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The love of nature’s works Is an ingredient in the compound man, Infused at the creation of the kind. And, though the Almighty Maker has throughout Discriminated each from each, by strokes And touches of his hand, with so much art Diversified, that two were never found Twins at all points — yet this obtains in all, That all discern a beauty in his works, And all can taste them: minds that have been formed And tutored, with a relish more exact, But none without some relish, none unmoved. —CowPer. lage ty ch Shaw Ol i Oe ‘THE Zoo.ocist, during the past year, has met with most unequi- vocal success. Contributions have poured in from all parts of the kingdom in a manner, I believe, wholly unprecedented in the annals of any other Natural-History Magazine: indeed, so great, so over- whelming is the supply, that I have lately been unable to publish more than half the communications I have received. In making my selection I have experienced great difficulty, and it cannot be supposed that I have given entire satisfaction. I trust, however, that correspondents whose communications remain unpublished, will consider them delayed, rather than declined. In no instance has the name of the writer exercised any influence on my choice; my aim has been to publish facts as early as possible, but to reserve histories. Thus, in birds, the occurrence of rarities, or any new observation on their migration, nidification, change of plumage, food, &c., has taken precedence of detailed accounts of their appearance and _ habits, provided these have been previously well ascertained, and accurately described. This course will, I trust, be considered in perfect accordance with my original design, of making ‘The Zoologist’ the chronicle of Natural-History facts. I have been truly gratified by the receipt of numerous letters from all parts of the United Kingdom, and from many naturalists on the Continent of Europe, expressing the most perfect cordiality with my undertaking, and entire approbation of the mode in which it is conducted. I am able to report an increased and increasing sale; both the gross sale of the year, and the average monthly sale, during 1844, at PREFACE. greatly exceeding those of 1843. I therefore feel myself quite jus- tified in continuing ‘The Zoologist’ for another year, yet scarcely so in making that addition to the quantity of letter-press and number of illustrations, which appears desirable, in order to keep pace with the increase of contributions. I am particularly unwilling to increase the price, since I consider myself pledged to continue at that origi- nally proposed, so that no other resource exists for providing for a permanently increased outlay, but the exertions of my friends, in procuring a permanently increased sale. Circulars will shortly be issued, and placed in their hands, which will enable those whose good will I have gained, to render me most important assistance in this matter. In conclusion, I beg subscribers and contributors to receive my best and warmest thanks for their exertions in my behalf. May health and happiness be the attendants of their labours for another year, and may we then meet under circumstances still more cheering. KDWARD NEWMAN. 9, Devonshire Street, Bishopsgate, January, 1844. CONTENTS. ALPHABETICAL LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS. ArkKINSON, Rev, Joun, M.A. Anecdote of a hare, 420; Anecdote of a robin’s nest, 566. Arxinson, Rev. J. C., B.A. Keen scent of the stoat, 490; Moor- hen, 497 ; Dabchick, 499; Notes on fishes, 524; Nomenclature of Bri- tish birds, 552, 553 ; Ringdove, 660 ; On the habits of the moorhen, 756 ; Note on the water-rail, 766 ; Notes on the moorhen and dabchick, 767; On the hedgehog, 791. Baxpineton, C. Carpvare, M.A., F.LS., F.G.S. Bees and laurel trees, 609. Banister, Rev. J. D. Black-headed gull, 577; Instinct in wild web-footed birds, 578; Sum- mer birds at Pilling, 720. Barcray, A. F. Gordius aquaticus, 396; Cuckoo in confinement, 655. Barcuiay, E. E. Bullfinch breeding in confinement, 453. Barctay, H. . On the black rat, 616; Summer birds at Layton, Essex, 651. Barctiay, J. GuRNEY. Habits of the hawfinch, 569 ; Correc- tion of the above, 659. Bart Lett, J. PEMBERTON. Goatsucker, or night-hawk, 445; Nest- ing-place of the Swallow, 446; Wryneck, 449 ; Singular noise made by a sparrow, 452; Guinea-hen’s eggs in a partridge’s nest, 454; Hoopoe nesting in Surrey, 564; Torpidity in a bat, 613; Ornithology of Kent, 617; On the water-rail, 669 ; Trochilium Ichneumoniforme, 683; Corrections on the birds of Kent, 718; Summer-birds on Bar- ham Downs, 719. Barton, STEPHEN. Clytus 4-punctatus near Bristol, 476. Bares, HEnry WatTER. Habits of Coleoptera, 410; Epaphius Secalis, 476 ; Ocys melanocephalus, 476; Hylesinus Fraxini, 610; Va- riety of Pamphila linea, 683 ; Clear- winged Sphingide near Leicester, 683 ; Conops flavipes, 688 ; Coleop- tera in Leicestershire, 699. BEDELL, Geo. Lepidopterous insects at Charlton, 735. BELL, R. J. Late stay of the swallow, 565; Snow- bunting at Derby,569; Red-throated diver near Derby, 576; Summer birds near Derby, 652. BELL, Tuos., F.R.S., F.L.S. British specimens of the edible frog, 727. BenTLEY, Wo. Description of Pseudotomia Artemi- sie, 774. Biapon, JAMEs. Change of colour in a fowl, 726; Kittiwake near Pontypool, 727; Sin- gularapplication of a spider’s thread, 728. Bop, Tuos. Joun. Honey-buzzard, 562 ; Habits of a pi- geon, 659; Acarus found on a moth, 680. Bonpb, FREDERICK. Edible frog in Cambridgeshire, 393 ; Colias Edusa and Hyale, 397; An- thus petrosus, 447; Kestril hawk, 491; Summer birds at Kingsbury, 650; Missel thrushes, 656; Hen changing her colour, 667; On the edible frog, 677; Rare waders at Kingsbury reservoir, 767. Bootn, Mark. Osprey, é&c., near the Swale, in York- shire, 443. BowErBANK, J.S., F.R.S., F.G.S. Halisarca Dujardinii, 750. BreE, Rev. W. T., M.A., F.L.S. Colias Edusa, var. Helice, 472; Cap- ture of moths by sugar, 736 ; Toads in stone, 769. Brices, J. J. Migration of birds in Derbyshire, 440 ; Seeds sown by animals, 442; Song of birds, 442; Wood wren, 451 ; British birds in Derbyshire, 553, Vil 644; Anecdote of a fox, 614; Badger near Melbourne, 615; On the Foumart, 615; Hunting the squirrel, 616; Summer birds at Melbourne, 652; Carrion crow, 656; On the rook, 656; Redwings and fieldfares, 656; Song thrush, 657 ; Skylark, 657; Tree pipit, 658; On the otter, 714; On the stoat, 714 ; Habits of the hedgehog, 714; De- parture of the redwing and fieldfare from Melbourne, 724; On the star- ling, 724. BromriE.p, W. A., M.D., F.LS. Colias Edusa, 397. Brooks, JouHn THomas. Passerine owl, 563. Brown, Wo. Black-headed gull, 455. BuckLER, CHARLES. Red-breasted Tanager near Chelten- ham, 444. Bui, HEnry. Early arrival of the fieldfare near Go- dalming, 724. Buruinenam, D. C. Grey shrike at Lynn, 444; Spoonbill at Lynn, 455. Bury, Rev. C. A., B.A. Notes on the birds of the Isle of Wight, 516, 634 ; Summer birds at Bonchurch, 649; Remarks on Wa- terton’s Essay on the oil-gland, 751 ; Mammalia of the Isle of Wight, 776. CHANT, J. Annual change of plumage in a gull, 768. CHENNELL, F. A. Carnivorous propensity of snails, 396; Crested grebe in Middlesex, 502; Food of the tadpole of the common frog, 579; Late departure of the swift, 762. Cure, Henry F. Swallows’ course over the Atlantic, 565; On the Cape pigeon, 579. CuirrorD, Rev. FRANK. Greater tit, 449; Rose-coloured pas- tor at Thetford, 452. CorNisH, J AMES. Habits of the wagtail, 566. Coucnu, JonaTHAN, F.L.S. Description of the short sea-bream, 393; Description of Natica intricata, THAW Coucn, R. Q., M.R.C.S.L. Purpura lapillus, 533; Food of the tad- pole, 676; Nidification of fishes, 795. DaLMANn, Geo. J. Long abstinence in a beetle, 612. Dawson, Rev. J. F., M.A. Dovecot pigeon, 453; Colias Edusa in the Isle of Wight, 471 ; Note on Pontia Metra, 681, 729. Dove tas, J. W. Capturing moths with sugar, 399; Captures of Lepidoptera, 484; Ge- nus Cerura, 540; Captures in the New Forest and Darenth Wood, 686; Ichneumon’s eggs on cater- pillars, 749. DovuBLeEpay, Epwarp, F.LS. Lepidopterous insects, 468. DovuBLepay, HENRY. Colias Hyale, 398; Brepha Parthe- nias and Notha, 399; Orthosia lu- nosa, 399; ‘Triphena subsequa, 399 ; Observation on the greater tit, 574 ; Anticlea berberata at Epping, 581; Summer birds at Epping, 651. Duncan, Rosert Dick. Swallow, 447; Rhymes relating to birds, 556 ; Owls building in trees, 563 ; Colour of the heron’s egg, 575 ; Glowworm in Scotland, 612; Birds and birds’ nests, 647; Anec- dotes of foxes, 790; Cat’s nest in a tree, 791. EpLeEsTon, R. S. Effects of rain on pups, and captures near Manchester, 399; Lasiocampa Trifolii and Agrotis annexa, 683 ; Mamestra suasa, 683; Nyssia zo- naria, 683; Captures in Dunham Park, 684; Lycena Phleas, 734; Mamestra suasa, 734; Lepidopterous insects near Manchester, 734 ; Dei- lephila lineata, 736. EpmonsTon, THomas. Fauna of Shetland, 459, 551; Vora- city of Dytiscus marginalis, 701. Farr, Henry F. Colias Edusa at Yarmouth, 540; Spe- cies of Agrotis, 687; Capture of a female of Lithosia muscerda, 774. Fisher, Wm. R. Migration of birds at Yarmouth, 441; Fire-crested Regulus at Yarmouth, 451; Migration of larks, 452; Ful- mar Petrels, 456; Goshawk off Yarmouth, 491; Iceland gull at Yarmouth, 502; Nomenclature of British birds, 552; Capture of a sturgeon, 580; Departure of winter birds from Yarmouth, 654; Breed- ing of birds at Yarmouth, 654 ; Mi- gration of the kingfisher, 766 ; Mi- gration of the water-rail, 766; Ducks nesting in trees, 767 ; On the honey buzzard, 793 ; Occurrence of Richardson’s skua in Great Yar- mouth, 75. Force, Cuas. Hedge-sparrow’s nest, 655. Frere, H. T. On the water-rail, 794. Gaze, W. Capture of Lepidopterous insects in Suffolk, 400; Captures of Lepidop- tera near Sudbury in 1843, 485 ; Lepidoptera bred from larve, 486 ; Coleoptera near Sudbury, 486. GrBson, G. 8. Enquiry respecting Pontia Brassice, and Chariclea, 581. Gorpon, Rev. GEorGE. Fauna of Moray, 421, 502, 551; On the scarcity of wasps in 1843, 474 ; Summer birds at Elgin, 653. GossE, P. H. Thyridopteryx Ephemereformis, 537 ; Dirt daubers, 582; Description of a bee tree, 607; Voyage up the Alabama river, 703. GREENWOOD, ALFRED. Nest of greater titmouse, 447; Plu- mage of black redstart, 449 ; Food of the ringdove, 454; Enquiry re- specting an owl’s nest, 492 ; Hoopoe in Cornwall, 659 ; Capture of Colias Edusa, 729. Grecson, C.S. Captures of moths at New Brighton, 684 ; Capturing moths with sugar, 800. GRreEVILLE, R. N. Coleoptera at Stirling, 698. Gurney, J. H. Honey Buzzard, 491; Tadpole fish on the coast of Norfolk, 532; Red- crested whistling duck in Norfolk, 576; Nest of the long-horned owl, 655; Opah, or king-fish, on the coast of Norfolk, 679, 769. GuRNEY, SAMUEL. Early arrival of the swallow, 565. Haroine, H. T. Abstinence in a snail, 800. Harpy, JAMES. Habit of the grey wagtail, 568. Harey, JAMEs. Blackcap in winter, 450; Summer birds at Leicester, 652; Enquiry respecting the wild duck, 668. (This, by an oversight, bears the name of Hardy.) 1X Harrison, J. B. Eggs of Orgyia Antiqua, 683. Hasziam, S. H. Common wren, 564. Heatucote, W. P. Birds of prey near Winchester, 490 ; On rearing the death’s head hawk moth, 540; Capturing male empe- ror moths, 540. HepBurn, ARCHIBALD. Enquiries in practical entomology, 482; Nestand eggs of the blackbird, 493; Nest and eggs of a hedge- chanter, 493; Habits of the chaf- finch, 570. HEPPENSTALL, JOHN. Pied flycatcher, 452; Tame pigeons perching in trees, 453; Merlin hawk, 491; Summer birds near Sheffield, 653; Great grey shrike, 656; On a woodcock, 667. HopGKkINson, JAMEs B. Enquiry respecting Polyommatus Ar- taxerxes, 682; Captures of Lepi- dopterous insects at Preston, 685. Home, F. Mutilated humble-bees, 475; Beetles inhabiting ants’ nests, 475; Glow- worm, 475; Bombardier beetle, 475; Anecdote of rooks, 574; Apate capucinus, Aphodius rufescens, 612 ; Water beetle, 612; Large viper found in Devonshire, 768; Occur- rence of the boar-fish on the coast of Cornwall, 769; Hooting of the barn owl, 794; Roller in Cornwall, 794. Hore, Rev. W. S., M.A., F.L.S. Colias Edusa, 484; Black redstart, 495; Richard’s pipit, 496; Correc- tion of an error respecting Accentor alpinus, 566 ; Night heron in Corn- wall, 575. Hussry, Rev. Arruur, M.A. Missel thrush, 565; Singular noise made by a sparrow, 574; Anecdote of a partridge, 574; Water-rail, 575 ; Food of the snipe tribe, 576 ; Use of oil from glands in birds, 648 ; Arrival of the swallow, 650. Hurcuinson, Matrruew. Summer birds at Shooter’s Hill, 720. JERDON, ARCHIBALD. Dipper, 450; Song of the missel thrush, 492; Song thrush, 493 ; On the siskin, 496 ; Application of ornithology to agriculture, 561 ; Dispersion of seeds by birds, 56] ; Wagtails, 764. JOHNSON, HENRY. Preservation of colour in dried fishes, 199. Jorpan, R. C. R. Colias Edusa, 396; Polyommati in South Devon, 398 ; Luminous pro- perty of male glowworm, 413; Black redstart, 494 ; Substitute for spirits of wine, 6135; Sarrothripus Tlicanus, 688. Knox, A. E., M.A. Birds of Sussex, 430; Nudity of throat, &c. in adult rook, 628. Lewis, Rev. W.S. Habit of the wasp and hornet, 748. Liguton, THomas. Colias Edusa, 397; Mancipium Da- plidice and Argynnis Lathonia, 398; Captures of Lepidopterous insects, 400; Bombardier beetle, 413. Loneiey, Henry. Nonagria crassicornis, 581. Luxrorp, G., A.L.S. Hunting spider, 680. MawnseEut1, T. Osprey at Farnham, 443; Ring ouzel at Farnham, 444; Stilt plover in New South Wales, 454; Scoter near Farnham, 455. MarsHaLt, THos. Variety of Hipparchia Galathea, 471 ; May, JosrepuH. Australian hymenopterous insect, 749. Morris, Beverty R., A.B., M.D. Spawning of trout, 580; Cat catching eels, 614; Breeding of the grey parrot in England, 725. Morris, Rev. F. Orpen, B.A. Unusual snow-storm, 416. Morris, Joun, (Wimeswold). Club-footed canaries, 726. Morris, Joun, (Kensington). Duval’s Terebratula, 769. Mostey, Str Oswap, Bart., F.LS. Remarks on the stoat and weasel, 488 ; Quadrupeds formerly existing in Great Britain, 710; Otter breeding on the banks of the Trent, 775. Newman, Epwarp, F.LS., Z.S. Colias Edusa, 397; Triphena Cur- tisii, 399; Description of Ancho- menus picticornis, 414; Description of Hermerius impar, 415; A word on nomenclature, 456 ; Toxotus ru- gipennis, 476; Callidium rubeo- colle, 477; Nomenclature of Bri- tish birds, 553 ; Two-toed sloth, 616; Toads found in Stone, 677; Duval’s fossil Terebratula, 679; Enquiry respecting Colias Edusa and C., Hyale, 682; New British butterfly, 682; Capturing insects with sugar, 688; Cave in Westmoreland, 709 ; Spines of the young hedgehog, 715; New British butterfly, Erebia Me- lampus, 729. NEwTON, ALFRED. Sea-eagle at Elden, 448; Summer birds at Elvedon, 651; Nidification of birds at Elden, 722, 768; Black grouse at Elvedon, 794. Norman, G. Death’s head hawk moth, 398; Rough- legged buzzard at Hull, 491; Sum- mer birds at Hull, 653, Norman, J. S. Captures of Coleopterous insects, 413. Owston, F. . Song-thrush nursing a missel thrush, 444. Patterson, Rozert, V. P. Nat. Hist. Soc. Belfast. Reptiles mentioned in Shakspeare’s Plays, 385. PracHEY, WILLIAM. Summer birds near Petworth, 650; Battle between a kestril and a mag- pie, 655 ; Anecdote of a pheasant, 667. Puant, J. Variety of the large cabbage butterfly, 471; Formica rufa, 473; Coleop- tera affecting meadow lands, 475. Poor, JosEPH. On the grey crow, 723; Greater tit, 726; Colias Edusa in Ireland, 728. RasH teienu, H. B. Death’s head moth, 473. Ricwarpson, FRANcis. Colias Edusa, 397; Development of ~ moths by heat, 736. Ropp, E. H. Great northern diver, 795. Rupp, T. S. Rare fishes at Redcar, 395 ; Migration of birds at Redcar, 440. Saunt, M. Grub which attacks wheat, 688. SCLATER, Ps Vi On the water-rail, 669. SHEPHERD, HENRY. Colias Edusa at Winchester, 728. SHERWwooD, Wm. Locust in Yorkshire, 477. Sircom, JoHN. Polyommatus Agestis, 773. SLapEN, Epwarp H. M. Anecdote of the starling, 761 ; Migra- tion of the swallow, 762; Golden oriole in Kent, 762; Waxen chat- terer in Sussex, 762; Martin, 763; Grey wagtail, 763 ; ; Hoopoe i in Kent, 765. Staney, W. H. On the moorhen, 667; Habits of the hedgehog, 715; Singular death of two canaries, 764. SmitH, FREDERICK. - Osmia bicolor and tunensis, 405 ; Eco- nomic habits of ants, 405; Humble bees without wings, 407; Descrip- tions of new bees, 408; British humble bees, 541; British wasp bees, 587; Osmia tunensis and O. bicolor, 609 ; Leaf-cutter bees, 689 ; Hymenopterous insects at Wey- bridge, 697 ; Pissodes Pini at Wey- bridge, 702; Philanthus triangu- lum, 736; Description of the British mason bees, 737. Spencer, J. B. Capture of great grey shrike, 761. Spicer, J. W.G. Anecdote of a young partridge, 575. Flies found dead on hemlock, 582; Dispersion of seeds by birds, 649 ; Battle between two kestrils, 654 ; Terrier poisoned by vermin infesting a rat, 714; Cat hunting like a dog, 714. STEPHENS, J. F., F.LS., Z.S. Yponomeuta sedella, 687. STEVENS, SAMUEL. Capture of Lepidopterous insects at Charlton, 687 ; Capture of Coleop- terous insects by night, 700; Den- drophilus Cooperi at Hammersmith, 701; Capture of insects at Plum- stead, 749; Capture of insects at Charlton, 749. Tuomas, W. H. Habits of the wryneck, 433. Tuomas, F. Montagu’ s snipe and the roseate tern, 454. XI THompson, W. Echinodermata at Ramsgate, 415. TuHurnat., C. Stoat tamed, 615. TRATHAN, JAMES J. Pied wagtail, 452. Tuke, James H. Nest of the lung-horned owl, 562. Tuxe, Witt1amM Murray. Early incubation of the robin, 566. Turner, Rev. Wituram, M.A. Helix hybrida, 395; Habits of the hedgehog, 750; Rarity of the swift at Uppingham, 762; Ringdove’s nest with three eggs, 766; Para- sitism of Scopula prunalis, 774. WaLMESLEY, VIVIAN. Water shrew, 428 ; Correction of re- marks on the reed bunting, 568. WatTeERHOusSE, G. R. Habits of Osmia atricapilla, 403 ; Bones of enormous birds in New Zealand, 454. Wayne, W. H. On fieldfares, 724 ; On the Swift, 725 ; WEavVER, RicHarD. Capture of Cordulia alpestris, 750. WesstTEr, THOMAS. Fishes infested by insect parasites, 7o0. Westwoop, Joun O., F.L.S. Serropalpus in Leicestershire, 701. Wi.tmotT, J. P Honey buzzards breeding in England, 437. WINTER, J. Colias Edusa at Winchester, 728. Wo taston, T. Vernon, B.A. Capture of Curculionide in Surrey, 412 ; Coleoptera in Gloucestershire, 477; Coleoptera near Cambridge, 612; Omias sulcirostris, 702; Lo- cality for Cossonus Tardii, 702 ; Capture of Lebia Crux-minor, 750 ; Habits of Cossonus Tardii, 775. ALPHABETICAL LIST OF SUBJECTS. Abstinence in a beetle, 612; in a snail, 800. Acarus found on a moth, 680. Accentor, alpine in Devonshire, 566. Acherontia Atropos, 473, 540. Agriculture, ornithology applicable to, 561. Agrotis, species of, 687 ; annexa, 683. Alabama river, 703. Alpine Accentor in Devonshire, 566. Andrena argentata, description of, 409. Anchomenus picticornis, description of, 414. Animals, seeds sown by, 442. Anthus petrosus at Kingsbury, 447. Anticlea berberata at Epping, 581. Ants, habits of, 405 ; nests, beetles inha- biting, 475. Apate capucinus in Kensington Gardens, 612. Aphodius rufescens, variableness of, 612. Argynnis Lathonia near Exeter, 398. Badger near Melbourne, 615. Bat, torpidity in a, 613. Barn-owl, hooting of, 794. Bee, economy of, 748. Bee-tree, description of, 607.. Bees, humble, notes on the British, 541 ; leaf-cutter, description of the Bri- tish, 689 ; mason, description of the British, 737; wasp, descriptions of the British, 587; and laurel trees, 609. Beetle, long abstinence of, 612; Bom- bardier, 475; beetles inhabiting ants’ nests, 475. Birds of Sussex, 430; migration of at Redcar, 440 ; migration of in Der- byshire, 440; migration of at Yar- mouth, 441; songsof,442; enormous bones of, found in New Zealand, 454; summer, arrival of near Twi- zell House, 456; of prey in the parish of Hursley, near Winchester, 490; in Isle of Wight, 516, 634. nomenclature of British, 552, 553 ; rare British in Derbyshire, 553, 644 ; Rhymes relating to, 556; seeds sown by, 561, 649 ; instinct in web- footed, 578; and birds’ nests, 647 ; arrival of migratory at Bonchurch, Isle of Wight, 649; at Northcha- pel, near Petworth, 650; at Kings- bury, Middlesex, 650; at Layton, Essex, 651; at Epping, 651; at Elvedon, 651; at Leicester, 652; near Derby, 652; at Melbourne, Derbyshire, 652; at Sheffield, 653 ; at Hull, 653; at Elgin, 653; de- parture of winter from Yarmouth, 654; breeding of some, resident and migratory, 654 ; Arrival of sum- mer on Barham Downs, 719; at Pilling, 720; on Shooter’s Hill, 720; Nidification of at Elden, 722, 768 ; Canary, singular death of, 764; Black-headed gull, 455, 577. Black redstart, 449, 494, 495. Black rat, 616. Blackbird, nest and eggs of, 493. Blackcap, correction respecting, 450. Boar-fish on the coast of Cornwall, 769. Bombardier beetle, habits-of, 413, 475. Bombus, notes on the British species, 541. Bones of enormous birds found in New Zealand, 454. Branchie in the imago. of Pteronarcys regalis, 478. Bream, short sea, description of, 393. Brepha Parthenias and Notha, 399. British Association, 792. Bullfinch breeding in confinement, 453. Bunting, reed, correction respecting, 568 ; snow at Derby, 569. Butterfly, cabbage, variety of, 471 ; new British, 682, 727. Buzzard, honey, nesting of, 437; plumage of, 491, 562; rough-legged at Hull, 491. Callidium rubeocolle, 477. Canary birds, club-footed, 726; singular death of, 764. Cape pigeon, 579. Captures at Manchester, 399; with sugar, 399 ; of Lepidopterous insects, 400; in Suffolk, 400; of Curculionide in Surrey, 412 ; of Coleoptera in Hei- nault Forest, 413; of Echinoder- mata at Ramsgate, 415; of Clytus 4-punctatus, 476; of Coleoptera in Gloucestershire, 477; of Lepidop- tera, 484; of Lepidoptera near Sud- bury, 485 ; of Coleoptera near Sud- bury, 486; of emperor moth, 540; of British birds in Derbyshire, 553 ; of sturgeon near Great Yarmouth, 580; of Anticlea berberata at Ep- Xl ping, 581; of Apate capucinus, 612; of Coleoptera near Cambridge, 612; of red-legged falcon, 654 ; of Tro- chilium Ichneumoniforme, 683 ; of Lasciocampa 'Trifolii, 683, 734 ; of Agrotis annexa, 683; of Mamestra suasa, 683 ; of Nyssia zonaria, 684 ; in Dunham park, 684 ; of moths at New Brighton, 684 ; of Lepidopte- rous insects at Preston, 685; of Lepidopterous insects at New Fo- rest and Darenth Wood, 686; of Lepidopterous insects at Charlton, 687 ; of Yponomeuta sedella, 687 ; of Sarrothripus ilicanus, 688; of Hymenopterous insects at Wey- bridge, 697 ; of Coleoptera at Stir- ling, 698 ; of Coleoptera in Leices- tershire, 699; of Coleopterous in- sects by night, 700; of Dendrophilus Cooperi at Hammersmith, 701; of Omias sulcirostris, 702 ; of Pissodes Pini at Weybridge, 702; of Ma- mestra suasa, 734; of Lepidopte- rous insects near Manchester, 734 ; of Lepidopterous insects at Charlton sandpit, 735 ; of Deilephila lineata, 736; of moths by means of sugar, 736, 800; of Philanthus triangulum, 736 ; of Coleopterous insects at Plumstead, 749; at Charlton, 749; of Lebia crux-minor, 750; of Cor- dulia alpestris, 750; of great grey shrike, 761; of Lithosia muscerda at Horning, 774. Carrion crow, food of, 656. Cat catching eels, 614; hunting like a dog, 714; nesting in a tree, 791. Caterpillar of Tenthredo, 609. Cave in Westmoreland, 709. Chaflinch, habits of in East Lothian, 570. Chatterer, waxen, in Sussex, 762. Cerura, note on the genus, 540. Clytus 4-punctatus, 476. Coleopterous insects, habits of, 410; af- fecting meadow lands, 475. Colias Edusa at Teignmouth, 396; at Sid- mouth, 397; in Northamptonshire, 397; in the Isle of Wight, 397, 471; -at Forest Hill, 397; var. Helice, 472; near Devonport, 484; at Yar- mouth, 540; enquiry respecting, 682; at Winchester, 728; in Ire- land, 728; near Bromfield, 729. Colias Hyale at Epping, 398. Conops flavipes, 688. Cordulia alpestris in Scotland, 750. Cossonus Tardii in Devonshire, 702; ha- bits of, 775. Crested grebe in Middlesex, 502. Crow, carrion, food of, 656 ; grey, 723. Ctenicerus metallicus, habits of, 411. Cuckoo kept in confinement through the winter, 655. Dabchick, habits of, 499, 767. Death’s head hawk moth, 398, 473, 540. Deilephila lineata, capture of, 736. Dendrophilus Cooperi at Hammersmith, 701. Descriptions of short sea bream, 393; of Andrena argentata, 409; of No- mada baccata, 409; of Anchome- nus picticornis, 414; of Hermerius impar, 415; of Toxotus rugipennis, 476; of Callidium rubeocolle, 477 ; of the British wasp bees (Nomada), 587; of a bee tree, 607; of Ypono- meuta sedella, 687; of the British leaf-cutter bees (Megachile), 689 ; of Erebia melampus, 729; of the British mason bees (Osmia), 737 ; Pseudotomia Artemisie, 774. Dipper, notes on, 450. Dirt daubers, habits of, 582. Diver, northern, change of plumage in, 455 ; occurrence at Penzance, 795; red-throated near Derby, 576. Ducks nesting in trees, 767. Duck, prolific, 727; red-crested whistling in Norfolk, 576; wild, enquiry re- specting, 669. Dytiscus marginalis, voracity of, 701. Eagle, sea at Elden, 443. Echinodermata at Ramsgate, 415. Edible frog in Cambridgeshire, 393, 467, 677, 727. Eels caught by a cat, 614. Eggs, Guinea hen’s, in a partridge’s nest, 454; heron’s, correction respecting, 575; Ichneumon’s, on caterpillars, 749. Emperor moth, mode of capture, 540. Entomology, enquiries in practical, 482. Epaphius secalis, 476. Erebia Melampus, description of, 729. Falcon, red-legged, capture of, 654. Fauna of Moray, 421, 502, 551; of Shet- land, 459, 551. Fieldfare, 656; late departure of, 724; early arrival of, 724; note on, 724. Fishes, rare British at Redcar, 395; in the Tweed, 468; notes on, 524; nidification of, 795 ; preservation of colour in dried, 799; infested by parasites, 799. Flies found dead on hemlock, 582. Fly catcher, pied, 452. Food of the svipe tribe, 576; of the tad- pole, 579, 676. X1V Forked-beard, lesser, on the coast of Nor- folk, 532. Formica rufa, 473. Fossil sloths, 417. Foumart, note on, 615. Fox, anecdote of, 614, 790. Frog, edible, in Cambridgeshire, 393, 467, 677, 727; shower of, at Selby, 677. Fulmar petrels near Yarmouth, 456. Glowworm, male, luminous property of, 413; note on, 475; in Scotland, 612. Goatsucker, note on, 445. Golden oriole in Kent, 762. Gordius aquaticus, 396. Goshawk near Yarmouth, 491. Grebe, crested in Middlesex, 502; red- necked, near Derby, 576. Grey crow, 723. Grey shrike at Lynn, 444; at Hitchin, 656; at Blackheath, 761. Grouse, black, at Elvedon, 794. Grub which attacks wheat, 688. Guinea-hen’s eggs in a partridge’s nest, 454. Guil, black-headed, 455; habits of, 577 ; change of plumage in, 768; Ice- land, at Yarmouth, 502. Habits of Osmia atricapilla, 403 ; Osmia bicolor and O. tunensis, 403, 609; of ants, 405, 409; of Coleoptera, 410; of Hylobius Abietis, 410; of Ctenicerus metallicus, 411; of Bom- bardier beetle, 413, 475; of wry- neck, 433; stoat and weasel, 488 ; of moorhen, 497, 667, 756, 767; of dabchick, 499, 767; of salmon and eels, 524; of missel thrush, 565; of wagtail, 566; of grey wagtail, 568 ; of the hawfinch, 569, 659; of the chaffinch, 570; of water-rail, 575, 669, 766, 794; of the black- headed oull, 574s ofs the dirt. daubers, 582 ; of Hylesinus Fraxini, 610; of water-beetle, 612; of red- wings and fieldfares, 656 ; of a pigeon, 659; of the ringdove, 660 ; of Miscophns bicolor, 697; of the hedgehog, 714, 715, 750, 791; of stoat, 714; of grey crow, 723; of the greater tit, 726; of wasp and hornet, 748 ; of Cossonus Tard, 775. Halisarcea Dujardinii, 750. Hare, anecdote of, 420. Hawfinch, habits of, 562, 659. Hawk, Merlin, 491; kestril, 491; and weasel, battle between, 723. Hawk-moth, death’s head, 398, 473, 540. Hedge sparrow, nest and egg of, 493 ; nest of, 658. Hedgehog, habits of, 714, 715, 750, 791; spines of, 715. Helix hybrida, 395. Hen changing the colour of her plumage, 667, 726. Hermerius impar, 414. Heron, night, in Cornwall, 575; ege, correction respecting, 575. Hipparchia Galathea, variety of, 471. Honey-buzzard, nesting of, 437; rearing its young in Britain, 562 ; plumage of, 793. Hoopoe nesting in Surrey, 564 ; occurring in Cornwall, 659 ; in Kent, 765. Humble bees without wings, 407, 475; notes on the British, 541. Hunting spider, anecdote of, 680. Hylesinus Fraxini, habits of, 610. Hylobius Abietis, habits of, 410. Iceland gull near Yarmouth, 502. Ichneumon’s eggs on caterpillars, 749. Instinct in web-footed birds, 578. Insect, Australian Hymenopterous, 749. Kent, birds of, 718. Kestril hawk, 491; battle between two, 654; and magpie, battle between,655. King fish on the coast of Norfolk, 679. Kingfisher, migration of, 766. Kittiwake near Pont-y-pool, 727. Larks, migration of, at Yarmouth, 452; remarks on, 657. Lasciocampa Trifolii, capture of, 683. Lebia crux-minor, 750. Lepidoptera bred from larve, 486. Lithosia muscerda, capture of, 774. Locusts in Yorkshire, 477 ; in India, 486. Luminous property of male glowworm, 413 Lycena Phleas, var. of, 734. Mamestra suasa, 683, 734. Mammalia of Isle of Wight, 776. Mancipium Daplidice near Exeter, 398. Martin, nesting of, 763. Mason bees, description of the British species, 737. Megachile, descriptions of the British species, 689. Merlin hawk, 491. Microscopical Society, proceedings of, 447, 487, 536, 580. Migration, see birds and fishes. Miscophus bicolor, habits of, 697. Missel thrush, anecdote of, 444; song of, 492; habits of, 565; nesting of, 656. Moa, gigantic bird of New Zealand, 667. Moorhen, habits of, 497, 667, 756, 767. XV Moray, fauna of, 421, 502, 155. Moths, male emperor, captured by means of a female, 540 ; captured by sugar, 736, 800; developed by heat, 736. Mylodon robustus, 417. Natica intricata compared with Natica glaucina, 770. Naturalists’ note books, 486. Nesting of honey buzzard, 437. Nest of greater titmouse, 447; of long- horned owl in trees, 562, 563, 655 ; of a robin in a watering-pot, 566; of a swallow, curious locality for, 657; of a hedge-sparrow, 658; of a wag¢tail, singular locality for, 726; of 3 ringdove having three eggs, 766. Nidification of swans, 669; of birds at Elden, 722, 768; of martins, 763. Night heron in Cornwall, 575. Night-hawk, note on, 445. Nomada baccata, 409; description of the British species, 587. Nomenclature, a word on, 456; of British birds, 552, 553. Nonagria crassicornis, 581. Northern diver, change of plumagein, 455. Note books, naturalists’, 486. Nyssia Zonaria, 684. Ocys melanocephalus, 476. Oil from glands used by birds to lubricate their plumage, 648. Oil-gland, Waterton’s Essay on, 674 ; re- marks on Waterton’s Essay, 751. Omias sulcirostris, capture of, 702. Opah on the coast of Norfolk, 679, 769. Orgyia antiqua, hatching of the eggs of, 683. Oriole, golden, in Kent, 762. Ornithology applicable to agriculture, 561; of Kent, 617, 718. Orthosia lunosa, 399. Osmia, descriptions of the British species, 737 5 atricapilla, 403, 405; bicolor, 405, 609 ; tunensis, 405, 609. Osprey at Farnham, 443; in Yorkshire, 443. Otter,. note on, 714; breeding on the banks of the Trent, 775. Ouzel, ring near Farnham, 444. Owl, long-horned, nesting in trees, 562, 563, 655 ; enquiry respecting a nest of, 492; passerine, 563; little Italian 673; barn, hooting of, 794. Pagellus curtus, description of, 393. Pamphila linea, variety of, 683. Parrot, grey, breeding in England, 725. Partridge, anecdote of, 574, 575. Passerine ow], 563. Pastor, rose-coloured, at Thetford, 452. Petrel Fulmar near Yarmouth, 436. Pheasant, anecdote of, 667. Philanthus triangulum atWeybridge, 736. Pied flycatcher, 452. Pied wagtail, correction respecting, 452. Pigeon, Cape, 579; dovecot, anecdote of, 453; tame, perching in trees, 453 ; habits of a, 659. Pipit, Richard’s, near Devonport, 496; tree, remark on, 658. Pissodes Pini, at Weybridge, 702. Plover, stilt, in New South Wales, 454. Plumage, change of, in divers, 455 ; changed by fright, 565; changed periodically in a hen, 667 ; changed in a domestic fowl, 726; annual change in a gull, 768. Polyommati in South Devon, 398. Polyommatus agestis, 682, 773 ; Artaxer- xes, enquiry respecting, 682. Pontia Brassice, var. of, 471; enquiry respecting, 581 , Metra, 681, 729. Pseudotomia Artemisia, 774. Pteronarcys regalis, branchie in, 478. Pupz, effects of rain on them, 399. Purpura capillus, development of, 533. Rail, water, habits of, 575, 669. Rain, effects of, on pupe, 399. Raniceps trifurcatus on the coast of Nor- folk, 532. Rat, black, 616. Red-crested whistling duck in Norfolk, 576. Red-necked grebe near Derby, 576. Red-throated diver, 576. Red-legged falcon near Selby, 654. Redstart, black, change of plumage in, 449; near Teignmouth, 494 ; near Devonport, 495. Redwing, habits of, 656; migration of, 724. Reed bunting, correction respecting, 568. Regulus, fire-crested, at Yarmouth, 451. Reptiles mentioned in Shakspeare’s Play, 385. Rhymes relating to birds. 