Pembrokeshire and its
Islands,* Mr. Henry Owen, B.C.L., F.S.A., has very kindly
forwarded to me Part I. of ‘The Description of Penbrokshire,’ +
by George Owen, of Henllys, Lord of Kemes, that he is editing
for the “ Cymmrodorion Record Series.” This very quaint and
interesting description of the county was published in 1603, and
contains a short chapter entitled ‘‘ Of abondance of foule that the
Country yeeldeth, and of the severall sortes thereof,’ ca. 16,
p. 128. I was alittle surprised to read that, in Queen Elizabeth’s
day, the Spoonbill, Platalea leucorodia, could be included among
the birds nesting in trees in this county, and consider that its
having anciently possessed breeding stations here accounts for
the persistency with which the birds at the present day pay visits
to their ancestral haunts; flocks (as related in my book) occa-
sionally still put in an appearance on the mud-flats adjacent to
Milford Haven, and are also not rare in the neighbouring county
of Cardigan on the river Dovey. The history given by the Lord
of Kemes of the abundance of the Woodcock in his day is pecu-
liarly amusing ; and his whole account of the ornis of the county
seems to be worthy to be subjoined in extenso. The editorial
footnotes are also valuable, and are given, although the identifi-

* Reviewed in ‘ The Zoologist,’ 1894, p. 437.

+ This is the old spelling of the name of the county, and is said to come
from two Welsh words, Pen “head” and broch ‘‘ foam,” descriptive of the
storm-vexed headlands of its coasts.

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—JULY, 1895. U

242 THE ZOOLOGIST.

cations of some of the old names of the birds are open to question.
It is doubtful if the name Whyniarde applies solely to the
Shoveller Duck, on which species, according to Swainson (Prov.
Names, p. 158), it is bestowed in Waterford. Winnard, in Corn-
wall, is the local name of the Redwing. Pilwater may be con-
nected with the west-country pill, the name given to a small
tidal creek ; and may be equivalent to pillcock, the Devonshire
name of the Redshank. See ‘The Zoologist’ for March last
(p. 106). In Welsh pil means equally a creek and something
that hovers, and from its latter meaning its connection is pro-
bably traced with the Shearwater. It is also doubtful if flushe=
“ fledged,” but rather “ full grown” or “in vigour,’ which it is
stated is its Shakesperian sense.

“Or ABONDANCE OF FOULE THAT THE COUNTRY YEELDETH,
AND OF THE SEVERALL SORTES THEREOF.” Ca: 16.

Haveinge spoken somewhat of the fishe taken in the Countrye
as one chiefe Comodytie of the same, yt standeth in Course next
to speake of the fowle, w yearely breedeth in, and haunteth
the land and sea shore w are not so diuerse in kinde, as
aboundant in multitude, and plentie, w“ is allmost incredible to
be reported ; and what plentie, and chepenes ys to be had at some
times and seasons, whereof some are found allwaies in season, as
the grouse, heathcocke, and woodquyst,* the Crane,t the beron-
shew, the gull kept, and fedd, the Curlew &c, some other are but
at seasons, as the woodcocke, the wild goose, wild ducke, bittur,
wilde swanne &c.

Guuues. But of all fowle, wee of Penbrokeshire claime in-
terest in two sortes chiefely, that is the gull, and the woodcocke,
for the great plentie wee assure our selves of yearely, the first
being our owne naturall, and natyve Countrye fowle breede
amonge vs, and for his good stomacke much of disposicion, w
the baser sort of labouringe people of some part of our Countrey
that are (truelie) slaundred{ with eating fyve meales a daye, and
in such aboundance, and plentie, that in their season, the townes

** The Wood Pigeon.
+ The Crane has left us; the heron, or heronshaw (properly young

heron), is still locally called the “long crane,”’
{ Slandered,

PEMBROKESHIRE BIRDS IN 1603. 243

& countrey about are verye plentifullie served therew; the chiefe
nurserie of this fowle is in small Ilandes, in the sea, and neere
the lande whereof I have made mention before in the 14 chapiter,
where I entreate of salte Ilands, where in Maye and June they
are found to breede in suche plentie, that you can hardlie walke
on the lande of some small Ilands wout treading on the Egges
in the nestes vpon the ground. These fowles breede allso in the
sea cliffes in great store, and are ripe about mydsomer, at w%
time they become flushe,* and are taken being readye to forsake
their nestes, and such as are flushe are followed wth boates, and
taken swymminge, not being able to flee, and a broght a land, and
are very dayntie meate :+ presentlie as soone as they are taken,
and wilbe fedd, and kept as a readye dishe all the yeare, over and
beside the provision, w the gentlemen and others of the sheere
doe make to serve their houses, there is great store sould into
England, and sought and sent for out of the inland shires, a
hundred miles and more.

Wooppcocr. Thewoodcocke, although he be not our countrye-
man borne, yet wee must needes thinke him to be of some affinitie
to manie of our countrie people, by reason of the love and kindenes
he sheweth in resortinge hither, first of all before other partes of
Wales, or England, and in more aboundance then ellswhere, and
stayeing longer wth vs than in anie other place, and if I maie in
sport suppose a cause thereof, let yt be, for that the people in
generall of this countrey are found to be of more playne meaninge,
simple, harmlesse, and farthest from Machiavill devises, or
bearinge highe and pryeing spyryttes; this fowle being noted
likewise for his symplicitie (of some called foolerye) yt maye be
guessed, he maketh choice rather to converse amonge these
people being neerest to his innocent, playne and symple humour,
according to the old Adage, Similis semilem sibi querit, but what-
soever the cause ys, wee are most beholding to him of all other
fowle, and first for his tymelie visitinge vs; Yf anie Easterly
winde be alofte, wee shalbe sure to have him a fortnight, & some-
times 3 weeke before Michaelmas, and for plentie yt is allmost
incredible, for when the chiefe time of haunte ys, wee haue more

* Fledged: To ‘ flush” a bird is to make it take wing.
+ Lewis, the great-grandfather of Fenton the historian of Pembrokshire,
says that in his day they would as soon think of eating Cormorants.
U2

244 j THK ZOOLOGIST. .

plentie of that kinde of foule onely, then of all other sortes layed
together, the chiefest plentyeys betweene Michaelmas and Christ-
mas, and in these three monethes he visiteth most houses, their
chiefe takinge is in cockeroades* in woodds, w* nettes erected
vp betweene two trees, where in cocke shoote tyme (as yt is
tearmed) w°' is the twylight, a litle after the breakinge of the
daye, and before the closinge of the night) they are taken, some-
tymes ij. iij. or iilj at a fall. I haue my selfe oftentimes taken vj
at one fall, and in one roade, at an eveninge taken xviij, and yt ys
no strange thinge to take a hundred or sixe score in one woodd
in xxiiij houres if the haunt be good, and much more hath
beene taken, thoughe not vsually. Ytis strange to thinke from
whence theis fowles shold come in such soddayne sorte, as they
are ffond to doe, for if there be not one seene, or to be founde in
the Countrye, if at any time, the Hast Southeast or Northeast
winde blowe could, and sharpe, this Countrey wilbe full w in
xij houres, and yet in the countries, w lye East of this not one
to be seene or found in amoneth after: then againe the nature of
the fowle ys not to flee in the daie tyme, nor in the night, but
reasteth all daye in the woodd, and all night abroad in the fieldes
feedinge, and onely fleeth one flight every evening out of the
woodd into the fields, and every morninge retourneth againe into
the woodd, and so resteth all daye, and all night, so that yt ys to
be marveiled, from whence they come, or where they breede; for
if they shold come from out of the Hasterne Countreys ; yt were
very likely they shold bee seene to flee by day or by night, w%
as I saied before ys against their nature: allso they shold be
found in those Countries wch lye EKasterly of this sheere, as ys
the Counties of Carmarthen, Brecknock, Cardigan, Radnor and

** Fenton (p. 6), in his eulogium on his great-grandfather, John Lewis,
says that he remembers three glades at Manarnawan used in his time for
catching Woodcocks in winter. And see our author’s account of the wood
of Pen Celli (cf. pp. 86, 101, above), quoted from a Bronwydd MS. by Fenton,
in ‘Cambrian Register,’ ii. 104 :—‘‘ Also there is in said wood 13 cock shots,
wherein is great store of Woodcocks taken yearly, which cock shots are the
Lord’s own,” &c. Shakespeare, Rich. III. v. 3, speaks of ‘‘ cock-shut time.”
Cock shut occurs commonly in the place-names of the parts of England that
border on Wales, and is not uncommon in parts of Wales itself. In at least
one case it has been Wallicized into Cocsyth. There is a place called Cock
road between the Hardington and Buckland Woods, about three miles N. of
the town of Frome,

wy tng MO sty, iy i Se

PEMBROKESHIRE BIRDS IN 160838. 245

Salop, in w= Countreyes yee shall hardlie finde any ij weekes or
a moneth after this Countrie ys filled with them: ffurther they
come not by one and one, or fewe, but at a soddaine all partes are
filled wth them, so that some men of Judgement are of opynion,
that they are to be nombred inter animalia imperfecta ; and that
they are engendred and raised by tiie meare HKasterlye winde of
some substance here in the Countrie; the like whereof you may

reade of diuerse other fowles and other wormes in Plynie.*

The Plentie of this, and other kinde of fowle hath beene such
in a hard wynter, as I haue hard a gentleman of good sort and
credytte report that he hath bought in St. Dauids, 1j woodcockes,
iij snipes, and certayne teales and black byrdes for a peny, and
suerly yt will not be beleeved in other places, what penyworthes
are hadd of fowle in this Countrye yearely.

Beside these two kindes of fowle, w wee accompte among
houshold fare, the countrye yeeldeth great store of other sortes
as the mounteines foster, the grouse, heathcocke, which are all-
waies in season, and the plover both grey and russett,t the sea
clyffes harbour the wylde pygeons, the dove house the tame; in
the bogges breedeth the crane, the byttur,} the wild ducke, and
teale, and diuerse others of that kynde; on highe trees the
heronshewes, the shovler,§ and the woodquistes ; the heronshewes
are allso found in many places of the sea clyffes but chiefely on
highe and stately trees, to w™ places they are quickely allured
by placeing of horsehead bones upon branches of trees, weh will
provoke them to like of the place ; where they breede they come
in companies, so as you shall haue in some places xij or xvj nestes
vpon a tree, they breede iij times in the yeare, if the yonge be
taken awaie, otherwise but once, they hatche first about Aprill
and Maye, and commonly bringe furth at the first sitting, 4.
3 the next, and lastlie. 2: yonge.

* For this curious theory of wind-eggs, ¢f. Varro, ‘De Re Rust.’ ii. 1.
Virgil (Georg. ili. 275) attributes similar powers to the west wind.

+ The Golden Plover.

{ This is the old form of the word (from Fr. buwtor). See ‘ Faerie
Queene,’ viii. 50. The Bittern as a breeding species has been improved off
the land by modern drainage, and is now only met with in winter.

§ The Shovelard, or Spoonbill (a wader). Sir Thomas Browne, writing
in 1668 ‘On Norfolk Birds,’ mentions it as common in his time, breeding
‘formerly at Claxton & Reedham ; now at Trimley in Suffolk,”

246 THE ZOOLOGIST.

In the field breedeth the Partridge, quaile, raile, lapwinge and
larke, and many other sorte of small byrdes, and in shrubbes,
groves and hedges breedeth the pheasant thoughe scarcely in this
Contrye. The Curlieue* contynueth allwayes in this Countrye,
yet never fond to breede, and they flee in small herdes together.
The Countrie yeeldeth allso diuerse other fowle, as wild geese,
Whyniardes,t the Puett,{ the Curlew knave,§ the gwylim, || the
Sheldrake, both sorts of dyvers or dippers, the pilwater,{/ the
Wigion, Cootes, w allso keep in Companies, sea pies and sea
crowes,** being most water fouies, beside the blacke bird, thrushe,
the wynter socke, the stare,}t the house and headge sparrowes,
the fynche, the bunten, all w°" shold haue beene seated{{ w*®
small birdes before. And as I ended my last chapter of fishe
w+ three strandge natured fishes, so lett me shutte vp this of
fowle w the like; of w I finde two, the one strange in
accompt, the other in nature; first of wis the Puffine, a bird
in all respectes bredd of byrdes of his kinde by layeing egges,
fethered & flieing wth other birdes in the ayre, and yet is reputed
to be fishe, the reason I cannot learne. But if I were so cere-
moniouse as to refrayne fleshe at seasons, I shold hardely adven-
ture to eate this fowle for fishe, yt is a water fowle lesser then the
ducke and lardger then the teale, footed and beaked like vnto
them, and breedeth on the Iland of St. Dauwids§§ and other like
places.

The second is the Barnacle a goodlie byrd in all respectes like
the wilde ducke, but much lardger, having head and foote like to
the ducke and ys in eatinge like yt allso. ‘This fatherlesse byrd
is bredd of noe parent, but engendred by secreat nature out of
some peece of tymber remayninge long in the sea, and at shippes
sides having remayned long in the salt water, out of w vpon
longe stringes or roapes shalbe seene x. xx. or xxx of these
byrdes growinge out of two shells, like muskle shells, where you
shall find some beginninge to appeere out of the shells, having
the perfect forme of a fowle, some more ripe, readie to fall of,

* The Curlew (Fr. cowrlieu), in Welsh (y) Gylfin-lir, corrupted in the
Vale of Dovey into Glyfeum.
+ Shoveller Duck. | Black-headed Gull. § The Whimbrel.
|| The Guillemot. {| The Manx Shearwater.
** Oystercatchers and Cormorants (called in Welsh morfran, mulfran),
++ The Fieldfare and Starling. ~ {} Set down. §§ Ramsey Island,

THE MAMMALIAN FAUNA OF CHESHIRE. 247

having winges, legges, and budds of feathers, hanging onely by
the bill, of these I haue seene manye, and as the people report
and verielie are perswaded, these be the Barnacles, for other
breedinge there is not found of them.*

THE MAMMALIAN FAUNA OF CHESHIRE.
By T. A. Cowarp anp CHARLES OLDHAM.

(Concluded from p. 221.)

Order Ceracea. —Fam. BALZNID&.

Megaptera bodps, Fab.; Hump-backed Whale.— A. young
female, 31 feet in length, was stranded on a sandbank in the
Mersey estuary, near Speke, on July 17th, 1863. It was
examined in the flesh by T. J. Moore, whose account of its
capture (‘ Naturalists’ Scrap-book,’ p. 103) was quoted in ‘ The
Zoologist’ for 1863, p. 8801. The skeleton is now in the
Brown Museum, Liverpool. Dr. J. E. Gray’s erroneous state-
ment that this specimen was captured in the Dee estuary (Proc.
Zool. Soc. 1864, p. 211) has been repeated in the second edition
of Bell’s ‘ British Quadrupeds,’ and elsewhere.

Family PuysErerip&.

Hyperoodon rostratus (Chemnitz); Common Beaked Whale;
Bottle-nosed Whale.—This species has occurred on the coast
more frequently than any of the other large cetaceans; and,
unless there has been some confusion and error with regard to
dates and localities, there are no less than nine distinct records.
An example, 24 feet in length and 12 feet in girth, was taken in
October, 1785, “‘in the recess of the river Dee below Chester”
(Pennant, quoted by C. Collingwood, ‘“‘ Historical Fauna of Lan-
cashire and Cheshire,” Proc. Liv. Lit. and Phil. Soc., vol. xviii.
1863-4, p. 163). One taken at the mouth of the Mersey at the
end of April, 1829. The skeleton was preserved in the Museum
of the Royal Institution, Liverpool (‘Loudon’s Magazine,’ vol. ii.
p- 391). One, 24 ft.in length and 13 ft. in girth, captured on the
East Hoyle Bank at the end of September, 1839 (Wm. Thompson,

* The old fable that the Bernicle Goose was produced from old ships
rotting in the ocean was refuted by Ray and Willughby in 1676 (Harris's
‘Travels,’ ed, 1764, ii. 669),

248 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Ann. Nat. Hist., lst series, vol. iv. 1840, p. 379, and vol. v.
1840, p. 361). Byerley records four occurrences: one on the Kast
Hoyle Bank, 1850; one at Little Meols about the year 1851; a
male, 21 ft. long, on the East Hoyle Bank, Aug. 25th, 1853. For
three weeks after the capture of the last-named specimen another
—supposed to be its mate—frequented the neighbourhood, but
was not secured. One, 24 ft. long, was stranded at Speke in
October, 1856. The skeleton is preserved in the Nottingham
Museum (T. J. Moore, ‘Report i. Liverpool Marine Biology
Committee,’ p. 142). One captured near Speke on Sept. 2nd, 1881
(T. J. Moore, Proc. Liv. Lit. and Phil. Soc., vol. xxxvi. 1881-2,
p: xix).
Family DELPHINIDA.

Phocena communis, F. Cuv.; Porpoise.— Byerley describes
this species as “ frequent in shoals during stormy and changeable
weather;” and Mr. Newstead says, ‘‘ Often occurs in the Mersey
below Eastham.” Moore states, in his list of Seals and Whales,
that a form “named by Dr. Gray P. tuberculifera, on account of
a series of short spiny processes on the front edge of the dorsal
fin, would appear to be not uncommon, for two specimens at least
had come under his observation in our district; namely, one
speared a quarter of a mile off the Rock Lighthouse, Feb. 7th,
1867, measuring 4 ft. 83 in., and another, 4 ft. 4 in., taken near
the Herculaneum Dock, Oct. 12th, 1881.”

Orca gladiator (Lacép.); Grampus.—A male, stated to have
been 25 ft. in length, was stranded at West Kirby on March 22nd,
1876. The purchaser of the carcase stated that in its death
agony the creature threw up a quantity of sea-fowls’ feathers
(T. J. Moore, Proc. Liv. Lit. and Phil. Soc., vol. xxx. 1875-6,
p. Ixxxv).

Lagenorhynchus albirostris (Gray); White-beaked Dolphin.—
A full-grown male of this species was stranded on the rocks at
Little Hilbre on Dec. 29th, 1862, and was secured by Mr. Barnett,
of Hilbre, for the Brown Museum, Liverpool. It lived eight
hours after it was taken from the water (T. J. Moore, Ann. and
Mag. of Nat. Hist., 3rd series, vol. 11. 1863, p. 236).

Delphinus delphis, L.; Common Dolphin.—This species has
been observed twice on the Cheshire coast. One was found on
the shore at New Brighton on Feb. 13th, 1879. The skeleton is
in the Brown Museum, Liverpool (T. J. Moore, Proc. Liv. Lit.

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS IN MID-WALES. Q49

and Phil. Soc., vol. xxxiii. 1878-9, p. Ixxii). Another was stranded
at West Kirby on Feb. 17th, 1893, and is preserved in the Brown
Museum, Liverpool. We are informed by the Rev. G. H. Staite,
of West Kirby (in lit.), that this example ‘‘ was stranded with
another much larger one, which had been so mutilated, evidently
by some mischievous person, as to be useless. The weather had
been stormy. ‘The Dolphin was taken, as the tide was receding
fast, off the south of West Kirby village. It was quite vigorous,
and lived till next day.”

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS IN MID-WALES.
By J. H. Saurer.
(Concluded from p. 224.)

FULICARIA.

Water Rain, Rallus aquaticus. Doubtless a common resi-
dent, though only noticed during the shooting-season, when many
are obtained.

SpotreD Crake, Porzana maruetta. Probably breeds spar-
ingly, as a few are always shot in September and October. Mr.
F. W. Fielden has met with five examples. There are three in
the possession of Capt. G. W. Cosens, and one at Gogerddan.

CorNcRAKE, Crex pratensis. Fairly numerous. An injured
bird has been known to stay the winter. 1892, May lst; 1898,
April 21st; 1894, April 21st.

Mooruen, Gallinula chloropus. Not numerous, as suitable
ponds and streams are scarce.

Coot, Fulica atra. Scarcely known as a resident, as lakes
with suitable covert are wanting. Occurs in winter on the
Dovey, and in flocks on the sea.

GAVLE.

Buack Tern, Hydrochelidon nigra. An example obtained by
Mr. Hutchings in spring, one of two which frequented a sheltered
inlet in front of the College.

Common Tern, Sterna fluviatilis. A passing migrant, seen
chiefly in May. Its appearance at the lakes in the hills is

regarded as a sign of bad weather. Breeds on the coast of

Anglesey, but apparently not on the shores of Cardigan Bay.

250 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Arctic Tern, S. macrura. Occurs with the last named.

Lirrtr Tern, S. minuta. Breeds in small colonies of from
two to twenty pairs at intervals along the Merionethshire coast.
On June 18th, 1894, I found six nests in the course of a few
minutes. One of the birds flew towards me, hovered, and alighted
upon its nest within fifty yards. The eggs are hatched about
July 3rd.

SaBINE’s GuuL, Xema sabinw. An example occurred after
three days of very rough weather, Oct. 17th, 1891. It is now
in the collection of Sir Vauncey Crewe at Calke Abbey.

Ivory Gutt, Pagophila eburnea. ‘Two occurrences at Aberyst-
wyth within the last thirty years, both the birds having passed
through the hands of Mr. Hutchings.

Kirtiwake, Rissa tridactyla. Invariably appears inshore
after rough weather. During exceptional storms many are beaten
down into the sea and drowned. Has no breeding station on the
Cardiganshire coast.

BuACcK:-HEADED Guu, Larus ridibundus. A common winter
gull, and almost equally numerous in summer, when many
remain on the Dovey, and are seen passing to and fro between
the river and the hills. I also found plenty at Barmouth at the
end of June, and on July 3rd saw two speckled young birds in
the river, so that there is probably a nesting-place somewhere
in the hills. A few pairs seem to have attempted to nest at
Mochras Island, as they noisily mobbed some visitors. Amongst
rushes I found what I supposed to be their nests, and picked up
an undoubted egg.

LirrLe Guu, L. minutus. Capt. G. W. Cosens saw an
example in mature plumage at Glandovey, and noticed the black
under side of the primaries. Two have occurred to Mr. Hutchings,
one of them during the storm of October, 1891, which brought
the Sabine’s Gull and Grey Phalaropes.

IceLaAnD Gutu, L. leucopterus. Not at all infrequent, but,
curiously enough, appears not to have occurred in Pembrokeshire.
After a very severe gale some years since Iceland Gulls were
plentiful off Aberystwyth. One, in immature plumage, obtained
at Borth about Nov. Ist, 1894.

Guiaucous Guut, L. glawcus. Mr. Hutchings has preserved
three or four, one of them a remarkably fine old bird. Once seen ~
by Mr. F. T. Fielden at Borth,

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS IN MID-WALES. o5%

GREAT BLACK-BACKED GULL, L. marinus. Chiefly seen about
the llyns or pools on the hills in March and April. A few pairs
may breed there. I have not found it nesting upon the Cardigan-
shire coast.

Lesser Buack-BackeD Gutut, L. fuscus. Not found nesting
upon the coast, but breeds upon the Teifi Bog, about twelve
miles from the sea. The colony, which was formerly larger,
numbers about fifty pairs. The nests are placed on slight
hillocks, generally in deep heather, the vicinity, with trampled
grass and scattered feathers, being suggestive of a goose-green.
The bog being preserved for Hares and Grouse, the Gulls are
subject to ceaseless persecution. Their castings contain bones
and fur, but they also fish the pools and streams. A new-born
puppy, which I found dead near the nests, had probably been
brought as an addition to the commissariat. On June 8th, 1892,
I found about sixty eggs, one nest containing four. Owing to
the eggs having been collected, only eight or ten young birds were
seen at that date.

Herrine Gutt, ZL. argentatus. The only gull which breeds
upon the Cardiganshire coast. Its colonies commence about six
miles south of Aberystwyth, and occur at intervals as far as Car-
digan Island, the largest settlement extending for about two miles
between Cwm Tydi and Ynys Lochtyn. On May 12th, 1894, the
nests upon the cliff between Aberaeron and New Quay all con-
tained the complement of three eggs, but these were probably
taken, as I found most of the birds sitting upon two eggs on
June 26th. Upon this date a few young ones were to be seen
upon the ledges, but none had yet gone down to the sea.

Common Gut, ZL. canus. Abundant in winter, feeding much
inland. On May 2nd, 1894, I saw a flock of about one hundred
and fifty, evidently collected previous to departure.

GREAT Sxua, Stercorarius catarrhactes. Of less common
occurrence than the two succeeding species. Mr. Hutchings only
recollects a single instance.

PoMATORHINE Sxkua, S. pomatorhinus. Most of the “ Fork-
tailed Skuas”’ reported from time to time are probably of this
species. Capt. G. W. Cosens has an example in immature
plumage.

Ricuarpson’s Sxua, 8S. crepidatus. Occurs from time to
time. An adult of the light race and an immature bird are pre-

252 THE ZOOLOGIST.

served at Gogerddan. At Borth, Mr. F. T. Fielden watched one
feeding on offal. It allowed him to approach within a dozen
yards, and remained for about ten days.

PyYGOPODES.

RazorBitu, Alca torda. Constantly to be seen fishing in the
bay, generally in company with the knots of Gulls which hover
and scream over a surface-swimming shoal. Many dead ones are
washed up in wiuter after continued rough weather. A few pairs
breed in company with Guillemots at New Quay Head.

Common GuituEmot, Uria troile. There is a small colony
upon the Craig yr Adar, or “‘ Birds’ Rock,” a part of New Quay
Head. This isthe only breeding station upon the Cardiganshire
coast. On June 26th, 1894, a few young ones were to be seen,
but most of the birds were still sitting.

Buiack Guiruemort, U. grylle. Mr. Hutchings only knows of
one example, a bird in summer plumage, shot in April some
miles out in the bay. |

LirtLe Aux, Mergulus alle. One or two obtained almost
every winter, generally washed ashore dead after rough weather.

Purrin, Fratercula arctica. Seldom seen inshore, unless
washed up, though no doubt common in the Channel. It has no
breeding station upon the Cardiganshire coast.

GREAT NortHeRN Diver, Colymbus glacialis. Frequent in
winter. One shot by Capt. G. W. Cosens was in the act of
swallowing a large trout.

BLACK-THROATED Diver, C. arcticus. Once in breeding
plumage. Immature birds are not infrequent.

RED-THROATED Diver, C. septentrionalis. Common in winter.
One seen on May 6th showed no red upon the throat. On April
5th, 1893, I saw parties of five and twelve fishing near together
in shoal- water.

GreAT CRESTED GREBE, Podicipes cristatus. Very seldom
obtained, and never met with in breeding plumage.

ScCLAVONIAN GREBE, P. auritus. A winter visitor, chiefly to
the Dovey, whence Capt. G. W. Cosens and Mr. F. T. Fielden
have obtained examples.

Lirr1Le Grese, P. fluviatilis. Common, especially in the
ditches at Borth.

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS IN MID-WALES, 2538

STEGANOPODES.

GanneET, Sula bassana. Those which occur are chiefly storm-
driven birds, washed up or found in fields some miles inland.

Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo. The Craig y Deryn, or
‘Bird Rock,” six miles from Towyn, is well known as an inland
breeding station of the Cormorant. Upon the steeper face of the
crag each whitened shelf or bracket-like projection supports a
nest or two. The old birds sail out from the upper ledges with
expanded wings and outstretched neck. Others, coming in from
fishing, whizz overhead, and greet the occupants of the nest, as
they land upon it, with a resonant bray. At the foot of the rock
are scattered nesting-materials, egg-shells, and fragments of trout
from the lakes and flat-fish from the sea. The young birds while
in the nest keep up a fretful, crooning noise. In August and
September they go down to the river below, where many are shot.
In 1894 there appeared to be about forty nests, and for the first ~
time a pair or two nested upon an outlying spur of the rock at a
much lower level than the rest. On Aug. 3lst two white-breasted
young birds were still upon the nesting-ledge. ‘The sitting birds,
when disturbed, have a habit of blowing out their pouches
menacingly. Upon the coast nearer to Aberystwyth, the Cor-
morant has several much-frequented perching-places, notably the
one just to the north of the town, but none appear to breed nearer
than Cwm Tydi, south of which point I found about a dozen
nests containing newly-hatched young ones on May 13th. There
is another small colony upon the cliff at Llangranog.

Suae, P. graculus. Seldom occurs at Aberystwyth, and does
not breed upon this part of the coast. It doubtless nests south
of New Quay, where there are caves and fissures exactly suited to
its requirements.

TUBINARES.

Fork-TAILED PETREL, Procellaria leucorrhea. Occasionally
occurs during rough weather. Mr. Hutchings has preserved a
fair number.

Storm Petrren, P. pelagica. Frequently seen or obtained
during westerly gales in autumn and winter. On Oct. 24th, 1894,
one was seen from the terrace amongst the crests of the waves
close inshore.

CoLLARED PetreL, Mistrelata torquata. The occurrence of

254 THE ZOOLOGIST.

this wanderer from southern seas near Borth about five years
since was recorded in ‘ The Zoologist’ (1890, p, 454).

Care PicEon, Daption capensis. I recognised an example of
this bird in the collection at Gogerddan, and was informed by Sir
Pryse Pryse that it was shot by one of his sons in 1879 on the
Dovey. Mr, Mathew, who records an example at Bournemouth
(Zool, 1894, p. 3964), tells me that this makes the third instance
of the occurrence of this Petrel upon the British coast.

Furmar, Fulmarus glaciahs. Mr. Hutchings believes that he
has had five or six examples. One of these, which I have seen,
was shot off the castle at the beginning of January, 1892.

Manx SHEARWATER, Puffinus anglorum. Common in the
Channel, but seldom seen inshore unless washed up after rough
weather. On May 15th, and again on June 17th, 1893, both
still and sultry nights, I heard its unmistakable note from the
terrace at Aberystwyth. The birds were evidently hawking to
and fro very near inshore.

ANSERES.

GREYLAG GooskE, Anser cinereus. Of rare occurrence at the
present day. At the end of December, 1892, a frost, which
lasted for about three weeks, caused a most unusual visitation of
Wild Geese to the Dovey. Capt. G. W. Cosens received a Grey-
lag, one of three shot from a flock of nine by General White’s
gamekeeper close to Glandovey. Mr. Pryse, of Lodge Park,
obtained one about the same time, probably a member of the
same party.

Bran Goose, A. segetum. Shot by Mr. Pryse early in January,
1893, during the spell of cold weather just alluded to.

Pink-FooTED Gooss, A. brachyrhynchus. §1x are said to have
been shot by Mr. Pryse at the same time as the last. One of
them is preserved at Lodge Park in a case with a White-fronted
Goose, the latter being another memento of the same frost. I
have made careful enquiry into this occurrence, as the present
species seems to be a rare straggler to the western coast.

WHITE-FRONTED Goose, A. albifrons. A small flock of about
thirty visits the Teifi Bog every winter. In 1892 they stayed till
the beginning of May. One or two are generally shot, and in
1892-93 five were thus obtained. Capt. G. W. Cosens has a
specimen from this bog. Col. Fielden obtained one on the
Dovey, Dec. 2lst, 1890, There is another from the same locality

9 i I ie

OBSERVATIONS ON BIRDS IN MID-WALES. 253

at Gogerddan, shot during the great frost of January, 1855;
while others occurred to Mr. Pryse in January, 1893, one of
them, a fine gander, being preserved at Lodge Park.

Brent Goose, Bernicla brenta. Visits the Dovey every winter.
On Jan. 9th, 1893, I saw two parties, numbering in all about
thirty.

BeErnicLE Goose, B. leucopsis. I have heard of no recent
occurrence, but there were some in the Dovey during the Crimean
winter of 1854-55.

Wuooper, Cygnus musicus. Swans are frequently reported,
but the majority of them certainly belong to the next species.
Mr. Hutchings has had several Whoopers, and a case at Nanteos
contains two which were killed by Col. Powell on the Teifi Bog
in the winter of 1854-55.

Bewicx’s Swan, C. bewicki. Seen or obtained during every
hard frost. Mr. F’. T. Fielden saw eleven in the Dovey on
March 2nd, 1890; parties of two and eight respectively in 1893,
besides a large flock, which he could not count, flying past Aber-
dovey out to sea. In January, 1893, Capt. G. W. Cosens, of
Llanbadarn, noted a flock of eight flying low over his house up
the Rheidol Valley. About the same time a flock of forty-two
remained for some days upon one of Sir Pryse Pryse’s lakes. A
pair of Mute Swans kept upon the same pool easily put the whole
of them to flight. They used to take wing one by one with
musical clamour.

Keyprian Goose, Chenalopex egyptiacus. A fine example of
this introduced species was shot in 1892 from a small flock which
was passing up the coast.

SHELDRAKE, T'adorna cornuta. Very numerous in the Dovey
and Barmouth rivers, and increasing, as Mr. F. T. Fielden in-
forms me. ‘The fishermen used frequently to get their nets round
a whole brood, but the practice has been stopped by one or two
prosecutions. Breeds in the warren at Borth, and along the
greater part of the Merionethshire coast, especially about Mochras
Island. Where the Cambrian line skirts the Dovey flocks of
from twenty to thirty may constantly be seen from the train, and
in June pairs of old birds with their broods may be noted within
afew yards. On April 9th, 1894, there were not less than two
hundred Sheldrakes in the river between Glandovey and the sea.
On July 3rd, 1893, I noticed two old birds in charge of twenty-

256 THE ZOOLOGIST.

two young ones, but this was doubtless due to an amalgamation
of broods. On May 9th, 1893, at Wallog, eggs were found in a
burrow at the top of the cliff, a situation which seemed better
suited to a Jackdaw.

WicEon, Mareca penelope. Large flocks appear upon the
Dovey at intervals all through the winter. They get unsettled
about the first week in March, preparatory to departure.

GARGANEY, Querquedula circia. An example shot upon the
Teifi Bog about twenty years since is preserved at Crosswood.
Mr. Hutchings has received another more recently.

TEAL, Q. crecca. Occurs on the Dovey in flocks of thirty or
less. Breeds on the Teifi and Borth bogs, and probably sparsely
in other localities.

Pintatt, Dajila acuta. An occasional visitor to the Dovey
from October to March. Mr. F. T. Fielden has obtained four
examples.

Wiup Duck, Anas boscas. Common; breeding chiefly upon
the lowland bogs, but sparingly in suitable spots upon the hills.

GapDwaLL, Chaulelasmus streperus. One obtained by Mr. F.
T. Fielden upon the Dovey, Dec. 6th, 1889.

SHOVELLER, Spatula clypeata. Obtained not uncommonly,
generally upon the Dovey, whence there is a drake in fine
plumage at Gogerddan. Mr. F. T. Fielden saw a flock of five on
Dec. 9th, 1890.

PocuarD, Fuligula ferina. Occurs irregularly and in small
numbers. |

Turrep Duck, F. cristata. Small flocks of six or eight visit
the Dovey at times.

Scaup, F. marila. Upon the Dovey occurs chiefly in small
flocks in October, though single birds are met with later.

Scorer, Gidemia nigra. In flocks upon the sea off Aberystwyth
from November to March.

VELVET Scorer, 2. fusca. Mr. F. T. Fielden has met with
one example at Borth.

GoLDENEYE, Clangula glaucion. <A few are seen most winters
upon the Dovey, and several have occurred upon inland pools.
Mr. F. T. Fielden has only once noted an adult male.

Lone-TAILED Duck, Harelda glacialis. An occasional visitor
to the Dovey, but decidedly scarce. Two examples obtained by
Mr. F. T. Fielden. Qne was shot in the winter of 1893-94 upon
Nanteos Lake.

HEPATIC PLUMAGE OF THE CUCKOO. 257

Smew, Mergus albellus. A few occurrences, chiefly of females
or immature birds, have been noted. There is an adult male in
full plumage at Nanteos.

GoosaANDER, M. merganser. A few are seen most winters,
chiefly upon the Dovey. Mr. F. T. Fielden has once met with

the adult drake.

Rep-BREASTED Meraanser, M. serrator. Visits the Dovey
in small flocks. Several are obtained every winter.

It will be seen that, omitting introduced species, the foregoing
list enumerates 209 Cardiganshire birds. Of these the Lesser
Whitethroat and Tree Sparrow must be regarded as doubtful.
Mr. Mathew is able to include 229 authenticated species in his
Pembrokeshire list, the presence of the greater number being
explained by the more favourable position of that county as
regards stragglers from the south.

I am indebted to Mr. Hutchings, of Aberystwyth, for much
information as to the birds which have passed through his hands
during the thirty years in which he has been in business as a
taxidermist.

ON THE “HEPATIC” PLUMAGE OF THE CUCKOO,
CUCULUS HEPATICUS, Sparrman.

By tar Eprror.

In the month of April last a hen Cuckoo in the rufous stage
of plumage characteristic of immaturity was shot by a game-
keeper in the grounds of Beech-hill Park, Waltham Abbey, and
the following morning it was placed in my hands for inspection
by Mr. Rowland Ward, of 166, Piccadilly, to whom it had been
forwarded for preservation. JI had thus an opportunity of
examining it carefully before it was skinned, and of noting the
following description of it.

In general appearance it resembled a female Kestrel (Tinnuu-
culus), for which it seems to have been at first mistaken by the
person who shot it. The dorsal plumage (including the entire
head from base of bill, and nape) was of a cinnamon colour,
each feather with three or more bars of brownish black; rump
uniform cinnamon colour without any barring. ‘Tail-feathers
ten, graduating from the centre pair, which are the longest,

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—JULY, 1895. x

258 THE ZOOLOGIST.

for the greater part cinnamon, broadly barred towards the
extremities with black, and tipped with white; immediately above
the broad bar a few narrower incomplete bars across a portion of
both webs (most conspicuous in the two outer rectrices on each
side) alternating with white spots along the shaft; the two cen-
tral rectrices being only faintly barred towards the extremities.
Remiges ten, the third the longest in the wing, dusky black with
numerous cinnamon-coloured spots on both webs; those on the
inner webs converging into white spots extending to the outer
margin of the web.

Chin, throat, sides of face, neck, and upper portion of breast
dusky white, each feather with two crescentic narrow bands of
black. Lower portion of breast, and rest of under parts pure
white, transversely barred with black; vent nearly white; under
tail-coverts white, with narrow black V-shaped markings. Under
wing-coverts white with narrow transverse black lines. Baill
horn-colour, yellow at base; inside of mouth, tarsi, and toes
orange-yellow. Ivrides yellowish brown.

On dissection the bird proved to be a female, but with no
marked development of the ovaries.

This peculiar phase of plumage in the Cuckoo has been long
known and described by several continental writers, but is of
such infrequent occurrence in England as to deserve some notice
when met with. So long ago as 1778, Sparrman figured an
example in his ‘Museum Carlsonianum,’ Fase. ii. pl. 55, under
the name Cuculus hepaticus. In 1802, Bechstein, in his ‘ Ornitho-
logisches '‘l'aschenbuch,’ described it as Cuculus rufus (Theil i.
p. 84). As from what follows it will be seen that there is a
difference of opinion as to whether it is a young bird before or
after its first moult, it nay be well to quote here Bechstein’s de-
scription, which is as follows :—

“Rothbrauner Kuckuck (C. rufus, mihi). Braunroth mit
schwarzen Queerstreifen; der Schwanz rothbraun, mit breiten
winklichen schwarzen Queerstreifen.

“‘Variirt in der Farbe; denn das Weibchen ist minder regel-
massig gezeichnet, und auf dem rothbraunen Rucken schwirzlich
und weiss gesprenst.

‘““Anmerk. Hs hat mir immer geschienen, als wenn dieser
Vogel eine besondere Art sey; Andere geben ihn aber fiir eine
blosse Farben-varietat aus, und zwar fiir ein junges Weibchen.”

:
;
i

» maa he yi

HEPATIC PLUMAGE OF THE CUCKOO. 259

Here we may note that from the expression “reddish brown
back speckled with blackish and white,’ that Bechstein was
describing a young bird in the nestling plumage, in which we
are accustomed to see it in late summer and early autumn—
that is, before it quits this country, and before it has moulted.
For the specimen which I have just examined, and which I
take to be the Cuculus hepaticus of Sparrman, but not the Cuculus
rufus of Bechstein, has no white spots on the back, the dorsal
plumage being, as above stated, of a cinnamon colour, each
feather with three or more bars of brownish black, and the rump
of a uniform cinnamon colour without any barring.

Latham, in his ‘Index Ornithologicus,’ 1790 (vol. i. p. 215),
followed Sparrman (op. cit.) in treating it as a distinct species
from Cuculus canorus, and his description contains no mention
of white spots on the dorsal region.

Naumann, in his ‘ Vogel Deutschlands,’ 1826, has figured a
red Cuckoo (vol. y. pl. 128, fig. 2) with the bill black, and yellow
at the base, which he characterises as a female in the second year
(2 zweydhrig) of Cuculus canorus.

Amongst others of the older writers who have referred to this
red phase of plumage may be mentioned Gmelin, Syst. Nat. (1788),
1. p. 409; Le Vaillant, ‘ Oiseaux d’Afrique,’ v. pl. 201; Retzius,
‘ Fauna Suecica,’ 1800 (p.100,no.51); and Nilsson, ‘ Ornithologia
Suecica, 1817 (i. p. 119, no. 58), who at that date felt persuaded
that it could not be the plumage of the young bird of the year.
But see ‘ Scand. Fauna,’ pl. 66.

Temminck, who has devoted several pages to a consideration
of Le Coucou roux, ou le Cuculus hepaticus des méthodes (Man.
d’Orn. 1820, Partie lre, pp. 383—388), states that, according to
his observations, it is merely the common grey Cuckoo in its
second year (p. 384), and further on he expresses the opinion
(p. 385) that the Cuculus hepaticus of Sparrman is the young
“a year old” of the common Cuckoo. It is to be presumed from
this that he means ‘after it has once moulted,” for he draws a
distinction between the young bird in its first plumage and the
so-called ‘‘ Coucou roux (non point les jeunes de l’année qui sont
aussi roussatres, mais le Cuculus hepaticus”’), which he says is
very common in the south, beyond the Alps, throughout Italy,
and in Eastern Europe, where the grey Cuckoo is rare. “In
early spring,” he says, ‘‘I have often followed for hours pairs

x 2

260 THE ZOOLOGIST.

of these red Cuckoos [suggestive of their breeding before they
acquire the adult plumagej, and in the month of April I have
seen a great many in the markets of Italian towns, indifferently
males and females, the grey birds very rarely, or not at all.”
He adds :—‘‘ Every one knows that in spring only grey Cuckoos
are found in the north, but amongst them are sometimes seen
individuals of a pale reddish tinge. That our Cuckoo should be
red during the first year of its life is not so strange when we
consider that it is reddish in its earliest stage, and that it
emigrates in this first plumage.”

Varying his phraseology, Temminck has also expressed his
views on this subject as follows (op. cit. p. 883) :—‘ The bird
to which naturalists refer under the name Coucou roux seems to
me to be nothing more than another phase of the Coucouw gris,
probably the same bird a year old. Several naturalists have mis-
taken the young Cuckoo for the Coucou roux, because the plumage
of the young always shows slight traces of rufous bars. Others
have supposed the Coucow roux to be the female of the grey bird,
but they are equally mistaken, for there is no difference in the
plumage of the sexes. Several red Cuckoos which I have dis-
sected were males.”

This statement appears to have been generally overlooked by
subsequent writers on the subject. Mr. Seebohm, for example,
in his ‘ British Birds’ (vol. 11. pp. 8384-385), after correctly de-
scribing the nestling plumage as having the “ upper parts barred
with chestnut and tipped with white,” adds that “after the first
spring moult the difference between the sexes is much greater ;
the male loses nearly all the chestnut on his plumage, but retains
the white edges to the feathers; whilst the female moults into
what is called the ‘hepatic’ stage, in which the chestnut is
increased in brilliancy, and the white edges to the feathers dis-
appear.” ‘T’his, at least, Mr. Seebohm infers to be the case |
from an examination of a large series of skins; but that this view
requires modification is evident from Temminck’s statement that
several red Cuckoos which he himself dissected were males.

Mr. Seebohm further remarks (op. cit. p. 385) that ‘“‘ these
females just entering their second year do not breed,” although
Temminck asserts that in early spring he has often followed for
hours pairs of red Cuckoos.

The nestling plumage of the Cuckoo has been accurately de-

HEPATIC PLUMAGE OF THE CUCKOO. 261

scribed by many other authors, amongst them by Selby and by
Yarrell, and yet on one point these two authors are at variance.
Selby remarks (Ill. Orn. vol. i. p. 401) :—‘‘ The young females
have more of the reddish brown disposed over their plumage, and
have little or no appearance of the white patch upon the forehead
and hind part of the head. In this plumage, and till after the
second moult, they answer to Cuculus hepaticus.”

From Professor Newton’s statement of the case in the fourth
volume of Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’ (vol. i. p. 407) we are led to
infer that in the plumage described by Selby the bird is Cuculus
rufus, and that the term hepaticus is applicable to the nest-
ling stage. I am inclined to consider Selby’s view the more
correct. The subject is a puzzling one, and it is complicated by
Temminck’s notion that rufus and hepaticus indicate one and the
same phase of plumage, which is not the nestling stage, but a
stage intermediate between that and the adult plumage.

We have then to consider what change takes place in a young
Cuckoo between its leaving this country in autumn and returning
to us in the following spring. Does it moult twice in seven
months, between September and April, 7. ¢., first from the nest-
ling plumage into the hepatic stage, and secondly from the latter
into the adult grey plumage ? This does not seem likely. It is
more probable that the hepatic condition is reached without any
moult, merely by the growth of the feathers and gradual wearing
off of their tips in autumn,* and then by a moult of the hepatic
plumage in the succeeding spring the adult plumage is assumed.
In this way only does it seem possible to account for a pheno-
menon hitherto unexplained. If this view be correct, a red Cuckoo
in England in April will be one that has completed on the Con-
tinent its nestling or first year’s plumage (which it does not stay
leng enough to do in this country), but which has not gone
through the spring moult that would transform it into the grey
plumage of the adult bird. Just such a bird as this was shot in
April under Mount Lebanon by Mr. Cochrane. Canon Tristram,
in a paper on the Birds of Palestine (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1864,
p. 432), described it with diffidence as a new species, Cuculus
libanoticus, chiefly on the ground that, having been obtained in

* See Meves, ‘ On the Change of Colour in Birds through and irrespective
of Moulting”’ (Zool. 1879, pp. 81—89).

262 THE ZCOLOGIST.

April, it could not be a bird of the year; but it apparently did
not occur to him that it might have been a bird of the previous
year which had not yet moulted.

Examples in this hepatic plumage are of rare occurrence in
England, for the reason that young Cuckoos, after leaving this
country, moult in their winter quarters before returning to their
summer haunts.

Mr. Dresser, who has naturally referred to this subject in his
‘ Birds of Kurope’ (vol. v. p. 200), but who like others is in error
in supposing that the hepatic plumage is confined to the female
Cuckoo, describes one (which happened to be a female) shot by
Mr. W. T. Blanford near Shiraz, in Persia, in May, 1870; and
another in his collection that was obtained at Hampstead, also in
the month of May, ‘‘in change between this plumage and the
grey dress of the adult bird.”

Messrs. Gurney and Fisher have recorded the occurrence of
a red Cuckoo on the 5th of May at Letton, in Norfolk,* and sub-
sequently it appears that a second example came under Mr.
Gurney’s notice in the same county.t

One shot at Doddington, in Kent, about 1850, is preserved in
the Cambridge Museum, and is noticed by Prof. Newton in his
article on the Cuckoo, published in September, 1881, in the 4th
edition of Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’ (vol. ii. p. 407).

So long ago as 1866, in the first book which I ventured to
publish, viz., ‘The Birds of Middlesex,’—the precursor of so
many county avifaunas,—I remarked upon the rarity in this
country of what I then supposed to be adult Cuckvos in the
reddish-brown plumage. ‘I'wo examples then known to me were
supposed to be adult because they had been obtained in spring,
and because, strange to say, one of them was reported to have
been observed in the same neighbourhood for three summers, and
the other for five or six. At the present time this strikes me as
an extraordinary statement to have made, though I well remember
that it was so made on the authority of an excellent ornithologist,
the late Frederick Bond.{ Since that date until the present time
I have never seen another example of a red Cuckoo obtained in

* « Account of Birds found in Norfolk” (Zool. 1846, p. 1815).
+ Stevenson, ‘ Birds of Norfolk,’ vol. i. p. 809.
{ See the memoir of him (Zool. 1889, pp. 401-422),

MEMOIR OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY. 263

spring; but strange to say, the specimen which has just been
received by me from Bishops Waltham, Essex, was forwarded
with the information that “it was there last season as well as this,
and was often heard to sing ‘ cuckoo.’”

To explain these three cases we must assume either that the
Cuckoo, from some unknown cause, may live for several years
without moulting, which is not likely; or that it is dimorphous
like the Crow ;* or again, that observers, on seeing red Cuckoos
year after year in the same locality, must have been mistaken in
supposing that they were the same individual birds which had
returned to their former haunts. Of course, if they were not the
same birds, we are forced to the conclusion that red Cuckoos in
Spring are not so rare as has been commonly supposed.

Referring again to what I wrote in 1866 of the only two
examples then known to me, I find the remark, ‘‘ They were both
females, and I believe an adult male of this colour has never been
obtained.” Evidently at that date I had not read Temminck’s
statement that he had dissected red Cuckoos of both sexes, nor
were Messrs. Dresser and Seebohm, apparently, aware of this
fact when they published their respective works. Verily we live
to learn.

MEMOIR OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY.

Wirz the departure from our midst of the Rt. Hon. Thomas
Henry Huxley, LL.D., F.R.S., a shining light has gone out in
the world of science. On the 29th June, at Eastbourne, he
passed peacefully away, in the 70th year of his age. His death
cannot be said to have been unexpected, for the state of his health
for some time past had been such as to cause grave anxiety to his
friends. arly in the year he had been stricken with influenza,
and complications followed affecting the kidneys and heart, from
which it soon became evident there was but little hope of recovery.
Conscious to the last, he set a brave example of that composure
and fortitude whichis never more impressive than when displayed
by one who is conscious of his approaching end.

For the last ten years he may be said to have practically
retired from active life, having been compelled in 1885, through

** Cf. Newton, in Yarrell’s ‘British Birds,’ vol, ii. p. 274,

264 THE ZOOLOGIST.

ill heath, to resign all his public appointments ; though so recently
as May, 1893, he delivered the second ‘‘ Romanes Lecture” at
Oxford, and from time to time contrived to keep in touch with
public life by the occasional utterance of an after-dinner speech,
or the publication of a magazine article on some topic of the day.
In one of the healthiest parts of the south of England he at length
sought that quietude and repose which most men look for, or at
least hope for, towards the close of life, and in the use of books,
the cultivation of flowers, and the society of friends, he found a
daily source of enjoyment. His busy mind, however, would not
allow him to remain long idle, as he would term it, and we believe
that at the time of his death he had in preparation an essay on
‘ Saxifrages,” to which plants he had for some time previously
been paying close attention. For, although not a professed
botanist, Prof. Huxley upon occasion wrote ably upon botanical
subjects ; witness his paper upon ‘‘ Gentians,” published in the
‘Journal of the Linnean Society’ (vol. xxiv. 1887, pp. 101-124),
and his Lecture at the Royal Institution upon the Border-land
between Animals and Plants. Few men have worked harder to
gain a reputation in the scientific world; few have more ably
earned it.

The son of a schoolmaster at Ealing, where he was born in
May, 1825, he had but a brief school career, and had early to
decide upon a profession. His inclination, he used to say, was
to become a mechanical engineer, but it was thought better for
him to apply himself to medicine. Having gone through a course
of study at the Charing Cross Hospital Medical School, he
graduated M.B. at the University of London in 1845, and
qualified himself, in 1846, to act as a surgeon in the navy by
becoming M.R.C.S. He used to declare in after years that
the only part of his professional course that really interested
him was the physiology—‘“‘ the mechanical engineering of the
living machines.’ It was at Haslar, when acting as assistant-
surgeon, that Huxley came under the influence of Sir John
Richardson, the famous Arctic traveller and naturalist, and to
this association may perhaps be attributed his subsequent aban-
donment of physic for physiology. His first appointment as
assistant-surgeon on board ship was to the ‘ Rattlesnake,’ which
was ordered by the Admiralty to make a survey of the Barrier
Reef on the eastern coast of Anstralia, and also to explore the

oll i a

MEMOIR OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY. 265

sea between that reef and New Guinea and the Louisiade Archi-
pelago. Just as Darwin’s chance of distinguishing himself in
science came to him when he was appointed as naturalist on
board the ‘ Beagle’ in her voyage round the world, so Huxley’s
post on the ‘ Rattlesnake’ served as his introduction to scientific
fame.

It was by his careful and minute study of the marine animals
which were collected in the far-off seas visited by the vessel of
which he was surgeon that he established the scientific reputation
so early begun. His observations on the anatomy and affinities
of the Meduse and other marine forms appeared from time to
time in the publications of the Royal and the Linnean Societies,
and the Ray Society issued his important work on ‘ Oceanic
Hydrozoa.’ It was not till 1850 that his four years’ voyage
ended, and when it did there also ended Huxley’s connection
with the Royal Navy. In order to devote himself to science
he resigned his position, and set himself vigorously to the work
of arranging and tabulating the facts which he had accumulated
during the voyage.

In 1851 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society; in
1852 received one of the Society’s Royal Medals; and in 18538
published, in the volume of the Society’s ‘ Transactions,’ a
memoir on ‘‘ The Morphology of the Cephalous Mollusca.” Up

to this time his scientific labours had been carried on upon

but slender pecuniary resources, but in 1854 he was appointed
to a Government position as Professor of Natural History and
Paleontology in the Royal School of Mines, succeeding Prof.
Edward Forbes in the chair. He was also given the curatorship
of the fossil collections in the Museum of Practical Geology.

In course of time he became Fullerian Professor of Physi-
ology at the Royal Institution, and Hxaminer in Physiology and
Comparative Anatomy to the London University. As Croonian
Lecturer to the Royal Society, to which post he was elected in
1858, he chose for his subject, “* The Theory of the Vertebrate
Skull.” Jointly with Professor Tyndall, he was the author of
‘Observations on Glaciers,’ a work resulting from a visit paid by
the two friends to Switzerland in 1856. Vertebrate morphology
and paleontology, however, were the subjects which chiefly
engaged his attention in these years, and by his works on these
subjects he will always be best remembered,

266 THE ZOOLOGIST.

In 1858 he was elected a Fellow of the Linnean Society, and
was one of the earliest recipients of the Gold Medal which was
founded to commemorate the centenary anniversary of that
Society. In 1862 his fame as a biologist led to his election as
President of Section D of the British Association, and eight
years later he was elected President of the Association itself.
In 1872 he became Lord Rector of Aberdeen University. After
serving for some years on the Council of the Royal Society, he
acted as Secretary to that learned body from 1872 to 1881,
and in 1883 was elected President, which distinguished position
he held until 1885. His eminence as a representative of science
in this country was acknowledged by his Sovereign, when in 1892
he was made a Privy Councillor, and thus became entitled to be
addressed as Right Honourable.

Nor were foreign nations slow to recognise his extraordinary
talents. The honour of being a Corresponding Member of the
French Academy of Sciences in the subjects of anatomy and
zoology fell to him in 1879; and it may be mentioned as proof of
the world-wide spread of his reputation, that honorary degrees of
one kind or another were conferred on him by the universities
and scientific societies in most of the principal cities of HKurope
and America, the United States showing its agreement in our
English estimate of his abilities by electing him a Foreign
Member of its National Academy.

As pointed out by Prof. Haeckel (‘ Nature,’ ix. p. 258), he has
made us better acquainted with several interesting members of the
class Vermes; Sagitta, Lacinularia, and some lower Annulosa.
“* He was the first to point out the affinities of Echinodermata with
Vermes. In opposition to the old view that they belong to the
Radiata, and on account of this radial type are to be classed with
corals, meduse, &c., he showed that the whole organisation of the
former is essentially different to that of the latter, and that the
echinoderms are more nearly related morphologically to worms.
Further, he has essentially enlarged our knowledge of the im-
portant group of Tunicata by his researches on the Ascidians,
Appendicularia, Pyrosoma, Doliolum, Salpa, &c.

‘Many important advances in the morphology of the Mollusca
are also due to him. ‘hus, ¢.g., he has greatly elucidated the
controverted subject of the homology of regions of the body in
the Mollusca, But it is the comparative anatomy and classifica-

MEMOIR OF PROFESSOR HUXLEY. 267

tion of the Vertebrata which he especially studied and advanced.
His excellent ‘Lectures on Comparative Anatomy,’ ‘ Ele-
mentary Physiology,’ ‘Introduction to the Classification of
Animals,’ and ‘ Anatomy of Invertebrate Animals,’ afford abun-
dant proof of this, to say nothing of his numerous important
monographs on living and extinct fishes, amphibians, reptiles,
birds, and mammals.”

In one only of the many appointments which he held did he
fail to shine. This was the Inspectorship of Salmon Fisheries,
which he applied for and secured on the death of Frank Buck-
land. For this post he was unsuited, possessing none of the
instincts of the out-of-door naturalist * or fisherman, and having
therefore little appreciation of the requirements needed in the
way of fishery legislation, and the best way of amending it.
Nor had he even that indispensable acquaintance with the Salmon
in all stages of its existence, all known by various local names,
which cannot be learnt from ‘“‘ spirit specimens,” and which was
possessed, for example, by the late Surgeon-Major Francis Day
(Zool. 1889, p. 806), who was also a candidate for the post, and
who from his practical knowledge of the subject would have made
a far better Inspector of Fisheries. Toa manof Prof. Huxley’s
calibre the uncongenial nature of the duties attaching to the office,
and the long railway journeys necessitated by periodical inspec-
tions in distant parts of the country, soon became burdensome,
and it was therefore not long before he resigned the appoint-
ment, although not until he had prepared a valuable report, with
the aid of Mr. George Murray, on the nature of that troublesome
disease in Salmon, Saprolegnia. His monograph on the Crayfish
also (Internat. Sci. Series, 1880) marked this epoch in his life.

Perhaps the most noteworthy fact in Prof. Huxley’s career is
that he did more than any other man to uphold and promulgate
the doctrine of evolution. It was in 1858 that Charles Darwin
and Alfred Russel Wallace simultaneously laid their great theory
of ‘Natural Selection’ before the Linnean Society, and in the

* He said of himself:—‘‘I am afraid there is very little of the genuine
naturalist inme. I never collected anything, and species work was always
a burden tome. WhatI cared for was the architectural and engineering
part of the business, the working out of the wonderful unity of plan in the
thousands and thousands of the diverse living constructions and the modifi-
cations of similar apparatuses to serve diverse ends,”

268 THE ZOOLOGIST.

November of the following year Darwin’s ‘Origin of Species’
was published. The effect of the speculations and conclusions
of that great naturalist on Prof. Huxley was immediate and pro-
found, as may be seen from his appreciative remarks in the
‘Westminster Review’ for April, 1860. At the present day
it is difficult to realise what a revolution in the world of
thought was caused by the new doctrine. To most theologians
it was irreligious. To many men of science it was a seductive
fallacy. Owen, the doyen of English anatomists, never adopted
it. The French naturalists would have none of it. Very few of
the most eminent British savants gave it a whole-hearted aceept-
ance, but foremost amongst these was Huxley, who to the last
remained steadfastly the champion of ‘* Darwinism.”

His wide reading, clear thinking, and vigorous writing made
him a formidable controversialist, and it has been well observed
of him by a recent writer that his success in life is striking proof
of the predominance of the literary faculty. It was his clear
philosophic reasoning and that literary gift which Darwin so
greatly envied that made him the potent personality he was to
his contemporaries, and will ever be to posterity.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

MAMMALIA.

The Marten and Polecat in Wales.—On Jan. 24th an adult Marten
was sent to Mr. Hutchings, of this town, for preservation. It was obtained
near Llanberis. and is now in the possession of Mr. J. W. Wyatt, of Hast
Court, Wells. A younger example, not full grown, was received from the
same locality twelve months previously, both being trapped upon the same
property. As confirming what I have already stated as to the abundance
of the Polecat in this district, I may mention that fifteen examples were
captured during the first three months of the present year.—J. H. SaLreR
(University College, Aberystwyth).

Albino Shrew in Yorkshire.—On June 25th my friend Major
Arundel, of Ackworth, in the West Riding, sent me a beautiful white
specimen of the Common Shrew, Sorea araneus, which on the previous
day he had picked up dead on the road between Ackworth and Pontefract.
It is perfectly white, without a dark hair anywhere, and the eyes were
devoid of pigment. I was very much afraid at first that I should be unable

NOTES AND QUERIES. 269

to preserve it, as the hair was beginning to slip badly upon the abdomen ;
but setting to work with great care, it has turned out a very pretty little
specimen.— OxLEy GraBaam (F'laxton, York).