556. Richard’s pipit near Devonport, 496; error respecting, 556. Ringdove, food of, 454; habits of, 660; nest with three eggs, 766. Ring-ouzel near Farnham, 444. Robin nesting in a watering-pot, 566 ; early incubation of, 566. Roller in Cornwall, 794. Rooks, anecdote of, 574; cause of the nudity of the throat, and absence of nasal bristles, 628 ; habits of, 656. Rose-coloured pastor at Thetford, 452. XV1 Salmon, ova and fry of, 678. Sarrothripus Ilicanus, 688. Scopula prunalis, 774. Scoter near Farnham, 455. Sea-bream, short description of, 393. Sea-eagle at Elden, 443. Seeds sown by animals, 442; by birds, 561, 649. Serropalpus in Leicestershire, 701. Shells, notice of catalogue of, 537. Shetland, fauna of, 459, 551. Shrew, water, in Westwood park, 428. Shrike, grey, at Lynn, 444; near Hitchin, 656; at Blackheath, 761. Siskin in Scotland, 496. Skua, Richardson’s, at Yarmouth, 795. Skylark, remarks on, 657. Sloths, fossil, 417 ; two-toed, 616. Snails, carnivorous propensity of, 396; abstinence in, 800. Snipe, Montague’s, enquiry respecting, 454 ; tribe, food of, 576. Snow bunting at Derby, 569. Snow-storm, remarkable, 416. Songs of birds, 442. Song-thrush, anecdote of, 444 ; migration of, 493, 657. Sparrow, singular noise made by, 452, 574 ; hedge, nest of, 658. Spawning of trout, 580. Sphingide, clear-winged, near Leicester, 683. Spider, hunting, anecdote of, 680; sin- gular application of thread of a,728. Spirits of wine, substitute for, 613. Spoonbill at Lynn, 455. Squirrel, hunting the, 616. Starling, 724; anecdote of, 761. Stilt plover in New South Wales, 454. Stoat, habits of, 488, 714; keen scent of, 490 ; anecdote of, 615. Sturgeon at Great Yarmouth, 580. Substitute for spirits of wine in preserving specimens, 613. Sugar, capturing insects with, 688. Sussex, birds of, 430. Swallow, nesting places of, 446 ; note on, 447; early arrival of, 565; late occurrence of, 565 ; course over the Atlantic, 565; enquiry respecting, 650; migration of, 762. Swan dying, 674 ; nidification of, 669. Swift, 725; late departure of, 762; at Uppingham, rarity of, 762. Sylviade, new genus of, 496. Tadpole, food of, 579 , 676. Tadpole fish on coast of Norfolk, 532. Tanager, red-breasted, at Cheltenham, 444, Tenthredo, caterpillar of, 609. Terebratula, Duval’s fossil, 679, 769. Tern, roseate, enquiry respecting, 454. Terrier poisoned by vermin infesting a rat, 714. Thrush, missel, anecdote of, 444; song of, 492; habits of, 565; nesting of, 6565; song, anecdote of, 444; mi- gration of, 493, 657. Thyridopteryx Ephemereformis, habits of, 537. Tipulide in winter. 402. Titmouse, greater, nest of, 447; note on, 449; habits of, 726. ‘ Toads found in stone, 677, 769. Torpidity in a bat, 613. Toxotus rugipennis, 476. Tree pipit, remarks on, 658. Triphena Curtisii, 399 ; subsequa, 399. Trochilium Ichneumoniforme, capture of, 683. Trout, spawning of, 580. Viper in Devonshire, 768. Voyage up the Alabama river, 703. Waders, rare, at Kingsbury reservoir, 767. Wagtail, pied, correction concerning, 452; habits of, 566; habits of grey, 568 ; singular locality for a nest of, 726 ; grey, migration of, 763; habits of, 764, Wasps, scarcity of, 474 ; remarkable habit of, 748. Wasp bees, description of the British, 587. Water beetle, habits of, 612. Water-rail, habits of, 575, 669 ; migration of, 766; habits of, 766, 794. Water-shrew in Westwood park, 428. Waterton’s Essays, notice of, 671. Waxen chatterer in Sussex, 762. Weasel, habits of, 488. Wight, Birds of Isle of, 516, 634; mam- malia of Isle of, 776. Wild duck, enquiry respecting, 669. | Woodcock, half-grown, 667. Wood-wren, peculiarities of, 451. Wren, wood, 451; common, anecdote of, 564. Wryneck, habits of, 433 ; note on, 449. Yponomeuta sedella, 627. Reptiles. 385 Notes upon the Reptiles mentioned in Shakspeare’s Plays. By Rosert Patterson, Esq., V.P. Nat. Hist. Soc. Belfast. (Continued from page 320). TuHE fact that the tongue of the serpent is bifid for about the one- third of its length, was a phenomenon too striking to have escaped “the poet’s eye.” Hence such phrases as “adder’s fork,” “ forked tongue,” &c., are of frequent occurrence. But although Lear makes use of the expression— “struck me with her tongue Most serpent-like, upon the very heart,” there is no reason to suppose that Shakspeare attributed to the tongue the poisonous property. On the contrary, it is distinctly referred to the “tooth,” or poison-fangs. Thus Macbeth says, in one of the in- terviews with his lady — ““ We have scotched the snake, not killed it ; She’ll close and be herself; whilst our poor malice Remains in danger of her former tooth.” Act iii. Scene iii. Thus also we find in King Henry the Sixth,— “* Whose tongue more poisons than the adder’s tooth.” 3rd Part, Act i. Scene iv. And we notice that Lear concludes his harrowing imprecations against Goneril with the words— “ that she may feel How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is To have a thankless child.” Act i. Scene iv. To enter into any description of the exquisite contrivance evinced in the mechanism of the adder’s fang, would be out of place in a pa- per such as the present. It furnishes one of the countless examples of that nice adaptation of means to an end, which in every kingdom of Nature unfolds itself to the eye of the naturalist, and by the de- light which attaches to each onward step in the course of its inves- tigation “makes a July’s day short as December.” The hiss of the serpent is so well known, and so universally alarm- ing, that our knowledge of it, like Dogberry’s reading and writing, 11 B 386 Reptiles. “comes by nature.” Shakspeare has given to the sound a cha- racteristic epithet in the line — “ Their music frightful as the serpent’s hiss.” 2nd Part K. Henry V1. Act iii. Scene iii. A remarkable difference exists between the common snake and the viper, with regard to the production of the young. The former is oviparous, and deposits from sixteen to twenty eggs, which are vivi- fied by heat; the latter is ovo-viviparous, and the young, which vary in number from sixteen to twenty, come forth alive. Such distinc- tions were most probably unknown to Shakspeare, who, regarding all serpents as dangerous, might naturally attribute to all the same mode of reproduction. The words of Brutus, when communing with him- self respecting Cesar, favour this opinion. ‘¢ And therefore think him as a serpent’s egg, Which hatched, would as his kind grow mischievous, And kill him in the shell.” Julius Cesar, Act ii. Scene i. But although specific differences are not always regarded by our poet, it is obvious that he was not only aware of the fact that snakes are produced from eggs, but that they are vivified by the heat of the sun, and recalled by the same genial warmth from their winter tor- pidity. “Tt is the bright day that brings forth the adder, And that craves wary walking.” Julius Cesar, Act ii. Scene i. The application of gentle and continued warmth will, at any period, restore the suspended animation of the torpid snake. That it should turn against the individual by whom that warmth had been applied, is so revolting to the feelings, that the fact furnishes to our bard the striking and poetic image — “ Snakes in my heart-blood warmed, that sting my heart.” Richard 11. Act iii. Scene ii. One common though erroneous idea, current at the time of Shaks- peare, has descended unchanged to our own days, and, in the minds of uneducated persons, flourishes with all its pristine luxuriance. I allude to the notion that a horse-hair, by immersion in river water, becomes vivified into what naturalists term the “hair-worm” (Gor- dius aquaticus), but which the vulgar regard as the young state of eels or serpents. The idea is embodied in the words employed by Antony.-—- Reptiles. 387 “ Much is breeding, Which, like the courser’s hair, hath yet but life, And not a serpent’s poison.” Act i. Scene ii. It may be worth mentioning in connection with Antony, that one of the pet appellations given by him to Cleopatra was drawn from the reptiles of which we here treat. Her words are — “‘ He’s speaking now, Or murmuring ‘ where’s my serpent of old Nile » For so he calls me.” Snakes possess, as is well known, the power of changing their skins, a process which takes place at uncertain intervals of time : be- fore it is cast off, the colouring appears dull, and the animal blind. When the new skin is completely formed and hardened underneath, the old one bursts, or splits asunder about the neck, and is removed by the creature passing through any tangled copse or other place where there is a dense and luxuriant vegetation. As the skin is occasion- ally found in such situations, attached to the lower branches of bram- bles or shrubs, we can appreciate the propriety of the concluding lines of Oberon’s description of the “bank whereon the wild thyme blows.” *¢ And where the snake throws her enamell’d skin, Weed wide enough to wrap a fairy in.” Act ii. Scene ii. The word “enamell’d” is highly descriptive both of the polished appearance which the skin presents and of the diversity observable in the colour; and as the adder is especially distinguished by the beauty of its markings, we feel that Shakspeare is employing a very striking simile when he speaks of “Gloster’s show” in beguiling Henry. ——“ As the snake roll’d on a flowering bank, With shining chequered slough, doth sting a child That for the beauty thinks it excellent.” 2nd part K. Henry VI. Act iii. Scene iii. It is because of this acknowledged superiority in colouring that Petruchio asks — “Ts the adder better than the eel Because his painted coat contents the eye ?” Act iv. Scene iii. We find among the reptiles enumerated by Timon of Athens, the B 2 388 Reptiles. “adder blue.”* The passage appertains too closely to the present paper to be omitted. It occurs where Timon, digging for a single root to appease his hunger, thus addresses the earth. — “Common mother thou, Whose womb unmeasurable, and infinite breast Teems and feeds all; whose selfsame mettle Whereof thy proud child, arrogant man, is puft, Engenders the black toad and adder blue, The gilded newt and eyeless vencm’d worm, With all the abhorred births below crisp heaven, Whereon Hyperion’s quickening fire doth shine.” Act iv. Scene iii. It would be out of place in the present paper to enter into the practice of serpent charming, as still prevalent in India, else would “the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear, which will not hearken to the voice of the charmer’s charming never so wisely,” supply a subject of curious and interesting enquiry. That these animals, as well as some others, are atiracted by musical sounds, is a well-known fact, and whenever such a result does not appear, it is commonly supposed that the reptile is refusing to listen, — that it is wilfully excluding those sounds which if heard would produce their customary effect. To this popular opinion, imbibed by the mind of Shakspeare, and there transmuted into poetry and wisdom, we owe the remark — “‘ For pleasure and revenge Have ears more deaf than adders’ to the voice Of any true decision.” Trotlus and Cressida, Act ii. Scene ii. And to the same source we may trace the language employed by Queen Margaret in her appeal to Henry. * What, art thou, like the adder, waxen deaf ? Be poisonous too, and kill thy forlorn queen.” Qnd part K. Henry VI. Act iii. Scene ii. To any naturalist who is willing to admit, “I love a ballad but even too well,” and who delights to connect the objects of his re- searches with the poetry and legends of other times, an added charm will be thrown around the present subject by one of those spirit-stir- ring old ballads enshrined in Percy’s ‘ Reliques of Ancient English Poetry.’ King Arthur, being about to negotiate for an armistice, gave orders that his host should not unsheath a weapon “unless a sword * A variety of the British viper is described in the ‘ Linnean Transactions,’ under the name of Coluber ceruleus or blue-bellied viper. Reptiles. 389 drawne they should see.” It chanced however that one of the knights, being stung by an adder on the knee, was unintentionally the cause of bringing on a bloody combat between the opposing armies The circumstance is thus narrated — ‘¢ When the knighte found him wounded sore, And saw the wild worme hanging there, His sworde he from his scabbarde drew ; A piteous case as ye shall heare. ‘“ For when the two hostes saw the sworde They joyned battayle instantlye, Till of soe many noble knightes On one side there were left but three.” Dr. Clarke, in speaking of the common snake, remarks — “ ‘The movements of this species are highly elegant. Its course among grass or underwood is performed in a zigzag direction ; the head and neck are thrust forward alternately to the right and left, whilst the rest of the body follows precisely the same course. In its progress the head pushes aside the blades of grass or other yielding bodies, and the remainder of the body follows without communicating any motion to them; and in this way a snake will often steal across a meadow, or through a thicket, unperceived by a person standing at a little distance.”* In contrast with the clear and simple statement here given, of the movements of the common English snake, it is in- teresting to place the magnificent description so well known to every reader of ‘ Paradise Lost.’ “‘ So spake the enemy of mankind, enclosed In serpent, inmate bad! and toward Eve Addressed his way ; not with indented wave Prone on the ground as since, but on his rear Circular base of rising folds, that tower’d Fold above fold, a surging maze! his head Crested aloft, and carbuncle his eyes, With burnished neck of verdant gold, erect Amidst his circling spires that on the grass Floated redundant.” — Book ix, Like many other now exploded specifics, the flesh of serpents, or the liquid, especially wine, in which they were infused, was held of peculiar efficacy for the cure of disease, and as an antidote to poison. These ideas, preposterous as they may now appear, were not “ quietly murned” until the last century was far advanced. By Dr. Owen’s * Mag. Nat. Hist. 1838, p. 479. 390 Reptiles. work on serpents, published in London in 1762, we are informed that “their flesh, either roasted or boiled, the physicians unanimously prescribe as an excellent restorative, particularly in consumptions and leprosy.” It is not my intention to enter into any disquisition on the fabulous animals mentioned by Shakspeare, but in treating of the Reptilia it is impossible not to advert to creatures mentioned by him, which were at one time included under that term, though now regarded solely as the offspring of imagination. Thus we find the dragon mentioned by Lear, in a burst of his inconsiderate rage against Cordelia,— “ Come not between the dragon and his wrath.” Act i. Scene i, And again by Juliet, in the anguish of her feelings consequent upon the death of Tybalt and banishment of Romeo,— **O serpent heart, hid with a flow’ring face ! Did ever dragon keep so fair a cave ?” Act iii. Scene ii. Thus also we find the basilisk frequently introduced, and always in a manner consonant to the powers with which it had been invested by tradition, As an example, may be quoted the words addressed by King Henry the Sixth to Suffolk. “ Look not upon me, for thine eyes are wounding : Yet do not go away ;—come, basilisk, And kill the innocent gazer with thy sight.” Act iii. Scene ii. From the Reptilia let us now turn to the Amphibia, a class of ani- mals comprising very few species in these countries, but highly inte- resting to the scientific naturalist, from the modifications of form, organization and habits, which they display. For information on these points I refer the reader to the luminous and excellent work of Professor Bell, and shall merely advert to them, so far as may be needful, for the illustration of those passages in Shakspeare in which some of these creatures are introduced. In the metamorphoses of the common frog we have changes more wonderful than a poet would imagine, yet brought to light by the so- ber and stedfast observations of the man of science; thus furnishing one of the countless examples that “ ‘Truth is always strange, stranger than fiction.” Into these matters I am not required to enter, The “toe of frog” occurs in the witches’ chaldron, and the young state Reptiles. 391 of the animal is noticed by Demetrius in the line — “ T'll broach the tadpole on my rapier’s point.” Titus And. Act iv. Scene ii. Another passage, in which the creature is mentioned in both these states, will be given hereafter. The common toad (Bufo vulgaris) belongs, like the frog, to the or- der Anoura of Bell. It is perfectly innocuous, living on earth-worms, slugs, caterpillars, and insects, thus giving actual assistance to the husbandman, in keeping his most common assailants within due bounds. Did we not, in other instances, know how potent are the workings of imagination, and how tacitly men occasionally surrender to them their senses and their reason, it might well seem incredible that the toad was formerly regarded as ‘ highly poisonous, and this not only from its bite; its breath, and even its glance, were fraught with mischief or death.”* So perfectly were these malign influences accredited, that Pliny enumerates several plants as forming “ a sin- gular counter-poison against the venome of toads and_ serpents.” At a time when such ideas were still current, it was natural that in the sorceries of the weird sisters such an animal should be placed in the very foremost rank ;— “ Toad that under the cold stone Days and nights hath thirty-one, Sweltered venom sleeping got, Boil thou first ? the charmed pot!” In perfect accordance with the opinions and feelings of his day are the several passages in which the toad is mentioned by Shakspeare ; and so entirely do they give utterance to the popular opinion, to the exclusion of any other particulars in the economy of the animal, that a mere quotation of a few of the most striking is all that is here ne- cessary. Juliet’s garrulous old nurse, in speaking of Paris, says her mistress “had as lieve see a toad, avery toad, as see him;” and Lady Anne, when showering her reproaches on Gloster, says — “‘ Never hung poisun on a fouler toad. Out of my sight! thou dost infect my eyes.” Richard U1. Act i, Scene ii. While we appreciate the poetic beauty of the language used by Othello,— * Bell, p. 112. 392 Reptiles. “‘T had rather be a toad, and live upon the vapour of a dungeon,” Act iii. Scene ii. we may perhaps be justified in supposing that the food of the crea- ture was then as little known as its real powers and habits. In a line in ‘ Romeo and Juliet’ there is embalmed a curious traditionary error, “‘ Some say the lark and loathed toad change eyes,” Act iii. Scene v. an idea which probably took its origin from a notion that the bright full eye of the toad was more suitable for the bird that at “ heaven’s gate sings” than for a reptile so “loathed.” A passage in ‘ As you like it’ demands more deliberate attention : it is one of those which, like sterling coin, has passed into general circulation, and scarcely suggests to our mind the recollection of the rich mint from which it came: and, as the gold has its alloy, so here we have the moral truth and the legendary error. “ Sweet are the uses of adversity, Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a precious jewel in his head.” Act ii. Scene i. Much commentary has been expended on these lines, but from Douce’s Illustrations we learn—what is probably the true solution of the enigma—that the common people of England “made superstitious uses of a real jewel that always could be found in a toad’s head; ” and that, according to popular belief, “the toad before her death sucks up, if not prevented by sudden surprisal, the precious stone (as yet but a jelly) in her head, grudging mankind the good thereof.” —p. 294. ; In Ireland the common toad is unknown; but our tutelary saint has left us the smaller species (Bufo calamita), the natterjack. It has been found in three or four localities in the county Kerry, and at Ross bay, county Cork. The remainder of the British Amphibia belong to the order Uro- dela, and family Salamandride. They consist of four species of newts, of which two only have as yet been noticed in Ireland. The newt, like others of the tribe, is enumerated among the ingre- dients of the charmed chaldron, so frequently mentioned ; and the term “ gilded newt,” which has been also quoted, indicates the bright orange colour visible on the body of the male eft during the spring. Among the best known passages in which newts are introduced, is that where Edgar, in his assumed character of poor Tom, speaks Fishes. 393 of eating “ the swimming frog, the toad, the tadpole, the wall-newt, and the water-newt;” thus showing that distinctions, existing even among these amphibious creatures, did not escape the observant and discriminating eye of Shakspeare. The only species of newt (Lzsso- triton punctatus) common in the north of Ireland, is there well known by the name of “ Mankeeper,” and is an object of apprehen- sion to the uneducated, from the idea that it 1s prone to jump down the throat of any one whom it may find sleeping ! Pliny informs us that ‘‘the Salamander is able to destroy whole nations at one time, if they take not heed and provide to prevent them.”* Such an opinion of its malignant powers was most probably never at any time current in these countries, for on this point Shaks- peare is altogether silent ; and the only mention of the creature oc- curs where Falstaff, addressing Bardolph, says, with reference to the nose of that worthy,— “T have maintained that Salamander of yours with fire any time this two-and- thirty years.”—Ist part K. Henry VI. Act iii. Scene iii. Belfast, September, 1843. R. PATTERSON. Note on the occurrence of the edible Frog in Cambridyeshire. I have the pleasure of recording in ‘ The Zoologist,’ the capture of the edible frog (Rana esculenta, Linn.) for the first time I believe in this country. Two specimens were taken by my friend, C. Thurnall, Esq.,. of Duxford, in Foulmire fen, Cambridgeshire, in September last. They are now in the British Museum, J. E. Gray, Esq., the curator, having kindly determined the species forme. There is a beantiful figure of this frog in Bell’s ‘ Bri- tish Reptiles, p. 104, taken from a foreign specimen. — Fred. Bond ; Kingsbury, No- vember 23, 1843. [I should be much obliged for a drawing and detailed description of this interest- ing addition to our British Vertebrata.—L. N.] Account of a species of Sea Bream new to the British Fauna, and perhaps hitherto undescribed. By JONATHAN Coucnu, Esq., F.L.S. On the 2nd of September, 1843, a fisherman took with one of his ordinary baits, a sea-bream, which he presently discerned never before to have fallen under his notice ; and in consequence it was transfer- red to my possession as soon as he reached the land, which was be- fore sufficient time had elapsed to allow it to undergo any change. Its length was 1 foot 2 inches, the greatest depth 93 inches, and, in * Book 29, p. 358. 394 Fishes. proportion to the kindred species, it was of considerable thickness. The under jaw was slightly the longest; the teeth in front, and for- ward on the sides, slight, conical, and somewhat scattered; gape mo- derate. Eye very large, being 12 inch across; nostrils in a depression before the eyes, in this respect, and in the cheeks, for the most part resembling the common sea-bream (Pagellus centrodontus), but slight- ly differing in the markings of the head. The body thick and plump; scales on the cheeks and body large, those on the hinder part of’ the body, especially above the lateral line, having well marked festooned edges ; those placed on the anterior part less regularly so. Lateral line at first mounting, arched, sinking opposite the ending of the dorsal and anal fins, waved in its course, and mounting again as it approaches the caudal fin ; at its origin a large black spot. Pectoral fins very long, reaching to within a short distance of the termination of the anal fin, being in length 4% inches, and passing 2 inches beyond the vent. Commencement of the dorsal just above the origin of the rays of the pectoral. Tail lunated. Pols 2 sD. A212 V1; 5% Ac 313) Crabout 20: * Short Sea-bream, Pagellus curtus, Couch. Colours much as in the common sea-bream, but more vivid ; top of the head rich brown; the back scarlet red, lighter on the sides, the belly white, with slight mottlings. Dorsal, pectoral and caudal fins and within the mouth, vermilion ; ventral and anal fins paler. Com- pared with the common sea-bream laid beside it, besides the remark- able difference in the dimensions, it is distinguished by a wider gape, by teeth, though resembling in arrangement and structure, less thick- ly placed, especially the incisors, by a less rounded muzzle, a much Mollusks. 395 larger eye and longer pectorals, which are also differently shaped, be- ing more arched. In a common bream of the same length these fins were 34 inches long. The scales also were more decidedly waved at their edge. In the stomach I found a Comatula and the bait, a slice of fish, with which it was taken; but in the lower intestine were ra- ther broad pieces of brown seaweed, covered with Flustrz, but this, being undigested, seems not to be its ordinary food. At the first glance I was induced to suspect that this fish was no- thing more than a dumpy specimen of the common sea-bream ; but it differed in so many particulars, besides the shortened form, that on minute examination I have been compelled to conclude that it is a separate species; in which opinion I am supported by the decision of an eminent naturalist. JI have not been able to discover any species at all closely resembling it in the works of Rondeletius, Gesner, Ray, Linneus, Gronovius, Risso or Cuvier; and am therefore compelled to conclude that it is now for the first time described : a circumstance the less to be wondered at, when we recollect that even in the limited waters of the Mediterranean, and so near a region as Madeira, several fishes have been recorded of which only single specimens have been obtained. ‘The specimen is deposited in the British Museum ; and, using the privilege of a discoverer, I propose to designate it as Pagellus curtus. JONATHAN CoUucH. Polperro, November, 1843. Note on the occurrence of rare Fishes at Redcar, Yorkshire. 1. Gobius unipuncta- tus, common, of various sizes from 23 inches downwards ; one full of spawn. Found in almost every pool on West Coatham marshes, eastern shore of the Tees. 2. Two- spotted goby. A single specimen on the rocks at low water here. 3. Two specimens out of acod-fish, which agree minutely with G. gracilis of Jenyns. 4. Scopelus Hum- boldtii. First met with by me, May, 1841; this year I have taken thirteen specimens (six of which I sent to Mr. Yarrell), varying in size from 23 to } of an inch. 5. Clu- pea Leachii. In April last I found a single example, in length 11 inches. — 7. S. Rudd ; Redcar, near Guisborough. Note on Helix hybrida. Perhaps the following note may interest some of your readers. I do not pretend to a scientific knowledge of any branch of Natural History, but am in the habit of collecting in my walks anything that appears uncommon: and early in last September my attention was attracted by what seemed to me a singularly coloured Helix hortensis (being of an almost uniform rosy brown), and on examining it I found it had a beautiful rosy lip. I searched for more, but without success. The first rainy day which occurred I renewed my search, and was rewarded with twelve or thirteen specimens ; since then I have, at different times, taken not fewer than fifty. What struck me as remarkable was, that of a fence one thousand yards in extent, and 396 Insects. abounding through its whole length with H. hortensis, the one I am speaking of was confined to a distance of one hundred yards, beyond which I did not find a single spe- cimen of H. hortensis ; there was every shade of yellow, and every variety of banded ones, but, though I examined some hundreds, I could not find one with the lip in the least degree rosy. I suppose it is what is called H. hybrida, but if this implies a mule between H. hortensis and H. nemoralis, I think it is a misnomer; for though H. hor- tensis is exceedingly plentiful in this neighbourhood, I know of only one locality where H. nemoralis occurs, and that is four or five miles from the place where these were found. If it is not a distinct species, it must be a variety of H. hortensis; but from its confined locality, and the occurrence in that locality of the young in different sta- ges towards maturity, I should think it a permanent variety. To an unscientifie eye the animal does not differ from that of H. hortensis. The specimens I have sent you embrace every variety both in general colouring and the intensity of the rosy lip; but very few have it so faintly coloured as the palest of the five, though I have one which is perfectly white. In some there are slight indications of bands, and the accompa- nying ones are selected to show these in their greatest distinctness. — Wm. Turner ; Uppingham, November 27, 1843. [The shells sent are those of Helix hybrida. I believe no one supposes the spe- cies so called to be a mule between the two more common species, although the name is probably intended to imply that the rarer species is somewhat intermediate in its appearance.—L. N.| Note on the carnivorous propensity of Snails. Oblige me by making known to the public, through the medium of your valuable journal, another instance of a snail feeding on the common earth-worm. On the 28th of April, whilst walking upon the chalk hills, near Guildford, I saw a snail feeding ona piece of the common earth- worm, about two inches long, half of which it devoured. — F. A. Chennell ; Stoke, Guildford, November 4 1843. [See Zool. 201 and 257]. Note on the Gordius aquaticus. One of these singular worms was found last July, extended to the length of two or three inches on the mould of a flower-bed, lately moistened by the rain, but at some distance from any water. When captured, it coiled itself up into a complicated knot, and some hours after appeared to be dead, but re- vived on being put into water; in this element it lived about a week, but gradually lost its transparency, and at last died. When in health, the Gordius was transparent and almost colourless, with the exception of numerous minute dark spots, which, un- der the microscope, were discovered to be eggs; some of these were subsequently de- posited, and when examined with a highly magnifying power, appeared of an oval form, semi-transparent, and of a dark brown colour.—A. F. B.* Leyton, Essex. Note on the occurrence of Colias Edusa in November. On the 4th of November I caught a male Colias Edusa, in very good condition, this will most likely be the last for the season. Yet as we had frost during the latter part of October, it appears to * Communicated by J. Gumey Barclay, Esq. Insects. 397 prove that the insect may sometimes hybernate, for if it could remain unscathed through part of the winter, it is most probable that it could do so through the whole until some sunny day in March instead of November should revive it. On the 16th of October I took a female of that beautiful variety Helice, perhaps some of your correspondents can inform me if it ever occurs in the male insect ?>— R. C. R. Jordan ; Teignmouth, November, 1843. Note on the occurrence of Colias Electra at Sidmouth. On the 12th of September last Colias Edusa was in great abundance in the clover-fields at Sidmouth and Bud- leigh Salterton, Devonshire: there were thousands in one clover-field between Sid- mouth and Lyme Regis. I remarked two beautiful white varieties — Thomas Lighton. Note on the occurrence of Colias Edusa and C. Hyale in Northamptonshire. I saw in Northamptonshire a male Edusa flying very swiftly, on the 14th of July, and a fe- male that was taken near Whittlesea mere on the same day. When shooting near Trip- low, Cambridgeshire, the second week in September, I saw two male Edusas and one male Hyale on the wing. I likewise saw a pair of Hyale that were taken about the same time near Cambridge.