BIRDS.

Sale of Great Auk’s Egg,—Another egg of the Great Auk has lately
changed hands (vide antea, p. 193). On June 25th last, Mr. J. C. Stevens
offered for sale by auction in his well-known room in King Street, Covent
Garden, an egg of Alca impennis, from the collection of Baron Louis
d’Hamonville. The history of this egg as given in the Sale Catalogue is
as follows :— Lot 211. Egg of the Great Auk. Taken in Iceland about
1830 by a shipowner of St. Malo, who bequeathed it to the Comte Raoul
de Baracé, whose collection was purchased by the Baron d’Hamonville.
This specimen (slightly cracked), which in colouring and texture is unique,
was figured in the ‘ Mémoires’ of the Société Zoologique de France, 1888
(pl. vi. fig. c), and additional uotes on its history appeared 1n the ‘ Bulletin’
of the same Société in 1891.”

Mr. Symington Grieve, in his work on the Great Auk, referring
(Appendix, p. 25) to the three eggs of this bird in the collection of the
Comte de Baracé at Angers, states that they came ‘“ from Iceland by way
of St. Malo, some time before 1837”; but, according to his own showing
(op. cit. p. 104), one of them seems to have been procured in Paris by the
Abbé Vincelot of Angers, from whom it was purchased by the Comte de
Baracé, who obtained another of them from Fairmaire of Paris. What
authority there is for fixing the date of the third example (which according
to the recent sale catalogue was ‘‘taken in Iceland about 1830”) is not
stated, nor is any evidence afforded that the finder was a shipowner of
St. Malo. The French expression may have been “ armateur,” but possibly
the word intended was ‘‘ amateur.” However that may be, the egg just sold
by auction was one of three which belonged to the Comte de Baracé, and
which subsequently came into the possession of the late owner, Baron
d’Hamonville. The latter has published in the ‘ Bulletin’ of the Société
Zoologique de France (1891, pp. 34—88) the history (so far as he could
collect it) of each of them, having previously furnished coloured figures
of the natural size (together with a similar figure of Yarrell’s specimen,
which he acquired in 1875, on his purchase of Bond’s collection), in the
‘Mémoires’ of the same Société for 1888 (pp. 224—227, Pls. V.—VI.).
One of these M. de Baracé had purchased through Fairmaire of Paris in
1858 from the Baron de Véze, who had bought it of Parzudaki of Paris, in
1855, for 500 francs. It became the property of Baron d’Hamonville in
March, 1887. ‘The two others, it appears, came from Iceland (as stated by
M. de Baracé in a letter to Dawson Rowley dated Jan. 18, 1867), whence
he had received them more than thirty years before (about 1834 or 1835),

270 THE ZOOLOGIST.

through an armateur (or amateur) resident at St. Malo, and it is one of
these which has been sold. The peculiarity about this specimen, which
is described in the sale catalogue as being ‘unique in colouring and
texture,” is that the markings upon it, more numerous on the sides than
at the larger end, are of a pale green colour, most unusual in eggs of this
Species. Although the specimen is slightly cracked, this did not prevent
a bid of 100 guineas being made for it. The biddings advanced by five
and ten guineas at a time, nntil the sum of 165 guineas was reached,
at which price, there being no further advance, it was knocked down to
Mr. T. Jay, of Regent Street.

Notable increase of the Lesser Tern in Co. Mayo.— To any
naturalist visiting the estuary of the Moy and Killala Pool, the elsewhere
unusual but interesting sight of four species of Terns fishing in company
may be witnessed any dav, the species being the Sandwich, Common,
Arctic, and Lesser Terns. The first-named breeds on the little island-lake
of Rathronyem, the second on Lough Conn, and also, in company of the
Arctic and Lesser Terns, on the “Inch” and Ross shore by Killala Pool.
The breeding haunt of the Lesser Tern, Sterna minuta, the “ Inch,” is
the largest of a small group of gravelly islands situated at the end of the
little peninsula of Ross, but as it is the only one uncovered by the spring
tides, it is the haunt of the Terns, whose eggs are placed above the level of
the high tides. Ross peninsula is about a mile in length and half-a-mile
in width at its broadest parts, the western side being a low sandy flat, the
shore of a little sheltered bay; while the eastern side consists of a range of
low sand-hills, the boundary of the Pool and channel running to the open
sea. The usual stock of Lesser Terns breeding on the Inch generally
consisted of ten or twelve pairs, some years less, while that of the Common
and Arctic Terns, of perhaps twice that number. On June 14th, when
visiting this breeding haunt, I found to my surprise the numbers of the
birds greatly increased: at least twenty pairs of Little Terns appeared flying
about and resting on the shores, while fully twenty to thirty pairs of the
larger species were in sight also. Landing on the Inch, we found several
nests of the Common and Lesser Terns, some on the bare stones without
any attempt at nest-building, and containing from two to three eggs each ;
but the number of nests found being so few compared to the number of
birds seen induced me to look further for the real haunt where the bulk
of the birds bred; so seeing several hovering over and pitching on the
peninsula, I crossed over, and then found that the three species were
breeding along the shores for nearly half-a-mile. Their favourite sites for
laying their eggs were on the stony bases of several little mounds that rose
out of the sands where the looser parts had been blown away, leaving the
stony flats and bases exposed, and here on the bare stones, and in many
places on the bare sand, the eggs were laid: most of the eggs I examined

NOTES AND QUERIES. Q71

were within a day or two of hatching out, and we found one newly hatched
bird lying alongside an unhatched egg. Observing several of the small
Terns hovering over the sand at the end of Bartragh, I crossed the channel
to the island, and found four pairs hatching on the bare sand just above
high-water mark. It was the first time I had found Terns breeding on the
island, although visiting it annually for the last thirty years. This sudden
arrival of such large numbers of the Lesser Tern to a breeding haunt
usually frequented by so few birds is very interesting, and suggests that
from some unexplained cause they had probably deserted some other
breeding-ground. Their nearest haunt to Killala Bay is that in Brown’s
Bay on the Sligo coast, between thirty and forty miles distant; but even if
they had moved from that haunt it would not accuunt for the increase in
their numbers, for only about ten or twelve pairs usually breed there.—
Rosert WARREN (Moy View, Ballina, Co. Mayo).

Fearlessness of the Spotted Flycatcher.—On June 6th, 1895, I
found a nest of the Spotted Flycatcher, Muscicapa grisola, containing five
eggs; and as they were exceptionally well-marked specimens, I took both
nest and eggs for my collection. On arriving at an outhonse in my garden,
about fifty yards from the spot, I examined the eggs more carefully, and
came to the conclusion that they were of no use to me, being apparently
hard set. Therefore, after testing one of the eggs in water, I returned to
the spot and replaced the nest in the fork of the tree from which I had
taken it, arranging it as naturally as possible. To my surprise the old bird
shortly returned to it, and recommenced sitting on the eggs as if nothing
had occurred. On June 9th I revisited the nest and found young birds in
it, and they are now (June 12th) doing well.—E. A. Butter, Lt.-Col.
(Brettenham Park, Ipswich).

Language and Instincts of the Domestic Fowl.—At a recent
meeting of the Oxfordshire Natural History Society, held in the Museum,
Mr. G. C. Druce, F.L.S., in the chair, a lecture was given by Mr. G. J.
Burch, M.A., on the language of birds. He explained that he had been
led to make a series of systematic observations on the language and
instincts of the domestic fowl some years ago, when the negligence of a
sitting hen obliged him to undertake the care of some young chicks from
the time of their leaving the shell. Hatched under these circumstances,
there were special opportunities for observing the inborn faculties of the
birds, and the lecturer had found that all his preconceived notions of in-
herited instinct must give way before the utter helplessness of the chicks.
Unable at first to balance themselves on their feet, repeated efforts had to
be made before they could stand. They were without any notion of picking
up food when hungry, or swallowing it; indeed, the most rudimentary
actions of life had to be learnt by experience. Absurd attempts to reach
an object were made before any idea of distance was gained, and stranger

972 THE ZOOLOGIST.

still the ‘“‘clucking” of the hen only excited fear, though the chicks would
run confidingly to the hand of the lecturer. Further details were given of
the habits of young birds brought up away from the parent, giving evidence
of intelligence and application, but showing a lack of the usual peculiarities
when unable to learn them from other members of their species. The
lecturer pointed out that there are two methods of communicating thoughts
and wishes—the visible method, #.e., gesture, and the audible, or language,
and that in man the latter haa become so complete and accurate that the
former was unnecessary, though in lower animals it was all-important:
Keeping to the domestic fowl as a type, he admitted the great difficulty of
learning its language, as the means of gesture and the organs of speech are
so different from our own. By a series of lantern slides he explained the
apparatus in man and in these birds for producing sounds and articulate
speech, showing in each case which parts of the organs are brought into
use for the different sounds. Long and close observation of the poultry
yard had enabled him not only to analyze the sounds produced, and to
explain them physiologically, but also to learn their significance and imitate
them so successfully as to be understood by the birds themselves. He
pointed out that they would not notice or answer to ordinary pet names,
but looked up at once if their own call-notes were imitated. They did not
understand pointing with the finger, as they themselves pointed with the
head and beak. Very close investigations were given by the lecturer of the
call-notes of different individuals, the alarm note, the call to food, and the
cry of danger. Gestures and expressions of fear and disgust, the mode of
salute, and soothing reassuring sounds heard at roosting time in the
darkness were described and imitated. Distinct gestures and notes are
used when one bird challenges another, and the brooding hen has a
vocabulary of her own, modified and limited till her young ones are able to
ruu about. The crowiug of the cocks, though similar to the ears of the
uninitiated, differs in individuals, and varies with the emotions which it
expresses. Interesting accounts were given of the intelligence shown by
these birds in learning to unlatch the door of a fowl-house, and in aiding a
search for rats. In conclusion the lecturer urged the members of the
Society to undertake further investigation into the language of birds, a study
for which there is special facility in the case of domesticated species.

Young Pewits and Pheasants Swimming.—I was interested to see
some young Pewits take voluntarily to the water, one in particular swimming
perhaps eighty yards. T have also seen young Pheasants, only a few days
old, take to the water and successfully cross a small pool of dark-coloured
water in a peat-moss.—Cuar.es F. ArcHIBALD (Rusland Hall, Ulverston).

Increase of the Hawfinch in Sussex.—It appears to be the almost
unanimous conviction of ornithologists that the Hawfinch has extended its
range and increased in numbers of late years in E:ngland ; and it is pleasing
to record that a careful endeavour to arrive at the true position which the

NOTES AND QUERIES. 273

species holds in the Sussex avifauna has led me to regard it as certainly on

the increase. In his ‘ Ornithological Rambles in Sussex ’ (1849), the late

Mr. A. E. Knox cites but one instance of the Hawfinch breeding in the
county, and adds that the bird is “of uncertain occurrence, being not
unusual during some years, and comparatively rare in others” (cf. Borrer’s
‘Birds of Sussex,’ pp. 126-128—though the author does not view the
matter in a comparative spirit). Mr. Field, of St. Leonards, has kindly
shown me eggs from a nest brought to him last year, and also those from
another taken by himself during the present year. In each case the birds
indulged their usual proclivity for gardens. I have also great reason to
believe that another nest has been taken in this vicinity during the present
year. In November, 1894, I saw two male Hawfinches feeding in the
neighbourhood of Battle—the scene of the famous Norman victory—and
on pointing them out to an intelligent gardener he assured me that such a
sight is by no means uncommon in winter.— W. C. J. R. BurrerrieLp
(Stanhope Place, St. Leonards-on-Sea).

Nesting of the Hawfinch and Greater Spotted Woodpecker.—In
the last number of ‘ The Zoologist’ (p. 282), Mr. Steele Elliott gives an
account of a Hawfinch’s nest screened with green leaves plucked by the
bird. I have never had the fortune to observe this interesting fact; but a
nest that I found this year was built on a small oak sapling about nine feet
high, entwined round which was a cluster of the common honeysuckle, and
the bottom of the nest outside, being formed, as is usual with the Hawfinch,
of green grey lichens, assimilated so closely with the colour of the under
side of the honeysuckle leaves that it was most difficult to distinguish.
A nest of the Chaffinch which I found deserves mention: it was in a wood,
built in the fork of a small hazel, and neatly and beautifully made as usual,
but studded all over outside with the chips that a Great Spotted Wood-
pecker had turned out of the nesting hole in an adjoining tree, which gave
it a very curious appearance, and so far from being in any way protective,
at once drew the attention of the eye towards it. With regard to this same
Great Spotted Woodpecker, having the good fortune to find the bird at
work inside the tree, and to witness the showers of chips that were expelled
at the same time from the hole, I feel convinced, as was suggested by a
friend of mine, that the bird uses the stiff tail-feathers as a kind of broom
with which to sweep out the chips.—OxLry GraBuam (F'laxton, York).

Nesting of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker near Bath.—Although
the nesting of this little known Woodpecker in Somersetshire may be
of more frequent occurrence than is supposed, yet the following remarks
may be of interest to ornithologists, more especially to those who are
interested in the avifauna of this particular county. On June 9th,
accompanied by a friend, I was strolling along the side of a ditch, when I

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—JULY, 1895. b

974 THE ZOOLOGIST.

observed a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopus* minor), with some
food in its beak, fly into a high aspen, of which there were several in a
row. Hurrying towards the nearest tree, we noticed a large decayed
bough, about forty feet from the ground, on the under surface of which
were two small circular holes, evidently bored by these little birds. Lying
quietly in the grass beneath the tree, we had the pleasure of seeing the
male bird (whose red cap was distinctly visible) very cautiously enter the
lower of the two holes four times in the space of about twenty minutes. No
climbing was necessary to ascertain what the nest contained, for we could
distinctly hear the young ones. The fourth time the bird entered the hole
a noise we carelessly made frightened it very much. It flew out of the
hole in a great hurry, and made a noise about the trees exactly like
Blackbirds do when they are disturbed by a cat, though not so loud. It
also frequently “tapped” the trees after the manner of a Nuthatch. In
fact, my companion, who did not perceive its exit from the hole, was
completely deceived by these notes, really believing it was a Blackbird. It
displayed wonderful agility while searching for food about the boughs.
When a sudden or strong gust of wind threatened to blow it off its perch,
it quickly crept round the opposite side of the branch. We searched
carefully for the hen bird, but in vain, the cock seeming, by itself, to
undertake the business of rearing the brood. Perhaps some mishap had
befallen its mate. On a branch of a neighbouring aspen were several holes
of the same size as that occupied, undoubtedly made by Lesser Spotted
Woodpeckers, though none of them appeared to be tenanted. We left the
epot, when the bird at last flew away, feeling sure that it would remain safe
from molestation. The locality in which we found this nest is quite in the
opposite direction to the nest of the same species which I lately recorded
(p. 22). I do not feel justified, however, in naming the place, for I am
anxious to see whether the birds will nest there next year. A male Lesser
Spotted Woodpecker, which I received in the skin, was shot on the out-
skirts of the town in February last. The weather at that time was very
cold, and it was obtained close to a long row of houses. Occasional reports
reach me of these birds being seen about Bath, but they nearly always want
confirmation.—CaarLes Betaune Horssprucu (Richmond Hill, Bath).

Nesting Habits of Curlew.—I am informed by Mr. Richard Holme,
whose observations I have recorded on former occasions in this Journal,
that when recently visiting a Curlew’s nest on a small moss on the fells in
this district, the old bird allowed him to walk past her within four or five
feet without leaving the nest. This was some ten days before the young were
hatched. Curiously enough, I have a note referring to the identical place,
showing that four or five years ago a Curlew allowed me to approach within
two yards without leaving the nest. As we are both accustomed to see
Curlews rise from their eggs very wild, and have found several nests by

* NOTES AND QUERIES. 275

marking the spot from which they departed, I think it may be worth while
to put this on record.—Cuanrtzs F’. AncHIBALD (Rusland Hall, Ulverston).

Nesting Habits of the Oystercatcher.— Amongst the objects collected
by these birds to form nests I have observed the dry droppings of Rabbits
ou more than one occasion. This was on a Rabbit warren on Walney
Island. Do Oystercatchers occasionally suck eggs? On the shores of
Cardigan Bay I once saw some Lesser Terns dash angrily at a ‘‘ Sea Pie,”
which ducked its head each time. Close to the spot I found an egg,
evidently sucked, though not recently. —Cuaruus F', ARCHIBALD.

Nesting of the Dunlin in Wales.—It may be of interest to ornitholo-
gists to know that I found a nest of the Dunlin, T’ringa alpina, containing
four eggs, in Merionethshire on May 29th last. It was placed in some
short heather on the top of Clogwyn Llwyd, a moorland 1600 feet above
the level of the sea, and lying midway between Llanuwchllyn and Traws-
fynydd.—H. 8. Davenport. [See Zool. 1893, p. 269.—Ep.]

Wood Pigeons nesting near the Ground.—I have on at least two
occasions found Wood Pigeons, Columba palumbus, breeding close to the
ground, as mentioned by your correspondent Mr. Witherby (p. 232). In
each instance the nest was placed in a low tuft of blackthorn, and was not
a foot above terra firma. Perhaps the most remarkable fact was that the
blackthorn scrub grew in a wood which presented every facility for nesting
in trees, and other Wood Pigeons which were breeding there built in
ordinary situations. I have found nests of the Stock Dove, C. enas, on the
ground amongst ivy where the surroundings have been rocky, but in every
case the nest was near the edge of a small cliff or rocky buttress. I have
also found the eggs of these birds in rabbit-holes, or ledges of rock, about
old ruins, in holiow trees, in old Magpies’ nests, in Squirrels’ nests, once
in a Wood Pigeons’ nest, and in pollard willows, &c. ‘They are now fairly
plentiful in some parts of the south of Scotland, where they breed annually.—
J. J. ArnmisteaD (Solway Fishery, Dumfries).

Greenfinch appropriating Thrush’s Nest.— Last spring a pair of
Thrushes built their nest in a yew-tree hard by my house. ‘Lhe old birds
disappeared, and the nest being forsaken I paid no further attention to it,
until one day in the middle of June I heard a great chirping proceeding
from it. Having procured a ladder I went up to have a look, and on my
mounting to the top four young Greenfinches scuttled out of the nest.
No extra lining had been put in, and there were the four Thrush’s eggs,
somewhat covered with débris, but unbroken. ‘The Greenfinches had
unlimited opportunities for selecting more comfortable quarters. — H,
Marmabuke Lanepate (Thorneycroft, Compton, Petersfield).

( 276. ) ;

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.

LInNEAN SOCIETY OF Lonpon.

June 6th, 1895.—Mr. W. Percy Siapen, V.-P., in the chair.

The minutes of the last meeting having been read and confirmed, the
Chairman, on behalf of the President, nominated the following to be Vice-
Presidents :— Messrs. J. G. Baker, F. Crisp, A. Lister, and W. P. Sladen.

Mr. B. B. Woodward was elected a Fellow.

Mr. M. Buysman, who has laboured for many years to establish a
garden at Middleburg for economic plants, exhibited specimens to show
the excellence and completeness of his preparations.

On behalf of Mr. T. J. Mann, who had lately returned from Ceylon,
Mr. Harting exhibited specimens of a butterfly, Catophaga galena, Felder,
which had been observed migrating in thousands across the northern part
of that island during March and April last, in a direction from N.E. to S,W.
The movement commenced about 7 a.m. and lasted until noon, when it
decreased, and was resumed in the afternoon for another two hours.
Mr. Harting referred to the remarks on this subject made by Sir J. Emerson
Tennent (Nat. Hist. Ceylon, 1861, p. 404, note), to the observations of
Darwin on the countless myriads of butterflies met with at sea some miles
off the mouth of the Plata (Nat. Voy. p. 158), and toa paper by Mr. R.
McLachlan on the migratory habits of Vanessa cardui (Kntom. Mo. Mag.
xvi. p. 49). He did not think that the movement was analogous to the
migration of birds, which travelled in opposite directions in spring and
autumn, for the insects moved only in oue direction, and did not return,
vast numbers perishing en route. ‘The phenomenon rather resembled what
had been observed in the case of Lemmings, Locusts, and Dragonflies
(Weissenborn, Mag. Nat. Hist. n.s. vol. ili. p. 516), and might be explained
as a sudden exodus from the birthplace, leading to a compensating reduction
of the species after a season exceptionally favourable to its increase. His
remarks were criticised by Col. Swinhoe, who was inclined to confirm this
view, and by Mr. Kirby, who referred to the particular species which were
found to take part in these so-called “ migrations.”

A new Distomum was described by Mr. G. West, whose observations
were favourably criticised by Mr. W. P. Sladen and Prof. Howes.

On behalf of Mde. van der Bosse, Mr. George Murray communicated
a description of a new genus of Algw (Pseudocodium), the characters of which
were minutely pointed out by means of specially prepared lantern-slides.

A paper was then read by Mr. A. Vaughan Jennings on the nature of
Mobiusispongia parasitica, on which critical remarks were made by Prof.
Rupert Jones and Mr. I’, Chapman,

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 277

A second paper by Mr. Vaughan Jennings contained a description of a
new genus of Foraminifera of the family Astrorhizide.

June 20th.—Mr. C. B. Cuarke, F.R.S., President, in the chair.

Mr, George Massee was elected a Fellow of the Society.

Mr. F. Enock exhibited and made some remarks upon a living
specimen of an aquatic hymenopterous insect, Polynema natans, Lubbock.
Messrs. EK. Baker and C. Reid exhibited some rare plants from the
limestone hills, Co. Kerry, including Pinguicula grandiflora, Lam., con-
trasted with P. vulgaris, and Saxifraga gewm contrasted with S. umbrosa,
with a view of determining their value as subspecies or geographical races.

Mr. Carruthers exhibited some feathers of a Cuckoo taken at Whit-
church, Shropshire, on May 23rd last, amongst which were some moulted
feathers which were held connected with the new feathers which had
replaced them by means of the barbed seed-capsules of a subtropical grass,
Cenchrus echinatus.

Ox behalf of Mr. S. Loat, there was exhibited a Cuckoo’s egg taken
from the nest of a Hedgesparrow, together with five white eggs of that
species, an abnormality not often met with. An examination of these
eggs under the microscope showed that in regard to the texture or grain of
the shell they agreed with eggs of the Hedgesparrow, and not with those
of the Robin, of which white varieties are not so rare.

Mr. George West then gave the substance of a paper on some North
American Desmidieg, describing the characters of several new species with
the aid of specially prepared lantern-slides.

Mr. A. Vaughan Jennings gave a detailed account of the structure of
the Isopod genus Ourozewktes, upon which an instructive criticism was
offered by the Rev. ‘I. Kh. Stebbing, who was present as a visitor; some
further remarks being made by Mr. W. P. Sladen.

Mr. F. N. Williams communicated the salient points in a critical paper
which he had prepared, entitled “A Revision of the genus Silene.”

On behalf of Mr. K. RK. Waite, Prof. Howes gave an abstract of a well-
illustrated paper on “ ‘The Kgg-cases of Port Jackson Sharks,” and exhibited
several spirit specimens in further elucidation of the subject.

This meeting terminated the session.

ZooLoGicAL Society oF Lonpon.

June 18th, 1895.—Sir W. H. Frowsr, K.C.B., F.R.S., President, in
the chair.

The Secretary read a report on additions made to the Society’s Menagerie
during the month of May, and called particular attention to the following
animals :—A Black-billed Sheathbill, captured at sea, 52°S., 55° W., and

278 THE ZOOLOGIST.

presented by Mr. John Gunn; a female Grysbok, presented by Mr. J. E.
Matcham, of Port Elizabeth, South Africa; and a young male Panolia
Deer, from Southern China, presented by Mr. Julius Neumann.

Mr. Sclater exhibited and made remarks on the head of a Barbary
Sheep, Ovis tragelaphus, obtained by the late Capt. Dunning on the Nile
above Wady Halfeh, and the skin of a Humming-bird, Anthocephala
berlepschi, from Colombia, received from Mr. R. B. White.

Prof. Howes exhibited and made remarks on the skull of a Rabbit
showing abnormal dentition.

A letter was read from Dr. Hubrecht, showing that a supposed new
mammal from Sumatra, which he had described as T'richomanis hoevenit,
was probably nothing more than an Arctonywx.

Mr. Sclater exhibited and made remarks on a specimen of Loder’s
Gazelle, Gazella loderi, recently obtained in the western desert of Egypt.

Mr. W. Saville Kent exhibited a drawing of a Nudibranch from Western
Australia, remarkable for its large size and brilliant colour.

Mr. J. Graham Kerr read a paper on some points in the anatomy of
Nautilus pomptlius. The morphological meaning of the arms in Cephalopods
was discussed briefly. It was pointed out that the only strong basis on
which the hypothesis of the pedal nature of these organs rested was that
derived from the consideration of their innervation by the ‘‘ pedal” ganglion
or a derivative of it. The force of this evidence was completely dependent
upon the assumption that this ganglion was precisely homologous with the
pedal ganglia of Gasteropods; and this assumption appeared to be un-
justified, the evidence of comparative anatomy pointing to the independent
phylogenetic development of the several ganglia of Gasteropods, and of the
similarly named ganglia in the higher Cephalopods, from a condition of
continuous nerve-strands such as occurred in Chiton, Nautilus, and other
archaic forms. The author advocated the abandonment of the view that
the arms are pedal, and the resumption of what appeared the inherently
more probable view, that they are processes of the head-region.

A communication was read from Messrs. F. KE. Beddard and A. C.
Haddon, containing an account of a collection of Nudibranchiate Mollusca
recently made by the latter in Torres Straits.

Mr. Boulenger read a paper on a large collection of fishes made by
Dr. C. Ternitz in the Rio Paraguay.

A communication was read from the Babu Ram Bramha Sanyal, giving
an account of the moulting of some Birds of Paradise in the Zoological
Gardens, Calcutta.

A communication was read from Mr. O. Thomas and Col. J. W. Yerbury,
giving a description of a collection of Mammals made by the latter at Aden
last winter. It was shown that thirty-six species of Mammals are now
known to occur in the Aden district.

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 979

A communication was read from Mr. Edwin C. Reed, containing a list
of the Hemiptera-Heteroptera of Chili.

Mr. H. Druce read a paper on Bornean Butterflies of the family
Lycanida, in which he had catalogued all the species already recorded from
that island, and gave descriptions of a considerable number of new species,
principally from Mount Kina-Balu. The number of butterflies of this
family previously recorded from Borneo was about 75, and this paper
contained references to about 220.

A communication was read from Dr. A. G. Butler, containing an account
of a small collection of Butterflies, sent by Mr. R. Crawshay from the
country west of Lake Nyasa. Five species were described as new.

Dr. J. Anderson read a paper describing a collection of Reptiles and
Batrachians made by Col. Yerbury at Aden and the neighbourhood during
the past winter. |

Mr. Boulenger gave an account of the Reptiles and Batrachians collected
by Dr. A. Donaldson Smith during his recent expedition in Western
Somaliland and the Galla country.

This Meeting closed the Session 1894-95.

ENTOMOLOGICAL SoctEtTy oF Lonpon.

June 5th, 1895.—Lord Watusineuam, F.R.S., Vice-President, in the
chair.

Dr. Sharp exhibited, on behalf of Dr. G. D. Haviland, two living species
of Calotermes from Borneo. Specimens were also exhibited to illustrate the
neoteinic forms that were produced in Borneo after a community had been
artificially “orphaned.” Prof. Riley remarked that in many cases it would be
extremely difficult to artificially ‘orphan ” a nest without destroying it; he
also commented on the short time in which the queen appeared to have
been developed, and on the apparently rapid development of the wing-pads,
which usually cannot take place except after several moults; and he
expressed his opinion that further information on these points was much
to be desired.

Mr. McLachlan exhibited examples of the female of Pyrrhosoma minium,
Harris, having the abdomen incrusted with whitish mud through ovipositing
in a ditch in which the water was nearly all dried up. He had noticed the
same thing in other species of Agrionide.

Herr Jacoby exhibited four varieties of Smerinthus tilia.

Mr. Enock exhibited specimens of the thistle-gall fly, Trypeta cardui, and
also of Caraphractus cinctus, Haliday (= Polynema natans, Lubbock).

M. Alfred Wailly exhibited living larve of Rhodia fugax, and also
a cocoon of a bright green colour, differing considerably in shape from those
of all the other known silk-producing Bombyces.

280 _ THE ZOOLOGIST.

The Secretary exhibited, on behalf of Mr, T. D. A. Cockerell, of Las
Cruces, New Mexico, four species of lac-producing Coccide, viz. Tachardia
gemmifera from Jamaica, 7’. pustulata, n.s., and T. fulgens, n.s., from
Arizona, and T. cornuta from New Mexico. In the discussion which
followed Lord Walsingham mentioned the fact that an American species of
Micro-lepidoptera, belonging to the (cophorida, feeds on the secretion
deposited by one of the Coccide; this species, for which Dr. Clemens
created a genus (the name for which was found to be preoccupied and now
stands as Huclemensia), is the nearest ally to the lost Gicophora woodiella,
taken many years ago in England.

Mr. Roland Trimen exhibited some specimens of “ Honey” Ants,
discovered at Estcourt in Natal about a year ago, by Mr. J. M. Hutchinson,
all with the abdomen enormously distended with nectar ; but other examples
presented to the South-African Museum by Mr. Hutchinson comprised
various individuals exhibiting different gradations of distention, thus indi-
cating that the condition of absolute repletion is arrived at gradually, and
may possibly be reached by some few only of those individuals who feed or
are fed up for the purpose. Mr. Trimen remarked that while the occurrence
of “ Honey” Ants in Southern North America, South Australia, and he
believed also in India, was well known, the Natal species now exhibited was
the first African one that had come under his notice. Prof. Riley said that
the American species referred to by Mr. Trimen was common from Colorado
to Mexico, and that the honey-bearing ants were often very numerous in
its communities; he further pointed out the fact that many common species
of ants have the power of distending the abdomen with honey, and that this
was very evident in certain species of Formica.

Dr. Sharp exhibited a series of Coleoptera, to illustrate the fact that great
variation in size of the individual, or of some of its parts, is very rare in
Coleoptera, and is observable most conspicuously in those species in which
the males possess unusual structures, the use of which is unknown; such are
the Brenthide and the genus Rhina, the males of which possess enormous
rostra, which are of no direct use to this sex, though the corresponding organ
in the other sex is of great use, although less developed. The Lucanide
and the horned Lamellicornia also exhibit great variation in size of the
individual, more particularly in the male sex. The cases of variation in
size in the great group of Chrysomelide were chiefly remarkable in genera
like Sagra, where the males possess unusually developed hind legs, for
which at present no important use is known.

Mr. Kirkaldy exhibited specimens of Cymatia coleoptrata, Fab., from
Morden, Surrey, an insect which had not before been recorded from the
London district.—W. W. Fowurr, Hon. Secretary.

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THE ZOOLOGIST
No. 224.—August, 1895.

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF S§T. KILDA.

By J. Streets Euiort.

THESE notes are written as a further addition to those
printed in ‘The Zoologist’ and ‘The Ibis,’ principally con-
tributed by Sir W. Milner, Capt. Elwes, and Mr. C. Dixon.
They extend over a stay on the island of some three weeks
during the early part of June, 1894. Although there are a few
items of more than ordinary interest, little in addition could
be gleaned from the natives respecting birds seen during the
migration and winter periods, owing chiefly to the difficulty of
their speaking only Gaelic. Although they have some notion of
how to skin any strange species obtained, owing to the want of a
gun on the island rarities are seldom secured. The minister of the
island cannot be said to render much service to the ornithologist,
for he does not profess to know anything beyond what relates to
the common breeding species on the islands.

Regarding the Mammalia, the list is certainly a small one;
but I feel sure it is nevertheless as complete as it can be made
at present.

MAMMALIA.

Common Mousre.—Nine specimens in all were taken, princi-
pally young ones, caught at the manse. It seems fairly numerous
among the dwellings. |

Lone-TaILteD Firtp Movusr.—Unfortunately only one speci-
men was obtained, trapped near the top of a high stone wall.
The coloration of this specimen was very handsome. Instead of
the reddish brown fur on the back it was more inclined to grey,

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—AUGUST, 1895. Z

282 THE ZOOLOGIST,

somewhat similar to the young of our type; the fur on the
stomach was of a light red shade. Further particulars may be
reserved until a series can be obtained for examination and
comparison with the typical form of Mus sylvaticus.

Birps.

PEREGRINE F'atcon.—Only one bird was noticed circling
above Mullach Osheval. Its eggs were taken from the island of
Borrera last year. I am led to believe that it still breeds on the
island of Doon and other headlands.

Meruin.—The Rev. Mr. Fiddies, minister on the island,
informed me that this bird occurs frequently. He secured one
specimen that flew in at the manse window.

WHITE-TAILED KaGie.—It is some forty years since this species
bred on these islands. It formerly had an eyrie on the Conagher
cliffs, whose height reaches some 1260 feet.

TurusH.—Mr. Fiddies informed me that Thrushes occa-
sionally appear.

BuLackBirD.—The same remark applies to this species.

WueateEar.—Mr. Dixon has mentioned this as a very common
bird on St. Kilda. I could only find a few pairs, not more than
six. These were located immediately around the village.

SuBaLPInE WaRBLER.—A specimen of this little warbler was
obtained. I first noticed it haunting the minister’s garden on
June 13th, busily employing itself seeking for food along a row
of young peas, and it frequently flew to a parsnip in seed that
grew in one corner of the garden; the latter plant seemed to
attract a greater number of insects, and it was my particular
spot for securing various Diptera, &c. This little bird allowed
people to approach quite close to it, and I was able to take
full particulars of its plumage within a few feet. It remained
throughout Sunday till the following day, when I shot it in the
presence of Mr. Fiddies and Mr. McKenzie, the factor. It was
at once placed in spirit and forwarded direct to Mr. J. Cullingford,
of Durham, for preservation. Its sex could not be ascertained
with certainty. It was exhibited to the members of the British
Ornithologists’ Club in December last by Mr. Bowdler Sharpe.
Its presence on the island was probably caused by the great gale
that blew across the island the previous day (June 12th) from the
S.W. Itis remarkable that the species should be first obtained

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF ST. KILDA. 988

in the British Islands in such a northern and out-of-the-way
locality as St. Kilda.

Sr. Kirpran Wren.—I found it frequenting both Borrera
and Doon as well as St. Kilda, and probably Soa, which I
did not visit, as the latter island is not far removed from the
main island, whereas Borrera lies some five miles away to N.E.
Mr. Fiddies informed me that it was once far commoner than it
is at present, especially about the village. Its eggs are known to the
natives as being well worth securing, always finding a ready sale
among the English and other dealers. About fifteen pairs would
fully represent their number on these islands now It rests
entirely with collectors whether this bird is to be exterminated,
or remain one of the greatest attractions of the island to the
ornithologists of the future. The male birds inherit the habit of
their mainland representatives by building supernumerary nests
for themselves. Besides these unlined nests, I found one con-
taining five eggs quite fresh on June 11th; another with one egg
on June 12th, to which other eggs were added, but unfortunately
were destroyed ; and still another nest I was fortunate to discover,
containing four or five young and one addled egg, on June 20th.
One of these young I brought away and forwarded to the Uni-
versity Museum, Cambridge, as a most interesting specimen in
a valuable stage of its development. The eggs in two of the
nests were of the spotted type, very similar in some markings to
the ordinary type of the Great Tit. The egg taken from the
nest with young is almost white, with a few very fine speckles
only upon it. The sites chosen for the nests found were either
on the face of the cliffs, more or less hidden by the overhanging
grasses and other herbage, or inside among the stonework under
the roof of the various ‘“‘ cleits” so numerous all over the island.
The materials chosen are according to what is most suitable for
the surroundings, and obtainable in this locality.

Prep Waarait.—One appeared close to the manse on June
6th, but was not afterwards observed.

Rocx Pierr.—A common bird on the islands. Nests were
found under the boulders on the hill-side as well as in clefts in
the rocks. The Meadow Pipit was not observed, although Sir
Wm. Milner has suggested that it breeds there.

TREE SparRow.—Common. It nests principally in the walls

Z2

284 THE ZOOLOGIST.

of the “cleits” about the village. The Common House Sparrow
was not observed.

TwitE.—Only one pair of Twites was seen, and I was unable
to add this bird to my list as a breeding species.

SrarLinc.—By far the commonest of the land birds. Several
hundreds breed about the islands in the walls of the “cleits”
and among the cliffs, and nests were found on the ground under
the large boulders, where the birds seemed equally as secure as
elsewhere. ‘The song of this bird on the islands is strikingly
comparable to that of other species by which it is surrounded, its
power of imitation being remarkable.

Raven.—F ive were noted, probably a pair and young. They
were wonderfully tame when I first visited the islands. The
nesting site is unknown to the natives.

Hooprep Crow. — Numerous and remarkably tame. They
would allow me to stand within a few yards of them whilst they
hunted over the offal-holes in front of every dwelling.

Roox.—Mr. Fiddies informed me that hundreds of these birds
passed over the islands last winter, great numbers of which
perished. Five individuals frequented the island during our stay,
the remnant of the above flock. I could not hear of their having
nested anywhere.

House Marrin.—Mr. J. McKenzie informed me he once
obtained a bird of this species on the island.

Swa.LLow.— Visits the islands at intervals. Five or six were
seen together over the west glen on June 9th, and other odd ones
were noticed. ‘To the best of my knowledge it has never nested
there.

Swirr.—Twice seen by Mr. McKenzie, one of which he shot.

Rocx Dovse.—I was unable to find any trace of this bird at
all, though it is mentioned as a native by Sir Wm. Milner and Mr.
Dixon.

Larwinc.—Mr. Fiddies assured me that this bird is seen
every spring on migration.

Turnsrone.—Mr.G. A. Panton informed me that a specimen
in immature plumage was brought to him when he visited these
islands in August some years since.

OysTERCATCHER.— Found breeding commonly on the few low-
lying rocks around the island.

WHIMBREL.—S1x of these birds were frequenting the Hast

eye. = eee...

Page TE, Ge

OBSERVATIONS ON THE FAUNA OF ST. KILDA. 285

Bay when we landed, and remained till we departed on June 21st.
We could find no trace of any nesting haunt. .

Dunuin.—Although stated to be a breeding species by Gray,
I never saw a bird at all, neither do I think the St. Kilda Islands
suitable for it as a nesting locality. Mr. McKenzie informed me
that he saw one there two years ago.

Eiper Ducx.—About a dozen frequented the E. and W. bays.
A nest containing four eggs was found on June 3rd.

RED-BREASTED MrercanseR.—One frequented the Kast Bay
on June llth, but I believe it was only a straggler from the
Hebrides, and was not seen again.

GREAT NorTHERN Diver.—One appeared in the village bay
on June 6th.

Purrin.—By far the largest colonies of this bird are on
Borrera and Soa, where they are said to be on the increase.. They
have destroyed the greater part of the pasture of these islands by
burrowing and killing the grass around, owing to their immense
numbers. ‘They also breed in countless thousands on St. Kilda
and Doon as well. ‘The factors receive about 200 stone (24 lbs.
St. Kildian stone) of feathers from these islands yearly. It takes
about 450 Puffins to make a stone of feathers. The feathers of
other birds are mixed with them, but Puffins are by far the
greatest producers.

Razorpitt.—The largest colonies noticed of the Razorbill
were those at the base of Conacher, and on Doon.

GuILLEMoT.—I cannot agree with Mr. Dixon as to the quantity
of eggs taken. I found a creel full—not a boat load—was
considered a fair day’s work among the men.

Buack GuiLLEMoT.— Rare; the only breeding site noticed
was in the chasm between Doon and St. Kilda.

Great Aux.—The old grey-haired man, Lachlan McKinnon,
mentioned by Mr. Dixon as having taken part in stoning to death
a Great Auk in Stack-an-Armin, was, I am sorry to say, dying
when I left the island. An interview with him during my stay
would have been useless, as I was informed that his memory had
left him for some time. ‘I'he natives told me of a ledge on Soa
named after the bird which it is said to have frequented in the
breeding season.

Great BLack-BACcKED GuLu.—Fairly numerous, and breeding
in several localities on all the islands.

286 | THE ZOOLOGIST.

LessER BLAcCK-BACKED GuLL.—Although stated to be found
here in considerable numbers by previous writers, I failed to
distinguish the bird. |

Herring Guyiu.—Fairly common about the islands. It is the
greatest robber of the Gannets and Fulmars eggs.

Common Guuu.—Sir Win. Milner states that he procured eggs
from Borrera, but I think must have been mistaken, for I never
saw a bird of this species there.

Kirrrwake.—Large colonies exist on all the islands.

BLacK-HEADED GuLL.—This bird has been once obtained by
Mr. J. McKenzie.

Manx SHEARWATER.—F'rom the number observed flying at
night, I should say this bird is far from common, as generally
stated. Although the natives value their eggs at a shilling
apiece, only one was obtained by them this year.

Futmar.—I found this bird including small pieces of stone
with the scanty supply of grass used as materials for their
so-called nest, which in the majority of cases was only a bare
hollow without any lining.

ForK-TAILED Pretret.— Although this bird is still fairly
plentiful, the Wild Birds Protection Act should in some way
extend to these islands for their sake; both the eggs and old
birds are always taken by the natives, the latter kept in stockings
till the arrival of visitors, when these once beautiful little birds,
now starved and mauled, are offered for sale.

Storm Petrret.—Our stay on Borrera was suddenly checked
by the weather before we had time to search for this species, said
to be numerous there, as also to occur in Doon and Soa.

Cormorant.—Sir Wm. Milner mentions his having procured
eggs of the Cormorant; but this is another bird on the list for
which I searched in vain.

Suac.—Fairly numerous. Besides the various breeding
colonies on the cliffs, one colony exists at the base of Conagher,
under the large quantity of loose boulders and stones that lie on
a very slight incline. This spot is also frequented by Razorbills
in large numbers.

GannEt.—When among the immense colony of these birds
on Borrera and its two stacks, I was particularly struck with the
natives’ disregard for bird-life. They think nothing of casting
the young, or eggs, if highly incubated, into the sea below them.

( 287 )

ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORWAY.
By Joun Benson, M.A.

Remarks are frequently heard among visitors to Norway to
the effect that they have been surprised to see and hear so few
birds there. This may to some extent be explained by the fact
_ that the majority of persons visit that country late in the summer,
in July and August, when most birds have young and are there-
fore comparatively silent, or have already started on their return
journey. But let any one walk in the woods, or on the hillsides
in the latter half of May, or the first part of June, and he will
probably be astonished at the variety of bird-music that he will
hear day and night. The Song Thrush, Redwing, Ring Ouzel,
Willow Warbler, Tree Pipit, and Wren are indefatigable songsters,
and are joined later by the Blackcap and Garden Warbler, while
the chorus is swelled by the Redstart, Pied Flycatcher, Brambling,
Chaffinch, Yellow Bunting, and Cuckoo.

This year I had the good fortune to be in Norway from the
17th of May to the 6th of July, and though my range of obser-
vation was limited, and a good share of my time was devoted to
fishing, I met with fifty-eight species of the feathered tribe.
This was on the west side of the country between latitudes
60° and 61°, that is, on a level with the Shetlands, some thirty
English miles farther north than Bergen, and about fifty miles
distant from it as the crow flies. I was staying at Framnaes on
the Opheim lake between the Hardanger and Sogne Fjords, but
considerably nearer the latter. This lake lies at a thousand feet
above sea-level, and is surrounded by mountains, some of which
rise another 2000 or 3000 feet, and are cut into by a succession
of narrow valleys. These hills up to a certain height are well
wooded, chiefly with pine and birch, though the alder is fairly
plentiful. Above the level of the woods is a tract of low-growing
and stunted junipers, willow-scrub, and dwarf-birches ; while on
the mountain tops the only vegetation to be found between the
snow-patches consists of mosses, lichens, and creeping plants.
High up among these hills nestle a number of small tarns, many
of which are not clear of ice until the beginning of June, and
some not till much later. The Opheim lake itself had had ice
upon it till about a week before I arrived. As may be supposed,

288 THE ZOOLOGIST.

there is no lack of water; but this spring was extraordinarily
dry, so that the streams were very empty, and much of the boggy
eround on the hills was boggy no longer. To come to the birds
themselves.

The Thrushes were caeaatel by the Song Thrush (Turdus
musicus), Fieldfare (7. pilaris), Redwing (Z'. iliacus), and the
Ring Ouzel (7Z’. torquatus), but I observed neither the Mistle
Thrush (Z'. viscworus) nor Blackbird (T. merula). The Fieldfares
generally breed in colonies, often consisting of a large number of
pairs, and offering much to interest a lover of birds. The
approach of a suspicious character, be it in the form of man,
beast, or bird, is proclaimed by a great outcry among the
colonists, whose note of alarm is not very unlike the sound made
by a policeman’s rattle. The general clamour and excitement
does not fall far short of that caused by an intrusion into a
rookery. Unlike Rooks, however, more than one pair of Field-
fares never occupies the same tree. The nests are placed with
little or no attempt at concealment, which indeed is a matter of
some difficulty at the season when they commence to build, before
the birches are in leaf. The commonest position is the fork
which a branch of a tree makes with the stem; but many other
situations are chosen, and those at all heights above the ground,
though I have never found one actually on the ground, as is
often the case with the Redwing. A low shrub of juniper is not
an unusual position. The materials usually employed are grass
and mud, with a lining of finer grasses; but I found a nest, the
exterior of which was thickly covered with the white feathers of
the Ryper, making it very conspicuous. ‘The bird does not sit
very close, generally flying off when her particular tree is
approached, and joining in the chorus of maledictions.

But it is not on account of the Fieldfares alone that such a
colony is interesting—it is so also because many small birds are
in the habit of: breeding in its vicinity; in which they show their
wisdom, for they would not easily find more watchful sentinels
or pluckier champions. This applies especially to the Brambling,
and I do not think I visited a colony without seeing or hearing
one or a pair of those handsome birds near at hand. ‘The chief
persecutors of the Fieldfares are the Hooded Crows, who, in spite
of the attempts of the parent birds to scare them away, contrive
to carry off a large proportion of the unfledged young. In one

ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORWAY. 289

case I knew of nests both of the Hooded Crow and the Hobby in
trees close to a colony of Fieldfares, and it was interesting to
watch the Hawks aiding the smaller birds to drive away the
Crows. I found eggs of the Fieldfare in an advanced stage of
incubation on May 19th, young just hatched on the 22nd, and on
the 8rd of June I caught a young one which had just left the
nest.

The Redwing is fond of building its nest on the outskirts of a
Fieldfare colony, generally near, if not on the ground, and
with more attempt at concealment. It is altogether a much less
obtrusive bird, unless its nest is interfered with, when it becomes
very bold, making swoops at the invader, and snapping its beak
the while. The song is sweet, though somewhat plaintive. The
nest is formed of sticks, mud, and grass, the lining being of the
last-named. I found eges on the 22nd of May.

The Wheatear (Saxicola enanthe) was plentiful; the Whinchat
(Pratincola rubetra) less so; while I observed the Redstart (Ruti-
cilla phenicurus) and Redbreast (Evythacus rubecula) only in the
woods, and not near human habitations.

Of the Warblers the Willow Wren (Phylloscopus trochilus) was
ubiquitous as high as the tree-growth extends. The Blackcap
(Sylvia atricapilla) and Garden Warbler (S. hortensis) were about
equally distributed. The Whitethroat (S. cinerea) 1 only observed
once, and the Golden-crested Wren (Regulus cristatus) did not
occur very commonly.

The Hedge Accentor (Accentor modularis) was met with oc-
casionally, but seemed more retiring than in this country. |

The Dipper (Cinclus aquaticus) might be seen by every stream.

The family of Paride was well represented by the Great, Blue,
Coal, Marsh, and Long-tailed Tits (Parus maior, P. ceruleus, P.
ater, P. palustris, and Acredula caudata), but I did not meet with
the Crested Tit (P. cristatus). None of these species, however,
appeared particularly abundant, the commonest being perhaps
the Marsh and Long-tailed Tits—the latter with very white
heads. A nest I found of this species was curious from the fact
of its having two holes, one at the top and the other just below it.

The Wren (Troglodytes parvulus) and Tree Creeper (Certhia
familiaris) were both fairly common.

The White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) was the only one of its
family I saw, and was most abundant, nesting among the loose

290 THE ZOOLOGIST.

stone-work of the farm-buildings and seters. One nest I found
under a stump in the bank of a ditch by the side of a road,
apparently the entrance to an old mouse-hole. Incubation had
commenced on May 27th.

The Tree Pipit (Anthus trivialis) was abundant, more so per-
haps than the Meadow Pipit (A. pratensis).

One of the commonest birds was the Pied Flycatcher (Musci-
capa atricapilla). Near dwellings and in the woods its song, such
as it is, was to be heard day and night from the middle of May
to the end of June; for this confiding and energetic little bird
seems to do with very little sleep during the lovely Norwegian
summer nights. On May 20th a nest was in the course of
building, and I found eggs on the 30th. A favourite site is in
the rotten stump of a birch, which has been broken off some six
or seven feet from the ground, and is devoid of bark. Here the
birds apparently excavate a hole for themselves, as the entrances
were for the most part newly made, and chips were lying on the
ground. It was remarkable in how many places a hole had been
commenced, and then for some reason forsaken, perhaps because
the bird had struck wood that was too hard. I have seen a stump
with four such beginnings besides the actual nest-hole. It is,
however, as often found building in old holes, and sometimes in
extraordinary positions. One pair built in a stack of firewood in
a shed, the only entrance to which was through a chink above
the door, and it was curious to see the bird literally squeeze itself
through this crack. Unfortunately the nest was disturbed, or it
would have been interesting to see how the young were brought
out. During the time of incubation the male sits on the roof,
or tree-top, and practises its rather monotonous song, occasionally
making a descent upon some insect on the ground. The female
sits very close, and may often be removed from the nest with
the hand.

The Spotted Flycatcher (M. grisola) is by no means s0
common.

I observed a Swallow (Hirwndo rustica) first on May 25th,
and Martins (Chelidon urbica) on the 27th.

Of the Finches, the commonest was the Brambling (Fringilla
montifringilla). As 1 have said, there was hardly a colony of
Fieldfares but had a pair of these birds as neighbours, though
I never found the Finches breeding in company; in fact, I

ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES FROM NORWAY. 291

never saw more than one pair at a time. Its harsh long-drawn
note, something like that of the Greenfinch, which is so often
repeated, is in strange contrast to the lively Canary-like chirp of
alarm when the nest is approached. The former is uttered by
the male when feeding or passing from tree to tree, but he has
also a song consisting of a few clear-whistled and somewhat sad
notes. The nest much resembles that of the Chaffinch, but is
larger. Moss, wool, lichen, grass, and fine shreds of bark are
ali employed, while the lining consists of feathers, hair, and
down. I found it usually placed close to the trunk of a small
birch. Eggs were hard-set on May 27th, and in another case
the young had left the nest on June 12th.

The Chaffinch (Ff. celebs) was far less common than its con-
gener, though not rare. The Siskin (Chrysomitris spinus) and
Mealy Redpoll (A. linaria) were less often to be met with. A
nest of the latter, which in the afternoon of May 22nd was only
half-built, was beautifully lined with feathers of the Ryper (how
these small birds must bless the Ryper!) and contained five
eggs on the 27th. The Twite (A. flavirostris) was abundant on
all the fells. The House Sparrow (P. domesticus), in small
numbers, frequented most of the villages.

The Yellow Bunting (Emberiza citrinella) occurred commonly,
and the Reed Bunting (E. scheniclus) in suitable localities.

The Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) was not often seen.

Owing to its seldom being molested the Magpie (Pica rustica)
is astonishingly bold, when compared with the shy and wary
British bird. It breeds by preference near to dwellings, and
frequently places its nest under the gable, or any other part of the
roof where it can find support for the bulky structure.

The only other member of the Corvide was that most ruth-
less of robbers, the Hooded Crow (Corvus cornix), which was
abundant.

Only in one instance did I observe a Swift (Cypselus apus).
The Wryneck (Jyna torquilla) was fairly often heard and seen.

I was disappointed in only meeting with the Green Wood-
pecker (Gecinus viridis), as in former years, though later in the
season I had seen both the Great and Lesser Spotted birds.
The earliest date on which I heard the Cuckoo (Cuculus
canorus) was May 27th, after which it was to be heard night
and day in wood and on fell. As in this country, so among

292 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Norwegian peasants it is a popular belief that the Cuckoo turns
into a Hawk in the autumn.

I met with none of the Owls, but found the breast-feathers of
the Kagle Owl (Bubo ignavus) upon some juniper bushes on one
of the mountains.

The Hobby (Falco subbuteo) and the Kestrel (F. tinnunculus)
I found breeding, and these were the only two species of the
Hawk tribe I observed.

On my arrival (May 18th) I was shown a Goldeneye (Clangula
glaucion), which had been shot the day before on the lake near
the hotel; and for several days after I observed three birds of
this species on the water, after which they disappeared.

On June 7th, during a walk over the mountains, I came to a
tarn some 38000 ft. above sea-level, on which were a pair of
Long-tailed Ducks (Harelda glacialis), and five Scaups (Fuligula
marila), with their mates. As the water was only just clear of
ice, these probably had only lately arrived. There was a small
island in the tarn, which was evidently their breeding-place.

The same day I watched a pair of Fjeld-ryper or Ptarmigan
(Lagopus mutus) upon the snow. In the higher parts of the
valleys the Li-ryper or Willow Grouse (Z. lagopus) was abundant.
Young of this species were hatching on June16th. J occasionally
saw and heard the Black Grouse (T'etrao tetriz).

Of the Waders, the Woodcock (Scolopax rusticula), Common
Sandpiper (Z'ringa hypoleucus), Redshank (Totanus calidris),
and the Curlew (Numenius arquata) were the only representatives
seen.

A pair of Common Gulls (Larus canus) were breeding on the
island in the tarn with the ducks.

Two Black-throated Divers (Colymbus arcticus) came regularly
every evening to the Opheim lake to feed, but I could not dis-
cover whence they came, nor whither they went.

I only saw one live Lemming, but as 1894 was a ‘‘ Lemming
year,” skins of this little animal were lying everywhere. Last
winter, I was told, Hares were very plentiful. I saw several
which were changing their winter for their summer coats.

( 293 )

ON THE HABITS OF THE KEA, OR MOUNTAIN
PARROT OF NEW ZEALAND.

By Tayntor Wuatits.*

I HavE been prompted to write this paper on receipt of a
letter from Dr. Alfred R. Wallace, F.R.S., who still holds to
the old-time stories given of this bird long ago, and follows the
lead of those who had but a second-hand knowledge of this
bird, and so falls into errors, such as its leaving the berries of
the forest-trees and taking to picking the kidney-fat out of live
sheep running on the mountain-side, and being gradually trained
thereto by commencing to sample the carcases of sheep hanging
on the gallows or slaughter-place of the sheep-farmer. I am
merely quoting from memory, and so am liable to vary the exact
words. But I remember being astonished on reading of the
Kea living in the forest, for I never even during the severest
winters saw it perched on a tree, and, further, the small patches
of trees in the alpine valleys are all of one kind, a species of
Fagus, which were called by the settlers black-birch. The fruit
or “beech mast” of these trees is very minute and rare, and of
little, if any, service to the birds of other species.

I have during hard winters tamed the Kaka (Nestor meri-
dionalis), which in a starved condition might settle on the house,
when I would approach with a piece of raw meat on the point
of along stick, like a fishing-rod, but never a Kea, Nestor notabilis ;
and the only birds I remember picking at the carcases of sheep on
the gallows were flocks of the newly-arrived bird, the small White-
eye, Zosterops, which came to New Zealand about the year 1860,
as well as I can fix the date.

The berries on the ranges, or mountain-side, were few and of
little food-value, the chief in point of size being the snowberry,
but it was seldom seen. My opinion is that the Kea lived
mainly on the lichen growing on the rocks, and on grubs when
obtainable. ‘The lichen would, in places where the rocks were
steep, be free from a covering of snow when all else was snowed
up to a depth of three feet or more.

The Kea always lived high up the mountains a long distance

* From the ‘Transactions’ of the New Zealand Institute, vol. xxvii.,
pp- 273—280, May, 1895. See Potts, ‘ Zoologist,’ 1881, pp. 290—801.

994 THE ZOOLOGIST.

above the forest-line, for you must understand that on a
mountain-side each variety of tree has its limit of elevation.
The mixed bush grows on the plain; and a short distance above,
where these trees, as rimu, white-pine, black-pine, &c., are at
their highest, and cease to grow, come the different kinds of
Fagus, of which the so-called biack-birch attains the highest
elevation. On glancing along the alpine hills, such as, for
instance, those on either shore of Lake Wakatipu, you will see
with surprise that the dark-green of the trees reaches so far up
the mountain-side, and is then cut off level and clean as far as
the eyesight can extend into the far distance. Above this level
line of dark forest comes the brown straw-colour of the mountain
grass, which in turn gives way to the slate-grey or yellow-grey of
the rocky summits and their débris of broken stones.

On this same forest limit grows also the tall bracken fern, so
the dark-green of the forest would be at places for a considerable
extent varied by the brighter green of the fern. But both forest
and fern attained the same elevations, and so the long line of
green was only changed in shade of colour, and did not encroach
upon the area of the yellow grasses.* The Kea lived above this
forest limit, and was mostly seen moving about the rocks and
boulders on the ridge of the mountain-tops. The name “ Kea”
would seem to be an imitation of a frequent call of this bird.
But it also makes a number of other sounds. About the first I
can remember of this bird was at a time when I resided near the
head-waters of the Oreti or New River. One hot day—it
probably was in the summer-time—when walking across the
valley between the mountains, my attention was attracted by a
remarkable sound or series of cries. These I mistook for the
noise of several small puppies of the Wild Dog, crying from
hunger in the nest. -I at once set to work to climb up the steep
mountain-side to capture these creatures; but the result was not
as was expected, but a dull-green-coloured bird was found seated
on a projecting piece of rock. ‘These birds are coloured green,
shaded with black, and have bright orange-red feathers of small
size on the under side of their wings. They are about the size
of a Kaka, rather narrower across the back, and have the hooked
point of the upper mandible somewhat longer. Their feet are of

* This description is of scenery viewed some thirty years ago,

ON THE HABITS OF THE KBEA. 295

the true parrot form, or, as a sailor would say, have the toes
placed ‘‘ fore and aft,” |

On first becoming acquainted with man they showed little
sign of fear. In fact, I have, when on the mountain-top,
remained standing perfectly still, with Keas hopping round me,
but would have ultimately to drive them away, for one would
come to inspect the brass eyelets in my boots, and try to pick
them out, when, seeing that the boot-laces would quickly be cut
through, I would require to stop this performance. One day a
shepherd brought home a live Kea which he caught by placing
his open hand on the ground when he was lying down; this bird
calmly stepped on to his hand, and was captured. On bringing
the bird home he placed it in a room in a stone building to await
my coming. ‘The result was that the small wooden bars of the
window were cut away by its powerful beak down level with the
panes of glass. A ring and small chain were afterwards fastened
to its leg, and it was tethered on the lawn, having a small box
placed near as a shelter. Here it lived several years, but one
day was missing, taking the chain with it. The shelter-box was
soon a sight to see, for the bird drilled large round holes through
it in several places, and his great delight appeared to be in carpentry
work. He was fed on scraps of bread and meat, and would amuse
himself by throwing his drinking-vessel away, regardless of after
consequences. Under the name of Sancho he was regarded as a
member of our family party, but never gave any sign of newly-
acquired habits under domestication, or showed signs of affection
to those who cared for him.

About the year 1861 we first took sheep into this country,
previously having stocked with cattle. ‘The sheep increased and
multiplied, and did remarkably well, notwithstanding the heavy
snowfalls on the higher lands. After a number of years, when
sheep were mustered in from the back ranges, it was noticed that
several would die in the yards during the night, for they would
require to be kept. in for; drafting on the following day. These
dead sheep would be mostly sheep which had missed a shearing,
and were double-fleeced, having very long wool. On taking the
skin from these sheep a small hole, not previously seen, would
be found over the shoulder-blades, or in the small of the back,
over the kidneys. We were quite incapable of understanding
the cause of these wounds, but considered that these sheep would

296 THE ZOOLOGIST.

not have died from the wound if it had not been for the
heating they received from the drive of the muster. One day
my brother John came home and said that he now knew what
caused the holes in the back of the sheep; it was done by the
Kea. This surprised me greatly, but I soon afterwards had
evidence of the fact myself, for when some of these birds had
once found out that the blood of the sheep was good for food,
others were soon initiated into the performance. It was seen
that the sheep (merinoes) with the longest wool were those which
chiefly suffered, from which I concluded that the length of wool
gave the bird better facilities for holding on with his feet during
the time occupied in drilling a hole into the unfortunate sheep,
which would at first run madly about with the bird fixed to its
back. Those sheep which were penned in by a recent fall of
snow would be an easy prey.