—F’. Bond ; Kingsbury, Middlesex, November 10, 1843. Note on the occurrence of Colias Edusa in the Isle of Wight. In addition to the numerous notices of the appearance of this beautiful insect in England, during the past season, which have found place in your journal, I may mention the Isle of Wight, where it has been of very frequent occurrence up to about the middle of October. Al- though said to be visible only every four years, I think I have seldom failed to observe it annually with us here, though very sparingly except at periods which may agree with the above interval; but this I cannot assert with certainty. I recollect it was equally — plentiful as now in the island, two, three, or perhaps four years ago. The rich, warm, saffron tint of the wings, certainly entitles Colias Edusa to rank with the most beauti- ful of British butterflies; and if gayness of colouring alone were the criterion of beauty, it would take precedence of the much rarer but more elegantly pencilled C. Hyale, likewise a native of this island, but very scarce. It is singular that the near relative of this insect, the sulphur butterfly (Gonepteryx Rhamni), usually so common here in ordinary seasons, has this year been rather scarce, and whilst the mostly abundant Va- nessa 16 has appeared in smaller numbers than it is wont to do, I never saw V. Ata- lanta so profusely on the wing as it was this autumn. Vanessa Polychloros, which generally is the first of the diurnal Lepidoptera to greet us on sunny days in March, and again at the end of summer, has this year fallen numerically below the average ; whilst the painted lady (Cynthia Carduz) has been rather frequent. Papilio Machaon occurs occasionally in the island, and I saw a specimen on the wing last August, be- tween Calbourne and Brixton, but it is a rare insect here, as is also Apatura Iris. I have likewise missed Pieris Crategi and Limenitis Camilla in my botanical rambles, usually not the most unfrequent of my former objects of attraction and pursuit, and though now unmolested, not the less gazed at and admired by me still— Wm. Arnold Bromfield ; Ryde, November 1, 1843. Note on the occurrence of Colias Edusa. I saw many specimens of this butterfly this autumn in the neighbourhood of Forest-hill, and caught three of them.—Francis Richardson ; Peckham, November, 1843. Note on Colias Electra or Edusa. I shall be obliged for more records of the cap- ture of this insect: although those now published go far to confirm the quadrennial theory, yet we must have still more abundant evidence of its appearance, and also“of its general absence during the intervening years, before the matter can be considered 398 Insects. as definitely settled. It will be recollected that the year of its abundant occurrence has always been that antecedent to leap-year—Hdward Newman. Note on the occurrence of Colias Hyale at Epping. A few specimens of this species were seen here in August and September, but it was not nearly so numerous as last year. I only captured about a dozen.—Henry Doubleday ; Epping, Nov. 29, 1843. Note on the occurrence of Mancipium Daplidice and Argynnis Lathonia near Exeter. My cabinet has lately been enriched by specimens of these rare butterflies, captured in 1836 in Roseberry wooed, near Exeter, by R. Dawson. Esq., who kindly presented them. —Thomas Lighton ; 4, Caledonian Place, Clifton, October 21, 1843. Note on the occurrence of Polyommati in South Devon. I have ventured to enclose a short account of the south Devon Polyommati, as, owing to the wilful obstinacy of collectors in naming varieties as species, this genus is still imperfectly understood, at least so it would seem from the figures in Wood’s Catalogue, as well as those in Mr. Humphreys’ more recent work. Polyommatus Argiolus, a double-brooded insect, ap- pearing in April and May, and again in August and September, approaches nearer to the Thecle in habit than the other south Devon species, flying high, and hovering over the holly and ivy bushes. In the spring the male may be seen flying quickly along the tops of currant-bushes, very much in the same manner that Thecla Quercts flies along the oak trees; this is probably because they are in full flower and leaf at that time, which few other shrubs are. PP. Alsus, the smallest of our British butter- flies, appears in May (and again in August ?), it is a local insect, frequenting marshes and open places in woods; flight rather quick: the male differs from the female in hay- ing the wings slightly tinged with a metallic colour, varying in different lights from blue to emerald green. Common on the cliffs at Teignmouth, where it principally set- tles on the plants of Equisetum hyemale. P. Argus, local, frequents open heaths, and appears in June and July. P. Alexis (Icarius of Wood’s Cat.), double-brooded, ap- pearing in April and May, and again in August and September, but specimens may be caught from the latter part of April to October. Wood’s figures called P. Alexis and P. Dorylas seem to be varieties of the insect called Icarius, which is the general form of this insect, and by far the commonest of our British species: flight low, amongst the grass, frequently settling: meadows, pastures &c., abundant. P. Agestis, double- brooded, May and August; local: frequents rocky places in woods. I took it in to- lerable plenty in Bradley-woods near Newton, Devon, settling on the flowers of Heli- anthemum vulgare, though I did not see a single specimen until I came to the rock where this plant was growing. They seemed to settle on the flower, until there was an opportunity of molesting some passer by, either of their own species, or any other in- sect, as they even attacked bees and large flies (Eristales). This love of combativeness soon spoils their beauty, so that you may catch several specimens without obtaining one perfect insect. These five constitute the whole of our south Devon Polyommati, that is, all that I have ever taken, and with five others, P. Arion, P. Acis, P. Adonis, P. Corydon and P. Artaxerxes, make up the whole of the British species, which per- haps may be reduced to nine, as P. Artaxerxes is most probably merely a local variety of Agestis.— Robert C. R. Jordan ; Teignmouth, November, 1843. Enquiry respecting the mode of rearing the Death’s head Hawk-moth. I shall feel greatly obliged by your inserting these few lines in the next number of ‘ The Zoolo- gist. The larve and pupe of Acherontia Atropos being found almost every autumn in this neighbourhood, sometimes in tolerable plenty, and being extremely difficult to rear ; I should deem it a favour if any of the readers of ‘The Zoologist,’ who have Insects. 399 been fortunate enough to rear the perfect insects, would, through the medium of this useful publication, insert a few hints respecting their management; being confident that they require some peculiar treatment. I received two larve last month, one of which has undergone the usual transformation in a flower-pot. I have had as many as a dozen pupz in the course of one season, but have never, in one instance, been fortunate enough to obtain the perfect insect.— G. Norman ; Hull, Nov. 1, 1843. Note on Brepha Notha and Parthenias. The specimen in the Linnean cabinet, with Linné’s label on the pin —“ Parthenias,” is the larger species with simple antenne, or what in this country is usually called Notha, thus proving that the continental lepi- dopterists are correct. The species will stand thus: — Brepna, Hub. 1. Parthenias, Linn. (Notha, Haworth §c.) 2. Notha, Hub. (Parthenias, Haw. Steph. ec.) — Henry Doubleday ; Epping, November 29, 1843. Note on Orthosia lunosa. Since I sent a few remarks respecting this species (Zool. 332), I have seen several specimens of the true Orthosia humilis of Hubner, and find it is a totally distinct species, with the under wings entirely fuscous, and nearly allied to O. pistacina. OO. lunosa is identical with the H.subjecta of Duponchel, and O. agrotoides of Guenée ; but Haworth’s name having the priority, must of course stand. It seems to be but little known upon the continent, and apparently rare. Mr. West- wood has referred it unhesitatingly to O. humilis, probably from the erroneous refer- ence of Boisduval to Mr. Curtis’s beautiful figure of it.—Id. Note on Triphena subsequa. Mr. Bentley possesses two specimens of this species, one captured by himself in Hampshire, the other from Mr. Stone’s cabinet, probably taken in the same county. The species is very likely to occur in the southern coun- ties, as it is not uncommon in the northern parts of France. The insect figured and described by Mr. Curtis, is a totally distinct species, and I believe unique, though it is very possible that it may be common in some parts of Scotland. It does not seem to be known upon the continent.—Id. Note on Triphena Curtisti. As we are indebted to Mr. Curtis for making known the unique moth to which my correspondent Mr. Doubleday refers, and as it appears at present to be without a name, I beg to suggest that it receive the name of Triphena Curtisii; and I shall be happy to be allowed to give it that appellation. — Hdward Newman. Note on the effects of Rain on Pupe, and on recent captures near Manchester. I agree with the remarks of Mr. Douglas (Zool. 334), that a warm rain is favourable to the development of moths from the pupa state; but in my opinion its effects are far more visible in forcing the perfect insects from their concealment in the herbage, and thus compelling them to ascend for safety the trunks of trees &c., on which so many are afterwards to be fuund. However, my remark as to the weather, was in regard to myself, a cold March wind, with heavy rain, in Dunham-park, is anything but favor- able to my development, whatever it may be to that of pupe. In 1841, with very dry weather, Hispidaria and Zonaria were very common. Emmelesia Blomeri, Xerene plumbata and albicillata, Nonagria pilicornis and Chareas fusca have been taken at Preston this season. At Blackpool I procured some beautiful specimens of Argynnis Charlotta, var.; and at Whitefield near here, a Lycena Phleas without orange mar- gin in inferior wings, and one at Birmingham nearly black.— R. S. Edleston ; Man- chester, October 11, 1843. Note on capturing Moths with Sugar. ‘The Entomologist’ and ‘ The Zoologist ’ have each contained several notices of captures of moths by means of sugar, but there 400 Insects. has been no account of the method of using it; and, from the communications of some of my correspondents, I am inclined to believe that it is not generally understood by country entomologists. A brief direction may therefore be of service, and be the means of making many captures during the next summer. The strongest brown su- gar, known as “ Jamaica foots,” is mixed with hot water to the consistence of treacle, or somewhat thinner, and a small portion of rum added and stirred in; the composi- tion is then laid on the trunks of trees in favourable situations with a painter’s brush. I have found that it is better to make long and narrow streaks than broad patches. Many species do not like to wet their feet, and sit and sip the nectar modestly and ata distance, others are not so careful, but rush readily on their destruction. The sugar should be put on the trees at dusk, before the moths fly; for I have repeatedly ob- served, that if used afterwards, there will not be nearly so many come. With a lan- tern, suspended from the neck, and thereby preserving an upright position during eve- ry movement, the collector may visit the trees several times during an evening. The greater number of moths will be found during the first hour, but some species are only taken late at night. Most of them may be taken very easily by holding a pill-box under them, into which they will fall, and remain quiet till the next day, but some are not so quiet. Some persons boil the sugar and water, and think it an advantage, but I have not yet tried it. Of the efficacy of the addition of the rum I am sure, having more than once seen one collector use it, and another at the same time sugar without it, when the former would obtain double the number of Noctue.—J. W. Douglas ; 6. Grenville Terrace, Cobourg Road, Kent Road, November 18, 1843. Note on a few captures of Lepidopterous Insects. June 4. Abraxas ulmata, near Matlock in Augt. Polyphasia populata, Inverness. abundance. — Melanippe albulata, Ulswater, — Papilio Machaon, do. 2 specimens Cumberland. August. Larissa imbutata, Dalwhinnie- — ericetata, Derwentwater. moor, Inverness-sh. N. B. — Nudaria mundana. — Ellopia fasciaria, nr. Inverness Sep. 26. Heliothis peltigera, on Braunton- — Chareas Graminis. burrows near Bideford, asleep Stilbia anomalata, Ben Nevis. on the sand. —Thomas Lighton ; 4, Caledonia Place, Clifton, Bristol, October 24, 1843. Notes on Captures in Suffolk. By W. Gaze, Esq. ALrTHouUGH we have left off chasing our nimble friends the butter- flies, for this season, and the weather being rather unfavourable for searching for the autumnal moths round the blossoms of the reed and ivy; there is still left the pleasure of taking a retrospective ramble over those excursions in which we were the most successful, and of reading those of our brothers of the net. I therefore send. you an ac- count of my excursions to Assington-thickets during the past sum- mer, hoping it will prove interesting to some of the readers of ‘ The Zoologist.’ % “v Insects. 401 Assington-woods are situate about three miles east of Sudbury, and contain about five hundred acres. They are principally composed of oaks, with a thick underwood of hazel, willow, ash, berry-bearing al- der &c., and in one part completely carpeted with that beautiful fern, Blechnum boreale ; but the chief attractions to the entomologist are the thickets or broom-fields, these are pieces of about two acres each, surrounded by the high road, and are composed of long grass, heath, furze and broom, with here and there a stunted oak, birch, aspen and willow. My first excursion was made on the 23rd of May, accom- panied by a guide. It was a most beautiful morning: Gonepteryx Rhamni, Mancipium Cardamines, Melitzea Euphrosyne, Hipparchia AXgeria, Megara and Pamphilus were very abundant: took one spe- cimen of Thecla Rubi and several of Thymele Alveolus and Tages, Chesias obliquaria two, Hercyna maculata one, Acidalia floslactata three, Pyrausta purpuralis one, P. sordidalis several. A larva of Gas- tropacha quercifolia from the willow, one specimen of Leptura rufi- cornis, one of Dorytomus Tortrix, and Chrysomela litura in plenty. I was told adders abounded, and killed two with the handle of my net. My second visit took place on the 5th of June. I entered the thic- kets about 11 A.M., and captured three specimens of Thecla Rubi, two of Dasychira pudibunda, one of Lithosia Aureola, Phasiane plumba- ria in abundance, one of Minoa euphorbiata, several of Hercyna ma- culata, three of Margaritia fuscalis, a larva of Dasychira fascelina from the broom; Rhynchites Populi, one specimen, Saperda populnea twenty from the aspen, Leptura melanura and ruficornis, one of each, and three of Chrysomela rufipes. |The Coleoptera were all inadver- tently put together into a tin canister; when this was opened, on my return home, every specimen of Saperda populnea was completely spoiled, and most of the others injured; to get a fresh supply I made my third visit on the 23rd of June, but could only find two specimens of S. populnea, and none of the other Coleoptera. Melitza Selene was rather plentiful and in fine condition. I took two specimens of Ne- meophila Plantaginis, and saw two of Xerene hastata, which escaped. My fourth visit was made on the 15th of July, in search of Argyn- nis Paphia, which some years (I was informed) was very abundant, but could see only one specimen. Hipparchia Hyperanthus, Pam- phila linea and Sylvanus were abundant. I took several of Anthro- cera Filipendule, Angerona prunaria one, Hipparchus papilionarius one, Chesias obliquaria one: saw larve of Gonepteryx Rhamni feed- ing on Rhamnus Frangula, and brushed three of Thecla Rubi from ll C 402 Insects. the broom: also took three specimens of Strangalia elongata and four larve, which produced Chilocorus renipustulatus, from the sallow. My fifth and last visit was made on the 28th of July, in the hope of seeing Apatura Iris, which has several times been taken there, but was disappointed ; and with the exception of one specimen of Oice- optoma thoracica from under a dead mole, I only met with the com- monest species. In this visit 1 was accompanied by a friend, who, contrary to my advice, persisted in taking a favourite little spaniel with him, and just as we had tired ourselves, and were thinking of leaving the thickets, I saw two very large adders curled up near a furze-bush, one of which ] killed, and was putting a string round its neck to take it home for preservation, when I heard the dog (which had rambled to the other side of the bush) give a shriek, which was followed by a tremendous hissing. I instantly snatched up my net and ran to the spot, where lay three more adders curled up, and the one which had bitten the dog hissing at the edge of the bush, with its head raised about three inches from the ground, apparently watching for another bite, and not making the least attempt to escape: with four well-directed strokes, the work of a moment, they were all killed, together with another that lay about two yards off; they all proved to be females, with from twelve to sixteen young ones in each, some of which were found to measure six inches long. The dog was obliged to be carried home, where it was dressed by a veterinary surgeon, but died in a few hours. Thus ended my excursions to this locality, the best for entomolo- gical productions I have yet visited, as besides my captures, I am in- formed Nemeobius Lucina, Argynnis Lathonia, Thecla Betule and Lasiocampa Rubi have been taken there: and although we parted on unfriendly terms on account of the adders, I intend, life and health permitting, to visit it again next season. W. GAZE. Ballingdon, November 18, 1843. Note on the appearance of Tipulide in winter. “ During the severe winter of 1829 —30, in the month of January, when the mean temperature of the twenty-four hours was varying from 28° to 335°, and in two instances descended as low as 25° and 16° respectively, a brood of tipulidous insects (Trichocera hiemalis, Meig.) suddenly made their appearance at Swaffham Bulbeck, and were noticed in considerable numbers, settling upon the walls of different outbuildings, as if they had just emerged from the pupa state.”—Note to the Rev. L. Jenyns’ edition of White’s Selborne, p. 372. Insects. 403 Notes on the Habits of Osmia atricapilla. By GrorGe R. WATERHOUSE, Iisq. I met with Osmia atricapilla for the first time at Darenth wood, about two or three years back, and then only with one specimen, which was a female. In the beginning of June, 1835, however, | found it in tolerable abundance, flying about a high bank by the river- side, near Liverpool: at this time none but females were to be seen, though I hunted diligently for the other sex. Having secured speci- mens for my cabinet, I then endeavoured to trace others to their nests in order both to ascertain their habits, and to discover the male, that sex being unknown to me. It was not long before I observed a female dart into a tuft of dry grass near me; and upon separating this tuft very carefully, to my great delight, I discovered her in the act of constructing a cell. On being thus exposed she discontinued her work, but soon resumed it again upon my keeping myself perfectly quiet. The situation in which this cell was placed, as well as several other cells which [ afterwards found, was in a projecting part of the nearly perpendicular bank, where the soil was of a light nature. Most of the cells were deposited at the roots of dry grass, the lower part of each cell being generally inserted in the soil, and the upper part ex- posed. Ina perfect nest the cells were never detached, but always two or three, and sometimes five or six, were joined side by side. In some instances I have found the cells about an inch under ground, in a little chamber, which had apparently been excavated for their re- ception; the entrance to this chamber was only patie assaleh: large to allow free access to the bee. The cells are constructed of mud; the outer surface is irregular, the inner perfectly smooth, reminding one of a swallow’s nest. Each cell is about five lines in length, and nearly egg-shaped; there is, however, a slight approach to the cylindrical form towards the upper end, which is truncated, and is closed by a lid, the upper surface of which is concave. I frequently observed the female Osmia laden with little pellets of mud used in the construction of the cells; but as these pellets were always dropped upon my capturing the insect, I could not ascertain how they were carried; they appeared however to be held under the thorax by means of the two anterior pairs of legs. In the newly-formed cells, which could be distinguished by the up- C2 AOA Insects. per part being damp, there was always a small round hole in the lid, about the size of a pin’s head. This I imagined was left by the in- sect, that it might insert additional food previous to the final closing of the lid; they already had some food in them. The food deposited in the cells for the larve, consists, as in most of the Apide, of honey, with but a small admixture of pollen. The honey must have been chiefly collected from Lotus corniculatus, that being almost the only plant on which I observed the bee to settle. I have reared from the nests of this species of Osmia, several spe- cimens of females, and two males. ‘The insect has usually undergone its transformation by the latter end of September, and always before the winter commences. ‘This I have found to be the case with very many species of bees, and believe it will prove a general rule. _Pro- bably the perfect insect is better able to bear the effects of the winter frosts than the pupa. A great portion of the Coleopterous insects, especially the ground species, have undergone their transformations before the winter. At what time Osmia atricapilla first makes its ap- pearance, I am not able to say. I have found a male in the middle of March; it must be observed however that it was an unusually warm day, and I suspect he had mistaken the month. He was crawling slowly on the grass, could not fly, and apparently did not know what to do with himself. I have said the females were abundant in the be- ginning of June, at which time there were no males to be found; and taking matters as they stand, it seems immensely probable that, as usual, the males come out first, and that about the end of April or beginning of May. The male Osmia atricapilla is considerably less than the female — length 53 lines; it has the fore part of the head covered with white hair, and the vertex with reddish brown, like other parts of the body, if we except the under surface of the thorax and its sides, where the hairs are greyish white. In the female (which is usually about 6; lines in length), the head is entirely covered with black hairs, the thorax, and two basal seg- ments of the abdomen with hair of a bright brownish-red colour, and on the apical portion of the abdomen, and the whole of the under side of the body, the hair is black. - I will hereafter send some observations on the mode in which the cell is constructed. 1 do not do so now, because I wish to say, in connexion with that subject, a word or two about the cells of some other insects, and these I cannot at this moment lay my hand upon. GEO. R. WATERHOUSE. Insects. AO5 Notes on various Hymenopterous Insects, and Descriptions of two new British Bees. By FREDERICK SMITH, Esq. CorrecTION of a previous error. I perceive that an unfortunate error has been printed in my communication of captures in Hamp- shire (Zool. 262 and 265), Osmia atricapilla should have been Osmia leucomelana. I am particularly sorry this should have occurred at p. 265, as some details of economy are given. Please to add a note in your next number, pointing out the error: [ am sorry I did not ob- serve it before, and cannot think how I could have made it. Osmia bicolor and O. tunensis. I have received a communication from Mr. Walcott of Clifton, Bristol, who remarks, —‘“ Osmia bicolor and O. tunensis breed numerously in the empty snail-shells on the slopes of our downs; as many as four specimens of O. tunensis have come from one shell of Helix nemoralis, two were males and two fe- males.” As you figured a bee in your last number (Zool. 336), this, I thought, might be worth recording. Mr. Curtis tells me that he has captured Osmia bicolor in snail-shells. Should you not get sight of the bee figured in the last number, pray write for a more detailed description, particularly whether the bee is furnished with the pollen- brush on the underside of its abdomen, and what is the colour of the hairs. The figure looks like a male in the form of its abdomen, and the six segments defined admit of an additional segment being hid by the usual convexity of the abdomen of the genus Osmia. Economic habits of Ants. Iam much pleased to find in your No- vember number (Zool. 335), some notes on Hymenopterous insects, and beg to make a few observations on them, which may perhaps tend to throw some light upon the enquiries of your correspondents. Mr. Wakefield’s account of the ants collecting the seeds of the violet, might incline some to think modern naturalists incorrect in stating that they lay up no store for the winter. Gould, a century ago, ob- served, “In warmer regions the weather is more favourable, and sea- sons less severe; therefore ants may not undergo that chill which they do in England, nor consequently pass the winter in a state of numb ness.” “And it will appear from a repeated series of observations and experiments, that our ants do not lay up corn or other food against winter, and have no magazines peculiar to this purpose ; but that, in reality, their unwearied diligence in collecting provisions is chiefly carried on for the noble design of maintaining posterity.” Huber AOG Insects. held the same opinion, founded on observation. I have repeatedly examined the nests of Formica fusca, flava and rufa, in winter, and have always found the ants in a torpid state; and I believe that if ants require nourishment in early spring, previously to their leaving their subterranean abodes, they derive it from those species of insects found in their nests, as various species of Aphis, Claviger, Atemeles, &c. In the autumn of 1840 I was observing the various employments of a colony of Formica rufa, and was struck on observing numbers of neu- ters arriving, each carrying a similar substance in its mandibles. I caught several individuals, and found it was the seed of some species of plant. About four yards off was a sloping sand-bank, and I ob- served a continuous line of ants between this and their nest, and somewhere in the direction of the bank they found the seeds. I watched them carefully, and soon detected an ant scampering down the bank after a falling seed. They were the seeds of the common broom, and just at this season the pods were discharging them. I was curious to know for what purpose the ants collected these seeds, and found that they invariably deposited them outside their nest. All the ants did not bring seeds; some brought small pebbles, or other substances; and I was satisfied that the seeds were merely for the purpose of constructing their nest; probably the seeds, stones, &c., were intended to give greater solidity to the roof. I presume the spe- cies of ant observed collecting the violet-seeds was the common gar- den ant (Formica fusca) ; and [ should be inclined to believe that the seeds were intended to be used in the construction of their nest, for I have repeatedly observed that species ina garden at Brompton, where they had chosen the interstices of a brick wall, carrying all manner of small substances, doubtless for the purpose of filling up all chinks and crevices, and making all comfortable within. While on the interesting subject of ants, I will record the result of some experiments which I have made; and I will premise, that as what 1] am about to relate is in direct opposition to the opinions of Gould, of Huber, and I believe all modern investigators of the habits of ants, if the same care and observation are exercised by any one anxious to prove my statement, I doubt not he will become a convert to my opinion. Huber says, that previous to ants changing to the pupa state, they “are enclosed in a tissue spun by themselves before their metamorphosis; but they cannot, like other insects, liberate themselves from this covering, by effecting an opening in it with their teeth.” This opinion was of course formed in consequence of Huber’s having observed the neuters assisting the ants to escape from the Insects. 407 pupa-cases; but it struck me as so contrary to what obtains amongst numerous species of insects possessing apparently less power of ex- tricating themselves that I determined upon trying some experiments. I collected pupz on several occasions, but they invariably perished ; time after time I was disappointed. Last summer, having previously well considered my plans, I collected a number of cocoons from the nest of Formica rufa, and placed, first, a quantity of the materials of ‘which the nest was composed in a box; then laying the cocoons carefully upon this, I covered them with more of the materials of the nest. At this time a few females and males were to be found deve- loped in the nest. I placed the box in a warm but shaded situation, covering it with gauze; the following day I found two females had made their escape, but were very inactive when I found them, and soon died, probably for want of nourishment. I was obliged to leave home, and neglected to give orders for the removal of the box, and the afternoon’s sun reaching it, all the rest of the ants perished. The experiment, however, has satisfied me that ants can extricate them- selves, although probably they are generally assisted by the neuters. I intend following up the same course next season, and shall procure a number of neuters, to whose care I shall give the individuals which extricate themselves, should I again succeed in my experiment. There is another extraordinary circumstance connected with the economy of ants, which has perplexed me not a little, namely, that I sometimes find enclosed and naked pupe in the same nest, of some of the species of the genus Formica. De Geer, as well as Latreille, observed this fact ; I do not remember that Huber did. 1 have found them in the nests of Formica fuliginosa, flava and fusca; in Septem- ber last I found a great number of the pupe of F. fusca under bark, all naked, none were enclosed. I observed one female and but few neuters. ‘The pupez were lodged in shallow grooves, excavated in the trunk of the tree: | brought home a number, and took some care in my endeavours to rear them: only two individuals arrived at maturity. I am inclined to believe that those larvee which do not spin have not received sufficient nourishment; and that like other insects not well fed, they never arrive at the full perfection of the species. And it will be remembered that all the pup of the genus Formica which have been observed naked, have been invariably neuters, or the least per- fect sex, otherwise imperfect females. Humble-bees without wings. I once observed, like your correspon- dent, Mr. Holme (Zool. 336), three or four humble-bees, late in the 408 Insects. autumn, in the same dismantled condition as those which he describes ; on one of them a large Goérius olens was making a meal, but whether he took advantage of the bee’s inability to fly, or rendered it incapa- ble, I am at a loss to determine. Descriptions of new Bees. The season for collecting having ter- minated for the present year, at least so far as regards the Hymenop- tera, one has a little breathing-time, and can quietly review the results of another campaign. The past season is considered by collectors generally to have been an unproductive one; I can bear witness to the scarcity of insects generally. What became of the wasps— the true Vespide? I observed the usual number of females in the spring, but summer and autumn were enlivened by few of these industrious marauders. Anglers sought their favourite baits in vain, and I could could scarcely find a specimen, even in situations where wasps usu- ally abound. I found but one solitary male and half a dozen females. Notwithstanding the numerical deficiency of species, I consider the last season as one of the most fortunate I have experienced during ten years’ collecting. I have captured several rare bees, as well as beetles; of the former, two new species — a beautiful species of An- draena and its parasite, a new Nomada, I will give descriptions of both, and would premise that I have searched amongst foreign collec- tions, and hunted over foreign authors, and believe both to be unde- scribed. I have no wish to raise varieties into distinct species, or to re-describe them, but shall endeavour to point out shortly what spe- cies I consider as constituting varieties amongst the bees, as well as describing new species, should not some more able entomologist un- dertake the task. The genus Bombus I would reduce from thirty- seven species distinctly described in Kirby, to about eighteen: the genus Nomada from thirty-one species to about twenty, five of which are not described in Kirby’s Monograph. _ Far be it from me even to insinuate that the illustrious author of that work unnecessarily in- creased the number of species; but the united experience of natural- ists during the forty years which have elapsed since the publication of the ‘ Monographia Apum,’ have enabled us to give to many females their legitimate partners, and also to discover that these partners, in many instances. are clothed in different colours. I shall first describe the Andrena. It is quite distinct from all the species described by Kirby, and would follow A. Shawella in Kirby’s arrangement. I have twice met with this bee; it congregates in co- lonies, and appears to be a very local species. On both occasions I Inseels. 