A person living in this district brought some fifteen hundred
crossbred cheviot and merino, and wintered them on these hills,
but the extra length of wool on these sheep caused them to be
specially attacked by the Kea, and on mustering in the spring
very few of this flock were found alive. Mr. W. M. Hodgkins,
of Dunedin, obtained for me two brace of old-fashioned horse-
pistols, which we would take with us when shepherding, loading
with shot, and so peppering the Keas; for to carry a gun was a
heavy load when climbing about. The birds soon found out that
we were enemies, and, in place of a friendly interview, were
mostly seen flying about, screaming, far away on the opposite
range. It became quite a rare thing to get within shooting-
distance of these treacherous birds, and all our friendly interest
in them was turned to murderous thoughts. I do not think they
went specially for the kidney-fat of the sheep, or had any
‘particular choice, but that that point was chiefly selected owing
to the bird having a better hold when in that position. They
would nest in the crevices of the rocks, but I never was able to
take either eggs or young birds, the fissures being too deep and
narrow to admit of approach.

Dr. Wallace asks me, Did the Kea mistake the live sheep for
the vegetable sheep—a peculiar growth of lichen? I would say
not, for I have never to my knowledge seen a vegetable sheep, or
mistaken such for a living one, as the story goes. Therefore my
particular Keas were not likely to see this vegetable substance

ON THE HABITS OF THE KEA. 297

either ; and I never knew the bird to be seen feeding on a dead
sheep. The sheep always died after the repast, and were then
left to the Wekas (Ocydromus australis) and Buzzard Hawks, who
would finish the work of destruction.

About the time at which we found out that the Kea molested
the sheep, we read in the papers that the shepherds on the
Wanaka Station, some thirty or forty miles in a northerly direc-
tion from our position, had also discovered the same fact, and
this made the authorities of the Dunedin Museum very desirous
to obtain a specimen of this bird. My brother John saved the
skin of one and presented it to the Museum, and this was the
first specimen seen there. I can suggest no reason for the Kea
acquiring this new habit other than that the sheep, in winter-
time, which were snowed in on the shady side of the range, would
have a coating of snow or frost, and sometimes had long icicles
hanging to their wool, so much so that the discoloured snow-
tracks of the sheep would be more readily seen by the shepherd
than the sheep themselves, and from this disguisement of the
sheep they might be more readily enquired into by the Kea, who
might mistake the frozen wool for a snow-covered piece of rock;
but on the other hand, the bird did not attempt to pluck the wool
from the whole length of the sheep’s back, as if in search of
buried insects, but confined its operations to the one small area,
either behind the shoulders, or over the kidneys. Nor did the
bird specially desire kidney-fat, which it seldom reached. It was
the position and hold of the bird which determined the point of
attack, for probably if the bird had seated itself on the head or rump
of the animal it would have been successfully driven away. A
sheep would have great difficulty to turn its head or neck suffi-
ciently backward to dislodge anything seated on its back imme-
diately behind the shoulders. I would say that blood rather
than flesh was what the bird desired, for, as said previously, no
carcase was ever eaten, though the birds might be flying round
in scores. The dead bodies, if touched at all, were eaten by the
Weka, the Hawk, and the Rat. I have known the Rat to nibble
the tender hoofs from the living new-born lamb; after a time,
if the lamb survived, the hoof would grow down as would a
person’s finger-nail, and so the damage would be rectified. My
knowledge of the Kea has no reference to its habits at the
present time, for I have for twenty years lived in a district where

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—AUG. 1895. 2A

298 THE ZOOLOGIST.

they are not to be found. As my excuse for writing this I
append a copy of that portion of Dr. Wallace’s letter which
induced me to think it desirable that the habits of the Kea
Should be remarked upon :—

Parkstone, Dorset, 8rd January, 1894.

Dear Sir,—I received from a friend of yours a number of the ‘ Journal
of Science,’ containing among other things some remarks on the habits of
the Kea. As the writer says that I have given “ what is generally believed
to be a correct description of the bird’s habits, &c.,” it will be time enough
to change it when other New Zealand authorities accept Mr. Huddleston’s
account. I see in another article it is stated that the habit of tearing open
the vegetable sheep for insects led to the Kea’s tearing open first dead
sheep and then living ones. . . .—Yours very faithfully, Aurrep R.
Watiace.—Taylor White, Esq.

To this I reply that Mr. Huddleston’s article on the Kea is
the best I have seen on the subject, and, so far as my own
experience goes, is reliable, and for this reason I specially
obtained that number of the ‘Journal of Science’ which con-
tained Mr. Huddleston’s paper, and forwarded it to Dr. Wallace ;
hence his letter to me thereon.

It must be remembered that this bird, having for its habitat
the tops of alpine ranges, is seen by few other than shepherds
and owners of sheep who are hardy enough to head the sheep-
mustering parties, and whose business it is to search the rocky
mountain-tops in summer for sheep requiring to be shorn or
docked, and in winter, about the end of June, to collect, extricate,
and drive downward sheep from the then heavily snow-clad
summits. An account of this latter dangerous work I gave ina
back volume of ‘ Transactions.’ Such are the men who can give
the life-history of the Kea, and of these I claim to have been
one. But such doings are now a matter of retrospection.

Since writing the above I have been able to place my hand
on Mr. F. F. C. Huddleston’s paper. The passage in “ Dar-
winism ” to which he takes exception is the following :—‘‘ It [the
Kea] belongs to the family of Brush-tongued Parrots, and
naturally feeds on the honey of flowers, and the insects which
frequent them, together with such fruits or berries as are found
in the region. ‘Till quite recently this composed its whole diet,
but since the country it inhabits has been occupied by Europeans,
it has developed a taste for a carnivorous diet, with alarming

ON THE HABITS OF THE KEA. 299

results. It began by picking the sheepskins hung out to dry, or
the meat in the 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.”

Mr. Huddleston says :—

“The reason, I believe, that the bird has been charged with
eating the kidney of the sheep it attacks is that the loin or rump
of the sheep is the broadest part whereon it can get an easy
grip.. As the sheep feels its assailant it runs away, with the bird
holding on and naturally having its beak over the kidneys, where
it sets to work.... I have found large numbers of sheep with
only a very small hole in the back, about the size of a crown,
which being examined showed a cavity beneath as large as a
man’s hand, in which the backbone and ribs were perfectly bare.
Others I found with holes in the side through which the intes-
tines had been drawn, the sheep being still alive, and in some
instances the wound had healed and apparently formed a false
anus.” An instance of a wound healing as described I have
witnessed myself—an opening in the flank.—T. W.

‘Besides grubs, as the Weta (Deinacrida) and the Cicada,
they feed on the berries of various alpine shrubs and trees
(? T. W.], such as the snowberry (Gaultheria), Coprosma, Panaz,
and the little black seed in a white skin of the Phyllocladus
alpinus ; the Pittosporwm, with its hard seed in a glutinous mass
like birdlime; and the red berry of the Podocarpus; also, in
winter, on the roots of the various herbaceous alpine plants—Aci-
phylla squarrosa and colensoi, Ranunculus lyallit, Celmisias, &c.

‘* About Mount Cook they breed very early in the year, as I have
found their nests in August, when snow was on the ground. The
first time that I saw nests at that time of the year was when I
was shooting, at an altitude of 3000 ft. I shot a bird that was
sitting on arock. After it fell another appeared on the rock, and
from the same place I shot twenty-two. I went to pick up the
dead birds, and then found that they had, in the first place, all
come out of a hole under the rock. On looking into the hole I
saw something moving, which eventually turned out to be young
birds, They were out of reach, but after some trouble I managed

RAR

300 THE ZOOLOGIST.

to noose one, and found that it was in its nesting plumage of
slate-coloured down, with very yellow beak and legs. There were
others in different stages of growth, also eggs. I have since
found other nests, and have noticed that after a time the old birds
leave the half-grown ones to hatch out the late eggs, all the com-
munity doing their share of feeding the young. The same habit
I have noticed in the native Parrakeet. The Kea’s egg is white,
and about the size of a Pigeon’s, but rounder, and with a rough
shell [ef. Zool. 1883, p. 876]. The young birds do not come out
of the nest until fully fledged and able to fly. The young birds
are so tame that if a person comes across a flock of them and keeps
perfectly still they will walk up to him and pull his clothes.

‘“‘T am unable to give a correct estimate of the number killed
in the Mount Cook and Lake Wakatipu districts. The slaughter
of them at times has been very great. At Lake Wanaka, in four
years, I myself killed over three thousand, and I know of several
up-country stations where one to two hundred were killed yearly.
To reduce their numbers the County Councils used to give from
ls. to 2s. per beak, and the Government then gave the Councils
a subsidy of pound for pound. This has now been discontinued,
and so gives a chance of increase.” *

As quoted above, Mr. Huddleston speaks of the Kea eating the
berries of various alpine shrubs and trees, among others Panax
and Pittosporum ; these are only the taller undergrowth of the
forest, or at times a few may be found in a warm gully alongside
a small creek. They are all tall shrubs, and I have never seen
them growing at the elevation frequented by the Kea, but I have
no knowledge of the vegetation about Mount Cook. Podocarpus
is the generic name of several forest-trees, as the black pine and
totara, and these grow in what are termed the mixed bushes of
the lowlands. I once found on the mountain side, growing
among and covering a large area of large angular fragments of
broken rocks, a peculiar prostrate shrub, and, after some search,
found the seed or berry of this carpet-like growth. My sister
made a coloured sketch of the small branch which I brought
home. This I sent to Dr. Black, of Dunedin. He replied that
he did not recognise it, and had handed the drawing to the care
of the local museum. ‘At that time I had never seen the totara

* ‘New Zealand Journal of Science,’ September, 1891.

NOTES AND QUERIES. 301

tree of the forest (Podocarpus totara), but, on seeing a twig and
fruit of this tree, I at once saw that my prostrate shrub was a
variety of the totara. I hardly think Mr. Huddleston alludes to
this variety of Podocarpus, and should be surprised to hear that
the Kea really has access to the fruit of any of the forest Podo-
carpt.

In this same journal Mr. F. R. Chapman, in describing a
botanical expedition which he made to a valley of the Upper
Waimakariri, Canterbury, says :—‘‘ A very interesting Raoulia,
or vegetable sheep, was very plentiful on steep rocky places, but
I believe a finer species is found on Mount Torlesse. . . . It is
said that the Keas tear them up with their powerful beaks, and
that these birds learnt to eat mutton through mistaking dead
sheep for masses of Raoulia.”

Mr. Huddleston has, to my thinking made a hasty guess as
to Keas’ bill-of-fare including, Coprosma, Panax, Pittosporum,
and Podocarpus. Also, I would ask, how could the bird feed in
winter on the roots of Aciphylla, Ranunculus, or Celmisia, which
would then be covered with a deep winding-sheet of snow 3 ft. to
10 ft. in thickness ?

NOTES AND” QUERIES.

MAMMALIA.

Marten in Cumberland.—I have recently received a specimen of the
Marten, which was trapped near Derwent Water on Dec. 23rd last. The
animal is a male, and weighed 24 lbs. The orange- white patch on the
throat and breast is very conspicuous, and well set off by the dark colour
of the rest of the body.—E. W. H. Braga (Cheadle, Staffordshire).

{During a recent visit to Christchurch, Hants, we noticed in the
admirable collection of Mr. Hart two mounted specimens of the Pine
Marten, both of which were obtained in Cumberland, one a male taken at
Wallae Crag on Nov. 28th, 1891; the other a female taken near Keswick
so lately as Feb. 16th, 1895.—Ep.]

Marten in Co. Waterford.—Irish naturalists have to thank the Editor
for his article on ‘The Marten in Ireland” (Zool. 1894, p. 100). From
this source of information it would appear that Martes sylvatica has not
been noticed in the Co. Waterford for about forty-five years. Six specimens,
according to Mr. Ussher, were taken about the year 1850 in different parts

302 THE ZOOLOGIST.

of the county. I have now to record the capture in June last of two
Specimens, male and female. The female was taken on the 6th June, the
male on the 7th. I am indebted to Mr. James Gordon, head gamekeeper of
the Marquis of Waterford, for the following information. They were taken
in rabbit-traps which were set in a large burrow. ‘The female measured
27% inches in length, and was much more slender in appearance than the
male. On examination she was found to be suckling young. The male
was caught in the same burrow: length 302 inches, very much stouter
than the female. Mr, Gordon is inclined to think that the young were in
the burrow. He has skinned both specimens, and mounted them very
fairly. He says they were quite free from any disagreeable smell. The
spots on the chest of both are yellow. One curious thing I noticed about
these spots in both specimens was that on the right side the line is very
irregular. I suppose this is only a peculiarity of these particular specimens.
—Witiiam W. Fiemyne (Coolfin, Portlaw, Co. Waterford).

Albino Weasels.—As the white form of this little animal appears to
be somewhat rare, I may state that, besides the one already recorded by me
(Zool. 1889, p. 449), I have had the pleasure of. inspecting two others, one
caught in a trap in January last, and another killed on the 38rd or 4th of
July last. The January specimen was a male weighing 54 oz. and measuring
102 in. in length, of which the tail was 2} in.; its body was of considerable
bulk, which may be inferred from the above weight when compared with the
measurements. The specimen taken in July weighed only 2 oz. and was
only 9 inches long including the tail, which was 2 in. This was a female,
and iv appearance the sleekest little creature 1 ever saw, for its snake-like
body was hardly thicker than one’s finger, and the tiny limbs seemed the
perfection of symmetry and form, indicating extreme activity when alive, to
which its needle-like teeth must have been a useful adjunct. There wasa
peculiarity about the tail, caused I suppose by some accident: the middle
portion for about half-an-iach in length was almost bare of hair, but the tip
ended in quite a tuft, which looked rather curious. Both specimens were
pure white, with pink eyes; the ears, nose, lips, and toes pale flesh-colour.
The three specimens I have seen were a)l taken within a radius of ten miles,
but not very near each other. With regard to the colour of the ordinary
Weasel, I have sometimes seen specimens in which the white under parts
were much dappled with the colour of the back, but in more than twenty years’
experience I do not recollect ever seeing one with any indication of a black
tip to the tail—G. B. Corsin (Ringwood).

Bank Vole in Anglesea,—In the second week of July I trapped an
adult female of this species in a roadside hedge at Cemmaes, on the
uorth coast of Anglesea. The animal lacked the rich chestnut fur which
characterises the Bank Voles here in Cheshire, and in the colour of its upper

NOTES AND QUERIES. 303

parts closely resembled a common Short-tailed Field Vole. The length of
its tail, its prominent ears, white under parts, and above all the characters
of its grinding teeth, were, however, sufficient to establish its identity.—
CuHarLes OLpHaAm (Romiley).

[The Bank Vole being absent from Ireland, it is extremely interesting
to have thus established the precise limit of its range westward.—Eb. |

BIRDS.

The Imitative Faculty in Birds. — Last November a live Tree
Sparrow, Passer montanus, was brought to me which had been taken in
one of the “ clap-nets’”’ so lamentably common and so destructive in this
locality during the winter. It has been kept in a cage in proximity to a
hybrid Canary and Goldfinch, and since April (up to which time it appeared
to be vocally silent) I have often remarked the accuracy with which it
reproduces the notes—and, more rarely, a longer or shorter fragment of
the song—of its companion. Its own song possesses qualities distinctly
pleasing but scarcely comparable to the brilliant effervescence it counterfeits
in the more gifted hybrid. Latterly the imitations have been more varied
and skilful than were the first attempts; and this is certainly a note-
worthy feature, indicating as it does that the mimical faculty is capable
of considerable development. Montagu mentioned (Orn. Dict. 1802, art.
‘‘ Song of Birds”)—and, indeed, Aristotle speculated in effect on the same
subject long before—that birds when confined learn the songs of those they
most frequently hear; but, as is now well known, many species in the
reverse condition are given to mimicking their fellows. As an instance of
the latter case I may mention that my father, Mr. E. P. P. Butterfield, has
recorded (Zool. 1877, p. 884) his having heard a Whinchat, a bird of no
extensive vocal capability, imitate “in quick succession the song of the
Wren, Song Thrush, Chaffinch, Corn Bunting, Tree Pipit, Greentinch, and
Starling.” Similar instances will occur to all who have any experience of
field ornithology—it is notorious that the faculty obtains amongst members
of the genus Acrocephalus. I cannot wholly agree with the writer of an
Ingenious theory in ‘The Zoologist’ (1890, p. 233 et seq.) who supposes
birds’ songs to have originated in the imitation of constantly recurring
sounds connected with their food or surroundings. If the song of a species
varies dialectically in different areas of its geographical range—and that
such is the case would appear to be well established—there can be no
reason biologically why the different “ dialects” may not ultimately depart
as variantly from what may be considered the typical specific song as do
the songs of allied species. In our present state of knowledge it behoves
us to hazard a conjecture regarding the origin of song with the utmost
caution. For myself I incline to think that Mr. Darwin was right in
giving prominence to sexual selection as accounting both for the origin

304 THE ZOOLOGIST.

and development of song, although perhaps the influence of the emotions
(as of joy, hostility, &c.) has in no small degree contributed to the develop-
ment. Many writers regard song as the expression of ‘ superabundant
nervous energy” (in the words of a distinguished naturalist), but it cannot,
I think, be maintained that the most active birds are the greatest songsters.
The subject in all its phases is worthy of the attention of zovlogists.—
W. C. J. Rusxin Burrerriecp (Stanhope Place, St. Leonards-on-Sea).

Date of Arrival in England of the Marsh Warbler.—The following
dates may throw some light on this point, about which our text-books are
somewhat vague :—

June 5, 1892. Full song; no sign of nest. (Oxfordshire, W. W. F.)

June 20,1898. Full song; nest well advanced. Egg, 25th. (Oxford-

shire, W. W. F.)

June 19,1894. Nest with two eggs. (Near Bristol, H. C. Playne.)

June 16,1894. Full song; nest not discovered. (Oxfordshire, W. W. F.)

June 6, 1895. Fullsong; no sign of nest or female. (Bristol, H.C. P.)

June 11, 1895. Song; no sign of nest. (Oxfordshire, W. W. F. )
These dates accord fairly well with those which I can find given exactly
in former volumes of ‘The Zoologist.’ Thus in Zool. 1877, p. 334, we
have eggs on June 22; 1882, p. 806, eggs June 80; 18838, p. 295, eggs
June 7; 1889, p.451, eggs June 5. Hence it would seem that this species
must reach us about the middle of May; but, so far as my experience goes,
it does not arrive at its usual breeding ground much before June. In fact,
I have never yet succeeded in detecting its song earlier than June 5th, and
then it did not remain long in the spot where I first heard it. It is said by
Prof. Giglioli to arrive in Italy in April; and Herr Gatke tells us that it
appears in Heligoland about the beginning of May. But when I was in
Switzerland, at the end of April last, it was not in its accustomed haunts ;
and the reason was obvious—the plants in which it loves to breed were not
yet grown up. It is apparently a species which is very particular about
the kind of covert which it affects for breeding purposes, especially in this
country, where it has almost always been found in withy-beds; and, until
this covert is ready for it, it will not make itself obvious to eye or ear.
I think it probable that the date of its breeding will be found to vary from
the beginning to the end of June, according to the state of the undergrowth
in withy-beds in different seasons; but in all probability the birds—z. ¢. the
males—arrive pretty regularly in May.—W. Warpe Fow er (Oxford),

Nesting of the Marsh Warbler near Bath.—It may be of interest to
note that on June 20th last I had the good fortune to discover a nest of the
Marsh Warbler, Acrocephalus palustris, in an osier-bed near Bath. Mr.
Hall and Mr. Playue, of Clifton College, both of whom are well acquainted
with the species, immediately identified the nest as that of the Marsh

NOTES AND QUERIES. 305

Warbler. The nest, which contained four typical eggs, was situated within
a few yards of the spot where Mr. Playne found a nest of the Marsh
Warbler last year (cf. Zool. 1894, p. 304); it was about 18 inches from the
ground, and very similar to last year’s nest, except that it was suspended
entirely from the stalks of meadowsweet, without the help of osier-stems.
We were not so fortunate in observing the bird this year as we were last,
when on two occasions we heard the male give an admirable display of his
mimicking powers: but, apart from that, there are certain passages in his
song which at once distinguish him from the Reed Warbler, the species
which he most closely resembles. I visited the nest again on June 29th,
expecting to find the young hatched, but found instead that the nest had
been ruthlessly destroyed ; the birds, however, were still in the neighbourhood,
so it is to be hoped that they will build a second nest, which will escape
detection in the thick meadowsweet.— A. F’. R. Wox.aston (King’s College,
Cambridge).

Grasshopper Warbler in North Wales.—F rom the notes contributed
by Messrs. Rawling and Salter on the birds of Wales, it appears that the
Grasshopper Warbler is a somewhat local species in the principality, and
it may be worth while to record its occurrence in Carmarthenshire and
Anglesea. In the former county Mr. T. A. Coward and I heard a bird
‘reeling’’ on a hillside covered with brushwood between Pwllheli and
Abersoch, in June, 1887, and again in May, 1888 and 1893. In May, 1895,
I heard a bird of this species in this spot, and a second in a snipe marsh
about a mile west of Abersoch village. In Anglesea Mr. EK. W. H. Blagg
and I watched a female Grasshopper Warbler sneaking through the grass
on some waste land near Ty-croes station, in June, 1891. In July of the
present year I heard others ‘“‘reeling” in three different places in the
neighbourhood of Cemmaes and Llanfechell, on the north coast of the
island.— CHARLES OLDHAM (Romiley).

Cuckoo’s Eggs in Whitethroat’s Nest.—Although few cases of eggs
of the Cuckoo found in this country in nests of the Common Whitethroat
have been recorded, there can be no doubt that this species is very frequently
imposed upon by the Cuckoo. It is obvious that few birds are more likely
to suffer from the parasitism of the Cuckoo tlian the Whitethroat; and the
remarkable book on that bird recently published by Dr. Rey, of Leipzig, proves
conclusively that this is actually the case. Did Mr. Loat satisfy himself
that the Whitethroat mentioned by him (p. 229) did not lay its normal
number of eggs? Is there not the strong probability that the Cuckoo
~ before depositing her egg in the nest cast out and broke two eggs of the
clutch ?—J. B. Dospre (Pitt Street, Edinburgh).

Apropos of the remarks on this subject (p. 229), I may state that on
Juue 3rd last I was shown an egg of the Cuckoo which had been taken

306 THE ZOOLOGIST. -

from a Whitethroat’s nest a day or two previously. The lad who took it
said there were two other eggs in the nest, and offered to show me where it
was situated. I went to the spot, and found the Whitethroat’s nest in an
ordinary situation, viz., about two feet from the ground in a tangle of
nettles and bramble, and, strange to say, I saw a Cuckoo fly away from
the bush as I approached it; the nest, however, on inspection contained no
other Cuckoo’s egg, but four eggs of the rightful owner. The presence of
a Cuckoo so near the nest in which an egg of this species had been
deposited tends to confirm a previously formed opinion that the parent
Cuckoo, although not incubating its own egg, revisits the spot where it has
been laid. I have observed the same thing before in the case of a Cuckoo’s
egg dropped in the nest of a Black-headed Bunting, but in that case the
egg remained in the nest.—G. B. Corsin (Ringwood).

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in Captivity.—I have kept a female Lesser
Spotted Woodpecker, Dendrocopus minor, in confinement for more than
ayear. It came into my possession, with a male, when they were nestlings
only a few weeks old. Unfortunately the male died in early winter, during
my temporary absence in Italy. The female has not been one whit less active
since the loss of her companion. Her activity in wood-chipping is wonderful
and very enterprising. Both sexes have the same call-note, ‘‘ kink, kink ”
(rendered by Naumann as “kik ”); but the male has, in addition, a sort of
laughing cry, only uttered when he is excited, and even then but rarely.
Having listened to these birds at all hours from dawn to twilight I am able
to state positively that both male and female “churr.” They have, in fact,
three different beats: one is aloud “ratatatat’’; the second is similar to
the light tapping of the Nuthatch, Sitta cesia; their third sound, generally
called “churring,” is produced by a succession of very rapid blows on one
particular piece of bark. Both sexes produce this sound. My male bird
produced it when only a few months old. The solitary female reproduces it
occasionally for her own amusement. I cannot say that the Lesser Spotted
Woodpecker shows as much attachment to its owner as the Greater Spotted
Woodpecker (which makes a very affectionate pet), but it is a dainty little
bird and a lively companion. It undergoes an entire moult in spring.—
H. A. Macpuurson (Carlisle).

The Lesser Tern at Dungeness and Pett. — Mr. Robert Warren's
interesting account (p. 270) relative to the increase of the Lesser Tern
in Co. Mayo, reminds me that this charming bird has appeared this
year in slightly increased numbers at Dungeness. I have this from an
observant resident whose acquaintance with the colony there extends over
many years. Unfortunately I have been unable to realize a hope I enter-
tained during the recent breeding season of visiting the spot before the young
appeared, so as to reassure myself, and if possible gain an approximate idea

NOTES AND QUERIES. 307

of the number of breeding birds. Last year I found the Common Tern
greatly preponderating in numbers as usual. Westward, from the entrance
to Rye Harbour to Winchelsea, is a fatiguing stretch (as is only too obvious
when one labours thereon throughout a luckless winter day with a heavy
double-barrel) of shingly coast, which widens as Pett Level is approached
and then abruptly terminates in a barrier of rising ground, which continues
in crumbly cliffs onward to Hastings. These “ Levels” are yearly visited
by a few pairs of the Common and Lesser Terns, but always in very
precarious numbers. This year there has certainly not been an increase of
the Lesser, as I noticed only two pairs breeding. I have not succeeded in
verifying Mr. Gurney’s belief that the Arctic Tern breeds near St. Leonards
(vide Borrer, ‘ Birds of Sussex,’ p. 259). Indeed I have not seen a single
Tern of any kind on the beach between this town and Bexhill, some three
miles to the west, during the two years of my residence here.—W. C. J.
Ruskin ButTeRFIeLD (St. Leonards-on-Sea).

Dotterel at Scarborough.—On May 24th last I had brought to me
for identification a handsome adult female Dotterel, Hndromias morinellus,
which had been killed that morning at Weaverthorpe, about nine miles
from Scarborough. It was in perfect plumage, and on dissection the ovaries
proved to contain well-developed eggs.—Wm. J. Cuarxe (44, Huntriss
Row, Scarborough).

[The bird was probably on its way to its breeding haunts on one of the
northern fells, and it is to be regretted that in the case of a species whose
nesting haunts are now so restricted the bird should have been shot in
defiance of the Wild Birds Protection Act.—Ep.]

Polygamy in the Starling.— During the present summer I had under
observation, in a hole in a large beech-tree in the middle of a wood, a nest
of the Starling, which was owned by three birds. My attention was first
drawn to them when building by seeing three birds in succession come out
of the hole. I did not think much of the matter, supposing one to be a
bird of another pair which had gone to the nesting-hole for the purpose of
robbing some straw, &c.; but on passing the place the following day, and
seeing the same thing happen, I determined to watch, and for that purpose
climbed a neighbouring tree, and during a stay of a couple of hours had the
satisfaction of seeing the three birds go into the hole with building materials
several times. I had the nest under observation till the young had fiown.
I have never yet shot a nesting bird, holding that the non-observance of the
old command laid down in Deut. xxii. 6 (mentioned by Prof. Newton as the
“‘ most aucient gam e-law in existence’) is a powerful factor in exterminating
a species, and | was, from the position of the hole, unable to secure the
sitting bird for examination by means of a landing-net; but from what
I saw Iam inclined to think that two of the birds were cocks and the other

308 THE ZOOLOGIST.

a hen, as the bird that I invariably put off the nest had—so far as I could
make out with my glasses—the bill of not nearly so bright a colour as the
other two, and the terminal spots appeared larger. I believe that this state
of things, though by no means unknown, is at least of sufficient rarity to
deserve a note thereon.—OxLEY GraBuHam (Flaxton, York).

The Hawfinch in Hampshire.—It is quite possible that the Hawfinch
has of late years (as observed p. 272) extended its range aud increased in
numbers amongst us, if indeed the increase in the number of observers has
not something to do with it. My experience points to the fact that it
is a bird of somewhat irregular occurrence, in some years being much more
frequently seen than in others; not that I have ever known it to be “ very
common” or “ very rare,” in the general acceptation of the terms, at any
season, usually occurring in the winter in the greatest numbers. Some
years ago it bred in several parts of the New Forest, and I took the eggs
and saw the young in all stages of growth; but since then I have been
unable to visit the locality, so cannot speak with certainty. Coming near
the present date, however, I may state that during the severe weather of
last winter small flocks of Hawfinches were seen in various parts of the
forest, and numbers were killed. ‘he past summer has been productive
of both eggs and young, aud several nests have been taken. I have seen
a comparatively large number of young birds with the dappled breast and
under parts, and the more or less yellow plumage about the throat and
neck; in fact, one young bird just able to leave the nest had its whole
plumage suffused with this tint. I noticed, too, that the remarkably shaped
falcated primaries were developed in comparatively young birds, whilst the
black throat was wanting, or only very slightly indicated by a few dots
in outline, in birds that were fully grown. That the species has been
commoner than usual during the past summer is certain, but whether its
frequency will be maintained, the future must decide. I have known
several previous years when it was as common, but afterwards almost
disappeared. Its presence is generally made known to those who grow
peas iu their gardens, the bird often doing great havoc amongst them.
One of the nests of which I had a description was somewhat similar to that
mentioned, in the note at page 232, as resting ou a platform of leaves which
prevented its being seen from below; but in this case the nest was situated
in a small oak-tree, and the leaves had apparently been plucked from the
surrounding branches. —G. B. Corsin (Ringwood).

Migrating Birds rest upon the Water.—I have just been reading in
Herr Gatke’s ‘ Birds of Heligoland’ (English translation, p. 129) his reasons
for believing that migrating birds may occasionally rest upon the water.
He quotes three iustances which have come under his own observation,
To these I may add a fourth, which closely resembles at least one of his,

NOTES AND QUERIES. 309

While standing on the beach at Bordighera on Easter Monday last,
watching the arrival of migrants, I saw a little bird descend, as it were,
from the skies, and alight on the pebbles a short distance from me.
I approached it, and found it so much exhausted as to allow me to take it
iv my hand. I had just identified it as a female White-spotted Bluethroat,
when it slipped out of my hand and flew out to sea again. It very soon
alighted on the water, where it looked to me just like a Storm Petrel, and
after a short while rose again without difficulty. Again, however, it sank
on the waves, to rise in flight once more, after which I lost sight of it.
I may add two other facts which will possibly be of interest. During the
ten days I was at Bordighera, from April 13th to April 23rd, I only once
saw the birds arriving in any numbers on the coast, and that was in wet
and cold weather, with a wind from N.E. Yet all the time there were signs
enough that they were crowding in—the olive groves being full of them,
and the species changing almost from day to day. The bad weather
apparently kept them low, and brought them to my notice. Secondly,
I observed a remarkable migration of Swifts, Swallows, and House Martins,
with a few Alpine Swifts, along the coast eastwards, on April 19th.
Thousands passed over me, going at a speed which I tried to measure by
noting their progress from point to point, and roughly calculated at two
miles and a half per minute. This eastward migration, after the birds
arrive on the south coast of France, I cannot find alluded to in books;
though Herr Gatke has suggested it in his chapter on the “ Direction of
Migration Flight."-—W. Warpe Fow er.

Redshank breeding in Sussex.—The Redshank, says Mr. Borrer in
his excellent county avifauna (p. 244), still breeds (1891) in a few places
in Sussex, such as Pevensey Level, whence he has received its eggs within
the last few years. During the present summer, when revisiting Pagham
Harbour, or rather the site of what was once Pagham Harbour, now alas!
completely destroyed by drainage and partial reclamation, I came upon two
pairs of Redshanks, which were nesting in high grass in one of the least
accessible spots still partially surrounded with water in the bed of the old
harbour. They were very noisy, and comparatively tame, as such birds
usually are in the breeding season, flying overhead in circles, often within
gun-shot, had I been disposed to secure one. My only weapon, however,
was a field-glass, and I was mnch entertained in watching their beautiful
evolutions on the wing, as they circled round their nests, piping at intervals
their wild melodious notes, so much in keeping with the dreary waste over
which they hovered.—J. i. Harrine.

Little Crake in Sussex.—A Little Crake, Porzana parva (Scopoli),
was caught near Battle by a dog on the 30th of June last. The bird was
brought to Messrs. Bristow, taxidermists of St. Leonards, for preservation,

810 _ THE ZOOLOGIST.

and was by them submitted to me for identification; it had, when killed,
the red band at the base of the mandibles, one of the distinctive marks of
difference between it and Baillon’s Crake. Mr. Dresser, in his ‘ Birds of
Europe,’ has recorded three examples of Sussex-killed specimens: one said
to have been observed near Hastings in April, 1859; one at Seaford in
March, '1848; and another near Pevensey in March, 1862.—THomas
Parkin (Fairseat, High Wickham, Hastings).

Quails in West Sussex. — I am glad to be able to report that Quails
are with us again this season. On July 10th I heard the well-known note
of this bird in a wheat-field about 200 yards from my house, and on the
12th I flushed one of the birds. It is three years since I saw any in this
field. In former years I have come across a considerable number of Quails
round about this village, and, as already mentioned, I think, in ‘The

‘Zoologist,’ have known them to breed here. — H. Margmapuxe LANGDALE
(Compton, Petersfield).

Nesting Habits of the Common Whitethroat.—In June last a pair of
Common Whitethroats built a nest in our garden, and after the nest was
complete the hen bird was observed to sit in it for fifteen days before an
egg was laid. This I consider very unusual. — J. WuttTaKEr (Rainworth,
Mansfield, Notts).

Nutcracker near Chichester.—Mr. John Hale, butler at the Deanery,
Chichester, lately showed me a remarkable bird which was shot on the
3rd November, 1898, in Stockbridge Fields, near Chichester. Its large
size (about 14 inches in length), corvine appearance, and spotted plumage
made me think it must be a Nutcracker, Nucifraga caryocatactes, but, to
make quite sure of this, I carried the bird in its case to the Natural History
Museum, where I had the satisfaction of learning that I was right. As
Mr. Borrer, in his ‘ Birds of Sussex,’ mentions but a single example of this
bird obtained in Sussex, namely, one shot at Littlington in Sept. 1844, it
may be well to place on record the occurrence of a second and more recent
specimen.— H. D. Gorpon (Harting Vicarage, Petersfield).

REPTILIA.

Tritons devouring Newts.—In April of the present year I put a large
number of Newts, together with ten Tritons, into a glass vessel containing
from six to seven gallons of water, partly for the sake of observation and
partly with the idea of amusing the children. From time to time it struck
me that the numbers of the Newts diminished, and having made sure that
none could make their escape, I watched more closely till I caught a female
Triton with the tip of a male Newt’s tail showing out of her mouth. Having
caught the Triton, I pulled the Newt out; its length was three inches and a
trifle over. —H. Magmapuxe LanapaLe (Compton, Petersfield).

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. SIL

Newt killed by a Bee.—One hot morning, the cover being off the
aquarium, some working bees sought the water. Whether a Newt dashed
at the Bee or the latter pitched on the Newt's head, I am not sure. At
any rate the Bee attacked the Newt, and digging its sting in under the jaw
was immediately taken under water and drowned. The Newt afterwards
succumbed, owing, I think, to suffocation caused by inflammation in the
throat.—H, Marmapukxe Lanepa.E (Compton, Petersfield).

INSECTS.

A Flight of “Parasol Ants.” — On May 25th last I had occasion to
attend at the Port of Spain railway station, and proceeding thitherwards
in the early morning, found the road all along the route from the Gardens
to the station covered by myriads of the winged form of the “ Parasol Ant”
known as Atta giintheri, Forel., which is so common in the neighbourhood —
of the town of Port of Spain, to the exclusion of its larger relative Atta
cephalotes, the woodland ‘ Parasol Ant.” Opportunity is taken of this
occurrence to point out the lesson it teaches, which is, that the nest of the
“ Parasol Ant” should always be destroyed previous to the time of the
annual flight, which occurs generally in May or June. During this annual
flight it is certain that the sexes pair, and those which survive are certain
to become the founders of new nests in the most suitable situations in
which they happen to find themselves. If, however, the parent nests were
destroyed during the early months of the year, before the winged or perfect
forms are produced, the attempt to reduce their numbers in the colony would
have a better chance of success.—J. H. Hart (Botanic Garden, Trinidad).

NOTICES. OF NEW BOOKS,

Horses, Asses, Zebras, Mules and Mule-breeding. By W. B.
TEGETMEIER and C. L. SUTHERLAND. 8vo, pp. i-viil,
1-166. With numerous illustrations. London: Horace
Cox. 1895.

THE authors of this volume have done good service in bringing
together under the above heading some useful statistics from
many scattered sources of information. Especially valuable are
the remarks of Mr. Sutherland on Mules and Mule-breeding, on
which subject he brings to bear the experience of a quarter of a
century. Much of this information is new in the sense that it
has not previously appeared in print, and it is curious that in the
very extensive literature which exists on the subject of the Horse

312 THE ZOOLOGIST.

and its allies, no book devoted exclusively to the Mule has
hitherto been printed in England, although an English treatise
by Harvey Riley was published in New York in 1867,* and
another by Mr. C. L. Jones, of Columbia, Tennessee, is to be
found in the last volume of the Annual Reports of the Bureau of
Animal Industry, printed by order of the American Senate.
| Mr. Tegetmeier, by the way, is mistaken in asserting, as he
does in the very first sentence of his preface, that out of 4000
works on Horses and their utilization, about “one half” have
been printed in Great Britain. We have the best of reasons for
stating that “‘one quarter” only of these can be credited to Great
Britain, having made the original calculation upon which the
statement is founded (Zool. 1890, p. 121).

It is somewhat disappointing to find nothing in the volume
before us on the history of the Mule and its introduction into
Western Europe, for on this part of the subject a most interesting
chapter might have been written.

The Mulus (Greek wixro;), or Mule, was brought into Italy, as
the name shows, from Greece. The Latin name was afterwards
used by all the nations which adopted the animal. In Varro’s
time, just as now, carts were drawn along the high roads by
Mules, which were not only strong, but pleased the eye by their
handsome appearance. The Greeks were equally delighted with
the animal.| Pliny mentions a Jack-ass that was bought for the
stud at the price of £3229 3s. 4d., and states that in Celtiberia, a
province of Spain,a she Ass brought foals to the same value.
Varro alludes to an Ass that was sold in his time in Rome for
£484 7s. 6d. Plutarch in the life of Valerius Poplicola observes
that the price of a Sheep was about ten oboli, or nearly 13d. of our
money, and that of an Ox ten times as much, or about 10s. 10d.

Capt. Huth in his bibliography of ‘Horses and Equitation’
(4to, 1887) mentions no less than thirty works on Mules and
Asses published between 1495 and 1883, and had Messrs. Teget-
meier and Sutherland been at the pains to look into some of these
they might have extracted some curious and pertinent information.

* ‘The Mule: a Treatise on the Breeding, Training, and Uses to which he
may be put.’ By Harvey Riley. 12mo. New York. 1867.

+ Victor Hehn, ‘Wanderings of Plants and Animals from their first
home.’ See ‘ Zoologist,’ 1886, pp. 258—260,

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 313

It is perhaps not surprising that the earliest book treating of
Mules was written by a Spaniard,* seeing that Spain has long
been famous for these animals, and the Spanish Asses are cele-
brated for their size, height, and elegant build. A writer on
Asses and Mules, whose essay has escaped notice by both Capt.
Huth and the authors of the volume before us, comments on the
height of Spanish Asses (sometimes fifteen hands and upwards),
and states that at the date of his remarks (1801) the best of their
kind would sell even in Spain at very high prices, fetching some-
times a hundred guineas and more.tf

The work of J. E. Ridinger on Horses, Asses, and Mules
(folio, 1754) might have been consulted with advantage, if only
to direct attention to the excellent illustrations which show the
points which were held in estimation at that date as compared
with those now in fashion. Then there is the treatise by John
Mills, F.R.S. (8vo, 1776), on ‘The Breeding, Rearing, and Fitting
for Use Horses, Asses, and Mules, with Directions for the Treat-
ment of their Disorders.’ Passing over some half-dozen works
in German and Italian which followed that of Mills, we come to
a volume of similar title and scope by R. L. Allen, which was
printed in New York in 1848, and reprinted in 1852. Somewhat
nearer to our own time, we find the veterinary work of M. Roche,
which deals exclusively with the Ass, and expounds the French
method of treatment.{ We refer to these works merely for the
purpose of showing that the recently published volume of Messrs.
Tegetmeier and Sutherland is by no means exhaustive, and in
several particulars might be materially amplified and improved.

It is a curious fact which seems to be well vouched for, that
the duration of life in the Mule considerably exceeds that of either
the Horse or the Ass. Capt. Langhorne Wister, of Philadelphia,
a well-known breeder of Mules, writes :—‘“I think I can say that
Mules live on an average five years longer, and are able to do
_ heavy work at least seven or eight years longer, than Horses;
they thrive on coarser food, and are more free from disease.” He

** Manual Diaz, ‘ Libro de albeyteria, es a saber de los Cavallos y de las
Mulas,’ folio, Saragossa. 1495. ‘This work has been frequently reprinted ;
no less than seven editions are mentioned by Huth.

+ Anderson, ‘ Recreations in Agriculture and Natural History,’ 1801
vol, iv. pp. 821—334).

j ‘L’Ane. Médecine Vétérinaire,’ par A.E. Roche. 12mo. Paris. 1882,

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—AUG, 1895. 2B

314 THE ZOOLOGIST.

adds:—‘‘'They are very easily broken by those who understand
them, but need kind treatment, as they are apt to repel force by
force, 2. €., by kicking or striking with the forefeet”’ (p. 78).

On the subject of the non-fertility of Mules we are told (p. 80)
that those who have paid the greatest amount of attention to
Mule production and Mule indusiry, know of no instance of a
female Mule producing young. A figure is given of a supposed
fertile female Mule living at the ‘‘Jardin d’Acclimatation” in
Paris, but in the opinion of the authors “this is not a case of
a fertile Mule breeding, but of an ordinary mare whose female
parent was influenced by a first alliance.” Its mule-like appear-
ance is singular, possessing, as it does, the short head and long
ears of a Mule, as well as a mule-like tail. Some observations
on this very animal have been already published in ‘The Zoologist’
(1888, p. 103), where Mr. Sutherland has remarked that its his-
tory is not forthcoming, and if this were unimpeachable, it would,
in his opinion, be the sole authenticated case of the kind which
he has heard of in an experience of thirty years on the Continent
of Europe and in the United States. He adds that in Poitou
(where some 50,000 mares are kept for Mule-breeding) all the
experienced breeders disbelieved in this Parisian so-called fertile
Mule, there being no record in Poitou of a female Mule having
produced a foal.

By way of supplement to these remarks, we may direct
attention to two other cases upon which Messrs. Tegetmeier
and Sutherland offer no comment. In the ‘Sporting Magazine’
for 1818 (p. 176), will be found an account of a Mule in Suffolk
which produced a foal, and another case of the kind is mentioned
in ‘The Field’ of 15th July, 1873, where it is stated that a foal
(the produce of a Mule and Donkey) was seen by Mr. E. L. Layard,
and was presented for preservation to the Cape Town Museum.

Our pen has run away with us to such an extent on the sub-
ject of Mules (to which the second half of the volume before us
is devoted), that we find little space left for comment on the
remaining chapters, ten in number. ‘These relate to the Horse,
including a notice with a figure of Prejevalsky’s Horse from |
central Asia, the wild Asses of Africa (Somaliland) and Asia, |
the differeut species of Zebra, and Hybrid Hquide, on which
some remarks by the late Mr. Jenner Weir will be found in ‘The
Zoologist’ for 1888, p. 102. |

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 315

The chapter on the Horse, which extends to less than half-a-
dozen pages, is the least satisfactory in the volume, and is dis-
appointing in view of the enormous amount of material which
exists for review and utilization. The succeeding chapters on
Asses and Zebras contain more information; the illustrations
by Mr. Frohawk deserve especial commendation. |

Seventeen Trips through Somalilund: a Record of Exploration
and Big Game Shooting, 1885 to 1893. With descriptive
Notes on the Wild Fauna of the Country. By Capt. H. G.
C. Swayne, R.E. Cr. 4to, pp. i-xx, 1-386. With nume-
rous illustrations and maps. London: Rowland Ward &
Co. 1895.

SoMALILAND is the home of most of the African large game,
and at the present time affords one of the best and most
accessible of hunting grounds. Not many months ago we had
occasion to notice Lord Wolverton’s ‘ Five Months’ Sport in
Somaliland’ (Zool. 1894, p. 275), which we were compelled to
characterise as ‘“‘a mere record of shooting which adds nothing
to what was previously known concerning the natural history of
the country traversed.” ‘The same cannot be said of Captain
Swayne’s book, which stands upon a very different footing. In
the first place the result of no less than seventeen different
journeys, undertaken between 1884 and 18938, has placed the
author in possession of a far better knowledge of the country
than was acquired by his predecessor; and in the next place his
qualifications as an experienced field naturalist enabled him to
profit largely by his opportunities.

There is naturally a considerable sameness in the narratives
of African sport and adventure which are published from time to
time; the authors pursue and kill the same species of wild
animals—Lions, Elephants, Giraffes, Antelopes, and Zebras ;
and we imagine that by this time every conceivable condition
under which they may be found, and every possible mode in
which they may be killed, has been described with more or less
variation. On this part of the subject little can remain to be’
said. But in regard to the haunts and habits of some of the
little-known Antelopes, and the precise limits of their range in
Africa, we have still something to learn, and it is in this respect

316 THE ZCOLOGIST.

perhaps more than any other that Capt. Swayne’s book will be
found valuable. In addition we get the benefit of his advice
as to routes, and many a useful hint (pp. 331-360) as to equip-
ment, stores, and weapons, invaluable to future explorers.

Capt. Swayne has enjoyed unusual advantages for indulging
his love of sport and natural history. At the outset of his
travels his age was five-and-twenty. He enjoyed absolute free-
dom of movement, and at this period had full control of a small
escort of Indian cavalry. The sense of responsibility and the
prospect of exploring new country filled him with delight and
awakened his faculties. When he first entered the interior of
Somaliland, in 1885, it was practically an untraversed country,
and hitherto—though, as he says, unjustly—it had always borne
the reputation of being the desert home of bigoted and ferocious
savages. His object in writing this book, he tells us, is to present
phases of nomadic life in North-east Africa, and to supply de-
tailed information that may prove useful to future travellers and
sportsmen in that country. In this, it seems to us, he has
admirably succeeded, and although in his preface he modestly
characterises what he has written as a mere collection of facts,
the careful notes which he has made of all that came within his
observation will be found to possess the highest interest for
naturalists.. Most of the illustrations are reproductions of his
own drawings, and although they cannot be said to possess much
artistic merit, they convey with sufficient effect the appearance
and characteristic attitudes of the wild animals met with as they
would strike an observer viewing them for the first time. Some
of these sketches look a little grotesque, as, for example, the
figure of Clarke’s Gazelle on page 312, where a buck of this
species is represented as trotting away with his head and neck
carried perpendicularly, and a remarkably long tail carried straight
up over the back. But this, it seems, is a peculiarity by which it
may be distinguished from the allied Waller’s Gazelle. An
excellent comparison of the two, with a description of their
appearance and habits (which, as their long necks would indicate,
are very Giraffe-like), is given (pp. 311-318), with figures of the
heads and horns.

For a knowledge of one of the largest and one of the smallest
Antelopes, namely, the Somali Hartebeest (Bubalis swaynet),
“about as large as a Donkey,” and the Dik-dik (Madoqua swaynet),

i. +, -

——— eC t“‘i‘iCC!

EEE

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 317

which weighs less than an English Hare, we are chiefly indebted
to the author of the book before us. His account of these two
Species, as indeed of other animals met with by him, is most
interesting,

THE SomaLti HartEBEEST, Bubalis swaynet.

With all his love of sport and adventure, we are glad to note
that he counsels moderation in the slaying of big-game, and we
feel sure that his remarks (p. 295) on the disappearance of
Elephants from certain parts of Somaliland owing to the incon-
siderate destruction of the females will commend themselves to
every reader of his book.

‘“‘In the first enthusiasm of Elephant-shooting,”’ he says, “ it
is conceivable that a sportsman may shoot two or three cows as
well as bulls, as I have done; but there is no reason, except the
temptation afforded by very exciting sport, why large numbers of
Elephants of both sexes should be destroyed in Somaliland.
They do no harm to the few plots of cultivation scattered at wide
intervals, and very few Somalis will eat their flesh. Though the

318 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Elephants themselves are of the average size, this mountain ivory
is probably as small as any to be found in Africa, sixty pounds
being a very good pair of tusks.”’

The question of the desirability of training and using the
African Elephant for transport is one which will become more
important as Africa is opened up. Provided something could be
done to stop the wholesale slaughter of Elephants by English
sportsmen, there is still a probability that the whole of our |
Somali Protectorate would become restocked, for in the chaos of
rugged gorges which descend abruptly from the Harar Highlands
into Ogaden there are still plenty.

We note that, in addition to the author’s route map, there is
a very good “ Hunting Map,” so called, of Northern Somaliland,
which will enable the reader to identify the haunts of the different
kinds of wild animals mentioned in the text.

London Birds and Beasts. By J. T. Tristram. VALENTINE,
With a Preface by F. E. Bepparp. Post 8vo, pp. i—xiil,
1—319. London: Horace Cox. 1895.

WE confess to have been somewhat startled by the announce- .
ment of a new book by Mr. Tristram Valentine, happening to
know that, to the regret of his many friends, he died just two
years ago—in August, 1893. Neither on the title-page nor in
the preface do we find any mention of this fact!

Whether it was wise to publish this collection of essays
from periodicals without some revision or correction in the
shape of editorial notes, is a question upon which it would
seem there is some difference of opinion. We cannot help
thinking that greater justice would have been done to the
deceased author if his editor had shown that his observations
(some of them written six or seven years ago) were in the
main correct at the date of their original publication, but
have since become incorrect, or perhaps we should say in-
complete, by lapse of time. For example, in the chapter on
“the English Wild Bull” (pp. 51-59), written in July, 1890, we
find an allusion made to the arrival at the Zoological Gardens of
a young white bull, presented by Earl Ferrers, from his famous
herd at Chartley, in Staffordshire, an animal ‘ new to the collec-
tion.” So far so good; but since those lines were penned a

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 319

second example has been received in the shape of a white heifer
presented by Mr. Assheton Smith from the Vaynol herd; and
what is of some importance to note, the two animals have mated
and produced offspring. A footnote to this effect would have
exonerated the author from a possible charge of having over-
looked what is now a well-known fact. This leads us to say that
the title of the book is not well chosen, and is in point of fact
misleading, for on turning over the pages we discover, to our
disappointment, that all the so-called ‘London Beasts” and
many of the ‘‘London Birds,” are simply dwellers in “the
Zoo’’! while chapters on Leaf Insects, Tarantulas, Chameleons,
and Crocodiles—all interesting enough in their way—finding no
place in either of these two classes, have been ‘sandwiched ”
between them. This is unfortunate; but after all, it may be
asked, ‘‘what is in a name,” provided the subject-matter be
good? At any rate these collected essays will furnish pleasant
reading for an idle hour, and should they serve no better purpose,
they form a fitting and acceptable souvenir of a very estimable
man, a most agreeable companion, and, as his writings show, a
keen lover of natural history.

Forest Birds, their Haunts and Habits: Short Studies from
Nature. By Harry FF. Wrruersy. Post 8vo,, pp. 98.
London: Kegan Paul & Co. 1894. |

BurieD for some months under the daily accumulating
burdens of an KEditor’s table, this little volume, chiefly on
account of its small size, has escaped attention until now. It
would be hardly fair to the author, on that account, to pass it by
unnoticed, though it cannot well be characterised as a new book.
Although evidently written by a beginner, it 1s not without merit,
and its chief recommendation is the writer’s attention to accuracy
in details. His chief aim, as he tells us in his preface, has been
“to accurately record his ,own experience and observations in
the life-history of the eight species of birds described in these
pages;” and he adds that “the information presented has been,
with few exceptions, the result of many hours of patient watching
and waiting on the part of the author.” ‘This is as it should be,
and although the species dealt with are among the best known
of common birds, the way in which they are dealt with, especially

320 THE ZOOLOGIST.

in regard to details of structure, gives promise of better things
from one who has evident power of observation and only lacks
experience.

We look upon photographs of stuffed birds as the worst
possible form of book illustration, and therefore cannot praise
the full-page plates, in which many defects of badly mounted
specimens are reproduced and emphasized. In future essays the
author would do well to confine his illustrations to such original
drawings as furnish text-cuts in the present little volume.

In Grouseland. By Evan G. Macxenziz. Post 8vo, pp. i—viii;
1—248. London: Swan Sonnenschein & Co. 1895.

THE appearance of this little volume just before the opening
day of Grouse-shooting was well timed, and it will have attraction
for all who find charms at this season of the year amidst the
purple moorlands, where the impressive silence is first awakened
by the note of the gor-cock, to be followed by the echoing report
which too often, alas! proclaims its death. ‘The subject is a
well-worn one, but Mr. Mackenzie handles it pleasantly enough,
and if he does not tell us much that is novel, he puts forward some
old truths from a new point of view, and occasionally gives a
useful hint derived from experience. This book consists of two
parts. The first part, containing some twenty chapters, deals
with such topics as heather-culture, grouse disease, rent of
shooting, ‘‘ driving,” deer-stalking, &c.; the second part consists
of a series of letters (supposed to be addressed to the author by
the tenant of a highland shooting lodge) full of local gossip such
as would naturally occupy the attention of sportsmen at this
time of year, and on that account very pleasant reading. We
especially commend for perusal the chapter on “ Grouse-shooting
leases,” which contains some serviceable remarks and good
advice to those who think of renting grouse moors.

THE ZOOLOGIST

No. 225.—September, 1895.

ON THE “HEPATIC” PLUMAGE OF THE CUCKOO.

By FrREepErRicK CoBurRN.

On May 4th and 17th, 1895, I received two specimens of
Cuculus canorus in the “hepatic,’”’ or liver-coloured, phase of
plumage.

The first was shot by Mr. F. C. Clare in his garden, and the
bird was so curious in appearance that Mr. Clare did not know
that he was shooting a Cuckoo.

The second specimen Mr. Clare found on May 17th on his
garden-path, and, to use his own words, “it appeared dazed, and
allowed itself to be picked up.” A post-mortem disclosed a bruise
on the skull, which might have been caused either by a stone
thrown at the bird, or by its having accidentally come in contact
with a post or bough ofa tree while endeavouring to elude the
pursuit of the male. This would account for its dazed and help-
less condition.

On dissection both birds proved to be females, with well-
developed ovaries. These birds are in that most interesting
state of plumage, the change between the “hepatic” and the
adult, and a careful examination of them, also of males and
females in the nestling plumage (August 6th, 1895), will enable
me, I think, to clear up the mystery which Mr. Harting, in his
excellent article (p. 257), seems to think surrounds this hepatic
stage of plumage.

Selby was quite right in remarking that ‘‘ the young females
have more of the reddish brown disposed over their plumage,” &c. ;
for all young males I have dissected are much darker in colour

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—SEPT. 1895. 2¢

332 THE ZOOLOGIST.

than females: in some specimens they have quite a blackish
appearance about the head, neck, and dorsal region, while the
females have always had a lighter and redder general appearance.

But young Cuckoos vary considerably. In one male I have
there is a large white patch on the forehead, and another on the
nape, while in the darkest example of a young male in my
collection there is no trace of white on any part of the head.

All the authorities quoted by Mr. Harting are wrong in
supposing that the change from the nestling to the hepatic
plumage, or from the hepatic to the adult plumage, is the result
of a moult.

I do not think that any moult takes place even between the
autumn condition of the young bird and the full grey plumage
of, say, June.

It is. probable that fuller investigation will prove that the
adult Cuckoo moults once only in the year, and that after its
breeding operations are ended, and probably after it leaves this
country. On this point I received lately some curious and
interesting information from a friend, Mr. Charles Lunn, to the
effect that last year he reared a young Cuckoo, and has it still
living. It is very tame, knows its master, and has become
omnivorous in its diet, preferring cooked vegetables to meat. It
remained in its nestling plumage throughout the winter; and up
to past the middle of July there was no sign of any attempt to
moult on the part of the bird, but suddenly the feathers began
to fall out, and the bird soon became absolutely naked. It did
not appear to suffer in health or spirits, but the new feathers
began to appear before the end of the month, and according to
Mr. Lunn, “they grew with marvellous rapidity.”

My conversation with Mr. Lunn took place before I had read
Mr. Harting’s article, otherwise I might have put several questions
to him bearing on the subject, which must now be deferred until
I receive another visit from him, for I have not his present address.

There are many birds which do not moult so frequently in
the year as we have been led to suppose, and a change of colour
in the feather does not always mean a moult. Neither is it
always the result of the wearing off of the tips of the feathers, as
suggested by some.* But it is caused by the gradual fading away

** IT do not agree with the conclusions of Herr Meves, and shall, I think,

when the proper time arrives, be able to completely upset this widely
accepted theory,—of the wearing off of the tips of the feathers.

ON THE HEPATIC PLUMAGE OF THE CUCKOO. 323

of the colouring matter of the feather, or, on the return season,
a gradual development of the same colouring matter in the
old feather.

This is, I know, a subject of great importance, and one
which is not yet understood by ornithologists; but I have been
patiently working at it for some years, and have collected such
a mass of information as to leave no doubt in my mind that my
theory is correct, for I can show feathers in all stages of fading
and acquiring the colouring matter, and also showing two distinct
and widely different states of plumage on one feather.

So far as my experience goes, the chief moulting period for
wild birds is in the autumn, after the breeding season. Spring
moults are comparatively rare, and when they do occur are
generally only partial.

This is obviously a subject which I cannot fully deal with in
this article. Suffice it to say that the two Cuckoos under notice
fully confirm my previous investigations. They show at a glance
both the hepatic and the adult stage, and show also that the cin-
namon or reddish colour is slowly fading away and giving place
to the grey stage, without moulting. In the bird most advanced
towards the grey plumage there is not a trace of moulting, while
in the other there is one solitary rectrix moulting, but I think it
highly probable that this was to replace one accidentally lost, for
the new rectrix is of the hepatic and not the grey type.

Mr. Harting (pp. 257, 258) has minutely described his bird
which was shot in April, and it will be seen that the whole of the
upper parts displayed the reddish tinge of colour.

My first bird, shot on May 4th, shows on the crown of the
head the grey of the adult, but the feathers very faintly barred
in the middle with sandy brown, almost imperceptible until
they are divided. The sides of the head, the lores, chin, and
throat are a greyish white, suffused with pale brown and very
faintly barred. The whole of the neck, upper back, and breast
are of a cinnamon or light liver-colour, barred with blackish.
The primaries and secondaries are a faded brown, spotted and
barred on the outer and inner webs with reddish; some of the
tertiaries are distinctly brown. ‘The scapulars and all the wing-
coverts are grey, with very distinct brown spots. The back and
rump is grey, as in the adult, but with a trace of brown spots
here and there. The upper tail-coverts distinctly reddish, and

2c2

324 THE ZOOLOGIST.

the tail just as in Mr. Harting’s specimen. The under tail-
coverts are cream-white; only the longest of them are spotted
and streaked with black. The whole of the under parts from
breast to vent white barred with blackish, but not so distinct as
in the grey bird. Irides brownish yellow; bill horn-brown, paler
at the base; gape, legs, and toes pale orange-yellow.

My second bird, procured on May 17th, has the whole of the
head, chin, and throat grey, as in the adult; the neck and breast
reddish, barred with blackish, but much fainter than in the first
bird. The wings are a greyish brown, with the faintest trace
only of reddish spots. The scapulars are grey, with only a tinge
of brown; the back and rump is that of an adult bird, and the
tail has lost nearly all the hepatic colour and almost resembles
that of the adult. The under parts are white, more distinctly
barred with black than in the first example, and almost as boldly
as in the adult grey bird. The under tail-coverts are creamy
white, all of them spotted and barred with black. The irides
more distinctly yellow. Bill blackish horn, paler on the edges;
gape bright orange; tarsi and toes dull yellow.