409 have also taken the Nomada, in the first instance only three speci- mens, this season | took fourteen males and females in about equal proportions. One locality for these insects is at Weybridge, on the little patch of common south of the rail-road station, and is found at the south-west corner in the beginning of August; the other locality is in Hampshire, at the corner of an extensive common. Andrena argentata. Female; length 4 lines. Head; the cly- peus very minutely and delicately punctured, with a few scattered larger punctures intermixed ; from the base of the antenne to the oc- ciput delicately longitudinally striated; the inner orbit of the eyes with a line of pale silvery hairs; antenne black above, piceous be- neath. Thorax thinly clothed above with pale fulvous hairs; all the legs clothed with silvery hairs, the floccus on the posterior pair sil- very white ; the tibie clothed with hairs of the same colour; all the tarsi pitchy red. Abdomen shining black, the margin of the second, third and fourth segments with a band of silvery hairs, the centre fus- cous, the margins of the segments beneath have also a fringe of sil- very hairs. Male; length 3 lines. Closely resembling the female, except that the thorax is altogether clothed with silvery hairs, and the abdomen has an additional band of silvery hairs, also a few silvery hairs on the lateral margins of the first segment. Nomada baccata. Female; length 3+ lines. Head rufous; a short black line at the base of the antenne below, and a black patch above, reaching half way towards the anterior stemma; another black patch encloses the stemmata; the tip of the mandibles black; antenne totally rufous. Thorax rufous; with three black lines ex- tending from the collar to the scutellum, which is enclosed by a black line running down the centre of the metathorax to its base; a black patch extends from the base of the wings to the intermediate coxa, inclosing a minute rufous tubercle, also a minute black spot at the base of each wing; all the coxz havea black stain above; extreme base of the femora black ; all the tibiz and tarsi entirely rufous ; the wings have a dark cloud at their tips, inclosing a distinct pale lunule. Abdomen rufous; the base of the first segment is maculated with black, somewhat in the form of the letter M; the second segment has lateral, wedge-shaped, cream-coloured spots, the third has two small- er spots, the fourth a narrow line across, slightly interrupted in the centre, the fifth has a large transverse patch, also cream-coloured, be- neath; the abdomen is immaculate. Male; length, 2% lines. Head black; clypeus yellow covered with a silvery pubescence: the whole head is covered with long, scattered, 410 Insects. silvery hairs; the antenne have the scape white in front, black be- hind, the remaining segments are rufous, stained behind. Thorax black, with scattered silvery hairs above, more densely clothed be- neath, as well as the coxe and base of the femora; two obscure ru- fous spots on the scutellum, the tegule and tubercles also rufous; the wings hyaline, clouded at the tips, inclosing an obscure lunule, the nervures piceous ; anterior and intermediate coxz with a black ring, the posterior pair black; the anterior and intermediate femora with a minute black spot beneath, the posterior pair black, all the femora and tarsi rufous. Abdomen rufous, black at the base, with two waved cream-coloured lines on the first segment placed laterally, the second has two wedge-shaped white spots, the third two smaller, the rest are very obscurely maculated laterally: the abdomen is immaculate beneath. F. SMITH. 5, High St., Newington, November, 1843. Notes on the Habits of Coleoptera. By HENRY WALTER Bates, Esq. Hy opsivs Abietis. ‘This fine Curculio occurs with us in several of the fir plantations on the hills of Charnwood forest; my first ac- quaintance with the insect being made in a house in Copt-oak, on a bleak hilly situation, whither I, as well as the beetles, were driven by stress of weather. Stray specimens also have been picked up in the streets of our populous town. It is hard to attribute carnivorous propensities to so harmless a wood-eater as Hylobius, yet the vicious habit which Linnezus noticed —‘‘Ore cutem mordere tentat captivus,” is productive of the same de- structive effects; and I have reason to remember it from the mangled remains of rare Saperdas which I once unconsciously placed in the same phial with the long-beaked gnawing Curculio. They will nib- ble the corks of your bottles to dust, amputate the limbs of your best captures, with now and then a passing grab at one another, and yet call themselves wood-eaters ! One of the plantations in which I found Hylobius deserves a pass- ing remark, if only by way of memorial. Its ruinous state teaches a deep entomological lesson. The large trunks of many fine coniferous trees, which once, in assembled stateliness, were as land-marks to the surrounding country, drilled through with the galleries of Rhagium bifasciatum, have fallen to the ground. Curculiones have appropri- ated to themselves the branches. The bark swarms with species of Insects. 411 Cis, Rhyzophagus and Thymalus; and, as if entomological agency alone should complete the total destruction of vegetable materials, the voracious larve of Melanotus fulvipes devour the rottenness which Rhagium forsakes. The ruin is complete, and thus all things live and die, grow and decay, when Nature works alone. Ctenicerus metallicus. Of the elegant genus Ctenicerus we have in the neighbourhood of Leicester four species, C. pectinicornis, cupreus, tessellatus and metallicus. These all occurred in the floods of last May and June, in the greatest profusion. The Cteniceri used to be esteemed rare with us. ‘Time was when it was held a treat to see the fine males of two of the species heavily hovering over the rich herbage in those flowery meads which a sandy soil alone can furnish. But, tempora mutantur ! ‘The love-inspiring creatures may now seek their hidden mates, and poise on quivering wing, without any interruption from us. The floods of last summer swept from the rich meadows of the Soar myriads of specimens, which were floating down with the refuse of the stream, or clustered like bees on the palings and taller herbage. We are well situated in time of floods, for our numerous water- courses, from the narrowness or elevation of their beds, readily over- flow, and the contents of many a broad acre are swept along with the turbid waters : — “ Rapidus vorat equore vortex ** Apparent rari (multi) nantes in gurgite vasto.” The town serves us for a riddle, through which the waters are sifted, and the living sediment is deposited on the hedges and fences which oppose its progress. Here we have taken about a fourth of the British Harpalide. The Cteniceri are purely pastoral insects. They affect meadows, and are seldom, if ever, seen in the wake of the plough. Herein their connexions with agricultural economy are not of so serious a nature as several other species of the same family. There is not a grub better known amongst agricultural people than - the wire-worm ; and yet there are still the most erroneous and _ ludi- crous ideas prevalent respecting its Natural History. The worthy president of the Northamptonshire Agricultural Society, and author of a little work on kindred subjects, once seriously informed both his audience and his readers, that it was the larva of the Harry Long-legs ; and actually produced the two creatures to show their re- semblance! The wire-worm is frequently very destructive in North- 412 Insects. amptonshire, where it seems proof against all attempts at eradication. I noticed during a visit last summer, the particular prevalence of Agrypnus murinus along the pathways of wheat-fields ; it was parti- cularly confined to such situations. The various modifications of the herbivorous habit in the Elateride admits of an interesting classification, at least such of the species as have come under my notice. The Adrasti, Dolopii (El. marginatus), and some Athoi (EJ. Quercus, El. vittatus), are most partial to the rank herbage of thick woods. ‘The Selatosomi (E1. murinus, holoseri- cus &c.) inhabit elevated, barren, stony places, where they occur in spring, under chips of granite &c. The Cteniceri, Aplotarsi (EI. tes- taceus and rufipes) and Hypolithi (especially El. riparius) swarm in damp meadows. The Elaters and Melanoti inhabit rotten wood. And the Agrypni, Agriotes and Athoiis longicollis corn-fields ; the Agryp- nus murinus, suspiciously rambling along the pathways on the sunny days of June, and Athoiis longicollis occurring somewhat numerously on the ears of barley towards the end of July. HENRY WALTER BaTEs. Leicester, November 28, 1843, (To be continued). Note on the Capture of Curculionide in Surrey. The following is a list of Cureu- lionide, selected from upwards of two thousand specimens, which J captured during the months of July, August and September last, in the neighbourhood of Blechingly, Surrey. The whole of them were taken within three miles of that place, one of the finest districts for Coleoptera I have ever been fortunate enough to explore. Although I have included many which are considered common in the south of England, I have at the same time omitted the names of those species which are abundant everywhere ; thinking it unnecessary to enumerate all which more or less occur in every locality. Mecinus semicylindricus Sibinia primita Miarus Campanule Orchestes Iicis, Avellane, Calear, bifas- Ceeliodes subrufus ciatus Ceutorhynchus Quercts, guttula, sulci- Tachyerges stigma collis Strophosomus limhatus Nedyus Urtice (Walton), Asperifoliarum, Sitona sulcifrons, humeralis, canina— Echii, Resede, setiger (Scho.)* mar- Polydrusus cervinus ginatus Magdalis atramentaria Pachyrhinus 4-tuberculatus, notatus Rhinodes Pruni, Cerasi * T have a specimen of this rare insect, which I believe .I captured in Surrey; but as it is possible I may have taken it with Nedyus floralis in Lincolnshire, I think it right here to state so. i Insects. 413 narium, Ervi, punctigerum, virens, Loti, puncticolle (Waterh.), Waltoni (Scho.), Hedysari (Walt.), Kirbii, apricans, ebeninum, Ononis, vorax, Pisi (Fab.), subsulcatum Apion Cracce, Pomone, subulatum, Ru- micis, curtirostre, tenue, violaceum, Hydrolapathi, hematodes, rubens, frumentarium, Onopordi, Carduo- rum, eneum, picicorne (Waterh.), Hookeri, striatum (Marsh.), carbo- Amongst other insects which I captured in the same locality, I may mention Phlo- iophilus Cooperi, Cassida margaritacea, Micropeplus staphylinoides, Agrilus viridis, and two species of Mylechus, apparently undescribed.— 7. V. Wollaston ; Jesus Col- lege, Cambridge, November 24, 1843. Note on the luminous property of the Male Glow-worm. The male glow-worm is generally stated not to be luminous, of the contrary, however, I have had abundant proof, having seen them shining several times. Again, I have seen it asserted that these insects cease to shine in August ; if this be the case generally, it has not been so this year, as they have been luminous throughout October.—R. C. R. Jordan ; Teign- mouth, November, 1843. Note on the Bombardier beetle. On the 1st of March the bombardier beetle (Bra- chinus crepitans) was plentiful near Bristol. Several specimens of this insect, on being scratched with a pin on the elytra, emitted a vapour accompanied by a distinct report. One insect repeated this seven times.— Thomas Lighton ; Clifton, near Bristol. Note on the capture of Coleoptera in Hainault Forest. Should you have a corner of ‘The Zoologist’ to spare, and think the following list of insects worthy of insertion therein, it is at your service. It includes twelve months ; the locality is Hainault fo- rest and surrounding neighbourhood. I have no doubt if this locality were diligently searched, that many novelties would turn up. I have not noticed the common run of things that are taken everywhere, or the number would extend to treble the following list, particularly in the Hydrodephagi. Calosoma inquisitor. On oak and horn- Colymbetes fenestratus. June. beam, particularly the trunks of the vitreus. July. latter that are covered with foliage Sturmii. October. down to the ground. I have known —— oblongus. October and No- upwards of four hundred specimens vember. Dyticus punctulatus. April, very comn. Leiodes humeralis. April. Sylvanus unidentatus. In rotten stumps, to be taken in one day. May, June. Agonum sex-punctatum. April. Adelosia picea. Beneath the bark of rot- ten oaks in profusion ; November. Hydroporus picipes and dorsalis. Com- mon in September. ovalis. Common in Novem- ber and December. Hydroporus umbrosus and rufifrons. Sep- tember. granularis. pygmeus. nigritus. vember. Colymbetes abbreviatus. April. fuscus. May and June. October. August. October and No- November and December. Triphyllus bifasciatus. Abundant under the bark of rotten hombeam, Octo- ber to March. Mycetophagus 4-pustulatus, multipuncta- tus, variabilis. Ditto, in April. atomarium. Ditto, in May. Engis rufifrons. Boleti, in September. Ips 4-guttata. Under bark of oak, May. — 6-pustulata. May. Bitoma crenata. Under bark of rotten hornbeam in damp situations, Octo- ber to November, abundant. 414 Cerylon histeroides and picipes. Under bark of horn-beam in similar situa- tions to the above, November and December. Lyctus oblongus. In dead hornbeam. Rhyzophagus ferrugineus and bipustula- tus. Abundant under bark of dead hornbeam, October to December. Anthophilus sulcatus. In dung, May. Dendrophilus punctatus. Under bark of whitethorn in May. Cucujus dermestoides. Beneath the bark of recently felled oaks, near where the separation has taken place. I never found them on standing trees but once, and then only a solitary specimen on the trunk of a horn- beam, where a Jimb had been lopped off. Pretty common in May; I have taken thirty or forty in one day. Dorcus parallelopipedus. October, in rot- ten hornbeam. Lucanus Cervus. June. Onthophagus nutans. Common in dung. Elater ephippium. One specimen beaten from the oak in June. —— Pomone. June. Tnsects. Ptinus imperialis and Lichenum. White- thorn, May. Cis Boleti. Abundant in Boleti, October to July. Hylesinus crenatus. Whitethorn, May. Fraxini. Ash, May. Gymnaetron Beccabunge. Leiosoma ovatula. Rank herbage. Platyrhinus latirostris. Trunks of oaks, two specimens. Pogonocherus pilosus. Whitethorn, June to October. Leiopus nebulosus. Ditto, May and June. Tetrops preusta. Ditto, June. Callidium violaceum. Old oak, July. variabile. June. Alni. Whitethorn. Clytus arcuatus. On the trunks of felled trees in the sun. The larva feeds in the trunks of pollard oaks. July, common. Rhagium bifasciatum. Whitethorn, July, common. Leptura revestita. Beaten from the oak in June. scutellata. Trunks of trees in the sunshine, July and August, comn. preustus. Oaks in June. nigra. On flowers, June & July. Ctenicerus sanguinicollis. Oak, June. Zeugophora subspinosa. June to Sep- Campylus linearis. | Whitethorn, May tember. Endomycus coccineus. In rotten stumps of hornbeam, September & October. and June. Opilus mollis. April. Thanasimus formicarius. June. —J.S. Norman ; Rider St., New North Road, October 26, 1843. Description of Anchomenus picticornis, a new Beetle belonging to the stirps Nematoce- ra, and the natural order Carabites. General colour dark brown, with the palpi and the margins of the prothorax and elytra paler, the basal and second joints of the antenne are pitchy red, the third is of the same colour at both its extremities, but nearly black in the middle, the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh joints are black, and the remaining four white. There are two deep longitudinal furrows on the anterior part of the head, and a deep, short and somewhat lunulate furrow on the prothorax immediately behind the head: each elytron has eight very distinct strie, besides an abbreviated one at the base, between the first and second, the exterior furrow is interrupted by many large ir- regular coarse punctures. This little beetle is-3 inch in length, and +125 in. in breadth, and closely resembles in size and appearance the well known Anchomenus albipes of this country. It was found by Mr. E. Doubleday, near St. John’s Bluff, in East Flo- rida, and the specimen, which is unique, is now in the cabinet of the British Museum. —Edward Newman ; Hanover St., Peckham, November, 1843. Echinodermata. 415 Description of Hermerius impar, a new Beetle belonging to the stirps Macrocera and the natural order Cerambycites. I propose the new genus Hermerius as distinct from the other Australian Prionide, on account of some discrepancies which will be suffi- ciently manifest in the description. The head is small, and bends downwards almost in a vertical position, and it has a deep median longitudinal groove, which terminates just above the mouth: the eyes are large and oblong, and are scarcely at all indented at the insertion of the antenne: the antennae in the female are scarcely half so long as the body, in the male they are rather more than half as long, they are slender, and composed of eleven joints, the first and third of which are the longest, the second ve- ry short, and the remaider of nearly equal length, the tenthand eleventh are somewhat flattened, and are impressed with numerous irregular longitudiual furrows, and a few furrows also appear on the eighth and ninth joints; the other joints are cylindrical and shining, and have many large, deep, punctures: the prothorax is gibbous, rough, un- even, and deeply, irregularly, and confiuently punctured ; its lateral margins are arm- ed with a few irregular and unequal teeth, one of which, much larger than the rest and somewhat spine-like, is placed at the posterior angle and near the base of the elytra : the scutellum is large, triangular, smooth and shining : the elytra are much wider than the prothorax, very long and rounded at the apex, without any anal tooth or spine: all the tibia are without external spines or serratures, a character which will at once dis- tinguish this genus from Cnemoplites, Sceleocantha, and the allied forms of Australa- sian Prionide; the femora have a few minute but distinct teeth beneath. ‘The colour of H. impar is that pitchy brown so common among the family Prionide, the elytra being paler than the other parts: on the elytra are two indistinct longitudinal ridges ; the head, prothorax and sternum are very hairy, especially in the male: in the under side of the abdomen of the two sexes there is a very remarkable difference, that of the female being perfectly smooth and very glabrous, while that of the male has a large lunulate depression in each segment, occupying the greater part of its surface, and completely filled with a dense mass of yellowish hairs. The female is rather more than 2 inches in length, the male rather less; the breadth of the female is °7 inch, of the male ‘6 inch. The only specimens I have seen were sent to me from Kangurvo Island by Mr. Davis, and are now in the cabinet of the British Museum.—ZId. Note on the occurrence of Echinodermata at Ramsgate. In the spring of the present year, namely from February to May, I visited Ramsgate, and did not fail to examine the shore between high and low water mark, my search being greatly facilitated by the spring tides, which gave me a more extended range. The following are my remarks. The common cross-fish (Uraster rubens, Forbes) and the common sun-star (Solaster pap- posa, Forbes), were the only two species I found; they appear to inhabit different lo- calities ; the former are found nearer high-water mark than the latter, as well as being left dry by the tide, whilst the sun-stars are always found in the small pools left by the tide, not attached to anything, but lying on the sand at the bottom ; the cross-fish, on the contrary, were invariably found firmly attached to the rocks : I should doubt whe- ther they can move equally easy with the sun-star, or whether they have even a volun- | tary or a moving power within themselves at all: what would favour this supposition is the fact that several of the number I found were deformed in consequence of the arms suiting themselves to the shape of the crevices in which the fish had located them- A16 Echinodermata. selves. The above opinion that they have no free motion, was further confirmed by my detaching certain fish with peculiarities of form, which I threw to a moderate dis- tance from the shore, and which were thrown up the next tide. After storms great quantities are thrown up. I do not mean to insist that they always remain stationary, but that they do in the spring months I have not the least doubt. The anemones prey on the cross-fish indiscriminately with shell-fish. I could find neither cross-fish, sun- stars, nor anemones on the Pegwell side of Ramsgate; but on the western side the anemones were very plentiful and very large, and some of them were embedded in the sand to the depth of four inches; in digging down you find them attached to the rock or some stone; they evidently adapt themselves by elongating their bodies as the sand rises above them.— W. Thompson ; London, November, 1843. Note on an unusual Snow-storm. We were visited here, in Yorkshire, on the 17th of October, by an unusually early and severe snow-storm, the effects of which were ve- ry curious, for the leaves being at that time still on the trees, they held up the snow in a remarkable manner, till the superincumbent weight became more than the branch- es and boughs could support, and one by one they gave way, till the whole country in every direction was strewed with them. But it is an ill wind that blows nobody good, and the poor have obtained a windfall in an unwonted supply of the needful article of firewood. The ash trees sent their top-gallant yards down on deck, as if they had, for once, adopted the motto, “frangas non flectes,” but the oaks, in many instances, still suspend their fractured and twisted branches between sky and sod, like Mahomet’s coffin, and so they will doubtless remain for some time longer. The sound of the branches cracking and giving way on all sides, had a very singular effect. The wind was not high, at least in sheltered places, and the first crash I heard was caused, I thought, by a tree being felled; but reflecting, the next moment, that it was not a likely day for that operation, I looked round, and soon had ocular and auricular proof from various quarters of the real cause. The fields were strewed in all directions with boughs already broken, and every few minutes others might be heard or seen following their downward course.— “ How bowed the woods beneath their fleecy weight !” It was remarked to me by an observer, how melancholy an appearance the green trees presented when covered with this unusual and unseasonable mantle, quite a contrast to their cheerful aspect when “ Gaffer Winter ” has stripped off their leaves : — “When the hoar frost is chill Upon mountain and rill,” And when the smallest sprays and twigs of the forest glitter and twinkle in the sun, with their temporary covering. Not only has every season its beauties, but any ana- chronism destroys the harmony of their good keeping. The 17th of October, 1843 I shall not soon forget, nor will, I think, a mare I rode that day, for I set out in the midst of the storm, but though well becoated, I soon found that I had better return, unless I wished to sit in wet clothes all the day. ‘The mare was much frightened, but - notwithstanding her shying we did not part company.—/’. O. Morris; Crambe Vicar- age, York, November, 1843. Quadrupeds. 417 Notice of Fossil Sloths. (Concluded from p. 287) Skull of Mylodon robustus, Owen. PROFESSOR OWEN, proceeding to a detailed description of the skull, gives a minute and elaborate analysis of the malar bone: this remark- able bone projects from the skull somewhat in the manner of a small elk-antler; it commences with a short thick stem, somewhat flattened above, where it forms the floor of the orbit, and there expands into a broad vertical trilobed plate, as represented in the above figure. In no family of existing or extinct animals, besides the sloths, do we find any approach to this extraordinary formation: though the more lengthened and straightened skull of the Mylodon, and its more complete zygoma- tic arch, are characters possessed more fully by the armadilloes than by the sloths. With all other mammals it were useless to compare the skull now before us: once place it beside that of the horse, ox, elk, tapir, rhinoceros, dugong, or any other herbivorous animal of equal bulk, and we shall not only be struck with the manifold discrepancies, but at once conclude that the Mylodon obtained its food in a manner no longer practised by living animals. The extinct Megatherium, however, pre- sents us with a conformation similar in many respects to that of the Mylodon, and more especially in the possession of that singular de- scending process of the malar bone, which so peculiarly characterizes the sloth, and which alone is sufficient to show the close affinity of these gigantic antediluvians with our existing sloths. The teeth of the Mylodon are eighteen in number, five on each side above and four below: they are simple, long, fangless, of uniform sub- stance and nearly straight, with the exception of the first tooth in the il D 418 Quadrupeds. upper jaw, which is slightly curved: each has a central body of vas- cular dentine, enclosed in a cylinder of hard unvascular dentine, which forms a prominent ridge, and which is again cased in a cover- ing of cement. The inference the author derives from the structure of the teeth, is that the Mylodon fed on the leaves or slender terminal twigs of trees, in this respect resembling the giraffe, the elephant and the sloth. The extraordinary stature of the giraffe raises its mouth to the immediate vicinity of its food; the trunk of the elephant conveys the food to its mouth; and the light figure of the sloth enables him to run along the under side of the boughs, till he finds he has reached a commodious feeding-place: but the Mylodon and his congeners possessed short and massive necks, no trunk, and the bulk of a Hippopotamus or Rhi- noceros; so that to obtain their food in the same manner as either the giraffe, the elephant or the sloth, appears decidedly impossible, unless, with Dr. Lund, we imagine a vegetation gigantic in propor- tion; but even granting this, it is difficult to believe that creatures ri- valling the Hippopotamus in bulk, would approach the leaves, which are usually placed on the most slender twigs. Professor Owen, after alluding to the very perfect clavicles of the Mylodon, which have been received alternately as evidence of the burrowing and climbing hypo- theses, does not necessarily imply the faculty of climbing or burrow- ing, since the bear, a climbing, and the badger, a burrowing animal, are perfectly destitute of them: but from a comparison of the hand of the Mylodon with that of certain ant-eaters, he thinks it may be in- ferred that it was an instrument employed in digging or displacing the earth. The author considers the unequalled bulk of the posterior ex- tremities, and the corresponding excess of muscular power, as shown by the spinal crest of the sacrum, and the broad, rugged, and anteri- orly produced margin of the ilium, as further evidence against the climbing theory; and he regards the hind legs as uniting with the enormous tail in forming a tripod, which supported the weight of the animal, leaving the hands at liberty. “ Tf the foregoing physiological interpretation of the osseous frame-work of the gi- gantic extinct sloths be the true one, they may be supposed to have commenced the _ process of prostrating the chosen tree by scratching away the soil from the roots; for which office we find in the Mylodon the modern scansorial fore-foot of the sloth mo- dified after the type of that of the partially fossorial ant-eater. The compressed or subcompressed form of the claws, which detracts from their power as burrowing instru- ments, adds to. their fitness for penetrating the interspaces of roots, and for exposing and liberating them from the attached soil. This operation having been duly effected by the alternate action of the fore-feet, aided probably by the unguiculate digits of the Quadrupeds. 419 hind-feet, the long and curved fore-claws, which are habitually flexed and fettered in the movements of extension, would next be applied to the opposite sides of the loosen- ed trunk of the tree: and now the Mylodon would derive the full advantage of those modifications of its fure-feet by which it resembles the Bradypus; the correspondence in the structure of the prehensile instruments of the existing and extinct sloths, ex- tending as far as was compatible with the different degrees of resistence to be overcome. In the small climbing sloth the claws are long and slender, having only to bear the weight of the animal's light body, which is approximated by the action of the muscles towards the grasped branch, as to a fixed point. The stouter proportions of the pre- hensile hooks of the Mylodon accord with the harder task of overcoming the resistance of the part seized and bringing it down to the body. For the long and slender bran- chial and anti-branchial bones of the climbing sloth we find substituted in its gigantic predecessor a humerus, radius and ulna of more robust proportions, — of such propor- tions, indeed, in the Mylodon robustus, as are unequalled in any other known existing or extinct animal. The tree being thus partly undermined and firmly grappled with, the muscles of the trunk, the pelvis and hind limbs, animated by the nervous influence of the unusually large spinal cord, would combine their forces with those of the an- terior members in the efforts at prostration. And now let us picture to ourselves the massive frame of the Megatherium, convulsed with the mighty wrestling, every vibrat- ting fibre reacting upon its bony attachment with a force which the sharp and strong crests and apophyses loudly bespeak :—extraordinary must have been the strength and proportions of that tree, which, rocked to and fro, to right and left, in such an em- brace, could long withstand the efforts of its ponderous assailant.”—p. 147. A few pages are occupied by elaborate observations on several re- markable points, particularly the arrangement of the bones of the hind feet, and the evidence, which appears irresistible, of the existence of a large and powerful tongue, with which the animal, in all probability, drew down the boughs before devouring them. The structure of the feet is truly remarkable: the anterior pair, or hands, had five fingers, of which the first, second and third were armed with immense claws, the first being the shortest, and the third the longest ; the fourth and fifth fingers, instead of claws, appear to have been furnished with small hoofs: the hind toes were only four, the interior pair having claws, the exterior pair hoofs. In the zoological summary, the natural affinities of the sloths are briefly detailed, and their relation to the other tribes of Cuvier’s Eden- tata pointed out; and a structural peculiarity of the teeth is used as an argument against their approximation to the monkeys: but when we find the microscopic structure of the teeth of fishes repeated in mammals, as Professor Owen admits to be the case, we surely must - pause before we regard these characters as available to the important subject of natural classification. The following paragraph is sufficient to induce some hesitation in adopting the dental hypothesis. D 2 420 Quadrupeds. ‘In the Orycterope we find, strangely repeated, a microscopic structure character- istic of the teeth of the ray and the saw-fish, very different from any modification in the teeth of other Edentata or of other Mammalia. The intimate structure of the teeth of the Megatherioids and Sloths is quite as peculiar to them among Mammalia, but this modification has not been observed in any other class of vertebrate animals.” ——p. 100. We have only to subjoin Professor Owen’s conspectus of the fossil sloths, and to recommend his admirable work to the attention of every comparative anatomist. It is one, from the perusal of which no one can rise uninstructed: the language is careful, terse, and never re- dundant ; the knowledge displayed accurate and profound; and the reasoning fair, forcible, and almost irresistible. LIST OF THE SLOTHS. Order.