Here, then, we have the gradual fading away of the hepatic
plumage as in Mr. Harting’s distinctly red bird shot in April, to
one almost grey obtained on May 17th, and I have no doubt that
by the first week in June all trace of the red stage would have
vanished.

A full-fledged female nestling Cuckoo shot on Aug. 6th, 1895,
measures 124 in., one of those shot in May measures 123 in., so
that there is practically no increased growth between the young
birds of August and what we may call the adult of May, for both
adults and young which I have measured vary to the extent of
half an inch.

This immature female bird and the specimen procured on
May 4th, when compared, show all the markings in common, and
it is easy to see how the darker red of the young bird might
gradually fade away and leave the light red of the hepatic stage.
Then compare the second bird with the first and with one in full
grey plumage, and the gradual fading away of the hepatic stage
is unmistakably manifest.

The rarity of Cuckoos in the hepatic condition of plumage in
England,—and I have no doubt as to their infrequency, for
throughout my long experience of some thirty years these are the

a

eee 4

ON THE HEPATIC PLUMAGE OF THE CUCKOO. 329

first two I have met with in the red dress, although I have
occasionally had examples with a feather here and there which
had not changed colour,—may be accounted for by the fact that
the change of colour in the feathers takes place, as a rule, before
the birds come to us in spring, and this will also explain their
comparative abundance on the Continent.

In a normally healthy bird the change of colour would take
place rapidly. The specimens in the red condition of plumage
which we get in this country are simply examples of retarded
development. The cause of this failure on the part of the bird
to change the colour of its feathers at the proper time is known
to me, but for the present I reserve information on this point.

It must be remembered that all red Cuckoos met with either
in England or abroad have been in the months of April or May.
We have no record of one found in June. What, then, becomes
of the hepatic Cuckoos after April or May? The only answer,
I think, to this question is the theory I have above suggested.

I do not think that Mr. Seebohm is right in asserting that
“the female Cuckoos just entering their second year do not
breed.” From the examination of the ovaries in my two birds,
I should unhesitatingly say that they were breeding females.
And I cannot refrain from directing attention to the singular fact
that all the red Cuckoos whose sex has been ascertained have
proved to be females, with the exception of those mentioned by
Temminck.

Mr. Harting states that the female examined by him showed
no marked development of the ovaries. If the bird was shot
early in April, no marked development could be expected in a
young bird; but every week—nay, every day—would add to the
development of these organs at the breeding period.

To briefly summarise, then, it seems to me that (1) Cuculus
canorus in the red or hepatic phase of plumage is the young bird

of the ensuing spring; (2) that it does not moult until it is over

twelve months old; and (3) that it is a gradual change of colour
in the feather which transforms it from the reddish nestling
stage to that of the adult grey bird.

326 THE ZOOLOGIST.

IN QUEST OF BIRDS ON THE MUONIO RIVER.
By A. Surron Davies.

Ture River Muonio, as most ornithologists are aware, forms
the natural frontier between Swedish and Russian territory where
those two countries adjoin one another, or, more strictly speaking,
between Swedish Lapland and Russian Finland. ‘Taking its
rise from Lake Kilpis-jarvi in Finland, close to the Norwegian
frontier, and not more than thirty miles from the Lyngen Fjord in
Norway, the river flows in a southerly direction to the Gulf of
Bothnia, more than three hundred miles away. The country
being low, with no mountains of any size, there are long stretches
of still, unbroken water on the river; but on the other hand,
there are several places where the rapids extend almost without
a break for six miles. The banks are low, and densely fringed
with willow-scrub and stunted birch-trees ; while great stretches
of ‘“‘tundra,” the breeding-places of countless birds, stretch on
either side up to the rounded hills which form the river valley.
This district has been rendered famous in the annals of ornitho-
logy by the late John Wolley, who, making his headquarters some
forty years ago at Muonioniska, a little south of lat. 68° N.,
worked the country round for several years. ‘The upper parts of
the river, however, have been but little explored, Wolley himself
having only passed through them once on his way from Norway
to Muonioniska: and it was with the object of fishing and
observing birds on the upper Muonio that we left England on
the 18th June last.

So many ornithologists have travelled up the Norwegian
coast that the features of its bird-life are now tolerably familiar.
As we went northwards Gulls, Oyster-catchers, Terns, Richard-
son’s Skuas, and Guillemots (Uria troile and U. grylle) became
more and more frequent. At Troms6, where we had to spend
several hours on June 25th, we found young Fieldfares and
Bramblings just leaving the nest in the birch-woods. ‘The night
of June 25th-26th was spent on the island of Sjaervé, lat. 70° 3’ N.,
where by the light of the midnight sun we visited a colony of
Herring Gulls situated upon the top of a hill above the sea.
Although there was an inaccessible cliff close by, with plenty of
nesting room, the Gulls apparently preferred the flat ground at

ee

ee, ee ee ee

et pntmg

nt ge :

BIRDS ON THE MUONIO RIVER. 327

the top, which was covered with nests. Most of the eggs were
somewhat incubated. On our way down from this colony
we disturbed a hen ‘“‘Ryper” (Lagopus albus) from her nest
under a rock. The nest, which was artfully concealed by a
curtain of trailing plants which hung down from the rock above,
contained ten incubated eggs, very much like those of our Red
Grouse, but slightly smaller. On a pebbly beach at the foot of
the hill we found a nest of the Oyster-catcher (Hematopus ostra-
legus) containing two eggs.

Skibotten, our destination on the Lyngen Fjord, was reached
on the evening of June 26th, and we at once began our march
towards the frontier, following the little Salmon River which falls
into the fjord here. Yellow-hammers and Blackcaps were both
seen and heard joining with the Redwings, Bramblings, and
Mealy Redpolls in the general bird-chorus which began at | a.m.
Higher up the valley we fell in with Blue-headed Yellow Wagtails,
Bluethroats, and Rough-legged Buzzards; also with mosquitoes,
that did not cease to remind us of their presence until we
returned to Skibotten twenty-eight days later.

At Helligskoven, a little mountain hut occupied by a Finn
with a Lapp wife, we rested for twenty-four hours. Here we
found a nest of the Blue-headed Yellow Wagtail in a hole at the
foot of a birch, with well-fledged young. There was also an
addled egg, which resembled almost exactly the egg of the Yellow
Wagtail. On comparing it with specimens of the latter at home
it was impossible to distinguish between them. Here we saw and
shot a specimen of the Northern Black-bellied Dipper: we did
not see a single bird of this species after crossing the frontier.
We crossed into Russian Finland on June 28th, and rested in an
unoccupied shelter on the shores of Kilpis-jarvi, the lake from
which the Muonio takes its rise. In the willow-scrub near the
house Bluethroats, Lapland Buntings, and Red-throated Pipits
were very numerous; we found a nest of the latter in the side of
a grass tussock, containing four incubated eggs.

As it would be an endless task to enumerate the birds seen
each day, it will be more convenient to give a general summary
of the observations made during the month spent between Finland
and Sweden; a river separating the two countries, we were con-
stantly passing to and fro, and it is therefore unnecessary to
make any more marked distinction between them,

328 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Of Thrushes we observed only the Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris)
and the Redwing (7. ilacus). The Fieldfare all the way down
to Kaaresuando was very uncommon. Fir-trees do not occur
higher than lat. 68° 30’ on this river, and it was not till we
reached the fir-woods that we saw a single bird of this species.
We only found one colony, and the natives all agree that upon
the upper Muonio the Redwing, whose song is to be heard every-
where, is far the commoner of the two.

We did not find many Wheatears, and never saw a Whinchat.

The Redstart is fairly common, and is known to the natives bya —

name signifying ‘‘ poor, or worthless, sort of a Bluethroat.” It gene-
rally builds in deserted holes of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.

The Willow Wren was the only species of warbler observed,
and this was very abundant. The Finns, who are nearly always
keen observers, could not tell me of any other species of warbler.

The Bluethroat (Cyanecula suecica) was very abundant in the
willow-scrub; its song continued all night, even when all other
birds were silent—z. ¢., from 11 p.m. tolam. This bird has
marvellous powers of imitation, and the long continuous strain,
consisting of the songs and notes of other birds connected by little
passages of warbling, reminded us greatly of the Sedge Warbler.

Of Tits, the Northern Marsh Tit (Parvus borealis) and the
Lapp Tit (P. cinctus) were the only species observed, and these
were very uncommon, being seen only in the fir-growth.

Around every house were one or two broods of White Wag-
tails; but as there are only a dozen houses between the frontier
and Kaaresuando, a distance of seventy miles, they can only be
called proportionately plentiful. Blue-headed Yellow Wagtails
swarmed along the sides of the river, and in the marshier parts of
the “Uoma” or tundra-like moors.

We found the Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) in several
places; but the predominating species was always the Red-
throated Pipit (A. cervinus), one of the characteristic birds of the
Uoma. We discovered three nests: those found on June 28th
and 29th contained incubated eggs; but one found at Keinovuopio
on July 27th contained five fresh eggs. We did not observe the
Tree Pipit (A. trivialis) or the Pied Flycatcher (Muscicapa atrica-
pilla); the latter species was not recognised by any of the Finns
when I showed them my note-book in which I had made drawings
of all species which I thought likely to be met with.

ee ee eee

———

llega,

Te

BIRDS ON THE MUONIO RIVER. 329

House Martins abounded in the neighbourhood of dwellings.
The Finns encourage them by placing laths under the eaves to
support the nests; and we counted as many as seventy nests on
a single hut. In some places they were building in nest-boxes of
birch-bark. We met with the Sand Martin at Kaaresuando,

where it was building in the low sandy banks of the river.

The Shore Lark (Alauda alpestris) occurs on the higher ground
towards Kautokeino in Norway, as does the Snow Bunting; the
magistrate at Kaaresuando had stuffed specimens, but we did not
observe any en route. The Lapland Bunting was one of the
commonest birds on the Uoma; they frequented the more open
parts as well as the willow-scrub, and the males in their glorious
plumage might be seen everywhere perched on a hillock, and
uttering their melancholy call-note, which resembles faintly that
of the Golden Plover. Several Reed Buntings were observed,
but no Yellow-hammers after crossing the border.

Bramblings (Fringilla montifringilla) were extremely common,
and we found many nests, but most of the eggs were still fresh
at the end of June. Though heard all day long, the birds are
very shy, and seldom seen. The nest resembles that of the
Linnet. ‘To compare it to that of the Chaffinch does not seem
quite accurate, for it never has the covering of lichen which is so
characteristic of the Chaffinch’s nest. We found the lining to
consist invariably of an outer wall of white feathers (generally
those of the Willow Grouse), with an inner layer of white willow-
down. The nests were generally placed in the fork of a birch.
The eggs we found resembled those of the Linnet rather than
those of the Chaffinch, and were small for the size of the bird.

The Mealy Redpoll (Linota linaria) was very abundant, both in
the birch-woods and in the willow-scrub; but by the time we arrived,
the young birds were flying about with their parents in the trees.

In spite of the statement made in ‘ Yarrell’ to the effect that
the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) has been observed at
Kaaresuando, we searched most carefully all the time we were
there, and failed to see one. As there are only twelve houses in
the village, we should hardly have failed to see this bird. The
natives said they had no birds round the house but White Wag-
tails and Martins, and, in the winter, Snow Buntings.

We did not see any Pine Grosbeaks (Pinicola enucleator), but a
Finn who when a boy used to collect for Wolley told us that he
had taken a nest of this bird this year.

330 THE ZOOLOGIST.

The Magpie (Pica rustica) has not at present come further up
the valley than Kaaresuando (lat. 68° 26’ N.), where a single
brood was hatched out this year. Wesaw Hooded Crows a little
further north, and Ravens all the way up the valley; but the two
latter species are said to increase in numbers in ‘‘ Lemming years.”

We saw but one Woodpecker (Dendrocopus minor); the fir-
growth is probably too sparse to encourage them so far north,—
the northern limit of several species seems to lie between
Muonioniska and Kaaresuando. The woodwork of the church
in the latter village was bored with woodpeckers’ holes.

The Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) was heard on all sides.

Probably from the scarcity of thick woods, we did not come
across a single Owl. We saw stuffed specimens of the Hawk
Owl and Tengmalm’s Owl, which with the Lapp Owl are said to
be fairly numerous a few miles below Kaaresuando. In ‘“‘Lem-
ming years” the Snowy Owl, the Eagle Owl, and the Short-eared
Owl! are numerous on the higher grounds, but the Finns had not
seen any Lemmings this summer, and consequently Owls and
Hawks have been very scarce. We saw one Merlin, and a few
Kestrels. A Finn who collects eggs at Kaaresuando had several
clutches of eggs of the Goshawk, Peregrine, Rough-legged Buz-
zard, and of Falco gyrfalco. The Falcons, however, do not breed
in any numbers, being found more frequently in the mountainous
country round Kautokeino, in the Norwegian province of Fin-
marken. We saw a Peregrine working over the Uoma on July 4th,
but apparently was not nesting. Goshawks are said to be fairly
plentiful where there are trees large enough for building purposes.

We saw a good many Rough-legged Buzzards (Buteo lagopus)
on the upper part of the river, especially close to Kilpis-jarvi.
On July 21st, while rowing across a small lake some five miles
below Kilpis-jiirvi, we heard a sharp whistle from the cliffs above,
which our Finns told us was the cry of a young Rough-legged
Buzzard. We accordingly landed, and after a climb of half-an-
hour reached the nest, which was built on a sheltered ledge above
a great slope of boulders. Ten feet above it was the nest of the
previous year, a substantial structure of twigs, some four feet in
diameter; but the nest occupied was little more than a hollow
scraped in the soil with a number of sticks scattered uselessly
around. It contained one full-grown young one, with a good deal
of downy fluff adhering to the feathers, and unable to fly, a young

BIRDS ON THE MUONIO RIVER. 331

one which had been dead some time, the remains of an Arctic
Hare, and a Blue-headed Yellow Wagtail. One of the parent
birds kept circling high above us while we examined the nest,
uttering her mewing cry, which was answered by the sharper
whistle of the young bird. This bird, which I now have at home
in Surrey, escaped, but returned after two days, when I succeeded
in whistling it down to alight on my hand.

The Great Grey Shrike occurs, but we only observed it once,
and the Swift is said to occur on migration only, and then but
rarely.

Both the Golden and White-tailed Eagles and the Osprey are
said to have greatly decreased in numbers of late, but the former
are of course more plentiful in ‘‘ Lemming years.”

We came upon a brood of Lesser White-fronted Geese on
July 2nd in travelling down the rapids. The goslings were very
tame, pecking at the mosquitoes on our hands. The old birds flew
round and round in great excitement, uttering a harsh croaking.
The Bean Goose (called by the Finns ‘‘ Mountain Goose”’) occurs
on the higher ground, as does also the Whooper (Cygnus ferus).

The Mallard is very rare, and we only saw one pair on
June 30th.

The Shoveler (Spatula clypeata)is sometimes seen on migration.

The Pintail (Dajila acuta) is fairly common, and we caught some
full-grown young ones on July 12th, easily distinguished by their
long, graceful necks.

The Wigeon is one of the most abundant of ducks. It is an
early breeder, and we began to see flights towards the end of our
time. The Teal (Querqgedula crecca) is nearly ascommon. We were
surprised to find the Tufted Duck (Fuligula cristata) as common
as it was; we saw quite a number of broods, and obtained a clutch
of eggs from Kittainen. Below Kaaresuando the Scaup (F.
marila) was fairly common, preferring small lakes with rocky
shores to the river swamps. ‘The flappers of this species may be
distinguished by the broad bill with well-developed white nail,
the yellow irides, and the greenish legs with black toes. ‘The
down plumage is much like that of a gosling.

Goldeneyes were very plentiful, especially lower down the
river, where the Finns have put up numerous nesting-boxes for
them to lay in.

We found the Long-tailed Duck (Harelda glacialis) fairly

oon THE ZCOLOGIST.

numerous about Keinovuopio, some fifteen miles below Kilpis-
jarvi, and here we obtained a nest with seven eggs on July Ist.
This was built in the reeds on the edge of a swampy pool, and
was almost immersed in the water. The bottom of the nest,
which resembled that of a Moorhen, was soaked, and there were
only two down-tufts, of a dark-brown colour. We identified the
female bird swimming near at hand. The eggs are small, and of
a dark greyish-green.

The Common Scoter (Gidemia nigra) was abundant, and we
obtained two clutches of their eggs, which are of a beautiful
creamy-yellow tint. The Finns also recognised the Velvet
Scoter (Gv. fusca), which we did not see. Last year I found
this species almost the commonest duck in Swedish Lapland,
just below the Arctic circle.

The Goosander (Mergus merganser) is rare, but the Red-
breasted Merganser (M. serrator) is extremely common, especially
in the neighbourhood of rapids; its Finnish name signifies
‘“rapid-bird.” The Smew (M. albellus) is well known to the
Finns, chiefly from the value of its eggs; there was no nest in
the district this year, and it is always very rare.

The Willow Grouse, Ptarmigan, Hazel Hen, Black Grouse,
and Capercailzie all occur, but game birds were scarce this year.

The Crane (Grus communis) seldom breeds so far north as
Kaaresuando, though it does so in the Muonioniska district,
where Wolley made his celebrated discovery of its nesting haunt.

The Dotterel (Hudromias morinellus) breeds on the higher
grounds, and we observed it on July 23rd when crossing the
frontier on our way back.

We found the Ringed Plover breeding in the neighbourhood
of Kaaresuando on July 8th. The Golden Plover was one of the
commonest birds on the Uoma, where its melancholy call was
heard all through the night.

We obtained eggs of the Red-necked Phalarope (Phalaropus
hyperboreus) from Kaaresuando, but did not often meet with the
birds, which are known to the Finns as ‘‘ Swimming Snipe.” We
did not meet with the Great Snipe (Gallinago major), but obtained
eggs of the Jack Snipe (G. gallinula) from the Finnish side of the
river at Kaaresuando, where there are some large marshes. We
failed to meet with the Broad-billed Sandpiper (Z'ringa platy-
rhyncha); the skulking habits of this bird render it extremely

——— ee

ey

ee wee 6 Ama lh:

BIRDS ON THE MUONIO RIVER. 333

difficult to observe. We saw the eggs of this species, however,
at Kaaresuando, and a Finn who was searching for us found two
of the young in down.

We obtained eggs of Temminck’s Stint, as well as the young
in down. These birds frequent grass meadows in the neighbour-

hood of houses, and may be seen perched on stakes or trees

uttering a faint pwrre resembling faintly the note of the Dunlin.
The actions of the male bird (for we never saw the female) at the
nest were very interesting. He would sit calling on a stake till
he thought there was no danger, when he would fly down, hover
above the spot, and then skim back to the post. After repeating
this manceuvre several times he would drop in the grass, when
his note changed to a quick continuous twitter.

The Ruff (Machetes pugnax) was very numerous in the
marshes round Kaaresuando, where we obtained eggs. As one
lay watching birds in the marsh they would keep passing and
repassing over our heads uttering a low croak.

It seems the rule rather than the exception for the wading-
birds on the Muonio to alight on trees or posts, and we noticed
the following species continually perching, viz., Ruff, Temminck’s
Stint, Common, Green, and Wood Sandpipers, Dusky Redshank,
Greenshank, and Whimbrel.

The Common Sandpiper (Totanus hypoleucus) positively
Swarmed; they were quite as common as sparrows. We did not see
many Green Sandpipers; but while we were at Kaaresuando some
Russian Finns brought us some Sandpiper’s eggs which they had
found in a tree in an old nest of the Fieldfare; they said that the
bird was like the Common Sandpiper, but had longer legs. We
found the Wood Sandpiper (7. glareola) very abundant, and
handled the young in down. The alarm note is a continual
“tchick-tchick”’ or “ giff-giff,” generally uttered from the top of
a stake or bush. The bird will often follow an intruder long
distances to decoy him away from its young, which are of a
greyish colour, with a conspicuous black stripe down the back.
We watched one brood in particular for a long time on July 7th,
close to Kaaresuando. Having caught the young we placed them
first in one part of the marsh, then in another, lying down close
to watch them. The male bird would run excitedly in and out
of the tussocks, searching everywhere till he heard their feeble
chirp. Then he would run towards them and settle down a yard

334 THE ZOOLOGIST.

or two off, quickening his note to a continuous “ giff- giff-giff.”
Then all the young had to tumble along laboriously (for they
could hardly walk) till they reached the male bird, who tucked
them safely under his wings; once or twice the female bird
appeared on the scene for a minute or two, when both would soar
in the air like drumming Snipe, and pitch down uttering a cry
resembling their Finnish name “ Leero.” The Wood Sandpiper
is known as the big “ Leero,” and Temminck’s Stint as the little
‘* Leero.”

The Common Redshank (Totanus calidris) was only observed
once, when we saw a pair on July 20th at Keinovuopio. The
Finns did uot know what they were. The Dusky Redshank
(T. fuscus) was first met with about thirty miles above
Kaaresuando, where they were common. By the beginning of
July they were all over the marshes, whither they had brought
their young from the fir-clad hills where they breed. We saw a
good many eggs of this bird at Kaaresuando, which breeds early.
The Finns call it ‘‘ Reevat”’ from its cry, which, however, seemed
to us to be better syllabled ‘‘ vikla,” the Finnish name for the
Greenshank. The male in his sooty breeding plumage is a
beautiful bird; but is not so much seen as the female. When
approached they both soar, hover, and stoop above one’s head,
going through every conceivable movement in mid-air. Their note
is then a clear “‘ tjew,” and this sometimes goes off into a “ kick-
kack, kick-kack”’ like a drumming Snipe when he is descend-
ing. The Greenshank (7. canescens) was fairly common along
the river-side: when their young were approached they were very
tame and confiding, and would balance themselves on the top of
a post, or on the topmost twig of a bush, within a few yards of us.
Their cry ‘ tjeuty”’ is wonderfully resonant.

The Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) is known to the
Finns, but we failed to meet with it.

The Whimbrel (Numenius phe@opus) was very common; and
i one place, a barren, terrace-like plain which skirts the rapids
for several miles, we found hundreds nesting. The Curlew (N.
arcuatus) was not seen.

We were somewhat surprised to find the Arctic Tern nesting
on the Uoma, and on small islands in the lakes, where they were
fairly numerous, and were seen fishing everywhere. ‘Their Finnish
name ‘“ Tirro” almost exactly reproduces their cry.

von

THE MIGRATION OF BUTTERFLIES. 335

The Black-throated Diver (Colymbus arcticus) was very
numerous, and served us as a good weather prophet. We obtained
two eggs of this species on June 29th from an island in a small
lake called ‘Tauki-jarvi, near Keinovuopio. The Red-throated
Diver (C. septentrionalis) was less numerous, but fairly common
near Kaaresuando. We obtained one egg on June 16th from an
island in the rapids called Karjalakosk1.

THE MIGRATION OF BUTTERFLIES.

By tae Epiror.

In the month of April last Mr. T. J. Mann, who was then
sojourning in Ceylon for the benefit of his health, sent me a
small collection of butterflies captured at Navanghena, with the
following interesting note :—

‘Tn this island, during the months of March and April, there
is a vast migration of butterflies from N.H.toS.W. They appear
not merely in hundreds, but in thousands, perhaps millions. This
movement of countless numbers all going in one direction, as of
set purpose, was first noticed this year about March 15th in the
northern part of the island; and at a moist spot in the otherwise dry
bed of a river, where they had apparently alighted to get moisture,
the ground was quite white with their wings, reminding one of
what one sees at home under the hawthorn trees when, after a
sharp shower, the ground is strewn with may-blossoms. The
migration, for such it appeared to be, commenced about 7 a.m.,
and lasted until noon, when there was a lull, or temporary
cessation of flight, after which the movement recommenced, and
the insects continued to pass on in swarms as before. I send you
a series of specimens for identification ; they will probably prove
to be males and females of one species, and no doubt you will be
able to name them, or get them named. I may add that large
numbers of apparently the same butterflies were observed by
friends one hundred miles out at sea to the S.W. of Ceylon.”

On receipt of this note I at once took steps to identify
the species from the specimens sent; and with the aid of Mr.
F. Moore’s beautifully illustrated work on the Lepidoptera of
Ceylon, and the assistance of Dr. A. G. Butler, who kindly

3836 THE ZOOLOGIST.

looked out specimens for comparison in the British Museum
Collection, it was soon apparent that the insects captured by
Mr. Mann were males and females of an Asiatic black and white
butterfly tolerably well known to entomologists as Catophaga
galena, Felder, having a general resemblance, both in size and
colour, to our Cabbage Butterfly, and not unlike C. lankapura,
Moore, excepting on the under surface, which is less yellow in
the male, and pearly in the female instead of orange.

Phenomena such as that witnessed by Mr. Mann are not unre-
corded, although little or no attempt has been made at explanation.
Sir J. Emerson Tennent, in his ‘Natural History of Ceylon,’
says :—‘ At times the extraordinary sight presents itself of flights
of these delicate creatures, generally of a white or pale yellow hue,
apparently miles in breadth, and of such prodigious extension as to
occupy hours, and even days, uninterruptedly in their passage—
whence coming no one knows; whither going no one can tell.”
He adds in a foot-note :—‘‘ The butterflies I have seen in these
wonderful migrations in Ceylon were mostly Callidryas hilarie,
C. alemeone, and C. pyranthe, with straggling individuals of the
genus Huplea, EH. coras and H.prothoé. ‘Their passage took place
in April and May, generally in a north-easterly direction. A friend
of mine travelling from Kandy to Kornegalle drove for nine miles
through a cloud of white butterflies which were passing across
the road by which he went.”

In this observation, and in the case mentioned by Mr. Mann,
it will be noted, first, that the species recognised were not identical
(although not distantly related), and, secondly, that the insects
were travelling in precisely opposite directions, a circumstance
which suggests that the direction of their flight may in some
measure depend either on the prevailing wind at the time of the
occurrence, or upon certain atmospheric conditions such as
influence the migrations of birds.

Nor is it in Ceylon only that this phenomenon has been ob-
served. In South America something of the kind was witnessed
by Darwin, who has thus graphically recorded the observation in
his ‘ Naturalist’s Voyage in the Beagle’ :—

‘‘ Several times when the ship has been some miles off the
mouth of the Plata, and at other times when off the shores of
Northern Patagonia, we have been surrounded by insects. One
evening when we were about ten miles from the Bay of San Blas,

THE MIGRATION OF BUTTERFLIES. 337

vast numbers of butterflies, in bands or flocks of countless
myriads, extended as far as the eye could range. Even by the
aid of a telescope it was not possible to see a space free from
butterflies. ‘The seamen cried out “it was snowing butterflies,”
and such in fact was the appearance. More species than one
were present, but the main part belonged to a kind very similar

Sesser rere ener rer as ere cperern cee oye mena ne sapien chaning

MS a a at adel oie ete SSS een ana Sa te A a SS ee es

CATOPHAGA GALENA, Felder, gf and 2. Navanghena, Ceylon.

to, but not identical with, the common English Colias edusa.
Some, moths and Hymenoptera accompanied the butterflies; and
a fine’ beetle (Culosoma) flew on board. Other instances are
known of this beetle having been caught far out at sea; and this
is the more remarkable, as the greater number of the Carabide
seldom or never take wing. ‘The day had been fine and calm,
and the one previous to it equally so, with light and variable airs.
Hence we cannot suppose that the insects were blown off the
ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—SEPT. 1895. 2D

388 THE ZOOLOGIST.

land, but we must conclude that they voluntarily took flight.
The great bands of the Colias seem at first to afford an instance
like those on record of the migrations of another butterfly,
Vanessa cardut (Lyell’s ‘ Principles of Geology,’ vol. iii. p. 68) ;
but the presence of other insects makes the case distinct, and
even less intelligible. Before sunset a strong breeze sprung up
from the north, and this must have caused tens of thousands of
the butterflies and other insects to have perished.”

The late Mr. Bates, in his delightfully written book, ‘The
Naturalist on the River Amazons,’ alluding (vol. ii. p. 227) to the
number and variety of beautiful butterflies which he met with in
his excursions round Kga, says :—‘‘ It was impossible to walk far
without disturbing flocks of them from the damp sand at the edge
of the water, where (as in the case noted by Mr. Mann) they
congregated to imbibe the moisture.”

Even as regards Kuropean Lepidoptera, something of the kind
has been remarked in the case of a well-known butterfly, the
Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui. In some years this species has
been observed to be not only unusually abundant, but moving in
numbers in one direction as if on migration. A very remarkable
illustration of this occurred in the spring of 1879, when the Rey.
H. Harpur Crewe, on his way to Spain and the Balearic Islands,
saw countless numbers of this butterfly in the neighbourhood of
Valencia and Barcelona from April 26th to 30th inclusive. A
similar phenomenon was observed in the island of Minorca from
May Ist to 3rd, and again in travelling by railway from Barcelona
to Paris on the return journey. So remarkable was the abundance
of Vanessa cardut at that time, not only in the countries just
mentioned, but in England, France, and Germany, that Mr.
R. McLachlan, to whom Mr. Crewe’s observations were com-
municated, thought it worth while to collect and summarise
all the particulars he could gain on the subject from English
and continental naturalists. These details he published in the
‘Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine’ (vol. xvi. pp. 49—51), from
which the following may be quoted :—

“On June 15th, near Sévres, great swarms appeared flying
from §.8.E. towards N.N.W., the wind being 8.S.W. At Stras-
burg from the 3rd to 9th June a similar occurrence was observed.
At Bischeim on June 7th, and also at Kehl, on the same day,
myriads flew in the afternoon, at the former place from the S,W.,,

THE MIGRATION OF BUITERFLIES. 839

at the latter from the 8.E., so that it was thought the columns
were not identical. At Angers a similar thing was observed on
June 10th, the direction being from E, to W, against the wind,

Tue Painted Lapy, Vanessa cardwi, 3 and ?.

which was not of much force. It was estimated that the number

passing along a single street in one hour was from 40 to 50,000.

At Wurtemberg, from June lst to 8th, an incessant migration

from §. and W. towards N.E. and E. was remarked. In the
2D 2

340 mae THE ZOOLOGISP.

Canton Zurich, on June 7th, an immense swarm moved from
S.W. to N.E., principally from 3 to 5 p.m.; this flight went per-
sistently in one direction, only changing temporarily to avoid
houses and trees. At Steyer in Upper Austria, on June 11th,
surprising numbers flew ceaselessly from 8.W. to N.K.; between
1 and 2 p.m. 90 to 110 per minute were counted in a space of
about 100 paces, and the swarm was estimated to have been above
rather than below 1,000,000.” |

These particulars, amongst others given by Mr. McLachlan,
will suffice to show the very extraordinary nature of the migration
of Vanessa cardui observed in that particular year.

Commenting upon the facts, Mr. McLachlan says (l.¢.) :—
“There can, I think, be little doubt that all the swarms consisted
of individuals that had hybernated ; there can also be little doubt
they were migrating, and that the column had become dispersed
before remnants of them reached our shores, and other parts of
the North of Europe. . . . Whence came they? Were they
all bred the previous autumn? or is it possible the insect may
be able to rest quiescent in the perfect state over a series of
years until the accumulated numbers simultaneously wake up ?
The whole subject is surrounded with difficulties.”

When exhibiting the Ceylonese specimens, forwarded by
Mr. Mann, at a meeting of the Linnean Society on the 6th
of June last, I remarked that these curious flights of butterflies
could not be regarded as quite analogous to the migration of
birds, which travel in opposite directions in spring and autumn ;
for the insects travel only in one direction and do not return, vast
numbers perishing en route. The phenomenon resembles rather
what has been observed of Lemmings,* Locusts,} and Dragon-
flies,f and may be explained as a sudden exodus from the birth-

Further remarks, pp. 157-160 pl. xiii. Collett, tom. cit., pp. 327-384.
Somerville, Proc. Zool. Soc., 1891, pp. 655-658.

+ See Layard, ‘Birds of South Africa,’ pp. 291, 314; and Andersson,
‘ Birds of Damaraland,’ p. 264.

{| Several of the larger species of Libellula occasionally migrate, but the
phenomenon is of rare occurrence, and the circumstance which brings about
such an uncommonly numerous development of the perfect insect must be
very peculiar. See Weissenborn, on a remarkable migration of Libellula
depressa, Mag. Nat. Hist., n.s., vol. iii. p. 516; and Hudson, on “ Dragonfly
Storms” (composed chiefly of A’schna bonariensis), ‘The Naturalist in La
Plata,’ pp. 140-134. See also Giitke, on the migrations of Libellula quadri-
punctata, Heligoland, p. 89,

—— sy —— =

i

THE MIGRATION OF BUTTERFLIES. 341°

place, leading to a compensating reduction of the species after a
season exceptionally favourable to its increase. In this view

Col. Swinhoe, whose extensive acquaintance with the Lepi-

doptera of India and Ceylon is well known, has expressed his
concurrence. But since these remarks were made, some additional
and most interesting information has come to light, and from an
unexpected source. Herr Gatke, who for fifty years has devoted
himself to a study of the migratory birds which visit Heligoland,
has published, in a bulky volume, the results of his observations,
and an English translation of the German text has just been’
issued.* In this volume will be found some extremely interesting”
observations on the migration of butterflies, from which the
following is an extract :—

“That Lepidoptera during their more extended flights are
subject to the same meteorological influences as birds, I have
been convinced by the experience of many nights in July, during
which I have caught numerous nocturnal Lepidoptera not belong-
ing to our insect-fauna, the weather of these nights being invariably
such that, if it had occurred a few weeks later, it would have con-
ducted hither innumerable Wheatears. It has, in fact, occurred
repeatedly that Lepidoptera, especially night-flying species, have
passed over this island in countless swarms at the time of powerful
bird-migrations. Thus, during the night of the 25th of October,
1872, thousands of Hybernia defoliaria, mixed with smaller
numbers of H. aurantiaria, passed over the island in the com-
pany of large numbers of Larks. And again, in the night of
the 1lth of October, 1883, during which an unusually strong
migration of all the species of birds due at that time took place,
this was accompanied by the appearance of very large swarms of
the same species of Hybernia.

“White Cabbage Butterflies, the Black Arches, Psilura
monacha, and also Libellulide (Libellula quadripunctata) have
been seen to pass here in migratory flights of astonishing
proportions, though even these do not come up to those of
Plusia gamma, which on repeated occasions have occurred in
numbers of which it would be quite impossible to form any

* ¢ Heligoland as an Ornithological Observatory: the result of fifty years’
experience by Heinrich Giitke.’ Translated by Rudolph Rosenstock. Roy. 8vo.
Edinburgh: David Douglas. 1895.

842 THE ZOOLOGIST.

conception. Thus, during the nights from the 15th to the 19th
of August, under the favourable conditions of a south-easterly
wind and fair weather, a considerable migration of birds took
place. On each of these nights, from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m., the
small Noctue above referred to were seen at the lighthouse,
passing from east to west in undiminishing numbers, like the
- flakes of a dense snowstorm. These small creatures also manage
to cross the North Sea in safety, for they often arrive on the east
coast of England suddenly, and in such remarkable numbers that
we can only believe them to be immigrants. In fact, as my friend
Mr. John Cordeaux informs me, an enormous accumulation of
these insects actually took place at a time corresponding to that
of the above observations.” (P. 117.)

_ Further on Herr Gatke writes :—

“Both the theory of inheritance as well as that of tradition
are quite untenable in regard to the periodical migratory pheno-
mena of other animals endowed with the power of flight, such as
beetles and nocturnal Lepidoptera. Among the latter the mi-
grations of Plusia gamma furnish in Heligoland excellent material
for observation. During their autumn migrations these small moths
travel from Slesvick-Holstein to England, across the North Sea,
a breadth of water of four hundred miles in extent. They pass
this island in enormous swarms, resembling, as seen from the
lighthouse, a dense snowstorm driven by a light breeze. ‘I'hus,
according to an entry in my journal for 1882, on the night from
the 15th to the 16th of August, with a very light south wind, a
powerful migration of birds occurred :—‘ From 11 p.m. to 3 a.m.
millions of Plusia gamma were travelling from east to west, like a
dense snowstorm.’ ‘Again, on the nights of the 16th, 17th, and
18th, large numbers of P. gamma passed the island, the migration
commencing each evening at 11 o’clock. On the 19th the wind
was south-east, the weather fine and calm. In the evening the
sky became over-cast, and a strong migration of birds took place.
From 11 p.m. until 2 a.m. thousands of P. gamma were again
seen. A thunderstorm, with high winds, subsequently put an end
to the migration. ‘These little insects also follow an east-to-west
course of migration, and they adhere to it with as much steadiness
and precision as the different migratory hosts of birds which are
observed here. That they, too, accomplish their journey in safety
is shown by the enormous swarms of them which frequently cover

THE MIGRATION OF BUTTERFLIES. 343

the east coast of England, and which can only be explained as the
result of an immigration. Besides P. gamma large numbers of
Gastropacha neustria, Agrotis graminis, and other species, are
represented in such migratory swarms. It has been suggested
that these insects are attracted by the light of the lighthouse,
and that, consequently, it is only around the latter that they are
seen in such quantities; this, however, is contradicted by the
migrations of Hybernia defoliaria and H. aurantiaria, these
insects sometimes making their appearance during strong migra-
tions of Larks in October, when large numbers of them may be
found in the course of the night, as well as on the following
morning, from one end of the island to the other. Now it is
quite impossible that these moths should be able .to collect
experiences of any kind during this single migration of their
life, which, moreover, is performed in the darkness of night
across a wide expanse of water; and even if they did these
would be perfectly useless, for these migrants die shortly after
their autumn migration without having produced further offspring
to which they could commit their experiences, either by hereditary
transmission or by personal instruction.”

On the subject of migrating Dragonflies, Herr Gatke
remarks :—

*‘ Another very peculiar phenomenon, also intimately connected
with thunder-storms, is the regular but temporary appearance, in
millions, of the large Dragon-fly (Libellula quadripunctata) before
such disturbances. Countless swarms of these insects make their
appearance all of a sudden during the calm sultry hours preceding
the catastrophe, while thunder-clouds gather on the horizon, and,
heaped upon each other, project into the blue ether beyond, like
so many giant mountains of snow.

“The direction whence these insects proceed cannot be
ascertained, nor do they arrive in swarms or companies, but
solitary individuals or scattered groups probably congregate on
the spot in one vast throng. The assembling individuals or
groups must, however, follow each other in very rapid succession,
for in a short time the face of the cliff, still illumined by the
sun, all the buildings, hedges, and dry twigs on the island, are
covered with them. Nor is it necessary for the occurrence of
this phenomenon that the storm should actually discharge itself
over Heligoland, or even in its immediate neighbourhood, but

344 THE ZOOLOGIST.

only that the thunder-clouds extend over about two-thirds of the
whole expanse of sky as measured from the horizon to the zenith.
The insects vanish as suddenly as they appear, so that hardly
one of them is discoverable on the following morning. It is not
known whether they proceed further west, though this is probably
the case. Itis certain, at any rate, that they do not remain here,
otherwise one would undoubtedly find them lying about dead after
the heavy rain of a thunder-storm.”’

Herr Gatke has expressed his conviction (op. cit. p. 116) that
Lepidoptera during their more extended flights are subject to the
same meteorological influences as birds, and it is curious that in
regard also to Dragon-flies it should have been observed by him-
self (p. 89) and by Mr. Hudson (op. cit. p. 131), of different species
in two very different quarters of the globe, that these swarms of
insects suddenly make their appearance immediately before some
atmospheric disturbance, such as a heavy thunder-storm or a
high wind. |

It is observable also that while superabundance of life, in the
case of the Lemming and Locust, requires to be checked by the
intervention of certain natural enemies—the former being attacked
by Owls, Hawks, and Buzzards, the latter by Pratincoles and
Storks *—no such interference has been observed in the case of
Butterflies and Dragonflies, more lowly organized creatures,
which go to their destruction unharassed, yet driven as it were
by some inherited impulse which they are apparently unable to
withstand.

From the incomplete nature of the statistics at hand it is not
possible to draw any definite conclusions as to the cause of the
migrations observed; but taking the case of Vanessa cardui as
furnishing the greatest number of recorded observations, the
following statements may be taken as fairly correct, or at least as
warranted by the evidence :—

(1) The migration does not take place annually, but at
irregular intervals, and only in those years in which there has
been an abnormal abundance of the species, or failure of the
food plant; when there is, so to say, a surplus population to be
got rid of.

* Pratincola nordmanni and Ciconia alba, known respectively to African
colonists as the ‘‘ Small” and ‘‘ Great Locust-birds.”’

ra,

THE MIGRATION OF BUTTERFLIES. o45

(2) The sexes do not migrate separately as is the case with
certain birds.

(8) Butterflies do not invariably fly with or before the wind.
They have been observed passing from 8.S.E. to N.N.W., with
the wind at 8.S.W., and even going due W. with the wind
blowing from that quarter. This negatives the suggestion that
they are irresistibly carried away by a current of air.

DIAGRAM TO SHOW PREVAILING DIRECTION OF MIGRATION OF
Vanessa cardui.

(4) The general direction of the spring migration (at least
in the case of V. cardui) is northerly; that is to say, not due
north, but some points E. or W. of N., as shown in the accom-
panying diagram. In no instance, so far as the records show,
have any flocks been observed at that season of the year going
south, or in any southerly direction.

(5) There is no return journey in autumn in a direction.
opposite to that taken in spring.

There are other points upon which no certain information is
at present available. For example, we have yet to learn whether
butterflies have a sense of direction—as is probable, not merely
from what has been above stated, but from their going towards
particular flowers, and making choice of particular food-plants
upon which to deposit their eggs—or whether in the course of

346 THE ZOOLOGIST.

their migrations they are merely actuated by an inherited and
uncontrollable impulse. ‘Taking it for granted that thousands of
individual butterflies perish during these periodical migrations,
while a certain number reach their destination—or at least arrive
at some destination where they may rest, recuperate their strength,
and continue their species—do they in point of fact discover some
suitable food-plant for the nourishment of their larve? If so,
when eventually the pup are transformed to perfect insects, do
the latter in their turn migrate as did their progenitors? and
towards the north? in which case some limit must eventually be
reached, to pass which would prove fatal to the species? In the
alternative, all the migratory hosts must perish, and the per-
petuation of the species must be left to those individuals which at
the period of the general exodus do not quit the land of their
birth. But here again we stand in need of facts. Are any
individuals left behind at the period of migration? or do the
female insects previous to their departure take care to deposit
their eggs, and thus ensure the foundation of a future colony ?

Those who reside in or visit localities wherein these curious
migrations are observable would do well to enquire into the sub-
ject more closely, with a view to clear up some of the difficulties
which are here suggested.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

MAMMALIA.

Spread of the Roe-deer in §.W. Scotland.—It is rather surprising,
now that Roe-deer are so plentiful in the district, that they are so strange
and unfamiliar to the eye of most folks. It is only about twenty years, or
a little more, since they reappeared in the south-western counties after a
very long absence, but now they are found all over the district, and some
copse-woods contain them in comparatively large numbers. I have seen
no less than four of these pretty little deer gambolling together within
twenty yards of the public road at a Troqueer locality not much over a
mile from the end of the New Bridge.-—Roxpert Service (Maxwelltown,
Dumfries, N.B.).

White Hedgehogs.—On August 11th, while going round the coverts
to look at some vermin traps, I found in one of them a Hedgehog that was
quite white. Never having seen a white one before, I think you might

NOTES AND QUERIES. 347

be glad to hear of it—TsHomas HarpsorTLe (Gamekeeper, Kilburn,
Kasingwold).

[White Hedgehogs no doubt are occasionally met with, but not very
often reported. Charles Waterton, whose name is familiar to naturalists,
once had a family of milk-white Hedgehogs in his park at Walton Hall,
near Wakefield (Zool. 1866, p. 195). Mr. J. O. Harper, of Norwich, com-
municated the fact that he had obtained a white Hedgehog in the parish of
St. Faith’s, near Norwich, in October, 1850, and added that on dissection
he found the nerves in connection with the muscles for the contraction
of the skin to be greatly diseased (Zool. 1851, p. 8022). In December,
1878, another white Hedgehog was caught in Wrest Park, Bedford. See
‘ Zoologist,’ 1879, p. 172.—Ep.]

London Rats crossing the Thames.—A most remarkable sight was
witnessed during the burning of the large grain warehouse near Blackfriars
Bridge on August 31st last. When the fire was at its height a great stir
was noticed in the waters of the Thames, which for some time could not be
accounted for. Before long, however, the spectators on the embankment
discovered that it was caused by immense numbers of rats which had been
driven by the heat from the burning building. They appear to have left
the place en masse, for they were all gathered together and made their way
across the water in one crowd. Unfortunately for the rats, but fortunately
for the dwellers on the opposite side of the river, they could find no landing-
place, and most of them found a watery grave. Rats, although essentially
land animals, are not without the power to swim, but, like all other animals
which take to the water by force of circumstances, and not from choice, they
are not long before they become exhausted. It is probable, therefore, that
those which swam across the river and could find no landing-stage on the
embankment were too exhausted to return to the Surrey side, and so
perished.

Whiskered Bat in Derbyshire:—Through the courtesy of Mr. G. F.
Gee, I have been able to examine a Whiskered Bat, Vespertilio mystacinus,
which was killed last June, in broad daylight, at Cromford.—CHaR.Les
OLpHamM (Romiley).

Common Seal at Scarborough.—On August 24th a Common Seal,
Phoca vitulina, was shot at Scalby Ness, in the North Bay, Scarborough.
The animal, which was a young male of very pale colour (almost entirely
without the usual dark dappling on the back), had been left by the tide in
a pool on the rocks, and when seen was making the best of its way back to
the open sea.—WiututaM J. Crank (44, Huntriss Row, Scarborough).

BIRDS.

Migration of Pied Wagtails—August 15th. The Wagtails are
beginning to assemble on my lawn daily, as they do every year about this

348 THE ZOOLOGIST. —

time. I suppose they are on their way to southern climes. Great numbers
of them are to be seen on some mornings at this season in the park here.
This continues for about a fortnight or three weeks, when nearly all depart.
—J. G. Hamuine (The Close, Barnstaple).

Quails in Nottinghamshire.—There are three pairs of Quail evidently
nesting close to the house here,—two pairs in clover and one in barley.
Formerly we often shot Quail in September; now they are not often seen,
and it is several years since I flushed one in the shooting season. Common
Sandpipers had returned here from their breeding-places by 24th of July.—
J. WHITAKER (Rainworth, Mansfield, Notts).

White-fronted Goose in St. Kilda.—It may perhaps interest Mr.
Steele Elliott, whose notes from St. Kilda are printed in the last number
(p. 281), if I mention the White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) as a recent
addition to the fauna of that island. An adult male of this species, a soli-
tary straggler, was shot on St. Kilda in June of the present year; and, as it
was a handsomely-marked bird, I had the pleasure of sending.it to Mr. W.
Eagle Clarke for the collection in his charge at Mdinburgh. Apropos of
Fulmarus glacialis, when I visited St. Kilda a few years ago to obtain the
downy young of this species, I found that the nestlings appeared to be from
three days to a week old upon the 10th of July. This year some young
Fulmars were sent to me from St. Kilda during the first week of August.
The largest had lost a great deal of the nestling down, and they had all
begun to develop their quills. I may add that a very pretty Pied Puffin was
sent to me from St. Kilda this year. The whole of the upper parts are
varied with white feathers in this bird. Of course such varieties of
Fratercula have been often recorded, but they are seldom to be seen in
public museums. ‘This bird is being mounted for the Carlisle Museum.—
H. A. Macrurrson (Carlisle).

[We received a notice of this occurrence from Mr. Steele Elliott, but too
late for insertion in the last number, which was then in the press.—Ep.]

Water Pipit at Tetney Haven.— On April 5th I shot a Pipit at
Tetuey Haven on the Lincolnshire coast, which at the time I supposed to
be the Scandinavian form of Anthus obscurus in summer plumage, but
subsequently Mr. Cordeaux, having seen the skin, pronounced it to be an
example of Anthus spipoletta ; and Professor Newton and Mr. Dresser, who
were kind enough to examine the specimen, concurred in this opinion. This
is the first occurrence of this species in Lincolnshire.—C. H. Caton Haicu
(Aber-Ia, Penrhyndeudraeth, Merionethshire).

Period of Incubation with the Shag.— When visiting a nesting
haunt of the Shag or Green Cormorant in Shetland on May 6th last I was
somewhat surprised to find that most of the nests had their full complement
of eggs, apparently a good deal incubated. A few, indeed, contained young,

Ee a ae ee

NOTES AND QUERIES. 349

some of which must have been fully a week old. This is eight days earlier
than on the Saltees, as recorded by Mr. Ussher (Zool. 1890, p. 436).
Taking the incubation period for the Shag as a month—that of the
Cormorant being twenty-eight to twenty-nine days, according to Mr. Evans
“On the Incubation Period of Birds” (‘ Ibis,’ Jan. 1891)—some of the
eggs at this locality must have been laid by the end of March. This is
perhaps abnormally early, yet the date given, May and June, in the
lately published book on Oology by C. Dixon, is far too late, and refers
undoubtedly to second layings. Though I have seen many hundreds of
Shags’ nests, yet I have never till this season found one containing more
than three eggs. This year, however, one with four eggs was noted.
Another nest contained no less than seven, but these had evidently been
laid by different birds, three of them being of one type, and probably
belonging to the rightful owner of the nest, while the other four were
all different and in different stages of incubation. Other nests in the
immediate vicinity of this one contained only one egg apiece. It is reported
by the Shetland fishermen that the “Scarf,” as it is there called, has
greatly increased of late years. The bird is bitterly hated by them, and
used to be destroyed to some extent at the nesting period, but this has
of course been now stopped. The colony of Green Cormorants on the
“ Horse of Burrasoe,” Yell, certainly numbers over 2000 pairs at a moderate
estimate.—HaroiD Ragsurn (81, Buccleuch Place, Edinburgh).

Arctic Tern and Common Gull breeding in Shetland.—lIn the loch
of Grumnavoe, in the mainland of Shetland, there is a small island which
rises several feet above the water, and is densely clothed with a broad flag-
like vegetation. On this island, which I visited on June 24th last, I found
a colony of the Arctic Tern breeding in company with the Common Gull
and other species. Most of the Terns’ nests were situated on the grassy
upper tract, and each was formed of pieces of dry flags placed together
without any tidiness or compactness, but in sufficiently thick layers to keep
the eggs dry. This note will be of interest in view of Dixon’s statement
(‘ Nests and Eggs of British Birds,’ p. 307) concerning the nidification of
the Arctic Tern, that no lining is ever used.—RoBerr Goprrny (46,
Cumberland Street, Edinburgh).

Avocet in Kent.— During the last week of August an Avocet, Recurvi-
rostra avocetta, was shot not far from the North Foreland, and was brought
to me the following day. It was a bird of last year, in very good condition.
The shooter reported that there were three in company, only one of which
he secured.— W. OxenpDEN Hammonp (St. Albans Court, Wingham).

The Marsh Tit in Dumfriesshire.—About 1840, according to the late
Sir William Jardine, Marsh Tits were not uncommon in Dumfriesshire,
while Coal Tits were scarce. The very reverse is the case now-a-days;

850 THE ZOOLOGIST.

indeed until within the last few years I had never seen the Marsh Tit
within a considerable radius of Dumfries. In one or two spots of Upper
Nithsdale, and in parts of Annandale, a pair or two were usually located.
The species seems to be gradually spreading again, and I have observed
three pairs in different places in the Stewartry side of the Nith Robert
Servick (Maxwelltown, Dumfries, N.B.).

BATRACHIA,

Natterjack Toad in Dumfriesshire.—Few people are aware that, so
far as Scotland is concerned, we in this district have a monopoly of the
Natterjack, Bufo calamita. Some time ago I was applied to by a friend at a
distance to procure for him a few Natterjacks. For this purpose I repaired
to the shore below Kirkconnell Lea, and searched for over three hours, but
for some reason or other failed to turn up a single specimen. They are
usually found under stones just above high-water mark. Failing here,
I thought of Southerness, the other locality where these curious little
Toads are sometimes got; and there I found them at once in the usual
situation, and procured the required number. They are found all round
the shore from the Lighthouse to the head of Gillfoot Bay. They are
curious little fellows, smart and lively, singularly flattened in aspect, and
with more “life” about them than the Common Toad appears to have.
The yellow stripe down the back, and brown warts, give them quite an
ornamental look. It has never been explained why they should be found
nowhere else in Scotland than at these two localities. In England also it
shows a similar sporadic distribution.—RosBrert Srrvice (Maxwelltown,
Dumfries, N.B.).

[This confirms an observation made more than fifty years ago by
Sir William Jardine, and communicated by him to Bell for his ‘ History
of British Reptiles.’ It is interesting to note that Southerness was then
as now a recognized haunt of this somewhat local species. — Eb. |

MOLLUSCA.

Helix rotundata, M. (sinistrorsum, Taylor).— While searching in a

garden here on Aug. 24th I found a reversed specimen of Helix rotundata,
Miiller. The shell measures about 5 m. across. The colouring is normal,
the embryonic whorl being dull grey and without striz, as usual; the
intermediate whorls dark brown and the body whorl horn-colour, blotched
with reddish brown. As the animal is alive I hope to be able to rear it to
its full size.x—ALFRED SicH (Chiswick).

Errata. — P, 305, line 19 from top, for ‘ Carmarthenshire” read
‘‘ Carnarvonshire ;” line 3 from bottom, for ‘‘ Doppre” read “ Dopptn,”

((@61-<)

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.

The Royal Natural History. Edited by Ricuarp LypDEKKER:
with Preface by P. L. Sctater. In six volumes; illustrated
with 72 coloured plates and 1600 engravings. Vols. II.—
IV. London: F. Warne & Co. 1894-95.

Since our last notice of this work (Zool. 1894, p. 316)
considerable progress has been made in the issue of parts, the
punctual appearance of which every month is most commendable.
Volumes II. and III. have been completed, and four parts (19—
22) of Vol. IV. are already issued. The ground covered so far
by the author comprises the whole of the Mammalia (in fifteen
parts) and a considerable portion of the Birds (parts 16 to 22, the
last issued).

As regards the classification, Mr. Lydekker divides the class
Mammalia into eleven orders, which are dealt with in the
following sequence :—

1. Priwatrs . . Apes, Monkeys, and Lemurs.

2. CHIROPTERA . Bats.

3. InsEcTIVoRA . Insectivorous Mammals.
4, CARNIVORA . Carnivorous Mammals.

5. UNGULATA . Hoofed Mammals.

6. Srrenta . . . Manatees and Dugongs.
7. CeTacEA . . Whales and Porpoises.

8. Ropentia . . Rodents.

9. EpenratTa ... Sloths and Anteaters.
10. MarsuprauiA . Pouched Mammals.
11. Monotremata. Egg-laying Mammals.

It is not to be supposed that all these groups are separated
from one another by differences of equal importance; for, as
Mr. Lydekker points out, No. 10 differs from the preceding groups
by characters of far more importance than do any of the preceding
nine from one another, while members of No. 11 differ funda-
mentally from the first nine groups, but almost as markedly from
No. 10.

In the first chapter the chief characteristics of the class
Mammalia are pointed out, those of the orders being reserved
for subsequent treatment in their proper place. In view of the
great interest attaching to the natural history of the Anthropoid

352 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Apes, we should have expected to find more particular reference
to the literature of the subject; not a complete bibliography, of
course, for that would entail too much labour and occupy too
much space, but a selection of titles of the more important books
or essays which have been published, with proper references to
the periodicals in which the essays are to be found. This would
be extremely useful to a reader desirous of pursuing the subject
in greater detail than the space at Mr. Lydekker’s disposal
has enabled him to do.’

This remark applies forcibly to the very short section on -

Fossil Apes (p. 57), in which the author, referring to the remains
of a fossil Chimpanzee found in Northern India, in rocks belonging
to the Pliocene or later division of the Tertiary period, draws the
conclusion that India was the original home of the ancestors of
all the large man-like Apes of the present day, and that from this
centre their descendants have gradually dispersed to the eastward
and south-westward. We have thus, he considers, an easy explana-
tion of the present peculiar geographical distribution of the various
groups of large man-like Apes now existing. Moreover, there is
sure evidence, he says, that at an earlier part of the Tertiary
period, known as the Miocene Age, at least one species of Anthro-
poid Ape (Dryopithecus) inhabited Western Europe, its remains
having been found in France. Mr. Lydekker, as an accomplished
paleontologist, could of course give chapter and verse for these
statements, but the uninformed reader would have been glad to
have, if only in a brief foot-note, a reference to the particular
memoirs in which the discovery of these fossil remains in India
and France may be found detailed.

In the order which includes the Monkeys the number of
species is so large that their classification and diagnosis is a very
troublesome matter, and we do not think that Mr. Lydekker has
made it quite so clear as he might have done. For example, if in
his prefatory remarks he had pointed out the chief characteristics
which serve to distinguish the old world species from the new,
and had then split up these sections into smaller groups, men-
tioning the peculiarities uf each, his subsequent treatment of the
species would have been not only less confusing to the reader,
but would have rendered it very much easier to determine the
name and systematic position of any particular species that might
come under the reader’s notice, His account of the Barbary

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 3858

Ape (Macacus inuus), or, as he prefers to call it, “‘ the Magot,”
following the example of Buffon, is very interesting in regard
to the particulars respecting its lingering existence in Spain,
especially on the Rock of Gibraltar, where it continues to be
protected, having been originally imported thither by the Moors
from Barbary.

Amongst the Lemurs and their allies, of which a considerable
number are figured, we find some of the best illustrations, Lemur
varius, Hapalemur griseus, Chirogaleus furcifer, being especially
well executed. The Potto asleep (p. 233) is drawn in a charac-
teristic attitude and nicely engraved. In these examples the chief
faults of the printer, too much ink and too much pressure, have
been fortunately avoided. ‘The same cannot be said in the case
of some of the Bats. The Greater Horse-shoe Bat, for example,
figured on p. 263, is made to look nearly black, whereas it is
naturally one of the very palest of its kind. The wing-membrane,
instead of being pale and delicate and semi-transparent, is literally
“as black as ink,” which gives an appearance of solidity quite
unreal. .So with the Barbastelle (p. 271), Daubenton’s Bat
(p. 284), and even the Common Pipistrelle (p. 274), of which
specimens might easily have been procured as a guide for colour,
or rather tone. Illustrations of Bats in general works on Zoology
seem to be always a stumbling-block to artists, engravers, and
printers. They are scarcely ever correctly drawn, and as seldom
well printed. Mr. Lydekker, in this order of Mammals, would
have done well to have discarded as many as possible of the old
blocks and to have prevailed on the publishers to substitute
something newer and better.

The order Insectivora, it seems to us, has been somewhat
scantily treated, both in regard to the selection of the species
described, and to the illustrations, of which we do not find more
than a score. In the case of the Water Shrew, of which a
very inadequate illustration is given (p. 328), the figure does not
accord with the description given in the text. It is said to be of
the natural size, but is considerably less, and is black beneath
where it should be white.

These may seem trivialities in the way of criticism; but if
such faults as we have indicated are to be observed in the case of
species with which we are well acquainted and of which specimens

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX,—SEPT. 1895. 25

354 . THE ZOOLOGIST.

are easily procurable, it lessens our confidence in the accuracy of
those of which we know little, and which may or may not be as
faultily delineated.

In the order Carnivora we are sorry to find that the account
of the Lion and Tiger alone occupy some forty pages of text.
Half of this space at least might have been saved for the con-
sideration of less-known species. Few wild animals are now
better known than the Lion and Tiger; every book on travel and
sport in Africa and India teems with information of some sort
about them; every trait in their character, every peculiarity of
habit must surely by this time have been described over and over
again,

We should have been content with brief descriptions of species,
accurate tables of measurement or weight, outline of geographical
distribution, and references to reliable sources of information for
further details on special points.

There is perhaps no point on which there has been so much
exaggeration and misrepresentation as the measurement of Tigers.
The greatest lengths recorded in the Badminton volume on Big-
game Shooting (section India) have been recently severely criticised
by a sportsman who, having shot no less than 83 Tigers in the
course of his experience, is well qualified to express an opinion
on the subject. His remarks, which appeared in ‘ The Field’ of
17th August last, should be read in extenso by those who are
interested in this subject. From the reliable statistics given by
him it is clear that Mr. Lydekker must be in error when he states
(p. 375) that ‘‘unusually fine specimens will reach, or even
slightly exceed, a length of 12 feet; 12 feet 2 inches being
apparently the maximum dimensions ascertained with any
approach to accuracy.” ‘These dimensions evidently must have |
been ascertained from the skin and not from the dead animal.
‘Those who have had experience in flaying wild animals are well
aware that a dressed skin will easily stretch so as to measure a
foot or two more than it did before removal.