— Bruta, Linneus. Tribe.— PuyrLopHaca or Leafeaters. Family I.—Tarpierapa or recent Sloths. ‘Genus 1.—Brapypwus. Genus 2.—CHOL@PUs. Family I1.—Gravierapa or fossil Sloths. Genus. 1.—MEGALONYX. Genus 4.—ScELIDOTHERIUM. Sp.—Jeffersoni Sp.—leptocephalum. Genus 2.—MEGATHERIUM. » Cuvier. Sp.—Cuvieri. » Bucklandi. Genus 3.—My.opown. » Mminutum. Sp.—Darwinii. Genus 5.—Ca@Lopon. Harlani. Genus 6.—SPHENODON. 99 > robustus. We cannot conclude our notice of this work, without speaking in praise of the numerous and beautiful lithographic plates drawn by G. Scharf. They represent bones more faithfully than any we have previously seen. K. Anecdote of a Hare. I used frequently to walk, during the winter months, with my gun, on the sea-wall and the saltings beyond it, in pursuit of wild fowl, of which seve- ral species were frequently to be found. These saltings, which produce, during the summer, a little coarse herbage for sheep, afford also a very favourite resort for hares to sit. At spring tides they are completely covered with water: the hares remain on their forms till the tide flows up to them, and are then frequently obliged to swim off. On one occasion, as I was walking on the wall I saw a hare rise from its form, but in- stantly squat down again on perceiving me. I staid to see whether its fear of me would overcome its evident desire to escape the coming flood. As the tide rose around it, it gradually raised itself up so as barely to leave its head visible above water, with its ears kept closely on its neck ; and this it continued to do till a considerable portion ‘ Quadrupeds. 421 of its body was immersed. My attention was then called off to a number of wild ducks flying towards me, and I retreated behind the wall, in hopes of getting a shot at them, which gave the hare an opportunity of escaping, and when I again looked over, she had just landed, and was bending her course over the adjoining marsh.—Johy 4tkin- son; Layer Marney, near Kelvedon, E'ssex, October 21, 1843. A Fauna of Moray. By the Rev. G. Gorpon. THE following lists are transmitted to ‘'The Zoologist,’ in order to give its readers some idea of the Fauna of Moray, a province of Scot- land from which there has as yet been no communication to its inte- resting pages. The Province of Moray lies on the north side of the Grampian range, is “drained on the east by the Spey and its tributaries, on the west by the Beauly,—is bounded on the north by the Moray Frith, and on the south by a line running from Loch Spey to Loch Monar, the course of which is regulated by the water-shears between the east and west coasts.”’ This district has not been so minutely examined by the zoologist as it deserves. Combining on its varied surface almost every degree of temperature, cultivation, and level that are to be found in Scotland, its alpine range and fertile plains, its inland lakes and its waters of the German ocean, its hill and dale, its primeval forests and modern plantations, its shady bowers and muirland wastes, must be the ha- bitats of many a species, of the minuter tribes, that has not yet been detected by the prying eye of the naturalist. And it is hoped that observers and collectors, whether resident or visiting, will communi- cate to this journal such additions to the following lists as have or may come under their notice. The admirable plan upon which ‘ The Zo- ologist’ is conducted, affords every facility for such a record, and the Elgin Museum, lately opened, a no less suitable receptacle for the objects themselves. In former times, when there was no such oppor- tunity of recording the discovery or of preserving the specimen itself, many a zoological rarity has doubtless been found within this pro- vince, when, if it attracted any attention at all, it was turned over and over by the hands of the curious, then left to dissolve into its constitu- ent elements on the spot. At times an effort was made, if small in itself and vivid in its colours, to submit it to the inspection perhaps of some neighbouring surgeon or some one who had perchance been be- yond the Tweed, or travelled in foreign climes. But, nailed to the most conspicuous gable of the homestead, or the less elevated kiln- 422 Quadrupeds. door, quadruped and bird were doomed to weather a few winters at most. The fur and the feather were carried fast away piecemeal by the wind and the storm. The muscles and ligaments dissolved by the rain or dried up and cracked by the sunshine, the bones one after an- other fell down to rot in the earth, until the skull alone remained. Even this last vestige was to be seen but for a time, —it soon follow- ed the rest of the body, or was torn off to make way for some other “rara avis,” that had fallen a prey to the rustic’s firelock or the keep- er’s trap. A more suitable place of exhibition has lately been erected, — The Elgin Museum, one of the most elegant structures in a town already of some note for its public buildings, ancient and modern. The interior, vieing in beauty with the exterior, is both commodious and well arranged, but as yet miserably deficient in what would most enhance it in the eyes of many a visitor, viz., in specimens, animal, mineral or vegetable, illustrative of the natural history of the county and neighbourhood. A gallery, amply sufficient for this purpose, has been set apart by the directors, who earnestly solicit contributions to this the most important portion of every provincial museum. ‘There is no gentleman in the country who might not assist in this matter ; while the avocations of sportsmen and their keepers, and the resi- dence of others at the different fishing stations along the coast, are particularly fitted for securing many desiderata of our Fauna. I. MAMMALIA.* Badger, “ Brock,” Meles Taxus.” Occasionally trapped in the woods by gamekeepers and others. Its nocturnal habits and seques- tered retreats prevent any satisfactory estimate of its numbers in this part of Scotland. Pine Marten, Mustela Martes. A marten, killed some years ago in the Oakwood near Elgin, was probably of this species, as its throat and breast were yellowish. It were well that some more distinctive and palpable mark were given between this and M. Foina, than those given in our systematic works. Polecat, “ Foumart,” “ Fozzle,” M. Putorius. Weasel, M. vulgaris. Ermine, M. Erminea. Occasionally seen perfectly white in winter and spring, but not always so even in the severest weather. This species and the former seem equally common and are both known by the provincial name of Whitret. * The order and nomenclature adopted in Jenyns’ Manual are followed here. Quadrupeds. 425 Otter, Lutra vulgaris. Fox, “Tod,” Canis Vulpes. 'The depredations of the fox in the hen- roost are seldom heard of now: about thirty years ago they were very common. ‘This happy change in the number of Reynard’s visits to the property of his neighbours, is not to be accounted for by any dimi- nution of his numbers, at least in the lower and better cultivated por- tion of this county. He has scarcely been the object of the chase here since the late Duke (Alexander) of Gordon gave up his fox-hounds. The plantations are vastly increased, and the furze-covers as extensive as ever, where he may shelter with impunity: so that the only reason we can assign for the comparatively honest character he has lately acquired with us, is that the profusion of rabbits now spread over the district, supplies him with abundance of food without moving far from the mouth of his hole, or subjecting himself to detriment or death in visiting the hostile habitations of men. In the pastoral or upper dis- tricts persons are kept in constant employment by the sheep-farmers to keep down as much as possible this formidable enemy of their lambs. Wild cat, Felis Catus. Found only in the largest forests and among the subalpine rocks and valleys of the Province. One killed above Cawdor-castle, measured from the nose to the tip of the tail 3 feet 9 inches, of which length the tail itself occupied 15 inches. Common seal, “‘ Sealch,” Phoca vitulina. Mole, Zalpa europea. The albino variety seems to be not unfre- quent at Dalless, on the Findhorn. Shrew, “Straw mouse,” Sorex tetragonurus. This is found in most marshy or damp enclosures. At least one other species has been seen in the Province of Moray ; but until other specimens are obtained and compared with Mr. Jenyns’ papers in ‘The Magazine of Zoology and Botany’ for June, 1837; and in ‘The Annals and Magazine of Na- tural History,’ i. and vii.: the provincial species cannot be accurately given. Hedgehog, Evinaceus europeus. Very rare: one found a few years ago, when clearing away the foundation of an old wall near Elgin Cathedral. Occasionally met with in Strathspey. Bat, Vespertilio Pipistrellus. Many are not aware of there being more than one species of bat in the north of Scotland; but as others, — for instance, Vespertilio Daubentonii, at Aberdeen — have been found, they may also be expected as early additions to this list of de- nizens of the Province of Moray. Squurel, Sctwrus vulgaris. Occasionally seen in the woods of Strathspey. 424 Quadrupeds. Field mouse, Mus sylvaticus. Abundant in corn-fields and about gardens, rarely found in houses, and then only about their founda- tions. In July, 1836, on the top of Maam Soul, one of the highest hills in Strath Glass, and about 3000 or 4000 feet above the level of the sea, evident traces of a colony of some small animal were seen among weathered grass, rushes, &c., and debris. Mr. Jenyns (vide ‘Annals and Mag. of Nat. Hist.’ vii. 268), has received an imperfect specimen of a mouse from a similar situation in Ireland, which he seems to think is a small variety of Mus sylvaticus, but wishes that the point may be determined by those who have fitter opportunities of observation in these remote localities. It is believed that this pro- vince affords many such opportunities to sportsmen and others, who have it in their power thus to advance our knowledge of the British Fauna. House or common mouse, M. musculus. Black rat, M. Rattus. * Brown or grey rat, WM. decumanus. This species was seen about the seaport towns on the Moray-frith, upwards of thirty years ago ; since that time it has gradually moved inland, fast closing in upon the north foot of the Grampian range. It has generally got the credit of driving off or destroying the black rat (WZ. Rattus), which is now scarcely to be seen in the flat of Moray, and only to be found in any number in the upper districts. It is questionable if this be the sole or chief cause of the disappearance of this species. Owing to the vastly improved condition which has taken place within the above pe- riod, in the structure of the farm-houses throughout the country, es- pecially the introduction of slates and tiles in place of the straw thatch of the roofing, the favorite haunts of the black rat are now much cir- cumscribed, if not entirely done away with. It never burrowed like the brown rat, which prefers drains and burrows about the floors and foundations of houses, and in summer or harvest is not unfrequently to be met with in the fields. The brown rat is a great enemy to poultry of all descriptions when newly hatched. It has been found storing up provisions about its nest; in stack-yards preferring wheat to other kinds of grain. An in- stance has been observed in which it formed its nest under a stack of barley, which was built on the ground, and had made an underground communication to a stack of wheat at the distance of a few yards, through which it had conveyed a number of ears of the finer grain to its nest. Around its domicile were also found upwards of a dozen skins of the common mouse, which had all been reflected back from Quadrupeds. 425 the body, just in the manner in which they would have been manipu- lated for the purpose of being stuffed and preserved, but with far greater exactness and neatness. There was no vestige of the ribs and back-bone, but the skull and bones of the limbs remained partially attached to the skin; but all were cleaned and cleared of every par- ticle of soft or fleshy matter. Water-rat, Arvicola amphibia, and var. 8. ater. Field campagnol, A. agrestis. Red or meadow vole, A. riparia. This species abounds in the neighbourhood of Cawdor, where it has been known for several years to be most destructive to the newly-planted larches. No sooner are the plants put out into the ground, than a single night is sufficient to show the ravages, and a few days will scarcely leave a plant over whole acres, but what is more or less injured. The chief object of attack at this season (December) seems to be the newly-formed bud, which they eat out with the greatest nicety, often leaving the outer scales attached like a lid, after the kernel, as it were, is gone. When the branchlets are too slender to bear the animal to the buds at their extremity, they are gnawed across, and falling to the ground yield up their treasures an easy prey to the little robber. Mr. Black, the fo- rester at Cawdor-castle, says that when the winter sets in, the stems are often denuded of their bark under the snow, and of course the plants are seriously damaged if not killed. The injury sustained by the extraction of so many of the buds, and by the lopping off of so many of the branches, and most frequently the leading one, is such that many plants never recover it, but grow up cramped, bushy and deformed, instead of the tall, straight and handsome forms so natural to the larch. In the dry bare moors the red voles are seldom met with, and con- sequently the plants there escape. They are chiefly congregated in the large hollows which are thickly strewed with boulders, angular fragments of the subjacent rock and debris, and deeply covered with fog (mosses), decayed grass, and the tangled roots of juniper, whins, broom, and the smaller willows. Mr. B. mentions that upwards of twenty years ago he felt the rava- ges of this or a similarly destructive animal, on the banks of the Spey about Arndilly and Boat o’Bridge. He has little doubt that it is owing to their abundance and consequent destructiveness, and not to the nature of the soil, that, in some localities, in plantations through- out the north of Scotland, it has been found impossible to raise the larch. At Cawdor he endeavours, and with some success, to lessen 426 Quadrupeds. : their numbers, by a line of traps laid across their most frequented haunts in the newly-planted grounds. A. neglecta. “Aberarder, Invernesshire,” ‘Annals and Mag. of Nat. History,’ vii. The Rey. Leonard Jenyns is inclined to consider many specimens of an Arvicola from Perthshire, as deserving to rank as a distinct species under this name. Mr. Thompson of Belfast also re- ceived some of the same species from Aberarder, in Invernesshire. The following characters contrast it with A. arvalis (A. agrestis of the Manual), and may lead to its detection in other localities. A. arvalis. —- Body 4 inches: ears projecting out of the fur. A. neglecta.— Bo- dy 5 or 54 inches: fur long, entirely concealing the ears. At Aber- arder ‘it was taken in traps set for vermin on broken rocky ground at the base of the glens: it was also caught by the dogs, and knocked on the head by the shooters in the heathy tracts up to the summits of the mountains.” Beaver, Castor Fiber. As the beaver is the next in the order of the Manual, it may be here stated that the remains of this ancient de- nizen of Scotland, were detected by Prof. M‘Gillivray in a parcel of bones, sent to him by Admiral Duff, of Drummuir, from a small cave opened in a sandstone quarry on his property of Hopeman, and close by the southern shore of the Moray-frith, and little raised above high- water mark. Common hare, Lepus temidus. Rabbit, LZ. cuniculus. It is highly probable that for a length of time some were scattered along the sea-shore, yet rabbits, as far as regards Moray, may be said to have been introduced about forty years ago, and protected at Pitgaveny, whence they have spread over all the country, and in many other instances been protected to the great in- jury and annoyance of the farmer, who cannot, without incurring the displeasure of the proprietor or the jealousy of the sportsman, resort to shooting or hunting, the only means which he has readily at com- mand for defending himself against the ravages of an animal, whose powers of increase are proverbial. Not a few of the land-owners how- ever are so impressed with the necessity of extirpating these vermin, that they had in some measure anticipated the wise resolution of Sir Robert Peel, who, while lately addressing his tenantry, said, “ I con- sider it to be the duty of every landlord to make some sacrifice of his personal pleasures for the tenant farmer:” and, “I have no hesitation in saying that I shall be pleased that there is no one single rabbit on the whole of my property. I will do everything I can for their de- struction.” The many sandy banks and the general lightness of the Quadrupeds. 427 soil, as well as the numerous rising plantations in Moray, afford tco many natural facilities for the protection of the rabbit, that it requires not the arm of the law to keep up its numbers in their fair and legiti- mate proportion. Alpine, mountain, blue or white hare, LZ. albus. Frequent in the alpine and subalpine districts: a straggler may at times be found down on the low country, as one which was killed by Mr. J. Dunbar, on the 3rd of January, 1844, within a quarter of a mile of the town of Elgin. A purely white specimen, even in the depth of winter is con- sidered rather rare. Stag or red deer, Cervus HKlaphus. Among the lofty mountains, deep glens and wide forests that lie along the southern and western borders of the Province, this, the noblest animal of the British Fauna may still be seen to range in all its pristine freedom. Numbers, no doubt, fall before the rifles of the deer-stalkers, who now, every au- tumn, visit the moors and shooting-grounds of the north ; but this loss is more than compensated by the care with which these grounds have of late been guarded against the depredations of the lawless poacher. Glenfiddach, the deer-forest of the Duke of Richmond, is perhaps as well stocked as any other place in Scotland. From this locality strag- glers are often seen to move down to the low country, especially to- wards the woods of Gordon-castle. In that princely mansion there is to be seen a fine assortment of this animal’s horns, exhibiting every variety of tyne, size and form. It has often been deemed somewhat singular, if the stag annually shed its horns, that so few of them should be met with in its haunts. An old shepherd, who had long followed his avocation among the mountains of Badenoch, a favourite resort of the red deer, gave a not unsatisfactory reason for this, by stating that he believed many of these horns were chewed and destroyed by the cattle that were sent every year to pasture in these remote districts. He had often met with broken pieces that had undergone this process; and all are aware of the avidity with which some cattle will pick up and gnaw any bit of bone that may lie in their path. This explana- tion is fully as feasible as that more commonly received, namely, that the red deer purposely buries his horns out of sight in the mosses and spongy places among the hills. Roebuck, C. Capreolus. While the red deer not unfrequently lives among the bare hills far from any forest or plantation, the roebuck is never seen in open ground, save when it is feeding or passing from one cover to another. To afford it a permanent residence, the cover, if of grown wood, must be of considerable extent, as that of Gordon- 428 Quadrupeds. castle, Darnaway, Cawdor and Quarrywood: but it will find shelter for years in young plantations comparatively small, before the trees are thinned out, or so long as they preserve the size and density of brushwood. Hence the roebuck is annually becoming more abundant, owing to the vast extent of surface which has of late years been en- closed and planted in almost every corner of the Province of Moray. Porpesse, Delphinus Phocena. Common in the Moray-frith. Ca’ing whale, D. melas. Cast ashore near Fort George some years ago; as have been several other species of the whale tribe, but which have not been identified or compared with the descriptions in any sys- tematic work. G. GORDON. Manse of Birnie, by Elgin, November, 1843. Note on the occurrence of the Water Shrew in Westwood Park. So vast and ex- haustless a subject is Nature, that to the out-door naturalist new objects of observation are presenting themselves before him every day. Each season in its turn brings with it new pleasures. Spring and summer have attractions which soothe the hardest heart, and fail not to draw the attention of the most careless observer.. Autumn too, with its teeming fields of grain, ready to yield to man an abundant supply, is not without its charms. And he who is not too much attached to his fire-side, will, even in the depth of dismal dreary winter, be amply repaid by a ramble through the woods and fields. Nature is not to be studied by the comfortable fire-side, for there she is not ; you may read books on Natural History until you have become sick at heart and dis- gusted with this interesting pursuit, and in the end know little or nothing about it. He who wishes to study Nature in her true garb, must be heedless of the vicissitudes of an English climate, out he must go, morning, noon, evening and night, wet or fine, cold or hot; he must throw aside all fear, putting on courage and perseverance, and taking caution for his guide; he must ascend trees, rocks and precipices, go through bog and quagmire, over hill and dale, even the water must not be passed by without frequent visits; and in fine there must not be a spot left unsearched, or else the true history of Nature, in some one of her parts, must for ever remain in the dark. By fol- lowing the above axiom I have, day by day, become a more ardent lover, as well as admirer of Nature; the beautiful objects she presents before my eyes, and the melodious as well as harsh sounds by which she attracts my ear, have impressed upon me such a fond attachment for her, that to destroy her in any one of her forms uselessly, is to me a matter of grief. This last summer has been one of great interest to me, and it has not passed without having housed a goodly store of information on Natural History. Amongst the foremost in my stock is the discovery of a little animal called by name the water shrew, the Sorex fodiens of authors, a short account of which, I hope, will not be irksome to your readers. I saw two of these little creatures in an old pit in Westwood park, and at first sight I took them to be the young of the water-hen, but upon approaching near the spot where they were, they proved to be a pair of water- shrews, which were diving and sporting on the water with the greatest agility, and as Quadrupeds. 429 though in pursuit of insects. Both being frightened on my approach, immediately made for the opposite bank, where they soon found a hiding-place secure from moles- tation: but after the lapse of a few moments, all being still and quiet, both of them reappeared, once more to be the objects of my attention and amusement. They were busily engaged in searching with their long snouts amongst the dead leaves and rub- bish at the water’s edge, for their favorite food, insects and their larve. After pro- ceeding some distance along the bank, they again took to the water. And now I wit- nessed a truly beautiful and pleasing sight: one of the little creatures repeatedly diving under the water, as if in pursuit of some favorite and delicious morsel. On emerging from the water its black and glossy coat was perfectly dry. They both seemed to use the tail as a rudder, whilst swimming on the surface, and their sides were apparently much dilated. The whole of the upper parts of these two little animals were jet black, and the under parts a beautiful silvery white, presenting a very striking contrast to the eye. The water being of a very dark colour, as is frequently the case in old pits, I was not able to observe their feats whilst under that element. At last I was com- pelled to leave these interesting and playful little companions by themselves, to paddle their way up the tributary ditch of the pit. Though this, perhaps, is the first record of this species in this immediate neighbourhood, I should be sorry to publish it with the impression of its being its first appearance with us; for I am inclined to think otherwise, and that this is merely a first record of its appearance, for so minute, retir- ing and timorous a creature is very likely to elude observation. — Vivian Walmesley ; Westwood House, January 5, 1844. A new Quadruped. ‘“ The buffalo or mountain elk is nothing in comparison to this animal in the scale of worth. It sits on its hind legs, its front legs or arms are short, but armed with sharp claws, and it bounds or jumps with its hind legs. It has a tail, somewhat like that of a sheep, about ten inches long; and round the middle of the body it has a ring of flesh, about twelve inches wide and eight inches thick in the middle or centre, which produces a large quantity of oil. On their heads they have two horns, verysimilar to the horns of the deer, and they have the same kind of teeth; but what is more extraordinary that all the rest, their coat is of the most beautiful fur I ever beheld, of a dark brown colour. The proportions of the one we killed were very great; it weighed, to the best of our calculations, upwards of 600 lbs., and it measured from the top of the head to the end of the tail, 9 feet 4 inches. We had no sooner killed this one, than some Indians, attracted by the report of the rifle, joined us. Our interpreter conversed with them; they said that in the woodlands similar animals were in great abundance. They called it in their tongue the ke-ko-ka-kz, or jumper ; they feed on grass, herbs and foliage. Upon observing us take off the skin, the Indi- ans expressed a desire to have some of the flesh, which we gave them. We cooked some of the same, and found it delicious; it was very white and tender, and tasted very similar to veal; but the ring on the body was nearly all oil, and the whole upper part will produce a great quantity. The Indians took us to their huts or village, which consisted of six families; there we saw no less than six of these animals domesticated.” —Extract of a Letter from Mr. Audubon which has gone the round of the Newspapers : is it not a hoax P—Ed. 430 Birds. Notes on the Birds of Sussex. By A. E. Knox, Esq., M.A. (Continued from p. 230). THE carrion crow (Corvus Corone), though a well known bird in many parts of Sussex, more especially frequents the wooded districts north of the Downs during the spring and summer, where, notwith- standing the dangers to which he is occasionally exposed from bird- nesting boys, and vigilant gamekeepers, the species seems to have found a strong hold, and does not appear to be sensibly diminishing. After the bursting of the leaf it is extremely difficult to discover his haunts; so shy and solitary are his habits, that two nests are seldom to be found in the immediate neighbourhood of each other: and here amidst forests of oak, and dense thickets, interwoven with briars and brush-wood, he dwells in comparative security, and has ample oppor- tunities of indulging his vagrant habits, and his predilection for all kinds of animal food. Besides the young of small quadrupeds, car- rion of all kinds, and the eggs of pheasants, partridges and poultry, he is particularly partial to a species of fresh-water muscle (Anodon Anatina) which abounds in all the brooks and ponds in the clay dis- trict of the weald of Sussex, and from this circumstance has, among the country people in those parts, acquired the name of “ crow muscle.” After continued and heavy falls of rain, the meadows in the neigh- bourhood of these brooks are flooded to a considerable extent, and quantities of this shell-fish, disturbed from the muddy bed of the stream, are carried over and deposited on the banks, where they re- main high and dry after the falling of the water. On such occasions the carrion crow is not idle: as the floods retire he may be seen is- suing from the neighbouring woods, expressing his delight, or an- nouncing his discovery to his mate by hoarse croakings, soaring on extended wings along the edge of the flood, but checking his progress every now and then to seize and devour a newly exposed muscle. Presently another may be observed parading up and down the banks, wading knee-deep in the shallower parts of the stream, and anxiously watching the receding waters; occasionally plunging in his head and dragging forth a prize, which he demolishes in the same manner as he would an egg: the shell being brittle, two or three smart blows of his beak suffice to break it, and the contents disappear in a moment. Immense quantities of this shell-fish are found in the numerous small ponds which form so distinguishing a feature in the wooded scenery of the weald, and attract the attention of all strangers who vi- Birds. 43] sit this part of Sussex. Many of these are the remains of establish- ments for the smelting of native iron, before the Swedish metal came into such general use; and the name of “ furnace-pond” which is still applied to some of them, serves to point out their origin. They are now generally used as fish-ponds, and are regularly drained after an interval of a certain number of years ; carp, tench and eels are found in considerable numbers, and the decayed vegetation which has accumulated at the bottom in the form of mud, the result of the falling of the leaf from the overhanging woods during many successive seasons, is afterwards dug out and thrown up on the banks to be used for agricultural purposes, and in this state the ponds are suffered to remain for some time, before the water is allowed to return, and the stock fish re-introduced. Then, indeed, an ample and welcome feast is prepared for the carrion crow: the bottom of the pond and the banks above being literally studded with the fresh-water muscle. I have never observed so many carrion crows assembled together as on such occasions, and the banquet lasts for several days, until nothing remains but scattered heaps of empty and broken shells. On the approach of winter the carrion crow retires from the wooded districts, and proceeds to the sea-coast, about the same time, or per- haps at a somewhat later period than that at which the hooded crow (Corvus Cornix) arrives in this country from the north ; and the par- tial distribution of these Corvidee, during this season, involving as it does the local separation of the two species, appears to me to be wor- thy of observation. A few years ago, while residing during the winter near the sea in the western part of the county, I remarked that the carrion crow was particularly numerous on that part of the coast, more especially in the estuaries of Chichester harbour, and along the whole line of shore from Selsey Bill to Bognor, while I could never detect the occurrence of a single individual of the hooded crow within the same limits. This struck me as the more remarkable, from having previously ob- served that the latter species is exceedingly numerous during the same season of the year about twenty miles to the eastward, in the neigh- bourhood of Shoreham and Brighton, where the carrion crow is, in its turn, equally scarce. I may add that my subsequent observations have proved the above remarks to be correct, as well as the testimony of local observers both at Chichester and Brighton, whose attention I had drawn to the subject. It would perhaps be difficult to discover the cause of this peculi- arity in the local distribution of the two species, while impelled by A3s Birds. the same instinct to haunt the shores of our country during the win- ter months. It can hardly be attributed to any innate dislike of each other or natural hostility. The many well-authenticated instances which are on record of the hooded crow having paired with the car- rion crow in a wild state, would refute such an idea.* Perhaps the different character and aspect of the country, in the immediate vici- nity of the coast, to the east, and to the west, may afford a clew to unravel the mystery. To the eastward near Brighton, and for many miles in that direc- tion, the naked downs approach the coast, the country is generally open, and presents a considerable extent resembling (at least in the absence of wood) the native haunts of the hooded crow in the north of Scotland and Denmark. A natural predilection in favor of such a country may therefore induce these birds to prefer the neighbourhood of this treeless tract to the wooded and highly cultivated district which extends to the very shore in the more western part of Sussex ; and admitting, for a moment, this conjecture to be correct, a similar course of reasoning would account for the partiality of the carrion crow for the latter country. I should have observed that the carrion crow, even where it occurs in the greatest numbers during the winter months, as at the mouth of Pagham harbour, and the inlets of the sea to the south of Chichester, seems always more or less to live in pairs, both when feeding and when on the wing, and never assembles in large flocks, as the hooded crow is well known to do in the immediate neighbourhood of Brighton, and even on the beach between the houses and the sea. The food of both these Corvide at this season of the year consists of oysters, muscles, small crabs, marine insects, worms, and dead fish which are cast up by the waves during the prevalent south-westerly storms. At Pagham, in the vicinity of the oyster beds, the carrion crow has frequently been observed to ascend to a great height in the air with one of these fish in his claws, and after letting it fall on the beach to descend rapidly with closed pinions, and devour the contents, which, but for the shock or fracture occasioned by the fall, he would have been unable to disengage from the shell. I do not know an in- stance of the hooded crow’s having ever been observed to resort to a similar expedient. The hooded crows make their appearance about the beginning of October, haunting the upper parts of the tide rivers at Shoreham and * Vide Yarrell’s ‘ History of British Birds,’ vol. ii. p 86 Birds. 433 Newhaven, and the fields at some distance from the coast, gradually becoming more gregarious, and more marine in their habits as the winter approaches. Perhaps they never appear more numerous than at that period which immediately precedes their departure for the north. When at Brighton about the end of last March [ noticed as many as thirty as- sembled on the shore opposite Brunswick Terrace, and a much larger flock in a neighbouring field at Hove, and in a few days afterwards not a bird was to be seen. ‘The carrion crows commence their re- turn from the coast to the interior at a somewhat earlier period, and as might be expected from their having sojourned in pairs during the winter, their departure is not so sudden and simultaneous, but they seem gradually to appear less numerous, until at last they entirely desert the shores for the woods and forests of the interior. A. E. Knox. New Grove, Petworth, Sussex, December, 1843. Notes on the Habits of the Wryneck, (Yunx Torquilla, Linn.) By W. H. THomas. Tuis singular and beautifully marked bird arrives in this country about the latter end of March, and is sometimes heard by the middle ofthe month. It is commonly to be seen in most of our old cherry, plum, or apple orchards, likewise in gardens whose sides are bordered with plenty of decayed elm or willow trees ; such places affording it plenty of food and suitable breeding-holes. In the spring the male bird is very noisy; his song or call notes are often repeated, and may be expressed by the words “qui, gut, qui, qui, qui, quit, qui,” execut- ed in rapid succession. A rough imitation of these notes in the breed- ing season will bring the bird pretty close to you. This note is one of the first heard in the early spring, and I take it to be the courting or love call to the female; it is well known to most of our country folks. In Kent the wryneck is called the “ snake-bird,” and it is found in all our southern counties. It is a very bold, fearless bird, and when first taken in the hand it will erect its head-feathers, stretch out its head and neck to its full extent, twisting it from side to side in a stiff and singular manner, every now and then darting its head at you in a menacing attitude, and making a noise like the spitting of a cat; this no doubt is its cry of anger. Its disposition is fierce ; it will grasp your hand tightly il E 434 Birds. with its strong claws, which are two before and two behind, like the cuckoo’s, and, biting your finger sharply, is very obstinate in retain- ing its hold, and will remain suspended to it without attempting to escape. They keep mostly in trees: I have now and then, but very rarely, seen them on the ground. The female makes no nest, but deposits her eggs in the hole of a tree upon the dust of the rotten wood. She generally lays from seven to ten white eggs, which when fresh laid ap- pear transparent, and the yolk may be seen through the shell. I have never met with the slightest portion of a nest, nor have I found the eggs in any other situation than in the hole of a tree which is gene- rally decayed. The young are hatched in about a fortnight, and remain in the tree until they are nearly as well feathered as the old ones, I have had nine young ones out of the hole of a tree and well feathered, the latter end of June. The plumage of the nestlings is much the same in its mark- ings as in the adult bird, with the exception of its being a little lighter in its colour. On the 29th of July, 1841, [ was out on a bird’s-nesting excursion, and in crossing the fields near Peckham, I struck a stick which I had in my hand smartly against an old willow-tree by a ditch-side, and im- mediately heard a faint hissing sound. At first I could not make out from whence it proceeded: I struck the tree again, and listened to it, when I found the sound proceed from the interior. It instantly oc- curred to me that there was a tom-tit’s nest, or some young snake- birds in the tree. About six or seven feet from the ground there was a hole, and on putting my hand and arm down it I could not reach the bottom, but still I could now and then hear the hissing noise. As the tree was much decayed, I had but little trouble in pulling out the rotten wood until I came to the birds, which were four naked little squabs. I supposed them to be wrynecks from there being no nest ; and such they proved to be. The young ones lay huddled together warm enough on the dust of the rotten wood. When I alarmed them by striking the tree, they would all cock up their heads and utter the hissing noise I had heard before. They did not open their mouths at the time of making this noise, but I found by making a slight rust- ling noise similar to what I suppose the parent bird might make on entering the hole, that they would open their mouths for food: it therefore appears that they only hiss when they are alarmed. As I had a wish to see the old bird, I fixed the pieces of rotten wood in the hole as well as I could, and let them remain about half an hour ; Birds. 435 on returning to the spot, supposing the old bird might be in with the young, I placed my handkerchief in the hole to prevent her escape. On taking the decayed wood out again, I found the old hen bird closely stowed in a corner of the hole; she did not attempt to escape on my touching her, but crouched sullenly in acorner. As I had a mind to see how she would manage her young in a cage, I took them all home, and fixed some pieces of bark to an old shoe, and made a rough imitation of the bird’s nesting-place. I then placed the young ones on some moss in the shoe, and hung it up in a large cage, the open front of which was covered with thin white paper. I put the old bird into the cage with them, and some scraped raw beef and chopped egg, mixed with live gentles and mealworms. 1 then placed them in a light situation, and watched the hen’s proceedings through a small hole made in the back of the cage: she soon observed the live food and began to eat some of it, when hearing the young ones call, she quickly hopped into the shoe to them: in about five minutes time I had the gratification to see her come out, get more of the live food, and, returning to the hole, feed her young with it. She would, no doubt, have continued to feed the young ones while there was plenty of living food ; but from my not being able to get a sufficiency of it, and as she did not feed them with the egg and meat, I was obliged to take her away from them, and put her in a separate cage, where she soon began to eat the egg and meat before my face, without the least exhibition of fear, and was apparently unconcerned about her young progeny. On going to the cage and blowing at her, or attempting to frighten her, she would look fiercely at me, twisting her head and neck, and spitting like a cat, as before mentioned. 1 fed the young with the artificial food, and they throve and fea- thered rapidly : when they were nearly fledged, I placed them in the cage with the old one, but she took no notice of them. I kept the young ones in a basket on some moss, and as soon as they could hop about they would climb in and out, and all over the basket, continually thrusting their long, slender, horny-tipped tongue into every crevice of the basket, now and then tapping it stoutly with their bills, to see, as I suppose, if any insects would appear. They grew very fast, and were beautiful little creatures. I taught them to feed themselves in about three weeks. When at liberty in the room they would fly to the window, and on observing a fly within reach, would dart out their tongue at it with a rapid motion, and so confuse it, until it fell within reach of their mouth, when they would pick it up and swallow it in the same way as another bird: it was like tick- mi 436 Birds. ling the fly within their reach; it had no power to get away. On showing them an insect, they would come from any part of the room and perch on my finger and take it, and they would often touch it with their tongue before they ate it. They would climb by short springs all over my person, every now and then insinuating their worm- like tongue (very like a slender brandling worm) in the button-holes of my coat or in my pockets, or tickling me about the eyes, nose, ears and neck, in short there was scarcely any crevice or place but what their long tongues would be prying into. For the purpose of keeping them as clean in feather as possible, I put each of them into a sepa- rate cage, and after three weeks let them out in the room. Their ac- tions were now very different to what they had been when they were together; they would scuffle about the room in a rapid manner, look fiercely at each other, stretching out their heads and necks and point- ing like two game cocks, each pursuing his opponent round the room, and evidently inclined for battle. This pugnaceous disposition is ob- servable in the males of most of the smaller summer birds, and causes them to separate more widely when in the wild state. At times, if not well supplied with food, these birds (particularly the old one) would hammer the cage with their bills, not for the pur- pose of obtaining their liberty, but as they are in the habit of doing in the wild state, with the view of alarming those insects that are con- cealed behind the decayed bark of trees: these insects are their prin- cipal food. I kept these birds three months, and then parted with them: how they got on with their new acquaintance I have never heard. The wryneck is very partial to the hole she has selected for a nest- ing-place, and cannot easily be made to forsake it; she will continue to lay her eggs in it year after year, they likewise sleep in these holes at night. In cages they will rather sleep in a corner, or creep into the feeding-trough, if there is room enough, than roost on the perch. Although robust, stout-built birds, they are rather susceptible of cold; and my nestlings, when well grown, would all huddle together in a corner of the cage at night. Wrynecks seem to prefer cultivated grounds: I have no recollec- tion of seeing them in any of the large woods, or of taking their eggs in such places. They generally leave this country in September. I have not here attempted any scientific description of the bird, but have mentioned facts just as they have occurred and come under my own observation. W. 4H. THomas. 6, Park Place, Walworth, December 1, 1843. | | | Birds. A437 Note on the Honey-Buzzard’s breeding in England. By J. P. Witmor, Esq.* THE belief expressed by Mr. Fisher in your December number (Zool. 375), that “the honey-buzzard has never, except in the in- stance recorded by White of Selborne in the year 1780, been satis- factorily ascertained to have bred in this country ;” and a remark made by Mr. Hewitson, in his beautiful work on the eggs of British birds, now in the course of publication, that “ there is no recent in- stance of the honey-buzzard having bred in this country,” lead me to believe that the following statement may possess sufficient interest for insertion in ‘ The Zoologist.’ Karly in the month of July, 1838, a female honey-buzzard was shot off her nest in Wellgrove-wood, in the parish of Bix, near Henley-on- Thames, by a gamekeeper of Lord Camoy’s named Lowe. The bird, with two eggs taken from the nest, passed into the hands of a bird stuffer at Henley, of the name of Hewer. I was then resident in the Temple, and being an eager collector of the eggs of British birds, had engaged a young friend, Mr. Ralph Mapleton, then living at Henley, to secure for me any rare eggs that he might have an opportunity of obtaining. Mr. Mapleton communicated to me the above occurrence, and at my request purchased the eggs for me. I afterwards saw the bird at the shop of Mr. Hewer, at Henley. The male bird, which continued to haunt the neighbourhood of the nest, was not long afte1 killed by another of Lord Camoy’s gamekeepers. The nest, a very large one, was placed in the fork of a beech tree, and was built of sticks of considerable size, with which were intermixed twigs with the leaveson. The lining was composed of leaves and wool; a great por- tion of the nest was, I am told, remaining in the tree a short time ago. I made no note of the occurrence at the time, but since my attention was drawn to the subject by the appearance of the observations before referred to, I have assisted my memory by application to Mr. Hewer, and by his aid am enabled to give the above particulars with confi- dence as to their accuracy. He informs me that the pair of birds are in the collection of W. Fuller Maitland, Esq., of Park-place, near Henley. In the month of June, 1841, a pair of honey-buzzards, male and female, were sent to a naturalist of the name of Cashmore, at Bir- mingham, where I then resided, to be stuffed for the Museum of Na- * Communicated by Wm. Yarrell, Esq. 438 Birds. tural History at Warwick. I had requested Cashmore, with whom [ had frequent dealings, to apprize me as often as he received any rare British bird. He accordingly submitted these birds to my inspection, and by my desire ascertained that they were killed by the gamekeeper of Lord Leigh, of Stoneleigh-abbey. The birds reached Birmingham on the 12th of June, the month in which the egg was taken from the nest mentioned by White. I therefore came to the conclusion that they had a nest, but I made no further enquiry, until my attention was excited by the perusal of Mr. Hewitson’s observation before quoted. I then wrote to Mr. Potts, Lord Leigh’s gamekeeper, for fur- ther information, and I think that I shall communicate the result of my application most satisfactorily, by setting forth his reply, which not only gives an answer to my direct enquiries, but contains highly interesting information with respect to the food and habits of the ho- ney-buzzard, showing that, although it may be insectivorous by pre- ference, it does not confine itself to insects and reptiles, and “ such small deer,” but preys on young game, both biped and quadruped. Mr. Potts’ letter is as follows. “ Srr, — In replying to your note respecting the honey-buzzards, 1 beg to inform you that I shot them in Waverley-wood, near Stone- leigh-park. I had seen them about there some time previous to my killing them, which caused me to look for their nest, which I found they were building, and had nearly completed by the appearance of it. I concealed myself near to it, and when they came I shot them. I also beg to say that I killed a pair of honey-buzzards in Berricott- wood, near Stoneleigh-abbey, a few years previous to 1841. _I ob- served them coming from towards Waverley to Berricott, most days, and they generally used to take something back in their claws, which I have no doubt were young pheasants, as when I was in Berricott one day, I heard a pheasant making a noise as though something was tak- ing her young. I went to the place, and one of the hawks flew up with two young pheasants in its claws. I immediately set some traps and baited them with young rabbits. When I went again to look, there was one caught, and the other was by its side, eating the bait, and when it flew up, I shot it, and so secured the pair. I have no ‘doubt they had young ones in Waverley, as I saw a very large nest there some time afterwards, very similar to the one I shot the old ones from in 1841. I sent both pairs to the Warwick museum. Waverley- wood is 163 acres. I am, Sir, “ Your obedient Servant, “‘ Jas. Potts.” Birds. 439 Wishing to have some little additional information respecting the position and structure of the nest, I again wrote to Mr. Potts, and learned from him that it was built in an oak tree, rather a large one, near the middle of the wood, and rested on two large arms which grew out from the trunk, and was built with sticks, some of them as thick as his finger, the greatest part without leaves, but there were a few with the leaves on entwined with the others, and there were a few small bits with the leaves on in the nest, just the leafy ends of the oak branches. He further describes the nest as nearly flat (White’s nest was a large shallow nest), but rather hollow where they lay their eggs, and adds that his brother shot a honey-buzzard off its nest in the same wood about ten years ago. ‘That nest was built between three large arms just at the top of the trunk, and he surmises that the nests are generally so placed that the young ones may walk in and out along the arms before they are fledged. I had particularly asked whether boughs or twigs with the leaves on formed part of the materials of which the nest was constructed, in order to ascertain whether it resembled the nest near Henley in that peculiarity, if it should be so termed, for the presence of boughs with the leaves on, merely proves that the honey-buzzard, like the rook, does not use dead materials only in constructing its nest. Live boughs plucked at the season at which these nests were built, would necessarily be clothed with leaves. June seems to be the usual sea- son of nidification in this country. White’s nest was robbed in the middle of June; the nest at Stoneleigh was not completed when the birds were shot, about the 10th of June. The nest near Henley con- tained eggs in the early part of July, and the young birds in the nest mentioned by Willughby were fed with the nymphe of wasps, which would not be obtained before the end of July. And, as far as can be collected from the recorded instances, there seems to be reason for supposing that the number of eggs laid by the honey-buzzard is be- low the number usually laid by birds of prey of corresponding size. In the instance mentioned by White, the single egg found in the nest contained the embryo of a young bird. The nest mentioned by Pen- nant contained two eggs, and the nest mentioned by Willughby (I am availing myself of the information collected by Mr. Yarrell), con- tained two young birds. The nest near Henley contained two eggs only, and the state of the eggs indicated that the bird had accom- plished full one half of her period of incubation, and had consequently laid her complement. Of these eggs, one was inferior in size to the other, less strongly marked, and much more pointed at the smaller 440 Birds. end. The largest egg is about 2 inches long by 13 inch in breadth, and has the colouring, which has evidently lost somewhat of its bril- liancy by incubation, pretty equally distributed over the whole sur- face. In other respects it resembles the specimen figured by Mr. Hewitson, and when newly laid must have been a splendid egg. It would be strange indeed if the only instances of the honey-buz- zard having recently bred in this country should have fallen within my very limited means of acquiring such information. I have there- fore a strong impression that the dearth of recorded instances 1s attri- butable rather to neglect to record than to want of instances. When Il was at Tonbridge Wells some eight or ten years ago, I saw the handsomest specimen I ever did see of this species, in the possession of an amateur bird-stuffer of that place. He informed me that it was killed in Lord Abergavenny’s park in the neighbourhood, and that within a few years preceding, several specimens had been obtained in the same locality. The bird evidently has its favourite haunts, as ob- served by Sir Wm. Jardine with respect to the district round Twizell (1 am again making use of Mr. Yarrell), and in these favourite haunts it breeds, I suspect, more frequently than has been supposed. The season at which it breeds, the trees being then in leaf, is favorable to concealment, and may cause some nests to escape observation. I shall however be disappointed if other instances do not flow in upon you, when attention has been drawn to the subject. In order to make sure that Mr. Potts was not mistaken (not that I suspected any mistake) in the first pair of birds sent by him to the museum at Warwick, I wrote to Mr. Twamley, the Honorary Secre- tary of the Society, and have received a reply from that gentleman, fully confirming the accuracy of Mr. Potts’ statement. J. P. WILMor. Manchester, January 6, 1844. Note on dates of Migration at Redcar, near Guisborough. On the 16th of last May I observed on our sea-banks a short-eared owl, two fieldfares and a cuckoo, the wind adverse, being north-east. On the 25th I saw a short-eared owl commence his migra- tion in a north-east direction, the wind being south-west—T. S. Rudd; Redcar, near Guisborough, Yorkshire, November 8, 1843. Notes on the departure of Summer Birds in the County of Derby, in 1843. ‘The Zoologist’ has contained, from time to time, many accounts of the arrival of our mi- oratory birds in different parts of our island, but very few of their departure from it. It must be acknowledged, that to ascertain the latter, is a much more difficult matter than the former, inasmuch as most of our summer sylvan warblers commence their —— Birds. 441 songs immediately on their arrival, and their persons are betrayed by their wild fresh notes, which, amidst the dearth of rural sounds, are readily distinguishable; whilst on the contrary, in the autumn their songs are generally hushed for weeks previous to their departure, and the woods and brakes are thick with foliage, and it requires con- siderable vigilance and attention to ascertain whether they still remain, or have de- parted from the neighbourhood. The following list, compiled with considerable care, gives the different dates at which our summer birds departed from Melbourne, Co. Derby, in the autumn of 1843. Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) ... Sept. 3 cies so late as October 20; but such an Grasshopper warbler (S. Locustella). Its incident is of rare occurrence. cricket-like notes ceased Aug. 2, and Redstart (Sylvia Phenicurus)... Aug. 18 it probably retired shortly afterwards. Wood warbler (S. sylvicola)...... Sept. 18 Swift (Hirundo Apus) ............ Aug. 10 Willow warbler (S. Trochilus)... 18 Whinchat (Sylvia Rubetra)...... Sept. 10 Chiff-chaff (S. Hippolais) ...... 26 Wheatear (S. Ginanthe) .....+... 10 Chiff-chaffs, which usually affect large Whitethroat (S. cinerea) ......4. 10 woods during the vernal and summer Lesser whitethroat (S. sylviedla). 12 months, are frequently seen and heard Landrail (Gallinula Crex) ....+- 12 in the open country towards August Sedge warbler (Sylvia Salicaria) 12 and September. Reed warbler (S. arundinacea)... 14 Swallow (Hirundo rustica) ...... Oct. 15 Ray’s wagtail (Motacilla Raytt) 18 »Martin (Hvurbiea) in ed 15 Sand martin (Hirundo riparia).. 20 A slight fall of snow took place on the Grey wagtail (MM. Boarula) ...... 18 morning of Oct. 17, which vanished I observed a solitary bird of this spe- after sunrise. WindS.E. —J. J. Briggs ; Melbourne, Notes on the arrival of some of the Winter Birds of Passage at Yarmouth in 18438. Dunlin, birds of the year, about July 19 Jack snipe..........scsseceessesseeee SEPt. 17 » old birds... Ge tata Qhocsmew; tealurswws ys wo Way 17& 18 Common aautbpiper odelbaGeak 22 Golden-crested Pp siore about 20 Curlew, pigmy a pation: Wigeon... sh cldsevosidecleveidegaas 26 CR LEMCENG Ce 10. Et tee 24 Winodouk’s NDE 85. BITING 28 Green sander ded evdscabedacedas 25 Short-eared owl... .......seccssseees 30 Little stint.. ML Msn wets Gor Skylath . 3a 7s st ole. Wh a OCk as Sanderling... Bees Wnathtas. Beptio Sar ooded! crow!) 26. 200094 1 25o8 19 Black-tailed seit ee Att dv98s bl «Snow bunting: tices Las 25 GCreengharik waters. sasews. soles 16 The golden-crested Regulus arrives here every autumn about this time. I have seen several within the last few days, which were so fatigued as to suffer themselves to be taken by the hand, but I am not aware that, like the skylarks, their arrival has been actually witnessed. The morning of October 14th was the first on which the migra- tion of the skylarks was observed. I repeatedly noticed their arrival from that time till the 22nd. They flew generally in flocks of from ten to twenty, although I several times saw them in smaller numbers, and on one occasion only a single individual. [I was also told that flocks of forty or fifty had been seen to arrive, and that numbers of them had been put up on the beach, where they had been roosting, just before day- light. They appeared at all times of the day, flying much higher in calm than in stormy weather. The stubbles in the neighbourhood are covered with them. The fol- 442 Birds. lowing species have also occurred near Yarmouth this autumn, in addition to the buff- breasted sandpiper, of which I have already sent you notice (Zool. 363). Temminck’s stint.................. Augt, 2 Rough-legged buzzard ......... Octr. 10 Purple sandpiper .........s0....00. Sept. 20 Peregrine falcon .......0.c0essnees 21 SPLOrmMy Petrel pmcsieweodenee- levees s 30 . Grey. phalarope...+...csseecssses ons 30 The peregrine falcon was shot about ten miles from Yarmouth. It measures in length 20 inches, in extent 433 inches, and weighed more than 2 tbs. It is, I suppose, a young bird, the colour of the back and wings being dark brown, and the edges of the feathers with light margins. The cere dark blue, the bare orbital space light blue, and the legs greenish; the edges of the scales and the soles of the feet nearly yellow. There is also a patch of cream colour on the back of the head, and another, almost forming a ring, upon the lower part of the neck. The stomach contained a quantity of white feathers, and the neck, probably, of a chicken, as a grain of barley was also found. The man who brought it to me, said that when he killed it, it was dashing furiously at his dog.— Wm. R. Fisher ; Great Yarmouth, October 30, 1843. Note on the curious manner in which Seeds are sown by Animals. It is generally supposed that the seeds of trees and plants, after having been eaten by birds, are not killed by the process, but only rendered in a fitter state for germination by having pass- ed through the stomach. And this is very probably the case; for we see elder, ash, ivy, gooseberry and currant bushes, growing on ruins and church towers, situations in which they never could have been planted by human hands, but must have sprung from seeds and berries which had been eaten and deposited there by birds. From tri- vial causes spring mighty effects; for doubtless many of our most richly wooded land- scapes owe much of their timber to the agency of quadrupeds and birds. Linnets, goldfinches, thrushes, goldcrests &c. feed on the seeds of elms, firs, and ashes, and carry them away to hedge-rows, where, fostered and protected by bush and bram- ble, they spring up and become luxuriant trees. Many noble oaks have been planted by the squirrel, who unconsciously yields no inconsiderable boon to the domain he in- fests. Towards autumn this provident little animal mounts the branches of oak trees, strips off the acorns and buries them in the earth, as a supply of food against the se- verities of winter. He is most probably not gifted with a memory of sufficient reten- tion to enable him to find every one he secretes, which are thus left in the ground, and springing up the following year, finally grow into magnificent trees. Pheasants de- vour numbers of acorns in the autumn, some of which having passed through the sto- mach, probably germinate. The nuthatch in an indirect manner also frequently be- comes a planter. Having twisted off their boughs a cluster of beech-nuts, this curious bird resorts to some favourite tree, whose bole is uneven, and endeavours, by a series of manceuvres, to peg it into one of the crevices of the bark. During the operation it oftentimes falls to the ground, and is caused to germinate by the moisture of winter. Many small beeches are found growing near the haunts of the nuthatch, which have evidently been planted in the manner described. — J. J. Briggs ; Melbourne, Novem- ber, 1843. Note on the Songs of Birds. White of Selborne laid it down as a maxim in Orni- thology, that where there is incubation there is music; and it appears a correct one. Birds never produce their songs with such melody and vigour as during the breeding season ; and some, as the missel-thrush, hush them entirely when it is over. Many birds, as the robin, blackbird, song-thrush, yellow bunting, common bunting, goldfinch, greenfinch, wren and some others, continue to warble until the verge of autumn. Mi- Birds. 443 gratory songsters have many peculiarities with respect to their ditties. The redstart, for instance, rarely prolongs his strains beyond the third week in January (22nd), whilst on the contrary the sable swallow and diminutive chaff hold on till September, almost up to the day of their departure. The landrail utters his hoarse “ crake, crake” almost every evening (especially the moist ones) from the middle of May (16th) to the fourth week in July, very few birds being heard or seen after corn-harvest. The blackcap hushes his wild pipe by the 11th of that month, and the cuckoo her two notes always by the Ist of August. The sedge and reed warblers continue steadily in song from the time of their arrival until a few weeks before their autumnal disappearance. White- throats warble till the third week in July (about the 22nd), after which they are little seen. The nightingale commences his love-songs early in May, and his wild varied notes are the glory of the spring. Hidden by the shadowy foliage of some broad wood or copse, he serenades his mate every evening and night till the end of June, when his strains cease, and are succeeded by a rather harsh, croaking noise, falling anything but melodiously upon the ear. Of our resident songsters it may be noted that the skylark and woodlark awaken their exhilarating ditties in January, and con- tinue them through all kinds of weather until the close of the year. The robin’s plain- tive lay is heard in the spring, then is nearly mute the summer through, and is very distinctly audible in the autumn, owing to the solemnities of the season, and the ab- sence of most other woodland voices. He is in full song in September, and _ his lay may be called the dirge of the departed summer. The song-thrush sings nearly the year through with the exception of the severest months. The blackbird, too, commen- cing in spring, continues till October. The yellow bunting is in full song in July, and loves to sing during the most sultry days. The elegant goldfinch twitters the year round, and his delicate ditty is extremely pleasing. The low scream of the greenfinch, although commenced in the early spring, is heard all the summer, and when blended with the general chorus, has not an unharmonious effect. The chaffinch sings during the vernal months, but closes early, frequently by the middle of June.—Id. Note on the occurrence of the Sea Eagle at Elden, near Thetford. A very fine fe- male specimen of the sea eagle (Haliaetus albicilla) was shot on the warren at Elden, on January 12, 1843. As it was very slightly wounded, we endeavoured to keep it alive for some time, but as it seemed to pine, it was killed and stuffed by Mr. Reynolds of Thetford. It had haunted for some time the large rabbit-warrens in the vicinity of Thetford, and was shot in the act of preying on a rabbit. It measured 7 feet 11 inches from tip to tip, and 2 feet 6 inches from beak to tail, and weighed 11 tbs. when first shot, but lost 1 fb. when in confinement.