On the subject of the European Wild Cat and its allies
Mr. Lydekker has some interesting remarks, but in speculating
on the ancestry of the Domestic Cat in different countries he has
evidently omitted to consult De Blainville on the osteology of
the mummied cats from Egyptian tombs, and an essay by the
present writer on ‘The Origin of the Domestic Cat,” which

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 355
formed the subject of one of the Zoological Society’s ‘ Davis
Lectures,’ might have furnished some useful hints.

Through the courtesy of the publishers, Messrs. Warne & Co.,
we are enabled to reproduce half-a-dozen of the illustrations,
selected here and there from parts before us.

The figure of the Seal (Phoca vitulina) furnishes a charac-
teristic attitude of an animal which, though common enough on
many parts of the British coast, and occasionally found in rivers
some distance from the sea, is seldom seen by the majority of

hy

““LMWWood b

=== —
—S =
{-

THE SEAL, Phoca vitulina,

people except in museums and zoological gardens. The account
given of it by Mr. Lydekker is brief, though he conveys a good
idea of its geographical distribution, which is very extensive.

In the illustration of the EKuropean Wild Boar we recognise
the master hand of Joseph Wolf, and regret that we do not
find more of his work in the present volume. As a former
denizen of English forests the Wild Boar is an animal to which
a peculiar interest attaches, since it forms a connecting link,
as it were, between past and present—between those extinct
creatures whose former existence in our country is known to us

only by the discovery of their fossil remains, and those which

are still living at the present day. Asa beast of the chase he
has been renowned from the earliest times, and still continues
to test the prowess of sportsmen in France, Germany, and other
parts of the world, including India, where “ Hog-hunting” (ot

306 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Pig-sticking, as it is also termed), in the opinion of many English
officers and civilians who have tried it, forms the very acmé
of sport.

In the standard work of Bell on ‘ British Quadrupeds, in-
cluding the Cetacea,’ we have before now (p. 20) had occasion
to regret the unsatisfactory nature of some of the illustrations,
notwithstanding the excellence of the engraving.

a

THE WILD Boar, Sus scrofa.

The figures of the Killer or Grampus (Orca gladiator) and of
Risso’s Dolphin (Grampus griseus), borrowed from a memoir by
Mr. True (Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus. 1889), are here reproduced to
show the effectiveness of ‘‘ process-blocks” from drawings in black
and white, when the surface of the animal to be represented is
perfectly smooth and does not, as in the case of furred animals,
lend itself to the treatment of line engraving.

The section devoted to Birds, in the ‘ Royal Natural History,’
commences with Volume III., Part 15, and we turn to it with
some curiosity to ascertain the scheme of classification adopted.
On no subject is there greater diversity of views among zoologists

——— eS ee = wad

> eee

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. Ky’

than with regard to the classification of Birds (see Zool. 1894,
pp. 469-470), owing, no doubt, in a great measure to the difficulty

of determining what features should be regarded as of primary
importance. |

THE KILLER oR Grampvs, Orca gladiator.

Mr. Lydekker has thought it “advisable,” as he tells us
(p. 303), “in a popular work of the present nature to revert to a

-Risso’s Dotpuin, Grampus griseus.

modification of a scheme proposed some years ago by Dr. Sclater.
Including certain extinct forms, Birds, according to this scheme,
may be divided into twenty-five groups, of which the first twenty-
two may be reckoned orders — such orders, be it understood,
being for the most part far less distinct from one another than
are those of Mammals.

358 THE ZOOLOGIST.

. PassrrES . . Perching Birds.

. Prcartrz . . Woodpeckers, Cuckoos, Hornbills, &c.
» PSITTACH «i's; «x @Erots.

. STRIGER. -5,. 5 a0 Wise

. PanpionEs . . Ospreys.

. AcciPITRES . . Eagles, Falcons, Vultures, &c.

. STEGANOPODES. Pelicans, Cormorants, Gannets.
. Heropiones . Herons and Storks.

. Oponroetossi. Flamingos.

10. ANsERES . . Ducks, Geese, and Swans.

11. PaAtAMEDEu . Screamers.

12. CotumBz . . Pigeons, Dodo, and Sandgrouse.
138. Gatuine . . Fowls and Game Birds.

14. Fuuicartz . . Rails and Coots.

15. ALECTORIDES . Cranes and Bustards.

16. Limicotm . . Plovers, Curlews, Snipe, &c.

17. Gavim . . . Gulls and Terns.

18. Tupinares . . Petrels and Albatrosses.

19. PygopopEes . . Divers, Auks, and Grebes.

20. Impennes . . Penguins.

21. ODONTORNITHES Toothed Birds (extinct).

992. CrYPTURI .- =. Tinamus.

23. STEREORNITHES Patagonian Flightless Birds (extinct).
24, Ratir= . . . Ostriches, Emus, &c.

25. Saurur& . . Long-tailed Birds (extinct).

DOONAN L WWE

As, according to Mr. Lydekker, the number of species of
existing birds is considerably over 10,000, the space at his com-.
mand has necessitated a much briefer treatment of the class than
is the case with the Mammalia, and he seems to have madea
fairly good selection of the families and genera to be noticed.
We see no justification, however, for the remark that ‘for the
anatomy of the soft parts of birds the reader must be referred to
other works.” This part of the subject ought surely to have
been dealt with in the introduction to the section.

As a specimen of the illustrations of bird-life given in this
volume we are permitted to reproduce the figure of the Pigmy
Parrot of New Guinea (Nasiterna pygmea), and we have selected
this not only on account of the excellence of the tone, but because
the bird has been drawn life-size, the total length being about
three inches, which for a Parrot is, of course, remarkable.

The last of our illustrations, the Passenger Pigeon (Columba
migratoria), has been chosen as a very pleasing example of
Mr. George Lodge’s engraving, and as representing one of the

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS, 859

rarest of North American wanderers to the British Islands.
Mr. Lodge is one of the very few artists who can engrave his own
blocks, and who, knowing exactly the effect which is required to
be produced, runs no risk of misinterpretation by entrusting the

Lhe
SSsyy

UD.
YA

Tue Piemy Parrot, Nasiterna pygmea.

block to other hands. In the Pigeon here figured we have
an excellent contrast between the soft delicate plumage of the
bird and the rugged bark of the pine tree on which it is well
posed. :

With this observation we must bring our notice to a close.
So far as the work has proceeded it reflects the greatest
credit on the industry of the author and the enterprise of the
publishers.

The more we have looked into the work the more we haye

860 THE ZOOLOGIST.

marvelled at the price at which it is being issued, Seeing
that each part contains about one hundred pages of letter-
press, well printed, and on good paper, fifty or sixty engravings,
and two coloured plates, we should consider it cheap at five

iy
M i!

; Y hip Wt!
: HON We nue

THE PAssENGER Pigeon, Columba migratoria.

shillings a part, whereas the actual cost of each number is one

shilling net,
It ought to have an enormous circulation, and, as an aid to

the diffusion of zoological knowledge, we hope it may.

THE ZOOLOGIST
No. 226.—Oetober, 1895.

THE ORNITHOLOGIST IN HELIGOLAND.

Some fifty years ago a young German artist, wishing to take
up marine painting as a profession, fixed upon Heligoland as the
most fitting place for a studio, and liked it so well that he has

remained there ever since. He was induced to select that island
for his pied @ terre, not only on account of its position in mid-
ocean, which would afford ever-changing views of sea and sky,
but because it offered at the same time unusual facilities for
observing a great variety of birds which temporarily rest there in
the course of their migrations. |

The observations, which he at first made for amusement,
became so fascinating, that they developed into a course of serious
study. Careful notes were taken of the different species of birds
which alighted on the island, the dates of their arrival, the
direction of the wind, and the condition of the weather at the
time, with other particulars of great interest to naturalists, such
as the separation of old and young birds on migration, the
direction of their flight, and the altitude and speed with which
they travel. The patient collection of such statistics for a period
of nearly fifty years at length placed Herr Gatke in possession of
such a mass of accumulated facts that it seemed imperative on
him to publish at least the general results, if not the complete
details, of such extended observations. Scientific ornithologists
in all parts of the world gradually became aware of the nature of
his studies, and pressed him for information. Some of them even
visited him in his island home, and under his guidance became
eye-witnesses of bird-migration on a scale which, judging only

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.— OCT. 1895. 2F

362 THE ZOOLOGIST.

from reports, had previously appeared to them exaggerated and
well-nigh incredible. So far from this being the case, they were
enabled to confirm by personal observation what they had formerly
accepted only upon trust. Amongst others who thus journeyed
to Heligoland to satisfy their curiosity was Mr. Henry Seebohm,
who in his most interesting work, ‘ Siberia in Europe,’ published
in 1880, has given a graphic account of his visit to Herr Gatke,
and of all he saw during his sojourn on the island. At page 249
of the volume just quoted he writes :—

“The modus operandi of migration has been to a large extent
misunderstood. Few birds migrate by day. By far the greater
number of species migrate by night. The number of places
where nocturnal migrations can be systematically observed is very
small. Two circumstances are requisite to make such observa-
tions successful. First, a sufficiently large population sufficiently
interested in the event to permit no nocturnal migration to pass
unobserved. Secondly, a sufficiently intelligent naturalist to
record the sum of many years’ observation. Probably in no place
in the world are these desiderata so exactly fulfilled as upon the
island of Heligoland.”

Heligoland is a very small place, probably not much more
than a hundred acres in extent. It is an isolated triangular rock
of red-sandstone, with perpendicular cliffs two or three hundred
feet in height, dropping into a sea so shallow that at low-water
one may scramble round the island at the foot of the cliffs. Most
of the surface of this rock is covered with rich soil and grass.

About a mile from the island is a sandbank, the highest
portion covered over with esparto-grass, and the lower portions

covered by the sea at high tide, reducing the island from perhaps
fifty acres to twenty-five.

The resident birds on Heligoland and Sandy Island probably |

do not exceed a dozen species; but in spring and autumn the
number of birds that use these islands as a resting-place during
migration is so large that as many as 15,000 Larks have been
known to have been caught there in one night, and the number
of species of birds obtained on these two small plots of land
equals, if it does not exceed, that of any country of Europe.
There are many species of Siberian and American birds which

have never been obtained in any part of Europe except upon the
island of Heligoland,

SSS Ss rrr ee rr. rr rh Or Oe

THE ORNITHOLOGIST IN HELIGOLAND. 863

From time to time Herr Gitke has published lists of the
species observed there and obtained by him, and these lists are
so remarkable for the number and variety of the species included
that many ornithologists have doubted their accuracy.

_ The authenticity, however, of the Heligoland skins is stated
by Mr. Seebohm to be “ beyond all possible question.” The fact
is, as he says, that this little island is the only part of the world
of which the ornithology has been properly worked. Every little
boy on the island is a born and bred ornithologist. Every un-
fortunate bird which visits the island has to run the gauntlet of
about forty guns, to say nothing of blow-pipes and catapults.
The flight and note of every bird is familiar to every islander.
A new species is immediately detected. The fisherman steers
with a gun by his side; the peasant digs his potatoes with a gun
on the turf and a heap of birds on his coat. The common birds
are eaten, the rare ones sold to the bird-stuffer, and the new ones
taken to Herr Gitke. Long before sunrise the island is bristling
with guns; after dark the fowlers are busy with their nets, and
at midnight the birds commit suicide by dashing against the
lighthouse.

Some idea of the mortality which ensues from the last-
mentioned cause may be formed from the following graphic
description of what takes place :—

“ Arrived at the lighthouse, an intensely interesting sight
presented itself. The whole of the zone of light within range of
the mirrors was alive with birds coming and going. Nothing else
was visible in the darkness of the night but the lantern of the
lighthouse vignetted in a drifting sea of birds. From the dark-
ness in the east clouds of birds were continually emerging in an
uninterrupted stream; a few swerved from their course, fluttered
for a moment, as if dazzled by the light, and then gradually
vanished with the rest in the western gloom. Occasionally a bird
wheeled round the lighthouse and then passed on, and occasionally
one fluttered against the glass like a moth against a lamp, tried
to perch on the wire netting, and was caught by the lighthouse-
man. I should be afraid to hazard a guess as to the hundreds
of thousands that must have passed in a couple of hours, but the
stray birds which the lighthouse-man succeeded in securing
amounted to nearly 300.”

When we consider, adds Mr. Seebohm, that this has been

RFR

864 THE ZOOLOGIST.

going on for more than a quarter of a century, and that the
results have been carefully chronicled, the wonder is not that so
many species of birds have occurred on Heligoland, but that
so many have hitherto escaped detection. This, he says, must
be accounted for on the theory that after all the appearance of
birds on Heligoland is only accidental.

For some time previous to 1892 Herr Giatke had commenced
to prepare his notes for publication, and in that year he completed
and issued a volume which will ever remain famous in the annals
of Ornithology. Written in German, however, it failed to attract
the wide attention which it deserves, and it was not until the
present year that an English translation by Mr. R. Rosenstock,
edited by Mr. J. A. Harvie Brown, at length supplied what has
long been a desideratum with English naturalists. Like every-
thing which emanates from the publishing house of Mr. David
Douglas of Edinburgh, it is a model of what a book of this kind
should be, the typography, paper, and illustrations being all in
their way excellent. Many of the illustrations are reproductions
of pen-and-ink sketches by the author; not finished drawings
such as might be expected from so accomplished an artist, but
rapidly executed sketches very characteristic of the species figured,
and sufficiently accurate to illustrate the author’s remarks. There
are, moreover, two portraits of the veteran ornithologist, one of
which, representing him in his shooting dress with a large grey
gull in his right hand and a gun in his left, forms a striking and
most appropriate illustration.

To attempt to give anything like an adequate summary of the
varied contents of this volume of nearly 600 pages is well-nigh
impossible, but we may allude briefly to the more important
features. Roughly speaking, it is divided into two portions, the —
latter part, amounting to two-thirds of the volume, being occupied
with a catalogue raisonné of all the birds which have been ascer-
tained to have been met with on this remarkable island, with very
full notes upon every species; while the first two hundred pages
are devoted to such subjects as the course of migration generally
in Heligoland, direction of the flight, altitude, velocity, meteoro-
logical conditions influencing migration, the order of migration
according to age and sex, and exceptional phenomena. Between
these two sections we find a most interesting chapter on ‘‘ Changes
in the colour of the plumage of birds without moulting.”

tte ill

THE ORNITHOLOGIST IN HELIGOLAND. 865

The statistics furnished by Herr Gatke under these several
headings are some of them very curious, and to those who are
not professed ornithologists will probably be new. |

‘A large portion of the migrants,” says Herr Gatke, “ travel
within an east to west, another within a north to south, line of
flight. Species which fail to find satisfactory winter quarters in
the western countries of Europe, on arriving in these districts
deviate from their westerly course, and pursue their journey in a
southward direction.

“Those, on the other hand, whose autumn migration takes
place in a southerly direction, persevere in their course from

‘their breeding-station to the end of their journey, though some

may make a more or less considerable deviation to the east.

** The predominant mode in which the migratory movement is
performed is in a broad front or migration column, which in the
case of species migrating to the west corresponds to the latitudinal
range of their breeding area, and in those migrating southwards
to the longitudinal extent of their nesting stations.”

The view much discussed in recent years, that migratory
birds follow the coast lines, the drainage area of rivers, or
depressions of valleys as fixed routes of migration, can, in the
opinion of Herr Gatke, hardly be maintained. 'Too many facts,
to some of which he refers, are at variance, he says, with this
assumption. Direct observations in Heligoland have established
the fact that in autumn the migration proceeds from east to west,
and in spring in the opposite direction. Not all birds, however,
reach their winter quarters by proceeding in a westward direction,
some being sooner or later obliged to turn southwards in order to
reach their destination.

The following curious observation shows the close attention
which Herr Giatke has paid to the subject on which he writes :—

“During the autumn migration it frequently happens that
when out at sea birds are carried into air currents stronger than
is suitable to their line of flight, a violent S.H. wind being
especially unfavourable. To escape this wind blowing obliquely
through their plumage from behind, they turn their body south:
wards and appear to be flying in that direction. ‘This, however,
is not the case. They do not make the least forward progress to
the south, but their flight is continued in as exact a westerly
course, and with the same speed, as though the birds were moving

366 THE ZCOLOGIST. |

under favourable conditions in the direction of the long axis of
their bodies. ‘This is shown in the most convincing manner by
such flocks as happen to pass immediately over the head of the
observer.”

The altitude at which birds fly, and the velocity they attain
during migration, are subjects to which Herr Gatke has paid
special attention, and on which he discourses at considerable
length. From experiments which have been made by other
writers to test the average speed of birds in flight,—swallows,
game-birds, falcons, and homing pigeons,*—we are inclined to
think that Herr Gatke has overrated the speed at which migratory
birds usually travel, except when moving before the wind; but,
as he gives reasons for his conclusions, it would not be possible to
refute his statements without a more complete examination of the
details than could be here attempted.

Herr Gatke’s work is an extremely valuable one to naturalists,
not only because it embodies the results of fifty years’ observations
made at one particular station, and on that account most reliable,
but also because it contains so many suggestive remarks which
deserve the consideration of other observers, who, though less
favourably situated than himself, may be able one day, with the
aid thus afforded them, to deal effectively with some of the
problems of migration as yet unsolved.

ON THE RACES AND VARIETIES OF THE POLECAT.
By ApoupHe Drion, Jun.

In the ‘Bulletin de l’Académie Royale des Sciences, des
Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique’ (ser. 3, t. xiv. pp. 365-68),
a Belgian naturalist, M. Drion, Jun., has published an article
With this title, which has probably escaped the notice of the
majority of our readers. Whether his views on this subject are
to be accepted seems to us questionable, considering the extreme
variation in colour to which the Polecat is hable. ‘This animal
has now become so rare in most parts of England, in conse-
quence of being trapped by gamekeepers on every possible oppor-

* See ‘ Zoologist,’ 1886, p. 299; 1888, p. 808; 1892, p. 362; ‘ Nature,’
1887, pp. 385, 480, 552, 599; 1888, pp. 869, 474; ‘ Field,’ 1887, pp. 114, 242
and 1891, Dec. 5th.

RACES AND VARIETIES OF THE POLECAT. 367

tunity, that it would probably be difficult to carry out such a
series of observations as those made by M. Drion, for want of a
sufficiently large number of specimens for examination.

It may be of interest, however, to know what M. Drion’s
views are on this subject, and we accordingly append a trans-
lation of his article. He says :—

“In Belgium there are two races of Polecat, the yellow and
_ the black race. The yellow race has a rather short body ; it is
__ high on its legs; the claws are lengthy and straight; the under
parts of the body, the thighs, and the feet, are of a very dark
colour, but the flanks are golden yellow; the contour of the eyes
and muzzle is of a yellowish tinge, approaching to grey; the tail
brown and bushy, especially in the old ones. The Yellow
Polecat generally haunts marshy places and the banks of streams,
but occasionally dry places and the neighbourhood of dwellings.
Averse to all training, it becomes shy and timid in captivity.

“The Black Polecat is of amore elongated form. It is not so
high on its legs as its congener; its claws are shorter and more
curved. ‘The ears, the contour of the eyes, and muzzle, are of a
pure white, which contrasts strangely with the dark fur; the coat
is black, although the sides show a washed-out yellowish tinge.
It usually affects dry places in the neighbourhood of dwellings,
but is occasionally found in river-banks and marshes. In
captivity it is untamable. Not only is it, like the Yellow Polecat,
rebellious to any kind of training, but it is fierce and blood-
thirsty, even furiously attacking the hand that feeds it. Besides
these two races, characterized by an appreciable difference in the
structure of the body, the peculiar shape of the claws, the colour
of the coat, and by their habits, there are intermediate shades
which result from crossing. These are (1) the brownish yellow
Polecat—a cross between the pure yellow and the pure black—
subelongated and of medium shape. (2) The bronze golden-
yellow. (8) The citron-yellow. (4) The grey, mixed with
tarnished-yellow. (5) The Patois a plastron, an accidental variety.

““The Polecats shaded with bronzed golden-yellow, citron-
yellow, and a plastron, are the progeny of the brownish-yellow
Polecat crossed with the pure yellow or the black.

“The grey mixed with tarnished-yellow differs completely
from the others by its coat, which is of a much more uniform
tint over the whole body.

368 THE ZOOLOGIST.

“T have not been able to decide upon this point, namely,
whether it constitutes a distinct race from the two preceding ;
whether it results from a cross; or whether, in fact, it is not an
escaped Ferret. The last-named seems more likely, for the
Polecat-ferret is less sensitive to cold than the albino Ferret;
and consequently much less liable to die of cold in a state
of liberty. In the Natural History Museum at Brussels there is
a young black Polecat and a young grey one, labelled ‘ young,’
without comment. The difference in colour between these two
mounted specimens is striking. The grey Polecat closely
resembles the half-bred Ferret. It would seem that this was
the result of a cross between a dusky Polecat and an albino.
The Polecat @ plastron is remarkable for a white or yellow spot
on the throat.

“T have a grey specimen with a white throat, and a black
specimen with a throat equally white; and I have seen black
ones which have a yellow throat. The brownish-yellow Polecats
are the commonest. The yellow ones and the black ones are
somewhat rare. ‘The two last-named are examples of the pure
breed. The grey Polecat and those with the light throat are
rarely met with. My observations are founded upon two hundred
specimens of all shades, of which one hundred and eight were
caught by myself, and ninety-two were brought to me by keepers.

*“It was long supposed that the difference in colour between
the yellow and the black Polecats was merely the result of local
influences—accidental or climatic—or of age or sex. I can
testify to the contrary, because I have caught yellow Polecats,
male and female, young and old, showing the distinctive charac-
teristics of their respective races. At all seasons I have caught
black ones, young and old, male and female, from one end of the
year to the other. My experience, moreover, confirms these
views. In the month of September I secured two young male
Polecats, yellow and black. I kept them in separate cages for
three years, during which time there was, positively, neither
change of colour nor change of shape. The yellow one remained
yellow in summer, at the period of moulting, and in winter. The
black one always retained the same dark coat. I noticed that the
black one was much fiercer and bolder. He was also more
active, and generally climbed to the top of his cage when
disturbed. The yellow one was timid and less active in his

© =v”. — - + ee

LONG-TAILED FIELD MOUSE OF THE OUTER HEBRIDES. 3869

movements. He was always scratching at the floor of his cage,
trying, as it were, to dig a burrow. In those of intermediate
colour, the claws of those whose pelage are yellowish are more
slender and less curved than the claws of the dusky Polecats. To
appreciate the difference in the claws, one must secure examples
of pure breed. The very young Polecats, of both varieties,
scarcely a few months old, are dark. It is difficult, therefore,
to decide at an early age whether they belong to the yellow or to
the black race. ‘The best furs are those of the pure yellow
Polecat, the bronze-yellow, and the citron-yellow. The skins of
the black Polecats are not much esteemed, and rarely come into
the market. Finally, in every case, the adult male is always
about one-third larger and stouter than the female.”

THE LONG-TAILED: FIELD MOUSE OF THE OUTER
HEBRIDES: A PROPOSED NEW SPECIES.

By W. EH. pe Winton.

In the summer of 1894 I had the good fortune to visit the
island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, and there found the Long-
tailed Field Mouse very ®mmon, as recorded in the ‘Annals of
Scottish Natural History’ for January, 1895, p. 53.

This mouse is very distinct from Mus sylvaticus of the main-
land, and I have only delayed in describing it as I was in hopes
of again visiting the island this year. But though I have been
unable to carry out my wish, the next best thing has happened ;
for my friend R. W. Pinney, a keen naturalist, has been shooting
in the island of Barra, and has kindly sent me specimens, bringing
up the number of my collection to over twenty, and confirming
my opinion that this peculiar form would be found on all the
islands of the group on which Mus sylvaticus occurs. This will
show that I am not in a hurry to add to the British list. before
having fair material to work upon.

I propose for this mouse the name of

MUS HEBRIDENSIS, Sp. n.
Resembling Mus sylvaticus in general form and colour, but
having far smaller ears in proportion to its size; longer hind feet,
which are also much stouter in the males; the form generally of

370 THE ZOOLOGIST.

a distinctly stouter build, which is very striking in animals in the
flesh, but which simple length-measurements cannot convey. In
old specimens the colour of the under parts is generally dusky or
sandy, with no distinct line between the upper and under parts,
and I have never seen a specimen with a typical sylvaticus belly ;
the tail is almost uniformly brownish grey, and shorter and
thicker in proportion.

The following table, taken from a few specimens of my own
collecting, will show how Mus hebridensis compares in measure-
ments with its nearest allies M. sylvaticus and M. flavicollis ; that
in size it about equals the latter, while the hind feet are larger,
but the ears do not equal the dimensions of those of the much
smaller M. sylvaticus.

Adults, with worn teeth.

Young, still in the grey pelage.

All measurements are in millimetres. The length of the tail
does not include the terminal hairs, and that of the hind foot
does not include the claws; the ear is measured on the inside
from the notch; the measurement of the head and body and tail
may be relied on as giving the total length of the animal in the
flesh.

M. HEBRIDENSIS.!| M. FLAVICOLLIS. | M. SYLVATICUS.

SEX, AD. Oe Poe oS Ao, ae Bee
Head and Body . {106 106 112 108 |108 110 110 115 | 93 92 92 97
Tail . . . « «| 96 99 100 95 |108 115 112 112 | 86 82 ‘78 85
Hind-foot . . .| 25 25 25 283) 24 23 24 24 | 22 22 22 23
Bar jo). ove: o/s 16,16) 16) '16 118) 18.:48 (184) bee ae

SEX, JUV. 7 RO OOS eR as Sco. ae re

Head and Body .| 96 92 94 94] 81 84 68 90] 88 83 71 78
Tail’ 5) Yo. 82 981° Bb 68") 84° 8B G0 98°75 19 bee
Hind-foot . . .| 24 24 2383 25| 21 22 20 24] 22 213 20 21
Har . « «+ seo] 10816 1 16796 16 36 27 ios eee

This, following so soon upon my article in ‘ The Zoologist’
of December, 1894, recording Mus flavicollis, Melchior, as a

i

—_—

LONG*TAILED FIELD MOUSE OF THE OUTER HEBRIDES. 371

British mammal, will no doubt make many naturalists sceptical ;
but I have only to say that in this case there is far less difficulty
in reconciling the fact than in that widely distributed and un-
isolated form, and it emphasizes my former remark that there is
much still to be learned about the British Mammalia, and that
English naturalists have hitherto culpably neglected their duty.

Here let me again draw attention to the serial collection of
small Huropean mammals (invaluable to any one working in this
line) being got together through the efforts of Mr. Oldfield
Thomas at the British Museum (Natural History), and I ask
any one who wishes to advance the knowledge of our native
animals to contribute. Bats aid Harvest Mice, Mus minutus,
will be especially acceptable. |

When we consider the length of time which must have elapsed
since the islands of the Outer Hebrides were joined to the mainland,
the complete isolation, so far as small land mammals are con-
cerned, and the improbability of fresh blood being introduced,
save at very rare intervals, it would be surprising if differences
did not exist. Who can say whether these islands ever were joined
to Scotland ? or were not upheaved long prior to that country as it
now is? Why do the rocks show such a vast difference? Jam
not much of a geologist, but I was very much struck with the
beauty of the rocks, the crumpled foliated gneiss being so different
from anything on the mainland. Then again we must consider
that for many years there has not been a tree or shrub on the
islands—I do not take into account the lately-planted specimens
at Stornoway Castle and elsewhere—and the heather is extremely
short. These are the conditions that the Field Mouse has to
put up with, and small blame to him if he puts on bigger boots
and wears less widely open ears in that land of rain.

[Messrs. Harvie Brown and Buckley, in their ‘ Vertebrate Fauna of
Argyll and the Inner Hebrides,’ 1892, state that they have examined
specimens of the Long-tailed Field Mouse from several mainland localities
from north to south, and that it is abundant in all the Inner Hebrides.
Nothing is said as to any variation in size or colour from the typical Mus
sylvaticus. In their previously-published volume on the Outer Hebrides
(1888) this species is only provisionally included in the list of Mammals, not
having been definitely recognised as occurring there at that date-—Ep.]

( 372 )

ON THE ORIGIN OF THE TERMS “COB” AND “PEN.”
By tue Eprtor.

Proressor NeEwrTon, in his excellent ‘ Dictionary of Birds’
(art. ‘‘Cob”’), quotes Yarrell (ed. 1, vol. ii. p. 180), to the effect
that, “‘in the language of swanherds, the male swan is called a
‘Cob,’ the female a ‘ Pen’; these terms refer to the comparative
size and grade of the two sexes,” but (he adds) ‘‘ corroboration
of the first statement has been sought in vain, while the second
is hardly intelligible.”

Having recently had occasion to look over my notes on
‘‘Swan-marks,” which have been accumulating for some years,
I have come across several which throw light on the above
quotation, and justify the first part of Yarrell’s statement, the
concluding part being evidently founded on a misapprehension.

The origin of the names “ Cob” and “ Pen” for the male and
female swan respectively is traceable to the ancient “‘ Laws and
Orders for Swans,” which were in vogue at a time when it was
customary throughout England (instead of as now on one river
only—the Thames) to mark all swans on the bill to denote
ownership. There was then an office of ‘“‘ Master of the Swans
throughout England,” and commissions were issued periodically
for holding “ Swanherds Courts” or “ Swan-Mootes,” at which
“Orders” were made “ where and when they were fit and
necessary for the preservation of swans.” ‘These ‘‘ orders” were
copied out and made known by proclamation in market towns.
Two such copies are in my possession; one of Elizabeth’s time
in MS., dated 1598, the other of Charles the First’s time, printed
and dated 1632. The former is entitled ‘The Orders for
Swannes exemplified out of the printed Orders for Swannes the —
xxvj™ of marche, 1598’; the latter, a small quarto of con-
siderable rarity, is entitled, ‘The Orders, Lawes, and Ancient
Customes of Swanns, Caused to be printed by John Witherings
Ksquire, Master and Governour of the Royal Game of Swans
and Signets throughout England. Printed by August Mathewes,
1632.”

With the exception of this copy I have seen but two others,
one of which was in possession of the late Mr. Stephen Tucker,
Somerset Herald, the other in the British Museum (C, 31, e. 26).

ORIGIN OF THE TERMS ‘' COB” AND “ PEN.” 373

Hone quotes an edition of 1570 (‘Every Day Book,’ 11. 958),
and Lowndes mentions an edition of 1664 with a little variation
in the title, chiefly in regard to the orthography ; but of these I
have not met with any copy. In those which I have examined,
the sexes of swans are distinguished as “Cob” and “Pen.”
Thus in 1570, and again in: 1598, it was ‘‘ordeyned” that if
any brood be found being led by one swan, the swan and cygnets
*‘ shall be seized for the king, till due proof be had whose they
are, and whose was the swan that is away, be it cob or pen”; for
if the swan of one owner paired with that of another, there was
a regulation as to the division of the brood in swan-upping time,
when the cygnets were allotted and marked accordingly.* The
printed rule in 1632 was thus worded :—‘‘§ 7. In all common
streames and private waters, when Cignets are taken up, the owner
of the Cob must chuse the first Cignet, and the Pen the next, and
so in order. But if there be three, then the owner of the Grasse
where they breede must have the third, for the spoyle of his
Grasse.” At the present day, in the case of a mixed brood, the
cygnets are divided between the two owners.

Nor is it only in the ‘ Lawes and Orders for Swannes ” that
we find a recognition of these terms to distinguish the sexes.
Ben Jonson, in 1611, has the expression ‘‘I am not taken with a
cob swan like Leda”’ (‘ Catiline,’ act 11. sc. ]) ; and Henry Best,
of Emswell, in the East Riding of York, in his ‘ Rural Economy
in Yorkshire,’ published in 1641, has a chapter on ‘‘ Swannes
and theire breed,” in which he tells us that ‘*‘ the hee swanne is
called the cobbe, and the shee swanne the penne.”

As to the derivation of the words, cob is evidently the
A. Sax., copp; O. Fris., kop; Germ., kopf; Lat., caput; signi-
fying the crown or top of the head, and, in the sense in which it
was used by swanherds, having reference to the prominent knob
at the base of the bill. Sir John Maundevile uses it for summit,
as in the expression “the cop of the hille,” as also does Wycliffe
in a similar expression, ‘‘and they ledden him to the coppe of the
hil on which her cytee was bildid to cast him down” (Luke
iv. 29). The word was applied also to denote the crest of a bird.
The gloss on Gautier de Bibelesworth explains ‘“ geline huppée,”
“coppede hen”; and Elyot gives ‘‘‘stymphalide,’ a coppe of

* See my lately published article on ‘‘Swan-upping,” in ‘The Field,’
Sept. 28th, 1895.

374 THE ZOOLOGIST.

fethers. whiche standeth on the head of a byrde.” In Norfolk
(where it is said the term “‘copple-crown” still has this meaning),
Sir Thomas Browne, in 1668, applied it to the Spoonbill, which
he characterised as ‘‘remarkable for its white colour, copped
crown, and spoon or spatule-like bill.” (See ‘ Zoologist,’ 1877,
p. 425.) Thus we may take it that the word cob, a variant of cop
(still seen in “ coping-stone”’), was applied to the male swan by
reason of the prominent knob at the base of the bill, which is
more largely developed in the male than in the female.

As to the name pen, it is doubtless a contracted form of
penne, not unfrequently used by the old writers for ‘“ feather.”
In the ‘ Vision of Piers Plowman’ reference is made (v. 7923) to
the “pennes of the pecok”’; and in the ‘Golden Legend’ we
read that ‘‘the foule that hath but fewe pennes or fethers may
not well flee.”

But seeing that swans of both sexes are feathered, like other
birds, it may be asked, why should the term pen be restricted to
the female bird? Probably from her habit, when sailing with
her brood, of arching her wings proudly above her back, thus
conspicuously displaying her pennes. In some of the old writers
we find a special term—“ busking ’—to denote this peculiar
action; to busk, or bush out the wings, evidently from buske or
boske (O. F. bosc) as “ bush”’ was anciently written, e.g., by Chaucer.
Spenser uses the word buskets, and Shakespeare, in ‘The Tempest’
(act iv. sc. 1), has “ my bosky acres and my unshrubb’d down.”
A direct application of the term to the bird under notice may be
found in ‘A Tale of two Swannes,’ printed in London by Roger
Ward, for John Sheldrake, in 1590. Thus :—

“ Not far from hence stands many a milke-white Swanne,
Attending for to entertaine their Prince ;
Among the which was one of chiefe accompt
That busked up her wings in greatest pride,
And so salutes this worthie companie.”

From the foregoing remarks it will be seen that there is some
corroboration of Yarrell’s first statement, hitherto, as Professor
Newton says, ‘sought in vain”; while in regard to his second,
“hardly intelligible,” the explanation above given may perhaps
be more acceptable.

( 875 )

NOTES AND QUERIES.

MAMMALIA.

Hybrid Manx Cats: Gradual restoration of Tail.— A friend has
sent me some curious statistics in reference to the progeny of a female
Manx Cat and an ordinary Tom Cat in his possession. ‘The successive
_ litters consisted of three on each occasion. Thus:—

No Tails. Half Tails. Full Tails.
LO Stee to dias 0 - 0
ke ee a obi 1 ’ 0
«ee en i aes 2 0
Md Sos ceo ves poet adie 2 swe £
Be al! aisinccecects 0 ade 1 wea 2
ae ae 0 bee 0 3

The gradual elimination of the tailless condition characteristic of the
famous insular grimalkins is somewhat singular, and points out the
strength of the ancestral reversion which is always striving to assert itself
in all breeds of domestic animals. — Rospert Service (Maxwelltown,
Dumfries).

Distribution of the Alpine Hare in S.W. Scotland.— In several of
the local reports from the southern moors notice has been taken of the
shooting of Blue Hares. This alpine species may now be considered
thorougl:ly established in all suitable localities throughout the south and
south-west of Scotland. It was introduced at Glenbuck in 1861. Within
the next four years it had spread to the Lowthers and contiguous heights,
to Queensberry, and to many of the hills at the head of Annandale. Then
it began to progress westwards to the Southern Highlands, and soon
populated all the picturesque mountains from whence flow the Galloway
rivers on the one side, and the Ayrshire streams on the other. A great
extension of the species took place during the hard winters of 1878, 1879,
and 1880, and specimens were got on such isolated spots as Criffel and
Screel, and even on the Kirkguvzeon moors; and I was shown a young
one that had been mistaken for a rabbit and shot on Dalscairth—a low and
unexpected situation in which to find this height-loving species—RoBERT
SERVICE (Maxwelltown, Dumfries).

[For further particulars on this subject see Zool. 18938, p. 265.—Ep.]

A White Hare in Essex.—On Manning Farm, about two and a half
miles from Laindon, during the last week of September, a pure white
Hare was shot, but with eyes of the ordinary colour—Samug~ Hunt
(Southend).

[For other notices of white Hares, see Zool. 1889, p. 143; -1890, p. 70;
and ‘ Field,’ 29th Aug. 1891, p. 3382.—Ep. ]

376 THE ZOOLOGIST.

BIRDS.

American Yellow-billed Cuckoo in Dorsetshire. — Through the
courtesy of Mr. Rowland Ward, on Oct. 7th I had placed in my hands for
examination a specimen, still unskinned, of Cuculus americanus, which had
been picked up dead on Oct. 5th in a garden near Bridport. Never having
had an opportunity of examining a bird of this species in the flesh before,
I naturally regarded it with some curiosity, and immediately took a note
of its measurements, general appearance, and colours of the soft parts.
Comparing it first of all with the life-size coloured figure given by Gould,
in his ‘ Birds of Europe,’ I remarked a general agreement with the bird in
hand, except in the following particulars. In Gould’s figure the eye is
bright red (as in C. erythrophthalmus), whereas in the bird before me it was
hazel, with the eyelids lemon-yellow. Gould has shown the legs and feet
of a greenish brown, no doubt in consequence of having: drawn his figure

from a dried skin in which the colour had faded: these parts in a freshly-

killed specimen are lead-colour. In one other respect Gould’s figure might
be improved. The inner webs of the flight-feathers are extensively tinged
with cinnamon, and the outer webs also to a less extent—a noticeable

feature when the wings are extended, though less apparent when closed.

In Gould’s figure the closed wings are too much the colour of the back,
which is olive-grey. It is observable that in the letter-press which accom-
panies his plate he has described the irides as hazel, and the legs and toes
blue, but unfortunately, as so often happens, the plate does not accord with
the text. Turning to the very useful ‘ Key to North-American Birds,’ by
Dr. Elliott Coues, the accuracy of his diagnosis of this species (p. 476)

became apparent :—“ Bill [long and decurved] black, extensively yellow,

below and on the sides of upper mandible. Feet [short, zygodactyle]
dark plumbeous. Above satiny olive-gray. Below pure white. Wings
[with ten primaries] extensively cinnamon-rufous on inner webs of the
quills [less conspicuously so on the outer webs]. [Tail-feathers 10,
graduated.] [Two] Central tail-feathers like the back ; the rest black, with
large white tips, the outermost usually also edged with white. Very
constant in colour, the chief variation being in extent and intensity of the
cinnamon on the wings, which sometimes shows through when the wings
are closed, and even tinges the coverts. Young birds differ chiefly in having
the white ends of the tail-feathers less trenchant and extensive, the black
not so pure; this state approaches the condition of C. erythrophthalmus,
but does not match it

In the above extract I have inserted in square brackets such additional
remarks as were suggested by a comparison with the fresh specimen. The
measurements I found to be as follows:—Total length 11°75 in.; extent of
wing, 16 in.;* bill from gape, 1:25 in.; wing from carpus, 5°50 in.; tail,

—

NOTES AND QUERIES. 377

6in.; tarsus, lin. The plumage was in perfect condition, and there was
no abrasion of the extremities of the wings or tail-feathers such as there
certainly would have been had the bird made its escape from captivity. As
above stated, it was picked up dead in a garden near Bridport, where
it had been previously observed flying about. It is possible, of course,
that its advent to this country may have been aided by a temporary
rest in the rigging of some homeward-bound vessel, but of this there

is no evidence. The last specimen of this bird recorded to have been

met with on this side of the Atlantic was also picked up dead, in a wood
near Aberystwyth in October, 1870 (‘ Handbook of British Birds,’ p. 124),
and in April, 1871, was exhibited at a meeting of the Zoological Society
(P.Z.S. 1871, p. 299), by Mr. Dresser, who remarked that it showed no
signs of having been in captivity, and was apparently a young bird. The
specimen now under notice was evidently adult, as appeared not only by
the measurements and the general absence of light edges to the feathers of
the dorsal plumage, but also by the fully-developed bill and feet. This
makes the sixth instance in which the American Yellow-billed Cuckoo has
been met with in the British Islands.—J. E. Harrina.

The Rate of Flight in Birds:—Mr. Warde Fowler makes incidental
mention (supra, p. 309) of a subject concerning which there seems to exist
much difference of opinion among naturalists, viz. the rate of flight in birds.
Since Mr. Fowler only “roughly calculated” the speed (150 miles per hour)
at which the birds were travelling, it were unfair to take it as altogether
expressive of his opinion; and I need only say that from repeated observa-
tions (made to satisfy myself as to the accuracy or otherwise of the estimates
of Michelet and the Duke of Argyll) I conclude that Swallows very rarely
exceed 100 miles per hour. Indeed, so far as I can judge, the ordinary
flight of these birds during their migrations is from fifty to sixty miles per
hour. Those who have noticed these migrations will to a greater or less
extent agree with me in regarding the flight on such occasions as peculiar
thereto—less brilliant and evolutionary, but more steadily maintained than
the usual flight, being, in short, that of birds on a serious errand. Calcula-
tions made after the manner of Mr. Fowler’s (“‘ by noting the progress from
point to point”) are apt to be faulty, owing to the great difficulty of knowing
for certain when birds are passing a distant point. It would be of interest
and value if readers of ‘The Zoologist’ would give the benefit of their
experience in this matter, with a view of arriving at some unanimity of
opinion.— W. C. J. Rusxin Burrerrietp (Stanhope Place, St. Leonards-
on-Sea).

[The latest contributions to knowledge on this subject which have
reached us are to be found in the recently-published English translation of
Herr Gatke’s ‘ Birds of Heligoland,’ noticed in the first article of the present
number. In the chapter on “ Velocity of the Migration Flight” (p. 63)-

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—OcT. 1895. 24

378 THE ZOOLOGIST.

some very remarkable statements are made with regard to the speed of
certain species, so remarkable indeed that to most persons they must appear
incredible. But they are made so positively that we must, at all events,
assume that Herr Gatke has very good reasons for believing them to be
true. Briefly put, what he says amounts to this, that in the case of the
Hooded Crow “a speed of migration flight of no less than 108 geographical
miles per hour has been established” (p. 64); and again, a comparison of his
own observations on Heligoland with those made by Mr. Cordeaux on the
east coast of England shows that these sluggish flyers pass over the 320 miles
of German Ocean in three hours, which gives a velocity of nearly 108
geographical miles per hour (p. 68). The northern Bluethroat, he says, on
its spring migration from its winter quarters in Africa, extends its flight in
the course of one single spring night up to 54° N. latitude, accomplishing a
distance of at least 1600 geographical miles within the space of nine hours
(p. 65), “‘ giving the almost miraculous velocity of 180 geographical miles
per hour” (p. 66).

In the case of the American Golden Plover, Charadrius virginicus,
flocks have been met with at a distance of 400 geographical miles east of
Bermuda flying in a southerly direction on the way from their breeding
places in Labrador to Northern Brazil. The distance between these points
is 8200 miles, and since there is no point between on which they could
alight for rest, they are obliged to perform the entire journey in one
uninterrupted flight. The velocity in 15 hours would amount to 212
miles per hour.

These examples suffice to show that the estimates of speed put forward
by Herr Gatke are considerably in excess of what other observers believe to
be possible. We should hesitate to accept his figures in the case of the
Bluethroat and the Golden Plover for two reasons. First, it appears
impossible to prove that the Bluethroats which arrive in Heligoland from
Egypt have not rested en route, and travelled by stages. He says himself
(p. 10):—* It is, however, absolutely impossible to ascertain the manner and
method of arrival of most of the visitors, even by the most careful observa-
tion; this is especially the case with the small song-birds and similar species,
whose number increases with each minute, without our being able to see a
single bird descending from on high, or shaping its course in any one
particular direction.” Secondly, in the case of the Plover, Herr Gatke
makes no allowance for the fact that many birds which are not web-footed can
and do temporarily alight upon the sea, or upon passing ships, and after a
rest resume their journey. This has been observed not only in the case of
different species of Sandpipers and Plovers, but also in the case of small
passerine birds (e.g. Pipits and Crossbills, ¢f. Newton’s ‘ Yarrell,’ ii. p. 220),
and even in the case of such soft-feathered birds as Pigeons (‘ The Field,’
June 26th, and July 8rd, 1875).

ee md nek a ee ee et a ee Le ee

os ol Span

-_

*
* = a

NOTES AND QUERIES. 379

Mr. Butterfield is convinced “from repeated observations that Swallows
very rarely exceed 100 miles per hour.” An experiment made between
Pavia and Milan (Zool. 1886, p. 299) gave the rate of speed at 873 miles
per hour. Another experiment, made in Sligo (Zool. 1888, p. 308) with
a House Martin, taken from a nest containing young, and liberated at a
distance of 10 miles, resulted in the bird reaching the nest in 12 minutes,
a rate of speed equivalent to 50 miles per hour. A similar experiment was
made with a Swallow, which was taken from the nest near Roubaix and
liberated in Paris (Zool. 1889, p. 399). It returned home in an hour and
a half, at the rate of two miles a minute, or 120 miles per hour. If these
cases are to be relied on, Mr. Butterfield’s estimate of 100 miles per hour
as the average speed of Swallows is doubtless very near the mark; for we
may assume that a bird having young in the nest, as an incentive to return
quickly, would travel at greater speed than on ordinary occasions. Nine
persons out of ten accustomed to observe the flight of birds would probably
consider the speed of a Swallow to be infinitely greater than that of a Blue-
throated Warbler, or—to take an allied species with which they would
be more likely to be better acquainted—a Redstart. What then are we to
think of Herr Gatke’s estimate above quoted, which places the sustained
speed of the Bluethroat when travelling from Egypt to Heligoland at 180
miles per hour? It seems to us incredible, and at all events cannot, we
think, be regarded as a definitely ascertained fact.—Ep.]

The Autumnal Movements of Swallows.— Almost any fine forenoon in
September astonishingly large numbers of Swallows may be seen thronging
the Sussex coast during their passage eastward. The flights commence
geuerally shortly after sunrise, and continue up to, or even beyond, noon.
At first detached parties, more or fewer in number, appear and pass onward ;
these being succeeded—but not always immediately—by the more regular
stream, which proceeds with an uncertain continuity to the usually somewhat
abrupt termination—reminding me indeed, throughout, ofa snow-storm. In
confirmation of the opening sentence, I may be allowed to transcribe from
my note-book some particulars of a migratory flight which took place on the
morning of September of last year. A friend and I took up our quarters
on the coast a little to the west of St. Leonards, where a projecting bluff
enabled us to remark every bird that passed its outermost point, and during
four hours (from 8 to 12) I counted the passing birds for one minute each
time the minute-hand of my friend’s watch reached the successive numbers
—i.e. I made twelve counts per hour at intervals of four minutes. The
average proved to be 53 per minute, or, roughly, 3000 per hour. This
means that 12,000 individuals passed us during the four hours of our stay.
It should be borne in mind that this number does not represent the actual
passage of birds. Likely enough many thousands passed before our arrival.
I think this may be taken as a fair example of what happens more or less

2G2

380 THE ZOOLOGIST.

daily throughout September. Sometimes the flights consist wholly of young
and at others of old birds. Now and again a few Martins accompany them,
and even a Sand Martin or two, but there is always a remarkable homogeneity
in the separate flights. Considered with regard to the faculty whereby the
phenomena of migration are performed, it is doubtful whether much progress
has been made since attention was called to this subject by Prof. Newton
twenty years ago in his British Association Address, ‘‘ On certain neglected
subjects of ornithological investigation” (q.v. Zool. 1875, pp. 4640-41, as
also the admirable article ‘‘ Migration,” in his ‘ Dictionary of Birds,’ pp. 547—-
571). In another direction, however, British ornithologists have employed
themselves with some diligence—but with what degree of wisdom remains
to be determined. One cannot but feel a little disappointed in the deductions
of Dr. von Middendorff (‘ Die Isepiptesen Russlands, 1855’) and Professor
Palmén (‘Om Foglarnes flyttningsvagar, 1874’), although it would not be
easy to overrate their services in suggesting and stimulating research._—
W. C.J. Ruskin ButrerFiep (St. Leonards-on-Sea).

(Here, again, we would suggest a comparison of the observations above
referred to with those published by Herr Gatke, who gives reasons (p. 66)
for “the wide divergency between the results of his own observations and
those arrived at by Dr. von Middendoiff. An English translation of Prof.
Palmen’s ‘ Report on the Migration of Birds,’ submitted to the second
~ International Ornithological Congress in Budapest, 1891, and full of
suggestive information, is printed, with a map, in the Smithsonian Report,
1898, pp. 375—396.— Ep. |

Escape of a Caged Kagle.— On Oct. 2nd a Golden Kagle in the
Zoological Gardens at Bristol contrived by an accident to make its escape.
It was in an open-air cage with two other eagles, and on the entry of the
keeper it flew up to the wire that formed the roof, and hung from the netting
with its claws. The wire being old and the bird heavy, several of the meshes
broke and left a large hole, through which, to the astonishment and dismay
of the keeper, the eagle quickly managed to escape. It flew over the river
towards the Leigh Woods, and the head keeper, Mr. Blunsden, followed in
that direction. He passed through Failand and all round the grounds of
Sir Cecil Miles, but without finding the bird. ‘That it was afterwards seen
over St. Philip's is probably accounted for by the fact that there was still a
very high wind prevailing at the time, and that the bird after its captivity
would not have the strength to fly against it for any great length of time.
There is little hope that the bird, which was a female, and had been
presented to the Gardens by Sir Greville Smyth, will be captured alive.
Should any of our readers hear shortly of a Golden HKagle being shot or
trapped, it would be well to ascertain whether it is the bird which has so
lately made its escape, bearing traces of confinement, and if so, to report it
to the Secretary at the Zoological Gardens, Bristol, 3

NOTES AND QUERIES. 381

Black Tern in Wales.—As the Black Tern, Hydrochelidon nigra,
appears to be a rare bird in Wales—Mr. Salter (p. 249) records a solitary
instance of its occurrence at Aberystwyth—it may be well to note that
I saw one of these birds near a pool of mine on July 26th last, never
having observed one in this district before.-—C. S. Mainwarine (Cerrig-y-
druidion, Trefnant, North Wales).

Jackdaws hawking after Insects.—During some of the bright clear
days of April both Jackdaws and Starlings were observed hawking after
insects in the air, after the manner of Swallows, for many hours at a time
during the warmer period of the day. Probably they were catching the
little beetles with red wing-cases (Aphodii) that swarm in myriads on fine
days at that season, and rise to great heights in the air. Starlings often
hawk for insects in the manner described during the autumn months, but
I do not remember ever having seen them or Jackdaws indulging in such
habits so early in the year. ‘The mention of Jackdaws reminds me of
an amusing incident I once witnessed. A rough shaggy pony was re-
clining in a pasture field, and two Jackdaws were perched on his back
engaged in pulling out beakfuls of hair with which to line their nests.
The pony looked over his shoulders at them, and several times suddenly
rolled over on the grass with the evident intention of catching and
crushing the birds beneath him. Needless to say, the Jackdaws were
too much on the alert to be caught in this manner, but flew up at unce,
settling again on his back to resume operations as soon as the pony
had returned to his reclining posture.—RoBert Service (Maxwelltown,
Dumfries, N.B.).

[We have frequently observed Jackdaws treating Fallow-deer in this
way in the spring, and robbing them of hair to line their nests with. Their
mode of procedure on such occasions has been described in ‘ The Zoologist’
for 1878, p. 68.—ED.]

Twite Nesting in Confinement.—Mr. G. C. Swailes, writing in the
‘ Avicultural Magazine’ (No. 11), reports that during the past summer a
pair of Twites, Linota flavirostris (Linn.), nested and reared their young
in his aviary, which he describes as “quite out in the country.” He
says :—‘‘ The hen commenced to build on May 14th, and laid her first egg
on the 17th, laying altogether five eggs and sitting closely after the third
was laid. I did not again look at the eggs, but saw the old birds busy
feeding on June 2nd and following days. I looked in the nest on the 8th,
hoping to find some fine young birds, but the nest contained only one poor
starved thing which died on the following day: the weather was very stormy
at the time they were hatched, and I think this was the cause of their doing
so badly. On the 15th I noticed that the hen had nearly completed another
nest, and she laid on the 16th and three following days. Having a Redpoll

382 THE ZOOLOGIST.

nesting at the same time, I gave her two of the Twites’ eggs, making up the
number for each with infertile eggs: both birds hatched on the same day 5
the two in the Redpoll’s nest perished at once, though she is a good feeder,
and has reared two broods of her own this season. The Twite successfully
reared hers, and they left the nest on July 19th, and are now very fine birds
and normally coloured. Young Twites are not nearly so precocious as
Redpolls; they were a long time before they attempted to peck for them-
selves, and even now (August) clamour to the old ones for food, whereas
I have seen young Redpolls, a week after leaving the nest, shell hard canary
seed. My birds have no soft food given them, but as much of the flowering
top of the dwarf grass, dandelion, and hardhead tops, thistle, plantain, &c.,
as they wish, and as many aphides off rose, apple, or plum trees as I can
at the time obtain; infested branches being put in the aviary for the birds
to peck them off. The latter, I consider, are very essential for the successful
rearing of Finches in confinement, especially for the first few days after
they are hatched.—G. C. Swaltes.

A Crane traced from its:Nest to its Winter Quarters.— According to
the Cairo correspondent of ‘The Times,’ Slatin, the recently escaped
prisoner of the Khalifa, relates, the following interesting occurrence. In
December, 1892, the Khalifa handed him a small metal capsule, ordering
him to open it and explain what it meant. It contained two small slips
of paper each about the size of a visiting card, with an inscription in.
German, French, and English, stating that the capsule was attached to
the neck of a Crane bred on the estate of Herr Falz-Fein, at ‘Tskanea
Nova, in the province of Taurida, South Russia (just north of the Crimea),
who had released the bird, and requested any future captor to communicate
to him particulars of date and place. Slatin, who speaks only from
memory, for he was not allowed to retain or even copy the writing (the
possession of any European writing being a punishable offence), thinks
that the date of the bird’s release was June or July, 1892. It was killed
about November of that year, in Nubia, at Darel Shaigia, and the capsule
was sent to Younes, the Emir of Dongola, who forwarded it by special
messenger to the Khalifa, at Omdurman, a total journeying of about 800
miles by camels. Slatin has written to Herr Falz-Fein, informing him of
the incident, the remarkable point of which is, that the paper reached the
only man in the entire Soudan who could comply with the wish of the
sender of the message.

Honey Buzzard Nesting in Herefordshire.—It may be of interest to
note that during the past summer a pair of Honey Buzzards attempted to
establish themselves in Bishopswood, near Ross, Hereford, bnt unfor-
tunately, through the ignorance of a keeper, both birds were shot and their
twoeggs taken. Through the kindness of Mr. W. CO. Ashdown, the taxidermist

NOTES AND QUERIES. 383

in Hereford, I was able to examine the birds and his notes on them, which
contain the following interesting particulars:—Cere, grey; iris, bright
orange-yellow, showing that the birds were adult; contents of crop, wasp
grubs, some pieces of the wasp’s nest still adhering to the base of the bill
of the female bird. It seems a pity, seeing the nature of the food of the
Honey Buzzard, that such beautiful and useful creatures are not allowed
to live in peace; but Bishopswood is an estate on which the landlord does

_ not reside, and the keepers, no doubt, kill everything that does not actually

increase the stock of pheasants. Now that Major McCalmont has come
into the property, we may hope that so good a sportsman will endeavour in
future to improve matters, and protect the Honey Buzzards, when next a
pair visits this locality. I am informed that some years ago £40 was
offered for a pair of these birds, with the eggs and nest, in this locality ; but
in the present case there was no question of bribe, only ignorance in
mistaking the birds for Kites—W. E. pz Winton.

Hobby in Wiltshire.—It may be of interest to know that a Hobby
(Falco subbuteo) was shot at Seend, near Melksham, about the second week
of September. It was seen flying about in company with three others, but
its sex was not positively ascertained, on account of its body having been
thrown away by the amateur who skinned it. It was eventually sent to
Mr. H. W. Marsden to be preserved, aud through his courtesy I was
enabled to examine the skin.—C. B. Horssprueu (4,Richmond Hill, Bath).

Immigration of the Solitary Snipe.—The Solitary Snipe, Gallinago
major, 18 an annual visitor to this country in autumn, and so far as my
experience goes, arrives long before the majority of the Common Snipe
from the Continent put in their appearance. ‘The name “ Solitary ” is well
bestowed, although the contrary has been asserted (see Stevenson’s ‘ Birds
of Norfolk,’ vol. ii. p. 30). I have never heard of a wisp of these birds
being seen, or even a couple being flushed at the same time, although one
day in the last week of August (twenty years ago), I came across three on
the same marsh (the town marshes at Aldeburgh, Suffolk), two of which
were bagged. But they were a long way apart, and on dry ground. They
were easily recognizable from the Common Snipe (of which a few home-
bred birds were about in the dykes) by their heavier flight, and by the
white outer tail-feathers, which were flirted as the bird rose. In these
same marshes, on Aug. 21st, 1876, the late Mr. N. F’. Hele, of Aldeburgh,
shot ove in the dusk as it was running on the ground; and the late Mr.
Herbert Greenwood informed me that he had shot several there at
intervals, late in August or early in September. I suspect they may be
found there every year, for this locality lies right in the way of immigrants
from the Continent. As a rule, these birds affect drier situations than the
Common Snipe, as I have already observed in my ‘ Handbook of British

384 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Birds’ (p. 51), where several instances in support of this statement are
noted. As additional instances I may mention one shot in a dry clover-
field, North Riding of York, Sept. 24th, 1858 (Field,’ Oct. 23rd, 1858), and
another on a dry bean-stubble, Northants (Zool. 1880, p. 444). During the
present autumn one was shot near Pickering, Yorkshire, on Sept. 21st;
another ‘‘in a dry water-meadow ” at Haglesham, Renfrewshire, Sept. 27th.
Instances of the occurrence of the Great Snipe here in spring are rare.
One was shot near Lowestoft, in April, 1851 (Zool. 1851, p. 8175), and
there is a record of this species having nested near Wroxham, in April,
1846 (Zool. U.c.). But the late Mr. Stevenson, who enquired carefully into
the circumstances, and examined one of the eggs taken, has shown good
reason for concluding that the nest was that of a Common Snipe (‘ Birds
of Norfolk,’ vol. 11. pp. 800-801). This bird is much rarer in Jreland than
in England ; of late years it has been recorded from Co. Cork (Zool. 1884,
p- 149), Co. Galway (Zool. 1888, p. 33), and Co. Mayo (Zool. 1893, p. 434).
As to the weight of the Solitary Snipe, I think Stevenson’s statement
(op. cit., p. 802) that the usual weight is from 6} oz. to 8% oz. is quite
correct. The following are the weights of some that have come under my
notice :—
(1) Milton, Pewsy, Wilts <.... <0. ses ses aes
(2) Withneridge, N. Devon 00. -tn.5 cee omae eno
(3) WMiotley, WOON ses). 22s | guna) cos, eas ueia en
(4)" Dartmoer i. 6 «s- dis Sales! tens dere 2
(5) Three near ‘ania blige aeons ee ee
(6) Three, Aldeburgh, Suffolk: (2. 22.7, 74,58 3,
(7) Thorpe, Northants ... 21. ‘coe ose ove 7%
(8) Melton Mowbray, Leicester ... ... ... ‘8
(9) Stickney, Lincolnshire 1.3 4:2. a... 2..° 10
(1.0) "Two, ELotlanid tes ges ase" Vane: se kes OO 4OT
(11) Eaglesham, Renfrewshire Sth Sgt ae ak
(12) Pickering, Yorkshire ee hive Uibes. (ca Ree

The heaviest known to the author of the ‘Fauna of Norfolk’ (Rev. R.
Lubbock) weighed 10 oz., as noted by Stevenson in the work above quoted.
In addition to those above mentioned, | have seen many stuffed specimens
in different parts of the country, the weights of which had not been
ascertained by the respective owners.—J. KX. Harrine.