—Alfred Newton; Elden Hall, near T; hetford, Suffolk, Nov. 1843. Occurrence of the Osprey near Farnham. About the latter end of September, an osprey was seen in several different places near here, hovering over Frensham and other large ponds. 1 am not aware that this specimen was killed, but about three years ago I obtained a specimen which measured 3 feet across the expanded wings. — 7. Man- sell; Farnham, November 3, 1843. Note on the occurrence of the Osprey and other Birds in the neighbourhood of the ri- ver Swale, Yorkshire. A fine specimen of the osprey visited this river in the month of May last; its favourite localities being between the villages of Catterick and Langton, where it was easily distinguished by its large size and peculiar habits. When first observed it was flying with an eel in its claws, and was afterwards frequently seen to hover over the water like a kestril, sometimes hanging down its legs, then dropping 444 Birds. into it like a stone, it seldom failed to secure a fish, which it bore in its talons to land. It was first shot at while sitting in a tall ash tree, but not being much the worse, the bird flew off, dropping however a barbel of about half a pound weight. On another occasion it was shot at while on the wing, and let fall the tail part of a large trout; and while walking under a tree from which it had been disturbed, I found a perch with the back and head torn, as if by the claws of the bird. These observations tend to show that the osprey is no unskilful fisherman. ‘The one in question, after remaining in the neighbourhood for above a month, and being constantly fired at, was killed by a gamekeeper on the 20th of June. Another bird of the same species was observed about five years ago, but not obtained. A fine cormorant was shot at the Red hills, under which the river flows, on the 18th of October, and is now in my possession. It is very rarely met with so far inland, this place being about thirty miles from the sea. Two little stints were seen in August, and one of them was shot ; also three or four green- shanks. The latter are very regular visitors, generally arriving, together with the green sandpiper, about the end of July.— Mark Booth; Killerby, Yorkshire, Dec. 22, 1843. Note on the occurrence of the Grey Shrike at Lynn. A specimen of the great grey or ash-coloured shrike was caught alive here on the 30th of last month. — Daniel C. Burlingham ; Lynn, 1st of 11th Mo. 1848. Note on the oceurrence of the Red-breasted Tanager, near Cheltenham. When in Oxford during the month of September, I enjoyed the opportunity of examining an adult male specimen of the red-breasted tanager (Ramphopis purpureus, Viellot) which had been recently shot near Cheltenham. Whether the transatlantic straggler will be entertained as an honest visitor, it is not presumed to determine, seeing that it is here for the first time treated as one of the British list. — Charles Buckler ; 15, Rocking- ham Row. Anecdote of a hen Song Thrush nursing a young Missel Thrush. A few years ago having had a young song thrush (Turdus musicus) given to me, I succeeded in rearing it until it was able to feed itself with the food supplied to it. About this time a young member of our family, during one of his holiday rambles, having met with the nest of a missel thrush (Turdus viscivorus), containing two half-fledged young ones, brought one of them home, and introduced it into the same cage with the song thrush. The latter (a hen bird) immediately undertook the part of nursing mother to her helpless fellow-prisoner, feeding it regularly at the stated hours when food was supplied them, before she partook of any herself. Under her affectionate care the missel] thrush grew and throve wonderfully, till it had attained to nearly its full growth, and during all this time the affection displayed by the song-thrush for her eléve could not have been surpassed, had she been really its parent. But one luckless morning, their cage, as was usual in fine weather, was placed on a gravel walk in the garden at a few paces distance from the window where I sat, and the song-thrush having by some means con- trived to escape from the cage, had perched in a currant-bush hard by. Here she was cleaning her feathers, when a cat, lurking near, suddenly pounced on the unfortunate bird, and inflicted such injuries on her before I could come to the rescue, as caused her death. From this time the missel lost all its animation, though previously remark- able for its lively manners, neglected its food, pined and died within the week, not unwept by its youthful master, nor unregretted by the rest of the family, who had ob- served, not without admiration, the singular attachment which subsisted between these two birds from the first—F’. Owston ; Driffield ; December 2, 1843. Note on the occurrence of the Ring Ouzel near Farnham. At Aldershot, a village Birds. 445 near here, the ring ouzels appeared in some abundance on the 8th of September last, they remained about the neighbourhood until the 19th, after which none were seen. In a few specimens that were shot, the white was much more observable than in those birds which were killed when they passed this place in their spring migration. — 7. Mansell, Naturalist ; Farnham, November 3, 1843. Note on the Goatsucker or Night-hawk. In the month of July I had brought to me a pair of “night-hawks,” as goatsuckers are provincially termed in Kent. They were quite young, and had been found at the foot of a tree, with an egg, which was also brought to me. It is generally supposed that the goatsucker lays only two eggs; this however was an instance to the contrary. Being desirous of rearing them, I fed them with flies and other insects, which at first they appeared to thrive on, but after a little, from some cause I could never quite understand, they began to droop, and finding they were gradually sinking, Ikilled and stuffed them. Wishing to obtain a speci- men of the full-grown bird, I proceeded one evening to the wood from which the young ones had been taken, and after waiting a short time, I observed a pair of goatsuckers (probably the parent birds), hawking round an oak, close to the spot described to me as the place the young had been found in. I succeeded in shooting them both, and found they were male and female; they are now with the young ones in my cabinet. It is perhaps needless to remark that this bird derived its name from the ancient and ignorant idea, that it sucked goats, which is in the same degree probable as that hedge- hogs performed the same kind office for cows! Although not a rare bird, yet from its habit of flying only in the evening and at daybreak, it is not very generally observed. There is something very peculiar in the appearance of the goatsucker when sleeping in the day. I recollect once shooting at what appeared to be a rat, crouching on the large arm of a high cherry-tree, but which, upon its falling to the ground, proved to be a goatsucker! It is a constant habit of these birds to perch lengthways, with their head lowest, that is, inwards to the tree. They are not unfrequently found squatting on stone-heaps, when they look not unlike alump of old wood or bark covered with li- chens. There is a peculiarity about the foot of the goatsucker, the middle claw being serrated, the exact use of which has not, I believe, been accurately determined. White thought it was to assist the bird in taking its prey, he having observed it take beetles with its claws and convey them to its mouth. Wilson, on the other hand, supposed this claw was used as a comb, to keep in order the bristles which grow on either side of the upper mandible. While others imagine it to be used for the same purpose as the pectinated claw of the night-heron (Nycticorax europeus), namely, to free the bird from vermin in those parts which it is unable to reach with its bill. Is it improbable that it may be used for all these purposes? Goatsuckers arrive in this part of Kent _ about the second week in May, and generally take their departure by the beginning of September. Their common note is somewhat between hissing and buzzing, which has been said to be in imitation of the low notes of beetles. As I was returning home be- tween 1] and 12 o’clock one brilliant moon-light night in August last, my attention was attracted to a bird, which flew up before me from the road. I soon discovered it was a goatsucker. It several times settled at no great distance, and I observed that it lay almost flat in the road. I at first supposed the cause of its settling to be that it might the more easily dissect some large beetle; but upon watching it I found it was evidently dusting itself, after the manner of domestic fowls. I am not aware if this trait in the character of this bird has been noted. So far from the goatsucker deserv- ing the bad character which was so long attached to it, I cannot but look upon it asa 446 Birds. bird which renders more service to man than at first sight it appears to do, as it must not be forgotten that the larve of the majority of the insects on which it subsists, are very destructive to the roots and buds of many plants and trees. I have found its eggs —nest it has none: these are generally placed in a wood or shaw, at the foot of a tree or bush, on a few dried leaves or grass, whichever may happen to be on the spot. — J. Pemberton Bartlett ; Kingston Rectory, December 4, 1843. Note on the Nesting-places of the Swallow.— “ The chimney-haunting swallow, too, my eye And ear well pleases. I delight to see How suddenly he skims the glassy pool, Now quaintly dips, and with a bullet’s speed Whisks by. I love to be awake and hear His morning song, twittered to young-eyed day.”—H urpis. From the remarks of two of your correspondents—the Rev. J. C. Atkinson (Zool. 354) and Mr. Hepburn (Zool. 147), on the places chosen for nidification by the Hirundo rustica, it appears that in the localities they mention, these “ Welcome guests of set- tled spring ” but rarely build in chimneys. Now in Kent it is quite the reverse : — building in chimneys with them here, is the rule, and in outhouses and barns the ex- ception. As far as my own observations have gone, I should say decidedly that the greater majority choose chimneys to rear their young in. Where we have one build- ing in a barn or out-house, we certainly have an average of four or five who build in chimneys. I recollect one year five chimneys in our house were occupied by swallows, three of which have been regularly tenanted by them for many years. There is hardly a cottage which has not its pair of swallows, which annually return to their favourite chimney: and I know of nothing (unless indeed it be shooting their favourite cat) which sooner excites the ire of the village dames than destroying their swallows. The following curious instance of the perseverance of these little birds came under my own observation. Three years since a pair of swallows, after reconnoitering the place for some days previously, very assiduously commenced building their nest against the in- terior wall of the porch of Kingston church, thus literally affording an example of the same fact recorded by the inspired poet, nearly three thousand years ago! When the nest was about half finished, it was discovered by the person who swept the church, and the consequence was, it was cleared away. But the industrious little architects, undaunted by this calamity, again set to work, and the following week the nest was rebuilt. This also was destroyed ; but no sooner was it removed than a third was commenced, but this, alas, soon shared the fate of the others— being removed by the churchwarden. After meeting with such continued and decided opposition, the birds at length left their favourite spot, and repaired, no doubt, to some less public haunt. But the most remarkable thing is, that they have every year since repaired to the porch and commenced their nest! and although they have not been permitted to hatch their young, yet their love for the spot seems unshaken. The cause of the hostility to this luckless pair of swallows, on the part of the sexton, was that they kept the porch in a constant litter with the straws and mud which fell from the nest; and on that of the churchwarden, that their twittering and chattering disturbed the congregation! Swallows generally arrive here about the 10th of April, and the majority leave us about the first week in October: occasional stragglers may be seen throughout that month. Among the numerous fables in connexion with swallows, was one which assigned to the flesh of this bird when burned to ashes, the power of healing distempers of the eyes. Birds. AAT From the name given to it by the Greeks — “ Xeaday ” — is derived the name of our wild celandine (Chelidonium majus), or, as it is frequently called, ‘“swallow-wort,” with which plant, it was formerly believed, the swallow opened the eyes of her young! Id. Note on the Swallow. It is now some weeks since the swallows assembled on the house-tops in great congregations. They met apparently for the purpose of departing in company to other lands than ours. I have seen none since these meetings took place until yesterday, October 15, when about a dozen chimney-swallows were observ- ed, hawking for flies over our garden. The previous days had been frosty, so much so that the Ochil hills were white with snow. To all appearance the ground here will also be covered, to the depth of a few inches, ere tomorrow dawn. The hour when the swallows were seen was a little after noon. The sun was shining warmly at the time, although the frost, during the preceding night had formed ice, in some places, I am told, about a quarter of an inch in thickness. While the birds were flying, I observed a nettle tortoiseshell butterfly also on the wing. — Robert Dick Duncan; Vale of Al- mond, Mid Calder, Edinburghshire, October 16, 1843. Singular locality for the Nest of the Greater Titmouse. An account given ofa sin- gular locality for a redstart’s nest under a garden pot (Zool. 355), reminds me that a few years ago, in a friend’s garden at Chelmsford, I met with a nest of the greater tit (Parus major) in a precisely similar situation, but I believe the parent bird was too much disturbed to allow of her rearing her young in her odd retreat. I remember once seeing a robin’s nest in a small watering-pot which was hanging against a wall. -—Al- fred Greenwood ; Penzance, December 21, 1843. Note on Anthus petrosus (Montagu). About a fortnight ago I observed a small flight of these birds on the banks of our reservuir. I think it is generally believed to confine itself to the coast. I was much surprised to observe that they refused to asso- ciate with the common meadow pipits (Anthus pratensis) which were abundant, but associated with two or three pied wagtails (Motacilla Yarrellii, Gould); indeed its ha- bits were precisely similar to that bird’s, keeping to the soft mud and chasing insects in the same manner, so that any one might readily have taken it for a wagtail, except for its colour.—F’. Bond ; Kingsbury, Middlesex, November 10, 1843. Microscopical Society of London. November 15, 1843.—J.S. Bowerbank, Esq., F.R.S., &c., in the chair. Read, a paper by J. S. Bowerbank, Esq., F.R.S., entitled “ Additional observations on the structure of the Shells of Molluscous and Conchiferous Animals.” The paper, of which this is a continuation, was read before the Society on the 18th of January last, and the present observations relate to the mode in which wounds in the periostra- cum are repaired, which differs in many respects from the analogous operation in the shelly structures. A shell (Solen vagina) in Mr. Bowerbank’s possession, having had this organ pierced in a great number of places, afforded upon examination the means of ascertaining the manner in which Nature operates in making up deficiencies in that important membrane. In this case the wounded organ is so situated as to preclude the possibility of the ordinary mode, namely, the exudation of a layer of coagulable lymph, being followed, and consequently another course is pursued. The inner layer of the periostracum gradually advances from all sides over the wounded surface, until ° 448 Microscopical Society. it unites in the centre of its area. This new membrane is at first clear and pellucid, but after a short time minute vesicles, molecules and cytoblasts appear in various parts of the surface, together with small patches of minute vascular tissue. These spherical cells gradually increase in size, assuming the form of collapsed vesicles. As their num- ber increases, their outlines become indistinct, until at length they form an even pav- ing of closely compressed tessellated cells. Layer after layer of this tissue follow each other, one above the other, until the whole space of the wound is completely filled up. The progress of the minute primary vessels also affords an exceedingly interest- ing study of the origin of vascular tissue, whether simple, branched or anastomosing, not only in animals of a low degree of organization, but also in the higher warm-blood- ed animals, as the author had also observed similar appearances amid the cartilaginous fibres of the prepared foetal skull of an infant, and also in the somewhat similar carti- laginous structure of bone in a case of mollities osseum, described by Mr. S. Solly, of St. Thomas’s hospital. The remaining part of the paper was devoted to a minute de- scription of the appearance of this primary vascular tissue in various stages of its de- velopment in the periostracum of the shell. December 20, 1843.—Edwin J. Quekett, Esq., F.L.S., in the chair. Read, a communication from Mr. Tulk, upon certain parasites in the dog. ‘These parasites were found by Mr. Topping, on examining microscopically the contents of the pustules in a mangy dog. They belong to the genus Demodea (Owen), first disco- vered, figured and described by Dr. Lemon of Berlin, as inhabiting the sebaceous sacs and hair-follicles of the human skin. The insects now described as existing in the dog, were found in such abundance that thirty or forty were frequently seen in a sin- gle drop of pus. They differ very slightly from the human parasites before referred to, but analogy would lead to the conclusion that they are of a different species. The discovery of this parasite may throw some light upon the causes of the disease called mange, a distemper by no means confined to one class of animals; while, at the same time, it is far from being certain, whether this insect is the exciting cause, or is mere- ly developed during the progress of that disorder. The chairman made some observations upon Tettigonia septemdecim, a North- American insect sent by Professor Bailey, the ovipositor of which, he stated, forms a curious microscopical object. He exhibited specimens of the male and female insect, and also some wood, illustrating the injury done by it. The chairman also laid be- fore the Society some earth from Petersburg, in Virginia, described by Professor Ro- gers, containing fossil animalcules, and noticed several new forms found in it. Mr. Ross communicated an interesting observation relative to the Daguerreotype process, first noticed by R. H. Solly, Esq. If an ordinary Daguerreotype portrait he examined with a power of about 200 linear, the surface in the parts upon which the light has acted, instead of being perfectly smooth, is found to be covered with a series of minute dots or globules, arranged in a hexagonal form. Mr. Ross exhibited this curious appearance in the course of the evening. _ A fluid for cleaning glass was also laid before the Society. It consists of a strong solution of nut-galls; glass wiped with this fluid is effectually freed from all greasiness. Mr. Busk exhibited the achromatic object-glass of a telescope, having a minute Conferva growing between the lenses composing it. Some discussion took place as to whether this appearance was really the effect of vegetation, or produced by a species of crystallization on the surface of the glass.—J. W- Birds. ‘ AAQ Note on the Greater Tit. There are several yew-trees close to my house ; in these I have heard, day after day, for the last six weeks and more, a continual tap, tap, tap, which at first I imagined proceeded from the nuthatch (Sitéa europea), but upon fur- ther observation I found the noise was caused by the greater tit (Parus major) tapping violently against the bark. I have heard two or three of them at the same time, and making such a noise that one would fancy so many Lilliputian carpenters were at work. I have examined a branch, and could only find a few slight indentations made by the bird (as I have seen it) scraping its bill on it after tapping. I see in Mr. Yarrell’s work that this bird employs this tapping propensity in killing “small birds, accom- plishing his purpose by repeated blows of his hard and sharp beak on the skull of the victim, and afterwards picking out and eating the brain.” I have never seen any other of the titmice (Paride) do this. The object of the bird is, I suppose, the same as that of the woodpecker (Pica viridis), to induce the hidden insects to come out. — Frank Clifford ; Elden Rectory, near Thetford, December 29, 1843. Note on the Wryneck. A few years since I discovered in a hole in an old ash tree, a single white egg, without any trace of nest. Not knowing at the time what egg it was, I supposed the nest had been taken, and that this was an egg laid afterwards, as it not unfrequently happens with some birds, that when a nest has been torn and rob- bed of its eggs, if the full number had not previously been laid, an egg is deposited afterwards, but of course generally neglected. But this is not always the case, as I re- collect an instance of a hedge-sparrow (Accentor modularis), sitting in a most perse- vering manner on an egg which had been laid on the foundation of its nest, the lining and eggs having been taken. Acting on this supposition I took the egg, and on pass- ing the tree the next day, had the curiosity to look into the hole, where, to my surprise, I found another egg; this I also took: and from that time the tree was daily visited either by myself or one of my brothers, and each day a white egg was carried away, until the number had arrived at twenty-two ! after which, although we frequently vi- sited the tree, not another egg was laid. Once or twice only was I able to catch a sight of the bird, which proved to be what is here provincially called a “ snake-bird, ” and only known amongst the lower orders by that name, and which I found to be the wryneck (Yunx Torquilla). Iam not aware if the term “snake-bird” is peculiar to Kent: the reason of the wryueck having this name assigned to it, is, I should ima- gine, either from the hissing and really snake-like noise made by the young before they leave the hollow tree in which they have been hatched, or from the rather snake- like appearance of the old birds themselves, in some of their motions, or very probably from a combination of both these facts: the name certainly has more of truth in it than provincial names generally have. I have never since heard of an instance of a wryneck so perseveringly laying, when regularly robbed of its eggs: and indeed there are but few birds I believe which would have continued to lay more than double their usual number of eggs. I have heard of instances of a similar character in the com- mon wren, and in one or two of the tit tribe; but this is the only one that ever came under my own immediate notice.—J. Pemberton Bartlett ; Kingston Rectory. Note on the change of Plumage of the Black Redstart. A correspondent, in answer- ing a former enquiry of mine respecting the change in the plumage of the black red- start (Zool. 101), states it as his opinion that the black plumage does not disappear in the winter, but becomes less pure and jetty (Zool. 355), and notes the reed and cirl buntings as instances of the same nature. I think it probable that such may be the case, but would observe that I have seen several of these redstarts since my last com- 11 F A450 Birds. munication; one at Perran, in March or the beginning of April, 1843, which I fan- cied, at the time, was just getting its black nuptial dress; and two (two, I believe, or if one, it had flown to a widely different spot in a short time) at Hayle, on the 28th of November last, both plain birds. None of them were secured. Now it seems odd if this bird does retain its black plumage in the winter, that noadult birds among others should have been noticed here at that period. I would also remark that Iam surprised at the reed bunting (Z'mberiza Scheniculus) being brought forward as an instance of a bird which retains its black garb in the winter: as far as my own observation. ex- tends, a bird of this species is not to be obtained with a black head in winter, and a male killed at that period is not so dark about the head as a female killed in the breed- ing season.— Alfred Greenwood ; Penzance, December 21, 1843. Notes on the Dipper. Almost the only songsters which in this district enliven the winter’s day, are the robin and the dipper; but at times the lively trill of the bustling little wren, or the harsh but not unpleasing voice of the missel thrush, are also to be heard. In the spring and summer months the dipper is comparatively silent, and in- deed I have never observed that it sings during those periods; but towards the end of autumn a sudden impulse seems to seize it, and to cause it to burst forth inte song. For some years past I have remarked this habit of the dipper, and have often thought it somewhat singular that at the time when most other birds are mute, it should be, as it were, in full song. The months of November, December and January are those in which its song is principally heard, and severity of weather seems to have no effect in checking or suspending it. Often in the midst of the driving snow-storm have I lis- tened to the sweet notes of the little dipper, and the hardest trost appears only to in- crease its activity and liveliness, and it sings away as merrily as ever. I have remarked too that it sings principally in the afternoon, and frequently when it is quite dusk. The song of the dipper is a continued inward warble, never very loud, but at times rising higher and becoming more distinct. The bird is generally perched upon a stone at the water’s edge, or at the foot of the bank of the river when it is emitted. It is rarely, if ever, seen at any distance from water, and it is consequently only in the vi- cinity of a river or burn that its song is to be heard. It is rather abundant in this district, especially at this season of the year, which seems to be owing to the assem- bling of the summer broods in particular localities. It is never however seen in flocks. In this part of the country it is generally called the water-crow, and in some parts of Scotland the water-pyet. The dipper has been accused of destroying the roe of the salmon and other Salmonide, but all that I have ever found in its stomach (and I have examined a good many specimens) has been remains of aquatic insects, and in one case a few entire shells resembling those of snails. Macgillivray, in his ‘ British Birds,’ is of opinion that this charge is unfounded.— Archibald Jerdon ; miectenciias October 15, 1843. Correction of a supposed error in a prior communication on the Blackcap. In the last number of ‘The Zoologist,’ (Zool. 356), your correspondent, Mr. Hewett, has drawn the attention of naturalists to the winter lingering of the black-cap (Sylvia atri- capilla, Macg.). Nevertheless and notwithstanding the notice you have given of the capture of a fine male of that species of summer warbler in your excellent periodical (Zool. 76), yet I very much doubt its identity with our brumal residents on our open downs, as alluded to by your correspondent. Candour is the soul of Natural His- tory, and therefore the man of the fields, I apprehend, ought ever to be on the alert when recording facts, lest error creep in and mar his work. May I therefore ask Mr. Birds. 45] Hewett, through the medium of ‘ The Zoologist,’ whether he is certain of the identity of “those delicate little songsters on the top of furze-bushes on the open downs ?” — because the wild wood-notes of the black-cap are invariably emitted from the leafy sprays of the coppice and the wood ; and then, while the trees in “ the sear and yellow leaf” blend their autumnal tints in gorgeous richness around his ebon cap, he and his congeners withdraw in silence from our shores, instinctive taught by an unerring hand to wing their way to more sunny climes.—James Harley ; Leicester, December 6, 1843. Note on the occurrence of the Fire-crested Regulus at Yarmouth. A specimen of the fire-crested Regulus was captured here on the 6th of last November. It was taken, I believe, among some gold-crests, which appear annually about that time, in consi- derable numbers. The dark bands on the cheek, and the white line over the eye, are in this bird very conspicuous, but the colour of the crest is much less vivid than in many of the goldcrests, whence I conclude that it was a young male. — William R. Fisher ; January 15, 1844. Defence of previous statements respecting the Wood-wren. In your December num- ber (Zool. 356) is an article entitled “Correction of some inaccuracies in a prior com- munication on the wood-wren,” by Henry Doubleday, Esq. As the “ inaccurate”? communication alluded to was written by me, I deem it advisable to offer a few re- marks inreply. I stated that the wood-wren (referring of course to the locality from which I am writing) built its nest on the ground, in a tuft of coarse grass, which was lined with a profusion of poultry-feathers, and that I had seen it lined with dark horse- hairs and the seed-branches of field grasses. Mr. Doubleday remarks, that it is inva- riably lined with fine grasses and hair, the bird never using a feather in the construction of its nest. Living in a neighbourhood partaking entirely of the pastoral and sylvan, where these birds are no rarity, I have every summer ample opportunities of observing their manners and habits, and am convinced of the accuracy of my statement. Not only have I shot birds, which had just left nests answering to my description, but I have now one in my possession, killed by myself in the very act of carrying a feather to its nest. The bird was larger than the willow-warbler, of prettier coloured plumage, and at once distinguishable from it by the light feathers above and below the eye. Many birds vary the materials used for their nests, according to the locality in which they are built; and whether or no the wood-wren ever uses feathers in the construe- tion of its nest in Mr. Doubleday’s neighbourhood, I am not able to say, but I repeat the assertion that it does soin mine. I said the eggs were spotted very thickly with dusky red spots, he, thickly covered with dark purple spots. I am aware that Mr. Dou- bleday is an able and observant naturalist, and I must confess that no one has derived more gratification from a perusal of his writings than I have myself, but still I think him hardly justified in pronouncing an observation znaccurate, merely because it stated that a bird used one particular kind of material in building its nest here, which it did not happen to do in his own neighbourhood. — John Joseph Briggs ; King’s Newton, Melbourne, December 10, 1843. [I thought it would be unfair to deny Mr. Briggs the right of reply, otherwise I should prefer leaving the question as it stood. I must freely confess my opinion that Mr. Briggs has fallen into an inaccuracy by some accidental transmutation of speci- mens: the materials of the nests of the wood-wren have been repeatedly described and the descriptions verified (see Montagu, Selby &c.), and the peculiarities of the bird in this choice of materials for its nest, really almost amounts to a specific character. The Fo 452 Birds. title of Mr. Doubleday’s reply, in which the word “ znaccuracies””? occurs, was written i by myself; as indeed are most of the titles of these brief notes.—E. N.] Note on the migration of Larks at Yarmouth, (see Zool. 411). The skylarks contin- ued to migrate up to the 15th of November; on which day I also witnessed the arrival of (Montagu’s) rock pipit— Wm. R. Fisher ; Great Yarmouth, January 15, 1844. Correction of a previous note on the Pied Wagtail. Ina note on Motacilla alba, which appeared in the June number, (Zool. 188), I have mentioned three specimens as having been taken at Falmouth: this is a mistake. The first (as there stated) is a fine specimen of the continental bird, in good plumage; but the other two (young birds in immature plumage), afterwards proved to be varieties of M. Yarrellii. I think it right to correct this error, although it is of little importance, as several individuals of M. alba were seen about that time.—James J. Trathan ; Falmouth, January 3, 1844. Note on the Pied Flycatcher. My. Hewitson, in his pretty work on bird’s eggs, states that Muscicapa atricapilla is most abundant in the lake district. I may per- haps be allowed to add, it is rather plentiful in Wharncliffe-wood, near this town; it is exceedingly local, only being found in a space of fifty or sixty acres of venerable oak trees, near some fish-ponds; the trees area good way apart: here alone it is found, never, so far as I know, frequenting the thick wood. The males arrive the first; they are continually fighting about the tops of the trees: on the arrival of the females they take possession of the lower branches, from which they make frequent sallies after passing insects. The nest is built in a hole of a tree. An adult male was shot a few years ago ina meadow near the town, and the same year I observed a young bird in our garden. This species is said to be fond of the vicinity of water; in the two for- mer localities this holds good, but not in the latter. I have specimens from Studley- park, near Knaresboro’, where it is said to he pretty abundant. — John Heppenstall ; Upperthorpe, near Sheffield, December 24, 1843. Note on the occurrence of the Rose-coloured Pastor at Thetford. A female specimen of this bird (Pastor roseus) was shot at Thetford in September last. It had perched on a tree in one of the church-yards, and is now preserved in the possession of Mr. Reynolds, a bird-stuffer of that place. He tells me he never heard of its occurring there before. The head and neck are glossy black, but have not the green and violet reflections of the male bird; there was a slight violet reflection, but very faint: fea- thers on crown very elongated. Back, rump, breast and belly dirty white, with very faint shades of rose red: under tail-coverts and thighs black, beak and legs dark brown. Frank Clifford, December 29, 1843. Note on a singular noise made by a Sparrow. I have more than once heard the sin- gular noise made by the house-sparrow, noticed by the Rev. A. Hussey in the Decem- ber number of ‘ The Zoologist,’ (Zool. 353). The first time I heard it was about two years ago. My attention was attracted by a strange note which proceeded from a bird in an apple-tree, which tree I cautiously approached, fully expecting to discover some rara avis. In this, however, I was disappointed, for after carefully scrutinizing every branch, I could discover nothing but some sparrows: and feeling pretty sure that no bird had flown from the tree since I heard the sounds, and being unable to discover any cause from which they were produced, not suspecting at all that so common a bird as a sparrow was in reality the author of this unknown noise, I began to think it was vow et preterea nihil. But hearing it repeated, it struck me it must have proceeded from the sparrows. After watching them for some little time, I presently heard the noise again, and this time I was fortunate enough to detect an old cock sparrow in the Birds. A53 act. He appeared at the moment to be in a state of considerable excitement; his head was stretched out almost on a line with his back, his wings and tail were fluttering, and he was evidently under the influence of some passerine emotion. My impression at the time was, that the sounds (which appeared to me to be a sort of buzzing croak) proceeded from the throat of the bird, but I might be mistaken. I have heard the same sounds once or twice since, but have not again been able to see the bird in the act of emitting them, although I knew that sparrows were the authors of them, as they were the only birds I could see in the trees from whence the sounds proceeded. From the attitude of the bird in question, and his whole gestures, I am inclined to think the sounds must have been used as a sort of love-note. But then the question arises, if it be so, why do we not hear it more frequently ? And this, I confess, I am unable to answer.—J. Pemberton Bartlett ; Kingston Rectory, December 4, 1843. Jote on the Bullfinch breeding in confinement. The bulfinch, though naturally of a shy disposition, readily becomes tame in confinement. In the spring of 1837, a pair of these birds, which had been caged sume months, were observed eagerly picking up moss and hair in the room in which they were accustomed to fly loose, and on their being furnished with materials, speedily constructed a nest, chiefly of fibrous roots, si- milar to that of the bullfinch in a state of nature. The female laid five eggs, from which three young birds were hatvhed: they appeared to thrive well for ten days, the old birds feeding them regularly on egg boiled hard, but at the end of that time they suddenly forsook them, perhaps from the want of insect food. In consequence of this desertion, two of the young birds died, but the third was saved, being brought up in a nest of young canaries. At an early subsequent period of the same year, the female again laid five eggs in the same nest, but soon deserted them. — #. F. B.;* Leyton, Essex. Tame Pigeons perching in trees is by no means uncommon; it is usually the young birds that take this position, and I think it is for sport, as they frequently chase one another along the boughs, although not very elegantly. — John Heppenstall ; Upper- thorpe, near Sheffield, December 20, 1843. Anecdote of the Dovecot Pigeon. Some years ago a male dovecot pigeon, the sole survivor of a small colony which had inhabited a pigeon-hutch fastened against one of the walls of an out-building, took up his abode during the winter season in the kitchen of the public-house which stands close to the sea-bank at Ingoldwells in Lincolnshire. He was perfectly tame and familiar, feeding off the table, or warming himself before the fire, and passing the nights in the apartment, and in fact making himself very happy and contented. When spring arrived, however, he disappeared for a brief space, but shortly returned with a female of his own species, and the pair took possession of the neglected pigeon-hutch on the wall, where they reared their young. After the season of incubation, they took their departure, but at the approach of winter the male bird returned alone, and again commenced his life of single blessedness in the inn kitchen, as free and familiar, and doubtless as welcome, as before. On the return of spring, he again disappeared, and it seems exerted his seductive powers successfully in inducing the same or another female to return with him. Again they took up their abode in the deserted pigeon-hutch—again reared their young broods—again at the same time departed — and with winter the old male bird again resumed his favourite hibernal quarters. This was repeated several seasons, until at length, it is probable, * Communicated by J. Gurney Barclay, Esq. * A54 Birds. some accident had befallen him, for after one of these periodical migrations, he re- turned no more.—J. F’. Dawson ; Ventnor, I. W., December 9, 1843. Note on the Food of the Ringdove. In an article on the benefit and injury accru- ing to agriculture from birds, by Mr. Archibald Hepburn, that gentleman observes of the ringdove (Zool. 372) that he hopes to be able to add to the list of benefits it con- fers on the farmer. I beg leave to state that in the Roothings of Essex this bird per- forms signal service by eating great quantities of the seeds of charlock (Sinapis arvensis), which plant is a serious nuisance in that part of the country, sometimes almost smo- thering the crop of barley, and after harvest the seeds lie astonishingly thick upon the ground. I have frequently shot the ringdove with its crop completely distended with these seeds, and I should think I have taken a quarter of a pint from one bird. — Al- fred Greenwood ; Penzance, December 21, 1843. Note ona Guinea-hen’s Eggs being found in a Partridge’s Nest. I was informed late- ly by a friend who resides in this neighbourhood, of the following curious circumstance which came under his own immediate observation. The nest of a partridge was found on his grounds, not very far from the house, in which a guinea-hen had laid three eggs, and which the partridge had commenced sitting on, with her own usual number, when, most unfortunately, the nest was disturbed, and I believe the eggs destroyed. Had not the nest been disturbed, there was every probability of the partridge’s hatching the stranger eggs.—John Pemberton Bartlett ; Kingston Rectory. Enquiry respecting Montagu’s Snipe and the Roseate Tern. Permit me to enquire through the medium of ‘ The Zoologist, whether the following birds, namely, Monta- gu’s snipe (Scolopax Montagut) and the roseate gull (Rossia rosea) are British? They are included in Mr. Doubleday’s ‘ Nomenclature of British Birds, but Mr. Yarrell does not mention them in his excellent work just completed.—F’. EL’. Thomas. [With regard to the snipe, I can only say that it appears from the Prince of Mu- signano’s Catalogue, that that author considers the great snipe of Montagu as distinct from the Scolopax (or Gallinago) major, figured in Gould’s ‘ Birds of Europe,’ plate 320, and has called it Gallinago Montagui, but Mr. Yarrell considers them only va- riations of plumage arising from the age of the bird. I can give no opinion of my own from the few opportunities I have had of examining the birds. With regard to the gull (Rossia rosea), | was informed a specimen had been shot on the coast of Ireland, but I believe the information was erroneous.—H. Doubleday. | Note on the occurrence of the Stilt Plover in New South Wales. I do not know whether it is generally known that this rare British bird is also an inhabitant of New South Wales; it may therefore perhaps be worth mentioning that I have just received specimens from a friend who lately returned from that distant country. — 7. Mansell ; Farnham, November 3, 1843. Notes on the occurrence of the Bones of enormous Birds allied to the Ostrich, in New Zealand. Ata late meeting of the Zoological Society, Professor Owen read a péper on Deinornis, an extinct genus of tridactyle Struthious birds, the remains of which ‘have been discovered in considerable abundance in the muddy banks of the fresh-wa- ter streams of the North Island of New Zealand. The first notice of this genus which embraces species far surpassing in size that most gigantic recent bird — the Ostrich, appeared in the Society’s Proceedings for November, 1839, and the Memoir read by Prof. Owen at the meeting of that date, was subsequently published in the Society’s Transactions. with a figure of the shaft of a femur, from the examination of which he came to the conclusion that there formerly existed in New Zealand a gigantic Stru- Birds. 455 thious bird, heavier and more sluggish than the ostrich. By means of specimens afterwards transmitted by the Rev. Wm. Williams to Dr. Buckland, Prof. Owen was enabled to define, in the Proceedings for January, 1843, the characters of the Dei- nornis, as affurded by the bones of the hinder extremity. On a second and more ex- tensive collection sent by Mr. Williams, to which have been added three additional bones, confided to Prof. Owen by Dr. Richardson of Haslar, the author of the paper establishes five distinct species, differing much in size, and, to a considerable degree, in their proportions. The largest of these the Professor estimates to have been about ten feet in height, and the smallest about equal in bulk to the common bustard; the three others were of intermediate sizes, and from resemblances in size or proportions to other species of Struthionide, have respectively been named by Prof. Owen, Deinor- nis struthioides, D. didiformis and D. dromeoides. To the largest species the specific “name giganteus is applied, and to the smallest that of otidiformis. Fifty bones, in- cluding five pelves more or less perfect, five vertebre, eighteen femora, eleven tibia, six tarso-metatarsi and five phalanges are carefully described in the paper, and refer- red to one or the other of the five species. The bones alluded to in the paper were laid before the members, together with diagrams in illustration of the subject. Some recent bones of the ostrich were also exhibited, upon which the Professor pointed out the differences indicative of the young and adult states of that bird; and he after- wards called attention to similar differences in certain bones of Deinornis. The spe- cies of Deinornis, there can be little doubt, possessed only very rudimentary wings.— Gk: WV. Note on the occurrence of the Spoonbill at Lynn. The north-west winds which blew about the 23rd of 9th month last, brought over a spoonbill, which was shot. — Daniel C. Burlingham ; Lynn, \st of 11th Mo., 1843. Note on the occurrence of the Scoter, near Farnham. A specimen of this rare duck was shot on a pond near the canal on the 2nd of November: it has very rarely been seen in this neighbourhood, indeed it is far inland for it to come.—7. Mansell ; Farn- ham, November 3, 1843. Note on the Black-headed Gull. I have much pleasure in confirming Mr. Jerdon’s remarks (Zool. 246), as to the insectivorous habits of the black-headed gull (Larus ri- dibundus). In the warm summer evenings of June and July, they may be seen in great numbers hawking for moths in the fields and meadows ; and I have frequently heard their cry above head at all hours of the night, when they were returning from their feeding-grounds. They may also, as Mr. Jerdon remarks, be seen wheeling around trees, picking up the moths. They prefer, however, meadow ground by a ri- ver’s side for this purpose, because there the ghost moth (Hepialus Humult) is found in greatest plenty. It is amusing to see a number of gulls all engaged at the same time in the pursuit of the ghost moth, which, from its hovering manner of flight, is ea- sily captured. It is rather a singular circumstance that the nocturnal Lepidoptera should form, during the breeding season, a considerable proportion of the ordinary food of a natatorial bird.— Wm. Brown ; Dunse, November 13, 1843. Note on the chanye of Plumage in the Northern Diver. An adult specimen of the northern diver (Colymbus glacialis) was picked up dead, after some stormy weather last November, on the beach between Penzance and Marazion. Upon dissection there was found in its intestines, near the vent, a calculus larger than a duck’s egg, and of the weight, when nearly dry, of 3¢ ounces, which, upon fracture, exhibited an appear- ance as if it had been deposited in successive layers or strata: this, no doubt, had some 456 Birds. connexion with the death of the bird. The back of this bird is adorned with the beau- tiful markings of black and white which characterize the species, but upon close exa- mination, dark slate-coloured young feathers, beginning to cover the black and white ones, are discernable: the chin and throat are mottled with black and white, nearly concealing the upper band on the neck, but the lower one is very conspicuous. The bird has been set up by that excellent artist Mr. Vingoe of this town, and is certainly a splendid specimen, and in the best state of plumage of any bird of the kind remem- bered to have been procured here. Ornithologists do not tell us that the fine black and white plumage of Colymbus glacialis is peculiar to the summer season; but from the appearance of the bird under notice (its neck having young white feathers, and its back young slate-colonred ones appearing), I am strongly inclined to suspect that such is the case, and that this species invariably assumes, or partially assumes in the winter the plumage of the imber or young bird. The lateness of the change in the present instance might be accounted for by the weakly state of the bird having delayed its au- tumnal moult. The same observation as to change of plumage in winter, might be made regarding the black-throated diver (C. arcticus); and even with respect to the red-throated bird (C. septentrionalis), authors seem at variance as to whether it does or does not lose its red throat in the winter. Might I request information on the sub- ject from some of your numerous correspondents ? — Alfred G'reenwood ; Penzance, December 21, 1843. Two Fulmar Petrels, taken twenty miles out at sea, were brought here on the 18th of December. These birds are seldom found so far south. — Wm. R. Fisher ; Great Yarmouth, January 15, 1844. A word on Nomenclature. The inconvenience arising from the diversified nomen- clature of British birds has become so great as really to present a formidable difficulty in conducting ‘ The Zoologist.’ I allude not simply to technical names—the order, ge- nus and species — but also to the English names. In an early number I shall recur to the subject, and in the mean time solicit advice—Hdward Newman. “ Table showing the period of Arrival of several Summer Birds of Passage, in the neighbourhood of Twizell-house, for the last twenty years. By P. J. Sexy, Esq., of Twizell-house.* “The annexed table, showing the period of arrival of several of our summer birds of passage, in the immediate neighbourhood of Twizell, for upwards of twenty years, is taken from such entries as I had made each year, as the various species came under my personal observation. Imperfect as this table may probably appear to the mem- bers of the Club, I may be allowed to remark, that in many cases where the entries seem to be the most deficient, this has not always arisen from neglecting to record or watch the first appearance of a species, but from other and various causes. Thus, the ‘non-appearance of a particular bird for one or more seasons within the limits of my ob- servations, prevented an entry, as did also the absence of any species from the precincts of Twizell, till a period considerably posterior to its known presence in other localities, * Extracted: from the ‘ Proceedings of the Berwickshire Naturalists’ Club,’ which have been obligingly forwarded to us. We could wish to see associations of this kind established throughout the Kingdom.—£d. Birds. A57 within a short distance or in the same parallel of latitude. Absence from home at the time of arrival also occasionally prevented the registration of some of the birds enu- merated. As examples of birds which seem to have deserted the district, or which are now but rarely met with, are the Locustella avicula, grasshopper warbler, the Hirundo urbica, window-swallow or martlet, and the Savicolu rubetra, whin-chat. The first, some twenty-five years ago, used to be common, I may almost say plentiful, about Twizell. This was when the plantations were young, with an abundance of thick her- bage and an undergrowth of whin, broom, &c., a cover congenial to the retired habits of this curious little bird. As this undergrowth died out and gave way to the growth of the forest trees, the grasshopper warbler gradually forsook the locality, and it is now a bird of very rare occurrence, and for the last few years has only been heard occasion- ally at a distance on the verge of the moors to the west of Twizell, where the ground still remains favourable toits habits. The martlet is also now rarely seen at Twizell on its first arrival, or during the breeding season, though it formerly had its clay-built tenements in the angle of almost every window of the house, and beneath the eaves of ihe stables and other out-houses. Its desertion I also attribute to the change produ- ced by the growth of the large body of plantation around the house, for open districts are the favourite resort of this species, as is shown by the multitudes which select, as breeding places, the eaves and windows of houses in open exposed districts, the rocky precipices of the sea-coast, as about St. Abb’s Head, or those of the interior, as I ob- served to be the case in Sutherland, where the limestone or marble cliffs near Inch-na- Damff are annually visited by large colonies of martlets. “To the whin-chat (Saxicola rubetra), which is annually becoming less frequent in this neighbourhood, I may add the sedge-warbler (Locustella Phragmitis), the white- throat (Sylvia cinerea), aud the cuckoo (Cuculus canorus). The gradual desertion of this species, I think may chiefly be attributed to the great change that has taken place in the features of this northern district within the last twenty or thirty years, in con- sequence of the improved system of agriculture that has been pursued, and under which the draining and reclaiming of marshy and waste pieces of ground has been so generally effected. Many of our members can no doubt recollect when bogs of great- er or less extent, and pieces of ground covered with natural herbage and low brush- wood, were to be seen in almost every direction, I might say in almost every field ; these, however, have now vanished under the spirit of improvement, and their loss, though no doubt considered a gain by the agriculturist, is, I believe, not unfrequently regretted by the botanist and the ornithologist, as it was in these favoured spots that the one was wont to pull the rarest gifts of Flora, and the other to listen to the various notes, or watch the habits of some of the most interesting of our feathered visitants. *‘ An inspection of the table will show that a considerable difference takes place in the period of arrival of the various species in different years ; this however may always be traced to the advanced or retarded state of the season, as the migratory flight seems in a great measure regulated by the state of vegetation; thus I have observed that the arrival of the willow-wren and blackcap may be expected with the first southerly wind, as soon as the larch becomes visibly green, and that of the wood-wren with the first bursting of the buds of the oak and beech. In some seasons the arrival of the earlier visitants is found to be at the usual or average period, whilst that of the later comers is postponed considerably beyond it; this always happens when the spring has been fa- vourable to the first, but has been succeeded by cold and ungenial weather about the time the flight of the latter should have taken place. *« . “Table showing the Period of the Arrival of several of our Summer Birds of Passage, as observed in the immediate neighbourhood of Twizell House. veans.| Mane | Beye [Walon] Went | Rake |" Pety- | White ySif®,| Bopper | No |swatiom House agua, | Swit. /cuokoo. rt? | west west] pier 1816 -... JApril 19}April 24; .... Beers iets oe Abco maiais May 2 |April 15 May 16 April 18) .... {April 07 s siele Naers Bchate BOGE LS 7 e) Aprilie: Ge oc. 2S) ae eeree aohé oad --s- | May 5 Sere 2) liintessrexe weiee apeé Adoo. a WEN Abel Sonar Rone send *1819 1 {April 11 sl... dl Se. Wis Se es.) WApmleedl Sea de Se ce Fc eee eee le, eee eee a eal ee ee 1823 oder 13 OT EM ay Qall- Sec esse | May6 | MayG| .... [April 29 April 28; May 2 April 25) May 8 | .... (April 27) .... eerete Povo #1824 |... 1G deuce oe ata ee ae eeu ee Pe wee |Aprile2or <4. ae ao. ee ae: "a 5a 1825 | April 5 8}April 13/April 29/April 26; .... |April 30 April 29 5a spoo hac) “eage outs saoe .... April 28) Mar. 8 Nan: 10;April 30 +1828 | 1 ae 40 Sie gee e Sot The other visitants all earlier in their arrivals by a week or ten days. 1831 | .... aHire Lert BADIA Ol tes cee Ao Oo All early this year. sbbo siogete S008 5000 .... |April 18} Mar.8}|Mar.13| .. 2 1832 | .... | April 6 1ale..2: oe a. ae. Ae idle | Stee ae Pe A ae bas ae ae ee =i a igs 2s... Si| oe iAunil Sy Maye isle cece lne. Ee At 2 oe April Qlye,..2 oe owe.. skeen lp caee etme Te vas ccul “Enecs Weoeal 18 es 1834 | April8| .... 18] May 2 18 10'April 27; May 7 | May4| .... 27 eles sine aidisie oe April 26) Agri 24 | oi. ae Sarai 1 aeoine a 20 7 18|-2..% May “I6 16| .... |May 18 OYA ote Bie Pee |e Way 401° Niage7 lee se teal ae oe ume 1836 ‘Mar. 31 ee: Calms Hebe May Ghlet,. ce ie ce ee ed ae et Be tay. ee. lh See tS Silico all t. ee e e 1837 Pose foe 30 8 Gy) S.-seraiMoye 16\Maye 6) 2, .e) ~... ppm 27) © 22 |ou.. S| s-0. |, Mey 92 (Aprile? aN ay April 28 1858 April 15} .... | Mayl 8 4 |May 25) 10 WO occ cous | May 3 |—.... |April 19) May-4 2| May5| Few Wagtails this year, | | and late in arriving. 1839 fae «.e- {April 22 7 |April 22 17 5 A Zilie Heis.s May 1 |April 22) .... siehe 3 Sie sire AITO Olt seleleis Scien node 1840 = April 5 |April 23 23/April 28 ON Geicic Ol Sopcu Serene | Aprile26 PW Sone Soan peice ADIL 27 25] Mar. 12} Mar. 12) .... 1841 Mar. 28 | Mar. 28 93| May 1 26|May 16 Vi|May 15] .... oe Wl, a io ee 30/May 11|April 25/April 26/April 30 1842 | .... {April 20 26|April 29 oN eels 3 Gla ae... ae... “Wapril 80) we. n.0 \Nestaaen lene: 90| April oe uonpmdaleier ye 1843 | .... | Mar. 31 19} May 1 | Mayl| .... Rae acres awe. Saas aera ‘arate sites miter siti «se. {Mar. 18] Mar.21| .... ee Spotted Flycatcher, May 25, 1835 In the above table the dotted line .... indicates that the arrival of the bird against which it is placed was not observed. a * Entries for 1820, 1821, 1822, lost. + Between April 20th and May Ist, all the other visitants, with the exception of the Swift, Flycatcher, and Goatsucker, had been observed. + No returns to be found for 1826 and 1827. Birds. A59 A Fauna of Shetland. By Tuomas EpMmonston, Jun., Esq. Il BELIEVE there is no district which, to the out-of-door naturalist, affords a more varied and attractive field than the Shetland Islands. And to those especially who delight in observing birds — their differ- ent habits, migration and nidification, —- these lone islands of the Northern Atlantic afford numerous facilities. In different publications I believe nearly all the animals of Shetland are enumerated, but I am not aware of there being any complete con- nected list of them. To supply this deficiency, I have drawn up the following, in which all the species known to me are enumerated. BIRDS. Common buzzard, Buteo vulgaris. Resident, but not common. A few pairs breed in the higher cliffs. Golden eagle, Aguila Chrysaétus. _ Apparently very scarce, and I do not know if it ever breeds; probably only a straggler. Erne or sea eagle, Haliaetus albicilla. Breeds in a few of the most inaccessible precipices, as in Unst, Ronas hill, Foula, &c. Osprey, Pandion Haliaetus. Appears only as a straggler. Last spring three or four individuals frequented the Bay of Bunafirth in this island, for some weeks, fishing in the sea; and a few years agoa pair were seen in the same place at the same season, but I could not ascertain if they remained to breed. Kite, Milvus regalis. | menced, and we wish him every success; in the mean time he has our honest thanks for the boon he has conferred on the science of En- tomology. The figure of Pteronarcys regalis was engraved for Gosse’s ‘Canadian Naturalist, and has been most obligingly lent to ‘The Zoologist,’ to illustrate this paper. Enquiries in Practical Entomology. I gladly embrace this opportunity to thank Mr. J. W. Douglas for his excellent description of the method of capturing moths with sugar; and to express a hope that other experienced metropolitan entomologists will from time to time favour their provincial and less experienced “ brethren of the net ” with similar remarks on practical Entomology. The general usefulness of Mr. Ing- pen’s ‘ Instructions for Collecting Insects, has been much impaired by omitting to give detailed descriptions of the method of constructing the apparatus, on the plea that there are now several shops in London where such can be procured ; but no data are there given by the aid of which the rustic tyro, who perhaps has never seen these articles, can give the necessary directions to a tradesman. So little has Entomology been cultivated in Scotland, that there is not a shop, even in Edinburgh, where a sin- ele article, except the forceps, no, not even proper pins, are sold; but these can now be procured from London by post. My friend Mr. E. Brown has described a collect- ing-box (Zool. 177), the merits of which I have fully tested ; and by his advice I have adopted the folding hoop of an angler’s landing-net, which screws into a handle or walking-stick, and is fitted with three bags of different sizes, of gauze, coarse canvas and linen, and I have found it to be the best and handiest weapon of any. I should feel greatly obliged by some of your correspondents describing the best way of fitting up a lantern for mothing purposes, and also for a list of such flowers and shrubs as are most frequented hy the pretty rovers of the night, that, if necessary, I may add them to our borders. Such practical hints are invaluable to every one that is seriously bent on self culture. For want of such knowledge how many sigh after returning from an unprofitable excursion, though undertaken at the sweet hours dedicated to silence and meditation, and mourn over the sad loss of time, of which, as Seneca nobly says, “ It is a virtue to be covetous!”—Archibald Hepburn ; January 9, 1844. [In my ‘ Familiar Introduction to the History of Insects, I have endeavoured to give the information required by Mr. Hepburn. I quote the observations on appara- tus; those on localities, mode of collecting, &c. I would willingly transfer to these pa- ges, but I cannot afford the space they would occupy.—E. N.] “The principal instruments of the collector are boxes and nets. The boxes should be of mahogany, opening readily on brass hinges; length seven inches, breadth four inches, depth two inches; the top and bottom should be lined with fine soft cork, and covered with white paper. The pockets of a shooting jacket will readily carry three or four such boxes as these. Besides these boxes, there should be two long cylindri- cal tin boxes for the caterpillars of Lepidoptera: the tin not only keeps the caterpillars cool, but it causes the leaves on which they feed to retain their freshness many days. Tin boxes are also useful to bring home Diptera alive: in this case a cylinder of tin passes through the lid of the box, and is corked at the top. “The clap-net, represented at the head of this chapter, is the grand weapon of the entomologist. This is a large piece of muslin, four feet long and nearly three wide, Insects. 483 _ supported on two light rods, which pass along a border made of brown holland or other strong substance, bend towards each other at an obtuse angle, and meet at the top of the net. One of these rods is held in each hand, the handles being the parts uncover- ' ed; the net is fixed to each rod by means of a piece of tape, which passes through a hole made in the rod, and is tied firmly in a bow. “ The rods of the clap-net are each composed of five pieces united by ferules; when taken to pieces and placed in the net, the latter may be folded in a very moderate com- pass, slipped into a brown holland case, and put in the coat-pocket. For this kind of net both green and white muslin are used; but white is much the best, as the small insects are more readily distinguished on it; green muslin however has the merit of being less conspicuous, which under some circumstances is an advantage, for instance, in those country lanes where the pedestrians are unused to such an exhibition, the white net never fails to attract a little crowd, which causes some slight inconvenience to the entomologist, as well as loss of time, for he is invariably under the necessity of explaining to the by-standers what he is doing. “This net is the best for pursuing butterflies and moths on the wing; the hunter tries to get the net under the object, and strikes upwards, closing the rods at the same time. A loose bag is formed, by a fold of the muslin, across the bottom of the net; this prevents anything from getting out. The same net is held in one hand under the boughs of trees, &c., while these are beat by the stick of the water-net held in the other hand; and thus, besides perfect insects, a great number of caterpillars may be obtained. “The other nets used by entomologists are of many kinds; these two are the best: first, the forceps, with handles like those of scissors, with holes for the finger and thumb, and two circular or octagonal frames of iron, on which muslin or cheese-cloth is stretch- ed. This instrument is particularly useful for taking the Diptera and Hymenoptera, which settle on umbelliferous flowers. The forceps should be kept in the right hip pocket of the coat, to afford a greater facility in taking them out when wanted to be used with celerity: but it must be borne in mind that this weapon is never to be trust- ed when insects are on the wing; because its size is so small that the object at which you snap is beyond your reach before the forceps can close, however correct your aim; and a repetition of the snap is seldom attended with better success. “The second net is the water-net. It is composed of a strong hoop of iron, jointed so as to fold up ina convenient form; on this hoop is fastened a strong bag net, made of cheese-cloth ; the hoop has a male screw, which fits a female screw at the end of a stout stick about four feet in length. With this instrument all water-insects are ta- ken; the water straining off through the net, and the insects remaining at the bottom. “