Quail in the Isle of Wight.—I do not know if Quails have been often
met with in the island at this season of the year, but I think it is always
worth while chronicling their presence. 1 flushed one by Hurricane
House, above Shanklin, on Oct. 2nd. The bird was close to the footpath,
and flew only about twenty yards, so I put it up again, just to make sure,

as it was getting dusk—H. Marmapuxe Lanepace (Royal Cliff, Sandown),

;
{

——

=

Mie eee

o + eet 3d

ee = eee Pee

NOTES AND QUERIES. 385

{It appears from the information contributed by the late Mr. A. G.
More to Venables’ ‘ Guide to the Isle of Wight ’ (p. 431), that the Quail is

occasionally obtained there in late autumn and winter. A single instance

only is known of its having nested in the island.—Eb.]

Abnormal Nesting of the Goldcrest in Ireland.—The Golden-crested
Wren (Regulus cristatus), strange to say, in this part of the country builds
commonly against the sides of ivy-covered trees. The nest is not sus-
pended under a branch of fir, as I have found it in England, and the nests
here are badly and loosely put together.—A. T, Mircuett (Drogheda,
Co. Louth).

BATRACHIA.

Food of Toad.—A nephew of mine at Emsworth, near Portsmouth,
writes me that he lately saw a Tvad swallow a mouse. He watched
the mouse, which was not quite full-grown, for some little time running
about in a dazed condition, about a yard from the Toad, when sud-
denly, to his surprise, it appeared to be drawn into its mouth. The
hind legs and tail of the mouse were visible for some little time after the
rest of the body had disappeared, the tail continuing to twitch for fully
three minutes after the legs had been absorbed. I send you these
particulars, as I never previously heard of a ‘Toad attacking an animal of
that size, and am curious to know whether the occurrence is unusual.—
R. H. RamsspotHam (Moukmoor, Shrewsbury).

(The observations of naturalists in regard to the food of the Common
Toad, Bufo vulgaris, show that it is in a great measure insectivorous,
living chiefly upon flies, spiders, and beetles, but habitually taking
earthworms also, which are generally seized by the middle and gradually
stuffed into the mouth by the aid of the fore feet. This much we have
ourselves observed, but it is new to us to learn that a Toad will not only
attempt to seize and swallow a mouse, but will succeed in doing so. The
mouse, we imagine, must have been a small one, and under the influence
of a fascination which to some extent paralysed its movements, in the same
way that a rabbit is affected when pursued by a Stoat. We should not
have supposed it possible for a Toad to hold so large a prey, nor to digest
it if swallowed; but a friend who has kept Toads alive for the purpose
of observing their actions, assures us that he has fed large ones with young
mice. We can therefore no longer doubt.— Kp.|

CRUSTACEA,

Weight of Lobsters.—In August last three Lobsters were taken in
Herring-nets in Loch Seaforth, and brought to Stornoway, which weighed
respectively 7 lbs. 5 oz., 8 lbs. 9 oz., and 9 lbs. 8 oz. The largest was
minus a claw, which made a difference in its weight of perhaps 2 lbs. All

386 THE ZOOLOGIST.

three were remarkably tender, and good eating —H. Hotmss (Aline Lodge,
Stornoway, N.B.)

MOLLUSCA.

Hibernation of Limax flavus.—The little yellowish coloured Slug
known to conchologists as Limam flavus is in the habit of hibernating in
small colonies. Iam told by a gardening friend that he found no less than
twenty-four of them congregated together in a hole in a clod of earth. This
is a most unusual number, so far as my experience goes.—RoBERT SERVICE
(Maxwelltown, Dumfries).

INSECTS.

Insect Migration.—I have read with much interest the paper on
migrating butterflies and dragonflies. ‘There are several points in it
which appear of great interest; thus some of the authorities quoted by
you mention having seen swarms of butterflies sipping at damp places, and
on this point I can certainly confirm them. In a dark African forest-path,
and also in Madagascar woods, one of the most familiar sights is a great
assemblage of bright blue and white butterflies, taking long, deep draughts
of moisture from the unpleasant looking mud in a hollow of the road.
Still, this is just what one would expect, for I found that, at any rate in the
drier hours of the day, the best place for butterfly-hunting is always in the
vicinity of a stream, which is only natural, for every creature is thirsty in
Africa at such a time. With regard to their actual migration in large
flocks, I have never seen such a phenomenon myself; all that I can say
on the subject is that the sight of butterflies flying past by twos and
threes is common when one is on a steamer near the shore. I am
surprised at such an explanation as that given for these migrations,
because I have always understood that the life of a butterfly is a short
one, and how these insects should have time to migrate seems to me
curious. You will, of course, know that there are certain species of
Argynnis confined to the mountain-tops (above 10,000 ft.) of Kilimanjaro,
Kenia, Ruwenzori, and possibly Milanje. I think that their occurrence
and distribution would be worth your investigation, for these forms occur
only on these isolated and distant summits, and not, if I am rightly
informed, in the lower country between the hills. This would imply that
they were capable of flying 600 miles, but, of course, the chance of any
particular flight reaching a mountain at that distance is rather small,
(The proportion of chances, I think, would be 860 to one.) If I under.
stand your theory rightly, these migrations resemble the manner in which
the over-populated countries of Asia sent forth irregular swarms of Goths,
Huns, and others; and without some such explanation it is difficult to

understand the distribution of butterflies in islands, and on such isolated

NOTES AND QUERIES. 387

- mountain summits as those mentioned above, which are really climatic
islands. Dragonflies have a nearly regular patrol system along favourable
stretches of path or the shore of a pond, &. Any one can verify by
observation that each has his own little district, and vigorously objects to

_ any one poaching on his preserves; at least, I certainly believe this: hence

it is, perhaps, more surprising that they should have a migration of the
same kind.—G. F. Scorr Exxtror (Newton, Dumfries).

Insect Migration.— With reference to the article “ Migration of Butter-
flies,” by the Editor, in the current number of ‘The Zoologist’ (p. 335),
I have for many years been aware of the fact that there is, at irregular
intervals, a very considerable immigration of insects across the North Sea
to the east coast of England. These are chiefly butterflies, moths, and
dragonflies, the latter Libellula quadripunctata. The great movement
of Plusia gamma recorded by Herr Gatke in 1882, in August, across
Heligoland, coincides with the appearance of immense numbers of the
Same insect on the coast districts of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire; this
immigration was recorded by me in ‘The Field’ of Sept. 16th of that
year. Few naturalists are aware with what apparent ease butterflies and
moths cross an immense extent of water. I have seen from the cliffs
of Heligoland the common Cabbage Butterfly drifting in from the east,
some to alight, but the majority passing north and south of the island, and
going west like so many flakes of snow. When in the middle of the North
Sea I have also seen them pursuing the same course, and crossing close
before the bows of the vessel without attempting to alight. During the
autumn of 1894, about twenty-four examples of that lovely insect, Sphinay
convolvuli, were taken in the Spurn district, and many more seen; these
were probably immigrants. Many years since I recollect considerable
numbers were washed up dead between Kilnsea and the Spurn. The
amazing numbers of Vanessa urtice which have appeared during the
present autumn, especially in east-coast districts, may perhaps be accounted
for by a great migration across the North Sea; but of this further proof is
needed. I have seen them this year, in September, by hundreds, over the
flowers in small gardens in a town near the coast, where in former years
single examples would scarcely have appeared.—JoHN CorDEAUx (Great
Cotes, Lincolnshire).

Insect Migration.— For some years past I have carried on a series of
observations at and near the Spurn Point on the Holderness coast, which
leaves no doubt in my mind, and that of other observers with me, that
there are erratic immigrations of some insects, at irregular intervals, from
time to time. This opinion has been more than ever strongly forced upon
me this month and last (Aug. and Sept.) by the sudden appearance on the
Holderness coast of several insects in such numbers as almost to preclude

388 THE ZOOLOGIST.

the probability of their being bred in the immediate neighbourhood. I
refer more particularly to the Convolvulus Hawk-moth (Sphina convolwult),
which visited all the honeysuckle then in flower upon various porches and
summerhouses in the neighbourhood, aud these flowers evidently were the
only ones which they visited. They came with some regularity at dusk ;
this was, I think, what may be called their first flight. They would
suddenly appear as winged phantoms, dart to the flower, poise on vibrating
wings, their long proboscis thrust into the tube of the flower as they drank
its nectar. During the succeeding three weeks from the time when they
were first observed very many were seen, and I find from my notes that
two dozen fell victims to the net. The point of interest is, Are these
insects bred in the district in which they are taken, or are they immi-
grauts? The food-plant is common in the neighbourhood, but, though
carefully sought for year after year, neither the larve nor the pupe have
ever been taken. ‘Too the question whether the moth ever migrates or not,
I think I may reply in the affirmative. Some years ago Mr. Philip Loten,
of Hasington, recorded the fact ‘that one autumn many of these moths
were picked up dead on the high-water mark between the Spurn and
Easington; numbers were seen in this way and noted. There can be no
doubt that these were immigrants which had dropped into the sea on
failing to cross it. This year has been everywhere notable for the Admiral
Butterfly, but the numbers on the Spurn Point were remarkable, and
must, I feel sure, have been added to by migratory flights of considerable
dimensions. I have myself seen butterflies crossing the North Sea, during
a voyage from Sweden to Hull some few years ago, when passing over the
Dogger Bank. The species then noticed was the Red Admiral in some
numbers, where they would be probably about 300 miles from the nearest
land and were heading west. Many small birds were passing the steamer
at the same time, and in some instances were trying to catch the insects en
route. It seems to me that there can be no doubt that if small Noctue
like Plusia gamma, and butterflies can cross the North Sea, the powerful-
flying Sphina moths have (in fine weather) no difficulty in crossing the
ocean in a few hours’ time.—H. BrenpELack Hewetson (11, Hanover
Square, Leeds).

Insect Migration——With reference to your interesting article on the
migration of butterflies, 1 append extracts from my note-book in Ceylon.
The butterfly is that figured by you on page 337, Catophaga galena, and
very similar to our common Cabbage Butterfly:— In the month of
November, at Colombo, a strong north wind blows daily along the sea-coast,
at which season clouds of white butterflies appear flying in a continual
stream, extending far inland for days and weeks. They are all flying from
the south and in the eye of the wind, and the stronger the wind blows the
more rapid is their flight. I never witnessed this fact without the greatest

|
|
5

NOTES AND QUERIES. 8389

astonishment. The Locust, with its strong body and powerful wings,
cannot make head against the wind, but drifts with it; yet that a butterfly
with a body so slight as scarcely to gain a fulcrum for the wings to
bear on, and with wings offering so broad a surface to the breeze that
one would expect to see it drift like a snowflake, shoald possess the
faculty of propulsion against a strong wind, gives us a clue to an
aerostatic principle with which we are not yet acquainted. It is to be

noticed that the action of the wings of these butterflies is not horizontal,

like the Admiral or the Tortoiseshell, nor is their flight even and con-
tinuous, but they are propelled in jerks, with the wings vertically closed and
opened alternately, so as to offer the sharpest edge to the resistance of the
wind. ‘Thus the butterfly does not appear to propel itself, but to be driven
forward by the action of the wind eddying round against the under surface
of the wing presented to it; but how this is done it is not easy to
demonstrate. As there is no land south of Ceylon, it seems evident that
these butterflies deposit their eggs in the southern forests of this island,
previous to their starting on their migration ; otherwise the annual flights
could not be kept up. I notice, however, that Mr. Mann gives the months
of March and April as the season of migration witnessed by him; but
while he gives the direction of their flight from N.E. to S.W., he does not
state the direction of the wind. The S.W. monsoon usually commences
in April, while the N.K. monsoon commences in October. I assume that
these are the same flights returning after a circuit of the island, and flying
against the southerly wind in the same manner as those seen by me in
November were flying against the north wind. I cannot identify Navan-
ghena, the place from whence Mr. Mann writes, and therefore do not speak
confidently. —E. L. Mirrorp (Pikdan House, Morpeth).

Insect Migration.—The Clouded Yellow Butterfly (Colias edusa) is
one of the most interesting of British species, from its habit of appearing
in the more northern parts of Britain at irregular intervals—a peculiarity
which it shares in common with various other Lepidoptera. No satis-
factory reason for this erratic behaviour has yet been advanced, nor know-
ledge gained of how or in what stage of its existence the insect passes the
time between each appearance. In Scotland the first recorded capture of
C. edusa was made in Arran in 1848, by Mr., afterwards Professor Sir,
Wyville Thomson. Four years later one was captured near Largs, in
Ayrshire, on Sept. 12th, by the late Mr. Birchall. The next, or third,
Scottish specimen was secured at Kirkmahoe on Aug. 17th, 1857, by
Mr. W. G. Gibson; and in the same year a few more were taken about
Glencaple and neighbourhood. In 1859 some were seen near Newbie, and
in 1862 Mr. Lennon and other local collectors took it in large numbers in
this district. From 1862 till 1877 no one appears to have seen this
butterfly on this side of the Border, but in the latter year it suddenly burst

390 THE ZOOLOGIST.

forth in legions almost everywhere, but more especially in the south-
western counties, and it was also taken so far north as the Orkney Islands.

Since then, I do not think it was noticed in any part of Scotland until the —

autumn of 1889, when I heard of one having been taken at Dargavel, and
others in Wigtownshire. Between that time and the present a few have
been met with at irregular intervals, e.g. ten in 1892; but so far as | am
aware there has been no remarkable invasion of them until the present
year.—Roperr Service (Maxwelltown, Dumfries).

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.

Icebound on Kolquev: a Chapter in the Exploration of Arctic
Europe ; to which 1s added a Record of the Natural History
of the Island. By Ausyn TRevor Batrys. Large demy 8vo.
With illustrations. London: Constable & Co. 1895.

THE main facts concerning Mr. Trevor Battye’s adventurous
expedition to Kolguev Island are probably by this time well
known to most of our readers. The interesting narrative which
he has now published supplies us with the details, and gives us
an account of what befell him during an enforced residence on
the island, from June 16th to Sept. 13th, 1894. The ostensible
object of his visit was to learn something of the birds which
breed there or visit the place in their wanderings, and of the
characteristic plants which grow there. Although not the first
naturalist to explore this out-of-the-way island, he is the first
Englishman who has braved the hardships of living there for a
few months, and the results of his experience, as detailed in his
book, have a novelty and an originality which render them
particularly attractive.

The accident which detained him on the island three months
instead of one, gave him an excellent opportunity of learning
something of the Samoyedes, its only inhabitants. For some
weeks he lived the life of these people, visited them in their
chooms or huts, drove in their Reindeer sledges, and accompanied
them on their wildfowling excursions. It was a pleasant ex-
perience, if somewhat a rough one; but he made a good use of his
time, carefully noting the names of such birds as he identified,
collecting specimens of a few, and gathering such plants as

. ee a

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 391

appeared to him remarkable, for further examination and identi-
fication on his return. His observations on these, as given in
appendices to his volume, include information of much interest.
He was lucky enough to find eggs, both of the Grey Plover
(Squatarola helvetica), and the Little Stiut (T'ringa minuta).
Two specimens of the Curlew Sandpiper (J’ringa subarquata)
_ were found, but the hoped-for discovery of a nest of this species
baffled all his endeavours; nor did any nest of the Knot (Tringa
canutus) reward an unwearied search for it.

Perhaps the most curious portion of his narrative is that in
which he describes the Samoyede method of catching Brent
Geese, which constitute the chief winter provision of these
wandering people. The birds are captured at a time when the
majority of them are moulting their quill feathers, and are
cousequently unable to fly. They are then driven into nets, and
the enormous number captured by this means seems almost
incredible. Mr. ‘Trevor Battye thus describes the modus
operandi :—

“A low-lying stretch of land, half peat, half grass and marsh, and an
island on the tidal flats, some four acres in extent. Round this, now that
the tide was out, sand or shallow water, which deepened to a wide creek
against the island’s southern bank. Beyond this again sand or mud in
ridges, and creek after creek. Further yet, perhaps three miles to seaward,
the long line of the outer sandbank with its piled-up ice—and then the sea.

So bad was the day that only now and then as the mist Jifted could you
see the farthest ridges and the higher banks of mud. But when the
banks appeared, they were crested with a chevauax de frise, which we knew
were serried lines of geese. Seven boats under the command of the
younger men were soon slipping down the creeks; for they were to get
behind the geese. Then the reindeer teams were driven out, three on one
side and four on the other, remaining as near as possible equidistant, to
prevent escape by the flanks. All were now away except Uano, his wife
Katrina, two or three small girls, the little boy Wanka, and myself.
Katrina nursed her baby.

Before half an hour was gone by the geese began to rise. We could
see them through the rain getting up in hundreds off the sands. Away
behind us on the island was the trap. I must describe this particularly.
At the water’s edge, thirty yards apart, two poles were fixed, to which a
net was fastened. The net was then carried inland, the two walls
converging, until, at a point some forty yards from the entrance, they were
not more than five yards apart. From. this point they bellied out, and

392 THE ZOOLOGIST.

formed a circular cul de sac. The netting was about four feet in height, of
some three-inch mesh, and round the cul de sac was double. The uprights
which carried it were strengthened by spurs.

Long before we could see the boats, for the mist had thickened, we
could hear shouting and the cries of the geese. But after a bit first one
and then another boat came into view. On the men came, but very slowly ;
now pulling across a creek, now pushing the ‘arnoh’ over a bit of mud or |
hauling it over a sand-ridge, sometimes leaving it altogether and running
off to head the geese. So slowly they came zig-zagging along.

By this time we could see geese by thousands through the mist. I
could even distinguish the short trumpet-note of the Brent among the
general babel. It was indeed a babel. How to convey to you any idea of
it Ido not know. If you can imagine many hundred farmyard geese, and
many thousand cornets all sounding together and crowded on by a handful
of screaming wild men—if you can imagine this, then you are not far off
the mark.

Nearer they came and nearer, the middle a dense solid mass of geese,
the sides a constant stream of parties, large or small, running away like
lamplighters for all that the sleighs might do to stop them. The very
earth seemed geese, and for that matter the sky too. For there never was
an interval when geese were not rising, and instead of going right away at
once, as one would have looked for geese to do, they hung about the spot,
circling round and rising higher and higher till they lost themselves in the
mist. I could never have believed it possible that so many geese could be
had on one small island.

Exactly at nine o’clock—five hours from the beginning—the advance
guard of the swimming geese came round the corner of the creek. It was
one solid phalanx of Brent. They seemed to be by far the fastest
swimmers. For behind them at a considerable distance followed a smaller
lot of Grey Geese, some swimming, some running along the edge.

Then with one accord nearly all these Grey Geese rose—five hundred
perhaps there were. For some little while the geese delayed as though
they felt they were getting too much inland, or suspected a trap in front.
Then the boats came up from behind, and the geese crowded on. They
didn’t like going. Sometimes the leading geese would stop and wheel
about, heading right into the mass. But the boats came on. Every
moment I looked to see the Brent escape by diving, or expected some to
rise, for it was plain enough that many were full-winged. Neither of these
things they did; only like a pack of idiots they ‘ wanked’ and swam along.

And now the body of Brent was exactly opposite the entrance to the
nets, and about them in a half-circle were the boats. Round and round
they swam, but refused to leave the water. The boats did not dare close in
for fear the geese should break. It was a ticklish moment—the geese

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 893

would not make the land. At last a single old goose—a Bean Goose he
was—stepped out and ran up the bank. He was quickly followed by one
or two more, and then by the first of the Brent. And now that they had
started, they went quickly enough, scrambling after one another and
heading into the net. Over the green they ran like a flock of domestic
geese. Sometimes they aimed for right or left, but then the children
showed themselves and the geese were turned.

The last bird was in, and then we closed the rear. Not a Brent had
flown, not a Brent had dived, not one escaped. Of all that army every
bird was in the net—a dense, black, moving mass.”

Their escape being barred, the men proceeded to kill them by
breaking their necks, and they were then stored for provisions in
the following singular manner :—

“The turf cut round with the axe, where the cloudberry grew thickest,
was torn up with the hands; then the geese were stood on their tails with
the heads tucked in, till the girls had made a circular group some three or
four yards across. ‘Then the turfs were rolled back on them a double layer,
and the packing was complete.”

Our extract of this curious description is so lengthy, that we
have little space in which to refer to Mr. Trevor Battye’s
personal adventures: how he landed on the island with his
companion, Mr. Thomas Hyland, a bird-stuffer from the steam-
yacht ‘Saxon,’ chartered by Mr. Powys; how, in consequence of
ice floating in, the ship was unable to take him off at the time
arranged: how his sojourn there was consequently delayed for
three months, so that his friends in England imagined he must
have perished; how at last he was rescued by a Russian trader
and safely landed near the Petchora Delta, whence, by an over-
land route, he eventually returned safe to England.

These episodes are all graphically detailed in a fresh and
lively style, and the reader is left in doubt which to admire most,
the author’s pluck under very trying circumstances, or his
enthusiasm in making natural history collections under such very
adverse conditions.

His narrative has been very appropriately illustrated by
Mr. Nettleship and Mr. Charles Whymper, from photographs
and rough sketches supplied to them, and the result is one of the
most attractive books of travel by a naturalist that we have met.
with for some time.

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.— OCT. 1895. 2H

894 THE ZOOLOGIST.

The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma,
Birds. Vol. III. By W. T. Buanrorp, F.R.S. 8vo, pp.
i—xiv, 1—450. London: Taylor & Francis. 1895.

THE progress of this excellent undertaking, under the editor-
ship of Dr. Blanford, must, from its very nature, be necessarily
slow, in consequence of the enormous amount of material avail-
able, and the extent of the collections to be worked out. We
have from time to time advised our readers of the appearance of
different volumes in the series prepared by different specialists ; *
and we have now to direct attention to the third volume on the
‘Birds’ of India, which has just made its appearance. The first
two volumes of this section were prepared by Mr. Eugene Oates,
who would have completed his task had he not been obliged to
return to his appointment in India, as explained in the Preface
to his second volume. The work of completion, therefore, has
been now undertaken by the Editor, who announces that although
the original design was to finish the ‘ Birds’ in three volumes, it
has been decided that a fourth will be necessary, and of this he
states that a considerable portion is already written.

The species of which descriptions appear in the present volume
are the Picarian or non-Passerine perching birds, the Parrots,
and the nocturnal and diurnal Birds of Prey. Thus the first
three volumes of this work correspond to the first two of Jerdon’s,
and contain the same families of birds, although differently
arranged.

As to classification, “the system adopted is in the main
identical with those of Sharpe and Gadow, and differs in no
important point from the classification of Sclater and Newton.”
The chief difference between the plan here followed and those
proposed by the ornithologists named is that no attempt has —
been made in the present work to arrange in larger categories
the groups here termed Orders. This is due to the circumstance
that there is a much wider general agreement as to the distinct-
ness of the smaller ordinal or subordinal groups than as to their
relations to each other. Although the synonymy seems well
worked out, we regret to see here and there, as regards nomen-
clature, a want of conformity with the views of the above-named

* See ‘ Zoologist,’ 1888, p. 895 (Mammals) ; 1889, p. 467 (Fishes) ; 1890,
p. 150 (Birds),

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 395

contemporary ornithologists. We cannot presume to say who is
right, we only regret the fact that in many instances they are
unable to agree as to the precise generic and specific names a
particular bird should bear. To take the case of a common and
widely distributed species, the Kestrel, which in the 4th edition
of Yarrell’s ‘ British Birds’ (i. 78) appears as Falco tinnunculus,
is Cerchneis tinnunculus of Sharpe, and Tinnunculus alaudarius of
Blanford. To take another instance. Jerdon places the Merlin in
the same genus with the Hobby, and names it Hypotriorchis esalon.
Prof. Newton, regarding it as a typical falcon, calls it Falco esalon.
According to Dr. Sharpe it should be Falco regulus, Pallas, while
Dr. Blanford, adopting the genus Aisalon of Kaup (1829),
styles it Aisalon regulus! Alas! uniformity in nomenclature
seems to be as far off as ever, and, we suspect, is not likely to be
attained until an international congress of ornithologists appoints
a committee to prepare for publication an authoritative ‘ Index
generum et specierum.

This state of things makes it troublesome for a tyro to find a
particular species in Dr. Blanford’s ‘ Index’ to this volume,
which does not include the English names. There is many a
man in India, a good sportsman perhaps, and would-be naturalist,
wishful, it may be, to do what he can in the cause of ornithology
by collecting specimens, yet knowing nothing of scientific
nomenclature. Anxious to identify some bird he has shot, he
has no idea under what name to search for it in the Index.
Hence it seems to us that the absence of the vernacular names
detracts in one respect from the practical utility of the work.

The illustrations (chiefly figures of head and foot only) are
excellent, but might well be more numerous.

The New Forest: its Traditions, Inhabitants, and Customs. By
RosE DE Crespiany and Horace Hurcuinson. Post 8vo,
pp. i-vili, 1-295. With Illustrations and Map. London:
John Murray. 1895.

Tus is a gossipy and very readable little book, in large
type, well spaced out, and appropriately illustrated. It is not
exactly a guide to the New Forest district, for no routes are
indicated, nor information given as to what particular places are
especially worth a visit from the tourist; but it conveys in a

396 THE ZOOLOGIST.

pleasantly written style much that will interest intending visitors,
be they naturalists, archeologists, or collectors of folk-lore.
Those who already possess Wise’s ‘ History of the New Forest,’
which has gone through several editions, are not likely to find in
the present volume much that will be new to them; and this is
especially the case with the chapters which treat of the beasts,
birds, insects, and plants to be met with in the Forest area,
although here and there we find some remarks which bring the
history of a particular species down to a later date than that
referred to by Mr. Wise.

On the subject of deer a great deal more might have been
written, and under this heading the author might have consulted
with advantage what has been published by the Hon. Gerald
Lascelles, the deputy surveyor of the Forest. Reference is
made, under the head of “ Game-preserving,” to a gamekeeper
named Toomer (p. 260), and we wonder that it did not occur to
the authors to mention the curious case of.a black pig, which was
trained by a forest-keeper of that name to find game like a
pointer. Daniel, who has published all the particulars in his
‘Rural Sports’ (vol. ii. p. 62), gives a portrait of this remarkable
animal, which he says was broken by Richard Toomer to find
game, and to back and stand, and was as staunch as any pointer.
She daily improved, and in a few weeks would retrieve birds that
had run. She stood partridges, black-game, pheasants, snipes,
and rabbits in the same day, but was never known to point a
hare. She sometimes stood a Jack Snipe when all the pointers
had passed it by, and she would back the dogs when they
pointed, although they refused to back her until spoken to.

Writing of the Badger, the authors of ‘ The New Forest’

remark that ‘‘in a country that is not very closely preserved, and

where such large tracts are covert, it is hard to form any
judgment of an animal whose habits are so entirely nocturnal” ;
and they add that ‘‘no one seems to molest them.” From this
we infer that the authors never read ‘The Field,’ or they would
know something of a Hampshire gentleman who hunts the
Badger regularly in the Forest, and keeps a special breed of dogs
for the purpose.

“The martron, or marten cat,’ we are told (p. 153), “has
become extinct. For the rest there is abundance of stoats,
weasels, snakes, field-mice, and all manner of vermin, such as

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NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 397

would naturally thrive in a closely wooded country where
inhabitants are scarce and each keeper has a wide beat.” The
Polecat is not mentioned, from which we are to infer that it is
at the present day as extinct as the Marten. ‘The same may be
said of the Kite, the Honey Buzzard, Common Buzzard, Marsh

and Hen Harriers; but the authors, apparently, are unaware of
_ the fact that Montagu’s Harrier is not only an annual visitor to

a certain part of the Forest, but is known to have nested there
several times of late years. ‘‘ ‘len years ago,” it is said (p. 258),
**Lapwings were numerous on Brook Common. Now they are
rarely there, though they still haunt the wilder plains.”

Herons are numerous, and form a feature that is in harmo-
nious keeping with the wilder landscapes of the Forest. The

following passage, relating to this bird, will convey a good idea

of the writers’ style and power of observation :—

“Lately it happened to one of the present writers to be pointing out
toa visitor the beauties of the view from the foot of Raik’s Brake—an
expanse of wild scrub, of heather and bracken, and of snipe-marsh yellow
with the moss-patches and pale glints from the standing water here and
there. Down the middle of the picture a stream came winding, and ever
broadening as it came, from the tiny rivulet scarcely seen among the
heather and bracken on the top of the long hill on the right. On the left
a clump of firs threw a dark shadow across the stream, and the scene
melted away in undulating distances to the blue hills of Dorsetshire. As
we looked on this scene, which was absolutely without life or motion, a
heron came heavily flapping over our heads and settled, on long legs, in
the middle of the marsh. It was the completing touch that made the
picture perfect, and a touch that is often present to complete the wilder
landscapes in the Forest.”

The Pheasant. Natural History, by the Rev. H. A. Macpuerson;
Shooting, by A. J. Sruart Worriey; Cookery, by ALEx-
ANDER INNES SHAND. 8vo, pp. 265. With illustrations.
London: Longmans, Green & Co. 1895.

Messrs. Lonaman’s ‘ Fur and Feather Series,’ of which two
volumes have been already favourably noticed in this journal
(‘The Partridge,’ Zool. 1894, p. 199, and ‘ The Grouse,’ tom. cit.,
p. 358), commends itself alike to naturalists and sportsmen, not
only on account of the accurate information which is given in
the different sections by authors who are well qualified to write

398 THE ZOOLOGIST.

on the subjects which they have undertaken to deal with, but also
on account of the excellent illustrations by Mr. A. Thorburn,
which are so true to nature that they might well be mistaken for
instantaneous photographs, instead of reproductions as they are
of sketches in black and white.

Writing of the distribution of the Pheasant in Europe, Mr.
Macpherson very properly points out (p. 6) the mistake which
many writers have made in supposing that Phasianus colchicus,
except where introduced by man’s agency, is confined to the
forests and marshes which fringe the shallow and slimy waters of
the slow-flowing river Phasis. It exists in many parts of the
Caucasus, extending eastward into Transcaucasia, and in a
northerly direction to the Volga. In the twenty-second volume
of the ‘ Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum’ (p. 322),
Mr. Ogilvie Grant has defined the range of this bird as
embracing Southern Turkey, Greece, and the north of Asia
Minor, as well as in the Caucasus; so that although it may be
true enough that the Romans first became acquainted with it
through specimens imported from Colchis, from what we now
know of its geographical distribution, there is no reason why
they might not have procured it from countries much nearer to
Italy, had more particular search been made for it. Professor
Giglioli considers that the Pheasant is as much indigenous to
Europe as to the swamps of the Caucasus; @ propos of which he
states (‘Avifauna Italica,’ vol. i. p. 336) that it is to be found
abundantly upon the frontier of Dalmatia, and also frequents the
woods at the mouth of the river Drino in Albania, to which it
ceitainly cannot have been introduced by human agency.

Referring to the introduction of the Pheasant into Ireland,
Mr. Macpherson quotes Thompson to the effect that it must have
been introduced into that country prior to the year 1589, when
Robert Payne wrote that there was “‘ great store” of these birds
there. He might have added that Giraldus Cambrensis found
no Pheasants nor Partridges in Ireland in 1188=86, nor were any
noticed there nearly two centuries later, in 1363, by Ranulf
Higden (cf. Zool. 1881, pp. 437-439),

As to the introduction of this bird into St. Helena, alluded to
by Mr. Macpherson (p. 20), some fuller details than he has given
may be found in an article on this subject published in ‘The
Zoologist’ for 1886, p. 225.

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 399

Of late years we have heard something of the migratory
movements of Grouse and Partridges (Zool. 1886, p. 107; 1893,
p. 4383; 1894, p. 18; and 1895, pp. 21, 69, 108). Mr. Mac-
pherson tells us that in some districts the Pheasant also moves
from a summer to a winter home. In the district of Zakatal

-{Zakhatali, Southern Russia], in the summer, Pheasants often

migrate to higher ground at the foot of the mountains; but after
the crops are gathered in, and on the approach of the first cold
weather of the autumn, they again return to the low-lying
valleys of the river Alazani, where they pass the winter in the
reeds, long weeds, and bushes.

As to the food of wild Pheasants in this country, Mr. Mac-
pherson says it consists chiefly of the tender shoots of plants,
grass, bulbous roots, worms, and insects. The crop of one bird
which he examined was full of the roots of the common buttercup.
In addition they pick off the oak spangles, and eat such hard
food as hazel nuts, of which no less than twenty-eight were taken
from the crop of one bird, and ninety-three acorns from another.
When hard pinched they feed on the polypody fern. Nothing is
said about their occasionally feeding on yew, and of the mortality
which consequently ensues; nor do we find any remarks upon
Jead-poisoning, resulting from their sometimes picking up shot-
pellets in mistake for grain; the poisoning of Pheasants from
both these causes has been reported from time to time in the
columns of ‘ The Field.’

From the sportsman’s point of view, of course the most
interesting portion of this volume will be that in which Mr.
Stuart Wortley discourses on the breeding and rearing of
Pheasants, the management of coverts, and the best way of
effecting a good show of birds when the time arrives for shooting
them. His advice, founded on experience, carries conviction
with it, and is not only well expressed, but thoroughly practical.
This is what young sportsmen stand most in need of—good sound
advice from one who is competent to give it. Indeed, we may go
a step further, and say that not a few middle-aged sportsmen
will gladly admit, on perusing this volume, that they have
gleaned from it some very useful hints.

The closing chapter, by Mr. Shand, which deals with the
cookery of the Pheasant, is sensibly and brightly written, and
anecdotical withal, The monotonous commonplace of a recipe-

400 THE ZOOLOGIST.

book is thus avoided, and Mr. Shand alternately amuses and
instructs the reader until he leaves him with the following
quotation from a letter of Sydney Smith to Canon Barham :—
‘Many thanks, my dear sir, for your kind present of game. If
there is a pure and elevated pleasure in this world it is that of
roast pheasant and bread sauce; barn-door fowls for dissenters,
but for real churchman, the thirty-nine-times-articled clerk, the
pheasant! the pheasant!”

A Preliminary List of the Hemiptera of Colorado. By C. P.
GILLETTE and Cart F. Baxer. 8vo, pp. 137. Fort
Collins, Colorado. 1895.

THE amount of good entomological work which is being done
in America is simply astonishing. While entomologists in this
country are still trifling with popular books on Lepidoptera and
Coleoptera, the Americans are energetically working out the
insect fauna of their continent, and not only in the more showy
orders of insects. We have here a catalogue of the insects
belonging to one of the least-studied orders, and a catalogue of
the productions of one of the most distant States, including
hundreds of species, with the most elaborate information
respecting localities, elevations, &c. Many species are here
described as new by the best specialists in America, and the
descriptions are frequently illustrated by magnified details. One
oversight, however, may be noted: the catalogue gives no names
but those of species and genera, proceeding in one list without
any indication of the suborders Heteroptera and Homoptera by
different headings.

It is quite time for British entomologists to bestir themselves,
and to see that the productions of British colonies are worked
out in the various orders other than those which are the most
popular, although there is much to be done even as regards the
latter. With respect to England itself, there are whole families
of insects, comprising hundreds, if not thousands, of species, at
which only one or two entomologists are at present working;
while there are others concerning which very little native
information is published, and that antiquated and unreliable.

ee a ee eee

THE ZOOLOGIST

No. 227.—November, 1895.

AN EXPEDITION TO THE SALVAGE ISLANDS.

By Hon. Crecm, Baring anp W. R. Oainvie Grant.*

Fw probably are aware of the existence of the Salvage Islands,t
a small uninhabited group, situated, roughly speaking, between
Madeira and the Canaries, and about 160 miles distant from the
former, and eighty-five from Teneriffe.

According to the description given of them in the ‘ North
Atlantic Memoir,’ ‘‘the Salvages consist of an island named
the Ilha Grande, or the Great Salvage, a larger island named
Great Piton,and a smaller one called the Little Piton,together with
several rocks. The Great Salvage lies in lat. 30° 8’, long. 15° 55’.
It is of very irregular shape, and has a number of rocks about it
within the distance of a mile. It is much intersected, and has
several deep inlets, the most accessible of which is on the east
side. It is covered with bushes, amongst which the thousands
of sea-fowl make their nests. It is surrounded on all sides
with dangers, most of which show, but many require all caution
in approaching.

“The Great Piton lies at the distance of eight and a quarter
miles W.S.W., three-quarters W., from Ilha Grande. This islet
is two and three-eighths miles long, and has a hill or peak near
the centre. The Little Piton lies at a mile from the western side

* From ‘ The Field,’ of Sépt. 21st and 28th, 1895. Communicated by the

authors.
+ From the Spanish, Selvajes—.e. desert islands.

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL, XIX,—NOY. 1895. QI

402 THE ZCOLOGIST.

of the former, and is three-quarters of a mile long; both are
comparatively narrow. These isles are seated upon and surrounded
by one dangerous rocky bank, which extends from the western
side of the little isle half a league to the westward. . . The
southern part of the Great Piton appears green, its northern part
barren. It may be seen five or six leagues off. The Little Piton
is very flat, and is connected to the south point of the greater one
by a continued ledge of rocks. ‘The whole of the eastern side of
the Great Piton is rocky and dangerous.”

These islands were visited so recently as 1889 by Mr. E. F.
Knight, who, in his book, ‘ The Cruise of the Alerte,’ has given a
description of them, excellent from the seaman’s point of view,
but incomplete from that of the naturalist. Although the Ad-
miralty chart gives the coasts and shoals of the Great Salvage very
correctly, since this was prepared great changes must have taken
place at the Pitons or southern islands, and this part of the chart
is now far from correct. ‘There can be no doubt that the sea has
made great encroachments on the land, for the Great Piton
cannot now be more than a mile and a half long, including the
outlying rocks which are connected with the mainland at low
water. Great Salvage is at the present time by far the largest
of the three, its steep, rocky coast having defied the fury of the
Atlantic.

Our object in visiting the Salvages was to ascertain what
features of interest the flora and fauna presented. The flora of
the Great Salvage had already been described by Lowe in a little
pamphlet entitled ‘ Florule Salvagicee Tentamen, or a List of
Plants collected in the Salvages or Salvage Islands,’ but he never
visited these islands himself, the whole of his material having
been obtained through the Portuguese fishermen, who every

autumn frequent these islands as a fishing station, catching at —

the same time enormous numbers of the young of the Great
Shearwater (Puffinus kuhl), which are there in thousands, and
valuable for their oil and feathers. By going in the early part
of the year we hoped to find many plants in flower which Lowe
had not obtained, and were not disappointed. We took ship,
accordingly, for Madeira, and landed at Funchal on April 10th,
after a splendid passage on the ‘ Tantallon Castle,’ the largest and
one of the best equipped ships of the Castle line. Nor must we
pass over this part of our journey without expressing our

oe eee es ee es ee rh Ch. rr eee eer

en al

AN EXPEDITION TO THE SALVAGE ISLANDS. 403.

appreciatien of the splendid management and extreme comfort
on board the boats of this line, and the general excellence of all
their internal arrangements. Our baggage, necessarily bulky,
as it comprised tents, bedding, a large amount of collecting-gear,
and many gallons of spirit, was taken the greatest care of, and
nothing could exceed the kindness and civility of the officers,
though we must have given them a considerable amount of extra

trouble. Finding it impossible to procure a craft suitable to our

purpose at Madeira, and being obliged to remain there for a week,
we paid a flying visit to the islands of Porto Santo, which lie about
thirty miles to the north-west, and obtained some interesting
zoological specimens of all kinds. The Little Shearwater
(Puffinus assimilis) was breeding on the Lime Island, and several
nestlings in various stages of downy plumage were obtained, the
larger ones appearing nearly twice as big as their parents. Like
the young of all petrels,sthe bodies of these birds are thickly
coated with a layer of yellow fat, and the skins require to be very
carefully cleaned and prepared.

Among the birds obtained was a Kestrel, and being curious to
ascertain what she had been preying on, we opened the stomach
and found that it contained nothing but seven snail shells (Helix
pisana) which had been swallowed whole! Curious diet for a bird
of prey. As we traversed the fields of growing crops, the note of the
Quail was constantly heard, and here and there we accidentally
flushed one after nearly walking on to it, but it is almost hopeless
looking for these birds without dogs. There were numerous
flocks of Schimper’s Rock Dove (Columba schimperi), which were
rather wild and difficult to approach, as they are constantly
pursued and shot at by the native gunners. This species much
resembles the common Stock Dove in general appearance, having
the rump grey like the back, but the general colour of the upper
parts is altogether much paler, and there are two black bands
across the wings, as in the Rock Dove. ‘The small birds, though

fairly numerous, belonged to few species, the commonest being

Pipits (Anthus bertheloti), Rock Sparrows, and Linnets, while a

few Canaries, Swifts, Swallows, &c., were observed. A fine series

of the peculiar land snail (Helix nivosa) was collected, the species

being apparently extremely local, and said to be only obtained at

the base of the western rocky point where we met with them. Of

spiders, the largest on the island is the Tarantula (Lycosa made-
ata

404 THE ZOOLOGIST.

riana), which is to be found on the higher stony ground, and with
its shining green eyes, powerful jaws, and hairy, tawny-coloured
legs, is altogether a most wicked-looking monster. Like the rest of
its genus, it makes little or no web, and lives a secluded life beneath
some particular stone, surrounded by the empty shells of numerous
small land snails (Helix paupercula), which apparently form its
principal food. With its powerful jaws it makes a hole in the
side of the shell, and gradually sucks out the mollusc, and this
diet is varied with millipeds and small isopodous crustacea, its
nest being surrounded by their chitinous remains. The Portu-
guese are very much afraid of these large spiders, and no doubt
with good reason, for they must be capable of inflicting a severe
and most poisonous bite; but there is another much smaller
black species (Latrodectus 13-guttatus) with a diminutive head and
much swollen and rounded abdomen, like a black currant, which
is held in much greater dread. The fangs are so small that it
appears a most harmless insect, and it has frequently been
handled by one of the writers with perfect impunity; but all the
same, we have been since informed on the best authority that it
can not only bite but is extremely poisonous. Porto Santo
would be a most delightful place to spend a week or so, and we
greatly regretted that an outbreak of smallpox prevented our ~
returning there again in May to make a much more complete ©
examination of this and the other rocky islets of the group. There
is fair accommodation to be had in the little fishing village, but it
would undoubtedly be very much pleasanter and more comfortable
to take one’s own tenting-gear and camp out. Those who are
fond of sea fishing would find plenty of amusement.

A week after our arrival at Madeira we sailed for the Canaries,
and found ourselves early on April 19th in the port of Santa Cruz _
(Teneriffe), a bright sun shining, and our spirits, which had been _
somewhat damped by the failure of our plans at Madeira, and by —
the continuously bad weather which we had experienced so far,
correspondingly elated. Our steamer waited here till midnight,
so we drove up to Laguna, and spent a pleasant day strolling ©
about the green lanes in the immediate vicinity of that village, a
place too well known to need detailed description here. There
was no lack of bird life. On the way up we saw many Swifts and
Pipits, Ravens, Kestrels, Kites, and Hoopoes, and near Laguna,
Canaries, Common Buntings, Blackeaps, Spectacled Warblers,

—_———. -—

— es

AN EXPEDITION TO THE SALVAGE ISLANDS. 405

Chiff-chaffs, Tits, &c., were plentiful. The Spectacled Warblers
had bred, and we saw several old birds with broods of young on

the wing, some of which were preserved. As the ship did not

sail till midnight, we had plenty of time to skin all our specimens
on board, and early next morning found us at La Luz, the port of
Las Palmas, a spot designed by nature to be fair, but greatly
defiled by man, who has turned it into a coaling station for his
ships, and stirred up in the making of his roads an unspeakable
quantity of dust.

At Las Palmas we were most kindly received by Mr. Richard
Blandy and Mr. A. Doorley, to whose energetic and well-timed
assistance we are largely indebted for the ultimate attainment of
the object we had in view. Through the instrumentality of these
gentlemen we were able to charter from the Gran Canary Coaling
Company the ‘ Pedro del Castillo,’ a small steam-tug of about 25
tons, which proved a very efficient means of transport to the
Salvages. We were very fortunate in being able to do this, as,
although there is no lack of excellent schooners at Las Palmas,
we should scarcely have been able to undertake the journey in a
sailing vessel, for the time at our disposal was limited to about
twelve days, and the Salvages lie about 1238 miles N. and by E.
magnetic from Las Palmas, i.¢e., almost dead in the eye of
the trade wind or brisa, which blows at this time of year with
great regularity, and at times—as we found out later on—with
considerable vigour.

In addition to the ‘ Pedro,’ her helmsman and engineers, we
secured the services of a boat’s crew numbering four (Juan,
Francisco, Eneas, and Manuel), of one Miguel, who acted as
spokesman and (on shore) as cook, and of Pedro, a pilot from
Lanzarote, a silent man, brown and blear-eyed, presumably from
life-long contemplation of the wind’s eye. A most well-disposed,
well-behaved, and obliging lot of men they proved, in spite of the
fact that we could only communicate our thoughts to them in pigeon
Spanish with the help of a dictionary and Ollendorf’s ‘ Manual.’

The ‘ Pedro’ having taken in supplies, and all preparations
having been made, the following day (Sunday, 21st) saw us
steaming gaily out of the harbour about three o’clock on a sunny
afternoon, the warmth of which was tempered by the above-
mentioned brisa, which was blowing gently from its accustomed
quarter. We were in high spirits. Rafaello, the captain, blew

406 THE ZOOLOGIST.

the ‘ Pedro’s’ whistle until the whole harbour was aroused.. The
‘Pedro’ was said to do seven or eight knots, and so we left the
mole of La Luz, expecting, with ordinary luck, to anchor off the
Great Salvage early on the following afternoon. We were no
sooner outside the breakwater, although still sheltered by the
land, than we became acutely conscious of the large size of the
Atlantic rollers and of the relatively smaller dimensions of our
‘Pedro,’ to whose credit be it said, as she proved from first to
last a safe and excellent sea-boat. She was built of steel, about
40 ft. long, and of a nature so inherently buoyant that in her
frantic efforts to surmount the waves she seemed at times to be in
imminent danger of turning herself inside out. This made repose
on deck out of the question, there being no room to lie down. Below
‘the only accommodation consisted of the hold, the forward end of
which was fitted with four wooden bunks. Into some of the
vacant space we had stowed our camping and collecting gear, and
-what remained was used as a resting-place by our crew. The
-hatchway and wooden skylights being shut down and a tarpaulin
made fast over them to prevent the ingress of salt water, it may
be imagined that during the night, when all but the watch had
turned in and there were several pipes going, the qnanicrs were
what sailors call snug.

The next morning broke lowe with a trifle more east in the
wind, which enabled us to set our little fore-and-aft sail. The
men were in high spirits, climbing with their almost prehensile
feet up the two wire stays that formed the ‘ Pedro’s’ standing
rigging, and pointing out, as a sure sign that land was near, a
Pardella, the “‘ bird that sleeps on shore.’ Of this bird, the
Mediterranean Shearwater (Puffinus kuhli), we had already made

the acquaintance at Porto Santo, and were destined to see a good

deal of before we got home.

In the course of conversation, somewhat laboriously carried
on, it transpired that our men considered the distance from Las
Palmas to the Salvages to be about ninety miles. The chart, as
we happened to know, though there was no such document on
board, made it 123 miles, and it soon became evident that there
was a great deal of uncertainty about our position, and that our
voyage to the Salvages was developing into a search for those
islands—a search which might very easily be unattended with
success, ‘l'here was a sailing vessel in sight well down to

*

ees

Mia <8 eta

eit 2 eee,

en

AN EXPEDITION TO THE SALVAGE ISLANDS. 407

leeward. A Spanish schooner our men said, and they determined
to hail her,if possible, and ask for information. She was running
before the wind, heading evidently for Las Palmas, and we bore
down on her to cut her off, which we succeeded in doing after
steaming for an hour and a half. When within a quarter of a
mile we hoisted our Spanish ensign with a knot tied in it (!), and
whistled, and presently had the satisfaction of seeing the object
of our pursuit wear slowly round and at the same time hoist
French colours. The French barquantine Georges er she
turned out to be (part of the name being painted on the after
ports, which were raised, was illegible), from Havre to Las
Palmas. We steamed as near as we could as she lay hove to,
rolling heavily, and the captain told us, as near as we could
understand, that the Salvages lay sixty-six miles N.W. This was
at 8am. We thanked him, bore up once more, and shaped our
course N.W. The weather was not very inviting, and at intervals
it came on very thick. At three o’clock on Monday afternoon, as
it was obvious that we could not make the Salvages that day, we
decided to put back for the purpose of making the Peak of
Teneriffe and taking fresh bearings from that point. Accordingly
we steered south, going easily with wind and sea, and at 5.30, not
a little to our surprise, the men descried the Peak up among the
clouds. Once more the ‘ Pedro’s’ head was pointed northward,
and our true course having been determined to every one’s
satisfaction, though not without a great deal of talking, we
steamed ahead. All night we went slowly, as there was a good
deal of swell, and we did not want to make the Salvages by
running on to them; and very soon after daylight we made out, to
our very great joy, first one and then another blue bump on the
horizon—the Salvages without a doubt. At eight o'clock we
were off the Great Piton, described in the Admiralty chart as
three miles long, which it certainly is not. Here we landed one of
our party and three men, and the ‘ Pedro’ then proceeded to Great
Salvage, some nine miles off, where everything was safely landed

-by 11.30, the passage having taken us 44 hours. The ‘Pedro,’

having revisited the Great Piton in the afternoon, and brought
back the rest of our party, started on her return for Las Palmas
early on the morning of Wednesday, April 24th. We must not
omit to mention our indebtedness to Sir M. J. T. Cabral de
Noronha, of Madeira, the present owner of the Salvages, for, on

408 THE ZOOLOGIST.

learning our wish to land and collect there, he at once granted
permission, only stipulating that we should not shoot his goats,
which have now increased to about a score, and become, of course,
perfectly wild. We were very fortunate in our landing on the
Great Salvage, for the entrance to the Southern Bay winds in and
out among rocks, many of which are below the surface, and, except
in comparatively calm weather, it must be extremely risky, if not
impossible, to land, for the boat has to be backed gradually up to
a shelf of rock, and it would be the easiest thing in the world to
be stove in when there is anything of a swell. Our men occupied
a couple of stone huts built by the Portuguese fishermen just
above the landing place, but we preferred our large and com-
fortable tent, where we soon made ourselves extremely happy.
Innumerable hungry fleas, who gave us a warm welcome, tenanted
the Portuguese huts, but we were obliged to make use of one of
these to shelter our large collecting-boxes and drums of spirits
from the sun, which at times was extremely powerful.

The Salvages are entirely of volcanic origin, and the dark
steep rocks of the Great Salvage, where we pitched our camp, rise
from the sea to a height of from one to three hundred feet.
Above the precipices the top of the island is comparatively flat,
and mostly strewn with sharp, loose stones, and volcanic débris,
which made short work of shooting boots, cutting them to pieces.
The highest point—there are two conspicuous hillocks—rises to
a height of about 450 ft. The most striking plants were the wild
tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum), with its pretty yellow flowers,
pleasant aromatic smell, and small scarlet fruits, which proved
delicious eating; the Ice-plant (Mesembrianthemum crystallinum),
with its lovely white star-like flowers; and the Asparagus (probably
Asparagus scoparius), which grew to a considerable size, some of
the bushes being several feet high, and forming good covert for
the Rabbits. ‘There were many other interesting plants, of most
of which we procured specimens in flower; we may mention the
curious Phelipea lutea, belonging to the Broomrape family, with
its thick fleshy stem, ending in a dense raceme of yellow bell-
shaped flowers. Among the asparagus and tomatoes, as well as
on the rocky faces of the island, there were endless Rabbits, not
very large, it is true, but very fat and in splendid condition, with
a flavour quite unlike any we have tasted elsewhere. We
attributed their excellence to the tomatoes on which they chiefly

ee

—EE——E———

AN EXPEDITION TO THE SALVAGE ISLANDS. 409

feed; baked as our Spanish cook Miguel did them, and served
with onions, wild tomatoes, and a little sweet oil, they were truly
excellent. Some of these Rabbits were of a light sandy yellow
colour, and we made skins of these as well as of the ordinary
coloured ones. It is said to be several hundred years since they

were introduced, and it seems marvellous to us that they should

have thriven so well, and deteriorated so little in size, in such a
restricted area, without the intervention of fresh blood. It soon
became evident to us that either Rats or some large species of
Mouse were numerous towards the top of the island, though we
never saw any trace of them about our camp, or on the lower
ground, and soon all the traps—smaller cyclone mouse-traps,
and large toothless rat-traps—were setin likely runs. On visiting
these at six o’clock the foilowing morning, we were rewarded by
several captures in the cyclones, and in our ignorance fondly
imagined that we had found a new species allied to the House
Mouse, and having the same small eyes, but altogether a con-
siderably larger animal. The under parts were pure white, the
back brownish, the ears larger, and the tail thicker than in the
Common Mouse; in fact, the whole animal, had it not been for its
small eyes, reminded us strongly of the Wood Mouse (Mus
sylvaticus). Mr. Oldfield Thomas, a leading authority on mice,
has, however, informed us that the Great Salvage Mouse is the
same species as that met with in North Africa. We caught a
number of these mice, and brought back a series of beautiful
skins. Meanwhile, the rat-traps had done no execution; and,
though the flesh with which they were baited was all eaten by
the morning, the nocturnal visitors were evidently not heavy
enough to start the spring. By setting them very lightly, how-
ever, we succeeded in catching two of the mice, but never a rat,
and satisfied ourselves that the former were the inhabitants of the
rather large burrows, and the only animal of their kind on the
Great Salvage. Their droppings were so large that itseemed impos-
sible that they could be produced by anything smaller than a rat
of some kind, but we ascertained for certain that this was not the
case. Further on we shall refer to the wholesale destruction of
the White-breasted Petrel (Pelagodroma marina) and their eggs
by these comparatively small rodents.

Our arrival apparently caused immense excitement among the
bird inhabitants of Great Salvage, our tent being a special object

410 THE ZOOLOGIS?.

of wonder, the Pardellas, or Mediterranean Shearwaters (Puffinus
kuhli), by far the most numerous species on the island, being
especially bold and noisy in their greeting. The high volcanic
rocks surrounding the south bay are full of miniature caves, in
most of which a pair of Pardellas had their home, and towards
sunset the whole population turned out, wheeling and squealing
round our encampment, and offering the most tempting rocketing
shots as they swept over the high rocks above us.

The male, in a harsh guttural voice, cries, ‘‘1a-gow-a-gow-a-

gow,” and the female chimes in, “ia-ia-ia”; and it may be
imagined that with thousands of these miscreants circling close
round our tent during the night, tired as we were, sleep was
almost impossible on the first evening of our stay.

Our daily programme varied little; we got up as soon as
it was light, about five o’clock, and after a swim in South Bay,
dressed and breakfasted. As soon as the men’s work had been
settled, we started off on a collecting tour till twelve o’clock, when
we dined; after a pipe we again went on the prowl till it was time
for supper. In this way we generally found time for about ten
hours’ steady collecting, and kept our taxidermist well empioyed
in spite of all the help we could give him.

We generally had our evening meal about six o’clock, so as to
get it over before sunset, when it soon became dark; and during
the whole of our visit we used every night to be mobbed by these
noisy Pardellas. ‘‘ The march past,” as we called it, generally
commenced about six, and continued with unabated zest till we
turned in about 10.30 and heard no more. In spite of the
tempting shots they offered, we killed very few of these birds,
only such as we required for specimens ; but our men were not so
sparing, for they used every day to catch numbers for food (they
skinned and boiled them!), and took back sacks full to Las
Palmas, where, when salted, they are much esteemed by the
Spanish fishermen.

The Pardella breeds late, and though during the daytime we
found most of the birds in pairs in their rocky nesting chambers,
we never procured a single egg; as already mentioned, enormous
numbers of the young are collected by the Portuguese fishermen
in the autumn, being valued for their oil and downy feathers.
The happy couples greatly resent being disturbed in their nesting
cavities, and, unless extracted without hesitation, retaliate by

iS 9 utp etme, 5>-ae ) ~e Gereewen “Scclleer ee

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AN EXPEDITION TO THE SALVAGE ISLANDS. Ail

biting with great vigour, their curved bills, with their sharp, cut-
ting edges, being apt to leave an ugly wound on those unskilled
in the mode of handling them. Though the majority pass the
day in the holes in the rocks, many also rest at sea, and may be
seen in flocks floating quietly on the surface at most hours of the

day. On our return journey, the ‘ Pedro’ ran right over one of

these Shearwaters, sleeping peacefully with its head under its
wing, but beyond a rough awakening, it flew off apparently none
the worse. After finishing our six o’clock meal, we generally
spent the rest of the evening smoking our pipes, and skinning
what remained of the birds got during our day’s collecting,
and attending to the other collections by lantern light. On
several occasions we were startled by one of these Great Shear-
waters dashing into our midst, like some great white moth
dazzled by the light; fortunately none of them ever struck us,
or we might have had the worst of the encounter. These birds
are evidently the “‘ Cormorants ” alludedjto by Mr. Knight in his
‘Cruise of the Alerte,’ p. 85. He writes: ‘“‘ The Cormorants
dwelt with their families in fine stone houses, which they had
constructed with great ingenuity. Some of the stones were
large and heavy; it would be interesting to observe how the
birds set to work to move them, and how they put the roofon. I
have been.told that they rake up a mound of stones with their
powerful wings, in such a way that by removing some of those
underneath, they leave the roof above them.” Of course, this is

obviously impossible, some of the stones being a great weight ;

the fact is, that these little stone huts are put up all over the top
of the island by the Portuguese fishermen for the birds to nest
in, so that the young may be more easily obtained when they
visit the place in autumn. ‘This is commonly done also in the
Canaries. |

The only other bird of this genus, so far as we ascertained,
that visit these islands is Gould’s Little Shearwater (Pujfinus
assimilis), the same species that we found breeding at Porto Santo.
Here also we procured young in various stages, and one late egg
almost fresh; it is large for the size of the bird, and the shell is
pure white, and perfectly oval in shape, the two poles being

equally rounded. We never saw much of these birds, though

one flew into the camp one night; but during the daytime there
were generally some to be seen at sea, often in company with the

412 THE ZOOLOGIST.

Mediterranean Shearwater. ‘The note of these birds we never
ascertained, and when seen on the wing they were always silent
so far as we heard.

Perhaps the most interesting met with was the White-breasted
Petrel (Pelagodroma marina), a lovely bird, with all the under
parts, as well as the forehead and wide eyebrow stripes, snow-
white, the upper parts dark sooty grey, and with very long
black legs and yellow middles to the webs of the feet. This
species was previously known to inhabit the Australian seas, and
one or two eggs were obtained many years ago by Gould on the
west coast of Australia. One or two specimens had from time to
time been obtained off the Canary Islands, and one was recently
picked up dead on Walney Island after a great storm, but these
were merely regarded as accidental stragglers. We first observed
and recognised with pleasure these beautiful Petrels as we neared
the Salvages, when numbers were seen flitting along close to the
surface of the sea, with their long legs dangling beneath them
and just touching the water. Now they would be lost sight of in
the hollows between the huge Atlantic rollers, now reappear,
closely following, with their graceful, easy flight, the undulating
waters. On the afternoon of our arrival, we found an egg of this
bird in what we at first mistook for a rabbit burrow, but it was
unfortunately broken by one of the men. This, however,
opened our eyes, and we subsequently found that large colonies
of the White-breasted Petrel were breeding on the flat top of the
island, in burrows dug out in the sandy ground, and partly con-
cealed by the close-growing ice-plant. It was very unpleasant
walking over these breeding-grounds, which occupied considerable
areas, for the ground was honey-combed in every direction with
burrows, which gave way at each step, and one’s boots rapidly
became full of sand. By thrusting one’s arm into one hole after
another we soon procured a fine series of specimens, accompanied
in most cases by an egg, for we had evidently just hit off the
breeding season, and most of the birds having laid their single
egg were just commencing to sit. The egg is white, more or less
finely spotted, and often zoned towards the larger end with dark
purplish red dots. Both sexes take part in the incubation, for
out of twelve birds captured on the egg, three were males,
While thus engaged, we found quite a number of dead birds and
sucked eggs, evidently the work of Mice, for their droppings were

—<. e e e

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AN EXPEDITION TO THE SALVAGE ISLANDS. 418

to be seen all about the burrows, and the marks of their teeth on
the empty shells were unmistakable. The birds, some of which
were quite freshly killed and almost untouched, were invariably
done to death by being bitten at the nape of the neck, and in
some cases part of the brain had been eaten. It seemed curious

- that these comparatively small Mice should be able to kill a bird

several times larger than themselves, and provided with a fairly
strong hooked bill; but no doubt the Petrels get caught in the
end of their burrow, and being terrified, do not even try to defend
themselves. We obtained no young of this species, and the most
advanced eggs were at most but half incubated on April 27th.
Almost more interesting than the White-breasted Petrels was the
square-tailed, white-rumped Petrel (Oceanodroma cryptoleucura),
of which we obtained but a single example, caught at night with
a lantern at Great Salvage, though we saw several flying over
the neighbouring seas from the deck of the ‘Pedro.’ This bird
had not yet come to shore to breed, and the only egg we obtained
was taken at Porto Santo, near Madeira, in the month of June.
It had always been previously supposed that the only small white-
rumped Petrel met with in these seas was Leach’s Fork-tailed
Petrel (O. lewcorrhoa). That this bird also occurs there is
certain, for we have seen a specimen obtained at the Canaries by
Mr. Meade-Waldo, but it appears to be merely a straggler so far
south; and certainly the square-tailed species is the bird that has
generally been mistaken for it. O.cryptoleucura was described a
few years ago from the Sandwich Islands, and no one had any
idea that it was also found in the Canary seas, so that this
discovery is a matter of considerable interest to ornithologists.
The birds obtained at St. Helena also belong to this form, and
not to Leach’s Petrel, as has been generally believed. It may be
useful to state the main differences between the two.

O. lewcorrhoa has the tail deeply forked, the outer feathers
being much longer than the middle pair, and dark to the base;
while the upper tail coverts are uniform white, not tipped with
black.

O. cryptoleucura has the tail nearly square, the outer feathers
being only slightly longer than the middle pair, the basal part of
the outer feathers is white, and the upper tail coverts are white,
tipped with black.

The only other Petrel met with was the brownish-black

414 I44h.00) LOSE 2eOeLeGcisT.

Bulwer’s Petrel (Bulweria bulweri), a common bird in the
Madeira and Canary seas. .We were too early for their eggs, but
obtained one taken at Porto Santo in the month of June. The
call of this bird is very fine, and was frequently heard at night, a
pleasant contrast to the harsh voices of the Great Shearwaters.
It consists of four higher notes aud a lower, more prolonged
note, the whole repeated several times, and uttered in a loud,
cheerful strain.

A few pairs of Kestrels and Short-eared Owls were evidently
breeding, and we used to see them every day quartering the
ground in search of their prey, and it pleased us to think that at
least some check was being put on the Petrel-destroyers. About
a dozen pairs of the Yellow-legged Herring Gull (Larus cachin-
nans) had nests about the rocky points, but we only found one
with eggs, and these were on the point of hatching; the other
nests were either empty or contained downy young. These too
had their enemies of some sort, for a nest which contained three
young the day we found it, had only one remaining a few days
later. This may have been the work of other Gulls, but we
could not help suspecting the great hook-billed Pardellas of
being the culprits ; for hundreds of them used to come out of the
rocks, or leave their stone houses on the top of the island just
before sunset, and fly rather low all over the stony plateau,
making the beautiful evening hideous with their incessant cries of
la-gow-a-gow-a-gow; they certainly appeared to be in search of
food of some sort, but we had no means of proving our sus-
picions.

One of the most numerous, as well as the tamest, of small
birds on Great Salvage was the Berthelot’s Pipit, which is
common at Madeira, Porto Santo, and the Canaries. These little
birds were our constant companions, and one or two of them
were almost always to be seen running about among the stones
and ice-plants, generally within a few yards of one’s feet. When
we arrived at Great Salvage they had not begun to breed, and
were generally met with in small companies of three or. more;
but on the last days of our visit we noted that many had
evidently paired, and one or two birds were seen going about with
nesting materials in their bills, so the breeding season must have
been just commencing. ‘They apparently rear a second brood in
the autumn, for several of the birds we shot were in the freshly

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AN EXPEDITION TO THE SALVAGE ISLANDS. 415

moulted plumage of the immature bird, with the feathers of the
back, wings, and tail, widely edged with buff; while in the old
birds these parts were in a much worn condition. The only
other small birds we got specimens of were Swifts (Micropus apus
and M. unicolor), Swallows, which arrived during our stay in great

-humbers, many entering our men’s stone huts after dark, House

Martins, and Sand Martins. Besides these, there were a few

_ pairs of Common Terns (Sterna fluviatilis), and one day we saw
-a pair of Turtle Doves fly from the face of a precipice, startled

by a shot—the death-knell of a Pardella; while on another
occasion, having reached the summit of the island, we suddenly
came face to face with a Hobby, and though no attempt was made
on its life we were able to identify it beyond a doubt.

The Reptiles in the island were few in number, only two, the
Long-tailed Lizard (Lacerta galloti), and a small black Gecko
(Tarentola delalandii), both species being inhabitants of the
Canary Islands. We brought back a number of these, both alive
and in spirit, and their capture was an endless source of delight
to our Spanish fishermen, who became great adepts at finding
them, and generally managed to catch them without pulling their
tails off! Francisco was indeed indefatigable, and would cheer-
fully turn over hundreds of heavy stones in a morning in search
of reptiles, spiders, millipedes, and such like, being quite as
excited over the capture of a new spider for our collection as we
were ourselves. Poor man! he always walked bare-foot, and
very soon found to his cost that even his horny soles were not
proof against the sharp volcanic rocks, for his feet were always
more or less cut and bleeding by the time we returned to camp.
Every day, weather permitting, some of our men went fishing, but

though we obtained a good many species of fish, most of which,

especially the sea-perch and eels, were good enough for the table,
and various other inmates of the deep, we got nothing of any
special interest, all belonging to species known from the Madeira or
Canary seas. Among the shells collected we obtained a fine
series of the handsome pink land-snail (Helix ustulata, Lowe)
which is peculiar to the Salvages. Of Lepidoptera, the Painted
Lady was very common, varying much in sizeand colour; and the
Gamma Moth, Plusia gamma, was constantly to be seen hovering
over the white flowers of the ice-plant. Having only a very small
boat, we were never able to go very far from shore, and it was

416 _ THE ZOOLOGIST.

not until the return of the ‘Pedro’ that we were able to pay a
second visit to Great Piton. As we were obliged to catch
a steamer at Las Palmas, which was due to leave for Madeira on
May Ist, it had been arranged that the ‘ Pedro’ should return for
us in good time, and she turned up about four o’clock on Sunday
evening, April 28th. Having packed up all our previous collec-
tions and baggage, we left Great Salvage, with many regrets, at
seven o’clock the following morning. Again we were fortunate
in getting all our belongings safely on board, for we had antici-
pated trouble, as the cases containing specimens preserved in
spirits were extremely heavy, requiring several men to move each
one, but with a little care we avoided any mishap. On leaving
the shelter of the island we ran before a strong wind and
following sea; and as we approached the Great Piton, saw that
the great rollers were breaking heavily on the weather coast, but
by running round to the south side we landed without much
difficulty. Of all the lovely natural flower-gardens we have ever
seen this island is the most beautiful; and we would gladly have
spent a few days camping here, though the collections, from
a zoological point of view, might not have been very important.
The Salvage Mouse is not found here, and the only mammal is
the Common Rat, which had, of course, been imported on some
ship; and though we saw no trace of them except a skull, our
men assured us that they were plentiful enough.

The birds observed were Whimbrels, Little Ringed Plovers,
Turnstones, and a few pairs of the Common Tern, as well as the
Kestrel, House Martin, Turtle Dove, and a Goatsucker, shot just
as we were leaving the island. What interested us most, however,
were the flowering plants, which literally covered the flat sandy
surface of the island, making the whole place a blaze of colour.
One of the most conspicuous was the Pedosia (P. paive), a kind of
straggling trefoil, only met with on this little islet; it was very
plentiful, and its beautiful yellow flowers mingled everywhere with
the Sea Lavender (Statice pectinata), which varied in tint from
almost white to pale violet, and reminded us of a creeping
Heliotrope in its general habit. We dug up some of the enormous
bulbs of a Scilla, probably Scilla hyacinthoides, but as it was not
then in flower, it remains to be seen, should it live through the
winter, what species it really belongs to. We feel sure that any
botanist visiting the Salvages, and Great Piton in particular, will

ee me A! oe ee

AN EXPEDITION TO THE SALVAGE ISLANDS. 417

be well rewarded for his trouble; but he must take plenty of
water as well as food with him, for there are no springs of any
kind on this sandy islet. In this respect Great Salvage is better
provided, but we only used the water for cooking, though our men
drank it with impunity.

Much as we wished to do so, we did not land on the Little
Piton, though our pilot informed us we might have managed it that
day, as the weather was sufficiently favourable. Our captain was
anxious to be off, and we were afraid of missing our vessel at Las
Palmas—a needless fear, as it turned out, for she remained taking
in fruit for two days after we were supposed to sail, to our infinite
disgust, as we hardly dared leave the mole, never being certain
when the last lot of tomatoes or bananas would arrive. Our being
unable to visit Little Piton was the more to be regretted, for none
but the Spanish fishermen—and very few of them—have ever
landed there on account of the surrounding dangers. Our pilot
had been there, and told us that there were neither rats nor mice,
and consequently colonies of the White-breasted Petrel bred
there unmolested, whilst the small white-rumped species (O.
cryptoleucura), mentioned above, was also common. Money, or
rather the want of it, is said to be the bane of one’s existence, but
want of time must often be equally annoying to the scientific
explorer.

Leaving Great Piton at 11 o’clock, and having bent our
awning on to the boat-hook and made a top-sail of it, we ran
straight for Las Palmas before a strong wind and following sea,
arriving at our destination by 9 o’clock the next morning. Here
we settled up our affairs, but were able to do little or no collecting.
On at last reaching Madeira, several days later than we expected,
one of our party being obliged to return to England, we made a
week’s trip to Rabacal, Caramujo, the Ribeira do Inferno, and
Fanal, in the wildest parts of the north of that island, and were
favoured with glorious weather and luck in our collecting; but the
telling of our Salvage adventures has already taken so long that we
must defer giving an account of this charming tour till some later
date. Altogether we obtained during our three weeks’ collecting
over 200 bird-skins, as well as a tolerably complete collection of
all the other natural objects met with, and, having brought them
all safely back to England, felt that, besides having thoroughly
enjoyed our trip, we had not laboured in vain.

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—NOV. 1895. 2K

418 : By THE ZOOLOGIST.

THE HARVEST MOUSE.
Mus minutus, Pallas; Mus messorius, Shaw.

By tHe Epriror.

ALTHOUGH spread over a great part of Europe as far as
Western Asia, where it was found and described by Pallas as
Mus minutus, the Harvest Mouse is generally reputed a species
of rare occurrence. Several circumstances may account for this.
Its very small size and the rapidity of its motions often cause it
to be overlooked, or to be mistaken for the young of the Long-
tailed Field Mouse, Mus sylvaticus. For the first published
account of it as indigenous to this country, we are indebted to
Gilbert White, although it appears to have been previously seen
by Montagu in Wiltshire (cf. Trans. Linn. Soe., vol. vii. p. 274).
White communicated his discovery to Pennant (Nat. Hist. Sel-
borne, Letter xii1.), who published it in the second edition of his
‘British Quadrupeds,’ and thence it has been copied with but
little addition by almost every writer on the subject of British
Mammalia.

It has been reported from so many widely separated English
counties that it may be regarded, at all events, as generally
though locally distributed, and perhaps often overlooked, in most
of the midland and southern districts. In Northumberland and
Durham, according to Messrs. Mennell and Perkins,* there are
but few recorded localities for this species, but among them the
following is worthy of note from its great elevation. Mr. William
Backhouse has taken it at St. John’s, Weardale, 800 feet above
the level of the sea.+

In the district of the English lakes, according to Mr. Mac-
pherson, it is extremely rare. Many years ago a typical nest
was found at Blackwell, and in 1888 a specimen was secured at
Silloth, but these are the only two instances noted of the
appearance of this mouse in Lakeland.

In Yorkshire, according to Messrs. Clarke and Roebuck, it is
very irregularly and thinly distributed. A specimen with the
nest affixed to the stems of Centaurea nigra was long preserved

* «Catalogue of the Mammalia of Northumberland and Durham,” Trans,
Tyneside Nat. Field Club, vol. vi. (1864), p. 171,
| Op. cit, vol. iv. p. 94,

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pop athe - - Fr

THE HARVEST MOUSE. 419

in the Chester Museum, and said to have been taken in the
neighbourhood (Newstead, Proc. Chester Soc. Nat. Sci. vol. iv.
p. 248). There appears to be good authority for locating the
species in the following counties :—Lancashire (Byerley), Staf-
fordshire (Garner and Masefield), Leicester (Harley and Widdow-
son), Norfolk (Lubbock and Gurney), Suffolk (Rope and Moor),
Cambridgeshire (Jenyns), Warwickshire (Tomes), Worcestershire
(Hastings), Hertfordshire (Bond), Essex (Laver), Kent (Colling-
wood), Sussex (Harting), Hampshire (Gilbert White), Isle of
Wight, Shanklin (A. G. More),* Wiltshire (Montagu), Gloucester-
shire (Knapp, Witchell), Devonshire (Montagu, Rowe, Bellamy,
Parfitt), and Cornwall (Couch and Rodd).

In Scotland, according to Macgillivray (Brit. Quad. 1838,
p- 257), it has been met with in Aberdeenshire, Fifeshire, and
near Edinburgh. Thomas Edward has added Banffshire. As
regards Edinburgh, Mr. William Evans, Secretary to the Royal
Physical Society, who has paid close attention to the mammalian
fauna of that district, reports that his efforts to obtain specimens
have been singularly unsuccessful, and considers that it must be
very local and nowhere numerous. Mr. Small, taxidermist, of
Edinburgh, many years ago received two from Banffshire, and in
August, 1885, Mr. Evans found a nest of this mouse in a tuft of
coarse grass growing under a hedge surrounding a cornfield behind
Aberlady, in Kast Lothian. It was about eighteen inches above
the ground, and was supported entirely by the stems of the grass
and a few twigs of the hedge. In 1870 he was informed by
Mr. D. F. Mackenzie, factor, of Mortonhall, near Edinburgh,
that he had obtained a number of compact round nests among a
heavy crop of oats on the home-farm there. They were placed
one or two feet from the ground, and belonged to a small reddish
mouse which he saw more than once sitting on the heads of the
corn.tT

As regards Ireland, Bell states (p. 291) that ‘‘it would seem
to be very rare there, but through the kindness of Dr. Kinahan

* This species is included in Venables’ ‘ Guide to the Isle of Wight,’ in a
list of the Mammalia by A. G. More; but in the subsequently published
‘Guide’ by Jenkinson (1876) it is stated (p. lxix) that ‘‘ Mr. Bury was once
informed that a few specimens had been obtained near Shanklin, but it is
possible that the young of Mus sylvaticus were mistaken for it.”

+ ‘Mammalian Fauna of the Edinburgh District,’ 1892, p. 79.

° 2K2

420 THE ZOOLOGIST.

he is enabled to record it as an inhabitant of that country.” On
this it may be observed that Thompson thought it could not with
certainty be included in the fauna of Ireland, while the late

Mr. A. G. More ascertained that the species referred to by —

Dr. Kinahan was the young of Mus sylvaticus.

The accurate account given of it by White should be read by
every one who desires to know something of its habits. He
measured one, and found that from nose to tail it was just 24 in.
with a tail 2 inches long. ‘Two of them in a scale weighed down
just one copper halfpenny, which is about a third of an ounce
avoirdupois, or one-sixth the weight of an adult common House
Mouse. The average dimensions of seven adults, irrespective of
sex, taken in Suffolk by Mr. Rope, were as follows :—Length of
head and body, 2 in. 74 lines; length of tail, 2 in. 1 line; total
length, 4 in. 84 lines.

The colour of the Harvest Mouse, though very beautiful, is
in most works given in rather general terms, without going much
into details, and gives the idea of a uniform tint prevailing on
the upper parts; whereas, in all the specimens which have been
examined, the bright sandy yellow or orange-fawn of the upper
part was purest and brightest towards the tail; being focussed
(so to speak) on the hind-quarters just at the root of the tail, and
extending underneath as far as the vent. This bright but
delicate tint shades off gradually, above, into the light yellowish
or orange-brown which is the prevailing colour of the upper
parts, the latter hue becoming again brighter and lighter as it
extends downwards to meet the white of the under parts, The

fur of the cheeks and that surrounding the ears is also bright

sandy or orange; the hams are nearly always of that colour,
varying, however, in intensity in different individuals. There is
considerable variation, too, in the colour of the upper parts, the
brilliant fawn tint being more or less wanting in some specimens,
whereas in others it is more generally diffused, and less con-
centrated on the hind-quarters, being apparently most pro-
nounced in the female sex. The long and beautifully formed
flexile feet are covered with fine hairs of a yellowish colour,
shading off on each side to white, the under side being naked.
The tail is scantily furnished with short hairs as far as the
extremity.

With regard to the colour of the young, I remarked in the

ee i ee

THE HARVEST MOUSE. 42]

case of some which were born in confinement, and whose parents
were captured in a wheat rick in Sussex, that even when almost
as large as the old ones they were not nearly so red. Indeed,
until the beginning of December they resembled a House Mouse
in colour. About that time, however, they began to change
visibly, the hinder quarters, from the root of the tail upwards,

_ becoming rufous before any other portion of the body. This

change of colour in the winter I was not prepared for, as I should
rather have expected the change from brown to rufous to have
taken place in the spring.*

The period of gestation is believed to be the same as with the
Long-tailed Field Mouse, namely, three weeks, the number of
young, which are born blind, varying from five to eight.

Mr. E. C. Moor, writing from Woodbridge, Suffolk, says :—
** During the summer of 1883, especially at harvest-time, several
nests of the Harvest Mouse were taken by me, mostly from
barley-fields, being placed upon the laid barley. Almost all con-
tained young ones, numbering from six to eight; and it was
surprising to see how eight fair-sized mice could possibly live in
a nest hardly as large as an orange.”

During the summer months the Harvest Mouse lives in the
open country, evincing a partiality for the borders of ditches in
proximity of corn-lands, building its globular nest amongst the
tall rank herbage growing in such situations, or in low bushes
close by. Mr. Rope found one in Suffolk, in a low blackthorn
bush growing by the side of a ditch, and another in a plant of the
common broom.{t Prof. Schlegel discovered one amongst the
branches of a shrub (Hippophaé rhamnoides) on the sand-dunes
in Holland, and a second in oak-scrub about a mile from the sea.
Other plants observed by him to be selected for nesting in were
Rubus fruticosus, Rumex acetosa, aud Hpilobium.

The nest is composed of grasses, blades of wheat, or split
leaves of the reed, and is suspended among the living plants at a
little distance from the ground. It is lined with short pieces of
grass split by the little animal’s teeth, and thus rendered softer
and more available for the purpose. A nest found by Mac-

* A full account of the habits of these mice as observed in confinement,
and the mode of treatment adopted with them, was published in ‘ The Field’
of Jan. 2nd, 1875.

+ Zool. 1880, p. 57.

429 THE ZOOLOGIST.

gillivray in Fifeshire was composed of dry blades of grass in the
midst of a tuft of Aira cespitosa. In Essex Dr. Laver reports
that he finds these small mice more often in corn stacked in the
fields than in that which is carted home, but that when the
harvest is carried they find their way to the ricks, evincing a
partiality for wheat, but eating oats and barley too when wheat
fails them. In Suffolk Mr. Rope has found them as often in
stackyards attached to farm buildings as in outlying stacks, and
this has been the writer’s experience in West Sussex. After the
stacks have been threshed, they often remain in the straw.
throughout the winter.

That the Harvest Mouse, during the summer months, con-
structs for itself a bird-like nest suspended amongst the stalks
of growing plants has of course been long known—in fact, ever
since Gilbert White, in 1768, announced the fact in a letter to
Pennant as above noticed. He also remarked that “in the
winter they burrow deep in the earth and make warm beds of
grass, but their grand rendezvous seems to be in corn-ricks, into
which they are carried at harvest. A neighbour,” he adds,
“housed an oat-rick lately, under the thatch of which were
assembled near a hundred, most of which were taken, and some
I saw.”

A curious divergence of habit in this little creature when in
its winter haunts has only of late years been announced. The
late Prof. Schlegel, of Leyden, with whom it was once the writer’s
privilege to spend a week, discovered the interesting fact that it
sometimes builds a winter nest, into which at the cold season it.
retires. A very pleasing account of his observations on this point
was published in the periodical ‘ Notes from the Leyden Museum,’
vol. iii. pp. 28-28 (1881), and will be found reprinted in ‘ The
Zoologist’ for that year (pp. 233-237).

The locality in which this discovery was made is situated at a
distance of about two miles from Leyden, in the neighbourhood
of the Castle of Endegeest, celebrated as having served as a
refuge to the philosopher Descartes after his exile from France.
Here, on the right-hand side of the road leading to the village of
Rynsburg, not less celebrated for its abbey than for being the
residence of Spinoza, there is to be found a ditch some quarter
of a mile in length and six paces in width. Part of the border of
this ditch was grown over with reeds. Close observation soon

Teer

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THE HARVEST MOUSE. 493

showed that these reeds actually contained about fifty nests of
this little mouse. During the breeding season these were of the
usual globular form, of the average size of a man’s fist, and
showing near the top a small circular opening for the entrance of
the little animal. But the winter nests were quite different.

‘These were composed of various mosses, and were attached to

and between several stems of reeds, exactly like the nests of the
Reed Warblers, but more fusiform, of from six inches to a foot in
height, and from three to four inches in diameter. They showed
no inlet, and were placed at the height of a foot over the water’s
level. ‘The animal when entering had to remove the upper part
of the covering, which was less densely interwoven, and was con-
cealed between the moss. It appears evident that the building
of these nests was a just calculation of being safe against the
danger of drowning, in the same way that Swans and Moorhens
have been observed to build their nests in time of flood above the
reach of the rising water. Some of the mice in the case above
noticed went a step further, and adapted to their own requirements
the deserted nests of aquatic warblers, which they covered with a
cap of grass. |

The manner of feeding is very like that of a Squirrel, sitting
up on the haunches and holding the food in the fore paws. Mr.
Rope has thus described the mode in which a grain of wheat is
manipulated :—“ Sitting up and holding the grain in a horizontal
position between the fore paws (one being placed at each end),
the little animal begins dexterously and rapidly turning it round,
like a wheel on its axle, at the same time applying it to the edge
of his sharp incisors, and by their means slicing off the outer skin
or bran, and letting it fall lke the shavings from the tool of a
wood-turner at his lathe, to whose operations the whole process
bears a striking resemblance; nor does he begin eating till he
has reduced the grain to a perfectly white and almost cylindrical
body.” On one occasion Mr. Rope was surprised to see one
devouring the seed of the broom.

Mr. J. H. Gurney has remarked (Zool. 1884, p. 112) that the
Harvest Mouse in confinement is very fond of Canary seed, as
much so, he says, as of wheat; and in spring he found that they
appreciated twigs of hazel, the leaf-buds and partly expanded
leaves of which they devoured with great avidity. A bunch of
fresh moss with the earth adhering to the roots was also a great

494 THE ZOOLOGIST.

treat to them. They eagerly burrowed into this, probably in
search of small insects. As to its insectivorous propensity,
the Harvest Mouse has been found by many observers to be
partial to flies of several kinds, which they catch very adroitly,
and without the least apparent effort or exertion. The Rev. W.
Bingley, in his ‘Memoirs of British Quadrupeds,’ has given an
interesting account of the Harvest Mouse in captivity, and thus
describes its dexterity as a fly-catcher :—

“One evening as I was sitting at my writing desk, and the animal was
playing about in the open part of its cage, a large blue fly happened to
buzz against the wires; the little creature, although at twice or thrice the
distance of her own length from it, sprang along the wires with the greatest
agility, and would certainly have seized it had the space betwixt the wires
been sufficiently wide to have admitted her teeth or paws to reach it. I
was surprised at this occurrence, as I had been led to believe that the
Harvest Mouse was merely a graminivorous animal. I caught the fly, and
made it buzz in my fingers against the wires. The mouse, though usually
shy and timid, immediately came out of her hiding place, and, running to
the spot, seized and devoured it. From this time I fed her with insects
whenever I could get them, and she always preferred them to every other
kind of food that I offered her.” *

On this subject Mr. Rope, writing also of a mouse of this
species observed in captivity, has remarked (Zool. 1884, p. 57):—
“On a fly being put into the cage, the mouse, instead of rushing
about after the insect, appears at first to take no notice whatever
of it; but when the latter, in buzzing about the cage, approaches
within its reach, in the twinkling of an eye he has it firmly
grasped in his paws, and it is devoured almost before one can
realize the fact of its being caught; the wings and legs are
generally rejected. These mice will probably devour many other
insects, and I have seen woodlice eaten by them.” Even a cock-
roach, large as it is, fares no better, although there is a certain
amount of hesitation in seizing this more formidable-looking prey.

Although an accomplished climber, every movement being
performed with ease and grace, the Harvest Mouse has not the
extraordinary speed and activity so characteristic of the House

* This observation is confirmed by the Rev. P. Bartlett (Zool. 1848,
p- 287), who adds that it drinks water eagerly; and I have seen those which
I kept in confinement lap milk with avidity; the tiniest tongue and the most
miniature process of lapping imaginable.

ave

t
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NOTES AND QUERIES. 425

Mouse, and on this account when discovered it is more readily
captured. Its prehensile tail is a noteworthy feature, and it is of
great service to the little animal when descending the corn-stalks.
My little captives, when going round in the wheel provided tu
give them exercise in their cage, invariably made use of their
tails to steady themselves upon the slender wire, and lashed it
round the wire to bring the wheel to a standstill. The appear-
ance presented when the tail is used for grasping is accurately
represented in the figure of this animal which accompanied the
article on the Weasel (Zool. 1894, p. 454), to which active little
mouse-hunter it must often fall a prey.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Wild Animals killed in Norway in 1894,—The official list of birds
and beasts of prey killed throughout Norway last year (1894), and on
which the Government rewards were paid, has been recently published.
The details are as follows :—

Provinces. Bears. | Wolves. | Lynxes.| Gluttons. | Foxes. | Hagles.} Hawks.
Smaalenene ‘
a

— -- 1 — 391 Liens
Hedemarken . = _ oo 1 725 12 | 460
Kristian . tt — _ — 628 | 129 | 3814
Seemed 2... 6 —- 2 — A471 65 | 824
Jarlsberg and Larvik oo — a _ 323 9| 3866
Bratsberg 9 ~- 14 —- 413 64 | 347
Nedenaes ce ae 3 — 2 — 250 15 | 258
Lister and Mandal . . 2 — i ~- 220 7 83
Stavanger. . a She oo ~~ 3 214 26 | 238
S. Bergenhuus — — 1 640 36 | 886
N. Bergenhuus 8 — 2 + 705 73 | 208
Momedal -. . . . 4 — 2 14 385 71 |; 184
S. Trondhjem. . . — 5 6 2 481 55 | 874
N. Trondhjem. . 8 15 8 4 341 80 | 38ll
Mordiand . .." 3 1 7 6 703 | 3821! 289
WROMsO cs 6 kf 1 — — i 422 70 75
Finmarken. 2 16 — 10° | 1002 45 36
ett aol ye) OC 37 44 46 8646 | 1081 | 4727
For the previous year
the numbers were .| 72 50 56 40 11,400; 969 | 4846

The reward for killing a Bear is 20 kroners, and so also for a Wolf,
Lynx, or Glutton; for a Fox, 4 kroners; for an Hagle, 2 kroners, and the
same for Goshawks,

426 THE ZOOLOGIST.

MAMMALIA.

The Field Mouse of the Outer Hebrides.—I wish to slightly amend
my description of the Field Mouse of the Outer Hebrides (p. 869), and
prefer to call it a sub-species of Mus sylvaticus, as it is clearly the local
representative of that animal. The name will therefore be Mus sylvaticus
hebridensis. I shall in so naming it stand with the trinomialists ; but I see
no other course, for I hold that there must be some link to group the species
of the large genus Mus. Having neglected to mention the type, I now
select the first specimen in the table on p. 370, which is now in the
British Museum, Reg. No. 95, 10, 25, 1, collected and presented by
myself.— W. E. pz Winton.

The Field Mouse of the Outer Hebrides.—In the article by Mr.
W. E. de Winton (p. 369) upon this new variety of Mus sylvaticus,
he ignores the fact that it has already been described by me (Journ.
Birmingham Nat. Hist. Society, April, 1895, p. 135), and again briefly in
my observations on the fauna of St. Kilda (Zool. Aug. 1895, p. 281), from
a specimen taken from that out-of-the-way locality in May, 1894, and
forwarded upon my return to the Editor, and by him to Mr. Oldfield
Thomas. I think that at present no definite conclusion should be arrived
at until further specimens have been procured from various other islands
along the west coast and north of Scotland, including the Inner Hebrides,
Orkney, &c., as well as the adjacent mainland. Until this has been done
it seems rather premature to describe it as a new species. . I append a copy
of my former note above referred to (Journ. Birm. Nat. Hist. Soc.), which
ran as follows:—‘‘ The Common Mouse we trapped constantly; a slight
difference was noticed in its coloration from those found with us. Unfor-
tunately only one specimen of the Long-tailed Field Mouse was taken, this
being by far the most interesting of all our captures; it is probably the
type resident in these islands, and differs from our ordinary form by the
adult having the fur on the back greyish-brown similar to the young of our
Long-tailed Field Mouse, instead of reddish-brown as in our adult type, and
on the belly the fur has a lovely pink shade insead of pure white. The
whole of the mice taken are now in the British Museum, and I might add
a supply of traps, &c., has been sent out by the authorities to secure, if
possible, further specimens. I hope in the future, if I am spared for
another visit, to be able to get additional specimens. ‘The Outer Hebrides
are likewise being trapped to obtain, if possible, any intermediate forms.”—
J. STEELE Exxiott (Dixon’s Green, Dudley).

Natterer’s Bat in Yorkshire.—On August 9th Mr. Alfred Kebbell
kindly gave me a living specimen of V. natterert, which had flown into his
house in this village on the previous evening. —OxLEy GraBHAM (F'laxton,
York).

|
.

———

NOTES AND QUERIES. 427

The Lesser Shrew and Water Shrew in Yorkshire.—In August
last I had brought to me a female Lesser Shrew, Sorea minutus, and
when preserving it found it to contain five foetal Shrews in an advanced
stage of development. In September I picked up dead on a footpath a
beautiful melanic variety of the Water Shrew, Crossopus fodiens, with the

_ under parts almost as dark as the upper, but unfortunately it was much too

far gone for preservation.—OxLEy GraBHAM Flaxton, York).

Bank Vole in Kent. — While snail-hunting round Canterbury last
August I came upon a nest of young Bank Voles, among some refuse in a
hedge-bank. I had one in my hands for some minutes, and am sure of its
identity. I do not remember its being recorded in Kent hitherto, but
I believe it to be very common from the number of runs seen in the neigh-
bourhood.—Lionxx HE. Apams (77, St. Giles Street, Northampton).

BIRDS.

The Rate of Flight in Birds. —In the October number of this
Journal (p. 878) the Editor adds an interesting and valuable note to
Mr. Butterfield’s communication on this subject. On the authority of
Herr Gatke (English edition, p. 470), he remarks that in the case of the
American Golden Plover, Charadrius virginicus, flocks have been met
with at a distance of 400 geographical miles east of Bermuda, flying in a
southerly direction on their way from their breeding-places in Labrador to
Northern Brazil. The distance between these points is 38200 miles, and
since there is no point between on which they could alight for rest, they
are obliged to perform the entire journey in one uninterrupted flight. The

velocity in fifteen hours would amount to 212 miles per hour. It is not,

however, strictly accurate to state that the American Golden Plover has no
point in this long journey at which it can alight for rest. A glance at an
atlas will show that the same meridian of longitude passes through Hast
Labrador and the island of Bardados, the most easterly of the Lesser
Antilles, and exactly in the line of flight of the migratory hosts passing
from Labrador and regions further to the north to South America. If a
reference be made to a paper on the birds of Barbados, published in ‘ The
Ibis’ for 1889, it will be found that I have therein made some observations
on the large number of American Golden Plover that annually alight on
that island during the months of August, September and October, whilst
stragglers appear as late as November. ‘The first arrivals are invariably
dark-breasted birds, showing that the old birds precede the young, and the
first arrivals are nearly all males. Great as are the numbers of this
species that do alight in Barbados, attracted by decoy birds purposely set
out as lures, and by the call-note of the Plover, admirably imitated by the
island gunners, yet the flocks that descend are a mere fraction of those

that pass over. Waiting at the decoy-huts for flocks to come down to the

428 THE ZOOLOGIST.

lures pegged out on the most attractive spots of green sward, carefully
prepared by pools of water, I have watched countless numbers of Plover
passing overhead on their southward migration. On some days no allure-
ment could induce them to descend to the tempting spots prepared for
their destruction, and their sharp whistle and rapid air-cleaving flight
showed no symptom of fatigue; the major portion of these great flocks
continued their southward flight from morn to eve without circling or
gyrating over the island. One might imagine that to these migrants,
compassing an ocean flight of 3200 miles, nothing would be more attractive
than the island of Barbados, looking like a Garden of Eden set in that
waste of waters. But it does not appear that such is the case, nor that
there is any absolute necessity, born of fatigue, for the Plovers to break
their journey by resting on this island, and that it is rather a matter of
volition, and not weariness, when they do alight on the island of Bar-
bados.—H. W. Friipen (Wells, Norfolk).

Rate of Flight of Birds on Migration.—This is a subject on which
there is, and must continue to be, much divergence of opinion amongst
naturalists. The very remarkable statements made by Herr Gatke, in his
chapter “ Schnelligkeit des Wanderflugs” (‘Die Vogelwarte Helgoland,’
p- 65), appear to be incredible to naturalists. Yet there is much to be said
in support of his estimates of speed of birds in full migratory swing.
I remember some years since, when in Heligoland, Mr. Gatke mentioned
the fact, now recorded in his book, that repeated observations had shown
that, in the spring migration, Plovers, Curlews, and Godwits, flying across
the island at a rushing speed, reach the oyster-beds, 22,000 feet to the east,
within the space of one minute, or at the rate of 240 miles an hour.
Professor Newton, in his excellent article on ‘‘ Migration ”’ (‘ Dictionary of
Birds,’ Part IT. p. 566, foot-note), commenting upon this statement, says :—
“Yet, to do Herr Gatke justice, I must admit his general contention to be
sustained by a good observer, Mr. Oswald Crawfurd, who states (‘ Round
the Calendar in Portugal,’ pp. 154-156), in regard to the wonderful speed
with which Turtle Doves fly on migration in autumn, that he once made a
calculation to arrive at the pace of their travelling; ‘but the result came
out in such surprising figures’ that he would not set them down. He
convinced himself, however, that, if the flight was continuous, Turtle Doves
leaving ‘ Kent or Surrey at dawn, might easily be the birds that a few hours
later were skimming over the Portuguese pine-forests on their way to
Central Africa.’” The flight of driven Grouse or Partridge, Teal rushing
down to water, belated Starlings flying to their roosting-places—that is,
birds with an impulse upon them— probably greatly exceeds the speed of our
fastest express trains. Man’s ordinary progression is a walk, or a maximum
of four miles an hour, but when trained, or put to it, he will do his mile in
a few minutes. Migrating birds seen coming in from the sea in the daytime,

*

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NOTES AND QUERIES. 429

as Rooks, Starlings, and Larks, certainly do not seem to travel at an
abnormally high rate of speed. I myself have repeatedly calculated the
flight as not exceeding forty to fifty miles an hour, and often less. It is
possible, however, that on nearing land and the end of their journey, final
or temporary, they descend from a high altitude where, for hours together,

_amuch greater rate of travel has been maintained,—slacking speed, or, if

I may use the expression, shutting off steam, as they near the terminus.
Of course these remarks apply to birds only crossing the North Sea, or
making long and continuous journeys in the spring and autumn. Our
small summer guests, the Chats, Warblers, and Flycatchers, to a great
extent move south by a hedge-to-hedge migration, in slow stages, till they
reach the south or south-east coast, crossing the English Channel, again
to resume the land journey across sunny France and sunnier Spain to
the land of endless summer.—Joun Cordeaux (Great Cotes House,
R.8.0., Lincoln).

Origin of the terms “Cob” and “ Pen.”—In your article on this
subject (pp. 372—374), the word “cob” is taken to refer solely to the
“knob ” at the base of the upper mandible, and in that case may have
meant merely a projection. The Swan, therefore, would be so called from its
most characteristic feature. It is worth noticing, however, that some of the
provincial glossaries explain a ‘‘ cob ” as a stone-horse as contrasted with a
gelding or mare; and certainly “cob,” in some English dialects = testt-
culus. I think, however, your explanation is probably the right one.
With regard to the derivation and original meaning of “cob,” the question
is very difficult. Of course cob or cop is the word answering to knopf, and
both these words have probably gone through the same development. The
words mean (1) a bowl; (2) a head; (3) a prominent or projecting point:
the question is, what is the order of the development of these meanings.
Kluge, sub voce knopf, seems to think that there may have been for knopf a
Germanic meaning of head; although haupt, the philological equivalent of
caput and of our word head, is the true O. German word. A very probable
theory is that the word originally meant a bowl, and then came to be em-
ployed for head (cf. testa and téte). In any case we find in M.K. copp for
top ; coppod (capped = cristatus) of snakes. ‘The French word coiffe, which
probably came into France through the Italian cufia, points to the existence
of an old German word ‘“ kupfe,” “head covering,” from which word it
sprang; and this fact shows that this use of the word is very old. The word
cob in English seems sometimes to take the metaphorical meaning of round
and projecting; sometimes of something large. In Welsh we have cop for
a head; and in Lancashire cop is used for a low hill. The well-known
Dutch kopje of the Boers in South Africa is, of course, the same word.
“Cob” was used in Hoccleve (1420), (see Murray’s Dict. s.v. ‘“ Cob ”) for
a leading man, as we say, a‘ big” man. A cob loaf would seem to mean

430 THE ZOOLOGIST.

a rounded loaf (in ‘ ‘Troilus and Cressida,’ ii. 1, Ajax uses the word “ cob
loaf” as a term of reproach to Thersites), just as “cob” is commonly used
for a strong, stout, stumpy horse. On the other hand, in ‘“ cobnut” we
probably have the idea of size indicated, in contrast with filberts or hazel-
nuts. I may notice that the term “a cob of hair” for a tuft of hair is still
used in Cornwall, apparently a survival of the old Celtic word in its Celtic
seuse. Mr. Cross, the animal importer, of Liverpool, informs me that
“Cob” and ‘ Pen,” as applied to Swans, are regular terms of the trade,
used in all parts of England where Swans are bought and sold. Browning,
in his ‘ Sordello,’ probably following Ben Jonson in his ‘ Catiline,’ uses the
term ‘* Cob-swan.” The word busk, which you have used to denote the
peculiar action of a Swan in arching or bushing out the wings over the
back, is (like bask) interesting as containing the Scandinavian passive
formation, bua, to prepare; buask (for bua-sik), se préparer. Bush is said
by Prof. Skeat to be due to a French pronunciation of the English word
busk. If the male Swan be invariably the bigger bird, it might be natural
to suppose that he would be called “ Cob” from his size. I imagine you
are right about the ‘“‘ Pen” Swan's name. We must not forget Milton’s
expresssion, “‘ They sum their pens.” ‘The desideratum is to discover the
earliest documents in which the names “cob” and “pen” occur. —
Hersert A. Strona (University College, Liverpool).

Origin of the terms “Cob” and “Pen.” — I am inclined to take
Dr. Murray’s view (New Eng. Dict.) that the notions of cob are ‘‘ something
big, or stout’”’—‘‘something forming a rounded lump,” &c. He adds,
“Thus cob-nut can hardly be separated from the notion of ‘ big nut’ on the
one hand, or from that ef ‘fruit stone’ on the other.” ‘These ideas of
sturdiness and roundness seem quite mixed up. It does seem very likely
that “cob = round stone” is the primary idea; and then the notion of
sturdiness, bigness, masculinity was easily superadded. I do not see how
we can ever settle so intricate a tangle as this. Wedgwood mentions not
only cob-nut and cob-stone, but cob-coals, i.e. “large” coals. Ray has
cobby, stout, hearty, brisk. Lonsdale dialect, cobby, tyrannical, set up,
proud: see Cobby in Murray. I think cob sufficieutly conveys the notions
of bigness, stoutness, hence “ male,” without any necessary reference to
the cob on the bill: though of course that might be it. Pen I can make
nothing of. There are two pens: (1) enclosure, sty; (2) feather. Pen-
swan is entered under (2) in the ‘Century Dictionary.’ But they do not
say why pen-swan comes under Pen (2) more than under Pen (1), and I find
no evidence. It looks very much as if the origin of cob-swan is a little
dubious, and that of pen-swan is unknown.—W. W. Sxeat (Cambridge).

Origin of the terms “Cob” and “ Pen.”—Surely your “ Cob” and
“Pen” are Welsh words—I write Celticé. But any Welsh dictionary
gives cob, a tuft or bunch, and our English cob-nut is a round nut, ‘This

NOTES AND QUERIES. 431

exactly coincides with your interesting conclusion about the prominent and
largely developed ‘‘ knob ” at the base of the bill in the male (p. 374). Pen
is a common Welsh word also for ‘“ head,” and is applied to birds thus:
Penddu (pronounced Penthee)=the Blackcap ; Penaur, the Yellowhammer ;
Penwyn, the bald Buzzard (i.e. Marsh Harrier). All this is from Dr.

Richards’ Welsh-English Dictionary, printed at Wrexham, and it seems

to point strongly to Welsh favouritism for the female Swan as the head
(pen) of the birds. You will perhaps say this is all pen-gamrwydd, which
Dr. Richards delightfully renders “ wryness of head”! Surely the
Wryneck is humanized—a curious instance of the Welsh worship of birds.
The Welsh for “Swan” is Alarch, plural cilarch, a word surely connected
with alon, music, and the Whooper ‘‘fluting a wild carol ere his death.”
It may not be amiss to add that our word “eider” is the Welsh ydyr,
signifying “downy,” and was applied to cygnets at least as early as 1553,
as appears from an entry in Kirby’s ‘ Annals of Winchester College,’ p. 276.
—H. D. Gorpon (Harting Vicarage, Petersfield).

Origin of the terms “Cob” and ‘‘Pen.”—A propos of your remarks
on the derivation of the term ‘‘cob,” as applied to the male Swan (p. 3783),
it may interest you to learn that the fishermen here in North Yorkshire
make a common use of the word “cop” in referring to a bird’s crest.
I have occasionally been told that some of the men have seen “a Sawbill
(Merganser) with a grand cop,” and have heard of “a duck with long
feathers in its tail and a white cop”=— (Long-tailed Drake). Other
examples might be cited, but these will suffice to illustrate my meaning.
There are still many words in daily use in Cleveland which are almost pure
Anglo-Saxon or Danish, no doubt transmitted from the original settlers on
these shores, the descendants of whom are to be found in the North
Riding.—T. H. Newson (Sandringham House, Redcar).

Alleged abnormal Nesting of the Goldcrest in Ireland.— In all
deference may I suggest that it is hardly correct to refer to the nesting-site
of the Golden-crested Wren, Regulus cristatus, against the sides of ivy-
covered trees as abnormal. Mr. A. T. Mitchell (p. 385) draws attention to
the fact that in his experience such is the situation commonly selected in
Ireland, in contradistinction, as he believes, to that appropriated for the
purpose of nidification by the species in England. I am naturally in
ignorance as to whether Mr. Mitchell is writing from personal knowledge
of the nesting economy of the Goldcrest in the latter country, or whether
his opinion is based on the writings of our standard authorities; but, in
any case, | am presumptuous enough to think that silence on the point at
issue on the part of those to whom we are accustomed to look for light and
leading where the habits of birds are concerned arises from the fact that no
small portion of the ornithological literature of these islands is attributable

432 THE ZOOLOGIST.

to praiseworthy compilation rather than original observation. I have found
nests of the Goldcrest placed against the sides of ivy-clad trees in some
half-dozen instances during my nesting career in England, and my argu-
ment is that, if so many could be found by a single individual, there must
be very many others which pass unobserved. The first nest I discovered
so located was on the banks of the river Lugg, between Mortimer's Cross
and Aymestrey, in Herefordshire. Another was by the side of the avenue
leading to Place Castle, near to Fowey, in Cornwall. Yet another was in the
gardens at Nosely Hall, in this county (Leicestershire) In my ‘ Original
Sketches of British Birds’—a work on the eve of publication—I have
made particular allusion to this not altogether unfamiliar situation for the
Goldcrest’s nest, though I have often marvelled at its being one which
authors with common consent have apparently ignored.—H. 8. DAvENPoRT
(Skeffington, Leicester).

Abnormal Nesting of the Goldcrest in Ireland.—In the last number
of ‘The Zoologist’ (p. 385), Mr. A. T. Mitchell mentions that the Gold-
crest, Regulus cristatus, commonly builds in ivy-covered trees. I think the
following table, taken from my notes of seventeen nests of this species
found in the county Dublin, may be of interest :—

No.| Year. Tree or Shrub. Position as regards Height
Branch. from Ground.
dy SES: (P)) Spruce wir iisaese ets anctons cones Beneath cosassenas 18 ft.
2) A882 (?)) Silver tit 5 jvescavesekaanewanees DONC, cseeneee waenes if
3 | 1885 Ivy against ash .....ce.ec0. MOG. Taecreeeeeeneate 5 5
4 re Gorse OF WHI <..5.iacvaesnee DOs piaddnee iatedes 6.4,
5 | 1889 Ivy against Scotch fir...... Gs viveaesateeceaees 30 ,,
6 | 1890 Ivy against ash .........00. MDGs cc cantesenseigen eee 14 ,,
7 | 1891 CY PLOSe vasaren- sn vensteareesecs Beneath <......0c05. 18 ,;
8 is Evergreen oak ...........000 IG.” Reick Lay
9 2. DDGieion Loiy der eeeetesoks See PDOWP: stesasioncnn'steivag ee
10 - DOs in Seal leeSitonaaieas she IDO. 5 Biee tap sesncanee 40 ,,
11 a WG: “C. fasaps copnsacn ADO, sc cavomo utes aie Lis;
12 * SULVOr Le Srencvsessce¥eessaleee Do. “asenspeen cates ae
13 fe DONG vncietatades cas ceun'es RBS Sea 20 5
14 | 1892 DOs is” secs sbwadteees theese IDG: fusadwasneiersen Ling
15 | 1894 BRIOED) ) ngeceksthuenncs subten Wa." onsareusevenes (ars
16 ” Ivy against Phyllyrea Beneath ~ .cayerssexen Boe
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These statistics tend to support Mr. Mitchell’s observations.—J. TRUMBULL
(Malahide).

Richardson’s Skua at Hastings.—On Aug. 30th a very dark-coloured
specimen of Richardson’s Skua was shot at Rye, and brought to Bristow, the
taxidermist, for preservation. A few days afterwards a very light-coloured |
one was picked up dead at Sidley, near Bexhill, with an old wound in the
eye and the gizzard empty. Both were young birds,—G. W. BrapsuHavw.

te, Oty, wl

——)

NOTES AND QUERIES. 433

Roller in Northumberland.—On the morning of 24th Sept, last a
good specimen of the Roller, Coracias garrula, was shot in the grounds of
Callaly Castle, the ancient seat of the Claverings, about three miles 9.W. of
Whittingham station on the Alnwick and Cornhill line. I happened to be
in the house at the time, and so was able to examine the bird while still
quite fresh. It was apparently a bird of the year, but a very good specimen.
I believe about a dozen specimens of the Roller are recorded to have been
met with in Northumberland during the present century. — H. B, Tristram
(Durham).

American Yellow-billed Cuckoo in Dorsetshire.—Noticing the com-
munication under this heading (p. 376), it has struck me that the bird here
mentioned is very probably identical with some which travelled for a week
with me early in October. I left Boston, Mass., on the steamship ‘ Otto-
man’ on Oct. Ist, and when off Cape Race ten or fifteen birds came on
board. There was plenty of hay on the deck, which afforded them shelter
and perhaps food. Six or more of them were caught by the engineers, while
three others were about the decks up to twenty hours of our making the
Trish coast, at 8 a.m. on Oct. 10th. I should think the specimen alluded
to might have been blown off a cattle steamer, such as ours was, bound for
London. All depends on the identification of the species, and I will try
and send you one of our captives to clear up the matter and settle its
identity.—Ratpu L. Netison (Fulwood Park, Liverpool).

[The specimen picked up dead in Dorsetshire, as mentioned p. 876, was
found there on Oct. 5th.—Ep.]

Honey Buzzard nesting in Herefordshire.— The interest in Mr.
W. E. de Winton’s note on this subject in the most recent issue of ‘The
Zoologist’ will surely be grievously discounted in the estimation of ardent
field-naturalists by the reflection that a most untoward fate has overtaken
a beautiful and essentially harmless species. That both male and female
should have perished is simply deplorable. It was only four or five years
ago, when shooting at Bishopswood, that I stopped to examine a specimen
of the Rough-legged Buzzard, Buteo lagopus, which had been killed and
gibbeted in one of the woods, and was dangling to and fro in the breeze in
company with other less distinguished tattered and decaying frames, As
in the instance recorded by Mr. de Winton, the murder had been com-
mitted in ignorance of the species, which, so far as I recollect aright, was
designated a Goshawk, Astur palumbarius. One had only to take a bird’s-
eye view of Bishopswood and its surroundings to realise that the district
was naturally adapted for periodical visits on the part of the rarer Raptores,
and Iam quite sure that Mr. H. McCalmont, who is a personal friend of
mine, and to whom I am writing on the subject, will issue stringent orders
that Buzzards and Kites henceforward are not to be molested. The
explanation that an undiscerning keeper had shot the Honey Buzzards at

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—NOV. 1895. 2%

434 THE ZOOLOGIST,

Bishopswood in mistake for Kites, will scarcely mitigate what many will
deplore, if only from long time association of a charming species with
Selborne Hanger and Gilbert White.— H. 8. Davenport (RkeFngten,
Leicester).

Black-winged Stilt in Norfolk.—On Oct. 17th my son shot a very
rare bird, the Black-winged Stilt, Himantopus candidus, on the common,
about a quarter of a mile from this house. We identified it from the
description in Mudie’s ‘ British Birds,’ with which it perfectly agrees, and,
having ascertained its rarity, forwarded it to Mr. T. E. Gunn, of Norwich,
for preservation.—THomas Moors Hupson (The Manor House, Castleacre.)

[The Black-winged Stilt is perhaps the rarest of all the European
wading -birds which visit us in spring and autumn, never remaining here
to breed. We have not heard of one for the past fifteen years, if we except
a specimen reported (Zool. 1889, p. 387) to have been shot on the Trent
near Nottingham, but subsequently shown (Zool. 1890, p. 25) to have been
mounted from a foreign skin and fraudulently put forward as a British
specimen by an unscrupulous dealer. One of the last recorded was a bird
seen in the marshes between Eastbourne and Polegate by the late Capt.
Clark-Kennedy on May 6th, 1880. In 1883 these were reported to haye
been seen near Rye on Sept. 3rd (Zool. 1883, p. 495), but the species was
not satisfactorily identified. They may have been Avocets, or possibly
Oystercatchers.—ED. ]

Escape of a Caged Eagle.—Under this heading, in * The Zoologist’
for October (p. 380), the fact was announced that a Golden Eagle in the
Zoological Gardens at Bristol had contrived by an accident to make its
escape. We have since learnt from Mr. H. 8. Devonport, of Skeffington,
Leicester, that a bird of this species was shot on Oct. 29th in Slate Wood,
on the estate of Sir Hugh Cholmeley, Bart., at Easton, and is in the hands
of the taxidermist for preservation. This announcement was made in the
‘Grantham Journal’ of Nov. 9th, where the bird is described as measuring
2 ft.11 in. in length and 7 ft. 2 in. from tip to tip of wing. General colour
a deep brown, mixed with tawny on the head and neck; quills chocolate
with white shafts; tail black spotted with ash; legs yellow, feathered down
to the toes; bill of a deep blue. Sex male; weight 7 lbs, From the
description given by Mr, Devonport of its being seen at Skeffington between
Oct. 24th and 28th, when on several occasions it suffered a near approach
without showing undue alarm, there can be little doubt that this was the
bird which had made its escape three weeks previously.

INSECTS.

Insect Migration.—A propos of this subject, discussed in the last two
numbers of this Journal, Mr. E. L. Mitford directs attention to the
following information, which is given by Miss Gordon Cumming in her

entertaining book of travels entitled ‘Two Happy Years in Ceylon’ (2 vols,

ates ee ee ee ee eT ——

NOTES AND QUERIES. 435

8vo, Blackwood, 1892). At p. 208 of the first volume this writer observes :—
“The butterflies of Ceylon are so beautiful and so varied as to be at all
times a joy, whether seen singly, when one glorious creature seems for a
moment to have the garden to himself, or in companies of radiant joyous
little beings. One of the mysteries of the isle is the annual migration in
November and December, and at intervals right on to February, of countless
myriads of butterflies in vast flights; whence they come and whither going,
no one can guess. The migration commences with the setting in of the
north-east monsoon, with its cool mornings and bright days; and when
the stormy wind blows strongest, these delicate insects, impelled by some
inexplicable instinct, force their way against it, and during a couple of
months successive legions pass on like an ever-flowing stream. I have
collected a few notes of observations made on this subject in different years.
Thus, in 1884, swarms of dark-coloured butterflies passed over Kandy and
Ratnapura on Nov. 19th. On the following day these were succeeded by
swarms of white and yellow ones. In 1887 Mr. Le Mesurier, writing from
Nuwara Eliya, noted the first flight of the season on Nov. 18th. The flight
lasted the whole day; direction from due south-west to north. Wind from
south-west. Colour of butterflies speckled dark brown. The next flight he
noticed was on Novy. 21st, when two kinds of butterflies, white and sulphur,
continued all day passing right over the summit of Pedro from north to
due south. The direction of the wind was from the north-east. On Dec. 10th
another observer stated that brown and white butterflies had been in flight
for some days, flying south. In 1888 the migration northward in the teeth
of the wind was observed at Colombo on Nov. 18th, the great flight of white
and yellow butterflies being mingled with some ofa darker colonr. In 1889
flights were observed in the mountain district of Dimbula, about the middle
of October, and at Colombo on Nov. 5th, when dark brown butterflies and
yellowish-white ones flew in separate columns at a rate of about ten miles
an hour. All the accounts (which might be multiplied by observations
from all parts of the island, north, south, east, and west, from Manaar to
Galle, and from Trincomalee to Negombo) speak only of brown, white, and
yellow insects; hence I infer that the glorious butterflies which most
delighted us do not risk becoming food for fishes by any such venturesomé
flights.”

Insect Migration.—I notice a correspondent mentions the abundance
of Sphinaw convolvult on the east coast as being the probable result of
migration on the part of this insect. It may be of interest, although
scarcely bearing out your correspondent’s theory, to note that Sphina
convolvuli appears to have been equally plentiful om the west coast of
Wales. While staying at Barmouth, during September last, I saw nine
of these fine insects caught during two or three nights (five on one night,
if I recollect rightly), while hovering over a small patch of tobacco-plants in

436 THE ZOOLOGIST.

front of the house. Two more, at least, were brought into the house by
the cat, and probably many more met their fate by the same means. Had
the insects been searched for, there is no doubt that a very much larger
number might have been secured. Their appearance and condition
(excepting those captured by the feline entomologist) was fairly good, and
certainly did not look as if they had borne the wear and tear of a sea as
well as a land journey. On the other hand, I am not aware that that part
of Wales is a recognised locality for this somewhat scarce moth.—S. Prior
(25, Aldebert Terrace, Albert Square, S.W.).

REPTILIA.

Adders swallowing their Young.—I consider there can be no further
testimony needed to substantiate the long-contested question whether the
Adder swallows her young in time of danger than that of Charles Joyce, of
Winterbourne Houghton, Dorset. An Adder was seen by Joyce to lower her
head, which had been for some time in an erect position, and after resting the
lower jaw on the ground, she deliberately opened her mouth, and received
her offspring, thirteen in number. With thoughtful precaution, after
killing her, he tied a string round her throat, and brought the reptile home,
a considerable distance from the wood where it was killed, and in the
presence of my tenant he liberated the thirteen young from the dead body
of the old one, as lively as when they entered her mouth some hours
previously—a distinct proof that they had not entered the actual stomach,
otherwise digestion would surely have commenced its disintegrating work.—
J. C. Manset-PLeyDELL (Whatcombe, Dorset).

FISHES.

Ray’s Sea Bream at Scarborough.—On Oct. 19th, hearing that two
fisher lads were trying to sell a strange fish, 1 went in quest of it, but
arrived only in time to find it sold. It proved to be a remarkably fine
specimen of Ray’s Sea Bream, Brama rait, measuring 24 inches in length,
and weighing 74 lbs. It had evidently just been brought in by one of the
fishing-boats, for it was scarcely dead when I first saw it. It was eventually
purchased by Mr. J. W. Woodall, of Scarborough, and forwarded to the
Natural History Museum, South Kensington. In Buckland’s ‘ Natural
History of British Fishes,’ a specimen weighing 4} 1bs. is mentioned as
being of unusual size: this was nearly double that weight.—WuIbLIAM J.
CLARKE (44, Huntriss Row, Scarborough).

MOLLUSCA.

The Shell Slug in Scotland.—Mr. William Evans, of Edinburgh,
writes to me in reference to a specimen of Testacella haliotidea which I
recorded from this district as the first one captured in Scotland, that
another was found some time ago in Sang’s nursery in Kirkcaldy.—RoBert
SeRvIicE (Maxwelltown, Dumfries).

:
i

— ee a

e497" }

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.

The Natural History of Aquatic Insects. By Professor L. C.
Miatz, F.R.S. With Illustrations by A. R. Hammonp,
F.L.S. 8vo, pp. 395. London: Macmillan & Co. 1895.

A PopuLAR interest in Natural History founded upon ob-
servation is one of the latest fruits of the revival of learning.
During the course of the eighteenth century, the discoveries of
Swammerdam and Réaumur slowly made their way into the
thoughts of the people, and some acquaintance with the life-
history of Insects is now to be counted upon in every reader,
The death-like repose of the chrysalis and the emergence of the
butterfly, the short life of the winged Ephemera, and the trans-
formation of the Dragon-fly from a sluggish larva lurking in pools
to a glorious winged creature flying swiftly through the air, are
now among the every-day illustrations of the preacher and
moralist, and form a highly characteristic feature of modern
literature.

To revive an interest in the writings of certain old-time
zoologists—Swammerdam, Réaumur, Lyonnet, and De Geer—
whose teaching has been unduly neglected, and to carry on as
well as to popularise their work, is the chief object of Prof.
Miall’s book, and we heartily welcome it as an efficient and
instructive guide to those young naturalists who take a delight
in observing the structure and habits of living animals.

It was a good idea of Prof. Miall’s to begin by telling us what
was known of aquatic insects up to a certain point through the
teachings of our predecessors above named, explaining their
shortcomings and mistakes as viewed by the light of modern
research, and then to carry their observations further by com-
pleting the life-histories which they had commenced, but had left
unfinished. Prof. Miall, in point of fact, has saved the reader a
considerable amount of trouble. He has gone through these old
volumes, picked out whatever was worth noting, added his own
comments in editorial brackets, and brought the information up
to date. But he has gone further than this. He has given us
the outcome of his own researches, and those of certain fellow:
workers, into the structure of aquatic insects as correlated with

438 THE ZOOLOGIST.

habit, and the result is a most useful guide to the subject of
which it treats, the value of which is enhanced by the original
illustrations so carefully drawn by Mr. A. R. Hammond. In
these days of rapid production of books, it is refreshing to take
up a volume which contains new figures expressly designed for it
—figures moreover which really serve their purpose by illus-
trating the author’s meaning, instead of vexing the reader (as so
often happens) by not showing the very points on which some
elucidation is needed.

The aquatic insects described in this volume have been
selected on no philosophical principles. ‘They are merely such
as the author has happened to come across in his rambles by
pond and stream, or along the coast. But even this chance
collection of aquatic species yields interesting results when
studied from the right point of view. Prof. Miall describes
them in the following order:— Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera
(Ichneumons), Lepidoptera (Moths), Trichoptera (Caddis-flies),
Sialide (Alder-flies), Perlide (Stone-flies), Hphemeride (May-
flies), Odonata (Dragon-flies), Rhynchota (Water Scorpions),
and ‘Thysanura (Springtails).

Hspecially interesting are his remarks on the “ Degrees of
Adaptation to Aquatic Conditions,’ and on the ‘“ Wintering of
Aquatic Insects” (Introduction, pp. 11, 18). On the latter point
the author says :—

“The common rule is, I think, that aquatic insects winter as larve,
Nearly all aquatic Diptera, Dragon-flies, May-flies, Stone-flies, and Caddis-
flies do this. Occasionally, however, the winged individuals hybernate.
Examples are furnished by the Gnat, and one of the Dragon-flies (Lestes).
Fuily armoured species, such as beetles and bugs, commonly pass the
winter in the winged state, burying themselves in the mud or in the earth
during unusually severe weather. Aquatic insects which have wintered as
larvee usually undergo transformation, and lay their eggs in the following
spring. From these eggs a summer generation proceeds, which becomes
ready for egg-laying in September, and so the cycle comes round.”

In order to study the movements of a Caddis-worm (Phryganea
grandis) under something like normal conditions, Prof. Miall
suggested to afriend, Mr. T. H. Taylor, to supply a naked living
Specimen with small plates of mica, in the hope that a trans
parent case might be formed. This expectation was fully realised.
Lhe creature formed a shapely and sufficiently transparent case

ee ee eee

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 439

of mica, and permitted Mr, Taylor to make some curious obser-
vations, of which a summary is given (p. 248). But the entire
chapter on Caddis-worms (Chap. V.) is full of interesting details,

Hardly less instructive is the chapter on “‘ Insects of the Sea-
shore” (pp. 370-381). When examining, after a day’s shore-
shooting, the contents of the stomachs of various plovers and
sandpipers, which seek their living chiefly between high and low
water-mark, we have been at times surprised to notice the
quantity and variety of insect life which these birds contrive to
pick up on the sea margin, though often so comminuted by the
action of the gizzard, as to render identification difficult, and
often impossible, the most conspicuous fragments being portions
of the hard, horny wing-cases of small beetles. We should have
supposed that immersion in salt water would not only have killed
these insects, but have rendered them so unpalatable and innu-
tritious as to cause them to be rejected by the birds. But this
does not appear to be the case. Prof. Miall says :—

“The saltness of sea-water might be expected to prove disagreeable, if
not injurious, to insects, but there is little proof that such is actually the
case. Insects, when forcibly submerged, survive about as long in salt
water as in fresh. Many are not easily wetted by water. The hairs with
which some are covered, and the dense, glossy chitin of others, prevent
effectual wetting. The surface film of water will not pass into small
openings such as the mouth, or the spiracles, or the spaces between close-set
hairs... . Packard dredged up live Chironomus larve in Salem harbour,
and not a few dipterous larve have been found established in brine-vats.
Plateau has drawn up a list of nearly eighty species of insects and
Arachnide which, though they cannot swim, and breathe only gaseous air,
inhabit the sea-shore and undergo daily, or at least frequent, immersion.”

Some idea of the abundance of insect food which wading-
birds find along the shore may be gathered from the remarks
which follow. Prof. Miall mentions a number of dipterous and
coleopterous species which are found between high and low water-
mark, and describes their habits and transformations in a way
calculated to awaken the highest curiosity in the reader to make
their acquaintance. With such a chapter as this to guide him,
no observant naturalist need spend a dull day at the seaside.
The concluding chapter in the book deals with what are termed
“The Contrivances of Aquatic Insects ”—modes of locomotion,
methods of capturing food, respiration, and so forth. Attack and

440 THE ZOOLOGIST..

defence call forth yet more contrivances. Protective resem-
blance, concealment within burrows, by webs, by portable cases,
by fixed cases, by the transparency of the body, are a few of the
arts practised by aquatic insects, either in self-defence, or as a
means of pouncing unseen upon their prey.

“The egg-laying of aquatic insects is attended with special difficulties,
some of which spring from the fact that the female fly is in general ill-fitted
to enter the element in which the earlier stages have to be passed. These
fresh difficulties are met by fresh contrivances. The egg-ropes of Chiro-
nomus, the egg-raft of the Gnat, the anchoring threads of the eggs of
Ephemera, the floating cocoon of Hydrophilus, are adaptations of peculiar
interest, Dytiscus, Notonecta, Ranatra, and certain Dragon-flies, lay their
eggs in incisions made in submerged plants. But even these carefully
hidden eggs are searched out by such egg-destroyers as Polynema, which
lay in them their own eggs, from which proceed the parasites which will, in
the end, devour their undeveloped host.”

One might:go on to enumerate fresh contrivances under such
heads as the constructions of aquatic insects, the emergence of
the winged fly, the defences of resting pupe, and so on; but
the subject is inexhaustible, and it must suffice to refer the
curious reader to the book itself from which we have culled these
few details. We must, however, make one more extract, and this
time from the Introduction. At page 24 Prof. Miall concisely
remarks :—

« Aquatic insects make a capital study. While you are looking for one
kind, you will come across another. The same methods and the same tackle
will do for all. If a young student wants to observe the ways of living
creatures, we may recommend aquatic insects to him as an accessible and
very imperfectly explored field. He will find plenty of undescribed forms
and plenty of beautiful contrivances which no one has ever taken the trouble
to observe. But to make out the way in which the exquisite machinery of
nature is meant to work is no childish pursuit. The very attempt will
lead the naturalist to acquaint himself with scientific laws which seem
altogether foreign to Natural History; it will exercise his industry and
sagacity; it will extend his knowledge of the possibilities of life.”

With these very pertinent remarks we cordially agree.

THE ZOOLOGIST

No. 228.—December, 1895.

THE SPEED OF HOMING PIGEONS.

From the correspondence which has appeared in the last two
numbers of ‘The Zoologist,’ it will be seen that the statements
of Herr Gatke, in his work on Heligoland, respecting the rate of
speed in migratory birds, have awakened considerable interest
amongst ornithologists. We have already given reasons for
dissenting from certain of Herr Gitke’s estimates, believing
them in some cases to be exaggerated, and in others to be
unsupported by evidence. The species to whose estimated rate
of speed we particularly took exception (p. 878) were the Hooded
Crow, the Bluethroat, and the American Golden Plover.

In view of Sir George Cayley’s precise calculation that a
Rook usually flies at the rate of about 35 feet per second, or 24
miles per hour,* it is impossible to accept Herr Gitke’s state-
ment that the speed of the Hooded Crow (so nearly related as it
is to the Rook in size, structure, and form of wing) can be 108
miles per hour, or more than four times as great.

Equally impossible is it to accept, as Herr Gatke’s does, the
Statement (op. cit. p. 64) made fifty years ago, which credits a
pigeon with a speed of 100 geographical miles per hour ;
for it has been well ascertained in recent years, by careful
experiment, that the rate at which a Homing Pigeon flies

* “ Aerial Navigation,” in ‘Nicholson’s Journ. Nat. Phil.,’ xxiv. p. 164,
quoted by Prof. Newton, ‘ Dictionary of Birds,’ art. “ Flight.”
ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—DEC. 1895. 2M

442 THE ZOOLOGIST.

does not amount to half that speed, and rarely exceeds 36 miles
per hour.*

In connection with this subject, we would direct attention to
some statistics furnished by Capt. C. T. Keene to the ‘ Homing
News,’ and published in the issue of that journal for March 28rd,
1894; and also to some remarks by M. Felix Rodenbach, in
his work on Experimental and Scientific Colombophilism.

Capt. Keene writes:—‘‘In his work on Natural Inheritance,
Mr. Galton explains a graphical method of ‘showing how to

Tanue 1,
VeELocity YARDS PER MINUTE.
3207 old burds flying over 90 miles (average 141 miles).

Sale y pel
Velocity. No. of cases No. of cases Sums from
Yds. per min. observed. observed. the beginning.
Under 500 seit 22 6 ,
ih GBOTE Nox 43 1°3 1:9
3. BCRP: pat hee 5:3 7:2
» 800 284 8°8 16°
AA 900 598 18°6 34°6
> 400 645 20°3 54:9
1100 683 21:3 76:2
,, 1200 396 12:3 85°5
» 1300 132 4:3 92:8
400 120 3°6 96°4
Over 1400 120 3°6 100
Total 2207 100
TaBue JI.
2914 young birds flying in races between 50 and 100 miles.
Under 500 wee 107 3°6 3°6
S41 HBO» Via. tl Bakes 5:8 8-9
se A oe” My te ae 10°1 19:0
ya 800 ee 543 18°6 37°6
5, ORO» Sain MSA 23°4 61-0
iced: eee: 14:2 752
a eee 9°3 84:5
s) geO0'” 30h Pas 9-1 93-6
i BO he. dere del 3°8 97°4
5. ee 49 1°6 99
Over 1400 His 29 1 100
Total je). Bone via 100

determine the grade of an individual among his fellows in respect
to any particular faculty.’ I have thought it might interest

* Tegetmeier, ‘ The Field,’ Jan. 22nd, 1887, p. 114,

i

THE SPEED OF HOMING PIGEONS. 443

pigeon-flyers if by the same method I constructed a diagram by
which the individual grade or figure of merit of a homing pigeon
could be ascertained in respect to its flying velocity, not only
among birds of its own loft, but also among the bulk of the
pigeons of other lofts. Two tables, and a diagram made from
them, are accordingly given. The former show how the latter
was arrived at. Table I. refers to old birds, and by means of it
the upper curve A Bis drawn. Table II. refers to young birds
and from it the lower curve abis made. By the aid of the diagram
then we are able to compare—(1). Any individual old bird whose
mean flying velocity for an average distance (about 141 miles) is

10 06=—-20 30 #0 sO 60 70 60 30 100

known, with old birds in one’s own loft, or with nearly all old birds,
which flew last year to other English lofts. (2). Any young bird
of last year in the same manner. (3). We can compare old birds
with young. For example—We have an old bird which has made
a mean velocity of 970 yards per minute. From the point 970 on
the perpendicular A C we carry a line horizontally till it meets
the upper curve AB. From this point of intersection we drop a
perpendicular to meet BC, and we find it meets it at the grade 50.
In other words, as compared with all other old birds, our individual
pigeon is of mediocre rank; 50 per cent. made higher velocities 50
per cent. lower. Again, we possess a young bird with a recorded
mean average velocity of 850 yards per minute. A horizontal from
this point to the lower curve ab, and a perpendicular dropped as
2M2

444 THE ZOOLOGIST.

before, gives to the young bird also mediocre rank, 2.¢. 50 per cent.
of other young birds were faster. And to compare old birds with
young, we can readily see that the average old bird makes a
velocity of 120 yards more per minute than the average young
bird.

‘‘These curves of distribution, as they are called, vary little
from year to year. That is to say, curves made from the records
of the next racing season will practically be the same as those
here given. In process of years we shall undoubtedly see a
difference. ‘The average old bird, say in ten years’ time, will
make a higher mean velocity than 970 yards, presuming, of
course, that we breed only or in most part from the fastest birds
of the present time.”

One of the most interesting chapters in M. Rodenbach’s work
above referred to—an English translation of which appeared in
parts in the ‘Homing News’—relates to the speed of homing
Pigeons, and from this contribution to our knowledge on the
subject we make the following extract :—‘‘ As we all know, the
mean or average speed of the Pigeon is calculated at about
thirty-eight miles per hour. It happens constantly, however,
that the wind is blowing a tempest, or that the birds have to
struggle with thick fog or adverse wind. Under the first-named
of these sets of conditions, our birds may attain a giddy and
almost incredible speed; under the other, their speed is lowered
to almost any degree, and they are seen to fly so low as well
nigh to graze the roofs over which they move along. In the first
case, all is surprise, and verifiers have scarcely time to settle at
their posts before the champions are tumbling in upon them pell-
mell. In the other case, the fancier quivers with impatience, and
yawns out his vexation to the passing rooks above him, sometimes
for the whole day together. According to the interesting notes
accumulated by M. Rodenbach, the highest speed attained under
favourable conditions was 2150 yardsaminute. The birds had a
tail wind, and the distance flown was no more than sixty miles.
In 1868, a Pigeon belonging to M. Delmotte, of Brussels,
obtained the first prize from Orleans with a speed of 2175 yards
per minute, but in this instance the wind blew a perfect gale
from the south-west. If these races had not been organized by
responsible clubs, we should have reason for suspecting some
error to have been committed in the published statement of the

re

<n) Wee a ee

THE SPEED OF HOMING PIGEONS. 445

hour of toss, for no one will fail to see that if Pigeons be tossed
a full hour prior to the time stated, and according to which the
race is governed, the rate of speed as then calculated is an
exaggerated one.

“From observations extending over forty years, M. Roden
bach has arrived at 2150 yards as the maximum speed under a
strong but not a violent wind. In comparing the speed of the
Pigeon with that of our ordinary express trains, it has repeatedly
been shown, by actual toss from the train itself, that, as soon as it
had attained to its full speed, the Pigeon had decidedly the
advantage.* It remains only to reckon with the balloon, which at
a great elevation, does its sixty miles in the hour. In rainy and
foggy weather we have to greatly tone down our estimate of the
Pigeon’s speed. ‘his is then often transformed into extraordinary
slowness. Whilst in calm, bright weather our bird attains to a
height which reduces it to a speck in our eyes, it now flies low,
heavily and hap-hazard, accomplishing only, at the expense of
great exertion, a mere five or six hundred yards per minute. In
short tosses, the mean speed of the Pigeon, with fair weather and
favourable wind, is from 1850 to 1550 yards per minute. When
in any great national toss the birds return with upwards of 1100
yards a minute to their credit, the initial speed must have been
very considerable; it may be fairly estimated that the first 250
miles were done at the rate of 1350 yards per minute, and
the remainder at 850, which gives us the average of 1100 yards
per minute. The rate of speed therefore diminishes in pro-
portion to the length of flight. But, in point of fact, nothing can
be accurately known as to the real speed of our bird, for when
calculating we take a straight line from the point of toss to that
of return. A very little consideration, however, will suffice to
show that the line thus drawn by us by no means represents
the distance actually flown. The Pigeon describes innumerable
curves when tracking its way through immensity. The winds are
masters of the road there, and have to be reckoned with by the
valiant and faithful creature. ‘To-day you will see it returning by
the south, to-morrow by the north, the next day by the west.

* The reverse of this is the case with the Partridge. See W. Burgess,
‘The Field,’ 27th Nov., 1886, and Prof. Newton, ‘Dictionary of Birds,’ 1898
p- 566.—ED.

446 THE ZOOLOGIST.

The actual speed of the Pigeon is bound to be vastly greater than
is attributed to it. Naturally we can only reckon the distance
flown, as above stated, by striking a line from the point of toss
to that of return; this, indeed, is our only basis of calculation ;
but we are always below, and must ever and always be below, the
real distance flown: the only question is—how much below ?”

NOTES, AND QUERIES,

Memoir of the late A. G. More.—Many friends of the late Mr. A. G.
More having expressed a wish for the publication of a more extended
memoir of him than has yet appeared, those who possess any letters or
other papers of importance from him, would greatly oblige by forwarding
them, on loan, to his sister, Miss More, 74, Leinster Road, Rathmines,
Dublin.

MAMMALIA.

The Long-tailed Field Mouse of the Outer Hebrides,—lI regret to
observe, by Mr. Steele Elliott’s communication (p. 426), that in my article
in the previous number (p. 369), I overlooked his remarks printed in the
‘Journal of the Birmingham Natural History Society,’ a periodical which,
I need hardly say, I have never had an opportunity of seeing. Now that
he has kindly acquainted us with the description which he there gives of
the mouse obtained by him in St. Kilda, it appears to me that the animal
described by him may possibly still be distinct from that which formed the
subject of my article. Mr. Elliott states that the St. Kilda mouse “ differs
from our ordinary form by the adult having the fur on the back greyish
brown, similar to the young of our Long-tailed Field Mouse, instead of
reddish brown as in our adult type, and on the belly the fur has a lovely
pink shade instead of pure white.” Now if this description be compared
with that of Mus hebridensis, it will be seen that I said nothing about the
fur of the back being greyer, nor have I ever seen a mouse with fur of “a
lovely pink shade” on the belly. But as this description was admittedly
taken from a single specimen, I think it highly probable that it was an
individual variation. My description was based on about twenty specimens
of all ages and of both sexes, and I find this mouse goes through all the
usual colour-changes of the group; in some cases those still in the grey
pelage, with unworn teeth, being found with young. I have six embryos in
spirit, taken from a young female hardly more than half grown, and in
dark grey coat; and I may say that this is the largest number I have ever
found in any mouse of this group, of any age. My article was written just
a year ago, not being altered except in the preliminary paragraph, and was

NOTES AND QUERIES. 447

written originally for the ‘ Annals of Scottish Natural History,’ but was not
sent in, for the reason I gave, that I hoped to revisit the islands; but a
note recording the ‘‘ Long-tailed Field Mouse in the Outer Hebrides” was
inserted in the January number of that Journal instead. In this notice I
mentioned St. Kilda as a locality in which this mouse occurs, and I wrote
this from seeing a specimen at the British Museum, which I understood
had been obtained by the minister of that island; but as 1 was informed
that no others had been received, and as this single specimen was in spirit,
and useless so far as measurements were concerned, I did not think it
worth mentioning in my article. For comparison I have looked at some-
thing like 300 skins, a great number of which were collected aud preserved
by myself and measurements taken in the flesh, from nearly every county
in the British Islands, and I find that those received from Ross, Cromarty,
Skye, and all also parts of Ireland, are perfectly typical Mus sylvaticus. I
have not yet received any specimens from Orkney, but there seemed no reason
to wait for these, as it could not possibly affect my description. As to the
Inner Hebrides, they are merely part of Scotland, and the fauna is not
likely to differ from that of the mainland.—W. E. pz Winton.

Harvest Mouse in Shropshire.—In your interesting article on the
Harvest Mouse (pp. 418—425) I note that you do not include Shropshire
amovgst the counties in which it has been found. In 1872, when ona
visit to the late Mr. W. Hyslop, in the village of Church Stretton, twelve
or fifteen miles from Shrewsbury, one of the children brought in a Harvest
Mouse. I enquired where she had found it, and went to the place in search
of others. It was a low, flat bit of marshy land (afterwards reclaimed),
through which ran an open, sluggish streamlet, and on the margin of which
grew rushes. A portion of the upper end of the field skirting the road to
Little Stretton was cultivated, and growing oats. After much search I
found the remains of three nests, empty, and one with only two young ones
in it, full grown and lively. That would be in August, or early in
September, for the oats were ripe. I was informed that these mice were
“‘quite common” there. It was in the same neighbourhood, high np on
the Long Mynd Mountain, that I once encountered an Otter, one very clear
moonlight night, twelve miles from any stream. There had been a long
spell of dry weather, if I mistake not. I have seen Harvest Mice in Ayr-
shire, in the Mauchline district, forty years ago, where they were then
common.—G. W. Murvoca (Milnthorpe, Westmorland).

Provincial Names of Animals.—In EHarwaker’s ‘ Kast Cheshire ’
several extracts are given from the accounts of the wardens of the parish
church at Wilmslow, and, among other entries, are records of two disburse-
ments for ‘‘ Maupe” heads, sixpence being paid for six heads in 1666, and
sixpence for sixteen heads in 1669. The author suggests that Moles were
referred to, but if that animal had been intended, it is more probable that
“‘ Moudywarp,” a name still in use among the country people in Cheshire,

448 THE ZOOLOGIST.

would have been the word used, although ‘“ Mold” occurs in the Stockport
churchwardens’ accounts for 1700, when a penny was paid for two of these
animals. Can any reader of ‘ The Zoologist’ throw light upon the subject,
and state what a ‘“ Maupe” really is ?—Cuartes OLDHAM (Romiley).

BIRDS.

Nesting of the Goldcrest.—I am surprised that Mr. H. S. Daven-
port considers that ‘authors with common consent have apparently ~
ignored” the fact that Regulus cristatus nests against the side of a tree.
In such a familiar text-book as the fourth edition of Yarrell’s ‘ Birds’ we
are told that such a situation is occasionally adopted, and that the late Mr.
Hewitson had seen a Goldcrest’s nest in the middle of ajuniper-bush. In
the neighbourhood of Carlisle the Golderest nests both against the sides of
trees, and in the centre of furze-bushes. On the 13th of May last, a young
friend of mine brought me a Goldcrest’s nest, which was carefully concealed
in the heart of a furze-bush; and several others have been found in furze-
bushes on the same common. The fact has long been known to the
Carlisle field-naturalists, and is not a new departure from the usual habits
of this Regulus. At Orton, near Carlisle, where the Goldcrests generally
nest in furze, there is plenty of coniferous timber, so that it is from choice
rather than from necessity that the Goldcrests there nest in furze. I
imagined for years that the Goldcrest nested under fir-branches only,
because I never happened in those days to come across nests in any other
situation; but the latest records only amplify Professor Newton’s remarks
in the fourth edition of Yarrell, and cannot fairly be regarded in the nature
of a discovery-—H. A. Macpuerson (Carlisle).

Nesting of the Goldcrest.—In this neighbourhood I have found Gold-
crests’ nests more often among the hanging slender branches of ivy cover-
ing small stunted trees or thorns, and in larch and fir-woods than anywhere
else, the average height from the ground being ten feet.—RicHarp M.
BarRine@ron (Fassaroe, Bray, Co. Wicklow).

Quail in Surrey.—The occurrence of the Quail in Surrey, at any time
unusual, is still more remarkable during the month of October. On Oct.
lst one was shot in a field of turnips near Ashstead by a member of a
party walking up Partridges; it was in very fair condition, and was eaten.
On Oct. 8th, while shooting near Headley, another Quail was observed by
several people, including myself. It was running through some tall but
thin mustard, two or three yards in front of the beaters. It ran intoa
thick broad hedgerow, and I saw it again on two or three occasions; it
would not take wing, however, though I do not think it was wounded
Apart from the rarity of the occurrence, the late date at which it was
noted is, I suppose, due to the splendid warm weather which prevailed at
the end of September.—J, A. Buoxntui (Epsom).

NOTES AND QUERIES. 449

Breeding of the Goldeneye in the Washburn Valley.—A pair of
Goldeneyes, Clangula glaucion, bred last summer in a plantation on the
margin of Fewston Reservoir, near Otley, Yorkshire. The young ones,
four in number, were seen repeatedly in the vicinity of the nesting-place.
After careful investigation, I detected the female was a wounded bird,
-uvable to fly. This in all probability is the cause of their breeding here.
A pair of Goldeneyes bred under similar circumstances during the summer
of 1891, in a plantation on the margin of Swinsty Reservoir. One of the
young ones was caught by my spaniel dog. The old male bird was shot,
and is now in the collection of the Leeds Naturalist Club. The Goldeneye
is a regular winter visitant here in limited numbers. The area of the two

Reservoirs is 856 acres.—W™m. Storey (Fewston Lodge, Fewston, near
Otley).

Broad-billed Sandpiper in Sussex.— On Oct. 2nd a female Broad-billed
Sandpiper, Limicola platyrhyncha, was shot near Rye Harbour, Sussex,
out of a small flock of Dunlins, Tringa alpina. It was a female bird of
the year, and is now in the collection of Mr. Alexander, of Cranbrook.
It is, I believe, the third specimen which has been obtained in Sussex.
Mr. Burton shot one in the same neighbourhood on Aug. 13th, 1887, which
is now in Lord Lilford’s collection. Previous to this, namely, in October,
1845, Mr. Borrer purchased one in the tlesh which had just been shot near
Shoreham (‘ Biras of Sussex,’ p. 227).—G. W. BrapsHaw (Hastings).

Red-necked Phalarope near St. Leonards. — Mr. Knight, of St.
Leonards, shot a male Red-necked Phalarope, Phalaropus hyperboreus,
on Oct. 17th, at a small pool of water on the Salts, Bulverhythe, near
St. Leonards. It weighed 1 oz.; contents of gizzard, flies. Mr. Borrer,
in his ‘ Birds of Sussex’ (p. 218), notices five previous occurrences of this
bird in the county.—G. W. BrapsHaw (Hastings).

Swallows returning to their Old Nests. — On June 6th, 1893,
I caught with a fishing-net a pair of House Martins, H. urbica, which had
built their nest under the eaves of our house. I puta small split-ring on
the leg of each bird. The following year, June 20th, the birds returned
with the rings still on their legs. A pair of Martins again nested here
during the present summer in the same place; but unfortunately the male
bird was killed by flying against a telephone-wire, When picked up it
still had my ring on its leg. I was unable to prove the female to be also a
marked bird, for she deserted the nest soon after the male bird was killed. —
Wo. Storey (Fewston Lodge, Fewston, near Otley).

(This is not the first time that the experiment has been made of
marking birds with a view to ascertain whether they return to spots where
they have previously reared their young, and in the case of both Swallows
and Swifts it has been proved that they do. For reported cases of the

450 THE ZOOLOGIST.

kind, see ‘ The Field,’ Sept. 30th, 1876; June 4th, 1881; and July Ist,
1893.—-Ep.]

Grey Shrike and Pomatorhine Skua in Norfolk.—On Oct. 3rd and —
4th I was fortunate in shooting specimens of these birds on the north coast
of Norfolk. The Shrike was an adult male, barred with white on the
primaries, the inner primaries and secondaries tipped with white. The
Skua was a young male in the intermediate plumage between the adult and
bird of the year. The two central tail-feathers projecting only two inches,
and with a dark band two inches wide across the upper part of the breast.—
A. D. Sapsworty (Woodford Green, Essex).

Spoonbill in Norfolk.—On Oct. 5th and 6th a Spoonbill visited the
marshes and mud-flats in the same district. It was an adult bird, for the
pale yellow crest was visible with the aid of glasses, but its extreme
wariness would not allow of a nearer approach than 100 yards.—A. D.
Sapsworrit (Woodford Green, Essex).

Kestrel taking Young Pheasants.—That the Kestrel prefers fur to
feather is now recognised by all but the most obdurate of gamekeepers,
_ although the reproach that the bird will take young game cannot be alto-
gether wiped ont. At the time of the hatching of the Pheasants during the
late breeding season a female Kestrel was given to me which had fallen a
victim to its repeated raids on a young brood. On dissection the justice of
the charge was made abundantly clear, and indeed the bird was shot in the
act of carrying off one of the brood. I was informed at the time that had
it not been shot it would have cleared out the whole brood, although the
truth of this information appeared to rest on opinion rather than expe-
rience. It is known that Kestrels do ‘often contract the bad habit of
infesting the coops and carrying off the young birds,” but Professor Newton
says that this evil may easily be stopped, and that “the Kestrel is in the
first place attracted to the spot by the presence of the mice which come to
eat the Pheasants’ food” ( Yarrell, Br. B., ed. 4,1. p. 79). A comparison
of Mr. Borrer’s account of the Kestrel (‘ Birds of Sussex,’ pp. 12, 13) with
that of the late Mr. Knox’s (‘ Ornithological Rambles in Sussex,’ ed. 1,
pp. 51—68) indicates a decrease of the species in Sussex of late years,
which the former partly accounts for in the fact of there being fewer oppor-
tunities of appropriating the deserted nests of Crows and Pies, since these
birds also have decreased.—W. C. J. Ruskin BurTerFievp (St. Leonards-
on-Sea).

Alleged former Nesting of Golden Kagle and Goshawk in England.
—Dr. John Hull, the author of several zoological and geological works,
whose ‘ History of Animals’ was published in 1752, gives in vol. iii. of that
folio an account of a supposed nest of the Golden Eagle in the south of
England 150 years ago, which had the unusual complement of four eggs.

NOTES AND QUERIES. 45]

After remarking that he had shot one in Charleton Forest in Sussex, he
adds that he had ‘once found a nest there, built in a strange, wild
manner, and with four eggs init.” This statement need not be too hastily
discredited, for his description of the Golden Kagle—“ the size of a turkey
with legs feathered down to the toes”—is detailed, and does not appear appli-
cable to any other raptorial species; indeed it may have been taken, and very
likely was, from the one he shot, though the number of eggs in the nest
is certainly rather indicative of a Buzzard. Further on he mentions a
Goshawk’s nest in Rockingham Forest, in Northamptonshire, remarking
that these birds are very bold, and that a servant who climbed the tree,
probably to take the young, was attacked with the utmost fury by both the
parents, and wounded in the face. ‘There is nothing improbable in the
supposition that this nest was that of a Goshawk, and Dr. Hill’s statement
that this bird “ breeds with us in woods,” may be applied to England as
well as Scotland, where in the early part of the eighteenth century it was
probably common. Other birds of prey also come in for a share of his
attention, and his remarks will repay reading, for the worthy doctor has
many notes of interest scattered throughout his bulky volume. In Lincoln-
shire he met with large flocks of Cranes, and in the same forest where he
found the supposed Golden Eagle’s nest he saw a Roller, and on the
downs of Sussex great numbers of Bustards. He also killed four Black
Grouse ‘‘ on Hindhead, a vast mountainous heath on the Portsmouth road,”
and his account of the Bittern is evidently from personal observation, at a
time when, as he says, they were ‘‘ very common in our fen countries.” —
J. H. Gurney (Keswick Hall, Norwich).

Black Tern in Wales.—In ‘The Zoologist’ for October last (p. 381)
Mr. Mainwaring has recorded the occurrence of the Black Tern in North
Wales, and remarks on its rarity in the Principality. It has also occurred
on Llangorse Lake, Breconshire. It is stated in the ‘ Transactions’ of the
Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club, 1890-92, that two specimens of this
bird were shot there in 1889, and were preserved. The Common Tern is
often to be seen on that lake, and the Lesser Tern occasionally; but I
believe this is the only instance on record of the occurrence of the Black
Tern on this sheet of water.—H. A. Swainson (Woodlands, Brecon).

Supposed Breeding of the Crested Lark in Kent.—Among the
oological discoveries this year none is perhaps likely to evoke more interest
than the egg of the Crested Lark (Alauda cristata), taken in Romney Marsh
on June 7th, and subsequently purchased by me at Stevens’s Auction
Rooms. The recorded evidence of the breeding of this bird in England
having hitherto been confined to one alleged instance, at Ibiston, near
Cambridge, in 1881 (Zool. 1883, p. 178), ornithologists will doubtless be
glad to hear of a well-authenticated case, the parent birds having been seen
by Mr. Sydney Webb, as well as by Mr. George Gray, a well-known

452 THE ZOOLOGIST.

naturalist at Dover. I quote from a letter addressed to Mr. Stevens by
Mr. Webb on Mr. Gray’s behalf, and sold with the egg :—* Mr. Gray, of
this town (Dover), who is an ornithologist and taxidermist, having been
informed by some lads who had been watching birds for him that they had
discovered a nest of eggs which they did not know, we were led to the spot,
but only to find one young bird hatched out, one broken egg, and one addled;
the latter you now have. Scarcely had the egg passed from hand to hand
when one of the boys called out, ‘There’s the old one; look at his top- -
knot!’ And sure enough we saw a living Crested Lark close to us. There
could be no mistaking the long crest reclining backwards, Crane-like, quite
unlike an ordinary Lark’s raised crest.” It is curious also that the birds
made a second nest, from which another egg was obtained early in August.
This also passed into my hands.—C. A. Brieas (55, Lincoln’s Inn Fields).

[The common Skylark so frequently exhibits a well-developed crest,
that we should not rely upon this point only to convince us that the bird
whose nest was found in Romney Marsh was Alauda cristata. It is a pity
that Mr. Gray did not carry his observation a little further, and note some
other distinguishing characters of the rarer species. The large bastard
primary he could not have seen, but he might have noticed the orange-
tawny colour of the under surface of the wing and the absence of white
from the tail feathers. —Ep. ]

The Dispersal of Acorns by Rooks.—In a recent number of ‘ Nature’
Mr. Clement Reid communicates the result of some interesting observations
made by him on the way in which Rooks are instrumental in dispersing
acorns, and thus causing oaks to spring up in places where none had grown
before. He says :—“ In peat-mosses, on open chalk downs, and in ploughed
fields, often a mile or more from the nearest mature tree, one constantly
finds acorn-husks and also seedling oaks, which last a few months, or perhaps
a couple of years, and then die, the conditions being unfavourable. It has
always seemed to me, while studying the origin of the existing fauna and
flora of Britain, that this dispersal of acorns ought to give an important clue
to the means by which this country was again clothed when the climate
became more genial after the Glacial Epoch. The oak has the largest seed
of any British plant, and if it can be carried distances of a mile or more, it
is evident that the whole of our present flora may have spread more rapidly
than is usually imagined, and may have crossed straits and wide rivers. I
have for several years noted the position of these seedling oaks, finding
them in places where no mammal would take the acorns. For instance,
they are common in any of the New Forest peat-bogs that are withiu a
mile of an oak-tree. ‘They are common also in some places on the top of
the escarpment of the South Downs, half a mile from oaks, and 300 or
400 feet above them, ‘They are always associated with empty acorn-husks,
stabbed and torn in a peculiar way. In October and November Rooks feed

NOTES AND QUERIES. 4538

in the oak-trees, and I have long felt convinced that they were mainly
responsible for the dispersal of acorns, though it is not easy to catch them
actually doing it. On October 29th of this year I was successful. In the
middle of an extensive field, bordered by an oak-copse and scattered trees,
a flock of Rooks was feeding and passing singly backwards and forwards to
the oaks. On driving the birds away, and walking: to the middle of the
field, I found hundreds of empty acorn-husks, and a number of half-eaten
pecked acorns, which had not had time to change their colour—a cut acorn
changes colour on exposure to the air like a cut apple, though not quite so
fast. This showed that the birds had been disturbed in the middle of their
feast, for the marks on the acorns were quite unlike those made by a rodent
or any mammal. They were stabbed and pecked, and the husks were torn
off in strips, usually starting from a puncture. It was also noticeable that
many of them were not shed acorns, but were accompanied by acorn-cups,
the stalks of which had been bitten to tear them off the trees. This was
singular, for the ground beneath the trees was covered with shed acorns.
The Rooks, however, were in the trees, not under them, and the reason for
the selection of acorns in cups is probably that they are easier to carry—a
shed acorn must be an awkwardly large and slippery thing for a Rook’s
beak, one with a stalk will be more convenient. Several uninjured acorns
were found, and most of the remains occurred on smooth spots of short turf
—places where a slippery acorn might conveniently be pecked without being
lost. One almost uninjured acorn had been driven by asingle peck deep
into the soft soil of a mole-hill. It might be thought that it would be much
simpler for the Rooks to feed on the ground beneath the trees. Some of
them apparently do so; but the majority seem always to carry the acorns
into the open. The Rook is a suspicious bird, quarrelsome, and a born
thief. He seems particularly to object to a comrade watching him from any
post of vantage, and the Rooks, when among the oaks, for some reason or
other are always quarrelling, notwithstanding the abundance of food. An
acorn dropped on rough ground, or in a peat-moss, would stand a great
chance of being lost in some crevice or soft place; but the oak seeds so
freely that the bird need not waste time trying to recover the lost acorn——
there are plenty more on the tree. In this way the oak-woods must spread
rapidly. But we still want observations as to the distance to which acorns
can be carried. I have seen seedling oaks at a distance of a mile from the
nearest mature tree (not necessarily the tree from which the acorn came),
and have found the characteristically torn husks somewhat further away.
Do Rooks roosting in elm-trees ever carry home acorns for supper? There
used to be a number of Rooks which roosted in elms near Brighton in the
autumn and winter, but crossed the Downs to feed in the Weald. I have
often watched them returning at dusk. Do they ever bring acorns from
that distance? This flock may have been responsible for the seedling oaks

454 THE ZOOLOGIST.

near the edge of the Downs; and if it could occasionally bring an acorn
still further, to Brighton, it is evident that the oak may have crossed the
Strait of Dover, when it was somewhat uarrower, and that Britain, so far —
as the oak shows, may have been continuously an island since the Glacial
Epoch.”—Ciement ReErp.

(The experience of Mr. Reid in this case recalls to mind some observa-
tions nade many years ago in Westmorland by the Rev. Thomas Robinson,
Rector of Ousby, and published by him in ‘ An Essay towards a Natural
History of Westmorland and Cumberland,’ 8vo, pp. 118 (1709). Writing
on this very subject, he says : —‘* About twenty-five years ago, coming from
Rose Castle early in the morning, I observed a great number of Crows
[se. Rooks] very busy at their work upon a declining ground of a mossy
surface. I went out of my way on purpose to view their labour, and I found
they were planting a grove of oaks. The manner of their planting was
thus: they first made little holes in the earth with their bills, going about
and about till the hole was deep enough, and then they dropped in the acorn
and covered it with earth and moss, This young plantation is now growing
up to a thick grove of oaks, fit for use, and of height for the Crows to build
their nests in. I told it to the owner of the ground who observed them
spring up, and took care to secure their growth and rising. The season
was the latter end of autumn, when all seeds were full ripe.” In this case
it seems reasonable to infer that the Rooks were unconsciously planting
oaks in the exercise of a natural instinct which prompts them to store
up food “for a rainy day,” the bulk of which is not recovered. Magpies,
as is well known, have a similar habit of hiding food.—Ep.]

Ornithological Notes from East Kent.—During the latter part of
September and the beginning of October I was staying at the mouth of the
Stour, near Sandwich, and spent a good deal of time in watching the birds
on the flats. The season was somewhat disappointing, and the waders
seemed very much scarcer than in former years. On Sept. 29th there were
vast numbers of Yellow Wagtails, with a fair admixture of Pied Wagtails,
all along the shore in the direction of Deal. Wading birds were unusually
scarce, and even the ordinary Dunlins were far from plentiful; the flocks
contained a few Ringed Plovers, Aigialitis hiaticula, and one or two Little
Stints, Tringa minuta, while here and there a solitary Grey Plover, Squata-
rula helvetica, was feeding. The only birds that could be called really
common were the Oystercatchers and Curlews, which were feeding in large
flocks on the farthest flats. On Sept. 27th there were a great number of
Knots, Tringa canutus, about, with one or two Godwits. We secured a
Sanderling, Calidris arenaria, out of a flock of Tringa alpina from a mud-
flat off the river-mouth. On the 28th we shot two Grey Plovers and two
Knots, all of them immature birds. The wind began to blow keenly from
the N.E., and a good many ducks came in. We had heard Wigeon and
Teal passing over in the night, and a Wigeon was shot along the shore.

NOTES AND QUERIES. 455

We watched a solitary Brent Goose, which we were told had been about
for several weeks. Large flocks of Peewits were moving all day over the
salt-marshes, occasionally settling on a scrub-covered island at the river-
mouth. On the 29th the wind was still in the N.E., ard I shot a Little
Stint, T’ringa minuta, in the salt-marshes between the “ Saltpans” and the
sea. The Dunlins were rapidly assuming the winter dress; one which we
shot had the black breast flecked all over with white feathers, giving it a
very singular appearance. A few Yellow Wagtails still remained, and we
saw one Wheatear, Saaxicola ananthe On Oct. 1st a carter told me that he
had seen eight “Grey Geese” as he drove along the bay. We saw one
Yellow Wagtail only, the last seen whilst we were there. On Oct. 2nd the
wind was blowing strong from the east, and there were a large number of
Wigeon about. We shot one which was sheltering under a dyke. In the
course of the morning we went inland over the marshes, which are here
studded with tall thorn-bushes. Seeing a black and white bird fly from the
ground into a thorn-bush, I followed it up, and found that it was a Great
Grey Shrike. ‘True to its name “ excubitor,” it was too wary to let me get
within shot, and would fly from one bush to another, pausing at times and
hovering in mid-air like a Kestrel. After I had followed it from tree to
tree for a quarter of an hour it flew across the Stour, and as there was no
means of crossing the river I gave up the pursuit. On Oct. 4th I visited
Mr. Sturges, the Margate taxidermist, who showed me a Grey Shrike from
Margate, several Black Redstarts, Shore Larks, and Ring Ouzels from the
district, a Spotted Crake from the Minster marshes, and an Osprey, shot
at North Down, Thanet, on July 1st, in spite of the provisions of the Wild
Birds Protection Act.—Surron A. Davies (Pembroke College, Oxford).

Escape of a Caged Hagle.— With reference to the remarks which have
appeared on this subject (pp. 380, 484), Mr. H. 8. Davenport writes to the
effect that he had no reason to suppose that the Hagle seen in his neigh-
bourhood and subsequently shot at Easton was a tame one; and he adds,
that as the Eagle which escaped from the Bristol Zoological Gardens
(p. 880), was supposed by the keeper to be a female, while the one killed at
Easton was ascertained by dissection to be a male, he feels justified in
rejecting the suggestion (p. 434) that they were one and the same bird.

American Yellow-billed Cuckoo: Important Correction. — The
species of bird which, to the number of ten or fifteen, came on board the
s.s. ‘Ottoman,’ when off Cape Race, on the voyage from Boston to Liver-
pool (p. 433), and which was thought by Mr. Neilson to be “ probably
identical” with the American Cuckoo that was picked up dead a few days
later in Dorsetshire (p, 376) has been at length identified. Mr. Neilson
has to-day (Dec. 10th) kindly sent me the sole survivor of those that were
caught, and it proves to be a female Snow Bunting, Hmberiza nivalis.—
J. BK. Hartina.

456 THE ZOOLOGIST.

REPTILIA.

Adders swallowing their Young.—I think your correspondent, Mr. ©
Mansel Pleydell, assumes on insufficient evidence that female Adders are
provided with a cavity separate from the stomach for the reception of their
young. An incident came under my own observation, and was duly
reported in ‘ The Zoologist’ for June, 1889, of an Adder rejecting a Lizard
alive and uninjured, at least twenty-four hours after swallowing it. Having
been taken for food, the Lizard must have been in the Viper’s stomach all
that time.—R, H. Ramspotuam (Monkmoor, Shrewsbury).

[If we mistake not, it has been ascertained by experiment that the
gastric fluid acts much more slowly upon living tissue than upon dead
prey. If so, the temporary retention of young Adders in the stomach of the
parent would not necessarily be fatal to them, as has been supposed. See
Putnam, ‘ American Naturalist,’ vol. ii. p. 183.—Eb.]

SCIENTIFIC: S@CIETIES.

Linnean Society or Lonpon.

November 7th, 1895.—Mr. C. B. Cuarxg, F.R.S., President, in the chair,

Mr. George Massee was admitted a Fellow of the Society.

Several volumes of Cryptogamic exsiccata recently received from
Madame Weddell as a bequest from her late husband, a Foreign Member
of the Society, were shown, and some remarks made thereon by the
Botanical Secretary.

A portrait of the French naturalist Guillaume Rondelet, Professor of
Anatomy and Chancellor of the University of Montpellier, 1545, recently
presented to the Society by Dr. H. Woodward, was exhibited by the
Zoological Secretary, who gave an account of his life and work, supple-
mented by remarks from the President.

Mr. C. T. Druery exhibited and made remarks on a Scolopendrium
raised by Mr. K. J. Lowe, bearing archegonia and antheridia upon the
fronds, constituting a more advanced phase of apospory than any previously
noted. Some additional remarks were made by Mr. George Murray.

Dr. Maxwell T. Masters exhibited specimens of the fruit of Pyrus sorbus,
Aberia caffra, and small fruits of Cocos australis, from the gardens of
Mr. Thomas Hanbury at La Mortola, Mentone, and some large fruits of
Cocos australis from Naudin’s garden at Antibes, Alpes Maritimes.

Mr. J. E. Harting exhibited a specimen of the American Yellow-billed
Cuckoo, Cuculus americanus, which had been picked up dead in a garden at
Bridport, Dorsetshire, on Oct. 5th, as recorded in ‘The Zoologist’ for
October (p. 376), and gave some account of the wanderings and previous
occurrence of this species in the British Islands. As showing the means

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 457

whereby land-birds sometimes cross the Atlantic, he read a letter from Mr.
Ralph Neilson, of Fulwood Park, Liverpool, dated October 31st, in which
the writer stated that during a recent voyage from Boston, Mass., in the
steamship ‘Ottoman,’ when off Cape Race, ten or a dozen birds, “ probably
identical,” came on board, and several were captured.

A paper was read by Col. Swinhoe on mimicry in butterflies of the genus
Hypolimnas, Hiibner. Illustrating his remarks by a series of coloured
lantern-slides, he described the changes in mimetic forms in a single genus
of nymphalid butterflies, from India through Arabia to Africa, and from
India through the Malay Archipelago to Australia, commenting upon the
resemblance they always bear in colour and pattern to different forms of
Danais and Euplea, insects well known to be distasteful to birds and
reptiles.

Mr. G. F. Scott Elliot communicated a paper entitled “A Revision of
the genus Pentas,” in which some account was given of the distribution
of those plants in Africa, with a rectification of the synonymy, and description
of five new species. The genus as a whole showed in a remarkable manner
the way in which local species occur wherever a different climate restricts
the distribution of a wide-ranging form, and several examples of this were
mentioned. A discussion followed, in which the President, Mr. W. P.
Hiern, and others took part.

On behalf of Dr. A. G. Butler, an abstract was read of a paper on
Butterflies of the genus Charaxes, of which 150 species were recognised,
nearly all of which were represented in the National Collection. Five
species— Charaxes princeps, C. repetitus, C. layardi, C. fervens, and C. coniger
—were described as new.

November 21st.—Mr. J. G. Baker, F.R.S., Vice-President, in the chair.

His Grace the Duke of Bedford, Messrs. Bernard Arnold, and E. B.
Fernan were elected Fellows of the Society. Mr. B. B. Woodward was
admitted.

The Rev. G. Henslow exhibited a MS. commonplace-book of the latter
end of the 14th century. The entries in Latin and English were found
to consist chiefly of medical recipes, in which about 200 plants are named
for their use, and some new methods of distilling aqua vite are described.
There were also some notes on geometry and astronomy, and calculations
of altitudes and superficies. Mr. Baker thought the number of plants
named at the date referred to was a matter of interest to botanists, and
suggested publication of the list of names, with their identification where
possible.

Mr. Henslow also exhibited a series of shells of Buccinum undatum
and Fusus antiquus, showing the variation in form which occurs in the
reparation of injury sustained at an early stage of life, the subsequently
renewed whorls assuming shapes resembling those of other species in the

ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XIX.—DEC. 1895. 2N

458 THE ZOOLOGIST.

same genus, and even in other and very different genera. Usually the
uninjured whorls could be detected by the apex being of the normal
character, but in some cases the abnormality appeared to be congenital,
being carried completely into the apex. This raised the question whether
these were acquired characters and hereditary, having been impressed upon
the offspring born after the parent shell had been injured and renewed by
growth. Mr. KE. R. Sykes and Mr. B. B. Woodward offered some
criticism in the discussion which followed, deprecating the suggestion of
anything like “mimicry,” and regarding the resemblances in question as
purely accidental.

Mr. T. H. Buffham exhibited lantern slides of a red marine alga,
Bonnemaisonia hamifera (Heriot), known previously only from Japan, and
found floating on the sea at Falmouth. It was suggested that if it had
been introduced from Japan it could only have been from spores, or
possibly the hamose branches might develop into plants, since the
Falmouth specimens were quite fresh, and must have been living near the
place of discovery.

Dr. D. Morris, C.M.G., read a paper on the developement of a single
seed in the fruit of the cocoa-nut palm (Cocos nucifera). Alluding to the
occurrence of palms with twin and trifid stems arising from one base, it
was shown that these were due: (1), to several seeds in one fruit; (2), to
more than one embryo in a seed; or (3), to a branching of the primary
shoot. In cases cited by Rumphius, Forbes, and others, several seeds were
found in one fruit. The course of development of the single cell was
illustrated by means of lantern slides.

On behalf of Mr. A. J. Ewart, Prof. Harvey Gibson gave an abstract
of a paper on “ Assimilating Inhibition, the Causes by which it may be
induced, and their influence on Vitality.” The paper dealt mainly with the
discussion of experiments with a large number of plants, and criticism of
the results arrived at by other investigators. A discussion followed, in
which Dr. Scott, Prof. Reynolds Green, and Prof. Weiss took part.

Mr. A. C. Seward gave the substance of a paper ‘On a New Species
of Pinites (P. Ruffordi) from the Wealden beds of Sussex.”

ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.

Nov. 19th, 1895.—Sir W. H. Frower, K.C.B., President, in the chair.

The Secretary read a report on additions made to the Society’s Menagerie.

A letter was read from Mr. J. H. Gurney respecting a Kingfisher, Alcedo
beavani, resident in Ceylon.

Mr. Sclater gave a short account of certain animals noticed in the Paris
Gardens during a recent visit. He also exhibited the skin of a Zebra from
Nyasaland, obtained by Mr. R. Crawshay, and a fine pair of horns of Living-

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES. 459

stone’s Eland, presented by Mr. H. H. Johnston, C.B., and obtained in 1893
between Zomba and Lake Chilwa.

Col. L. H. Irby exhibited two British-killed specimens of the Greater
Bullfinch, Pyrrhula major.

Mr. W. T. Blanford exhibited skins of Capra sibirica and of Ovis ammon,
killed by Major Cumberland in the Altai Mountains.

A communication was read from Mr. Swale Vincent, in which he
described the naked-eye and microscopical anatomy of the supra-renal bodies
(secreting glands) in the different orders of Fishes. They were present in
all the Elasmobranchii, Holocephali, Ganoidei, and Teleostii, and probably
also in the Dipnot. He found no relation between the supra-renal and the
lymphatic head-kidney.

Mr. Gerard W. Butler read a paper on the complete or partial suppression
of the right lung ih the Amphisbenida, and of the left lung in Snakes and
snake-like Lizards and Amphibians. It was an invariable rule that in the
Amphisbenid@ the right lung was the smaller, and usually rudimentary or
absent, while in all the other cases of inequality it was the left lung which
was the smaller.

Mr. W. Saville Kent made some observations on the Frilled Lizard,
Chlamydosaurus kingi, of Western Australia. He was inclined to regard
it, if not as a surviving representative of the Dinosaurian Reptilia, as, at
any rate, a most interesting and anomalous lacertilian type that inherited its
characteristic bipedal method of progression from that extinct group. His
remarks were illustrated by photographs from life in characteristic attitudes,
and by specimens which had been mounted in accordance with those
photographs.

Two communications were read from Dr. A. G. Butler, on a small
collection of Butterflies made by Mr. Alfred Sharpe, Consul at Zomba,
British Central Africa, and on some Lepidoptera collected in Kastern Central
Africa by Mr. G. F. Scott Elliot.

A communication was read from Mr. G. S. West, on the buccal glands
and teeth of certain poisonous Snakes. The author showed that in the
Opisthoglyphous Snakes the poison-gland is very variable both in form and
extent, and that its duct opens into a cavity formed by muscular folds
surrounding the grooved tooth. ‘This opening is always towards the outer
side of the grooved tooth, and situated either at its base, or but a short
distance from it, and the parts were shown to be so related that the loss of
the tooth does not cause any injury to the duct. The reserve teeth were
shown to be in no way connected with the duct until called upon to replace
teeth that had been lost.

A report was read from Mr. W. H. Ashmead upon the Parasitic
Hymenoptera of the Island of Grenada, comprising the families Cynipide,
Ichneumonidae, Braconidae, and Proctoirypida, of which 128 were described
as new.—P. L. Scrarrr, Secretary.

( 460)

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS,

British Birds. By W.H.Hupson. With a chapter on Structure

and Classification by F. E. Bepparp. Crown 8vo, pp.

1—xx1i; 1—363. With 8 coloured plates by A. THorgurn;

8 plates and 100 figures by G. E. Lopas; and 8 illustra-

tions from photographs by R. B. Lopez. London: Long-
mans, Green & Co. 1895.

Mr. Hupson’s name is already so well known as that of an
observant outdoor naturalist and agreeable writer of travels, that
a new book from his pen is sure to be well received. His newest
volume is a most attractive one. The coloured plates by A.
Thorburn, and the black and white sketches of birds by G. E.
Lodge are charming, and recommend the book at once, quite
irrespective of the letterpress. It is by the latter, however, that
the merit of the work will be gauged, and Mr. Hudson’s qualifi-
cations as a writer on British ornithology will be estimated.

Frankly speaking, we opine that Mr. Hudson is a safer guide
when discoursing of the birds of La Plata than when dealing
with those of Great Britain; for the simple reason that he has
spent a longer time in studying the avifauna of a South American
province than he has been able to devote to similar studies in
England. The title of his book strikes us as being tuo compre-
hensive, since it by no means includes every bird which finds a
place in the British List. On the contrary, we could give a long
list of species omitted, and a still longer list of species of which
the treatment is so brief—often three or four lines only—as to be
quite inadequate for a work with so comprehensive a title. For
example, we read on page 82, that besides the Reed and Sedge
Warblers, ‘‘three more species have been numbered as British
birds, having been found as stragglers in this country. ‘These
are the Marsh Warbler, the Great Reed Warbler, and the
Aquatic Warbler.” Now, considering that the two first named
have both been found nesting in this country, where the. first
mentioned is probably an annual, though local, summer migrant,
while the third is known to have been met with on at least four
occasions, we may well demur to so slender a notice of them. A
similar remark applies to what is said of the White Wagtail,
dismissed in two lines (p. 108); of the Water Pipit, of which the

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 461

only information given (p. 118) is that ‘‘a very few specimens
have been obtained in different parts of the country”; of four
species of Shrike (p. 116), one of which, Lanius excubitor, as
might have been stated, is a regular winter visitor; of the
Ortolan and Lapland Buntings, each of which is dismissed in
three lines; of the Shore Lark, which is accorded two lines; and
so forth. Such treatment we regard as quite inadequate, and the
same may be said of what Mr. Hudson has to tell us concerning
many other well-known species. It is evident that with many of
the birds described, Mr. Hudson has had little or no opportunity
of making himself personally acquainted. He has therefore had
to rely upon secondhand information, which in many cases is not
up to date: witness, for example, the meagre account of the
nesting in Scotland of the Snow Bunting; of the Chough, whose
breeding-haunts in Scotland and Ireland are ignored (p. 158);
of the Grey Plover (p. 286), the Little Stint (p. 302), the Knot
(p. 305), and many others. On the whole we are disappointed
with the letterpress, which is in many respects below the standard
of excellence required at the present day. It is perhaps hardly
to be expected that a writer on the subject of British birds
should be personally acquainted with every species on which he
writes, but in the case of those with which he is not familiar there
is abundant trustworthy information to be found, if the author
knows where to look for it. A want of sufficient acquaintance
with the literature of the subject is apparent throughout the
volume. With so many county bird-books at hand for reference,
there is no excuse for writing of the Black Grouse (for example)
as extinct in the south of England, “except in the New Forest,
where a few birds survive.” ‘This misapprehension would have
been at once dispelled had the author consulted the excellent and
reliable works of Borrer, Mansel Pleydell A. C. Smith, Cecil
Smith, D’Urban, and Murray Mathew, in which he might have
found sufficient evidence of the existence of this fine game-bird
in Surrey, Sussex, Hants, Dorset, Wilts, Somerset, and Devon,
to say nothing of its haunts in Herefordshire, and South Wales,
as vouched for by other observers.

But although Mr. Hudson’s book may not come up to the
standard expected by professed ornithologists, it will perhaps
satisfy the requirements of ordinary readers, and the information
given will be acceptable enough so far as it goes; while the

462 THE ZOOLOGIST.

numerous illustrations with which it is embellished make almost
sufficient amends for the shortcomings in the text, which may be
improved in a future edition.

A Monograph of the Land and Freshwater Mollusca of the British
Isles. By J. W. Taytor. With the assistance of W. D.
Rorsuck, C. AsHrorpD, and others. Part II., pp. 65-128.
With coloured frontispiece and numerous illustrations.
Leeds: Taylor Brothers, Sovereign Street. 1895.

Tue first part of this new work on British Mollusca was
reviewed in the number for February last (pp. 79-80), when we
took occasion to commend the thorough mode of treatment
adopted by the author, and the excellence of the illustrations,
which are numerous. In Part II., now before us, we are pleased
to see this high standard of merit maintained. The author,
continuing his introductory observations, deals in this number
with the subjects of variation in form and size, colour and
markings, monstrosities, and auxiliary and protective organs.
Size is influenced not only by the obvious causes of the abun-
dance or scarcity of suitable and nutritious food, but is also in a
great degree dependent upon temperature and other circum-
stances. The researches of Semper on the phenomena of
growth upon which size is dependent, have shown that in
Iimnea stagnalis, for example, the size attained by the shell is
capable of correlation with the temperature and amount of the
inhabited water, as assimilation and growth equally ceased if the
degree of warmth exceeded 90° F., or fell below 53° F.; the
fullest vigour being enjoyed, and the largest size attained when
the temperature ranged between 68° F. and 77° F. The resuits
of these researches are of great interest, and are more or less
applicable to other species, as demonstrating some of the
conditions governing growth—and therefore size—in Mollusca
generally; and clearly establish that the volume or amount of
water allowed to each mollusc is so decisive in its effect upon
growth, that in the space of six days, the difference in the size of
the shells of those in a large and those in a small body of water
becomes apparent; the smaller the amount of water per indi-
vidual the smaller the shell, and vice versd.

The colouring of the Mollusca, according to Mr. Taylor,

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 463

seems largely dependent upon the action of light. The more
exposed surface of spiral shells, and the posterior end of bur-
rowing bivalves, are usually more richly coloured or ornamented
than the less exposed or buried portions, and colouring generally
is probably of great biological importance. It is also, as in other
groups, most pronounced in brilliancy and variety in the warmer
regions of the globe, and becomes gradually reduced in diversity
and beauty as the poles are approached. ‘These facts led Dr.
Fischer to propose for the Mollusca three zones of colouration
corresponding with the thermal ones.

An examination of several thousand specimens of Helix
nemoralis from the sand-hills at Spurn Point, Yorkshire (one of
the driest spots in the kingdom), showed that scarcely a dozen of
them exhibited evenly developed and strongly marked banding ;
the bands, when present, were all more or less broken up and
disconnected. In this section of the general subject, Mr. Taylor
gives a score of excellent figures to illustrate his remarks.

No less interesting are his observations on monstrosities. All
molluses with spiral shells are liable to a reversal in the direction
of their convolution; and bivalves, and even slugs, says Mr.
Taylor, are affected in an analogous way. The causes of this
reversal of the normal arrangement are, however, not at all known
or understood. M. Bourguignat has hazarded the suggestion
that it may be caused by electrical conditions, the electric current
flowing in the opposite direction to the embryonal rotation, the
essential conditions being a metalliferous soil, moist weather to
influence the latent electricity of the metallic substances, and the
conjunction of the atmospheric and terrestrial electricity, as by
thunder at the period of first manifestation of vitality by the
embryo.

Prof. Carus, also, considers that the direction of the coiling of
the shell and animal may possibly be determined by the direction
of the embryonal rotation. These and other kindred topics are
fully discussed and elucidated by Mr. ‘Taylor, who brings a wide
knowledge of the literature of the subject to bear upon his own
researches, and those of his colleagues. His remarks upon
Auxiliary and Protective Organs are especially interesting, but to
discuss them here is not possible in the limited space at our
disposal, We must be content to congratulate the author upon
the progress of his work, and recommend it to our readers as one

464 THE ZOOLOGIST.

which promises to be a standard book of reference on the subject
of which it treats.

A Handbook of British Lepidoptera. By Kpwarp Meyrick. 8vo.
pp. 843. With text cuts, showing the Neuration of Typical
Species. London: Macmillan & Co. 1895.

In a well written Introduction of twenty pages, Mr. Meyrick
foreshadows the plan and scope of his work, which may be
commended for its originality and comprehensiveness. The
preparation of more than 800 closely-printed pages indicates a
vast expenditure of thought and labour, which it is to be hoped
will not have been bestowed iu vain. Hntomology is a subject
which seems to increase annually in popularity, and of late years
has been rendered more than ever fascinating through the efforts
of workers like Miss Ormerod, and some of the American State
Entomologists, who have given us such interesting life-histories
of many of the insects which are injurious to agriculture. This,
however, is not Mr. Meyrick’s aim in the present volume, which
is an elementary guide to the classification of the Lepidoptera,
designed to enable collectors to identify specimens with accuracy,
and acquire such general knowledge of structure and affinities as
ought to be possessed by every student of Entomology before
proceeding to more special investigations, _

The chief merit of this work, so it seems to us, lies in the
fact that the structural characters have in every instance been
described from the author’s own observations. The importance
of this becomes apparent when we remember that Stainton’s
‘Manual of British Butterflies and Moths,’ so long regarded as a
leading text-book, is sadly deficient in this respect, since it affords
no satisfactory information on structural distinctions (except in
the Tineina, which that author had specially studied), the nearly
valueless characters assigned to the other groups being simply
copied from other writers, and mainly from the pseudo-scientific
work of Guenée.

Mr. Meyrick’s ‘ Handbook,’ on a sounder basis than the
‘Manual,’ bids fair to supersede it. From it a species may be
quickly identified by means of the Analytical Keys which form a
special feature of the work, and following the “‘ Introduction ”’ is
a useful ‘‘ Glosgary,” and a ‘‘ List of Abbreviations of Author’s
names.” 7 - y

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